Savor The Success’s Rock The World 2011

April 30th, 2011 | Posted in Blog, marketing | Comments Off
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I’m telling you right now… I couldn’t be more excited about next week! May 4 and 5, 2011 is my 2nd Savor the Success’s Women Entrepreneurs Rock the World.

Not only will I get to meet so many of the Savor The Success sisters across the USA and abroad that I’ve connected with and worked with, in person, but I am now one of 5 panelists for a discussion on “your social media blueprint”,  lead by Kathryn Rose, Social Media Consultant and Author of the Newly Updated “The Parent’s Guide to Facebook.” I’ll be adding what I’ve learned over the years about LinkedIn, it’s search capabilities, the best ways to connect with colleagues and using groups the right way.

The 2-day conference is for women entrepreneurs and gathers guest speakers from a variety of industries and we have round table discussions, all to help us create or freshen our business blueprint in branding, marketing, social media and sales.

Last year, I went for 1 day, and it changed my whole business around. I learned so much about myself, my clients, and it helped me focus on the realities as well as the infinite possibilities. I know that what I learned and the changes I made helped me through the down economy of last year.

So for 2011, the annual event, Speaking are founder and CEO, Angela Jia Kim of Savor and (Om Aroma), Julie Steelman (Bankability Guru , Sales Expert), Lisa Steadman (Woohoo, Inc.), Julie Pickens and Mindee Doney (Boogie Wipes), Payson Cooper (Social Media, Marketing and Mindset for Women Entrepreneurs), Amanda Steinberg founder of DailyWorth.com), Ted Rubin, Colleen DeBaise, small business editor at the Wall Street Journal and Amy Nichols (founder of Dogtopia).

My business cards are ready. I’m so energized! Between networking and learning from these fabulous experts, not to mention the after parties, lunches and dinners, what could be more exciting and fun?

Staying at the Top of Google When Someone Has Your Same Name

April 27th, 2011 | Posted in Blog, marketing | Comments Off
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Last week a colleague of mine, Lana Goldenberg sent out an email blast reminding us how important it is to have your “profile” filled out on Google. Not just your company’s profile like I’ve talked about previously on Google Maps and Yahoo local.

So this got me wondering, what can you do when there are other people with your same name, and you’re all competing for that top spot? For me, there is a Susan Newman that is a child psychologist and author and then there is Paul Newman’s daughter, Susan Newman.

So, I went back into my profile to be sure it’s all filled out completely. Next I secured a few new domains with my name.

In a search within the image area of Google on my name, I didn’t see many photos of myself, but lots of other women, so I’ll add a few more images within my website space that are just named with my name, this way mine will be newest and there will be more of me.

What’s most important is to keep all your information on Google and elsewhere up-to-date. If you do this you’ll be able to stay in that top spot.

susan newman #1 spot on google

RB United – Rancho Bernardo, California

April 22nd, 2011 | Posted in Portfolio, web | Comments Off
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RB United Rancho Bernardo California

RB United formed as a non-profit partnership of the RB Community Foundation… “Be prepared, Not Scared” is what they teach in their disaster preparedness classes to residents. I’ve designed their new brand identity and website in collaboration with The Market Building Team. This site has launched!

New Videos – Understanding Google Analytics and What All That Data Means

April 10th, 2011 | Posted in Blog, marketing | 3 Comments
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Google Analytics Overview

For anyone with a website, you’ve got to create a Google analytics account. Once created for that particular “url,” Google will generate a bit of code that gets loaded into your website (within the code of your site, a programmer can help with this) and can then track assorted details about your site. Why should you do this? How are you going to know which blog posts were read more than others or where those people came from? Which sites are linking to you, and what keywords are working? Google analytics can help you understand what information on your site is of great value to others, so you can put out more of the same. Once you study the reports and gain a better understanding of your visitors, together with using the SEO pack on your website, you’ll know what to write more of and what keyword phrases will help and attract even more people.

Using Custom Reports To Find Just The Data You Need

Custom reports help you simplify and get just the data you want. Using “Dimensions” which are the attributes of your visitors and how they got to you (keywords, traffic sources, etc…) and “Metrics” which is the collected data from the site (visits, revenue, conversion rate…) you can fine tune and get quicker answers.

Setting up Goals to Measure Your Site’s Success

Goal conversions are the primary metric for measuring how well your site fulfills business objectives. A goal is a website page which a visitor reaches once they have made a purchase or completed another desired action, such as a registration or download.

I have created three video tutorials for you. The first is a general overview of Google Analytics and the assorted data it tells you. The second covers creating custom reports to gather just the data you want to know, such as how many unique visitors came and who referred them, or how long people stayed on a particular page. The third is on setting up goals to measure your site’s success.

Google Analytics Total Overview 

Custom Reporting, Creating the Reports and Understanding the Data 

Setting Goals and Reviewing the Results 

I hope these were helpful. If you have a question or a specific tutorial request, just email me or leave a comment.

Newman’s Own Have Rebranded Their Packaging

April 10th, 2011 | Posted in Blog, marketing | Comments Off
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A bit of history before we get into the rebranding of the Newman’s Own packaging.

I have been a big fan of  the Newman’s Own product line and not because the last name is the same, but because in addition to creating great products, they donate proceeds to charity. For so many years and I’ve lost count, I have been buying these fabulous “Salt & Pepper Pretzels” (hot but not too hot) and now with the repackaging it seems they have discontinued making them. I have been to a bunch of different stores, Whole Foods, Garden of Eden, and the local gourmet delis, and sadly, they’re gone. I’ll never understand why a company does this. I have written to the company twice so far asking about them, and no answer.

Now, let’s take a look at the old packaging next to the new packaging.

Newman's Own pretzels repackaging

Here are the problems I see with the new packaging, pictured on the right. First, the name, “Newman’s Own” in the new version. The white with a black drop shadow letters, are squished together, practically bleeding into each other, and the word, “organics” is practically hidden.  In the original version, (left) the Newman’s Own name was large black letters at the top, bigger, stronger and looking bold. Also in the old version was the blue circle about the amount of money donated to charities. Note how that is now missing on the new bag. In the old version the ribbon concept  was only used once for the type of product, separating it from the product name, and now in the new version we have two ribbons (overused).

Overall I don’t think this repackaging is an improvement at all, the new bag looks plain and the emphasis seems to be placed on the wrong parts. The original design was laid out better with the product name at the top, easier to read, clearly visible and Nell and Paul Newman were placed in the middle.

What do you think? (…and if you find any of those salt and pepper pretzels anywhere, please let me know!)

Lisa Steadman – 30 Days of Brilliance – Brand Identity Design

April 8th, 2011 | Posted in Portfolio, web | Comments Off
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Lisa Steadman 30 Days of Brilliance Video Series - Branding design

Thrilled to be designing websites for Lisa Steadman and her new website, 30 Days of Brilliance is quite Brilliant indeed! She’s the chief WooHoo woman and especially in this video series is all about helping other women entrepreneurs find that innate greatness and their own WooHoo within.  Follow her and learn from a master!

Julie Steelman – Brand Identity Design & Book Cover Design

April 8th, 2011 | Posted in Portfolio, print, web | Comments Off
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Julie Steelman - Selling Mentor, Bankability Guru, Author
It was such a pleasure working with Julie Steelman, Selling Mentor and Bankabilty Guru, and author of The Effortless Yes! book. As you look through Julie’s presence across the web, including her new website, winner of a 2011 design award from Graphic Design USA, Twitter and YouTube design and in print, you’ll see how her brand identity with soft greens and bright pinks just welcomes you in.

Help Your Business Grow By Mapping It on Google

April 3rd, 2011 | Posted in Blog, marketing | Comments Off
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Most people know that they can open their browser, go to google.com and search for something. But those same people don’t realize that at the top left, there are quite a few other categories, such as the image, video and map sections.

Why are these important?

If you have a business, you must create a business listing in the map section and literally put your company on the map! Just having a website or Facebook company page isn’t enough. Watch this video to understand why creating this business listing and gaining reviews can help your ranking.

3 New videos FREE on Google Analytics! – Watch Now!

Who’s visiting your site? What countries are they from? What content are they reading? How long do they stay? What does the bounce rate mean? How do you set up custom reports to get just what you want to know? How do you create goals for your website!
These 3 video tutorials will be helpful and you will learn so much about your own website or blog, and even more about your visitors and how they are coming to you.