How To Promote Your Business With Calendar Printing

Despite the fact that we live in an age of technology, many people still like to have a calendar on their desk or wall so that they can keep track of appointments. It’s much easier to just pencil something in as it comes up than it is to boot up a computer, open a program, and make a note. So, it’s not surprising that printed calendars are still popular. If you are a business owner, you should take advantage of that popularity. So, here’s how to promote your business with calendar printing.

Pick a Printing Company:

There are many professional printing companies available. A quick search of the Internet will give you dozens, or even hundreds, of results. However, not all printing companies offer the same options, features, or prices. So, you need to pick one according to your needs and your budget.

Start by determining how many calendars you need. Some printing companies will give discounts on larger orders. So, if you are ordering your calendars in bulk, choose a company that has that sort of offer. Some companies also offer free shipping on larger orders. You should watch for those deals as well, if you want to get the most advertising for the least possible investment.

It’s also important to pick a printing company that offers the type of calendar that you want. Are you looking for a small desk calendar, or a large wall calendar? Would you like some of each? Those are all good questions to ask yourself, as you are choosing a calendar printing company.

Consider Your Calendar Images:

?You also need to consider your calendar images. You should try to customize your calendar to appeal to the majority of your clients. So, ask yourself whether your clients are business executives, or more casual. Are your calendars going to primarily wind up in offices or homes? What ages and genders are you trying to appeal to? Once you have those answers, you can choose a theme and photographs for your calendar. Your chosen printing company may offer such images, or you may have to supply them.

Make Your Calendar Handy

You should also make your calendar handy. For example, be sure that there are big enough blocks that each of your clients can write in their appointments. Clients won’t look twice at a calendar that has no room for them to write in their schedule. Large blocks will encourage use. The more your clients use the calendar, the more they will look at your company’s name, logo, and contact information.

Make Your Information Memorable:

The most important thing to remember about custom calendar printing is to make your company’s information memorable. Be sure that the company’s name, logo, and contact information are prominently displayed. You may also want to include a catchy saying that will make your clients think of you. Many people will also display their calendars in such a way that their friends, family members, and business associates will see them. So, the more memorable your calendar is, the more clients it will bring to you.

Featured images:

License: Image author owned
License: Image author owned
License: Image author owned

About the Author: Guest post by David Dobson – Using my 30 years of experience in the printing indusrty to pass on business marketing

5 Professional Business Gigs Your Company Is Missing

Every business owner knows that there are certain functions of their company that need to occur in order to survive. Most of these functions may vary from company to company, but there are some functions that companies either try to tackle themselves or completely ignore that can be damaging to their success. If you want your business to be successful, the following are five professional business gigs that you simply cannot ignore.

1. Transcription Services

Audio and video transcription is a professional service that most businesses overlook, but it can be extremely valuable to your company. Transcription services can be a great way to provide a hard copy of company or client meetings, brainstorming sessions or even audio notes that were taken about an upcoming project. Having a hard copy of these events can be extremely beneficial in case of technical errors or issues.

Transcription services can also be extremely beneficial for your company’s SEO efforts. If your company has a large amount of audio or video on your website, having these items transcribed and placing the transcription on your website can provide the search engines with the necessary keywords they use to rank your site. This can help improve your overall ranking.

The best part of transcription services is that you can generally hire a third-party company to do this for you instead of hiring a full-time (or part-time) transcriptionist for your company.

2. Copywriting Services

Content marketing has increased in popularity over the years, and without strong content, whether on your website or other marketing collateral, your company is not going to be very successful. Using a professional copywriter can greatly help your company.

A professional copywriter has the expertise to provide your business with the content you need to reach your audience. They provide a clear and concise message, and they ensure that the copy, tone and style of writing are consistent between all channels. Having clear and consistent content is a great way to strengthen your branding efforts, and providing error-free content shows your audience that you believe in quality.

There are plenty of freelance copywriters throughout the world that are ready and willing to help your business succeed, or you can always hire a full-time copywriter as part of your staff.

3. Graphic/Web Design

By now, you know just how important having an online presence is to your business. Today’s consumers are turning to the Internet to research products, services and companies before making a purchasing decision, and if your audience can’t find you online, your chances of earning business are slim.

Some companies take the cheap route and use a website design site such as Wix.com to create their business website. These companies choose from a variety of templates, add in their own copy and consider their website complete. While these boxed design sites are easy and cheap, hiring a real graphic and/or web designer is much more beneficial for your business.

Using a graphic/web designer allows you to create a site that is truly customized to your needs, and it will help you stand out from all the other companies using boxed websites. Your company can either opt to use a freelance graphic/web designer or hire one for your staff.

4. Community Manager

Social media has made a big impact when it comes to business marketing. Some companies have yet to jump on the bandwagon, and some that already have are still struggling to manage and maintain their site effectively. This is why it’s essential that your business hire a community manager.

A community manager is an individual (or a team of individuals) that is dedicated to maintaining and monitoring your company’s social media accounts. This person will set up all your company’s social media platforms, post regularly to these accounts and engage with your audience, perform customer service and make you aware of anything that occurs on these sites that could help or hurt your brand.

Having a community manager ensures that someone is constantly watching your online presence and communicating with your audience. It also keeps the rest of your employees from guessing who’s supposed to be monitoring these accounts and allows them to get back to, and stick with, their normal job responsibilities.

5. Blogger

Blogging is important to the online success of your business, and while some companies put the responsibility of the blog in the hands of the copywriter or community manager, you can also opt to hire a professional blogger to tackle this responsibility.

Blogging requires a certain writing art form that is different than other writing styles. Content needs to be engaging, concise and informative, otherwise it’s not going to be effective. Having a blog for your company is a great way to share your company’s knowledge and expertise and attract consumers to your company. Plus, it’s a great tool for search engine optimization.

Regularly changing the content on your website keeps the search engine crawlers coming back to your site. The more keywords these crawlers find, the better your site will be ranked. If you don’t change the content on your website often, having a blog attached to your website can help ensure that your website and blog remain highly ranked, increasing your visibility.

Having a blogger on staff can ensure that your blog is regularly updated and well maintained, and it can give your company an advantage over other companies that have yet to start blogging.

About the Author: Frank Simmons is a freelance writer and avid blogger. He writes articles that are informative and engaging and often focuses on business and blogging.

Top Tips To Start A Courier Business

Courier services are really relevant in today’s business world and there is a lot of need for a professional courier service. Setting up your own business is always a challenge and a courier business isn’t any different.

License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://officeimg.vo.msecnd.net/en-us/images/MB900387571.jpg

But with these top tips you can set up your own courier business and make sure all the important areas are covered.

Make Sure You Are Up For The Work

The best courier businesses are the ones that know what they are doing and that have the passion to deliver. Thus make sure you are up for the challenge and get some basic knowledge about the industry.

You need to know the positives and negatives and be prepared to work hard to gain reputation. Start Ups provides links to companies that can help you start your new business with some financial help and some of these companies will also provide you with great mentoring possibilities.

Do Market Research

All great businesses need to have done market research in their field to ensure they have gained enough clients. Look around to see what your customer base is and all the special services people are looking for. There is a lot of need for instance, for motorcycle courier businesses these days as well as the need for specialist couriers in antiques.

Proper market research will save you from setting up a business in an area that can’t handle a new courier service because it is already crowded with reputable service providers. It can also help you find that special niche area in which you can set up your business and really boost your business prospects.

Gain Good Reputation To Market Your Business

The best way to market your courier business and gain more customers is to ensure you deliver fast and safely. Thus always retain a good business code and give your customers a pleasant experience. It is essential that you always provide what you have promised; empty promises are the worst way to run your business.

You can start your business alone but if you run it with someone else or you will employ other people, make sure they are trustworthy as well. Train all your couriers well and ensure that they retain the same level of professionalism as you.

Get Proper Insurance

The most essential thing is that before you start working you get proper courier insurance. There are different types of courier insurances available so search carefully to make sure you choose the right one for your business. Carefully discuss these options with your service provider before purchasing the insurance.

As well as having multiple insurance options there are also differences in the vehicles that can be insured. Courier insurance at XYZ for example, can be purchased for motorcycles, vans and cars.

With the above tips you can be certain that you have all the relevant information to start your courier business or look into starting one. Make sure you do your research and look around for different options before you start up.

About the Author: Jill has experience in helping new businesses to set up. When she isn’t providing help for new entrepreneurs she loves to enjoy a quiet night with her two dogs and a glass of wine in her hand.

Have Fun While Promoting Your Business

Corporations engulf the business world with their high-profile meetings, money-exchanges and dealings. But what corporations, big and small, really need is a strong employee-employer relation. They need to work together and attract clients in order to escalate the market presence of their enterprise. Organize a corporate event for your employees and give them some hours of fun filled memories. Corporate parties are always black-tie events. A party can be filled with the mumble of soft chatter, sipping classic champagnes, or they could be thrilling and intoxicating to all senses as well as emotions from the joy of music to the fear of getting burnt.

Corporate parties need something unique and extraordinary. This helps employees and bosses to let loose and have a great time. Of course, some parties like Christmas and New Year need special ornaments and themes. A party needs the element of thrill and fun. That push to really make everyone bath in wonder and awe. But how do you make a corporate party consisting majorly of business talks so thrilling?

Getting creative with Music and Food

Parties are given a new dimension by the addition of music. A centre stage filled with 7 or 8 musicians playing jazz, blues and soft tunes on shiny gold instruments is the way to go. A dull talk can easily become a conversation of interest when soft music fills in the gap rather than dull mumble of soft chatter. An informal occasion may even allow acquiring rock bands. On the same lines, a barbeque might play extremely well in an outdoor party. The smokiness on the right day can make every gathering the topic of conversation for months. A barbeque should, of course, be reserved for small parties.

Acrobats and other Activities

A magnificent acrobatics show might give a new edge to the party altogether andguests will surely relish as contortionists and acrobats acquire appreciation from everyone. Also, competitive activities are a major hit at such parties. Any competition from embarrassing situations to bingo can have positive result for everyone. For parties with kids in them, sport activities can be the best way for everyone to let their hair down.

Fire Jugglers

Fire Jugglers define the word “Thrill”. A fire juggling and torch act can be a thrilling experience for the guests. This act achieves applause each and every time. Over the past few years, a few corporate companies have hired fire performers for their parties to highlight the name or the motto of the company, thus helping in creating a deeper impression to the guests’ memory.

Parties always require a festive atmosphere which can thrill and excite the guests in order to make the party memorable. Entertainment from any source goes a long way in helping the people get excited for work. Entertainment in a corporate party is the utmost necessity after the guests and food. All employees need a break to get their head around and the added dimension of thrill to any party is the best way to do it.

About the Author: Today’s guest post is written by Melisa Connery. She is a regular blogger and a budding novelist. She has written articles for many established magazines. Her last article was about the amazing Juggling Inferno fire performers and their life.

4 Common Mistakes For Social Media Business Promotion

If you have caught onto the fact that social media is an excellent way to promote your business but don’t seem to be hitting the highs just yet, perhaps it is time to readdress your marketing strategy. As with all advertising tools, there is a right way and many wrong ways to approach them. You can do far more harm than good if you steam in head first and pay little heed to good advice. Take a look at this article to see if your methods have mirrored any of these common errors.

The Hard Sell

We all know that your social media business page is there for a reason, but try not to overdo it. Your visitors are there because they enjoy the interaction and they just might put some business your way, but only when they are good and ready. If you find that most of your posts are about how great you and your firm are, don’t be surprised if they are rarely answered, if ever. You have to find some middle ground with your Facebook friends and try to make about 75% of your page about fun and interesting topics. The other 25% is plenty for your promotional needs and this will ensure that you still have some people to connect with.

Real Friends?

In real life you are pretty selective about who you choose as friends, you can afford to be a little less fussy on social media but try to avoid falling into the trap of buying friends. There are a number of websites that actually sell fake friends to individuals who have an inferiority complex about their buddy list. These people will bring zero value to your Facebook Fan Page and are probably not even real characters. Give this sad activity a wide berth!

Respond In a Timely Fashion

The name of the game is creating new and interesting connections, hopefully some of these will lead into a business relationship, but only if you treat everyone fairly. If you have answers about your page or your business, show some respect and answer them swiftly. If you ignore your friends they won’t hang around very long and just might turn into your rival’s new customers. Be approachable and always make your buddies feel at home on your Fan Page.

Mix It Up

Don’t spend all of your computer time hovering around your Facebook Fan Page, especially if it is empty for the time being. Socialise and make your presence known on other sites. Send out a few tweets and make new friends. If you spend some time on other profiles, they are more likely to return the favour someday. Try to allot at least ten minutes a day looking at other profiles and similar business pages. You can only improve your standings if you have a good idea of what everyone else is currently talking about. Nobody enjoys spending their time with a wallflower, so make sure you are here there and everywhere, as the Beatles once sang!

Any More?

If you avoid these 4 bloopers, you will increase the chances of making your promotional efforts worthwhile, there are plenty of other ways to alienate your potential customers but most of them are just common sense!

About the Author: Mark Thomas is an employee at CommercialSpaceToronto.com, which is an online portal designed to connect users who are looking for space and commercial real estate services. He enjoys testing his potential and he is very passionate about adventure sports.