Getting to see our customers in person is very important to us. We like to have that personal connection and welcome the chance to learn more about our customers. As a way to get some of you to come in and see, as well to offer a little extra savings for you and your business, we are starting an on-going event every Thursday. When you come in between 2pm and 4pm, you will get to draw a scratch off card that has a valuable savings or prize. Everyone who gets one, wins something! If you have a big project coming up, or you need some new business cards, stop in on Thursday to scratch off a card. We’ll see you here between 2pm and 4pm!!

Senior Marketing Advisor, Insty-Prints of Rochester

    May was National Small Business Month most specifically the week of May 2oth. Here at Insty-Prints, we are dedicated to growing your business all year. We know that you know your business, so why not let us help you grow your business? We offer marketing assessments that give you a full picture of your marketing potential. Bob Tremain gives his expert insight into your marketing needs. Here is another message from Bob:

Are We There Yet?

This past Spring Break, I had the pleasure of driving to Florida with my wife, kids and 2 large dogs. For those of you that have never had the experience of driving nonstop to Florida, I have to say that it is not
something that you’ll want to rush out and add to your “bucket list”. The only salvation to the incredibly long and monotonous trip was the fact that there wasn’t any snow or ice to contend with in the midwest.

So after about 23 hours (3 hours more than necessary because the kids and dogs had to empty their bladders far too often as far as I am concerned), we reached the Florida border. Like a light switch, the mood in the van went from utter exhaustion and frustration to uncontrollable jubilation! “We made it, we made it!”
But alas, it took another 8 hours before the van load of zombies arrived at my brother’s house in Fort Myers. Man, that is a looooong state.

As I reflect back now on that incredible trip, I can’t help but see a parallel to many of the business owners I’ve met with over the years. OK, pay attention now, I’m getting to the point. All to often business owners work so hard driving to a destination, that when they think they should have arrived, they discover it is further away than they thought. The outcome can be devastating for some. To help avoid this scenario, periodically perform a status check on your business. One method of doing so is to have a professional work with you to perform an assessment. And it just so happens that assessments are my specialty at Insty Prints. So if you feel like you’ve been on the road too long, pull into my wayside and lets talk.

Drive safe this summer!

Bob

Robert Tremain
Director of Marketing
Bobt@instyroch.com
(507)254-3834

There has been a lot of buzz lately about the latest offering from the US Postal Service, Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM). In a nutshell, EDDM is a mail program that allows the sender a way to mail to every residence, business, or both in a targeted mail carrier route at about a 70% discount; all without needing to have addresses! Just put a greeting in the address area inviting your viewer to check out what you have to say.

If you mail to under 5,000 per route per day, there is no need to have a permit account with the USPS. If you want to send to a larger audience, you can still utilize this service, it will just require that you have a permit. The pieces have to be considered a Standard Flat, a piece that is of certain height, and width and is flexible. As of May 7, 2012, the requirements have changed. A piece must now have a dimension of at least 6.5″ or 10.5″ in length. The piece may be thicker than ¼” inch but weigh no more than 3.3oz. As you can see, a larger piece turns out to be more affordable and can include more information.

Insty-Prints is fully experienced with the EDDM program and can help you create the perfect marketing campaign to achieve the best results for your business. We have talented and award winning graphic designers on staff to create your spectacular visual designs. Insty-Prints has a Marketing Director and Advisor on-site to create a blended campaign. Add the cost effectiveness of direct mail with a rich social media campaign, and you can create an experience that will be memorable and rewarding.

The EDDM folks report a response rate of between 20%-30%, at a fraction of the cost of regular mail. So come in to Insty-Prints or call to learn more about how our marketing team can help you and your business with EDDM.

Just Add Dukky from Dukky on Vimeo.

  Author:

 Stan Coyle

Sometimes high-tech marketing methods do not always work but the low cost methods like postcards are still effective. As postcards are simple and low cost tools of marketing, marketers always love to try this marketing. Today, you can find many online websites offering postcard marketing services. These low cost postcards can work as a powerful punch for millions of small or large businesses. Many large companies and universities are still using colorful postcards. Oversized postcards give an optimum impression of products and services.

With so much attention focused on social media and other forms of online and digital marketing, the lowly postcard has taken on new prominence.  In short, people are paying more attention than ever to postcards they receive in the mail, and are responding to offers.  Postcards have a higher ‘read rate’ than other direct mail because they are easier to read at a glance and there’s no envelope to open.

You can quickly create a postcard campaign without a big investment in time or money. And getting your postcards printed and mailed to either your own mailing list or one you buy is a snap with one of the web-based services.  Many companies compete for your business, so rates are highly competitive and you can get your cards printed and mailed in a few days.

Here are 10 tips to get the most from a postcard marketing effort:

1.    Plan ahead and create a specific purpose for your postcard campaign – as big an idea as possible to grab people’s attention. Build value into your message and don’t be boring.

2.    Postcards should be eye-catching, so be sure to include high-quality photos or other striking images, graphics and colors.

3.    Postcards can say a lot – especially the over-sized variety — but try to keep your message simple. It’s still a postcard, after all, not a novel. Pretend that every word you write is costing you an extra $100.

4.    Short, bold headlines work best. Avoid jumbled information. Postcards work best for short messages and for generating leads (not closing sales). Don’t try to explain everything, and be sure to include multiple ways to contact you.

5.    Postcards are great for carrying timely messages, so think in timely terms. For example, postcards can convey messages or offers with a deadline, or customer reminders (your service contract expires in 30 days!).

6.    There are two sides to every postcard, so make the most of them both. The non-address side should have the biggest, boldest photos and colors. Think of it as a poster. The other side should carry your offer, contact information and other details.

7.    Think multi-faceted.  Postcards can be used for many purposes, including reminders, gift certificates, coupons, new product announcements, openings, discounts and even as tickets.

8.    Go for high-quality, full-color, glossy printing. These have the most impact.  All postcard marketing services offer this, and improve technology has brought down costs.

9.    Oversized cards – often 6×11 – stand out in the mail and are a great choice. They also give you more ways to include photos, coupons and even a map to your location.

10. Encourage quick action. Give customers a good reason to act now, perhaps a fast action bonus with a deadline.

Templates make do-it-yourself postcards possible, but taping the postcard pros online is quick and easy.  Here are some services to consider:

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/few-tips-for-postcard-marketing-success-5844714.html

About the Author

Stan Coyle has 25 years experience in Direct Mail marketing. He has taught seminars from New York to London and has settled in Tampa, Florida for a semi-retirement of fishing and relaxation. Not being able to leave work alone, he contributes to the success of postcard marketing customers all over the U.S. with his work at SonicPrint.com.

Insty-Prints can help you with your Every Door Direct Mail campaign.  We can assist in creating a campaign for any marketing need.  Let us show you how to create a campaign, design it, mail it and track it as well.  Stop in any day of the week from 8am to 5pm.  We are located at 2410 N Broadway, Rochester MN 55906.  Or call us at 507-282-6112

    INSTY-PRINTS of Rochester has announced that Shelly Maciujec will become a Marketing Advisor, a key addition as the company seeks to build the strength of its full-service capabilities.
In the new program,Marketing Services, initiated by Rick Weiss, INSTY-PRINTS owner and president, Maciujec will concentrate on developing social media marketing plans for INSTY-PRINT business customers
Shelly Maciujec brings 10-years of marketing management experience to the position. The newly created position means INSTY-PRINTS will be able to assist clients with their marketing and branding strategies as well providing graphic design, printing and promotional products.
“To Enhance the value of the businesses we serve is the mission at INSTY-PRINTS,” said Weiss “It is our belief that many companies can benefit from fresh marketing and social media ideas that are on-target and on budget. In her role as Marketing Advisor, Shelly Maciujec brings us that expertise. We are now a ‘one-stop shop’ for your printing, advertising and marketing needs.”

INSTY-PRINTS, which is located at 2410 N Broadway in Rochester, has been serving the printing and promotion needs of area businesses since. 1967.

Do you love to play with paper and make things from scraps of other projects? If you are like me, you can’t throw even a few extra holiday bows away if they are in good shape. I mean, there is always some tape or glue around, right?
I run across all kinds of fun scraps around the shop here at Insty-Prints. I love all the colors of the Spring projects going on around here. It started me thinking about May Day. Does anyone even celebrate this holiday anymore? I remember as a kid making May Day baskets and filling them with little treats, then leaving them on the neighbors doorsteps. We would ring the bell or knock then run off to hide while our neighbors quizzical looks at an empty stoop soon turned to a grin when they spotted the cute little paper baskets of sweets at their feet. So for a fun project, make a May Day basket and attach some of the flowers you’ll find at this link:     http://craftsnob.com/2011/03/petite-paper-posies/

Graduation is approaching fast and it’s time to get your invitations in the mail. If you haven’t addressed invitations before, this can seem intimidating. You want to make sure the invites go to the right people and give the urgency intended in asking someone to attend your once-in-a-lifetime event! Some things to consider:

• Not all schools allow an open-ended list of invitees. There are sometimes limits to the number of people who can attend the actual ceremony. So before you send out an invite to distant Great-Aunt Mary, make sure you know how many guests you or your child are able to invite.
• Some people send announcements separately. If you are using your invites as your announcements as well, assure that the good news is apparent on the invite. This is not just another party, but the culmination of years of hard work for you or your graduate.
• Use as many photos as you can (being considerate of the fact that colored ink can be hard on the budget). Many people hold on to these types of invites as keepsakes.
• Use clear and reader friendly fonts. Some people love to play with fonts and though it may seem truly ‘designer’ to use very flowing scripts with lots of curly-cues, or maybe a severe font with a steam punk look, avoid this kind of personalization on the invites. Save those for the posters and decorations.
• Not only will the Postmaster thank you, but your relatives and friends will be glad to have clear time, date and location information. Even include a map of the locations you will be using for the day. This may include your school and home, or a reception site.
• When addressing the envelope, you may have 2, one is the outer mailing envelope and the inner one is the personal announcement envelope. Make sure you use full names and salutations for the person you are sending to on the outer envelope. Have your printer fill in the entire address, without abbreviations. On the inner envelope, you can personalize or have your printer use more personal wording such as ‘Grandma’ or ‘Aunt Suzie’.

The most important thing for your graduation invitations is to make them special and personalized to you. If you need some help or inspiration, just bring your pictures and specific information into Insty-Prints in Rochester and we can help come up with the perfect invitation with you!

Timeline Image Changes: This Week in Social Media
By Cindy King
Published April 21, 2012

Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up-to-date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention.

What’s New This Week?
Facebook Timeline for Business Image Changes: On April 26, Facebook will be updating the display size of the profile picture/avatar on all Facebook pages. If you have a tightly integrated design, you should be aware of this change. Be ready to update your profile picture on April 26. The new profile picture will be 160 x 160 pixels and will sit at 23 pixels from the left and 210 pixels from the top of the page.

As I was waiting for my coffee to brew this morning, I noticed how amazing the green of the grass was and how full the leaves were already. Here in Minnesota we know that April can be one of those difficult months. Spring is coming, but the sting of winter can still linger. Most of the plants peek through the ground and delicately begin to grow and eventually with warmer temps and more sunshine, will really burst forth with robust colors later in the spring. And then I thought, wow…. people must really “Like” April. As if April were a facebook page and with enough people ‘liking’ it, the plants and flowers have grown. But this is truly how an online presence can grow your business. Here at Insty-Prints, we know how important a marketing plan that includes online media can burst your company ahead of your competitors. We have all of the resources needed to create an entire marketing campaign so stop in or call to ask about our marketing services. Let us show you how to be likeable on Facebook, Tweet like a bird, get your Blog rolling, and make sure you are Linked In because Youtube need on online presence!