We’re back, and ready to rock 2014! But I wouldn’t feel right about moving forward without acknowledging all the awesome people who contributed to this blog in 2013. Before I got here, this blog didn’t have any guest posters, interviews, etc. I vowed to change that because I think every blog benefits from a fresh perspective or a different point of view.
Over the holiday there was a really cool hashtag on Twitter I abused on New Years Eve that seems appropriate here as well: #peoplewhomademy2013. I started this year off as a total noobie in the printing industry, and I’m forever grateful for the friends I’ve made along the way. I don’t want to leave anybody out, so I’m including the folks I interviewed as guest authors, too. After all, they did most of the work, taking the time to provide detailed, insightful answers to my questions.
8 Awesome Articles From Our Friends
Business Cards: How to Improve Your Bottom Line for Pennies a Day
A creative narrative written by Thomas Sullivan, an online research and copywriting expert. I know Thomas from a professional writing group, and he blew me away with this awesome example of storytelling about the importance of investing in business cards. Thomas was the first person to guest post on this site, and I hope he’ll stop by again soon.
5 Tips to Help You Get the Logo of Your Dreams
Francesca StaAna and I used to work together at a company called AdMedia. I knew I could count of her for great content, and she didn’t let me down. Francesca wrote a helpful post for small business owners about the logo design process. Yes, I said process, and so did she. Communication is a huge part of design, and I thank her for pointing out this often overlooked detail.
Top 5 LinkedIn Tips for Small Business Owners
To this day, this is one of the most popular posts ever on our site. I know Tasia from the same writing group where I met Thomas, and she wrote a very practical guide to LinkedIn geared towards new users in the small biz sector. Her post includes actionable tips with each point, and I’m not ashamed to say I adopted this tactic for my own writing. Tasia’s post ended up receiving a link on the Intuit Small Business blog—quite an honor!
Designing Tips for Creating Social Media Graphics
Visuals are a huge part of social media, especially on newer platforms (Pinterest, Instagram, etc.). Mandy Edwards knows this because she runs her own social media marketing agency. I met Mandy through Facebook at a previous job, and we’ve managed to stay in touch without ever meeting in person. Her no nonsense approach shines in this article and on her social profiles. I highly recommend following ME Marketing Services for lots of free online marketing advice.
Foldable Lead Generators: Design Tips Behind Successful Brochures
Another of our most popular posts came from Jillian Hailey, a designer and PR specialist. I met Jillian in a design group on LinkedIn, where she shared a blog post she wrote about printing her portfolio for a networking event. I loved her approach and enthusiasm for print marketing. She wrote an article with an amazing title that makes you see brochures as powerful tools with calls to action. Her post caught the attention of the folks at the Xerox digital printing blog, which speaks highly of her ability to draw in readers with a strong hook.
Tracking the ROI of Direct Mail and Print Advertising
Rob Lons is another cool cat I met in the social sphere, and he provided an exceptionally entertaining as well as informative post that strikes the core of advertising efforts: ROI. As printers, we get a lot of questions about campaign tracking and the return on direct mail marketing investments in particular. Since traditional direct mail isn’t as affordable as EDDM, the money questions are totally understandable. Rob showed everyone how to track print campaigns like a pro; I wish every client would read this post!
Why Print Matters and How It Can Impact Your Business, Today
Speaking of ROI, who better to explain Print’s role in the marketing equation than my friend and Xerox Digital Printing expert Bill Michael? Bill and I also met on LinkedIn, and he actually wrote 2 prolific posts for us this year. This first post includes an infographic we designed to back up Bill’s assessment of the power of print! We’re a little biased, but I think these numbers speak for themselves. You can read Bill’s second post, a New Year’s Resolution for Your Business when you’re done with the first one.
Ink on Paper- The Litho Process Explained
As you can see, many of our guest authors focused on marketing. This post by my friend John Prothero could only have been written by someone with his level of technical expertise. John schooled me and everyone else about how ink, chemistry, printing plates, and rubber blankets work together to bring your designs to life!
5 Sweet Interviews
Small Business Saturday Success Story
I wrote about Small Business Saturday several times, and I tried to find a business to profile to promote the cause. I ended up meeting Lisa Higby LeFevre on Mightybell, and she agreed to share her story to inspire other business owners. Lisa’s words will change the way you use social media and your attitude towards collaborating with other entrepreneurs. More than anything, she embodies the spirit of the #shopsmall movement. I’m proud to call her a friend.
Tales of Artistry: Interview with Illustrator Daryl Slaton
We’ve done a few sponsored giveaways in the past, but this one was special because it gave me a chance to talk to an accomplished artist. I met Daryl on Twitter through his community manager, Tina Wolfe. His work knocked my socks off, and that’s saying a lot because impressing me ain’t easy. Daryl talked about important issues for designers, such as commercial licensing for his work.
Patrick Hedgecoth Designer Interview
Patrick happens to be a client of ours I found on Google Plus. He was among the first people I met on that site, and he turned out to be a quality human being all around. He’s a wonderful father and a talented designer. Read the interview and you’ll notice that he’s got a rare way with words, a skill that’s often lacking in visual creatives. He’s already committed to writing another guest blog, so this won’t be the last you’ll see of him.
Cuong Tran Animator Extraordinaire
This wasn’t an interview per say…I tried to give some of our cool clients a place in the spotlight on our blog, and it didn’t work out as well as I hoped. On the plus side, I did get to write this piece on the exceptionally gifted Cuong Tan, a client of ours who’s also become a friend. Tran’s just beginning his career, and I think you’ll agree that he’s going to go far!
Andrew Conweezie, Underground Hip Hop Artist
Last, but certainly not least, the homie Andrew Conweezie! This multi-talented musician/designer was kind enough to post about his trading card order on our Facebook page. As soon as I caught a glimpse of the dopeness, I jumped at the chance to promote his work. Conweezie’s been a regular fixture around our social communities; he even turned one of his Facebook comments into a rad quote image! We can’t wait to see what Conweezie’s going to bring in 2014!