Poster-like Websites: The Latest Rising Web Design Trend

Have you ever visited a web page on which the designer crammed so much information that it was impossible to find what you wanted? Or maybe you’ve been to a site on which the design was so stuffy, it dried up anything creative you may have been forming in your brain. One of the latest trends for solving these common web design problems is a layout that looks like a poster.

With poster printing, you have an engaging image or two, a headline, and only the necessary information so that interested viewers know where to go to find out more. I suppose some designers have recently asked themselves, why can’t websites be more like posters? Simple, engaging, and with clear instructions for visitors to find out more – this takes the overwhelming aspect out of websites as well as gives designers room to play with a more aesthetic layout. Here are just a few adaptations that designers have made to make websites look more like posters:

Tighten Up Your Marketing Tactics in 5 Easy Steps

Do you feel like your marketing just isn’t cutting it? If so, don’t get discouraged and give up. Marketing your business is a necessity you can’t afford to lose, and more than likely your approach just needs a little fine-tuning. So grab a pencil and paper and be prepared to take some notes while reading through the following 5 steps. Keep in mind your current marketing tactics and use these steps to easily turn your advertising around for good.

Design the Right Calendar for the Right Occasion

Even if you have an appointment calendar on your computer or mobile phone, it is nice to have a print calendar that you can hang on your wall or bulletin board. Paper calendars not only look nice, they are easy to use; all you have to do is grab a pen and write down what you need to remember. There is no waiting for the computer to boot up, nor is it necessary to remember to charge it. Below are several types of calendars and ideas for designing them to fit several occasions and purposes so that recipients can benefit from your gift.

Learn to Write Marketing Brochure Copy

Brochures are extremely valuable because they hold the same benefits as several areas of marketing, making them one powerful tool to accomplish several purposes. They have a collectible quality similar to business cards. They hold vital information you would include in a sales letter. And they showcase the best of your business like a poster. Follow these simple steps and you will have a brochure worthy of its potential. 

Brochures can be exciting
When you print brochures, you have the ability to sell your company with exciting photographs and bold graphics. Use this benefit with confidence. Graphics on the cover should be much more than a company name or logo. Use your imagination and grab the attention of potential clients.
 
But don’t forget to organize
You have a great opportunity to fill your brochure with all of the best aspects of your business. Put the very best information in the headings and in bold fonts. Your reader will look at the graphics first, the headings and captions next, and the content will be saved for last. For this reason, make sure that you have enough substance in your graphics and headings when you print brochures to make the customer want to read the content.
 
And make the content personal
Your reader will enjoy reading your brochure much more from their own perspective than from yours. Think about what the customer wants to know. Answer any questions that you have been asked by customers. Tell them how this product will improve their life. Try not to focus on all the details of your product. These may be very interesting to you but perhaps not so to the customer. When you print brochures, think about them from the customer’s perspective.
 
Never forget to include substance
Do not get carried away with technical terms. However, make sure that the meat of your company is in your brochure. Talk about what makes you better then your competitor. Point out all the wonderful aspects of your product and explain why it is great. When you go to print brochures, check all of your contact information to be sure it is correct. You may even want to place your phone and fax numbers along with your physical and web address on every page of your brochure.
 
Finally, sell your product
After you draw in your customers and inform them about your product, encourage them to take action. Give them a reason to order. Take advantage of print brochures by making a perforated order form or coupon. Give the customer a special deal or secret information in your brochure. And finally, make the ordering process effortless by clearly laying out the steps that the customer needs to take.

If done right, your brochure will prove an invaluable asset to your company and complete several marketing jobs at once. 

 

4 Tips for a Successful Sales Letter

The task of preparing and sending a profitable sales letter may seem daunting and unattainable. This does not have to be the case for those who take advantage of the tools available to them: write to the right set of people, use custom envelopes, and include order forms. With these few proven tips, you can create a sales letter that does the job.
 
#1 Keep your key audience in mind 
Write to the people who will need and want your product. For example, pet owners need pet medicine and parents look for children’s clothing. Once you have a letter fitted to your customer base, send it out only to those who fit that group. If you get a good response with this group, resend another letter at a later date. You should get another good response.
 
#2 Spend time on your custom envelopes
Studies show that custom envelopes can increase the chances of the letter being opened. Printing addresses directly on the envelope is proven to make the letter more interesting while handwritten addresses are opened the most often. Keep in mind the character of your business as these options may not be appropriate for all businesses. Do not use a sales pitch or fancy graphics on your custom envelopes. This sends the message that you are all about advertising, and the letter will get pitched before it is even opened.
 
#3 Make it easy for the customer to follow through
Give your customers options for ordering. A paper order form with a self-addressed envelope will create an effortless option for ordering. Also, make it clear that phone and online ordering are available for those customers who prefer it, and place your web address and phone number in clear sight. The goal of your letter is to sell your product to them. Don’t lose a customer because the process of ordering was confusing or cumbersome.
 
#4 Use the resources available to you
You can find programs to aid you in your efforts for a great sales letter. Using a template or pre-written letter will free you up to spend time on personalizing your letter, and will insure a professional outcome. Your consumers will trust you more if your letter and custom envelope are professional in appearance and wording, and trust results in a purchase.

 

Which Type of Promotional Calendar is Right for Your Customers?

A promotional print calendar is a great way to keep your business name in front of your current and potential customers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty-five days a year. Print calendars are versatile in format and extremely cost-effective, making them an ideal marketing giveaway. But which type of promotional calendar is right for your customers? Knowing what’s available will help you to better choose a format that meets your clients’ needs.

A promotional print calendar can be customized to virtually any print format you can come up with including: 
 

Some Little Known Facts about Memorable Business Cards

The goal of any business card is to be handily available when someone needs what you are selling. In order for a current or potential customer to find your card when they are ready to make an order, they first have to remember it and have kept it. So how can you make your business card memorable enough that people want to keep it around? Here are some little known facts about memorable business card printing pieces that will help guide you to design one of your own!

Print Beautiful Catalogs Using These Color Tips

Color catalogs look far more attractive than black and white ones, and so are more effective marketing tools. Just adding color will increase the appeal of your print catalog, but if you want to take your catalog to the next level, there are a few color guidelines that will help.

Be Consistent With All Publications
To reinforce product branding when printing catalogs, use the same color scheme in every publication and on all your signage and marketing materials. This is not to say all your photos in the catalog should have the same colors in them, but your cover page, logo, and order form pages should have the same color scheme.

Use Color for Impact
On each page of your print catalog, there should be one product that stands out. You can do this by having a monochromatic background that contrasts with the product you want to emphasize. For instance, you can emphasize a bright red coat by using a picture of a model wearing it on a gray city street. Using only a few colors per page also makes the spread look more attractive. If you were to use lots of colors inconsistently on the page, it would just look busy, and nothing would really stand out.

Use Colored Text Sparingly
Black text on a white background is the easiest to read. In your efforts to be creative, you must keep in mind whether or not your words are readable, because if people have to struggle to read your catalog, they are less likely to order from it. On the other hand, if you want to emphasize only a few words, this is one instance in which colored text is acceptable. For instance, you could put the word “sale” in red. If only a few words are in color, then they stand out much more than if the entire page is full of colored words.

Use Background Bleeds
Using background bleeds in your print catalog makes it look more attractive and professional. When bleeds are used in printing, the background color extends a little beyond the edge of the page. That way, the color extends all the way across the page and there are no white edges showing in the final printed product. Just remember that when you use this technique you need to keep your text and important images within your printer’s safety guidelines so they don’t accidentally get cut off during the trimming process.

Advertising 101

There are a lot of words thrown around that have similar meanings to advertising, so you might be wondering what advertising really is and if a specific definition really matters. Advertising is basically anything a business does to try to get consumers to have a positive view of their company or to get consumers to purchase their goods or services. There are four basic purposes for advertising.

Creating Demand
The objective for advertising is sometimes to create a demand for product or service. There are two types of demand: primary and selective. 

• Primary demand is the demand for a type of product. The Got Milk? ad campaign is an example of this type. The advertisers are merely promoting the consumption of milk in general, not a specific brand of milk. Unlike the milk example, primary advertising is usually done to promote a new product; in this case the marketer tries to create a demand for something the public doesn’t currently use.
• Selective demand is the demand for a specific brand of the product. Selective demand advertising kicks in once the new product has competition.

Promoting a Brand or Company
Another purpose for advertising is to shape the public impression of a brand or company. An advertisement might try to make a company seem reliable, cutting edge, or customer-oriented. The hope is that if people think the company is a good one, they will be more likely to use it rather than the competition. For instance, a printing company might have a commercial showing the bands it has helped make famous by completing quality poster printing projects.

Causing Action by Consumers
The desired action by consumers might be direct or indirect.

• Direct action advertisements call for consumers to buy this product or service soon. The ads do this by having limited time offers of special prices or packages. For example, a print company might offer poster printing at a reduced rate until a specific date.
• Indirect action advertisement is a lot like promoting a company. The purpose is to get consumers to have a positive view of the brand or the product a company makes. This type of advertising is aimed at building a customer base over the long run. 
   

Benefiting the Public
The purpose of some advertising campaigns is to promote public safety or well being. Campaigns that encourage people to wear seat belts are an example of this.  Another example is when regional forest reserves do a poster printing campaign to promote fire safety.

Now that you have a basic knowledge of advertising, you can better know where you should start with your advertising campaign. Your next step is to research specific advertising campaigns and hire professionals so that your advertisements can be as effective as possible.

Common Booklet Printing Mistakes

Booklet printing is a great marketing resource when you need more space to properly showcase your product than a brochure allows. There are a few design notes you should keep in mind when planning a booklet. Here is a list of some of the most common booklet printing mistakes to avoid.
 
#1 Too Much Text

All of that extra room can make your copywriters go a little crazy! You will need to watch for too much text added to use up all of the extra space. If you find this to be the case, edit the text and then, if there is too much white space, try enlarging the headlines and subheadings. Limit your text to what is needed.
 
#2 Page Malfunction

Missing pages or pages that are out of order are another unfortunate mistake of booklet printing. Be sure that you have a copy of the finished product to scrutinize specifically for consecutive page order.