Wisconsin, WI
Wisconsin (French: Ouisconsin) is a state
located near the center of the North American
continent. It touches two of the five Great
Lakes and is one of the fifty states that
constitutes the United States of America.
Wisconsin's capital is Madison, and its largest
city is Milwaukee. Jim Doyle is the current
Governor of Wisconsin, having held that office
since January 6, 2003.
Since its founding, Wisconsin has been
ethnically heterogeneous, with Yankees being
among the first to arrive from New York and New
England.
They dominated the state's heavy industry,
finance, politics and education. Large numbers
of European immigrants followed them, including
Germans, mostly between 1850 and 1900,
Scandinavians (the largest group being
Norwegian) and smaller groups of Belgians,
Dutch, Swiss, Finns, Irish and others; in the
20th century, large numbers of Poles and African
Americans came, settling mainly in Milwaukee.
Today, 42.6% of the population is of German
ancestry, making Wisconsin one of the most
German-American states in the United States.
umerous ethnic festivals are held throughout
Wisconsin to celebrate its heritage. Such
festivals are world renowned, and include
Oktoberfest, Festa Italiana, Bastille Days,
Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution Day),
Summerfest, Brat(wurst) Days (Sheboygan, WI),
Cheese Days (Monroe, WI, Mequon, WI), African
World Festival, Indian Summer, Irish Fest and
many others.
Origin of the name
It may come from an ancient Ojibwe word,
Miskwasiniing, meaning "Red-stone place," which
was probably the name given to the Wisconsin
River, and was recorded as Ouisconsin by the
French.
The spelling was revised to its current form in
1845 by Wisconsin's territorial lesgislature.
The modern Ojibwe name, however, is
Wiishkoonsing or Wazhashkoonsing, meaning
"muskrat-lodge place" or "little muskrat place."
Other theories are that the name comes from
words meaning "Gathering of the Waters" or
"Great Rock."
Originally, Ouisconsin was applied to the
Wisconsin River, and later to the area as a
whole when Wisconsin became a territory.
Geography
The state is bordered by the Montreal River;
Lake Superior and Michigan to the north; by Lake
Michigan to the east; by Illinois to the south;
and by Iowa and Minnesota to the west.
The state's boundaries include the Mississippi
River and St. Croix River in the west, and the
Menominee River in the northeast. With its
location between the Great Lakes and the
Mississippi River, Wisconsin is home to a wide
variety of geographical features.
The state is divided into five distinct regions.
In the north, the Lake Superior Lowland occupies
a belt of land along Lake Superior. Just to the
south, the Northern Highland has massive mixed
hardwood and coniferous forests including the
1.5 million acre (6,000 km²) Chequamegon-Nicolet
National Forest, as well as thousands of glacial
lakes, and the state's highest point, Timms
Hill.
In the middle of the state, the Central Plain
possesses some unique sandstone formations like
the Dells of the Wisconsin River in addition to
rich farmland. The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands
region in the southeast is home to many of
Wisconsin's largest cities.
In the southwest, the Western Upland is a rugged
landscape with a mix of forest and farmland,
including many bluffs on the Mississippi River.
This region is part of the Driftless Area, which
also includes portions of Iowa, Illinois, and
Minnesota. This area was not covered by glaciers
during the most recent ice age, the Wisconsin
Glaciation.
Overall, 46% of Wisconsin's land area is covered
by forest. The varied landscape of Wisconsin
makes the state a vacation destination popular
for outdoor recreation. Winter events include
skiing, ice fishing and snowmobile derbies.
Wisconsin has many lakes of varied size; in fact
Wisconsin contains 11,188 square miles (28,977
km²) of water, more than all but three other
states (Alaska, Michigan & Florida).
The distinctive Door Peninsula, which extends
off the eastern coast of the state, contains one
of the state's most beautiful tourist
destinations, Door County.
The area draws thousands of visitors yearly to
its quaint villages, seasonal cherry picking,
and ever-popular fish boils.
Climate
Wisconsin's climate is suitable for growing
crops with a wet season falling in spring and
summer, bringing with it almost two-thirds of
yearly precipitation. It brings extremely cold
snowy winters, for which Wisconsin is
well-known.
The highest temperature ever recorded in
Wisconsin was in the Wisconsin Dells, on July
13, 1936, and was 114 °F (46 °C).
The lowest temperature ever recorded in
Wisconsin was in Couderay, on both February 2
and 4, 1996, and was –55 °F (-48 °C).
This article is licensed under
the
GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the
Wikipedia
article "Wisconsin".
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10 Great Ways Photographers Can Use Print Media
by
Samantha Nicks
There are many different and unique ways
photographers can use print media to build
relationships with customers and market their
services. The following types of printing are some
of the best ways for photographers to use print
media, but many photographers only use about one or
two. Consider expanding your marketing to new forms
of printing and you can build stronger relationships
and serve a whole new audience.
1.
Business cards are the basic marketing tool for any
business. Every photographer should carry business
cards with him or her wherever they go. It is
impossible to determine when a photographer will run
into someone who needs a photographer for portraits,
a wedding or an event. Ask local businesses to leave
your business card at the check out counter for
customers to pick up. Hand business cards out at
shows and expos with your brochures or flyers in
case customers need to carry your contact
information with them, but don't want to carry
around sheets of paper. Be creative with your
photography business card because business cards
make a lasting first impression.
2.
Brochures are one of the many options for displaying
your photographic service prices. Choose from a
variety of different brochure styles for one that
best fits the amount of information you want to
provide your customer with. Use different panels for
different types of photography, such as senior
portraits, wedding packages, baby pictures, or any
other type of photography services you might offer.
Be creative with your brochure and use full-color
printing to display some of your best photographs.
If you want to make your brochure more valuable, try
adding a coupon to one of the panels to encourage
customers to take advantage of your services.
3.
Booklets are another option for providing pricing
and package information to your customers. Booklets
have more pages than brochures, and instead of
folding like brochures, booklets are typically bound
in the middle, similar to a catalog. Booklets are
growing in popularity and custom templates can be
found online at affordable prices. Booklets allow
you enough space to include larger pictures and more
information than brochures or flyers. Include
customer testimonials and background information
about the photographers to add value to your custom
booklet.
4.
Calendars are a unique marketing tool that many
photographers have probably not considered before.
Calendar printing for photographers requires
creative thinking. There are many different ways for
photographers to use calendars to their marketing
advantage. For each month, use different pictures
that depict that month well, and include any
important dates on your calendar. If you want to
increase the return on your investment, include
monthly specials that encourage customers to take
advantage of your services.
5.
Postcard printing is ideal for following up on
customers who expressed interest in your photography
services but never ordered anything. Use custom
postcards to reach out and show customers that you
care and are interested in helping them. Another
great use for postcards is to send out reminders for
upcoming sessions or events. If you are going to be
at a certain expo or show, inform customers of your
presence in case they want to stop by your booth.
Many people book photographers months in advance to
insure they get the photographer they want, and
postcards are the perfect way to remind customers
about their appointments. You can also use postcards
to inform past customers of upcoming specials. If
they were thinking about booking a session, a
postcard with special pricing might convince them to
go ahead and book with you.
6.
Greeting cards are an excellent way to keep in touch
with old customers. Sending out birthday and holiday
greeting cards to past customers lets them know you
are still interested in how they are doing. You also
remind those customers about your business and it
puts you back at the top of their mind. Constant
branding is good for any business because it helps
create relationships between you and the customer.
Sending greeting cards to your customers shows you
have an interest in them and care about building a
relationship in the future. You might even include
special offers in your greeting cards to add value
to them.
7.
Flyers are optimal for handing out to potential
customers to interest them in your photography
services. Use your custom flyer to draw potential
customers in, giving them information about pricing,
package options, and booking details. Include any
contact information, such as phone number and Web
site addresses, so they can see your sample images
and contact you for more information. Hand your
custom flyers out at bridal shows or other
conventions where you have a booth setup, or go to
local photography stores or boutiques and hang up
flyers advertising your services. Flyer printing is
an affordable advertising method that will help
spread the word about your photography services.
8.
Letterhead is another essential that all businesses
should have. Use custom letterhead for all your
customer correspondence needs. From invoices to late
payment notices, custom letterhead is professional,
while still being informative. Be sure to include
your business logo, name, phone numbers, Web sites
and mailing address on your letterhead so the
customer has all your contact information. All
photographers should have letterhead because it is
more official than plain, white paper, and shows
that you are serious about your photography services
and business.
9.
Envelope printing goes hand in hand with letterhead
printing. If you plan to use letterhead for your
photography business, you should order matching
envelopes to brand yourself. Plain, white envelopes
look cheap and unprofessional, but by having
envelopes that match the rest of your marketing
pieces, you are constantly branding your business to
anyone who sees the envelope. Besides just using
envelope printing for your customer correspondence,
order custom catalog and booklet envelopes to mail
pictures in. If a customer orders prints from you,
catalog and booklet envelopes are perfect for
mailing their prints. Take advantage of envelope
printing to brand your photography business name and
create a unique look on all your mailing
correspondence.
10.
CD/DVD sleeves are the perfect packaging for your
photography CDs and DVDs. If you are giving digital
negatives to your customers, create custom CD
sleeves to put them in. Not only does CD sleeve
printing look amazing, but it also tells your
customers that you really care and want all your
products to be of the highest quality. DVD sleeves
are also perfect to hand out at shows and
conventions with slideshow samples of your work. CD
and DVD sleeves are perfect for branding your
company name and definitely stand out against
standard clear jewel cases and plastic covers.
Photography is a quickly growing industry, and is
becoming more and more competitive each day. Use
printing to your advantage in order to compete in
the growing industry and to stand out in crowd. The
more you brand your company with print media, the
more customers will be exposed to your name and
services.
About the Author
Samantha Nicks is an online marketer who specializes
in the print industry. |
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