Christmas Cards

It is almost the end-of-the-year holiday season. Time to be thinking about Christmas Cards.

Whether you send out customized or off-the-shelf cards, send them to business associates or friends or family, cards mean a lot at this time of year. In business, they help you keep in touch with your clients and prospects by letting them know you are thinking about them.

Some rules of thumb when it comes to cards:

• Consider a custom card. Your contacts are less likely to find it in a store or receive it from someone else. You are more likely to be remembered as well.
• Sign your cards personally. If you have a large number of cards, this could be an issue. You might consider dividing up the list between your colleagues in the office to make it more manageable as personal.
• Do it in a timely fashion. Aim to have them arrive two weeks to 10 days before the actual holiday so that they can enjoy the card as well as be able to respond. Cards that arrive in January will be remembered but for possibly the wrong reasons.

The Executive Pressman

Concepts of Basic Design

One of the critical things to think about when you consider doing a brochure, catalog or other printed communication is the design of the piece.

Let's call this Design 101: the basic concepts of design.

Consider these concepts when you are talking with your designer. After all, it is their language:

• Balance
• Rhythm
• Proportion
• Dominance
• Unity

Balance is the concept of elements (text, graphics, white space) within a given space (in this case, the printed page). Balance is either symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Rhythm speaks to the repetition or alternation of those same elements.

The size and relationship between elements speaks to proportion.

Dominance is the relationship of size and position between the elements: what is dominant in the design?

And unity is describes the parts and the whole of the piece.

If you speak the language, you will not only communicate clearly to your designer, you will also understand how you are communicating to your audience.

The Executive Pressman
*Thanks to Joshua David McClurg-Genevese; from his article in Digital Web Design Magazine (http://www.digital-web.com/articles/principles_of_design/)

Letterhead, Business cards and brochures

They are the basics of reaching out to your clientele:

• Letterhead
• Business cards
• Brochures

Your letterhead, even in this day and age of electronic communication, is critical. If you do invoices or formal printed proposals in addition to correspondence, you need letter head (printed and an electronic version). Your letterhead should include:

• Logo or recognizable header including your company name
• Street address
• Phone numbers
• Website and e-mails

Business cards play a similar role. While all of the contact information is there, the color and choice and placement of a logo is key to recognizable brand.

Brochures could fill a whole post just by themselves. However, the same rules apply recognizable as being associated with you and your company and with the rest of your communication.

The Executive Pressman

Business Cards

Let's talk today about one of the first elements of your brand identity that gets seen by your clients, prospects, partners and competitors.

It's your business card.

These days everybody has a business card, even those between opportunities. You must have the basics of how people can reach you:

• Name
• Address
• Phone
• E-mail

Then consider other things:

• A logo and or tagline
• A website or blog or LinkedIn address

Now that people can find you, consider appearance:

• The type of paper stock--weight, color, coated?
• Printed both sides or just one side?
• Standard shape or a dye cut shape?
• Printed horizontally or vertically?

It is the first line, but it is alos something that speaks after you are gone. Choose wisely.

ThExecutive Pressman

The office family

OK, it's Friday and the Pressman is feeling a bit lighthearted.

This is Rocco. He is the resident dog at our neighbor and partner's office, The Lamination Station. We share space with them to house our Canon Digital press. Rocco is kind, polite, but pretty much all business.

Why am I telling you this? Because people do business with people (and other office occupants) that they know, like and trust. Sure, Rocco is a dog, but it tells you something about the nature of how we do business. We want our clients to know that we like what we do, we enjoy our work and the atmosphere and want them to get to know it and like it, too. Being at ease with one's work is the key to a successful business.

We think we are a successful (and friendly) business. We like what we do.

So, stop by some time and ask for Rocco.

The Executive Pressman

Digital Press

The final piece of a printing capability in any effective print shop operation is a digital press.

Take for example our digital press, this Canon machine.

"With this machine we can do 4-color quantities of your project as small as one copy," Tom Sadler said. Tom is President and an owner of Executive Press.

"This press adds just the right element to our mix of machines and capabilities,"Tom continued.

The machine was added to the operation at the request of a client who did a large-volume, product manual printing on a regular basis. Since then, Tom said, its capabilities have been applied to work done for other clients.

"Short run, long run and specialized digital work really shines on this machine, Tom added.

When shopping for a printing look to see the breadth of their capabilities and if digital is a part of the mix.

The Executive Pressman

Newsletters--electronic and printed

Reaching out to your constituents--clients, prospects and suspects--is critical in today's business environment. that's pretty obvious.

While many companies are leaning on social media to make contact, most are forgetting the personalization and the directness of newsletters. While social media is an outreach, it is more "broadcast" in nature. Couple that with a directed outreach of a newsletter and you are building rapport and a connection with your audience.

Electronic newsletters are good in that they land on your target's computer desktop or phone in box. Good information shared quickly makes you memorable.

For a more traditional audience or to supplement the electronic and broadcast outreach, a paper newsletter distributed via U.S. Mail is every workable, affordable and effective. Studies show they are still widely read.

The bottom line is that you should consider a targeted outreach via newsletter to your constituents as a part of your marketing mix.

The Executive Pressman