Paws for a Moment

2006-11-09T08:27:00.000-05:00

Paws For a Moment has moved!

Paws For a Moment, the blog of 4 Tails Design Group, has moved to a new site - http://4tails.typepad.com. Click here to see the newly re-designed blog!!!

If you currently subscribe to Paws For a Moment, you will need to re-subscribe. Click here to continue receiving new postings by e-mail.

2006-11-02T08:54:00.000-05:00

Technology Tidbit

There are 100 million web sites now online! Read more about this milestone on CNN.com.

Your small business needs a web presence! Contact us today about our web design services.

Already have a site, but would like to add e-commerce to stay competitive? Take advantage of our very special offer available to our blog readers only. Save $150 on 4TDG's Small Business E-commerce Package. Mention code PAWS1017 when contacting us. Hurry!!! This special offer ends Friday, November 3rd.

2006-10-31T08:24:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween

Charlie, one of our mascots at 4TDG, is ready for some trick or treating today dressed up as Doc Barker!

Read about the art and imagery of Halloween in this article from creativepro.com: Of Evil Witches and Dancing Pickles.

2006-10-17T14:50:00.000-04:00

E-Commerce Projects & Special

We wrote about the e-commerce site we developed for Spirit of Christmas in a previous post. Another e-commerce project that we recently completed was for a surface design studio, Veltri Design. We added an online shopping section where Veltri Design's clients may purchase over 80 designs from the Veltri Design collection securely online. Veltri Design wanted to limit access to the e-commerce section to registered users only, so we password protected the shopping section. (Yes, we're able to password protect sites too!) We're very proud that we were able to offer a very affordable e-commerce solution to this small business.

Special Offer
We're also excited to offer a very special promotion to our blog readers only:
Save $150 off our small business e-commerce package. Just mention code PAWS1017 when contacting us to receive the discount. Hurry! This special offer ends Friday, November 3rd.

2006-10-12T11:54:00.000-04:00

Special Offer Ends Tomorrow

Just a reminder -
Tomorrow is the final day of our special offer to save $20 on business card design. This special savings is for our blog readers only. Just mention code PAWS927 when contacting us.

Click here to read more about our graphic design services.

2006-10-11T11:45:00.000-04:00

Business Tidbit

Think you can't take time off for a vacation when you own your own business? Read this article from Entrepreneur.com for tips on how to do it.

2006-10-09T11:31:00.000-04:00

Business Tidbit

An informative article for small businesses on the use of local search engines:

Local Search - A Key Trend for Small Businesses
by Anita Cambell, Small Business Trends

2006-10-06T09:39:00.000-04:00

Latest Project

We've recently designed 3 concepts for Emerald Evergreens, a home improvement service company located in Medford, NJ. Below are the 3 concepts the owner had to choose from. We will now begin developing a new web site and Flash intro for Emerald Evergreens based on the third theme. We always develop a variety of themes for our web design clients to choose from. All of our sites are custom designed. We never use templates! Contact us today for more information on our web design and re-design services.

2006-10-03T15:54:00.000-04:00

In Loving Memory

It is with deep sadness that we must announce the passing of our beloved, faithful mascot Max. He passed away last night at the age of 9 from kidney disease.

We can't express how much we will miss him.

Please visit the In the Studio blog to read more about Max.

2006-09-28T09:31:00.000-04:00

Marketing Tidbit

Click here for an informative posting about writing good sales copy.

2006-09-27T14:58:00.000-04:00

Special Savings

A special offer for our blog readers only:

Save $20 on Business Card design. Offer expires Friday, October 13th. View our portfolio to see some of the business cards we've designed for other small businesses. Mention code PAWS927 to receive the discount.

2006-09-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

Design Tidbit

Are you currently working on your own design project and just don't have the perfect font to use? Visit dafont.com. They have hundreds of fonts to download and most are FREE!

2006-09-25T14:42:00.000-04:00

Ho! Ho! Ho!

We are very pleased to announce that the Spirit of Christmas e-commerce web site (as mentioned in an earlier post) is now up and running!

We are so excited that we were able to provide SOC owner, Jo Colino an affordable e-commerce solution for her small business. Click here to see her new site and view her wonderful selection of collectibles and ornaments available for purchase online. And if you're in or around the Mount Holly, NJ area, stop by and see her beautiful Mill Race Village store in person too!

2006-09-20T17:18:00.000-04:00

Marketing tidbit

Ever wonder just how much traffic your web site is getting? Take advantage of Google Analytics to find the answer. It's a free and easy to use service from Google that provides you with sophisticated reports on how visitors find and use your web site. We use it here at 4TDG to analyze our marketing efforts.

2006-09-19T15:30:00.000-04:00

Marathon Update

Don from the Adirondack Marathon was kind enough to send this to us the other day:

We had our marathon yesterday. It was a beautiful day and everything went splendidly. Everyone raved over the shirts. The color of the shirts with the fantastic back logo created more comments than ever before.

2006-09-15T10:12:00.000-04:00

Marathon

The Adirondack Marathon Distance Festival starts tomorrow. The marathon participants will be running 26 miles along beautiful Schroon Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. This year we were given the opportunity to design the T-shirts for the marathon volunteers. Good luck to all the runners!

Special offer to our blog readers only
Save 25% on our T-shirt design services. Offer expires 9-22-06. You must mention code PAWS916 when contacting us. We can print your T-shirts too (with purchase of our T-shirt design services). Only need 1 T-shirt? Not a problem. Contact us today for details.

Stay tuned for more exclusive offers for our blog readers. Make sure to subscribe to our blog (just enter your e-mail address in the box on the right) so you don't miss an offer.

Business tidbit
Just starting your small business? Confused about what's the right type of business to form (Sole Proprietorship, LLC, etc.)? We recommend reading Working for Yourself from Nolo. This book helped us when we were starting our business.

2006-09-11T09:15:00.000-04:00

Remembering 9-11

On this 5th anniversary of 9/11, please consider making a donation to With Eddie's Help, Inc. With Eddie's Help is a New Jersey non-profit organization that was established in honor of Edward (Eddie) Strauss who lost his life in the tragic events of September 11th.

The organization is run by Eddie's family and provides financial assistance to patients with Lou Gehrig's disease. They also support Grand Central Neighborhood Social Services (services for the homeless) and fund educational scholarships.

www.witheddieshelp.org

2006-09-07T13:39:00.000-04:00

MTHS Library Web Site

We just received more positive feedback on the web site we designed and developed for the Montville Township High School Library Media Center. Here's what the high school's webmaster had to say about the new site:

What an awesome job! This site is great looking. It’s an asset to our school’s web site and the design is top notch. Did I mention it’s great looking!

The web site is now completed and up and running. Visit the site here.

Marketing tidbit
Feeling frustrated with the results of your recent marketing efforts? Read this article from Andrew Neitlich about the importance of sticking to it.

2006-08-30T17:04:00.000-04:00

Christmas Spirit

Even though summer is just coming to an end, we here at 4TDG have had Christmas on our minds for some time already. We've been working hard on bringing the Spirit of Christmas store (located in Mill Race Village in Mount Holly, NJ) online. Spirit of Christmas owner, Jo Colino, was interested in increasing sales by selling her beautiful ornaments and collectibles online and therefore expanding her customer base. She gave us the opportunity to not only design her site for her, but she also allowed us to utilize our e-commerce development skills.

We are just finishing up some final details of the site and will post the link to the site when it's completed.

If you're a small business owner like Jo and are interested in expanding your business, contact us today (609-668-1045 or info@4tails.com) for more details on our e-commerce and web design services. Think you can't afford an e-commerce site? Our rates are affordable for small businesses! Ask us for a free, no obligation estimate.

2006-08-28T10:19:00.000-04:00

Blogging part II

In a previous post we mentioned how people can create blogs to generate revenue for their businesses. Check out this article from CNN Money to read more about how people are making big bucks from their blogs.

2006-08-24T15:38:00.000-04:00

Logo Design

We've recently completed designing a logo for a local lawyer. The above logo is the fnal design the lawyer chose. The designs below are some of the other concepts we developed for her. Even though she works in a very traditional field, she was open to some less traditional looks as well.

Visit our website for more information on our logo and graphic design services or contact us today for a free quote.

Technology tidbit
Frustrated that your monitor doesn't display accurate colors, but can't afford expensive calibration equipment? Try the Pantone Huey! It's an affordable calibration device. The Huey will correct the color on your monitor easily and will adjust your monitor when room light changes. We use it in the 4 Tails Design Group studio. It's available from Amazon for only $69.99.

2006-08-17T10:03:00.000-04:00

Blogging

If you haven't jumped on the blogging bandwagon yet, you definitely should consider doing it for your business.

A blog is a great way to promote your business as well as a way to develop a relationship with your current customers and potential customers. It will make your web site less static if your blog is added as a link. It creates a more personal presence.

You can also use your blog to generate revenue for your business by selling advertising space or participating in Google's AdSense program.

The following are a few of the sites that offer blog hosting for free or for a nominal fee:
Blogger
WordPress
TypePad

Are you intimidated by the thought of setting up your own blog? Let 4 Tails Design Group do it for you.

Don't settle for a template. Your blog can be customized! We recently had the opportunity to re-design Veltri Design's blog to match the web site we developed for them.

Contact us today for more information on our blog services.

2006-08-14T17:08:00.000-04:00

Back to School

We've been busy working on the web site for the Montville Township High School's Library Media Center. The web site will provide students with information about the library, links to research databases, book reviews and other valuable resources.

We've posted the home page of the site for you to see. Here's what Donna Cohen, Head of Service at the MTHS Library Media Center had to say about it:

"SUPER THANKS to you and Nancy a gazillion times over! The page looks FANTASTIC! It's exactly how I hoped it would look when we first began our planning."

Visit our web site for more information on our web design services.

2006-08-08T17:24:00.000-04:00

Feed Need

Technology Tidbit
Don't miss the next posting of your favorite blog! Take advantage of free, feed subscription services such as FEEDblitz and Squeet. They'll keep track of updates made to the blogs you subscribe to and will send you e-mails of the latest postings.

Receive the latest postings of 4 Tails Design Group's blog, Paws for a Moment, in your e-mail box. Simply enter your e-mail in the box on the right.

2006-08-02T11:28:00.000-04:00

Dog Days

Are you curious how we came up with the name 4 Tails Design Group for our business? The name was inspired by our 4, four legged mascots. They're responsible for keeping morale high in our office / studio. Read their bios to find out more about them.

Business tid bit
A great online resource for inspiring new business ideas is Springwise.com. Springwise is devoted to writing about new business ideas from Shanghai to New York. They also explain what makes these new business ideas tick.

2006-07-27T08:54:00.000-04:00

Hot Special

Just a reminder that our sizzling summer savings promotion ends tomorrow. We'll design a custom logo for you for only $99 (a $225 value)! Contact us today to take advantage of this special offer.

Visit our website to find more information on all our graphic design services.

2006-07-26T18:04:00.000-04:00

Soulful Studios

We recently completed the re-design of the Soulful Studios web site. We were given the opportunity to update the look as well as the content of the site.

Original site

Re-designed site

Soulful Studios is run by local pet portrait artist Lori Levin. Check out her updated site and see her beautiful work.

For more information on our web site design and re-design services, visit our web site or contact us for more information at 609-668-1045.

Marketing tidbit
Already have a well-designed site that you want to show off? Make sure you put your URL on ALL of your business and marketing materials including your business cards, stationery and advertisements. And don't forget to put it in your e-mail signature too!

What are some things that you do to drive traffic to your site? Please feel free to post your ideas.

2006-07-20T10:12:00.000-04:00

Sizzling Summer Savings

To celebrate summer (our favorite time of year!), 4 Tails Design Group is currently running a special summer promotion -- $99 Custom Logo Design. Please see our ad for details. Hurry! This special offer ends July 28th.

Tip of the day: Take free online courses! HP offers online courses in marketing, business, IT and software. They are currently offering a course titled Search Engines 101: using search engines to market your business.

2006-07-14T16:05:00.000-04:00

Welcome to "Paws for a Moment"

We at 4 Tails Design Group are very excited to be publishing our first posting on our new blog, "Paws for a Moment". This is where we plan to share our knowledge and tips on a variety of topics such as marketing, business, technology and design.

Don't miss a posting! Simply enter your e-mail address in the box on the right and you will receive all future postings in your e-mail box.

Tip of the day:
Need to send large files to your clients and customers? Simply upload your file at www.dropload.com. Dropload will then send an e-mail to your client with a link that will allow them to download your file. It's easy to use and better yet -- it's FREE!