Patriotic Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes

Fourth of July is the holiday to celebrate the history of the United States. Common elements of the holiday are red, white, and blue colors. Why not make patriotic red, white, and blue cupcakes for your Fourth of July picnic?

You’ve most likely made cupcakes before, so you know they aren’t difficult. You can create patriotic cupcakes in a number of ways. You can make colored cupcakes by using food coloring or you can decorate them with patriotic designs. Here are some ideas of ways to create red, white, and blue cupcakes your picnic guests will enjoy:

* Using a white cake mix of your choosing, follow the directions to make a cake. However, instead of merely frosting the cupcakes after they’ve cooled, take the time to decorate them differently. Ice each cupcake with Cool Whip and then place cherries and blueberries on the top. Be creative in how you decorate them to make them beautiful and yummy.

* Make and frost cupcakes as normal with cream cheese frosting. Use blueberries, red fruit leather, and the frosting to create a symbolic flag on top of the cupcakes. Of course, you’ll want to use small blueberries for the stars, the fruit leather for the red stripes, and the frosting as the white stripes.

If you’ve never made cream cheese frosting, it’s quite easy. Soften one package of cream cheese (8 ounces) and then blend it with 1/2 stick softened butter or margarine. Next, mix in one teaspoon of vanilla and gradually add one package (16 ounces) of powdered sugar until it is the correct spreading consistency.

* You can also create patriotic decorations on your cupcakes by using red and blue sprinkles on white frosting.  Carefully line the edge of the frosted cupcake with blue and then make a red star on top. Other colored candies can also be used for decoration.

* Using food coloring to make the cupcake batter red or blue is another option to consider. Layer the red batter on the bottom, followed by white, and then blue batter. The cupcake itself will be patriotic and it then can be decorated any way you please.

Let your children help you decorate the cupcakes. Not only will they have fun, they may surprise you with the patriotic designs they come up with. They’ll also feel proud about helping and can show off their artwork/cupcakes to those who may join you.

Patriotic red, white, and blue cupcakes will be a hit at your Fourth of July picnic or party. They’ll be easier to serve your family and guests. They’re sure to show your patriotic spirit on the day we celebrate freedom the birth and freedom of the United States of America.

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5 Keys to Creating Websites that Sell

Your business website is essentially your storefront, business card and most significant marketing piece all rolled into one.  How it affects your visitors and customers is then essential to your success.  Provide a memorable experience and customers are sure to return time and time again.  Let’s take a look at five keys to creating a website that sells.

Key #1  Make your website interactive. 

As the internet continues to grow and evolve it’s becoming more important to create a community around your business. To accomplish this you want to engage your visitors and customers.  This can be accomplished a number of ways.  You can:

* Provide a forum
* Post surveys or polls
* Enable visitors and customers to review or rank items.  For example a “How valuable was this article?” question and a scale of 1 to 5 stars or a ranking from 1-10. 
* Offer a blog and inspire comments and feedback
* Host contests and sweepstakes
* Publish video and audio content as well as written content.  This gives users another way to access you and your personality.

Key #2  Make sure your website provides value. 

People go online for a number of reasons.  They go online to research a potential purchase, to seek solutions for a problem they’re having and to be entertained.  If your website provides all three; products, information, and entertainment then you’re in tip top shape.  The good news is your content can provide both the information and the entertainment and when written well, can also inspire purchases.  Here are a few ideas to provide value for your customers and prospects:

* How to articles, videos, and audio
* Tips articles, videos, and audio
* Case studies
* Workbooks and reports
* Interviews with experts
* Product reviews
Key #3  Make sure your website is easy to navigate. 

It takes a visitor about 20 seconds to make a decision about whether they’re going to stay on your website or click away. If your site is laid out nicely, with products and services, information, prices, FAQs, and content easy to find then people are more likely to hang out – the longer they stay on your site the more likely they are to make a purchase or to return again.

To make your site easy to navigate consider:
* Keeping your site simple. 
* Keep your pages uniform with the same options and appearance. 
* If you have a lot of content, great!  Use drop down menus and organize your content by topic for easier access. 
* Offer a search function where users can search for products, services, or content topics quickly and easily.
* Provide a way for users to easily go back to previous pages.  A back key is an option however if every page has the same options and drop down menus, including the ability to quickly return to the home page, a visitor will always be able to find what they need.
* Test your website’s appearance on different browsers to make sure every visitor has a good experience.
Key #4  Make your website easy on the eyes. 

Ever visit a website and the text was so small or the colors so incompatible that you couldn’t read a word?  Readability is critical to a selling website.  Make sure:

* Your colors are easy on the eyes,
* Your graphics aren’t distracting
* And keep formatting like underlining, bold and italics to a minimum.
* Spacing between sentences and paragraphs is adequate
* Font size is large enough for people to read and font is easy to read
Key #5  Give them a soft sell. 

People expect to be sold to and they’re looking for it – they’re wary.  Instead of hitting website visitors with a hard sell, provide information, solve their problems and show them the benefits of your products or services.  They’ll be much more receptive and appreciative.  

Creating a website that sells requires a structured approach and a desire to create the best experience possible for your visitors.  Once you’ve created your website, consider testing it and asking associates, friends and family for their opinion. 

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Five Tips to Get Your Skin Ready for Summer

Summer will be here before you know it. Having beautiful skin to show off will make wearing sleeveless blouses and shorts much easier. These five tips to get your skin ready for summer clothing can help you feel more comfortable, not only in your skin but also in your clothes. [Read more...]