03Aug 2013 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

What Does Your Business Pen Say About You?

1st Saturday Style, Small Business, Small Business Info, Small Business Lounge
123Print Pens[/caption] At first, you might look down at your pen and think to yourself, “who cares what my pen looks like?” But then look closer at the pens on your desk and the ones you use regularly, like your “favorite pen” — do you see a trend? You may notice that your pen is a reflection of your own business style. A serious all-black pen, for example, looks like you’re all business, all the time; while a custom pink-and-green pen could reflect the playful and colorful nature of your small business. (more…)
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02Aug 2013 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

Small Business Spotlight – Moulage Collection

Small Business Info, Small Business Spotlight
This week, 123Print is shining its Small Business Spotlight on ... Moulage Collection! All of Moulage Collection's items, from their original Favorite Things Poster, to clothing and accessories, are ALL handcrafted and styled with the designer's signature, clean elegance. All of their creations are completely customized, including drawings, artwork and handcrafted clothing. [caption id="attachment_4938" align="aligncenter" width="800"] © Moulage Collection[/caption] (more…)
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02Aug 2013 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

Small Business Spotlight – Visionary Photography and Design

Small Business Info, Small Business Spotlight
This week, 123Print is shining its Small Business Spotlight on ... Visionary Photography and Design! Visionary Photography and Design uses Natural Light Photography to capture photos of Seniors, Engagements, Weddings, Families, and Kids. They also have Graphic Design services ranging from business marketing/branding materials to personal invitations/announcements. [caption id="attachment_4932" align="aligncenter" width="851"] © Visionary Photography and Design[/caption] (more…)
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01Aug 2013 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

123Print Introduces NEW Budget Presentation Folders

123Print News, All Other, Small Business Info
123Print has launched a new folder line – Budget Presentation Folders. Our new Budget Presentation Folders are here to help you and your business make an unforgettable first impression! By offering a lower entry quantity on this new line of full color folders, we are able to make high-quality printing more affordable. Here are the specs: Dimensions: 9” x 12” 2 – 4” pockets with universal business card slits Paper Stock: Pure-white 110 lb. cover / 12 pt. stock – smooth to the touch! Minimum Qty: 25 folders Our new Budget Presentation Folders are a standard staple for every business. They are perfect for submitting quotes or project designs with a professional flare. Best of all, our folders come ready to be customized with your business name and logo. (more…)
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31Jul 2013 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

How To Run A Killer Facebook Promotion

Small Business Info
By making a few tweaks to your Facebook promotions, you can transform your campaigns into viral sensations! Maximize the impact of your next Facebook campaign by following these 10 simple strategies. 1. Try a Sponsored Story or Facebook Ad. If you have the budget, sponsored stories and ads can be quite effective at driving Facebook traffic to your campaign. These ads can be very specifically targeted, which is a huge benefit as well. Sometimes even a small amount paid to Facebook to “boost” your campaign can make a big difference. 2. Update your status with links referencing your campaign. People won’t come to your campaign unless they know about it! Remind and encourage people to check out your campaign. Share milestones, such as X number of votes or X number…
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29Jul 2013 by Cindy Berrier 3 Comments

5 Unique Customer Retention Ideas for Summer

Marketing Info, Monday Marketing Minutes, Small Business, Small Business Info
[caption id="attachment_4747" align="alignleft" width="199"] Turn National Ice Cream Sandwich Day on Aug 2, 2013, into a customer appreciation event.[/caption] Depending on the industry you are in, summer can either be boom or bust. If you’re in the ice cream business or sell T-shirts on a boardwalk, you’re likely killing it with sales. On the other hand, many businesses can feel a major income slowdown due to customers taking off for summer vacations. If this sounds like your business, you may have to start thinking outside of the box for your summer marketing in order to get people in the door and keep your business top of mind. As inspiration, here are five unique customer retention ideas for summer: 1. Feed them a sweet treat. Who doesn’t love ice cream sandwiches? Celebrate National…
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25Jul 2013 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

How to Use Facebook to Drive Fan Engagement

Small Business Info
If you’re like me, trying to find that sweet spot with Facebook posts is quite the daunting task. It raises the popular rapid-fire questions, “Who? What? Where? When? Why?” Who is your audience? What type of media are you posting? Where will it show up in people’s newsfeeds? When is the best time to post? Why are you posting it in the first place? I recently came across this awesome study conducted by Simply Measured which looked at the Interbrand Top 100 Brands on Facebook from May 1st to June 30th, 2013. The report is hosted on slideshare and was a very informative read. Below, I’ve outlined what are, in my opinion, the key takeaways from the study. (P.S. if you have some time, you can check out the full…
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24Jul 2013 by Cindy Berrier 1 Comment

To Every Season, Churn … Churn … Churn

Monthly Email Marketing, Small Business Info
In email marketing, there is one thing you can always count on: that fact that you can’t count on your email list to stay the same. Yep, email-list churn (the percentage of users that unsubscribe, or bounce, from an opt-in email list during a set period of time) is a fact of email marketing life. Perhaps you have not been overly concerned about the people unsubscribing or bouncing, considering an average annual churn rate is around 30%. That’s understandable. If you are lucky, your acquisition rate has balanced out your churn rate, allowing your list size to remain stable or even grow. However, as people have become more tech-saavy, they also have become more selective about what they really want to see in their inboxes. They want content and offers…
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23Jul 2013 by Cindy Berrier 4 Comments

Tips on Writing for Social Media

Small Business Info
Social media has been the new wave of advertising for quite some time now, and Business Insider reports that mobile media will be a huge growth driver in this area. With outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and blog sites, anyone can promote themselves, or their organization. Despite the simplicity that many think comes with this type of media, most people are not aware of how to write for it. Read on for some easy steps to follow when diving into this marketing pool. Engage with casual conversation – Social media posts should be informal, creative and genuine. Don’t be a robot – talk in an honest, individual voice and stick to your area of expertise. Talk with people the way you would talk to them face to face (unless…
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22Jul 2013 by Cindy Berrier 2 Comments

The 5 Basic Steps of Setting Up a Direct-Mail Campaign

Marketing Info, Monday Marketing Minutes, Small Business, Small Business Info
Direct marketing is a form of selling and promoting by communicating straight to the consumer, via mail, phone or email. For small businesses, direct-mail marketing has several advantages, including being able to target your exact customers, spend modestly to fit your budget and test different offers to see what works best, among other things. Instead of running an ad campaign where it’s difficult to know if you’re going to get five or 5,000 responses and the message is fixed, a direct-mail campaign is more manageable and flexible — you can start out with a small- to medium-sized mailing to see what the response is like and make sure your small business can handle the influx of orders. From there, you can  add and expand or change the messaging. How do…
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