Shameless Self-Promotion

Hi! My name is Janice Byer and I am the owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services (http://www.docutype.net). I am the winner of several prestigious awards (information is on our website) and have a slew of happy customers, as the testimonials on our site will attest to. My services are professional, creative and in demand.

Now, wasn’t that easy? In one small paragraph, I have shamelessly self-promoted my business and it’s success.

I’ll admit it, I am addicted to shameless self-promotion, and why not? Who better to promote myself and my business than me? And, the opportunity to talk about your business should be the root behind every marketing effort you undertake.

Networking utilizes shameless self-promotion almost constantly. After all, when you visit a networking event, why are you there? To promote your business of course! And, when you are at a designated networking event, it is not the time when you should hold back. Be shameless yet professional, and also be considerate of your fellow networkers. They are there for the same reason you are. So, give them the opportunity to shamelessly self-promote themselves.

Networking is the “right time” to shamelessly self-promote. But, there are times when it is not appropriate. There is a time and a place for everything, including promoting your business.

For instance, if you are a member of a news or discussion group, there are generally rules against promoting your business, unless that is what the list is for. So, don’t take advantage of the captive audience or break the rules. That can actually be bad for business.

However, some lists have designated days of the week or month when you can shamelessly tell the world about what you do and what you have to offer. This is the time to show them what you’ve got.

Opportunities arise at various times when it is good to promote yourself and your business. For instance, I was with my daughter at the library yesterday and the woman there asked if I was excited about my daughter going into grade one and the fact that she will be in school all day. This was the perfect opportunity to tell her that I run my own home-based business and what I do.

Also, a few weeks back we had our water supply guy here filling up our well and we talked about his father’s business. Well, I didn’t give up the chance to say, “Does your father have a website? I can design one for him.” Well, the conversation went from there and I ended up giving him several of my business cards.

My husband is also the owner of a small business; a tow truck and storage business. Well, the other day we had a fellow here delivering gravel for our driveway and, as he is always on the road, I asked him if he sees accidents and such. So, my husband gave him some of his cards and it has paid off already. Yesterday this dump truck drive called to tell my husband about an accident that he had just seen.

And, don’t forget your existing clients. Do they know everything that you offer? I have a wonderful steady administrative client that I told a few times about some of the websites I am designing. Well, he was impressed and now we are in talks to design his website. He didn’t know I did website design until I told him. And, this may be true for you as well. Your clients won’t know everything that you can do for them unless you tell them. They may not need any of your secondary services right away, or at all, but they may know someone who does.

My administrative client, which I mentioned above, has now given my name to some of his customers who need help with their office tasks and web design needs.

As I said before, there is a time and a place for shamelessly self-promoting yourself and your business. Be careful not to sound arrogant and don’t be pushy. But, as a small business owner, you are the best person to tell others about what you offer and you should take advantage of situations that will allow you to do so.

About The Author

Janice Byer is a certified Master Virtual Assistant and owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services (http://www.docutype.net). See this and other articles on her website.

jbyer@docutype.net

Web Design - The Pros and Cons of Flash

Firstly what is flash? Well Flash refers to both the Macromedia Flash Player and to a multimedia authoring program used to create content it (such as games and movies). The Flash Player is a client application available in most web browsers. It features support for vector and raster graphics, a scripting language called ActionScript and bidirectional streaming of audio and video.
Macromedia Flash is the integrated development environment (IDE) and Flash Player is the virtual machine used to run the Flash files, but nowadays these terms have become mixed: "Flash" can mean either the authoring environment, the player, or the application files.

Since its introduction in 1996, Flash technology has become a very popular method for adding animation and interactivity to web pages. Flash can be used to create fantastic animations; to design web-page elements and also to add video to web sites. Websites made with flash can be much more interactive and flashier (pardon the pun) than site made with only html.

The Flash files, or "flash movies", usually have a .swf file extension and may appear as an element of a web page or to be "played" in the standalone Flash Player. For more information visit www.webdesign-resource.info

Due to wide usage of Flash in web advertisements and the extra time it takes to load these pages, tools have emerged for blocking Flash content in some or all web sites, or temporarily or permanently turning Flash Player off, such as FlashBlock and Adblock for the Mozilla Firefox browser.
If Flash has been disabled in a web browser then users may be unable to access some Flash-dependent websites, or may experience a degraded user interface.
Using Flash content stores the content of the web page in a binary file and since Flash uses animations, the design of the page is not static. These factors make Flash-based content unsuitable for indexing by search engines.
'Misuse' of Flash software has led to the creation of a new industry term "Flashterbation," where the technology is used in a way that lacks customer focus.

Lucy Bartlett is a proud contributing author. Find more articles here. For more info visit Web Design or Flash Templates

Flash Web Designing

Flash web designing involves the use of Flash in web designing.
Flash is a multimedia format developed by Macromedia. This
allows web designers to create and develop animations and
interactive movies or images, which can be embedded into a
web page. Flash web designing provides a number of benefits.
It can make a website more attractive, interactive and dynamic.

The special advantages that Flash offers in web designing are:

· Flash can show a whole company profile or presentation
within a 30 second Flash.

· Since a Macromedia Flash Player plug-in displays Flash
movies so the Flash based work will most probably be rendered
the same on all browsers and computer platforms. Thus, the
designers can escape from the constraints of more traditional
XHTML based design interfaces.

· Apart from being embedded within a web page the Flash
movies can also be exported to construct stand-alone executable
applications. These are ideal for CD-ROMs.

· Flash movies can be downloaded very easily and quickly
since they can be stored in very small file sizes.

· Innovative ads, games, movies etc. can be created
using Flash which can be displayed on a website.

Flash has come a long way since its inception. Flash technology
has become more powerful now and its inherent potential to
create more sophisticated web based applications is being
appreciated by developers. Great e-learning tools have been
coming up with small tutorials being created complete with
interactive animations and self-testing exercises- all using
Flash.

Elan Brown
flash web design
usa flash design

Flash Web Design - Using Flash Today

Since the advent of the Internet it would be obvious that web designing would offer a world of opportunities for users on the Internet. As the name suggests, Flash Web Designing involves the use of Flash in Web Designing. Flash is a multimedia tool that was developed by Macromedia. So what does Flash Web Designing has to essentially offer? It basically allows web designers to create and develop interactive movies, creative animations and artistic images which are designed such that using programming code they can be embedded into the website, besides other content. Now reading all this, one thing is certain that you must have realised- It makes a website create more Impact, makes it attractive and thus beckoning to the user.

There are certain features about flash that make Flash Web Design so useful and make so much sense in using it for your own websites.

For instance, flash can show with animations and tools your product/company profile with a 30 second of flash series content. Another advantage of Flash is that, since a Macromedia Flash Player plug-in displays Flash movies so the flash works the same on a variety of browsers and computer platforms. Thus, if a web designer is working with flash, does not need to bother over programming language requirements and can easily avoid the difficulties involved with the more traditional XHTML based design interfaces.

Flash can also be executed in stand-alone devices such as CD ROMs. Flash movies are easy to download and can be stored in small file sizes. What can flash offer besides playing movies? Well, a lot more. Using flash web designing you can construct innovative ads, and games as well.

Flash has come a long way, and yet there is a lot to be done using flash. It is a powerful and an effective tool. In every aspect of web design, the role of flash comes to play.

About the Author- Naman Jain is an online marketing professional, Presently working with Rupiz Media, one of the leading online marketing company offering expert SEO services, affiliate marketing services, pay per click, UK web development services and community website designing solutions over the globe.