Printing Hub

Gaining a Better Understanding of Your Blog Readership

Hub Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:50:22 +0000

When writing for your printing company’s blog, you’re writing not only for your current customer but also for prospects. Are you appealing to both demographics?

Chances are, these groups intersect—they’ll have similar needs if they’re either doing or looking to do business with your company. But to appeal both groups, you need to intimately know your audience. What are their needs? What do they want to read about? What problems are they trying to solve with your help?

Check out the article below to learn more about writing for your audience.

5 Things Every Copywriter Needs to Know About Their Prospects [Copyblogger]

Social Media vs. Face to Face

Hub Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:20:16 +0000

More and more often we’re meeting and getting to know people online before we ever step into the same room (or rather, even if we never end up being in the same room).

On one hand, this is awesome because it busts down walls and allows us to create connections that never would have been possible otherwise. Think about all the celebrities on Twitter–or even those niche printer celebrities. You can tweet directly at them without any other connection–they don’t even need to follow you back! Now that’s access.

But on the other hand, while these new connections are possible, they aren’t always as strong as face to face. It’s like digital vs. print: one is extremely convenient and accessible, but the other is real.

In less words, don’t forget the value of real, face to face (or even voice to voice) interactions when selling and building your printing brand.

If you’re interested in reading more, click through the link below:

Forget Facebook – try face-to-face [Flying Solo]

Why “Print is Dead” is Dead Wrong—Building Trust With Print Pieces

Hub Staff — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:38:04 +0000

Think about this: How quickly do you send emails to the digital trash can? Or how about the pop up ads that seemingly test your ability to click the red X to close out? In the digital realm, these messages are lost in the shuffle, forcing users to never trust most of what they see on their screens.

Print media continues to thrive because there is a trust among senders to recipients. While digital messages are spread quickly and less reliable, print offers a direct, trustworthy source of information. No acquired information that builds upon the original or any edited messages along the way. Print pieces allow users to receive their message directly, building a reliable source for information and trust.

For more on the effectiveness of print pieces for consumers, follow the link below.

How Print Drives Consumers to Respond [Dispatch 5.0]

The One Powerful Technique to Make Your Printing Sales Call a Success [VIDEO]

Matt Spitsen — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:07:45 +0000

You can market and strategize about your business plan all you want, but nothing matters if you don’t make that sale.

We spoke with Bill Farquharson at Printing Hub 2013 this year, and he knows the difficulty of the printing sales call. Here’s his one technique to overcome your sales anxiety and knock the call out of the park.

The One Technique to Make Your Printing Sales Call a Success:

In summary:

A successful printing sales call happens not because of your skill, but because of your preparation.
Learn everything you can about your clients’ business, their pain and how you can solve that pain.
Then, once you’ve prepared extremely well, just do it!

For more nuggets of printing insight, read and watch the highlights from Printing Hub 2013!

Don’t Stop, Don’t Give Up—Why You Must Keep at Your Printing Blog

Hub Staff — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:47:44 +0000

“A recent survey stated that the average person’s greatest fear is having to give a speech in public. Somehow this ranked even higher than death which was third on the list. So, you’re telling me that at a funeral, most people would rather be the guy in the coffin than have to stand up and give a eulogy.” — Jerry Seinfeld

Public speaking is a very common fear. Perhaps equally scary is writing for the public. You’re not even there to deliver the message (in your tone of voice, using the correct pitch inflection and emphasizing the correct key points).

But much like public speaking, there is no cure (picturing readers in their underwear is somewhat implausible). You simply have to keep doing it until you get better. You might not publish the most stellar posts to your blog every single time, and that’s okay. (This post might even be a little lackluster, but we’re still going to click “publish”).

Bottom line: keep writing. Keep posting. And your blog readers will thank you for your dedication and regularity.

Learn more about the power of vulnerability from TED talk speaker and sociologist Brené Brown in the video below.

Why We Still Need to Write, Even When We’re Scared [Copyblogger]

Photo Via: Salon.com

2013 Typographic Design Trends—Look Here for Design Inspiration

Hub Staff — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:14:22 +0000

Designing a website? Hold it right there. You need to look at this. (And if not, feel free to keep reading if you fancy typography and design).

Trends go in and out of style for a reason. While boldly going against the trends can work, we’d advise looking at why the trends are trending before deciding to do so.

Here are a few to warm you up:

51 percent of headings used sans-serif fonts
61.5 percent of body copy used serif fonts
Georgia was the most popular typeface used for body copy

Still have your attention? Learn more trending practices on typographic design in the article below.

Typographic Design Patterns And Current Practices (2013 Edition) [Smashing Magazine]

Why Your Printing Company Should Use Auto-Responders

Hub Staff — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:13:09 +0000

You have lot on your plate. We don’t care who you are or what your specific role is at your printing company. We know you’re busy. Life is busy. And that’s why technology can help us out occasionally (okay, all the time).

If you haven’t looked into auto-responder emails, we’d highly encourage you to—hey, why not start now?

Auto-responders allow you to send an automated message to new blog or newsletter subscribers (translation: save you a lot of time).

Check out the article below to learn the ins and outs and dos and don’ts of auto-responders.

How To Use Auto-Responder Emails to Boost Your Blogging Efforts [ProBlogger]

Blogging the Basics—Why Your Basic Knowledge is So Valuable to Readers

Hub Staff — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:14:09 +0000

1 + 1 = 2. “I” before “e” except after “c.” And as hard as we try, cats and dogs rarely want to be best friends. We’re going back to the basics—back to what we know.

When looking for something to blog about, don’t overlook the basics. Often we wrongly assume that our readers have a thorough understanding of the basics, and we miss out on countless blogging opportunities.

As you continue to grow and develop as a businessperson, your knowledge of the basics evolves. You can offer new insights into the most basic information by reexamining your understanding of basic printing subject matter.

Learn more on blogging the basics in this article linked below.

Blog This! Sometimes Going Back to Basics Leads to the Best Posts [ProBlogger]

Refocus on Your Goals: A Healthy Dose of Inspiration from 10 Top Business Titans

Hub Staff — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:09:08 +0000

Every once in awhile we need to refocus ourselves. We lose sight of our goals, clouded by the daily grind.

If you’re lagging on this Friday afternoon, we have some inspiration in store for you, from ten of the most successful business leaders of all time. These folks suffered from discouragement, defeat, monetary problems and countless other roadblocks. And yet, that wasn’t the end of their careers.

The first piece of advice comes from Steve Jobs, entrepreneur, inventor, and Apple Inc. CEO: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

To view all 10 inspirational speeches, check out the videos linked in the article below.

Inspirational Advice From 10 Successful Leaders (Videos) [Entrepreneur.com]

5 Steps to Being More Productive at Work Today

Hub Staff — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:02:11 +0000

Ever have one of those mornings that you wake up anxious to get a ton of stuff done? You get ready extraordinarily fast, hit every green light on the way to work, sit down at your desk ready to tackle that to-do list—and crickets. Nothing. Not one polished idea you’re remotely interested in pursuing. Well, what now? Tetris?

We found this nifty article outlining five steps Simon Rich—from Fast Company’s Most Creative People report—takes to up his creativity quotient.

Step one: know when you’re productive. Perhaps (despite your good intentions) your brain isn’t warmed up enough for productivity first thing when you get to work. Don’t fret if you can’t turn your noggin on first thing—tackle a more unimaginative task first.

To learn four more steps to being more productive at work check out the linked article below.

5 Things You Can Do Today to Make Yourself More Creative and Productive, Tomorrow [Fast Co Create]