HoofPrints Newsletter
October 23, 2011 - Deceptive Marketing Issue
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So - is it really considered "deception" if it's an accident?
| One set of foibles is on the Horsewoman's Pampering Set...
|  It's a common marketing ploy to bundle a group of items together to sell as a set - offering the customer a discount to entice the purchase of multiple items together, AND to spark ideas for gift-giving groupings, etc. Shown above is the picture from the website. In my efforts to convey what a glorious bargain it is to buy these items as a set, I miscalculated the actual value of the set by about $10. So the catalog says this is an $85. value, when in reality it actually adds up to $75.79. A dumb math mistake on my part. So, $62.95 is still a better price than the items purchased separately, but not as irresistible as I had hoped.
The second blunder is in the printing on the Metallic Pink Bag. When I first hatched this product, the imprint color I chose was white. I thought the shiny pink was quite enough bling and that the sedate white would be a nice contrast. After some very tense moments with the vendor (who published this item in their most current catalog - then told me it was not available when I ordered) and some wrangling with customer service, I was able to get these ordered - but instead with a sparkly silver foil imprint (that's all that was available). I did not have a sample at press time, so the photo you see in the catalog shows a white imprint. The silver turned out great, but it's not what I represented in the thousands of catalogs that went in the mail. If you're still game to give this a look, click here. |
The Horses & Hope Calendar with photos by Sarah K. Andrew
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We put this up for sale before it was even completely "born"...
|  Really. Sarah approached me this spring about the possibility of producing a calendar featuring her images as a fundraiser. We discussed it (but not in depth) over the summer. By the time the HoofPrints catalog was nearing completion it was time to either move forward with the idea or abandon it altogether. (Had I realized it was going to entail over 100 photos and so many hours of work, I am not sure I would have been so eager to take it on - with all the other stuff I had to get done before we could go to press - like arguing with difficult bag vendors and making math errors). A big stumbling block was finding a printer who could produce such a work within our budget. Our initial quotes for a small batch of these were coming in at $38.00 EACH! At the last minute things started falling into place and it became apparent that the calendar was going to be a "go".
So, one (of many) late nights that I was working on the catalog, I threw together a cover idea, and fired it off in an email to Sarah. On the heels of that came a page for August. She liked them both and gave me the go-ahead. That was ALL that was done when the catalog went to press. We had no idea what pictures we were going to use on the rest of the months, the back cover, the last spread (after December). But there was not time to do all that before catalog deadline.
The pictures of the calendar shown in the catalog are not even exactly what we ended up with. Above is the "real" cover. The Horses and Hope type is different than we represented, and "My year at the auction" is written in Sarah's handwriting now, not the script font shown originally. August (shown below) started out to be a Saddlebred-themed page, but strayed away from that, though the large top picture remained the same. The ghosted picture behind the days is changed - also a Saddlebred face - a lucky horse (Sarah tells me) with a lot of training that wound up at the sale, thin and battered. Someone saw this spark in his eyes - now he's in a great home being pampered like the prince he is.
 Only after I got the catalog off to print, and sat down to work on this, did I realize what a monumental project it was going to be. We wanted to use inspirational quotes along with pictures of auction horses, and we wanted to keep it positive, so that folks would be inspired and uplifted to look at the calender each day for a whole year. Sarah has over 3,600 pictures in her auction horses album. Just going through them took a lot of time. Choosing the best ones took even more time (they are all good) as well as finding appropriate quotes to go with. Fitting them together was the fun part. I think Sarah's angels took a break from helping her photograph, and came here to help me with this calendar layout. It went more smoothly than anything that I've worked on for a while. As tired and frazzled as I was from finishing up a 48 page catalog (and all the products in it) I was energized by this and continued to move forward at a good pace until it was finished.
The calendars have been in the hands of our very capable printer for 2 weeks now. They have promised completion and delivery by 10-28, and hopefully a partial delivery before that.
THANKS to all of you who have pre-ordered and are continuing to wait patiently. It will be worth it when you see the finished product. In the meantime, you can view the finished pages on our facebook page here.
If you've not reserved your copy, you can do so here.
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A Horsewoman's Prayer
| Another product that's not as represented - at least for a little while
|  We sent the brass horse goddess medallions off to the mat cutter - and told them to match the prototype they'd made for us earlier. Imagine my surprise when the mats arrived - I opened the box - and discovered they were grey instead of brown as pictured. It's a nice dove grey - and it looks good with the frame - so I am going to sell these in place of the brown ones until the next shipment comes.
This is a new development (problem) and I have not had a chance to get a photograph of the version with the grey mat. It looks nice, you'll have to take my word for it for now.
To see this, and our other framed inspirational prayers and verses, click here.
Note that the Pet's Prayer (at the bottom of the page) is a discontinued item and is limited to our stock on hand. So if you had this in mind for someone on your shopping list, don't wait to order.
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Farriers' Air Fresheners
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This is another one that is different than the picture
|  but not much. The one on the right with the shoe and anvil now sports a steel blue/gray background instead of the solid black pictured in the catalog.
These are just the thing for a stinky farrier's truck - the three scents are fun, too. Money - Leather - Sport fresh (like aftershave). A great, inexpensive gift for the farrier on your list at just $9.95 for the set. Order here.
Horse woman's car/truck air fresheners are here.
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GOOD STUFF: I rescued a human today
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Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor
|  peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.
As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.
As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.
She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.
I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.
Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship. A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.
Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.
I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.
So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors.
So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.
I rescued a human today.
-author unknown
Pictured above is our clay plaque "Hug" - a great little gift for a dog lover - is on sale for just $9.95 (or 4 for $30!). No deception here, that's really the price.
This and more dog / animal rescuer gifts available here.
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Recap - From the last newsletter
| Here's what we talked about last time:
|  Crossroads Sculpture here
New book - Farriery, Foal to Racehorse here
New Christmas Cards here
Embroidered Fleece headband for 1� here
Life is Short - Ride Your Horse Vest here
BUCK DVD here
HoofPrint Magnets are BACK! here
Horse Woman stylish Wool Flap hat here
Freeze Dried Horse Hoof Models here
BARN Girl Bales again! here
Pink products for breast cancer research here
Protect this HORSE medallion here
NEW Hill Country purse & wallet here
Oh, What Fun it is to Ride T-shirt here
Life is Short, Play with Your Dog here
Snuggly Turquoise Thermal Jacket here
KEEP CALM & HANG ON Sweatshirt here
PAST NEWSLETTERS - See what you missed! Click HERE to catch up on the news.
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| More about HoofPrints - and miscellaneous ramblings from Gina | | Check out our NEW "GOOD STUFF" links at the bottom of this section! |  ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THIS NEWSLETTER
Farriers Greeting Cards was started by Gina Keesling in 1986 (in a very small way) to provide helpful promotional materials for farrier husband Rob. This newsletter is emailed to subscribers a few times a month, depending on how often I have something to share. Watch for special sales, interesting stories, uplifting quotes and more.
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This week's quote is a revision of our Farriers Prayer by Melodee Hoffman:
Prayer of a Rescuer
Dear Lord, give me the strength to start this day.
Afford me wisdom and courage
To face whatever I encounter on my rescue mission.
Even though my work with dogs can be difficult and sometimes dangerous,
Grant me the patience to understand their fear and unpredictability.
Keep me safe from harm as I strive to improve their lives.
Let me remember that my soul is fulfilled while helping
A sick dog get well and a well dog find a Forever Home.
Help me to have patience with my fellow humans and to remember that
Most love their dogs and want what is best for them.
Guide my heart to respect and share fellowship with my peers, so that we are
Not alone in this complex and challenging mission.
Remind me that while my mission is important, faith and family should
Come first; help me to schedule my days to reflect these priorities.
And at the end of the day when my body and soul are tired,
Help me remember why I chose this mission,
And let me never lose fascination and reverence for this
Wonderful creature you have blessed us with; the Dog." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Thanks everyone, for reading!
Gina Keesling, owner
Contact Information
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Share our emails
| Viral marketing... it sounds bad, doesn't it?
| You can ask my husband - a frequent topic around here is that of forwarded emails - and the psychology behind them - just WHAT prompts people to decide; "I am going to send this to everyone I know!".
We receive a lot of them. Some are pretty good, and others are dumb. Dumb in a myriad of ways... Alarmist email rumors that have been around forever - that folks keep sending "just in case it's true" Pictures of someone's butt (or worse) - don't even get me started about the firecracker butt - but at least that one was timely when it showed up around July 4. Christian messages that are uplifting - until you get to the end and you're threatened "if you're not ashamed that you love Jesus, forward this - if you are, then delete." Pictures of cute puppies and kittens (awww)
I enjoy writing these newsletters - and sharing all this stuff with you all. But the fact is, it's also a way to help us stay connected with customers and sell products during the time between catalog mailings (which is only once a year) So I really, really like it when someone new stumbles upon the newsletter and is excited to "discover" our company and the products we offer.
In all my efforts to make the newsletter interesting and forward-worthy - it never occurred to me to JUST ASK you all to send it! Duh. Sometimes the obvious is elusive, I guess. So here goes - my request to ask you to forward our email newsletter to your horsey friends. All we ask is that you please be judicious and only send to folks who might be interested. Otherwise we are no better than the "firecracker butt". Click to get started. (please note - using this form does NOT subscribe anyone to our list - it is a one-time only forward) |
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