Innovations in Giving

All eyes are on Haiti this week, and we are all looking for ways to help.

No introduction is really necessary here. If you’re reading this blog, then you have access to the Web, which means the news is probably at least as much a part of your life as it is mine.

When tragedy has struck in the past, helping was… difficult. We didn’t know where to go, who to talk to, how to find out what is going on. Now, the global marketplace has made it easy, and it amazes me how many accessible opportunities there are for us to help.
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Sponsor Slots for January

Last month we made sponsor slots available on Creative Perch to help offset the maintenance costs of the site. If you’re considering a slot for January, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• A creative readership. Creative Perch reaches a niche demographic of artists, creatives, writers, techies, and handmade crafters. Pageviews continue to increase dramatically each month (contact us for details).
• Great prices! Premium slots are priced at $50/$75 per month and include badges on the home page and all of the main pages and a special post featuring the sponsor. Basic slots are priced at just $25 per month and are featured on posts pages.
• Increase visibility and networking. Many of our readers are also owners of small business. Sponsor slots are a great way to network with other readers and increase the visibility of your product, store, or site.

January sponsor slots will go live on January 1. If you have any questions, please contact us, or go here to order!

Welcome Melanie!

I am very excited to officially announce that Melanie Sklarz is coming on board as a regular contributor here at Creative Perch. She’ll be writing two columns per month, Everyday Creative and Calling All Creatives.

Everyday Creative
A yearlong exploration of creativity and what it means to be creative. Following the Creativity book by Eric Maisel, I’ll explore my own creativity through inspirational exercises and share the results. I encourage you to join me.

Calling All Creatives
How are creativity and creatives impacting your area? I’ll look at the regional events and efforts that shape change through creativity.

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5 Secrets to Frugal Inspiration

In economically challenging times, we don’t always have extra money in our budgets to buy the latest great book or publication, or go to the conferences we want to go to, or participate in the courses we would like to join. Our bank accounts may be taking a hit, but that doesn’t mean that our creative growth has to.

Here are a few secrets I’ve found to continue growing creatively, without breaking the bank.

1. Can’t go to the conference? Participate online!

I’m planning my 2010 budget, and while there are tons of great conferences I would love to attend, some of them just won’t make the budget. While I wasn’t able to find “official” free videos of some of my favorite conferences, I was able to find several via YouTube. I hope that more conferences follow TED’s lead in the future.
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Site Changes for Creative Perch

Over the last couple of days, I made a few layout changes to Creative Perch. If you subscribe by RSS or email, you may want to visit the site to check it out.

First and most obviously, I felt that the top site navigation was a little bit crowded, so I’ve moved our two most popular series, Get Your Creative Groove On and How to Be an Innovator, under the “Popular Series” tab. If you click on that tab, you can choose the series you are looking for in the right sidebar of the page. Then, you’ll be taken to the series page that lists all of the topics within that series.
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Forums on Creative Perch

One of my main goals for Creative Perch is to help foster creative community. I love that the Internet allows us to transcend barriers like time zones and continents and create genuine community with individuals we might not otherwise have the opportunity to meet.

I have been dreaming of a place that allows us to ask each other questions, share projects, gain feedback, and generally just get to know one another a little better. So, I have been working hard to set up forums here on Creative Perch. I’ve researched different software packages and plugins, read somany support forums, and finally settled on an option that is simple, streamlined, and yet powerful.

The good news is that I finally have a site ready to test! Anyone brave enough to give it a try and send me your feedback? I’m looking for about ten beta testers. If you’re interested, please contact me!