creative quilting ideas
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Millions of dollars are spent annually on creating and sending brochures
and cover letters. Most of these dollars are wasted, because these
marketing materials don't do what they're supposed to do: get a prospect to
act, either by requesting further information, picking up the phone and
making an appointment, or actually buying something. These are the sole
purposes of marketing documents.
If the brochure and cover letter you create don't do one of these three
things, they have failed. Completely. Which brings us to the first rule of
this game: the brochure and cover letter you produce must have a purpose.
And since the only real purpose of any marketing document is motivating
immediate prospect action, the purpose of what you create can only be one
of the three things above.
Your brochure and cover letter exist either to:
. get the prospect to request more information;
. call up and arrange an appointment, or
. buy something, by either filling in an order coupon, or walking into your
establishment.
Prominently post the purpose you have selected before you write your
brochure and cover letter. Everything you put into this brochure, this
cover letter must work towards achieving this single objective. Nothing
else must be allowed in.
The truth is, when most marketers create their brochures and cover letter
they get off the track. They forget what they're doing... and why. Don't be
one of them. There's a very easy trick to seeing if your brochure and cover
letter are correct: after you write each sentence, ask yourself if it's
helping achieve your overriding objective. If it isn't, it's wrong. And
that's a fact.
Focus On The Prospect, Not Yourself
Everybody supposedly knows that all marketing documents ought to be about
your prospect, not about you. Sadly, the vast majority of brochures and
cover letters fail to achieve this objective. Take a brochure I received in
today's mail: on the mailing panel it simply says, "Instrument Calibration
and Repair. Calibration: Standardizing a measuring instrument." That's it.
Now, I ask you: are these words about the sender, or about the recipient?
It's obvious, isn't it! Lines that are about the marketer rightly elicit
this response: "So what!" "Instrument Calibration and Repair". So what!
What does this have to do with me, your prospect?
Lines that are about the prospect, the most important person in every
brochure and cover letter, get this response: "Aha!" The prospect is
interested in knowing one thing and one thing only about you: "What can you
do for me?" And when that question is answered, he's interested in these
questions: "When can you do it?" And "How much will it cost me"?
When you're writing a brochure, do this simple test. Read each sentence and
ask yourself if it's about you or your prospect. If it's about you the
sentence will feel incomplete, because it won't have the persuasive
information the prospect wants. No wonder! Your prospect is saying, "So
what?" to it. But if the sentence is focused on your prospect, offers him
honest, believable benefits, and motivates him to take immediate action,
it's finished.
Doing Your Homework
The big reason most people's brochures and cover letters fail is because
their creators don't do any homework before writing them. Most people hate
writing; their objective is to get it out of the way as quickly as
possible, right or wrong. But not your savvy marketer! He may hate writing
as much as the next person, but he never loses sight of his objective: that
each marketing piece will either make him a profit, or be a dead loss. And
that if he's to achieve the former, he needs to get other people, his
prospects, to act... NOW! Homework helps achieve his objective.
What You Have To Know Before You Write
The first thing you've got to know before you can successfully create any
brochure or cover letter is who you're talking to. The best marketing
documents, even if millions are sent out, are conversations between two
people... you and just one prospect. You have to know who this prospect is
and have to understand what he wants, when he wants it, why he might not
take action to acquire it, and how much he can afford to pay for it. All
these points must be dealt with in your marketing materials.
Without a doubt, one of the greatest single reasons why marketing
communications fail to get people to take action is because those people
don't feel that what they're being asked to consider has anything to do
with them... it doesn't speak to them about what's important to them and,
therefore, doesn't motivate them to take immediate action. In marketing,
this is disastrous.
Hint: don't create brochures and cover letters for a mass. Create them for
a single perso ...
Author: Dr. Jeffrey Lant
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Timely help for creative quilting ideas
About Quilting I really like Asian themed fabrics, but sometimes I have a hard time visualizing blocks that fit the look. But I love this Oriental Attic Windows design. Each quilt block is made from three pieces of fabric -- and sewn together with only two seams. Yes, the block has a mitered corner, but the easy sewing method will erase any fears beginners might have about tackling miters. I promise, it's simple, and a really important skill to learn. Give it a try! Oriental Attic Windows Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 06:00:47. Permalink | Comment | Email this Domino Quilt Block & Quilt Pattern The Domino quilt block finishes at 9" square, with small units that are a nice size for baby and toddler quilts, but perfectly fine for a bed-sized quilts, too. The Domino quilt block pattern includes instructions for making a single quilt block, for those of you who like to go scrappy, plus directions for 20-strip pieced Domino blocks. The 20 blocks can be used in the Domino baby quilt shown on page 4 of the pattern, or in another quilt of your own design. Before beginning, new quilters should make sure they're okay with sewing a quarter inch seam and with rotary cutting long strips of fabric. Domino Quilt Block & Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 06:00:00. Permalink | Comment | Email this Lost Ship Quilt Block Pattern Lost Ship is the ninth quilt block pattern for the Scrap Happy Sampler Quilt, but you can use it for any project. Two versions of the block are shown, one more scrappy than the other, but each variation helps you practice making half-square triangle units -- a good thing since those units are probably the most commonly used patchwork configuration. You might notice that the design is similar to the Rocky Glen quilt block -- the overall layout is basically the same, but Rocky Glen contains more half-square triangle units. Like other blocks in the sampler series, the Lost Ship quilt block finishes at 12-inches square. Lost Ship Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 07:50:44. Permalink | Comment | Email this Pictures of 2012 New Year's Day Mystery Quilts The 2012 New Year's Day Mystery Quilt gallery is up and running now, and illustrates the wide variety of layouts that quilters developed when designing their projects. The quilts in the gallery are a wonderful representation of the work that went into these projects, but there are many, many more quilts and quilt tops out there, and I'd love to feature them all in the gallery. Please email your photos to me at quilting.guide@about.com. Quilt by Neralie Pictures of 2012 New Year's Day Mystery Quilts originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 06:00:59. Permalink | Comment | Email this Quilt Photo Gallery Updates I updated quite a few of our quilt galleries this weekend, and am now pretty much caught up (temporarily, as usual) with the photos you have submitted. Once again I do have forms without photos and photos without forms -- all of those go into a 'check these' folder until I can find time to write (mostly about missing photos). When you submit the form, please remember that it is a 2-step process -- photos must come to me by separate email. Galleries Updated Photo is Shattered, a quilt by Sewtherequilts in memory of her sister. Quilt Photo Gallery Updates originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 18:01:08. Permalink | Comment | Email this Flock of Geese Quilt Block Pattern Flock of Geese is a traditional quilt block, but its name is a bit misleading. Take a look at the block and you'll see it does not include those popular flying geese units that we often use. Instead, the 'flocks' are made up of half-square triangle units, kind of like geese flying in formation. You can adjust the color value of your patches to make the block appear very different from mine, and you can choose a structured look or go very scrappy with the layout. The Flock of Geese block is fun to play with -- try varying the look from block-to-block in a larger quilt, because I think you'll like that, too. Flock of Geese Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 12:16:15. Permalink | Comment | Email this Patchwork Hearts Quilt Block & Quilt Patterns Quilting Forum members designed this 6" patchwork heart quilt block for a 2008 swap, and are using it again this month. The design is a natural for a Valentine's Day wallhanging and makes a lovely baby quilt. The heart block is assembled with quick piecing techniques, so it's super easy to make. For the swap, a different focal fabric was used in each half of the block (two pinks or two reds), but choose another combination if you prefer. You'll find instructions and yardage for a small heart wallhanging on the last page of the pattern. Photo © Sophie Patchwork Hearts Quilt Block & Quilt Patterns originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Saturday, January 28th, 2012 at 06:00:22. Permalink | Comment | Email this Heart in a Snowball Quilt Block Pattern This vibrant Snowball quilt block is assembled with a white on white interior and purple tips. A red heart is appliqued to the center of the 6" (finished size) block. If you're already into applique, the gentle heart will be a breeze, and beginners will find that it's a perfect first applique project (read my Needleturn Applique Basics for technique how-tos). The block is from a 2009 Quilting Forum event, where it was sewn by numerous members. Heart Blocks by Sandy Heart in a Snowball Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 06:00:45. Permalink | Comment | Email this Reverse Capital T Quilt Block Pattern The reverse version of the Capital T quilt block isn't seen as commonly as its counterpart -- where dark fabrics create the diagonal T-shape at each corner. Both blocks are assembled the same way, it's just the color values that are flip-flopped, but the two versions are unique enough that I felt a separate pattern would be a good option for the quilt block shown here. I've included instructions to make the block's flying geese units in a couple of ways -- both are quick-pieced but one technique results in no fabric waste. Choose the method that works best for the fabrics you have on hand. I saw some examples online recently of quilts made using this value layout, but can't locate them now -- the blocks looked wonderful placed on point. More T Blocks Reverse Capital T Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 19:22:19. Permalink | Comment | Email this Hearts 'n Rags Rag Quilt Pattern Hearts 'n Rags is an easy rag quilt pattern, one that you can assemble pretty quickly. The quilt is made with a combination of block types: squares with raggy heart applique, plain floral squares, blocks cut from a border print and another unit created by sewing two bars together. Mine is lightweight, with no batting, but I've provided yardage and cutting instructions for a middle layer if you choose to add it. I machine sewed my hearts to the blocks and left their edges ragged, but didn't clip them. They frayed pretty well during a couple of washings, but feel free to clip into the seam allowance of yours to make them a little bit fuzzier. Photo © Janet Wickell Hearts 'n Rags Rag Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 06:00:51. Permalink | Comment | Email this Newsfeed display by CaRP |
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