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4 Questions to Ask Before Creating a Brochure

6/4/2012

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Brochure-Image
Creating a new print brochure as part of your marketing efforts? Great! Before you rush off to a designer (or design a brochure yourself), there are four questions you'll want to ask first. 

You see, creating a brochure is a lot like writing a news release – if you figure out the who, what, where and how before you start designing, you'll save yourself time, hassle, and possibly a lot of money in the process.  Here are 4 key questions to consider in your planning:


  1. Who is the target audience for the brochure?

    Will it be given to clients, prospects, vendors, potential donors, or others? Once you identify the group you're targeting, you'll be better able to determine how content should be written and what style, paper and colors you might want. Also, make sure the text is written for your audience, not for you -- if you use technical terms in your content, they may not be familiar to your reader.


  2. What is the brochure about?

    This question may sound obvious, but it's amazing how many brochures are confusing to a reader. Find a way to highlight your most important points, preferably in a picture, summary or bullets on the cover.

    People should be able to tell in the first 3 seconds what your brochure is about; many readers skim a brochure the first time, so make your brochure interesting so people will want to take it and read more. "Interesting" doesn't have to mean full-color or expensive, it just needs to be eye-catching and attractive!


  3. Where and when will the brochure be used?

    Is it going to be used for a one-time event or sale, or will you continue to use it for months? This is an important question, because it will help you determine the quantity you need. The last thing any business needs is to have 20 boxes of unused brochures sitting in a closet because your event is over or your prices changed. 

  4. How will you use the brochure?

    ​Will it be handed to people at an event? Will you mail it in an envelope? Do you want a brochure that's a self-mailer? Asking how the brochure will be used can help you think about the size and design of the layout.

    If you're designing a self-mailing trifold brochure, for example, be sure to follow the US Postal Service guidelines for folding, tabbing and mailing, and if you're doing a mass mailing, see if you can get a bulk rate.

Of course, a final (and highly important) question to ask before you get started is "How much?"
Set up a budget for the project so that you or your designer can use that figure as a guide during design, printing, and mailing. 


Got other suggestions or ideas? Add your comments here!

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Article Link: Got hit by the Penguin?

5/29/2012

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Picture
Did your small business get hit by the Penguin? Google's recent algorithm update affected the ranking of a lot of sites -- including small businesses. If your ranking dropped, there are a number of things you can do to start climbing back up.

The bottom line: Google continues to crack down on "black hat" SEO techniques, so if you've been using them, it's time to diversify your traffic sources and get those "white hat" tactics rolling.

Here's an article from Search Engine Journal with tips for doing just that! 

Got comments or other suggestions? Leave them here!

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New Rules for FB Timeline for Businesses

3/20/2012

 
Facebook logo
Reminder: Just 10 days left until all Facebook pages are converted to the new Timeline! Have you made the change yet? Many small businesses (including Wise Penny!) have already made the switch.

With the new, big "cover photo" opportunities, there's a lot of room to get creative. However, Facebook has also put together some important guidelines about what can and can't be included. Here are some key things you and/or your graphic designer should keep in mind for your cover photo or image:

  • The maximum cover photo/image size is 850 (w) x 315 (h) pixels
  • Your profile image size (often your company logo) should be 180 x 180 pixels
  • Facebook states that your cover photo is not an advertisement and cannot include price(s), offers or information such as "20% off sale this week only."
  • You can't include your web address, email, or other contact info in the cover image.
  • You can't ask visitors to  "Like" or "Share" your page in your cover image (this includes having an arrow pointing from the cover photo to these options).
  • You can't include any calls-to-action, such as "Buy now" or "Visit our website for a special offer."
    ​

Other than that, the sky's the limit! 

Got questions? Concerns? Links to great new Timeline pages? Leave a comment!

Thrifty Thursday Post: Spice Up Your Presentations with Brainy Betty

1/19/2012

 
Sample GraphicSample graphic from Brainy Betty
For this week's Thrifty Thursday post, I wanted to do a quick spotlight on Brainy Betty, a site that allows you to download hundreds of Powerpoint backgrounds, templates, music, and much more – all for free.

The site is a great resource for educators, non-profits and small businesses, and also offers tutorials, tips and tricks for creating better presentations. 

While the site is perhaps best known for its Powerpoint templates, it also has photos, Excel and Word templates, iPhone backgrounds, and flash files. If you're creating a video project or presentation, you may be interested in the free free music file downloads, which can help make your project sound much more professional.

Check it out!

Freemium Series - Capture and Share Screenshots with Jing

12/27/2011

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To continue with this short series of posts about freemiums for small businesses, I wanted to do a quick post about Jing.  

Jing is one of the most helpful (and free) tools I've found this year. If you need to share screenshots or a short video with customers, friends, or other businesses, Jing will help you do just that. 

Jing was created by TechSmith — the company that also created Camtasia – and the software helps you create quick videos and snapshots of what you see on your computer screen. You can then save and share these as attachments in an email, or you can upload images and videos online instantly (through Screencast.com) and share the links with others. Jing also allows you to highlight areas of the image if you need to emphasize something to someone, as shown in the example below.

The software is easy to download and use, and TechSmith offers a number of tutorials to help you get started. Essentially, you click and drag a box around the area of your screen that you want to show in your pictures or video, and then you can capture the image or start recording (and adding narration for video if you want).


Jing screen shot

​Have you used Jing? Leave your comments below!
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What's a "Freemium"? One Option for Small Businesses

12/20/2011

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Updated January 2017: YouSendIt, referenced below, is now Hightail

Have you head the term "freemium"? What does it mean -- and how can it help you and your marketing team?  

Freemiums are basically online ("cloud-based") software solutions that offer basic services for free and additional versions as part of a paid monthly or annual plan. These online services have become highly popular and are now considered the fastest-growing online business model. In fact, business conferences about freemiums have already started appearing (such as at the Freemium Summit East held in October 2010). 

For the next few posts, I'll be highlighting some popular freemium programs that may be beneficial to you and your business or marketing team.
​
Hightail

One popular online service currently operating on the freemium model is Hightail, which allows you to send, receive and store large files securely online. The platform offers an alternative to sending large file attachments through email, uploading to an FTP, or sending files on a CD.

The basic service is free, and allows you to store up to 2 GB and share files of up to 250 MB, which is much larger than most email clients can handle. 

Additional paid options are available and offer perks such as more online storage space, phone support, team collaboration tools and more. Paid plans start at $12 per month (as of January 2017) and custom business packages are available, too. 

Have you used Hightail? What other freemiums do you use?
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OpenOffice.org – A Great Small Business Resource

12/1/2011

 
One of the best and most helpful online business tools I've used recently is OpenOffice.org.

​OpenOffice.org is a free open source project that allows you to create documents, spreadsheets, databases, presentations and more in software that's very similar to Microsoft Office, but without the cost. 
Open Office logo
In addition, any files you create in OpenOffice can be saved in a variety of ways, so you can save a file as a pdf or .doc, .html, .xls, and more, either for yourself or to share with others. Plus, OpenOffice has plenty of templates and clip art you can use, as well as online support.

OpenOffice is not new -- the project first got started in 2000 -- but I hadn't had a chance to download or use it until recently, when a client I was working with asked me to create a file using the software. If you're familiar with Microsoft Office (or with Google Docs), I think you'll find it very easy to use. 

If anyone else is using OpenOffice, I'd love to hear what you think!
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    Natalie Bolton is a Boulder County-based marketing professional who helps businesses 
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