Some More of the Coolist QR Codes

Brand: Dupard Benedict
Linked to: New York City tribute video featuring iconic photography and Frank Sinatra singing in the background.
Credit: Dupard Benedict

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Some of the Coolist QR Codes

Brand: The Conversion Scientist
Advertisers are smitten with the small, square patterns that can be scanned by smartphones. Here are some of my favorites from major brands that don't look like anything you'd expect.

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6 Ways Print Newsletters Beat Email Newsletters – And Why They Need to Be Part of Your Marketing Mix

1. Printed mail gets delivered – It's never blocked or caught in spam filters.  Faulty connections, email authentication and webmail service idiosyncrasies are not issues. And, you have no worries about connection speeds.

2. Print newsletters have more perceived value – Think about it: How many companies are willing to do this? Your clients aren't stupid. They understand the energy, cost and time required to send them a great newsletter every month. It will get their immediate attention.

3. Print newsletters let you use unlimited amount of images – A picture really is worth a thousand words. Print newsletters are not shackled by bandwidth. That means you can use a variety of text, graphics and formatting styles to capture the interest of your clients.

4. Print newsletter are sticky - Print newsletters have great 'hang-time'. Not only are they likely to be read from start to finish, they usually get passed around. Hand-along readership can be as high as four-to-one. Talk about free marketing!

5. Print newsletters offer convenient and comfortable reading - Printed newsletters are much easier on the eyes. Reading articles of any length on a computer screen is uncomfortable and often inconvenient. Plus, a print newsletter allows you to mark sections you find interesting, take it to work and leave it there to be picked up by workmates.

6. Print newsletters stand out and get noticed – By using color, logos and a familiar return address, a print newsletter is easy to spot. With an inbox filled with subject lines, every message looks the same.

Here's Your Best Bet

Make no mistake. There is a place for electronic communication with your customers. Websites and email are an important part of any business. 

But the hands down best choice for keeping customers and getting more referrals and building relationships is to include print newsletters within your marketing mix

You can even offer your customers a choice. They will see that you really care about what they want, not just what you are willing to provide for them.

And that's what relationship marketing is all about, isn't it?

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First Impressions Matter

Yes, You Still Need Business Cards

In these days of BlackBerrys (Nasdaq: RIMM – News) and e-mail contact lists, the humble paper business card may look like a relic. Does passing them out signal you as hopelessly behind the curve?

Not at all. In a world where so much communication happens electronically, the business card remains a valuable, tangible way to promote yourself and your company. The key is to produce cards that are memorable and informative, ones that can instantly sum up your brand in a glance.

While social media may get all the press hype, the vast majority of business interaction in this country still takes place face to face. Most business owners still interact with potential customers and partners personally at Chamber of Commerce events, the local Rotary Club or informal social gatherings.

In all those instances, exchanging business cards remains a primary way to formalize your interaction. It helps the person you’ve met remember your name and the name of your business — sealing the deal, if you will. (How often have you been introduced to someone, only to forget their name within minutes?)
In the best-case scenario, the person you meet keeps your card and adds you to their list of contacts, either by putting the card in a Rolodex or scanning it into an electronic database (the card itself will probably get tossed, but by then it has served its purpose). Either way, the card helped cement you and your business in the mind of the person you met.

Business cards may be a tried-and-true marketing device, but that’s not to say they haven’t changed with the times. For a look at recent trends, browse The Business Card group on Flickr or go to Cardonizer, where users have posted stylish, creative examples.
The key is to keep your cards looking up-to-date but not overcrowded. Cards these days cram ever more information into a small space — in addition to the company name, address, phone number and email address, some people are adding their company’s website, Facebook fan page link and Twitter stream. The result? A visually confusing mess.

[World's Most Innovative Companies]

If you are active in social media, a better bet is to simply list your website. Then, on your site, add prominent links to social-media sites visitors can quickly access if they’re interested.
The days when your color choices were limited to white or cream are also long gone. Nowadays, cards come in full color, many with photographs — and again, that leads many businesses to overcrowd their cards with logos and pictures. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL – News) co-founder Steve Wozniak even hands out custom-designed stainless steel cards, which fall into the memorable-but-not-exactly-practical category.

While you can  design and print your own cards, hiring a pro is the only way to go if you want to project a professional image.

When designing a business card, think of it as a miniature introduction to you and your business. Do you want to present yourself as innovative and forward-thinking? Then your card should be designed with a modern font and color palette.

By contrast, a simple, two-color business card sends its own message: that you and your company are traditional and no-frills. Even so, the card should include your e-mail address and website — modern-day business necessities. A good designer can integrate that information with your company’s logo and other details to make sure the card isn’t overwhelmed with type.

[Great Jobs That People Love]

Although creative types may be tempted to make their cards stand out by using nontraditional materials or shapes, make sure the finished product still fits easily into a standard wallet pocket; otherwise they’re more likely to get tossed. Also, avoid glossy paper, which makes it difficult for someone to scribble a note on the back.


And remember that business cards aren’t meant to be hoarded and admired in private. Get in the habit of handing them out, which is easy if you have one you want to show off.

Pine Press Printing & Mailing delivers. Guaranteed!

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803-359-9162

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Full Color Printing Always Makes a Great Impression

When you sit down with a blank sheet of paper in front of you, does your vision for filling that page include color? Whether that page is meant to inform, invite, or inspire, it will make the greatest impression if it is printed in full color.

Black and white printing works for certain things - text documents and photographs. But full color printing is the best way to make the right impression.

Here are some reasons why:

• It's more professional. If you're trying to sell your company's products or services, choosing full color printing for marketing materials and business cards shows your prospective customers you are a company that is worth doing business with. It can help add legitimacy to your company that will make people more likely to consider doing business with you.
• Printing in full color grabs attention. If you are standing at a bulletin board or sifting though a pile of mail and there are five items, four of them in black and white and one of them in color, it's a given that your eyes will be drawn to the one that has been done in color. You can write a solid brochure, flyer or newsletter, but if it doesn't get someones attention, it won't make a difference.
• Pictures will look better. While of course you can add pictures in black and white, color pictures are more crisp and true to life. Often times when you print a picture in black and white, you end up with an image that is almost impossible to make out. Full color printing can help prevent this problem.

One thing that may deter you from choosing color over black and white is cost. You may assume that it is much more expensive to print in color than it is in black and white. In some cases, that is true. However, as technology has changed, new dyes and methods have been created that can allow you to choose full color without adding a great cost to the project.

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Banners - We Do Them Right

Get Noticed With Banners

Banners –  We Do Them Right!

Simple but catchy!  Attract potential customers with bright colors and eye catching graphics.
Every company wants to distinguish itself from the crowd.  A great banner is something you can use to obtain an advantage over your competitors.

Banners are one of our most requested products.  We can create a simple banner with basic text, or an elaborate banner with full-color images.  Whether you’re promoting an event, advertising a sale, or trying to display information; we can design any banner to meet your needs.

When banners are used outdoors, many times they require stronger materials and reinforced hems to withstand the abuses of Mother Nature.  While most outdoor banners are a temporary means of signage, they can last a long time; if they are made and installed properly.   As experts in this area, we can recommend the correct material, weight, finish, and size for your banner.

Pine Press Printing & Mailing delivers. Guaranteed!

Pine Press Printing your friendly hometown printer in Lexington, SC 29072

803-359-9162

 

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HOW TO: Use Twitter Hashtags for Business

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If you’ve used Twitter for more than a couple of hours, you’ve probably already seen a tweet or two containing a word with the hash symbol (“#”) attached to it. That’s what Twitter users call a “hashtag,” and at any given time at least one of them can usually be found among the trending topics on Twitter. But what exactly is a hashtag?
Hashtags are essentially a simple way to catalog and connect tweets about a specific topic. They make it easier for users to find additional tweets on a particular subject, while filtering out the incidental tweets that may just coincidentally contain the same keyword. Hashtags are also often used by conference and event organizers as a method of keeping all tweets about the event in a single stream, and they’ve even been used to coordinate updates during emergencies. In fact, hashtags were first popularized during the 2007 San Diego wildfire, when the tag #sandiegofires was used to identify tweets about the natural disaster.
You can create a hashtag simply by appending the hash symbol to a word, like this: #hashtag.

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How to Utilize Existing Hashtags

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Because hashtags tend to spread so quickly and because Twitter users often search hashtags for content from people they aren’t following, using hashtags can be a great way to extend your reach on Twitter and connect with your current audience in a more meaningful way. There are a wide variety of already established hashtags — and new ones being created daily — that you can join. You need to be careful, however, that your use of hashtags is consistent with both your brand and the tag itself.
Unfortunately, as hashtags have become more popular, they’ve also become a vehicle for spam. You should never use a hashtag on a tweet unrelated to that tag, and you should never stuff your tweets with currently popular hashtags with the sole purpose of appearing in Twitter search results. Proper etiquette dictates that you should only use hashtags if your tweet is actually relevant to the tag’s associated meme or topic.
So which tags should you participate in? That depends wholly on your business and your purpose for using Twitter. For example, it’s probably a bad idea to participate in the #robotpickuplines hashtag if you own a health club and use your Twitter account to offer customer service to members. But if you own a record shop, you’ll more than likely want to join in the #musicmonday hashtag, in which people tweet about what music they’re listening to and suggest other musically-inclined users to follow every Monday. Or if you own a restaurant, why not tweet out your specials or some recipes on #tastytuesday.

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Three Planning Tips for Digital Printing Success

Three Planning Tips for Digital Printing Success

Digital printing has opened up new possibilities for marketers and end users alike. Variable-data printing features such as personalized URLs have helped bridge the gap between print and online campaigns. Meanwhile, the speed, quality and versatility of today’s digital presses has broadened the scope of applications that are a fit for digital printing.

From a production standpoint, digital applications must be planned carefully before toner hits paper. With turnaround speed at a premium, there’s no time for surprises. Here are Pine Press Printing's top three planning tips for digital printing success:

1. Keep glue areas free of inks, toners and coatings.
Gluing is commonly used to seal direct mail pieces or form the spine on booklets. As with conventional inks, some glue formulas can have unpredictable reactions with the inks, toners and coatings used for digital applications. Whenever possible, remove these elements from the areas of your pieces that will receive remoist, fugitive or seam gluing. If this isn’t possible with your design, let Pine Press Printing test a sample in advance to ensure proper adhesion.

2. Crease your sheets prior to folding.
Digitally-printed products are susceptible to cracking at the fold for two reasons. First, digital inks and toners are fused to the surface of the paper. The fusing process uses high heat, which dries out the paper. To combat cracking, digitally-printed sheets should be creased to ensure crisp, accurate folds. For digital applications, creasing is superior to folder scoring, and more economical than letterpress scoring Pine Press Printing has specialized creasing equipment.

3. Provide ample project details to your printer.
Speed is the name of the game in digital printing. Complete job information is essential to meeting fast and frequent deadlines. Provide as many as details as possible to your printer about your project. In addition to the “basics” - quantity, finished size, services required, paper thickness, etc. - information such as packing instructions, shipping quantity and location breakdowns and the number of versions help maximize production efficiency and minimize confusion and delays.

Pine Press Printing: Specialized Solutions for a Digital Workflow
Pine Press Printing understands the demands of digital applications: Shorter runs, faster turnarounds, consistently high quality and on-time deliveries. Our range of services - including folding,  perfect binding, mechanical binding, and more - are geared to meet these demands. Call us today to begin planning your next digital success!

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Five Ways to Spice Up Your Brochure

Once in a while a brochure printing project comes up that provides the opportunity and budget for a stellar piece that will make the reader stop short. Or maybe you have been asked to create an annual report, and you are seeking highly skilled book printing and publishing companies. In either case, consider asking Pine Press Printing about new advances in paper coating.
Coating your press sheet can add depth and dimension to an otherwise flat piece of paper. Think of the various coatings—varnish, UV, and aqueous—as a way to make certain parts of the brochure jump out at the reader and other parts sit back in a more subdued manner. Then play these two options against one another within a single brochure to accent one element and downplay another. Here are five suggestions:

1. On a black background, perhaps a divider page in a book, create a type-only design, including a number of key words related to the content of the book. Use an attractive typeface, or a few typefaces, in a large point size. Overlap the words in various places. Make some of the words slightly lighter than the black background (maybe 80 percent black). Coat some of the words with gloss varnish and some of the words with dull varnish. Even consider using black foil stamping to print a few of the words. The end result will be a divider page in which some of the words seem to float in front of the others, some closer to you, some further away. (Ask your printer for help—early in the process–and expect to pay extra for the black ink, dull varnish, gloss varnish, and foil stamping.)
2. Print a background photo of a tree, and add sandpaper UV coating to accentuate the texture of the bark. When you rub the page between your fingers, you will experience the simulated roughness of the wood. A similar sensation, although slightly more rubbery than sandpaper UV, can be achieved with soft-touch aqueous coating. In both cases, you feel like you are touching a physical object, not a glossy photograph.
3. Start with a photograph of a glass or metal object (such as silverware or fine crystal). Add a high-sheen UV gloss coating. The smooth texture will reinforce the reflectivity and hardness of the glass or metal.
4. Expand upon the prior example (the photo of glass or metal) in the following way. Wherever you have not highlighted the metal or glass with UV gloss coating, add a dull UV varnish. The contrast between the dull background and the glossy metal or glass objects will make the glass or metal objects appear to come toward the viewer while the dull UV coating will make the background recede. (It’s a little like experiencing a 3-D movie.)
5. If your brochure highlights food, consider the texture of the food. Maybe it’s comfort food with a rough texture, like bakery delectables. Perhaps a textured coating will help the viewer subconsciously imagine the rough texture of bread or pastry. Or if you’re trying for a more upscale, high-styled look, use a gloss UV coating. This would be particularly powerful if the food you are showcasing in your brochure is coated with a sauce or some other moist surface that naturally reflects the light.

As you can see, these are all upscale images (food, fashion, luxury goods, etc.), and hence require more help from your printer and are more expensive. But once in a while the perfect project comes up for which the budget is available and these coating techniques are indispensable. Talk with your brochure printers and book printers early in the process.

Meet Brandon Boatwright New at Pine Press Printing

NEW Intern at Pine Press Printing !         We are proud to have Brandon Boatwright working with us this summer. He is a native of Lexington. Graduating from Lexington High School, and now Clemson University with a degree in Communication Technology & Society.  He will be returning to Clemson in August to begin work on his Masters Degree. Brandon will be making his career in PR Marketing and Communications and he enjoys all sports especially baseball and soccer.   He is a great help with jobs here in our shop and making deliveries to your businesses. Make sure to say hello to him when he stops by your place.   God Bless, Lori

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12 Great Riches of Life

--- by Napoleon Hill


1) Positive Mental Attitude
All riches begin with a state of mind. And remember, it is the one thing over which you have sole control. This is the starting point of all riches, whether they be material or intangible. It attracts true friendship and the hope of future achievement. You labor in the highest plane of your soul, creating. It attracts harmony in home relationships and friendly cooperation. It frees you from fear and provides you with the riches of enthusiasm. It inspires you with the riches of song and laughter, which indicate your state of mind. The joy of knowing that the mind can and will serve any desired end if one will take possession of it and fuel it with a definite purpose. It elicits the riches of play through which one may lay aside all of the burdens of life and become as a little child again. It puts you in touch with one’s “other self” – the self which knows no such reality as permanent failure. The wisdom of meditation through which one may draw upon the great universal supply of infinite intelligence at will. These and all other riches begin with a positive mental attitude.

2) Sound Physical Health
Sound health begins with a “health consciousness” produced by a mind that thinks in terms of health instead of sickness. It requires temperance in eating and commitment to physical activity.

3) Harmony in Human Relationships
Harmony with others begins with yourself. “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou cans’t not then be false to any man” ~Shakespeare

4) Freedom From Fear
Nobody who fears anything is free. The seven basic fears that appear in the mind are poverty, criticism, ill health, loss of love,loss of liberty, old age, and death.

5) The Hope of Achievement
The greatest of all forms of happiness comes from hope of achievement of some yet unattained desire.

6) The Capacity for Faith
Faith is the connection with the conscious mind and all that is. It is the fertile soil of the garden of the human mind where all riches in life are produced. It is the stuff that gives creative power and action to the impulses of your thoughts.

7) Willingness to Share One’s Blessings
Happiness comes only by sharing. Riches that are not shared will ultimately die. All riches may be multiplied by the simple process of sharing them where they may serve others.

8) Labor of Love
Labor is the highest form of human expression of desire. The forerunner of all human progress. All labors of love are sanctified because they bring the joy of self-expression.

9) An Open Mind on All Subjects
It is only the person with an open mind who becomes truly educated and who is thus prepared to receive the greater riches of life.

10) Self-Discipline
The person who cannot master himself may never become of the master of anything else. Those that master themselves become the masters of their destiny. The greatest expression of this is in humility of the hear when one has attained great riches or has been overtaken by that which is called “success”.

11) Capacity to Understand People
Comes from the basic understanding that all people are fundamentally like and evolved from the same place. Those who understand what motivates others must first understand what motivates themselves.

12) Economic Security
Economic security is not attained by the possession of money alone. It is attained by the service one renders – for this may be converted into all forms of human needs, with or without the use of money.

Pine Press Printing & Mailing delivers. Guaranteed!

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803-359-9162

 
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6 Tips for Customizing Your Small Business Blog

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If you’re like most socially-savvy companies, your business probably has a blog. It’s a great way to connect with your customers, announce new products, and provide a human face to your company’s image.
While writing insightful and informative blog posts is the most important thing to do with a company blog, the design and implementation of your blog is key as well. The right plugins can help you get discovered on Google, while a cluttered design can turn off potential customers.
With that said, here are some of my top tips for customizing a small business blog so that it is professional, productive, and easy to discover.

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1. Install some top blog plugins

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If you are using blog software such as WordPress, then you can add plugins to customize how your blog looks and functions. While there are tens of thousands of plugins available on multiple platforms, a business blog should focus on search engine optimization (SEO), making the blog load faster, and making it easy for others to share blog posts via email, Twitter, and other social networks. Check out the WordPress Plugin Directory to see some of the web’s most popular plugins.

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2. Integrate social media links and buttons

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Don’t be afraid to integrate Facebook and Twitter on a business blog. It’s a standard practice and will help drive new visitors to your blog. Social media buttons make it easy for customers to tweet out your work, while adding links to the company’s Twitter and YouTube accounts will help bolster their numbers and improve their ranking in search.

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3. Focus on simple designs, not bells and whistles

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The focus of a blog should be on the content, not on widgets or sidebars or flashy designs. It’s better to have a very simple design template than a complex one if you want to convert readers into customers.

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4. Do show effort in the design, though

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A corporate blog is also a chance to show off a human element of the company and to be creative. Just using the standard template is usually lazy and most readers will know it. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

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5. Have your blog on your own web domain

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Most companies have their blogs at blog.companyurl.com. It’s generally considered unprofessional for a company to have a blog hosted on WordPress.com or Typepad.com, so always have your blog somewhere on your company’s website.

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6. Don’t hide your “about” information

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Assume that your average reader has never heard about your company. If you have that in mind, you want to be sure they can quickly find out more about you. Either have a paragraph at the top or on the side describing the company, or make the “About” page very prominent.

Getting The Most From Your Fan Page

Facebook

Many businesses create a Facebook “fan page”. While the potential for social media is great, it can’t work magic by itself. Here are a few tips on how to optimize your Facebook marketing:

* Give out coupons promoting an incentive for becoming a fan, such as an exclusive discount or free product. Continue to provide discounts and special offers available to fans only.

* Run a contest to create interest. For example, post an intriguing question relevant to your business, and the first 10 people to respond receive a free gift card or desirable product.

* Take photos during any live events you sponsor, load them to your Facebook page and encourage fans to tag themselves, which pushes out into their wall and friends’ news feeds.

* Offer a discussion-oriented approach where fans can ask questions and get answers from employees and other fans.

* Manage your online reputation by professionally acknowledging and answering all comment posts – good or bad.

* Secure a unique username (or vanity URL) that is short and memorable by using your brand name, company name, etc.

* Promote your Facebook presence on your e-mail signature, business cards, brochures, letterhead, newsletters, postcards, at the bottom of receipts, etc.

* Create Friend Lists to filter news feed stories and control who sees what information you publish. This may be useful to spread information to separate groups, including customers, prospects, colleagues, employees, competition, etc.

* Embed Facebook social plug-ins on your website and blog with a title encouraging visitors to click the “like” button and become a Facebook fan.

* Use Facebook Events to promote upcoming events and activities quickly without being intrusive.

* Keep your site up to date by posting interesting industry news and announcements, questions, surveys, relevant informational links, etc. Just be careful not to post too frequently.

If you’re looking for other ways to creatively promote your business, stop by anytime. Our creative experts are eager to help your business succeed!

Pine Press Printing your friendly hometown printer in Lexington, SC 29072
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22 Beautiful Brochure Designs

22 Beautiful Brochure Designs

Top 5 Business Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

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Business blogging can be exceptionally rewarding. When done correctly, a successful blog can bring attention to your business, can attract new customers, and can turn your current customer base into the type of fans that companies like Apple, Netflix, and Ben and Jerry’s have: people who will not only buy your product or service, but evangelize it to their peers. Of course, like anything, there is a right way to go about starting a business blog and a wrong way.
Creating a blog for your small business isn’t easy; it requires hard work and the ability to think creatively about your work. But if you avoid the five big mistakes laid out in this post, your chances of building a successful business blog will be much better.

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Mistake #1: Treating Your Blog Like a Press Center

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The number one mistake that business bloggers make is to treat their blog as an extension of their current press center. Repeat after me: Your blog is not the place for press releases. Blogging is a conversation and it offers a way for your customers to connect with your business on a completely new level. Press releases, on the other hand, are the exact opposite. They’re impersonal, they’re self promotional, and most readers don’t trust them. If you use your blog to republish press releases your customers will have no reason to keep reading and they’ll also likely not trust your content.
How to Avoid: First, don’t ever put out a press release on your blog. You can use your blog to make product or other business announcements, but do so with original writing and in a more casual voice. Second, do use your blog to write about things other than your core business. Share your thoughts on your industry, share insights into the day-to-day work life and processes at your company, and provide tips and tricks you have learned during your time in business.

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Mistake #2: Not Blogging Regularly

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Think about the blogs you read on a regular basis — how many of them publish only sporadically? Most successful blogs put out new content at least a couple of times per week and try to stick to a regular schedule. Consistently putting out quality content will keep readers returning and over time it will help you build a community and turn your customers into fans.
How to Avoid: Blogging regularly isn’t easy, so to avoid burning out, brainstorm editorial ideas ahead of time. If you plan to put out new posts every Tuesday and Friday, for example, try not to start writing Tuesday’s post on Tuesday morning. Get other people at your company involved so that one person isn’t shouldering the entire blogging load, and even consider sourcing content from your customers. Remember that anything can provide fodder for a good blog post, so pay attention to the things you read or see on other blogs, newspapers, magazines, or television.

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Mistake #3: Not Enabling Conversation

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As I already said, blogging is a conversation, and not allowing it to occur on your blog is a mistake. It’s true that blog comments can open you up to criticism, but blogging is an unparalleled opportunity to connect with your customers. You’ll get a lot more out of blogging if you enable — and even encourage — your customers to respond to what you write.
How to Avoid: Obviously the first thing you need to do is enable commenting on your business blog. But beyond that, you need to remember that the conversation is two-way. Get in there and respond to the comments readers leave on your blog and you’ll be more likely to develop a community around your writing that can help turn your customers into fans who will evangelize your products and services and provide you with quality feedback. You should also participate in the conversation on other blogs in your industry by leaving comments on posts elsewhere around the blogosphere. That will help you to establish your “blogging brand” and bring new readers your way.

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Mistake #4: Making New Content Hard to Discover

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Your blog won’t be very helpful to readers if they aren’t able to easily find new content. You need to make your blog discoverable and you need to make sure that when you add new content, your regular readers will be able to find it.
How to Avoid: There are a few ways to make sure your blog content is more easily discovered.

- Make your blog easy to find by linking to it prominently from your company’s web site and including your blog’s URL in your email signature, on your business cards, and in sales and marketing collateral.
- Use a full RSS feed (because the goal with most business blogs should be to get read, not boost page views) and make it easy for your readers to find and subscribe to.
- Embrace social media technologies like Twitter and Facebook as a way to notify your fans and followers of new blog content, and make it easy for your readers to share content with each other through social media channels and via email.
- Optimize for search engines by putting relevant keywords in post titles and URL slugs and write about the things that your customers are most likely to be searching for — but avoid sounding artificial simply so you can stuff some more keywords into a post.

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Mistake #5: Expecting Too Much, Too Soon

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Blogging isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Your blog won’t be an overnight success, and for the first few months it might feel like you’re writing for no one. It can take time to build up your readership and have a regular community of people who participate on your blog. Don’t expect immediate returns from your blog and do expect to put in a lot of hard work.
How to Avoid: Set attainable goals and realize that you’re in it for the long haul. Don’t cancel your blogging efforts after three months — give it at least a year of regularly putting out quality, original content. And make sure that your blog is easy to find, and that your readers are able to easily comment and share posts with others.

Enjoy,
John

Google Introduces New Social Tool

Google Introduces New Social Tool

25 Years of Pixar Animation

Marketing that makes a mark!

A simple, easy marketing idea

Here’s one of those simple little marketing ideas that anyone can do.

Have you ever thought of using limited-edition postage stamps to get noticed?

The vast majority of business-to-business mail is sent using standard first class stamps, bulk permits, or metered postage strips. Why not add a little style to your mail by using one of the many limited edition postage stamps produced by the United States Postal Service on a regular basis? The USPS limited edition stamps feature beautiful graphic design, quality four-color printing, and are often printed in an attention-getting, oversized format. It’s a simple way to make your mail special.

I have used a different special edition stamp on many occasions over the years. I also used them on my personal correspondence.

This simple idea makes your firm look creative. Limited edition stamps can provide a ‘smile moment’ for the person receiving them — and they look like you care enough to provide the extra effort to send one. Almost everyone enjoys seeing the special edition stamps for the first time. Of course, it’s not the kind of idea that’s going to cause your sales to jump 5% next month, but it’s still worth the extra effort if you believe, like I do, that every action we take provides an opportunity to make a favorable impression on our customers.

John

A Few Rules For Creating Effective Posters

These are a few rules in creating designs as well as in the actual poster printing.
However, while there are little personal rules that one can adopt for oneself, there are a few notable professional cardinal rules that almost all designers should actually follow. In this special tutorial article, I will teach you the most notable rules that you should know. Make sure that you remember these rules if you want your color posters to turn out as professional looking as you want them to be.

1. The larger the better – This is a simple enough rule to follow. Larger size is better. That is why most professionals print posters that are as large as possible for their purposes, and you should do this as well. Larger ones are not only impressive looking, but they are also more highly visible even from afar. This means that larger posters have a larger reach and a greater impact all the time. Always aim for the largest implementation of your design. It will always be well worth it.

2. The more the merrier – Another rule that you might want to know is that the more you print the merrier you will be with the results. More posters of course mean more locations where you can deploy your prints. You can cover a lot more locations with those numbers, giving you the best chance of really communicating with your target market. It is best to always budget to get the most number of your outputs. Believe me, all that would be worth it when you get the returns from those extra prints.

3. Less is more – When it comes to content, the cardinal rule is less is more. While such can indeed hold a lot of information, too much information with lots of graphics can sometimes be too much. It is important for you to realize that it is best to have the most concise content with the simplest but artistic kind of picture or color design. This should help you get a cleaner and more organized look instead of these confusing ones with too much textures and pictures without really having REAL effective content.

Effective Poster Design

4. Know thy readers – In developing effective designs, it is a cardinal rule to always know about your readers. More specifically, you must know their preferences in terms of images and content, as well as the language that usually will be more appealing to them. The more you know about your potential readers, the easier it is to improve and adapt your designs. Do not go for printing without really knowing about your audiences intimately.

5. Pay for the best materials always – Finally, like all other prints, it is best to always pay for the best materials. The better quality the materials, the better those designs will turn out. The glossier and thicker is better really. So try to really spend as much as possible.

Great! Now you know the most important and notable cardinal rules in printing and design. Take all of this to heart and try to do them when your own turn in poster printing arrives.

Pine Press Printing & Mailing delivers. Guaranteed!

Pine Press Printing your friendly hometown printer in Lexington, SC 29072

803-359-9162

Stay in Touch with your Clients

Stay in Touch with your Clients

Don’t let anyone drive a wedge between you and your valued customers.
Your customers are feeling pressure like never before.  Many are concerned and looking for any help they can get.  They are looking to cut costs anyway they can.  So now is the time to stay in touch with them.  Your customers may have been loyal for many years but if someone comes in front of them and you have neglected your relationship they may be tempted to give this new attentive vendor a try. Don’t let this happen to you.

One of the best ways to stay in touch is with a newsletter.  There are many forms of newsletters, from the very simple to the very elaborate.  A client of ours that sells a premium product stays in touch with their customers through a regular mailing of a simple  newsletter.

Another fine way to keep in touch is with postcards.  Postcards are quickly and easily read.  There is no need to open an envelope.  Their postage is less than a letter and there is no stuffing and licking involved.  Lori and I will leave them on the dinner table for the other one to read. You wont catch me tossing a Kohls or Lexington Arms postcard, before she has had a chance to see it!

In addition to using postcards on a regular basis to promote seasonal or special events, postcards can be used to thank customers for business. You can get a stack of postcards made for your business and keep them handy to send out after a job is completed, sending a handwritten note saying “thank you”.
Contests are another was to stay in touch and help you be top of mind with your customers.  One of our clients uses a postcard to announce a contest that he has each year about this time rewarding all his customers with an opportunity to win a vacation get away.  What a great way to stay in touch and say thank at the same time.  And all for a little more than a quarter in postage.

At Pine Press Printing we have the ability to meet what ever you want in terms of newsletters or cards.  We can produce short runs digitally or print thousands of newsletters, all economically.  We have templates of pre-designed cards that we can personalize and even address the envelopes for you.  Or we can custom design something that you want done if you have a vague idea of what you want or if you have a clear idea in your mind.

When you want to stay in touch with your clients, remember Pine Press Printing is here to help
.
Pine Press Printing & Mailing delivers. Guaranteed!

Pine Press Printing your friendly hometown printer in Lexington, SC 29072

803-359-9162

Small Business Branding 101

Small Business Branding 101

In the world of small business marketing, certain terms are thrown around quite a bit – so much so that they become cliché rather than tenants of a solid strategy. You’ve heard them before, terms such as “think outside the box,” “something catchy” and maybe the phase “branding”. Despite its overuse at Monday morning meetings, it’s worth reexamining what branding is really about.

As a small business, never gloss over the power of branding. The reason is simple. Branding is the foundation for top-of mind-awareness. It’s the thing that allows customers to remember you despite their daily exposure to thousands of competing marketing messages.

So let’s start at the beginning. What is branding? Branding is simply the consistent means by which you communicate the services, products and ideals of your organization. It’s your identity—the DNA of your business. With proper implementation, branding will highlight key differences that separate you from other businesses in your city, sector and industry. This is vital for those who operate in highly-competitive arenas such as: retail, finance, automotive and so on.

Here are three simple concepts that can galvanize your branding strategy:

No. 1: Know your audience. Successful branding begins with the customer. The projection of your brand should be predicated on the needs, values and lifestyles of your collective audience. All too often companies possess "personalities" that are inconsistent with their customer base. So before launching into an ad campaign, do a little research. Ensure the projection of your company’s identity resonates.

No. 2: Having the right tools. Cramming more and more verbiage into your ads is not the solution for visibility. It’s going to take mnemonic tools to get things to stick. Here are some examples of things you can use to bolster your company’s brand: a jingle, logo, tagline, company colors, a mascot, spokesperson and so forth. Let’s be clear, using one of the previously mentioned items will not magically result in branding; you’ll most likely need several simultaneously. And most important, they will have to be used consistently.

No. 3: Commitment. This may seem like an easy one but you'd be surprised at how many businesses fail to solidify a brand due to a lack of consistency. This is the most critical concept for small business owners when evaluating branding.

Things to remember:

• Don’t cancel ad placements if your phone doesn’t ring right away

• If your budget is limited, don’t “media hop"-- stay with one thing

• If using a jingle, feature it everywhere (radio, TV, on‐hold, Web)

• Don't change up your logo often

• When buying an ad ‐ budget for more than a couple of weeks

• Use your tagline every chance you get

All too often businesses “dabble” with ideas in full view of their audience with no real commitment to a core message or theme. It’s better to consistently run with an average commercial rather than sporadic airing of brilliant ads.


Pine Press Printing & Mailing delivers. Guaranteed!

Pine Press Printing your friendly hometown printer in Lexington, SC 29072

803-359-9162