Can you believe that it’s the last day of July? I’m already noticing Back to School signs hanging in the stores and aisles packed with this year’s line of notebooks, pens, protractors, and the sort. Even though I am no longer in school and have no children yet, I still get excited about this time of year because, as a writer, I love having a new selection of really cool pens and notebooks to purchase for myself.

Back to school sales also mean that fall is quickly approaching, followed by winter and the end of the year. Where are you in your goals thus far? Have you written that first chapter in your new novel? Have you started a new business venture? What exciting stories do you have to share for this year?

If you’re feeling an extreme case of writer’s block, go to the store and purchase some of the exciting back to school items for your own business. Who says you can’t purchase new pens and notebooks just because you’re not going back to school?

Now is the time to shake the cobwebs off of your computer because the kids will be going back to school, and you will have alone time once again. Start brainstorming now for the upcoming months. Before you know it, you will find yourself back in the swing of things.

To your success,

Katie

P.S. Check out some of my latest articles at www.associatedcontent.com. Just do a search for Katie Smith.

Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Mine was filled with family! My dad bought the whole family – including cousins, aunts, and uncles – tickets to our local minor league baseball game. Our city is using different marketing tactics to bring in more business – including building a new stadium for our new minor league baseball team! I have to admit that the marketing team is doing an excellent job cleaning up our downtown area and making it more family-friendly. They have determined their niche market and have attacked the market with vigor!

How about you? What marketing tactics are you using to get new clients this summer? I know it’s a slow time of year, and you are probably seeing a decrease in business. That’s why this is a good time to attack your niche market with renewed vigor. Start brainstorming ways that you can obtain new clients and keep the old ones.

Start your own newsletter. It doesn’t have to be more than a page or two, but many clients like to receive updates from their favorite companies. Write an article on customer service, include some business tips, and add a little fun fact or two. It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to run a contest in your newsletter every once and awhile. Everyone likes to receive a free gift. Consider allowing “guest writers” to submit articles in your publication in exchange for their resource box. You would be surprised how many people would be happy to submit an article for free advertising.

Send out postcards. Head to your local store and purchase some cheap, but colorful, postcards or have some printed with your company logo on them. Then send these out to your customers, offering a summer special for your services. This is a great way to let your customers know that you are still thinking about them and gives them the opportunity to be rewarded for being faithful to your company.

Submit articles. Whether you have your own newsletter or not, a great inexpensive way to advertise your business is to submit articles on other people’s websites. I have said this time and time again, so use your downtime this summer to write those articles you have been putting off all year.

No matter what you decide to do, remember to take this downtime to spend some time with your family. Have a great summer!

To your success,
Katie

Good morning, Everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I had to start my Monday morning early this week as I had to take my husband to work while we only have one car. That’s right. I started my weekend on Friday with a car accident. I was crossing through an intersection when another car plowed through the red light and right into my car! Apparently, the other driver’s brakes had given out, and she couldn’t stop. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but I was sore all weekend, and my car is now in the shop. I hope your weekend was better than mine!

I think this is the great start for a story! What do you think? Many great stories begin by taking something out of our regular lives and expanding (or exaggerating) on the incident. You can create characters from people in your life or plot a story around a catastrophe that happened to you or a family member.

I have heard it said that you should not write about what you don’t know. Make that true in your own story. That doesn’t mean you can’t write a historical novel or a story set in another country. The point is to make sure that you research your topic well so that you don’t confuse the reader with inaccuracy.

What did you do this weekend? Can you build a story from it? Think about it, and keep writing!

To your success,
Katie

P.S. Check out my most recent article on women-owned franchises at www.savvymiss.com (Issue #8).

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! My husband and I took a break and spent the weekend at the beach, just laying around and absorbing the sun. We had a wonderful time just getting away from our regular routine!

On that note, I have to use today’s blog to write on customer service. I cannot emphasize the importance of excellent customer service. After several weeks of trying to find a place to stay near the beach for a low price, my husband and I finally settled on a hotel that included “beaches” as one of its ammenities with no mention of how close it actually was to the beach. Since this was the reason we were heading in that direction, we called the customer service number to identify the location of this particular hotel.

The customer service associate immediately confirmed that the hotel was within walking distance from the beach, so we decided to go ahead and book a reservation. The next day, when we arrived at our destination, we immediately noticed that we were nowhere near the beach! In fact, we asked the desk clerk and found that the nearest beach was another 20 minutes down the interstate!

Of course, we were furious that the customer service associate had lied to us, and we immediately called to file a complaint. The second customer service associate we spoke to was immediately apologetic for the other’s lie and set about trying to find us another place to stay. However, there were no lodgings available near the beach at so close a date. Instead, they only charged us what they were paying for our room and are sending us $80 in hotel bucks to use at another hotel of our choice. The supervisor was also apologetic and went above and beyond to make sure that we were satisfied before we hung up the phone.

When dealing with clients, you may not always be right and may occasionally make an error in judgment. However, you can quickly ammend a situation and reclaim the client if you are quick to correct the mistake and acknowledge your fault to the client. In our situation, we were pleased once we were assured that the error would be corrected.

No matter the situation, be sure that you keep calm and that you try your best to ease the tension from the situation. Would it really hurt you this one time to give a discount or free gift to the client who was dissatisfied with your service or product? A simple gesture can help assure your client that you are willing to do what it takes to keep their business.

To your success,
Katie

Happy 4th of July to all of you Americans! I don’t know about you, but I just love this time of year! Cooking out with my family, sunning by the pool, and watching the fireworks is a great way to spend a hot summer day.
If you’re like me, you probably won’t get a whole lot of work done this week with vacationing and family get-togethers, so I will make this week’s blog short.

It’s time for another writer’s prompt. If you’re an American, write about what the 4th of July means to you. Is it about the history of your freedom? Or about spending time with family? Be sure to use a lot of imagery so the reader can actually visualize this special day for you.

If you’re not an American, you can still describe what July represents to you in your country. Is it the hottest day of the year? Do you celebrate something special at this time of year? What is it like where you live? What does this time of year mean to you?

I would really love to read your stories, so please feel free to submit them to me! I will try to give each one thoughtful feedback.

To your success,
Katie