7 Ideas for Combining Offline 

and Online Marketing

In today’s world, it’s all about teamwork—people working for the exact cause to make the most significant impact.

And it’s also about teamwork in marketing—using online and offline tools to promote your business.

When the two hold hands, nothing can stop that well-oiled machine.

7 Ideas on Using Offline and Online Marketing

1. Cross-Promote.

Use digital media to promote offline media outreaches. If you send postcards, use a teaser to direct them to your website. Use QR codes or other ways to make it easy to go online to your site.

2. Combine Efforts.

Synergy across your online and offline branding is crucial for successful integration.

Use the exact wording and images online as offline, so the message is the same. Then, when people check out the other type of marketing, they will know they are on the right page.

Fortunately, you don’t have to choose between offline and online marketing strategies. Using both is more powerful.

3. Join Forces.

Integrating your online and offline marketing efforts creates a much smoother experience for consumers, allowing them to move through the customer journey much more easily.

It also brings about familiarity, which will cause your business to grow.

4. Produce In-Person Meetings.

When making the promotions in your online and offline efforts, try to get in front of your customer.

Allow yourself to be the expert on what you offer and try to get speaking gigs and in-person tradeshows. This also helps boost your business as an overall combined effort.

5. Search Intent.

You have to create relevant content that isn’t “salesy” to naturally resonate with people who need the information.

Make it easy to look at your site and get accurate information, not just a sales pitch.

So, when your brochure or postcard points them online, make sure you have legitimately helpful information for the consumer.

6. Collect Contact Information.

To connect your offline marketing to your online marketing, collect email address information in-store. This will tie the marketing together so that you can reach them through email or a phone call later.

7. Custom URLs.

An easy way to connect online and offline campaigns is through custom tracking URLs. Use unique URLs in all of your offline marketing efforts. When customers visit these pages, you’ll know they came from offline marketing.

No matter which marketing the customer sees first, the important thing is that the two marketing efforts point to each other and help each other.

We are here to help you as well. We are only a click or a phone call away when you need high-quality printing.www.printcafeli.com or Call: 516-561-1468

                   How the Best Leaders Embrace a Results-Based Perspective

More than 40 years ago, Dale Miller conducted a study that compared two groups of executives.

One group was identified by their colleagues as highly effective and ready for promotion. Individuals in the other group initially seemed promising but were later deemed unready for an advanced role.

During evaluation, each group received a deck of 62 statements describing management behavior and was asked to sort the statements on most effective versus least effective leadership qualities. After the first group finished sorting, the top behavior they selected was this: “accepts full responsibility for the performance of the work unit.” This phrase was chosen above delegation, staffing, time-management, or even technical skills.

The primary difference between these groups? Those primed for high-level leadership took full ownership over the team, its cohesiveness, and final project outcomes.

Practical Ways to Practice Personal Responsibility

“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.” — Theodore Roosevelt

Many people who enter management are willing to accept the benefits of their position without fully embracing the pain points of this role.

Modern society often views leadership as self-serving, with the needs and desires of the individual taking priority over those of the team. But effective leadership primarily benefits the followers, not the leader. People who put the team’s needs above their own will achieve maximum influence and increase efficiency and effectiveness in their organization.

What does it look like to embrace a results-based perspective in your leadership? Ultimately, this starts with a mindset that says, “I am the person who must make this happen.” This goes beyond merely completing a task to a wholehearted commitment to the company’s best interests, including doing things for which there is no immediate reward. Do you turn off the lights if you are the last one in the building, or do you assume the custodian will do this? Responsible leaders use organizational resources with great care; they take the long view and see their own well-being as intrinsically linked to this organization’s success.

On a tangible, daily level, here are several ways successful leaders take personal responsibility:

-- Asking, “how can I help?” instead of “what does that have to do with me?”

-- Sharing credit when things go well but acknowledging personal shortcomings when a team fails

-- Proactively seeking honest feedback about personal performance

-- Acting as a buffer to protect the team from unreasonable demands on time, resources, or output

-- Delegating tasks (using clear job descriptions) while avoiding the temptation to micromanage

-- Being willing to forego being one of the group (or everyone’s “buddy”) to accept the social stigma of leadership

-- Encouraging people to take responsibility for their own roles by highlighting the importance of what they are doing and how these efforts tie into the bigger picture

-- Breaking large ventures into small steps, so people feel proud of their progress (rather than overwhelmed by the magnitude of a project)

-- Ensuring team members have the resources needed to do their job (including training, equipment, access to mentors and coaches, etc.)

-- Documenting poor outcomes and intentionally communicating them to struggling team members so positive changes (or eventual termination) can occur

Empower Yourself and Encourage Others

While taking responsibility can be difficult, it is also empowering.

Pursuing this results-based mindset allows you to take ownership over a situation and avoid feeling like a victim. When you take ownership over your role in every situation, you become an active participant, not a passive bystander. You are a trustee of these intangibles, and this empowering attitude helps others move forward in vitality – even when they’ve forgotten how to believe in themselves.

Need some fresh ideas? Contact us today to get started! 516-561-1468 or FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF OUR MARKETING PRODUCTS GO TO: www.printcafeli.com

                 Tweaking Your Business Plan After the Year of the Curveball

Every curveball starts as a fastball – until it dives out of range as it approaches the plate.

The story of the curveball started in 1863 when two friends were throwing seashells on a beach in Brooklyn. Young pitcher William Cummings noticed shells curving in the air and wondered, “what if I could make a baseball move like that?”

After modifying his grip and adjusting his throwing motion for four years, Cummings rose to prominence as a star pitcher for the Brooklyn Excelsiors. It was time to unveil the secret weapon. At age 18, Cummings was pitching against hard-hitting Archibald Bush, and he later admitted he was afraid of Bush’s “prowess with the bat.” Cummings unleashed the curve, and Bush was foiled:

“When he struck at the ball, it seemed to go about a foot beyond the end of his stick,” said Cummings. “I tried again with the same result, and then I realized that I had succeeded at last.”

3 Ways to Reset After a Tumultuous Season

It can be fun to throw curveballs but difficult to receive them.

The year 2020 threw businesses of all sizes a tough curve. Many firms shut doors, released team members, or dipped into emergency funds to make ends meet. Business plans are a crucial part of any normal season, but revising them this year is especially pertinent.

How will you pivot in response to the wild circumstances of 2020? Here are some starting points to consider.

1. Take Stock of Key Changes

Nimble, proactive entrepreneurs respond to change by embracing it.

Take note of what has changed, and be crystal clear about what that means for your business. Have your capacity restrictions or hours shifted? Have legal regulations altered what you can or cannot do? This year may be a perfect time to do an in-depth SWOT analysis, analyzing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

From technology and staffing to new products or team members, clarify how your business has changed or where you need to adapt.

2. Form and Execute Contingency Plans

Do you have a plan B that can be implemented when your business experiences a major disruption?

Outline risk-related scenarios and chart precise strategies to get things back on track. Contingency plans should include:

--Essential operations your business needs to run successfully, including contact information for key partners, suppliers, investors, etc.

--A rundown of possible threats or disruptive events and step-by-step procedures for how to work around each scenario

--Options for aggressive financial restrictions to increase cash flow or savings

--Risk-mitigation steps to help reduce the likelihood of worst-case scenarios

--A communication plan for alerting customers, employees, and other stakeholders of the problem

3. Develop Your 2021 Marketing Plan

While COVID-19 brought many challenges, it has created several new opportunities.

As you develop a new marketing plan, take stock of your chief competitors and your target customers. Reposition your business with the right message, the right media, and the right pricing for your target demographic.

For some firms, this could mean focusing on a core subset of customers to reduce general costs while ramping up revenue in a specific sector. For others, it could mean expanding target regions to compensate for lost foot traffic or in-store sales. Whether it’s widening your audience or narrowing your focus, amp up your marketing and aim confidently for that next pitch.

Perhaps this inning will be your best!

Need some fresh ideas? Contact us today to get started! 516-561-1468 or FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF OUR MARKETING PRODUCTS GO TO: www.printcafeli.com

    Top 4 Places To Find Graphic Design                        Templates 

by JELLY SHAH

Graphics play an important role in today’s marketing campaigns. A graphic design is a very subjective thing — while a design can be excellent for you, your colleague sitting next to you may not like it. This makes the job of graphic designers much more challenging. They need to translate the design brief shared by the clients into reality. They have to create designs that match precisely the likes and thoughts of the clients.

Creating such demanding designs quickly and economically, graphic design templates come to the rescue. Most small business owners, marketers, and enterprises running on a shoestring budget that cannot afford to hire a professional graphic designer or agency for their design projects prefer this option. No matter whether they have a design background or not, anyone can easily create graphic designs on their own.

In fact, these graphic design templates are easy to personalize, and even novices can customize them with colors, fonts, icons, the layout of their choice. Irrespective of the design category, template designs are available for every requirement like poster templates, flyer templates, etc.

Small businesses that do not have a regular or bulk need can use graphic design templates to fulfill their requirements without hiring a graphic designer or spending too much on a graphic design agency.

Now the question is—where can you find such graphic design templates from?

Here Are The Top 4 Online Platforms Or Websites To Get Graphic Design Templates

01. Designhill Studio

Designhill Studio is a leading online graphic design tool that provides a wide range of graphic design templates. These easy-to-customize templates cover all categories and industry types. Whatever the need may be, you can find an abundance of options for every single category. Pick one that’s closest to your needs and start customizing with the choices of your colors, fonts, images, and layout.

Its interface is user-friendly, and even non-designer can effectively use it to create their own graphics in minutes and without breaking their banks. You will have the option to download graphics with transparent background.

02. Canva

Canva is another great online graphic design tool that provides a vast range of graphic design templates for varied categories. All of these templates come with the easy-to-customize feature. You can either download the finished designs or share them online with friends, colleagues, or family members. This popular online graphic design platform has a huge customer base.

03. Template.net

Template.net is an online graphic design platform where you can find template design galleries for different categories. Unlike the first two online platforms, this platform is for template designs gallery only.

Many template designs are free, but there is also a paid template design option. In order to get more template design options, you need to sign up for creating an account.

Recommended Reading:

• Top 7 Benefits Of Using Online Graphic Design Templates You Must Know

04. PNGTree

Unlike all tree tools mentioned above, PNGTree is a design gallery and not a tool. PNGTree is the website that is usually considered for getting images and graphics in png file formats. But this online platform is more than just png files. It also provides a template design gallery.

It has a good range of graphic design templates that can be used to customize according to the business requirements. After customizing these template designs, these can be downloaded in PSD format

Conclusion

The graphic design industry needs booth skills and creativity to design high-quality graphics that stand out. Creativity is not an entity that can be learned from someone but art that comes from within. Most graphic designers possess it. But it does not mean that a non-graphic designer cannot create incredible designs. A non-graphic designer can design images using graphic design templates. It does not require any programming or designing skill or expertise in tools such as Photoshop. Graphic design templates are the best option for small businesses that can’t afford to hire a graphic designer for their design projects. They are both economical and quick.

Need some fresh ideas? Contact us today to get started! 516-561-1468 or FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF OUR MARKETING PRODUCTS GO TO: www.printcafeli.com

4 Design Trends to Watch for in 2021

2020 was a year we had to go with the flow in many ways.

In design trends, creativity flowed in liquid patterns, 3D realism, funky geometric shapes, innovative typography, and more. But while these concepts borrowed from sci-fi and futuristic tech, new styles may pivot toward bringing reality back in focus.

Here’s a sneak peek of four graphic design trends to watch for in 2021:

Back to Nature

One well-documented side effect of the coronavirus pandemic was a thirst for nature.

Creatives can capitalize on this by bringing the outdoors inside, highlighting gorgeous natural ambiance. Expect 2021 designs to mimic nature, natural lights, softer earthy colors and tones, natural gradients in color schemes, flowing lines, and more. Want to try it yourself? Use color filters to create natural ambiance in your images, or grab textures featuring wood, stone, waves, and more.

If you can’t go to the forest, let the forest come to you!

Simple Data Visualizations

When you’ve done your homework, you want to make this information matter.

Complex data is hard to understand, and simple data visualizations (like graphs, charts, educational posters, or infographics) make communication much more effective. Stats show that visual content is processed 60,000 times faster than text, and 72% percent of marketers agree that visual content is more effective than text.

Seek to transform great ideas into powerful images through creative alternatives like custom symbols, photo manipulation progressions, educational posters, animated gifs, personified maps, and more.

Non-Conformity

After 2020 limited our freedom in so many ways, many will be looking to push back by breaking the rules.

Watch for this in design as trends teeter toward more rebellious features that create a feeling of brazen defiance.

 “What we were first taught not to do, we now do by intention,” explains graphic designer Michal Sloboda, who’s also the founder of graphic design aggregator Trend List. “There are many more rules to be broken, and by doing so, we can come across something seemingly bizarre, but also unique or beautiful.”

What might this look like in your designs? The more imperfect, the better. Use clashing font, psychedelic photos, irreverent characters, chaos typography, surreal imagery, and wild colors like lush lava, phantom blue, and aqua menthe.

Blurred Backgrounds

Gradients and color transitions have been a popular trend for a few years now.

In 2021, many designers will look to add another layer, blending gradient hues with blurry and blended background images. Grainy filters can bring a sense of grunge and grime or rustic and vintage. And a blurred image can evoke emotions of what hides beneath the exterior.

Whether it’s a grayscale cityscape layer or a forlorn silhouette background, combining textured photos with blended gradients can bring a transitory -- yet authentic -- contrast to your design.

Stay Ahead of the Curve

2021 will be nothing if not interesting, so kickstart the new year with a style all your own.

To get started, it’s helpful to reflect on the past and decide what you’ll do differently in the future. Stay ahead of the curve with these design trends, and let us know if we can help infuse your designs with a fresh look in the months to come!

10 Ways to Perfect Your Graphic Design Skills With Domestika’s Online Courses

Graphic design is a complex industry, you can either specialize in a specific area and be an expert in the field, or delve into various areas to widen your scope of opportunities. However, one thing is certain: to stand out from the crowd and become the best at what you do, keeping up to date with the latest trends and techniques is essential to your success.

Whether you want to perfect your technique or learn something new, Domestika is the ideal place to start. Meet a passionate community of creatives and learn alongside renowned experts who are committed to helping you reach your full potential.

5 courses to perfect your graphic design skills

Introduction to Adobe XD

Generating creative solutions to engage the attention of users is what great designers do. However, a UX designer goes a step further in that direction: it’s how the user interacts with the creative solution that is most important. UX designers solve a problem for the user, while also aligning with a brand’s business goals. It is a complex role and one that is becoming increasingly important within design teams today.

Ethan Parry has become a thought leader in UX design, partaking in the Interaction Design Association’s Interaction Awards committee, as well as teaching in Barcelona’s most reputed design universities. With this course, Ethan teaches you everything you need to know to take on a personal or professional UX design project with confidence and skill.

Art Direction for Creative Visual Branding

If there’s a budding Art Director in you, filled with ideas, and searching for the right tools and techniques to build remarkable brand identities, then you’ve come to the right place. Linus Lohoff, is a freelance Art Director for clients like Adobe, Nike, and Comme des Garçons, who wants to show you the ropes and widen your creative scope, so that you too can enchant the world with your visual communication strategy.

In this course, Linus breaks down the art direction profession into a tried and tested step-by-step method, encourages you to find your own conclusions, and leads the way for you to create your own professional brand book, ready to present to a client.

Logo Design: From Concept to Presentation

Balancing simplicity and distinctiveness is one of the most difficult tasks in graphic design, and it can be difficult to achieve these goals while designing a new brand identity or logo.

Sagi Haviv is a New York-based graphic designer and a partner in the design firm Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv. Among the over 60 identity programs he has designed are the logos for the US Open Tennis Championships, Leonard Bernstein at 100, Harvard University Press, Conservation International, and LA Reid’s Hitco Entertainment. In this course he will help you break some misconceptions about design and will help you elevate your work and your portfolio. By the end of this course, you will not only have become a better designer but also a more focused one, with all the tools to design an iconic logo and sell it to a client.

Adobe Illustrator for Graphic Design

Having a graphic communication strategy is the pillar that starts any project, and your best ally to develop the entire visual and graphic world of it is Adobe Illustrator, the most popular and indispensable program for designers worldwide. In this 6-course Domestika Basics, graphic designer and art director Valeria Dubin will teach you from scratch how to use software to create graphic projects from start to finish.

With her extensive experience working for brands such as Barceló Hotels, La Xunta de Galicia, the CCCB and projects such as 25 years of Pixar at the Caixa Forum in Barcelona (Spain), you will learn to use the program to create a logo, a corporate stationery, the design of patterns and textures, and the design of a promotional poster.

1. Master the basic graphic design software

Never feel left behind again in a work meeting or presentation when you are required to prepare a certain project in a very specific way. Keep yourself on the loop for the most popular software and learn to use its interface and basic tools like a pro, such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign.

2. Incorporate typography to your designs with Illustrator

Maybe you already know how to vectorize images and create digital illustrations on Adobe Illustrator. But you can also keep advantage of this software to create, vector and optimize your letters in a professional way.

3. Modify an existing type for your logo design projects

You can create a unique logo by modifying an existing typeface. You can start by creating the initial sketch and later convert it into vectors, to adding the final touches for a complete typography customization.

4. Become a typography expert for branding and logo design

From user reading habits to devices, browsers and operating systems … choosing a typography for digital content includes many factors that determine that the texts are legible and look good on screens, so it’s a good idea to learn how to choose the perfect typography for all your digital projects. Also, you can create beautiful logos using only letters, which can be challenging but nevertheless rewarding. You just need to learn how to custom letters for every brand and be an expert typographic logo designer.

5. Go a step further and create your own type!

You could incorporate type design into your professional life as a useful and differentiating tool by learning how to create your own typographic system. The software Glyphs is another preferred tool that will allow you to design and create your own fonts from scratch.

Head to Domestika’s website and check out their catalog of creative arts courses, and get ready to level up your career.

Also Visit Our Website For All Your Marketing Products:  www.printcafeli.com

5 Reasons Why Print Marketing Still Pops

5 Reasons Why Print Marketing Still Pops

With all the buzz around social media marketing, leveraging influencers, and digital retargeting ads, has print marketing lost its luster?

Smart marketers know that just as there are millions of individuals in the U.S., there are hundreds of ways to reach them. As more people flock to the internet to shop, do their taxes, and connect with friends and relatives, you may be surprised to know that the digital proliferation of messages has brought consumers' attention back to a tried-and-true favorite: print marketing.

Here are five reasons why print marketing still pops for your next promotion.

1. Print is Surprising


Think about it. You may receive dozens or even hundreds of emails each day. How much time do you devote to considering each one?

An unexpected advertisement may receive a brief glance, or it may go directly to your spam folder if it is poorly written. Contrast that with the number of pieces of printed mail that you receive on a daily basis. If you're like most people, you probably get less than ten pieces of written correspondence each day. That gives your message that much more of an opportunity to make an impact with a well-designed and colorful print piece.

2. Print is Memorable


Reading a newspaper or other longer-form printed media is considered "lean forward" reading -- while skimming emails is something you're likely to be multi-tasking and "leaning back," or being less engaged.

Studies show that people are up to 70% more likely to recall businesses when they see their information in print versus online.

3. Print is Easy


The same study that tested customer recall also explored the effort required to process print materials versus digital materials.

The findings are unexpected: direct mail requires significantly less mental effort to process, by over 15 percentage points! Printed ads in newspapers or delivered via direct mail are more memorable because they're often mostly visual instead of packed with words. According to a Temple University study, physical media wins out over print in nearly every category, including engagement, memory accuracy and speed, and desirability.

4. Print is Trusted

The recent outbreaks of viruses make online advertising a dicey proposition -- at least in the mind of many Americans.

You don't hear the news media touting the number of people who lost their personal information to a newspaper, right? This familiarity with printed media helps give messages received in this format a more comfortable and trusted feel than advertising that arrives in a digital package. This is especially true for demographics of a certain age, where printed mailers were the way to receive valuable information.

5. Print is Creative

Sure you can argue that digital advertising is incredibly creative and interactive.

However, print media allows you to effectively cross genres with your messaging, switching between print and digital with ease as long as you have an effective strategy in place for messaging. A truly cohesive experience from print to digital makes consumers feel unique and valued, but that conversation begins in the print space.

These are only a few of the many reasons why print marketing and advertising is still at the top of the heap. The additional mental space and recall, opportunities for creating a cohesive brand feel, and the ability to cross platforms from print to digital make postcards and other mailers a compelling proposition for businesses.https://store.printcafeli.com/blog/Print_Cafe_Blog.html