2009 non-profit website winners

By Emily Spirek on February 17, 2010 at 11:22 am in General

In 2009, we decided to give away a free custom website to a different non-profit group every month. We selected from a group applicants, all from the Edmond and Oklahoma City area.

We were so blessed to work with all of these organizations, and it was undoubtedly a rewarding experience. Thanks to all of the non-profit winners, and we hope your new websites have aided towards the success of your organizations!

Please check out the sites below and learn about what these people are doing for the community.

2009 Winners:

January:

screenshot-emm
http://edmondmobilemeals.org/

February:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102116-am
http://www.dsok.net/

March:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102135-am
http://oklahomawomenscoalition.com/

April:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-104417-am
(complete, but pending publication)

May:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102201-am
http://www.vipofok.com/

June:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102216-am
http://www.edmondlacrosse.com/

July:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102258-am
http://www.edmondkids.org/

August:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-113130-am
(pending publication)

September:

N/A
(Unfortunately, the non-profit we selected for September
did not have the time available to develop a site with us)

October:

screen-shot-2010-02-16-at-102315-am
http://www.chosenokc.org/

November:

Wayman Tisdale Foundation

(pending - awaiting confirmation)

December:

Oklahoma Foundation for the Disabled

(pending - awaiting confirmation)

Update: More detailed entries about each non-profit are soon to come!

Video solution to our new, hard-to-find office

By Emily Spirek on December 22, 2009 at 2:39 pm in General, Video

Our new office location is infamous for stumping even GPS navigation systems. We decided a video might help people find the place and maybe give incentive to bring us gifts. Whether or not our video helps, we had fun doing it. As a disclaimer, it is SLIGHTLY humorous…and nerdy.

Email Etiquette Part 1: Keepin’ It Real

By Emily Spirek on December 11, 2009 at 8:04 pm in Email, General

istock_000003853460xsmallIn the midst of hundreds of emails each week (thousands for some), I think it’s fairly common to disregard the need for personable communication and correct email behavior. There is a laundry list of things to remember, so I thought I would break it up into a series of blog entries. Hopefully working on it one step at a time will improve your email etiquette.

Without the help of facial expressions, body language or tone of voice, emails can easily be misinterpreted and possibly cost you some business in the end. Remember, people you are communicating with are real humans too. I know, crazy. But our emails don’t always reflect this. Here a few things to remember:

  1. Ask about their life: A simple, “How was your weekend?” will do.
  2. Personally address your emails: We like to see our names and talk about ourselves.
  3. Always say please and thank you: This one seems easy, but the email takes on a whole new meaning with polite words. I’ll get into the sandwich method later.
  4. Don’t always use email: Yes I know this post is about email, but if we’re talking about the more personable approach, it would be the phone. It’s not always necessary, but make sure to use both.

From personal experience, I remember an email from one of our clients, Deidra McCall with Paint-A-Smile. I had briefly mentioned to her that my birthday was coming up in a few weeks and not only did she remember, but she sent me a happy birthday email.

I thought she was wishing me a happy birthday and would immediately follow with business talk, but the email was completely non-work related. I really appreciated her effort and she definitely moved up on my list of favorite clients.

Anyway, this just scratches the surface of email do’s and don’ts. See part two for more tips.

Can you find the mistake? We obviously failed.

By Emily Spirek on November 20, 2009 at 1:57 pm in Business Identity, Design, General

Case in point. Web is better than print.picture-23

Okay, not all the time, but when you find a mistake 10 weeks down the road, website has been launched, and it’s been through the hands of at least half a dozen people, thousands of dollars aren’t poured into correcting the piddly error.

We might suffer a little embarrassment and swallow our pride until the inaccuracy is forgotten, but we don’t waste the time and money that goes into reprinting the project. We simply redesign and/or work our magic in the code and voilà, error fixed.

Of course, print products (business cards, brochures, etc.) can be necessary for a business, but we are a big fan of instant gratification in the web industry. Besides our other 99 reasons to buy a website, the idea of quick and easy fixes is one of our biggest.

I’m guessing you’ve found the mistake in the screenshot above by now, and if not, you make us feel a lot better about ourselves. Check out the new and improved JJH Media.

Boss Man Tim…Day

By Emily Spirek on October 16, 2009 at 1:54 pm in General

Leann surprised all of us with some sandwiches and a sweet cake for Boss Day. Whether or not Tim was worthy of a rainbow cake, we all enjoyed it greatly. Ok, I guess he’s an alright boss.img_0634

Check out the high quality iPhone pictures on Facebook. We had quite the party.

Mark your calendar for Diabetes Solutions: Monday Sept 21

By Emily Spirek on September 18, 2009 at 3:32 pm in Client Plug, General

Diabetes Solutions of Oklahoma logo

Eat at Habanero’s anytime on Monday, September 21st and Habanero’s will donate a portion of their proceeds to Diabetes Solutions of Oklahoma.

Diabetes Solutions of Oklahoma is one of our clients this year. One of their most recognized events is their camps for kids with diabetes. The campers hang out with others in a similar situation to their own, and they can learn how to take care of themselves. Casey Bottoms, from Diabetes Solutions, forwarded this email on to me, so please make an effort to help a good cause!

Diabetes Solutions is near and dear to us because of their camp for kids with diabetes.  Kayla has attended the last three years and the benefits of this camp are immeasurable.  She loves to be able to spend a week as a “normal” kid and has learned that just because you have diabetes, there are no limits to what you can do.  We want to make sure this program continues year after year so please consider joining us on Monday, September 21st to eat out and support a great cause!

We appreciate any and all advertising for the event.  We are planning a raffle for that evening, if you have something or some service you would like to donate as a raffle item, we would certainly appreciate any donation.  Just reply to this e-mail and I will be happy to pick it up for the event.

Hope to see you there ~ don’t forget to invite all your friends and family!

Thanks!
The Stapleton’s

To find out more about Diabetes Solutions and programs they offer, please visit them at www.dsok.net

Once again, it’s Monday, September 21, 2009 at Hananero’s, and be sure to mention Diabetes Solutions to your server!

Habanero’s is on the corner of Waterloo and Broadway.

6833 North Broadway
Edmond, Oklahoma
(405) 359-3319

We look forward to seeing you there!

Launch Boxes!

By Emily Spirek on September 4, 2009 at 4:55 pm in freebies

If our incredible service and fantastic communication isn’t enough incentive to purchase a website from T&S, we have the answer: launch boxes.

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T&S just added a new step in our standard and premium website process. At the end of designing and coding your website, we have decided to send you a “launch box” proceeding the launch of your new website. We think it’s a very exciting step for a company to see their new site online, so we thought our clients would appreciate a tasty thank you package in the mail.

Our favorite part of the launch box is our personalized My Jones Soda bottle with the T&S’ logo printed on the label. Even if you don’t like Orange & Cream soda, the bottle looks pretty darn good on display. Just sayin’. In the future we’ll be making plenty of upgrades to the launch boxes. Guess you’ll just have to buy a website to find out what they are.

Clear out some apps: your dock will appreciate it

By Emily Spirek on June 26, 2009 at 4:50 pm in General, Technical

People always find it humorous to make fun of me for the excessive amount of applications on my Mac’s dock. Despite the torture,  I have always justified each application’s position because I use every one on a daily basis. Finally, Dave (the other designer), came to my rescue and showed me a wonderful tool that clears my dock. All you need to do is add your most used applications to your Finder window, and you’re golden. Here’s what it looks like:

picture-20

And here’s how it’s done: navigate to your Applications folder in Finder, and drag the desired app next to the “search” field. Hold it there until it gives you the green + symbol and drop it. And you’re done! If you want to open a file in that particular app, just drag the file over the icon and it’ll open right up! No more right-clicking to “open with” a certain application.

If these applications aren’t in use, it frees up your dock and no one will have a reason to make fun of you. And, if you have quite a few windows open, your dock doesn’t squash to a microscopic blob.

99 reasons to buy a $99/month website from T&S

By Emily Spirek on April 23, 2009 at 12:17 pm in General

Here at T&S, we’re in the process of launching our new, low-cost websites that run just $99/month. You can read all the details here.

We came up with 99 reasons you should buy this new, affordable website option from T&S, and thought we’d share those reasons with  you.

1. inexpensive
2. easy
3. effective
4. domain name included
5. hosting included
6. unlimited # of pages
7. T&S takes care of initial setup
8. no setup costs
9. T&S fills in initial pages
10. no special software on your computer
11. Easy updates
12. 1 hour training included
13. up to 60 email addresses
14. unlimited email support
15. only 1 year commitment
16. hundreds of designs to choose from
17. no hidden fees
18. T&S speaks english, not techno-babble
19. save money compared to other advertising
20. increase professionalism
21. compete online
22. don’t pay thousands of dollars
23. content management system is expandable
24. customizable with your logo
25. content and template checked for compatibility
26. one central location online
27. more room than a business card
28. more space than the phone book
29. did we mention unlimited pages?
30. establish online presence
31. supplement traditional advertising
32. no technical knowledge needed
33. create a hub for your social network marketing
34. blog is included 35. quick gallery updates
36. upload any file type
37. more room than a magazine ad
38. no more newspaper ads
39. add features without changing monthly cost
40. easily advertise specials
41. provide better customer service
42. it’s your answer to everything
43. be accessible 24/7
44. update site anywhere, anytime
45. replace traditional advertising
46. get customer/client feedback
47. look better than competition
48. widen customer base
49. compete internationally
50. expand your business
51. save money
52. give favorable impression
53. generate leads
54. more room than a brochure
55. get customers’ business
56. strengthen brand identification
57. simplify your marketing
58. make info available about services
59.  no more phone book ads
60. yearly payments available
61. appeal to target market online
62. user friendly
63. very low risk
64. quick setup
65. make your small business look better
66. receive setup assistance
67. blogs increase traffic
68. blogging helps you learn
69.  advertise your business
70. it will help grow your business
71. receive flexible service
72. communicate better with clients
73. no html knowledge needed
74. ecommerce capabilities
75. control your updates
76. keeps prices competitive
77. establish customer trust
78. if you don’t exist in search engines, you don’t exist
79. establish word-of-mouth
80. try unique marketing ideas risk-free
81. easy to fix snafus
82. use an award-winning content management system
83. no print costs
84. no color matching with print items
85. update content quickly
86. expand your target market
87. templates are professionally designed
88. no more mail-outs
89. increase your credibility
90.  more room than a flyer
91.  make product info available
92. inexpensive redesigns
93. easy to add new pages
94. your customers expect you to have one
95. professional installation & setup
96. it’s green
97. you can’t afford not to
98. allows for easy payment
99. if you don’t exist online, you don’t exist

Thanks for reading, and contact us if you would like to meet to see if our $99 per month website would work for you.

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