Annie Anderson | Blog

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Estelle Getty, best known for her role as Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls, passed away this morning at the age of 84. She died about 5:30 am surrounded by her family and loved ones.

America’s best loved Golden Girl would have been 85 this Friday

RIP, Estelle.

And “Thank you for bein’ a friend.”

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

It’s time for a new theme here at AA|Blog but I’m not sure what I really want. I have *some* idea - 2 or 3 column, widget compatible, custom header image capable and preferably free - although I am considering a premium theme.

So far, I really like Fresh News, WP Remix and a couple of others. On the one hand, I’d like something “newsy” or magazine feeling but on the other - I’d rather have full articles on the front and not have truncated posts like many of the magazine or news style themes have. I like being able to read the whole post without having to click to another page to finish it.

I also want to be sure the theme doesn’t truncate (or cut off) the RSS feed. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves as an RSS reader - having to click to the website to finish reading something. Trust me - if I want to post a comment or something, I *will* click through. Just don’t expect me to click to finish reading. It’s not only cumbersome, it’s time consuming and when I have a bajillion tabs already open, it’s just not fun. Let me read the whole post in my RSS reader or I’m likely to unsubscribe.

It’s about value.

Oh, but anyway . . . I was talking about a new theme, wasn’t I? LOL . . . it’s been a long day. Can you tell?!

Yeah, I think a new theme is what I’d really like. I do like this one, though but it’s kinda limited in what I really want to do with the site and some of the newer premium themes have some great options.

All of that to say - do you have a favorite theme? Would you purchase (or have you) a premium theme? How much are you willing to spend on such a theme?

Please tell me your thoughts.

In the arena,

By the way - if this is your first time here, or you haven’t done so yet, please consider subscribing to my RSS feed. You can use any feed reader you wish.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

Just wanted to let you all know I’m doing updates in the background (upgrading to WordPress 2.6 and such) so if you notice anything that’s broken, missing or otherwise not working properly here, please let me know. Either leave a comment on this post so I’ll see or you can send me an email. (There is a link to my contact info on the About page.)

I’ll be back later with some new posts and thoughts both here and at The Weight Loss Papers (which I have been neglecting lately, sorry).

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

We’re finally experiencing some summer here in Seattle. Actually, we’ve had nice weather for about a week and a half . . . but, you never know how long it’s going to last so I didn’t want to shout HOORAY!! too soon. I think it’s safe to mention it now, though.

This past weekend was a bit too hot for me - in the 90’s. Thank goodness it doesn’t happen often or regularly in this neck of the woods. Today it’s a respectable 68 with a high of 73 expected. That’s about perfect for me.

Anyway, lots of things happening lately and lots more coming so I wanted to drop by and let you know what to expect over the next several weeks on this blog. For starters, I’ve got some posts on various writing topics coming up as well as some basics on such things as business plans, marketing ideas, and other strategies.

I also want to announce that I’ll be updating my real estate book soon and the 2nd edition should be ready on Amazon.com by September (I hope). It usually take about 3 weeks from the final publishing phase before it’s available through the distributor and thus listed on Amazon. I’ll let you know when as soon as possible.

There will also be some web-related stuff available that you’ll get access to through the book. I’ll tell you more about that as well, as publication gets closer.

So, if you’re a writer or into real estate investing or know someone who is, keep an eye out here for updates. I’ll also be including some new free ebooks and other stuff. Oh - and Friday is, of course, Independence Day here in the US and I’ll be making some desktop backgrounds and other graphics for the occasion. When they’re ready, I’ll post them here for you to download free.

I have more but don’t want to overwhelm you so I’ll keep it short for now. And besides - the kids are outside playing in the sprinkler and I’ve got to go help my husband finish building the new gates for our driveway. Should be fun!

In the arena,

By the way - if this is your first time here, or you haven’t done so already, please consider subscribing to the RSS feed. You can get in any reader you wish.

Today I’m going to talk about a project currently underway for my husband. Now, this topic might not excite you but please don’t discount the value of what I’ll be sharing here for that reason. You may just find a couple of things that could be modified to fit your business.

Last week I mentioned a new website called Northwest Stone Guide that I’m creating on behalf of my husband. Well, this project has now morphed into the main project plus a secondary project on Landscaping so I thought I’d share the process I’m using to get everything in place.

I find it’s helpful to organize things right from the beginning so each piece can be kept on track from day one. After discussing exactly what my husband had in mind, we brainstormed business names and corresponding domain name ideas. Neither of us liked the same thing so we took my husband’s favorite and my favorite and mashed them together to come up with Northwest Stone Guide. I then purchased northweststoneguide.com, uploaded WordPress and the Launchpad theme so the site would be live (and not an advert site for my hosting company or a blank page), added a FeedBurner feed to the theme, then set to work on the next phase.

Over the course of the last week, I did some minor research for local things we could include as well as information, photos and other materials that will ultimately make the site we envision.

Next steps include:

• Contacting local businesses. I’ll asking them if they’d like to be included in our directory. There will be headings for Builders, Stone Wholesalers, Granite Fabricators, Tile Craftsmen, Architects, Interior Designers, Landscapers and probably other categories as well.
• Writing content. Since the site will be an informational site about all things relating to stone (granite, marble, travertine, slate, etc), we plan to include info on each of the common types including where it comes from, how it’s processed, what the major uses are (countertops, flooring, etc) and other info that people often ask when they’re considering using these materials in their homes.
• Newsletters and mailing lists. I’m not entirely sure, but I think we may offer a couple of newsletters and mailing lists. Some will be targeted to the service providers who will use the site and others to homeowners and other people who come looking for recommendations and such.
• Monetization. Right now, the idea is to monetize using Google Adsense and that type of thing. However, I am also toying with the idea of paid adverts as well. This way, businesses will get more exposure and allow their companies to be featured on the main page as well as in their category listings. And I’m thinking of having both a free and a paid directory. The free directory will simply list the company website and contact info. And the paid directory will allow the company to have a larger listing although I’m not sure what all info will be included. That part is still in development.
• Miscellaneous. We are tentatively planning to create a short ebook of some kind that will be free to download. This will be aimed at homeowners who are looking for more info about using stone either in new homes they may be building or remodels of their current homes. It’ll include info on how to pick the right contractors and fabricators as well.

Once all of that stuff is figured out and configured on the site, I’ll make it live. Actually, I’m planning to make it live as soon as I have contacted enough local businesses and written enough articles to make the content worthwhile to people who might find the site. At that time, I’ll also start advertising it and of course, any business that has agreed to a listing will get some promo stuff they can pass on to their clients. I’m hoping to have the website live by mid-April, sooner if at all possible.

If you’re in the Seattle area, check the site out. All that is there right now is a placeholder with an RSS feed subscription or email subscription. Go ahead and sign up so you’ll get updates as soon as things are announced.

For a more complete list of projects, see the post from March 10, 2008 “Exciting Things Ahead.”

Design is the topic for tomorrow! See you then!

This week, you’ll notice a lot of stuff happening. My husband is home on vacation for the next 9 days (doing some remodeling in our house and keeping the kids occupied) so I’m busy, busy, busy! I have tons of ideas on the table, many of which are being put into action as we speak. I intend that by Friday, much of what I’ve been working on the past few months will be live. Yay!

This is so exciting!

Projects on the table:

NW Stone Guide - this is a new project my husband is the mastermind of. He works for a granite and tile wholesale place and has been working in this industry for quite a few years now so he has a lot of knowledge in the stone market that he wants to share with others. NW Stone Guide will have local resources including stone fabricators, import warehouses, builders and remodelers, and info on all things stone. It will not only be for homeowners looking for info, but we also hope to make it *THE* portal for all facets of the industry. All that’s there right now (that viewers can see, anyway) is a nice little subscription form you can fill out to get updates so that once the site is live, you can have a look. You can subscribe via RSS or email.

The Write Point - my original writing and design project. It used to be a site for all of my writing and design endeavors but it’s now primarily a blog on writing - including fiction and non-fiction tips, writing how-to, editing, publishing and everything else. The site is in redesign right now as I add new stuff but it is live and you can check it out. Subscribe to the RSS feed for updates.

Weight Loss Papers - a new-ish site dedicated to my pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. It’s about weight loss, healthy eating, balance and just living life in the best way I possibly can. The tag line is “A Journey in Lifestyle Creation” - which really explains it all. I hope you’ll visit and come back to it often. My plan is to update at least 3 times or more per week about what I’m learning about all things health, etc. Ultimately I plan to have some recipes, articles on exercise, and other topics of interest. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed over there as well.

ASAmedia Group - where my writing and design business is now located. This is the actual business side of things. It is live but not everything is there yet. This is the project I’ll be pushing hard this week. Right now, you can see the *copywriting* section when you visit the homepage but the *design* link will take you nowhere. At least for now. I’m opening my business up for writing clients so if you are thinking of hiring a writer for any of YOUR projects, please check it out. This is the first time I’ve opened up my business to new clients in 2 years. So, if you might want to work with me, you should seriously jump on it right away. Just go fill out the form on the bottom of the Copywriting page and I’ll get in touch with you as quickly as I can.

So . . . As you can see, lots of stuff going on! The office door is closed, radio is cranked up and the To Do list is dwindling!

See you again soon!

Chris Brogan, who blogs on commercial and social media topics, recently asked his readers to share his blog with others on his “Subscription Drive” post.

I’ve been reading Chris’ blog for about 8 months or so and usually find great topics that are helpful in a variety of ways. If you use the web for marketing, business, or any kind of social media, I encourage you to check it out.

~ Annie