How To Buy a Home Printer that Works with All Devices

Do you need a home printer? Isn't it a hassle to get home from school or work only to realize you need to print something?

Fortunately, buying a home printer isn't too complicated. There are a few things you have to keep in mind but we are here to clear it for you. Read our guide below to know exactly what you need and what kind of printers can meet your demands:


Type of Printer

Buying a printer for home use can get a little complicated. Unlike at an office, printing at home can vary. You might focus on printing documents but your children or siblings might need to print photos and stickers. 

Pick the type of home printer according to home usage.

If you prioritize text documents and you want something that can print quickly, consider getting a laser printer. These use ink toners, like this product, and binds the powder ink to the paper after running the image or text through an interior drum.

Do you often print photos and use all sorts of paper types? An inkjet printer is the better choice. They are slower when it comes to printing documents but the photo quality you will get is second to none.

The oldest type of home printer you can still find is the dot matrix, which produces low-quality output. There is no logical reason to get one of these. They can get noisy and are too slow to print even basic text documents.


Resolution

Figured out which type of printer to get? Don't buy the first one you see, even if it is in the right category. The next step is to determine the optimal printing resolution.

Nowadays, the lowest resolution output you'll find is around 600dpi (dots per inch). This means there are 600 dots of ink filling one square inch. For that resolution, you'll get great-looking documents and decent photos.

Some printers print photos at a solid 300dpi. This was once the industry standard but that's quickly changing. One of the rising trends nowadays is to print photos at 600dpi to 900dpi. 

However, you'll need something better if you plan to print stickers for a home business or if you need high-quality images for work and school. For consistent photo printing, make sure to look for a printer that can produce up to 1,200dpi.

Some printers can go above 1,200dpi but you won't notice the difference unless you print on large-scale materials. For a home printer that only prints on standard A4 and similarly-sized pages, you can stick with 1,200dpi.

Again, consider the size of the images you'll print and the capabilities of the printer you want. Laser printers often can't print at high resolutions but inkjets can.


Printing Speed

Let's get one thing out of the way: laser printers are lightning-fast. The best ones can print up to 25 pages of text documents in a minute. Keep in mind that this rate refers to printing at the lowest settings.

In comparison, an inkjet printing text documents at the same settings normally produces 8 to 12 pages per minute. If you're printing photos, you might only get to print one page per minute, depending on the colors and quality of the image.

To get a standard measurement and to guarantee you're looking at a credited print speed, make sure the printer you have features an ISO certification. The International Organization of Standardization provides a guideline all manufacturers must meet when testing for printing speed.

Keep in mind the volume of documents you intend to print. If you need to get more done in less time, a laser printer is an optimal choice. Otherwise, inkjets are better despite their slower pace due to the printing quality they provide.

Make sure you also consider printing speed when looking at portable printers too. These might not be your ideal home printer but if you need to print on the go, you don't want to get hung up due to their printing speed.


Connectivity

Learning how to buy a printer also involves proper connectivity issues.

In general, most printers offer a standard USB 2.0 connection. This should allow the majority of printers to connect to any laptop or desktop computer nowadays. If you use an OTG adapter then you could also connect them to your mobile device as well.

However, some printers that feature higher-end capabilities might offer a USB 3.0 connection. These allow for faster connections. 

Keep in mind that a USB 3.0 port can still read a USB 2.0 cable. 

Other home printers feature wireless connectivity. They might feature Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capabilities. This allows you to print without all the cables.

Why get a printer with wireless connections? It allows you to keep your printer in one spot and you can still connect to print, even if you're using a laptop in another room. It also means multiple devices can connect and you don't have to struggle with only one cable.

Some wireless printers can also synchronize with mobile devices. This works great for people who work at home and need to print files off their phone or tablet.


System Compatibility

While this might not be a big issue for some, it's still a good habit to make sure the printer you like works with your operating system. For most people, printers available in stores should work well with Windows 10, Mac, and Linux. 

However, you could still find a printer that only works with Windows 10 or requires additional device drivers if you want to connect them to Linux.

Always check before buying a printer to avoid headaches at home. If you want a printer that isn't compatible with your system right out of the box, ask a store assistant to help you figure out how to get it running.


Get the Best Home Printer!

Buying the best home printer is simple as long as you know what to look for. The good news is there are fewer complications nowadays compared to the list of compatibility issues from the 1990s. 

That said, buying and completing your home office or workspace doesn't stop with the right printer. 

You'll need more equipment to get tasks done. Feel free to read more of our guides here to discover how to get the best equipment in the market!

Direct Mail Ad Ideas For Bootstrapped Realtors

Real estate is big business no matter what the housing and property market are doing or if there is a recession impacting finances worldwide. There are still more than 87,000 real estate firms in the United States alone. This means every real estate agent or Realtor has tons of competition when it comes to attracting home buying and home selling clients. 

The more competition you have, the more creative you need to get with your real estate marketing ideas and ad campaigns. 

While digital marketing is important, it is expensive and getting more expensive in a lot of areas for Realtors. Direct mail marketing is a cheap and fun alternative that helps you reach new realty clients without going over budget. Snail mail actually stands out these days against the endless white noise of online marketing, spam emails, and PPC ads. You just need to make your campaign stand out as a real estate agent or Realtor. 

Here are a few creative direct mail ideas to help you make the most of your Realtor advertising campaigns. 

Invite Locals To Events At Your Office 

Boring advertisements that showcase your real estate agent services aren’t always effective. People tend to receive these Realtor postcards or flyer pieces in the mail and toss them without so much as a second glance. 

Instead of creating boring flyers, turn your next direct mail advertising campaign into an invitation. 

Host a meet and greet at your office. Invite people in your target area to get to know you and give them a reason to come to your office. 

This could be free food, a house concert with a local musician, or an informative presentation designed to help prospective homebuyers overcome the challenges they face. 

You can even partner with other businesses in the area to put together a bigger event that will help each of you increase your network and build new realty client relationships. 

Send Holiday Cards To Previous Clients 

Staying in touch with your previous clients is a wonderful way to earn referrals and recommendations. However, if you are like most real estate agents, reaching out without a reason can feel a bit awkward. Worse, it can leave your previous clients feeling confused. 

Save yourself the stress (and potential embarrassment) by sending them a branded holiday card as part of your direct mail marketing strategy. Keep things simple and lighthearted, but make sure your logo and contact info is clear on your design. 

You never know when they will learn that a friend or coworker is ready to look for a house. Your clients can use that holiday card much like a business card to pass your information to people who need it. 

Include A Branded Gift 

Whenever you send out direct mail marketing materials, you need to make sure your brand is easy to identify. The last thing you want people to do is glance at your mailer, shrug, and toss it away. 

Try to include a branded gift with everything you send out. This doesn’t have to be anything big. A magnet, pen, keychain, or letter opener is all you need to include. That way, they will still have something to remember your information by even if they throw out the mailer it came with. 

No matter what you choose, make sure the mailer design has easy-to-read contact information and shows your logo clearly. This will help them keep your name in mind anytime someone mentions looking for a real estate agent. 

Try These Creative Direct Mail Ideas For Yourself 

Getting your information in front of your target market can be difficult when you are working with a limited budget. Try these creative direct mail ideas and save money without sacrificing the reach of your campaign. Do what your competitors aren't doing and go against the grain with your advertisements.

Just remember to keep your contact information easy-to-read on every direct mailer marketing item you send out for commercial real estate or residential properties. 

Looking for more tips to help you streamline your marketing strategy? Check out our latest posts in the Marketing section of the Frugal Finance Blog.

How To Use Custom Postcard Advertising And Greeting Card Marketing

In our daily lives, we use postcards and greeting cards for varying reasons-mostly for official purposes or family announcement communications. Postcards are using in companies and businesses despite how small or big they are Depending on which size you prefer, you can settle for the small size of the large one. That said, every company has a different way to maintain a relationship and run businesses with their clients. For instance, one can choose to send custom postcards or greeting cards depending on the sizes. Why do we prefer postcards and greeting cards? 

1. You can easily access postcards and are also affordable, probably the best for marketing in the smallest businesses. 

2. Cheap to print 

3. It does not take more space; you can even carry them in your pockets and on doors. 

4. It helps one build their reputation from mailing postcards. This helps you and your business grow. 

5. When using the postcards, one has to open the entire envelope to view what's inside the letter. 

6. You can choose to use a unique code to track your postcards. 

7. You can quickly redeem your postcard. 

You can bring the postcard to the store at a discount by only displaying it; the code will be able to help you find out the order and the website. Cheap Postcards mostly used to exchange businesses, helping one save time, which makes things easier for individuals. This is the best way to expands and grow your business. Brochure Printing They are a highly essential thing necessary for information distribution about a company. By understanding the correct uses of a brochure, it helps you promote your businesses. 

Easy to Distribute 

If you take your time and visit an event, seminar, or the conference, you will always come across brochures with different information. This is one way to attract more clients since, and they are straightforward to distribute as well. Cost-effective If you are operating in a low-cost budget, then brochures are the way forward. You get the best services by professionals; you can even choose to buy them in bulk. Buying in bulk helps you save on money. Personalize your business Depending on the targeted audience, you can choose to edit the brochure to share specific information with the audience. You can save a lot from your budget by using cheap postcards and print brochures. They are very cost-effective printing methods to help you reach a broader audience. To expand your business, you should make use of these printing strategizes. Make sure you choose the best printing services following your budgets. This will help you make the best out of your business. Follow the point above keenly to ensure you have made the best out of your investment.

Postcards have become part of today’s advertising strategies. They are convenient and small enough. One way to get people to learn about a certain brand is to give out postcards. When you want to advertise certain services like hotel, gardening or spa services, you can use postcards A post card provides a convenient platform to do that. There are different means of distribution like mail or handing them out in the street. Whatever mode used, distributing postcards can be effective. When you have decided on printing postcards, you need a reliable printer for that. You need someone that understands what you want to get out of your postcards. 

Flawless products 

Mixbook one service that you can rely on for quality postcards that can be used for marketing or personal use. For 4x6 postcards, this is the service you need. With our high definition printing, you can be assured of quality products. We use offset printing for our products. This provides you with better products compared to some other forms of digital printing. With this kind of printing service you are guaranteed of flawless products. Your postcards will have that glossy look that is so hard to resist. Aesthetics plays a big part in advertising. People will always be influenced by the look of a product. If you want to make the most out of your postcards, the printing must be done right. Affordable When you place an order, then printing is done in 24 hours and the shipping is done the following day. This means that your deadline won’t have to be affected. 

The services are also affordable

Advertising can get very expensive. However, you can save money by using postcards to advertise goods or services. You can be sure that it will cost you a lot less than other forms of marketing. The more cards you order, the less the cost. UV printing is a good way to enhance the look of printed materials. This will give you an advantage when marketing your services. 4x6 postcards is one of the sizes you can pick from. If that doesn’t work for you then there are over 10 sizes that you can choose from. The point is to get postcards that will get the message across. With the glossy finish and the stylish graphics, you have the best way to advertise. Your postcards will get the best printing in the region. Your orders also get attended to as fast as possible. 

Printing menus 

There is also printing for menus. That is another way that you can get your business out there. If you have a restaurant business or some sort of eatery, then delivery menus should be something to consider. With these you give your customers the chance to order takeout whatever they are. For delivery menu printing, companies will provide you with what you need. The offset printing allows for larger font. Your customers won’t have a problem reading from the menus and placing their orders. Talk to us for the best option in online printing. It has never been this easy to advertise.

How To Get Leads With Real Estate Brochures

Marketing is vital in any industry, but there are very few professions that require as much engagement with it as real estate outside of those in marketing roles. That's because sales is all about marketing, lead generation, and cultivating relationships. A big part of that is setting up a wide net approach to finding customers. That means being on top of new digital marketing methods and the technologies that support them while doing your best to produce high quality work in legacy advertising channels that are still very popular. 

Among all these resources, nothing is as important to your ability to scale marketing efforts as an informative brochure or flyer that directs customers to the right resources for future information. If designed correctly, the same document can be used online and off, in direct mailers, and adapted for bill postings in appropriate venues. That's a lot of exposure opportunities for one design. 

Not all real estate brochure templates are built with that versatility, though, and there are also good reasons to design documents to a specific purpose. Either way, effective print ads are essential to your success and easy to adapt to your digital marketing efforts for further use. 

Establishing Your Name With Print Coverage 

Print marketing is especially important for new agents, despite the industry's emphasis on high tech tools like customized apps and email lists. For many customers, the path to those digital resources runs through your brochures, flyers, and billboards. Flyers for new real estate agents need to convey a few important details, since you can't rely on name recognition yet: 

• Your role, whether it is a buyer's agent, seller's agent, or both 

• The broker or realty company you work under 

• The property types you specialize in 

• Your coverage area 

• Contact information, preferably both email and phone 

• Your website address 

Additional information is always helpful, but be wary of loading up too much data without enough clear communication. Adding a Twitter or Facebook profile is often a good move, but if you have a page of nothing but contact methods, prospective customers might get lost in it instead of identifying the clear path to more information they need. You can help avoid this by messaging around each of those pieces of contact information to provide context for the action. 

• Follow on Twitter for news and market updates 

• Get on the mailing list for regular updates 

• Call today for help selling property 

• Download the app to browse current listings 

All of the above action lines are useful to initiate engagement, and they also help customers sort out which method of contact suits their purposes at this time. That empowers them, making it easier to act. 

Measuring Your Success 

Each of your print ads should have a single clear goal, whether it's conversions to the email list, initial contacts via phone and email, or social media followings. By tracking the increase in those actions through your communication channels, you're better able to see when a new piece of real estate advertising has had a significant impact. From there, it's easier to decide which ones to run again and which ones to retire in favor of new designs.

4 Key Benefits of Having a Direct Mail Marketing Strategy

There are many benefits to starting your own business. For starters, you'll be your own boss. In other words, you'll have more freedom and independence. 

There are a few things that you have to do, though, in order to succeed. For one thing, you’ll have to come up with a marketing plan. How else would people learn about your company? 

There are many ways that you can do this. For instance, you can take advantage of content marketing or social media marketing. 

There are also benefits to having a direct mail marketing strategy. If anything, it’s one of the best ways to attract customers! 

Keep reading to learn more about direct mailer marketing! 

What Is Direct Mail Marketing? 

Direct mail marketing involves sending promotional materials through the mail. For example, a company might send letters, catalogs, brochures, or postcards. 

Highly effective, this type of marketing is used by many businesses and organizations from various industries—from restaurants to auto repair shops. 

4 Benefits Of Having A Direct Mail Marketing Strategy 

Direct mail advertising has many advantages over other types of marketing. Here's what you need to know about mailers. 

1. You Can Personalize Direct Mail 

One of the great things about direct mail is that it can easily be personalized. This allows you to target your messages better, which will create a bigger impact. 

For instance, you can add their name throughout the letter. You can also try to incorporate their past behavior. Take what you already know and use that to increase your response rate. 

2. You Can Track Your Response Rate 

Direct mail advertising is trackable. That is, you can easily measure the performance and effectiveness of your campaigns. 

There are various ways that you can do this. For instance, you can include coupons in your brochures. Simply count the numbers of times that they've been used and you’ll be able to figure out your response rate. 

In doing so, you’ll be able to determine your return on investment. 

3. It's Highly Targeted 

Each direct mail campaign can be tailored toward a specific audience. This means that customers will only receive offers that meet their buying habits or individual needs. 

In other words, more people will respond to your offer, which will give you more bang for your buck. 

4. There's Less Competition 

Many companies have moved to online advertising. In other words, there’s much less competition with direct mail. To give you a better idea, the average person receives two pieces of physical mail per day as opposed to over 100 emails each day. Given that, it’s only natural that the former would stand out. 

Using Direct Mail For Your Business 

And there we have it—four advantages of having a direct mail marketing strategy. As you can see, it can benefit your business in more than one way! 

For more similar posts, make sure to check out the rest of our business and marketing sections of our blog! We have plenty of valuable articles on print marketing, mailer advertising, and other business branding techniques that work wonders.

How to Make a Postcard: A Step-By-Step Guide

Postcards will always be special. Yes, you can post or tweet your vacation photos from wherever you are. It's much easier than buying, writing, stamping, and mailing a postcard. These messages are quickly deleted and forgotten, though.

We're going to explain how to make a postcard that will wow all your friends and family. It will be your unique creation that can be displayed on the fridge or placed on a bookshelf to enjoy.

There are different ways to make your own postcard. We'll go through several of them, and you can decide which you prefer.


First, Pick an Engaging Subject

If you can't get your recipient's attention with your postcard, you might as well just send an e-mail or post to social media. What you send needs to capture both your surroundings and your mood.

Vacation Postcards

Wherever you are, try to get a photo of something unique to that place. It could be a funny sign, an odd-looking animal, or a dramatic symbol of the area. If at all possible, you should be in the picture.

Postcards Announcing an Event

These could be party invitations, birth or adoption announcements, or other postcards with identical images and messages.  (Note that personal postcards don't qualify as business rate or bulk mail, though.)

You could have some fun with cards like these, so muster all your creativity. Maybe try a photo of an irritable or hyper-exuberant person wearing a party hat. Or, maybe get a shot (or stock photo) of a baby with a cute or funny expression.

Anytime Postcards

You send these types of postcards to brighten someone's day. Perhaps it's someone you've been out of touch with or who hasn't been feeling well lately. Maybe it's someone you like and want to know better.

Another fun type of personal postcard is a scanned reproduction of a vintage postcard—maybe one that shows your town as it existed 50-75 years ago. Make sure it's not copyrighted. Very few true vintage postcards are, though.

Whatever you choose for your postcard subject, it has to make you feel good too.

Postcards for Your Business or Organization

Every once in a while, you'll get a funny or creative appointment reminder or fundraising postcard in the mail. Usually, though, these cards are ready for the recycling bin the minute they arrive.

What if you were to create something memorable that would make your patients, clients, or customers truly consider what you have to offer them? Maybe some of them will stop forgetting their appointments too.


How to Make a Postcard with a Graphics Program and Template

Lots of free or inexpensive graphics programs come with postcard templates—not so much to help you be creative as to show off your creativity. These will make suggestions for design elements like framing the picture and adding text.

Some programs to consider are Adobe Spark, Canva, and Edraw. There are also programs more specific to making postcards and other types of cards. These include Vistaprint.com, Hallmark Card Studio Special Edition, and Postcard Services.


Design Your Own Postcard With a Graphics or Word-Processing Program

It isn't hard to create your postcard using a graphics program like Adobe InDesign or even a word-processing program like Microsoft Word. All that's needed to start your project is changing the default page dimensions to those of a postcard.

Standard Postcard Size and Dimensions

According to the U.S. Postal Service, a postcard must be:

• Rectangular
• At least 3-1/2 inches high x 5 inches long x 0.007 inches thick
• No more than 4-1/4 inches high x 6 inches long x 0.016 inches thick

If you live in or are visiting the U.S., you can see that there's some flexibility with both size and dimensions, though you'll probably want to print in a standard size.

Design and Layout

A single photo is terrific, especially if it's one you like a lot. Still, you shouldn't hesitate to mix it up a little in terms of design and layout. Maybe try a split-frame or a collage? What about integrating some of your written message into the image(s) on the front?

Printing Options

Have you ever had problems getting your printer to print on something other than 8.5 x 11 paper—especially when you want to bleed the edges for a card with no border? At least for some of us, specialized printing jobs can be kind of a headache!

You can have the cards printed for you, though—with your original design or a template available from the printer. One online printer to try is VistaPrint. You can also go to a local print shop if you need help.


Have a Photo Printed as a Postcard

Many printing and photo-processing businesses (including drugstores and discount stores) will print your postcard directly onto the appropriate weight card stock, the back of which is pre-printed with the familiar address and message sections.

If your postcards somehow end up being printed with blank backs, it's easy enough to sketch out the different boxes yourself. It gives it a more personalized look anyway. Just be sure not to make the address area so small that you can't write in it clearly and legibly.


Don't Forget the Postage

If the dimensions of your postcard are within the measurements listed above, you can mail the card for $.035. If it's larger, though, but still legal to mail (i.e., a "double postcard"), it must have a regular first-class stamp.


And Now It's in the Mail!

Can you believe how easy making your own postcards can be? The most significant challenge could well be finding your creative inspiration. If you're having fun doing it, though, the creativity should come on its own.

Now that you know how to make a postcard, you might find yourself trying some other design projects, such as greeting cards and brochures. You also might enjoy more graphics and page-formatting software.

In the meantime, keep sending out those postcards! And, don't forget to come back to our blog from time to time since we're always posting new and interest pieces, including packaging, direct mailer marketing, and shipping articles.

A Guide to Classy On-Brand Product Catalog Design

One of the most impactful designs that you'll make as a business owner or as the marketing guy in your company is the design of your product catalog.

The right product catalog design will entice everyone who picks up your brochure to convert into a customer. The wrong one will serve as anti-customer repellant.

In this article, we've got a simple guide for you to follow so you know exactly how to create the kind of product catalog design that attracts and converts customers at a high deal value.


Pick the Right Size and Format

First things first: it's important that you pick the right size and format to use in your product catalog. Finding the right balance of size is the most crucial step and can often be the difference-maker in someone just glancing at your catalog and someone actually picking it up and perusing it.

You don't want your product catalog to be too big and unwieldy. If that's the case, then your catalog design will scream to viewers that your catalog is cumbersome, unnecessarily long, and difficult to read. None of these negative connotations are ones that you want crossing your customers' minds.

At the same time, you don't want your catalog design to be too small, either. Particularly if you're in an industry that has a lot more elderly buyers, some older folk can be turned off by a smaller-sized catalog, thinking that it will have small, difficult-to-read font sizes.

Once you've picked the right size, it's time to move on to format. The format will depend heavily on how many products you have to showcase in your catalog. If you have a fair few, then consider going with a full-on, book-style catalog. But if you have only a couple of products to showcase in the catalog, then consider using a tri-fold or something similar.


Image Quality Is Key

Remember the proverb, "a picture tells a thousand words." In no scenario is that truer than with a product catalog. At the end of the day, people don't want to hear or read about your product. They just want to see it in action.

By taking high-quality pictures of your products, you can ensure that your target audience has a good understanding of what your product looks like and how it functions.

Don't be afraid to pay a little more and invest in a professional photographer and photography studio to take those pictures. If you don't know what you're doing, then your own photography could hurt your business if placed in your brochure. This is because if your catalog has unprofessional pictures, that can lead customers to think that your product itself is made unprofessionally.

Thus, it's very much worth it to spring for the professional photographer who does this for a living. You'll certainly see a return on your investment in terms of more customers buying your products after seeing the pictures.


Limit Font Usage

Any product catalog that has too many fonts vying for attention simply screams unprofessionalism. You shouldn't be trying to use a gimmicky collection of fonts in order to entice new customers; your products and the pictures of your products should largely speak for themselves.

Rule of thumb: if your product catalog is beginning to look like a NASCAR car, it's time to rethink your design and font choices.


Leverage High Quality Paper

There's a difference in the way good quality and low-quality paper feels. Always spring for the heavier stock of good quality paper, because that simple sense of touch can have a huge impact on whether or not the buyer in question purchases your product.

The higher quality the paper is, the more that your prospective customers will think that your business operates at a high level. Touch is a very important sense; use it in your catalog design to your company's advantage.


Hire a Professional Copywriter

Writing is no easy task — you might be the best salesman in the world in person, but that doesn't mean that those sales skills will automatically translate over in the written word. In order to avoid any major copywriting gaffes, it's important to ensure that you hire a professional copywriting service like Bootstrap Business public relations that does this kind of thing for a living.


Be Clear With Calls to Action

Remember what your goal is with the brochure: for the prospect who's browsing through the products to buy one of those products. To that end, you have to make sure that you give the prospect the next steps for him or her to go through once they finish browsing the brochure.

If you operate a business that sells high-end machinery, then make sure you include contact info for and a call to action to contact one of your top sales reps. If you operate a business that sells clothing, then make sure that you have a number where customers can make calls to order clothes or a link to a website where the customer can order the same.

If you don't have a call to action in your catalog, then you're simply wasting your brochure. People will pick it up, read through it, and maybe even get a little excited about the products. But if you don't actually give them concrete next steps for them to take action and convert into customers, then only a very small percentage will become real customers.


A/B Test Your Results

Last but not least, remember that testing is everything. You shouldn't merely settle for the very first design that you come up with. Remember that there are a multitude of different factors at play that can influence the conversion rate of your brochure.

Come up with a few different iterations of the design, wording, and product imagery. Test them by setting each type out for customers to look through, and assessing the conversion rate of each one. Take into account not only how many customers converted, but also the average deal size they converted at. Then, you'll have a good idea of which product catalog designs work best for your industry and your company.


Product Catalog Design Made Simple

With this concrete guide to product catalog design in your hand, you're all ready to go out and build your own high-conversion product catalog.

For more business advice, be sure to check out the rest of the website. Visit the Marketing and Business sections of the Frugal Finance blog right now!

Advantages Of Print Marketing

To go for print or online, that is the question! In the digital era and world television commercials, print marketing sounds obsolete. Yet, print marketing leaves a profound impact on people and performs better than other forms of marketing. Although one must be amazed by this, this is true! Not only this, print media can produce better results when used or combined with other forms of media. 

What Is Print Marketing? 

Print media marketing is a type of marketing that uses printed materials to advertise, market, or promote their products. It can be in the form of ads in magazines, newspapers, brochures, etc. Thus, making your business reach a wide audience. 

What Are The Benefits Of Print Marketing? 

Print Ads Provide Flexibility 

With print advertisements, you can choose where to publish the ads. Whether the ad has to be published in a newspaper or a magazine, or even in the form of a brochure. You can also decide the space and the column for print ads. For instance, if the ad has to be printed on the front page, the middle, or on the last page. Thus, print marketing allows you to be flexible with space as well as the medium. 

People Read Print Marketing Materials Attentively 

When you are going through a digital ad on your mobile phone, you tend to multitask and open a number of tabs on your phone. On one hand, you are reading the text, on the other responding to a friend and yet in the third busy texting something else. You tend to not pay proper attention to what the ad is representing. However, with printed material like personalized email printing and other such stuff, you tend to pay more attention. You have your set of eyes grasped in reading what is written on the printed material. 

Printed Materials Are More Pleasing To Read 

Printed materials attract the attention of a large number of customers. Personalized email printing, brochures, and catalogues seem more pleasing to read due to their design. People find the things scribbled onto printed materials more engaging than on digital form. Moreover, printed materials carry all the necessary details or information which should reach the target audience. 

Print Marketing Often Leads Customers To Action 

With print media, people often remember the more, thus higher possibility of call-to-action. Many companies print out ads for sales and discounts on products and services. People who read these ads in printed form tend to buy or purchase these products sooner or later. Thus, printed material makes customers act and bring growth in business. 

Print Marketing Helps In Creating Awareness 

Printed materials create awareness among people and customers for a long period of time. Marketing tactics through television or digital ads are successful in creating awareness only for a certain period. But print ads leave a deeper impact on people and create awareness for a longer duration. 

Control The Appearance Of Printed Material 

Another advantage of print marketing is that you can control the way the printed material is designed in terms of its colour, design, layout, and even the font text of the same. The more beautiful the design and the more engaging the content is, the higher the number of people will be attracted to read your advertisement. So do not think twice before going for bright colours and big fonts! 

Conclusion - The Power Of Print Marketing

Print marketing is a conventional form of advertising, yet it is the most effective and credible form too. Next time when you need to advertise your business, do not forget to include print marketing techniques with other forms for promotions. It will certainly yield better results! 

Is your print marketing ad ready? If not, it's time to get it ready and embrace the power of printing!

5 Direct Mail Marketing Ideas That Stand Out

We used to stand over the trash, shredding and tossing junk mail. Now? We have our mouse hovering over the bin icon to trash emails. Or our thumbs autopilot a swipe to get rid of notifications. 

There is a novelty to receiving mail these days vs digital messages.

We are kind of excited to know we are getting something physical in the mailbox. We have returned to anxiously waiting for the mail person to come by. Because of this, direct mail marketing is coming back in a lot of big ways!

Here are a few direct mail marketing ideas you could try at your business.


1. Break Away From the Traditional Formats

Mail carriers can handle an assortment of mailing sizes and formats. Using different formatting or a dab of creativity can go a long way in standing out.

Get creative with the mailing formats:

• Try different finishes between matte and glossy
• Test booklets and flyers over postcards and letters
• Use handwritten or drawn elements vs stock images or graphics

Get creative with the presentation. But, also be sure to follow the USPS mailing standards so you don't waste resources. 


2. Do the Mailing In-House

There are many direct mail services. Some operate right through the USPS, FedEx, UPS, and other popular carriers. These are good options for bulk but you can scale as needed by doing the direct mailing in-house.

Try turning the mailing campaign ideas into reality this way:

1. Download mailing templates online from official sources
2. Get inspiration from competitors and industry professionals
3. Create a handful of designs and poll the team, seeing which is best
4. Print out the mailer, get envelopes, and order labels online
5. Go through the mailing list, ready the mailers, and ship them out

Track to see what kind of response you get from the in-house campaign. Then, make some changes to the old design, continually improving the campaign.


3. Personalize the Experience

Customers are 80% more likely to buy when they have a personalized experience. The high ROI is pretty easy to wrap your head around. Consider the fact that people love when they're the center of attention.

Try personalizing the experience with your direct mailings:

• Use the person's name vs a formal, open-ended greeting
• Include a prior experience such as contact or purchase history
• Localize the mailing and references so it feels neighborly

It comes down to taking a few extra moments to add the little touches. 


4. Combine the Interactive Channels

Combine a bit of all your marketing efforts in the direct mailing campaign:

• Follow up with an email newsletter referencing a recent mailer
• Point people to a targeted landing page from within the piece
• Phone recipients, bringing up the campaign or that they should expect it

What you're doing is creating continuity in marketing and branding. The direct mail becomes an element of the experience they don't want to miss.  


5. Track and Make Improvements

Use the data points and feedback to make improvements to everything:

• Test and try new creative designs and mailer copy
• Have mailers delivered at a different time or day
• Use what works and remove the trials that didn't

It's not as fast as A/B testing online. But, you can make small but big ROI improvements through a bit of split testing. It wouldn't hurt to try!


Turning Direct Mail Marketing Ideas into Profits

Currently 4 out of 10 Americans actually look forward to physical mail each day. This is awesome if you're currently exploring direct mail marketing ideas. 

People WANT to hear your message because they are so burnt out on email. A physical piece of mail could be all that's needed to stand out in your industry.

Give direct mailing a try, today, and see what comes of it. And, be sure to check out other helpful business-related resources right here on our site!

5 Benefits Of Using A Commercial Printer For Your Promotional Printing Needs

As a business, you're going to find yourself using a lot of resources towards marketing materials.

Everything from social media marketing to local advertisements needs to be accounted for, but that's not all.

Commercial printing is as important as a sales aspect to your business as it ever has been. The quality and quantity of your collateral pieces have a direct effect on the quality of your brand.

There are several benefits to having a commercial printer when you need them most. Your business will thrive on its marketing material for years to come.

Here are a few factors as to why you should heavily consider purchasing one.


1. Full Customization

You and the employees of your company have unlimited creativity at your disposal.

Each of you brings unique styles to the table, and your company will thrive on taking advantage of the in-house talent.

However, that won't be possible if your printer limits the quality. The ideas that you and your workers envision won't become reality if your printer isn't up to the task.

Setting yourself up with a commercial printer gives you access to the highest-definition of photo quality imaginable. The pictures and designs that your creative team comes up with will pop to life!

Your printing needs will differ from day to day. One day you may be looking for a large-scale poster, while the next day you need to print out 1,000 copies of the same brochure.

Marketing will need a printer that can keep up with the demand and all of the ideas that they come up with.

Whatever your printing need is, setting yourself up with commercial printing services will set your marketing strategy up for success.


2. Time-Efficiency

What's the one thing in life that you and your business can't get back once you've used it? Time.

You simply can't get enough of it. It's invaluable to your operations, and using it in the most efficient ways is of utmost importance.

Now, imagine if you didn't have to worry about the printing portion of your business at all...

Producing the quantity and quality of the printing you're striving for will need a big commercial printer to do so. That can be a hassle to maintain.

It's best to partner up with a team of commercial printing experts who know the ins and outs of the machines and services that you'll need. You simply tell them the specifics of what you want to be printed, and they'll make it happen!


3. Company Car Wrap Job

If your business and products are valued by several different types of target customers, you'll want to find different ways of easily reaching the masses.

You have to try to find places that they're all going to be. Otherwise, you'll be wasting valuable resources without a return.

The one place you can find just about any customer? The roads.

Everyone transports to and from their job, whether by car, bike, or something else.

Catch their eye by designing a wrap job for your company car, that way you'll have a billboard that literally drives itself.

Commercial printing can help you do just that, designing and laying out a wrap job or just a few pieces to stick around the car, to pitch your service to others.


4. Quick Turnaround

As prepared and organized as you try to be, there will always be times in business that you need something printed as soon as yesterday.

If you have an average office printer in your office, you'll be completely at the mercy of its capabilities. It wasn't designed to dish off thousands of flyers at a time.

Worse than that, you'll wait all that time for it to print (assuming the tray doesn't get jammed), just to find out that the quality doesn't meet your expectations.

Meanwhile, a commercial printer can have those flyers printed, folded, and ready for the big sales convention.

Things go just as fast if your commercial printing isn't in-house. Commercial printing services are always available.

You just simply send them your ideas and they can print it off within a few hours. 

It can even be delivered to you overnight so that you can have the items at the exact time that you need them.


5. Size Doesn't Matter

Printing needs come in all different shapes and sizes. You could need anything from paper flyers, yard signs, window stickers, giant posters, etc.

Needless to say, your typical office printer won't be able to pull off some of those bigger sized ventures. That leaves you scrambling to find a nearby printer to do a one-off job for you.

A commercial printer can keep your business timeline on schedule regardless of the size that you need. It's made to cater to any possible printing assignment that you have.

Your brand's quality and efficiency shouldn't suffer because your printer can't do the one job that it's been tasked with.

Even worse, you may completely ax a game-changing idea because the printer you have can't pull it off. Your mediocre printer is holding you back, and it's time to break up with it for good.


Invest In A Commercial Printer For Your Business

Now that you've seen the benefits of a commercial printer, it's time for you to find ways of gaining access to one.

Let this be the start of a beautiful new marketing venture for you and your creative team!

Be sure to check back with Frugal Finance often for more helpful tips on business, fitness, saving money and life.

Do Direct Mail Postcards Still Work for Marketing?

It used to be that everyone loved getting a postcard. These were cards from distant friends and families that showed beautiful images of unfamiliar places. But what about direct mail postcards? How do they make us feel?

Yes, direct mail advertising has been around for quite a while, including postcards reminding us of everything from dental appointments to homes for sale to public auctions.

We believe direct mail postcards are alive and well in the 21st century. Now, if only more of them could show the attention to design given other 21st-century marketing materials, all would be good.


Direct Mail Postcards

There is something about the physicality of paper mail that makes it special and anticipated. The tradition of "waiting for the mail" is still a daily ritual for many, even when we quickly throw away the majority of it that is junk mail.

However, direct mail marketing would make quite a splash with consumers if it were done using postcards. It would be great to combine the authenticity of old-style postcards with the design genius now seen on the web. 


Design

The design of the vast majority of direct mail postcards these days leaves a lot to be desired. There are exceptions though, including some extraordinary ones. And it is these extraordinary exceptions that inspire us.

Imagine a dental appointment reminder featuring a giraffe's mouth close up. It has a caption stating, "If you think your teeth are hard to have cleaned, try these." Much better than eight lines of black and white text, we think.


Strategy

The strategy here is simple: get people's attention in ways that make them laugh--and probably remember whatever the message was meant to make them remember.


Alternatives to Direct Mail Postcards

Of course, there are alternatives to postcard distribution specifically in direct mail marketing, including leaflet distribution and direct mailers. These are also convenient, and currently, quite a few are better designed than postcards.

We'll discuss these forms of direct mail advertising in a future post.


Direct Mailing Through USPS

It is not expensive to send direct mail postcards. Although the United States Postal Service (USPS) discontinued its special postage rate for postcards--which now require First Class postage--there are bulk rated available to businesses.

To qualify for bulk rates, there must be at least 200 pieces or 50 pounds in total. There are many options available in this postage category, so be sure to check it out if you’re mailing postcards for a business.


Does Direct Mailing Work?

We believe direct mailing currently works in some ways but not others. It works if it's something that was either expected and needed (e.g., appointment reminders) or unexpected and personally relevant (e.g., news of electronics recycling events).

However, as discussed above, it is our strong belief that direct mail postcards are nowhere near meeting the advertising potential they have today. Among other things, they are excellent for local marketing.

Postcards resonate with people who are not digital natives. These people like to stick interesting postcards into books, both to remind them of something and to hold their place in the book.

If you have a local business or organization to promote, go have some original-looking postcards made and let people know what you have going on.

And while you're at it, learn about other inexpensive and innovative business services besides just the USPS bulk mail discount used to mail lots of postcards at a time.

How To Choose The Right Fonts For Your Business Branding

Choosing the right fonts for your business is an essential aspect of your branding, marketing, and advertising. Here are some expert suggestions for picking the right fonts associated with various aspects of your business:

Top Fonts For Startups

An appropriate startup font has a great deal to offer. It plays a vital role in preserving your brand’s identity and building up your logo design’s integrity. It is advisable to do a font research when brainstorming ideas for your logo before seeking a logo design service. A good font selection brings together the design more astutely. You can ignore the conventional fonts in particular with your business industry, but even if you go the fun or quirky way always make sure it comes together with the design in a subtle way. The number of fonts available online may overwhelm a person while researching for their logo design. If you’ve already streamlined the rest of the design aspects, but still stuck in searching for appropriate fonts, you’ve come to the right people! We will discuss top 7 trending fonts which are absolutely free to help you out before you seek a professional logo design service. There are as following: Al Fresco by Laura Worthington Classy but not very fashion specific, it centres more towards a sophisticated look. Designed by Laura Worthington, it comes in two script style typeface focusing on modern calligraphy. With an elegant flair it comes it promotes unconventional font style to satisfy your desire of timeless beauty! Hey Brother! By Dionis Dei Created to perfection by the graphic designer, Dionis Dei, “Hey Brother!” combines strong edgy look combined together with smoother curves. It has a modern, sci-fi look to it mixed together with sharp letters exhibiting a distressed vibe to any design inspiration. Featured and popularized by the famous Swedish DJ Avicii, it is the pure reflection of modern globalized culture! Smaq by Andreas Leonidou Ideal for posters and huge printing collaterals, Smaq is a decorative typeface designed by the genius, Andreas Leonidou. Eight different styles of this typeface have already been introduced, with an eye-catching bevelled look and feel. You can play around with this all-caps typeface with your heart’s content, using different font shadows and line shading. Wesley Gothic by Kutan Ural A modern all-caps typeface used for branding and sought by entrepreneurs looking for logo design service. This edgy font designed by Kutan Ural is suitable for huge signage collaterals like posters and billboards. Be it typography or any other design project, Wesley Gothic stands out from the crowd with its razor-sharp, edgy look. Neon by Aga Magdziak The cool-toned, molten font created by the talented Aga Magdziak is great for social media usage, or for logos designed for the IT sector. It is a perfect blend of many artistic elements with its prominent texture, successfully grabbing everyone’s attention. It is kept minimal and trendy, but not too over the top. Otto by Non-Format Designed by the prestigious and highly esteemed design team, Non-format, it gives off a universal style statement. Incorporated with the delicate typeface, the hints of block colors give off a very noteworthy impression. After all, Non-Format’s previous work has been greatly acknowledged by monster brands like Nike, Uniqlo, etc.! TJ Evolette-A by TypeMe A contemporary font style designed by the ingenious TypeMe, impressively complements fashion and lifestyle logo designs. With its streamlined look, it could be used for extravagant results with its innovative and stylistic sets. All the fonts discussed in this blog are free of cost, and easily accessible. It is of an utmost importance to go for the right font for the branding of your startup. Fonts add great meaning and personality to a brand’s image out in the public. Here’s to hoping you make good use of the shared information before seeking a logo design service! Good luck!

Picking The Right Fonts For Your Resume And CV 

A good font is the one which is neat, clean and easy for the eyes to read. While writing a resume font should be selected on discretion. Popular fonts used in resume are Times New Roman and Arial. However these two fonts are two of the most over used fonts while writing a resume. Although Times New Roman and Arial are considered industry standard while writing a professional profile, there are other font options to try out which offer better visibility and makes your resume stand out in a pile of Arial and Times font resumes. Calibri Calibri has a neat Sans-serif typeface. It is the default MS Office font in versions 2010, 2013 and 2016. It replaced Times New Roman as the default typeface in Word and replaced Arial as the default in PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and WordPad. It is also the default font in Office for Mac 2016. Calibri at 12 pt with 500 to 750 words can easily fit inside 2 pages of resume without compromising on the visibility. Cambria Cambria is a serif font commonly distributed in MS Office products. It is part of a suite of typefaces called the ClearType Font Collection which is made to look good on a computer screen. It is equally legible for printing also. It is branded as the new Times New Roman. Garamond Garamond is a good alternative to Times New Roman. It is a Serif typeface font with a history of 500 years. The modern version gives a polished classic look. Garamond is better to use when you have to condense your text to within two pages. Garamond can contain more text into single page without compromising on the readability when decreasing font size. Didot Didot is a neoclassical Serif typeface font. Didot offers you style with elegance without fancy typefaces. This can be used when you have a resume for a designing or photography industry. Didot is suitable to be used in headings. Helvetica Helvetica is considered as the King of fonts. It is used in typography and by designers. Helvetica is a Sans-serif clean font with exceptional clarity. It is used in the logos of many corporate companies like Microsoft and BMW. Helvetica is included in Mac systems; however it needs to be purchased if you want to use it in Windows systems. Fonts That You Should Never Use In Resume Some of the fonts are too fancy to be used in a resume. Fonts like Courier, Brush Script, Comic Sans, Papyrus, Impact, Trajan Pro etc. are not professional but are too fancy to be used in a resume. Hence do not use these fonts in the resume under any circumstances. 

The Right Fonts For Your Website

The choice of font you use at your website can be affectedby so many different elements: personal taste, style, screenresolution and size, operating system, monitor age,background and - not last - re... The choice of font you use at your website can be affected by so many different elements: personal taste, style, screen resolution and size, operating system, monitor age, background and - not last - readability and ease of use. The most common font used for print ant the Web is Times New Roman. This is the default font of many applications including most of the Microsoft Office Suites. That is not to say it's the most readable or comfortable font; on the contrary, Arial, Courier and Verdana are considered more readable. A study conducted at Wichita State University in 2002 titled: A Comparison of Popular Online Fonts: Which Size and Type is Best? found these amazing results: Times New Roman was deemed the least preferred font in 10 or 12 point size. Arial was most preferred in the 12 point size and Verdana was the most preferred in the 10 point size. Overall, Verdana was the most preferred font for readability and ease of comprehension. The fonts considered most legible are Arial, Courier and Verdana. As far as looks, Times New Roman and Georgia are preferred over the others. All the above appears to imply that for design choices, like when a large font is used as a decoration, Times New Roman or Georgia is the choice. For general speed of reading and less strain on the eyes it's Arial if using a small font. Verdana was the choice for best compromise between legibility and speed. All the above should be included in the building plans for your website since they can affect the looks of so many items, such as: Headlines, header tags, choice of colors, links, contrast and decoration. You can compensate for many elements of styling by using different fonts and sizes. For example, if you are super imposing text upon a graphic perhaps it would be best to make the font bigger to help the eye separate the font from the image. The same common sense approach can be used for the body areas: use colors that will bring out the text and make it easy for your visitors to read your website. Don't use dark fonts on a dark background because they are very hard to read. Likewise, do your best to copy well established convention by making the colors of your HTML links in standard colors such as blue for unvisited, purple for visited and so on. Overall, don't use more than 3 types of fonts on your website and do your best to include the "Big Picture" in your design. Show a few completed sketches to your friends and family and ask their opinion. Revise and re-do as often as needed. As a time saving measure, make sure to use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) for your website design because it allows you to change the font style of a complete website by just changing the information in the style sheet. A real time saver when you have a 100 page website. Above all, your website should have its own theme and style. It should have text that invites the visitor to explore more and be easy to read and understand. The visual load on the eyes should be as small as possible to prevent fatigue. The general look should be one of integrated design with user friendliness as its ultimate purpose. 

What Fonts Should Be Used For Business Cards

Design and material are not the only elements you should think about when you create your custom business cards. In addition to these two, you also have to consider the font you are going to use ... Design and material are not the only elements you should think about when you create your custom business cards. In addition to these two, you also have to consider the font you are going to use for your content. When designing, it is crucial for your business card printing pieces to have the right font and at the same time the appropriate size. Your text should be not too small or too big for your print card. If it is too small, it would be difficult for your target audience to read your information. On the other hand, big letters just do not appear professional and with your limited space, it would be hard for you to cram all that information. Hence, there are standards that you have to adhere to help you create a distinguished business card without appearing like you do not know what you are doing. First off, there should be a balance in the sizes of your text in your address and contact information, and your names and title. When designing your text, be sure to have your address and phone numbers between 7 to 8 point sizes. Your name should be 1 point bigger than these two elements. That means that if your address is at 7 point, then your name should be 8. On the other hand, your title can either be 1 point smaller than your address text size or similar to it. Your company name in contrast to all these elements should be from 12 to 15 point sizes. There is a reason for making these sizes standard ones. If you happen to use different sizes for all your elements, I would not be surprised if your marketing tool looked disorderly and untidy. It will only confuse your prospects and clients. The key is to keep your sizes consistent so that your content would not appear disorganized. In terms of how large or small should you go with your text, your words should not be smaller than 6 point. Use 5 point if you put everything in capital letters. In your name, it should not be more than 11 point. The address has a maximum of 9 point. You should also consider the type of industry you are in. Most professionals go for smaller sizes such as 6 to 7 point text, especially for their addresses. Then again, it is much larger when sales agents produce their business cards. But be wary also of fonts that print particularly smaller than the average size. When you use these fonts, be sure to adjust your sizes 1 point higher so as not to make it difficult for your readers to see your text.

The Fonts You Should Use For Your Business Logo

Many entrepreneurs think that the font for their business name is like a trophy wife—just there to look pretty, all perfect hair and manicure. So, they try to find a font that looks cool, often without looking at any of the features of the font itself. But, the font in your logo is a busy little element. It works 4 jobs! Many entrepreneurs think that the font for their business name is like a trophy wife—just there to look pretty, all perfect hair and manicure. So, they try to find a font that looks cool, often without looking at any of the features of the font itself. But, the font in your logo is a busy little element. It works 4 jobs! So, what are the font's jobs? The font's job is to be legible and scalable, to make your business name look good, and to strengthen your entire brand story. Let's break these elements down one at a time. 1. To be legible Your business name should be able to be read easily, quickly, and clearly. Make sure the letters are spaced far enough apart, so that they don't bleed together visually or when printed. Make sure that the letter shapes are distinguishable from one another—that your lower case "I" doesn't look like an "L," for example. Also ensure that you can read it at a glance. Most people won't pore over your logo. They'll just skim it. You want to make sure that the font that you choose is not difficult to read. This becomes even more important when your logo is featured on a sign, vehicle, or billboard—where your viewers will be passing it at a fast pace. 2. To be scalable Your logo should be able to blow up to billboard size and scale down to postage stamp size and be readable across all of these different options. Make sure that legibility doesn't suffer when size changes. Scaling up usually isn't an issue, but scaling down can be a real problem on ornate or heavily stylized fonts. 3. To make your business name look good Choose a font that includes good letter shapes for all the letters in your business name. For example, some lower case Gs look pretty funky — so if your business name includes a G, you may want to stay away from fonts that include strange Gs like the one on the right. 4. To support your brand definition This is your font's last job, and it can be done in different ways in your logo, depending on how much of your brand story is told by your logo icon. If you've told most of your story with the icon, then all the font needs to do is support that. If you choose your logo font carefully to perform these 4 jobs for your business, then it will be more than just a pretty face—it will help your logo to be more effective. 

Conclusion


Choosing the right fonts for your business is an essential aspect of your branding, marketing, and advertising. Keep these tips in mind to pick the right fonts associated with various aspects of your business, startup, or brand.