#as a gift from Verti

[nei-ning]

I put myself an alarm last night to wake up today at 1pm so that I can lit candles to Verti's memory at 1:20pm the latest since that's the time when he passed. I woke up, tearing up some as I prepared the candles.

Weather outside bright but still cloudy more or less. No rain or anything, weather cast has not even promised rain plus our weather casts sucks. And yet, exactly at the 1:20pm just before I'm starting to lit up the candles, whole sky tears open and rain starts to POUR down with HUGE drops!

From 5 to 10 minutes later, it all STOPS as suddenly as it started! No clouds or anything and sun is starting to shine on me!

Either Heaven was crying for Verti, too, or it was a sign from Verti that he misses me as well.

[nando161mando]

final hack~

over the past 7 days, we have released a hack every day, from NATO to Israel, we attacked many. we have one more gift for you all, its one minute till midnight so i'll start the show~

we hacked The Heritage Foundation :3 (holy moly!!!)

The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank in America, among the most influential public policy organizations. this organization is responsible for leading Project 2025, an authoritarian Christian nationalist plan to reform the United States government.

Project 2025 threatens the rights of abortion healthcare and LGBTQ+ communities in particular. so of course, we won't stand for that! ^-^

we have gained access to The Heritage Foundation's database, with user data, logs, and other juicy info :D we also accessed 200GB+ of other, mostly useless, files in their server. these useless files wont be leaked.

mew mew i wonder what would happen if we leaked the passwords, email addresses, and full names of every user :3 every US government employee, even the Heritage president Kevin Roberts.

be gay do crime~

LEAK: https://mega.nz/file/cD8mHRjD#YGxykiDiQMdvMz1SneiwPL6zTDBhs8rTxtUwQ9lEujM

thank you to verty for greatly helping with this hack!

dear heritage foundation,

get in touch with us! we will make fun of you endlessly :3

youranonwolf@riseup.net

signal: cybercrimecat.69

love, gay furry hackers <3

#OpTransRights

thank you everyone who has supported us. we have an important announcement coming soon.

[thumpierealunofficial]

*approaching the Great Bawnzi* hey, thumpies- *gets hit by a bear trap* OW! sorry. *gets hit by a bear trap* YIKES! *gets hit by a bear trap* ACK! *gets bitten* YOWIE ZOWIE! owch. all these injuries- approaching the great bawnzi is real tough! i wonder who- *gets poured a bucket of water* oh, tough luck. anyways, aside from that. care for some gumdrops? i came here to the great bawnzi to give y'all some! - vertie

mmffhhgg munch crunch... Dis is absolootely Delishious. Fhank u for ur generous gift. ...Can we hav some? Go take downe All da traps first.

[irxnmaiden]

(introvertedsorceress here!) Dragon!

gifted a vibrava from here bestie @sereina! vertie hangs around altomare, mainly vaporizing poachers nbd

gifted as an applin from @spikemuthtoothfairy, danjira favors chilling > battling; typically hangs in the garden by the manor minding his business!

amphy jr/junior is reluctant to mega (hassa usually calls dibs), but obvi any jasmine dragon team *must* include this one

f l o f f y

she's close to the eon duo(s??) of altomare, particularly the latios

may or may not cave and add this one to the party... i'm clinging to my better judgement but--

[gailynovelry]

Just cleared 50k on Mindhive! As a celebration, I'm just going to drop a little snippet of the chapter I've been working on today, as a treat. Excerpt below the cut;

At a little after 4PM the next day, I meet Vertigo in the empty hallway outside the facility gym. Close to where I need to go, but not so close that he’s going to get suspicious. The cameras in the walls start to focus on me as I stop in front of one of the AI’s screen panels.

“Vertigo?”

“Nathaniel!” he chirps. “Good evening! If you want to ask after Avery—”

Guilt thumps in my chest as I think of them and Lucine, and more specifically, of how I was going to have to leave the two of them behind. “I’m sure they’re doing fine now.”

One of Vertigo’s cameras looks me up and down. “Quite. They’re almost ready to be released from Medbay. Maybe just a few more days even.” His face drifts across his screen, halfway between a smile and a flat neutrality. “I’ve been meaning to ask after you myself. Lucine was asking whether there was a way to refer a fellow trial volunteer for what she phrased as ‘some kind of [expletive] mental health vibecheck or something.’”

Uh oh. I do not need to talk to a therapist; that’s just another chance for me to fuck up somehow and get my cover blown for real. “What is the policy there, then?”

“I informed her that ReGene only offers therapy if the volunteer themself expresses a need for it.”

Phew.

“Nice of her to be concerned,” I say with a shrug, still wanting to kick the nearest wall. “Though it’s not warranted anymore. I just had a rough patch after what happened with Avery.”

“Understandable. I did as well.”

“And actually . . .” I scratch my chin, grinning at the floor. “I thought I would ask after you, Verti.”

“Really?” His smile broadens and he floats side-to-side in his screen, as if bashful. “Another reason why you are high in the now-a-polite-secret favorite category. On our first day, you all spoke to me as if I were one of you. And now it’s always you and Avery and Lucine asking how I am. Allissa and Jimothy did it too. But everyone else is always asking ‘how is everything else going, Vertigo’ and never ‘how are you, Verti.’”

For a second, I’m touched, and a little torn that this kind of interaction is so uncommon for him. But then I have to struggle against a wince as I remember the truth.

I’m only doing this as part of my escape plan.

“In any case, I am a bit sad,” Vertigo says thoughtfully. “But as Avery is recovering and no new implant malfunctions have taken place, I think I am recovering.”

“What if I had something to cheer you up?”

Every camera in the hallway zooms in on me with great interest.

I start to slide the paper out of my pocket, raising an eyebrow. “You can think of it as a present, if you wa—”

“I have never been given a present!” Verti’s digital face is practically vibrating with excitement. “I am aware of what they are — I am locating references in my “exterior knowledge” database as they speak — but I have only seen humans gifting each other before!”

“Not even a birthday present? You’re . . . two, right?”

“Two years and seven months now.”

“Congrats.” As I unfold and shake out the paper, he starts pinging around his screen like a child with too much sugar. “Okay, so, you’re pretty much stuck in the walls, which means I can’t get you anything physical in any meaningful manner. But the next best thing is data.”

“I love data! What kind of data?”

I stand on my tiptoes and hold the paper up to one of the cameras. “Words. Specifically, descriptionary words that start with V, E, R, T, I, G, and O, which could, in theory, be used to fill out a certain acronym.”

“Valorous, versatile, victorious,” Vertigo reads off. “Oooh. I would not have thought of using these words for myself.”

“I would recommend checking some definitions before you decide to use them. I don’t know how many of them will fit you, specifically. It seemed good to offer them, though.”

“I will try all of them!” A small red light appears in the corner of his camera for an instant. “I have taken a screenshot of your list and will transcribe each of these into the appropriate database. It’s been a quiet night, so I believe I will devote our remaining before-curfew hours to generating new potential acronyms. My audio channels will remain monitored. Yell if you need anything. Thank you!”

As his screen turns off, Vertigo’s cameras all go still. I walk over to a different part of the hallway and wave my arms. The cameras remain staring, fixed, just where Vertigo left them at.

Good, good, okay . . . he’s actually stopped paying attention to his video feed.

(I feel bad for him, honestly. I never realized his processing power was as limited as it is. It’d felt all-powerful when I’d first come here.)

But it’s not a good time to feel sorry for my jailer.

[willowsandwerewolves]

Welcome new member of the Blake family!

Vertie! My toad!

He was given as a gift to me from Tulip after I gave away my place in the Frog Choir to Merula.

I named him Vertie because Bertie is the name that Penny suggested when she first saw him, and 'vert' in French means 'green'.

So I came up with 'Vertie' ^-^

[myhusbandsasemni]

Whumptober Day 22: Drugged (Anisha Flight)

@thethistlegirl​ @doubi-ixi​ @linariouswrites​

Cute cute cute dragon under cut

Do these tacos taste funny to you?

...................................

Anisha accepted the cup from the man sitting across the table from here. He had been very accommodating to her rule to not drink alcohol, wine, or tea. 

“So, you say you want my kingdom to join in the alliance under the First Council?” Lord Verti asked, tilting his head.

Anisha nodded. Many of her previous meetings with people for the First Council had been uncomfortable having to hold her tongue and keep her stories to herself. But Lord Verti had encouraged her to speak as much as she felt comfortable. He asked all the right questions, expressed that he loved her tangents, and voiced his own opinions and debated with Anisha a little.

Anisha laughed as she sipped on her juice and was having such a good time she didn’t notice the strange heaviness in her stomach until she saw Lord Verti’s expression falter. He blinked a couple of times. Anisha could see sweat bead on his forehead, but then she started to lose control of the scales in her eyes, so her world became blurry as her sight reverted to its natural state, which is to say, so blind she couldn’t even see the eyes in Lord Verti’s face anymore.

“Drugged,” she croaked, trying to stand up. Her legs said, nah, and she fell onto the table and slid to the floor. She laid there and groaned. She felt extremely sensitive. Sensitive enough to pinpoint exactly when Lord Verti’s arm hit the floor, and then when his head made contact with the wood. She still couldn’t see. She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to see dark forms standing over her. 

She felt the hands on her sensitive arms, though. She was certain she could feel every groove in the people’s fingers. She couldn’t seem to hear anything though.

She faded into a mess of sensations overwhelming her brain. It was like her brain was no longer ignoring sensations it usually ignored. She could feel her clothes constantly. It was weighing on her, almost to the point of pain. She probably sobbed when her arms were pulled behind her back and tied together with rope. She cried when they put something around her neck. She cried when she felt the heavy tears rolling down her face.

Blessedly, she passed out soon after that.

………………….

Anisha woke slowly and groaned when she felt chains on her wrists and throat. Never her favorite thing to wake up to. She felt sick, and, to prove it, she rolled over in the cage and threw up in the handy dandy bucket she found by her head. She rolled back over and just breathed, fading in and out and waiting for the effects of the drugs to wear off. She cracked her eyes open and found she had some control over her sight again. She focused it as much as she could and investigated where that horrid retching noise was coming from.

Lord Verti, now wearing rags and looking very very sick, was making use of the bucket in his cage across the room from Anisha. Anisha lay her head back and waited a little longer. 

She heard noises near herself and tipped her head again. A man and woman walked into the room and examined Anisha and Lord Verti. Anisha gave both of them a thumbs up and a grin. She felt instantly better when she saw their confusion. She thrived off of it. 

“Where…. Where are we?” Lord Verti’s voice was hoarse from throwing up.

Anisha had to say, she was impressed by the accuracy that was used to shove a pole through the openings in the cage and slam into Lord Verti’s ribs. Anisha made her own tiny sound of complaint as Verti coughed and clutched at his ribs, gagging again.

The man bent down and grabbed Anisha by the hair, dragging her to the edge of the cage. Being slightly dead in the scalp, a gift from a childhood of brushing ratted hair without a care, Anisha let him without even moving to help the process. She stared into his face, taking on a dead eyed stare. This seemed to creep the man out and he quickly let her go. She grinned.

The two left as quietly as they came.

“What do they want?” Verti asked, voice cracking.

“IDK,” Anisha said, rolling over and snuggling into her wing. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

[littlecaratarmy]

Here's #tbt of my DAY6 concert. It was honestly one of the best ways to start into 2020 and to give me the energy and motivation to do well this year. This concert was filled with so much energy and positive vibes, y'all can't even believe, I was jumping around without a care and screaming my lungs out (my voice is still scratchy from the concert lol). I felt like it was a lucid dream constantly and I still cannot believe I saw these amazing people live and was even able to give them a high five and thank them for their music/tell Dowoon and Wonpil how their smile makes me happy and smiley too bc they are the actual suns uwu. This concert will not be forgotten and will forever remain a page in the time of our life (hehehe I'm not sorry for the puns). DAY6 have so much passion and love for what they do and for MYDAYs and everyone could feel it. Thank you @day6kilogram for the music and for the beautiful memories we all shared that night, we're all dankeschön-ful. Let's stay together for a long time. 💚💙 Also Jae if you ever do read this, LA trains is such a beautiful song, I sadly wasn't able to say this during the hi-touch but regardless, thank you for releasing it and for calming, relaxing and comforting me in ways I cannot explain. Thank you, seriously. 💚💙 Also thank you for @wassup_kiwi for being the best and for getting us VIP tickets and for making me plunge into DAY6 (not a single regret, made my days brighter and filled with soul music) and thank you @ko.nime for going to this concert with me and making this whole trip 493629393672 times more fun than it would have been, I hope this was a good enough b-day gift. (Even though I'm like 8352929% sure it is hehehe) #day6 #day6inberlin #day6gravity #day6gravityinberlin (at Verti Music Hall) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7rYN1wIXuo/?igshid=1xs7pjnyl35t1

[nei-ning]

I had weird dream last night. Long one and jumping from place to place but: At some point I was in some rooftop market and I found there ancient styled Japanese plate with beautiful print on it. However it had a huge crack which split the plate in 3 parts. All parts were equal in size and the crack was very clean! No shards or anything came of when I showed the plate to my sister. I then noticed our current prime minister (he is a dick who wants to make poor people even more poor while giving all the money to rich people, no matter what - even if it would break humanity laws etc.). I instantly got so pissed and I wanted to go say few things straight to him but I held myself back, just listening how he talked on the phone, laughing something at times.

Next I was on this small potato field at our old home’s yard. At our front yard was some kind of concentration camp (small one) and I was going to be taken there with some other people. Next to me was younger woman and she was holding old cellphone (I think it’s called clam or something??). I grabbed on her arms near the shoulders, saying with silent serious voice: “You still have a phone. Bury it.” I think she did bury it to a safe place. It would be very helpful to her later. Then, next, I was on some roof with lots of bird nets and - houses. Everyone there had a bird which had laid them an egg or more. One woman near me had probably 10 middle sized eggs, white with brown dots. She was collecting them happily. I got happy and rushed to a shelf seeing what I had. At the shelf was peoples’ items and I had 2 items too. One of upper shelf and one below it. Behind each item was another item, some kind of gift what people had gotten. Behind my upper item... was nothing. I was slightly confused so I checked what was behind my other item on lower shelf. Again nothing! I started to think, feel sad and disappointed that why I hadn’t gotten anything. The items weren’t anything big or all that expensive no!

Like someone had old leather bracelet, having new leather keychain behind it etc. I still feel bad I didn’t get anything. I was the only one!

Then, at some point of the dream I was in my current place and I got a new neighbor in apartment 3. He was a bit chubby middle-aged man with small black bulldog or something similar. I was petting the dog (which was just one big black head with super tiny body!). The man said he is very introverted and prefers to stay in his own apartment and not have contacts with neighbors etc. I said I completely get him since I am the same! However, at some point of the dream he was in my apartment, going to lit up his pipe. I told him he can’t smoke inside, ordering him out. He went to front door, leaving doors open. I hurried after him, now yelling more or less that he needs to close the doors since Verti will escape and that he needs to go more further to smoke!

I don’t know WHY he came in my place :’D But I could feel it he was there to live with me but I was not having it! He had his own place right behind my kitchen’s wall so he could go back there! :’D

[cazedmunds]

Sunday ocular with @neilonradio and @miss_indigram for our #SchoolOfJocks auditions at #VertisNorth from 10am-5pm. . If you are a college student and have the gift of gab and have what it takes to be on air, come join us next Saturday, Nov. 5. . And since we're out, what a perfect opportunity to take the #MellowmuX for a spin. Riding high on our partnership with @isuzuph for our #RoadTo45. #WeAreMoving (at Vertis North)

[ksupremacyph-blog]

Just this afternoon, PH Carats stormed through a coffee shop in the Philippines to attend the #MoonSoonBlows Cup Sleeve event in celebration of Hoshi and Jun’s birthday!

Fans were very much delighted with various designs of cup sleeves and freebies! Check out some of them below:

Early attendees were in for a treat with a special gift!

.. while postcards from You Make My Day kihno album STS were randomly distributed!

And here’s what fans would have to say about the heart-melting event:

https://twitter.com/WonHuiShipper/status/1142330949457235969

https://twitter.com/min9yunnaise/status/1142366048227737600

https://twitter.com/wonshidan/status/1142319432582086658

https://twitter.com/ikonsvtday6/status/1142382282038136832

https://twitter.com/skysnwu/status/1142336671905488897

https://twitter.com/seoksoomyloves/status/1142350846551707648

The event was made possible by the joint forces of @svtcarlandph, @cattowonhui, @official_rnl, @SoonyoungKwon3, and @hoshisparkles.

And the coordinators would like to say:

“Big thanks to all those who came for the #MoonSoonBlows event at Zoo Coffee Vertis North and Alphaland! Until the next event!”

Tiny trivia (for newbeez): Originating in South Korea, cup sleeve events are held at cafes to celebrate an idol’s birthday, anniversary or achievement. (Source: AsiaOne)

  Go back Home

PH Carats celebrate Cup Sleeve event for SEVENTEEN’s Hoshi and Jun Just this afternoon, PH Carats stormed through a coffee shop in the Philippines to attend the #MoonSoonBlows Cup Sleeve event in celebration of Hoshi and Jun’s birthday!

[hannalysis]

My Planner Journey

For the past four years, I’ve always had a Starbucks Planner.

But no. I don’t drink coffee.

My older brother who drinks plenty of Starbucks would give me a planner as his default birthday gift so that come December, like clockwork, I’ll have my planner ready for the incoming year.

The problem this year is that he was not able to finish a sticker card because of a lot of extenuating circumstances. And, feeling bereft of what I felt was something given during my birthday celebration, I started obsessing how to get one on my own.

As someone who doesn't drink Starbucks, the first option for me was to ask for stickers from people who do. And so I did. I chatted people who I knew frequented the establishment. Since most of them were still collecting stickers, I thought I'd buy the stickers instead.

At this point, RJ already told me that he has five that he was willing to give to me. I looked in FB Marketplace and Carousell to find incomplete stickers that I could buy to complete the 18.

I set up a budget that each sticker should not cost more than Php 55. This is since most planners are sold at Php 1000 apiece so I thought if I stick to my budget, it'd still be a bargain.

I found someone who sold 8 stickers for Php 450 and set up a meeting while I was visiting one of our plants in GMA. But, as luck would have it, she was unable to meet me so she arranged for a GrabExpress that she paid herself all while I refuse to deposit my money before getting the card. Crazy how much she trusted me but in the end, after looking for an open branch of her bank on a Saturday, I was able to finish our transaction.

To complete the rest of the five stickers, my long-time best friend (we actually consider each other sisters!) agreed to meet to contribute to my stickers.

The day after, my boyfriend and I met with some of his workmates and they wanted to drink coffee after dinner. Initially, I thought to myself, yes! I would be able to complete the stickers without shelling out any more money (at this point I have spent close to Php 700) but they wanted to go to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf instead.

We went there and, since it was a double stamp day, I was able to complete the required stamps to get my very own CBTL planner with their help. Even though the planner was good, I still wanted to honor tradition and get myself an SB planner.

We drank our last set of Starbucks but apparently most stores were already out of stocks. I kept on refreshing the Starbucks Philippines FB page to see comments on where to still redeem the planner but all I read was the many posts of which branches were out of stock.

In desperation, I posted an FB status calling out to my friends who knew where to get the planners. By then, we've already checked on all of the four Starbucks in Trinoma and the one in Vertis North. One of my elementary classmates said that there were still planners at Technohub the night before. Although RJ was supposed to go back to Bataan early, he still went with me to check the place out. But no luck.

My brother, who gave me all of my previous SB planners, was in Tagaytay with his family and he was checking Tagaytay for me as well. One of friends from work volunteered to check in Cavite. The plant manager of where I am currently deployed at took my completed stickers and went around Tagaytay to check the planners. One of the Production Managers tried his luck in the SBs along his way to homr to Los Banos.

Still no planners. And with the imminent double stickers, I feared that, after all that I've been through, I won't even get a travel organizer for my efforts so I asked the Production Manager to claim a travel organizer for me.

Throughout this process, I kept thinking why I was so obsessed with getting this. I couldn't let it go. It has been a long time since last that I became persistent in pursuing something. It felt good until I was getting into arguments with my boyfriend. He said that buying the planner at Php 1000 would still be a bargain considering that I'd have to spend around Php 2,520 even if I bought the cheapest drink 18 times. And even if I'll do it on double stickers, it'd still amount to Php 1,260.

But I kept thinking to myself, the planner is not even something that has a value. It was a bonus for patronizing a product. It was unfair to assign value to something that so happened to be a preference for most but not all. It was a perk. People who buy coffee at Starbucks would still pay the same even without the planner.

I could not be contented. I was unhappy. I would call my boyfriend and tell him I was bothered that I still don't have a planner. Until he convinced me to let it go.

At first I was angry. Until the last moment, I still believed that this was going to be a story of success. That given how much effort it took me to gain all the stickers, I would get my triumph and in some fairytale-like manner, I would wake up one day and someone would tell me that one last planner was in some branch and I would get there in time and I would redeem that planner for myself. I thought it was due me.

But it wasn't. Funny how the world works sometimes.

I took a step back and asked myself again: why do I want this so badly? And when I couldn't answer that with conviction, I realized that even if by some twist of faith I get the planner, I will not be happy. It will not be vindicating. Mainly because I have been through so much that it has lost its appeal.

Only then did I see that the journey has been eye-opening. All the people who stepped up to help me. My boyfriend who was amazingly supportive from start to finish (even though I know he was just indulging me because he doesn't really understand whims and fancies). And my amazing showcase of will and relentlessness.

It also made me realize that although I did not get what I planned to have, life has its own surprises that might not be the same as what you set out to get for yourself but would do just fine all the same.

Sometimes I just have to believe and open myself to the possibility that my plan is not the only plan and my answer is not the only right one.

So, after most of the first month of the year is done, here's my CBTL planner (that I started using!) and my SB travel organizer (which I will use as my travel journal which is a 2019 KPI!).

[cuahangymart]

Affordable, Stat-Based Retail Strategy For Your Agency’s Clients

Affordable, Stat-Based Retail Strategy For Your Agency’s Clients

Posted by MiriamEllis

Retail clients are battling tough economics offline and tough competitors online. They need every bit of help your agency can give them. 

I was heartened when 75 percent of the 1,400+ respondents to the Moz State of Local SEO Industry Report 2019 shared that they contribute to offline strategy recommendations either frequently or at least some of the time. I can’t think of a market where good and relatively inexpensive experiments are more needed than in embattled retail. The ripple effect of a single new idea, offered up generously, can spread out to encompass new revenue streams for the client and new levels of retention for your agency.

And that’s why win-win seemed written all over three statistics from a 2018 Yes Marketing retail survey when I read it because they speak to motivating about one quarter to half of 1,000 polled customers without going to any extreme expense. Take a look:

I highly recommend downloading Yes Marketing’s complete survey which is chock-full of great data, but today, let’s look at just three valuable stats from it to come up with an actionable strategy you can gift your offline retail clients at your next meeting.

Getting it right: A little market near me

For the past 16 years, I’ve been observing the local business scene with a combination of professional scrutiny and personal regard. I’m inspired by businesses that open and thrive and am saddened by those that open and close.

Right now, I’m especially intrigued by a very small, independently-owned grocery store which set up shop last year in what I’ll lovingly describe as a rural, half-a-horse town not far from me. This locale has a single main street with less than 20 businesses on it, but I’m predicting the shop’s ultimate success based on several factors. A strong one is that the community is flanked by several much larger towns with lots of through traffic and the market is several miles from any competitor. But other factors which match point-for-point with the data in the Yes Marketing survey make me feel especially confident that this small business is going to “get it right”. 

Encourage your retail clients to explore the following tips.

1) The store is visually appealing

43–58 percent of Yes Marketing’s surveyed retail customers say they’d be motivated to shop with a retailer who has cool product displays, murals, etc. Retail shoppers of all ages are seeking appealing experiences.

At the market near me, there are many things going on in its favor. The building is historic on the outside and full of natural light on this inside, and the staff sets up creative displays, such as all of the ingredients you need to make a hearty winter soup gathered up on a vintage table. The Instagram crowd can have selfie fun here, and more mature customers will appreciate the aesthetic simplicity of this uncluttered, human-scale shopping experience.

For your retail clients, it won’t break the bank to become more visually appealing. Design cues are everywhere!

Share these suggestions with a worthy client:

Basic cleanliness is the starting point

This is an old survey, but I think we’re safe to say that at least 45 percent of retail customers are still put off by dirty premises — especially restrooms. Janitorial duties are already built into the budget of most businesses and only need to be accomplished properly. I continuously notice how many reviewers proclaim the word “clean” when a business deserves it.

Inspiration is affordable

Whatever employees are already being paid is the cost of engaging them to lend their creativity to creating merchandise displays that draw attention and/or solve problems. My hearty winter soup example is one idea (complete with boxed broth, pasta, veggies, bowls, and cookware). 

For your retail client? It might be everything a consumer needs to recover from a cold (medicine, citrus fruit, electric blanket, herbal tea, tissue, a paperback, a sympathetic stuffed animal, etc.). Or everything one needs to winterize a car, take a trip to a beach, build a beautiful window box, or pamper a pet. Retailers can inexpensively encourage the hidden artistic talents in staff.

Feeling stuck? The Internet is full of free retail display tips, design magazines cost a few bucks, and your clients’ cable bills already cover a subscription to channels like HGTV and the DIY network that trade on style. A client who knows that interior designers are all using grey-and-white palettes and that one TV ad after another features women wearing denim blue with aspen yellow right now is well on their way to catching customers’ eyes.

Aspiring artists live near your client and need work

The national average cost to have a large wall mural professionally painted is about $8,000, with much less expensive options available. Some retailers even hold contests surrounding logo design, and an artist near your client may work quite inexpensively if they are trying to build up their portfolio. I can’t predict how long the Instagram mural trend will last, but wall art has been a crowd-pleaser since Paleolithic times. Any shopper who stops to snap a photo of themselves has been brought in close proximity to your front door.

I pulled this word cloud out of the reviews of the little grocery store:

While your clients’ industries and aesthetics will vary, tell them they can aim for a similar, positive response from at least 49 percent of their customers with a little more care put into the shopping environment.

2) The store offers additional services beyond the sale of products

19–40 percent of survey respondents are influenced by value-adds. Doubtless, you’ve seen the TV commercials in which banks double as coffee houses to appeal to the young, and small hardware chains emphasize staff expertise over loneliness in a warehouse. That’s what this is all about, and it can be done at a smaller scale, without overly-strapping your retail clients.

At the market near me, reviews like this are coming in:

The market has worked out a very economic arrangement with a massage therapist, who can build up their clientele out of the deal, so it’s a win for everybody.

For your retail clients, sharing these examples could inspire appealing added services:

A small pet food chain is offering health consults in addition to selling merchandise.

Even small clothing boutiques can provide personal styling sessions.

I know of a particular auto parts store where salespeople show you how to change windshield wipers and headlight bulbs for free and it brings our household back almost every time..

It’s common for shops like toy stores to have kids’ birthday clubs, but sophisticated businesses offer loyalty programs, too

I wrote about offering shipping last year as an additional service with self-evident value in this age of convenience.

The cost of these efforts is either the salary of an employee, nominal or free.

3) The store hosts local events

20–36 percent of customers feel the appeal of retailers becoming destinations for things to learn and do. Coincidentally, this corresponds with two of the tasks Google dubbed micro-moments a couple of years back, and while not everyone loves that terminology, we can at least agree that large numbers of people use the Internet to discover local resources.

At the market near me, they’re doing open-mic readings, and this is a trend in many cities to which Google Calendar attests:

For your clients, the last two words of that event description are key. When there’s a local wish to build community, retail businesses can lend the space and the stage. This can look like:

Any type of class, like these ones that teach how to operate an appliance or machinery, how to re-skill at something like wilderness survival, or how to cook/make things.

Any type of event, like the open mic night I’ve cited, above, or celebrations, or appearances by well-known locals such as authors, or ongoing club meetups.

Any type of special appeal, like this recycling deal gifting participants $20 off new jeans if they donate their old ones, or housing a drop-off point for light bulbs, batteries or charitable giving, or hosting the kick-off of a neighborhood cleanup with some added benefit to participants like a breakfast or discount.

Again, costs here can be quite modest and you’ll be bringing the community together under the banner of your business.

Putting it in writing

The last item on the budget for any of these ventures is whatever it costs to publicize it. For sure, your client will want:

A homepage announcement and/or one or more blog posts

Google Posts, Q&A, photos and related features

Social mentions

If the concept is large enough (or the community is small) some outreach to local news in hopes of a write-up and inclusion of local/social calendars

Link building would be great if the client can afford a reasonable investment in your services, where necessary

And, of course, be sure your client’s local business listings are accurate so that newcomers aren’t getting lost on their way to finding the cool new offering

Getting the word out about events, features, and other desirable attributes don’t have to be exorbitant, but it will put the finishing touch on ensuring a community knows the business is ready to offer the desired experience.

Seeing opportunity

Sometimes, you’ll find yourself in a client meeting and things will be a bit flat. Maybe the client has been disengaged from your contract lately, or sales have been leveling out for lack of new ideas. That’s the perfect time to put something fresh on the table, demonstrating that you’re thinking about the client’s whole picture beyond CTR and citations.

One thing that I find to be an inspiring practice for agencies is to do an audit of competitors’ reviews looking for “holes” In many communities, shopping is really dull and reviews reflect that, with few shoppers feeling genuinely excited by a particular vertical’s local offerings. Your client could be the one to change that, with a little extra attention from you.

Every possibility won’t be the perfect match for every business, but if you can help the company see a new opportunity, the few minutes spent brainstorming could benefit you both.

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Source: https://moz.com/blog

[dariethedreamer]

These pins remind me of the #enamelpin I unearthed when I was young. 😊 Thought it was a war treasure (because my lolo was a war hero 😊) or maybe a gift from the fairies of the magical hills of Taytay hihi!😊 Maybe i should hide one of these in a fancy box and see if my son (or whimsical apo 😅) will discover it and think it's magical too.😊 . . #BarkadaNiLuna pins are here in our booth in #ArtExchange2018 at Ayala Vertis North ! We're here til tomorrow!See you and may you have a magical weekend!😘🌠 . . #illustration #pins #wearableart #limitededition #imaginaryfriends #imagination #magical #believeinmagic #nostalgic #art #artph #supportdreams #supportmakers #supportlocalph #artjourney #bydarie https://www.instagram.com/p/BoBihHPHNhN/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1hy974aokxzzl

[colleyspoolsandspas-blog]

Swimming pools…and romance. Can it save a marriage?

Swimming pools and romance have been linked together for as long as lovers have held hands. Most everyone has a memory involving a love interest (or a hopeful love interest) under a moonlit night in the enticing vicinity of a swimming pool. And if they haven’t, they’ve surely dreamed about it. The possibilities for romance fill the anxious air, as a promising moment hovers over the scene, awaiting only the zing of Cupid’s arrow to inflame it. So, yes, the pool as romantic stimulant has doubtless stirred the waters of hot passions over time. But we wondered, does the amorous allure of the pool actually ever serve as the elixir that saves a couple’s marriage teetering on the brink of survival?

Well, yes and no. Consider the following two tales:

In 1937, Pauline Hemingway, the wife of legendary novelist Ernest Hemingway, in a last-ditch bid to keep their marriage from falling apart, had a swimming pool constructed for him as a gift—the first pool built in the Florida Keys—while Hemingway was off in Spain covering the Spanish Civil War. The lido came at a cost of $20,000—two and a half times worth the couple’s Whitehead Street house in Key West. Hemingway’s reaction wasn’t what she’d hoped for. When the author returned, he reportedly took a penny from his pocket, tossed it on the ground, and told her, “You might as well take my last cent.” Pauline recovered the penny, having it preserved in cement and glass. Many years later, the artifact became a popular tourist attraction after the house was converted into a museum. Unbeknownst to Hemingway at the time, Pauline hadn’t spent one cent of his money in constructing the pool. An heiress, she was independently wealthy in her own right. Rumors still endure that the author married her for her riches. Alas, the pool failed ultimately to keep their marriage from falling into the deep end.

Another author, R. Harper Mason, met his future bride, Vertis—an acquaintance of former President Bill Clinton—at a public swimming pool in Smackover, Arkansas, when she was 16. Apparently, the enchanted pull of the pool worked its intoxicating magic on the pair, who celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 2010.

And it likely wasn’t just coincidental that Mason wound up writing a book on the recipe for a quality marriage!

Let Colley’s Pools & Spas—the company that specializes in outdoor environments—help you create more romance in your life. Give us a call. For nearly 55 years, we’ve been bringing the two together.

This article was originally posted on Colley’s Pools and Spas: http://www.colleys.com/swimming-poolsand-romance/

[danielygo]

Deuseburg Starplayer TV - surprise from my family 😁😁 #deusenburgguitars #deuseburg #starplayertv #guitar #music #gift (at Seda Vertis North)