Does Your Business Need a Graphic Designer?

In today’s fast-paced and highly visual business environment, most businesses will need to develop graphics to help advertise and market their businesses to potential and current customers. The question is whether you should rely on your own skills or hire a graphic designer to handle your marketing needs.

When to Tackle Graphic Design On Your Own

If you are a creative type and have a background in graphic design, or the aptitude and desire to pick up the skills required to create your own marketing tools, you can retain complete creative control and save money. You’ll need to develop the graphic design skills needed to create an attractive website, as well as promotional materials, such as brochures and letterhead.

Another way to create marketing materials without hiring a graphic designer is to take advantage of the myriad of marketing templates that exist for creating attractive marketing tools like websites, letterhead, brochures, business cards and informational booklets. You can also customize these ready-made templates to create a unique logo without the advanced skills of a graphic designer.

Keeping graphic design work in-house will allow you to spend your marketing budget on the tools themselves, rather than on a graphic designer’s skills.

When to Hire a Pro

Many business owners simply do not have the time to learn even the basics of graphic design, or they recognize that in order to stand out from competition with glittering advertisements, a graphic designer must be hired for the job. A graphic designer is already trained and skilled at creating marketing tools that stand out from the crowd and aren’t derived from a template.

A template can be a good starting point for a small business, but once you’re ready to take your business to the next level, you might want to choose a graphic designer to give your business a customized and individual look.

A graphic designer will take your initial ideas and run with them to create a specialized look that will not only enhance your company’s image but will give you, the business owner, time to pursue business objectives.

A graphic designer is usually worth their price once your marketing campaign starts taking off and attracting new business, which will eventually pay for the efforts of your graphic designer while simultaneously taking your business to the next level.

Turn Your Marketing Posters Into Coveted Collectibles

If marketing posters are eye-catching and creative, chances are they will help boost your business image among potential and current customers. Marketing posters are typically hung in places where they will be seen by the most amount of people. With this in mind, if you create a design for your marketing posters that will not just advertise your business but will stay with your customers, then you’re already ahead.

A crucial objective for a marketing poster is to create one that is so endearing that customers will hang one in their personal or business space as a collectible. Here are some tips for achieving this goal.

Commemorate Important Events

Celebrate a significant business event or award with a marketing poster that doubles as a collectible for the occasion and also advertises your business. You can also commemorate important events related to the community surrounding your business, such as a local anniversary or landmark. As long as you include your company’s information on the marketing poster, this keepsake will advertise your business in a meaningful way.

Use Celebrities

If a particular celebrity could tie in with your marketing poster theme, then make that person the central figure of your marketing poster. You can use a well-liked local celebrity, a movie star or even an author.  Just make sure to get the rights to reproduce a celebrity’s image or to use an existing photograph before printing your marketing posters.

Sponsor a Local Artist

Giving back to your community is always important, so why not choose a local artist to create a special image in her chosen art form to use as your next marketing poster? This way, the artist and your business gets good publicity as people collect your piece of commissioned art.

Design With Art in Mind

If you have a talented designer on staff or regularly work with one, let that person create a unique marketing poster that is designed to appeal aesthetically to viewers. Complementary colors and patterns that tie in with an overall theme, along with an eye-pleasing font, are all necessary components of a successful design.

If you design your next marketing poster around one or several of these concepts, you’ll likely enjoy seeing your hard work disappear into the hands of current and potential customers who respond to the artistic design of your marketing poster, making it a coveted collectible instead of just another marketing tool.

4 Ways to Add Pizzazz to Boring Business Cards

Despite rapid technological advances and the rising popularity of the digital age, business cards are still an effective and necessary marketing tool. A business card is small, fits neatly into a wallet or purse, and contains all the necessary information a potential client needs from you.

Although business cards are easy to hand out, once they are in someone’s wallet, purse or organizer, that person needs a reason to pull it out and remember you. Unfortunately, with the rise of homemade business cards, many risk getting thrown out because they are boring and unmemorable.

If you want your business card to stand out and inspire possible customers to contact you, keep in mind that by investing a little time and money with a printing company specializing in business card printing, you will end up with business cards that demand attention instead of divert attention.

Here are four ways you can add a little pizzazz to your business cards and inspire potential customers to seek you out:

• Paper or Plastic? Set your business cards apart and ensure they don’t get ripped or ruined by spilled coffee and print them on plastic. Plastic business cards come in a variety of colors, including transparent or opaque options, and they will showcase your business information the same way a traditional cardstock business card would – except it’s more likely to get noticed among the other business cards. Plastic business cards are the same size as regular ones; they simply stand the test of time better – just like your business.
• Shapely Options: Most business cards are the traditional size and shape, meaning they are uniformly 3.5 by 2-inches. There is no law that dictates business cards can’t be a square, oval or rectangle with rounded corners, for example. A different shape will show that your business can think outside the box.
• Add Texture: Instead of printing your business name like most other businesses, add texture by embossing or using a die-cut of your logo or business name to add creativity and liven up your image.
• Forget Black and White: An easy and budget-friendly way to make your business cards shine is to inject some color. You might make your logo and business name stand out in full color or include a photo.

Moderation is always key, so choose the option that best complements your business and brand, and then go for it!

4 Tips for Creating Customer-Friendly Catalog Printing Layouts

It’s important to make your catalogs user-friendly so that your customers will have no difficulty finding and ordering your products. This comes down to choosing a user-friendly catalog printing layout that will result in increased sales and exposure. Choose one of the following four tips to ensure your catalog printing layout is customer-friendly.

Symmetrical Columns

Research shows that symmetrical columns of photos with product descriptions below achieve good sales results. The catalog printing layout becomes organized and cohesive, signaling to customers that your business is responsible and your products worth ordering. Symmetrical column printing layouts also make it easier to add in-depth product descriptions and features lists to help sell that product even better.

Even Rows

Another popular catalog printing layout option is to make your rows evenly spaced with a photo of your product and its accompanying description to the side instead of below. This method creates an organized table and often allows each page to feature more rows, since most catalog paper is taller than it is wide. You can cut costs by using less paper to advertise more products.

Magazine Styled Spread

If you have high-end products to sell or would like to include multiple photos for each product, you might consider a magazine styled catalog printing layout. This method will net you less products per page; instead of using symmetrical columns or a table layout, the product photos will be dispersed at various intervals across the page, similar to a magazine article. Therefore, it’s also best to include product descriptions written by a copywriter, as well as enlist the help of a graphic designer for each product page.

Creating a Combo

The combination method is also best applied with the assistance of a graphic designer skilled in this type of catalog printing layout. The combination form allows you the flexibility to feature various layout formats on the catalog pages. For example, you can combine symmetrical column layouts with table row layouts on the same page, or combine a magazine style layout with a column layout. A professional graphic designer will ensure that the end result is polished and professional.

Don’t rush into choosing your catalog printing layout without first viewing real life examples of the above mentioned layouts so that you can determine which one will best highlight your products and get those orders coming in!

5 Design Ideas to Spice up Your Restaurant’s Menu

Business owners in the food service industry have a great reusable marketing tool – a menu.  However, many restaurant owners fail to effectively promote their food items by creating menus that are boring or even confusing. Psychologically, if a customer feels that the menu is bland, they will probably think the food will be the same way.

Use your menu to spice up your food items and make them attractive to customers. A great menu will have a customer wanting to try one of everything.

How can you spice up your menu to get more food items sold?

1. Design an Attractive Cover

Most restaurant menus are four pages, either inserted in a laminated covering or simply one large folded cardstock. Make sure your first page, the cover page, is attractive and promotes your restaurant brand. Use a pleasant and coordinated color scheme. Put your logo prominently on the cover. Write your mission if you wish. Keeping your brand in customers’ minds is important for bringing them back.

2. Employ Sound Design Elements

Many restaurant menus are too crowded or too small to read. This creates frustration for customers. You want to make sure your customers can easily scan your menu and find the items they are hungry for.

Use plenty of white space between menu items. Make the menu item title bold, and use a short but descriptive text to describe the item. Avoid crowding your menu with too many items on one page. If you need to, create more pages so all your items are easily categorized and listed in a fashion that is easily read by the customer.

3. Create Clever Titles and Headings

Most menus have headings like “Salads” and “Entrees.” Try something that makes your headings stand out like “From the Garden”, or “Chef Specialties.” Your item titles can be creative as well. A grilled cheese sandwich sounds much more appetizing as a “Cheesy Wisconsin Melt”.

4. Cleverly Place Higher Profit Items

Knowing how your customers look at a printed menu can help you sell your higher profit items. If your menu has one fold, customers will likely look at the right side first. They will likely view the middle section first of a tri-folded menu. Keep the high-profit items at the top or bottom of a list. Strategic placement of these items can help increase your profits and sell more higher-priced items.

5. Use Images and Graphics Sparingly

Images, photos, and graphics can help spice up your menu. Use photos only if you have a professional photographer create the image. A simple snapshot of a plate of food with too much flash look amateurish and does not stimulate an appetite. Try using icons for house specialty items or low-calorie items. Using images can help increase sales for specific items, but only if done properly and sparingly.

Your menu is your last marketing tool to convince customers of your products. Use these design features and create a menu that will stimulate customers’ appetites and help make more sales.

7 Direct Mail Marketing Tips with Postcards

Direct mail advertising with sales letters has its advantages, but sometimes you want to send a direct mail marketing message without the high cost of sales letter copywriting, printing, and postage. In cases where you may want to send a quick direct mail message to existing and potential customers, consider a postcard as a great cost-effective way to get your message across.

1. Postcards Are More Likely To Be Read

When a person pulls mail out of their mailbox, what do they do? Most likely they begin sorting the mail – letters from loved ones, bills, advertising circulars, sales letters, and Oh! – a postcard. A postcard tends to stand out to a recipient, and they will at least look at the front of it to see what it says. Using the right design elements can help assure that your full postcard message does indeed get read by the recipient.

2. Target Your Mailing List

What is the purpose of your direct mailing? Are you intending to invite previous customers back to your store? Do you want to gain more new customers? Remember that any mail advertising needs to be targeted to the right consumer. Try to obtain or build mailing lists with important demographic data. Your postcard mailing will have more impact when it reaches a consumer who wants and needs your products.

3. Catch Their Attention

As mentioned, a postcard will likely get a first glance, and that first glance will determine whether the recipient will read more. Use colorful photos, graphics, and bold headlines to capture their attention.

4. Make Your Message Brief

A postcard is not the place to include all the sales copy you would find in a letter. Instead, make the information on your postcard brief, but interesting. Use bullet points to highlight features or benefits. You may have space for only a sentence or two. So keep your message brief and to the point.

5. Include a Testimonial

You might include a comment from a customer on your direct mail postcard. Showing potential customers what other customers think can help them make a decision about your business.

6. Generate Interest Now – Sales Later

A direct mail postcard’s main goal is to generate interest. There is simply not enough space to provide a full sales message. Instead, you want to pique interest and have the customer want to know more. However, be sure you provide a call to action with your contact information.

7. Give an Expiration Date

A direct mail postcard mailing is effective when it gives the message, but also a deadline. You may be offering a 25% discount, but tell the customer they only have 10 days to take advantage of the offer. Be sure your recipients know when they should act.

Direct mail postcards are cost-effective for any business. However, having a strategy for design, printing, and mailing will help assure that your direct mail campaign will be a success.

4 Design Musts for Your Business Brochure

The brochure is one of the most popular and effective advertising mediums available to any business. They are very portable, informative, and cost effective. Your brochure can provide all the information a potential customer needs about your business without the need for a full marketing packet.

Designing a brochure can be daunting. Why? Sure, there is limited space, but the choices on how to fill that space are endless. You want to make sure that you put all the information you wish to convey into a brochure, but still make it interesting to read. Sometimes it’s just easier to hand off the designing to a professional graphic designer, but oftentimes to save money, you can do it effectively yourself.

What can you do to make sure that your brochure design will capture your customers’ attention and deliver the most important information?

1. Know Reader Tendencies

Remember to keep readers’ psychological habits in mind when creating a brochure. Readers tend to skim information and read more about something that captures their attention. They will generally look at photos first, any graphics, then headlines, and finally the actual text.

Avoid filling your brochure with too much text. Keep headlines in bigger and bolder fonts. Use images sparingly. And even keep text to a minimum by using bullet points. Remember, you want to get readers to want to read further.

2. Make A Logical Progression

Your brochure printing project should flow in a logical fashion. What information should your customer know first? What comes next? Avoid giving readers information that is confusing and out of sequence. A logical brochure will more likely be read rather than end up in the trash.

3. Simplify Your Content

You now know that readers like to skim and want to read things in a logical fashion.  However, keeping the content simple will help assure that the reader will read on further. Keep in mind that a brochure uses very limited space compared to a booklet or pamphlet. Avoid using industry jargon or detailed specs. Instead, use simple formats like the bullet points already mentioned. Highlight a phrase in a text box. Keep plenty of white space around your content to help make it easy for the reader to catch all the information. You just want to provide the essence of your promotional message in a brochure, and then give them a way to find out more.

4. Provide a Clear Call to Action

On the last section of your brochure, be sure to give a clear direction about what your reader should do next. Many businesses fail to provide the important call to action. It could simply be “call now for a free estimate,” or “stop by our store today.” Let customers know if they have a limited time to act. And by all means, give them your phone number, business location, and web address.

When you design your next brochure, keep these tips in mind. You’ll have a more attractive brochure that keeps readers attention and give them reason to contact your business.

7 Ways a Booklet Can Secure More Business

As a business owner, you have a lot to say in an advertising or printed material piece –much more than can fit on a regular flyer or tri-fold brochure. When you’re in a situation that calls for more printing space, try a booklet as a way to help you get more business.

A booklet can be printed on high-quality glossy paper in various sizes. You could print a booklet with as few as eight pages or just about however many you would like to add. Remember that a booklet works best when it is formatted attractively for the customer, which may require the expertise of a graphic designer to make the information ‘pop’ off the page.

How can a booklet work as a promotional tool? Here are seven ways it can help:

1. Full Product Catalog – The full product catalog is probably the best-known method of booklet printing. A catalog with full color and catchy descriptions helps make your products jump off the page and assist your customers in making confident buying decisions.
2. Seasonal Catalog – In addition to your full product catalog, you can also make seasonal or holiday catalogs. These are shorter than full product catalogs and contain the products you want to highlight as promotional, such as new seasonal clothing, holiday gift ideas, or regular menu specials.
3. Informational Booklet – A booklet printing with informational content can be a great way to share additional and more detailed information about a certain product or even just about your company. The informational booklet helps your customers understand your products better and can provide an additional bond toward your company.
4. New Product Release – A new product can provide great curiosity for your existing and potential customers. Give them the satisfaction of quenching that thirst for knowledge with a new product release booklet printing. Explain how and why it was created. Explain the careful manufacturing process. And most importantly, explain how your customers can make a purchase themselves.
5. Instruction Manual – For some products or services, a customer may require additional information. To help assure that your customer is satisfied and will want to return, consider printing a brief instruction manual booklet for more complex products.
6. Cookbook – A cookbook is easily printed as a booklet. If your business is in food service, consider a cookbook booklet printing to give to customers as a thank you gift for complementary use with your food products.
7. Workbooks – Design a booklet printing project as a way to learn. You could develop workbooks for kids with projects like coloring, a wordcross puzzle, or other ways to teach them about your products.

There are many ideas for booklet printing that can help you promote your business and encourage customers to learn more about your products and services. Consider a booklet for your next promotional printing project and create a jazzy design that gets your booklet noticed.

How to Use The Back of Your Business Card to Sell

Your business card is one of the most printed advertising items you have.  While you should always have a supply of business cards in your desk and on your person to give out to potential customers, there are ways you can use business cards as more than just a contact tool.

Business cards are generally printed on just one side. That little 3.5” by 2” piece of cardstock real estate is usually just enough to provide your name, title, business name, and contact information. But what about the other side? Should it just remain blank?

There is a host of ideas that you can use for the back of your business card to help make it work as a promotional tool and help potential customers remember your company.

• Coupons – Put a small coupon on the back of your business card. A coupon gives incentive for a potential customer to keep the card and use it when visiting your business. It could be a simply “20% off” coupon or even a free gift on their next visit.

• Rate List – New customers who may be interested in your business are always curious how much you charge. A simple list of your rates for services could help them decide how to use your services better.

• Hours of Service – Some business owners find it helpful to provide their hours of operation on the back of a business card. This gives a potential customer an exact range of times they can contact you, especially if your business hours fall during weekends or evenings.

• Bio – After you meet a new prospective client and hand them a business card, what do they really know about you? Print a brief bio about yourself and your qualifications on the back of your business card to help give additional qualifications and credentials to your specialty.

• Photo – You can use the back of your business card to place an attractive photo. It could be a photo or drawing of your business office, a photo of your premier product, or even one of two sample photos of your own photography business.

• Client List – Sometimes a list of previous or existing clients gives that “wow” factor to your company. If you have a list of high-profile clients, don’t hesitate to print them on the back of your business card.

• Tips – The back of your business card can also be used to provide a helpful tip to your prospective customer. Tell how they can save money, save time, or other benefit with a helpful tip.

• Menu Special – If you run a restaurant, you could print your “house” specialty on the back of your business card. Whet the appetite of a prospective customer and give them reason to come try your cooking.

Business card printing on both front and back is easy to do for any printer. The extra printing can mean extra dollars for you, so consider using that back space for business  promotion.

3 Ways to Use Sticker Printing to Promote Your Business

As children, we all were fascinated with stickers. They are mobile and colorful, used to decorate and individualize almost anything.  But aside from a child-like curiosity, stickers have proven to be a very helpful business and promotional tool.

If you have the notion to use promotional stickers, here are some sticker printing ideas and tips to get the best quality and options.

Custom Stickers for your Products

The products you make and/or sell through your business are unique. Why not emphasize that uniqueness with a sticker? Custom sticker printing can be done to help give your products pizzazz or simply to put your business name and logo on the product.

Die-cutting is a process that creates custom shapes out of your sticker design so they can easily be placed on a safety helmet, a tool, your product packaging, or almost any shape.

Design a sticker with chic graphics to help make your product stand apart from the competition. Add bold colors with a sticker. A sticker printing job can provide your business with a keen marketing tool that goes right along with your products.

Bumper Stickers

Why not design and produce a bumper sticker printing? Bumper stickers are a great marketing tool that gets noticed. Give them away to your customers and encourage them to place them on their vehicles or anywhere that they might get seen by a potential new customer.

Of course, people are picky about the bumper stickers the place on their cars. That is why you should take careful consideration when designing one that promotes your business. Rather than producing a bumper sticker printing job with just your business name, why not use a clever catchphrase? Be careful of copyrights when using pre-written phrases.

In addition, avoid creating a bumper sticker with too many colors. A busy sticker is difficult to read. Stick to a single, bold color, or use no more than two. Be sure that your bumper sticker printing text is high contrast for easy reading.

Viral Sticker

You could also produce a sticker printing that is viral in nature. Much like a bumper sticker, a viral sticker is something catchy and clever that people like to see and read, as well as want to display on their property. Be sure to use your business name prominently, and design a sticker that is simple yet interesting.

Stickers have long been used for marketing purposes. Consider a sticker printing for your business to help promote and advertise your products and services.