Color Printing

I remember an amusing joke the comedian Jerry Seinfeld would often use in his standup act. Paraphrasing it, the joke went something like this: According to a poll on the things people fear most, the number one fear was giving a speech in front of other people. The second greatest fear was death. That meant that if people were going to a funeral, they’d rather be the person in the casket than the person who has to give the eulogy.

Public speaking is not any easy thing to put yourself through. Most people don’t like to be up in front of a crowd where any little mistake is going to make them look foolish in front of all of those people. But what can you really do about it?

There are certain things you can do to help beat your fear and help you give a better speech. The first is simply acknowledging that you are afraid of it. It sounds simple and it sounds like it wouldn’t do anything, but you’d be surprised how much of a difference it can make to admit to yourself that you’re afraid.

The next thing is simply respecting yourself. Take the things you know and understand how important they are and how much it will help everyone else for you to tell it to them. This should help you boost up your confidence.

Next, and this is something a lot of people don’t think about, design and make all of your own visuals. If you planned on using leaflet printing to hand out some leaflets, make them and print them yourself. If you wanted some flyers to give to people, or maybe you had a color poster you were planning to use as a prop, make it yourself.

You can get design programs like Adobe Photo Shop in order to do the work, and if you’re handling all of that color printing on your own it gives you a level of control you wouldn’t normally have. This can help make a big difference mentally when it comes time to get up there in front of everyone else.

You might also want to go to the place you’re going to give your speech at ahead of time to get a feel for the place you’ll be speaking in. The fewer surprises you have the better.

Also, keep your presentation simple. The more complicated things get the more chances there are for things to go wrong. Keeping things simply allows you to have a greater control over what’s going on.

Lastly, do your best to be yourself. The more casual you feel and the more casual you appear the more knowledgeable you’ll seem. If you look nervous people aren’t going to be as likely to take you serious.

It can be a nerve wracking experience, I know, but if you handle things right, you’ll survive the experience.

The closest possibility to you now is your storefront window.  Many business owners fail to take full advantage of the space on your business front.  Exciting colors and an enticing message will convert would be passers by into new customers.

Catalog printing and booklet printing allow for economical direct mail campaigns.  Ideally these should be targeted at an under served niche market.  Many business owners today fail to incorporate these tried and true methods into their overall marketing strategy.

The outdoors also provides many marketing opportunities.  This can range from a billboard to employing the power of poster printing.  A well placed poster can speak to thousands while costing less than your morning latte.

Television and radio are now affordable to the small business owner.  There are many programs providing discounted rates for unsold time.  Make your spot professional and place it on programs your market is likely to watch.

Obviously seeing you are reading this online you are aware of the multitude of interactive marketing possibilities.  However, don’t become too focused with your online segment to the detriment of other avenues.  A well rounded marketing plan translates to a successful one. 

Do you know what the most powerful word that elicits quick response in the marketing world is? We see it everyday; it’s the word “free”.

Just a word of caution though, this word is highly regulated. I mean, there are laws to ensure that this word is not abused. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission has been mandated to oversee how you can and cannot use that word.

The following is a review of rules that might relate to how you use this word for your advertising:

• You only get to use this word for three times over a year with at least 30 days in between.

• If the buyer must buy another article to receive the free one, she must not be charged more than the regular price for the second article.

• If there is a catch to the word, an asterisk or a small footnote is not appropriate.

• The word “gift” or “bonus” cannot be interchanged with the word “free.”

• If you are in doubt about the use of the word, always your lawyer.

If you thought the word free is free for any use in your flyer printing or postcard printing then you are in for a surprise. This word, because it is the source of many complaints, is a regulated word. Often, business owners get into trouble because of the misuse of this word. Remember, ignorance is not an excuse so do not tell me I did not warn you.