2008 July | She Scribes

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Bloggy Carnival Giveaway – Gift Cards!

I have another giveaway prize in honor of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. This time I’m offering a $20 gift card to Whole Foods Market. In this day and age where everything is going up in price I’m sure $20 would be a little helpful at least. I’m also going to give the winner TWO gift cards for 50 FREE digital camera prints from Snapfish. So you will be getting 100 FREE digital camera prints in total.

To be eligible to win these gift cards please visit my other site, Everyday Occasions. Look around and then come back here and post about your favorite product that I offer. Or you can post about a product you think I should offer in the future.

For an extra entry please subscribe to my blog.

For even MORE entries you can blog about either my site, Everyday Occasions or my blog She Scribes. If you do so please post a separate comment with your URL. I’d love to read what you had to say!

Thank you to all who entered. This contest is now over.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Everyday-Occasions – CONTEST!

I am so thrilled that the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival is back! It’s so much fun to check out all the awesome blogs out there and learn about exciting new websites, products and great information too!

I have a contest which started last week (but doesn’t end until August 1st.) for a gorgeous Essence necklace. Look over on the right side bar to my archives section and you’ll see the link for it. Don’t forget to comment to enter to win that beautiful necklace!

I’m going to offer a prize from my own web site, Everyday Occasions. For those who are not familiar with my business I offer personalized gifts and favors for all occasions including personalized rotating message pens, personalized drink favors (coffee, tea, cocoa, cappuccino, cocktails, lemonade), personalized candy and non-candy wrappers, buttons, magnets, key chains and more!

People normally assume favors are for just weddings or birthdays when in fact there are SO MANY occasions that you can use favors for including baby showers, birth announcements, retirement parties, bachelorette parties, anniversaries, job promotion and more!

Speaking of job promotions my products are also great promotional products to help promote your business. Why give a business card when you can give a personalized chocolate bar instead? People will be sure to remember your business in a “sweet” way.

To celebrate the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival I’m going to give away a $25 gift certificate to Everyday Occasions. You can use the gift certificate on any product that I offer for any occasion. Depending on what you order I will throw in free shipping too (not available on the pen or drink favor orders).

To enter please visit Everyday Occasions and look around. Then come back here and comment on one of your favorite products that I offer and what upcoming occasion you might use them for.

For an extra entry please subscribe to my blog.

You can also get another entry if you blog about my site Everyday Occasions. I’d love to read about it so please include your URl if you do this.

And yet for ANOTHER entry you can add my blog button (right side bar) on your site too! Please include your URL if you do so.

For each thing you do please leave a separate post (makes it easier for me…LOL).

This contest is available until 11:59 PM on August 1st. I’ll announce the winner here on my blog as well as contact them too.

Thank you to all who entered. This contest is now over.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Do you have a business? Are you thinking about having a business someday? Do you know anyone with a business? If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions then there is a book that you MUST read. It’s called “The Word of Mouth Manual, Vol. II”. It’s a fantastic book that explains just how incredibly powerful word of mouth advertising is and how companies use it to create such a buzz about products and services that people MUST go out and purchase them.

One of the great examples given in this book is the huge frenzy created over the Tickle Me Elmo doll a few years back. There was so much buzz created about this $30 toy that people were practically beating each other up in the stores to get their hands on one. Some people were even crazy enough to shell out $1,500 to make sure that doll was wrapped and under the tree for their child that Christmas morning. $1,500 for a $30 toy? Right! Because so much buzz was created around this toy that it became a MUST HAVE and people went to such great lengths to get one for their very own. Humm… I wonder if the person who paid $1,500 for the Tickle Me Elmo even knows where it is right now? It’s probably buried deep in their child’s toy box or rotting away in some landfill some where. Was it worth the $1,500?

I have a business. I have been in business for 5+ years now and I can tell you from experience that marketing is A LOT harder then people think it is. Some people think it’s a piece of cake, but those are the people born with that natural ability to sell a ketchup Popsicle to a lady wearing white gloves on a super hot day. Sadly I was not blessed with that ability. I can’t even sell a glass of water to a dehydrated man in a desert.

This book was a huge eye opener for me and it really got me thinking about how big name companies generate such a “must buy NOW” feeling about their products and how I need to learn to do something like that with my own products.

The book is written by Dave Balter. Inside the book Dave has split it into three very enlightening, often very funny sections, all working together to prove that word of mouth advertising is one of the most powerful marketing tools on the planet.

Part I: What You Should Know takes a look at what’s new with word of mouth advertising/marketing.

Part II: What You Probably Know Already answers the questions, doubts and criticisms from organized word of mouth’s early formation

Part III: What You Must Know discusses the necessities of practicing this communications phenomenon to help market your own business.

Dave’s book is full of facts, stories and insights about word of mouth and the industry that’s been built around it. His insider’s look helps show that while word of mouth can be a medium that can’t be forced, fabricated or created, it certainly can be managed, understood and enjoyed by all!

You can get your own FREE copy of this wonderful book right here on my blog. Just click on the picture of the book (the one with the funky monkey on the cover) on the top right of my blog. You will then be taken to the .pdf file (you can save and read at a later time or print out for your own hard copy). You need Adobe Reader to read the .pdf file. If you don’t already have it on your computer (most computers these days have it) you can download the free version from Adobe’s site (http://www.adobe.com/products/reader%20)).

I would love to have your comments in regards to this book. If you happen to read it please come back to this blog and leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts about this awesome book.