Self-Promotion Doesn't Have to Cost a Dime

How many of you include a sig line at the bottom of your emails?

A sig line is also known as a signature block of text appended at the bottom of an e-mail message and provides closure to even the most daunting stream of consciousness. To earn this Creative Goddess' Good Netkeeping Seal of Approval, please add a sig line at the bottom of your notes; there's no guarantee that your phone number change is reflected in my contacts folder.

Sig lines usually include:
Name, Title, Company name, and email address.

Optional info could include:
Phone number, Company URL, and even a quote.

This is my typical sig line:

Regards-
Lisa
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"Luck favors the prepared." Edna, the designer to ElastaGirl of The Incredibles

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EC (Lisa) Stewart, Creative Goddess
Providing Emerging Business Design & Marketing Solutions
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ECStewart Designs, Inc. | ecstewart.com
lisa@ecstewart.com | p 919.271.0668
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http://www.ecstewart.com/savantblog

Design Thought Strategy: To carry your business cards with you at all times provides a virtual signature block to your conversations as well. Who knew?

Update Bit: Reeping the rewards

Political Undertones

As a small business owner, I must remember to keep a polished look at all times. From removing stray threads on my clothing to spell checking my notes, political and religious agendas must also remain neutral at all costs.

While I was out running errands yesterday, I found myself behind a copy shop commercial van that had two major issues:

1) Misspelled the word stationery (stationary)
2) A political sticker on the back window.

Regardless to which party I am affiliated, I am aghast at any business who feels personal beliefs belong on their sleeve while attempting to influence business. I must say, my business has been influenced all right, to run to another copy shop to get my forms printed.

SAVANTQuote

"The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Alan Kay

Reading is Fundamental

...Specially when it comes to contests.

How many aspiring photographers are out there? The digital camera makes it very easy for us to compose our shot, take it, then critique it immediately. If the shot doesn't fit the bill, take it again. Poor Billy will be a little tired after 10 canon balls that you forced him to jump because you continued to crop his head out of the picture.

Now, you've got this great photo and your friends convince you that you should enter it in a photo contest. Several local papers later, you find a contest worthy of your submission. Now, here is where the fine print means a great deal -the usage terms of exclusive rights.

A few months ago, I read in Carolina Woman that they're holding a photo contest. Wait! Can you hear the squealing tires coming to a dead-stop? Within the rules it reads:

Use: All photographs become the property of Carolina Woman Inc. Carolina Woman will retain the irrevocable and unrestricted right and permission to use and publish the photographs in whole or in part in any medium without restriction as to changes or alterations.

What does this mean to you? Frankly, you no longer own that photo. You can't submit to another contest or make personal stationery of it. If this photo is that good, Carolina Woman can put it into a calendar or turn it into a clever bag and profit from those sales -with your photo! You've basically signed away any rights you have to these photos as your own.

Before you fill out that application and enclose a sticky, fingerprint free possession, read the terms. You owe it to yourself.

Melville Nailed It

"It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation."
H. Melville

This is the best title I could summon after what I experienced last evening. Once a week I check the stats on the Web sites to determine the value of what we do. Upon opening the stat chart, I see that a slew of folks are coming from... a personal wedding site??

Immediately I discover that an image that I illustrated two years ago for my wedding has been pilfered. They didn't do it the smart way, but, well, I'm not going to tell you how because I don't want any other miscreants illegally yanking copyright images from other sites -including my own!


This is where they pulled the image: http://www.ecstewart.com/sp-wedding-all.html

I blasted a note to the offending parties. I also suspected that the engaged couple were innocent since they had the site designed by 'a friend.' Nevertheless, I caught their attention with both the note and the new image they now sported on their Web site.



The image enlarged for better viewing: http://www.ecstewart.com/selfpromo/wedding/heart.gif

Indeed I did. A few hours later, I receive this retort:

"We were certainly not using the images for any commercial purpose and did not see harm in it. The images were found at google/images. The images have now been removed from the site. Thank you for pointing out the copyright violation." Signed, the Webmistress

Thank you for pointing out the copyright violation?? Puh-leeze!

Hence, my final blow:

"Regardless of how the images were harvested, Google or otherwise, does not make pilfering ethical. Double it goes for not using it for commercial purposes.

As a Webmaster yourself, you should become acquainted with copyright infringement otherwise you could damage your reputation as a designer among your cliental."

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Please, whatever you do, do not compromise the integrity of your value system to make a few bucks. The heart on this personal Web site didn't even add value to their overall personal brand. Additionally, the webmistress had pilfered a German artists work to include on this site, unbeknownst to the couple that hired said designer.

The German designer has been notified.