Category Archives: Recent Projects
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7 Step Guide to a Winning Email Marketing Strategy
When articles start with "5 tips" or "3 ideas", etc. my interest is piqued. Who doesn't like a short list of ideas? This April blog post from Constant Contact (link at the button below) is one of those - the title of a "7 Step Guide" caught my eye. After reading this post I can't say I disagree with any of the seven, but as a small business owner who was the marketer as well as most of the other functions (HR, A/P, A/R, sales, etc.), I always found I was always running behind on getting the newsletter out on a regular schedule. So while it is eluded to throughout this article, I would stre
Successful Email Marketing for Small Businesses
This blog post, Benefits of Email Marketing for Small Businesses(With Real Examples), from Constant Contact offers a long list of useful tips for your email marketing campaigns. It also offers statistics proving that email marketing is still a good investment!In my own experience as a small business owner, I found I had the most success when my email campaigns were consistent* and provided value. If you only sell products or services in your emails, people will stop interacting - and may even unsubscribe.Make sure your messages are something your customer will want to open. Make your branding
Online Marketing Must-Haves
In our small business, my family was always looking for new ways to use materials - either to stretch their value or to create a solution where a standard one was not available. In addition, my very handy father and brother created fixtures, storage and display solutions that other businesses like ours envied. We had many custom displays designed to show the books exactly how we wanted to (without damaging them, which was a problem with manufactured solutions), and most were on casters so my mother and I could easily move them. I applied the same approach to my work in market
Social Media Image Sizes Guide
It seems like the size requirements are constantly changing - because they are. As the platforms change, as more people surf on a wider range of devices, the size requirements have to change if you want your images to make the best impression. Each platform has different size requirements, and many platforms have several image sizes depending on the type of activity: post images, cover images, profile images, event images, ... they're all a little different. Failing to use the correctly sizing means the image you spent so much time selecting may not display well - which means your post m
How often should you blog?
We've been really busy so we're "cheating" and resharing a blog post from our friends at Constant Contact. This is one of the many blog techniques we use to keep on a good blogging schedule - if you want to hear about it and other ideas, we should talk. In this issue, we also talk about how we had a "duh" moment recently that made us reassess our business name.
It happened again.
It happens all the time - I step in to help a business owner with their email campaign and learn they are making use of about 2% of the functionality Constant Contact offers. It's hard to stay up on the latest, even in my role as someone who uses it every day - there are always new features being introduced. Yesterday it was a business owner who had someone make a custom template for them when they first started using CC years ago. It was giving them problems so they asked me to step in and do it for them - using the ancient custom template. Since I'm Constant Contact certified, they though
Take charge of your own brand in 2019!
We can help you customize templates and materials to match your branding to let your personality shine through! Don't be like these folks!
Reusing Existing Material
I have several clients who are bloggers in addition to offering client services, but have a very hard time coming up with fresh content on a regular basis. I helped one such client by scouring his past blogs and refreshing them for reuse. I first evaluated the website traffic and stats to see where people were spending the most time. The activity showed the blog was not getting the traffic it should. That meant the great material he had written over the years was read only once, the day it was published. The fact that he is a provider of business services means that he has a "certain s
WordPress Salient theme
I recently completed a website transition to WordPress using the Salient theme from ThemeNectar. What a great theme! There are a few tweaks to make and we are testing some of the advanced functionality and integrations, but so far, so good. Take a look.
Meet Edgar
I love this product, mostly because my neighbor has a big orange fluffy cat named Edgar so I think of him every time I use it! MeetEdgar is a social media management tool that I used with a client. There are other great tools out there, but for this situation MeetEdgar was perfect. It allows you to create a library of social posts and put it on a schedule. **I recently learned of another tool that is similar to MeetEdgar at a lower price per month. While I don't have a client using it yet, I plan to test it out and see if I like it the same or better. ** Face it, social media posts ne
Print and Online Ads
More work for my favorite non-profit! They wanted to advertise their Kitten Stress Reliever program, where volunteers would bring an assortment of adoptable kittens to your workplace for a Kitten Break. I came up with this series of ads:
Video Tools
I'm always learning about new (or at least new to me!) tools for creating video. Here I am playing with the Corel FastFlick tool that came with the purchase of a different Corel product. This shows the fun we have trying to take "family photos" each Christmas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Ndk8j7JfI
Video from PowerPoint
I regularly make videos from PowerPoint presentations for myself and for clients. This process includes creating the PowerPoint, writing the script, using Camtasia to capture the video and voiceover, editing the video and publishing. Check out our YouTube channel for a few examples.
Program Promotion
A local non-profit wanted to promote their Humane Education program to local schools, but they needed to update their advertising materials. I created a trifold flyer as they requested. It was very popular as a printed, hard copy flyer to insert in mailers and hand out in person to prospects. But as an attachment in an email it was not as attractive - most people don't print an attachment and then fold it appropriately, so it didn't represent very well. I suggested we reformat the trifold into a one page flyer for use as an email attachment.
E-Commerce Management project
A client had an existing e-commerce solution that needed updating, including adding new products. I entered products from printed catalogs, scanned artwork from provided images or collected them from sites provided by the vendor, and edited the images to fit the parameters allowed by the e-commerce tool.
Online Presence & Branding project
A client was subscribing to a communications package that offered a simple website tool. She wanted to use it to create a basic, brochure site for her company listing her "vitals" - location, contact information, what they do, etc. We set up the site using the available tool. It wasn't terribly flexible but we were able to incorporate all of her branding and colors. In addition, I cleaned and matched other online listings (social media, Google, Manta, etc.) and added a link to the new website in all locations.
Website Redesign project
A client had several websites created using several different tools and wanted them all merged into one. The website required a secure portal and unique URL’s for easy access to separate sections of the site. It was a very complicated process, but I was able to migrate all of their websites into one Joomla site with a secure portal with several levels of access. Prior to migration I cleaned all of the site content to remove old and redundant information, updated graphics and created a relationship with Happy Dog Web Productions for ongoing Joomla hosting, support and service. Do you
Training Manual Branding project
I have a client who is a representative of a product line and he wants his training materials to include his own branding in addition to the brand of the company he represents. I worked with him to recreate the materials with his company’s look while retaining the brand guidelines required by the parent company. Do you have a similar need? Complete a Project Request Form!
CRM project
A client wanted to use a CRM that was not really meant for their industry, but it was part of a larger software piece they were selling so it was available for them to use at no extra charge. I mapped their sales and customer service processes and created workarounds so they were able to use the tool successfully. Do you have a similar need? Complete a Project Request Form!
Newsletter project
While working on a different project for a client I noticed they were producing a regular newsletter in a terribly inefficient manner. Each issue was taking weeks to prepare and mail and the design and results were not reflecting the time and energy they were putting into it. I suggested they let me take over one issue and after that I was given the job of managing their newsletter. In addition to the print issue I set up a process for cross-posting newsletter content to their blog, website and social media. After a few issues I was able to train them to do it themselves. Do you have
Point of Sale Re-implementation project
A client purchased a Point of Sale system and was not able to implement it properly themselves. I came in and assessed the work that had been done, fixed what was done incorrectly, and got them up and running on schedule. I then stayed on to complete the entry of new products and create a repeatable system so they would be successful going forward. Do you have a similar need? Complete a Project Request Form!
CRM Implementation project
I worked with a company who was looking for a new CRM solution to manage their sales and services operations. I researched and presented several options to them, they selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM as an addition to Office 365. After mapping their processes and incorporating best practices, I implemented their system, cleaned and imported all of their data and trained everyone. I stayed on until it appeared they had everything under control. During this time I created training videos for any new hires and moved their reseller of record to PowerObjects so they could make use of their ong
Event Management project
I regularly use Constant Contact’s Event Management functionality to create fundraising Event landing pages for a non-profit with online donation options and the ability to purchase event tickets online. Do you have a similar need? Complete a Project Request Form!