Keeping In Touch

Summer Kindness

Sometimes, in the heat of summer, our kindness meter bottoms out. We are hot, easily irritated and short tempered. Is there a magical way to make those heat-fueled feelings go away? There is, and it is called kindness! No matter how bad of a day you have had, how irritated you are at the higher temps or how many times the kids have yelled at each other, a little dose of kindness, given or received, makes everything better! What can you do to spread summer happiness? Keep reading to find out!

Surprise! Who doesn’t love a good surprise? The surprise doesn’t have to be big, because any size surprise makes everything better! Bake some cookies and pass them out to the neighborhood kids or have your kids draw pictures for the neighbors. It doesn’t matter what it is, just as long as it is a surprise!

H2-Oh that’s a good idea! When the heat makes being outside uncomfortable, think of those who have to work out in it! Greet the mail carrier with an ice cold bottle of water. Take sports drinks to the workers fixing the power lines in front of your house. Offer a cold drink to the neighbor who is mowing their yard. It is amazing how much happiness is packed into one of those little cold bottles!

Make another batch! If you are going to be firing up the stove to cook dinner, why not throw in some extra ingredients and make two batches? Surprise your neighbor (or anyone!) with a nice hot meal that they did not have to prepare. Get together a group of friends in your neighborhood and arrange a dinner exchange… guaranteeing you get out of cooking at least once!

Hose them off! Drag out the hose, turn on the sprinkler and open it up to the neighborhood! Let all the kids (and adults!) come by for a cool-down the old fashioned way. Pass out Popsicles or frozen treats and let them have fun the simple way!

We are made up of so much kindness that it is only fair to share it! So the next time the summer elements start to take their toll, don’t succumb. Instead spread that summer kindness everywhere!

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It takes all kinds

Here’s a challenge for you: If you had to describe your mother (or any mother in your life) in one word, what would it be?

This challenge raises the question of how a woman with so many facets to her life can be described in one word.

Maybe the mom in your life works a forty (or fifty or sixty) hour week but still manages to be there for her family.

Maybe the mom in your life works at home and takes pride in creating a welcoming environment for family and friends.

Maybe the mom in your life just went back to school to follow a lifelong dream.

Maybe the mom in your life has a brand new baby and is experiencing the thrill of motherhood for the first time while learning to survive on very little sleep.

Maybe the mom in your life is gallantly fighting a disease like cancer.

Maybe the mom in your life is the one everyone turns to for comfort or advice.

Maybe the mom in your life is determined to make not only the lives of her family better but the lives of others better too.

Maybe the mom in your life bakes the best chocolate chip cookies ever!

Maybe the mom in your life is always ready for a new adventure.

Maybe the mom in your life wakes instantly at the first whimper from a child having a bad dream.

One thing is certain: Every mom in your life is a combination of characteristics, a special formula that makes her the wonderfully unique woman she is. It takes all kinds to make the world go round. This statement is never more true than when it comes to mothers. However, there is one word that can describe them all. It’s AMAZING!

http://lauriedelk.sendcere.net/post/it-takes-all-kinds

Adults need new friends too

Making new friends is an expected part of childhood. But is it only for children? If you have found yourself alone and seeking adult interaction, get out and find some new friends! Using these helpful suggestions, you can meet new people with ease!

Find a common ground. Do you remember your first day of school? You looked around the room seeking to find someone with whom you might have something in common in hopes of making a new friend. Not much has changed! Whether you are at work or a local event, look around and find something that you have in common with someone else, such as a particular brand of purse or a runner’s watch. Are they wearing a charm bracelet? Ask them about the meaning of the different charms. Find a common denominator between you and another person and build on it!

Volunteer. Find a group that is accepting volunteers and sign up to help! You will be helping out a great cause and meeting new people at the same time. Pick an area that you know about or have a passion for, so there will be an immediate interest for you and your potential new friends! Check local schools, libraries and churches for volunteer positions!

Join a club. Most areas have civic clubs, so call your local Chamber of Commerce and find out about adult clubs in your area. Once in a club, volunteer to help out as often as you can. Be an active member! Look for clubs that are personal, too, like a book club or a sewing club.

Look online. Sometimes people with similar interests get together for meetings or chat sessions via the internet. This does not have to be local! Find a forum about something that interests you or gives you passion and chat with the members.

Most importantly, be yourself! Your potential new friends will get to know you, so be yourself! Do not try to be something you are not. If you do not like reading, don’t join a book club. If you dislike running, do not go to a track looking for new friends. Join activities that actually interest you.

Adults need interaction, too. Surround yourself with others who have similar interests, and you will be surrounding yourself with great friends!

Trends in the industry…

Reaching Out
After spending several years concentrating on personal fulfillment and “cocooning”, Americans are now focusing outward, seeking to connect, enhance and nurture their relationships with others.

Friendship cards, encouragement cards and other everyday non-occasion cards are proving popular in meeting this need, and continue to show the greatest sales growth of all card categories. The desire to reach-out with greeting cards appears to be strongest with Baby Boomers and Generation Xers, who are likely to view family and friends as the most important priorities in their lives.

The Designer Look
Greeting cards featuring high-style looks, inventive designs, unusual paper stocks and eye-catching embellishments are gaining favor with consumers who are seeking “something special” in their card-giving. This has led to the creation of more handcrafted cards, cards that are intricately designed or innovatively engineered, and cards incorporating ribbons, feathers, glitter, beads, etc. Despite their higher cost, the designer-fashion flare and artistic uniqueness of these cards continues to win the favor of many card purchasers.

Preserving Memories
Generation after generation, people have been saving greeting cards to remind them of the special relationships and events in their lives. Rather than tuck their keepsake cards in a dresser drawer or cedar chest, many consumers are now formally organizing and preserving their greeting card collections to enjoy time and again. “Scrapbooking” with greeting cards has become an especially fashionable way to document and share memories of special occasions. Similarly, many retailers now sell decorative boxes and files designed specifically for storing keepsake cards. They often include special pages or dividers for jotting down notes and dates.

The Internet and Greeting Cards
E-mail and other electronic methods of communicating have given Americans a convenient and inexpensive way to keep in contact with friends and acquaintances. Interestingly, the increased use of electronic forms of communications seems to be bolstering rather than reducing sales of traditional greeting cards.

Some sociologists believe this is because the Internet has allowed people to increase the number of relationships they are able to maintain, which they then subsequently strengthen by sending traditional greeting cards. Others believe E-greetings are a form of communication that both senders and recipients recognize as transient and treat accordingly. As such, they turn to traditional greeting cards to establish an emotional connection that can be saved and cherished.

I have 6 packages, starting from about $3 up to $500.

The 1st one is about $3/card, that allows you to send out any greeting card to anywhere in the world. This package allows you to send any of the 70,000+ cards we have in our online system, even create your own CUSTOM (by uploading pics from your computer) cards.

The 2nd one is Pay as You Go – (just buy cards and stamps as you need them). Allows you to send out greeting cards to anywhere in the world. This package allows you to send any of the 70,000+ cards we have in our online system, even create your own CUSTOM (by uploading pics from your computer) cards.

The 3rd one is $9.80/mo – (this gives you about 7 cards/mo, you just add postage) (they roll over each month if you don’t use them up, and you can cancel at any time) allows you to choose any cards we have plus allows you to create any CUSTOM cards (basic uploading pics from your computer) you want, and you buy postcards at .49 each, and greeting cards at 1.47 each (then add postage).

The 4th one is $39/mo (this gives you about 33 greetingcards/mo, you just add postage)(they roll over each month if you don’t use them up, and you can cancel at any time) allows you to choose any cards we have plus allows you to create any CUSTOM cards (uploading pics from your computer) you want, ALSO we have many templates, clip art and more you can use with this – like digital scrapbooking (create layers and more), and you buy postcards at .39 each, and greeting cards at 1.17 each (then add postage).

The 5th one is $395 (one time fee) – basically gives you a system JUST LIKE MINE, where you can buy AT MY COST. this gives you about 66 greeting cards to start with, the personal handwriting font with 4 siggys (reg $49), and the ability to use all our 70,000+ cards and make your own CUSTOM cards, PLUS the option, if you want to do autoship, to get future postcards at .31 each, and greeting cards at 93 each.

Master Keys To Client Loyalty

Do you send birthday cards to your clients?
Anniversary cards?
What about holiday cards????
Birthdays, anniversaries and holidays are master keys to client loyalty.

This is a simple concept. Your clients will demonstrate dramatically increased client loyalty to you, naturally, when you communicate that you value the importance of their personal and family celebrations.

Does this ring true for you?
With enough loyal clients, any business will exceed its financial goals.

Is there a magic bullet? Yes. Of course. It has been proven over and over again, for 600 years – send your best clients a greeting card.

Basic, but very, very effective.
Then, why is it so difficult to act on this truth?

Because it is a staffing nightmare to organize and execute. Remembering dates, buying cards, writing the message, stuffing, stamping, mailing!!!

It takes determination, but wait….
We have solved the problem.

In fact, this technology did not exist several years ago.
Never again address, stuff, stamp and mail another birthday card.
In less than 60 seconds, enter your client’s basic information online.
As easy as sending an email, except that your client receives a photographic quality greeting card in the postal mail.

The company prints, stuffs, stamps and mails the card.

Choose from over 60,000+ cards. Custom cards are easy to create.
Even upload your current database in mere minutes.
The online data manager never lets you forget a birthday or anniversary.
Send multiple cards as a follow-up campaign, automatically, whenever you say, even months from now.

Add your signature, even use your own handwriting font.
Add a picture or image from your computer – they print it next to your message.

Compassionate client follow-up the easy, effective way.

This works – beyond your expectations.

Contact me, or see more about the system we use to keep in touch with our clients – at www.ILoveCards.net

Today is my 16 year Anniversary

Today I was sitting here thinking about my business, and my clients business. I was talking to a client on the phone, and he was asking me about being able to KEEP his clients. I gave him some ideas, as usual, then got off the phone.

The more I sat and contemplated our phone conversation, the more I began to think. I thought about my anniversary, and comparing that to business….and I thought….you know – for my husband to KEEP my *business* in our marriage, he had to WORK at it over the last 16 years. He had to KEEP in TOUCH with me. Many businesses, they think that they can do the sale, take care of you whenever you call them for something, and that is it! And you will STAY FAITHFUL to being their client for 16 years! What do you think???? Do you think if my husband only took care of me when I called him for something or asked him for something – do you think I would have *stayed his client (wife)* for the past 16 years??? No! So WHY would you expect your CLIENTS to do the same???

If you want to KEEP your clients for 16 years, you need to KEEP in TOUCH with them….you can do this many ways, via email, via telephone calls, via webinars, via greeting cards, etc – There are many ways that you can keep in touch with your clients, build rapore with them, as well as give them ideas to increase their business, and just remind them who you are and say hello to them!

I heard it once, people do business with those who they know, like, and trust. Well it’s true! The thing is, after you GET your clients, you want to KEEP them don’t you? Just think about it. If you only send them your sales special once a year, and nothing else all year long, or their invoice once a year…How loyal do you think they are going to be to you? What reason would they have to stay with you – rather than go to the next person that comes along, that offers them a better deal, a better offer, a better sale, etc.

One of the things I do, is help people to KEEP in touch with their clients – all for about $5 a year per client. I can help you set up with email autoresponders to keep in touch with your clients, as well as greeting cards – we can design CUSTOM cards for your business, as well as CUSTOM campaigns for your business – where you hit CLICK – and cards are sent to your client over the next 5 months, or even 5 years, all with one click from your end. I talk to you, find out about your business, what you want to do, as well as give you ideas that I have seen be proven with other people in their business that I have already helped them with.

So you CAN KEEP your clients and customers for 16 years…..and longer…..

See some greeting cards and post cards I have done for over 600 other clients – ILoveCards.net