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By Maureen Rogers
Last week I promised we'd talk about lowering prices. And I found a great article on the subject. It's surprising what appears when you need it. There are so many things I want to cover. It's not business the way it used to be, that's for sure. You can't just open an herb business because you really love herbs and want to share that love. Not unless you are a trust child or won the lottery. You have to wear a million hats and you still feel like you're not doing all you can to promote your business. I often wonder if you can have a real life unless you have at least 2 full-time employees or you've coerced your mother and a friend to help you. I've found some interesting articles to help you along...like how to use Twitter to promote your business. I admit I'm slow with social marketing. But I feel you don't have a choice. I wonder how people have the time to do these things, but I follow along, grumbling but doing it. I get this one listing of reporters' queries and I am still amazed at how any one has the time to do to do what he says he does. And on that note I'll let you go and read some good info yourself.
Herbal company wins
environmental award Based on 6,277 ballots submitted by consumers across the U.S., Mountain Rose Herbs has been selected as the most popular environmentally friendly business in the country. The rural Lane County, Ore., company markets organic products, promotes a waste-free workplace and uses 100 percent recycled paper in its catalog, biodiesel in its vehicles and partially recycled paper clips in its office. The 2008 award was presented in late November to the privately held company whose worldwide market mushroomed after moving from Northern California during the summer of 2000. "Since 1987, Mountain Rose Herbs has focused on delivering exceptional quality certified organic products with a strict emphasis on sustainable agriculture," a Green America (formerly Co-op America) spokesperson said in announcing the award. Another Pacific Northwest company among the 10 finalists selected through Green America website balloting was Babyworks in Portland, Ore., a provider of cloth diapers, clothes and nonplastic toys. Mountain Rose Herbs focused on selling organic and environmentally friendly products when it was started as a home-based business in 1987 in Northern California. The commitment to sell only organic products was made shortly after the company moved to Oregon, said Shawn Donnille, vice president, operations manager and director of quality control. Organic products were more available at that time, said Julie Bailey, who became a partner in 1991 and is now president. She said the Eugene area was selected because it was environmentally friendly and because it offered a large employee pool to draw from. Today, the company sells more than 4,300 products worldwide, all of botanical origin, including herbal extracts, spices, essential oils, teas, bulk cosmetic ingredients and body care products. It budgets more than $40,000 a year to assist nonprofit organizations and sponsors projects to preserve threatened and endangered species. The administrative offices and distribution center are in the Pleasant Hill shopping center, a rural community 10 miles southeast of Eugene. The company has two warehouses in Eugene and plans a third warehouse there. The company obtains about 30 percent of its products through contractual arrangements with several farmers in Oregon, California and Canada. The remaining products are acquired domestically and internationally. "We are a manufacturer and processor of herbs, spices, teas, everything of botanical origin, even cosmetics," Donnille said. "We sell to everybody. We sell to manufactures, to distributors, to natural food stores, to co-ops, public, universities, public agencies. "The environmental ideals and practices incorporated in this company are an accurate reflection of the principles that all of us in the company incorporate in our personal lives," he said. "None of this would be possible without the enthusiasm and commitment exercised by each employee." He said, for example, that the 60 employees limit personal waste in the workplace that cannot be reclaimed, reused, recycled or redistributed - like food wrappers - to less than 80 gallons each month, which is equivalent to that created by an average four-person household. Employees are working toward a zero-based goal. The company also uses biodiesel in its fleet of vehicles in an effort to move toward a more sustainable transportation system. Mountain Rose Herbs' green and sustainable practices were hailed as "a model for other corporations" by Green America official Todd Larsen when the award was announced. Donnille acknowledged that other companies could enjoy success if they are committed to a green-based operation. "They can incorporate some of our initiatives we have published on our website," he said. "We list every detail: What we buy, why we buy it, how we produce it, how we pack it, how we ship it. It does provide a working model for other companies because they can read that website and ruminate on the subjects themselves. "They can begin to adopt some of those initiatives, whether it be zero waste, use of recycled materials in the workplace or refuse to use chemical cleaning agents. So people walk away not only feeling inspired but having a real working model to incorporate within their own company." Mountain Rose Herbs distributes a catalog twice a year, but relies primarily on its website to promote its products and to handle sales. "When Shawn developed our website in 2001 so that we could do our marketing there, business really took off," Bailey said. The customer base has increased to more than 290,000 from 30,000 when the business moved to Oregon. "October and November have been our busiest months in our history," Donnille said. "Business is swelling. We don't see any sign of a recession." (Capitol Press 1/19/09) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Drinking Coffee Slashes Risk of Alzheimer’s
“We aimed to study the association between coffee and tea consumption at midlife and dementia/AD risk in late-life, because the long-term impact of caffeine on the central nervous system was still unknown, and as the pathologic processes leading to Alzheimer’s disease may start decades before the clinical manifestation of the disease,” says lead researcher, associate professor Miia Kivipelto from the University of Kuopio, Finland and Karloinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Coffee-drinking was categorized into three groups: low (0 to 2 cups daily), moderate (3 to 5 cups) and high (more than 5 cups). Tea-drinking was categorized into two groups: those not drinking tea and those who drank at least one cup daily. While all coffee drinkers had a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease than non-drinkers, those who drank moderate amounts of coffee lowered their risk by a surprising 65 percent. Drinking tea had no impact on the risk of developing dementia. “Given the large amount of coffee consumption globally, the results might have important implications for the prevention of or delaying the onset of dementia/AD. The finding needs to be confirmed by other studies, but it opens the possibility that dietary interventions could modify the risk of dementia/AD,” wrote Kivipelto. “Also, identification of mechanisms of how coffee exerts its protection against dementia/AD might help in the development of new therapies for these diseases.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 Tips to Take Your Website or Blog to the Next Level Ideas to Market and Promote Your Site and Get More Exposure
By Jennifer Kyrnin I've been writing a pageview driven website since 1997, and let me tell you, some days it's really draining. In all that time I've learned a lot about how to get the pageviews and move my sites forward in the quest for more pageviews, more visitors, more fame, and more money. I don't recommend doing all these things all at once, but if you're feeling stuck, try out one of them for a week or two. You might be surprised at the results. And if it doesn't work out, you haven't lost too much time. The only thing required to use these tips to get to the next level is that you know where you are now. So if you don't have analytics on your site's performance, you should start tracking that first. Once you know where you are, you know where you need to get to.
1.
Have a plan
2.
Be generous
3.
Take a new look at your design and layout
4.
Tone / Style of writing
5.
Expand or decrease coverage
6.
Create a product or sell a service
7.
Networking
8.
Advertising
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Attention bloggers, or
those who are just creating a blog.
8 Words That Turn Off Customers
September 26,
2008 Words are at the heart of almost every form of marketing. Whether they're married to images or standing on their own, words stimulate ideas, emotions, and even our senses. Choose your words carefully, and sales will follow. Make the wrong choices, and customers will tune you out.
Bombarded daily with thousands of marketing messages, prospects respond to those that ring true and offer the specific benefits and features they desire. Throw in too much hyperbole, or make the same old tired promises as other advertisers, and your ads will be ignored. Are you guilty of word crimes? Check this list of the most overused words eroding the quality of today's marketing. If you use these generalizations, you'll have a lot of explaining to do. 1. Care: "We care," "caring for you" and "from people who care" are all versions of the same weak promise. Typically, you'll find these phrases in health care, insurance, and financial marketing. They prompt prospects to wonder how the promise will benefit them and in what ways this caring attitude is manifested. But because the word itself is so overused, prospects may not pay attention long enough to learn the answer. 2. Solutions: The great love of technology marketers, this word has been beaten to death. So many companies promise to have the solution that the word is no longer credible. As most customers or clients believe their challenges are unique, it's hard for them to specifically imagine how these solutions will be delivered without lots of additional information from the advertiser. 3. Results: Though not truly a naughty word, results has been overused and represents a highly general, fairly toothless promise. When confronted with the promise of results, most prospects will want proof. So if you choose to use this word, be prepared with testimonials and other support. 4. Amazing: How many "amazing" breakthroughs have you seen advertised today? Are most of them really amazing? Probably not. This superlative makes something sound too good to be true. Use it with caution and be ready to back it up with plenty of details. 5. Needs: It seems like every advertiser these days promises to meet our needs. But most are short on specifics. This tired promise elicits a ho-hum response because we already expect the things we buy to meet our needs. Why else would we buy them? Strengthen your selling proposition by detailing how your product or service will do a better job of meeting needs than what your competitors offer. 6. Quality: Just as we expect products and services to meet our needs, we also expect high-quality merchandise. Consumers believe quality should be a given. What makes your product of higher quality than others? Tell consumers the ways you ensure quality, and you'll put some teeth into this bland promise. 7. Turnkey: Marketing that promises a "turnkey solution" is likely to be met with skepticism mixed with a touch of fear over the prospective loss of control it suggests. Prospects must trust that your company will provide stellar performance every step of the way. That makes it essential to use specifics and take sufficient space or time to tell a complete story. 8. No. 1: It seems everyone is claiming to be No. 1 at something. Whether it's price, delivery, convenience, or savings, marketers are claiming No. 1 status with very little proof. And that has damaged the effectiveness of this claim. Plus, being No. 1 is all about you and not about the advantages you provide to the customer. Use words that specifically detail how your No. 1 status translates into a higher value for the customer and everyone wins.
Contact marketing expert Kim T. Gordon is the author of Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars: The Top 50 Ways to Grow Your Small Business, at smallbusinessnow.com. Her new e-book, "Big Marketing Ideas for Small Budgets," is available exclusively from Entrepreneur at smallbizbooks.com.
Marketing in Hard Times: Pricing Diane Aull
Is it a good idea to cut your prices when times get tough? When money is tight, it might seem that lowering your prices would be the thing to do. Customers are bargain-hunting, and you may think lower-priced competitors will eat your lunch unless you offer an even better deal.
Sure, you might feel you're being forced into it. When all your competitors have lowered their prices, and you're hanging out there as the most expensive alternative, you might feel as though you have to match their price cuts.
Perception is Reality I ran across an interesting study not too long ago. A researcher named Dr. Antonio Rangel of the California Institute of Technology told participants they were going to be rating five wines ranging in cost from $5 a bottle to $90 a bottle. He told the participants the price as they sampled the wine, and asked them to rate how much they enjoyed the wine. But Dr. Rangel and his colleagues not only asked the participants about each of the wines, they also measured each participant's brain activity, specifically in the "pleasure center" of the brain. With this set-up, they could objectively compare each participant's level of real, physical enjoyment.
A lot of people I know, when they talk about shopping at Wal*Mart, are almost apologetic about it. "I know the stuff there is crap, but it's so cheap I can't resist," they'll say. The only thing is, in many cases Wal*Mart carries the same quality brand-name products as other hardware stores, toy boutiques and grocery stores... but they've made their reputation as the place for "always low prices," and for at least some people the perception is: cheap = junk.
And the interesting thing is, some people just won't shop at Wal*Mart no matter what. They voluntarily -- in full awareness of what they're doing -- go to a higher-priced store so they can pay more to buy the exact same stuff they could buy for less at Wal*Mart. They'll come up with all kinds of reasons to explain (or at least rationalize) their behavior: the other stores are better-organized, or they have nicer sales associates, or they're in a more convenient location, or whatever.
Now, Wal*Mart can get away with rock-bottom pricing because they're huge. They have the clout to negotiate concessions from their vendors the average person or business can't. And with the volume they do, even a few pennies per item sold can translate into zillions in total profit. So they're happy to target the penny-pinching cheapskate shoppers like me. They frankly don't care if some people perceive them to be a purveyor of low-quality merchandise. They can cry all the way to the bank about the unfairness of it all.
Doesn't quite work that way for the rest of us, though.
Pricing to the lowest common denominator is potentially a workable strategy if you're looking to make spare cash running a weekend flea market stand. It's almost certainly a mistake if you're trying to make a full-time living from your business.
The economy is going to get better. And when it does, you may not want your products or services to be locked in the bargain basement while your competitors have moved into the penthouse suite. So be careful. The pricing decisions you make now can have long-lasting repercussions for your brand.
Of course, if your prices are waaaay above everyone else's, you may have to adjust downward to stay in the ballpark. But you certainly don't need to price lower than the competition! Nor do you want to -- at least, not if you value the long-term health and viability of your business.
Before you rush headlong into dealing with a down economy by trying to drastically undercut your competitors' prices, try this instead: add value to attract and retain customers without resorting to bargain basement pricing.
There are likely any number of "bonus" items or services you can offer that your customers want, but that won't cost you an arm and a leg. Give them at least some of these things, and you can position yourself in the market as a premium provider -- thereby justifying higher prices (and higher profit margins) for you.
Its what smart retailers do when they find themselves in competition with Wal*Mart. They don't try to beat Wal*Mart at their own low-prices game. That's almost certainly a losing proposition, thanks to Wal*Mart's size and volume business.
No, they keep their prices at a profitable level and instead help potential customers rationalize spending more with them by giving them reasons to justify the extra expense. Remember, there are customers out there who really don't want to shop in the bargain basement. So help them out! Save them from the work of coming up with their own justifications to buy from you and hand them a bunch of ready-made reasons on the proverbial silver platter. Use your marketing and advertising to spread the word -- "Those other guys may brag about their low prices, but we give you better value for the money."
Offer your customers value-adds the bargain-basement gang can't afford to give them. Real honest-to-goodness personalized service. Hard-to-find merchandise. Luxury amenities. It needn't be a huge thing -- might be as simple as always having a platter of fresh-baked homemade cookies and a pot of hot coffee on your reception desk. Giving everyone free same-day delivery as a matter of course. Offering to meet them at their home or place of business instead of making them come to you.
Remember, what they perceive about you will become their reality. When they perceive you're the one who cares about their needs and their concerns and their comfort, you'll earn some incredibly loyal customers who don't mind paying a little extra to do business with you.
Talk to your customers. What can you offer that they need or want, but aren't getting from your competitors? Think about ways to become not the vendor who cuts back when times get tough, but the vendor who adds value, and your brand will be positioned to fly higher than ever when the economy picks up.
ARE
YOU PUTTING YOUR BEST BLOG POSTS ON DISPLAY? October 28, 2008 I talked to a blogger last week who
explained that he had written a blog post last year that still gets traffic
referrals. Which is great, but this blogger had his post buried in the archives
of his blog. Instead, why not put the spotlight on your best posts? A simple way to do this
is to create a 'best of' section for your blog that highlights your most popular
posts. I did this on my blog by simply creating a section on my blog's sidebar
that links to about 10 of my most popular posts. This is also a great way for
new readers to quickly get up to speed on what I discuss on my blog.
Tel. +1.905.640.6677 Fax. +1.905.640.6641
Goodwood, ON L0C 1A0 Canada everything herbal!
PICTURES
CATCH THE EYE AND ALLOW YOUR WORDS TO CATCH THE MIND October 28, 2008 One
of my biggest struggle as a writer is finding a way to spin a tale or present an
idea that captivates the mind long enough to keep someone reading to the end of
my piece. A great way to do this is to captivate the eyes with images. It gives
readers a break from all those words and it gives their mind a pleasant
distraction that's brief enough to make them happy without getting them off
track.
See? See how well that worked?
Happy flowers...in a field...making you happy...
Anyway. I've always struggled
with finding the right pictures to add to my posts. Flickr is a treasure trove
of great photos that are open to fair use via a creative commons license, and
iStockPhoto offers pictures at minimal cost, but there's still time and effort
involved in finding just the right one. That's a point Sonia Simone over at CopyBlogger addresses in a great post called "The Lazy Blogger's Guide to Finding Great Post Images." Sonia writes:
Some images just make people
feel good. And associating yourself with feeling good is a smart move if you're
trying to persuade. While a steady diet of kittens and rainbows gets cloying, it
can be a good move to choose a photo just because it makes you smile.
Don't underestimate the power of a great image in a blog post. Especially if a lot of your traffic comes from RSS readers. After all, nothing catches the eye among a sea of text-only posts like a really great image. Flickr photos from ArielMatzuk and RussellBernice.
R-Herbary.com
You will never be the perfect entrepreneur. No matter how hard you work to avoid
catastrophes... at some point, disasters will happen. At times, you will look
bad, and your reputation will be injured. But, that doesn't mean you or your
company have to suffer long-term repercussions because of it.
How
to Grow Your Twitter Following (even if You're Not a Marketer) I'm not ready to talk about how Twitter has benefited me or my business yet--we have a complicated relationship. But I think it goes without saying that a lot of people (or should I say "peeps") would like to grow their Twitter following, and I think I've cracked the code. Whatever your social networking goals are, the following tactics will not only increase the number of people following you, but you will begin to experience that old fashioned thing called "community" right from your desktop:
These are the tactics I've been using for
the last month or so. My number of Twitter followers has enjoyed a nice uptick
as a result. Like anything else in online marketing though, consistency is
everything. Well, that and you have to actually market your Twitter profile.
Otherwise you're just tweeting into the wind now, aren't you?
In
the last year,
Twitter has been quite the buzz for online marketers. We use it in different
ways. It could be for pimping out events, linking to different blog posts, or
just random tweets about our pet peeves, or the status from the latest
"your-favorite-team" game.
January 21, 2009 — Substances found in blueberries may inhibit the growth of blood vessel tumors in infants and children, a new study suggests. Ohio State University researchers say they found that feeding a blueberry extract to mice with blood vessel tumors safely decreased the size of the tumors and improved survival. The tumors in question are among the most common tumors in infants, according to the report in the journal Antioxidants & Redox Signaling. In infants, the tumors can be disfiguring and in some cases threaten the health of a child. Mice with blood vessel tumors that were fed the blueberry extract lived twice as long as mice that did not get the substance and had tumors 60% smaller than mice that did not receive blueberry extract treatment, the authors say. Tumors made from the types of cells in question are found in blood vessels and affect 3% of children, the researchers say. The tumors, they add, usually occur within four weeks of birth and often affect premature infants. "This work provides the first evidence demonstrating that blueberry extract can limit tumor formation by inhibiting the formation of blood vessels and inhibiting certain signaling pathways," Gayle Gordillo, MD, principal investigator of the Ohio State team, says in a news release. "Oral administration of blueberry extract represents a potential therapeutic strategy for treating endothelial cell tumors in children." Gordillo says the tumors are similar to a large, blood-filled sponge. Current treatments can suppress the immune system, she says, and cause developmental delays. Removing the tumors surgically is generally avoided because that process could cause patients to bleed to death, she says. Thus, many families opt to accept deformities caused by the tumors. "Our hope is that if we feed blueberry juice to a child with this type of tumor, we can intervene and shrink the tumor before it becomes a big problem," she says. "Our next step is a pilot study with humans to see if we can measure response to the treatment using imaging techniques and the monitoring of chemical changes in the urine." The findings could have implications in other cancers, including breast, melanoma, ovarian, and head and neck, Gordillo says.
SOURCES:
Need a pet but don't want
all the work ???? Poke and prod the spider with your mouse, also 'grab' one of
its legs
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Herbalpedia 2009 is almost here The latest edition of Adobe Acrobat has arrives and we're putting things together. Just to remind you of our pre-release discount. Order before January 31 and you'll get the CD for $20 off our normal price of $70. Those who ordered 2008 will receive the 2009 at only $35!!! (and you have all year at that price.) That's the normal discount if you order in consecutive years. So order now and save if you're ordering for the first time. Remember, we don't ship until February, but early orders help us get enough CDs ready to ship and we'll give you $20 off for helping us plan.
Insurance.....for most
things Don't forget we've found great insurance for ingestibles....Contact me for the details.
The oxygen therapy is coming along. Between that and 10 weeks of acupuncture, I can see a change. I'm stiff but things are improving. Don't ever believe doctors who tell you Paxil is your answer. And keep believing things will get better....they will. I also found a homeopathic remedy that works fantastic. If you haven't tried it, www.nopainspray.com is great. Watch that you don't add on stuff you don't want. But try it, it works for all sorts of things.
...Till next issue
Maureen
Maureen Rogers The Herb Growing & Marketing Network www.herbworld.com and www.herbnet.com PO Box 245, Silver Spring, PA 17575 717-393-3295 email: herbworld@aol.com
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