Have you completed your 2009 marketing piece yet? This year I'll be giving away calendars to my best clients and prospects.
I've got several very nice photographs I've taken of the local area, so I'll have one photo per month, with a large monthly calendar opposite. I will add some dates that are important to my clients, and leave room for them to add their own information as well.
I want to make sure that I give something that is usable by my clients, and that will also remind clients of my business everytime they use it.
What will you be doing for the new year?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Leavin' on a Jet Plane
My older son has been home for the past four weeks, and today he flies back to Germany. I'm so proud of him and all he does; he and all the other military make sacrifices that the rest of us don't even realize.
While he was home, we had 'Thanksgiving' at my folks' house and most everyone was able to be there.
Sometime after the first of the year, he'll be transferring stateside, so he'll be closer to us - we'll be able to visit him at his base. I'm so excited!
While he was home, we had 'Thanksgiving' at my folks' house and most everyone was able to be there.
Sometime after the first of the year, he'll be transferring stateside, so he'll be closer to us - we'll be able to visit him at his base. I'm so excited!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
A Simple Thank You Note
Last week, I had reason to send out several thank-you notes. Instead of picking up a package of small note cards, I decided to make my own.
I bought a package of half-fold greeting cards, and designed a 'thank you' header using a pretty font, and printed them. I printed out some of my favorite photos in 4x6 size, and mounted them to the front of the cards, then wrote a note inside.
I made sure to add the title and date of each photograph, so the recipient knew it was a handmade card, and sent them off. So far I've gotten compliments on three cards... I'm glad I was able to do this- hand-written correspondence has almost become a thing of the past; I love to get mail like this, and I'm sure others do too.
If you've got the time and patience to do this, it's a good investment of your time. At the very least, have some notecards designed for you, and handwrite notes to folks you appreciate. If you're trying to build a relationship with a business associate, what better way than to send something handwritten?
I bought a package of half-fold greeting cards, and designed a 'thank you' header using a pretty font, and printed them. I printed out some of my favorite photos in 4x6 size, and mounted them to the front of the cards, then wrote a note inside.
I made sure to add the title and date of each photograph, so the recipient knew it was a handmade card, and sent them off. So far I've gotten compliments on three cards... I'm glad I was able to do this- hand-written correspondence has almost become a thing of the past; I love to get mail like this, and I'm sure others do too.
If you've got the time and patience to do this, it's a good investment of your time. At the very least, have some notecards designed for you, and handwrite notes to folks you appreciate. If you're trying to build a relationship with a business associate, what better way than to send something handwritten?
Pastor Appreciation Week
Our church just finished up pastor appreciation week. Last Sunday, we surprised our pastor and his wife with a card we all signed and a lunch in their honor. The kids in children's church made posters telling them how great they are, and made signs for the church yard.
Then on Wednesday night, we had an old-fashioned ice cream social, which everyone enjoyed.
We also encouraged our church family to send cards and letters of appreciation to them during the week.
I hope you let your family, church and community leaders know how much you appreciate the work they do- it's a tough job, and a lot of times, a thankless job as well. Everyone loves to tell how bad a job someone is doing, but they don't always tell the good about folks. Build your folks up, and they'll work that much harder to do their job well!
Then on Wednesday night, we had an old-fashioned ice cream social, which everyone enjoyed.
We also encouraged our church family to send cards and letters of appreciation to them during the week.
I hope you let your family, church and community leaders know how much you appreciate the work they do- it's a tough job, and a lot of times, a thankless job as well. Everyone loves to tell how bad a job someone is doing, but they don't always tell the good about folks. Build your folks up, and they'll work that much harder to do their job well!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
My 'new' camera
I love my 'new'camera- I bought a Canon Rebel XT from someone who was upgrading, and I've really enjoyed it. There were several things I've had to learn, to get the best photos out of it, but as I tell my friend Toni - "Google is our friend"...
I've found several good pages that show how to figure out which settings to use in different pictures: shade, night shots, football games, inside, etc... I hate having such a nice camera and not be able to get good pictures other than the automatic settings. Here's one page I found that has several good charts to help you learn how to be the 'ultimate exposure computer'. I've been taking pictures for a lot longer than I care to admit, but I'd never bothered to learn how the f-stop, shutter speed and ISO all work together. On my original 35mm camera, after I set the film speed, I knew how to adjust for different shots, but putting the film speed into the mix with this totally manually set camera seemed to throw a kink in my thinking. Anyway, I've printed out the charts, laminated them and have them in my bag's pocket, so I can check them for better starting places.
I'm confident that my pictures will improve, and I'll have to do a lot less post-camera work on them.
I've found several good pages that show how to figure out which settings to use in different pictures: shade, night shots, football games, inside, etc... I hate having such a nice camera and not be able to get good pictures other than the automatic settings. Here's one page I found that has several good charts to help you learn how to be the 'ultimate exposure computer'. I've been taking pictures for a lot longer than I care to admit, but I'd never bothered to learn how the f-stop, shutter speed and ISO all work together. On my original 35mm camera, after I set the film speed, I knew how to adjust for different shots, but putting the film speed into the mix with this totally manually set camera seemed to throw a kink in my thinking. Anyway, I've printed out the charts, laminated them and have them in my bag's pocket, so I can check them for better starting places.
I'm confident that my pictures will improve, and I'll have to do a lot less post-camera work on them.
Monday, October 13, 2008
On Speaking Publicly
This past weekend, I had to represent our town at a family reunion. Most of the family had moved away from our area, so the hostess asked me to speak on the history of the town.
I contacted someone from our historical society and got some great information, and sat down to write my speech. I'm sure that my speech wouldn't win any prizes, but I do think I did rather well, and most folks seemed to enjoy listening to what I had to say. Here are some of the things I did.
First I thought about how long I wanted to speak. I personally despise listening to long, dry, boring political speeches, and I hate to think about putting anyone else through that. I decided that 15 minutes was my limit, and I hoped to keep it less than that.
Next, I thought about all the things I wanted to say - I made about three pages of notes and ideas. My own personality is quirky, to say the least, so I knew I needed the speech to sound like me, and not a professional writer. I knew I wanted to bring some humor about living in a small town, but I didn't want to sound like I was making fun of our town. I also knew I wanted to pique the interest of those who were learning about Rutledge, so they'd be encouraged to learn more on their own.
You also need to know that the hostess found out I ride a motorcycle, so she asked me to invite as many of my riding friends as possible, to escort me in. The clothes I ride in (jeans, t-shirt, leather gloves and boots, etc) do not lend themselves to what you normally expect from a speaker, so I knew I had to keep things light.
Then I sat down and wrote what I'd like to say, adding things from my notes, and deleting things, until it flowed like my normal speaking pattern. I printed it out on half-sheets stapled together on one corner to keep them together, and read through it in front of my mirror until I was comfortable with how it sounded, practicing the parts where I tended to stumble over phrases.
I didn't memorize the speech, but I was so familiar with it, that I could work through it without looking like I was reading it, and I was able to vary a little on what I said.
By the time I was in front of the group, I was comfortable enough to make eye contact with different areas of the crowd while speaking.
I'm not going to say it was hugely successful, because only the listeners know for sure. But I was able to move through it, without my knees knocking too badly, and I did have several people tell me that they had learned something new about our town. That was my goal, so I feel good about it.
By the way, my friends sat in several areas of the group, so I was able to look at them while I spoke- it's amazing how a friendly face in a crowd can help you get through public speaking!
I contacted someone from our historical society and got some great information, and sat down to write my speech. I'm sure that my speech wouldn't win any prizes, but I do think I did rather well, and most folks seemed to enjoy listening to what I had to say. Here are some of the things I did.
First I thought about how long I wanted to speak. I personally despise listening to long, dry, boring political speeches, and I hate to think about putting anyone else through that. I decided that 15 minutes was my limit, and I hoped to keep it less than that.
Next, I thought about all the things I wanted to say - I made about three pages of notes and ideas. My own personality is quirky, to say the least, so I knew I needed the speech to sound like me, and not a professional writer. I knew I wanted to bring some humor about living in a small town, but I didn't want to sound like I was making fun of our town. I also knew I wanted to pique the interest of those who were learning about Rutledge, so they'd be encouraged to learn more on their own.
You also need to know that the hostess found out I ride a motorcycle, so she asked me to invite as many of my riding friends as possible, to escort me in. The clothes I ride in (jeans, t-shirt, leather gloves and boots, etc) do not lend themselves to what you normally expect from a speaker, so I knew I had to keep things light.
Then I sat down and wrote what I'd like to say, adding things from my notes, and deleting things, until it flowed like my normal speaking pattern. I printed it out on half-sheets stapled together on one corner to keep them together, and read through it in front of my mirror until I was comfortable with how it sounded, practicing the parts where I tended to stumble over phrases.
I didn't memorize the speech, but I was so familiar with it, that I could work through it without looking like I was reading it, and I was able to vary a little on what I said.
By the time I was in front of the group, I was comfortable enough to make eye contact with different areas of the crowd while speaking.
I'm not going to say it was hugely successful, because only the listeners know for sure. But I was able to move through it, without my knees knocking too badly, and I did have several people tell me that they had learned something new about our town. That was my goal, so I feel good about it.
By the way, my friends sat in several areas of the group, so I was able to look at them while I spoke- it's amazing how a friendly face in a crowd can help you get through public speaking!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Turning Flips
Don't you just love little kids? They're so open to most anything, and they have such wonderful imaginations.
One of our younger granddaughters, who is three, just had a baby brother. We went to visit them all, and she asked if I would come outside and watch her jump on the trampoline. While she jumped and showed off, I asked her some questions, just to keep her talking. I asked if she could turn a flip while she jumped, and without hesitation, she said, 'No, the neighbors don't like me to turn flips, 'cause I might flip over their wall (fence).'
She has a wonderful imagination, and always has something funny to say. I know that we adults don't need to walk around spouting whatever comes to mind, but wouldn't it be great if we could lift the weight that keeps our minds from coming up with these wonderful stories?
One of our younger granddaughters, who is three, just had a baby brother. We went to visit them all, and she asked if I would come outside and watch her jump on the trampoline. While she jumped and showed off, I asked her some questions, just to keep her talking. I asked if she could turn a flip while she jumped, and without hesitation, she said, 'No, the neighbors don't like me to turn flips, 'cause I might flip over their wall (fence).'
She has a wonderful imagination, and always has something funny to say. I know that we adults don't need to walk around spouting whatever comes to mind, but wouldn't it be great if we could lift the weight that keeps our minds from coming up with these wonderful stories?
Are you ready?
What would it take for you to move up a level in your organization? Would you need training of some sort? Is there information that you would need to let you serve in that position? Are there people you'd need to learn from, so you could do the job effectively?
If you want to move up, make sure you're prepared ahead of time. You never know when opportunity might strike...
If you want to move up, make sure you're prepared ahead of time. You never know when opportunity might strike...
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