Why Print Businesses Shouldn’t Dodge Disastrous Reviews
On the most recent episode of PrinterChat, a Podcasts from The Printerverse series co-hosted by me, Jamie McLennan, Creative Print Strategist at DMR Graphics, and Will Crabtree, Owner of Tampa Media, the topic of testimonials for print businesses came up during a discussion about finding, hiring, training and keeping sales stars with our guest Paul […]
Reality Check: The Perception of Printing
I record and produce a significant number of episodes for Podcasts from The Printerverse. Discussions about printing, print business, print sales, and print marketing are often playing through my computer, earbuds, car speakers, and voice assistants like Alexa. When I have some mindless admin work to focus on, I click on my pop culture podcast […]
How to Respond to Questions About Sexism in the Printing Industry
With just a few minutes before the first, women-only panel discussion on the main stage of Dscoop ended, the audience at Edge St. Louis was asked if they had any questions. The mic goes out to the audience, a gentleman stands up. With what I interpreted as a mixture of nerves, uncertainty, and a splash […]
When Print Sales Are Down, Who’s Really at Fault?
When printing businesses see their sales drop, there are gaping organizational issues that can be the root cause. The printing company itself may be the one at fault, and that’s the core reason the sales team struggles to do its best work. We’ve talked about how print sales teams can hold companies back. In this […]
The Perfect Partnership: Collaboration Between Printers and Designers
In the world of printing and design, collaboration is key. From business cards to banners, brochures to billboards, the collaboration between printers and designers each bringing their unique skill sets to the table is a crucial element in producing high-quality print materials that stand out in a competitive market. Now, I realize that this concept is […]
Authenticity Matters in Brand, Print Business and Personal Messaging
Authenticity for brand, personal, and print business messaging has become more important than ever. Whether it’s in advertising, social media, or everyday conversation, people want to feel that the messages they receive are genuine and truthful. Last week was International Women’s Day and the flood of messaging on March 8th showing support for women was […]
Five Signs You Are a Print Junkie – 2023 Edition
Do you see print everywhere? Do you count down the days until the new printing press or finishing equipment arrives at your print shop? Do you know what Pantone color the sky is? Do you make vacation plans around printing industry events or incorporate them? Do you look at digital marketing and come up with […]
2023 CMYK Manifesto: Disrupt, Disclose, Do Better
Greetings Citizens of the Printerverse and welcome to a New Year! For the first time in 3 years, it feels like an actual NEW year and not a continuation of what I refer to as the uni-year. The uni-year covers anything that happened between March 2020 and December 31, 2022. All the maintaining status quo […]
Busting the Hustle-Bro Marketing Myth
What does it take to succeed at marketing in today’s printing business? I’ll tell you what it doesn’t take. Buying into the hustle-bro marketing mythology. What is hustle-bro mythology? If you watch YouTube, you see snippets of pre-roll advertising that feature earnest, fast-talking “hustle bros.” These dudes talk about how their program made them millions […]
2022: A Year of Tepid Transformation for the Post-Pandemic Printing Industry
Greetings Citizens of the Printerverse! Another year for the printing industry is in the books. It seems like it zipped by although I can remember how slow the days and weeks felt at the beginning of the year. That is all just a blur now. So much has changed this year, and continues to change […]
Twitter Advertising is Dead. Long Live Print!
Print has always been a potent channel for direct marketing and communication, and one of the safest. This is not new information to us. But recent events on Twitter including the image above sent out by ‘Nintendo America’ have sent shockwaves through the socialverse. The reputation and stock prices of brands caught up in the […]
How to Tell if You Are Considered a Print Vendor or a Print Partner
If print customers are thinking of you as a print vendor and not as a print partner, you are in serious trouble. You are interchangeable. You are competing on price. You are a number on a spreadsheet. You aren’t top of mind for recommendations or referrals. You are on the way out and you probably […]