Advertising Blog

5 Smartphone Apps I Use to Run My Business

It takes a lot to run a business and we all have our tools to get it done. Here are 5 apps on my phone that I love and use regularly for my business. DISCLAIMER: I do not have anything to do with any of these apps! I just like them and recommend them as a fan!...

5 common design choices that make a design less attractive

I’ve spent close to a decade doing graphic design in Orange County, California and I’ve seen a lot of designs that have these same unfortunate choices in them. It makes them stick out as something created by a newer designer or non-designer and can change the...

How to Determine Your Business’s Ideal Client

We talk about needing Ideal clients in your business. It’s mentioned that these are the people who want, need and will like who you are and what you’re offering them. It’s also well recognized that these folks are different for each business. The question I feel like...

2,000-year-old selling techniques that still work!

Over 2,000 years ago, Greek philosopher, Aristotle came up with his Rhetorical Triangle that was made up of the 3 pillars of persuasion. These pillars (I call them techniques) of selling still work! Ideally, an advertisement or sales pitch would use all three of these...

10 Ways to Help Your Business Right Now

Right now, the world is in the middle of a health crisis. New terms like "self-isolation" and "social distancing" have caught on. Gatherings and public events are canceled. Many businesses are shut down, others have employees working from home. For small business...

5 Ways to Show Gratitude for your clients

This is a time of year where as much as things speed up they also slow down. They let us take a pause and reflect on the past year. It’s a time where we can express our gratitude for all that we have. This is a great time of year to show your gratitude to your...

Social Media Best Practices

Let’s Connect on Facebook! View Me on Instagram! Follow me on Twitter!  We live in a very social world where Facebook and its Social Media peers have taken over as main way for customers to connect with their favorite brands. Due to this shift, social media has become...

Banner Basics

The weather is warming up and the days are getting longer, which means it is definitely spring time and also graduation season. Many students are graduating in May and others in June. These are also times for celebratory parties and often times proud parents create...

Celtic Design

When most people in the United States think of the month of March they think about Saint Patrick’s Day, with it’s green color scheme, and love of all things Irish. However Saint Patrick’s Day flattens out a robust culture to a few tired stereotypes. Archeologists...

Ask the Designer: Brochures

What is a Brochure? A brochure is a type of advertisement that communicates information from the sender to receiver, such as from a business to its customers.  Brochures are typically printed on glossy high quality paper in full color, and are folded. They can be as...

Poster Design

It’s November already and that means holiday and holiday travels are around the corner. Air travel has made it possible for the average American citizen to be “home for the holidays.” Air Travel in America became popular in the 1950s with the rise of jet planes over...

Marketing Opportunities with Odd Holidays

If I asked you to name the holiday that lands on January 1 or May 5, you would probably know the answers. What about March 14 or May 4? If you love pie, mathematics or the movie Star Wars you just might know those holidays too. Lesser-known holidays, such as Pi Day...

The History of the Invitation

Traditionally, written invitations are used for larger scale “life cycle” events such as weddings, anniversaries, important birthdays or baby related events such as a baby shower. How did all of this get started? Here is a brief overview of the history of the written...

Notecards Vs. Greeting Cards

  What is a Notecard? According to the dictionary, one definition of a notecard is a heavy-duty piece of paper called cardstock. It’s often folded and decorated on the front with a blank space for a message. Notecards can also be considered a piece of cardstock meant...

A Tale of Two Networkers: An Extrovert and Introvert Share their tips

NOTE: This blog is longer than what I normally post, but I have a special guest writer who collaborated with me on it.  My best friend, Reina Slutske, is a great blogger (read her blog here) and dynamo networker. She and I teamed up to write some great networking tips...

Public Image and You: Why values matter in business

In light of the recent controversy involving a cast member of a reality show on a cable television network, I’ve been thinking a lot about the association between branding and public image. As it was put so eloquently by a commenter on Facebook- a brand is more than a...

4 Tips for Designing a Logo that Works

It’s the first thing you get when you decide to start a business. It’s the thing that all your potential customers will see and identify with your business. I’m talking about your logo if you couldn’t guess. Here are a few basic tips for designing a logo that works!...

Story Time: The Inspiration Behind the Cards-Holidays at the Beach

Lately, People have been asking me about the illustrations that appear on my cards. Truth is, I love telling these stories when some one asks me. Some of my cards have great stories and others have personal memories of mine attached the illustration. I’ve gotten a lot...

Sending Love: Greeting Cards Then and Now

Americans buy 6.5 billion paper greeting cards every year despite the popularity of the Internet and smart phones. According to the Greeting Card Association, the top occasions for sending cards currently are birthdays, sympathy, thank you, new baby, congratulations,...