You’ve likely heard this story before, but it’s one of my favorites, so I wanted to share again…

One day, a wealthy man, of a rather wealthy family, took his son on a trip to the country to show his son how poor people can be. On their way home, the father asked his son, “Did you learn anything from this trip?”

“I sure did,” said the son. “We have one dog, and they have four. We have a small pool in our backyard, and they have a creek that has no end. We have lanterns in our garden, and they have the stars at night. We have a small piece of land, and they have endless fields. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, and they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless. Then the boy said, “Thanks, dad, for showing me how poor we are.”

Here’s the way I see it: The world changes when we change our perspective. If you’d like help creating beautiful print materials that will ensure a great first impression, give us a call today!

While electronic marketing often steals the spotlight in today’s digital world, print marketing continues to be an effective and engaging way to reach your audience. Here are a few examples to grab attention with direct mail.

• Make your audience feel special by sending exclusive invites or coupons to your top customers.


• Use creative packaging such as oversized boxes, translucent envelopes, preview windows, or lumpy mailers to ensure your direct mail piece is opened amongst a pile of flat envelopes.


• Consider unique papers, such as a shimmery or velvety finish, waterproof options, or even a seed paper that your recipient can plant.


• Use direct mail to make an announcement, such as an exciting new product or service. Use your direct mail piece as a teaser that piques interest and follows up with a conversation to answer any questions.


• Ensure your direct mail piece is useful by incorporating a list of handy resources, a calendar, or a map, to extend the life of your mailer.


• Consider an oversized postcard newsletter filled with expert tips, tricks, and other relative industry information that will leave your audience asking for more.


• Address your mail by hand. A simple yet authentic handwritten gesture not only grabs attention but can help you connect with your audience on a personal level.


• Mail exclusive coupons, discounts, and other promotions that customers look forward to receiving.


• Double your impact by teaming print and electronic marketing together, such as sending a postcard to grab attention that directs recipients to a coordinating landing page with additional information and links to your contact information.

If you need ideas for the perfect direct mail piece that can help boost sales and awareness, our creative team would love to help. Give us a call today!

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Loyalty stamp cards or punch cards are an affordable and creative way to boost sales. Not only do stamp/punch cards encourage first-time buyers, but they also increase repeat business from loyal customers, and are a great way to let customers know how much you value their business.

Because filling a stamp/punch card typically results in a valuable reward (such as buy ten pizzas, get one free), they also have a higher perceived value than a traditional paper coupon. You can easily double the impact of your card by printing your business card on the backside or use the space to promote an upcoming promotion or new product.

Unlike more complicated digital rewards programs, punch or stamp card loyalty programs are easy to teach to your staff. They merely need to know which purchases earn a punch, how many punches a card should include to get the free item or discount, and what the item or discount is. You can also create a special incentive, such as “Two Punch Tuesdays” to boost the popularity of your loyalty card on specific days.

If you need help creating the perfect stamp/punch card your customers are sure to love, remember, other printers may be nearby, but nobody comes close!

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Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much information for criminals to take advantage of people, using the information we make readily available online. Here are a few examples of information you should never share online:

• Never share your current location. By giving out your location, you are telling potential thieves that you are not at home. This can be especially dangerous if you are on vacation and won’t be home for days. Instead, wait to post vacation photos and a recap until you arrive back home. You can also disable Facebook location tracking to avoid accidentally checking in and sharing information you don't want to.


• Do not share your phone number online. Consider using a Google Voice phone number as a go-between, instead of your personal phone number.


• Avoid making your relationship status public. For example, if you change your status to single, you are letting people know you are more likely to be home alone.


• Avoid providing your full birthdate. While many people love getting birthday wishes on social media sites such as Facebook, posting your full birthday can provide scammers a key piece of information needed to steal your identity and open accounts in your name.


• Avoid posting photos of your children tagged with their names. Even if you have your privacy set to “friends only,” it is possible that a friend’s phone could get lost or stolen, and your social media posts could fall into the wrong hands. To be safe when posting, assume that everything is going to be public, and avoid posting anything you don’t want the world to view.


• Don’t post photos of event tickets, since many have a scannable barcode that can be printed or fraudulently copied on to a duplicate ticket. Also avoid sharing photos of boarding passes, which can have personal information and information about your frequent flyer account. With ticket information, someone could change your seats, cancel future flights, and more.

If you’d like helpful tips in regards to your important print projects, we’d love to help! Email or give us a call today.

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