Your Print Marketing 3-Step Rule

Every print marketing piece should have an end goal in mind. Depending on the type of marketing piece, these goals can range from simply building name recognition to creating curiosity and ultimately generating sales. The next time you find yourself struggling to create print marketing that will get noticed, remember these three steps to maximize your effectiveness: Step 1: Grab attention. Start by getting your reader's attention. Remember this must happen from the initial glance at your promotional piece. Try using a bold headline, graphic, photo, or marketing claim. Choose something that encourages viewers to take a moment to read your marketing message. Step 2: Create interest. Provide teaser information that will engage prospects and entice them to learn more. Teaser information could include an announcement about exciting new products or features, a current or upcoming promotion, or anything else that will persuade customers to learn more. Step 3: Engage the reader.  Provide a call to action for readers who have taken time to read your marketing message. This could vary from prospects who simply want more information to those who are ready to make a purchase. Provide a website address, phone number, directions, or other contact information that makes it easy for prospects to get in contact with you about your product or service. Consider creating a website landing page that is specific for the highlighted product or service. A landing page can not only make it easy to track interest generated from your promotional piece, but it can also make it easier for the reader to learn more without losing interest wading through an information-packed website. Our creative team specializes in creating marketing pieces that will get noticed and remembered. Give us a call today if you need help or ideas for creating the perfect marketing piece that will increase awareness and boost sales.

There is No I in This TEAM

You may be surprised to learn that Richard Branson, the famous and sometimes brash entrepreneur, when speaking about his many companies or successful ventures, rarely mentions "I" and always refers instead to "we." Why? Because he knows that his success has been due in large part to a team, each of whom brought a certain strength to turn the vision into reality.

There are three essential characteristics of any successful business: A Product or Service -- You must be able to make or provide a fantastic product or service. Marketing -- You must have a great story and be able to sell your story to the market. Financial Management -- You must be a smart money manager and reinvest the cash wisely. Since each of these skills requires a vastly different mindset, no single person can do all of these with any degree of high expertise. The most successful businesses have all three of these skills spread among their team. The long-term success and viability of your business depends on these three areas. Therefore, it is vital that you have the best-qualified hires for each skill. Whether you're a micro business or a global brand, the success and growth of your venture depends not only on making the correct hire but also on getting out of the way and letting the experts manage what you hired them to do. Both of these skills are critical to the long-term success of your company. One does not work well without the other. Your company may not be the size of Richard Branson's companies, but the lessons of hiring the best possible candidates and giving them the necessary space to manage their parts of the business are lessons that apply to all successful enterprises.

Marketing Tips from Animals Pics

When it comes to marketing, we can learn a lot from photos of adorable animals. Here are a few key tips to take away the next time you catch yourself oohing and aahing over an adorable fuzzy kitten or roly-poly puppy:

Have you ever noticed how adorable animal photos have a knack for engaging a wide variety of people with various interests? While marketing is most effective when aimed at a targeted audience, you should strive to appeal to a variety of personalities within your audience. Photos grab attention and have the power to invoke emotion. The sight of a baby animal can easily warm the heart of most people. Think about the photos or imagery you use in your next marketing campaign, and focus on the emotions your selected images will create for your audience. Consider using humor whenever appropriate. Have you ever seen a hilarious photo of a cat and felt the need to show others so they can laugh with you? The same is true of humorous marketing. By sharing something funny, WE also become funny by association. Just as people love to share adorable photos with others, be sure to create your marketing materials so they are easy to share. For example, create a durable mailer that includes a coupon for the recipient and one to share with a friend. Add a link to your web-based promotions to recommend friends, and consider a reward for those who pass the word. Include a "share" option to make your message easily available for friends or family who may be interested. By making your message easy to share, you can empower your audience to do the selling for you. If you need more ideas for creating marketing materials your audience will look forward to receiving, give us a call today!

Flash Sale Marketing Tips

Flash sales have become one of the marketing industry's hottest new ways to not only grab attention but also boost web traffic and create front-of-mind awareness. While email is typically the key driver of flash sale campaigns, social media is a close follower. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your next flash sale marketing campaign:

Create urgency with a short time window for your sales. These can range from a few hours to a day or two maximum. The longer customers put off buying, the less likely they are to make a purchase. Studies show that flash sales with a three-hour window have the best transaction-to-click rates. Most purchases are made within the first hour. Be sure your inventory is adequate for a flash sale, and alert customers if supplies are limited. Consider a flash sale with an open-ended coupon promo to increase foot traffic. For example, you might offer a $150 salon coupon for only $75 from 11am-1pm. Use multiple avenues to spread the word quickly. These may include email, texting, mobile coupons, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social sites. Encourage recipients to share or forward your message to their friends. Create an attention-grabbing subject line or header, and follow through with a concise message that communicates the necessary details of your sale. Consider sending a reminder. Light a fire under the feet of customers who are interested but dragging their heels, and remind them that your offer expires soon. Remember that timing is everything, so determine the best times to blast your recipients. The most common times for a flash sale revolve around lunch or evenings, making the sale accessible to buyers who work during the day. Monitor your social accounts closely during a flash sale, since customers will want immediate answers to any potential questions or concerns before the sale expires. Consider mailing postcards for big weekend flash sale events to grab attention and give customers a little extra time to prepare for your sale. For example, grab attention with an oversized postcard that says "Save 40% off everything in our store for four hours only on Saturday!" Consider offering a live online counter to show how many "deals" have been purchased. Popularity sells, so if XX other people thought it was a good deal, many others will think they need to buy one, too. Suggest that shoppers follow you on Facebook or Twitter to ensure they don't miss out on your next exciting sale!

Be a Real Partner

Business used to be much simpler. The formula for success was to provide value, convenience, and great customer service, which in turn led to referrals that became new clients. This tried and true cycle kept the business world moving forward.

Somewhere along the way, however, the rules seem to have changed, and the apple cart has been upset. To win business today, you must provide more than value and customer service. Change is an inevitable part of life and must be dealt with. Change can lead to transformations in which we are active and willing participants, or change can occur despite our best efforts to stop it. In these cases, the outcomes are not necessarily in our power. An important part of transformation and evolution is to learn from the past. This is a great time to review the past year and make decisions about changes that need to be made for a successful new year. Reflections On the Past Year Was 2012 a success for you? If not, where did things go wrong? -- Did you have enough sales opportunities? -- Were you presenting the right solutions for your prospects? -- Did you learn enough about your clients and their needs in order to implement the right solutions for your clients? There are no right answers here, just honest introspection. Resolutions For the New Year To make changes for a successful 2013: -- Know what goals your clients have for their businesses. -- Help them achieve their goals with the solutions you have to offer. To be as successful as you would like to be in the new year, you need to accomplish one important task: look for ways to make your clients achieve their goals. When you can do that, you have aligned their goals with yours. You have become a true partner in their success. This can go a long way in making your new year the best ever.

Repurpose Marketing Content

Repurposing content is often one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to create an abundance of creative content, while at the same time extending the shelf life of your current marketing investment. Here are a few tips to help you creatively repurpose marketing content: Combine related blog posts on specific topics into an e-book. Add content as needed to make it flow smoothly from one post to another. Convert PowerPoint presentations into videos by adding animations, background music, or a voice-over. Maximize exposure by posting your videos on YouTube and sharing links via social media, your website, email, direct mail, and other marketing tools. Turn publications or articles into podcasts by simply reading them aloud or having a narrative conversation about a topic of interest. Create a company history timeline highlighting the stages and evolution of your business. Include news releases, company posts, social media announcements, and articles about your company. Review unconventional content as well, such as an employee handbook that may include an introduction from the president outlining the company's vision or a well-written summary of your target audience meant to educate new employees. Archive your news releases in a "news" section on your company website to increase ongoing exposure. Reuse parts of press releases, case studies, white papers, and other publications. Pull key quotes, stats, facts, and highlights, then use those materials in brochures, newsletters, blog posts, website pages, and email campaigns. Create a landing page or microsite using in-depth product pages or articles that you've already written. No matter how you repurpose your content, just remember that the more content you create, the easier it is to generate interest, educate and inform prospects and customers, and increase sales.

Defining Values, Mission, Vision, & Goals

With the new year beginning, many of us will be revisiting that time-honored tradition of planning for the new year. As part of the planning, we need to define what we want to accomplish. In order for our plan to be complete and comprehensive, we need to start with four elements: Values Mission Vision Goals Many people have a tough time determining what values, mission, vision, and goals really are. Everyone knows they should have them, but most of us aren't sure what each of these elements actually is or how they differ from one another. Let's end the confusion today! Values are the qualities you stand for. Mission is how you intend to change the world around you. Vision is how you see yourself or your business in one year, two years, five years, or even longer down the road. Goals are the outcomes you want to achieve over the next week, month, quarter, or year. That's it! Of course, you could write whole books about each of these topics, but that's all you need to start with. Complete these four objectives, and you'll be well on your way to making your dreams a reality.