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Good Grammar, Good Spelling, Good Business

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:13:11 +0000

These days, it would almost seem that good grammar and spelling has gone out of style. Almost. It’s amazing how many times a day we run across “professional” marketing pieces with blatant grammar and spelling errors. At first blush, perhaps it seems that these faux pas are of no real consequence. But, the truth is, lack of attention to the basic rules of good grammar and spelling can imply an overall lack of attention to detail, conscientiousness, quality, knowledge and experience. And who wants to do business with a company that lacks these fundamental qualities? Not to mention the obvious fact that poor writing can result in poor communication – not getting your message across. Entire books have been written about the subject – and then there’s the panda joke:

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and proceeds to fire it at the other patrons.

“Why?” asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

“Well, I’m a panda,” he says, at the door. “Look it up.”

The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation. “Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

Here are some basic tips to help you avoid these embarrassing mistakes:

Don’t forget to use Spell Check
Don’t rely JUST on Spell Check. It won’t catch mistakes like using the word “there” for “their” or “to” for “too.”
Read your verbiage out loud. This may help you catch those errors as well as get a better feel for whether or not what you’ve written is clear and has the tone you intended.
Have someone else proof your writing – someone you trust to have good grammar and spelling skills.
Use the same care writing your Twitter and Facebook posts as you would with your emails, blog posts, and other business writings.
Don’t overuse exclamation points. Three is my ultimate limit, and only on that very rare occasion!!!
Monitor your apostrophe and quotation-mark usage. People tend to go crazy with these things by putting them in the oddest places.
If grammar and/or spelling are not your strong suit, or if you need to double-check yourself on a particular issue, these resources can sure come in handy:

dictionary.com

thesaurus.com

grammar.quickanddirtytips.com

www.apostrophe.org.uk

The Gregg Reference Manual (in our opinion, this is THE ultimate resource for anyone who writes, edits and prepares material for distribution and publication)

No one’s perfect – mistakes will happen. But, persistent, habitual grammatical and spelling errors appear amateurish and can do damage by implying an overall lackadaisical attitude. So, take care and take the time to minimize them. It’s really pretty easy and it’s just good business.

Does your job title help you do your job?

admin — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:59:24 +0000

You’ve probably read stories about the psychological studies that have shown that, although at first it seems we smile as a result of being happy, it appears to be more the case that smiling makes us happy. People that are in the business of being on the phone know this – they’re taught to smile when they answer the phone, because their customers can hear them smile. It turns out that the physical act of smiling itself can cause positive and happy feelings inside. Well, this interesting article in the Harvard Business Review relates this same phenomena to the workplace, and in particular, job titles. It turns out that there’s a method to the job-title madness!

So, while it may not be practical to give yourself a new title in your established business, figure out what your “empowering title” should be – and use that title mentally when you’re thinking about your work and your job. You just may find that your “King of New Sales” or “Customer Satisfaction Champion” will sit a little taller, feel a little stronger – and ultimately, be a little better – just from the power of a job title.

Client Kudos | Bridge Fitness

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:26:36 +0000

“My dream was to create my own in-home personal training business. I like to think I know what it takes to help people live healthier lives through exercise, but how to get that message to the rest of the Phoenix area was my biggest obstacle. Thank goodness I met Lori at Visage Creative. After sitting down and talking with her about my vision, Lori was able to create a logo and business card that absolutely blew me away. She captured the essence of the service I wanted to provide: a friendly, professional in-home personal training company that had the best interests of its clients at heart. It’s amazing how that message can be captured with a logo, color scheme and lay-out of a business card. Lori hit it out of the ballpark. WAY OUT!!! As soon as I received the card, I knew I had to have Lori and Chris help me with my website. I know that decision on my part was the best decision I’ve made in my professional life. They worked with me on what I had developed on my own and created a site that made me literally jump up and down with excitement the first time I saw it. Simply incredible! I really don’t know how else to describe how pleased I was with their work. But, believe it or not, what was even more impressive than the product they put together was Lori and Chris’ customer service. Their guidance of how to create and manage the website, their sharing of steps to take to help make a small business successful, plus being so accessible and friendly have made me realize that Visage Creative was the best investment I could have ever made for my personal training business dream. I am so thankful to be working with Lori and Chris at Visage Creative and I highly recommend giving them a call if you want your small business dreams realized.” ~ Sean Ory, Certified Personal Trainer, Bridge Fitness

Discounted Pre-Paid Design Services

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 18:45:22 +0000

Last year, as Cash for Clunkers came to an end, and in the spirit of continuing to support our business economy, we offered our own little stimulus package of discounted pre-paid design services to our clients. Our clients loved it and have, since then, expressed interest in a regular pre-paid arrangement. Especially in these times, such an arrangement helps tremendously with budgeting, forecasting and planning – all excellent methods of cost control. So, in response to that client demand, we have decided to offer our discounted pre-paid design services as a standard product, not just as a special.

Effective immediately, if you’re an established client, you can pre-pay for a block of design time (6 hours minimum) and receive pricing that is 20% off of our standard pricing. What that means is that now you’ll be better able to plan ahead and budget your marketing costs – and reduce those costs in the process! Foresee a big project coming up? Give us a call. We’ll help you estimate the total time and you can immediately lower your anticipated costs by 20%. Do you anticipate several little projects over the upcoming months? Pre-paid design time will get you priority scheduling and basically have us on-call when you need us – all while dropping your design costs by 20%.

So, whether you’ve got a large project on the horizon or need our creative input to help you execute your marketing efforts on a more regular basis, call or email us today with your plans, and we’ll help you put together a great deal!

Visage’s Discounted Pre-Paid Design Details:

Standard Visage design rates are $95/hour – with the 20% discount, your rate would only be $76/hour.
Pre-paid purchases must be for a minimum of 6 hours.
Pre-paid discount does not apply to printing, the purchase of fonts, stock photography, or other hard costs.
Design time under this special cannot be applied to projects already in progress.
Pre-paid design hours do not expire. (Inflation Buster! )
Valid for established clients only.

Vehicle Magnets Sale – Orders must be placed by 9am, August 4

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:32:24 +0000

This week, one of our printing vendors is offering a special on vehicle magnets. So, in conjunction with their sale, we’re offering our established clients a pair of 12″ x 18″ custom-designed, full-color vehicle magnets for only $90. Please note: Orders must be placed by 9am on Wednesday, August 4. (See further details below.)

WHY VEHICLE MAGNETS?

Put your vehicle to work for you!
Vehicle magnets are an effective (and cost-effective!) marketing tool.
They’re a moving billboard that – with the help of our design work – can reinforce your brand and message hundreds of times a day.
They’re an affordable and changeable alternative to vehicle lettering.
They are easily applied and easily removed – a big plus if you use more than one vehicle for your business.
They’re great for announcing special promotions as well as for every-day marketing.
A magnet for the back of your vehicle is one of the best ways to draw the most attention of fellow motorists.

ABOUT OUR VEHICLE MAGNETS

Full-color
Available on 30 mil. high-gloss stock or 30 mil. matte stock
12″ x 24″ is a popular size for most standard-sized vehicles (other size options available; please call 480.471.6393 to discuss)
$90 includes two custom-designed 12″ x 24″ magnets (cost includes up to 30 minutes of design time*)
Turn-around time is 5-7 business days from final approval of art

ABOUT OUR SPECIAL PRICING

Orders must be placed and pre-paid by 9am (Arizona time) on Wednesday, August 4, 2010
*Because we already have established clients’ logos and branding, we estimate design time for this project to be 30 minutes. Design time for non-established clients, which we’ll also be happy to accept, will most likely be more, and billed at standard pricing in excess of 30 minutes.
Shipping costs and tax not included
Does not apply to rush jobs

TIPS FOR ORDERING AND USING YOUR VEHICLE MAGNETS

When choosing your magnet size, make sure your sign will lay flat against the entire surface of your vehicle, avoiding any trim.
Make sure the entire magnet is flush against the surface when applying to your vehicle.
Make sure all surface paints, clear-coats and waxes are cured or hardened before applying your magnets to your vehicle.
To remove and/or reposition your magnets lift from the sides of the magnets as opposed to the corners.
Remove your magnets from your vehicle prior to car washing.
Please be aware that continuous, long-term outdoor usage of magnets on painted surfaces may result in paint discoloration, due to shielding the underlying paint from ultraviolet rays.
Use care when handling your magnets in extremely cold conditions, as the magnetic material can become brittle.
Do not apply to horizontal surfaces that are subject to high heat and direct sunlight, such as auto hoods.
Don’t overlap magnets when applied to vehicles.
Don’t store magnets with magnetic surfaces facing each other (magnets will de-magnetize).

Client Kudos | MC Companies

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:09:14 +0000

Visage Creative is an extension of our Marketing Department. We have relied on them to provide creative and manage the production process through to delivery. Their real value comes in their expertise in evaluating and guiding marketing campaign strategies. Lori and the Visage team will always give you want you want – but more importantly, they are not afraid to tell you what you need! And that ability makes them a trusted and valued member of our team. ~ Kim Obert, Director of Marketing & Public Relations

Hey, Y’all – Look Here!

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:36:39 +0000

Many of our clients are now venturing into blogging as part of their social media marketing efforts. Remember, it’s important to add visual interest to your posts with good images. And, it’s easy. Flickr is an invaluable resource to wonderful AND free photos. Here’s a simple, clear-cut guide on finding and CORRECTLY using those photos to drive your message home. Take a look and then start spicing up your posts!

Photo by avlxyz

Sticker and Design Sale

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:18:13 +0000

Stickers/labels are a cost-effective, versatile tool that you really must consider for your marketing toolkit. Now through June 15th, we’re offering 1000 full-color custom-designed* stickers at a great price.

ABOUT OUR STICKERS

Full color, peel and stick
Printed on durable, 70lb label stock
UV coated (may be written on with a Sharpie-type writing instrument)
NOT intended for outdoor use
1000 qty minimum
Prices range from $88 to $203 – that’s only 9¢ – 20¢ per sticker, and that includes design time!

ABOUT OUR SPECIAL PRICING

Orders must be pre-paid and placed by 5pm on June 15, 2010
*Includes up to 1 hour of design time
Does not include shipping costs and tax
Does not apply to rush jobs

Here are our popular sticker sizes along with our special pricing:

2.5″ x 2.5″ round – $164/1000 qty
2.5″ x 3″ oval – $203/1000 qty
2″ x 3.5 – $88/1000 qty
2″ x 4″ – $134/1000 qty
2.5″ x 3.5″ – $179/1000 qty
2″ x 8″ – $200/1000 qty
3″ x 4″ – $158/1000 qty
3″ x 5″ – $188/1000 qty
3.5″ x 3.5″ – $164/1000 qty
4″ x 4″ – $203/1000 qty
4.25″ x 2.75″ – $179/1000 qty
5.5″ x 2.125″ – $179/1000 qty

Stickers: A Budget-Friendly, Effective Way to Promote Your Business

admin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:31:04 +0000

When your budget simply doesn’t allow for custom printed envelopes, packaging and promotions – think stickers (aka labels). Applied strategically and carefully, they can be an economical, effective, and, oh-so-versatile alternative. Here are some ideas we mocked up to help you see the benefits and advantages of this small but mighty marketing tool:

Compliments of… | A 2.5″ x 3.5″ sticker is the perfect size for client gifts and promos. Stick them on a vase of flowers, a mug filled with candy, a boxful of samples, the inside of gift books, a bottle of wine…

Thank You! | Same concept as the “Compliments Of…” sticker. Illustrated here is a 8″ x 2″ sticker that folds over the edge of your box. This sticker begs to be placed on a box of baked goods for your favorite client.

Brand Your Deliverables | Deliver your products with style. A round 2.5″ x 2.5″ sticker can attractively and effectively brand your shopping bags, seal a tissue-paper wrap, or seal a box.

Presentation Folders | One of the most requested, but most cost-prohibitive items for our small business customers is custom printed presentation folders. Using an 8″ x 2″ label that folds from the front to the inside left of a blank, store bought folder can be a cost-effective way to deliver a professional and branded presentation or proposal to your client. With this solution you don’t need to purchase more folders than you need at any given time.

Address Labels | The cost of printed labels can sure beat the cost printed envelopes if you’re on a tight budget — or, if you simply don’t use envelopes all that much. A 3″ x 5″ size sticker can serve as an address label on a standard #10 business envelope as well as shipping label on larger envelopes and packages.

If any of these ideas have inspired you to consider stickers for your marketing toolkit, give us a call. We’ll help you figure out the perfect size and design for your situation.

Food for Thought About Your Thoughts

admin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:30:29 +0000

Sometimes our thinking can really sabotage our success — whether it’s success in business, relationships or just life in general. Eric Edberg at The Positivity Blog offers up 10 common thinking mistakes and his thoughts on correcting them.