Blog Entries

Facebook for my Business — Do I have to?

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100

Everywhere there are articles that tell businesses that they must have a social media presence—Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, to name three. It seems overwhelming to many small business owners and nonprofit managers already putting in long hours. But research and experience shows that there are rewards. [...]

Local lingo in a global market; How does a website cope?

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 05:00:00 +0100

A local client who sells their product around the world has a problem: Terminology in their industry is not consistent around the globe. What's a website to do?

There are a few ways to do get your web site to be friendly to alternate terms. More Important ways to insert key words is to add them to the Title meta tag (the text that appears at the very top of your browser's window) and the Description meta tag. You can also add them to the keyword meta tag, but remember that Google d [...]

My big fat PDF - 9 ways to reduce file size

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Mon, 16 May 2011 05:00:00 +0100

A client recently asked about getting PDF files small enough to email easily, but without losing image quality - is there a trick to it? This is my reply.

The main factor in the file size of a PDF is photographs. Images accounted for nearly two thirds of the file size for a three-page document I was asked to eval [...]

I'm seeing sport – er – QR codes

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 05:00:00 +0100

While there has been a lot of talk about social media, blogs and twitter, the rising popularity of smart phones with cameras has seen another boom: QR codes.

Invented in Japan in the 90s, QR (as in Quick Response) codes are now making their way into North America. Most recently, they have been adopted by marketers to take advantage of [...]

Will not work for free

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 05:00:00 +0100

A colleague recently pointed me to this blog post by designer David Airey on spec work. I particularly like this post because it perfectly illustrates what spec work by turning the tables on the person asking for it. Spec work is the term applied to doing design work with the hope that the client or prospective client will like it and pay you for it. If they don't like it, they don't pay. I've touched on this topic before in I am not a toaster.

Any good designer will refuse to subm [...]

To Fax or not to fax ... that is the question

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 05:00:00 +0100

It dawned on me recently that I have not used my fax machine in a very long time. In fact, it's usually unplugged since it can be temperamental. If a fax is required, I usually use my computer to send and receive.

But after thinking about it a bit more, I realized that I don't even use my computer for faxes very often. Basically, the only faxes that I receive would only qualify as junk. If I'm sending a document, it is likely a PDF file sent by e-mail. If it needs a signature, I sca [...]

Who are you and what do you do?

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100

A client, who is a consultant, recently commented that the positioning statement on his letterhead (similar to a tag line, the phrase that describes what you are all about) seemed to be too narrow. He was getting more work in other non-core fields. He told me that he was even getting comments from potential clients to that effect. He worried that it was limitin [...]

Four trade show ideas for getting attention beyond the booth

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Trade shows are a proven way to increase business and recognition. I recently had a conversation with a client who decided they wanted to try their hand at trade show marketing. They asked me how to make the most of their investment. Sometimes a good way to be noticed is think outside the box – er, the booth. These ideas involve an additional expense beyond booth rental, but they can be well worth it.

1. Sponsorships:
Sponsor a workshop, coffee break, reception or local site t [...]

E-mail marketing is now more flexible

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 05:00:00 +0100

When we first conceived this blog, we really wanted it to be a place to talk about marketing, not a sales platform. However, we have learned that we also need a place to let people know about new services and products from Imagine Creative Communications. The blog seems to be the best place to put this information out there because we we want to give you the chance to comment – are we on the right track, can we improve it or are we missing the point? You can't do that with a news release. S [...]

Branding your social media

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Everybody is all aflutter over social media these days – blogging, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and a host of other bookmarking and sharing sites. For many, if not most businesses and organizations, it really is an effective way to engage your audience. However, if you are already involved with social media, don't think you can stop reading just yet.

No longer is it a case of whether you are involved with social media, but if you do it with style. A consistent visual look to to everything yo [...]

The Power of a Brand

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Here's a story that really talks to the power of a brand.

I was recently part of a conversation where a colleague was horrified to find out that her internet service provider (ISP) subcontracted their e-mail service to Hotmail. Another person chimed in, saying that although they use Hotmail, they would never want to use an ISP that used Hotmail or it's competitor Gmail.

I was astounded, not because of any opinions I have about Hotmail, but because their response was based wholly on percept [...]

Even I know the importance of web sites and search engines.

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 05:00:00 +0100

A funny thing happened on the way to the web site.

When I set up the very first version of this web site - over 10 years ago - I wanted it solely as an online brochure and portfolio. It was a place where people could go to see our work once they had already heard about us. I was not expecting to get new business through the web.

When I first installed analytics on the site, the results were consistent with that view: most were arriving at the site as the result of a direct search. Search [...]

Summer Reading

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:00:00 +0100

For many people, summer reading isn’t an escapist romance or potboiler, but has to do with your business– whatever your passion is. But summer reading is also about taking it easy and unwinding. In that vein, here’s a great summer read for people who want to know more about marketing and advertising:

The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture, by Terry O’Reilly and Mike Tennant, Knopf Canada, 2009

The right tools

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

When I first entered the design industry, I thought that graphic designers who said disparaging things about word processors for document layout were snobs. I now know better.

Having lived through more than one 'I can do it myself, I just need you to print it' project, I can attest that word processors are not appropriate tool for professional document layout, no matter what their makers claim.

I recently worked on a brochure designed by my client in a word processor. By th [...]

I am not a toaster

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Recently, I received an RFP from a potential client that I really wanted to work with. I eagerly read through it - but I ended up not responding. Why? My proposal had to include actual designs. That is what’s known in the industry as ‘spec work’.

The Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario describes spec (or speculative) work as "a project competition that is ‘open call’ where designers are required to submit uncompensated creative work as pa [...]

Good Deeds, Good Rewards

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0100

I've heard it over and over again: Good customer service leads to good word of mouth marketing and ample rewards, but a recent incident has really brought this message home.

I was at the movie theatre just before Christmas and the manager I've gotten to know a bit came up to me, bursting to tell this story. He had been Christmas shopping at Indigo Books & Music on the way to work and bought about $100 worth of books. After his shift, he went out to discover that his car had be [...]

The power of a tiny word: 'Thanks'

imagine@imaginecreative.com — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Last night I bought a new computer online from Apple.

This morning in my inbox there was a message from Apple: "Thanks for purchasing your Mac." Wow, a thank you! In the e-mail were links to tutorials on how to get the most out of my new purchase, with the statement, "We can wait to show you around."

What an amazing thing: Not only did they say thank you (You do thank your clients, volunteers and donors, right?), but the content of the message gives added value [...]