Don't know what the Google +1 button is?

The Google +1 button allows your site to be recommended by visitors to their friends. So if someone comes to your JimdoPage and they like it, they can "+1" it. The cool part is that when this visitor's friends search on Google, if your site appears in their search results, it will have an annotation that the first visitor +1'd it.

Try It Here!

2. Open up a "Widget/HTML" element on the area of your site where you want to add your +1 button.

Now are you are ready to spread the word and have your friends +1 you!

Occassionally the gals of SFM run across the next "must have" app or hosted solution, and over the past few months we have been in a total swoon fest over Wufoo. We use Wufoo on all of our forms and frankly for nearly all of our clients. Our efficiency and internal communications have improved 100% and just wanted to share this gem of a company!

We were asked my Jim Wiesz, Owner of Discovery DJs and featured writer for Mobile Beat Magazine to contribute to an article on web design pitfalls and best practices.  The article was published in January 2011, and can be found HERE but for a full view of our Q&A session, read below.

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The wedding and event industry is extremely cyclical. It is hard for many businesses to justify spending on marketing and branding when the phones are ringing off the hook. However, when the off season beckons they not only don't have the financial outlay to do anything to increase marketing efforts, but they have missed the boat. By the off season, they have missed the opportunity to capture the newly engaged couples, or in the summer they have already missed out on Prom and Graduation events, etc. It is important to put money aside in the peak season to continue marketing efforts when business is slower. I think timing plays a vital part in success, and I really try to impress upon wedding and event industry professionals how being prepared prior to the holidays really is since most brides are planning more than a year out, and will start searching for vendors soon after engagement.

Lastly - follow up, follow up, follow up! There are so many companies who complain that they don't have alot of bookings, when in reality they are not investing the time or revenue in office assistance to promptly return phone calls, emails, etc. If you must be a one man show as it were, put an auto-response on your email, providing a mobile number to contact you. Utilize the availability checker services and quote generators designed for DJs for real time results if you know you cannot get back with them within 1-4 hours. Don't just dismiss the lead after one call or email. People get busy, and sometimes overlook emails...persistence is important. Develop a set of canned responses via email that you will send immediately, after a few days, and after a few weeks. Work the lead until you are told they hired elsewhere. For phone calls, be specific and detailed in your voicemails if you don't reach them and try to make return calls in the mornings or evenings when they are likely not at work, giving you a better chance to speak with them. Keep an organized spreadsheet, database or tracking mechanism of your leads, when you contacted them last, and maintain that list at least weekly.

Natalie A. Lambert, Owner

As a business owner, celebrating 5 years in business makes me whistful. I think about starting out, and memories of grueling over a 30 page business plan with my partner over martinis comes to mind! We started out as a Wedding and Event planning company.  My partner, Pixie Mellin and I always loved the aspects of developing our brand and when I had to move back to my hometown near Washington, DC, Savoir Faire Media was born.

I also think back to my first client - Rev. Glynn Ferguson of Sensational Ceremonies.  He was our favorite Officiant at weddings, and became a friend...I now consider him family.  He let me tweak and change his website, brand and strategy and started spreading the word to other businesses.  Today, his business has grown into several markets, almost 10 officiants and he is a leader in the industry. I guess you could say he and I both turned our dream into reality with a lot of hard work, talent, folks that believed in us and word of mouth - here we are!  So, thanks Rev! :o)

The most rewarding thing about the past several years has been turning businesses that were about to close or shutdown into thriving leaders in their industry.  I always joke to myself that we are 25% shrinks, 25% business strategists and 50% designers.  Creating a new image for a company does something very strange to a business owner...it transforms THEM as well. They get remotivated, re-energized, and for the first time in a long time they are excited and hopeful about the possibilities that a new brand, website, marketing plan will bring.  We become motivational, challenging them to reach higher than they think they can reach, grow bigger than they think possible.  They hold their shiny new cards in their hand, hold their heads up high and really start putting themselves out there. This transformation of business and self is truly the best part.  That - and the fact that I can't even make a stick drawing of a person - so graphic and web design allows my inner artist to come alive!

I would be nowhere without friends...after months of 18 hour days operating as a boutique firm of just myself and myself, lol, I knew I needed help.  I enlisted...wait for it... MY FIRST BRIDE!  Shellie West Postal was/is owner of Posh Betty, a papier and stationary online retailer and I knew how talented she was.  I asked her to join the team as a part time designer and 2 years later I am happy to say that she is full time, teleworking from her home office in Ohio and loving every minute of it.  

It wasn't long before I needed to expand again, and immediately thought of my childhood friend, and honorary cousin (our mothers were best of friends and she was named after me! Yay!) Natalie Blaz.  She had just finished her stint in the Marines and finishing a degree in Web Design but wanted to work from home. It was a perfect match of trust, talent and opportunity. 

I contacted a talented artist, Susan Traynor, in the UK to design our Savoir Faire Virtuals (avatars) and it was love at first site. She is so well suited to our company, that after begging and pleading she allowed me to be her exclusive one and only company to partner with for her unique and life-like Virtuals. 

But something wasn't quite right...Social Media was taking over everything and I was still struggling with finding time to grow the business and provide a better client experience after completion of the projects for future work.  Who else could I enlist that I trusted above all else, who knew my quirks and my style of running things as well as a complete Social Media/Blogging/Virtual junkie....my former partner Pixie Mellin!  So, not to sound cliche but "we are family, and I got all my sistas with me!"   and I couldn't be happier and more blessed.

Thanks to everyone who have made the past few years so successful.  As a company who operates solely on word of mouth - we thank YOU for your continued support and referrals and for continuing to come back for more.

Here is to 5 more years of success for me and my gals.

Sincerely,

Natalie A. Lambert

Click to visit NEW website

We are excited to announce the rebranding launch for Jen Adams Photography!

(Formerly Jen Adams and Associates AV).  Every brand redo starts with identifying a few basic answers:

• Why do you want to change your brand?
• What color/style/theme image do you want to incorporate?
• What elements of your personal style and personality can we integrate?
• Who is your target demographic?

Click to visit the NEW Blog

We start by sending a 5 page survey which asks these questions and more. Once received, we hold detailed discovery calls to identify whether an html or flash website or pro blog are the best options.  In this case, Jen wanted both a blog to chronicle her sessions, as well as a fluid and visually appealing website, and also a branded photo print purchasing site.

On to the logo!  Jen had originally had the concept of using argyle and wanted the theme to represent an upscale preppy feel.  We opted for a muted plaid to compliment her site, with a blue primary color and an accent of burgundy. This was originated from her desire to have an Americana and Patriotic color theme. By toning down the colors in that palette we accomplished all of the goals and added floral elements

for whimsy.

Part of the process is reviewing every word on the site to update it for grammar, current offerings and products, addressing pricing and setting the tone for the new site.  Another vital part of website redesigns are photography. Fewer is better than poor quality, and so it was important to review the best of the best photos and update headshots to reflect the new feel and style.  Jen's updated headshots were stunning and blend in wonderfully with the site.

For her business cards, we wanted a way to portray her vast product offerings and we proposed a fold over design that had contact details, social media pages, product offerings and more!  She now has an affordable mini brochure that clients and vendors are more apt to hold on to.  We are so pleased with the outcome of her redesign and are thrilled that she is as well!

A few words from Jen...

LOVE the new site, blog, cards, etc. from the fantastic team SFM!!!

When a customer pulls out plastic to pay for a purchase, it’s no longer always a bankcard. The gift card has become an increasingly popular product with customers and retailers alike, and is fast replacing the traditional paper gift certificate.

The past holiday season saw an impressive rise in the sale of gift cards across the country. A survey by America’s Research Group found that more than half of Americans who shopped last year said they intended to purchase gift cards or give cash for the holidays.

Paper or plastic?
Some advantages of gift cards over paper gift certificates may be obvious, but others may not be apparent to those who are not yet using them. Product placement is a big advantage, according to Darcy Moore, marketing director at Maison Papier, which has three gift stores using the cards.

“Paper gift certificates are not even visible,” she said. “Gift cards can be placed very visibly as point-of-sale items at the register counter, where they are more likely to get a customer’s attention.”   Jewelry retailer Becky Beauchine Kulka, whose store has been using gift cards since before the holidays, points to the durability and portability of a gift card.

“It doesn’t get worn, torn or faded like paper. It usually goes in customers’ wallets, near their credit cards, so customers see the store’s name or logo when pulling other cards from their wallets. And they have it with them all the time, unlike a gift certificate,” she pointed out.

Kulka markets her gift cards in a way that would not work with gift certificates. “When a customer purchases a card, our salesperson puts it in a small jewelry box, so it can be presented as a gift of jewelry. People receiving them love the presentation,” she said.  An average of seven percent of the value of a gift card is never even used; the unused value goes to retailers as profit. Much of this profit comes from that remaining few dollars left on a card after a purchase. The unused portions of gift cards are not refunded, as often happens with the unused balance of a gift certificate.

Small values left on a gift card may also bring a customer back for another purchase, another thing that doesn’t happen with a gift certificate.  “A customer with a balance of $5 on a gift card will often return and spend another $100 to use that remaining value. That means I’ve got a sale that might otherwise not happen at all,” said Kulka.

Many retailers report that the biggest advantage over gift certificates is the improvement in tracking and management. Gift certificates require laborious record keeping, often done manually.  Stores with multiple locations may face accounting confusion and tracking errors when a gift certificate is redeemed at a location other than where it was bought. One location would need to cut a check to the other to compensate for the gift certificate redemption.

Deb Sweeny, director of finance for Douglas J Salon and Spa in Okemos, described the problem.  “It was an accounting nightmare. Now we have three locations, one gift card and zero hassle.”  Record keeping with gift cards is handled electronically, and managers can easily generate reports. They find it much easier to see how much value is “out there” on unused cards than on certificates, as well as to track sales growth or other trends.

Added security is another big plus for gift cards. Some retailers have had serious concerns about counterfeited or doctored certificates. Gift cards feel much safer. Retailers who use them often think of gift cards simply as the “new gift certificate”—the most logical way to handle merchandise vouchers. “Without exception, my entire staff thinks gift cards are a much better way to handle the gift certificate product,” said Kulka.

In addition, retail-marketing creatives are conceiving new uses for gift cards. One such use is a promotion with a partnered retailer. Consider the auto body shop owner who partners with a car wash for a promotion.

The auto body shop buys a set of gift cards at a discount from the car wash. After each paint job, the body shop recommends that the customer should not wash the car for 30 days. The shop then gives the customer a promotional gift card for a free car wash at the partner’s car wash, with a sticker showing the date the car is ready for a wash.

The auto body shop has an exciting promotion; the car wash may have a new customer. And unlike a one-time-only coupon or certificate, the car wash can offer the customer a way to prepay for future washes by adding value to the card (sometimes called “reloading” the card).  Gift cards can also be used as an incentive to try other services at your store. Kulka encourages customers to use her online “Dream Registry” (a gift registry service) by giving a $25 gift card to a new registrant.

Janeszko’s gift stores use the cards as a means of giving store credit when merchandise is returned, instead of cash refunds. “It’s so much easier and faster for our clerks and customers both,” she said.

Off-site sales of gift cards are another innovative way to drive new customers to a business. Gift cards can be marketed as fundraising products. An organization buys gift cards at a discount, sells them and keeps the markup for their organization.

Shopping malls are considering installing vending machines that sell gift cards for merchants in the mall. Customers appreciate the convenience of one-stop shopping for gift cards, especially during holidays when long lines in stores may deter a shopper from buying a gift card. After the holidays, the recipient, often a new customer, shops at leisure.

Another idea for offsite gift card sales requires thinking of the cards differently. “The term ‘gift card,’ while descriptive for some applications, may actually be limiting. A gift card simply stores value conveniently. It need not be seen merely as a gift certificate substitute,” said John Mayleben, MRA’s director of sales and marketing.

For instance, a ferry service to Mackinac Island may beat out the competition by selling gift cards valued at the ferry-crossing ticket price at a popular rest stop far south of the ferry crossing, when the billboards for the island first start appearing on the highway.

A traveler, thinking about lines at the ferry docks, sees the cards available at the rest stop and purchases one there. When he arrives in Mackinac City, he heads straight for the ferry line that he has chosen, ignoring the competition.

Ideas like these are just the early round of marketing ideas that use gift cards to drive traffic to retailers. As more retailers replace gift certificates with cards, the creative ideas will continue to flow.

References: SBA Marketing Association

I had the pleasure of returning to the Critical Thinking in the Real World show, hosted by Janet Hinz. We discussed "Not Leaving Leads At The Door" and under/over doing your website. Other highlights include Social Media and Blog importance. Check it out!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW, FEATURING SAVOIR FAIRE MEDIA OWNER NATALIE LAMBERT.

In case you missed it, Savoir Faire Media recently partnered with EmailDirect to offer the best in email marketing and management, including the use of third party lists, fantastic filtering for targeted recipients and my personal favorite...the ability to automatically purge emails on certain parameters such as an event date, etc. 

Watch and listen to the webinar in case you missed it and if you are interested in setting up an account with EmailDirect, for virtually the same as the "other guys" but with third party email capability and 10 times the features - contact us to begin the process.

Did I mention you would have a personal account rep assigned to your account who reviews your account weekly and offers suggestions for improvement.

Set up costs?  A fully designed stunning email template, and full account set up for only $100!

Let's get going!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN/WATCH THE WEBINAR!

Below are some examples of templates, please contact us to see additional templates or to inquire about a customized and fully developed unique design.

Creativity sometimes strikes when you combine a couple of ideas. For example, you may decide on creating a logo for a security company. For this business category you probably would want to convey trust, strength and reliability. This can be accomplished by choosing appropriate subject matter and using style, colors, weight, balance and shapes. The idea could be a bear with strong angular or masculine shapes and bold, dark colors combined with a sturdy font to finish it off.

Reproducibility.  It's extremely important that Logos are created with versatility in mind. As the main component of a company's corporate identity, the logo acts as the cornerstone of your visual brand. Logos may be printed on anything like small business cards and pens to extremely large billboards and signage. They need to work well using traditional print methods like offset lithography and screen printing for T-Shirts, as well as other things like rubber stamps, stickers and embroidered golf shirts. Of course, it must also look good on screen for use on websites and other media. The white spaces between shapes should be consistent and not too close together or they may fill in causing a loss in the definition of objects.

Gradients should be used selectively, creatively, and only when they enhance the design. (Define gradient) At one end, if tints are too light, they can disappear when printed and only show up as white. Conversely, dark tints can fill in to solids causing the logo to look muddy and unclear which can happen easily when printed in a newspaper. Also, gradients may not work with some reproduction processes.

It's easy to get carried away with design by adding tons of fun and interesting things but the bottom line is it has to reproduce really, really well. In the end, ask yourself, "Does this help or hinder my design?" If the logo communicates the intended message just as well (or better) without it, take it out.

Over the next few weeks, we will be doing a series on starting a business, developing your brand, and launching succesfully. We hope you enjoy our first entry!

Part I - What’s in a name? 5 important rules for choosing a business name.

• A winning business name has to be memorable – but easy to spell. Unique is good but difficult spellings or pronunciations are a bad idea. A quick reminder here to remember to research any name you would like to use to help avoid any potential copyright or trademark issues. A quick search on the internet should help you along the way.

• A winning business name needs a visual element. Generally we are hard-wired to “see” images when we read or hear language, and incorporating a visual element into your business name can be a powerful aid to customers’ memory (and a powerful advertising tool). So you want your business name to have a strong visual element to it. The catch is that...

• A winning business name has to have positive connotation. Many words have both denotation (literal meaning) and connotation (emotional meaning). A word’s connotation can be positive, neutral or negative, depending on the emotional associations that people generally make. The classic example is the difference between “Mom” (which has a very positive connotation) and “Mother” (which has a neutral connotation). So a winning name would be “Mom’s” cookies, rather than “Mother’s”!  When you create a business name, you need to choose words that have the positive, suitable connotations that you want people to associate with your business. If you are starting a trucking business, for instance, you don’t want it to have a weak sounding or negative name, such as “Willow Twig Trucking” or “Kitten Transport”. You want a business name that conveys strength and reliability. A choice such as “Stone Creek Trucking” would be much better. All these names have a strong visual element.

• A winning business name needs to include information about what your business does.

You need to be sure that your new business name at least gives your potential customers or clients some clues about what you actually do. That’s why you see so many landscaping businesses that have the word “landscaping” in their name, and hair styling businesses that include words such as “salon” or even “hair designs” in their names.

Including information about what your business does in your name also makes it easier for potential customers and/or clients to find your business in phone books and directories (both off and online).

And a last tip about names: think about colors when you’re choosing a business name. Colors will be an important component of your business logo and other business promotion materials and your business web site. But colors have strong emotional associations, too. Red, for instance, is an aggressive color; its fiery elements are associated with speed, excitement and passion while green is a calming color associated with growth, renewal and nature.

References: Istockphoto, About.com

Boy, last week was a rough week! Natalie L. lost her external hard drive that had at least 3 months worth of files on it which means a lot of recreation in our future!  Even the best laid plans fail, and since we have gone to a virtual backup and restoral solution for files.  We wanted to share our research and PC Magazine's picks for the best of the best!

For Savoir Faire Media - having designers across the country, the ability to retreive files from remote locations was key.  While external drives are still reliable, physical hardware leaves you vulnerable and online storage in data centers with replication and automatic software updates is the way to go. 

READ THE ROUND UP OF BACK UP SOLUTION REVIEWS BY PC MAGAZINE

Click for example ~ OWAH Productions

We care about our clients and when you asked - we listened! (As all good businesses do!) We now offer three visually appealling and affordable FLASH-Lite packages.  FLASH, FLASH+Social Media Redux+Business Marketing and more, and our Flash-e Commerce solution.  Done within 30 days from deposit and receipt of content, what are you waiting for? Give that tired website an entirely new look and feel today! We're the cat's meow, haven't you heard?

Let's Get Started - View Packages!

This is Natalie L's ideal office! I am there with colors, floors and windows - just need to upgrade some furniture stat!

I was inspired to gather this info today for all of you fellow home office peeps! I truly and honestly believe that a good work setting can inspire creativity, relax you, and make you happier overall. But don't forget comfort. My fellow workaholics, a good chair, mouse pad, and other things are vital to long term body health. So, take a quick read from our friends at www.homeofficebuddy.com and get busy in setting up your work haven asap!

Why do you need to evaluate and remediate your home office? Simply because you're going to be spending a lot of your day there and it's really important to plan your working environment and design a home office that works for you and with you. There ain't nothing worse than working in an office that you hate. You probably had to work in a crummy office in your 9 - 5 but why put yourself through it when you can design your own perfect work space? Your home office space should be truly all about YOU. It can be whatever you can imagine.

My guess as to what Shellie's home office dream would be maybe! (But with way more monitors and a view of the ocean!)

Simply putting a desk and a chair in the corner of a room and planting yourself in front of a computer isn't any way to work. If you're going to take your own business seriously then you need to take your home office seriously too - especially if you might have clients visiting your office at any stage.

Most people setting up their first home office take very little time to consider the fact that how they plan and setup their office might affect their business. Setting up a home office is not something to be taken lightly or just taken for granted. It's your business premises and needs to be designed and laid out professionally - regardless of whether or not people will actually visit it. You're going to be working in this environment for several hours each day so make it the best it can be.

My vision for Natalie B's home office. Transitional and comfortable but feminine. :o)

Get information on office chairs, computer desks for a home office, computer systems and peripherals, office ergonomics, office design and decoration, software tips and reviews and lots of other home office design ideas.

Read more articles on setting up your home office published on this site and while you're at it why not read the articles here on the best possible locations for a home office?  Or read Microsoft's vision of home office bliss, and About.com's sage design advice for teleworkers,

Browse on over to HGTV.com's Gallery of Before and After Home Office Make-overs!

We have searched high and low for the best, most feature robust and affordable calendars to embed in our site, and yours!  And low and behold - the perfect world does exist!!!  Introducing www.30boxes.com!   For non-techie users, simply create a free account and copy and paste the embed code into your website as a widget.  It has the best social networking, sharing and connection tools out there - use it for personal and/or business and manage your life even without embedding it!  Add notes to events and more!

For a more customized version, including skins to match your website identity and unleashing the inner feature beast, contact the gals of Savoir Faire Media to pimp your calendar to it's full potential!!

CLICK HERE TO SEE A SAMPLE [FULL SIZE, NON-EMBEDDED] CALENDAR