An adroit mixture of everyday settings and extraordinary events.
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A compendium of strange-but-true recent events as reported in the legitimate press.
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The world of business and finance gets skewered, as Bottom Liners tackles subjects such as foreign takeovers, office policies, getting a raise, and the fast-paced world of Wall Street.
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A wry look at the absurdities of every day life.
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With a daily readership of more than 95 million, Dear Abby is the symbol of a caring heart for millions of people around the world.
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In today's complex world of family issues, learn from Dr. Dobson's lifetime of practical experience in dealing with family problems.
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Stand out in a pile of mail.
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Meeting Screen to Screen
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Autocomplete Me
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Info to Go
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A Message From ColorCraft Press |
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A Positive Attitude
We've all heard it before... if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Sometimes it's difficult to focus on the bright side of life, but here is a humorous story that may help you get stirring.
An elderly lady looked in the mirror one morning and saw three remaining hairs on her head. With a positive outlook, she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she braided her three hairs and had a great day. A few days later, she noticed she had only two hairs remaining. "Hmm, two hairs... I guess I will sport a trendy center part today." Soon she had just one hair left on her head. Smiling, she said, "Only one hair left... perfect for a ponytail." Finally one day she was completely bald. "How wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I won't have to waste time doing my hair anymore!"
Here's the way I see it: If you feel dog tired at night, it may be because you growled all day. If you can't change something, try changing the way you think about it.
While there are many things in life we cannot change, your printed materials don't fall in this category. If you need ideas on how to update your marketing materials, give us a call. We'd love to give your print materials a fresh, new look that you and your audience will love!
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Idea of the Week |
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Designing Direct Mail That Sells
If it sells, it is creative. This, in essence, is the first rule of direct mail design, according to legendary designer and author, David Ogilvy. But what sells? Here are a few tips to keep in mind when designing your next direct mail marketing piece:  - The basics are in your mailbox.
When you need inspiration, just go to your own personal direct mail idea vault... your mailbox! You probably receive tons of good direct mail each year. Set aside packages that catch your eye. The companies mailing these have spent thousands of dollars researching the best methods. Why not learn from their research?
- Always try to beat your previous response rate.
Play around with the design before sending the mailing out again. See if minor changes make a significant difference in the response rate. Send out different versions of your design to similar groups in your database, and test to see which one results in the most responses. Whatever you do, test it, and then test it again!
- Use words that grab the reader’s attention.
Here is a recent list of “Words that Grab Attention,” produced by Starch INRA Hooper Research Worldwide:
Announcing / Discover / Easy / Exclusive / Free / Guarantee / Health / Help / Immediately / Introducing / Know / Learn / Love / Money / New / Now / Powerful / Profits / Protect / Proven / Results / Safe / Save / Secret(s) / Today / Trust / Understand / You
As you design the mailer, remember... have fun!
See more great ideas like this!
Click here to visit the ColorCraft Press Ideas Collection.
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Marketing Tip |
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Communicating with Virtual Meetings
Virtual web meetings not only slash company travel costs, but they also boost employee productivity, enabling employees to spend less time traveling. While they offer savings and convenience, virtual meetings can often be boring, causing meeting attendees to tune out, surf the web, or check email. They can also be plagued with technical glitches. Here are a few tips to keep attendees engaged and interested during your next virtual meeting:
- Visually stimulate meeting participants with photos, colorful charts, and other relevant graphics to build interest and reinforce your subject. Save time by gathering all presentation materials or slides in advance.
- Offer a personal touch by including a photo of the meeting presenter on the cover slide. If attendees aren't familiar with others in the meeting, consider providing team photos of those attending.
- Provide a meeting agenda so attendees know what information will be covered during the meeting and are given the opportunity to discuss or add other topics at the end.
- Introduce yourself when speaking so listeners can reference you or your comments later if needed.
- Ensure your audience can hear you and ask them to please let you know if there is too much background noise, such as shuffling papers.
- Encourage participants to use public chat during meetings. This shows attendees that their opinions matter and allows them to provide feedback and insight without interrupting the speaker.
- Respect time limits. If your meeting is scheduled for one hour, be sure to allow time for questions at the end before wrapping up within the hour.
- Be prepared. Offer company-wide training sessions to provide key features, simple fixes, and account information so that employees have the necessary tools to succeed during their next virtual meeting. Include a cheat sheet with simple tips, such as how listeners can mute/unmute their phones or record the meeting.
By helping employees prepare for and drive successful virtual meetings, they will feel empowered to participate more meaningfully. If you'd like help preparing materials to help you communicate with your team, stop by today. Our creative ideas can help you boost interest and increase meeting retention.
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Tech Tips |
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Autocomplete: Love it or hate it?
Auto-complete is a browser feature that was first introduced by Microsoft Internet Explorer. It is designed to remember info you entered in previous text form fields with the same name. Today, many browsers offer the ability to remember information you've previously typed, varying from usernames and passwords, form information (name, address, phone number, etc.), email addresses (type in a few letters and you may receive choices to pick from), as well as websites recently visited.
When you start typing in a web form with auto-complete enabled, you'll see a list of previous entries for the same field that begin with what you've typed so far. You can select one to avoid retyping it. To see all stored entries, click in that field and press the down arrow key. To remove an entry that is outdated or private, highlight it using the down arrow key and press delete.
While auto-complete is a convenient feature that may speed up your web surfing or form completion, it may also compromise your security. In some cases, the data you enter may be sensitive, such as credit card information or a username and password when creating a new user. The security of your computer is important on both private as well as business applications.
Changing or clearing auto-complete settings is very easy. Internet Explorer users should click Tools, Internet Options, Content tab, AutoComplete. To disable a part, remove the check, to enable a part, place a check by it. To disable it altogether, remove all the checks. FireFox users can find the same types of settings by clicking Tools, Options, and then selecting the Privacy tab. Safari users, select Edit, Preferences, AutoFill, and check the desired AutoFill options. Chrome users should click Tools, Options, Personal Stuff.
If you're wishing your printed projects had an auto-complete feature, you're in luck! Our team of experts can run with your projects from start to completion and ensure a final quality product you'll love!
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Uncommon Product |
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Presentation Booklets
If you're looking for a way to add a memorable touch to an upcoming presentation, creative presentation materials are a great way to reinforce your message and keep key information front of mind. Presentation materials can vary from a simple handout stating key points to an in-depth booklet or binder with additional information. Here are a few tips on preparing presentation booklets your audience will appreciate receiving:
- Use printed materials to recap your presentation and provide additional details that may help the audience understand the subject matter in greater depth or answer frequently asked questions. This is especially helpful if you have a data-heavy presentation.
- If you have several printed items to distribute, organize them in a booklet, folder, or binder. In addition to presentation information, consider including your business card, brochures, and other relevant information.
- Use creative design to make your materials visually appealing while reinforcing your brand image.
- Prepare more copies than you think you will need to ensure everyone in your audience receives a copy. If you run out, be sure to get their contact info so you can send them a copy.
- Don't forget to include contact information should an attendee have questions following the presentation.
- Hand out printed materials at or near the end of your presentation to avoid competition for your audience's attention.
Remember that your presentation materials will reflect on your company image and your own professionalism, so take time to make them complete and professional. If you need creative ideas for presentation booklets, stop by today. We'll help get your creative juices flowing and ensure your print materials make a lasting impression.
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