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Reasons to Include Holiday Cards for Business in Your Budget

Christian — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 18:46:06 +0000

There are many reasons not to discount the value of sending Holiday cards for business. Here are a few:

Business holiday greeting cards are some of the least inexpensive ways to market your business.
Holiday cards for business are a low-key way of advertising your business without obviously pushing it on customers or prospects.
Surveys suggest that business holiday cards build customer loyalty and enhance the value of brands.
Employees that receive business holiday greetings tend to feel more appreciated, leading to increased motivation and loyalty.
Business holiday cards allow organizations to articulate plainly their core company values to both employees and clients.

Overall, sending holiday greetings keeps everyone in a positive and happy mood, which is the whole objective of the holiday season. The process also extends the message of peace and harmony, which is very important to teamwork and the accomplishment of goals.

Maximize Marketing Benefits with Company Holiday Cards

Christian — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 18:38:28 +0000

Many business people acknowledge the marketing benefits of sending company Christmas, Hanuka and even Thanks Giving and New Years cards. After all, these cards are more than just greetings; they are a reminder to customers of a company’s services and skills. In fact, some companies incorporate their personalized holiday greeting cards into a larger marketing strategy.

These companies understand that small tokens of appreciation can mean a lot and further the company message. Enclosing a gift card is a wonderful way to reward employees or thank clients. It’s less expensive than a gift basket or larger ticket item, but it is an unexpected extra that can market the business. Other items to consider include small objects that have been embossed with a company logo, such as a calendar card or pen.

Another helpful idea is to include a coupon or special offer within the holiday greeting card, especially for a service-oriented business. If you do plan to utilize this strategy, be sure to track your results by keeping a database on how many cards you sent versus how many were redeemed.

Reasons to Include Holiday Cards for Business in Your Budget

Tips to Create Ads that SELL

Christian — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:49:46 +0000

Tips to Create Ads that SELL!

Make ads easily recognizable…

It takes time to build recognition. Make your ads match the look of your business. Make sure your ads stand out from what your competitor’s ads look like. Then stay consistent. After a few times, potential customers will know who you are start feeling comfortable with you!

Think about food and the colors red and yellow, you probably thought McDonalds. How about phones with red and black styling? I’m sure you thought of verizon.

Use a simple layout…
When you’re reading the paper or internet new, which ads do you notice most? We all notice the ones that are simple and powerfull, like the iPad ads and the Energizer Bunny spots. Maybe the better question is, “Which ads don’t you notice?” Look at the new & used car ads in the newspaper. Sometimes they can be pretty hard to follow can’t they!

The more information you put on your ads, the together it is to make an impact; simple layout = a powerful ad!

Use a dominant element…
A picture is worth a thousand words. But more than 1 or 2 pictures isn’t worth looking at for most people browsing over your ad. Use one large image instead of multiple images and make a stronger, longer lasting impression.

Imagine iPod ads had 5 or 6 small pictures of the iPhone instead of the one large, sleek image on their ads.

Promote yourself with a BIG headline…
What’s the main benefit that your product or service offers? ”LASTS LONGER!,” “CLEANS BRIGHTER!” Also, “how to” headlines encourage readership. Give helpful suggestions and solve problems. For example, you may not have known you had a “cronic” bad breath problem, if Listerine hadn’t told you.

Let W H I T E S P A C E work for you…
White space around images and text keep things neat and easy to read. If you cram everything in, just because you have so much to say and such a great product to offer, you end up trying to fit what amounts to an entire novel, which nobody has time to read and will get passed over.

Bigger is Better…
A big ad that runs once a week or even once a month is better than a little ad that runs every day, but never gets noticed!

State the price or price range…
Dollar figures have good attention value, so don’t be afraid to quote your price – even if it’s high. READERS OFTEN WILL OVERESTIMATE OMITTED PRICES! If the price is high – explain why the item is a good value, and point out the actual savings.

Create a sense of urgency!
Urge your readers to buy now. Include an expiration date, “1st 100 callers only,” “while supplies last,” “for a limited time,” “act now,” “don’t miss this once a year opportunity,” or just say “buy now and save!”

Preparation…
The most important single factor determining how many people will read your newspaper ad is the skill and technique used in preparing the ad.

What type of people read the publication you’re advertising in, are you apealing to that person? Ads that might work well in an online sports publication prbably wont work in a science magazine.

What is a trademark?

Christian — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 16:09:38 +0000

What is a trademark?
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or a combination thereof, that represents a company or product. Trademarks establish your reputation without worry that inferior products or services will diminish your character or profit.

Must I trademark my logo?
No. However, owning a federal trademark provides many important benefits.

What are the benefits of trademarking?

Public notice of your claim of ownership of the mark;
Your exclusive right to use the mark;
The ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court;
The ability to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods;
The right to use the federal registration symbol ® and
Listing in the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s online databases.

What is the basic process of trademarking my logo?

Logo or mark is created and used on products or service advertising;
A filled out application, drawing of logo and example of it in use are sent in;
Search is done to make sure there are no conflicting/similar trademarks;
Trademark published in Official Gazette and given 30 days to be contested;
If trademark approved Certificate of Registration will be sent to applicant;
Once registered start using the federal registration symbol ® next to logo;
Renew 5 years later and every 10 years after (no additional cost);

What if similar trademarks are found?

Before submitting your application you should conduct your own search. Once submitted your application can be denied if it is too similar to a registered mark. While it is possible to submit a new design it must be within six months. Usually the search will bring back slightly similar logos. With the help of a trademarking professional you will be able to determine if the situation is safe to proceed or that changes are needed.

™ versus ®
The trademark symbol, ™, is used to indicate that the mark before it is a trademark. It does not mean that the trademark has been federally registered. However, the registered trademark symbol, ®, indicates that the trademark before it has been registered with a national trademark office.

If you wish to register your trademark or service mark, metroink can help you obtain one from the convenience of your home or office and without any hassles. Simply answer a few questions online and we’ll complete your trademark application today!

Free Graphic Design Exhibit on New York’s Governors Island

Christian — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 16:51:59 +0000

Designers who need a day away from the desk and a little inspiration should appreciate this. Actually it’s a great exhibit anybody would enjoy. Organized by Cooper-Hewitt, the National Design Museum and the Walker Art Center, Graphic Design–Now In Production features work from many different industries and illustrates the many different uses of graphic design.

Featured Works

Several artists work really captured my attention. For example Christophe Szpajdel, who designs logos for black and death metal bands. These logos are usually known for their intricate designs including the band name which are almost illegible. (At least to the general public) Szpajdels work however is just as unusual, intricate and expressive but also easily readable.

Various band logos by Christophe Szpajdel 2009-2011

Bury the Hordes, 2010

Anthony Burrill has a collection on display that is also very interesting. The subject of his woodblock posters is the contemporary culture of the authoritative message. Large-scale letterforms spell out messages that are intended to either uplift or warn the reader. The most unique was “Oil & Water Do Not Mix.” It is printed with silkscreen ink made from the oil spilled in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico environmental disaster.

Anthony Burrill “Oil & Water Do Not Mix”, 2010

M/M (Paris) is a art and design partnership between Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag started in 1992. Their work combines hand-drawn and geometrically constructed letterforms with original and sampled imagery. They explore graphic design as both art and communication. M/M (Paris) points out “[Graphic design] has neither a target group, nor fixed points of distribution as do art and cinema. We have…the opportunity of utilizing the various communication networks simultaneously, the very specialized ones, as well as those of the general public.” Pictured below is “No Ghost Just a Shell.”

M/M (Paris), “No Ghost Just a Shell” 2000

One piece on display that was truly unique and definitely unexpected was Eric Ku’s “Chair/Chair.” It is a chair that is made from pieces that when taken apart actually spell out the word chair. It was inspired by the famous artist Joseph Kosuth’s “One and Three Chair.” Below is the chair on display, then a picture of the chair disassembled.

Picture of disassembled “Chair/Chair”

Erik Ku “Chair/Chair” 2009

Additional Info

Truth is this could go on for a long time highlighting the many different pieces on display but I suggest going yourself. The exhibit is an ongoing event for the duration of the summer 2012 season, ending September 3. For more information or to register for special events such as workshops and panel discussions visit the Cooper Hewitt website.

Governors Island is open to the public every weekend and holiday Mondays during the summer. There are also many other exciting art exhibits and activities to partake in on the island. Several free ferries run all day from Manhattan and Brooklyn. More information is available at the Governors Island website.

Generate Your Own Barcodes and QR Codes

Christian — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:48:44 +0000

http://www.barcodesinc.com/generator/

10 Creative Ways to Use QR Codes for Marketing

Ekaterina Walter is a social media strategist at Intel. She is a part of Intel’s Social Media Center of Excellence and is responsible for company-wide social media enablement and corporate social networking strategy. She was recently elected to serve on the board of directors of WOMMA.

QR codes have been around since the early ’90s, but only with the widespread adoption of smartphones and barcode-scanning apps have customers been able to easily access QR codes in significant numbers.

According to comScore, 20.1 million mobile phone owners in the U.S. used their devices to scan a QR code in the three-month average period ending October 2011. In the big scheme of things, this isn’t a large number. However, the number of people using QR codes is expected to grow.

Will QR codes reach widespread public consciousness, or are they destined to be a quirky aside for mainstream promotional campaigns? The trend towards increasingly complex personal technology suggests that the potential is there, but the question remains whether marketers will fully exploit the opportunities QR codes have to offer.

So, what can marketers do to take customers out of their comfort zones and try something new? The ability to access information won’t drive customers to a product’s site unless there’s a reason for them to do so. Below are some of the most creative, fun and interesting examples of QR code marketing that show QR codes have the potential to enrich the product experience and offer the customer real value.

1. Reinventing the Shopping Experience

Global supermarket giant Tesco solved the problem of enticing hard-working, time-strapped Koreans into its stores by bringing the shopping experience to them, with virtual stores based in subways and metro stations.

Shoppers were encouraged to browse life-like images of supermarket shelves with their smartphones and scan the QR codes on products to add them to their shopping carts, all whilst waiting for the metro. Their purchases would then be delivered to them at home, with no need to carry heavy bags.

10 Creative Ways to Use QR Codes for Marketing

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Learn: Direct Mailing: Tips from D&B

Christian — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:09:11 +0000

With an accurate, up-to-date list of individual names, your message has a better chance of getting past the mail room and directly into your prospects’ hands.How do you determine your best direct mail candidates? Dun & Bradstreet recommends the following approach to target the right markets.
When to Use Direct Mail:
Direct mail is one of the most targeted, measurable and cost-effective ways to sell your products and services. Use direct mail if you want to:

Be precise and eliminate wasted effort and expense.
You can deliver your message directly into the hands of the specific individual or company you are targeting, which eliminates wasted effort and sales expense.
Pre-test your prospect list.
You can mail to a representative portion of your prospect list and be confident that the remaining list will respond similarly.
Measure results and profitability.
Your cost per respondent or lead, cost per order and overall profitability are easy to evaluate.
Collect and analyze vital prospecting information.
By recording each contact, response and order, you can develop a relationship with your prospects and customers, predict buying potential and fine-tune the information for future marketing campaigns.
Control your sales efforts.

Define Your Objectives:
For a greater return on your direct mail dollars, first define your program’s specific objectives. For example, you may want your program to:

Generate sales more cost effectively
Contact more prospects at a lower cost per sale
Produce qualified leads for your salespeople
Penetrate territories not covered by your sales force
Assist dealers with co-op mailings
Build awareness of your products and services
Conduct market research

Once your objectives are firmly in place, determine and direct your sales efforts to the types of businesses you want to reach.

Identify Your Markets:
To select your markets, first identify the industries that are buying your products and services now. A close examination of your existing customer base can reveal very useful information, such as lines of business and company size. Other companies with similar attributes may be good prospects. If you don’t have customer information, examine the markets that are most likely to need your products or services. Consider key characteristics such as line of business, company size and geography.

With your objectives and markets identified, you can now choose the mailing lists that will reach the best prospects and assure the largest return on your marketing dollars.

Select Your Best Prospects:
Consider the relative importance of these direct mail components to a campaign’s success:

List – 60%
Offer – 20%
Copy – 15%
Format (layout, type of envelope, etc.) – 5%

Nothing is more important than who you mail to! It pays to invest time and thought to obtain the best possible list of prospects.

Customize Your Mailing List:
Using powerful selectors, you can customize your list to increase the effectiveness of your mailing. Dun & Bradstreet suggests the following eight easy steps:

Select the appropriate classification codes
The government’s 4-digit SIC Codes let you target specific lines of business. Then by using D&B’s finer 6- and 8-digit industry designations, you can isolate and analyze business activity and fine-tune your prospect base with even more precision.
Define your geographic coverage
Identify the geographic area that will help you reach markets in a given territory by using these selectors: zip codes, entire U.S., selected states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, counties, cities, telephone area codes.
Determine the sales potential at each location
Assess the buying potential of companies with multiple locations by defining the activity at each site. To reach top decision makers, focus on headquarters or subsidiary locations. Single location companies and manufacturing sites may have a separate need for your products or services. If only new companies and/or subsidiaries are your marketing target, you can select on the business start date. Use selectors to identify headquarters, branches, manufacturing locations, non-manufacturing locations, subsidiaries, single location companies and the year a business started.
Reach the right executive
Specify decision makers by title or functional responsibility, age range or gender.
Pinpoint executives most likely to respond
Look for selectors that allow you to select names and titles of proven mail responders. Target prospects by special interest or access subscribers, book buyers and seminar attendees.
Cut the number of wasted telephone calls
Telemarketing can play an important role in your direct mail program. To test the effectiveness, you can call a representative sampling.
Identify new possibilities for higher profit
Target the freshest prospects by choosing newly established companies just entering a market, new legal entities or recent changes in legal structures, changes in ownership, changes in CEO, company name changes, address and telephone number changes.
Reduce mailing costs
To further improve cost-efficiency, take advantage of postal discount options including Carrier Route Code, presort and bar coding. By sorting your mail and making it machine-readable before it gets to the post office you can save more on postage.

Download Glints psd

Christian — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:55:03 +0000

Right click the image to download:

T-shirts: In Full Color

Christian — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:48:09 +0000

We offer 2 types of full color T-Shirts, White and Black and are made from 100% cotton. Sizes range from S to XXL.

Our full color T-Shirts are printed by a CMYK+W digital print process and can be printed on the front and back of the T-Shirt.

To order printing only on the back, please say 0/4 , front only is 4/0.

Current acceptable file types are .pdf, .jpg, and .eps files.

There are two available print areas, 11″x8.5″ and 8.5″x11″. Both are centered 2″ down from the bottom of the collar for the front, and 5.5″ down from the top of the collar for the back.

As you can see, the print area (GREEN) will be printed on the shirt. Anything outside that area (RED) will not be printed.

Above is an example of offset position for T-Shirts. As you can see you can achieve a left or right side chest print by positioning the logo or artwork accordingly on the 11″x8.5″ document size.

File setup for white t-shirts vs black t-shirts:

Your artwork MUST be setup according to what color T-Shirt your order will be printed on. For White T-Shirts, the background color must be C-0 M-0 Y-0 K-0 for the white to knockout.

In other words if you want a logo printed on a white shirt and your art file contains the logo with a black background, or any background color other than C-0 M-0 Y-0 K-0 the background will print.

For Black T-Shirts, the background color must be C-100 M-100 Y-100 K-100 for black to knockout.

In other words if you want a logo printed on a black shirt and your art file contains the logo with a white background, or any background color other than C-100 M-100 Y-100 K-100 the background will print.

T-Shirt art files do not need bleed or crop marks. Please submit your files at exactly 11″x8.5

Templates Full Color T-shirts JPEG.zip

Templates Full Color T-shirts EPS.zip

Learn: Illustrator Tricks

Christian — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:07:25 +0000

10 Tricks for Adobe Illustrator

by Cory Thoman, Shutterstock Submitter

Adobe Illustrator is a powerful program with a ton of features, and learning them all can be a daunting task. Luckily, you don‘t need to know every little feature to make great designs and illustrations. Here are a few tips to help make your designing a little easier.

Tip 1: Learn the Keyboard Shortcuts

This is a fairly obvious tip, but that doesn‘t make it any less important. Keyboard shortcuts can save you a lot of time. You don‘t have to learn all of them; however, think about which commands you use often and learn those. Learning the one-letter shortcuts for changing tools on the Tool Bar will also save you time. Some examples to start you off with are V for the Selection tool, A for the Direct Selection tool, R for the Rotate tool and Shift + E for the Eraser tool.

Tip 2: Copy in Place

Copy and Paste is probably one of the most used features in Illustrator. The only problem is sometimes you want to copy things in place. You can use the Paste in Front and Paste in Back for that (located in the Edit menu). These will paste the object in the same place. The keyboard shortcuts for these are: Command (Mac OS)/Control (Windows) F for Paste in Front and Command/Control B for Paste in Back. Another option is to use the Rotate tool. Select your object and double click on the rotate tool in the tool bar. A dialogue box will appear. Select 0 degrees and click Copy. This will make a duplicate in the same location.

Tip 3: Option/Alt and Shift Drag

Some of the more commonly used keys on the keyboard are the option/alt and the shift keys. Select a shape and start moving it to a new location. Now, hold down the Option/Alt key. Your tool tip will change. This indicates you‘re making a copy. Do the same thing again. This time, hold down the Shift key and you‘ll notice that the shape is constrained to moving only on a horizontal or vertical plane. If you hold down both, it will make a copy that is lined up horizontally or vertically.

Tip 4: Learn the Smart Guides

The Align tools are useful, but they only do so much. The Smart Guides do the rest. To turn on your Smart Guides, go to View > Smart Guides or Command/Control U. With your Smart Guides on, you‘ll notice that when you roll over objects, the lines highlight and the words: path, anchor and center appear. Try moving one object on top of another. The Smart Guides will tell you where the two objects intersect. Try aligning two circles by their “center” points by dragging the first object by its “center” point onto the “center” point of the second object.

Tip 5: Flatten Transparency

The Flattened Transparency command enables you to see what your artwork will look like when flattened. The outline stroke command flattens stroked lines, but not dashed lines. To outline a dashed line, you‘ll have to use the Flatten Transparency. Go to Object > Flatten Transparency to use it. A dialogue box will pop up. Make sure Raster/Vector Balance is set to 100. You can also use the Flatten Transparency on Brush Effects, Blend Effects and Warp Effects.

Tip 6: Group Items to Move Them

The Group command is mainly used to group objects together. It also is a powerful tool for moving objects around. If you have several overlapping objects on your artboard and you want to add a new shape in between them, try using the Group command. First, send the new object to the back (Object > Arrange > Send to Back). With the object still highlighted, shift click on the object that you want it to be directly underneath. Finally, group the two objects. Go to Object > Group or Command/Control G. This will move the new object directly beneath the old one. You can also group objects between layers to move an object onto a different layer.

Tip 7: Transform Again

The Transform Again command (Object > Transform > Transform Again) is used to repeat your last action. It is great for creating uniform spacing. Make a copy of a shape. You can use the Option/Alt Drag from the tip above. Next, perform a Transform Again (Command/Control D) on your copied shape. This gives you multiple shapes that are spaced evenly. You can also use the Transform Again for repeating Scaling and Rotating effects.

Tip 8: Blend Shapes

Most people use the Blend command (Object > Blend > Make) for gradient blends. You can also use the Blend on shapes to get “in between” or “tween” shapes. First, draw a circle and a square several inches apart. Next, you‘ll need to set the number of steps in your Blend. Go to Object > Blend > Blend Options. A dialogue box appears. Choose Specified Steps and the number of steps. Four is a good number. Select the two shapes and go to Object > Blend > Make. The Blend makes several shapes in between the circle and the square. You can use the Flatten Transparency to make them into editable shapes.

Tip 9: Work with Text Boxes

When I first started working with Illustrator, I simply selected the text tool and started typing. I would end up with one long, jumbled line that was frustrating to work with. While that method is still the default, there is another way. You can make text boxes by drawing a box with the text tool. Then, you can type inside the box. These boxes are much easier to work with and will save you a lot of sanity.

Tip 10: Changing a Star to a Triangle

The Star tool makes more shapes than just a traditional star. Draw a star, but don‘t release the mouse button. Instead, use the up and down arrow keys to add and remove points. For instance, if you keep pressing the down arrow, you‘ll end up with a triangle. Before you release the mouse, try pressing the Shift key. This will make your triangle parallel with the page.

Now that you have read up on some of the tricks of the trade, try them out and don’t forget to experiment!