Ready for the BBQ Tool Set? Help Me Make it Happen!

[PampMomof3]

Okay, I just e-mailed this to everyone on my list! Let me know what you think. I know it could be better but I don't have publisher and this is the second one that I have put out! I am wanting to collect enough orders to put together a catalog show so I can buy the barbecue tool set for $40!! Wish me luck! I am also just starting my third month so be easy on me!!!

 

[DebbieSM]

Great!!Kristi,
I think your Newsletter is great. I really have to urge people in giving me their e-mail addresses at my shows. I think that probably really helps business.

Great Job,

Debbie

 

[chefloriray]

Kristi,
Great newsletter!! It was really full of info without being too long!!

 

[ChefLoriG]

very nice! looks great!

 

[kellymiller]

Newsletter SuccessDo you all find that you actually get bookings and orders through sending the newsletter? Or is it just a good way to keep in touch with people?

Kelly

 

[PamperedGinger]

You get both. It is mostly about keeping your name in front of your customers and letting them know that you are there to help out.

Occassionally you will get bookings and recruiting leads from newsletters.

 

[pelamm]

Comments?Hi all. I am hoping to get some feedback on my first newsletter as well. Unfortunately, I cannot attach my files due to how they are formatted. So, I hope no one minds I just placed it below even though it is long. Please note that none of my formatting carried over. However, please feel free to comment on the content. Thanks. - Paula in TN


PAULA'S MENU
June 2005

APPETIZERS (Tips and Tricks)
Grilling Vs. Barbecuing
Summer-time cooking is synonymous with cooking out. It gets us out of an often-hot kitchen, and makes any meal seem like a special occasion. Many people use "grilling" and "barbecuing" interchangeably. However, afficianados will contend there is a significant difference!

Grilling simply refers to cooking over hot coals. Rubs are concentrated blends of herbs and spices that can be sprinkled on food prior to grilling, or, as the name implies, rubbed onto meat. When these seasonings are rubbed on the meat being grilled, they provide a barrier, making the meat juicier and less likely to char. Starting June 1st, The Pampered Chefâ has 3 delicious new rubs - Bell Pepper and Herb Rub, Citrus and Basil Rub, and Crushed Peppercorn and Garlic Rub.

Barbecuing involves cooking meat for long periods of time, and then basting with a seasoned sauce to keep the food moist. Food should be basted the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking to avoid burning.

When you are cooking outdoors, keep the following tips in mind.
*Brush chicken, fish, and steaks with oil before placing on the grill to prevent sticking.
*Constantly turning your meat over will result in it becoming dry, because a good sear will never develop. Meat should be cooked once on each side.
*Cook larger cuts of beef at low or medium temperature. This keeps the exterior from cooking too quickly, and maintains tenderness.
*For juicier burgers, avoid pressing or flattening while grilling.


SALADS (This Month's Specials)
Great Gifts for the Grill Master! In June my Pampered Chefâcustomers can purchase any of our Barbecue Tools on page 36 of our catalog and receive the NEW Great Grilling Recipe Card Collection FREE!

My June Hosts can purchase our either our exclusive Patriotic Picnic Tablecloth for just $15, or our entire Barbecue Tool Collection for only $40!!! (This applies to Kitchen Show AND Catalog Show Hosts, with minimum Guest Sales of $150.)


ENTREES (Recipes)

CHICKEN ENCHILADA RING (edited out for forum since posted elsewhere)

GRILLED ITALIAN SAUSAGES
with Confetti Vegetable Relish (edited out for forum)

DESSERTS (News and Upcoming Parties)
Thank you to everyone who made purchases in May! I have received my silver Italian Charm bracelet from The Pampered Chef thanks to everyone, and am waiting on my May charm to add to it. Ask me to show it to you, I am awfully proud!

Special Thanks go out to Sara Flynn and Alisa McBee for hosting parties for me in May! Sara received $52.11 worth of merchandise for $28.59, and Alisa received $356.43 worth of merchandise for $127.55. If you would like to find out how you can receive free products, too, please contact me!

Sara will be hosting a catalog party for me in June. Orders and payments for her party must be submitted by June 13. Please contact her if you would like to place an order with her party.

Would you like to be my Mystery Host? Contact me for more information!

I currently have some open dates for Kitchen Shows in June. I would love to come to your home and present a great recipe and tips to you and your friends! Sharing Pampered Chef is a great way for me to socialize, so please help me get out of the house!  Plus, You will get to earn great products!


BEVERAGES (In The Next Issue)
July Specials: Our Chillzanne products keep it cool in the heat!
Recipes: Requests being taken
More Tips and Tricks for summer cooking

It has been a pleasure preparing this newsletter for you, and I hope you enjoy it. If for some reason you no longer wish to be on my mailing list, or were placed on it in error, please e-mail me as soon as possible so I can take you off the list.

Paula Lamm
Independent Kitchen Consultant
for The Pampered Chef
[email protected] / (931) 469-0230

 

[PampMomof3]

Thank you for everyone replying! Paula~I think you did a great job on your newsletter! I LOVE that you added the difference between grilling and barbecuing! I wish I would have done that! Good Luck!

 

[pelamm]

Thanks, Kristi, I know I have really appreciated some of the things you have posted. I am hoping to aim the tips toward whatever the monthly special is to try to tie it all together.

And perhaps it is because I have a cold, which makes my sense of humor questionable, but I liked the menu idea. And since the host specials = free stuff = free money = "lettuce", that is why I stuck it in salad. Although, if I have to explain it, then it isn't REALLY funny. Once again, probably the cold.

When I got done typing, it was three typed pages long. Is that too long?

Oh, geesh, I just saw more typos. Glad I haven't sent this out yet!

Paula in TN

 

[PampMomof3]

Hey Paula! Thanks for your comment! I am only in my third month so I am new at the newsletter thing but I would say that you want to hold your customers attention as long as possible. If you feel that it is too long, it's too long. Are you getting lost in reading it? I personally thought that it looks great (you probably added color in your e-mail) and it held my attention fine! I really love the tips and tricks section! Let me know how you do!

 

[PampMomof3]

Hey Kelly!
This is my second newsletter so as of right now, I haven't gotten any bookings or orders from it but like Ginger said, It keeps my name in front of the customer!

 

[dawnsclassycupboard]

A tip for your newsletterOne great tip that I have been told id to try to place your recipes at the end of the newsletter. This way they have to scroll through the content to get to them.

 

[Cindycooks]

thanks!I love both newsletters! I am in my 5th month with PC and in the process of doing my first newsletter. I'm going to make it a summer newsletter, introducing the new products, a recipe or two and also announcing my "mystery host" show. I am definitely going to incorporate some of your ideas into my newsletter - I had no idea where to even begin! My daughter is getting married the end of June so I have quite a busy month! I'm hoping the newsletter along with the mystery host show will help boost my sales while keeping my month manageable with all I have to do!

 

[janel kelly]

I'm not that great with a computer and the first time I wrote my own newsletter it too me 2 hours! So I have my newsletters made at a website called www.myconsultantscorner.com It only costs me $5 a month which automatically gets taken out by paypal each month. It is so easy and totally worth it to me. The newsletters are beautiful. I've attached this months newsletter if anyone is curious to see what they are like.

 

[pamperedbecky]

I'm not that great with a computer and the first time I wrote my own newsletter it too me 2 hours! So I have my newsletters made at a website called www.myconsultantscorner.com It only costs me $5 a month which automatically gets taken out by paypal each month. It is so easy and totally worth it to me. The newsletters are beautiful. I've attached this months newsletter if anyone is curious to see what they are like.

Wow!! That is impressive. I really like that and $5/month isn't bad. Do you just email them the info you want them to include? How about the pictures? Then do they make it look "pretty"? I do my own newsletter and it doesn't take me too long, but just the look of this will attract attention.

Then do they email you the Adobe file as an attachment that you attach to your emails you send out? I will check out their website. I'd love more info though!

 

[janel kelly]

Yeah, just go to their website and it will show you a past newsletter she has done and will give you more info. It explains everything on the site. No, I don't write anything. The lady who does it is a former PC consultant so she does all the work for you. You don't have to do a thing. (thats why I like it)
Yes, she will send you the next months newsletter in the middle of the previous month(like I got June's newsletter the middle of May) She sends it in Adobe format and you can send it as an attachment or their is a way you can send it as an e-mail( they explain that on the website as well) If you have any other questions just let me know. I think the website though will clear up alot of things for you.

 

[dawnsclassycupboard]

Becky,

I use the newsletter that she is speaking of as well. She is right... it takes so much stress off me to let someone else do it. For me, there is no way I could do it myself and be as time efficient as what would equal $5.00/ month. If time is important to you, I say go for it!!!

 

[pamperedbecky]

newsletter through myconsultantscorner.comI have checked it out and I'm thinking about doing it. I'm also thinking of getting a publisher program because I'm sure once I spend the time to do the first one, all the rest won't take long at all. I think I may want to put a little more information than the one that she does from myconsultantscorner.com. For example, for June I'm planning on including all total donations for Help Whip Cancer that I accumulated through fundraisers and HWC products. Depending on the type of month I've had, I may also announce who's in my "Host Hall of Fame" too. So there may be a few extras I'd want included in the newsletter.

Do you think everyone has Adobe so they'd have the ability to pull up the newsletter? I know it was mentioned that there's another way you can send out her newsletter-maybe in an email, not an attachment-and that's the method I think I'd prefer. I want to do whatever is easiest for my customers so there's a bigger chance they'll actually READ the newsletter.

We'll see, I'm still considering it though! I could definitely get used to having it done for me and quickly!

 

[Lisa S]

AdobeBecky,

Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free program... so anyone who does not have it can download it for free. If they do not have it and try to read your newsletter, their computer should automatically ask if they want to download the program.

 

[pamperedbecky]

Thanks Lisa! I just worry that some people may not be very comfortable with the computer and wouldn't know what to do, so it'll be easier to just forget it. Although, those are probably the people who don't even read my newsletter anyway!

 

[PamperYourKitchen]

Pay someone to do your newsletter? I couldn't!! Being somewhat computer literate helps me, yes, I know, but I think the best part of any newsletter is it being personal, and having the ability to let people know your goals and know your experiences...
I use templates, so you're not creating the designs or colors..you're choosing from a pre-designed form and picking from a set of coordinating colors...it's really not as difficult as it may look!
It does take some time to type up your blurbs in it, but time = sales and bookings, maybe even recruits!!

 

[pamperedbecky]

Pay someone to do your newsletter? I couldn't!! Being somewhat computer literate helps me, yes, I know, but I think the best part of any newsletter is it being personal, and having the ability to let people know your goals and know your experiences...
I use templates, so you're not creating the designs or colors..you're choosing from a pre-designed form and picking from a set of coordinating colors...it's really not as difficult as it may look!
It does take some time to type up your blurbs in it, but time = sales and bookings, maybe even recruits!!

That's exactly why I'm debating whether or not to have someone else do it. I do like to include personal tidbits and my goals. How do you use templates? Is there a publishing program that you recommend? I'd rather put in the $$ for that up front (and the time), but then be able to plug stuff in for different months. I'd love to hear how you've create your templates! Thanks so much.

 

[PampMomof3]

Hey Becky! I just got Microsoft Publisher last night and have been playing with my July Newsletter. It has tons of stuff that you can do on it with many templates that you can change to your likings. Here is what I have so far!

 

[pamperedbecky]

Hey Becky! I just got Microsoft Publisher last night and have been playing with my July Newsletter. It has tons of stuff that you can do on it with many templates that you can change to your likings. Here is what I have so far!

Thanks, Kristi, for attaching it. Unfortunately I can't open it since I don't have Publisher. Was it expensive? I like the idea of having templates. Can you cut and paste graphics into it, like from the PC website? Thanks for the info!

 

[Lillybelly]

I like to use my current KCNRemember - You don't have to reinvent the wheel with your newsletter. Every month we receive great information from The Pampered Chef in the Kitchen Consultant News. Especially now that every issue comes with Kitchen Show Teaching Tips. I also like to use "The Dish on" section. Both of these sections have great tips and help sell our products. I usually take a recipe from Consultant's Corner, because I want to make sure that the recipe I give uses Pampered Chef products. Just go to Recipe Search under the Product Use & Care Section. If you find a recipe from "Product Use & Care" then the whole recipe is on the site & you can even e-mail it to yourself to be able to copy & paste into your newletter.

 

[PamperYourKitchen]

PUBLISHER!!! I love it. That's really all I use anymore! Making flyers, invitations, newsletters, etc... It's about $150? but WELL WORTH IT!
There is an option when opening the program of using templates, which are just pre-fab newsletters, etc, but on pub you can pick a color scheme. different layouts...Worth the initial investment!

I posted my newsletter in PDF format somewhere on here just this afternoon, you can see how I use pub. Let us know what you decide!

 

[rwesterpchef]

Sending email newsletters using PublisherPublisher comes with the Office Professional Suite, not the Office Home Edition, which is what most people have (or purchase) for their home computers.

I send my newsletters in Microsoft Word because it is so widely used. Some consultants simply send it in the body of the email text. Some convert to HTML format. As your email list grows, it may become an issue as to who does and does not have Publisher, etc. My recommendation is to use something that is common for home computer users.

 

[PamperYourKitchen]

Publisher comes with the Office Professional Suite, not the Office Home Edition, which is what most people have (or purchase) for their home computers.

I send my newsletters in Microsoft Word because it is so widely used. Some consultants simply send it in the body of the email text. Some convert to HTML format. As your email list grows, it may become an issue as to who does and does not have Publisher, etc. My recommendation is to use something that is common for home computer users.

Using Publisher, you get that high quality look, and then converting it to Adobe makes it user friendly. Best of both worlds!

 

[jjhoo01]

how do you convertHow do you convert a file to adobe? I tried and it put me on the web with a free trial of 5 conversions and then I never found my converted document. I don't understand what you are to do to convert a file. Can someone please help? I would like to send my first newsletter out in July. Thanks, Jessica Hoover

 

[PamperYourKitchen]

I know, all the computer stuff is pretty confusing...here's how to convert it:

In publisher:
- File, Print (like you would just want to print it out normally)
- That will bring you to select the printer, how many copies, etc. At the top where you are able to select the printer, pick Adobe PDF, and click 'OK'.
- A printing dialog box will come up like it's getting ready to print
- A "save pdf file as" box comes up, and that's where you can specify where you want the file saved to (desktop, folder, etc)
- It will spool through like it's really printing the pages now, and the another dialog box will come up that shows it's actually converting the file. Once that box closes, you'll have the pdf file wherever you chose to save it (I usually pick the desktop and the move it wherever I want it...don't know why...)

Now that's how it works when you have the adobe program installed, I'm not sure about the online trial version, I imagine that it might be similar, but I don't know. Hope that helps!