Marketing Bling

Ladybugs Invade City!

2006-06-09T15:36:00.000-06:00

Farmer hopes to control aphids

By MICHAEL PLATT, CALGARY SUN

Calgary gardeners shouldn't panic if they find themselves seeing spots -- more than one-million ladybugs are about to be released into city yards.

The six-legged invasion is the brainchild of Ryan Stewart, a tree farmer sick of seeing aphids munching on his leaves, but loathe to use chemicals to kill the pests.

Instead, Stewart turned to the aphid's natural enemy, the ladybug, and started selling the spotted insects to gardeners looking to bite back at back yard pests.

"Aphids were rampant last year, and that's when I thought of ladybugs," said Stewart.

"There are a lot of chemicals out there already, and I didn't want to add to it."

Sold in lots of 5,000 for $44.95, Stewart's first live shipment arrived from B.C. this week, for distribution to nearly 200 homes.

That adds up to six-million legs marching through flower beds, but Stewart, who sells through stewartsladybugs.com, said the species is native, so no ecological harm will result.

City of Calgary pest control expert Simon Wilkins applauded the plan as a natural solution to an annoying problem, as long as the bugs are native.

"It sounds like a great idea, as long as ladybugs are a native species," said Wilkins.

"They are beneficial to the environment, and we'd like like to see more -- anything we can do to get native insects in the city is a good thing."

To order ladybugs, contact:

Stewarts Ladybugs
403.668.4088
sales@stewartsladybugs.com
www.stewartladybugs.com

Read the article here:
http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2006/06/09/1622454-sun.html

Southwestern Caesar Salad with Chili Croutons

2005-09-12T12:42:00.000-06:00

This salad is great with grilled chicken or shrimp, or just on its own.

Chili Croutons:
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 loaf French bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Caesar Dressing:
3 tsp. minced garlic
2 shallots, peeled
4 anchovy fillets
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, cored and seeded
2 cups loosely packed, chopped cilantro
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
salt
1 cup olive oil

Salad:
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups (about 3 ears) fresh corn kernels or frozen corn kernels, thawed
3 romaine lettuce hearts or 2 large heads romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces and chilled
2 red peppers, roasted peeled, seeded and cut into thin strips
1/2 cup drained, chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Croutons:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine melted butter, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Add bread cubes and toss to coat. Spread in single layer on baking pan. Bake 8 - 10 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Caesar Dressing:
In blender or food processor, combine garlic, shallots, anchovies, jalapenos, cilantro, vinegar, Parmesan, egg yolk, pepper, lemon juice, and salt to taste. Blend until smooth. With blender running, slowly add 1 cup olive oil and blend until smooth. Cover and chill.

Salad:
In skillet, heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Add corn and cook 4 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside. In large bowl, combine lettuce and half of the dressing. Toss to coat.
Add cooled croutons, pepper strips, corn, sun-dried tomatores, and Parmesan. Pass remaining dressing.

Makes a pretty large salad.

Let's Get While the Gettin's Good

2005-08-31T11:14:00.000-06:00

By Leon Harold Craig

This year, Alberta is celebrating a century of existence as part of the Canadian federation of provinces. What better time, then, to take stock of Alberta's place in this arrangement, of how well it's been served in the past and what are its prospects for the future? The moment is especially propitious, since the whole country is being treated to a rare public exposure of how corrupt the federal government, historically dominated by a Liberal party centred on Ontario and Quebec, actually — routinely — is.

AN INDEPENDENT ALBERTA
To be sure, the $250 million of graft involved in the Adscam racket is but a small portion of Alberta's annual donation to keeping Quebec tenuously tethered to the rest of Canada, barely a week's contribution of the $12 billion Ottawa sucks out of Alberta every yearin "equalization" payments (which the Liberal party then uses to buy votes east of Cornwall), a mere $60 of the almost $3,000 that every man, woman and child in Alberta pays per year for the privilege of remaining in a federation governed for the benefit of Ontario, Quebec and cronies of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Kept here, that same money would provide every family of four a $35,000 car every three years. I'd rather have the car. Better still, use the $12 billion to reduce the taxes on Alberta's citizens and businesses by that amount; let people spend their earnings as they please, and transform Alberta, already the most vibrant part of Canada, into the most attractive economic environment in all of North America.

True, the population would double within 10 years, but Alberta is a big place, of almost unlimited potential. However, to realize thatpotential, we have to do one small thing: Declare our independence —withdraw from the Canadian federation, become an independent commonwealth with our own sovereign government, directly answerable to no one but the people of Alberta. The political reality Albertans need to face is that the sponsorship scandal is not an aberration, but the epitome of the Liberal party's secret of perpetual success; it is its norm, and unusual only in the combination of brazenness and clumsiness that allowed it to come to the public's attention.

However, it is the reaction of that public that reveals the depth of Canada's sickness. For as is now clear to even the meanest intelligence, the problem is not merely one of an arrogant, cynical ruling party that uses every unscrupulous and several criminal means to maintain its grip on power; nor that the bloated federal bureaucracies are thoroughly politicized, led by careerists who understand their self-interests to be wedded to Liberal party fortunes; nor that something similar is increasingly true of both the national police and the military establishments; nor that the opposition parties offer no credible alternative (as has become painfully obvious).

All that is true, but what makes Canada's political sickness practically incurable is that a substantial majority of the citizens east of Thunder Bay are essentially debased. Like many hard truths people would prefer not to face, this bears repeating: a majority of eastern Canadians are not worthy of their civic heritage, as is shown by their passive acceptance of the revelations of the Gomery commission and their casual indifference to the Liberals' squalid shenanigans in Parliament.

Doubtless many Albertans naively presumed that the vast majority of eastern Canadians would be thoroughly disgusted by Liberal partyhacks skimming and outright looting public money under the guise of promoting national unity. Or at the very least, that they would ashamed to admit to pollsters that they would still vote for a party led by people who should be in jail.

But obviously they are not. Thoroughly propagandized in the fantasy that Canada is the greatest country on earth, they are too cowardly to admit the fact that it's become a third-rate nation, a disgrace to its own history and traditions, and is governed like a banana republic. And so they haven't the gumption to throw the rascals out.

If ever there was a people that got the government it deserved, Canada is the place. But it doesn't have to include us: we are not like them, and have no wish to become like them. An independent Alberta would be every bit as politically and economically viable as Norway, Finland, Denmark, New Zealand and several other advanced countries of comparable population (but of far less natural resources).

Begin with the economical considerations, which fall into two broad categories:

(1) First, what is the cost of remaining within the present Confederation? The costs are very high.

(2) And what is the money we pay for the privilege actually being used for (besides Adscam and other Quebec payola)?

Gun registry, bilingualism, aboriginal affairs mismanagement, the Kyoto scam, etc. In the short run, the savings in transfer payments — to say nothing of the enormous expense of supporting another whole level of unnecessary government — could be used to defray the costs of our transition to independence. But shortly thereafter, the saving applied to tax reduction would make Alberta the most economically attractive locale in all of North America. This bears directly on the second set of considerations, the viability of an independent Alberta.

Professional economists have repeatedly shown that it would flourish, which our being able to offer the most attractive tax regimein North America would only further enhance. Even now north-south trade is as important to the Alberta economy as east-west trade. Among other consequences, our population would increase dramatically withinthe first decade, as disaffected Canadians of enterprise and sensible social views moved here, replacing several times over the incorrigible Liberals sentimentally attached to Canadian Welfare Nannyism — who (one hopes) would move to Ontario, where they would feel right at home.

You can't beat that: a perfect "win-win" outcome. However, the economic benefits would not be the most significant advantage of independence. Far more important is the fact that wewould gain effective control over the social and political culture in which we live our daily lives. We would no longer be subject to the dictates of Liberal appointees to the Supreme Court of Canada pursuing a political agenda Albertans would reject were they given the chance to vote on it.

Instead, as what could then be a genuine democracy, the laws and policies of a sovereign Alberta government would reflect the views of the people who live here — on crime and punishment, on marriage andother family matters, on environmental protection, on religious freedom, on wildlife management, on firearm regulation, on narcotics, on immigration, on relations with the U.S. — all without regard forwhatever "higher enlightenment" happens to be in fashion among Toronto's pontificating class and the mandarins of Ottawa.

We can establish a social environment that will nurture the qualities of character that we naturally admire — self-reliance, enterprise, honesty, fairness, attachment to liberty, loyalty to friends — and thus belong to a country we can be justifiably proud of, one that is tolerant but principled, that actually stands for something positive, governed by one primary concern: the common goodof Alberta. That is, our legislators, in framing laws and policies, would no longer be saddled with the necessity of keeping one eye on the feds, on their use of our money and absurd Charter interpretations to manipulate our affairs.

We could leave the problems of Canadian federalism and its endemic corruption behind us, once and for all. Whereas, if we remain subject to the decadent cultural and moral influence of central Canada for another generation, we will ourselves become increasingly infected with the qualities that since the Trudeau era have come to define Canadian "national" character — sanctimonious, resentful, whining, spiteful, hypocritical, preening, cowardly, feckless, weak. Some basis for pride. And what a contrast to the Canadian character of the preceding century, now sadly forgotten and even mocked by a majority of the population elsewhere in the country.

Recently in a column for the Western Standard, Mark Steyn argued that the socio-political collapse of Europe is imminent, and thatCanada — "an honorary member of the EU" — may soon suffer the same fate. I wouldn't bet against it. As a ship of state, Canada is structurally unsound, sailing aimlessly in a perpetual fog, captained by an endless succession of faux-genteel poseurs, pilferers, con artists and outright crooks.

Sooner or later, it is bound to end up on the rocks and founder, and there is nothing we Albertans can do about that.

But there is no reason for us to go down with it. Any naive hope one might have placed in the reconstituted Conservative party has been short-lived. The depressing spectacle of its desperate efforts to avoid doing or saying anything that might upset the welfare mentality of the Maritimes, or provoke the wrath and ridicule of the so-called national media (actually the public voice of the Toronto-Montreal axis), while vainly pandering to thesensibilities of Quebec, simply confirms for the umpteenth time that nothing short of regime change can salvage political decency in Canadaas a whole. But there's no chance of that.

One can hardly blame the Conservatives, for they've done the math: two-thirds of the seats in Parliament are at the disposal of voters in Ontario and Quebec, people cowed and corrupted by two generations of degenerative Liberal maternalism and endless streams of self-righteous propaganda. And being politicians, the federal Conservatives wish for success now; they have no stomach for spending years in the wilderness vainly striving to reform the moral posture of that decisive sector ofthe Canadian electorate.

The basic facts determining the distribution of political powerwill not change, hence the "me, too" character of their public policy positions. And, hence, the practical impossibility of structurally reforming the Canadian regime, wherein the Liberals have every reason to regard themselves as its natural rulers in perpetuity, and so can and do treat the whole country as their fiefdom.

For anyone who understands the political reality of Canada as presently constituted, "The West wants in" is a foolish irrelevance; our slogan should be "the West wants out!"

Why stay? Why fritter away our resources to remain in association with eastern provinces so alien to us that demonizing Alberta —portraying it as rustic, benighted, intolerant, selfish — is theLiberals' most effective electoral strategy (as the recent federal election once again clearly showed).

Why stay? Consider Canada's position internationally: it has become such a non entity that there is no advantage in remaining a part of it, and some serious liabilities resulting from the souring of our inescapable relationship with the United States.

The federal Liberals have done enough stupid things of late to attract all the wrong kind of attention to Canada. Nor were these merely temporary lapses on their part; the gratuitous, and largely ignorant abuse of the U.S. issues out of a petty, resentful mentality that has been long and deeply cultivated, and is now the permanent mind-set of a majority of eastern Canadians.

Simply compare Canada's standing in the world right now, repeatedly disparaged by its NATO allies for its feeble contribution and despised by the nation it relies on to protect it. Compare this with the status of Australia, a robust, loyal, and active ally of the most powerful nation on earth — and as such, respected by all nations.Were we on our own, would we not be able to have a far more productive and wholesome relationship with America?

Why stay? This is a serious question, and it deserves a serious answer — not vacuous platitudes and emotional rhetoric, but sober, solid, rational analysis addressing the economic, moral, cultural, andpolitical advantages of staying.

I do not believe a case for staying can be made. And whatever temporary dislocations would attend separation are negligible compared to what we risk by doing nothing, allowing ourselves to drift further into the morass of contemporary Canada. Our province, having been a distinct political entity of a hundred years existence, with an established institutional and geographic integrity, our focus must be on achieving independence for Alberta. We should not, that is, become mixed up with some amorphous "Western separatism," which to succeed would require creating an all-newpolitical entity, a prospect subject to endless practical difficulties. If other provinces similarly opt for independence, that is their business, and we would wish them well. Or, if other provinces, or parts of provinces, should later wish to join an already sovereign and flourishing Alberta, that would be a matter for subsequent negotiation. In the meantime, our personal relationships with friends and family elsewhere in Canada need not be in the least affected by our becoming independent.

We should undertake a move toward independence with a whole-hearted intention of achieving it, not as simply a tactic whereby to get (temporarily) a "better deal" from Ottawa (i.e., get some of our money back, provided as a sop to assuage "western alienation").

What Albertans have to understand is that the present Canadian reality is profoundly prejudicial to the interests of our children and grandchildren — economically, culturally, morally, politically — and that there is no realistic prospect of it ever getting better in their lifetime.

Quite the contrary: there is every likelihood that it will only get worse, as Canada goes the degenerating way of Old Europe: stagnant, corrupt, spiritless, impotent. Independence is not an impossible dream. It would take time and planning. The first step should be enactment of something like the "firewall" agenda: establish our own provincial police, collect our own taxes, take charge of our retirement and health care systems, etc.

Equally important would be a sustained effort of public education to get the Alberta populace used to the idea (overcoming anxiety about its consequences, appealing to pride and a sense of enterprise and adventure, detailing ad nauseum the incorrigible moral bankruptcy of Canada as presently constituted and governed). Ultimately, success will depend on the emergence of some committed, shrewd, attractive political leadership. But if the ground is sufficiently prepared, someone of suitable political qualification and ambition will see the opportunity it presents, and seize it. Alberta has produced such leaders in the past, and can again. Build it, and they will come.

The single greatest obstacle to our declaring independence is sentiment. As the whole contemporary world bears witness, sentiment, and emotions, generally, are of massive importance in politics. Hence, rationality in politics depends on people coming to feel what their reason indicates they ought to feel.

We ought to feel indignation. But for now, Albertans' sentimental attachment to Canada remains very strong. A succession of polls have shown that Alberta is the most patriotic province in the country; this is part of our virtue, and we should be proud of it. But we could as easily — and far more justifiably — be proud, patriotic Albertans. For the Canada that Albertans love is partly one of an illustrious but (sadly) bygone history; mainly, however, it's the Canada we know firsthand, and that is Alberta — truly a distinct society unto itself in the alien context of the New Canada fostered by the political establishment of the central provinces.

We need have no fear of what could be a great adventure: founding a new country. Think of it. Think of the adventure of becoming masters of our own political house. Is this not an enterprise that could engage the spirit of Albertans, young and old? The only real obstacleis in ourselves: our misplaced sentimental attachment, which must and can be transferred from a weak and pacifistic Canada to a sovereign Alberta, strong and free.

Leon Harld Craig is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Alberta.

Wild Rose Herbal D-tox Recipe

2005-08-23T11:59:00.000-06:00

Chicken Tikka Masala

Brown or white saffron rice is a great accompaniment for this spicy indian dish.

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter
3 diced sweet onions
3 diced garlic cloves
2 tbsp fresh grated gingerroot
1 tsp salt
2 diced fresh chili peppers (red or green)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp tumeric
2 tsp cumin powder or whole cumin seeds
5 diced tomatoes
2 tbsp diced fresh cilantro (coriander)
garam masala (optional)
4 chicken breasts or a few blocks of firm tofu cut into small chunks

Instructions

Saute onions in butter until transparent (about 30 min.).
Add 1 tsp salt, garlic, ginger and chili peppers and cook for 5 minutes.
Add remaining spices and mix well.
Add tomatoes and mix well.
Add chicken and cook until sealed. (If using tofu, fry tofu in oil until crispy on the outside, and then add to other ingredients.)
Garnish with cilantro and garma-masala (optional).

Poll: Westerners considering separation

2005-08-11T09:02:00.000-06:00

According to this recent article in Canoe.ca, Alberta separation is on the minds of many Canadians.

CALGARY (CP) - August 9, 2005 - More than one-third of western Canadians surveyed this summer thought it was time to consider separation from Canada, a poll suggests.

In the survey, 35.6 per cent of respondents from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia agreed with the statement: Western Canadians should begin to explore the idea of forming their own country.

Albertans, at 42 per cent, were most apt to consider independence, followed by Saskatchewan at 31.9 per cent. Residents of B.C. and Manitoba were the least likely to consider separation, at 30.8 and 27.5 per cent respectively.

The survey was commissioned by the Western Standard, a right-leaning bimonthly news and opinion magazine based in Calgary, to assess how well the federal government has been managing the issue of western alienation - something that Prime Minister Martin promised to reduce as part of his 2004 election campaign.

The research was conducted by pollster Faron Ellis, a political science professor at Lethbridge Community College, who surveyed 1,448 adult western Canadians between June 29 and July 5.

The results are considered accurate within plus or minus 2.6 percentage point, 19 times out of 20.

Ellis noted that surprisingly, separatist sentiment appeared to run highest among young people - 37 per cent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 were open to the notion of breaking away from Canada.

Support was lowest - 33.7 per cent - among the baby boom generation aged between 45 and 64.

In the poll's supplementary questions, 64 per cent of respondents said Martin had done a "poor job" at ending western alienation.

Click here to read the original article on Canoe.ca

Pensioner vs. Refugee Status in Canada

2005-08-11T08:57:00.000-06:00

Here's a thought-provoking message I received from a friend:

It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890.00 and each can also get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of $2,470.00.

This compares very well to a single pensioner who after contributing to the growth and development of Canada for 40 to 50 years can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012.00 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement. Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees!

Lets send this to all Canadians, so we can all be ticked off and maybe we can get the refugees cut back to $1,012.00 and the pensioners up to $2,470.00 and enjoy some of the money we were forced to submit to the Government over the last 40 or 50 years.

Please tell this to every Canadian to expose what our elected politicians are doing to the over taxed Canadian

Google's Secrets

2005-06-16T09:45:00.000-06:00

(The following information was sent to my by our "Internet Marketing Specialist" Thanh Nguyen. Thanks Thanh!)

Google has filed a patent that makes their "website ranking criteria" public. The article has 3 pages worth of information that explains that criteria.

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/6-10-2005-71368.asp

There's a plethora of information out there on Search Engine Optimization and trying to get your site ranked. One of the biggest challenges I have to deal with is the Google Sandbox. It's this magical realm where Google puts new websites and domains. Essentially, the sandbox is set up to prevent spam sites from bombarding the search engine and whether we agree with it or not, it is there. Once Google has decided that you've matured (typically 2-3 months), they'll let you out into the real world to frolic in cyberspace (and actually get rankings).

"Don't Be Evil"

Google's philosophy essentially dictates how you build your website and how to obtain your rankings. Don't try and cheat the system or you'll eventually get burned. Here are some of the common optimization tips that won't get you black-listed:

Choose some keywords wisely in your TITLE tag. This is very important as it's the first thing that Google reads. Use some keywords in your ANCHOR text.
Use some keywords in your URL's within your site. Also, when other sites link to you (link exchanging)
Use some keywords in your image ALT tags.
Content should be using some keywords in a way that it doesn't impede the customer experience (6%-8% keyword density).
Update your site often (if possible). Keep expanding your website with more content and pages.

Google's philosophy essentially prompts users to be honest and build their websites naturally. That means you might have to build your website slowly too. If you want to go the risky route and try and beat the system, you could get black-listed (If you think it's spam, it probably is). If you thought the Google Sandbox was bad, you don't want to see the Google Black Hole...

Some helpful links to get you started:

Self Promotion

Search Engine Watch

High Rankings

Search Engine Guide

The Republic of Alberta

2005-06-13T19:07:00.000-06:00

I know this post is outside the realm of marketing or even fashion, but I thought it was important enough to blog about, considering the current political climate in Canada. So here goes...please forgive my strong views!

Should Alberta separate from the rest of Canada? Put simply, Albertans should separate because the Canadian federation is no longer a Democracy.

Alberta is taxed without representation, provides the money that the liberal dictatorship uses to bribe Eastern Canada, and in return, is labelled as biggots and racists by our fellow citizens.

In 2005 alone, it will cost every single Albertan approximately $5000.00 to be "Canadian." Since 1960, Albertans have paid over $200 billion in Federal transfer payments (welfare) to the rest of Canada, the primary beneficiary being Quebec. This does not include the aproximately $180 billion Pierre Trudeau "stole" from Alberta as a result of the National Energy Program.

The Liberal Government is poised to again rob Alberta by way of pilfering its mineral wealth generated by high commodity prices. Other Canadians say that our province is merely "lucky" to have such mineral wealth and claim the right to share in our prosperity, while at the same time, ignoring our input into the country as a whole (i.e., our opposition to the Canadian Wheat Board, the Kyoto Accord, gun control, and an Elected Senate).

By stealing Alberta's money during the prosperous times, the rest of the country prevents us from building a diversified economy and securing a future for ourselves once our non-renewable resources have been depleted. The common retort is that Alberta should not worry, but rather seek solace in the fact that the rest of Canada will support Alberta when we are in need.

Do you honestly believe that Ontarians and Quebekers are going to feed and house you when the oil runs out?

For more information on the subject of Alberta separation, visit these resources:

Free Alberta (www.freealberta.com)
Separation Alberta (www.separationalberta.com)
Republic of Alberta (www.republicofalberta.com)

How To Get What You Want

2005-05-18T10:41:00.000-06:00

Are you sick of not getting what you want? Are you a pushover? A "yes" man? If so, read this now:

The 6 Weapons of Influence
An exerpt from Robert Cialdini's book, Influence, Science and Practice (Allyn & Cacon, 2000).

Click here to read the article

This article was recommended to me by a co-worker and I'm glad I took the 5 minutes to do so. (I think it was on a Friday when I was procrastinating on whether I should begin writing a press release or leave it until Monday.)

Until reading this article, I thought that persuasion was an art, not a science. I thought certain individuals were born with a knack for selling themselves. Now I'm convinced it's all science. Fellow Marketers, does your Sales team tell you that your leads are lacking in "quality"? Do you think that they are throwing away your good, quality leads due to weak Sales techniques? I recommend that you forward this article on to all of your sales professionals. It will arm them with some powerful tactics of persuasion to convert those leads to sales (or tell them why certain sales tactics they've been using for years actually work).

I also guarantee that this article will change the way that you look at yourself and your actions. It will shield you against those manipulators who abuse and exploit your psychological vulnerabilities to get you to comply with their needs. It will empower you to make decisions and actions that satisfy your needs, rather than someone else's.

Are Press Releases Dead?

2005-05-06T21:14:00.000-06:00

One of the biggest challenges I face as a writer is coming up with original, creative press releases when working under a tight deadline. Lately, I've also been asking myself: Are press releases a waste of my time?

Press releases can help drive additional traffic to your website. We must now focus not only on writing something newsworthy and catchy, but optimizing the release for the web.

Rather than compile a bunch of tips on SEO for press releases, here are some resources I've found useful:

Press Releases New SEO Back Door To Top Rankings
By Greg Jarboe, President and co-founder of SEO-PR

Increase Your Search Engine Exposure – Optimize Your Press Releases
By James Peggie, Elixir Systems

Press Releases Can Increase Search Engine Positioning
By Karon Thackston, Search Engine Guide

Gourmet Avocado, Strawberry, Turkey, and Brie Sammies

2005-05-05T09:50:00.000-06:00

Another passion of mine besides writing and fashion is food. I recently did a herbal cleanse to gain control of my food cravings, but two weeks after the cleanse, I am back eating chocolate and drinking wine.

Here is an super easy and healthy meal that I am loving right now. I made these sandwiches 3 times this week!

Gourmet Avocado, Strawberry, Brie, and Turkey Sammies

Ingredients:

Sliced turkey breast
Basket of Strawberries, thinly sliced
1 Ripe Avocado, thinly sliced
4 Crusty or Sourdough Buns (or any kind you like)
4 slices Brie (Or substitite with Jalepino Havarti)
Salt and Coarse Pepper

Method:

1. Cut buns in half.
2. Place a slice of brie on each bun.
3. Broil buns until brie has just melted.
4. Add 1-2 slices avocado to each bun.
5. Top with a few slices turkey.
6. Top with sliced strawberries.
7. Season sandwich with salt and pepper.
8. Enjoy!

Sexy Brazilian Thongs

2005-05-04T14:34:00.000-06:00

While I do really enjoy my Marketing position, I am also somewhat obsessed with fashion.

Today at lunch I picked up another pair of my favourite summer shoes - Havaiana's! I pity anyone who hasn't discovered these amazingly sexy flip-flops from Brazil. But hell, anything Brazilian is sexy!

I live in my Havaianas ALL spring and summer. Havanaianas are super comfortable, sexy, fashionable, durable, and affordable, at only $20 (CDN) per pair. They come in many colors and styles, but my favourite is the standard thong. I bought the white ones last year and just picked up a black pair. Why do I love them? Because they are the only pair of sandals that don't give me blisters, especially those painful ones that you get from most pairs of thongs.

In addition to being the best sandals in the world, through its association with the IPÊ - the Institute of Ecological Research, Havaianas is fighting to save Brazil's black-faced lion tamarin, a living jewel that shines in the Brazilian forests.

By purchasing the new Havaianas "IPÊ" flip-flops, you will also be working towards the preservation of the environment. Havaianas is donating 7% of their profits generated by this product line to IPÊ. The IPÊ product line is offering three beautiful options of patterns, with high definition: black faced Lion tamarin, cowfish and papafaio-da-cara-roxa. Wear this idea now!!

Top 8 Stupid Email Marketing Mistakes

2005-05-02T14:57:00.000-06:00

This post goes out to all of you who are stuck creating and sending out email newsletters. At Replicon, I send out about 2-4 email newsletters per month, more or less depending on product updates, promos, and holidays.

Since all marketing efforts should be measured, I constantly measure the success rates of every email I send out, always making note of what's working and what's not.

In no particular order, here are my 8 Stupid Email Marketing Mistakes:

#1. No Compelling Offer. What's in it for the reader? What is the compelling offer that you are making to your prospects? Without a compelling offer, your email is destined to fail before you hit "send."

#2. Hiding Your Call-to Action. Not only do you require a compelling offer (or call-to-action), but this offer must be the first thing the reader notices when they open the email, not buried within some fancy prose. For HTML emails, this means including the call-to-action in the header. For text-based emails, place the call-to-action as the top-level content.

#3. Broken Links . Double-check all of your links! Make sure that they redirect properly.

#4. No Solid "Unsubscribe" Process. Do you want your ISP to be black-listed? 'Nuff said!

#5. Ignoring Junk Filters. Make a list of all the words that make an email filtered out and make sure you do not use these words in your email. For example, the most common mistake is using the word "free" and an exclamation mark in the subject line.

#6. Spelling and Grammar Errors. Make sure that the grammar and spelling is perfect! This means having it peer-reviewed twice. Not only will your subscribers notice errors, but if you send out your email internally, I guarantee that your fellow coworkers and your manager will notice!

#7. No Email Tracking. Make sure that you are able to measure the success of your email campaign. This means tracking the bounce rate, delivery rate, open rate, and click-through rate. You should also create distinct links for every link in your email campaign so that you can measure which links were the most popular. Once you measure your email campaign, you can tweak your email by testing different variables.

Please share your common email mistakes! Send me your comments.

Hate Filling Out Your TimeSheets?

2005-04-28T12:40:00.000-06:00

Does your company force you to complete timesheets? Let's be honest...filling out timesheets will never be fun. Your manager can make this task a little less painful for you by purchasing a simple and easy to use timesheet application.

Coincidentally....my current marketing communications gig is with Replicon, a time sheet and resource management software vendor. Here's a white paper that I recently wrote for Replicon:

Avoid Time Sheet Software Failure: The Top 10 Questions To Ask Vendors

With a myriad of different time sheet solutions on the market, selecting the right one can be a daunting task! You want to select the best time sheet solution for your organization that will be adopted company-wide. How do you make this happen when your daily schedule is jam-packed and your budget is stretched razor thin?

Click here to find out the top 10 questions to ask time sheet vendors:

Read the complete article

How Popular Is Your Website?

2005-04-26T11:38:00.000-06:00

What is Link Popularity?

Search engines want to deliver high quality results to their users, and one of their ways of doing this is to look at how popular a site is and ranking popular sites higher. Their reasoning is that popular sites are of higher quality than less popular sites. One way of finding out how popular a site is, is by looking at how many other sites link to it. Search engines think that a site that has many inbound links is more popular.

But does it really matter?

Yes!! If you want to improve your search engine ranking, you should try to increase your link popularity. In other words, you should get other sites to link to you. Find sites that deal with similar topics and ask them if they can put up a link at their site in exchange for a link on your site.

Here's a free article from Marketing Sherpa on how to increase your link popularity :

How to Gain Link Popularity: 5 Mistakes & 3 Proven Tactics
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=2976

Back to Basics: Getting Your Emails into the Inbox

2005-04-25T09:37:00.000-06:00

As the email marketing specialist at Replicon, I am on a constant mission to increase email open, click-through, and conversion rates, all the while, decreasing bounce-backs. Lately, I have been concerned about our large number of email bounce-backs (upwards of 30%!). Almost half of the emails I send out aren't getting through!

In an attempt to reduce this number, I began researching email deliverability articles. According to ReturnPath:

"Aware of it or not, more than 20 percent of email gets blocked or fi ltered by ISPs and corporate system administrators. Whether email is sent in-house or through an ESP, non-delivery erodes response rates and program effectiveness."

This article, entitled Back to the Basics: Deliverability 101 - Getting your email into the inbox, outlines a series of steps you can take to achive better deliverability rates.

More digging into this subject of email deliverability resulted in this VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE that bad-mouths Constant Contact by Roving, the software we use to send out our email newsletters:

http://www.email-marketing-software-resource.com/constant-contact.html

Should we be reconsidering Constant Contact? Although the article is written by a competitor of Constant Contact, I plan to test out their software and see whether there is any validity to their claim. I'll let you know the results!

Wild Rose D-tox Craze

2005-04-22T09:14:00.000-06:00

Are you considering trying out the Wild Rose d-tox? What does detox really mean? According to Terry Willard, Cl.H.,Ph.D.:

"Detoxification is one of the most central concepts of natural healing...it is impossible to build healthy new tissues without eliminating old cells and their by-products. This has never been truer than in our modern society. We are being flooded continuously with synthetic chemicals, hormones and toxic material in our food, air, cosmetics, and clothing."

Although I am not one to shun modern medicine in place of herbal remedies, I do believe that there is room for both. And unlike many detox programs that involve fasting, the Wild Rose d-tox program insists that you can eat as much as you like of a selected food list. Basically, no flour, yeast, sugar, chemicals (no aspertame!), tropical tropical fruit, and dairy products (except butter).

The benefits I have received have included weight loss, no more food cravings, and an increase in energy throughout the day. I have also kicked my 4-a-day diet coke habit and my chocolate-as-a bedtime-snack habit.

For more information on the detox, visit http://www.wrc.net/

Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox

2005-04-21T21:20:00.000-06:00

Right now, I'm on Day 11 of 12 of the Wild Rose Herbal D-tox. My great new friend and co-worker Deekay Fox recommended this cleansing diet to me, and I have proved to myself that I do have willpower! I honestly thought that I would cave in to my insane chocolate cravings, run out to Mac's at 10pm, and savour a couple Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Mmmmm! But I have been 100% religious. My goal is to continue with the eating plan 80% of the time and "cheat" 20%.

Welcome!

2005-04-21T20:25:00.000-06:00

Why Marketing Bling?

Why Marketing? My current occupation is a Marketing Communications Specialist at Replicon, a timesheet software vendor
Why Bling? My team is under the false impression that because I belong to a "posh" club called the "Glencoe" that I must be rich.