| AlphaGraphics seeks investors to open stores in EP
Salt Lake City-based franchising company AlphaGraphics is in the midst of a major expansion effort and has its sights set on El Paso. The company, which provides marketing and visual communications solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses, plans to open its first El Paso location in the next six months to a year, said Art Coley, senior director of franchise development. The company hopes to have three to four El Paso stores, all of which will be franchises, within three years, he added. "The shortest and simplest way (to describe us) is we are a solution provider," Coley said. "We provide marketing and visual communications for small- and medium-sized businesses. What does that mean? Everything from Web sites, e-mail campaigns, direct mailing, printing services for business cards and letterheads.
How to stop junk mail
Junk mail. Piles of it. In your mailbox, every day. You don't want it. Most of the time, you didn't ask for it. But when it arrives, you have to "do" something with it: Shred it. Trash it. Recycle it.You'll probably never eliminate "all" the mail you don't want. But with a little effort, you can remove your name from enough mailing lists and databases to cut down some of the clutter.We've rounded up some of the best tips for opting out of the direct-mail deluge. Follow these steps and you're bound to lessen your mail carrier's load.Remember: You won't see results right away, because a lot of direct mail is prepared and addressed in advance. So wait at least two or three months before you throw up your hands in disgust.It's a painstaking process -- but so is handling all that junk mail, right?Credit card offersIf you're not shopping for a new credit card, opt out of those pre-approved offers.
NextMark Awarded Patent for Its System for Generating Highly Responsive Mailing Lists
NextMark, Inc., a leading provider of tools and resources to buy mailing lists, sell mailing lists, and learn about mailing lists, announced today it has been awarded a patent for a new mailing list selection technique it has invented. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued NextMark patent number 7,246,077 for its Systems and Methods for Generating Highly Responsive Mailing Lists. .
Customer Surveys: A Powerful Link Building Tool
One of the most effective link building tools I use is a customer survey. Surveys are usually written from a customer service standpoint: companies want to know the opinions of the people who buy from them and crave feedback on how they're doing. Honorable intentions for sure but in today's link marketing, it's less about where customers stand and more about where they're going. In the past, I provided a general questionnaire to the company that contracted my linking services, then pulled demographic information from the site's web logs. Using web logs is still a viable tactic but I've come to understand that today's Internet is different and I need to adapt what I do along with it. The explosion of Web 2.0 and social media type sites is changing the way we work and the way I market for links.
CATA Named #1 Transit System in North America
The Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) has been named the best transit system of its size in North America by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). "This is the highest honor in our industry," said Sandy Draggoo, CATA's CEO/Executive Director. "We couldn't be more excited or proud!" Draggoo also won the prestigious General Manager of the Year award from APTA in 2003. CATA was ranked #1 in the competitive 4-30 million passenger trips category. This category includes 106 transit systems. APTA gives out the Outstanding Transportation System Achievement Award annually to honor transit systems demonstrating exceptional efficiency and effectiveness. Transit systems are judged on services and programs, safety, operations, customer service, financial management, attendance and employee costs, advancement of minorities and women, marketing, policy and administration, and community relations.
'ASR Records Adds to Team
'ASR Records formally announced the addition of Roxann Stout and Jahmal Brown to the label staff. Ms. Stout will direct and develop initiatives related to the label's Booking Department. Mr. Brown will provide the label with specialized Internet Technologies skills related to the label's online portal. Roxann Stout will be working with qualified talent buyers toward booking 'ASR Records Artists at festivals and events worldwide. She is a trained musician, studying classical piano for 12 years, classical voice, and saxophone for 7 years. She was a state champion vocalist and won the Women's Federated Competition for 2 straight years. Her promise as a vocalist was so impressive that Ms. Stout was awarded a vocal scholarship from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.
'Turn to West Memphis,' City Urges Logistics World
Ward Wimbish has a message for companies thinking about moving part or all of their logistics and distribution operations to the area: West Memphis is open for business. Bolstered by a slick new Web site (www.westmemphis.com), robust infrastructure and competitive incentives, the city has launched a full-scale campaign to lure the type of commerce that helped its much larger neighbor across the river earn the tagline "America's Distribution Center." Leading the charge is Wimbish, who has served as director of West Memphis' Office of Economic Development since October. His position had been vacant for a year and half, which Wimbish said he believes hindered the city's chances of becoming a key distribution link in the global supply chain. "We've been out of the market for a while," he said.
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