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OK - I admit it. I haven’t finished my Christmas shopping. Given a number of rellies are decending this weekend for an early Xmas that is a bit of a worry! I have been checking out all my favourite blogs for ideas.

Here is a nifty idea from My Shiny Shoes - clear handbag liners so you can keep all of your essentials in the one place and transfer them from bag to bag, rather than the daily rattle through your bag and hope everything shifted. That’s great for the bag-o-phile in your life (me I just keep the one bag - life’s too short to relocate lipstick every day!)

I also loved this post from Trendhunter on 45 Gifts You Probably Don’t Want. My personal favourite is the nose hair trimmer shaped like a human finger, closely followed by the tiles that have patterns of fallen hair on them (what the?)

I could see a use for the remote controlled sumo wrestlers … but then again my car currently is wearing a bright red nose and antlers to get into the festive spirit (and so I can find it in packed car parks at this time of year).

From my site there has been a real run on our Instant HR Policies and Procedures Manuals. I gather people are buying them for their boss’s Xmas present or for themselves to get 2009 off to a great start.

Ah well, I’m off to battle the shops in search of final inspiration for my list. Now if only a few more businesses had some great pre-packaged fun presents ready to go!

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business Into words

Heart Harmony - SEO copywriting

This ad just released in the UK is brilliant - it highlights that it is easy to miss what you aren’t looking for.

The message is a strong one and applies equally to business as to cyclists. In business we often miss clues of opportunities, unhappy customers and staff, areas needing maintenance and areas needing greater attention.

We overlook our dated web copy and tired marketing materials - missing what we aren’t looking for and ways we could easily make improvements.

What are you not missing in your business? Can you use another set of eyes to help you look at what is working and not working in your business?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - Freelance Copywriters

It is Christmas card season again - how many of you have received a card that doesn’t even have your name on it, just an impersonal printed greeting and possibly a few scribbled signatures from the people in the office? Why bother? It is very unlikely that this sort of card would make any lasting effect on the reader. People love to read about themselves and their name is one of the most powerful words you can use in marketing.

Over the years it has been proven that personalised cards, letters, invitations and surveys get significantly higher response rates. How much higher?  Well the Neuromarketing blog talks about a study where the simple addition of a handwritten note on a post-it note, attached to a pre-printed letter increased the response rate by 75%, whereas a scribbled note on the paper itself only increased it by 48%.

The writer suggests businesses should also try to add a “From the desk of the CEO” note in lieu of the ubiquitous post-it note to test the response rate. A number of my clients have used this approach with their letters and we have had great results!  I certainly recommend trying it.

I would like to add that things such as thank you notes and cards should also be handwritten for maximum effect. It shows you have taken the time to think about the client, that they are valued and important. If your writing is best described as hieroglyphics (like mine), then certainly type your letter so they can read it - but make sure the letter is personal and from the heart rather than a stock letter, and include a handwritten section if you can.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - SEO Copywriters

Seth Godin, author of books such as the classics Purple Cow & Permission Based Marketing, also has a great blog - Seth’s Blog. His post titled “Don’t know what you’ve got till its gone” got me thinking about the number of small and not so small businesses closing their doors.

In the past when we found a brilliant doctor, restaurant or other business - many people would keep the information to themselves so the place wouldn’t get too busy for us.  Seth argues the rules have now changed.

If we love a business enough to miss it if they were gone (whether that is a website, service, blog, book, product or person), then we should shout it out to the rooftops how great they are to as many people as we can.  Our goal is to bring them masses of new business so they can continue to serve all (including ourselves).

I personally adopt this strategy through my profiling of my business of the week in my newsletter, and am known for my love of sharing the info about fabulous businesses I work with with other clients and colleagues. I have a separate file of business cards from my favourite businesses so I can hand them out to clients who are looking for great businesses such as theirs. I take great joy in checking out their websites and giving them 5 stars on social networking sites or directories such as “True Local”. I want them to succeed as I love having them in my life.

How are you sharing information about your favourite businesses? Who would you miss most in your local community and how can you help spread the good word about them?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - SEO Copywriters

Every now and again I talk with someone who says “I can’t do it - I’m too old”.

At times like that I remind them that Colonel Sanders started KFC when he was 65 and Ray Kroc didn’t start McDonald’s until he was 52. In Ray’s words:

“People are always amazed by the fact that I didn’t start McDonald’s before I was 52 years old, and that I was an overnight success. But I was just like so many people in the entertainment business who practice their routine for years with hardly any notice, and then suddenly find themselves in the spotlight of stardom. I did achieve success from one day to the next, that’s true, but my 30 years of preparation were like a long, long night”.

What’s your excuse?

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - for SEO copywriting

We have just finished all of the exterior Xmas lights for the second time this year - the first go was wrecked by the Brisbane storm. They look brilliant (literally) and due to the unexpected assistance from the weather I had to go and buy a whole pile of new LED Xmas lights to fill in the dark spots.

This led me to a few wonderful niche businesses - Christmas lighting shops. It is amazing how they are springing up everywhere and are a veritable treasure trove of lights. They have to be the ultimate niche businesses - only really trading for a few months of the year, and yet they are surviving and thriving even with the competion of the big chain store guns of Kmart, Target and the like.

Another niche business I found is PossBloss - a specialist shop that makes hand made kids art smocks and bibs. Their range is gorgeous and very different from the run of the mill stuff.

Niche businesses definitely have their place - for something unique, different and quirky.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - SEO copywriters

In 2 weeks time I am the MC for our local PCYC (Police Citizen’s Youth Club) community Xmas Carols. It is a great cause where we raise funds for our local PCYC and bring the community together for a night of fun and music.

Every year I try and top my previous year’s bad Xmas jokes for kids - you know the sort of jokes that goes “What does Santa’s cat want for Christmas? Some new claus”. I think they are commonly referred to as ‘Dad jokes’ as usually your dad will tell them over Christmas lunch.

I mix them with some stand up-comedy in between organising the assorted bands, choirs, sing-a-longs and of course welcoming Santa (who last year looked very buff as he was a fitness instructor at the PCYC).

And … I need your help! I am running out of Xmas jokes.

What are your favourite bad Xmas jokes?

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - Freelance Copywriters

I would like to thank everyone who has dropped me a note or called over the past few days. It has meant a lot to me. Thank you. We are all back to normal and ready for the scheduled storm tomorrow.

Today the army guys came through our street to check on everyone after the storm and to make sure all tarps etc were fine. I was so grateful to them and had a lovely chat with them about where they had come from to help out. Some had come up from Puckapunyal in Victoria to lend a hand.

What floored me though was their comment that our neighbourhood was lovely, with really nice people who were friendly and helpful.  One made the comment that over the past few days they had been door-knocking to offer help and had found areas where they had doors slammed in their faces, areas where they were sworn at and other places where people bossed them around like slaves without a word of thanks.

I was gobsmacked (using a great Aussie term). How could anyone be less than grateful for their help? How could anyone not be glad to see them and thank them for all the work they do?

Today my heart sank and I felt ashamed for the people who lived in part of our Brisbane area. I understand that stress can do strange things to people, but surely a simple thank you and basic courtesy is not beyond people under stress.

For business, do you take time out to thank the people who help you? Even if they are paid for their efforts, a simple thank you means so much to people.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - SEO Copywriters

Most of the fallen trees on our property now are gracing the sidewalk after the storm, the mud has been removed from everything but the carpet, the washing machine has finished its last load and the first of many trips to the tip had been completed.

So yesterday I finally stopped long enough to work out that aside from all of the muscles in my body aching, the big bump on my head I got in the midst of the storm while racing to try and shut the door that had been blown open by the storm, was still hurting like heck and not only that, a huge lump had appeared on the side of my neck.

After much nagging by the kids I took myself to the doctor only to be told I had a decent concussion, my lymph glands were working overtime to clear the swelling and I was supposed to be resting! Well at least that explained the dizziness and blurry vision.

I knew I had a backlog of emails and client work to complete, but I also knew that I needed to take care of my body (finally) in order to take care of business. So yesterday was a very quiet day - no emails, no lifting branches and a few well earned dozes.

It makes me wonder about other small business owners facing their metaphorical storms. How many others don’t stop - they just leap in and do what has to be done at a cost to their health? How many others keep pumping on adrenalin far beyond their true endurance to survive? Am I the only one who does that sort of thing?

So what has been my business lesson? I will be taking it gently over the next few days to regroup my energy and allow my body to heal (but still catching up on the emails). Whatever branches are still on the ground can stay there for a few more days. The carpet shampooing can wait for another day and the Xmas lights on the roof will remain tangled for a few days yet. In a small business the health of the owner reflects the health of the business. It is time to look after mine.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - SEO copywriters

I live in Brisbane and on Sunday night we were hit by an absolutely massive storm. The main area hit was the Gap and my home is located right near it - in the Ferny Hills/Arana Hills area. I hear we had 89mm of rain in 30 mins.

The storm was terrifying to live through. The needle like rain and hail the size of golfballs coming in at 90degree angles hitting our windows and car at 130km/h. Our front door was blown in with the force, and our ceiling access covers blown out of their sockets. Every towel and blanket in our house was used to stop the water coming in through out lounge-room and office window frames and to mop up the front door area.

We had a river of mud that want ankle deep raging down our back entertainment area and straight into our neighbours yard. I had to keep racing out in the storm to clear the stormwater drains otherwise the damage would have been worse.

We were the lucky ones in the street - our losses were limited to a fence, slight water damage, about 1/3 of all of our Xmas lights (we enter the competitions each year) and lot of our trees.  As I removed all of the branches from my car I was amazed to see not one scratch or dent. Miracles do happen.

All other houses in our street lost retaining walls, roofs, porches or had major water damage. We spotted trampolines blown into the middle of the street and houses which were now just matchsticks.

After the worst of the storm was over it was great to see the street emerge - people who had never spoken to each other pitched in and helped each other. Elderly neighbours were checked on and supported. Houses where the owners were away were covered in tarps, and their animals rescued. We became an informal animal rescue station with our house full of wet, smelly and scared animals - cats in one area of the house and dogs in another until it was safe for them to return home.

Yesterday was a day of very hard work - digging out the mud, repairing fences, retrieving things that had ended up many houses away, cutting trees and dragging them to the front. I was proud of my kids and all of the work they did - they didn’t complain once, just pitched in and helped. I was also proud of my elderly father who also pitched in and helped us repair our doors, fence and gutters. It was truly inspiring to see things come together over the day.

We finally got power back at 11.30pm last night, over 36 tiring hours after the storm. I woke my girls up and we did a little dance of joy … before racing down to put the first of many loads of washing on.

Our massive thanks to the SES and electricity workers who have worked tirelessly around the clock to remove trees and corrugated iron from power lines. They are true angels!

Thanks also to my brilliant friends who popped in during the day for moral support, to recharge my mobile phone and give hugs.  We also had many offers of showers (yes, we all smelt after the work and mud), hot food and a bed. The support was appreciated.

Today (or tomorrow) is a day to revisit all our business emergency plans - to work out what worked and what didn’t, and put new procedures in place.

For all of my clients, I will be off the air for another 48 hours just finishing off repairs, taking things to the tip and helping out the neighbours.

With much love and gratitude

Ingrid Cliff

Heart Harmony