From the beginning of this blog, my goal has been to share information, advice and resources with our visitors about flowers and our shop, with a twist of local Milwaukee flavor. Judging from my stats, I have been successful in doing just that.

Several months ago, I began testing the Apture plugin on this blog to provide a richer, more dynamic multimedia experience for the visitors here. The feedback I got was positive, so I have continued using it.

Now Apture has introduced their new search bar, which I have enabled to test on the site.

What does the search bar do?

• With this new search bar, you can now highlight nearly any word or phrase on this site to explore articles and much more.
• You can share this information on Twitter, Facebook and via email at any point while you are reading.
• On text 40 characters or less you can hit Ctrl+c or Command+c on your keyboard to instantly perform a search.

Video Demo

Tools like the Apture plugin and search bar make my goal of sharing information easier, hopefully giving you a better overall experience when you are here.

For me, the Apture toolset is a perfect complement to this blog, because I now can insert targeted contextual links which I feel will help you, while still allowing you to freely search on your own, from anywhere on the site.

For those of you reading this (especially my colleagues and friends in the flower business) that have blogs and want to give your visitors the best experience possible, you should seriously give this plugin a shot.

You will be providing a great service for your readers, which in my mind, is what it’s all about.

New Apture search bar feature now enabled is a post from: Milwaukee Florist Greenfield Flower Shop's Blog

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1. Want Twitter followers? Leave a comment here.

Jack Humphrey has just posted a tutorial entitled the “One Hour Link Building Workout” on his blog. It’s a solid action plan for building links back to your site or blog.

I’ve been an avid reader of Jack’s for the last couple of years. I’ve found his tutorials easy to understand and his strategies simple to implement. If you’re a florist with a small marketing budget, and are looking for ways to increase traffic to your site, be sure to check out this article. Follow this advice, and you too will become a lean, mean link building machine in no time at all.

One Hour Link Building Workout

How to become a lean, mean link building machine is a post from: Milwaukee Florist Greenfield Flower Shop's Blog

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1. Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-07-19

There are a lot of misconceptions about how women use the internet. I came across an article entitled “Moms Rule the Web” on the FTR blog this morning that shows the reasons why women (and Moms) have become a force to be reckoned with. It talks about how the internet has really kind of “supercharged” the power and influence of this demographic like never before. This post shed light on some facts that really surprised me.

The latest Ipsos-Insight FloralTrends Consumer Tracking Study shows that women purchase 79% of floral products sold today. If you are trying to grow a floral business today, this is the one demographic you need to learn to work with and pay attention to. You can read the full article here:

Moms Rule The Web

When buying flowers, Moms do rule the Web! is a post from: Milwaukee Florist Greenfield Flower Shop's Blog

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My question is, “Where was your florist all this time?”

If a couple has taken the time to meet with me about their wedding flowers, it’s my responsibility to keep in touch with them, not the other way around. Service is part of what you’re paying for, so you should expect to get it. Couples planning a wedding are juggling a lot, and I realize that they might forget, have other florists to meet with, or are just undecided. It’s important that they know I haven’t forgot about them.

And I have two very good, even self-serving, reasons to do so.

First, a quick phone call serves as a gentle reminder to the couple that I still value their business and want to be of help. Most couples usually thank me for calling and apologize for not getting back to me sooner. Often that one call is all it takes to get the ball rolling.

Second, if the couple has decided to go with another florist, it allows me to ask a couple of questions about their reasons for doing so. That input helps me better understand what I may need to change or improve upon.

In business today, I don’t think any wedding vendor can afford to be “missing in action”. Keeping in touch is just Business 101 in my book.

Read the original post here

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Is your wedding florist “missing in action”? is a post from: Milwaukee Florist Greenfield Flower Shop's Blog

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I came across a post that explains the importance of blogging for business, and also cites a great example of a florist who really uses her blog effectively.

Blogging works and I have proof!

Blogging works – here’s proof is a post from: Milwaukee Florist Greenfield Flower Shop's Blog

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3. Want Twitter followers? Leave a comment here.

Thanks to an idea I got on John Jantsch’s blog, I’ve just added an easy way for more readers of this blog to connect and be found on Twitter.

Now, whenever you leave a comment to a post on this blog, you can add your Twitter username and it will show up in your comment, next to your name. This will make it easy for people to follow you after reading your comment. Remember, your comments will still be moderated, so make sure your comments add value and make people want to follow you on Twitter.

Try it out by adding your comment to this post. Give people a reason to click on your Twitter ID to follow you, by telling us a little bit about yourself or your business. Or better yet, if you host your own Worpress blog, add the code and give it a try yourself.

Want Twitter followers? Leave a comment here. is a post from: Milwaukee Florist Greenfield Flower Shop's Blog

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“Thanks for your business”, “Thanks for your referral”, “Thanks for your help” – the list goes on, but you get the idea. Sending thank you cards is one of the things that’s always been a habit with me, and it should be with you, too.

Sure, it takes a little more effort than making a phone call or sending an email, which is what most people today do. But I’ve found that taking the time to send a personal note is still remembered the most, especially if I send flowers along with it.

Even though I’m in the floral business, I don’t like cards that are too “flowery”. Especially when sending them to men. I mentioned this to a friend of mine, who is a wedding planner.

She suggested a new line of thank you cards from a vendor she recommends to her clients for wedding invitations, which she thought I’d like. It seemed like an unlikely choice, but she was right on the money.

Check out the cards I ordered below:

Elegant Argyle Thank You Card

Sporty Stripes Thank You Card

With the holidays coming up, it’s also a good time to think about sending holiday thank you cards to everyone who has contributed to your success this past year. Whether you run a large company or work for yourself, taking time to say “thanks” will go along way to your continued success.

Thank You Cards for Men is a post from: Milwaukee Florist Greenfield Flower Shop's Blog

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Anybody who has been on Greenfield Flower Shop’s e-mail list for any length of time has probably noticed that they haven’t been receiving much e-mail from us lately.

It’s not that we don’t like keeping in touch, but we’ve noticed that many of our e-mails are just not getting through to our customers. Many are getting caught in filters, blocked by ISP’s, or wind up in spam folders.

Lately, the problem has been very noticeable with subscribers who use Yahoo e-mail addresses. E-mail delivery has either been delayed, or in many cases, returned after a number of attempts.

A better way to stay updated is to subscribe to our blog using a free RSS reader. The link to subscribe to our blog feed is located in the right-hand column.

If you’re unfamiliar with RSS or subscribing to blogs, watch this short video – RSS in Plain English. You’ll become an expert in no time at all.

If you don’t want to miss out on our specials and money-saving opportunities in the future, you really need to subscribe to our blog.

Or for those of you who are a little more hyper-connected, you can get at least a 24 hour advance notice of specials by following us on Twitter:

Follow us on Twitter

See you online!

Get the best deals on flowers in Milwaukee delivered to your desktop is a post from: Milwaukee Florist Greenfield Flower Shop's Blog

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