Drive Repeat Sales With Email Marketing and SEM

Email marketing and search engine marketing is a powerful and cost-effective marketing tool to reach your customers and bring them back to your web site or online business.

With an SEO website design agency as your email marketing design partner, they can help you send email campaigns with ease! With email marketing, you can set-up as many different subscriber lists as you want, and automatically take care of your sign-ups and unsubscribes. Most email marketing tools even clean your lists for you — taking hard bounces and unsubscribes off your list.

Make sure your Reno SEO agency offers custom email reports showing you how effective your campaigns are. You should track the actions your customers take after they click, so you can measure the real effectiveness of your email campaigns.

Most of our Reno web design clients use this service in conjunction with their online businesses.

If you are considering a web design company, ask them if they can handle your email marketing campaigns and online advertising as well.

It’s also important to check and see if your SEO web design agency can handle your SEO, SEM, PPCfunctions of your online business. Pay-per-click campaigns can really add a lot of traffic to your site.

PPC campaigns are super easy to set-up and get running. However, what you will find as you dig deeper, is that a really good online ad campaign can get pretty complicated.

Make sure with each ad group you run, you have relevant landing pages associated with that ad group. The best thing about pay-per-click advertising is that you can specifically target your users. Having relevant landing pages will increase your conversions substantially.

Can’t you recognize me? I am you, I am you 50 years from now. I am your future. .. You know you are going to have a good life, and sorry, a big nose.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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Image by Swedish Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010
Thorleifur Por Jonsson, Director at Market Development at the Trade Council of Iceland, and Julius Hafstein, Ambassador and Director at the Iceland Ministry of Foreign Affairs enjoying the slide in the Swedish exhibition, June 18. Photo: Paul Philip Abrigo

United Way director gone
Cindy McDaniel was hired by the Parker County United Way board in April and started her job as executive director in mid-May. On Thursday, July 22, she and the board said they mutually parted ways.
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Plans for vuvuzela night blown out of stadium
Steve Schnall, San Diego State’s associate athletic director for marketing, watched soccer’s World Cup this summer on TV and heard the incessant buzzing from the long, loud plastic air horns that South Africans call vuvuzelas. And started scheming.
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Cheeni Kum director Balki talks ill-effects of recession at IIM-L
Lucknow, Jul 28 : Ad Film Professional-turned-Film Director, R Balki, who gave movies like Cheeni Kum and Paa, beleves downturn and recession have actually affected the marketing ideas and budgets.
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Online Stock Photography – a World Where Pigs Fly

I remember back in the early 90s when my brother John called me up on the phone one day and explained that he had found a niche in digitally manipulated photography.  He said he was poised to make a good deal of money with it, but he couldn’t find any good help.  He knew that I had been into computers and thought maybe he could get me to work for him helping him digitally manipulate his photography.

John was a professional photographer doing mainly stock photography, and had discovered some new software called Adobe Photoshop.  John found that he could use Photoshop to fix problems with photos taken at an expensive photo shoot that would have had to been re-shot.  He also found that he could use the software to create photographs that just could not be shot in real life.  This was a great thing for his stock photography business.

At the time I had just had a business fail, and I was supporting my family as an injection molding press operator, earning near minimum wage working the graveyard shift.  John lived in San Francisco at the time and his studio was located where AT&T stadium is now. I was living in Stockton California, a good hour and a half commute each way.

Well John offered me .00 an hour to come work for him in his studio in S.F., and I asked him what time he wanted me to report for work in the morning!

For the next 5 years I worked for my brother doing digital manipulation for stock photography, digital retouching, and lots of digital art and photography for advertising agencies.  I remember one of my first projects was to put an egret’s wings onto a pig for a stock photo of flying pigs. 

Another time I brought my pet three-foot-long iguana to the studio and we photographed him. In those days we used film, and after developing the film we would use a drum scanner to digitize the photo, and then use either Photoshop or Live Picture to manipulate the photos.  We turned the iguana into a fire-breathing dragon.

One job we did for Mother Jones magazine involved replacing Madame Chiang Kai-shek’s head with Hillary Clinton’s head in a photo of Madame Chiang Kai-shek chatting with Eleanor Roosevelt in the rose garden at the White House.  We were later told that Hillary had it framed and put on her desk.  We also heard that she was at first confused because she did not recognize the outfit she was wearing in the photo.  Go figure.

We specialized in “conceptual” stock photography, producing images such as money trees, time flies – (a watch with wings),  an image of the earth in space but made of currency, dollar bills flying out the window, and that kind of thing.  We also did photo-shoots for fortune 500 companies and used digital techniques to produce advertising images.  John acquired an incredible reputation for producing the best stock photography of its kind, and all of the ad agencies knew him well. He was a huge success. He created a line of images he called “Animal Antics” using images of animals doing odd things like skateboarding and riding bikes.  The images were the basis for a highly successful line of greeting cards.

I finally grew tired of the commute and of sitting in front of a computer all day with an art-director telling me what to do. I went back to being an inventor, and John capitalized very well on his pioneering venture into digital stock photography, digital manipulation and funny pictures of animals.

Back then John was the first and for some-time the only stock photographer using digital manipulation to produce stock photos. There was no internet, and stock photography was pretty much limited to ad agencies with big budgets.

In those days he sold stock photography through Tony Stone Images, and The Stock Market.  Now Tony Stone is gone as is The Stock Market and Getty Images and number of other large stock agencies have replaced them.  Royalty free photography, widespread use of digital manipulation, and the internet are changing the face of the industry. Times have changed and John recently told me that the future of stock photography was online.

Mom and Pop business’s are going on the internet to find stock photos for their newsletters, advertising both online and hard copy, brochures, trade show booths, etc.  He feels the future of stock photography is online catering to the masses with low cost stock photography. There is a huge market for all types of photos for everything from photos for websites to pictures for brochures, to pictures for printed merchandise like cups and baseball caps.  Most people now searching for stock photos don’t even know what a stock photo is. They search for “pictures of pigs” or “shark pictures”.

To take advantage of this burgeoning new market for stock photos, today’s upcoming photographers (and the old ones too) need to get their work online where it can be found and purchased.

Once again John is on the leading edge of his field.  John has now launched a new website to address the blossoming online small business stock photo market.  Somewhere on his website there are photos of fire-breathing dragons in a world where pigs do indeed fly.

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China Quietly Usurps African Textile Market

Africa Is Going Through A Double Whammy, As China Has Penetrated Deeply Into The African Textile Market, Seriously Dislocating The Domestic Textile Companies In Africa. While Africa Was Hoping To Cash In On The Concessions Being Extended By Both The US And The EU To Promote Its Exports To Both The Countries, It Is Now Facing A Dilemma Because Of Deluge Of Chinese Textiles. What China Seems To Be Losing In The US Market, Appears To Be Made Up In The African Market. In Ghana, The Textile Industry Continues To Face Challenges, Amid Growing Competition From Cheap Imports From China.

According To A Local Source, Apart From Akosombo Textile Limited (ATL), Which Is Operating Fully, Household Names Such As Ghana Textile Print (GTP) And Printex Have All Shut Down Their Spinning And Weaving Departments Due To Cheap Imports From China. These Sections Employed A Chunk Of The Labour In The Industry. However, The Companies Could No Longer Afford To Accommodate These Numbers And Pay Several Times The Amount Of Cheap Imports From China. Textiles That Come From China Do Not Only Carry The Designs Of Ghanaian Cloths, But Are Imitated To Let Them Appear As If They Were Produced In Ghana.

Although The Chinese Textiles Are Not Durable, Compared To Made-Inghana Ones, They Sell Far Below Ghanaian Textiles. Consequently, Most Retailers Of Local Textile Companies Such As ATL, Printex, And Ghana Textiles Prints (GTP) Are Said To Have Abandoned The Local Cloth And Are Now Selling Wax Prints From China, Which Is Far Cheaper. Due To The Hardships, The Companies Have All Resorted To The Import Of Gray Baft And Semi-Finished Cloth For Printing In The Country.

Some Members Of The Textile, Garments And Leather Employees Union (TEGLEU) Recently Revealed That The Problems With Ghana’s Textile Industry Still Existed And Were Getting Worse Each Day. They Argued That There Was The Need For Government To Find Out Why The Sector Is Collapsing And Why Ghana Cannot Compete With China In Order To Find Lasting Solutions Rather Than Taking A Defeatist Approach. Though Stakeholders In The Country Have Made Frantic Efforts To Revitalize The Textile And Garment Industry, This Seems To Have Hit The Rocks Since The Economy Is Recording A Rapid Surge In The Sale Of Fake Logos And Designs Of Chinese Textile Firms In The Market.

Industry Watchers Are Worried That If The Flood Gates Are Opened For The Chinese Textiles To Saturate The Ghanaian Market, Then The Industry Will Totally Collapse. They Contended That Current Situation Had Made It Difficult For Local Producers Of Textile To Sustain Production Levels And To Operate Profitably. They Believe That The Dwindling Fortunes Can Be Addressed If The Government Strengthens Agencies Such As The Customs Excise And Preventive Service (CEPS) To Intensify Border Patrols. They Further Suggested That Port Operations Should Be Tightened To Ensure That Cheap Imports Do Not Slip In. But How Well And Soon Will The Authorities Respond To The Calls That Remain An Issue Of Concern To Industry Players Whose Hope Of Continued Survival In The Business Depend On It.

The Director General Of Nigeria Textile Manufacturing Association (NTMA), Jolaoso Olarewaju, Said Between 1996 And 2006, The Number Of Employees On The Association’s Employment Data Had Reduced From 250,000 To Less Than 30,000. He Said Within The Period Under Review, The Numbers Of Closed Textile Companies Namely Kaduna Textile Mill, UNT PLC, Supertex, Enpee, and Afprint; Among Others Also Fell To One Fourth, While Cumulative Production Dropped From 1.5 Billion To Less Than 400 Million Metres Of Fabrics Per Year. He Attributed Most Of The Problems Affecting Operators In The Sector To Smuggling, Faking And Counterfeiting Of Locally Made Fabrics By The Chinese. Low Cost Imports From China Have Largely Devastated The Nigerian Textile And Other Consumer Industries At Kano And Kaduna. South Africa Is Another Country That Provides A Good Example. Reports Say Chinese Exports Of Textiles To South Africa Grew From 40 Percent Of Clothing Imports To 80 Percent By The End Of 2004.

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Seven Habits of Creative People, and How They Change the World

Marcel sits alone, at his workstation with his head in his hands. It is Monday morning and he cannot believe he is here, in this same situation yet another day, another month, another year. He had sworn to himself that this year would be different. But it wasn’t. It was the same. He is not sure which is more soul-destroying: the problem that causes his unhappiness, or his sense of powerlessness to change it. He knows that if he could just solve this one problem, everything else would fall into place. The trouble is, no matter what he tries nothing seems to work. Marcel doesn’t need money to change his world. What Marcel really needs is a bit of creativity.

One of the joys of adulthood is that as time passes we gain more and more experience from which we can draw upon to solve our problems. We learn through our experience for example, what is the best strategy for getting the kids to school on time (most days!), what is the best way to approach our partner on a sensitive issue, what is the best day of the week to fill up the car, and what is the best time of year to plant the petunias.

By contrast, in childhood we have relatively few experiences on which we can draw from. Creativity is the force that enables children to solve problems for which they have no experience. Children practice creativity daily because they depend on it to navigate through the multitude of novel situations that they experience in the world. However, as we grow older, we have less need to rely on our creativity as our primary problem solving method. Despite the popular notion that “everyone is creative”, unless it is practiced, developed, nurtured and cultivated, our creativity becomes latent.

The shift from creativity to experience is not a bad thing. It is arguably far more economical for us to be able to draw from our experience and get it “right” the first time by predicting the consequences of our actions, rather than relying on the trial and error approach required to turn a creative vision into reality. We learn that there are certain rules and laws, norms and expectations that will help us solve the given problem much more efficiently. Much of our problem-solving becomes automatic, highly efficient and relatively painless as a result.

Invariably however, we come across a problem-solving challenge that our experience has not prepared us for. When the answer cannot be found by searching back through the experiences we have had, or the lessons we have learned, there is a tendency to define the problem as “unsolvable”. War, global warming, increasing interest rates, price of fuel or changing market economies are all examples of problems that are “too hard” and have become unsolvable. For others the “unsolvable” problem is how to simply get through the day against the backdrop of internal turmoil, depression and sadness. For others, it is not single problem but the sheer number of them, and the seeming futility of one person’s action, that overwhelms us. It may not even be a “negative” problem, but a vision for which we simply have no familiarity with the ways that it might be translated into reality.

Interestingly, it is in the face of these types of challenges and problems that children – whose creativity has not yet been squandered or squashed – offer us the most promising solutions. By calling on children we can discover the possibilities for our so-called unsolvable problems:

“We don’t like it that our fathers must be soldiers and shoot other children’s fathers.” (Engbrottsskolan, Ctvidaberg, Sweden).

“There comes an army; here comes another. They meet in the middle and declare PEACE.” (Holy Cross Primary School, Western Cape, South Africa)

“The war is not around him but trapped inside his head. War is not battles; it is struggles without end.” (Friends School of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, US).

“The condition of the heart can alter the perspective of a person. The condition of the hearts of a nation can alter the state of mankind-PEACE.” (Walnut Ridge Middle School Library, Walnut Ridge, AR, US).

Creativity is therefore essential to all people. More than merely a good artistic ability or an active imagination, it is a combination of process, product, thought and action. It combines trial and error, imagination, and freedom that ultimately reconfigures what used to be, into something new. Creativity therefore matters not only to dancers and painters, but to any person who – like Marcel – longs to see something change, to experience the hope of new possibilities. Whether we want to make a difference in our world, in business or simply in our own lives, creativity is deeply needed in many homes, communities, hallways and offices today. To be asked to change the world and to confront the “unsolvable problems” is to be asked to cultivate the habits of creativity and foster them in ourselves and our children. 

The good news is that even the most latent creativity can be reawakened. One of the pioneer researchers in creativity – E. P. Torrance – extensively studied creativity in both children and adults. He found that people with a highly creative approach tended to have particular styles in their approach to problems, situations and relationships, such as a certain type of flexibility and fluency. Many other researchers (particularly in early childhood education and in business) have also studied what it means to be creative, and there are some remarkably consistent themes. Here’s what the research says about habits that build creativity:

Habit #1: Take delight in deep thinking

Creativity requires us to not accept things at face value. Like the child who becomes engrossed in watching an ant struggle against a bread-crumb five times its size, deep thinking allows us to ponder and observe rather than judge. By suspending judgment and allowing ourselves to become completely absorbed in our curious, to contemplate “what is?”, “what else?”, “what if?”, “what about?”, and “why not?”, we begin to see beyond the standard answer and open ourselves up to new possibilities.

Habit #2: Demand imperfection

Creativity is not simply a thought, but requires an action. The most imaginative visions are not creative until they are translated into being. However, particularly in Western cultures, there is an increasing emphasis on achieving individual perfection with little tolerance for getting it wrong. To foster creativity, we have to be willing to place a higher importance on immersing ourselves in the world, than we do on being perfect. Whatever we define as “perfect” is highly specific to cultural and historical contexts. Because perfection depends on the achievement of these arbitrarily constructed rules, and creativity depends on something beyond the rules, we can never be truly creative whilst in pursuit of the perfect. We tend to tolerate imperfection in others more readily than in ourselves and our children. Therefore, freeing ourselves from the chains of perfectionism requires, above all else, the cultivation of self-compassion, laughter, and a bit of perspective.

Habit #3: Get to know yourself

Our world is filled with barriers that limit our opportunity to cultivate our creativity. Social judgments and expectations, dogmatic rules and bureaucracies, and simply the need to curb our passion so that we can earn a dollar and put food on the table are all common creativity inhibitors. By far the most significant personal cost of “being creative” is the risk of become alienated from the community to which you belong. History is filled with creative geniuses who are pathologised as “eccentric”, “mad” or – as increasingly the case of highly creative children in schools today – a nuisance, a problem, oppositionally defiant, or learning disabled.

Practicing creativity therefore requires that we also cultivate our acceptance that – in working toward something new – we are likely to challenge the comfort zones and expectations of those around us. For most people, the practice of creativity as an all-or-nothing endeavor is profoundly costly in personal terms. To practice every-day creativity requires that we learn to discern when to push and when to pull back. Every person has different thresholds for alienation, isolation and criticism. Knowing ourselves and our limits allows us to take risks, but always ones that we can live with. Make your creativity energizing, sustainable and for the “long-haul”, rather than isolating yourself and making your creativity a source of misery.

Habit #4: Use your strengths

Creative people are usually interested in everything with a particular focus in one area. Discover a strength you have and immerse yourself in it. Explore it from every angle. Pull it apart. Put it back together. Contemplate, play and challenge everything you can about it. Be curious about everything, and consider in what ways and contexts your strengths could be applied and connected to other areas. Give yourself permission to change your mind. Discover every possible use for what you’ve got. Use it. Reflect on it. Use it some more.

Habit #5: Find a Creative Role Model

Creativity is one of the key learning strategies we have to survive our early childhood. The difference between someone who is creative, and someone who is not, is simply whether creativity has been allowed to flourish or wither beyond the early years. Instead of sitting back in the hope that creativity will discover us, we need to actively seek out sources of inspiration for creativity. Surrounding ourselves with people who navigate through their own lives with creativity provides valuable insight into the genuine nature and nuance of creativity (rather than the sanitized and contrived Hollywood version). Observing, discussing, and sharing stories with (or about) the people who inspire our passions can help to identify the core values and strategies that might be useful in our own creative development. (It also helps to strengthen and buffer us against the criticism that can sometimes be directed toward creative action).

Habit #6: Challenge the myth of independence

In a culture obsessed with “making” children independent from birth we do great damage to our creativity. Creativity is a collaborative process and everything that is created is simply a new version of what was before. The creation of a new person, for example, comes from the splicing and reconfiguration of its parents’ DNA. Likewise, to approach any problem creatively, we have to be able to connect all parts, to be able to discover unexpected interactions and inter-relationships that we might not otherwise have seen. People who are creative tend to have a tendency to see most things (including themselves) as one part of a bigger whole, where they can actively influence and shape the world they live in. In order to be creative we need to challenge ourselves to see interdependcies, rather than seeking to be alone and isolated in the world.

Habit #7: Maintain a strong Play-Ethic

A strong work-ethic is a highly valued quality by many. However, it is in play that all the parts and pieces flow into the totality of creativity. Businesses whose bottom-line depends on high levels of creativity such as soft-ware developers and advertising agencies – understand this principle extremely well. These workplaces more closely resemble a child’s playground of color and freedom rather than an office where a genuine Play-Ethic and culture is actively fostered and encouraged.

Play (which is distinct from competition and sports) enables us to let go of pre-imposed dogma. In play we are free to move in multidimensional and illogical ways (mentally and physically), to try out different combinations and roles, to laugh at ourselves, to act without fear of failure, shame or measurement, and to be wholly led by our curiosity and our sense of discovery. In play, we can truly connect to each other, to the problem at hand, and to our hearts. Far from being limited to games and children, introducing a sense of play into any context that we want to change is the most direct way to be creative.

With the possibility that as adults we may re-learn to play creatively we have the greatest hope of solving the unsolvable and changing the world in the process.

www.creativelife.citymax.com

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Ten Ways to Build Your Brand

Of the multitude of books you see on branding, most have a huge problem – they are written by people with multi-million dollar budgets. People who think nothing of wasting 2.5 million on a 30 second TV spot during the Super Bowl (this yearâ??s cost!) that no one remembers the next day!

At my golf marketing seminars, I donâ??t talk a lot about branding, because itâ??s just NOT as high on the food chain as most ad agencies or designers would have you believe. Most people I deal with are FAR more concerned with actually making money than building a brand. Having said that, the concept of branding should not be ignored, and if you follow a few simple rules, your brand can be quickly enhanced without the billion dollar budgets.

Consistent use of name. Before I start branding any name, Iâ??d ask myself, â??is it really a good name. Is it unique?â? You can change; I changed my companyâ??s name twice before getting it right with Legendary Marketing!

Consistent use of logo. I was at a club recently that had seven totally different logos on its golf hats. Perhaps the buyer was related to Sybil? (The woman with 32 different personalities.) Anyway, first make sure the logo defines who you are, looks good on a shirt and is desirable. THINK Greg Normanâ??s SHARK, BRILLIANT! Not Arnieâ??s umbrella. I mean no disrespect to the King, but was that even a good idea in 1960?

Consistent use of colors. As you may know, Legendary Marketing uses orange! The Raiders are silver and black, English sports cars are racing green, Ferraris are red, Ping Tour bags are white. Whatâ??s your clubâ??s color?

Consistent use of USP. Most clubs simply donâ??t have a Unique Selling Proposition, and that is a huge mistake. Not having one lessens the power of your brand and every piece of marketing you do by 300% or more in customer recall!

For Example, Garland is Michiganâ??s Most Beautiful Golf Resort, is a simple, strong and versatile USP! FedEx owns overnight; Dave Pelz owns the short game. What words does your operation own?

Consistent message. I am constantly amazed by the number of clubs and equipment companies that change their message from year to year. In fact, I recently talked to a club owner who proudly showed me 22 different ads he ran the previous year all with different headlines and tag lines. Testing is a good idea, but change for the sake of Variety is not!

Consistent look and feel. You canâ??t say you are the most beautiful resort in the state and run your ads in black and white on 20 lb. bond. Beauty calls for high gloss and thick paper. Make the look and feel of your collateral match the specific location, demographics and facilities you offer.

Consistent exposure. One of the reasons I focus more efforts on results than brand is that building a real brand in any market takes mucho time, money and exposure. If your brand is not out there constantly in a big way, it wonâ??t stick. You need on going PR and media presence of some kind.

Consistent delivery of promise. Your brand has to be backed by delivery of the implied promise. You canâ??t promise the best greens in town and then have them covered with fungus when players arrive.

Consistent and Quality customer contact. A lot of clubs blast everyone in their database a discount offer. High end resorts usually specialize in bland John Doe â??return to see usâ?? letters. Both are contactâ?¦neither is quality content.

Consistent use of viral tools to spread the word. Perhaps the most overlooked way to build your brand is to provide your frontline employees and customers with the tools to spread your brand for you. Things like bag tags, yardage books and audio CDs packed full of Great Golf Stories For Your Drive Home. Reinforce the brand long after a player has left your property.

Looking for Brilliant solutions to your marketing problems? Look no further. We donâ??t call ourselves Legendary Marketing for nothing! Call now 1800-827-1663.

Football manager Harry Redknapp offers to rehome Russian donkey
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Ousted Bell city manager worked in Rancho in 1980s
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