Folded Card From Discover

Discover Card Birthday Card

Cash Back Offer

A festive folded card with an appropriate birthday design is on the front. I like it. It’s cute and intrigues me enough to open it up and read further. Inside I find their offer of a 2% Cash Back Bonus on purchases I make during the month of my birthday.  Because I’m spending money anyway this is a nice supplement, and who doesn’t want more cash back. However, I’m not one to know how much cash back I earn from their card normally. The message which could have worked better here is letting me know that the 2% is better than whatever it is the rest of the year, is it 1%? 1.5%? Give me an incentive to spend and I probably will.

DSW Postcard

DSW Birthday Postcard

DSW $5 Discount

In this example you’ll see DSW featured a women’s shoe.  Obviously their demographic data states I am female, otherwise this spiked high heel would have been replaced with something more appropriate for a male audience such as an image of a classy leather loafer. So far, so good. The headline mentions my birthday which is letting me know this is a timely message intended just for me. Okay, great.  In the upper left corner there’s an offer of $5 off. I would have loved to have seen this $5 off promotion bigger and more obvious. After all that is the selling point here. On the reverse side the details of the $5 off campaign mention the offer is valid just during the month of my birthday. This is well done because it creates a sense of urgency to get me in the door sooner rather than later.

MadGreens Postcard

MadGreens Birthday Postcard

MadGreens Birthday Free Salad

This 6×9 postcard is big in size and can’t be missed. It also features an appetizing visual of their product which is fresh and colorful.  Three important things are featured in this image. 1. The Happy Birthday headline. Again grabbing my attention as it’s an important date for me. 2. They’re offering me a free salad any time this month. Like DSW they utilized a deadline here which gives me extra motivation to keep this postcard handy and not stow it away for too long. 3. Their logo is in the lower left corner. MadGreens has used my birthday as one more method for their branding efforts.  Nice job MadGreens and I’m already looking forward to my salad.

Colorado Athletic Club Folded Card

Colorado Athletic Club Repurposed Folded Birthday Card

Colorado Athletic Club Handwritten Message

I’m still a bit stunned that any organization would send out such a horrible marketing piece such as this. Take a close look at the image and you can see their folded card was originally a “Thank You” card. They repurposed the card by covering up the words “Thank You” with a slightly opaque label imprinted with “Happy Birthday!!”. Wow, I sure felt special when opening this one! On the inside of the card is yet another classy opaque label offering me a free guest pass coupled with a handwritten greeting.  A free guest pass is a little bit of a gift, but not a gift for me per se, it’s a gift for a friend.  And notice there’s no deadline with their offer.  The handwritten greeting is a nice touch, but it would have made a whole lot more impact with a card that was actually intended to be a birthday greeting. These guys didn’t go to the same marketing schools as the folks at DSW or MadGreens.

So there you have it, some good, some bad. Hopefully you’ll be able to utilize what you’ve seen with these examples in your birthday card campaigns.

1.   

As well as your company brand, your cover should include:

• A strong headline
• A strong and relevant image that brings the customer closer to your product or service (hi-res photos of your product or professionally taken shots of your service in-action)
• A proposition; a question that makes them want to look inside for the answer; a differentiating statement that explains why you’re offering something that they can’t get elsewhere; any other reason to make them want to read more!

You can’t depend on strength of your product information or company information to grab people’s attention. You have to get customers “in the front door.”

2.  Keep your images to a minimum
A viewers mind can’t process lots of small pictures as easily as one strong image. When it comes to advertising, less is more! Using too many of images creates what is known as “friction” – where the eye can’t concentrate on one message and is distracted by lots of shattered visual messages. Use images only when you need to communicate something important about your business.  A business that is showcasing its current products and services, for instance, should definitely have “catalog” shots of their products.  And if you are advertising your museum, then you would instinctively want to include pictures of your building, exhibits, and location map.

Not every paragraph requires an image. Just because you have lots of great “snapshots” of your business doesn’t mean you should use them all. It’s a professional brochure you’re creating, not a Facebook photo album!

This may seem obvious, but you shouldn’t include images (or text for that matter) in your brochure that doesn’t support the purpose and intent of your brochure.

3.    How to best compose your brochure
The way that you structure the design of your brochure is very important. Fortunately, a traditional brochure is already structured in a very formal series of panels that forces you to keep a tidy design style. There are multiple ways to fold a brochure; tri-fold, z-fold, gatefold, half-fold, etc. Although they all follow a similar design pattern, you will absolutely need to know how your brochure is going to be folded or what your fold preference will be – it will have an effect on where the front and back of your brochure is.

My advice is to download a free brochure design template from our site to ensure that you know where the front, center, and back of your brochure is. This knowledge is crucial, because it will have a bearing on the order of information that you want to present. I have seen many brochures that mistakenly open with a closing business message?

(NOTE: I would also advise that, if you don’t have the design expertise and you don’t have the right design software InDesign, Photoshop, CorelDraw, or other professional design programs, then you should really get some design help – brochures are not easy design projects)

Below is an example of a typical brochure design that adheres to the structured brochure format. It is a two panel brochure that has a very easy-to-read appearance. It follows the idea of a brochure being much like a storybook. The panels act as separate pages that follow a set page order. The designer of this brochure wanted the reader to read the brochure in an easy, sequential order.

Good Example of Brochure Design

The brochure design follows these rules:

• The background color (texture, picture, etc) does not interfere with the text. Although it may seem obvious, keep light colored text on dark backgrounds, and dark colored text on light backgrounds.
• The text is broken up into easy-to-read paragraphs (rather than one long paragraph that NOBODY wants to read)
• All images and text are well within the (bleed) edges of each panel – no text or images are straying onto opposite panels. Everything is neat, tidy, and professional
• Lots of negative space – the design is not trying to cram too much text or imagery onto one panel – The space makes everything easy and comfortable.
• Clean body-copy font style at a size that can be easily distinguished (use only serif and san-serif fonts such as Garamond or Helvetica – no lower than 9pts)

4. You can be both relevant and creative with your images
As mentioned previously, although it’s important that your visuals are used sparingly and that they are relevant, there is no reason why you can’t do both and be really creative. For instance, it would be a great idea for a brewery to visually show you the vats, the brewing system, and the way the beer is produced. However, by illustrating people having a great time in your brewery (drinking and enjoying your product) you are generating the idea that you produce a successful product.  In marketing, the eating is often more important than the cooking!

5. Storybook images
The images you use need to support your story in a sequential manner. For instance, if you are marketing your hotel, take the customer on a journey through your premises, as if you were actually visiting it! A picture-book story that has a beginning, middle, and end is much more appealing than a selection of random pictures or thoughts that don’t connect!

6. Use captions with images
Captions put images in context and can add weight to your message.  Especially if you have a brochure that has a lot of details and copy. It also helps with the pacing of your brochure and tells the viewer what they should be looking at and focusing on.  Also, a cynical customer may not want to read the copy and might want to try and get a quick idea of who you are and what you do by simply looking at the pictures.

7. Long Copy is not your enemy
There will absolutely be those customers who won’t bother reading the long copy, but there will also those essential target customers who need to know everything about your product or business. These are customers who may have requested your brochure and are using it to compare and contrast the services of your company and that of your competitors. You will need that long copy to argue your point and do some serious convincing.

8. Highlight your major selling points throughout
If you think your company has the greatest company service, the best location, offers a superior quality product, has the most dedicated employees, etc, then let everyone know! Offer as many facts up to the customer as you can that distinguishes your company.  Use graphs, charts, illustrations, or other graphics to help you tell your story.  But as mentioned before, make sure that your images are relevant and support your text. Don’t let them detract from your company message. The following may not apply to all businesses but here are a few assets that you should include in your brochure:

• Business ideals
• Product details
• Prices
• Service Details
• Location
• Company Growth
• History
• Major Successes
• Mission statement
• Contact details

9. Call them to act!
What action do you want the viewer to take? Write, call, buy into your product and service? Your brochure, just like all other marketing materials, should contain a clear intent and call-to-action. A brochure without purpose is an opportunity missed and a sad thing, indeed!

10.  Do your brochure justice with a quality print job
Think of your brochure as your best “salesperson.”  It should be the graphical equivalent of a sharp suit and tie, and not a worn out old t-shirt with sweat pants! It’s really important to print a decent quality product that doesn’t look like a cheap brochure and shows that you care enough about your company to invest in a quality print job.  It also doesn’t make sense to spend so much time composing and creating your brochure, just to cut-a-few-costs at the last hurdle and get a product that doesn’t add value to your promotion. You don’t need to spend a fortune, but you should use a quality print supplier like NextDayFlyers to produce the best brochure promotion possible for your business.

The business card is often one of the first things that non-professionals or design beginners will try to design themselves. On the surface it seems like the perfect business card design should be a snap; just play around with a logo, web address, and phone number in a 3.5 x 2 space and “hey presto” there’s an awesome business card!

I have worked as a creative manager in the print industry for many years now, and I have seen a lot of business cards (as well as designing my fair share of them) and I can honestly say that well-designed business cards are in the minority. It’s much more common to see poorly composed cards with bad color and font choices.

 But have no fear design beginners! I have put 5 essential rules to consider before designing your business card:

 1.    Start with a Simple Message

A business card, much like a logo, should be considered as a simple brand or personal statement. Start with this in mind. Graphically and with messaging, it should get your point across very quickly. That can’t be done when you have too many conflicting graphical and text elements.

Don’t try and say 1000 things on your business card. Your business card is not a flyer or a promotion. A business card should act as an introduction into a conversation you want to have.  It’s not a sales pitch. Not only will too much text about yourself or your business clutter your design, but it may also make you appear a little bit self-involved and even “desperate” sounding!

However, there are a few things you definitely should not forget to include. Before you start designing, your business card should answer the following:

• Who you are

• What you do

• How to contact you (phone, email, links)

Anything else is likely to clutter your message and dilute your statement.

Good messaging includes links to your sites, portfolio site, and twitter page. Bad messaging includes unnecessary links to landing pages, video links, and sales offers. You might also want to include a company value proposition or quote if you think it adds value to your message but where business cards are concerned, less is always better.

Great minimal business card design - designed in profile for a more original look

2.    Leave Space!

In most cases, you should think about designing a really neat and professional business card, rather than an overloaded business card that’s trying too hard to impress. Too many people try to fill in all blank spaces on a business card with head shots, product photos, patterns, cute characters, etc. There’s a time and place for designs that are full of photos and other detailed design elements but that is not on a business card! Even the most cutting-edge graphic design studios and ad agencies tend to stick to simple ideas rather than intricate graphic imagery (if not for the sheer impracticality of trying to put lots of image detail in a 3.5 x 2 sized design space.) There is a lot to be said for simple text composition treatments.

By all means use your logo and other simple graphical elements but be mindful that text needs to have room to breathe and to be easily read.  Take advantage of space as much as possible by letting the text and fonts do most of the talking. Trying to include all your design “bells and whistles” doesn’t work on a business card because it prevents the viewer from focusing on your message.

Leaving space conveys professionalism in both a design sense and on a more subconscious level; someone who hands out a well composed and well-organized business card is communicating the same idea about themselves as a well-organized and professional individual.

When designing your business card, I also would strongly advise that you  create a double-sided card rather than a single-sided card.  Not only does it give you more design room to play with.  Utilize the back  for putting your web addresses, social media addresses, logo or other secondary info about yourself that you want to surface.

Using space to give copy room to breathe and communicate an "easy" message

3.    Avoid Psycho-Color and Clutter

You may be old enough to remember when a business card used to be a white piece of card with nothing more than your name and number in a sharp looking font. No logo, no photographs, and no clutter! Then the world suddenly went digital and people went mad with rainbow colors, high-gloss finishes, and photos covering every available space of their business card!

I think the old way was better. We can’t go back in time, but there is a definite design trend nowadays for simpler and more effective business cards that are closer to the original business card designs. Just because in today’s digital marketplace you are able to create multi-colored business cards, doesn’t mean that you should create them!

The key is to be selective about color! What colors convey professionalism? It’s a big mistake to think that ultra-bright colors will get you noticed. They are far more likely to turn people away. Using shocking colors is another way to take the viewers focus away from your message.

There is a lot of information available about color, what emotions it can represent, and how people generally react to it. Personally, I think your color choices are a lot to do with “common sense” decisions made about your business and what you want to convey. A slick black business card may be perfect for a Photographer or Designer but not so great choice for a Real Estate Agent who’s job is to sell bright new futures (not gloom and despair!)

very colorful business card that doesn't let the colors interfere with the text elements (uses mostly white space)

4.    Choose Your Fonts Wisely

Clean and readable are the keywords here. Choose a font that the viewer doesn’t have to struggle to read. Difficult-to-read fonts include grunge fonts, calligraphic fonts, and other overly elaborate fonts. Your font size for a business card is likely to be small. You need to use a font that supports being printed at 12pt or lower.

Classic font families such as Century, Helvetica, Gill Sans, Swiss, and Franklin are usually wise choices when it comes to adding your text. Only for the simple reason that they are easy-to-read, even when they are at 12pt or less.

When placing your fonts in your design space, pay extra-attention to where they’re going and how they contrast with other colors in your design space. It may seem obvious, but light-colored fonts won’t read on light-colored backgrounds, just as dark-colored won’t be visible on dark backgrounds. You should also watch out for background textures, patterns and other background imagery; even with a stroke or drop-shadow applied to your text, you’re making small text impossible to read when placed on-top of something that is visually textured.

A beautiful and original font treatment can create a stunning business card

5.    Feel Free to be inventive (but not mad professor inventive)

It’s okay to be a little playful with your business cards. I’ve suggested that your business cards should look professional, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be creative with your designs. Some people respond to a more creative approach. Especially if your business suits a more relaxed design style. A cupcake bakery, for instance, would not be expected to create a business card that looked very corporate and professional (just as a business card that looked like it was for a cupcake bakery wouldn’t suit a tax advisory!)

Highly creative business card - simple, fun, and elegant too

There is room to think outside the box with your business card but don’t lose sight of the rules we’ve previously talked about. Don’t sacrifice  legibility over doing something wild and crazy-colorful. The issues of space, clutter, and simplicity of message still apply.  In the example above, we see a highly-creative business card that is fantastically creative whilst still remaining easy-to-read and follow.

These quick and easy rules represent a few things that you should consider before you design your card. As long as you always keep focused on simple messaging and design objectives, then you will design a successful card.  Keep it simple and always remember to keep as much  unnecessary text and visual clutter out of your cards.

Now Printing from New Jersey Facility on East Coast

NextDayFlyers has always been the print choice for demanding professionals who need offset quality print products delivered to them in a hurry. The opening of our new facility means that our East Coast customers, who have grown accustomed to our exceptional product and service, can now order business cards, postcards, brochures and other custom print materials at a greatly reduced shipping rate.

With facilities producing prints on both the East and West Coasts, it also means double the print power and twice the ability to bring quality print products to the USA.

At NextDayFlyers, we are all really excited about our company expansion and the opening of our new site. We feel that we can better serve all our customers with the opening of our new facility that mirrors the production capacity of our Rancho Dominguez site in California. Our new site is also one that everyone can be proud of.  It represents our company’s commitment to green issues and is about as hi-tech as a production facility can be.

Solar Powering Saddle Brook

Running on solar power, it is a one-of-a-kind facility that’s powered entirely by the sun!

Our  East Coast facility is equipped with a state-of-the-art rooftop Photovoltaic (PV) Solar System. These panels enable the facility to produce its own power and run all the energy- sapping print machinery and office equipment.

Inside our New Print facility

The Saddle Brook site represents a great leap forward for our company in both a production sense and also as a great model for other progressive thinking companies to embrace new technologies and environmental solutions. We can’t wait to start providing customers on the East Coast with cutting-edge print products and affordable next day printing.

• Our New East Coast operations are located at 435 N. Midland Ave, Saddle Brook, NJ 07663 – Just 10 minutes from Teterboro Airport, and about ½ hour from both Newark Liberty International Airport and La Guardia Airport.   Call 1800-251-9948 (toll-free) to find out more about our new location and about our will call services. 

1. Realtor Marketing Budget – The rule of thumb for successful realtors is a marketing budget that is between 15% and 30% of their gross commission goal for the coming year. The percentage that is spent is inversely proportional to their income. The more a realtor makes, the lower the percentage is that they need to spend. For example if an agent earns $1 million a year in commissions, they can get by with spending 15% or even less on marketing. If making $100,000 or less, an agent should spend 30% to grow their business.

2. Communications - Real estate agents should keep constant contact with their farm area to develop name recognition and to develop their brand.  Timing the communications is critical. Events that trigger postcard printing and mailings include:

• A home that just sold in the prospect’s area
• A new listing that the prospects may want to consider
• Drop in interest rates
• Expected rise in interest rates
• Home values which have appreciated
• Seasonal contact
• Holidays
• Neighborhood changes
• High demand from buyers
• Client satisfaction surveys

(Image Source: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Seasonal-Postcard-Campaign/438406)

3. Provide Value – Utilizing print marketing materials with valuable information that has staying power with prospects can work wonderfully for real estate agents looking to establish name recognition. Examples of items which are useful to consumers and can be easily branded are postcards or magnets featuring:

• Local emergency numbers
• Local sports schedules
• Recipes
• Hours and phone numbers of stores in a local mall
• List of local restaurants with phone numbers
• List of emergency contact numbers for a babysitter to use
• Calendars
• Event schedules (outdoor concerts, street fairs, festivals)

(Image Source: http://austin.cbunited.com/agent/agentdetail.asp?CEQ_AgentCode=7168682)

4. Image and Resources – Using a professional headshot in marketing materials adds credibility, it’s a must!   Marketing materials should always contain a contact phone number and web address.  Ideally a realtor’s website could be a resource tool for prospects containing neighborhood information, links to lenders, inspectors, contractors, and have an area where prospects can sign up for more information, newsletters, etc.

5. Real Estate Marketing Copy – When writing promotional copy to describe a home, it should be done in 120 words or less.  If it’s longer than 120 words, it’s likely a reader won’t completely read the copy. The language used should focus on the key features of the home, such as the kitchen, bathrooms and living areas.  It should point out any special features such as unique landscaping or a walk-out basement.  The best photos to use are photos that show the front exterior of the home on a sunny day.

6. Getting Noticed – Real estate agents with good track records should advertise it!  Attention grabbing headlines such as “15 Homes Sold for Full Asking Price in the Last Year Alone” will draw interest and add to the realtor’s authority.  That said, agents should be careful not to say too much about themselves.  They should focus on what they can do for their customers.  Marketing pieces should have a compelling offer, and it should be an offer other than a free consultation.  Everybody expects the consultation to be free, it’s an ineffective tool.  A better idea is to offer a free home buyer’s guide that can be emailed or mailed, or a free booklet of tips for getting the home ready to sell.  Lastly, don’t forget about testimonials, they’re always a sure-fire marketing tool.

(Image source: http://www.behance.net/gallery/B-Cards-adds-Billboars-etc-%28REMAX-Legacy%29/200377)

Know Your Customer

Before you begin any marketing campaign it’s important to know who your message is geared toward.   With a little research the wedding photographer would have found that the average age for couples to marry is 28 for men and 26 for women. The photographer would have also been able to uncover that women make most of the buying decisions when it comes to wedding planning. Now the photographer can appropriately cater his marketing toward a 26 year old bride-to-be.   A little research on any target market can uncover specifics details such as age range, gender, and income levels. Knowing who you are speaking to will set the stage for the way you communicate with your audience.

(Image Source: http://www.mgm-photography.com/e-letters/wedding/2/)

Write Headlines That Get Noticed

Be sure to write headlines that work to your advantage. The headline is your opportunity to grab the reader’s interest and convey your message. Without a good headline the rest of the copy you’ve worked tirelessly on may not even be read.  Eight of ten consumers will read the headline, but only two of ten will read the copy.  Headlines should be accurate and never mislead.  For instance, if the headline states, “Buy One, Get One Free”, there shouldn’t be any fine print that excludes certain items. This will only frustrate and disenfranchise customers.  When writing headlines it’s important to use the present tense. Going back to our tax accountant example “Tax Rates Are Rising” works better than “Tax Rates Have Risen”. The customer needs to know it’s not too late.

(Image Source:  http://www.nikeblog.com/2010/08/05/nike-women-ad-nikes-take-on-the-quick-fix/)

Short and Sweet Copy

Brevity is your friend.  Because only two of ten readers will actually read your copy, don’t lose those valuable eyeballs with complex sentences and too much unimportant information.  Yes you have a message to convey, but keep it brief and easy to comprehend.  Focus on the benefits rather than focusing on features. Strong copywriting will explain how the product or service can benefit the targeted group of consumers.

(Image Source: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Leadville-Race-Series/1339369)

Incite Feelings

Don’t be afraid to incite a feeling. For years advertisers have been trying to invoke a feeling, with the end goal of creating an attachment to a product or a service.  Consumers buy based on their emotions, not based on practicality.   Our tax accountant may try a scare tactic like “Stiff Penalties Await, File Today”.  This creates a sense of anxiety and will likely get consumers to file their taxes before the deadline.

Utilize Thoughtful Layouts

Once you have good copy, don’t ignore your graphic designs and layouts.  If the design is too distracting or contains a font that’s hardly legible, you’ve already lost your reader. You’ve put the time into crafting awesome copy, don’t waste it with a sub-par design.

(Image Source: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Paranoid-a-free-font-project/218721)

Lastly, be sure to break up large paragraphs and blocks of text with sub headings and featured content. This helps the reader see what information is important and encourages them to read through the entire marketing piece.

(Image Source: http://www.behance.net/gallery/CHP-Brochure/308166)

Here is a list of my personal top 5 popular and hideous new fonts:

Bleeding Cowboys

Okay, so you want to be all “edgy” and “rock’n’roll” so let’s get out the Bleeding Cowboys font as we chug some beers down while listening to Nickelback. He’s a rough, tough, modern-day outlaw of a font who gets wasted at parties and tries to hit on your girlfriend!? But there’s a soft side to Bleeding Cowboys too! Underneath the grungy font exterior, he believes he’s a smooth and sophisticated dude with his handsome swirls and frills! (He may think that’s the case, but Bleeding Cowboys is clearly deluded!)

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Scriptina

My name is Scriptina. I am a 40 year-old cougar and self-professed “fashionista” font.  Please love me!! Please stare at my strange and beautiful handwritten style. I think of myself as an ostentatious, artistic, and scrumptious bit of script that represents “easy elegance” and “sophistication” (In reality, I’m more like a confusing, half-intoxicated mess of unreadable swirly- curly-whirliness!)

To be honest, this new-generation of handwritten script hasn’t improved much on the Mistral and Brush Script nightmares of yesteryear! It’s so unnecessarily condensed and difficult to read? It’s about as sophisticated as an eighties perm!

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Origin of an Aristotle Maple Hero

I’ve stumbled across three different variations of this same grunge font:

Origin of a Hero

Aristotle Punk

The Maple Origins

These fonts are all unapologetic abuses of Avant Garde Gothic.  Come on people! Let’s stop destroying perfectly good fonts just to use on emo band covers! I realize that all emo bands are slightly different variations of the same band, but let’s not apply the same rules to our font design!  I’m not a fan of grungy and destroyed fonts but you could at least take your big, clumsy, destructive design mallet to a font of your own making!  

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2012 Headline (London 2012 Olympic Font)

The Olympic Games is the oldest and most important sporting event in the world! A time for countries to set-aside their differences and peacefully settle their disputes in games of strength and agility.  With this in mind, it was someone’s bright idea to represent the auspiciousness and reverence of these games with a font that reminds us of a London kebab shop!

I understand that the designer of this font wanted to represent “fun” and “dynamic” but this font is so crude, disorganized, and ugly! What were they thinking? Let’s celebrate the world’s most important sporting event with bad cartoon graffiti?!

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Ransom Note

“Commissioner Gordon, we’ve just received a ransom note and it’s terrible!”

“What, Officer Gribble!!! They’ve kidnapped someone? They’re demanding a huge ransom?”

“No sir! It’s just such a terrible design! The font they used really sucks!!”

Will someone please save us from “themed” fonts!  This has got to be one of the world’s worst themed fonts. Mostly due to the fact that it looks so false and amateurish (I would hope that serious designers would never consider using this pseudo-font.) The biggest problem with Ransom Note is in the reason and intent. It’s trying very hard to be all dangerous and “punk rock” but fails in a really counterfeit, plastic version of the Jamie Reid (Sex Pistols cover) original.

I’ve been seeing this font for a fair few years and it makes me cringe.  My advice to any designer, who wants to recreate this design-style, is to get the scissors and glue out and make your own typographical homage to 70’s punk rock.

This completes my personal list of eye-offensive fonts. I would love to hear your thoughts on these worst font choices! Maybe you have your own list, or maybe you would like to defend one of these fonts? It’s just design. It’s all entirely subjective!

It’s such a simple system, you won’t have to have it tattooed on your arm to remember it to have all the bases covered.

Here’s the game plan:

First Base:  What you’re offering your reader.

Second Base: How it’ll benefit your reader.

Third Base: Introduce yourself to your reader.

Home Plate: Tell your reader what to do.

First Base–The What:

It seems obvious, but it is regularly overlooked – let your reader know what it is you’re selling or presenting. Is it a product or a service? What’s it called? What does it do? Who is it for?

Begin with the broad-brush stroke version of the description. No too much fine detail. Just an overview that hints at more to come.

For example:

A complete music system that allows you to store hundreds of hours of your favorites and listen to them easily without ever disturbing those around you.

Second Base—The Benefits:

Now you can tell your reader all of the benefits your product or service will provide. Share the details of how their lives will be improved – the money they’ll save, the pleasure they’ll enjoy, the pounds they’ll lose—whatever the results of using your product or service will be.

Describe the state the reader will be in as a result of using the item you’re selling. Let them feel how much better life will be. Connect on an emotional level.

For example:

Compact and lightweight, you’ll slip it into your pocket and enjoy hours of music without worrying about carrying a bulky inconvenient package.

Features & Benefits – The dynamic duo that helps you sell.

There are the features of your product or service. They’re important, because they are usually the tangible part of your offer. The allow you to compare your offer to another competing offer. And they open the door to a discussion of the benefits.

The benefits are the real reason people will buy what you are selling. This is the results that your reader can expect to enjoy after they have purchased and begin using your product or service.

The features and benefits work together. The features help you explain how the benefits are born. The features add credibility to your pitch. They help soothe a nervous buyer who yearns for the benefits but needs a more rational reason to write a check or swipe that plastic card.

One of the best ways to present your features and benefits is in a list of bullet points.

For example:

• Internal 320 GB Hard Drive lets you store hundreds of hours of music
• Rechargeable battery lets you save money because it never needs replacing
• Ergonomically shaped control buttons let you operate it by touch

Always pair a benefit to every feature. Bullet points are like batting singles because they let you make your point in a quick, easy to digest way, and they catch the eye of the reader.

Third Base—The Who Are You:

People prefer buying something from someone they know and are comfortable with. There needs to be a level of trust. An established relationship that makes the buyer feel confident that the seller won’t run off to The Cayman Islands with the funds.

A great way to do this is to include a photo in the layout of the page. A personal note that accompanies the picture will be even more effective in establishing credibility.

There is a great deal in the power of your reader relating to the person in the photograph. The picture is there to bring to life the promise of what you are selling.

Home Plate—The Call to Action

Your reader needs to know specifically what to do next. Step-by-step instructions are an excellent way to close the sale. Put big numbers beside each step, too.

Tell the reader exactly how to order. Invite your reader to click on the link. To order now. To get started.  Don’t ask – tell.

Here are two extra helpers: they’re like secret signals from the coach!

Rarity and a Deadline. Limited supplies make people do it now. No one wants to miss out on an offer they could have had. Deadlines help make procrastinators make a commitment. Don’t leave too much time for the decision process.

One way to do this is to explain that due to rising materials costs, the price of the item will be increasing by a set dollar amount or a percentage in just two weeks!

Every time you encounter a sales pitch, make note of the Four Bases. You’ll see it in infomercials, catalog copy, sales letters, and online. Make sure you find them in all of the copy you create and you’ll see more winning campaigns and profits that soar out of the park!

It wasn’t too long ago that writers pounded out their articles and stories on intricate machines crafted of hefty metal. They were heavy, bulky, messy and noisy, too. But they became a trusted friend, a side-kick, an essential tool that has now been relegated to a mere décor item and, more frequently, dark closets and dusty attics.

The Sholes & Glidden of 1873 – credited with establishing the market for typewriters and revolutionizing the business world.

There is a small, but fiercely loyal association of collectors who scour garage sales and swap meets seeking these icons of yesteryear. They gather infrequently but are highly active on the internet. Typewriters are actively bought and sold on eBay and there are some very nice websites hosted by avid collectors.

If the thought of the internet being the intersection of the typewriter and the computer is a bit of a paradox, you’re in for a real treat when you visit the site of Richard Polt, a professor of philosophy at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Richard has been a devoted typewriter collector since 1994 and inaugurated the site on December 9, 1995. There have been 1,078,340+ visitors since then – the million mark was reached on April 30, 2010.

You can find The Classic Typewriter Page at:

http://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/index.html

A surprisingly comprehensive offering of topics is available for those who are serious collectors and those who are merely curious. Here’s what you’ll find:

• A Brief History of Typewriters
• A photo gallery of unique machines (you’ll be amazed at the variety!)
• Remington Portables (for which Richard’s heart has a soft spot)

• Typewriter parts (and the identification thereof)

• The Typewriters of Famous Authors

Ian Fleming working his magic for James Bond on one of his Royal portables.

• FAQ – very helpful

But that’s not all:

Subscription information available on site

• ETCetera – the Journal of the Early Typewriter Collectors Association
• Resources
• Restoration (tips for the DIYer)
• Public Displays of Typewriters and Museums that house Typewriters
• Repair Shops (those that still work on these beasts)
• Richard’s own extensive collection (photos and descriptions of nearly 200 machines plus 50 he formerly owned)

Richard’s Crandall (1881) which he restored.

• The 10 Most Wanted Typewriters (for those who want to profit from the hobby)
• Mailing Lists (to stay in touch with other collectors)
• Typewriter Fonts (how to make your computer emulate vintage technology)
• Store (get your souvenirs)
• Tributes
• Blog (Richard maintains several and they are all very interesting)
• Links (to other fanatics and related stuff)

One could spend days on this site alone just exploring the wealth of information. If the sound of typewriter keys slapping authoritatively upon a blank page makes your heart race, and the melodic “ding” when you come to the end of a line evokes a wave of nostalgia, you will treasure this site and will bookmark it for frequent return visits.

Need a Calendar Template. You’ll find a plateful right here!

http://www.designfreebies.org/design-templates/free-2012-calendar-design-templates/

Want Wallpapers? Here are some nifty typographic wps to choose from.

http://www.designfreebies.org/typography/2011-free-beautiful-and-creative-typography-wallpapers/

Vector art in a vintage ornamental style to decorate your dreams.

http://www.designfreebies.org/free-vectors/free-vintage-ornamental-pen-and-ink-vector-artworks/

Let us give you a head start on Christmas… with these cool themed card designs.

http://www.designfreebies.org/design-templates/ultimate-collection-of-creative-christmas-card-design-resources/

Enjoy these handy items in your work or just for fun. You can’t lose.