A client asked for a scrolling bookshelf. The client requested custom graphics on the shelf, informative popups, and links clicking through to each product. And the client wanted it to be easy to add or remove products to the shelf. Could I do it? Yep. If you’d like your own custom shelf, call me.

But if you want a FREE scrolling bookshelf, Shelfari can give you one of your very own. I created a quickie shelf on their website’s widget creator and this is what I came up with (it takes several seconds to load):

Not too shabby, huh? Click on a book and you go to the Shelfari site, then you can go to Amazon.com to purchase. Shelfari even allows you to input your Amazon affiliate id while creating the bookshelf. There are also a few different shelf color choices. Try it out, it’s fun!

Dowload: 25 Essentials for Email Marketing Campaigns.

What do you think? Have these worked for you?

“Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.” — Claude Monet
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way — things I had no words for.” — Georgia O’Keeffe

Who makes your business’ color choices and how are these choices made? (Is your logo blue because that’s your favorite color? Does your graphic designer choose colors because they are popular?) What are the colors in your advertising and collateral actually saying about you? And why is it so important?

According to recent research, people are 55% more likely to pick up a piece printed in color. The use of color increases retention by an average of 65%. Using color in printed material increases readership by up to 80%. And color can increase the likelihood of a purchase by 80% or more. (Taken from Color Your Business: Develop a Color Marketing Scheme)

The colors in your marketing materials involve the emotions and senses in a way that cannot easily be explained. Colors can convey information about your brand, visually engage potential clients, and involve their senses, memories, and responses. So it’s important to choose a website or graphic designer who makes adept use of color combinations to help you achieve your marketing goals.

Before I briefly list basic color connotations, please remember: Everyone’s reactions to color will differ slightly based on their personal experiences. Western color connotations will differ from those of Eastern cultures. Almost every color has warm and cool shades. The temperature of the color will also dictate usage.

Red. Strength, passion, excitement, stimulation, energy, attention, danger.

Pink. Youthfulness, romance, energy, fun, sentimental.

Orange. Warmth, energy, whimsy, friendly, vibrant, cheerful, youthful, fun.

Yellow. Happiness, sunshine, energy, optimism, warmth, alertness, enlightenment, creativity.

Green. Freshness, nature, energy, growth, refreshment, healing, tranquility, wealth.

Blue. Trust, loyalty, peace, coolness, dependability, security, serenity, stability, trustworthiness.

Purple. Royalty, wisdom, mystery, spirituality, nostalgia.

Brown. Old-fashioned, earthy, stability, upscale.

Black. Power, mystery, sorrow, strength, elegance.

White. Purity, cleanness, innocence, simplicity, youth, sterile.

Book Recommendation:  A Pantone Color Resource. COLOR: messages & meanings.

For a color consultation or analysis of your current marketing materials and website, call Mindspring Design at (856) 393-0385.

Okay, a bit of shameless self-promotion never hurt anyone. Hey, it’s my blog! So the following is going to be put into my new ads. It’s adapted from The Web Design Business Kit (www.sitepoint.com). Everytime you try a new online marketing approach, document it. Document how much you spend, how long it runs, who responds and who buys. Here it goes:

Free webinar details the secret to web site success…

Often times web sites are developed by cool designers who have little or no interest or understanding in your business needs. What you need is a website that really works.

Mindspring Design is a cutting-edge web development firm. We know how to make a web site that generates leads, positions your business, and increases customer care.

Specializing in:

• web site development
• improving under-performing web sites
• online marketing

For your FREE Webinar: 9 Steps to Building a Small Business Website, or for your free consultation, call (856) 393-0385.

Are you taking full advantage of all avenues to connect with potential clients? I recently attended Scott Belsky of behance.com’s “Bring Your Best Ideas to Life,” and he provided the following list of “inboxes.” He was actually discussing how these forms of communication can hinder our workflow. But I want to present it to small-business owners.  Use it to reach out to your target market. This list is hardly exhaustive, so think outside the box! And share ideas with your business community.

• Email
• Text messages
• Phone voicemails
• Print mail
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Instant Messenger

View Recorded Webinar

Download Recorded Webinar

I just gave a webinar using DimDim’s free webinar software. Dimdim touts their software as being cheap, simple and easy, with no installs. I thought this would be an excellent web application for small businesses looking for cheap webinar/video/teleconferencing ability.

There is virtually no set-up to do, you just register with your email address and a password. (Some negligible little apps run in the computer’s background like their share-a-screen capability.) Then you can schedule a future meeting or begin hosting a meeting with the click of a button. For my webinar, I chose to share a document — you can share a PDF or a Powerpoint document. You can also opt to share your computer screen, a whiteboard, or web pages.

My only gripe: I ran into an issue with the Dial-in feature. People who chose to dial in and listen through the phone kept getting hold music. Even I got hold music! I had to hit *3 on my phone to kill it. Then people couldn’t hear me. I contacted support, and immediately someone joined my conference to help me. It was a test meeting only thank goodness! The support person couldn’t reproduce the problem which reappeared during my live webinar an hour later. He just recommended that people hang up and dial in again. So anyway, the dial-in feature never worked as far as I know but no attendees complained. This issue is documented on the DimDim forums but as yet I haven’t seen a solution.

After the webinar ended, Dimdim sent me an email with a neat little link to view or download my chat session and a video of my webinar. So easy! I love it!

Overall I like DimDim. The free version has many cool features. I liked the option to record, public/private chat, video/audio capability, sends you to any URL at the close of the meeting, show/hide attendee list, etc. That’s my review, I would use it again. There is a slight learning curve, so I suggest you do a trial run web conference and watch the video tutorials or read some of the FAQs and Knowledge base posts if you run into any snags!

In other news… I will be editing today’s webinar video and posting a copy shortly…

** UPDATE ** Free Webinar Now Available for Download **

** Call Mindspring Design at (856) 393-0385 to set up or host your next webinar. **

Adios!

9 Steps to Building a Successful Small Business Website
November 25, 2009 @ 2:00 PM EST
For small business owners, entrepreneurs and marketing managers who are considering developing a new website for their organization or updating their current website.

Sign Up for the Webinar Here:

On the Agenda:

1.     What to consider before you launch a new website project
2.     Key steps small-businesses often overlook
3.     Case studies and useful resources
4.     Leave with an actionable plan to get your website started or updated
5.     Webinar is scheduled to last 30-40 minutes

Need a great subject line for your email marketing newsletter? Check out:

Vertical Response Marketing Blog:
50 All-Time Great Retail Subject Lines

Vertical Response Webinar:
Email 101 – Email Marketing for Beginners
Thursday, November 12, 2009 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM PST

Congrats Lhann! You’ve won 250 free business cards from UPrinting.com! You will receive your coupon code via email shortly.

To all our readers, make sure you always consult a talented graphic designer to help you layout your business cards. And be sure to read this informative post: Do’s and Dont’s of Effective Business Cards. Stay tuned everybody for more exciting free giveaways…