Rebecca's Biztalk posts

Barter for Ad Copy???

In a couple of weeks (rough estimate) I will be needing new ad copy for our products (I have a couple of specific collections in mind)... and while I can, at times, when the light bulb chooses to shine, come up with not-so-bad ads/wording myself...I have decided to look to the professionals this time since we are introducing new packaging (thanks to fellow biznik Amy Woidtke)...

I will be sending out via snail mail in letter form a sort of introductory letter stating who we are and what we have to offer (again referring to the specific collections I have in mind and tarketing a specific market) along with a few product samples...

Is there anyone here that does this sort of thing (write compelling ad copy)? and if so are you willing to barter for spa products?

HUGE Kudo to Amy Woidtke and our rebranding!

I canno say enough about Amy and her colleague's work on our rebranding! If you are in need of any type of rebranding or custom packaging etc. I highly recommend Amy... She knows what she is doing!

We should have our new logo up on our website within a few days and some of our soap is already ready to go!

Below is an excerpt from our blog.... to see my kudo in full please visit our blog at www.countrymeadowsoaps.com/blog ~~ After several months of working with Amy Woidtke of Spirit and Soul Design and her colleague we finally have our rebranding well under way!

Even though Country Meadow has been in business since 1999 we never really had our own defined look….no professional logo, no easily recognizable labeling….something that was really bothering me over the last year as I knew this was something we desperately needed in order to compete in the wholesale segment.

As luck would have it we met Amy and her colleague locally and contracted with them to do a complete rebranding.

We gave them free reign when designing our logo and packaging as I wanted to see what they came up with without any imput from me. The only requirement I had was that we keep green and brown as our company colors.

I can honestly say that I fell in love with the first preliminary drafts and with only minor tweaking our logo and packaging was born!

Our Just for Kids soap is now available in the new packaging.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be concentrating on the other soap boxes then work our way towards the sugar scrubs and whipped body creams and eventually our entire product line. Our gift box options will also be changing!

List Bandit....Am I missing something here?

http://www.listbandit.com/

Am I missing something here?

They dont explain how the list is built and how you get relevant people to sign up for your particular list.

Seems more like a spammy thing to me... no?

Looking for 3 massage stones

Im looking for a place that sells massage stones individually. Everywhere I see they sell them in sets... I ONLY need 3 for photo shoots... and due to shipping costs would rather purchase them locally.

Does anyone know where I can get these in the Seattle/Everett area?

Looking for network partners in related business

This is what Im looking to do and have started the wheels turning.

Im in the process of gathering networking partners. I dont have a formal letter yet to send to you and Im still trying to decide how to set up my Networking Partners pages but this is the plan:

Im looking to network with related businesses with the hopes of doing network marketing.

This would consist of putting your website link along with any promo you may want to offer Country Meadow customers on our Network Partners page under a specific catagory.

It would also consist of putting a link to your website on our blog along with a blog feature. I will be adding a Network Partners heading in our blog and listing everyone under that.

I also have plans on revamping our newsletters and adding our network partners with a blurb in our newsletters along with any promo you may want to offer our customers.

I will also be accepting any articles you may chose to write and will put it up on our blog as well as in our newsletter.

I will accept any spa, woman, health product or service as long as its not competing with our products. You can be local or not. You can have an actual establishment or a website.

It is my hope that by trading such marketing opportunies with like businesses we can share a customer base and offer all customers related products and services and as a result increase everyones sales.

Here is my Network Partners page such as it is at the moment. I figured out how to create inside links just today so Im still playing with it. http://www.countrymeadowsoaps.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=18&chapter=10&zenid=a97139824636a3546d4b4b3743e6e4ee

Here is our blog: www.countrymeadowsoaps.com/blog

If you have a related product or service and are interested in sharing network marketing please let me know.

I will try to work out the logistics over the next several days.

If anyone has suggestions Im all ears!

Attention all golfers...need input!

I have never golfed so I dont know if this is standard procedure or not...

At golf courses do they have signboards with the layout of the course? (like maybe at the first tee off area..)

And on these signboards do they have businesses listed as sponsors of sorts?

And if so do YOU pay attention or even read the sign boards let alone make note of said businesses and then make purchases based on the sign board?

Saving information to disk

Question: I would like to save information to a cd.

If I have a folder with many files in it can I just save the folder and it will include all the files in that folder?

Or do I have to open up the folder and save each individual file/spreadsheet, etc?

Im using a cd/rw. Once I save a file/folder to the cd and if I go into my computer and make changes to a particular file/spreadsheet etc. and go to save it to the same cd/rw will it override that file or will it create a second copy?

I am soooo bad about saving information on cd's. I have it saved in hard copy (paper) but I REALLY need to start saving my stuff on cd's.

Is anyone familiar with Corel or Corel x3??? Need help.

I have Corel x3 and have taken one online class and am in the beginning of my second online class. While I can do basics Im having a little bit of difficulty with colors and reducing them.

If I have a color at 100% and reduce it to 70%, the 70% swatch, while lighter does not seem like it is solid...it almost seems see-through-ish (for lack of a better word).

Im not even sure I am reducing the original the correct way.

Can anyone help????

Microsoft Publisher/html question

I currently send out simple newsletters..nothing fancy...through zencart and a phplist program. Since I do not know html the newsletters are text and pictures with links...no fancy borders etc.

I have Microsoft Publisher 2003 (which I have yet to play with)and I can see where I can create all kinds of media-newsletters being one of them.

Question:

If I create a fancy newsletter in Publisher is there a way I can see the html code so I can paste that code into my current newsletter program and have it look like the orginal newsletter, fancy borders and all?

Hey Amigo!

:-)

Has anyone used http://www.heyamigo.net/ or something similiar in their newsletters?

Im not so much looking at it as a way to earn money but a way to market to a specific set of people.

Comments?

Cross Promoting/Marketing With Like Businesses?

Im trying to come up with ways of cross promoting not only my business but like businesses as well...and since I have not done this before Im not entirely sure something like this would work so any insights or comments would be appreciated!

Im currently working on a new product line... foot scrub, foot cream, foot soak both as single items as well as packaged together in a spa kit of sorts.

I was thinking of contacting both local and non-local related businesses (massage? pedicurists? etc) and offer to put one of their business cards (that maybe have a special promotion?)in with the customers order if the related business would offer to do the same for us.

Benefits for us: We have an online presence and it would be easy for anyone who receives one of our cards to go online and order using the discount provided.

For any participating business I would have to make sure I sent along a promotion/card of a partipating business local to our customer.

Im still trying to wrap my brain around this concept so any suggestions on how something like this would/not work is appreciated!

My main goal for this project would be to network of sorts, with like minded businesses... so a person who visits a pedicurists just may be interested in purchasing a foot spa kit....

or a person who loves to drink tea just might be interested in purchasing our tea soap and scrubs.... sort of like an exchange of potential customers?

Google Alerts....

Before yesturday I never heard of such a thing... but after reading a post on a different forum I decided to check it out...

I have about 8 google alerts so far...all with a specific set of words...targeting my niche market...

I am hoping google will work for me and bring up anything on the web relating to my target market.

Today I checked and have 1 possible contact to go after.

Have any of you used google alerts to find possible customers/clients and have you been satisfied with the result?

Can I ask a question on acupuncture?

I posted here some time ago asking if acupuncture would help arthritis and if I remember correctly the answer was yes...

so my next question is.... does a person feel the acu/needles going in or are they so small that you really dont feel anything????

As a person with many tattoos/piercings you would think acu. would be no problem but the idea of having one needle at a time poked into my skin makes me quiver. (I hate needles....really!)

I picked up the phone (to my main phys.) and hung it up again....twice.....(I need a referral from him)....not really sure if I can do this or not.

Squeeze pages/can someone explain better?

I learned a new term today... squeeze pages http://www.williecrawford.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?noframes;read=17239

Even though I understand what they are I am having a hard time understanding how to implement this type of thing if it is even appropriate for our business.

Can some one explain to me how I would use something like this when we already have an opt in newsletter?

Rebecca

Off Topic-Can I ask for help in translating???

Long story short.... many MANY years ago my grandparents (who have been dead a long time) purchased property (a lot?)in Costa Rica... My dad thought over the years they sold it.. apparently not as someone from overseas (Europe?) called him asking about the property....his name must be on record somewhere...

Needless to say he knew nothing, all paperwork destroyed (or?) over the years after the g'parents death.

I found this website: http://www.camaracbr.or.cr/regulations.html Which references this website: http://www.registronacional.go.cr/ as a site to look up properties... but its not in English so I cant do a search for my grandparents names to see if they are listed anywhere...

Can anyone help or have any other suggestions?

I have no idea what the Costa Rican government does in situations like this as I assume no taxes (or?) have been paid on the property. The goverment may have taken possession??

Rebecca

Looking for someone who can build displays....

In recent weeks we have been asked by a few wholesale accounts if we offer any type of displays.... um...no we don't (although it has been in the front of my mind for several months)

Im looking for someone local who can talk to me about potentially building soap displays...both tabletop and free standing so that we can offer our soap and a display as a single package.

Suggestions? Rebecca

Free Stuff - Candle Related

I hope it is ok to post this here..if not please feel free to delete.

We are doing our yearly house cleaning and I am tired of keeping things that I know we just wont use!

For Free - You come and get it - Lynnwood

Container Wax 1 - 10 lb slab + pieces 3/4 lb.(guessing) Vybar (additive for above wax) Wicks (lots) Container Candle Labels

Gel Candle Gel (note: you will want both densities) Medium Density 20+ lbs High Density 20+ lbs Box of glassware (used for gel candles) Misc. Glass Fish for embeds Will provide directions on making gel candles...I think I even have an ebook I printed out somewhere.

Anything else I can find!

All the above items are free. I will not post the above any where else until January 2, 2007. If you are interested please call me at 425.672.8908 (leave message) or email at sales at countrymeadowsoaps.com

Rebecca

Apache/php/mysql

My website is in the process of getting its final upgrade and a few new modules installed. The person doing it will no longer be doing web services so after this I am on my own. :-(

I dont like the idea of having a website (zencart) and not really knowing how to do anything with it except change text/pictures.

It was suggested that I download apache2triad and learn php and mysql.

Ok..I found the apache site and my eyes are already crossing!

Does anyone know if there are classes available (either online or local)?

All I would need is the basics to get me going then I can play with a test site until I learn the details.

Manifest This!

This is one of my favorite websites/blogs. Most times I can take away something and apply it to my own business: http://www.changethis.com/

Rebecca

John Jantsch-Duct Tape Marketing...

I am a regular reader of the Duct Tape Marketing Blog: http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/weblog.php and noticed yesturday that John has a new book coming out. I have already preordered my copy and wanted to put this out there in case anyone else was interested in getting theirs.

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/bookbonusoffers.htm

Rebecca