Extra, Extra, Blog All About It!

We are spreading the Blog news! See today's article in the Loudoun Times Mirror chronicling Zazu's experience with this new media format.

Totally cool...

For the whole story, click here.

Finding Your Way In Style

I remember my first experience with the Internet. Find something cool, which leads you to someplace else, to a chat room about that new someplace else, which sends you to a horoscope site, and then eventually (hours later) you forget where you started. So, you "google" your own name to see what is out there about you only to be completely bummed that there is absolutely nothing. Zip.

Blogging is kind of the same - only different. By the way, I love that phrase; the same - only different. I have heard it used a lot lately. I recently got up to speed on Facebook and have reconnected with many friends from my school days. It seems that lots of folks look exactly the same - only different.

Let's get back to the point ... Blogging is the same, except that out in the blogosphere, it is widely recognized that you give credit where credit is due. The beauty of the whole system is that everyone is connected through links.

For example, I have a subscription to Wedding Wire through Google Reader. Every time they have a new posting, it shows up in my browser. Today they had a great post about a company who hand draws maps. Many of our wedding customers would be interested in including a beautifully detailed map with their wedding invitation ensemble. This is good information to share.

Thankfully, Wedding Wire not only gave us the name of the merry map makers (Couture Maps), but also credited another blog (Ritzy Bee) for bringing this company to their attention.
To wrap the whole thing up in a neat little bundle, I am bringing all this pertinent stuff to you. With pictures!

What Not To Blog

We have come up with literally tens (hey, we just started) of topics to discuss here on our new blog, so the thought came up that we should have some sort of policy on what we will not discuss on this public forum.  Doesn't that sound official? An actual "policy."  Seriously, we don't always just make stuff up as we go along ... really.

So, here is the official list of topics we will not be discussing on the wildly popular (hey, we're now on page two of Google!) Zazu blog, The Little Blog That Could.

• Politics: Since we're just a bunch of gurlz - we can't handle the complexities.  We probably just need "more education and training."  How about just casting our ballot for the candidate who shows up in People magazine most frequently.  You know, that's how gurlz are.

• Religion: Nope. Can't even come up with a funny/annoying comment about this one.

• Sexual Orientation: So, you won't find a post regarding Clay Aiken's revelation that he is, in fact, gay filed under "No Sh*t, Sherlock."

• Kids: We will not make you feel like less of a parent by chronicling the goings on of our enormously bright and talented kids.  However, if  they do something hysterically stupid (we've got teenagers), then ... "game on."  
  

Fair enough?  We at Zazu solemnly promise not to post about the above topics ever again as to not offend or alienate anyone or anything.

Probably.

Cheers!

Times Are Tough, But So Are We

As the economic news gets even gloomier – gas prices at a ridiculous level, grocery prices that make you want to start your own crop, a real estate market bordering on disaster, and mighty, mighty banking institutions being bailed out by the government – who wouldn’t want to hide their money in a mattress?

So, how are mom and pop going to keep open the shop?

This is the question being posed to us at Zazu, a locally owned gift and stationery store in Ashburn, Virginia. Opened in 2004, we had hoped that this would be the year to see some benefit of all the hard work we put into establishing ourselves as the most fabulous shopping experience in the community. All the books we read told us that’s what would happen if we followed all the rules: develop a kick-butt brand, offer unparalleled customer service, fabulous and trend-setting products, and a moderate pricing structure. That’s when we got hit by 2008. Ouch!

So, being the creative and stick-to-it types, we needed an extension to our plan. As luck would have it, our CEO and Chief Decision Maker, Caroline Haddad, recently learned of a new marketing tool called, “the Internet”. What a fabulous invention!

When sales are down, marketing and prospecting at every opportunity is critical to get more feet pounding your carpet. On the horizon, we at Zazu see social networking and blogs as becoming the channels to shamelessly self-promote and widen brand awareness. Being creative-types (and soon to be techno-types) we have decided to embrace and conquer this new media.

On Tuesday, September 23, 2008 Zazu published its very first blog, “The Little Blog that Could”. We invite you to join our adventure as we explore this brave new world.

Cheers!