Our priorities sometimes seem as sure and solid as the ground. We wash the dishes. We pay the bills. We go to work, school. Then something happens to really shake things up. On the morning of April 14, 2010, an earthquake struck a remote area of Tibet. The damage was catastrophic. Some kids didn’t make it to school. Some who … Read More
Right-Size Web Design
Sometimes the petite pepper provides the right amount of heat for a tasty recipe. With the arrival of a shiny new year — along with a shiny new decade — the promise of hot tech and the drive for business improvements can inspire many an entrepreneur to take a closer look at the company web site. Would the site deliver better … Read More
5 Marketing Things to Do Right Now
Yeah, we know. “This” economy is a drag. Entrepreneurs like us are scrambling to put their energy and money into best-bets for breaking even, and just maybe branch out into growth areas. But you can and should make time for a few marketing steps that keep your name and services out there. At least pick one. 1. Be Online and … Read More
Evanston Bike Race Speeds into Town July 19th
Pro cycling with a full-on family festival fills Downtown Evanston, Illinois, as it hosts the NorthShore University HealthSystem Grand Prix (the bike race formerly known as the “ENH Grand Prix of Cycling”). Mark your calendars for Sunday, July 19, 2009. A circuit through the main streets of town will be closed to cars as elite amateur and Olympic-level pro cyclists … Read More
BirthLink.com Welcomes New Arrival
Redesigning the web site for Chicago’s premier birth and wellness resource provider, BirthLink.com, actually took…wait for it… nine months. Grotto partnered with founder Jo Anne Lindberg to rethink how the site was structured and design a robust new portal with easy access to the provider directory and birthing and health info, as well as Jo Anne’s own health-related business, Life … Read More
Sometimes You Just Need to Ask for Help
By nature, small business owners have a real DIY attitude. You have to when you wear that many hats: ceo, marketing director, receptionist, coffee maker/fetcher/cleaner-upper. It’s a great, and probably necessary trait. But successful entrepreneurs also need to know when they need help. Maybe it is high time you hired an intern for some marketing assistance or a bookkeeper to … Read More
Does Your Website Need a Check-up?
Do you find yourself apologizing for your website when you send someone to it? (“Just ignore the pictures/flashy thing/out-of-date stuff.”) Do you feel like the site could actually motivate more people to call or buy? Does it just seem like the site feels a little dated or out-of-step with what you see on the Internet these days? Or, it doesn’t … Read More
Mind Your Copyrights: Is Facebook Getting Grabby?
Whether or not you have taken the plunge and started exploring the possibilities for smart business marketing among the social networking sites, this news bears watching. This week, a story broke that Facebook recently – and quietly — changed its copyright policies which made it rather unclear as to whether or not they would own whatever users post on the popular … Read More
Grotto Communications Celebrates 10 Years!
We are delighted to commemorate 10 years of providing our brand of marketing communications services to SMBs (small- to medium-sized businesses). The path has been sometimes up and sometimes down (and sometimes it was hard to tell which was which!). But reaching this milestone is a testament to the success of our methods and to the quality of our clients’ … Read More
ARTbody Gets in Shape: New Logo, Website from Grotto Communications
Angela Renee — creator of ARTbody: Angela Renee Technique, a unique approach to body sculpting — came to us looking to create a brand identity to represent her unique fitness program. Inspired by some sketches of the human form by Angela (she’s an artist as well), the Grotto team crafted a round mark with a curvaceous flow. Modern, feminine fonts spell out … Read More