This year I am offering a few Holiday Greeting Card options for my clients.  As always, I can design fully customized, brand specific designs.

OR  For an even better value you may add your company name, logo and message on the interior of any of these Steviemack Designs original designs.

Get in touch with me directly for pricing and details.

Website created by Steviemack Designs.com

It seems that everyone I know is trying to find a way to expand their business and income (Well, that seems obvious!). And I’ve seen some folks jump through some serious hoops to get attention. But let me share a little trick I have learned: Sometimes the simplest gesture can bring incredible rewards.

Let me explain: This year I was approached by a friend and local Wilmington, NC business owner to build him a couple of websites. One was for his business (Atlantic Prosthetic Services) and the other for a Non-profit charity he was starting (Walkfree International*). I decided that I would “donate” half of my potential earnings on anything involved with Walkfree Internatonal. I also approached a friend, colleague and web host (Waveminded Studios) who donated web hosting.

Well, short-story-long, the simple act of aligning myself with a cause as important as Walkfree International’s; just placing my logo on the bottom the Walkfree International Website has brought me measurable traffic to my site. And that means cool clients, some cash and a continued cycle of the same.

Another year has come and gone, and its time to think about Holiday Cards!

It’s that time again, and everyone is looking for an economic way to reach-out to their clients in order to stay visible in the midst of the Holiday Madness.  A Custom Branded Holiday Greeting Card from Steviemack Designs is a great way to stay connected without seeming too Sales-Oriented.

I can provide a variety of card sizes and paper qualities as well as custom design work. And my printers even offer Direct Mailing Service for those of you with a mailing list.

Order Now by calling me at 910.233.2255 or get more info by emailing: steviemack@steviemackdesigns.com

The stakes have certainly changed for the entrepreneur.

We can no longer rely on the Yellow Pages and Classified ads in our local newspapers to drive traffic in our direction.  To add insult to injury, the Big Guys have figured this whole marketing thing out, and their pockets are deep.  So, how can a Mom and Pop shop get their word out effectively and without breaking the already-fractured bank?

A marketing consultation can really get the ball rolling.  A marketing professional can help you pin-point the strengths of your business or product versus the others who have more commercial accessibility.  By employing Social Media, Article Marketing & Branding, you can create a ‘community’ around your business or product, you can present your own personalized take on your field of expertise and your can have some fun defining why you’re ‘better’ than others in your niche.  Altogether, a very educational exercise.

So let’s take a look at some of the handy no-cost or low-cost tools which I use to help my clients’ businesses heightened market accessibility (And, incidentally, these are the same tools I use to market and expand my own business, as well!)

Social Media

Facebook

Everybody, and yes, even my Grandma, is on Facebook.  This platform has been the run-away success story of Mark Zuckerman a Harvard Grad and Internet Prospector.  Facebook offers a variety of uses for a business trying to market themselves, and you can feel good that those you are marketing yourself to are receiving your sales and promotional information willingly.

Facebook Page – a facebook page, provides the user a way to chat, leave status updates, post photos, links, videos, pretty much anything you can think of.  The beauty of facebook is that those who are your ‘friend’ actually subscribe to those posts and will be updated when you change anything on your page.  (One aspect which provides some frustration to some is that facebook is devoid of any branding capabilities, I find the plain white template rather neat and pleasant given the variety of elements one can personalize on a facebook profile.)

Facebook Fan Page – a fan page is very much like a Facebook Page but for has some added features:

• Hosting Discussions
• Discussion Wall / Forum
• Extra Applications
• Messaging to all members (Updates)
• Visitor Statistics (Page Insights)
• Video and Photo Public Exchange
• Creation of Related Events
• Promotion with Social Ads

Facebook Group Page – a group page has all of the same bells and whistles as a facebook page with the addition of the following:

• Hosting Discussions
• Discussion Wall / Forum
• Messaging to all members (Personal Messages)
• Video and Photo Public Exchange

You should update your facebook status daily (at least 3-5 times a week), and yes, people DO employ folks like me to manage their social media for them.

If you’d like to compare Facebook groups and fan pages, there is a great article here.

Linked-in

Linked-in is like ‘facebook for professionals’ it allows someone to post their education, work history, company details and a host of other functions.  This is an amazingly powerful platform, in fact, Professional executive recruiters use Linkedin (and other tools) to reach and research candidates.  As the name suggests, Linkedin is a great way to expand your Business Community and it even provides a recommendation platform letting you post testimonials for everyone to see.  Linked in supports feeds from WordPress Blogs as well!

Twitter

The original Microblog, allowing you to reach your network 140 characters at a time.  And given the attention-span of  most modern folks short and sweet isn’t a bad way to be.

Tweetdeck or Tweetglide are two platforms which allow you to stack and track several twitter accounts at a time.  Tweetglide even allows for posting of Facebook Statuses all from one central hub.

Brightkite

Brightkite is Twitter with GPS and Pictures, I find it quite cool to be able to post photos and locations from my cell phone.  For me Brightkite is a more stimulating microblog.  And if you’re ever looking to cleverly promote and document an event Bright kite has events called ‘Kiteups’: real-time photo blogging from as many cellphones as you can fit in the venue!  Pretty neat, huh?

Craig’s list

I know, it’s old-school and not pretty, but Craig’s list is infinitely powerful!  Wanna sell something?  Craig’s list.  Wanna buy something?  Craig’s list.  Wanna promote something?  Why not try Craig’s list?  You can post anything here and the accessibility is mind-blowing.

Youtube

Most of us know about Youtube, it’s a internet website which allows for the uploading and viewing of video content through downloading and live streaming.  Many of us have watched a relative’s wedding video or birthday on Youtube.  But there are a couple things about Youtube that are lesser-known.

• You can create your own Youtube Channel, a central location for all of your video content.  This is ideal if you put out a great number of videos or are working on a series.
• Youtube has its own unique, proprietary SEO platform.  Did you know that your video is much more likely to be seen on Youtube than it is on your own site?  Well if you think about it, it makes a great deal of sense.  I mean, you have got to be attracting some serious traffic to outshine Youtube.  Plus, Youtube suggests ‘related videos’ for users to peruse (If you liked that video you might like this one!).

So, get your videos on Youtube, keyword them properly and watch the traffic flock to your site!

Article Marketing

This is a piece of the puzzle which many folks are yet to pick up on.  Bill Gates once said “Content is King.”  And what he meant was the written word, photos, videos, programs and applications which we make available are, in many ways, the commodity which we trade and by which we are valued.  There are heaps of individuals out there who have made a fortune simply by presenting themselves as the authority on their respective niche.  These people post helpful and insightful information which serves as a sort of virtual-consultation to those who are interested and to the internet at large.  And there’s even a market for it.

There are many sites who sell advertising based on the amount of traffic they can generate.  These sites are in a race to keep current with the most intuitive and niche-oriented information, as to not lose their advertising revenue to the next big thing.  In order to fill the pages of their websites with this info, they have to seek content from outside sources.  Namely, You!

In order to make your articles and information available to the widest audience you are going to have to broadcast to a wider audience than the average mailing list provides.  That’s where Article Marketing comes in.  You can publish you content on Digg.com, Delicious.com, and ezineArticles.com and their subsequent syndication and use will push traffic towards your site and your product!

Branding

Logos – logos are the first-impression which your company makes.  And these days a logo must perform under rigorous conditions.  Today’s logo needs to be recognizable on a billboard and in a browser bar.  It needs to read equally well in both circumstances.  Get a good, clean logo which speaks to your company’s style, approach and clientele.

Print Materials – often ignored, print materials convey, again, the culture of your company but also the seriousness with which you approach your trade.

• A business card should make someone want to handle it; want to keep it and even to show it off.  The correct material, color, layout, logo and cut all play into your clients perception of your organization.  Don’t skimp!
• Your Type face or type faces should remain consistent throughout, people notice when you switch typefaces indiscriminately, it makes a business seem indecisive or flighty.

Websites

• Your website is not for you!  It is for your buyer or client.  Make it simple and easy to navigate.
• Make sure the revenue stream is clearly marked.
• Make sure your site communicates your organization’s culture.
• Too much art may confuse your user.  [This one I know well, after several iterations, I finished the steviemack designs website in its previous version.  The over-sized, magnolia tree motif along with the sexy javascript sliding effects, made the site far cooler than most design sites I have ever seen.  However, my clients were confused by the site.  The layout, however creative, proved to be distracting for my clients - and several of them expressed difficulties finding what they sought.  So, sadly, I brought it down and replaced it with my current website - with great reviews.]

Now, I realize this is sort of a Starter Course, many of you may already know some or all of this information, but for some, I hope this is the an eye-opener.

The show includes over 100 one-of-a-kind, hand-made art pieces–from one-off T-shirts to Jessie’s very popular earring designs, paintings and mixed-media along with photos by me.  All are priced to sell.

The show remains up and the Paralellogram operates daily until 6pm.  So, go buy something unique for yourselves or loved ones and perhaps even help keep a local artist’s lights on.