The products and services we provide are actually much less important than what we do. We’re in the business of fetching business and we use a variety of approaches to get the job done.

We offer a wealth of experience in marketing for-profit and non-profit organizations. We’ve successfully executed projects with budgets large and small. After all, sometimes a project requires a Lexus approach. And sometimes a Kia will do just fine.

The way we see it, there is more than one way to accomplish any goal. Our job is to catch your vision and help you devise a plan that best fits your organization’s goals, style and budget. Our goal is to work with you for the best return on your marketing investment.  Give us a woof!  360-642-4431.

Sydney Stevens‘ newest book is coming out on April 29th.  We’re waiting with baited breath to see what she said about our Alpha Dog, Keleigh Schwartz.  Follow the link to pre-order your copy!

Geographic isolation, abundant natural resources, and the challenging climate of Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula have shaped the strong character, individuality, and creativity of those who live there–from the First Peoples of the Chinook Nation to the eclectic, ever-growing population of the 21st century. Along the Columbia River, the salmon industry has spawned leaders such as P.J. McGowan, John Kola, and Jessie Marchand. On Willapa Bay, oyster workers and cranberry growers like Meinert Wachsmuth, Ira Murakami, Charles Nelson, Jim Crowley, and Malcolm McPhail have struggled to understand and protect their fragile environment. Entrepreneurs like John Morehead, Mary Lou Mandel, Keleigh Schwartz; legislator Sid Snyder; surf rescuer Doug Knutzen; and artist Eric Wiegardt have each played a role in shaping this unique area. Legendary Locals of the Long Beach Peninsula chronicles the generations of inhabitants who have celebrated the distinctiveness of their communities even as they have endeavored to cooperate in sculpting their future.

Email webmaster@beachdog.com to get started or request a gift certificate (good through 1pm on Sunday, Nov 25, 2012).

It’s important to be compliant when sending e-mail campaigns. Rules have been set by the Federal Trade Commission to protect consumers, and breaking those rules could be costly. Violators may face penalties of up to $16,000 per each separate e-mail! It sounds scary, but compliance is rather simple. Following is a list of the main requirements set by the FTC. For detailed information regarding each of these items, in addition to complete coverage of the CAN-SPAM Act, visit http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/ecommerce/bus61.shtm.

1. Don’t use false or misleading header information.
2. Don’t use deceptive subject lines.
3. Identify the message as an advertisement.
4. Tell recipients where you are located.
5. Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future e-mail from you.
6. Honor opt-out requests promptly.
7. Monitor what others are doing on your behalf.

Ethan, our Technical Lead, will soon be leaving the kennel.  He’s moving onward and upward to WebMD, where he’ll not only make more salary and benefits, he’ll have more opportunity to grow technically and professionally.  It’s a really great career step for him and we’re all pleased as punch that he’s been afforded the opportunity.

We’re sad to see him go, of course.  Having served as our Technical Lead for just over two years, Ethan has filled our technical tool box to new levels here at beachdog.com, expanding the services we offer.  His legacy will continue through the training he’s provided and documentation he’s created, but it won’t be the same as bombarding him with beach balls or running a red carpet of post-it notes back to his office when he returns from lunch.

Dan, Ariel, Wendy and myself will be picking up most of his projects in the short run, and some of our tried-and-true Freelance Fidos will be pitching in to fill the gap until we re-hire.  In fact, Ethan will join the ranks of our Freelance Fidos, lending his high level of skill to a few of our most complex projects on a very part-time basis.  Being beachdog takes a special kind of person; we’re looking for just the right person to add to our technical team and are grateful to our talented troupe of Freelance Fidos in the meanwhile!

E’s last day with us will be Friday, June 29th, but he’ll always be “Code Puppy” to us.

We get this question from time to time so I thought I’d share an excerpt from Print Industry’s June newsletter:

“Serif vs. Sans Serif” Typefaces and Legibility

Serifs are the little strokes on the ends of letterforms. You will see them on such typefaces as Times, Baskerville, Garamond, and Palatino. The strokes, or tails, lead your eye from one letter to the next. Various studies have proven over the years that, with ink-on-paper, a serif typeface is easier to read than a sans serif face (sans serif typefaces might include Helvetica, Avant Garde, Futura, and Franklin Gothic).

Keeping in mind the ease of reading type printed on paper in serif typefaces, the exact opposite is true on a computer monitor. The regular grid of pixels in strict horizontal and vertical alignment apparently minimizes the legibility of serif type. So choosing a sans serif typeface such as Helvetica (or Arial) would be prudent in this case.”