Reflections Printing

Just as “Freddy” rises from the grave yet one more time, (or is that “Jason”?)  I have just one more tip to add to our poster project.  This idea will make a huge difference in how well your poster does in bringing people to your event. We will return one more time to our haunted house poster. After designing this poster I called my client up and suggested this (see picture below).

This is simply a business card size “mini flyer”. So now, as the client takes her posters and puts them all around town to promote her haunted house, she also leaves a stack of these business cards that people can pick up and use to get a discount.  So not only are they being exposed to the poster itself, they also can pick a few of these flyers up, (maybe even give one to a friend).  This way all the information leaves with them – they now have incentive to keep the card, as it will save them money – and it will be a great reminder as they come across it again in their pocket or purse. Obviously, the more times someone is exposed to your information, the more likely they will convert to becoming a customer.  My client. being a very savvy marketer, loved the idea – a win win for everyone!

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- A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for. ~ William Shedd

One of my earliest memories as a child was studying the monkey bars.  There was a way to go across from rung to rung without really letting go of one to reach for the next, and there was the true “monkey style” which was swinging from rung to rung – perhaps even skipping a rung to reach for a further one.  I was envious of those who were brave enough to swing – it seemed very daring to me.  Finally I screwed up the courage to try it, and wonder of wonders – I did it!

It is difficult to stray out of our comfort zones, (we might fail, and there might even be witnesses) yet we look at those around us who seem to effortlessly glide through territory that seems very daunting to us.  We have a choice to make – stick with safety or reach out for that next rung.  I am still not much of a risk taker by nature, but I have discovered that when I feal fearful, and out of my depth the best thing I can do is say to myself  “Hm, I feel scared – that’s okay (and nothing new) – I am going to move forward anyway – in small steps.”

Small steps are manageable and create momentum. I have been pleasantly surprised at what a difference they can make.  For example, the biggest client I currently have was acquired from one small step.  I was a vendor at a very slow trade show with not much traffic.  So, I decided instead of sitting there waiting for people to come to me, I would get up and network with other vendors at the show.  This was a scary step for me, I would have been much more comfortable staying right there in my seat than approaching perfect strangers, but I made myself do it anyway -  I limited it to only seven people, that was manageable, then back to my seat.  The one small step I took that day formed a relationship that has paid off in spades.

The common expression is “don’t sweat the small stuff.”  But my advice – going ahead and sweat the small stuff – push yourself and take those small steps. You never know – you could be swinging “monkey style” before you know it.

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I am self employed. I’ll bet there is a really good chance you are too.  My good friend the Digital Marketing Diva – aka Julie, posted some terrific information on her blog recently which I would like to recommend to you if you are self employed and/or work from home.  Here is a quote from her blog:

“Every person who works from their home should have a tax diary. This diary shows that you are working to make a profit. This is especially important if you are an independent contractor for any type of MLM, or network marketing company. It shows you are in business to make money; that you are not just a hobbyist who happens to make a few bucks.

A tax diary keeps track of WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHY you conduct business. Work can include calls to clients, business lunches, time spent paying bills, and of course time spent writing on your blog. It also includes thinking time while you come up with great digital marketing ideas, or research time spent to see if you want to be an affiliate for a certain program.”

Getting audited would be a nightmare.  Not having your information together would multiply the misery exponentially.  The Tax Man is just about the scariest monster I’ve ever heard of, how about you?  Read the rest of Julie’s advice here.

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This is so much fun I can hardly stand it.  My beautiful family.  Try it yourself!

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Okay, after a little break we will now wrap up our flyer/poster project!

I have just a few points to add.

1.  Think very carefully about your customer’s perspective and what is going to be most appealing to them.  Sell the sizzle, not the steak.  I am not saying to be deceptive, this is usually a matter of emphasis, for example  “John’s Expert Massage – I am trained in all types, I am very experienced!”  vs. “Shed Your Stress! Spend just one hour with John and you will depart feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.”  Can you see how different the two approaches are?  The former is you telling them about you, the latter is addressing what benefit is there for them. (Go with the latter!)

2.  Spice up your headline and copy if possible.  In my example here I changed the headline from “How to Create an Effective Poster” (yawn) to “How to Create a KILLER Poster” (I know I have this scary theme going on, but what can I say? Halloween is coming!)  You want to try to come up with some wording that will create a emotional reaction, that will get more attention.

3.  Be sure you have a “call to action”.  In my example, I want them to “visit our blog”.  Maybe you want them to “call now”, or “stop by and see our new widget”.  And, of course, be sure to include your contact information.

4.  Don’t go crazy with your colors either.  See the example – I used black and red – throwing a bunch of random colors in will create a chaotic look. (We already discussed this in regard to fonts and artwork in earlier posts, but the same is true of color – less really is more.)

5.  Get some feedback.  Show it to a few people and get their feedback – they may catch something or have some great suggestion  you haven’t thought of.

Well, that about covers it!  By the way, the info in this series of posts is going to apply to most graphic projects, it is not really limited to just posters and flyers.  If you study and apply these general principles they will take you far in improving and evaluating your next design project.  Let me know how it goes!

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Is the back side of your business card bare? I can think of only one good reason it should be, and that is that you need to write on the back a large percentage of the time when you hand them out.

I charge exactly the same price to print both sides of a business card as I do to print one, other printers may charge slightly more – but you are getting twice the marketing space – use it!

Suggested content for the backside of your card:

1.  If the front of your card is getting crowded or busy then put some of your info there.

2.  List your services or products.

3.  Put your mission statement.

4.  Put a referral incentive there (i.e. give this card to a friend and receive a free widget or discount on your next service, etc.)

5.  Put your favorite quote on there (business appropriate of course).

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I recently spotted a billboard which has a message which encapsulates a great concept – (see, I have included a picture below.)  The idea is your printing, advertising, etc. really needs to work hard to amplify your success – that is it’s job. (Sometimes graphic designers forget this, it is easy as an artist to get caught up in creating “artsy stuff”.  That is all very well, but pretty pictures may not sell your product!)

A business owner won’t always hire the prettiest applicant for the job (tempting as it may be) he hires the one that is qualified to get the job done. It might be helpful to evaluate your marketing materials from time to time the same way you would your employees.  Ask yourself some of these questions:

1.  Is my employee past her prime? (Are my materials up to date and fresh looking, or do they look old fashioned and boring?)

2.  Is my employee trained to do their task most efficiently. (Do you have the right content presented in a way that is easy to absorb by your customer?)

3.  What is the history of this employee? (Have they been successful in the past, if not – why?, if so – why?)

4.  Does this employee present the image I want to project for my company? (See, looks do factor in here to some degree!)

5.  What kind of feedback have I received about this employee from my customers – how can he improve? (You may want to ask your clients directly for feedback  – what is memorable? what stands out? A fresh perspective can be very valuable, especially if it comes directly from your target market.)

Depending on how you have answered these questions you might have to “fire” your current printing/marketing/advertising materials if they are not performing to your expectations, or perhaps you only need to freshen them up and revise – just make sure they are pulling their weight and doing their job.

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Now let’s talk a little about contrast. Flyers, and posters are especially designed to catch your eye from a distance.  They are usually posted up in a window or on a bulletin board.  Someone is walking by, they glance at it for only a fraction of a second, if we have done our graphic design job well, what they see will interest them and then they will come for a closer look.  The more contrast you have between your text and graphics and your background, the better your chances of capturing their interest.

Your best contrast is going to be black on white or white on black, of course.  Let’s take another look at our “scary” poster.  I wanted the all text at the top to be readable from as far away as possible, so I made the very top text white, but I wanted the “Horrors” to be in red.  Instead of just using red by itself and losing some of my contrast, I put a white outline behind the red which makes it “pop,” or gives it extra contrast, (see the example below on the left.) Notice, I did not try to make the whole poster readable from a distance, I am putting my money on the word “Horrors” as a hook to pull someone over to find out more, that is where the emphasis is.  The rest of the text is smaller because I want “Horrors” to be like a magnet for the eye – I don’t want the rest of my text to compete with it.

A tip for photocopying – I see a fair amount of flyers which have been photocopied black on red paper.  While red is a good color to stand out, it doesn’t give you very good contrast with black.  Try using a bright pink or other lighter fluorescent color instead – that will work better.

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The next two things to think about as you design your flyer are simplicity and composition. If you don’t address these issues correctly you will lose your potential client’s interest immediately, or you will never get it in the first place.   Subconsciously people’s eyes avoid copy that is busy and/or overwhelming, they don’t even realize it they just block it out, and you’ve lost your chance before you even started.

Simplicity involves the “KISS” rule.  Keep It Simple Stupid, (which my good friend digitalmarketingdiva covered in her recent blog in regard to digital marketing here.)

Think carefully about what you need to say and trim your copy down to the bare essentials – you are not trying to tell your whole story here, you are just giving enough of the facts to get them to contact you or attend your event.  PLEASE, I BEG YOU, resist the idea to put in more than one piece of clip art or use more than two different fonts.  This is a common mistake inexperienced designers make.  It seems more “designerish” to use lots of different elements – don’t do it.  One large piece of art is much preferred over several small. I would generally avoid borders also, they tend to close things in and make them look cramped.  (Think of how you feel when you walk in a house with vaulted ceilings, as opposed to low ceilings, see?)

People read from top to bottom and left to right.  Decide what is most important and put that at the top and make it bigger.  Decide what is next important and put that next.  Then put your artwork in.  Whatever is left to say, try to make smaller and put it at the bottom.  This composition is just a general rule of thumb, and you can play around with variations.

Small print is okay, if you can capture their initial interest it is more likely people will become intrigued and will look for more information.  Usually you will put this at the bottom.  Here (left) is a good example of a great simple poster.  It is eye catching and has some white space (breathing room).  On the right is a good example of a bad example.  Too busy, too many pictures, too many fonts, and poor composition.

Which one catches your eye?

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