http://guavagraphics.com Simple, Beautiful and Effective Results. Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:44:26 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://guavagraphics.com/business-email-signature-etiquette/ http://guavagraphics.com/business-email-signature-etiquette/#comments Thu, 12 May 2011 19:51:44 +0000 Susan Venancio http://guavagraphics.com/?p=459 Create a long email signature: To do this, a good rule of thumb is to try staying within 4-6 lines of text with 70-80 characters or less in each line for your fundamental default signature, which should include sufficient contact details for your recipient to view on a new email conversation. For example your long email signature should include:

• Closing sentiment, like “Sincerely” or “Best Regards”
• Your name
• Title/Department
• Company name
• Best phone number(s) – office direct line/mobile are best, not more
• Company website link, which will provide any additional details, such as business        address, etc. Make sure it is easy to find on your website!
• Optional business appropriate signature add-ons could also include your business motto, current promotable marketing and social media links to your blog, Facebook, and/or Twitter

2.     Create a short email signature: Following similar rules, try staying within 2-3 lines, which will be used as a closing signature for any of your ongoing conversations. For example your short email signature should include:

• Closing sentiment, like “Thank you”
• Your name
• Best phone number(s) – office direct line/mobile
• Company website link

3.     Create an internal email signature: Again following similar rules as the short email signature. Keeping in mind your coworkers do not need any of your contact information. To sign your internal company conversations try using:

• Closing sentiment, like “Take care”
• Your name
• If you work for a large company, you may want to consider using your title/department / direct extention

Other general rules to follow when creating an email signature is to maintain the same font, bolding the font is acceptable, but changing the size and color is widely found to be obnoxious. No fancy creative formatting, please! When using social media buttons keep the pixel size to approximately 50×50, not larger. Also, when typing your website address you will need to include the “http://” to make sure the URL is recognized as a clickable link regardless of the recipients software or platform. The key is to make your signature simple, drive the recipient to your website where all the marketing and additional information can be found. After all, you want your website to do the selling and bragging, not your email signature. Cheers!]]> http://guavagraphics.com/business-email-signature-etiquette/feed/ 0 http://guavagraphics.com/branding/ http://guavagraphics.com/branding/#comments Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:52:09 +0000 admin http://guavagraphics.com/?p=431

Deliver your message clearly

Establish your credibility

Connect your targeted prospects emotionally

Motivate your buyer

Binds your buyer loyalty

To succeed in branding you must first understand the needs and wants of your buyers and prospects.  This is how you want them to connect to your business; it’s what they will witness and be a part of every time they come in contact with your company. The big long-term picture is to have your brand live in the hearts and minds of your audience. Their experiences and perceptions of your brand will have a huge influence. Remember Take the time to research, define and build your brand. This is the backbone, an essential piece to your marketing strategy. The impact of a single pleasing image and a few well-placed words will help secure your vision.]]> http://guavagraphics.com/branding/feed/ 0 http://guavagraphics.com/writing-designing-email-newsletter/ http://guavagraphics.com/writing-designing-email-newsletter/#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:56:33 +0000 Susan Venancio http://guavagraphics.com/?p=395

Make it simple, easy to read, and quickly scan-able with easy navigation. Format with a 12 pt. size font (I like Arial typestyle) in dark font color on a light background, publish only 3-5 articles, using a few compelling pictures and add a clickable table of contents with article titles at the top. For articles that have over 200-300 words, add a “read more” link to take your reader to your website for the full details.

Set your standards. Keeping the same colors, article and promotional placement, and number of articles; sets a predictable standard that customers love.

Establish a publishing schedule. Decide and commit to sending your newsletter at regular intervals. For example, if you were to publish a monthly newsletter, email it on the first Monday of each month. This too, helps establish a predictable standard that customers love.

Format for the preview pane. Most people view their emails through the preview pane, so format the top 200-300 pixels with the most engaging and irresistible material.

The 80/20 content rule. 80% of the newsletter content should be engagingly useful tip oriented articles and 20% promotional sales content.

Subscriber access on the homepage. Put a subscribe box at the top of the homepage, only asking for the subscriber’s email address. Give the subscriber an opportunity to view current and previous issues. Also, offer a share button. And make your privacy policy easily accessible.

Check it out. Send your newsletter to email clients, such as, Outlook, Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail to ensure quality viewing results in these various environments.

Measure the results. Analyze what works and what does not work after each newsletter. Find out the: delivery rate, open rate, click-through rate, sales rate and sign-up growth rate.

An email newsletter is another opportunity to showcase your company’s personality. Also use your target audience, competition and newsletters you receive to help guide you towards writing and designing a great newsletter. If you are looking for material inspiration to cover in your newsletter try: a main editorial, “From the President” article, testimonials, special featured products/services, upcoming events, promotions, coupon, other industry expert interviews with tips/best practices, FAQ section where you answer customer submitted questions, customer feedback, surveys, or enter a contest. I hope these tips help you write and design an irresistible newsletter. Get creative and have fun! Cheers!]]> http://guavagraphics.com/writing-designing-email-newsletter/feed/ 0 http://guavagraphics.com/social-network-advertising-for-the-small-business/ http://guavagraphics.com/social-network-advertising-for-the-small-business/#comments Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:57:14 +0000 Jose Bono http://guavagraphics.com/?p=164 How does a social network like Facebook ( www.facebook.com ) gain so many users in so little time when you have other networks like MySpace and Friendster working so well. Simple, it represents a specific type of user base. One that’s just a bit more productive than the mySpace user, which makes it a better candidate for certain types of advertisements. That’s where you come in… The small business, the stay at home mom or dad running a sole proprietorship, the website looking for new juice on the web. Facebook is teeming with customers and it’s easier than ever to market directly to them. If you don’t have a Facebook account, create one. It’s free. If you already have one, create a page for our business (located at the bottom left of your homepage a link called Create a page for your business). Once you’re all set,it’s time to look at the Advertising section of Facebook. Located at the bottom links of Facebook, click on Advertising. This is where you’ll begin to understand the structure of Facebook’s advertising model. Creating ads in Facebook couldn’t be easier. The image and text can easily be entered and previewed within the ad creator. It is, however, the most important aspect of your ad. The design of the image and the text used is key in drawing clicks. Keywords are also a factor. The best feature about FB ads is the ability to preview what your spending will be for a key demographic and keyword set. Once you’ve determined the right banner and text, you’re able to modify the ad at any time. You can even make changes midway into your campaign. This allows you to make tweaks if you’re not seeing good results two or three days into your campaign. There are many facets to consider as well. What landing page visitors are driven to, what demographics you are targeting, what time of day to post your ad, etc. Facebook can help answer some of those question, but when in doubt – ask an expert. They could save you time and money if you’re not willing to experiment. For more information on this topic and other social media advertising options, contact us anytime. For additional information on Facebook advertising, go to facebook.com/advertising/ for more details.]]> http://guavagraphics.com/social-network-advertising-for-the-small-business/feed/ 0