Rags To Stitches Productions ~ Web Design and Development

Social Media Image Templates

5:20 PM Author: RAGS

As the social media landscape has grown, most of the widely used sites offer you the ability to customize your pages. This presents you with a great opportunity to promote your brand and present your business in an attractive and professional manner.

I like to keep templates on hand for customizing my own sites as well as my clients' social media presence. I personally find them useful, time saving, and when I am ready with a design, look and feel for a website launch I can easily handle the social media images during the process.

Feel free to download these templates for your own use. Or if you're in need of having some custom images created for you, contact me for a quick and easy quote!

Facebook Cover Photo Template

Google Plus Cover Template

Twitter Header Template

YouTube Cover Template

Do you have social media sharing buttons on your web site or blog?

Providing your visitors with social media sharing buttons provides them one click access for sharing your content. I can add social media sharing functionality with buttons that compliment your site for just $35.00!

Add this important feature to your site today!

Design and Install Social Sharing Functionality to One Web Site or Blog

Only $35.00!

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Survey Says: Gathering Customer Feedback

3:03 PM Author: RAGS

Printwear Magazine, January 2014.

Have you ever considered the simple nature of business owners - just like you - who make it a point to get feedback from their customers on a regular basis? Go to a restaraunt and you'll be asked how the food is. Go to the bank and they will ask you if their service has been up to your expectations.

While that is a given in the face to face scenario that a brick and mortar location allows, your online presence lacks that ability. Or does it?

In order to gather customer feedback and improve your web site - better catering to your target audience - consider online surveys and other methods of asking your visitors for their thoughts and experiences. Read and reflect on this subject more in the January issue of Printwear Magazine.

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Powerful and professional tools for online surveys! Constant Contact is a service I personally use as well as many of my clients. You can choose from a template with pre-written questions or start from scratch, add your company logo and modify the design to compliment your web site or brand. Question types range from multiple choices to rating scales, and the ability to use skip logic to display certain questions based on answers to previous ones. It features customizable greeting and closing pages to thank participants or tell them about an incentive, offer a coupon or get creative with your audience.

Click here for your FREE 60 day trial!

A New Years Facelift for Dartoid's World

3:33 PM Author: RAGS

As technology and the World Wide Web advance, often times it passes a web sites capabilities beyond regular updates and modifications. Dartoid's World has been online since 1995, and Rags To Stitches Productions performed a complete rebuild in early 2008 bringing the site up to speed with the times. Nearing the end of 2012 Author and Darts Columnist Paul Seigel and I decided the time was right to once again bring the old up to speed with the new, and as of January 2014 the new Dartoid's World is better than ever.

From a design perspective, the new Dartoid's World remains true to its historical layout and navigation to keep Paul's readers comfortable in the updated environment. While in the background Paul has an arsenal of new tools and features that help him post, edit and maintain his columns along with updating the monthly highlights of the web site with no technical knowledge or expertise. As Paul likes to tell me frequently, "Don't forget, when it comes to computers I'm a big dummy!"

Bringing the new Dartoid's World up to speed with today's Internet included the upgrade to a Responsive layout that automatically detects and adjusts to mobile devices accordingly. Site content is also toggled on and off depending on the mobile device being used assisting in ease of navigation, proper presentation of the content and improving the users experience.

Other upgrades include a Related Columns feature and a widget that randomly presents the reader with a selection of Paul's columns from the archives to discover or read again. When Paul adds a new column to the web site, it is automatically posted to his Facebook, Twitter and Google+ pages, saving him massive amounts of time and effort. Paul can edit and update the site from his Android powered mobile phone during his adventures around the World, and even post columns from his mobile device from the live darts events he participates in.

It would take a small book to list all of the upgrades that the new Dartoid's World has behind the scenes, and not only is the site up to speed with today's Internet, it will be for years to come.

Mediating On Mobile

3:44 PM Author: RAGS

Printwear Magazine, November 2013.

I can stop in any street, Invitin’ people that we meet, Goin' mobile. Keep me movin' ~ The Who 1971

Have you looked into the mobile friendliness of your web sites? Have you considered adding mobile friendly marketing strategies to your current plans? Statistics show that mobile e-commerce will grow to a $31 Billion industry by 2017. It has also been reported that 94% of smart phone owners look for local information on their phone, and 70% of the people searching for a product or service on mobile will buy in the near future. These are statistics that should not be ignored if we want to maintain a successful Internet presence.

In the latest Internet Strategies column I present a closer look into the reasons you should consider mobile in your marketing plans, as well as affordable ways to tackle entering the mobile landscape.

Read This Article Online: Part 1, Part 2
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Add Social Sharing Buttons To Your Website!

4:14 PM Author: RAGS

Do you have social sharing buttons on your website, blog and other areas you promote your products and services? These feature elements are not only common practice these days, but essential for providing your site visitors with one-click access to sharing your content.

Social sharing increases your online visibility, grabs the attention of multiple users and often can lead to a viral sharing campaign. Here are just a few reasons to add social sharing functionality to your web sites:

Ease of Use

Simply clicking a button to share site content is just plain easy and convenient compared to having to copy the URL, login a social media account, paste the URL on the status box, not to mention users visiting your site on a mobile device. The site visitors time saved by a social share button is also imperative to keeping the attention of visitors while they're on your site.

Trusted Recommendations

Social media connects people who value each others opinions, and as a result people who see content being shared by their friends, family or colleagues through social share buttons automatically assume that it’s something worth checking out.

Directed Marketing

The number of people sharing the content indicated by social share buttons can provide insight as to which social media platform contributes the most to your website’s popularity. With this knowledge, you will then know how to take advantage of those strengths and improve in other areas.

Social sharing buttons have been proven to work, therefore adding them to your web site is a guaranteed return on investment. I can add social media sharing functionality with buttons that compliment your site for just $35.00.

Whether you prefer a simple in-line look, a sidebar style or custom buttons that compliment your web site design I can provide with the look, feel and functionality you prefer. It is also your choice as to which social networks you'd like to offer sharing functionality for. Whether it is all or just a select few, you know your target audience best.

Add this important feature to your site today!

Design and Install Social Sharing Functionality to One Web Site or Blog

Only $35.00!

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Social Media Management Made Easy

5:33 PM Author: RAGS

I have often written about and recommended the use of social media for Internet Marketing efforts, and with the vast amount of networks in which we need to be active, managing all of them can prove to be overwhelming. I personally promote my Dart Shirts business on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, YouTube, Pinterest, FourSquare and Tumblr. How do I stay on top of all of them? A simple tool called HootSuite.

HootSuite is a social relationship platform for businesses and organizations to collaboratively execute social media strategies across the major social networks from one secure, web-based dashboard. Advanced functionality includes tools for audience engagement, team collaboration, account security and comprehensive analytics for end-to-end measurement and reporting.

One of my preferred and most used features from HootSuite is the ability to schedule posts in advance, as well as post to one account and have that one action take place across multiple social networks. The ability to post once across all of my networks saves an immeasurable amount of time, and the scheduling feature allows me to leave the office when necessary and have my marketing tasks set on auto pilot.

Free 30 Day Trial of HootSuite Pro
Schedule and automatically publish 100's of messages
Manage and post to multiple Social Profiles
Add up to 9 Team Members to your account

Save your time and your sanity. Improve productivity by managing all of your social networks within HootSuite. The dashboard is designed for you and/or your team to listen, engage and measure all from one simple interface.

Facebook
Simplify your social media with HootSuite's advanced Facebook functionality. Post updates, add images, monitor feeds, and more. Teams can manage complex campaigns – including Profiles, Pages, Events, Groups, and Search.

Twitter
With HootSuite’s Twitter integration, you have all the tools needed to grow, nurture, and engage your audience. Use HootSuite to send and schedule Tweets, listen using search, list and keyword tracking streams, as well as monitor Mentions, Direct Messages, Sent Tweets, Favorited Tweets, and more in dedicated streams.

Google+ Pages
HootSuite’s Google+ Pages integration allow brands to use HootSuite's business-focused functionality for account management and publishing targeted messaging to circles. Share and comment on posts, search public posts and updates, see recent user activity, as well as view comments and +1s.

LinkedIn
Connect with clients, broadcast news, amplify recruitment efforts, and monitor industry conversations with HootSuite’s LinkedIn management. HootSuite allows you to post directly to your Company Pages, Groups and Profiles, as well as create job search streams.

Wordpress
Not just for microblogging, use HootSuite's WordPress management to schedule and cross-post content to multiple WordPress accounts. The publishing platform integration also allows you to reblog noteworthy posts and create a stream for blogs you're following.

Foursquare
HootSuite’s Foursquare management combines way-finding, social marketing and gaming which encourages everyday socialites to “check in” at locations to alert their friends, share tips and even become mayor of a location.

App Directory
The HootSuite App Directory allows you to add even more social networks and tools into your dashboard. Example networks include Tumblr, YouTube, Flickr, as well as marketing focused tools such as MailChimp, SocialFlow, InboxQ, Constant Contact, and many more.

Start your Free 30 Day Trial of HootSuite Pro today, and make your social media efforts more effortless.

911 Tribute Embroidery Design "Let Freedom Ring"

11:36 PM Author: RAGS

This design works well on embroidered garments as well as creating wonderful framed art pieces. It became very popular with embroidery machine suppliers for use at trade shows and demonstrations, as the design runs flawlessly with little to no thread breaks and an extremely minimal amount of color changes, trims and stops.

Original Artwork :: Scanned Sewout

8.94" High X 10.04" Wide (Scalable +/- 10%)
143,054 Stitches
7 Colors

911 Tribute Embroidery Design

Only $30.00!

Freedom Embroidery Design Original Vector Artwork

Get the original vector file for a fully scalable and editable artwork file for screen printing, sublimation and other forms of apparel decorating.

Freedom Embroidery Design Original Vector Artwork

Only $30.00!

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New Web Site: Cross Pointe Homeowner’s Association

3:39 PM Author: RAGS

Rags To Stitches Productions is all about meeting the clients needs when it comes to web design and development, and when the Cross Pointe Homeowner’s Association needed a web presence they came to the right place.

The board at Cross Pointe requested a site that would allow them to post community news, announcements and important documents regarding the Homeowner’s Association in a simple and efficient manner while maintaining a professional and user friendly web presence for residents to use. A simple comments page was included along with the administrative abilities to moderate comments and registered users behind the scenes, and an interface to allow multiple users to contribute and post to the site with their own individual login information.

Mobile Friendly

The Cross Pointe web site features a responsive design that automatically adjust to mobile devices. Send a link to the Cross Pointe Homeowner’s Association and view the responsive web site in action by clicking click here.

Contact us about creating your web presence or storefront to the World Wide Web. The only thing you have to fear is success!

Google Trends and Analytics

4:52 PM Author: RAGS

Printwear Magazine, June 2013.

When it comes to search engine visibility, we are often looking toward one of the staples of SEO (search engine optimization): keywords. Keywords clearly play a major role in search engines matching up your website with the search terms that users are entering into their inquiries.

Our basic instinct is to make an educated guess as to which keywords are effective and what keywords properly define our products and services. But can we find out what keywords people are actually using in their search queries? The answer is yes, and Google has the tools to discover them.

Check out my latest Internet Strategies column for the details:

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Email Currently Leading Social Media for Generating Sales

3:22 PM Author: RAGS

A new E-Commerce Customer Acquisition Snapshot from Custora found that over the past four years, online retailers have quadrupled the rate of customers acquired through email. While Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social networks are still valuable and important elements to have in your marketing scheme, email is still proving itself to be just as important for anyone selling online.

In order to maintain and reach your target audience professionally and effectively, I can't recommend Constant Contact enough. Their tools provide you with a very easy and manageable way of maintaining your recipient lists, remaining spam compliant, ensuring delivery and making sure your message is delivered in a professional way. And when it comes to closing a sale through email marketing, those tools are a necessity.

Find out more and sign up for your FREE trial of Constant Contact today, and increase your sales tomorrow.

Social Campaigns: More Likes, More Shares, More Business

5:58 PM Author: RAGS

Social Campaigns have become a major tool for businesses to reach out to their target market with multiple benefits. With Social Campaigns from Constant Contact it's easy to run frequent promotions and offers on Facebook that deliver meaningful results such as sales, leads and donations.

It all starts with a special offer you host on Facebook. You promote this offer to your fans, followers, and subscribers and encourage them to share the offer with their networks. In order to accept your offer Facebook users must "Like" your Page. Those people are also encouraged to share the offer with their friends extending the reach of your business.

This leads to more people "liking" your Page and taking up the offer, which means more business for you!

In addition to the powerful and beneficial email marketing tools they offer, Social Campaigns are just as easy using Constant Contact.

1. Plan: Choose your business goal, select a template, and create an offer.

2. Publish: Build your social campaign, publish it on Facebook, and share your social campaign to your email subscribers, fans, and followers.

3. Promote: Complete simple follow-up tasks to drive traffic to your campaign offer via email and social media with the included 14-day calendar.

Try Constant Contact and Social Campaigns FREE!

Dartboard Skull Darts Shirt Design

4:10 PM Author: RAGS

This Dartboard Skull Darts Shirt Design is not only the best seller on my web sites, it is the most plagiarized. Often digitized and printed poorly due to the lack of clean artwork - as the image was pirated from a low resolution image online - it is a shame to see this design going to waste when it turns out so well in a professionals hands.

The embroidery designs and darts shirt designs available on this web site are all Copyrighted by Rags To Stitches Productions, all rights reserved. By purchasing any of these designs you will receive license to use each design for sewing or printing on units for personal use or to be sold for profit, but a copy of the DESIGN FILE itself my not be sold or shared.

Size: Full Front/Back
Format: High Resolution PNG

Dartboard Skull Darts Shirt Design

License and Artwork: $45.00

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Mobile Marketing

2:33 PM Author: RAGS

Printwear Magazine, January 2013.

The idea that mobile devices and smart phones are reshaping how people use the Internet is not a terribly novel one. But somehow there are still questions about whether business owners should be concerned about their exposure to mobile users. Judging from mobile statistics and trends, all signs point to yes. Find out how you can address your mobile exposure in this Internet Strategies column.

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Breakin' Hearts and Throwin' Darts Ladies Darts Shirt Design

4:30 PM Author: RAGS

This design was created for the ladies. Always well respected and highly competitive at any darts event. The embroidery designs and darts shirt designs available on this web site are all Copyrighted by Rags To Stitches Productions, all rights reserved. By purchasing any of these designs you will receive license to use each design for sewing or printing on units for personal use or to be sold for profit, but a copy of the DESIGN FILE itself my not be sold or shared.

Size: Full Front/Back
Format: High Resolution PNG

Breakin' Hearts and Throwin' Darts Ladies Darts Shirt Design

License and Artwork: $30.00

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Army Of 3 Darts Shirt Design

4:36 PM Author: RAGS

Simply bad ass, the Army Of 3 arrives at the boards with shock and awe. This design is great for customizing to your customers needs. The embroidery designs and darts shirt designs available on this web site are all Copyrighted by Rags To Stitches Productions, all rights reserved. By purchasing any of these designs you will receive license to use each design for sewing or printing on units for personal use or to be sold for profit, but a copy of the DESIGN FILE itself my not be sold or shared.