Count Me In Campaign

As discussed in a previous post, http://hmmills.blogspot.com/2008/07/shefinds-count-me-in-promotion.html I am participating in the Count Me In Campaign, in which I will donate a portion of the proceeds from two designs to support business women owners. As part of the program, SheFinds will feature an artist's design throughout the month of September on the SheFinds Blog. Well, yesterday was my turn: http://www.shefinds.com/blog/index.php/weblog/comments/designs_for_count_me_in_h_m_mils/

For some reason, when a copied this from their Blog, the photo is very green when I posted onto my blog..Oh well, I think you get the idea.

The proceeds - I am donating is 15%
Get Yours: $28 (Citrine), $32 (Peridot) @ etsy.com

"Count Me In promotes the growth of women owned businesses and is the leading national not for profit provider of online business loans, resources, and community for women entrepreneurs. Beginning in September and continuing through Jan 1st, SheFinds will feature original accessories by independent designers. A portion of each sale will go to Count Me In. With each purchase, you are contributing to the development of women in business. "

Whose counting?

And now a message from one of my many distractions:

Not that I'm counting, but I am, only 12 more days until the Panther's last pre-season game. This will be their first pre-season game played at home where they face off against the NY Islanders. The real countdown - only 17 more days until the Season Home Opener.

To feel the countdown excitement, check out this site. Don't forgot to turn up your volume:

http://panthers.nhl.com/

Spotlight on Emerging Designers - Fall 2008

So continuing on my quest to rebuild my customer base by getting my name out there; I snagged a spot on the Indie website, http://www.indieshopping.com/ under their Fall 2008 Spotlight on Emerging Designers.

The space contains photos of two of my products, links to my Etsy site with the following ad:

Based in South Florida, h.m. mills is a collection that is inspired by nature, shapes, ancient proverbs, personal mantras, and the belief that words have the power and magic to inspire each of us. Mixes of wire, metal, semi-precious stones, crystals, pearls and leather create the line which includes hoops with beads and discs dangling from earrings or necklaces and pendants on leather cords. Alone or piled on, my pieces make a gypsy-style statement for the wearer who is looking for something other than the expected.

I will be offering free shipping when you type "Indieshopping" in the "Message to Seller" box.

The Spotlight will run right up to the holiday season 12/21/2008. Am I excited, YES! Am I hoping that my view count Etsy will increase, YES! Do I hope to gain some sales, YES!

Project Wonderful

As I discussed in a previous post, I am exploring new avenues to rebuild my business. I joined Project Wonderful, which is the focus of today's post.

Unlike other online advertising, Project Wonderful, claims to have reinvented online advertising, as stated in their website: http://www.projectwonderful.com/:

" We've made click fraud impossible. We give advertisers the power to choose what sites their ads appear on - and publishers the freedom to choose what ads show up on their sites. We don't have absurdly high minimum-payout levels. We've made the entire online advertising experience transparent, trustworthy, and fair - as well as more profitable, for everyone involved! It's why our slogan is "Everybody wins."

Project Wonderful utilizes an auction system called Infinite Auction, "where anyone can be the high bidder at any time." The Infinite Auction allows members (advertisers) to place their ads on certain sites and by entering bidding information you provide Project Wonderful with the amount you want to pay and when you want to pay it. Therefore, if your bid is the highest at a particular time, then your ad is displayed on the site and you are only charged for the time in which your ad is the high bidder. It is the advertiser who determines sets the price of an ad.

As a member, you have two options:

1. Advertiser (as discussed above)
2. Publisher

As a publisher, you have the ability to:

• Decide how you want ads to appear on your site
• Where ads appear on your site
• The type of ads you want (graphical, text)
• Size of ads (banner ads, skyscraper ads, etc. )
• How many of these ad spots you want on your site

Once you have added the html code to your site, advertisers can start bidding on your ad space, and as a publisher you can approve each individual ad or choose the "trust ads and advertisers" that you have previously approved. Since you contain total control over the ads, you can cancel any bid and at any time.

In addition, Project Wonderful claims that they won't "hold your earnings hostage!" As a publisher you can request a pay out as soon as your account has earned $10.00. They compare themselves with Google AdSense who completes payouts once an account earns $100. Project Wonderful even boasts that they will never claim "click fraud" and keep some of your earnings.

Setting up the account was easy, you have to create your ad and Project Wonderful provides you with specific size information. After you have added $$$ to your account, (I did so via PayPal), you can begin searching through their list of publishers. If you want, Project Wonderful even has a search that will assist you with finding publishers that meet your criteria. In addition, you can set up Ad Alerts to search by the criteria you create. Once you set up an Ad Alert, you can will receive email notifications when "hit or bid values" reach certain thresholds. Therefore when there is a new advertising opportunity that meets your criteria, you will know immediately by an email alert.

So will Project Wonderful be worth the time and money? Stay tuned...

September 11th

Wordless Wednesday - Shoe Shopping in Rome

Back to Work

Now that Hurricane Ike is moving past South Florida, it's time for me to get back to work. I will hope that the storm just dies out in the Gulf, but I'm afraid the news may not be good for the folks along the Gulf states.



I've been working on some projects which I will be photographing and posting this week on Esty. I also have a few things going on to grow my business again and attract an audience in time for the holiday shopping season. Some of those items (which I be writing about in the upcoming weeks) include:

• Project Wonderful
• Frequent listings and relisting on Etsy
• Count Me in Campaign
• Indie Designer Showcase
• Indie Holiday Gift Guide

Hurricane Ike - Part 2

I went to bed last night and slept better than Friday night and this morning with a sigh of relief I see that Fort Lauderdale appears to be outside of Ike's projected path. Unfortunately, the Florida Keys and the states along the Gulf of Mexico are within Ike's path.


Yesterday the weather here was gorgeous, the sun was out, no clouds, no wind...an eerie dead calm. Today, there is a constant slight breeze, which will continue to grow stronger as Ike passes us to the South. Based on the information from the National Hurricane Center, there is good probability that South Florida will experience Tropical Storm strength winds which is a speed of about 39mph:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/143131.shtml?tswind120#contents

Hurricane Ike

Well it's going to be an interesting weekend, DH & I will be watching the news and checking on Hurricane Ike's progress.

Below the current projected track:



We have our hurricane supplies set: batteries, flashlights, gas in the trucks, filled gas containers for the generator, water, food and propane for the baroque grill. On Sunday we'll start moving things off the patio, collecting our insurance papers and if Ike doesn't turn a little more south then we'll be boarding up the windows as well.

Unfortunately, in a Category 4 hurricane not much stays put...when Hurricane Wilma blew past us in 2005, she was only a 1 or a 2 and she uprooted my trees as well as hundreds of others, knocked down power lines (no electricity for 10 days, others went longer without power), tore apart my screen enclosure, damaged the roof and took the fence down. She damaged buildings in downtown and also took the majority of the traffic lights and signs in Broward County which made driving in South Florida all that much more fun...

The weather channel has a cool video of Ike from Space:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid823425597/bclid877032950/bctid1773087650

Until later...

Wordless Wednesday - Video