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2010-01-29T15:10:00.005-07:00

February 2010 Issue

Key Elements of Professional Book Cover Design for Self-Published Authors

It takes just a few vital seconds for an editor or reader to decide about whether your self-published book is worth reading or not, so the design of the book cover is incredibly important. If the key opportunity for selling your book exists in one tiny glance, that glance had better be optimized by excellent design elements, wouldn’t you agree?

Publishers want their books to appear unique so that the book is hard to forget. An excellent cover helps to make that happen. An excellent book cover is like the striking pose of a model – stunning and creative. Shown below are 3 sample covers designed by our award-winning teammate and graphic designer, Kerrie Lian.

Finding the Right Graphic Designer

Professionalism and experience as well as expertise are the main qualities you should look for when finding the right graphic designer to do an important task like the one-glimpse-and-it-sells-or-not test cover of your book. You don’t want your self-published book to appear amateurish or homemade. Your graphic designer should have a high level of creativity, skills, the right software, access to stock photography and be knowledgeable about the book printing process to make your book stand out from all the rest.

What Are the Key Elements in Cover Design?

The cover of a book must include all the elements in our list that are applicable. Not all book covers will have flaps.

• Front cover
• Spine
• Back Cover
• Inside Flaps
• ISBN and Bar Code

At a minimum, your front cover should contain the name of the book, its subtitle, and your name. Testimonials and endorsements can also be tastefully used on the front cover. Your front cover should be legible and easily read from a short distance. Use bold, contrasting lettering to make this element work right. On the spine, your name, title and publishing company name or logo should be listed and legible from a distance. On the back cover, you will want the book’s category in the upper left corner to help bookstores shelve it properly. The back cover should have a compelling headline directed to your target book buying audience, a brief description and a few bulleted benefits. Listing a few testimonials from recognized leaders in your field is very helpful. Your picture and bio may appear on the back cover, and these technical points need to appear as well:

• 13 digit ISBN number (buy from R. R. Bowker Co.)
• Price
• Bar code
• Credits for the cover designer and/or illustrator

What Other Important Elements Play a Role in Producing Excellent Book Covers?

Because your self-published book cover is critical for your marketing and branding, it will get you noticed either positively or negatively. Following are more elements that will help you catch the attention of your audience. A knowledgeable graphic designer knows all about these key elements and their proper usage.

• Chose the right font for the book and its audience
• Don’t use ALL CAPS for headings, subheadings or Table of Contents. They are too difficult to read.
• Eliminate ‘rivers of white’ with proper word spacing
• Be aware of ‘leading’ – the space between the lines. Font, type size, word spacing and length of line all come into play here.
• Line length should not exceed 65 characters for ease of reading
• Paper samples for your book cover are available from the printer. 10 point C1S is the standard for soft covers. Ask your book printer for house stock, as it is more affordable.

There is a precise science behind the creation of a successful book cover, as I’m confident you are now aware. Since the cover is such an important tool, being penny wise and pound foolish should be saved for other elements of your successful book publishing and marketing. Let an experienced, skillful graphic designer help you design your self-published book cover. You can use the key points in this article to check for his or her skill level. To your success!

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What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-12-30T15:21:00.010-07:00

January 2010 Issue

Designing the Inside Pages of a Professional Looking Self-Published Book

Once you’ve done all the hard work of writing your book manuscript, you’ll need expert assistance in getting the right cover designed, and then, making sure the design of the pages inside the book marries well with the book’s purpose. I am a book lover in my heart and I have been since I was just learning how to read. I love to go into a book store. I love the first smell of the paper and glue that fills their air space. I love to see the variations of design on the sales tables, and then I love to go into my special places where the things I’m most interested in live and see all the new and wonderful inside pages designs that have been published since my last trip. I a continuously delighted with the cleverness used in book design, an area where you might think there’s not a lot of room for innovation.

In this post, I am going to address the inner appeal your self-published book should have. These technological elements and inner appeal go hand in hand. Next month I'll address the key elements of book cover design for self-published authors. In that post, you will find the technological pieces that make your book work well and get sold.

Feelings

The artwork on the cover should induce a particular feeling that will match the message of the book. You wouldn’t use intense jewel tones, for example, on the cover of a book about meditation. You’d use subtle coloring. Once the cover is completed, you need to ask yourself what feeling you want to sustain on the inner pages as well. If your self-published book is more of a classical masterpiece around some deeply spiritual ideas, the inside pages might have higher quality paper stock.

It would be wise to go to a bookstore in the category your book will eventually appear and look at your competition solely for the purpose of how the book makes you feel. Hold it in your hands. See what kind of paper evokes the feeling you want your book to have. When you’ve chosen a printer, he/she can provide samples of the papers available.

Book Size

Sometimes a mighty message is contained in a very small, tastefully printed book. James Allen’s As a Man Thinketh and Don Miguel Ruiz’ The Four Agreements are two examples. These books have fairly wide margins; an extra blank page preceding each chapter and plenty of white space. Their fonts say “classical elegance” and their message is a classically spiritual message. Both books are in the general 5 x 7 size category.

You would be well served to think through the main impact you want to have on your readership. All of the key elements – cover, inside, color, paper, font, size – should portray that main message to your readers.

Readability

Who will be reading your self-published book? Choosing the right font style for your target audience is important for appearance, readability and for the requirements of your printer. Certain ages may have different requirements. If your book will appeal mainly to senior citizens, a larger font would be advisable. If it’s a children’s book, Oldstyle fonts are generally used. A slab serif font has very clean, easy to read lines and can help the eye move along the line easily. Again, a trip to your local bookstore to assess the competition for the ease of readability will help you make the right choice.

Consider a second font for your headers and book chapter titles. It should compliment the main font. Your graphic designer can assist you with these choices, but it’s always wise to have some idea in mind before engaging her.

Your self-published masterpiece deserves to have all the key elements lined up appropriately as do the books published by the big publishing houses so that your message comes across. The appropriate inside page design is one of the elements toward that end. Although you may never have considered it before you wrote your book, the design inside the book is equally as important as its cover.

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What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-11-29T12:16:00.006-07:00

December 2009 Issue

Hot Tips for Logo Design Excellence

In our marketplace today, we spend hours and hours on a computer surfing the internet. According to research, it is estimated that many of us are exposed to over 200 logo designs or branding marks per hour. Your logo will be used on your business cards, your website, outdoor designs, various spots on the Internet, and on promotional items like T-shirts, mugs, key chains, etc. At that rate, in order to be memorable to our clients, that logo had better pop out and stick in someone’s memory, wouldn’t you say? Sprinkled below are several sample logo designs from our team portfolio.

What Makes A Good Logo

Big business knows how important it is to have success in all the elements of their business, so they attach a high value to branding and logo design. Strive to achieve the following characteristics:

• Consistent with all the other elements of your marketing
• Graphically enticing and memorable
• Represent your company and products meaningfully
• Be as unique as possible
• Appear professional drafted
• Function beyond the limits of time
• Not melt into the background of your marketing pieces

When you employ a graphic designer to craft your logo, you want it to:

• Last for a long time
• Be distinctive from your competition
• Appealing to your target market
• Communicate the right image.
• Be legible and easily understood

Paul Rand was a superb innovator in the arena of logo design. IBM’s logo is attributed to him. Without it even being shown here, you can visualize those three letters in horizontal blue stripes, can’t you? That’s a logo with all the key elements listed above. Rand united letters and found unique graphical ways of utilizing the letters of a word or a persons name through typography or engravers design and he frequently wove modern art styles into his logo designs.

Eye Catching Design

It’s not an easy thing to make a simple graphical symbol to represent the entirety of a company’s Mission Statement, and yet a good graphic designer can do just that. The very best logos are quite sophisticated in their simplicity, because they combine and refine symbols, colors, and typography as well as space into one tight, concise unit.

A good logo has a strong, balanced image without clutter surrounding it that might distract one’s attention from the logo message. Bold graphics are easier to see at a glance and they work better than logos with thin, delicate lines. Your logo should avoid trendiness in order to achieve the element of timelessness. Trendy fonts or images will distract from your message.

Color and Black & White

Your logo will mainly be used in it’s colorized version, but it’s wise to check its appearance in black and white as well. Faxes, in particular, communicate mainly in black and white and you’ll want your logo to be easily recognized without color.

You should record somewhere you can easily retrieve the PMS ink formula of the spot color(s) in your logo. If you ever have to use a four color printing process, you’ll need this information. You can check a spot-color-to-process-color conversion swatch book for this information, and you’ll be glad you have it recorded.

Full color logos are wonderful to look at, but expensive to print on your marketing pieces. It’s much more economical to print your letterhead, envelopes, business cards and brochures in one, two or three colors.

Graphics for the Internet

Here is a check list for what you’ll need from your graphic artist so that you can use your logo on the internet:

• A jpg or gif file format
• Resolution at 72 pixels per inch
• In the RGB color space

Your successful logo design can make or break your business. I’d recommend having your graphic artist provide several samples. Let your friends see them and place a strong value on their input. Then, let several people see them who don’t know you or your business and listen attentively to their feedback. And then, for this key element in your business branding, the final choice is yours.

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What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-10-31T12:33:00.018-06:00

November 2009 Issue

Before and After: A Book Cover Case Study

Are you writing a book? If you are a consultant, speaker or coach, you may find that publishing a book may boost your credibility, open doors to more opportunities and help you land more gigs or clients. With the Internet at your fingertips and easy access to expert cover designers, editors, illustrators and page layout artists, it is much easier to self-publish a book than it was twenty years ago. You can take the role as general contractor and hire consultants to help assemble all the pieces.

To save money, you may be tempted to do more than just write the manuscript. But I caution you to not venture into areas outside your expertise. One area that should be done with care by an experience designer is your book cover.

Covers that scream “amateur” and have a made-at-home look are difficult to sell. A graphic designer or illustrator has the creativity, skills, software, access to stock photography, and printing knowledge that will make your cover stand out above others in the marketplace.

Shown below are two front cover designs. The first one is from our client, Cecilia Izquierdo, who asked us to use our magic and take her cover illustration to the next level.

The next cover design is the final version delivered by Marty Petersen, a talented illustrator and member of the MacGraphics team. When I first saw Marty’s illustration, it took my breath away. The clouds seemed more “real” to me than real clouds. Does it evoke any strong feelings in you?

Why does Marty’s cover have so much impact? In his own words, here is Marty's critique on the design elements that make this cover so powerful.

"Designing and illustrating a cover is always an exciting challenge, and I love getting involved with the concept, purpose and psychology of a book's message. Cecilia came to us with an endearing story and an illustration that provided great starting point, put lacked the punch and sophistication of a professionally designed cover.

I made her composition much more dramatic and evocative with better use of color, depth, balance and dimensional realism.

I created a darker overall illustration to bring the meaningful symbols —the halo, doves, light shafts — to life with dramatic bright tonal contrasts. The original’s softer blue sky and clouds lacked the visual pizzazz that is so important to grab and keep a book buyer’s attention.

The bold and evocative tonal contrasts forcefully direct the viewer's eye from the light source (halo), down the shafts of light and cloud bank into the lower text, quickly communicating the thrust of the book's message. The much more realistically rendered doves symbolize the real and spiritual nature of the book. I also used powerful color psychology by playing the colder, darker, less-soothing background tones against the radiant, uplifting tones of the golden illuminated light shafts.

In summary, the tonal contrasts, interplay of hot and cold color hues, and specific placement of dramatic symbolic elements creates much more powerful, communicative and effective cover image."

— Marty Petersen

Shown below are a couple more covers illustrated by Marty. Here's a little bit of information on him. He is an established professional commercial illustrator and designer based in the Colorado front range. He's been in the business for over 26 years, 12 of those being focused in digital media. Marty illustrates science fantasy and children's books, creates logos, event posters, interface designs, splash screens, static images & layered art for animation, digital photo retouching, technical and medical illustration. A very versatile artist, he can illustrate anything from basic line art to full color highly detailed illustrations in many styles; airbrush, watercolor, pen & ink. All of his creations are completely hand painted, digitally.

The Colony: A Political Tale, was named the First Place Winner in the General Fiction category of the Premier Book Awards. The author, Reggie Rivers received a letter from the Awards Chair who wrote, "The competition was fierce and it was a difficult decision choosing from so many deserving books. However, the judges were unanimous in their selection of The Colony: A Political Tale as a winning novel."

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What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-09-29T16:34:00.010-06:00

You may scroll down to see the October issue of Graphics Image Builder, but first I want to share some fantastic news with you.

A card I created of my puppy for my mom won the "2008-2009 Best Heartfelt Card Design of the Year" in the SendOutCards Picture Plus Card Design Contest. This card had already taken first place in July during a monthly contest, but now it is recognized as the best heartfelt card of the YEAR! I am thrilled and honored to receive this recognition. If you want to know how I did this, or learn more about SendOutCards, just pop me an email or call me at 888-796-7300. Here is the front of my card:

This is the inside spread. It is a 3-panel card.

This is the fold-over panel:

October 2009 Issue

Creating a Successful Marketing Piece — 10 Questions to Answer

Are you ready to create a marketing piece, but don’t know where to start? Regardless if you’re doing it yourself or getting professional design and writing help, there are some simple, yet essential steps to follow that will make the whole process go smoothly and prevent costly mistakes.

Listed below are 10 questions to answer before beginning your project.

1. What is the purpose or objective of your piece — to entertain, inform or to persuade? What action do you want your prospects to take — request information, visit your website or call you? Keep your marketing purpose in mind when you write the text, gather visuals to support the text, and set up your design.

2. Who is your intended target audience? Identifying your audience helps you to grab their interest by using a targeted message, persuasive words and appropriate graphics, photos, fonts and colors.

3. What is your graphics theme or brand? Are you creating a multiple-piece campaign? Develop a storyline and stick with it. Your message, fonts, and graphics should all build and support the theme you’ve selected.

4. How will you compose your message? Will you be writing the content or do you need the help of a copywriter or editor? Have you determined the key benefits and persuasive words for your piece?

5. What graphic information will you include? Fill in any gaps you have in your content with illustrations, photos, tables, quotes, and other graphic elements. When you gather these elements first, you’ll have a visual sense of how much space they will take up as you prepare your design.

6. Have you talked with your print shop about print specifications for this project? It’s important to determine trim size (final size of a printed piece), binding, bleeds (the area of a graphic or photo that extends beyond the edge of the trimmed sheet), number of inks, choice of spot inks or process inks, folds and scores (creasing paper mechanically so it will fold more easily) and paper stock before you even begin your design. Get multiple print bids; compare prices, quality and turnaround times.

7. How will your piece be distributed? Get bids and research options for distribution. Will electronic or printed distribution work best? Will the distribution of this piece be scheduled with other media releases?

8. What postal regulations may affect your design? If your piece will be mailed, check with the post office for regulations regarding labeling, folding, size restrictions, the weight of the paper to use, proper positioning, postal cost and exact wording of postal information on the mailer you’re designing. Is it going first class or bulk mail? Will your piece need to be designed to fit into an envelope?

9. What is your schedule? You’ll need to determine a realistic timetable for all processes in your project: planning, conceptualization, writing, editing, designing, proofreading, printing, binding, labeling, distribution.

10. What is the cost for each step in the process in your budget? Create a budget, then take time to shop around for the best prices that come within your budget.

By answering these questions, you will be better prepared for the five steps in the production process—the natural workflow for your project.

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What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-08-31T15:19:00.003-06:00

September 2009 Issue

Recommended Graphic Design and Marketing Products and Resources

I'd like to share with you some of the best graphic design and marketing resources I've found. These include magazines, books, conferences, blogs, webinars and forums. Some of these are free; all provide excellent value. I've added a page to my website and organized them into two lists: Graphic Design Resources and Marketing Resources. This is a long and comprehensive list, so be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page to see it all.

Click HERE to see this compilation on my website:

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What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-08-07T10:04:00.003-06:00

Check it out. My card design of my puppy, Logan was a winner in the SendOutCards Picture Plus contest:
Click here to see the winning card design.

2009-07-31T11:45:00.004-06:00

August 2009 Issue

What to Include in Your Book Media Kit?

A book media kit can be a paper folder or a page on your website with the essential information and marketing materials about your book. The media kit should provide the media with all the information they need to write a story, or do an audio or video interview with the author.

For a hard copy media kit you can gather the following items and arrange them in a classy folder (a solid color in gloss is good). Paste a color postcard of your book cover on the front of the folder.

For an online media kit, add a page on your website called "For the Media" or "Media Kit" and upload the following items. You can upload pdf files, MS Word files, jpg photos, and mp3 audios and video clips.

Your media kit may include all or some of the following items:

Fact Sheet/Book One-sheet
Book Summary
Book Excerpt
Copies of Published Articles
Book Reviews
Praise and Endorsements
Story Ideas and Backgrounders
Your Biography/Author Information
Your Photo: Black and White and Color
Frequently Asked Questions
Interview Questions and Answers
Interview Topics
Testimonials
Cover Letter
News Angles
Interview Topics
Brochures
Tour Schedule/Calendar of Author Events
Media Clippings
Publisher and Purchasing Information
Press Releases
Success Stories/Case Studies
CD, DVD with Audio and Video Clips
Additional Resources
Color Postcards of the Book Cover

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What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-06-28T16:18:00.004-06:00

July 2009 Issue

This month, my friend and teammate Mary Walewski of Buy The Book Marketing explains how to research your niche using resources found in your library and online.

Tailor Your Book to Your Market: 7 Tips to Researching Your Niche

By Mary Walewski Copyright © 2009

Most authors working on a first book never really give any thought as to who their book is for. “It’s for everyone!” I’ve been told with a radiant smile. As a marketing person, this declaration makes my heart go into my shoes.

If a book if for everyone, it’s really for no one. Probably the biggest mistake any first-time author makes is to think that just because they find their subject fascinating, that everyone else will too. Some people will find your topic fascinating; but a lot of people will not. Your job is to write to those people in that narrow little niche who are likely to buy.

But won’t that limit your book sales? Let’s take a hypothetical example:

Say there are 3 million people in the United States who are interested in your topic. Two million of them regularly spend time on the internet. One million of them discuss the topic on online forums. If you spent time networking and posting on forums, maybe 5% might like what you post, go to your website and buy your book. Could you live with selling only 50,000 books?

That little niche looks a lot more attractive now, doesn’t it?

Take some time during the first draft/research phase of your writing to really research who your potential audience is. Keep and add to your research as you write your book. Your payoff really comes when you formulate your marketing plan. You’ll know your market inside and out!

Here’s my seven best ways to research your niche:

1. Go to the library and throw yourself on the mercy of the reference librarian. You don’t really need to beg or anything - librarians mostly like to help people. Look for general books on your topic, also do a search of their periodicals, electronic databases, and depending on their collection, scholarly manuscripts. You want to know who’s writing about your topic, whether those books got any reviews or press, and whether the average public library has seen any demand for books or information on your topic. If your topic is more scholarly or esoteric, do your search at a college library.

2. Do keyword research to find out if anyone’s looking for information on your topic online. Go to Google’s keyword tool at http://www.google.com/sktool/. Type in keywords and see how many people are searching for information relating to your topic. This gives you two valuable pieces of information – how popular your topic is and what keywords should be included on your website so you can be found.

3. Set up a Google Alert on your topic using some of those same keywords. Go to http://google.com/alerts. You can have alerts from the news, websites, blogs, video, and groups. You can also decide if you want to receive the alerts daily, weekly, or as it happens. I prefer daily if I’m in a hurry; weekly updates if this is an ongoing research project.

4. Those alerts should include blogs and groups. Take the time to bookmark or subscribe to blogs you find interesting. Read them for a while, and then post comments on them. Hopefully you will develop friendships with bloggers on your topic. Consider starting a blog yourself so you can refer people back to your blog. Building this online platform will pay big dividends as you build an audience who will anticipate the arrival of your book. Join groups for the same reason. You can find hundreds of them on Yahoo Groups and Google Groups. Just remember to listen before your speak. Contribute to the group offering good information; don’t just promote your stuff. (In fact, if that’s all you do, you might get kicked off.) I also recommend following the Mom Rule when it comes to posting content on the internet: never post anything you wouldn’t want your mom to read.

5. Join local and national associations that have to do with your topic. Attend the meetings and conferences, read the newsletters, get involved.

6. Join groups on your topic on Facebook and/or LinkedIn depending on what’s appropriate. You’ll get acquainted with like-minded people and have the opportunity to ask and answer questions – a good way to build your reputation as an expert.

7. Use Twitter for asking questions and taking impromptu polls. As new as Twitter is, it has become an amazing venue for taking the pulse of your market.

About Mary Walewski
Do you want to market online, but you’re not sure how to start? Mary Walewski of Buy The Book Marketing, provides online marketing services including marketing plans, home study courses, and coaching to authors and entrepreneurs. Get free tips at my blog: www.buythebookmarketing.com.

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What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-05-27T12:51:00.014-06:00

June 2009 Issue

How to brand your business and launch your brand online . . . without losing your money or your mind!

A great idea can hit you anywhere. It can wake you at 2:00 a.m., so compelling that you jump out of bed, put on a pot of coffee, and begin outlining your business plan.

Remember, though, in the heady rush of dreaming up the business, to build a launching pad for it. In other words, a presence on the Internet. Because in today’s buzzword search-engine climate, a website is the most powerful marketing and sales tool available to any company, large or small, cottage industry or inspired solopreneur.

You don’t need to be a cyber-genius to go online and get results. But unless you have a clear business objective and message, you could waste a lot of time and money without accomplishing much. Here are seven steps to guide you in developing your website. Use this system as a clear roadmap, so you don’t find yourself wandering in circles. Don’t lose your mind — just grab a grande latte, sit down and think things through; ask yourself questions you probably already know the answers to.

Step 1: Strategize

Talk strategy with your website designer — clarify how your business goals and objectives translate to a website. You can’t create an effective website design if you don’t know what you want the website to do for you.

Step 2: Define Your Target Market and Niche

What overall customer base do you serve? — that’s your target market. Who are they? Any particular field or industry? What characteristics, interests, or needs do they have in common? Within that customer base, find a smaller group that’s a more specific fit for your product or service, and which may not be served by your competitors; or both — that’s your niche. If your target market is people in job search, for instance, your niche might be people in job search, over 50, who don’t just want to change jobs, they want to change careers.

Why do you need to define your target market and niche? Because: (1) you can’t be all things to all people; (2) you and your customer base need to find one another; and (3) the more specific you get, the more your niche will feel you understand them and can serve their specific needs.

Step 3: Position Yourself

If you’ve done your homework, then you’ve researched the competition. Who are they? What sets you apart in terms of customer base, quality, service, and other aspects? What makes you unique? Look for gaps in the market that aren’t being served – those gaps will help you position yourself and define your niche. Plus, it’ll help you hone your offerings, making you the expert who is sought out for your know-how.

Step 4: Describe “What” and “How”

Whether you’re selling a product or a service, what you’re offering has to solve something or offer something for your customers. How it does that is key to making them choose you — delivering the goods. If you can’t describe the “what” element, your customers won’t know you have a product or service that might benefit them. If you can’t describe the “how” element, your customers won’t be clear that it is doable, usable, and of value. The “how” element also gives, in precise terms, the ways in which the product or service will provide the results customers want. It is a descriptive roadmap from Point A (their need or want) to Point B (the results or benefits).

Step 5: Brand Yourself

Let’s say you’ve already named your business. Now you need images, words, feelings, to make it distinctive. To make it a brand. Branding involves several elements:

• Perception – How do you want your customers/clients to think about your business? How would your customers describe you and your business? What value do your products/services provide, and how do you want the world to perceive that value?

• Logo – Clarify your message based upon the perception you want your customers to have about your business, your niche, and how you want to position yourself. Distill that into an image that will be the visual representation of your company: your logo.

• Tagline – Then translate that into a powerful, compelling tagline. Keep it brief (3-7 words). Make it memorable. Be sure it fits your business. The best taglines are evocative, meaning they conjure images, thoughts, and feelings.

• Graphics – Choose visuals that best express and integrate with your logo and tagline. Support your message with every visible aspect: colors, typeface, styles, and other graphic elements.

Step 6: Create Your Website

The nature of your business will drive and designate your website by topic — e.g., content, features, directions, contact info, blogs, links, biography, photos, itineraries. Then start writing your copy, making sure its tone fits the website design. State the key benefits clients will receive, the key values you deliver, the key concerns you share.

What topics your does website needs to cover? — use that list to create your website pages. For example, a lecturer or public speaker may need a:

• Home page
• About page
• Who We Serve page
• Presentations/Keynotes page
• Workshops, Classes, and/or Retreats page
• Products (books, CDs, DVDs) page; Shopping Cart
• Meeting Planners page; Contact page
• Blog page; Resources page; E-zine; Special Reports
• Media page/Press room

Design and develop your site using your visual brand elements (logo, color). Review and test it before going live, to make sure everything works, error-free. Offer a free report or e-zine that provides value to website visitors, while building your list at the same time.

Subscribe to an auto-responder program, to make it easy to follow up with prospects and send out broadcasts to your clients. Then go live and do a final testing to ensure accuracy on all platforms.

Here are a couple of websites we've recently created for speakers:
www.FlairForGenius.com
www.ClearPictureLeadership.com

Step 7: Optimize, Market, and Network

First, identify your search engine optimization (SEO) goals and your return on investment targets. Hire a specialist to do foundational search engine optimization with meta-tags and images. With your specialist, set up monthly, robust search engine optimization strategies, driven by your specific goals.

Next, establish search engine marketing (SEM). Set up pages on and participate in social networking sites. Post comments on blogs that relate to your business, customer base, and overall market. Write and publish articles offline and online for inbound links.

These seven steps aren’t simple, and they take work, but they generate results and this year you just might watch your business take off. With a powerful brand, backed up by a website that delivers.

Are YOU ready to create a powerful brand and produce a website that delivers? Visit my website to receive a FREE 60-minute audio “Put the Bling Into Your Brand” and to learn more about our extraordinary branding, graphics and website design services: www.BrandingAndWebsiteDesign.com. Or call me toll-free 888-796-7300 to discuss your project. My team and I would be happy to give you an estimate of costs.

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What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-04-28T13:28:00.005-06:00

May 2009 Issue

Polish Your Book Interior with These Proven Typesetting Techniques

Choose Appropriate Fonts

A quick look on your software reveals myriad choices of fonts and you can always find more! But like shopping in a candy store, you have to make judicious selections.

It is important to select appropriate fonts to communicate your message to your readers, particularly when dealing with titles and headlines. Why? Because specific fonts can evoke a certain attitude and feeling that reinforces your intended message.

Fonts for Headlines

Choose a bold font with the right personality for your book. After all, fonts (like people) have personalities, and different designs will appeal to people of different ages and backgrounds. Some common bold fonts are Helvetica Bold, Gill Sans Bold, Eras Bold, Univers Black, and Franklin Gothic Demi. Steer away from fonts that are so stylized and decorative that they are difficult to read.

Typically book designers use a 13-, 14-, 16-, or 24-point size for headlines and subheads. Avoid using all capital letters for your heads, subheads, or table of contents, because they're difficult to read.

Fonts for Body Copy

The font you use for your body or text copy can have some personality, but make sure it is readable. Some easy-to-read fonts that are good choices for body copy are Garamond, Caslon, Goudy, Stone Print, New Century Schoolbook, and Janson Text. Typically, book designers use a 10-, 11-, or 12-point size for body copy. If your readers are either very young or senior citizens, then choose a simple, well-designed font in a larger size (13- or 14-point) so the font can be read without strain.

Paragraph Alignment

Most books are set with full-justified body copy, because the reader's eye can move more quickly across copy that has a consistent column width. Full-justified copy means the type is spaced in a way that both the left and right margins are straight and all lines are the same length. Using justified type makes a page look full and creates a tighter, more formal appearance than type that is not full justified (for example, text that is set ragged-right).

Set your column width to allow for at least a 1" to 1.25" gutter, and a .5" border for top, bottom, and outside edges. The larger measurement for the gutter allows the reader to see the entire layout without having to open the book to a point where the spine cracks and is damaged.

Word Spacing

Proper word spacing creates greater legibility and is also more pleasing aesthetically. Make sure there is neither too much space nor too little space between words. Too much space creates vertical "rivers of white" coursing through the pages, which is often seen in newspapers that have narrow columns. Page layout programs provide accurate controls for adjusting word and letter spacing (kerning).

Leading

Leading is the space between lines of type. Your choice of font, type size, word spacing, and length of line all affect the amount of leading you will need. Some visual judgment comes into play.

Length of Line (Column Width)

Reading many long lines of type causes fatigue. And lines that are too short break up words or phrases that are generally read as a unit. The length of line depends on the size of the type. Smaller type works best at shorter line lengths, while a larger type size is readable in a wide column length. A good rule of thumb is to set the line length between 40 and 65 characters long.

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What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-03-29T22:55:00.026-06:00

April 2009 Issue

A note to my Graphics Image Builder ezine readers: Below my exciting news is some valuable information on how to create dynamic book covers that will attract book buyers.

The MacGraphics Team Produces a Lucky 7 CIPA EVVY Book Awards for Our Clients!

Happy faces from left to right are editor Joyce Miller, editor Melanie Mulhall, author Eric Jensen, myself, graphic designer Kerrie Lian and publisher Mary Anne Harvey.

The MacGraphics book design team produced 7 EVVY awards and one Tech award at the 15th annual Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA) EVVY Book Awards Banquet held Saturday March 28th. The star of the night was my good friend and gifted graphic designer Kerrie Lian. She won a 2nd place Tech award for her compelling book cover design for Tears of a Warrior written by my clients Tony and Janet Seahorn. She also designed the interior of the book. Shown below are myself and Kerrie.

Tears of a Warrior also won a 1st place EVVY Award (overall book design, writing, editing and production) in the Non-Fiction/Experiences category. Tony and Janet had a previously scheduled engagement and were not able to attend the event but they were both very honored to receive the award. My friend and colleague, Karen Reddick did a fantastic job editing the book and Mary Walewski is helping the Seahorn’s market their book.

My client Eric Jensen took home two EVVY awards for his book, Forever and a Day. He won 1st place in the History category and 2nd place in Memoirs. Kerrie’s fabulous cover and interior design was very much a part of those wins. Joyce Miller did a great job editing the book.

Shown above are myself, Eric and Kerrie. Shown below is Eric's book cover.

Kerrie also designed the cover and interior of But I Don’t Want Eldercare! written by Terry Lynch and published by my client The Legal Center. Mary Anne Harvey of The Legal Center graciously accepted two EVVYs for the book: 2nd place in the Diet/Health/Fitness category and 3rd place in the Parenting/Family category.

Shown above are myself, Mary Anne and Kerrie. Shown below is Terry's cover.

My client Jim Keelan won a 3rd place EVVY for his book, How to Maintain Your Sanity in an Upside-Down World. My good friend and colleague Melanie Mulhall did an excellent job editing his book and accepted the award on behalf of Jim who wasn’t able to attend the banquet. Kerrie Lian had a hand in this book too. She designed the cover using Fred Eyer’s clever and whimsical illustration. Ronnie Moore designed the book interior. Shown below is Jim's book cover.

My client Dom Testa won his third EVVY. He took home a 1st place in the Juvenile category for Galahad III: The Cassini Code. This is the third book in his Galahad series to win an EVVY. It was a pleasure to design all three of his covers using David Hardy's fabulous paintings. Dom mentioned that his Galahad series may be optioned for a movie pilot. How very exciting!

I thoroughly enjoyed working with such a talented group of professionals this year, and I’m excited to create much more collaboration in 2009. Way to go team! Congratulations to all of you.

Tips for Designing Award Winning Book Covers

Keep in mind these elements when designing covers and interiors for your books, big and small.

Front Cover
The front cover presents your book title, subtitle, and your name. Golden opportunities often overlooked are including endorsements and short testimonials from VIPs.

I recommend using bold, contrasting lettering on the front cover. When choosing colors, consider how these colors will look when converted to black and white so your cover will reproduce well in black and white ads, catalogs, and flyers. Also make sure the font you use for the title is legible from a distance and appropriate for the book’s subject.

Covers that scream “amateur” and have a “made-at-home look” make it difficult to sell your book at all. That’s why it is best to seek the services of an experienced book cover designer. A designer has the creativity, skills, software, access to stock photography, and printing knowledge that will make your cover stand out above others in the marketplace.

Spine
Your name, book title, and publishing company logo show up on the spine. Make sure the information on the spine is clean, uncluttered, and legible. I recommend using bold, contrasting lettering on the spine as well.

Back Cover
Place the category name in the upper left-hand corner to help bookstores shelve your book properly. Write a headline that clearly addresses who should buy the book. It should be followed by sales copy explaining what the book is about and bulleted items listing the benefits to readers.

I recommend including no more than three testimonials and endorsements, as well as your bio and photograph. Close to the bottom, put “sales-closer” copy in bold print. Position the price in the lower left corner of the back cover. Also include the 13-digit ISBN number for cataloging and the bar code in the lower right corner (below ISBN number), which stores use for scanning information and price.

Don’t forget to include credits for your book cover’s illustrator, photographer, and/or designer.

Paper Stock for Book Covers
The standard perfect bound book cover (soft cover) is 10 pt C1S (coated one side). Curl-free film laminate that comes in gloss or matte finish will protect the ink on the cover. UV (ultra violet), aqueous, and varnish can also be used to protect the cover but are not as durable as lamination. Dust jackets are usually printed on an 80# or 100# C1S. In a casebound book (hard cover), the boards can be covered with a B grade cloth, leather, or paper and foil stamped. “Litho” (hard cover) books usually have an 80# C1S Litho paper laminated to a .88 pt. board.

Remember, book cover design is a form of packaging—and good packaging attracts buyers to products. That’s why successful organizations spend millions researching and developing the best product packaging possible.

Next month I’ll share my insights on how to design professional book interiors.

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What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-02-27T17:00:00.007-07:00

March 2009 Issue

How to Select Harmonious Colors

You experience harmonious colors in many areas of life: clothing, architecture, interior design, jewelry, gardening, as well as advertising, marketing, and corporate identity.

It becomes easy to select harmonious colors if you follow a proven color theory system. The steps below will show you how to create well-planned color schemes based on the “Bourges color circle” system. Albert Bourges based his color theory on a circle of 20 hues.

Complementary Colors
Complementary colors are exact opposites that enhance one another. When you blend the two together, you get neutral black. When used together, they both appear brighter and more exciting. To find complementary colors, just draw a line through the circle from a hue on one side to the hue on the exact opposite side of the circle. (Refer to the diagram below.)

M. E. Chevreul discovered that complementary colors create an unusual optical illusion. Stare at a color for several seconds, then shut your eyes. Open them, and look at a white sheet of paper. Immediately an image of the color’s complement will appear!

Split Complements
If you would like a palette of three colors, first find the true complement of your chosen color; then move one, two or three more spaces away on either side. A split complementary color scheme is usually more pleasing than a true complementary scheme. (Refer to the diagram below.)

Four Color Harmony
To create a color scheme consisting of four colors, first select a color and its complement, then draw a perpendicular line across the circle so that your lines resemble a cross. (Refer to the diagram below.)

This will create a balanced palette of two sets of complements and two related pairs of colors.

Select one of these four hues as your main theme color, then use a small amount of the other three hues to enhance it. You may include darker or lighter shades of these four colors for more variety.

For more information about the Bourges color circle and the science of color, see Color Bytes by Jean Bourges.

What if YOU could know more secrets from an award-winning graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2009-01-27T17:21:00.013-07:00

February 2009 Issue

10 Easy Ways to Make your Flyer Stand Out in the Crowd

A flyer is an inexpensive and highly effective way to grab attention in a very busy marketplace. How do you make your flyer stand out in the crowd? Here are some techniques that professional designers use to make flyers "pop."

1. Write a snappy headline or title.

Make it memorable, unusual or provocative using a few carefully chosen powerful words. Popular titles contain one or more of these words: Easy, The Secrets to, Unlock, Finally, Insider, Time Sensitive, How to, Free Bonuses, Now You Can, Discover, Proven.

2. Use colorful or striking graphics.

One large image will have more impact than many smaller images. This image will be your "focal point." A stunning photo or illustration grabs attention, creates a mood, and supports your story. It will draw your readers in. You can purchase inexpensive but quality stock photos on the Internet. Download individual photos or purchase a CD with hundreds of images.

3. Focus on the benefits of your product or service.

Your prospects will ask the question, "What's in it for me?" Write from the their perspective using the words "you" and "your." Avoid using the following words: we, us, I and our. Be sure to keep your text short and to the point. Some of the most powerful words to use are: free, save, love, new, results, and guarantee. Break up long paragraphs with bullet points and place them in a separate box.

4. Use compelling testimonials and case studies.

Be sure to include the first and last name, company name and location of the person providing the endorsement.

5. Organize your page with boxes, borders and areas of contrasting colors.

You don't need to fill your flyer with wall-to-wall text and graphics. Incorporate some white space to make certain elements stand out and to make the flyer easy to read.

6. Make your points easily identifiable.

Highlight titles and subtitles in bold, but avoid using ALL CAPS as they are more difficult to read.

7. Don't get too complicated.

Make it simple with two typefaces, and align items to a grid. Your page layout program will provide non-printing guidelines. Use the "snap to guidelines" function to align items easily to the grid. Be aware of printing margins. I suggest you create your layout with 1/2" margins on all sides, or add 1/8" for bleeds on items that print off the edge of the page.

8. Don't forget to proofread.

Have someone else proofread your work. Check your contact information. Dial the phone numbers on the flyer to make sure they are correct, and type in the URL of your website to make sure it is correct, too.

9. If you are on a tight budget, try this.

Select bright-colored or unique paper, and print with black ink. Use shades of grey to provide tones and contrasting background areas.

10. Offer a discount or special limited-time price.

Design a coupon on the bottom quarter of the flyer. Be sure to clearly state the deadlines and limitations of the offer. If it is a mail-in coupon, be sure to include the payment specifications with areas for filling out credit card information, mailing address, etc.

You don't need to re-invent the wheel when creating your flyer. Use these proven techniques and you will see big results in your marketing efforts. What if YOU could know the secrets of a 1st class graphic designer that would help you create amazing marketing materials in a few hours, would you want to know how? Find out now at www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

Karen Saunders is the author of Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn about this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2008-12-31T15:08:00.005-07:00

January 2009 Issue

How to Scan Photos at the Correct Resolution

Here's how to get the best resolution when scanning photos on your desktop scanner. First, I'll explain some of the basics and terminology and then I'll provide a handy table for reference at the end of this post.

Halftones and Lines per Inch (LPI)
In graphics arts terminology, a photograph from your camera is called a “continuous tone” image. Printing presses require a continuous tone image to be converted into a “halftone.” A halftone is created by placing a “screen” made of thousands of dots on the photo and taking a “picture” of it.

Nowadays, this screening process happens using computer software. The screens vary in density and the resolution is measured in lines per inch or LPI. This term refers to the number of dots that the screen places on the photo for every linear inch. The higher the LPI, the smoother the shades look.

Pixels Per Inch (PPI)
Pixels per inch is a unit of measure for scanned images. For example, one photo scanned at a higher PPI than another will have more pixels and the pixels will be smaller. This combination results in getting a better resolution and therefore a higher quality of photo.

Scanning Resolution for Print Images
The resolution you need to scan your photo depends on the size of the original image, the size you want to reproduce it to, and the output method or device you’re using. Your printed output choices include laser, inkjet, digital and offset printing.

I recommend that you scan your photo so that the number of pixels per inch (PPI) at output size is two times the number of lines per inch (LPI). For example, if you are scanning a photo for an offset printing press, your printer may tell you the photo will be screened at 150 LPI. Based on this information, you will need to scan your photo at 300 PPI. If you scan an image at too low a resolution, it may show pixellation, often referred to as “bitmapping.”

Another reason to scan your photo at the final size and not enlarge it is because enlarging it will require a higher PPI in direct relation to the amount of enlargement. It would be considered overkill to scan your photo higher than two times the LPI because the PostScript software can’t use the larger file. In addition, it will take a longer time to download and process.

Scanning Resolution for Website Images
Unlike printed output, websites do not have LPI requirements. Still, I recommend you always scan a photo being used on the Internet at the actual size you intend to display it. To prevent having photos that take a long time to download when accessing your website, I suggest you do not scan your photos at a resolution that’s higher than 72 PPI.

Scanning Photos from Already Printed Sources
Avoid scanning a photo that has already been printed because it has already been “screened” (converted to halftone). If you do, you won’t like the blotchy results you’ll get.

Scanning Specifications
Refer to the chart below for recommended scanning resolutions.

* Always ask your printer for the specific LPI
** Websites do not have LPI requirements
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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services (303-680-2330), a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of graphic design and relationship marketing. Click here FreeCard to learn how to receive a custom greeting card design and a gift account with a greeting card company.

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Visit my website to see portfolio samples of book covers, brochures, logos, ads and speaker one-sheet designs: www.MacGraphics.net

You may contact me by email or phone:
karen@macgraphics.net
or call me toll-free at 888-796-7300
In Denver: 303-680-2330

If you enjoyed reading my ezine and posts, you will LOVE my ebook, Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! This organized guidebook has short chapters, over 200 hyperlinks and full-color graphic examples. Hundreds of business owners have used my simple do-it-yourself reference guide to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn how you can get this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2008-12-03T12:33:00.010-07:00

Today I have some good news and some bad news. First the good news.

The good news is that the great people at SmallBusinessCEOMagazine.com are publishing an article in their December issue that was submitted by yours truly. Click here to read my article: "How Relationship Marketing Can Help Your Business During Bad Economic Times."

If you haven’t visited SmallBusinessCEOMagazine.com yet, you’ll have to check this out. They have created an incredible open-to-the-public online magazine just for small business owners and entrepreneurs like us. You can access articles written by the top people in their professions. They also have a calendar of upcoming events for entrepreneurs and small business people from around the world.

. . . and now they have me too for one of their great articles! I’ll be sharing proven principles of success with relationship marketing in their newest issue.

Best of all, Small Business CEO Magazine offers free access. It just doesn’t get better than this! Click here to read it now.

Oh, the bad news? The article I submitted will be only in the current issue for one month! That means it’s super-
important that you go see it NOW!

Please join me this month for a FREE issue of their online magazine, compliments of Small Business CEO Magazine.com.

Warmly,
Karen Saunders
MacGraphics Services
Sr. Manager SendOutCards
Toll-free 888-796-7300
www.Macgraphics.net
www.SendOutCards.com/KarenSaunders

P.S. While you are at Small Business CEO Magazine, you may want to subscribe so you never miss an issue of this musthave resource for entrepreneurs and small business people!

2008-11-19T22:14:00.005-07:00

December 2008 Issue

66 Ways to Turn Your Expertise into Profits

➢ Books - Published or Self-Published

➢ Mini-Books - Smaller versions of your book with cut-down content used as premiums

➢ E-Book- Compile related product information or instructions into an ebook. You could publish it in text, pdf, html format

➢ E-Book Of Reviews - Publish an ebook of stuff that’s related to your target audience that you could review like products, web sites, movies, etc

➢ Dictionary Of Terms-Publish a web directory or ebook dictionary of terms relating to your specific business industry or subject.

➢ Audio/MP3 Books

➢ Transcripts - Create an ebook of text transcripts of a related live event. It can be a seminar, speech, class, interview, etc.

➢ Article Compilation

➢ Blog Compilation

➢ Teleseminars - Expert Call Ins Set up a date and time when your customers can call up and talk directly with experts that are related to your industry

➢ Online Video-Allow customers to download or view a related how-to video or informative seminar right over the internet.

➢ Webinars over the internet

➢ Audio/MP3 Programs - Allow customers to download and listen to a recording of an expert that is being interviewed right over the internet

➢ Video Trainings- DVD’s/MP4’s

➢ Multi-Media Products - Combine Printed materials, video and CD’s

➢ Home-Study Courses - Multi-media product format designed to be a complete system in a box.

➢ E-mail Lessons - Teach a class via e-mail about a subject your customers want to learn. E-mail them study materials, worksheets, assignments, etc

➢ Workbooks/Manuals

➢ Text Workbook - Publish a text format ebook so your audience can learn and practice a certain skill. ie: a text workbook for writing ad headlines. 

➢ Coaching Programs

➢ Hourly Consulting /Coaching

➢ Long-Term Consulting/Coaching Contracts

➢ Subscription Consulting - Ongoing consulting for a monthly or annual fee

➢ Public Seminars

➢ Train-the-Trainer Programs

➢ Corporate Training Programs - Your material licensed for use on a company-wide basis

➢ BootCamps

➢ TeleBootCamps

➢ Mentor Program - Give your customers unlimited consulting with their purchase. Allow them to contact you by e-mail, phone, fax, in person, etc

➢ Licensing - Your products, services and content distributed by others under your name or theirs

➢ Infommerical Product - Product designed to sell on the radio or via television infohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifmercials

➢ Subscription CD/ MP3 Series

➢ E-mail Newsletter-Publish an informative e-zine that keeps your customers informed of important or helpful information related to their purchase

➢ Audio/Video E-Zine – Give customers an upgraded version of your e-zine in online audio or video format. Non-paying customers could only get it in e-mail.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
➢ Radio or Television Show

➢ Syndicated Column - Your articles appearing regularly in periodicals

➢ Private-Label Magazine - Magazine with your name and title, but produced by others for your use

➢ Ghostwriting & Co-Authoring - Writing for others with cover credit or not

➢ Branded Retail Products - Hard and soft goods produced for retail consumers with your logo or name

➢ Special Reports & White Papers

➢ CD/DVD Training - Typically sold for use as a training tool, but can be used for marketing, too

➢ Adult Professional Education- (Continuing Education Units) - For industry associations or for consumers through local seminar companies

➢ Compiled Reference Guides - Directories and other compilations on useful forms, resources and material

➢ Software - Your own or templates designed for use with off-the-shelf applications

➢ Industry Conventions & Trade Shows - With revenues from workshops and trade show booths

➢ Business-Building & Practice-Building Systems - Materials developed to help others increase revenue

➢ Seminar Company Workshops - Your material developed and licensed for presentation by others at public seminars

➢ Membership Clubs ie: Speakers’ Community - www.speakerscommunity.com

➢ Checklists- Create a list of things to check for a particular process related to your business’s topic. Ex: a checklist for creating a web site.

➢ Templates-Design- a template that will make a certain action easier for your target audience. Ex: a template for writing a resume

➢ Advice Service - Offer a live chat room were you or your employees can give your visitors and customers advice on your business topic

➢ Human Research Offer a free service where you will search for sites or information your visitors or customers can’t seem to find online. 

➢ Plans - Create ready-made plans for a particular project your target audience wants to accomplish. It could be marketing plans, landscape plans, etc. 

➢ Forms - Offer printable, ready-made forms your visitors or customers would use regularly. It could be legal forms, organizational forms, etc. 

➢ E-mail Reports - Publish quarterly e-mail reports that contains new research discoveries, surveys, and statistics about your related industry.

➢ Customer’s Only Discussion Board - Make a place online for your customers to communicate about your business or similar information.

➢ Private Web Site - Give access to a private part of your web site were customers can find helpful information non customers can’t access.

➢ Online Utility -Give customers a web utility that will make their life easier. It can be a calculator, graphic creator, web site submitter, etc. 

➢ Announcement Alerts - Give customers e-mail alerts about critical information or product releases before your non customers find out about it

➢ Discounts - Allow your customers to get lower prices on your products and other related products other businesses sell

➢ Private Invitations - Give your customers private invitations to customer events that non customers cannot attend

➢ Online Rolodex/Resource List - Compile a list of web sites or online contacts that are related to the product. You could publish it on CD/PDF or on the web

➢ Archived Information - Bundle together some older information that’s no longer available. It could be e-zine back issues, blog, articles, transcripts, etc. 

➢ Statistics eReport - You could compile a report of different statistics that’s related to their purchase. It could be surveys, tests, special studies, etc. 

➢ Personal Notes E-File - Collect notes that you’ve taken about your industry and compile them into a downloadable file.

➢ To Do List Or Instructions - Publish a list of instructions or things to do in order to accomplish a goal your customers would want to
complete.

Susan Levin is an international marketing consultant and the founder and owner of www.SpeakerServices.com. Her company offers training, marketing and development services for professionals who are interested in growing their business and income through speaking. Learn more about the Speakers’ Bootcamp and the 3 camera Video Demo Showcase that Speaker Services produces click here: Speakers' Bootcamp and Video Demo Showcase

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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services (303-680-2330), a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of graphic design and relationship marketing. Click here FreeCard to learn how to receive a custom greeting card design and a gift account with a greeting card company.

------------------------

Visit my website to see portfolio samples of book covers, brochures, logos, ads and speaker one-sheet designs: www.MacGraphics.net

You may contact me by email or phone:
karen@macgraphics.net
or call me toll-free at 888-796-7300
In Denver: 303-680-2330

If you enjoyed reading my ezine and posts, you will LOVE my ebook, Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! This organized guidebook has short chapters, over 200 hyperlinks and full-color graphic examples. Hundreds of business owners have used my simple do-it-yourself reference guide to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn how you can get this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2008-10-30T17:58:00.008-06:00

November 2008 Issue

Tap into the Power of a Dynamic Design Team

Are you hunting all over the Internet to find competent graphic professionals to help build your brand, design marketing materials and craft your website? Is it possible to find one studio or designer who does it all?

Based on my 26 years experience in graphic design, I’ve found it’s impossible for one person to do it all, and do it well. We all have limitations on our time and skills. So to stay competitive and serve my clients better, I’ve built relationships with other professionals in the same or supporting fields. I’ve also established strategic alliances with marketing consultants and coaches. We often refer work to each other with confidence our clients are getting the best service possible.

In the past year my book, online marketing efforts and speaking gigs have attracted more clients than ever before. In fact, my business has evolved to accommodate the increase in projects. Eighteen years ago I launched Macgraphics Services as a solopreneur. Now I am art directing a team of experts. The people I've chosen to work with have the depth, experience and wisdom in their respective fields.

Lower Cost and Flexibility
I believe a team of experts can do a professional job at a lower cost than a design studio or agency. First, I don’t have the overhead that a studio has because I work from my home office. Second, I have the flexibility to select the right person for each job. Over time, we become familiar with each other's working styles and get comfortable coming to together on a project by project basis. A well-orchestrated design and production team can deliver fantastic results very quickly. I’ve seen it happen many times.

A good design team understands and works well with each other. We can leverage copy and graphics from one part of a large project for other marketing pieces the client needs. For example website copy can easily be tailored into copy for a one sheet. File compatibility is never an issue because we all use the same or compatible software applications.

A “Virtual” Office
Marketing and design projects can be done “virtually” anywhere in the world using instant messaging, VOIP, email, and FTP file transfers. PayPal and eCommerce transactions make it easy to handle the financial transactions. A design studio or agency housed in one single brick and mortar office is no longer necessary.

I often conduct business using 3-way calling and an online service called GoToMeeting.com. With GoToMeeting all participants call one number to conference in, and all view the same image on one of our computers. This is a fabulous way to present comps to clients and get real-time feedback. It’s fun too!

The Elements of a Strong Team
A team is only as good as all its parts. It also needs strong leadership and direction. I’ve learned a lot about managing a team in the past year. I know my team cares about our clients and support each other as much as I do. I've found it’s also important to establish communication standards and a list of responsibilities for each member. We trust and rely on each other. We respect each other’s time and hold each other accountable for our part in each project. These are all elements you should look for when selecting a design team.

A sincere “Thank You”
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I want to take a moment and express my gratitude for the people who work with me. I’ve assembled a fabulous team of talented professionals whose standards are as high or higher than mine. This arrangement has allowed me to grow my business and serve more people.

I am forever grateful for your excellent work and friendship.

Thank you . . .
Kerrie Lian—graphic designer
Cherri LaMarr —graphic designer
Lauren Klopfenstein — graphic designer
Erin Adler — graphic designer
Matt McKendree — graphic and website designer
Meg Grace — website design and ecommerce
Melanie Mulhall — editor and writer
Barbara McNichol — editor and writer
Barbara Munson — editor and writer
Karen Reddick — editor and writer
Patrice Rhoades-Baum — marketing consultant and copywriter
Julie Wassom — marketing consultant
Joyce Jay — photographer
Joyce Turley — illustrator and graphic designer
Marty Petersen — illustrator and graphic designer
Fred Eyer — illustrator and caricaturist
Kelly Johnson — virtual assistant
Helena Mariposa — proofreader
Ronnie Moore — interior book design and layout
Pamela Getchell — word processor

Warmly,
Karen

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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services (303-680-2330), a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of graphic design and relationship marketing. Click here FreeCard to learn how to receive a custom greeting card design and a gift account with a greeting card company.

------------------------

Visit my website to see portfolio samples of book covers, brochures, logos, ads and speaker one-sheet designs: www.MacGraphics.net

You may contact me by email or phone:
karen@macgraphics.net
or call me toll-free at 888-796-7300
In Denver: 303-680-2330

If you enjoyed reading my ezine and posts, you will LOVE my ebook, Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! This organized guidebook has short chapters, over 200 hyperlinks and full-color graphic examples. Hundreds of business owners have used my simple do-it-yourself reference guide to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn how you can get this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2008-09-29T20:12:00.010-06:00

October 2008 Issue

Top 10 Website Production Tips

© 2008 Lauren Klopfenstein, Lauren Graphics, Inc.

I’ve asked a good friend of mine Lauren Klopfenstein, who is one of my trusted “graphics team” members to share her top 10 website production tips. For several years now Lauren and her associates have consistently delivered exceptional designs to my clients. We’ve worked together on branding, logos, websites, packaging design and a number of marketing and advertising projects. Here are her tips -- does your website meet this criteria?

1. Have a plan, ask yourself some important basic questions

Think about your site and what you want it to do. Spend time evaluating what you think your customers want from your site. What information are they looking for when they sign on? They are not going to read paragraph upon paragraph of copy, but too little copy is just as bad. Go deeper than “I just need a presence on the web, my competitors are doing it so should I” kind of thinking. Use your website as an additional form of marketing. It is here to stay, make yours be the best that it can.

2. Hire a “Team” for your website design

Whatever group you pick, make sure they have available to you:

Writer/Organizer. Start your site by hiring a good writer/organizer that specializes in website development. They will interview you, come up with a plan, write specifically for the web keeping your text short and to the point, oversee the whole project and make sure you message is not lost.

Graphic Designer. These are the people that are going to make your site look good and make it work.

Programmer. The graphic designer may only know programming to a point, depending on the complexity of your site, he/she will need to bring in a programmer. Having both can really make your site do great things.

Optimization Expert. There are many levels of this part of your site. Make sure you talk about this early in the process. Every site should have optimization in the plan but depending on what your product is and what you want your site to do, depends on what level of optimization you need and what you are willing to spend on it.

3. Home (Landing) Page

This is the most important page. It must be inviting, must show your strength as a company with good solid design and must have brief strong copy explaining who you are. It must be customer-friendly so that within a few minutes of entering your site they have some idea of the flow of the site and what information they can learn about you and where to find it.

4. Navigation

Keep it simple. Even the most “computer challenged” people should be able to move through it easily. Don’t forget to look at your site as your customers will look at it and plan accordingly.

5. Contact Info

Your prospects and customers should never have to search high and low for your contact information. Have your phone number and address on the bottom of every page –- it makes your company look and feel credible.

6. Ask for feedback

While the site being built, share the “working” URL to colleagues and get feedback. Some suggestions may be a minor tweak but will make a big difference. Some suggestions may be too complex implement immediately, but keep them in mind when you revisit the site after 6 months.

6. Get your customer’s contact information to build a database

Give your customers an opportunity to give you their information. Maybe they want someone to contact them for a quote or they want to know what is new or to subscribe to your ezine. This is a great way to grow your database and send out monthly newsletters to their e-mail. It keeps your name in front of them.

7. Browser-friendly

How many times have you gone on a site and it does really bizarre things? Make sure your site is tested on all of the top browsers. Some odd things may still happen when people are using outdated browser software, but that is out of anyone’s control.

8. Pay your designer or IT person to keep your site current

This is so important. If you have old information on your site you lose credibility. If you are too busy to do it yourself, hire someone to make sure it gets done. This is an inexpensive way to keep ahead of your competitors.

10. Keep it fresh

You have spent time and money building a great site. In 6 months look at it again and update “the look” even if it is as simple as changing the navigation buttons. You’ll get less return on your investment if your site appears stagnant or is outdated. Technology is changing quickly, and you want your site to take advantage of it.

The following are some of the high quality websites created by Lauren and her associates:

www.spiritdogs.com
www.uhah.net
www.clearpictureleadership.com
www.coloradostyle.com
www.hoffmiller.com
www.homewrights.com
www.theinevitableyou.com

If you are ready to upgrade or create a website that delivers, give me a call 888-796-7300. I’ll set up a conference call with Lauren and my other website production team members to discuss your needs and our design process.

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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services (303-680-2330), a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of graphic design and relationship marketing. Click here FreeCard to learn how to receive a custom greeting card design and a gift account with a greeting card company.

------------------------

Visit my website to see portfolio samples of book covers, brochures, logos, ads and speaker one-sheet designs: www.MacGraphics.net

You may contact me by email or phone:
karen@macgraphics.net
or call me toll-free at 888-796-7300
In Denver: 303-680-2330

If you enjoyed reading my ezine and posts, you will LOVE my ebook, Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! This organized guidebook has short chapters, over 200 hyperlinks and full-color graphic examples. Hundreds of business owners have used my simple do-it-yourself reference guide to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn how you can get this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2008-08-25T16:44:00.004-06:00

September 2008 Issue

My good friend and colleague, Patrice Rhoades-Baum has graciously provided another great article for this month's issue. Along with my artist associates, she's done a fantastic job helping several of my clients transform their websites into powerful marketing tools—check this one out: (www.ClearPictureLeadership.com) , and I learned first hand she knows her stuff. I'm sure you'll find this article to be of value. If you are ready to upgrade or create a website that delivers, give Patrice a call: (719) 685-1108, and when you do, let her know you learned about her from this blog.

10 Rules of Thumb to Select a Great Domain Name

By Patrice Rhoades-Baum Copyright © 2008

Having a hardworking domain name for your website helps you clearly communicate with your prospects and clients. A great domain name makes it easy for prospects and clients to find your website, communicates something specific about your business, and helps protect your brand.

Here are 10 rules of thumb to select a great domain name:

1. It’s easy to say.
This also means your domain name must be easy for teleclass, workshop, and radio show listeners to accurately hear.
Poor: TeamSpecialists.com
Better: TeamExperts.com

2. It’s easy to spell.
Poor: PhenomenalMnemonicDevices.com
Better: GreatMemoryDevices.com
Best: MemoryTools.com

3. It’s easy to read, even when all letters are lowercase.
Poor: theenglishpoets.com
Better: englishpoets.com
Note: Make it easy for readers by capitalizing each word in your printed materials.

4. It’s catchy and easy to remember.
Example (this is one of Taco Bell’s actual domain names): FourthMeal.com
This example comes with a caveat; I don’t advocate eating a fourth meal of fast food late at night!

5. It’s clear, not cryptic.
Do you have a favorite phrase or industry jargon that’s meaningful to you? Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes: Would they have a clue what your clever domain name means?

6. It’s only 1 or 2 words long (3 words is acceptable; 4 is generally too long unless the words are short).
Acceptable: WritingTipsForKids.com
Acceptable, but confusing when stated verbally: WritingTips4Kids.com

7. It has the fewest syllables possible.
Poor: ExperiencedCareerAdvisors.com
Better: CareerExperts.com

8. It communicates your business or brand.
Acceptable: JaniceJones.com
Better: JonesCPA.com

9. It ends with .com.
Let’s say you want to purchase LeadershipStrategies.com, but it’s already taken. Don’t buy LeadershipStrategies.net. This will just confuse your clients. Keep researching – you’ll come up with a domain name that fits these criteria. Also, if you live in Canada; your best choices would be .com and .ca.

10. It may use hyphens but not underscores.
Poor: Janice_Jones_CPA.com
Better: Jones-CPA.com
Note: In this example, Janice Jones is wise to own at least two domain names: JonesCPA.com (her main website) and Jones-CPA.com. The latter helps protect her brand and is easier to read in printed materials. However, she must be sure to redirect visitors from Jones-CPA.com to her main site, JonesCPA.com.

More tips to select and purchase domain names:

• Buy various versions to protect your brand – If our fictional accountant, Janice Jones uses JonesCPA.com as her main website, she should consider purchasing JonesCPA.net, JonesCPA.biz, JonesCPA.info, JaniceJones.com, JaniceJonesCPA.com, JJonesCPA.com, JonesAccounting.com, etc. This might seem expensive, but it will protect her brand if another Janice Jones happens to be a CPA.

• Purchase your business’s tagline and book titles – If possible, purchase the tagline of your business, since this is foundational to your brand. And purchase the domain name that reflects any books, audio programs, or information products that you’ve created or plan to create. You can use these domains as sales pages to sell your product as well as protect your brand.

• Use redirects – If Janice Jones’s main website is JonesCPA.com, all her other domain names can be set up to automatically transfer visitors to that main site. You can also redirect your product’s domain name to the correlating page on your website.

• Buy common misspellings of your domain name – What if our fictional accountant’s name is Janice Kavanaugh? She would be wise to purchase the domain names KavanaughCPA.com and CavanaughCPA.com. The misspelled website address should redirect to her main site. Remember, using redirects enables visitors to arrive at your website, even if they accidentally type a slight alteration.

• Buy domain names with hyphens – In print, domain names with hyphens are easier to read. Also, buying versions of your domain names with hyphens can help protect your brand.

• Use www.NameBoy.com to brainstorm and find available names – This website offers an easy tool to quickly brainstorm oodles of potential domain names for your business. You can purchase domain names at NameBoy.com, GoDaddy.com, and multiple other websites. I’ve been purchasing my domain names at GoDaddy.com, because I like their customer service.

• Don’t wait! Make the investment now – If you have an idea for a book or information product that you may someday create, be sure to snap up the available domain name now. Great domain names are rare and precious commodities!

When selecting a great domain name, explore the possibilities, think about what different names communicate to prospects and clients, be creative, and have fun!

About Patrice Rhoades-Baum
If you own a business, your website is your most powerful marketing and sales tool. Marketing consultant and copywriter Patrice Rhoades-Baum teams with entrepreneurs and small-business owners to make their websites DELIVER: clients, income, credibility, results, and success. A Colorado resident and avid outdoorswoman, Patrice is renowned for her down-to-earth website strategies. Visit www.WebsitesDeliver.com for a free audio workshop: “10 Strategies to Make Your Website Deliver!”

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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services (303-680-2330), a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of graphic design and relationship marketing. Click here FreeCard to learn how to receive a custom greeting card design and a gift account with a greeting card company.

------------------------

Visit my website to see portfolio samples of book covers, brochures, logos, ads and speaker one-sheet designs: www.MacGraphics.net

You may contact me by email or phone:
karen@macgraphics.net
or call me toll-free at 888-796-7300
In Denver: 303-680-2330

If you enjoyed reading my ezine and posts, you will LOVE my ebook, Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! This organized guidebook has short chapters, over 200 hyperlinks and full-color graphic examples. Hundreds of business owners have used my simple do-it-yourself reference guide to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn how you can get this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2008-07-25T14:57:00.002-06:00

August 2008 Issue
Relationship Marketing for the 21st Century

Quick! Answer this question: What do you think of when you hear the term “relationship marketing”? If the only things that came to mind were your local business networking group, local chamber of commerce, or service club, you might not be aware of new strategies in 21st century relationship marketing.

There is nothing wrong with any of these organizations, but if your relationship marketing efforts begin and end with them, you are not only operating under the old rules of relationship marketing, you are stuck in the 20th century. 21st century relationship marketing makes active use of Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 and Social Media

Only a few years ago, social media was something most people thought of as a tool for teenagers and college students. That has changed. Facebook now has more than 80 million active users and the fastest growing demographic of Facebook users is the over-25 age group.

If that didn’t make you sit up and take note, it should have. Your customers and potential customers probably have a computer and probably have high speed Internet access. And if they are not already using social media of some kind, just give it a few months. They will be.

Think you are immune? How did you access this article? There is a good chance you came to it online. The communication mogul of the 21st century is the World Wide Web and the tools that make it work have advanced so much in such a short time that the buzz is now about Web 2.0.

What is Web 2.0? No, you don’t need to throw out your year-old computer or buy new software. Web 2.0 really relates to the growing trend to make the web more interactive, collaborative, innovative, and social.

If you favor relationship marketing over the hard sell, then this is good news for you. The growth of interactive social vehicles on the Web supports anyone who prefers their marketing to be personal. Blogs, wikis, business-oriented media sites, and social networking sites allow relationship oriented business people to potentially touch exponentially more people than any community networking event could. Why? Because they not only have the power of the World Wide Web and its spider web of connections behind them, but they are structured to make viral contact more than a concept.

But if you are new to this world of social/business media networking, how can you get started? Here are three options to get you into the Web 2.0 world fast.

Blogging

If you have a product, service, or interest about which you are passionate, there may be no easier way to connect with potential customers, colleagues, and others who need what you have or know than through blogging.

If the idea of creating a blog makes your palms sweat, fear not. Not only are blogs easier than ever to set up (even a complete amateur can create one in a few minutes these days), but you may not need to create your own—at least not immediately.

Comment on Existing Blogs

Do an Internet search of key words relating to your interest. Let’s say you are an Audiologist. Do a search using words like “blogs about hearing loss” and go exploring. Read what is being posted. Submit comments. If this feels a bit foreign to you, think of it exactly as you would if you were at a face-to-face networking event chatting with folks. It is really an online way of doing just that. The difference is that you will potentially be touching many more people, including potential customers. Be a frequent visitor to sites that are related to your professional expertise and you may find yourself becoming the go-to person for those in need of that expertise.

Create Your Own Blog

Consider starting your own blog, too. It has never been easier to create a blog. Both Wordpress (www.wordpress.com) and Blogger (www.blogger.com) offer free blogging that is so easy to set up, you can do it in less time than you can eat lunch. By creating your own blog, you have the opportunity to introduce the subjects you want to address the concerns of your clients and potential clients. If you are an Audiologist, that might include information on advances in the area of implanted auditory prostheses, tools for addressing hearing loss amongst baby boomers, hearing screening protocols for newborns and school-aged children . . . or virtually any other area of the field.

Consider treating your blog as an interactive newsletter. That is, write a blog post and email your list (clients, colleagues, friends, and others) that a new item has been posted. Tell them the subject of the post, give them a hyperlink to it, encourage them to leave a comment, and suggest that they let others know about your blog. Keep the discussion going when you get comments by responding to them.

What else can you do with your blog? Use it as a way to collect customer feedback. Do an informal survey. Add a link to an RSS feed service. Include an event calendar. The possibilities are endless. Keep your focus on fostering and nurturing relationships that will further your business in an organic way and always, always make sure your blog and website are linked.

Facebook and Its Relatives

Facebook is just one of the many social networking sites on the Internet. Other well known ones include Ning, MySpace, and LinkedIn. Some sites, like Facebook and MySpace, have a broad focus. Others, like the business-focused LinkedIn, are specific in focus. What they all have to offer is the opportunity to touch more people than you could ever touch on your own, no matter how many networking groups you belong to.

Some sites, like Facebook, provide the opportunity to add a customized page you can use to promote a business. Facebook, Ning, LinkedIn, and other sites also allow the creation of groups (such as groups focused on the field of audiology). By joining these groups, you connect with a virtual network of colleagues. You also become more visible to potential clients who need your services.

And You Don’t Have to Drive to an Event

Not only does Web 2.0 impact the possibilities for relationship marketing in the 21st century, but it allows you do it from your office or home instead of attending meetings and events. Time is precious, fuel is expensive, and the options for networking are many. By spending just a bit of that precious time and only enough juice to power your Internet connection, you can market your business, deepen your relationships with clients and colleagues, and reach potential customers who might never find you otherwise.

Of course, like all relationship marketing, it takes good will, time, and a great product or service to win customers. But your customers are out there—and they are probably online right now.

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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services (303-680-2330), a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of graphic design and relationship marketing. Would you like to hear about a phenomenal referral and follow up system that can grow your business by 200% in 6 months? Click here: FreeCard to learn how to receive a free custom card design and greeting card gift account.

------------------------

Visit my website to see portfolio samples of book covers, brochures, logos, ads and speaker one-sheet designs: www.MacGraphics.net

You may contact me by email or phone:
karen@macgraphics.net
or call me toll-free at 888-796-7300
In Denver: 303-680-2330

If you enjoyed reading my ezine and posts, you will LOVE my ebook, Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! This organized guidebook has short chapters, over 200 hyperlinks and full-color graphic examples. Hundreds of business owners have used my simple do-it-yourself reference guide to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn how you can get this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2008-06-30T14:14:00.009-06:00

July 2008 Issue

My good friend and colleague, Patrice Rhoades-Baum has graciously provided an article for this month's issue. Last month I showed you how relationship marketing can help your business during bad economic times. Patrice has expanded upon that topic. She provides 5 strategies for staying in touch with your prospects and clients.

Be memorable! 5 marketing strategies to stay “top of mind” with prospects and clients

By Patrice Rhoades-Baum Copyright © 2008

Many years ago in a freelance writing business, I discovered that my clients enjoyed working with me and raved about my copywriting. But shortly after working together, they forgot about me!

Here’s when that startling fact hit home: I had worked closely with Marge to write her organization’s annual report. A few months later, we bumped into each other. “Oh!” she said. “We had a writing project that would’ve been perfect for you. But we forgot about you and hired someone else.”

Yikes! Those words stung. I was disappointed but learned a great lesson: I had failed to stay in touch with Marge – and with my other clients and prospects.

Strategy #1: Make time to regularly stay in touch with prospects and clients.

Our clients and prospects are busy. They may not remember to seek us out when they need our products and services. A basic marketing principal is to stay in touch with the folks on your list to keep your business healthy. When they need your product or service, your name will be “top of mind” and your contact information will be at their fingertips.

Also, direct marketers know this fact: “Your best list is your house list.” Invest time to nurture these relationships. Your reward: Repeat business and referrals.

Strategy #2. Provide useful and beneficial information.

To stay in touch with clients and prospects, many businesses send a monthly email newsletter (aka, an ezine). Whatever communication format you decide to use, you must ensure the content meets the needs of your clients and prospects. If the information is not beneficial, is too promotional, or arrives so frequently they feel harassed or overwhelmed, they’ll unsubscribe from your list in a heartbeat.

Strategy #3. Clarify your objectives to ensure your information meets the mark.

Let’s say you’re a team-building consultant. To stay in touch with the managers and supervisors on your list, you decide to invite them to free monthly teleclasses. Your top 3 objectives could be:

• To help my clients and prospects create effective teams, each month’s teleclass will present a fun activity they can easily implement.
• Because my brand is based on “building teams by connecting people,” each teambuilding activity will encourage teams to build trust, have fun together, and deepen personal connections.
• To meet my marketing needs, I’ll briefly promote my upcoming workshops and encourage participants to call me to schedule a consultation.

Strategy #4. Stay in touch by mixing and matching formats and frequencies. In other words, how you contact folks and how often you contact them.

Let’s say you’re a speaker and expert on the topic of leadership. To stay in touch with your prospects and clients, you could:
• Mail a notecard with a leadership quote every quarter, send a brief monthly ezine summarizing new leadership research, and offer leadership strategies on your blog.
• Or deliver an audio email tip of the day and send a monthly case study by mail.
• Or offer a free monthly teleclass, plus email a brief tip of the week.
• Or send a monthly ezine and a quarterly notecard. In mid-summer (versus the holidays) mail a team-building activity kit to clients and key prospects.

Think about the information your clients need and how they might like to receive that information. Be sure to consider how much time they typically have available. For example, if your target audience is college students, they might be thrilled to receive your weekly ezine, read your daily blog postings, and attend every teleclass you offer. But if your audience is CEOs and executives, you need to get past the gatekeepers and provide information in a format they will read or listen to.

Strategy #5. Be creative.

Your goal is to be remembered! When strategizing how to stay in touch with your prospects and clients, you can find creative ways to communicate with them, both online and offline.

Here’s a fun way to get started: Brainstorm and list multiple ways you could stay in touch with clients including outlandish, way-out ideas. Now review your list. Do a few unique ideas pop out? Ideas that will help you stand out from the crowd, have reasonable return on investment, and meet your audience’s needs?

Remember, staying in touch with your clients and prospects helps to build these important relationships, keeps your business top of mind, and ensures they won’t forget about you!

About Patrice Rhoades-Baum
If you own a business, your website is your most powerful marketing and sales tool. Marketing consultant and copywriter Patrice Rhoades-Baum teams with entrepreneurs and small-business owners to make their websites DELIVER: clients, income, credibility, results, and success. A Colorado resident and avid outdoorswoman, Patrice is renowned for her down-to-earth website strategies. Visit www.WebsitesDeliver.com for a free audio workshop: “10 Strategies to Make Your Website Deliver!”

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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services (303-680-2330), a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of graphic design and relationship marketing. Click here FreeCard to learn how to receive a custom greeting card design and a gift account with a greeting card company.

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Visit my website to see portfolio samples of book covers, brochures, logos, ads and speaker one-sheet designs: www.MacGraphics.net

You may contact me by email or phone:
karen@macgraphics.net
or call me toll-free at 888-796-7300
In Denver: 303-680-2330

If you enjoyed reading my ezine and posts, you will LOVE my ebook, Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! This organized guidebook has short chapters, over 200 hyperlinks and full-color graphic examples. Hundreds of business owners have used my simple do-it-yourself reference guide to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn how you can get this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2008-05-27T12:51:00.010-06:00

June 2008 Issue
How Relationship Marketing can help your business during bad economic times

Can a bad economy put a dent in your sales? Sara, a colleague of mine, thought so as she watched her sales decline during the last six months. Like most of us, Sara has heard the news reports suggesting that we are in a recession. She wondered if the reason her sales are down is the bad economy. I asked if she had recently cut back on her advertising and marketing.

“Yes, I am pulling in the purse strings and limiting my expenses,” Sara replied.

I asked if she was meeting new people and developing relationships.

“No,” she admitted.

This could be part of the problem. History has shown us that businesses often reduce—or completely stop—the dollars spent on marketing and advertising during economic slowdowns.

The economy may have something to do with fewer people spending money, but there is nothing we can do about the plight of the economy. What we can do is practice relationship marketing with people in our sphere of influence to increase our own business sales.

Joe Girard was listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the “World’s Greatest Retail Salesman” for twelve consecutive years. Joe was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Joe was abused by his father as a child, lost jobs as an adult, and then went bankrupt. He finally landed a job at a Chevrolet dealership. Joe did very well, personally selling more cars than most dealerships! In fact, people stood in line to buy a car from Joe. What was his secret?

Joe practiced relationship marketing. Here’s how he did it. He sent 13 handwritten cards to each of his clients and prospects every year: one card a month and one on Christmas. These cards were cards of appreciation, tips, and giveaways—never about special sales, discounts, or promotions. During his 15 years, Joe sent 13,000 handwritten cards! Every one of his recipients began to anticipate a card from Joe every month and he was the first person on their mind when they were ready to buy a car.

What can we learn from this story and how can we expand upon it? Here are a few strategic objectives we can put in place now, so our businesses can better withstand the impact of economic downswings.

Develop strong relationships.
People do business with people they know, like and trust. It’s our job to make this connection happen. To do that, we must go beyond the superficial and become genuinely interested in our customers and prospects. For instance, we can meet clients at a coffee shop and get to know them personally, without the usual business discussions. I often do that. I make mental notes on what is going on in their lives, so I can refer to it the next time we connect. Then I nurture my relationships by consistently staying in touch.

Consistency is the key.
We can stay connected with our contacts by sending heartfelt cards like Joe did, or by phone calls, emails or newsletters. We lose 10% of our influence every month we do not have contact with our clients. And just a 5% increase in customer loyalty could add 20-80% to your bottom line. A disappointing statistic shows that 91% of all real estate agents are forgotten by clients within one or two years after they close or represent a buyer on a home because they did not stay in touch with them.

Form a strategic objective to stay in touch.
Here are a few ideas. Try one on for size. Set up campaign postcards to go out once a month. Find or develop a system for remembering birthdays. For those in real estate, record closing dates and send anniversary cards. Veterinarians can record the birthdays of client’s pets and send birthday cards.

I personally use an on-line service that has a phenomenal system for managing my contacts, as well as printing and mailing postcards and greeting cards. I customize and personalize the cards with my own handwriting font, signature and photos. I have found that a simple and sincere card can make a huge impression on someone, especially if they are having a bad day. Sometimes I include a gift card or small gift of teas or sweets with a thank you card.

Understand and use the Law of Attraction.
When we express appreciation, recognition or encouragement, we are focused on giving and abundance, not scarcity. Every human being wants to feel acknowledged, loved and appreciated. When we send love and thanks out into the world, we get it back tenfold. What we focus on expands, so if we are focused on our lack of money, we will continue to have a lack of money. This is the Law of Attraction. We can inspire ourselves by feeling and visualizing what we now want in our lives. It helps to begin the day by meditating, listening to beautiful music, taking a walk, or calling someone with whom we have had good business results. The popular book and independent grassroots movie, The Secret, shows how to apply this law to achieve anything we want in our personal and business lives.

Kody Bateman, CEO of SendOutCards said, “Appreciation wins over self promotion every time.” That sums it up beautifully.

Use the Rule of 250 to build a referral network.
As small business owners and entrepreneurs, we each know at least 250 people. Some of us know many more than that. Each one of those 250 knows another 250, and so on. See where this is going? When we make a commitment to stay in touch with people we know—and remember they each have hundreds of contacts—we have the potential to reach thousands. Additionally, we can build our networks by joining local and online business networking groups. I belong to BNI (Business Networking International) and www.LinkedIn.com. Referred customers are usually already sold on us through the testimonial of the person who referred us. Did you know that in occupations such as real estate, as much as 90% of the business comes from relationships or referrals?

When we build strong networks and nurture meaningful relationships with the people we serve, we will garner unlimited referrals and be less affected by economic down cycles. Start making relationship marketing part of your business today and watch your business grow.

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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services (303-680-2330), a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of graphic design and relationship marketing. Click here FreeCard to learn how to receive a custom card design and a gift account with a greeting card company.

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Visit my website to see portfolio samples of book covers, brochures, logos, ads and speaker one-sheet designs: www.MacGraphics.net

You may contact me by email or phone:
karen@macgraphics.net
or call me toll-free at 888-796-7300
In Denver: 303-680-2330

If you enjoyed reading my ezine and posts, you will LOVE my ebook, Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! This organized guidebook has short chapters, over 200 hyperlinks and full-color graphic examples. Hundreds of business owners have used my simple do-it-yourself reference guide to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn how you can get this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2008-04-28T16:17:00.005-06:00

May 2008 Issue
2 Visual Branding Keys To Make Your Business Memorable — Part 2

Have you ever asked yourself why a competitor’s business gets more attention than yours? The answer just may have to do with the elements that go into how memorable the business is. And that has to do with branding.

Do you remember what I wrote last month about branding? Think of branding as predefining what a company is all about in the minds of its clients. Good branding differentiates your products and services in a positive way that really sticks in the minds of potential customers.

Last month I explained how your logo is the first visual branding key. Now I’ll cover the second key . . .

. . . a distinctive tag line.

A tag line is a 3 to 7 word phrase that accompanies your logo. It expresses your company’s most important benefits and/or what you want your customers to remember about working with you. Think of it as the words you want to linger in your target customer’s mind about you and what you have to offer.

Great tag lines appear to be effortlessly created because they just seem to flow. In fact, creating and refining one takes time, just like designing a great logo. The benefits of taking the time to craft a great tag line lie with the tag line’s stickiness. Great tag lines stick in your memory.

The Hallmark tag line, “When you care enough to send the very best,” appeals to the human desire to be viewed as having good taste and an appreciation for luxury. If greeting cards are a commodity, then Hallmark has found a way to differentiate itself as the choice for quality.

The Hallmark company was founded by J. C. Hall, so the name Hallmark was a natural. It was also brilliant from a marketing standpoint. Hallmarks have been used for centuries as a stamp to denote quality, purity, and genuineness. Could there be a better way to attach the image of quality to a product? The tag line capitalizes on that image well with words that stick in the mind and exemplify good taste.

Creating a great logo and distinctive tag line are critical in creating a brand that provides the perfect image for your company and great ones just might be memorable enough to give your company the beach front property in the minds of your customers that leaves them thinking only of you.
to life!
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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services, a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of marketing. Learn the Top 5 Mistakes that can cost you money by signing up for her FREE e-course, available for a limited time. To take advantage of this e-course and find out how easy it can be to attract more clients, click here: www.macgraphics.net/FreeStuff.php. You can also contact her at 888-796-7300, or karen@macgraphics.net

Visit my website to see portfolio samples of book covers, brochures, logos, ads and speaker one-sheet designs: www.MacGraphics.net

If you enjoyed reading my ezine and posts, you will LOVE my ebook, Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! This organized guidebook has short chapters, over 200 hyperlinks and full-color graphic examples. Hundreds of business owners have used my simple do-it-yourself reference guide to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn how you can get this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

But wait, there’s more . . .

To sign up for FREE audio classes, articles or an eCourse on design and marketing tips click here:www.macgraphics.net

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.

2008-03-30T13:22:00.014-06:00

Two more 1st Place EVVYs!

Friday, March 28, 2008 was the 14th Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA) “EVVY” book awards banquet. I accepted two 1st Place EVVY awards on behalf of one of my clients, Barbara Flood of Phoenix Press. Barbara, her editor Barbara Munson, and I worked together as a team to create Illumination: Contemplations for an Awakened Life. This book won 1st place in the Spirituality/Religion category and 1st place in the Inspirational/Self-help category.

We also created the companion Journal of Illumination. Friesens Corporation manufactured both books. We are all proud to have created such an exceptional book. You may purchase it at www.Amazon.com

April 2008 Issue
2 Visual Branding Keys To Make Your Business Memorable — Part 1

Have you ever asked yourself why a competitor’s business gets more attention than yours? The answer just may have to do with the elements that go into how memorable the business is. And that has to do with branding.

But exactly what is branding, anyway? Think of branding as predefining what a company is all about in the minds of its clients. Good branding differentiates your products and services in a positive way that really sticks in the minds of potential customers.

Let’s say you are getting ready to run errands on a busy Saturday morning, thinking about the groceries that need to be bought, the dry cleaning that needs to be picked up, and the packages that must get to the post office before noon. The trip to the post office reminds you that your favorite aunt’s birthday is next Wednesday. You need to add buying and mailing a birthday card to your list of things to do. Without a moment’s hesitation, you know exactly where you will buy the card: the local Hallmark store. Why did you think Hallmark? The answer to that question has everything to do with Hallmark’s branding and two key elements of that branding are:

1. An attractive, easy to read, and memorable logo;

2. and a great tag line.

Assuming your own product is fabulous, it all comes down to image. Graphic design can play a huge part in that image. But what are some key things to consider?

A great logo is the first key.

You have given a great deal of attention to your company name and believe it speaks to who you are and what you do. Great! Now you need to wrap a graphic image around that name to carve out a prime piece of real estate in your target customer’s mind. That is exactly what a great logo can do.

Keep in mind that a powerful logo:
• has a strong, balanced image with no little extras that clutter its look;
• is distinctive and bold in design, making it easy to see at a glance;
• has graphic imagery that looks appropriate for your business;
• works well with your company name;
• is done in an easy to read font;
• communicates your business clearly; and
• looks good in black and white, as well as in color.

Hallmark’s memorable crown logo is one of the reasons that Hallmark comes to mind so quickly when you need to buy a greeting card. It is simple, bold, looks good in either color or black and white, and bespeaks the quality required for something to be stamped with a hallmark, so it works well with the company name. While the image might not have communicated the nature of the business when it was first created, it certainly does now!

Next month I’ll share the 2nd key — a great tag line. Be sure to “tune in.”

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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services, a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of marketing. Learn the Top 5 Mistakes that can cost you money by signing up for her FREE e-course, available for a limited time. To take advantage of this e-course and find out how easy it can be to attract more clients, click here: www.macgraphics.net/FreeStuff.php. You can also contact her at 888-796-7300, or karen@macgraphics.net

Visit my website to see portfolio samples of book covers, brochures, logos, ads and speaker one-sheet designs: www.MacGraphics.net

If you enjoyed reading my ezine and posts, you will LOVE my ebook, Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! This organized guidebook has short chapters, over 200 hyperlinks and full-color graphic examples. Hundreds of business owners have used my simple do-it-yourself reference guide to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services! To learn how you can get this indispensable book, click here: www.BuyAppealMarketing.com

But wait, there’s more . . .

To sign up for FREE audio classes, articles or an eCourse on design and marketing tips click here:www.macgraphics.net

P.S. See that envelope icon below this posting? If you click on the envelope you can email this posting to a friend.