Celebrate National Thank-You Day!

The Ultimate Holiday Site...a spinoff from the Hallmark Channel, says today is National Thank-You Day!

I hope y'all will join me today in celebrating!  It's a great time to stop and recognize small acts of kindness.  There are many reasons to write a thank-you note.  This morning I will be catching up and writing a few thank-you notes.   Acknowledging a kind deed or gift are just a couple of reasons.  Writing a thank-you note shows that you are grateful for the act of kindness shown to you.  You are repaying kindness!

To be perfectly proper, thank-you notes should be written on 'monogrammed notes' or 'correspondence cards.'  Monogrammed notes are good-quality folded notepaper, white or ivory, and include a monogram {or name} on the front.  Correspondence cards, which have no fold, are made from three-ply stock, white or ivory, and measure 6 3/4 x 4 1/4 inches.  Your name is printed across the top.  Here are just a few of the pieces of my thank-you stationery wardrobe.

Monogrammed Notes...Begin writing on page 3 of the foldover card.

Monogrammed Notes...Begin writing on page 3 of the foldover card.

Correspondence Card...Begin writing on page 1

Please do not e-mail your thank-you note--that is an etiquette faux pas!  Begin your note by telling the person how thoughtful they are and how they always find the perfect gift for you.  Mention the gift and how you will use it.  Close by thanking them again.

Small children should be taught that presents are given to them as acts of kindness.  If you want your child to be thoughtful and courteous, you must train them to send thank-you notes.  

Failure to write a thank-you note is an etiquette faux pas and it will be remembered.  It is never wrong or too late to send that thank-you note!

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."
~William Arthur Ward

WHAT'S UP WITH YOUR BLOG NAME ???

Have you ever thought about some of your favorite bloggers and how they came up with their blog name? Some bloggers have chosen the perfect name for their niche and some, well, I have to wonder "How did you come up with that name?"

Blog branding is important if you want to attract a targeted audience to your blog...

~Is your blog name memorable? Etiquette with Miss Janice is probably a difficult name to remember after seeing it only once. Is is unique? Definitely more unique than, say "Southern Etiquette".

~Can people spell it? I'm always surprised at the different ways people spell the word "etiquette." And, just for the record, it's not pronounced "eda-kwit"!


~What image does your blog name convey? When you see my blog name, you probably think about a little old lady who teaches etiquette...that's just fine with me!

Lately, I've been thinking about my own blog name. Hmmmmm, Etiquette with Miss Janice...the name of my etiquette business. Years ago, when I decided to open my business I thought a lot about what I would call it. For some people, it's really hard to come up with a name for a business; for me, it was easy! After I chose my business name, I was told by a high-fallutin' marketing executive that "Etiquette with Miss Janice just sounds too old-fashioned...sounds like a little old lady teaching etiquette." Yes sir, I replied, that's exactly what I want to be...a little old lady teaching etiquette!" (That name is really a perfect fit for me. All of my marketing tools are branded with the Southern magnolia and all of my programs are taught keeping the old-fashion Southern traditions in mind.)

"Easy now, you have to be careful" I was told my BFF Teresa Jane. She reminded me of the name of one my long time fav stores in Evans, Georgia called "A Little Bit 'A Country." Years ago, the store sold all the popular country items people were buying back then (now y'all don't act like you didn't buy the mauve wooden hearts, cows, houses, et cetera!). Today, they still have that Country name, but not so much Country inside. Confusing to the public!

So back to moi! My business name is Etiquette with Miss Janice and my business website name is Miss Janice. If you visit my website, you'll see that's it all Southern and prissy! At the present time, I have no etiquette programs scheduled because I'm just not interested in teaching right now. That doesn't mean that tomorrow, I will decide to schedule ten programs. I'm very lucky that I have the knowledge to teach something very valuable to the public and fortunate enough that I can teach whenever I want.

So, when I started my blog, I wanted to use the name "Miss Janice" But nooooooo, some other Janice out there had that name already. So, I chose the name "Etiquette with Miss Janice" and when I first started blogging, I blogged about etiquette ALL the time. Thinking that my readers might be tiring of reading about etiquette all the time, I added posts about my love of entertaining. Then after awhile, I started talking about my other love...shopping! Now, imagine the confusion when my new readers click onto my site recently and see posts about my beloved Yorkie, Mlle Coco Chanel!!! They are probably thinking, "What on earth does this dog have to do with etiquette?"

The tagline on blog has always been "Social Graces...Southern Style". I love to share my knowledge of etiquette, my upbringing in Southern hospitality, my love of entertaining, my obsessive shopping habit & "What I'm Wearing", and of course "What Miss Coco is Wearing."

To further confuse y'all, if you follow me on Twitter, SocialGraces101, I tweet about anything and everything!

In closing, I want to say that I hope you are not confused when you visit my site--'cuz recently a reader inquired as to why I'm talking about my dog on an etiquette blog??? Ouch--Miss Coco's feelings were hurt! ('Cuz she was looking tres chic in that post!)

I'm interested in hearing how YOU came up with the name for your blog. Are you still comfortable with that name? If you could, would you rename your blog?