A big thank you to everyone who played on Facebook with us on Wednesday the 28th of November!! We had so much fun that we decided to give away gifts all day on the 29th to put us in the Christmas sprirt! Below you’ll find a list of winners and the gifts they won.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR WINNERS!!!

♪♫   On the first day of Christmas, AlphaGraphics gave to Tabitha Norwood: 

Reindeer! ♪♫  

( I’m glad you won these! My H.O.A has a strict no reindeer policy!) 

 

♪♫  On the second day of Christmas, AlphaGraphics gave to Christi Mundi: 

a cute tin of Walker’s Shortbread cookies! ♪♫  

(I’ve never understood the serving size. I always thought it should read “1 container”)

 

♪♫  On the 3rd day of Christmas, AlphaGraphics gave to Sean Kirk: 

his very own copy of Elf! ♪♫  

(Remember your 4 basic food groups – candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup!)

 

 

♪ ♫  On the 4th day of Christmas, AlphaGraphics gave to Pacia Wojcik:

a Snowman!  ♪ ♫ 

(Don’t worry, all of his snow is self contained so he won’t make a mess of the roads! He even plays music to put you in the Christmas Spirit!)

 

As a child, one of the first things my parents taught me was to say “Please” and “Thank You”.  When I was younger, I thought that saying “Please” was better by far. I liked the results. “Hey Mom, can I have some lunch?” was received with a blank stare. “Mom, can you make me a sandwich please?” was a magic phrase resulting in a full stomach.

As we learned about the pilgrims in grade school and the hardships they faced, it was hard to understand why the pilgrims celebrated scraping by with a feast and prayers of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving to me was the kick-off to the Christmas season and a great reason to play with my cousins and eat too much. I thought about what it was like for the pilgrims and  couldn’t see that they had much to be thankful for. They were cold, hungry, and they didn’t get any pumpkin pie.

As I gain more experience, I’m beginning to realize that being thankful has benefits beyond the instant gratification of just saying ‘Please” to get what I want. I find it amazing that remembering all of the wonderful things can make the most stressful of days easier to bear. It’s actually been proven! You can read a great short article here about the benefits if you need more evidence.

What does this have to do with marketing or printing, you ask? Nothing. And everything. As we look to Thanksgiving next week, we just want all of you to know how thankful we are that you have made a decision to let us help you with your print and marketing! What a year it’s been! We’re thankful for the technology that has made communicating with you easier! We’re thankful that you all like to play games with us and make our days more enjoyable! (Bingo anyone?)

Most of all: We are thankful for the relationships we have been able to build, the new friendships we have made, and the fact that our owners have worked to build a family business in every sense of the word. Thank you for being a part of the AlphaGraphics of Carrollton family!

 

 

My son loves to swim. Given the choice, I believe that he would be in the water from sunup to sundown (he and I are a lot alike).  Like every kid, he is fascinated by the cannonball. He’ll try anything to make his lean 60 lb frame generate the biggest splash possible. Of course, like any good father, I will occasionally teach by example and show him how to do it. He always says the same thing…

“How do you DO that?!”

I tell him years of experience. It makes me feel better than the truth of the matter. Sometimes, it pays to be (relatively) bigger.
Bigger size = bigger impact = bigger splash!

Say, did you know that AlphaGraphics of Carrollton prints large format? Yep, we sure do! We can help you make a bigger impact with your marketing.  With widths up to 59″ and lengths to 100 ft, we can help you guarantee that you’ll get noticed. Need new posters to get your message out? We can do that! How about window graphics to make your next sale stand out or draw attention to your business? We can do that too. My personal favorite though, is the large format wall graphics. Placing one behind a reception area is a great way to put your branding where everyone can see it.

We even go beyond printing though! We can laminate, mount, and even mount double-sided so no one misses out on your message.

Give us a call and see what we can do for your next campaign. Big color, large format, BIG SPLASH!!!

 

Every so often I’ll get a craving for one of the recipes I grew up on. My mother used to make pork chops and scalloped potatoes in a century old piece of crockery that you could smell cooking from a block away. It was amazing! Pork chops, potatoes, onions… I didn’t even like onions but I would eat them with this dish. I would even eat the french-cut green beans she served with it every time. All of those flavors would just simmer together, and the result was absolutely delicious.

On the other hand, most of us have been to a potluck or gathering where someone will bring that salad or casserole. You know the one. It has all the things that you love but for some reason they just don’t taste all that great together. There’s just no consistency…

One of the terms that marketers have been moving to the forefront lately is “cross-channel marketing”. Most of us are familiar with multi-channel marketing, and we understand the need and advantages of using multiple formats to reach an audience. Cross-channel marketing simply takes those formats, and applies the same voice, offer, and campaign to each of them. When it’s done correctly the results are dramatic.

The other key here is timing. Instead of sending all of your media at once, use the pieces to carry on a conversation. Start with social media and e-mail marketing letting your audience know you’ll be sending them something physical. Send them a personalized letter with their offer, and asking them to fill out a quick online form. Follow up with a postcard thanking them for their time or reminding them of the offer. Each touch building on the last and each one consistent in it’s message.

The next time you’re thinking about building a promotion, give us a call. AlphaGraphics of Carrollton has DMA certified staff that can help you build a campaign with multiple touches, a consistent message, and better results. We can even help you manage campaigns and break down the data when it’s all said and done . It’s what we do! Let us help you build a blend that keeps your customers coming back for more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attention Homeowner! Attention Recipient! Attention Valued Customer!

I receive mail almost daily with these greetings on them. Almost none of them get my attention. Every time I get the last one I think to myself, “If you don’t even know my name, how valued of a customer am I ?”. We all tend to gloss over these offers and advertisements and  most of them will end up in the waste bin.  They just don’t speak to me.

Last night I received one from a local auto dealer that I actually took the time to read. It said ” Hey John, we want to buy your 20XX Scion XB. We can give you $XXXX above the Blue Book value. We are looking for 8 more for our inventory and your trim package is the most requested.” They then proceeded to offer me a vehicle that was matched to my needs.  I decided against the offer, but they had my interest long enough to read the offer.

Most of you are aware that AlphaGraphics does variable data printing, but did you know that we can use variable data to do more than just put a name on a card? Anything you can put into a database can be used as variable data. You can reach out to inactive customers and ask them specifically about their previous purchase. You can make an offer customized to a buyers previous shopping habits.

Did you know that we can change the images on a piece based on parameters that you set? Imagine being able to do one mailing that covers your entire customer base and speaks to their particular needs. We can break this out by age, gender, location. Any parameter that you want to set.

How about variable mapping? We can include a map from the recipient’s mailing address to your business. Customized for every address you send to with directions to your location. What a wonderful idea for a doctor’s office or grand opening!

Give us a call and let us help you build a mailer that makes sure your message is read.  We’d love to help you increase your reach!

One of my favorite things about coming to Texas has been discovering that hamburgers aren’t just meant for speed and ease of consumption. Sure we’ll always have the Arches and Jack to give us those things, but my first visit to Keller’s was an eye opener. After that week-end, my wife and I started trying out the local burger places more often. Places like Burger House, Jakk’s, Twisted Root, Kincaid’s and Fat Daddy’s. We even gave Scotty P’s a shot and I found out sweet potato fries are a good thing! I’m getting hungry just thinking about them….

You know, they’re all basically selling the same thing: meat, bread, toppings, and fries. From a distance you could say that not much separates them, but when you’ve tasted a great one, you know there’s a difference.

Those of you that have read my blogs are now wondering where I’m going. So here it is: All too often we view our e-mail marketing like we do a cheap fast-food hamburger. Blast ‘em out, and quantity rules over quality. While in the past, this may have been true, people are getting smarter and so are spam filters. So here’s a few tips to help you move from cheap and easy to the quality people want more of.

1. Make sure you have a good list. In marketing and advertising, 40% of your success hinges on the quality of your list. Take the time to target the people you really want to reach. Yes, it’s cheap to blast out messages, but if you do it to the wrong person at the wrong time they can block you. That means when you have the right offer for them you won’t be able to reach them.

2. What’s in it for them? Make sure you provide a clear call to action and let them know exactly what you have for them and why they need it. this will account for another 40% of the success of your campaign. Think benefit statements. Think offers. Even if you are creating a newsletter, make sure that the content is worth your audience’s time. Remember, they won’t take the time to read the next one you send if this one doesn’t speak to them

3. And finally, the last 20% of your success comes from the creative. Interestingly enough, I find that all too often I receive e-mail marketing that is poorly designed with too many images. Sometimes, less is more. Make sure that you test your layout with your e-mail campaign’s html turned off. It should still be readable and you should still be able to understand the offer, even without the images showing.

One last note here, if you know your target audience and have spoken to them personally, try and send them a plain text e-mail with a few variable fields. Oftentimes, you can greatly lift your response rate with a more personal sounding e-mail that looks like it was written casually to a friend.

If you want to get started, but aren’t sure how then give us a call. We can help you make sure that your e-mail campaign gets noticed.  Now if you will all excuse me, I’m off to Burger House…or maybe Scotty P’s. Decisions, decisions….

I have a secret. I’m addicted to the bean dip from Gloria’s. It’s just amazing, and I have tried for years (to no avail) to recreate it at home. No amount of experimentation or scouring the internet has enabled me to recreate the flavor and consistency.  Funny thing though, I am absolutely terrible at keeping this secret. I tell everyone I know.

Have you ever heard the phrase “Best Kept Secret”? Some people smile conspiratorially when they hear it. As a marketer, it makes me anxious. I know, some people like the image that the phrase conjures, but most of the businesses I know would prefer to be the “Worst Kept Secret” given the choice! If you are tired of being the best-kept secret, I feel I must ask you “What are you doing to change that?”. How are you getting your secret out?

All too often I’ll hear someone say “I can’t afford to waste money on marketing right now!”. I understand that sentiment. I’m pretty frugal and tend to be tight with the purse-strings myself, but I think that there’s a bit of a misunderstanding here. Good marketing, done correctly, should return more than what you paid for it. It should be an investment.

Yes, Alphagraphics can give you all of the newest bells and whistles, but did you know we also have a team of people that think just like you do? I say this alot, but it’s true, we really do LOVE watching your business grow! You might even say we have a vested interest in it. We are just as excited to get postcards and flyers done for you as we are making mobile websites and creating pURL campaigns. Just try us! Ask us to help you with some of the smaller pieces you need to grow your business, our goal is to help you spend your money wisely. After all, if you start getting busy, you’re gonna need a new website……..

As promised on our Facebook page-

Here’s the Sally Hewell secret to a perfectly delicious, tender, barbeque ribeye:
Steak needs to be thick with a fair amount of marbling and room temperature.
Get the grill good and hot (about 475 degrees)

Seasoning the ribeye: 1st side- Mix olive oil and redwine vinegar in a 2:1 ratio, and thoroughly coat the surface and sides. Briskly rub the mixture into the steak. Rub it in REAL GOOD! Next sprinkle course Kosher salt, cayenne pepper lightly, garlic powder, cumin, then repeat this on the other side.

Cook for 5-7 minutes a side depending on thickness and the heat. Perfect!

My wife has this incredible ability I get to enjoy every evening when I get home. She can take a limited budget and produce amazing things in the kitchen. In her search to help us keep our budget fixed and still provide culinary masterpieces she will often come across recipes that look good in theory, but fall a little short in delivery. What makes her amazing is her ability to make it again with drastically different results. Usually, adding one ingredient or changing one step will turn “This again?” into “Alright, this again!!”

Have you ever done that with a marketing effort? You send the perfect e-mail offer and get no hits. You have this incredible coupon on your social media, but no one brings it in to redeem it. Your website gets no visits, even during a huge promotional period. Sometimes even free can’t seem to get any traction. I’ll let you in on a little secret we marketing folks call “multi-channel marketing”.

I know, I know, you’ve heard all about the low-cost of moving entirely to web-based advertising and how people don’t pay attention to mailers anymore. It’s not true. Combining a direct-mail piece with your e-mail and web campaigns can result in up to a 300% increase in decisions to buy and can actually REDUCE your cost per response by 20-25%. That’s smart. (sources Millard Brown,  DMA)

It’s pretty simple actually. Who are you going to buy from, someone you know or a complete stranger. There are also studies that tell us that the 2nd time someone sees your name with an offer, they are more receptive, because they remember your name. Kinda neat. It’s a similar response to seeing a familiar face in a room full of strangers. SO, the next time you’re thinking “I can’t afford to send out a postcard with this”, remember, it may be the difference between “This offer again?” and “I think I’ll give this a try…”

I have quite a few friends that are landscaping and landscape design professionals. The pictures of the projects they complete are incredible. Beautiful waterfalls, manicured greenways, native plants, raised gardens and flowerbeds. They really do beautiful work! Their own yards however, well, that’s a different story. It seems to be a fairly common story as well; the contractor is often so busy that he doesn’t have time to maintain his own home.

I’ve been guilty of this as a marketing professional. I understand the value of Linkedin and I counsel people regularly on how to get started using it effectively, but last night I finally cleaned up my own backyard. The best part was that it only took a few minutes to do and I have already had some benefit this morning. In the spirit of sharing, here are the 5 things I focused on:

1. Use A Recent Headshot-

While many people choose not place a photo in their Linkedin profile, I feel this tends to be a mistake. A photo instantly makes you more personable and eases an introduction. It also tells people you’re more comfortable with yourself. Also, remember to keep the photo professional and clean. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Also, keep it recent. there’s nothing more surprising than meeting someone you expected to be 20 years younger!

2.  Customize your URL

It only takes a few minutes and it will make linking your profile that much easier in e-mails. If you haven’t done this yet, take a few minutes and do so by clicking on Settings (underneath your name in the upper right hand corner of the screen), Edit Your Public Profile, and you should see the option to change yours on the right hand side. It’s always nice to know what you are clicking in an e-mail and customizing your URL will make people more comfortable adding you.

3. Pay attention to your headline

This is your best chance to grab someone’s attention on Linkedin. You have 5 or 6 words to tell the world what you do and how you relate to their search. If you have a major certification or unique qualification, put it here. If you need ideas, do a quick search on Linkedin using the keywords that apply to you. While some are corny, you will find some incredibly succinct and meaningful ways to advertise your skillset

4. Add your associates

Now that you have cleaned up your page, make sure you add your associates and colleagues. As you are researching potential clients and relationships, you’d be surprised how often that someone you know or have done business with will have an existing relationship with your prospect. A cold-call or unsolicited e-mail is often ignored, but a letter of introduction will generally buy you at least a few minutes of time. Often, this is enough to break the ice and start a conversation that can lead to a sale.

5. Join a group and post

Doing this will increase your professional visibility and provides a great introduction to people. Who knows what great idea you may learn or who your next client may be? Be selective with this though, you’re better off choosing a few and being actively involved in the discussions than joining so many that you remain invisible.

These simple changes can go a long way towards helping you increase your effectiveness using Linkedin. The best part is that none of them are incredibly time consuming. Make it a point to spend a few minutes each day and you will rapidly be on your way to networking like a pro!