Creative Muse News

New Stuff Rolling Out: Recession Prices!

2009-06-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

Great news for all of you who are finding the dollars hard to come by. I have created some recession pricing that will help so many people be able to afford getting an online presence!

All Recession Packages include 1 year of website hosting as well.

Get 3 pages for only $395 (Savings of $ 88)

Get 5 pages for only $ 495 (Savings of $ 238)

GET 10 PAGES for only $ 695 (Savings of $663!)WOW!

As you may know, my regular price is $ 125 per page and hosting is seperate. So these are HUGE savings! No, I have NOT lost my mind (well maybe I have) but I genuine feel for all the businesses suffering right now. Your marketing dollars should be well spent right now and having a website is one of the BEST marketing for your money.

Business Card IQ

2008-09-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

Business cards are the most commonly used form of marketing though many people never give thought to the fact that it is really marketing material. More often than not they are treated as a mere office supply and are ordered as such.

Business cards are exchanged with far higher volume than other forms of advertising so why not treat it as a form of advertising? Even your tax accountant categorizes business cards as an advertising expense. Now that you know that, are your business cards doing justice to the business that you do?

You are probably wondering what exactly I am talking about…

Rule of thumb says there are certain constants that should always be on your business cards. Meaning that you should have on there:

Logo or Company Branding

Your Company Tag Line or Motto
Business Name
Business Address
Your Name/Title
Your Contact Phone Numbers
Your Website Address
Your Email Address

Here is where the fun part comes in!

Get effective!

You do not have to hand out plain cards that resemble everyone else's cards! You can stand out from the crowd and be remembered! I DARE you!

Use both sides of your business cards to convey what you do! Use bright colors & interesting photos and give more information about your products and or services!

Think about it. If I were to take your business card and place it on a table with the business cards from lets say 12 other similar companies, would your card get my attention over any of the others?

You are probably paying somewhere in the area of $ 62.00 per thousand cards at your current printer for one sided, plain one or two color thermal raised lettering with limited graphics ability. Right!?

Now for the really EXCITING news! They are far more affordable than you would ever expect! You are able to get two sided, full color all the way to the edge, unlimited graphics ability on your business card. Get that designed and printed for only $75.00 per 1000 business cards. Pretty close to what you are already spending just making what you spend work for you in return.

Let me show you an example of what I mean: Before and after example!

This is the before card. Lets face it. This just really does not look professional and there really isn't anything here that would make me say WOW!

Now for the after cards and keep in mind they cost about the same except this one is two sided and in full color! (Sorry about the low resolution of these images, they are reduced for use on the web.)

Do you see the difference here? Which one do you think would command your attention more?

Lets face it. As humans we are visual people. Make your business cards POP and get people remembering who you are and what you do. This increases your potential buying market in and of itself.

Get your business cards working for you as soon as possible. Call me, Michelle St. Clair and I would be more than happy to meet with you to design the right card for you!

Call me at 314-581-4533!

Crazy Summer!

2008-08-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, this has been one crazy summer. My kids go back to school in just a couple of days! The gas prices this summer nearly put everyone in the poor house. Especially those of us that had had trucks and SUV's! I know my Trailblazer only got an average of 14 miles to the gallon and it was cost almost $ 100 to fill up my tank each time and I had to fill up twice a week! HOLY CARPS!

Well, I traded in the SUV for a more economical car; a 2009 Toyota Corolla. Happy to say I now get a minimum of about 25 miles to the gallon and filling up is a delight at about $ 35- $40 dollars per tank! Yep! I now drive "Yota" (Yoda) and THE FORCE IS WITH ME!

Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce

2008-06-05T14:23:00.001-07:00

Maybe you already have....but if you haven't, you should! (Join that is.) By joining your local Chamber of Commerce you are supporting local businesses and promoting your own for minimal fees. The Membership fees are tax deductible if you run a business.

They provide EXCELLENT networking opportunities and keep you in the loop on what is going on in and around your community and they help to promote YOU.

I am currently a member of the following organizations: By clicking on links below, you can visit their websites. (Not designed by me but still.....hehe)
Northwest Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce
Fenton Area Chamber Of Commerce
Jefferson County Growth & Development Association (JCGDA)

Boost Your Visibility With Social Networking! It's Free!

2008-05-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

Marketing your company as you already know is crucial to the ongoing success of your business. As business owners, we are inundated with sales people wanting us to buy ads in local papers, they want to sell you ad space in the telephone books, pay to give away promotional materials and so much more. The common thread there is ...... you got it! MONEY! It takes money to make money! While that is true, you will need to market in areas that you have found prove profitable for you.

There is also a fabulous marketing tool available to you that is COMPLETELY FREE! I am talking about Social Networking Online. Social Network Groups like MySpace, FaceBook, Hi5 and many more are out there and everyone knows their name. They are not just a place for young people to hang out though that is very popular these days. Their is also the ability to network. You will find that MANY businesses, radio stations and news stations have opened their own MySpace or FaceBook accounts to keep people informed! These are fabulous was to market you business without a price tag. All you need is a little bit of time.

Another cost free option is Craig's List. Craig's List is kind of like online classified ads. Each major city has their own pages. Here you can list special services and or products that you have. Maybe a sale that you want to promote or even advertise for employment! It's all there. I belive that you are allowed to post one free ad per 30 days on a similar item. What that means is, you can post only one ad about a specific sale item (let's say dozen roses on sale), but can also post another with different subject matter such as ( Daisy Bouquet For May) in another. The ads just have to offer a different product or service.

Armed with this information, I hope all of you take a moment to think about the potential for increased visibility & no money involvement to see if it would benefit you. The answer that rings out is clears.....YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE!

I invite you to post comments here about other free option for social network groups that are out there if you know of any.

So...What's Up With The Shrimp?

2008-05-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

I have been asked both verbally and by expression about the shrimp on my business cards, flyers and website. Some confusion runs amuck over my decision to use such strange little creatures as my graphic of choice and I hope to enlighten you as to why I made the choice to use those crazy little critters.

I chose the image first for the conceptual elements that it contained. First, you have a dish of orange shrimp, all looking exactly like the next and all staying inside the bowl.....except for one. That crazy blue guy that has made the decision to crawl outside the bowl and don a different color. He is sure to get the attention. Let's just say, he stands out from his crowd and isn't afraid to go outside the bowl. Personally, I LOVE the concept.

Now, I have found that the site of the shrimp and their beady little black eyes can cause some people unease, while others find the image adorable. I think that you will either love the image or possibly be repulsed by it. Either way.....I guarantee that you will remember me and my creative design company. It stands out! You will remember! Demands attention. That is the concept I bring to you as a designer. Not in the way of plastering shrimp on your company image but more in light of helping you to stand out from the crowd and get remembered!

WEBSITE NOW Announcement

2008-05-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many times I have met with clients that are very enthusiastic to get a website designed for their company but end up putting it off due to budget constraints. They already know the that they have to have a website in todays day and age but for one reason or another are unable to make that happen.

GREAT NEWS! I have designed a program especially for situations like that. Specifically designed to help small businesses, start-up businesses, solo-prenuers, the budget challenged business, & time challenged businesses build a fabulous website, VERY FAST and at extremely low cost! For as little as $150.00 you can be up and online is 48 hours or less! With client cooperation of course.

For more information, please contact Michelle St. Clair at (314) 581-4533. Or visit my website at www.michellestclair.com.

Weddings By Lareece Website Launched!

2008-05-12T20:58:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to let you all know that Weddings by Lareece new website was launched middle of last week! She is a fabulous event coordinator that specializes in weddings however loves to plan ANY kind of event! Please take a look at her website to see for yourself!

www.weddingsbylareece.com

Postage Stamp Value Change

2008-05-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder...
The postage rates for US Postal Service goes up Monday May 12th from 41 cents to 42 cents. This is where those 1 cent stamps are a fabulous help since I still have a whole roll of 41 cent stamps!