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5:06 am
July 6, 2011
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Sustainable PF
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A while back we had Peter re-vamp our banner look and feel. At the time we considered trying to show that we are indeed Canadian. The only idea I had then was to put a small red maple leaf in place of the dots over the "i"'s in our site name in the banner. This looked corny (to no fault of Peter!).
So i'm looking for any and all suggestions on how we can make our site look a bit more "Canadian" without
a) going over the top
b) driving away American or British readers
Anyone have any suggestions?
http://sustainablepersonalfinance.com
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5:20 am
July 6, 2011
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My Personal Finance Journey
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I really like the banner you all have now! Personally, I don't think it needs to be changed.
But, I would also say do what you have a passion for doing! It's your site after all! I think that adding a little Canadian flare wouldn't drive me away (as a Virginian/US person)! haha
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5:26 am
July 6, 2011
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Sustainable PF
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We are open to adding some Canuck flare elsewhere (not just the banner) above the fold. Just need to figure out what to do, and how to do it.
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6:21 am
July 6, 2011
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Derek@LifeAndMyFinances
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A maple leaf that's a little less prominant could be nice. Something that is in the background of you banner perhaps. If you would like a new design, my wife is amazing at that sort of thing (for fairly cheap too!).
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6:45 am
July 6, 2011
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Sustainable PF
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LifeAndMyFinances said:
A maple leaf that's a little less prominant could be nice. Something that is in the background of you banner perhaps. If you would like a new design, my wife is amazing at that sort of thing (for fairly cheap too!).
Thanks LAMF
Peter, who did the original design, includes 10 changes to the originals so using his service, well, has been paid for. I think I may have some up with a solution but need to be @ home w/ cpanel access to test it. I'm thinking a very small Canadian flag beside the page text: About
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8:53 am
July 6, 2011
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Khaleef @ KNS Financial
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I think either a flag or a maple leaf in the top toolbar should be enough. Especially with the rich red color and the white background.
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9:47 am
July 6, 2011
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NoDebtMBA
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This seems like an area where a Canadian blogger badge and group might be useful? I'm in the US but I imagine that something like that might be good for a Canadian reader who wants to easily see which sites are relevant to them.
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1:09 pm
July 6, 2011
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Tom Drake
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Post edited 1:10 pm – July 6, 2011 by Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog
SPF, don't sweat looking "too Canadian"… my site is probably the most Canadian branded of all and I still get good US traffic.
If you want any help, drop me an email, I designed other Canadian sites like retirehappyblog.ca and boomerandecho.com.
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2:50 pm
July 6, 2011
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The College Investor
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I really like your site. You definitely seem "northern" from the trees and such. I wouldn't change it.
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2:54 pm
July 6, 2011
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Sustainable PF
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Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog said:
SPF, don't sweat looking "too Canadian"… my site is probably the most Canadian branded of all and I still get good US traffic.
If you want any help, drop me an email, I designed other Canadian sites like retirehappyblog.ca and boomerandecho.com.
Email sent! Thanks Tom!
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3:10 pm
July 6, 2011
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retireby40
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SPF,
Your site is great the way it is now. The main theme is very inclusive so I don't see a point of making it more Canadian.
Maybe you should start a new site with a bit more Canadian flair?
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3:24 pm
July 6, 2011
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LaTisha @YoungFinances
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I agree. No change needed. The trees do it.
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6:05 pm
July 6, 2011
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Sustainable PF
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Thanks to all who support our site as is.
Confession time.
There is a pretty good advertising group here that caters to Canadian clients and only uses Canadian blogs. We were told that our site is not "obviously Canadian" when visited. That the ad agencies may nit pick about that fact.
The advertising group is one i'd like to be part of. I will inquire as to whether or not we can get away with no change but it was brought up as a potential issue.
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7:18 pm
July 6, 2011
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Super Frugalette
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Sustainable PF said:
Thanks to all who support our site as is.
Confession time.
There is a pretty good advertising group here that caters to Canadian clients and only uses Canadian blogs. We were told that our site is not "obviously Canadian" when visited. That the ad agencies may nit pick about that fact.
The advertising group is one i'd like to be part of. I will inquire as to whether or not we can get away with no change but it was brought up as a potential issue.
Here is one idea. On your blog, where it says "About" at the top, you can change the "o" to a red maple leaf. It would be appropriate since you are Canadian. It will definitely be noticed, yet not affect your design which is really well done…I would hate if you had to touch it. You could also add a "Canada" tab at the top. I think it will produce the desired effect.
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4:41 am
July 7, 2011
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Sustainable PF
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@ Super F – I just got a chuckle. My American friends online often tell me that Canadians pronounce "about" as "aboot". That might work too ;)
But lets not get into an accent thing. I've been to the Southern US :) ("aahhhhooooooh nnaaahhooooh" (oh no) hehe)
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6:19 am
July 7, 2011
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Car Negotiation Coach
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SPF- Rather than an image, you could try addressing it in a subtle way through a text change. Some ideas:
-Add a new top level category: "Other Canadian Blogs" or "Canadian Finance Tips", you get the drift
-Modify your tag line to include the word Canada, "Balancing Personal Finance w/ Sustainable Living in Canada and the US" or "A Canadian family balancing personal finance"
-Add a testimonial section with all Canada references: "As seen in the Globe" or "As seen in Tom's Canadian Personal Finance"
Hope that helps!
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7:53 am
July 7, 2011
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The Family CEO
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This might be a little too subtle, but it could be part of your plan. What about putting a very small maple leaf next to each of the headings in your sidebar, like: Follow Us, Search Our Site, Popular Posts, etc.?
You could also put a maple leaf at the end of your tagline in the blog header.
Good luck! I'm eager to see what you come up with.
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7:55 am
July 7, 2011
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The Family CEO
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Car Negotiation Coach said:
SPF- Rather than an image, you could try addressing it in a subtle way through a text change. Some ideas:
-Add a new top level category: "Other Canadian Blogs" or "Canadian Finance Tips", you get the drift
-Modify your tag line to include the word Canada, "Balancing Personal Finance w/ Sustainable Living in Canada and the US" or "A Canadian family balancing personal finance"
-Add a testimonial section with all Canada references: "As seen in the Globe" or "As seen in Tom's Canadian Personal Finance"
Hope that helps!
Those are great suggestions!
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5:53 pm
July 7, 2011
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Sustainable PF
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Post edited 8:00 pm – July 7, 2011 by Sustainable PF
I'll try to see if I can get an informal poll here over the next 2 days or so …
OPTION:
1 – By-line changed to: Balancing personal finance with sustainable living in Canada
2 – Small maple leaf in the lower right corner (see: this one)
3 – By-line changed to: Canadian couple balancing personal finance with sustainable living.
4 – the same leaf as #2 – but one @ each end (or just the end) of the by-line – to blend in with the "glow" around the lettering.
Please vote!
Also open to tweaks / suggestions – but these are some of the best we've see/heard yet!
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8:34 pm
July 7, 2011
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Tom Drake
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I vote #4, whoever came up with that idea is really smart ;)
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