Friday, December 17, 2010

Christmas Is Coming - Promo Gifts For Staff And Clients

It seems like Christmas is always coming and preparing for the season is always on your mind. It may not be on your mind if it's February, but it certainly should be and could be. It's never too late or too early to start thinking about promotional gifts for your staff and clients for Christmas.

It is always a nice gesture to have promotional gifts to give to your staff and clients during the holiday season and there are many promotional gifts to choose from at yesgifts.co.uk. It will depend on the type of clientele you have and the staff you have, as well as the business that you run as to what promotional gifts you want to purchase. It's also a good idea to have more than one type of promotional gift to give away, because sometimes what will do for one client or staff member just doesn't fit another.

On the low end of the scale of promotional gifts are promotional pens, mugs, key chains and others. These are great little gifts if you are a newer business or one that doesn't have a lot of profit yet. Regardless of how much you can afford to spend on a promotional gift for your staff and clients, even something small is better than nothing at all. It shows that you care for and appreciate your staff and clients.

Of course, there are also more high end promotional gifts that you can purchase, including executive pen sets, conference bags and notebooks. These are wonderful promotional gifts to give away, and in all reality, they aren't quite as expensive as you would think they would be for a nice gift.

Don't mistake your promotional gifts as 'just gifts'. They are also advertising for your business. Promotional gifts are great to give away but they are also useful as advertising for your company, especially when given away to clients and customers.

If you have a large business with many customers, you may want to have some smaller ticket items for your promotional gifts to give to everyone, as well as some larger items to give to extra special clients and your staff. Having a variety of promotional gifts to give away at Christmas is a great idea, and even if you have 'extras' there's always next year and other holidays and anniversaries of staff members to consider.

You can't have too many promotional gifts in your inventory - if you want to specifically have promotional gifts for Christmas, then you may want to count a little closer for how many you want to give away this holiday season. If you are purchasing higher priced promotional gifts for clients and staff, then you can count exactly how many you need, add a few extras 'just in case' and order that amount of promotional gifts for Christmas time. There will inevitably be one or two that you forgot about and you don't want to end up with egg on your face when you don't have enough promotional gifts to give out at Christmas, so always order a few extra promotional gifts.

Source: http://www.articlecircle.com/ - Free Articles Directory

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Recent Trends In Promotional Products Industry

Promotional products are means by which an organization can increase their sales and establish a good relationship with various entities which are an integral part of running the business. Therefore, it is very important to follow the current trends in promotional products industry so as to be able to choose the right products for use in promotional activity.

Though promotional products have long been used for various reasons, the underlying objective is to increase sales. The trends in such situations change every year. In the late 1990's it was common to see fountain pens engraved with the company logo and name and used as a promotional product. Other products which were very popular include calendars, mugs, key chains, etc.

Recent Trends
Recent trends in the industry include GREEN products or ECO Friendly products which are made from biodegradable materials. Through such products, organizations also emphasize on the use and importance of environment-friendly products and send across a message of corporate social responsibility.

Some popular green promotional products include clothing, bags, plants and flowers, organic material, and paper products. Customers today are more environment conscious and also expect the business to be responsible towards the planet.

Another growing trend is the use of colors. A promotional product has to be aesthetically appealing as color forms an important part of the overall product appeal. Most promotional products are available in colors that match the company logo and other related colors and help identify the product with the company in this way.

Another growing trend is of promotional products having some function which add value to the user. Such products give some added benefit to the user apart from just the conventional usage. Any user will appreciate a product which helps makes his life easier with its use.

Promotional products also fall under various categories according to their uses like corporate gifts, sales promotional products, trade show promotional products, and others. Many promotional products are also categorized according to their industry. Promotional products for sports, education, retail, healthcare, engineering and hospitality are some examples where these trends are applicable.

How Do Promotional Trends Help Companies?
Trends in promotional product industry play a vital role in the design of the message that companies try to convey at different points of time. All the promotional products have a limited life span during which they are considered most popular. The earlier example of fountain pens that were used in the 1990s is almost an outdated promotional product now.

A trend is something which provides the product its moment of glory. As long as the product is trendy, it is sold like hot cakes and once the trend shifts to another product, it is sidelined for the new product which takes its place.

Almost all the companies follow trends and order their promotional products accordingly. This has it own advantages as it reinforces the brand value, is used at trade shows to gather more attention, reward employees, and promote the goodwill of the company among others.


Articles Source:http://business.ezinemark.com/recent-trends-in-promotional-products-industry-16a155b01b8.html
          
About the Author:If you are looking for drop ship scams and drop ship review and wholesale distributors or eBay wholesalers, hurry up before you fall into a trap. Read them by clicking on the click about dropshipping and dropshippers.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Promotional Products Can Build Your Business

Starting a new business, or even keeping an existing organization afloat, is not always easy. It is important to keep the corporation name in front of people, and out there for new potential customers to find. One way to promote enterprise, that many people overlook, is the giving away of advertising pieces. And even wearing solutions that show who you are associated with when out in the public arena. Doesn't your corporation deserve the best forms of promotion?

Promo products can portray your small business with flare and imagination. When Promoting your firm, this is one time that you want to be noticed. There are many products to choose from along the lines of pens, umbrellas, or business card holders. No matter what you choose to give away, make sure is doesn't look cheap!

It is the nature of people to love receiving gifts.

When you show up at a prospects or customers place of business with nice gifts, they will definitely remember you and your company. All marketing gifts are great, but giving gifts that are utilized every day, or gifts that sit on the desk of a worker are some of the best. Your firm
name is always right in front of them when they need to place or order, or need your services. Out of sight is sometimes out of mind, so keep yourself visible.

You can take industry building to another level for your extremely important customers by giving them a promotional gift item imprinted with their name on it. This sort of personalizes it for the customer, and everyone likes seeing their name in print. Just be sure your company name and phone number is on the goods too.

Promoting your corporation with customers in their office is great, but you can also use marketing products at corporation trade shows and conventions. Beside imprinted table covers and displays, you can give away sticky pads, pens, and other merchandises with your firm logo on them.

Make sure when building your corporation this way that your booth and table can be well seen from every angle of the room, and that your table stands out from the rest. You want to set yourself apart from the rest of the crowd.

Try using promo products and gifts to enhance your organization and you will see that the small expense is well worth it. Your enterprise will start to soar and people will remember your firm name, service, and product.

Article Source: http://entertainment.ezinemark.com/promotional-products-can-build-your-business-1708bf67853.htm
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

What Kind of Logo Can Make Your Business Successful?

by: Sha Amen

We look at the visual appearance when we want to judge the credibility of a particular thing. For example, when we want to judge a book, we look at its cover. When we want to judge the taste of a burger, we see how it looks. The same way, when we want to judge the credibility and professionalism of a company then we take a look at its logo, because a logo visually represents its respective company. If it doesn’t look elegant, stylish and classy, then there is no way in the world your market will perceive you as reliable, trustworthy and professional. Thus, it is crucial to get your logo right.

Designing a logo is not an easy task. It requires a lot of brainstorming, research, mental exercise as well as creativity. Hiring a new and inexperienced designer is the biggest mistake a business can make to create their brand identity. As your logo represents your corporate image, it is necessary to ensure that your designer knows about the corporate world. Hiring an inexperienced designer is equivalent to hiring your neighbor’s kid who only knows how to use software, but has no knowledge of the business world or branding.

A logo that makes your business successful never hurts the feelings of your market. When you create the design, check and see if it has any dual meanings. Sometimes, an image may convey two different messages. One of them will represent your thoughts for representing your business, whereas the other one is automatically and mistakenly created due to the type of image used in logo along with its connectivity with font style or another symbol. Hence, you need to ensure that your logo is good for people of all ages and it doesn’t hurt the political, religious, ethical or traditional beliefs of any individual or group.

Your logo must have a meaning and it must be portrayed correctly. A confusing logo will be devastating for your business growth. In fact, a confusing logo will do its best to ruin your brand image. For example, if you sell LED lights and after looking at your logo if your market perceives that you sell toys, then it will be extremely devastating for your business. If they don’t find your business relevant, then they will never even take a look at your products. So, the meaning must properly be conveyed through your logo design to ensure that it helps you take your business to the next level.

As your logo is the face of your business, it will be used where ever you will promote your products. Whether you promote your business on Online Social Media sites or offline in local stores or at the train station, your logo will be there on your marketing material as well as promotional items. Thus, it is crucial that your logo can be resized easily. If you can’t resize it without losing its details, then it will look unprofessional and people will even hesitate to take a look at your products.

So, take care of these things when you create your logo design and it will take your business towards success.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Free Advertising Ideas - 7 Free Advertising Methods That Get Results

Free advertising is something that everyone wants, but struggles to get. The best part about getting it for free is that you are benefiting from it without making an initial investment. Regardless, free methods still require an initial investment of our time.

Below are the seven best free advertising ideas without investing too much of your time. Each one is valuable on it's own but when you use them all your leverage suddenly becomes irresistible.

Free Advertising Ideas

#1 Free Classified Adds are a great way to get free advertising without investing much of your time. Sites such as Kijii as well as Craig's List are great ways in which you can promote your business
for no cost. The only bad part about it is that your posts will disappear over time. This will require a little bit of extra time each week, but it is well worth it since it is a free method of advertising.

#2 Posting On Forums is a sensible way to advertise for your business. You should put a link to your business in your signature file. This will help you to promote your business without spamming the forums. You must realize that no one wants to see you spamming a forum with tons of posts advertising for your business.

Most forums have rules stating that you can not advertise for your website. The best way to advertise is through your signature file while you make quality posts that contribute to the overall community. By making quality posts, you can establish a name for yourself in your community and get people to visit your website.

#3 Submitting Articles is excellent way of getting long term free advertising. This idea for free advertising can be slightly slower than other methods, but it is highly effective. This method of advertising involves you writing articles on subjects that are relvants to topics on your website. You can then submit these articles to directories such as Ezine articles.


The way that you can advertise your website through these articles is by putting a link to your website in the resource box. This will help you to increase traffic to your website and reach a wider audience.

#4 Using Free Directory Systems - There are tons of free directories out there for people to post their website URL on. The best way to find directories are to search for free directories that are free and specific to your niche on a search engine. Even if you get non-reciprocal links you will still raise your search engine ratings significantly.

#5 Using Many Reciprocal Links - Reciprocal links are the most valuable links out there because they are stronger than non-reciprocal links. They are extremely beneficial for generating traffic and they are usually free. The first part of getting reciprocal links is to find other websites within your niche to link with.

After you find these websites, you should email them and suggest that you post each others links on each others websites. At the same time, it is important that you monitor these links on a consistent basis. If you put a link to a site that is no longer active it will lower your rank on the search engines. Reciprocal links are perhaps one of the best ways that you can raise your ranking on search engines.

#6 Using Opt-In Emails - Opt-in emails are another excellent idea for free advertising and help bring in new customers. Having an email list which people can choose to join when visiting can help you build a great email list. You can ask people if they want to join when they visit your site so that you can give them free information on a subject. Alternatively, you can offer them a chance to join the mailing list upon purchase of a product. The great thing about an opt-in email list is that it allows you to send emails to a group of people that are already interested in our website.

#7 SEO Optimization - Being ranked high on search engines is perhaps the most important part of having a successful business. The best way to raise your rank on search engines is through SEO optimization. It is important to optimize your website by putting keywords on your website that are specific to your niche. Maximizing your search engine ranking is the most important part of running a successful and profitable website.

Want to know to get the best free advertising ideas online? Learn the best free advertising methods to use for your internet home business by grabbing a PortalFeeder membership and supercharge your online success starting today!

Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_821920_105.html?ktrack=kcplink

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Ring Binders and Index Tabs Sets For Apartment Management Group



This what was done for a property management group with a promotional item:

Problem:
A property management group was looking for an item to give each of its new tenants to create a sense of welcome to the new neighborhood and to develop loyalty to the properties.

Impact:
If they could build the tenant's loyalty toward their management group, they would develop long term tenants and referrals.

Solution:
The group put together a neighborhood directory for its new tenants. They sent a letter to the businesses within five miles of the group's apartment complexes offering those businesses advertising space in the directory for a fee. They ordered 3/4" ring binders imprinted with the property management group logo and index tabs to organize the information.

The first section of the binder held information about the apartment complexes and the second held community information, including local utilities, parks and attractions. Subsequent sections contained the local business' advertising.

The number of local businesses that responded to advertise in the guide covered the cost of the ring binder and tabs. The management group provided a guide to each of their new tenants. The advertisers were pleased with the redemption rate of the coupons provided in the directory.

The property management company has been ordering 1000 ring binders per year for the last three years.

To request more information go to this link: http://adxpressimprints.homestead.com/Guestform.html

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Helping Real Estate Agencies With Daily Planners


We work with agencies and here what was done to help them.

Problem:
A real estate agency wanted to give its customers a gift at the holiday season that would serve as a thank you for the previous year's business. Additionally, they wanted to keep the clients informed on a daily basis of the services the company offered.

Impact:
The real estate agency felt that a useful gift would improve brand recognition and increase customer retention.

Solution:
Through a coop purchasing program, the real estate agency purchased deluxe daily planners with a seasons greetings top sheet. The parent company had their logo imprinted on the top, left side of the calendar. Based on the coop program's height quantity pricing, individual sales agents could have a few calendars imprinted on the left side with his or her name at a reduced charge. The calendars were handed out at the office reception desks to visiting clients and mailed to clients in time for New Year.

The real estate agency felt that the program was a success, as people began requesting the calendars year after year as they repeated the gift. Retention rates have increased for the company over the course of the gift program.

To request more information go to this link: http://adxpressimprints.homestead.com/Guestform.html

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

What is electronic artwork?

Q: What is electronic artwork?
A.
Electronic artwork is that which you produce on a computer program and can store it on a disk or floppy drive. There are many different applications that produce "art" but not all of them produce quality output.

Q: What are the main formats of electronic art?
A:
Most graphics formats appear in in two forms - vector or raster. Typical raster formats are TIFF, BMP, GIF and JPEG. Typical vector formats are WMF Windows (Metafile), CDR (CorelDraw), AI (Adobe illustrator).


Raster Graphic Images are also referred to as bitmaps. Typical raster formats are TIFF, BMP, GIF, and JPEG. The benefit of using raster images is that it works well for photographs. When a raster image is sufficiently enlarged the clear crisp details are lost and it looks more like a mosaic of colors. Raster images in the correct size can work for process printing and website design. Most raster images, because of their complexity, cannot be easily converted to vector images by even the most advanced programs and graphic designers.

Vector Graphic Images are saved by computers as lines or curves. Typical vector formats are WMF (Windows MetaFile), CDR (CorelDraw), and AI (Adobe illustrator) When vector images are enlarged they are scaled accurately. The drawback of vector graphic images is that they do not reproduce photographs well and they are much better for drawings and logos. Vector images works best for both process and spot printing and cannot be used for web design. Vector images can easily converted to raster images by most graphic design programs like Adobe illustrator and Corel Draw.

Since there are many printing methods in the advertising specialty industry, we at AdXPress Imprints can assist you in preparation of your artwork for your particular advertising specialty, or promotional product you wish to have your logo or message on.

Monday, November 22, 2010

What is camera-ready artwork?

Q: What is camera-ready artwork?
A. Camera ready artwork is crisp, clear, color separated art in black and white format to the exact size needed on the media. Huh?

Q: What does crisp mean?
A: For the printing industry, that means the copy you provide should be on clean bright white paper output from a laser printer that prints 600 dots per inch (DPI) or greater. Sending business cards, stationary, napkins, faxes of the artwork would only cost additional expense for you. Do not use ink-jet printers for an original. If you look closely at the an output, you will see that the ink would bleed onto the paper. This will cause the art to look fuzzy.

Q: What does clear mean?
A:
Copies of originals do not work. In a perfect world the art you send into a printer should be about twice the size of how it will be used. Sending business cards, stationary, napkins, faxes of the artwork will only cause an additional expense for you. Do not use ink-jet printers for an original. If you look closely at the output you will see that the ink has bled on to the paper. This may cause the art to look fuzzy.

Q: What does color-separated mean?
A: Every color used on you promotional piece must be sent through the printer just for that color. To do this you have to supply art that can be separated into each of its colors. There are two typical ways of doing this, spot color separation, and Process color separation.

Q: What are spot-color separations?
A:
In commercial printing, a spot color is uses a solid ink color and prints individually, one plate per spot color. Printing processes that use spot colors include screen printing, and pad printing.

Q: What are process colors separations?
A: Process printing uses percentages of only four colors in different blends to produce the colors of the final print. These four colors are cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The letters in the printing industry for each color are C for cyan, M for magenta, Y for yellow and K for black. (CMYK). In commercial printing, the process of splitting colors in a composite image to produce a number of separate grayscale images, on for each primary color in the original image. In the case of a CMYK image, four separations (one for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) must be made.

Since there are many printing methods in the advertising specialty industry, we at AdXPress Imprints can assist you in preparation of your artwork for your particular advertising specialty or promotional product on which you wish to have your logo or message.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

32 Oz. Sport Bottle for a Health Club

Today we delivered the sports bottles for the health club and the bulldog clips with the straps for a municipality. The health club paid in full for the bottles. The sports bottles have a quick production time. It only took about 7 days for production and ship time. The municipality is on a net 30 account with us.

We like to deliver the items to our customers by hand to our local clients. That allows us to inspect the merchandise prior to the client seeing the product and it also gives us that extra face to face time with the clients.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

50 Sheet "GROCERY" Pad with Adhesive


Today we sold 100 of these 50 Sheet "GROCERY" Pad with Adhesive to Place a Business Card.

Everyone with business cards can use Magnetic Business Card Note Pads to keep their name in front of customers. You can have an instant imprinted gift item for trade shows and sales meetings, or use for sales calls and prospecting. Simply peel off the protective liner and press your business card onto the exposed adhesive for an instant imprinted specialty item.

Used daily.
Placed in high traffic areas.
Available to ship in 48 hours.
Personalize with your own business card.

Acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive. Make your own magnetic business card with peel-off adhesive front for placement of your business cards. Keep your information in front of your clients. At this price, why not get them for promotion of special events, projects, or introduction of new employees.

YOU CHOOSE HOW MANY TO USE.
Pad is 20 lb bond paper. Made in the USA.
Product Size:3.5 in. x 6.25 in.Pad Size:3-1/2" 4-1/4"
Must be ordered in increments of 100 only.Ready for immediate shipment.
No custom imprints available on these.


Email us for additional information before purchasing if you are unclear about anything at: THIS LINK!

Click here to see other items in our store.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

250 Calendar Magnet Business Card 12 Month January 07



Today I received an e-mail from Spain to receive a quote on shipping on our 250 Magnet Business Card 12 Month Calendars beginning January 2007 . That's exciting. See the post on July 29 for further information or visit our eBay store at: http://stores.ebay.com/adxpress-mercantile?refid=stores

Also we've had a couple of inquires about or Business Card ZIPPY Letter Opener. Photo on right. We have these on sale in our Bay store at: http://stores.ebay.com/adxpress-mercantile?refid=stores

Then a local client wanted a quote for bulldog clips with a strap. They use these to hold ID badges on their neck lanyards that they had bought from us awhile ago. They sell for $.26 each plus S&H.
For more information about this product please inquire at: http://adxpressimprints.homestead.com/Guestform.html

Monday, July 31, 2006

32 Oz. Sport Bottle for a Health Club


A local health club gave us a call today to reorder a 32 oz sports bottle that they use as an incentive for members to join.

As low as 50 pieces they got them for $102.50 plus shipping and Minnesota sales tax. Other states don't have to pay sales tax.

For more information about this product please inquire at: http://adxpressimprints.homestead.com/Guestform.html

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Magnetic Professional Football Schedules


Score a Touchdown!
SUPPORT YOUR TEAM WHILE YOU PROMOTE YOURSELF! THIS PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE NOW INCLUDES A COLLEGIATE TEAM SCHEDULE!
Magnetic ProfessionalFootball Schedules with your favorite professional team to place your business card.

All times are local. Dates and times are subject to change without notice.
Everyone with business cards can use Magnetic Business football schedules, printed in your team colors, to keep their name in front of customers. You can have an instant imprinted gift item for trade shows and sales meetings, or use for sales calls and prospecting. Simply peel off the protective liner and press your business card onto the exposed adhesive for an instant imprinted specialty item.
I'd say its two promotional items in one...The center of magnetic section pops out of the item and you can place another business card to get a second promotional item, a magnetic business card.
Here are the benefits for you!
  • Used daily.
  • Placed in high traffic areas.
  • Schedule on front & Monday night football schedule on back.
  • Personalize with business card for an instant promotional product.
  • Full color front and back.
  • Brilliant laminated finish on both sides to last all season long.
  • You can mail it to your clients and prospects for the 1-ounce rate when punch out magnet is removed.
  • Fits in a #10 envelope.
  • Stock up for the entire office and save.
Acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive. Make your own magnetic business card with peel-off adhesive front for placement of your business cards. Keep your information in front of your clients. At this price, why not get them for promotion of special events, projects, or introduction of new employees.
We have all 32 Pro Football teams available.
Normal Production Time:5 Working Days
Product Size:3.5 in. X 9 in.
Made in the USA
Additional Information:Price includes custom skinny mini schedule with stock Football art imprint. No custom imprint available.
YOU CHOOSE HOW MANY TO USE.
Must be ordered in increments of 100 only.No custom imprints available on these. Email us for additional information before purchasing if you are unclear about anything.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Inexpensive Business Promotion.

Here are two great items on eBay that was an awesome price.

Calenders - Products that promote 365 days a year.

What you would do with these is peel and stick your business card to this and the backing is a magnet that will hold your business card to a metal surface like a refrigerator or filing cabinet.




These are as low as 31.7¢ each!




These are as low as 29.2¢ each!

Friday, July 28, 2006

Lapel Pin Cases and Fishing.


This morning I went fly fishing at Crystal Lake in Burnsville MN.

Only caught a few small bream.

Just before I went down to the fishing dock a client called me, and said that she would be presenting the quote for the 1000 custom printed pens to her boss on Monday. That's good. The potential for the sale with this college isn't dead yet.

The guys that were going to meet me at the lake didn't show up so after a half hour I moved down the shore toward the boat landing. I could see from where I was fishing that they hadn't just shown up late.

Z called me from work. She told me that we sold 12 Lapel Pin Cases on eBay to someone on Jacksonville FL. That is a $210 sale.

At about 11:30 am, it was getting HOT! 95 degrees hot. I left for home and the air conditioning.

By the time I got cooled off, I thought it would be good to see if the eBay Pin Case order had been paid for. Not yet, though looking at our sold items, I see there is another eBay Lapel Pin Case that was sold to someone in Erie, PA. That's $22 sale.

In case anyone is interested in these, our eBay store is at: http://stores.ebay.com/AdXPress-Mercantile?ref-store.

They say that sales is like fishing...

More success so far today away from the lake than on the lake.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Welcome to our blog!

We offer ways that you can promote your business or organization that are available from over 750,000 promotional products.

We look forward to keeping you abreast of the latest and hot items we find. After every new trade show we attend, we will highlight a few of them for you.
Check back often to see what's new.
Thank you for visiting!