I am pleased to announce that I have signed on as a staff writer for this new, exciting venture.

With the expertise of Joyce and the rest of the leadership group she has assembled this has a great chance of success.

All we will need are people to subscribe and vendors to advertise. As musch as I hate to see something as tremendous as Rave Reviews become a memory, rather than a product of Cherie’s vision that we could hold in our hands, we must realize that times are changing.

I too long for the old days in many respects, but we have no choice but to move forward. Think of what our parents thought about change as the 20th century progressed.

From the Wright brothers to men on the Moon. From crystal radios to the Internet. From tiny black and white televisions to video sytems that cover a wall.

Progress comes with change and there isn’t a whole lot we can do but accept it. I used to read two to three real newspapers a day. Now I get my news, weather and sports online and in less time.

Our industry is changing and those who are still in it are survivors. We have just finished a decade that saw terrorism expand, economic hard times, wars being fought on several fronts and had many of the major financial and industrial conglomerates fade into our memories.

Yet, with all that negativity, I feel a revitalized spirit. I see people that say the cup is half full, not empty. I see more people saying we, not me.

I see people looking for someone to tell them it’s ok to be scared. I see a need for people to pull together, pooling thoughts and strategies.

We will miss Cherie Reagor and the old days. If anyone ever writes about the history of our industry, she will be a prominent part of that history.

Now, as we begin a new decade, it’s time to band together. Being a community online is not unlike living in the same small  town 100 years ago. Now with the Internet and forums such as this we are bonded as vendors and gift basket professionals.

Like I keep saying, and as I wrote in the several articles I wrote for Rave Reviews last year, we’re all in this together.

People have been looking for someone to step forward in our industry and assume a leadership role.

I think by that someone has indeed done that. Hat’s off to Joyce for not saying, yeah somebody should do that. No, she took the bull by the horns and said let’s do it.

Now it’s important to realize that a person in that role is more of a wide scale monitor, or catain of a ship. It’s not a my way or go away type of role.

Joyce is perfect for this because she knows that it takes a team to make something work. She is well known and respected throughout the industry and has demonstrated an ability to pull people together.

This e-zine idea fills a void that is necessary and I am looking forward to being a part of it.

Mike Nease

We’re excited to announce “Gift Entrepreneurs”, your new online magazine for the gift and gift basket market. 

Gift Entrepreneurs believes in the success of gift retailers and vendors and offers the tools to enable all of us to maintain and grow our businesses.  We are committed to providing an online publication that is user-friendly, creating positive relations and integrity within the gift industry.

You’ll find insightful business articles from a wide range of experts,  marketing calendars and ideas, trade show calendars and so much more.   And of course you’ll see design photos from people that work the gift business every day.

Gift Entrepreneurs’ first publication launches with the March/April issue, absolutely free. 

We’ll let you know where to find it online and are sure you’ll enjoy it and find it useful in your business.

Joyce Reid                Editor-in-Chief
Sandee Overstreet     Managing Editor
Pam Monroe             Staff Writer
Lisa Allen                 Staff Writer

Many of us create our own websites using either FrontPage, Dreamweaver, or Expression Web.  Pat Geary and Tina Clarke, owners of the website www.frontpage-to-expression.com , provide a wealth of information for FrontPage users who want to migrate to Expression Web.  If you have any interest in learning how to use Expression Web to create a website, this site is one that you should visit.

But back to this marketing idea. . . the two ladies have created a giveaway with prizes that any user (or potential user) of Expression Web would love to win.  All you have to do is write about the giveaway on Facebook, a blog, etc. and let them know about it.  Some lucky writers will be the lucky winners of the great prizes. 

This is my entry because I would love to win any of the awards but also because I think they provide outstanding information to anyone interested in the program.  I’ve made it a practice to never recommend something that I wouldn’t use myself and this is not an exception.

Now that I’ve encouraged you to enter that giveaway, let me also suggest how you might use a similar idea to market your own business.  People love FREE.  They love the opportunity to win something.  And they rarely hesitate to enter their name in a contest that is giving away something they want.  But what makes this marketing technique different is that you have to tell others about their product if you want to win it.  In other words, you give to receive. 

Some gift basket companies have a monthly drawing for a free gift basket in order to collect email addresses.  Why not make those entering your contest work a little bit for it?  Enter their names in your drawing if they mention your business on Facebook or write something about you in an ezine or newsletter or blog.  That giveaway gift basket (and you could make it even more enticing by adding a few other simple prizes) then provides a return on your investment.  And isn’t this what marketing is all about?

So go check out their giveaway at Expression Web Giveaway and create your own marketing campaign.

Facebook is all about building personal relationships.  The Facebook term for those relationships is  ”friends” .  While you’ll suddenly discover “friends” from your past, you’ll also find “friends” who really want to be friends, not with you individually, but with your company.  You’ll find some big name companies there that you can follow and become friends with — but these won’t be personal relationships.

Step 1: Create Your Profile

It’s all about how you use it.  First, you need to create a profile for you, using your real name.  To build that profile, you can upload a photo, enter your education, business, and contact information, and even join your local networks.  The more you include in  your profile, the more easily you can connect with other people. If you’re concerned about privacy, Facebook offers highly customizable privacy settings that control who can see different elements of your profile. This way you can share photos of your kids with friends and family, but not with your boss or customers.

If you have a database of your current contacts, you can upload it to Facebook to see if any of them are already members.  If so, you can ask them for permission to add them to your list of friends.

Step 2: Create Your Company Page

Once you have a personal profile, you can create a page for your business.   This is where you can upload photos of your products, your retail location, and any other information about your company that you feel would be valuable to someone searching for your products and services.  You can even add an RSS feed from your blog or embed videos from YouTube.  These company pages are available for the search engines to index so you definitely want to include links to your website.  This contributes to the SEO of your site.  You can add what Facebook refers to as “fans” to your company page.

All of this may sound silly or a waste of valuable time, but just think of it as another way to network without having to participate in small talk or eating snacks that you really don’t need or want. 

You can promote your company page via email, your blog, and through the Facebook network to drive more traffic and build up your fan base.

Step 3: Join and Create Groups

Another way to network on Facebook is through the use of groups…but be careful that you select only those groups that you are really interested in or it can become overwhelming.  Groups, unlike pages, are only visible to Facebook members. Groups can be formed around any subject you like.  You can join an existing one or create a new one. 

A Word of Caution

We’ve all been to networking groups where people are there just to sell you something with no interest at all in what you need.  Be careful that you don’t act that way on Facebook.  If your only object in joining Facebook is to make a quick sale or to increase your business, you’ll be disappointed.

Like any other networking function, it’s all about building relationships.  You create your network and increase your reputation over time by giving instead of also wanting to take.  You need to share information, reach out to connect with others, and build rapport.

Is Facebook right for you and your business?  Only you can determine that.  Check it out.  You might be pleasantly surprised.

By James Hartier (Owner of GiftProsOnline)

I HAVE A FRIEND IN NYC, CHARLOTTE, WHO IS A MARKETING EXECUTIVE ON MADISON AVENUE. SHE TOLD ME THAT 92% OF PEOPLE JUDGE AND FORM AN OPINION ABOUT YOUR COMPANIES VISUAL IMAGE WITHIN THE FIRST 3 SECONDS OF VIEWING YOUR WEBSITE!!!….3 SECONDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THATS PRETTY DARN SCARY!

WHAT DOES YOUR HOME PAGE REFLECT ABOUT YOU? IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR OWN PAGE AND HAD 3 SECONDS TO DECIDE YEA OR NAY….WHAT WOULD YOU SAY???? BE HONEST!

NEW AND ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY CAN BE ENTRANCING, AND HYPNOTIC, AND ADVENTUROUS..BUT TO YOUR WEBSITE CUSTOMER THIS IS ONLY A TREASURE HUNT WITHOUT THE ALL IMPORTANT MAP!!!

SHE GOES ON TO MENTION “SO MANY PEOPLE WANT EVERY TECHNO OPTION THEY CAN POSSIBLY HAVE ON THEIR HOME PAGE” TO SHOW THEY ARE “WITH IT”…”HIP”…”UP TO DATE”…

CHARLOTTE ALSO GOES ON TO SAY……. MOST FIND THIS TYPE OF PAGE VISUALLY ABUSIVE…CONFUSING..AND LIKENS IT TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY THAT HAS BEEN BOMBED…BLOWN-UP… AND ASSUALTED!!!!

ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS THIS……..WE GO TO THE CARNIVAL WANTING TO GO ON ALL OUR FAVORITE RIDES, AND TASTE ALL OUR FAVORITE GOODIES AT ALL THE CONCESSION STANDS……BUT WE DONT WANT IT ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!!!

AGAIN……….. PRETTY DARN SCARY, AND SO VERY TRUE!!!

SO….REVIEW YOUR OWN SITE…IS IT SENDING THE RIGHT MESSAGE TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE?….OR ARE YOU DESPARATELY TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH, OR CHASE TECHNOLOGY THAT DISMISSES YOUR SITE AND THUS FALLS VICTIM TO MISUNDERSTOOD AND CONFUSING CHANGE???? I CANT ANSWER THAT…THATS YOUR JOB!

JUST SOMETHING TO REALLY THINK ABOUT!!!..(I KNOW ITS NOT PLEASANT)

*JUST LIKE YOUR MARKETS….YOU CANT BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE…YOULL END UP WITH NO ONE!

CASE IN POINT…MY FRIEND REFERS TO THIS EXAMPLE OF GENERAL MILLS……THEY ARE EVERYTHING TO EVERYBODY ….YET NOT REALLY KNOWN FOR MUCH MORE THEN GENERIC OVERLOAD???????????????????

****HER POINT IS DONT DILUTE WHAT YOU START OUT TO ACCOMPLISH BY COMPROMISING YOUR VIRTUES!!!

YOU CANT GO CATCHING EVERY FIRFLY AT THE EDGE OF A CLIFF!!

James Hartier is a professional gift basket designer located in South Carolina whose designs have been featured in Rave Reviews, the National trade publication for the Gift Basket Industry. He is also the owner of GiftProsOnline, an invitational website for professional gift basket company owners.

Registration is required and you do need to be involved in the gift basket/gift industry as either a gift company or a vendor.  Membership is free for both gift companies and vendors.  Howerver, since this is a free advertising/marketing opportunity for vendors, they are required to offer a discount/special to our members in exchange for a free membership.  This resource site includes articles, special merchant account rates, vendor discounts, and a private forum that is not accessed by the search engines.

If you are a member of the gift basket industry either as a gift company or vendor, check it out.

Since I’ve referred to it as the “Computer from Hell”, you’re probably thinking, “It’s a good thing she bought that extended warranty.” Not so. And here is why.

During the two years that the warranties would have been active, I was still dealing with HP. Even though they make lousy computers, their warranty service was great. During that time, they repaired the computer three times and replaced it two times. Each time it was replaced, I was given a new 1-year warranty on the new machine. By the time, the HP warranties had expired, the extended warranty from Staples had expired long before. So I paid over $100 for a warranty that never really kicked in or had any value. And, yes, shortly after all the warranties expired, the last replacement died.

Extended warranties are very profitable for the companies that sell them and provide good commissions for the sales people that push them. And, of course, they are only as good as the company that sells you the warranty. If that company goes out of business, the warranty is gone as well.

Anxious to make a commission, the sales person can tell you anything, true or not. They can tell you that anything that happens to the computer will be covered when in fact damage from pouring that cup or coffee on it or dropping it may not be covered. Verbal statements cannot be enforced and most times you don’t have the opportunity to read the fine print when buying that extended warranty.

Extended warranties on that computer that are sold by the store are usually not serviced by the manufacturer but by the store’s technicians. They may not be knowledgable about certain problems with the machine and may take longer to get replacement parts. And they are usually less likely to replace the machine itself. If you feel you need an extended warranty, you are better off buying it from the computer manufacturer than from the store that sells you the product.

Most problems with computers usually occur during the first year when the original warranty is in effect. And, as fast as computer technology changes, it may not be cost-effective to extend that warranty. It all depends on how long you keep your computer equipment before upgrading and how heavy you plan to use it.

Also, check what your credit cards will do for you. Some, including American Express, will double the warranty of a purchase at no extra cost to you. Not only will you save the $100+ for an extra year’s warranty but, with the right credit card, you may receive cash back or points for airline tickets.

And what did I do when I replaced the “Computer from Hell”? I bought a business-grade (not consumer grade) laptop computer direct from Dell. And, knowing how heavy I use my computer and the problems that I had with the HP, I did add an additional extended manufacturer’s warranty. But best of all, I’m in my second year of use and haven’t had to use either warranty once! To me, the peace of mind has been worth it.

Microsoft Word creates all sorts of formatting clutter in the source code of your page.  And that is not good.  It’s easy enough to get around the problem.  Some html creating programs have a Word-cleaning tool built in that you can use.  But I’ve found it much easier to just create the text in wordpad and then copy that text onto the webpage.

You want as little formatting clutter as possible in your source code.  This is just one simple way to cut down on it.

In case you’ve noticed and wondered why my posts have been sparse, the reason is those d*%$ pirates have also stolen my time.  This has happened four different times now, with four different hosting companies.  I suspect the person, who appears to be from China, is responsible for all four raids. 

I’m writing about it to share what to do if this happens to you. There are several different ways to determine if your site has been hijacked.  The website www.copyscape.com  allows you to type in the url for a page on your website and it will show you any sites that have the same page.  Or you can type any unique text from your site into google and see what other sites have the same text.

Then you need to find out who the hosting company is and send that company a letter that meets specific requirements.  This is called a DMCAA letter.  Just google DMCA and you’ll find sample letters.  The hosting company is required to remove the site if it is copied once they receive the DMCA letter.

Three of the hosting companies that I contacted worked with me, even telling me what info I had neglected to include in the DMCA letter.  One, however, dreamhost.com  (located in California) was a different story.  My opinion is that they didn’t want to let go of the money they were receiving from the fraudulent company in China.  They made it extremely difficult to get the site removed–even telling me that just because my copyright info was on the homepage of the site didn’t mean that I owned the copyright on the other pages (even though there is copyright information on each and every page of the site.)  They also told me that I had to hire a copyright lawyer to get the site removed.  Not a good hosting company and not a very ethical one either, in my opinion!

Hopefully, you will never be highjacked by these crooks.  But if you are, there is something you can do about it as long as the hosting company is in the U.S.  If it is in another country, most don’t respect any laws.  And your primary action will need to be contacting google and the other search engines.

1. Pages can “leak” pagerank. A misinterpretation of a statement by Google lead to this myth. It was really only perpetuated by people who thought that writing an SEO book was the key to getting rich quick (unfortunately they rarely knew enough about it to get it right!). There were enough of those though, that this myth is regularly ressurected, even though pagerank isn’t that valuable a marker anymore.

2. More content is better. Wrong. More content is just more content. More GOOD content IS better. If it ain’t good, it is just debris.

3. Articles help you promote better. Not unless they are GOOD articles. There are so many bad ones out there that even mediocre articles are a waste of time. They’ve gotta be original, and they’ve gotta be good.

4. Keyword tags matter. Not anymore. Don’t bother with these they’ll just waste your time and risk doing more harm than good.

5. Start with keyword research. Start with COMMON SENSE. That will get you further, with less effort, than any amount of research will. Research is only good AFTER you’ve done everything you can with common sense.

6. You have to be on the first page of Google to get any traffic. Absolutely NOT true! This is so badly misunderstood that even fairly popular SEO “gurus” think it is true, or like to say so because it gets them more money. Fact is, you don’t even have to be on the first 10 pages for your top keywords to get found, and to make a boodle. There are plenty of backdoor tactics that get you traffic without first page placement. This is so important, we’ll explain it all in our next issue.

7. Bold the keywords on your page. No, don’t. Bold the words you want people to pay attention to, and bold the thoughts that are most important. That is how you are SUPPOSED to use bolding.

8. Keyword density matters. No, content matters. Good, understandable text that explains what you are trying to say, and explains it well. Keywords happen naturally from that, without even trying. And the keyword patterns look so natural to a search engine that you never have to calculate the percentages.

9. Search engines don’t read words in domain names unless they are separated by a dash. We’ve proven that in fact, they do! Search engines will interpret words in the domain name, based on the words in the copy. If there are similar words in the domain name, they’ll pick them up and rank you for them whether or not there are dashes to separate them. This isn’t theory, we’ve proven it.

10. Search engines can now read Flash. No, they can’t. Google recently acquired the technology from Adobe to read it, but it has not yet been fully implemented. Further, when they CAN read Flash, they will only be able to read text that was entered into the animation as text, not text that is part of an image. So the ability to read Flash will depend on how the animation is constructed, and the value will vary from site to site. There has also been no word on whether or not they’ll delay reading it to reduce the load on the bots – reading Flash is VERY time intensive for the bots.

11. Search engines index plain HTML sites better than they index dynamic sites. NOT true. As a rule, search engines are just as capable of crawling and indexing a content management or shopping cart system. Years ago there was a difference, but this has not been an issue for many years. This is only an issue with badly coded sites, or with excessive use of Flash.

12. SEO is hard/easy. It isn’t really either. It is more a matter of understanding what really matters. Once you understand that, it takes work to create what matters. But it isn’t really hard to understand what matters – it is people! Help people understand what you have, in a way that appeals to them, and in a way that search engines can read. Everything else is just implementation.

Laura Wheeler and her husband Kevin own Firelight Web Enterprises in Wyoming. We like to feature articles from Laura periodically as we consider her one of the experts that can be trusted.