Tuesday, January 8, 2008 - Optimize Your Marketing Creativity
Companies are more creative these days. I guess they have a pool of creative think tanks that doesnʼt do anything else but sit in their offices and brain storm to come up with innovative promo materials and not just your usual custom business cards.
Last Christmas, I got all sorts of promotional materials which they passed off as gifts. Some of them are really worth mentioning here.
I got witty fridge magnets. They are not only funny but colorful as well. My kids love playing with it. The wife loves it as well because she does not have to rummage through her note pads to get a delivery of Chinese food (the menu is printed on it as well!).
I got a couple of message pads. I use it to scribble down notes. It is three inches thick but I only get to use about an inch of it since my four year old has made it his personal drawing pad.
I bought a box of beers and the owner of the shop where I bought it threw in several coasters. My coasters now match the beer that I serve to my guests.
I am certainly looking forward to this year's Christmas gifts. What will they think of next?
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 - Be Creative With Your Giveaways
Christmas is awful. Do not get me wrong, I love Christmas but what I hate about it is the crowd, the rush, the stress, and of course, the expenses.
It was already mid-December and I was still thinking of what to give to my clients. You see, I run a meat shop in my neighborhood. For sure, I did not want to go shopping because I hate the feeling of being in a crowded place and I abhor long queues.
Good thing, I got something from the net. I found a company that prints labels on anything- from your color business cards to just about any flat surface you can find. Since I own a meat shop, I thought it would be fitting to give aprons to my clients. So I called that company and asked them to print my shop's name on red aprons which I also ordered in bulk online.
It was delivered one week before Christmas and everyone got 'Granny's Meat Shop' aprons. It was a hit. Everybody loved my apron. It was certainly a hit for me as well as I did not only give out lovely gifts to loyal customers, I was also able to advertise. The best thing is, I got all those hits without going through the hassle of Christmas shopping. I really love the Internet!
Friday, December 28, 2007 - How To Get Attention During Trade Shows
Participating in trade shows provide businesses with the opportunity to meet with prospective clients and to learn more about your chosen niche. Obviously, trade shows are great venues to promote your business to your clients and prospects.
However, with so many businesses also exhibiting, you might get lost in the crowd.
To make sure that you stand out even with so many competitors around you, here is one way to make your clients take notice:
Look and talk professional. Being professional does not stop with having customized and uniform shirts or suits during trade shows. If you want your target clients to see you as a professional and organized lot, you also have to make sure that you promote an impressive image with your attitude. As they say, you got to walk the talk.
As youʼre dressed for the part anyway, combine your appearance with actions that exude confidence and efficiency. Greet each person that passes your booth with a smile and start a conversation that emphasizes the benefits of being in business with you.
It doesnʼt need many words to promote your brand. With the appearance and action that spell out pure professionalism, youʼre sure to get as many leads as possible to grow your business according to your expectations.
Thursday, November 29, 2007 - Advertising That Stood The Test Of Time
What makes a thing considered as a classic? A classic is precisely called that because it’s the type that was able to stand firm despite the many challenges it faced.
Classic advertising also attained such prominence because as years passed, this kind of advertising has withstood the test of time. And it’s still here, ready to work again to do what they do best – to get your message across.
In advertising, promotional collaterals always get the prominent position of the most effective means to convey your message. Such classics include postcards, flyers, calendar printing items, and brochures. Then there are also the catalogs, posters, and business cards to make that first impression.
In any type of business you’re in, you’ll most likely see them being utilized as effective marketing tools that convey your message. And they’ve become very successful, too.
Among these promotional materials, there’s one common factor that makes them very popular among clients: they find something useful and valuable within these print materials. No wonder people usually keep them for much longer time. They provide information on how their lives would be made better with their products.
So don’t take promotional collaterals lightly. They are advertising at its best – a classic that stood the test of time.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - Understanding Envelope Printing
They have one thing in common. Both your envelope printing project and your flat sheet marketing medium have square corners.
And although both are printed on flat sheets of paper, your envelope printing project are reproduced on special equipment that utilizes steel dies and then transfer them to another high speed machine that would put the glue to the seams, fold and finish your envelope printing project.
Here are a few other facts about your envelope printing project:
- You can print your envelope printing project on a variety of single or even multi-color sheets, as well as on different envelope printing stocks. Your envelope printing project doesn’t have to be the usual white packet that can be found almost everywhere. Be different and provide your target audience with an envelope printing project that would knock them off their feet.
- There are limitations to using some of the envelope printing presses available. Many high speed envelope printing presses are without a gripper that gets your envelopes pushed towards each printing cylinder. Hence, you miss out on the quality envelope printing pieces that a traditional offset press can provide.
- It is standard procedure to print your return address at the upper left corner of your envelope printing project. You can also put your return address on the back flap. Either way, you just have to make sure to provide for allowances for the application of a gripper on one of the shorter sides of your envelope printing project.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 - Go Out In Style With Your Envelopes
With the breakthroughs and developments made regularly in digital technology, your envelope printing project can be custom-ordered to form any size, shape, and styles that you think is appropriate for your brand of business. Often, you can’t even recognize one envelope printing project from the next because different styles have already come out in the market that can help your business stand out and grab attention.
Nevertheless, despite the abundance of new styles and formats, the standard sizes and formats for your envelope printing project still remain the most popular to complement your marketing materials such as your catalog printing project, brochure printing piece, as well as your postcard printing item.
A-Style (Announcement Envelopes) – These are open side envelopes with deep flaps and side seams that form a square. You can also see this type of style with deep pointed flaps and seams that are applied diagonally.
Baronial Envelopes – With an almost squarish shape, the baronial envelopes can be distinguished from the other envelope printing projects with its open side, pointed flaps and diagonal seams.
Booklet Envelopes – Because of the bulky document, booklet envelopes have wallet style flaps with open sides to make it easy for you to insert the likes of the catalogs, brochures, and yes, even booklets.
Catalog Envelopes – The only difference with the booklet envelopes are the center seams found in the catalog envelopes.
Commercial Envelopes – An example is the standard #10 envelope printing piece found in paper stores and gift shops. This is what you use for your personal and business mail.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 - Paperclips Aint Enough For Your Booklets
Booklet printing is just another project that business owners do to promote and market their brand of business. Booklets are often used to provide target readers with a list of your products and services, with the objective of presenting as much information as possible.
Your booklet printing project can be in the form of a pamphlet, a catalog printing piece, or a brochure printing item.
To create an affective booklet printing project, you have to consider different factors that would make your booklet printing pieces stand out from the rest of the competition. A clean layout and a professional looking booklet printing are must-haves for booklet printing projects.
With the many pages found in your booklet printing project, the best way to keep them clean and organized (in addition to binding them with a paperclip) is to plan how you will put them together. Binding your booklet printing project is as important as planning for the layout.
There are several binding methods you can choose from. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. The rule of thumb is to select the one binding method that is right for your needs and requirements, as well as the budget that you have for your booklet printing project.
When in doubt, you could always ask your booklet printing company for the most suitable binding method for you.
Thursday, September 27, 2007 - When Choosing Your Postcard Paper
Let’s talk about the basic rules when you’re in the process of choosing your paper stock for your postcard printing project. The more you know about which paper to use for your postcard printing project, the easier it would be for the printing process to run smoothly.
The first thing you need to learn is that you can’t possibly choose a postcard printing paper stock that your postcard printer doesn’t have in their shop. I mean, it’s possible, but it would create a huge problem for your postcard printer, and more for you, cost-wise. For one thing, if your postcard printer doesn’t have it, then they have to specially order your postcard printing paper from a mill store. That would definitely cost you.
In addition, if they can’t find one, the paper stock that they’ll use is the next best thing, which you might not like when they’ve finished with your postcard printing job.
Second thing you need to learn – don’t choose your postcard printing paper that is too thick or the opposite. You will have problems later on when you post them. If it’s too thick, your postcard printing pieces may get stuck on the letter sorting machines; if your paper is too thin, then your postcard printing item would easily shred, especially when being handled many times over.
Thirdly, your postcard printing paper choice should be able to get good results when you’ve applied a finish (either a glossy or matte finish).
Finally, even if you want to be original or creative with your postcard printing project, you should always do it within reason. It doesn’t do you any good if you’re creative but you spend more in the end because your choice caused you more problems than you are willing to pay for.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - How Your Paper Stock Affect Your Posters
When you create your poster printing project, one of the considerations you need to take into account is the paper stock you’re going to use. Graphic designers know for a fact that the kind of paper has a significant impact on how your poster printing design would come out when you have them printed. The color of your paper stock, particularly, changes the way your poster printing project would turn out when they are produced by a commercial printer.
Generally, the choice of color for your paper stock affects your whole poster printing project significantly. And it all depends on the color of your paper stock, as well as the kind of shades you use in your illustrations and images, as well as the text that you want printed on your poster printing paper.
When you want to use a myriad of shades and full color photos and pictures in your poster printing project, the definite choice is white paper. White paper stocks always produce poster printing colors that are consistent to their original form.
And there would be times when your poster printing designer would use a white background to get the same effect as that of the white paper. Your colored poster printing illustrations and images will print out as you expected, making it seem like you have a colored paper stock for your poster printing project.
On the other hand, when you want plain, solid and bold colors for your text and photos, the most appropriate choice would be colored paper stock for your poster printing project. Often, poster printing designers would cover most of the page with a lighter shade of color ink to help make the illustrations and text look more vivid and brilliant.
So choose your paper stock carefully and make sure your poster printing project comes out as what you have imagined it to be.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - Flyers That Work Hard
Below are some of the ideas culled to help you create flyers that shout, “Read me!” to your target clients.
Photographs in your flyer printing project can help you tell your story. Use photos and pictures to emphasize the benefits of your business to your target clients. Benefits. That’s what matters to any prospective customer.
Never include unrealistic claims in your flyer printing project. Just tell it as it is. It’s a quick turn off for prospective clients when they read something that is really unbelievable. Always check your flyer printing statements- if you believe them yourself then go ahead and use your content.
Highlight and emphasize a focal point in your flyer printing project. Determine which idea or message or even
image that is the most important for your business and enhance that element to make it the dominant feature in your flyer printing design. Use its position, size, or density to emphasize your focal element’s significance.
KISS – keep it simple and sweet. No matter how new you are to designing your flyer printing project, always keep the general rule: keep it simple. Don’t be too excited with your flyer printing text and graphics. Minimize confusion by using not more than 2 typefaces (and their families), as well as include simple images that enhance your message, and not to distract your target readers from it.
Include boxes and borders to organize your flyer printing page.
As always, the best way to make your flyer printing project most effective is to keep it simple. More is always bad for the health.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - Business Cards That Make You Move
Business cards are made to relay your contact information to your target clients. Basically, your business card printing project’s task is to give out information about you and your company. It doesn’t have much to say about how you value customers, or how you work even on extended hours, or even that you have a wonderful showcase for your products and services.
If ever your business card printing project ever speaks at all, it does so in a very quiet manner. Whatever marketing strategy you have given it, your business card printing campaign tells essentially the same thing as that of the other business cards – convey your contact information so that your target readers can reach you.
Nowadays, business cards have
evolved to become not only quiet representations of your business; but your business card printing project can give more marketing edge to your campaign. Just by adding more text and words, your business card printing project can now become a walking and talking advertisement of your company.
You can now add more content to your business cards that emphasize particular client benefits from your products and services. This can be done by providing your business cards with a tagline that tells how you do business.
You can also have your business card printing project make your target clients to act on your message. However, this part can be tricky as you need to give your target clients a reason to do what you are asking for. A statement that says, “Visit my website at www.askquestions.com.” won’t do at all because your target readers would just ask as quickly, ‘Why?”. You have to provide a reason for your target clients to contact you. When you’ve done that, your business card printing project can be considered effective.
So don’t waste your business card’s effectiveness. Make them do more – use your business card printing project to market your business to gain new clients.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - Writing Effective Brochure Content
This is how you should write your brochure printing content to market your products and services effectively to your target readers:
1 – Encourage your target readers to open and read ‘em. This is the task of your front cover. The bottom line: attract and drive your target readers to open your brochure printing piece and read through it. And the only reason they’re going to do that is if they see some benefits to it. So write about the benefits.
2 - Write what your target readers would want to read. It doesn’t matter if you write a lengthy disposition of your products’ features, if your target readers don’t give a heck about it, you won’t have even the slightest chance of getting them interested in your brochure printing project.
3 – And because your target readers are the main focus here, your brochure printing content should list the benefits that your target readers would get from your business. Your target readers don’t care about the features; only the benefits please.
4 – Write something that’s for keeps. Writing information that is helpful and of value to your target readers would definitely make your brochure printing piece a keeper.
5 – Write something personal. This means that your brochure printing content should be written like you’re talking directly to each of your target readers and you’re making a connection with them.
With these things in mind, you are sure to have an effective brochure printing project with a copy that would reach out to your target readers and make them a definite customer for your business. The bottom line: your brochure printing content should be all about your target readers and the benefits.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - Why Go For A Local Printer?
Let’s reword the question for a second.
Why go for an online postcard printing company? Because they’re there. Because it’s so easy for me to go online and find a postcard printing company that would help me get my postcards printed. And because I don’t even have to go out of my comfort zone to have my postcard printing project reproduced. I don’t need a local postcard printer when I can have all these convenience.
With online postcard printing shops becoming increasingly prevalent, who needs a local postcard printer?
Nevertheless, despite its higher postcard printing costs than their online versions, local postcard printing shops can still be your most rewarding decision for several reasons:
For one thing, you can build a relationship with your local printer, which you can’t have with an online postcard printing company. This means that your local postcard printing shop can and will take the time to understand your needs and requirements, and can be relied on to do the job right. With an online postcard printer, you can’t do that. The only thing you can build a relationship with is your computer.
Second, your local postcard printers can accept smaller postcard printing jobs, unlike your online postcard printing companies. When you do it online, more often than not, they require you to order in bulk, which can be a bit overwhelming if you’re a small business owner operating on an even smaller budget.
Third, you also don’t have to worry that you’ll have damaged print jobs when your local printer delivers your postcard printing pieces. Since they’re located in your area, there’s no need for long shipments; or you can always pick it up from their shop.
Nevertheless, as always, there are exceptions to the rule. There are some online postcard printers who’ll do a great job for you and would also go the extra mile for your postcard printing project. You just need to be very meticulous when you go look for one. And when you do find your postcard printing company that you can truly rely on, I suggest you keep them. It might not be easy the next time you look for one.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007 - Time Tested Marketing Brochures
Here are some time-tested marketing brochure ideas that can help you gain credibility, as well as increase your clients’ awareness of your products and services.
Get them excited! Provide excitement with your marketing brochures by an attention grabbing headline. With a catchy headline, you most likely would have their attention and get them to read more of your information.
Get them excited with your photos! Another way to get your readers excited is to create your marketing brochures with attractive pictures and images with brilliant shades of color. Color has, time and again, proven to be effective eye-catchers so make full use of this fact to increase your marketing brochures’ success.
Get them excited with your values! You readers would most likely identify with your marketing brochures if you use values that they can sympathize with. Use text and images that will relay your values and message to your prospective readers.
Get them excited with your brochures’ tome! Set the tone of your marketing brochures to get your target readers receptive to your message and idea.
Get the excited with colors! As I’ve said, colors have been proven to excite as well as attract the attention of your potential clients. So make full use of their capabilities and inspire a positive response for your marketing brochures.
Unlike any other print materials, your marketing brochures can help you get the success you desire. So use your marketing brochures to effectively win your clients. You just might get the edge you’ve been looking for in your business.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007 - Use Flyers To Advertise Your Business
When you’re just starting and money is tight, and you know you still need to advertise your business, the most affordable and yet effective marketing medium that you can employ to jumpstart you promotional campaign are flyers.
Flyers are cost effective because you just have one-page paper ads that can either be printed in one- two-, or even four colors but still cost lower than any other marketing campaign tool.
Moreover, you don’t have to mail them to get them to your target clients. You can easily hand them out directly to your prospective customers.
And you can also produce your own flyers yourself. If you think that you can’t afford to get a professional graphic designer to create your flyer printing design and layout, you can easily make your own by remembering these simple tips:
Remember to use bright and cheerful shades for your paper stock. Your flyers don’t need to be boring and look cheap even if you don’t have much money to spend on them. You just need to compensate for what you lack. And you can do this by utilizing special paper stock to create your flyers.
Remember to highlight your products and services and their abilities to solve your target clients’ problems in your flyers.
And always remember to have a time frame for your target clients to act on your flyers. Consider using words such as ‘Now!’ to make your target readers contact you. If you have incentives in your flyers, consider including a limit on the time that they can avail of the freebie.
Even without having to say it, many marketing analysts would definitely pick the postcards as one of the most effective marketing campaign strategies that a business owner can have for his or her business. Your postcard printing project can help you get in touch with your target clients, and most importantly, lets you stay in your prospective clients’ minds without all the extra work and money to make them work for you.
They are definitely hard working and cheaper to boot. Why? Because for one, your postcard printing pieces are cheaper to produce than the other marketing tools in your arsenal. They don’t require an envelope when you send them and postcards have lower rates when mailed.
Two, your postcard printing materials are cheaper to send by post. If you want to mail them, you only have to pay less than 30 cents each. Strange as it is, that 30 cents-fee is the standard rate when you send them first class. Hence, you can take advantage of the speed of first class delivery while you enjoy the savings you made from the much cheaper postal fees.
Third, postcards have always had immense popularity among the readers just because all the words are there in plain sight. Your postcard printing items don’t have the usual burden of having their message hidden or covered by an extra paper (like an envelope, for example). With just one look, your target readers would be reading your postcards even before they would consider them as junk mail.
So why use postcards? Your postcard printing pieces are just the best marketing campaign you can create next to your letters. They’re cheaper, easy to create, and making them more personalized would even give you a better edge when you finally decide to use them for your promotional advantage.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007 - Print Catalog As An Effective Marketing Medium
Why are print catalogs effective marketing tools for your business? Especially if you have many products and services in your business listing, a print catalog is the best bet for your promotional ad campaign because of its capacity to have everything you have to offer listed. In addition to brochures, your print catalog can hold all your products and services in one hefty material.
In addition, your print catalogs can feature even those products that are less popular with the number of pages and panels available. You don’t have to choose from your array of products and services. All you need to do is to highlight your most popular products, and still have remaining pages to cover even your regular items. Hence, all of your products and services are given the opportunity to shine in your print catalog.
And with a full color print catalog, you’ll most likely have the chance to get your target readers’ attention. With many products listed and all in different colors, your potential clients would have no reason at all to ignore your print catalog.
Finally, your print catalog can be the most viable marketing tool to complement another promotional medium, like your e-commerce store. Statistics have vouched for the effective combination between a print catalog and an online store. A print catalog, interestingly, has been a successful multichannel tool that helps business owners sell a variety of items that are also made available in their ecommerce stores. It was found out that print catalogs have become popular decisions based on the growing popular demand from prospective clients.
Such a long name for a digital camera; nevertheless, the Konica Minolta Maxxum series is breath of fresh air from the usual Canon and Nikon digital cameras in the market today. The Maxxum 7D is a digital camera that can utilize an “optical image stabilization” with any lens you might want to use. It has an anti-shake system that is unique to the Maxxum 7D which works on any lens, as well as a control layout that is most efficient to handle.
This digital camera is a nice one to have because it is lighter and smaller than its predecessor, with a 4.2 megapixel resolution and a 4x optical zoom. In addition, the PowerShot A520 has a much longer zoom lens than the A85, as well as additional scene modes for the imaginative user. What’s good about this digital camera is that it has features that can be used by both amateurs and professional photographers. Its price is also one good reason to consider this value-for-money digital camera.
The latest model from Canon, the PowerShot SD500 Digital Elph has a 7.1 megapixel resolution,
one of the highest in digital camera resolutions. Hence, this PowerShot has great image quality that exemplifies its capacity to the max. It performs well on speed and clarity of its images, and has a My Color feature to boot.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - Why Should You Design A Custom Postcard
Here are reasons why you should design a custom postcard for your business:
Reason # 1: Your custom postcard printing project is a powerful tool to attract clients.
When you want to keep in touch with your current clients, and at the same time new ones, a printed postcard with a personal note would definitely be more irresistible. You could include a special note where you could convey your appreciation for their continuous support of your business. This way, not only are you creating a bond with your clients, you are sure to maintain a close relationship when they get a custom postcard printing item with a personal note written on it.
With your custom postcard printing pieces, you are confirming the fact that people needs to be valued to build a lasting relationship – a strong relationship. When your clients feel valued and recognized, they do appreciate and respond in kind.
Reason # 2: Your custom postcard printing project will help you build a loyal client base and a sturdy referral system.
Getting clients are just the first leg of your work. Getting a steady list of clients who support your business is another matter altogether. You need to keep in touch on a regular basis to maintain that strong relationship you’ve started with your clients. Otherwise you’ll lose the bond that you’ve built. A custom and personalized postcard printing item would definitely get you in good graces with your clients. This would make them feel that they are part of your business family.
Reason # 3: Your custom postcard printing project provides you an excellent referral system that is easy as well as cost effective to create.
Although it takes time and sometimes extra effort to write personal notes on your postcards, but wouldn’t it be worth it to know that you’ve done something good in return for your clients’ support?
In addition, there are already programs and companies that make it easier for business owners like you to create personal cards. All you have to do is to select a postcard printing design and write your message, and these companies will do the rest for you.
Creating a custom and personal postcard printing piece is a surefire way to keep your clients in the fold. Make them feel appreciated and needed with your postcard printing item especially created for your special clients.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - Some of MSNs Top Mobile PDAs
1 – RIM BlackBerry 8700g. MSN rates this PDA phone as good, if you want a consumer-friendly device (meaning: cheaper than the other BlackBerries), and if you can live with a cellphone without a camera. Price: $250. Battery Life Average: 9 hours, 35 minutes.
2 – RIM BlackBerry 8800. Also gets a rating of ‘good’, with impressive features that include great email choices and built-in GPS. Most of all, you won’t be disappointed with this phone’s sleek design. Price: $350. Battery Life Average: 10 hours.
3 –T-Mobile Sidekick 3. MSN rates it with ‘very good’. If you go for data features rather than voice calling, then the keyboard and superior messaging qualities that this mobile phone has is a dream come true indeed. Price: $250. Battery Life Average: 9 hours.
4 – Cingular 8525. Very good according to MSN. Qualities like poor battery life and a bulky frame are well compensated by the fast data access that you can have with this PDA mobile phone. Price: $400. Battery Life Average: 4 hours, 21 minutes.
5 – Samsung Blackjack. The PDA phone has a lightweight design that offers multimedia features and has a high speed 3G network courtesy of Cingular. Price: $175. Battery Life Average: 6 hours, 21 minutes.
Now, if I can only get Santa to give me an advance gift for Christmas.
