PsPrint Blog

Top 5 funny greeting card tips

Brian — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:18:28 +0000

I love to receive funny greeting cards, even when the humor is at my expense. But as anyone can attest, a browse through your local gift shop’s humor section often yields few greeting cards that you find truly funny. Everyone’s tastes are different, but fortunately you can design your own funny greeting cards to get a laugh from your special target audience. Writing comedy is perhaps the most difficult art form, so here are my top 5 funny greeting card tips.

1. Set up, then misdirect
The front of your greeting card serves as the setup. This is where you set the tone and lead your recipient to believe you’re taking a particular path. The inside fold of your greeting card is where you surprise your recipient by going in a totally unexpected direction that leaves them laughing louder than a howler monkey in heat. For example, a card from a wife to her husband might read on the front: “You do so many wonderful things for me …” and on the inside panel “… that I thought you’d like a few more chores. Here’s your list.”

2. Carry a pocket notebook
Humor inspiration comes at the oddest times from the most unlikely places. You should always have a way to quickly jot down any ideas that come to mind, even if they’re incomplete ideas that you’ll have to refine later. Cell phones and PDAs have made this task easier, since you can simply type in your ideas to keep in a file rather than lug around a notebook and pen.

3. Write … a lot
You might have to write 100 jokes or more to get 10 worthy of printing on your greeting cards, so constantly write and rework your humor to elicit laughs from your greeting card recipients.

4. Focus on a theme
Not many people buy humorous greeting cards for the sake of being funny. They’re usually tied to an event such as graduation, birthdays, weddings and other occasions. Your funny greeting card should focus on a theme and seek unique and humorous angles that surprise the recipient.

5. Go out and laugh it up
One of the best places to get inspiration for your funny greeting cards is to visit comedy clubs and watch professional comedy routines. You should never steal material; but watching how the professionals deliver punchlines and the audience reaction to different themes can spark inspiration for your own funny greeting cards.

Image use Creative Commons via Flickr.

Have You Jumped into Social Media Yet?

Jennifer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:00:13 +0000

It used to be that every business absolutely had to have a website. A lot of smaller businesses were slow to catch up to that recommendation, but now it’s so commonplace you’re bound to be more surprised by the companies that don’t have a Web presence.

But the latest trend is social media: Every business should have a Twitter account and a Facebook page. Why? Because it’s free advertising. Also, once you have it set up, it’s easy to maintain. Here are the basics of jumping on the social-networking bandwagon.

Twitter – Twitter is considered “microblogging.” You write 140 character-maximum “tweets,” which are blasted to everyone who chooses to follow you. There are numerous debates over what to tweet about, but it’s up to you to figure out what your goals are. At PsPrint’s Twitter account, I tweet about our sales, when new blogs are posted and news about the graphic design and small-business industry. I also check out what people I follow are tweeting and “retweet” the relevant information, such as Photoshop tutorials. On Twitter, people also engage each other by asking for information, references and advice. PsPrint has often been the recipient of printing business because of Twitter.

Facebook – A Facebook business page is different from your own personal profile, though they look similar. Facebook does not permit companies to create profiles, so be sure you build a business page when you sign up. Instead of friends, you collect “fans.” Facebook is a great place to post your contact info, add photos of your products and post your blogs or status updates. Status updates can include sales, promotions and general news. On PsPrint’s Facebook page, fans have been posting their entries in our $10,000 Holiday Card Design Contest, urging other fans to vote for them. This has made our contest interactive for our customers rather than just a submission process in which PsPrint employees choose the winner. (P.S. It’s not too late to vote for the finalists!)

The terrific thing about social media is just that – interaction. It’s an easy and free way to tell people about the service you provide and to get feedback. The tone is also informal, so you’re more conversational. Imagine that: a break from copywriting.

Creative Holiday Cards

Britt — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:25:33 +0000

It’s that time of year again, when you walk into the local supermarket or department store and find that the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah displays are all set up. In some stores, even the Valentine’s day items are out on the shelves!

While you might say it’s too soon for Valentine’s Day, its not too soon to start planning a holiday greeting card project. In fact, now is the perfect time to design and print holiday cards!

Think about it: You’ll need to come up with a mailing list, a theme, a message, a design and perhaps stage a photograph of your home, business or family to send out. Then you have to allow time for production and mail delivery to be sure the card arrives ahead of the holidays.

So start thinking about the winter holidays now and consider these three greeting card add-ons, which will let family, friends and clients know how much you care.

1. Foil stamping
The winter holidays are the perfect occasion to add foil stamping to your design repertoire. A foil stamp is a special printing process that adds a layer of metallic-looking foil to a chosen area of your greeting card. Apply foil stamping to snowflakes, candles, stars, menorahs, tinsel, ornaments, gift packages and any other holiday design elements you can think of to make them really shine.

2. Create a sticker
A holiday greeting card is also a great vehicle for sending out special stickers. Create a die-cut sticker in the shape of a star or a Christmas tree. Another great use of stickers is to include a bunch in each card, and design them with a “To:” and “From:” field so that recipients can use them when they distribute holiday presents. Or you can create a festive sticker for ringing in the New Year, “Happy 2010!” that people can wear to a party or stick on the calendar or refrigerator.

3. Include a bookmark
Why not give everyone on your holiday mailing list a free gift! You can if you include a winter or holiday-themed bookmark in your greeting card mailing. A bookmark is flat and can slip into your mailing with little added cost. The winter holidays are a great time to give a bookmark as a gift with vacation from work and colder weather, there’s more time to for folks to curl up with a book.

Working with social media networks

Jerry — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:44:43 +0000

Any person in business with a large target market that is online has to understand the importance of social media. These networks are now an integral part of your customers’ lives and should be just important in your marketing strategy. People are beginning to turn from cable to the Internet for everything they need; however, these people are savvy. An outright and blatant advertisement is a waste of your marketing dollars as far as they are concerned.

Here are a few tips on how to work the social media networks to your advantage:

Do not start a social media campaign if you are going to approach it as free advertising. No one will listen, and you will be wasting your time. Take a minute and figure out what you want to accomplish with social media. Do some research on what other businesses are doing. Have a clear plan before you start.

Look into a local approach first. Twitter is a great site to use in order to find people in your geographical locale. Do not plead with customers to go to your site. Offer a coupon instead. It is a measurable and effective way to drive traffic to your product.

Social media is a nest of hornets if you do not approach it right. You can shoot yourself in the foot as quickly as drive traffic. Plan, plan, then plan some more. Coupons and special offers will go much farther than any call to action you can tweet in less than 140 characters.

Printing Eco-Friendly Wedding Invitations

Valerie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:12:58 +0000

Although the elaborate wedding will never go out of style, many couples have chosen to take a more earth-friendly approach, especially when it comes to their wedding announcements.

Now, you may say, “I’ve waited my whole life for this day, and I refuse to sacrifice quality to have my invitations written on paper mache!”. Completely understandable … No bride wants to risk getting something that doesn’t look good in order to save a tree, but the compromise doesn’t have to be so difficult. There are a lot of ways to create an eco-friendly invitation without loosing quality or beauty. A great number of printing companies now offer recycled paper as a printing option.

When you think of recycled paper, keep an open mind. Not all of it is brown with specks of tree bark! Quite a few recycled paper styles look just like regular white paper and can be dyed in an array of colors or purchased in different textures. Envelopes can also be from the same style of recycled paper and offer many cost-effective solutions for even the pickiest bride-to-be.

A great touch to add for a wedding favor would be a donation to an environmental cause in the name of your guest. The recycled paper wedding invitation can be a testament to how you and your guests care about the world around them and still make a stylish statement for your special day.

What to Do When Inspiration Bites the Dust

Jennifer — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:13 +0000

For a lot of us, our job is to create, whether it’s content or design or whatnot. And with that job often comes deadlines. So even if our creative juices aren’t flowing, we still must produce – our livelihoods depend on it!

Here are a few tips to find inspiration:

First of all, get out from behind your desk. Grab a glass of water, step outside and breathe in some fresh air. Coffee and soda may be what you think fuels you, but they’re both dehydrators, and you will eventually crash. If you’re drinking either of those, then double up on the water consumption. The freshness of the air and water can start to help you clear your head and burst out of your funk.

Now it’s time to scan, scan, scan. In this Internet age, a lot of studies have cited information overload as a problem. Well, even if it is, why not harness all that info and twist it into your project? See what’s going on in the news, check the trending topics on Twitter and check out what folks are chattering about on Facebook and LinkedIn. Avoid the temptation of getting sucked into each and every story! Just lift a hot item and mold that to your needs, whether it’s the welcoming of autumn, the start of basketball season or the upcoming holiday shopping season. Incorporating those themes into your creations is a way to appear relevant and timely to your audience.

Finally, check out previous PsPrint blogs about how to find inspiration locally and internationally:

Tell us: What do you do when inspiration has escaped you?