Savvy Black

Understanding the meaning of color as well as the cultural use of color and how colors interact is important in print and electronic design in order to convey the right tone, message, and evoke the desired response to the brochure, newsletter, ad, Web site, or other publication. Colors are non-verbal communication. They create a physical and emotional reaction.

The Meaning of Neutral Color: Neutral colors help to put the focus on other colors or serve to tone down colors that might otherwise be overpowering on their own.

The Color of Sophistication

lack is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light. Although black is sometimes described as an "achromatic", or hueless, color, in practice it can be considered a color, as in expressions like "black cat" or "black paint".

Black is a neutral, not a color, Black, Black is the absence of color, being a neutral can team up with any color, and can have a striking effect. Think of the bumble bee - yellow and black stripes!

Black with metallic gold, silver, copper and brass creates an opulent look, It looks very smart and powerful, It is often used to create an elegent accent.
A black background helps viewers find details, when working with black, the voriety of arts and crafts colors will bring just the right contrast. Lime, Green, Orange, Pink...etc., most shocking colors will be awesome, come to life on a Black background, Black can make other colors appear brighter.

Ultimate Dark:

Considered the negation of color, black is conservative, goes well with almost any color except the very dark. It also has conflicting connotations. It can be serious and conventional. The color black can also be mysterious, sexy, and sophisticated.

Culture of Black:

In most Western countries black is the color of mourning. Among young people, black is often seen as a color of rebellion. Black is both positive and negative. It is the color for little boys in China. Black, especially combined with orange is the color of Halloween. In early Westerns the good guy wore white while the bad guy wore black. But later on good guys wore black to lend an air of mystery to themselves.

Authority and seriousness
Black can be seen as the color of authority and seriousness.
Black Watch is the senior Highland Regiment of the British Army.
In Japanese culture, kuro (black) is a symbol of nobility, age, and experience, as opposed to shiro (white), which symbolizes serfdom, youth, and naiveté. Thus the black belt is a mark of achievement and seniority in many martial arts, whereas in, for example, Shotokan karate, a white belt is a rank-less belt which comes before all other belts. These ranks are called dan.
Black was the color of the Arab dynasty of Abbasid caliphs, which is the reason black is frequently used in flags of Arab countries.
The riot control units of the Basque Autonomous Police in Spain are known as beltzak ("blacks") after their uniform.
Traditionally, police vehicles (panda cars) were in black and white.

Using Black:

Use the color black to convey elegance, sophistication, or perhaps a touch of mystery. Dark charcoal gray and very dark brown can sometimes stand in for black.

Using Black with Other Colors:

Be careful using black with very dark colors. It can work, but if the colors are too similiar they blend together. Black works well with bright, jewel-toned shades of red, blue, and green. Black is the ultimate dark color and makes lighter colors such as yellow really pop out. Photographs often look brighter against a black background. Black and gray is a conservative combo as is medium or light blue and black.

Language of Black:

The use of black in familiar phrases can help a designer see how their color of choice might be perceived by others, both the positive and negative aspects.
Good black

Black tie - formal (as in formal party attire)
Black belt - expert (especially in martial arts)
Blackwash - bring things out in the open In the black - having money, doing well in business
Men in black - government agents
Black box - equipment or apparatus
Pitch black - dark as night, very black
Bad black
Black out - Loss of consciouness or the act of erasing something
Blackout - loss of electricity or turning out the lights
Black eye - damage such as damage to one's reputation, slander, unpopular
Black-hearted - evil
Blackguard - a scoundrel
Black sheep - an outcast from a family or from society
Black market - illegal trade (goods or money)
Blackmail - obtaining something by threat
Blacklist - list of people or organizations to boycott, avoid, or punish

Neutral Colors .... The Colors of Unity



The neutral colors of black, white, silver, gray, and brown make good backgrounds, serve to unify diverse color palettes, and also often stand alone as the only or primary focus of a design.
Neutral colors help to put the focus on other colors or serve to tone down colors that might otherwise be overpowering on their own. To some extent blacks, browns, tans, golds, and beige colors are considered warm. While white, ivory, silver, and gray are somewhat cooler colors. Yet these warm and cool attributes are flexible and more subtle than that of reds or blues.

Savvy Black is the best background for Savvy Craft ...
Because of all the different and cheerful colors of crafts created by the artist or craftsmen and women. colors we cannot choose, control or reject , because we are catering for the community in all it's different categories of ages, gender, education, tastes and interests.

Savvy Craft ... Communication Design Plan

Savvy Craft

Is an outlet that Serves Suppliers of crafted objects who can teach the craft or exhibit their work, displayed to attract customers : the rest of the community.

The community benefit by purchasing a favored artwork, also finding contact information that will lead them to the craftsman/ woman to learn a craft skill.

The final Circle of benefit:

Financial reward for both the outlet and the Suppliers .. The community gain from this experience quality products and/ or a craft skill.

Savvy Craft ... Final Logo Design & Color Pallet

After my debate and discussion in class today .. I started experimenting different color combinations on the Cross word logo design, Found the color maneuvering is not working, shifting the word order from vertical to horizontal also did not work.
Going back to the Geometrical design and working on further fine tuning .. I found that the mixture of mustard, orange & Cinnamon blend beautiful with several other colors, which will have a lot of beneficial effect in the communication design package I'm proposing for Savvy Craft.

Savvy Logo Shortlist

I've been collecting votes from people I met during the weekend .. which of the three designs they like the most ..

The 1st one mostly got the votes of ladies

The 2nd got votes from elders

The 3rd got the votes of mostly men .. Till now it got the most votes

2moro is the last day for votes

Savvy Logo Design and Pallet Options

Spotlight ...Existing Communication Design Handcrafts

Researching whats on the shelf in Book shops regarding Handcrafts, recently visited WH Smith book shop .. found a large range of magazines that promote the handcraft business.
The magazines include assorts of communication applications:
Advertisements for suppliers, exhibitions, fairs, artists and their contact details.
The styles are a variety .. in general the designs are colorful, friendly and cheerful with lots of explanatory information.

Chris Cardell

As part of my research dedicated to bringing Savvy Craft to life ..

Ive been corisponding with Chris Cardell,one of Britain’s leading authorities on Marketing and Entrepreneurial Success.
Over 253,000 UK Business owners receive regular email updates on business success.

Chris Cardell: I will be delighted to send you my Free email tips, I think you’ll find it contains some very useful information to help you grow your business and increase your profits.


Dear Azza,

Thank you for signing up for my Free information on Marketing and Entrepreneurial Success.

This email has 10 specific free Marketing strategies that I think you'll find useful.

First, Why should you take any notice of me?
I'm the leading provider of sales and marketing success information to business owners in the UK and throughout Europe. I've been featured on BBC, ITV, News at Ten and The Sunday Times. I combine leading edge Business, Marketing and Entrepreneur success skills – with the Advanced Thinking strategies of the world's highest achievers. I'm renowned for being able to show business owners like yourself how to increase your profits by 50-250%.

Second, I'll tell it to you like it is. I do believe that you have the potential for great Entrepreneurial success – but I also know that it's not always a straightforward path. If you're like most business owners, you're being bombarded with people trying to rip you off – from advertising companies to web site designers. As if that's not enough, finding out what really works in growing a business can be another huge challenge.

So my role is to sort through all of this for you and do all the hard work for you... so I can provide you with the clearest and simplest strategies for Marketing to make your sales soar.

The good news is that Marketing success is really much easier than you might think, because it all really boils down to some very simple fundamentals

I'd like to share 10 free Marketing strategies with you here now, then in future emails we'll move onto the specifics of increasing your profits as rapidly as possible.

So here are my 10 free Marketing strategies for your business. I'll be coming back to each of these in detail in the weeks and months ahead:

* Slash your advertising budget in half. Use the money you save to test some other simple forms of marketing. If you feel uncomfortable about stopping your advertising even though as I've said, it probably isn't actually working, just try cutting it in half and use that money for other marketing tests. Better yet, get on the phone to the media you advertise in and ask them to reduce the prices - in this economy they are really struggling and I can almost guarantee they'll give you a substantial saving. Use the money you save to test new forms of Marketing and Internet Marketing.
* PR. Publicity. Expert positioning. Any time your name appears in print, you are automatically an expert. People believe what they read in the papers, see on the TV and hear on the radio. It can be as simple as writing a small column in a local paper -- most of these papers are crying out for quality content. They have little money to pay freelancers to write for them and might well welcome material from you.
* Upselling. If you don't ask your customers to buy more from you, they'll rarely come offering. You can build tremendous momentum with a sale if you keep offering add-ons and more “de-luxe” versions. Don't just sell a sofa - sell it with a full carpet clean, and matching rugs.
* Go out and meet your top 20 customers. Don't try to sell them anything, but do ask for referrals. Take them to lunch, or even just a coffee at Starbuck's. This is a powerful strategy simply because in this modern and hectic world, no one seems to want to do it any more. If other people aren't doing something, that's a good enough reason for you to test it.
* Networking. Go anywhere people in your target market or in synergistic businesses might hang out. You don't have to pay to join a Breakfast club - there are lots of trade shows and events you can get in for free. The people at these events are there for the same reason you are: to do business.
* Public Speaking. Any time you get up in front of an audience to speak about your business, you're marketing. There are dozens of opportunities to speak to interested, qualified prospects all over the place.
* Improve your sales skills. There is an incredible amount of top quality, free information out there on sales - you're reading some NOW! Books aren't expensive, either, and you can get them from the library if you don't want to buy them yourself. Knowledge is priceless, and it's something no one can ever take away from you. Always be prepared to invest heavily in yourself. Becoming great at selling is absolutely fundamental for business success today.
* Emails. If you're emailing your customers and clients less than once a week, you are definitely leaving money lying around unclaimed. Make it a habit to mail your list regularly with useful, topical content they can use. They'll love you for it, and you will make more sales.
* Joint ventures. Look around you and you'll see dozens of non-competing businesses whose customers are just like yours. For instance, imagine you deal with, VOIP systems and save your customers money. Now imagine you get local accountants to let you leave your paper newsletter or other marketing piece in their waiting room. Anyone waiting for their accountant has money on their mind and will be a prime target for your “save money” message. It works.
* Become an expert at Internet Marketing, particularly Pay per Click Advertising on Google. Pay per Click is the most powerful breakthrough in Marketing this century – yet very few small business owners truly understand its power. I'll be keeping you updated on Pay per Click in the weeks and months ahead.

Nothing I tell you will ever be theory. My own business is worth over £20 million but getting there was not always easy. All my strategies were developed in ‘the trenches'. If I can save you from some of the hurdles I had to jump over, I will have done a good job.

I'll speak to you again soon.

Best wishes

Chris Cardell



Dear Azza,

As Entrepreneurs, we have only one source of wealth. It’s not our talent or expertise. It’s not even our product or service.

Our only source of wealth is our customers.

Yet it’s very easy to neglect that source of wealth.

Today I want to focus on one of the most overlooked elements of Entrepreneurial success - your communications with your existing customers.

Most marketing efforts focus on acquiring new customers. But I've yet to find a business that is maximizing its marketing to its existing customers.

I would take this a step further. When I speak to a business owner, I know without a doubt that they are sitting on a goldmine. This goldmine consists of the wealth that is hidden in their relationships with their current customers.

How do you access that goldmine? By answering these questions:

What do you have to offer your existing customers? When did you last let them know? What are you not offering existing customers that you could be offering them? When did you last send a letter to your customers? When did you last email them? Did you measure the response? When did you last call them? What would happen if you doubled your contact with them this year? When you do communicate with them, what more could you be doing to clearly explain the specific benefits that they will experience?

I once helped an Entrepreneur who generated £300,000 by sending a brochure to their clients once a year. I asked what would happen if they sent the brochure twice a year. It might seem an obvious question but the thought had never even crossed their mind. We did it (and a lot more) and it generated a fortune for them.

This is not an unusual story. We are all so close to our businesses that it is often a challenge to step back and look at the obvious - the elusive obvious.

Here are some more useful questions: How often do you communicate with your customers by direct mail? Do you test and measure the response? Do you spend at least 15 minutes each month thinking of an exclusive offer you can make to your existing customers? Do you say 'thank you' to your customers either by letter, email or telephone? Do you ask your customers for referrals? If you have a limited service or product line - do you know of additional companies, products or services that your customers could benefit from?

There are hundreds of great marketing strategies for getting new customers. But before that, you need to nurture your relationships with your existing customers. It is the first key to the goldmine.

Best wishes


Chris Cardell
Leading Edge Information to Grow your Business and Increase your Profits Chris Cardell

Cardell Media Ltd
1 Northumberland Avenue
Trafalgar Square
London
WC2N 5BW


Hi Azza,

Following my recent emails about Information Marketing, a couple of people have asked me
“Will Information Marketing work for me?”

The answer is “Yes.”

Information Marketing works for any business and in any industry.

Here are just six of the many ways that Information Marketing can work for you:

1. Coaching people (including your existing customers) either in the implementation of your product/service, or if you choose, in a totally different area. People want to be led - especially when times are tough like now. No matter what business you’re in they’ll welcome the opportunity to have one-on-one time with a true expert.

2. Writing a book. You write a book... you become the expert (there’s reason for the old phrase “he wrote the book on it”). And it’s easier and quicker than you’d believe. I believe that all business owners should write a book. Even if you sell screwdrivers. The fact that not many people will buy your ‘Ultimate Guide to Screwdrivers’ is irrelevant. When you send it to prospective customers it positions you above the competition. You can self publish a book for a few hundred pounds.

3. Taking your knowledge and expertise and creating products such as CDs and DVDs. Almost anything from a live seminar, to a teleseminar to a recorded on-screen-presentation you make at your own PC can be turned into saleable and very profitable product. It’s no longer just the “big boys” who can be information publishers selling high-quality and professional information products for high profits.

4. Presenting live events and Seminars. If you now think people are willing to pay for your information products on CD and DVD... how much more will they pay to attend a LIVE event where they get exclusive access to YOU, the new authority in your industry

5. Presenting Teleseminars and Webinars (including for your existing customers). There is a huge untapped market in every industry for paid-for teleseminar and webinar series which you can record and turn into products in their own right.

6. Being a high paid consultant (Information Marketers are generally the highest paid Consultants in the world). And as a world-class and recognized authority and industry expert the fees you can command are exceptionally high.

This afternoon (Wednesday) Bill Glazer and I (Bill is a world leader in Information Marketing) are holding a unique Free Online Video Seminar called, ‘Information Marketing: The Business that Everyone Should be in.’ This is your last chance to register your Free place for this special event. You can do that here:

http://www.cardellmedia.co.uk/videoseminar1.html

The Video Seminar is 90 minutes and could be a turning point for you. I am not aware of any type of business that creates as many millionaires each year as Information Marketing. You might not want to aim that high – but you should at least have an Information Marketing ‘arm’ to your current business. Find out why this afternoon. Reserve your Free place here:

http://www.cardellmedia.co.uk/videoseminar1.html

Best wishes

Chris Cardell


Dear Azza

Of all the ways to waste money on Marketing, advertising seems to be everyone's favourite - so today we're looking at how to get better results from your advertising.

First - be aware that there are many more effective ways to market than just advertising. In my experience, many businesses depend too heavily on advertising, when there are many more effective ways to market. In addition, advertising can be one of the most expensive marketing options. So I would always look at more cost effective marketing strategies before we get to advertising. But if you are advertising already, or plan to in the future, here are some basics on what works and what doesn't.

First of all, stop any advertising that isn't working.

That may sound ridiculously obvious but you would be amazed at how many people are running ads just because that's what their business has always done and they don't really know whether the ads are working.

Secondly, you wont know whether the ads are working unless you test and measure all of your advertising. I spoke about testing last time - but it's so important. So many businesses just allocate a certain amount of money to an advertising budget, spend the money every year…and they've only got a vague sense of whether the ads are working or not. This is crazy. If your ads are working, you want to roll them out on a larger scale. If they're not, STOP and use the money on one of the dozens of other marketing strategies that can bring you a 100 or 200 or 300% return on your investments.

Third, only run ads that are going to produce a response. This is known as direct response advertising. The other form of advertising is institutional (or brand) advertising. This is what Coca-Cola and McDonalds engage in. It's designed to build and sustain awareness of their brand. If you're in a small or medium sized business, brand advertising is almost certainly a huge waste of money.

Unless you're a global multi national, the purpose of your ads must be to produce a response. Smart marketers are ruthless in only creating and paying for ads that produce a response - a profitable response.

In the ad itself the most important element is the headline. The headline is either the heading that goes at the top of the ad or if there's no heading it's the first words of the ad. The headline needs to grab peoples' attention. One change in a headline can produce a 50 -100% increase in response. (TIP: If the headline of your ad is currently the name of your company, you can almost certainly increase the response rate by changing the headline.)

The copy of your ad needs to be a personal communication to the individual reading it. And it needs to be about them. It needs to address their needs, desires and fears and it needs to constantly communicate the benefits of what you are offering. At the end of the ad you need a call to action. Tell people exactly what they need to do to follow through and make it easy for them to do so.

Here are some other fundamentals of advertising: Don't advertise on a left hand page. This has been tested again and again. When you read a publication, your eyes are drawn to the right hand page as you flick through, so statistically more people will see your ad if it's on the right hand page.

Never pay the full rate for advertising. Most advertising rate cards are far too high and you can always negotiate. If you're a small business remember that large companies who use ad agencies are buying based on the readership or audience levels rather than the rate card - so haggle and negotiate. If you can pay 20 or 30% less for your advertising it can sometimes turn an unprofitable ad campaign into a successful one.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is advertising in publications just because their competitors are in them. Don't for a minute think that all your competitors are there because their ads are producing great results. They're more likely to be there because everyone else is and most of them wont have a clue whether their ads are working. The only criteria for advertising anywhere is if the ad produces great results for you.

Once again, my experience is that many businesses are wasting money on ineffective advertising when they could be getting a much better return on other forms of marketing (Direct Mail, Telephone Marketing, Direct Sales, Email, Internet, Referrals, Strategic Alliances etc) But if you do it well and test and experiment, advertising can become a highly profitable element of your marketing mix.

For more information on Entrepreneurial success, visit www.CardellMedia.co.uk

Feel free to forward this email on to anyone who will find it useful. If they receive this message and want to receive my emails, they need to go to www.CardellMedia.co.uk/vip.html to register.

Best wishes

Chris Cardell

Dear Azza,

Very few business owners are willing to take extraordinary measures to win the trust of new customers.

It’s increasingly important to do something out of the ordinary to win these new customers’ trust in this economic climate, because as I’m sure you’ve noticed, your customers are more careful with their buying decisions. Many actually have as much disposable income as they had two years ago – but they’re far more cautious when it comes to taking that first step and making the buying decision.

If you don’t have an extraordinary first offer for your new customers – you’re missing out, probably on a huge scale.

The most extraordinary type of offer is to have no sales offer at all – but to give people something Free, of significant value to earn their trust and respect.

That’s what I’m currently doing. For anybody like you, who’s serious about Entrepreneurial success and who wants fast access to the strategies to achieve it, I invest in sending you a six CD set worth £295, plus giving you two months membership of my VIP Inner Circle. There’s a third bonus too which in total involves me giving you over £500 worth of material, just to encourage you to try it and make some significant additional profits.

Why do I do this and why do you want to do something similar? It’s totally counter intuitive to invest in your customer before they invest in you. But it’s the most powerful relationship builder in the world. I do it because if you can experience the value of what I have, if you can make thousands or tens of thousands of pounds from material I send you Free, you’re likely to become a lifetime customer. My top end Platinum group members pay £24,000 per year to work personally with me, because it effectively costs them nothing. They’re making hundreds of thousands, in some cases millions in return.

Today I want to share with you one of the key ingredients for your Entrepreneurial success.

It's Free and you can do it right now but I can guarantee that virtually none of your competitors are doing it.

What is it? It's thinking outside the box. It's taking a step back from your business and looking at your marketing in a totally new way.

Let me explain. Most businesses are trapped in a prison. It's the prison that says they have to market in the same way that everyone else in their profession markets. So all the plumbers advertise in the yellow pages, all the hairdressers advertise in the local paper, all the double glazing companies use telemarketing etc etc.

If you are similar to 95% of businesses, you probably use just one or two primary ways to market and grow your business. Perhaps it's advertising. Perhaps it's referrals, or direct mail. I understand why you're doing it but you need to know that only using one or two marketing approaches is seriously limiting your profits and your potential. So here's my question for you: What would happen if over the next few months you doubled that to four or five prime ways of marketing? Then, over the next few months you were to double it again, so that you were using up to 10 prime ways of marketing to maximise your customer base and your profitability?

I'll tell you what will happen. You'll achieve what everyone continually tells me is 'impossible.' You'll increase your profits by 50% or 100% or more. I've seen it happen again and again with my clients and those rare business owners and managers who are willing to decide to make Marketing excellence their top priority.

At this point people normally start coming up with excuses. 'I haven't got time' or 'I don't understand Marketing' are the most frequent. Great, so start with the simple stuff. Let me give you an example: When did you last get an email from your hairdresser? Instead of putting all their efforts into advertising, what would happen if your hairdresser took your email address next time you visited and sent you the occasional email making you a special offer, or asking if you would like to make an appointment, or asking for referrals? If they did that continually across the business they would probably increase their re-booking rate by 20-50% and their rate of referrals could easily double. And it will have cost them virtually nothing.

Dear Azza

This article is about an area of much confusion - yet an area of significant potential profit for you and your business - Direct Mail.

What sets the smart business owners and managers apart from the rest is that they are willing to take the time to really understand Direct Mail. There are many myths and a lot of nonsense surrounding Direct Mail. You may want to print out and keep this email - because in my continuing efforts to help you and your business create exponential success - I am about to share the essentials of Direct Mail that you really should know. I would be surprised if the contents of this email were not worth at least a few thousand pounds to you over the next year - if you apply all the principles we are going to cover. (By the way, if you're totally new to the subject 'Direct Mail' simply refers to anything you send people in the post - letters, brochures etc.)

First lets dispel some of the myths about Direct Mail. My favourite is 'Direct Mail doesn't work.' This ingenious conclusion is arrived at by the fact that you and I throw most of the mail we receive in the bin - therefore the logic is it's a waste of money. The truth is that 90 out of 100 people may throw your mailing in the bin, but if 5 people glance at it, 5 more read it and one of those 5 buys from you - you may well have a highly profitable mailing. Direct Mail is a numbers game and you have to enter into it in the knowledge that most of your mailings will probably go unread. (One of the important factors is to make sure that your mailing is so compelling that people DO read it - but we'll come to that later.)

So the reason that Viking Direct and many other big companies bombard you with mailings is because they work. These companies have spent a fortune testing and fine tuning their mailings - they know what works and what doesn't. But here's a word of warning - it is true that a significant amount of direct mail does not work - and that tends to be the mailings conducted by small and medium sized businesses who do not really understand what they are doing. When it's done well direct mail can make your profits soar. When it's done badly it can eat up your marketing budget instantly. So be careful.

The second myth is that there is a magical percentage conversion rate that a successful mailing campaign should receive. In other words, you should 'expect' 3% (or whatever) of the people you mail to buy from you. This is absolute nonsense - and it's very dangerous nonsense.

First of all, the price of what you are offering plays a significant factor. If you're selling CDs at £9.95 you'll probably get a different response rates than if you're selling million pound yachts. Secondly, it's not the percentage response that counts - it's whether the mailing is profitable or not. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, nobody can ever predict the response from a direct mail campaign. This is why TESTING is absolutely imperative in Direct Mail.

You should never embark on a Direct Mail campaign without testing it on a small scale first. Why? Because the beauty of Direct Mail is that it is statistically very predictable.

Let me explain what I mean - and this is really, really important so please re-read this paragraph until you get it. Direct Mail is statistically predictable. If you send out 2000 letters and get 20 responses - you can predict with some certainty that if you send out 4000 letters (to the same group) you will get somewhere in the region of 40 responses. Equally, if you send out 2000 letters, get 1 response and lose money on the mailing, it is highly unlikely that if you send out 4000 letters you will have a profitable mailing.

Why is this so important? Because far too many people spend a fortune on a glossy brochure, mail out 10,000 copies to a dodgy list, get a terrible result and lose thousands of pounds. I've seen this again and again - and it can really harm your business. So always test your mailing on a small scale first. It needs to be small enough to be an amount of money you can afford to lose if it doesn't work out - but large enough to be able to hopefully generate at least 7 or 8 responses. For a typical business, that's going to be somewhere between 500 and 2500.

Any mailings you consider will fall into two categories: The first is mailings to your existing customers. The second is mailings to potential new customers.

If you do not currently do much direct mail - and you have a list of past customers, you should start by mailing these existing customers.

Let me be more explicit. Every client I have ever worked with who has existing customers has been sitting on a goldmine of untapped profits because they have not been utilising direct mail with these customers.

Think of something you can offer these customers, send them a letter and measure the response. If it works, mail them again next month and measure the results. If it keeps on working, keep on doing it!

Then there is using Direct Mail to attract new customers. This is an art and science in itself - and you may want to bring in outside help - but again there are some fundamentals which you will want to follow. Here are eight of them to keep you going:

1 Remember to Test any Direct Mail campaigns for new customers on a small scale before rolling them out.

2 Consider testing renting mailing lists relevant to your target group. There are thousands of highly accurate mailing lists which can be a great way of reaching new people.

3 Always include a letter with any brochure you send - it will increase the response rate.

4 Make sure that the contents of your mailing focus on the benefits of your product or service. You want it to be about your potential customer and what you can do for them rather than just being about you.

5 Don't limit Direct Mail to pure selling. You can use it to say 'thank you' to customers. You can use it to ask for referrals or to introduce your customers to a company you've partnered with. It's only limited by your imagination.

6 If you repeat a successful mailing three weeks later you can expect a response rate around 50% of the original

7 Test mailing postcards - they are cheaper than a normal mailing and in some cases will produce a higher response rate

8 If you follow up a mailing with a phone call you can increase the response rate by up to 1000%

Direct Mail is a huge subject - but these principles should help you make a start on your next campaign and avoid costly mistakes in the future.

For more information on Entrepreneurial success, visit www.CardellMedia.co.uk

Feel free to forward this email on to anyone who will find it useful. If they receive this message and want to receive my emails, they need to go to www.CardellMedia.co.uk/vip.html to register.

Best wishes

Chris Cardell
Leading Edge Information to Grow your Business and Increase your Profits

Dear Azza

Today I am going to share with you the one piece of knowledge on marketing and business success that changed my entire business life. I don't want anything from you in return. I'm not selling you anything. I just want you to read this - and ideally print it out and re-read it several times. Why am I doing this? ….well in a strange way that's what this message is all about.

It struck me recently that if I am going to stick to my goal of giving you the very best Entrepreneurial success tips and advice, there is something very obvious that I have not told you about.

It's all very well showing you how to save money on advertising, make direct mail work for you, use email and the internet etc - but there is another vital element to your business success that drives everything else.

I have been asked several times recently why I send out information that could be worth a great deal to business owners and managers - for FREE. Some people think I am mad, some think I am the new Messiah (possible but unlikely) and some want to know what the catch is. There is no catch. Only a handful of people truly understand at the deepest level the method behind my madness. It struck me that until you understand the thinking behind my marketing success - you are never going to be able to reach the heights that you deserve. So here goes. As my personal gift to you, I would now like to unveil the principle driving force behind successful marketing in the 21st Century.

If you ask most business owners and managers what the deepest purpose of their business is, they will probably all say it is to make money and profits.

I think this is a huge mistake. Here's why …..

Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to spend time with some of the world's great Entrepreneurs. People such as Richard Branson, Duncan Bannatyne and the late Anita Roddick. When I met these individuals, I questioned them in great detail about what creates their success. When you do this, something surprising soon becomes apparent: The prime driving force behind their success is not the desire to make money. It is certainly one of the driving forces but it is not the prime driving force.

That might sound surprising - but think of it this way. At the time of writing this, Microsoft has around 57 billion dollars in cash reserves in the bank. 57 BILLION DOLLARS. Cash just sitting there waiting to be spent. Do you honestly think that the prime motivating factor that gets Bill Gates out of bed in the morning is the desire to make some more money? Of course not.

Here's what really drives all these people. At some level, it is a deep desire to make a real difference in the lives of the people they reach. To impact them in some way. To make a real difference. Don't get me wrong, Gates and Branson and co love money. They love profits, but they're also smart enough to know that it was their passion for making a difference that brought in those profits in the first place.

What's this got to do with your business success? Everything. Let me explain by using my experience as an example. When I discovered what I've just been discussing, it literally changed my business life. Here's how:

I'm well known for showing Entrepreneurs how to substantially increase their profits using a combination of Advanced Business Strategies and Advanced Thinking. But I used to have a bizarre problem in promoting my own services. The problem was that people simply did not believe it was possible for them to increase profits by 50% or 100% or more. I had spent many years and tens of thousands of pounds learning the most powerful marketing and Entrepreneurial success strategies in the world for small and medium sized businesses. I was able to work with business owners and managers and achieve 'remarkable' results. As time went on I built up case studies of business people who had made the decision to get in touch with me - and whose marketing had been transformed as a result. So I used to launch my own 'marketing campaigns' to 'convince' people that I could do the same for them. I sent out brochures, I called people. I even became one of a handful of such experts to guarantee my results. I had a great sales pitch. If you were a prospective client, I knew with such certainty that I could increase your profits I would call and say "Work with me and I guarantee I can solve your marketing problems and substantially grow your business. And if I can't, you don't pay a penny." I did very well but still not as well as I wanted to. Something was not right. Then, one day, it finally clicked.

I decided, literally overnight to shift my emphasis totally. I decided to stop selling and start giving. If you can understand this paradox, then this is your lucky day.

I made the prime purpose of my business to give, give, give. To add incredible value to the lives of people that I came into contact with. I gave everyone who was interested tons of great information on how to grow their business. I sent them information in the post. I emailed them. I chatted to them on the phone. Some became clients, some didn't. It really didn't matter because I knew I was making a difference. I stopped forever the "I can grow your business and solve your marketing problems - Why don't you become my client" pitch. Within a few days people started contacting me asking me to work with them.

What had changed? Instead of trying to convince people that I could give them the knowledge that could solve their marketing problems - I just started giving them the knowledge anyway and let them decide for themselves. I switched my focus from what I wanted to what they wanted.

I learnt some profound lessons. The first is that in business, as in life, giving is a great experience. The second was that most businesses wait until a client or customer gives them money before they start adding value to that customer's life. Now I say 'Why wait' Start adding value now and believe me, the customers will come to you.

So here's my very strong suggestion to you. Take this concept and try it out in your business for ten days and see what happens. It's the most powerful business growth concept on earth - and yet it will cost you absolutely nothing. Decide for the next ten days that the prime purpose of your business is to add incredible value to the lives of your customers. For a few days, forget about the struggle for money and profits. Forget about you and just focus on them. Step into their shoes and do whatever you can to enhance the quality of their lives. Surprise them. Shock them. Make them laugh. Give them something they weren't expecting for free. Brighten up their day. Send them a gift…anything that lets them know that their well-being is your top priority.

The result is that you will differentiate yourself so massively from the mass of mediocrity out there, I think you may be surprised and quite possibly stunned at the results.

The phrase 'win-win' is very over used these days, but if you are willing to give it a go, this strategy is true win-win. Your customers get an amazing and unprecedented experience from being in your presence …and your working day becomes a blast because everyone who interacts with you enjoys your company.

My basic message here is that maybe we've got it all wrong. We're so immersed in working out how to increase sales and grow our businesses, in how to improve our own lives - we're missing the obvious way to do it - and it's right in front of you. The irony is that if there is a secret to your success it is to stop worrying about your success and start thinking about the success of your customers and potential customers. Pay attention to their problems, their needs. Go out of your way to make their lives easier, to put a bit of joy into their lives. Will the occasional one still treat you badly? Sure but who cares. The majority will be simply stunned by the way you are so different from the masses.

Think of it in terms of this email. Around a thousand people will receive this message today. 50% wont have read this far because they'd sooner go and have a cigarette. Of the 50% who've read this far, probably 8 out of 10 will go off and think about it and may make a small change to their business as a result. I may never hear from them in my life ..but that's great… 400 people who we may have impacted with one simple email.

The 100 people remaining will be really struck by the thinking behind all this. They'll hit reply and send me a nice message. How cool is that. 100 messages from people who think I'm a genius!!

Of those hundred, a handful will have reached the point in their business where they realise it's finally time to solve that big marketing problem or take their business to the next level.

All from just giving. It's a great way of doing business. Actually it's a wonderful way of doing business. Have you any idea what it's like to wake up in the morning and know that you're going to make a difference to people's lives? - and there's no getting out of this if you've got a 'boring' job. I've seen train guards brighten up people's day, widget sellers who take such an interest in their customers' lives that their monthly sales soar. Because guess what, this philosophy doesn't just make you more successful - it can totally transform the quality of your working life. Because even if you regard your job as mundane or boring, the purpose of you going to work has now shifted from 'paying the mortgage' or whatever, to enhancing the lives of the people around you. So if this message has meant anything to you, please take action now.

For more information on Entrepreneurial success, visit www.CardellMedia.co.uk

Feel free to forward this email on to anyone who will find it useful. If they receive this message and want to receive my emails, they need to go to www.CardellMedia.co.uk/vip.html to register.

Best wishes

Chris Cardell
Leading Edge Information to Grow your Business and Increase your Profits


Cardell Media Ltd
1 Northumberland Avenue
Trafalgar Square
London
WC2N 5BW

Branding Identity Concept

Based on the ID hunt I performed .. My final Brand Name is

Savvy Craft

Savvy .. is to know .. understand .. practical Know how .. experienced and well-informed .. Based on the Random House Dictionary .. as a noun, "practical sense, intelligence;" also a verb, "to know, to understand .. the origion of Savvy is diriven from ( sabe ) 1775-1785, it means: of saber to know, sapere to be wise .. and this is diriven from an earlier word ( Sapient ) 1425–75, Middle English, from Old French, from Latin sapiēns, sapient-, present participle of sapere, to taste, have taste, be wise.



Craft .. comes as a noun and a verb .. with many meanings ..
As a noun : An art .. trade .. occupation requiring special skill .. manual skill ( To make by hand ) .. the members of a trade or profession collectively .. a guild
As a verb: to make or manufacture an object .. objects .. product .. with skill and careful attention to detail.
Craft has been used as a verb since the Old English period and was used in Middle English to refer specifically to the artful construction of a text or discourse. In recent years, crafted, the past participle of craft, has enjoyed a vogue as a participle referring to well-wrought writing. Craft is more acceptable when applied to literary works than to other sorts of writing, and more acceptable as a participle than as a verb.

Word Origin & History

Cræft .. "power, strength, might," from P.Gmc. *krab-/*kraf-. Sense shifted to "skill, art" (via a notion of "mental power"), which led to the n. meaning of "trade." Use for "small boat" is first recorded 1671, probably from some nautical sense of "vessels of small craft," referring either to the trade they did or the seamanship they required.

Savvy Craft
Is a suitable brand name for an outlet that is supplied by experienced and well-informed craftsmen and craftswomen who will exhibit their artwork and some of them are willing to teach others to gain a skill and related knowledge.

Branding ID Shortlist

After checking availability of the brand ID in the market

I favore :

* I Collect
* I Luxure
* I Trends
* Hidden Palms
* Crafts 2 Go
* Craft Nest
* Craft Hug
* Prodigy Nest
* Savvy Nest
* Savvy Cuddles
* Home Cuddles
* Hands On

Crafts Outlet Position in the Market

The crafts outlet

Is a third party marketing solution that links the craft makers with the anonymous buyer/consumer/ collector, with an edge: affordable ( unlike art galleries ), and being ( unlike art fairs ) always there in the market, constancy generates reliability.
A center for exhibiting handmade artwork by created by different craftsmen and women, who have a skill based on an artistic ability, self taught and those who have professional training.

The outlet is a place where a customer can show up and purchase as a passers by or shop through the website.
It's a reliable source of quality crafts and contact information for farther interests, such as commissions and learning a new craft.
The outlet offers value for money, making it possible for crafts to be an income source for the maker and an option for the collector.

Based on marketing the ability of others ..

Definition:

Able to perform well .. having a proven capability

Synonyms:

Accomplished, Adroit, Agile, Artful, Au fait, Brilliant, Capable, Clever, Deft, Dexterous, Effective, Effectual, Efficient, Equal to, Experienced, Expert, Facile, Gifted, Ingenious, Intelligent, Keen, Know backwards and forwards, Know one's onions, Know the ropes, Learned, Masterful, Masterly, Powerful, Practiced, Prepared, Proficient, Qualified, Responsible, Savvy, Sharp, Skilled, Skillful, Smart, Talented, There, Trained, Up to it, Up to snuff, Up to speed, With it, Affected, Appropriate, Apt, Aristocratic, Artistic, Chic, Choice, Classic, Clever, Comely, Courtly, Cultivated, Cultured, Dainty, Delicate, Dignified, Effective, Exquisite, Fancy, fashionable, fine, genteel, graceful, grand, handsome, ingenious, luxurious, majestic, Modish, Neat, Nice, Noble, Opulent, Ornamented, Ornate, Ostentatious, Overdone, Polished, Rare, Refined, Rich, Select, Simple, Stately, Stylish, Stylized, Sumptuous, Superior,Turgid, Well-bred

Brand Names I suggest

* mystery Maker
* Invisible Maker
* Hand Made
* Only Hand Made
* Home Made
* Handy Creations
* Hands On
* The Hand Shop
* Made Unique
* Made in the U.K

* You! Come
* Coming With You
* Wanted
* I Want
* I Collect
* I Luxury
* I Trend
* Trend Maker
* Trend Setter
* Hand Trends
* Hidden Trends
* Hidden Hobby
* Hidden Palms

* Decorate
* Delicate
* Hot Stuff
* Savvy
* Flair
* Prodigy
* Wizard
* Fancy
* Elegant
* Lavish

* Posh
* Bliss
* Passions
* Eclectic
* Mirage
* Crem De La Crem
* Craft Nest
* Home Cuddles
* Cuddle your Home
* Home Hug

* All About Crafts
* Something Different
* Craft Wize
* Crafts 2 Go
* Jazzy Crafts
* Craft Edge

Hidden Palms

I'm inspired by the punning meaning of Hidden Palms, an American teen drama television series that ran in 2007 in the United States. The series, created by Kevin Williamson, portrays the fictional lives of a group of teenagers and their families residing in Palm Springs, a part of California filled with palm trees hidden in the desert mountains.



Hidden Palms also means the invisible hands that created all the crafts exhibited in the outlet .. we get to keep the item we buy .. knowing there is some one out there who made it that will always be hidden .. it's those hidden hands that made it into a reality .. Hidden Palms .. is more fashionable .. more contemporary.

Basima Al Ali

Mrs. Al Ali is a stay at home mum .. works at a weekend school teaching the Arabic language to Arab children who are born in London encouraged by their parents.
Basima was encouraged by her environment to occupy her self in her free time by handcrafts .. a hobby she developed along the years.
Her skills include Stained Glass , Embroidery and bead jewellery.
Basima has soled her work at craft fairs and is interested in exhibiting in a craft shop.















Crafts Woman

Marketing Argument .. What does a Crafts Outlet have to offer the community

Craft today is the product of high levels of innovation and creative flair as well as skill and workmanship.
It includes very individual, but practical items such as furniture, tableware and fashion accessories as well as collectors’ pieces for display, all rewarding to own.

Many people find the idea of going into an art gallery intimidating, because they fear they do not know enough or the work will be too expensive.
Where as a crafts outlet .. with a few rare exceptions, stock craft work at
a wide range of prices, You can visit regularly and not have to buy something
every time.

Imagine what you might be missing if you don’t go in for a look!
The staff know that if customers feel comfortable and welcome they will come
back to make purchases when they are ready.

The Trend of Craft

It is more likely that people will be tuned to the handicrafts, simply by environment.
It's a habit we pic up from our home and community, along our growing years we are eager to adopt new popular fashionable trends, but as we settle into a long lasting set of rite and wrong, we fined our selves going back to our roots of habits and traditions, because they work.

So in plain English ..



If our mum, dad or grandmother .. our friend, teacher or Santa Claus .. introduce us at an early age to the world of crafts ( a hand made gift or a craft set that we will make with a hand made creation our selves ) .. the appreciation for handcrafts will stay and grow with us.



Today, as dependents, others buy for us .. in the future as independents, we will do it for others.

We always glorify .. The Good Old Days

A type of product that is useful and decorative, made completely by hand or using only simple tools with traditional means of making goods. The individual artisanship of the items is a paramount criterion, often have a cultural significance.

Handicrafts are mostly made with sustainable materials, inspiring ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle!

The aim of promoting Handicrafts in order to benefit craftsmen and artisans. The main focus is on their future prospects, compensation, education and better standard of living. The key motive is to promote economic security and financial independence.
The rate of employment is comparative, people can indulge in the handicrafts.
These straightforward objectives of artisans smooth the progress of growth for them. It even allows them to enjoy the benefits of socially devoted and highly stable establishment.

why buy craft?



Any object which has been hand-produced by someone who has thought about why
they are making it, what it’s to be used for and how it looks, will have far more
presence than a machine-made object.
The personality of the craftsperson (now often called ‘maker’) will be part of the
piece, making it unique.
Craft is still moderately priced in this country. Work by the top makers can
be bought at a fraction of the cost of an average painting. It may have taken
years of training, experimentation and experience for the maker to arrive at the
piece you are buying. Taking this into account, plus the cost of materials, overheads etc, the price is often incredibly good value for money.


finding craft work to buy & sell

• Find out about crafts and craft outlets in magazines like Crafts, Ceramic Review, Selvedge, Artwork, and the websites


• Become knowledgeable by going round craft galleries/craft fairs/workshops.

• Art college degree shows are another good source.

• Ask the staff questions about the crafts in stock. Most are extremely
knowledgeable people who are happy to talk about the work on show.


how much to spend on buying craft?

This is a personal matter .. but it's worth it to consider

• Prices range from a few pounds for production pieces (repeatable items)
by up-and-coming makers, to several thousand for one-off pieces by
established craftspeople whose work may be in public and private collections
around the world. Between those two extremes there is something to suit
every pocket.

• Choose to suit the space available in your home or to match your style and
personality.

• Buy what you like. It is not a good idea to think you are buying as an investment:
fashions change and values go down as well as up. Buy to get enjoyment out of
the piece for many years to come – if it becomes valuable then that’s a bonus.

• If the piece is in a glass case in the shop ask to examine it. Feel free to handle
objects: the texture, weight and finish of the piece will affect the way you feel
about it.

Offering guiding Tips .. caring for the craft you buy

If you are unsure about how to care for the piece you have bought, ask the maker
or gallery for as much information as possible. If it requires specialist care this
is usually clear in the information provided. The best advice is to treat everything with respect:

• wash by hand and with care. Don’t use a dishwasher, microwave, washing
machine or tumble drier unless you are certain that it’s alright to do so!

• avoid direct sunlight on textiles or works on paper which have the
potential to fade

• dust with care

• don’t clean jewellery that has stones, pearls or enamel by using a silver dip
solution – use a cloth or soft brush and possibly some washing-up liquid

• ask an expert if in any doubt but mostly...

• use your common sense! Always keep receipts, if only because it’s
good to remember where and when you bought something. If you’re lucky enough
to be buying a valuable piece take a photograph to keep safely for insurance
purposes.
You should also insure it separately and not just under your
general household insurance.

• learning more ...

Meeting the maker is always a bonus when buying craft work. Finding out what
inspires them, the methods they use, their background and experience adds
to the pleasure of owning their work.
Craft fair stands are usually staffed by the makers themselves. Their workshops,
especially in rural areas, are often open to the public at specific times, giving you the opportunity to see them at work. Do phone and check before you set off though.
The outlet staff will usually give you a copy of the maker’s CV and a statement about
their work. This is a reminder of who made the item so you can keep informed
about their new work or, if the piece is a present, the recipient will know that their
gift is unique.
If the ring you like doesn’t quite fit or the table you’ve found has already been sold
do not despair. It is often possible to commission the maker to produce a piece
specially for you. It takes time to create craft objects so plan ahead if you are
buying for a special occasion. Most makers are happy to discuss commissions.
The process can be as individual as the work you are buying
and the experience thoroughly rewarding.

The Bead Shop ... Covent Garden

21a Tower Street .. Covent Garden .. London WC2H 9NS .. England

Is a frequently visited shop by bead stringers & jewllery makers, it was brought to my attention by a friend who has a passion for bead stringing .. often surprising a guest at her home with the latest string she made.







Talking to one of the staff running the shop .. Miss Dorteh who has been in the business for a few years said ...
All businesses have suffered during the credit crunch .. The bead shop quickly regained it's costumers due to the increasing cost of accessories .. that led many to make their own
The bead shop has something for every one .. there are low cost Plastic & glass beads .. there are sculptored beads and semi precious stones carved into beads .. plus metallic accessories adding to all the other bits & pieces that complete the craft.









Among the costumers .. Mrs. Debby & little Cate
Cate was at a "Girls Aloud" and was looking forward to purchasing the fashion bead jewellery the band set as a trend .. but they where sold out .. so Cate is going to make her own .. thet's whey she is in The Bead shop .. Debby is thrilled to support her daughter in her interest in a craft.





Mrs. Doreen Gray was also in the shop .. choosing beads for a new design .. I asked her if she is interested in selling her stings of beads .. she was interested and supportive of the idea of a crafts outlet.


Basima Al Ali .. is jack of many traids .. I will visit her in her home to cover all her crafts.