PaperDirect Blog PaperDirect Blog

March 6, 2014

What to Include on Graduation Announcements

Filed under: Event Planning Tips — Tags: , , , , — PDWriter @ 11:14 am
Somerset Foil Invitations by PaperDirect

Deciding what to put on graduation announcements seems like a simple task, but being creative and elegant at the same time can be difficult. Here are simple tips for graduation announcements:

1. Basic Info

You’ll want to include all the necessary information like place and time, but you still want it to be interesting. Some ideas:

[FULL NAME]
Is graduating with honors from Central High School
On May 26th at 7pm
At the World Area

Come Celebrate [FULL NAME’s] graduation
From Central High School
May 26, [YEAR] at 7pm
More details to follow

Central High School is honored to announce that
[FULL NAME] is graduating.
Join us at 7pm at the World Area on
May 26th [YEAR]

Your announcements need to be recognizable and capture the proud feelings and high spirits while maintaining a professional tone. After all, graduation is a social event, so make sure your announcements are socially acceptable!

2. Quotes for Graduation Announcements

Simpatico Silver Foil Invitations by PaperDirect

“How can I make my graduation announcements different?” you may be asking. “Aren’t the students’ names, class, and list of events enough?”

They are. But many students don’t want to settle for enough. More importantly, many students and parents don’t even know they have options. Having custom options makes your announcement even more unique!

You can set yourself apart by using inspirational quotes that can be printed on the announcements.

Some popular achievement quotes:

“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”
-Franklin D. Roosevelt

“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”
-Vince Lombardi

“I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true- hard work pays off.”
-Ray Bradbury

3. Other things to include on graduation announcements

Dignity Blue Foil Invitations by PaperDirect

It’s fine if a student wants to mention his or her participation in a favorite activity, such as sports, cheerleading, drama, clubs, or high school band. The same goes for mentioning which college he or she plans to attend after graduation.

However, you should encourage families not to mention the students’ awards won, games played, honors won, etc. when you help them with graduation announcements. Most other people will find it in poor taste.

The exception to this rule is when the graduating student is valedictorian, salutatorian, graduating with honors, or is receiving an honor that is directly related to the graduation ceremony or the type of diploma they will receive.

Order graduation announcements and party invitations today from PaperDirect!

March 5, 2014

Last Minute Wedding Programs!

Filed under: DIY Wedding Accessories — Tags: — PDWriter @ 10:22 am

Daisy Dots Programs by PaperDirectWeddings can be stressful! When it’s your job to plan the big day, you know that almost everything has to be done months in advance. The bride’s and bridesmaids’ dresses need to be ordered and fitted, the invitations have to be chosen, sent to the printer and mailed out, and the florist, caterer and baker need to be booked well ahead of the wedding.

In all the hustle and bustle of planning weddings, at least there’s one thing you can usually hold off on until the last minute: the wedding programs! If you choose desktop printable paper and an accompanying design template, you can print the programs off a few days before the wedding and they’ll look professional and sophisticated.

A Few Last Minute Ideas:

Avalon Specialty Programs by PaperDirect

Avalon Wedding Programs:

This simple and elegant blue foil program allows for easy and fast formatting.  We send the programs to you and you design and print them on your own. These ship out fast so you can get them in time!

Loops Specialty Programs:Loops Specialty Programs by PaperDirect

These are a bit more fancy and fit into almost any color scheme. Choose between silver or gold foil and print at home. Download a free template to help you with designing your program.

Island Tropics Border Papers by PaperDirect

Island Tropics Border Paper:

If you’re having a beach or tropical-themed wedding, choose this simple and inexpensive designed paper. Simply order and print at home!

Simple Blossoms Border Papers by PaperDirect

Simple Blossoms Border Paper

This is another inexpensive option that is perfect for a spring/summer wedding. This minimalist design is charming and whimsical.

View our entire selection of wedding programs.

What to Include on the Programs

Wedding programs give guests an idea of the order of the wedding ceremony and the details.

Adornment Specialty Programs by PaperDirectThey should include:

  • names of the bridesmaids
  • names of groomsmen
  • flower girl
  • ring bearer

The program should also list the names of anyone who participated in the ceremony, such as the soloist or friend who read a special poem, plus the name of the officiate and any ushers.

Include the order of the ceremony in the program, to give guests an idea of what to expect. List the processional first, then the songs, readings or traditions, such as the unity candle, in the order they will occur. Next, list the vows, the ring exchange and the pronouncement of marriage. If the ceremony includes hymns sung by guests or a reading from a book, you can include the lyrics or words in the program, too.

Often the bride and groom include a special message to guests at the end of the program.

When you need paper for wedding programs in a hurry, check out PaperDirect. Orders are shipped the same day for your convenience.

March 4, 2014

How to Make a Professional Company Letterhead

Filed under: Designing Your Business Communication — Tags: , , — PDWriter @ 10:12 am

Debonaire Foil Border Papers by PaperDirectA professional letterhead elevates your business communications and projects your brand. Modern tools and improved printer technology mean that it is possible to make professional letterhead right in your office.

Choosing a Professional Font

There are thousands of free and paid fonts available. Consider your business’s branding and image when choosing the one that is best for your letterhead. For a modern feel, look at fun options like Coolvetica or Abraham Lincoln. More reserved or authoritative brands may prefer classic fonts like Garamond or Bookman.

Look specifically for fonts that have been optimized for print; ones which are geared toward screen display, such as Georgia or Verdana, will not have as crisp and clean an appearance as those designed with print in mind. Limit your design to one serif and one san serif font for a clean, readable and professional look.

What to Include

Blue Elegance Foil Letterhead by PaperDirectWith all of the points of contact modern businesses have, it can be hard to decide what to include on your company’s letterhead. When deciding how to make a letterhead for your business, include the options your clients are most likely to use and those that best display your firm’s strengths. At minimum, include the company name, logo, street address and phone number. You can also include an email address and the company URL if you have room.

Valuable Online Tools

Not a designer? You have nothing to fear. There are a number of tools online to help you create the perfect letterhead for your business. When learning how to make a letterhead, look at examples online from other businesses and take note of features you like. Then, use online design software or handy free templates to put your vision into action.

As you design your letterhead, think about the paper that best represents your business. PaperDirect offers a number of options, from earth-friendly recycled stationery paper to thick and creamy parchment. Come to us for paper worthy of your business image.

February 28, 2014

5 Signs of an Unhappy Employee (and how to turn them around)

Filed under: Employee Recognition Ideas — Tags: — PDWriter @ 8:18 am

Sienna Certificate Paper by PaperDirectIt’s no secret that happy employees are also more productive employees. And while your business should have incentive and advancement policies in effect to motivate and appease workers, it’s not always rainbows and butterflies. No, sooner or later, you’re bound to run into some unhappy employees.

The good news is that unhappy employees can easily be turned around if you recognize it and make an effort to work with them soon enough. The first step in turning around an unhappy worker is first to recognize the signs of one. Here’s a look at five common signs of an unhappy employee and what you can do to turn this person – and their productivity – back in a positive manner for your company:

Sign #1: Low Productivity

Perhaps the biggest tell-tale sign of an unhappy employee is a significant drop in productivity. Studies show that happy employees are more productive and, conversely, unhappy ones are not.

How to help:

Swirly Stars Casual Certificates by PaperDirect Correct this lack of productivity by first learning the root of the worker’s unhappiness.Then, consider one-on-one coaching to get them back on track. Reward this employee with morale-boosting special certificates and praise as they begin to meet – or exceed – goals again.

Sign #2: Excuses

If you’re getting nothing but excuses on why a sale hasn’t closed or why an employee’s work has dropped, you’ve likely got an unhappy employee trying to save face.

How to help:

Try assigning a mentor/coach to this employee to get them back on track.

Sign #3: Impatience

A snippy, impatient employee is likely an unhappy one. while everyone can get stressed at times, make sure this isn’t happening to the same employee each month. If so, there might be a bigger problem.

How to help:

To remedy this, consider assigning this employee a new, more challenging project. A lack of patience could simply mean that an employee is frustrated with their current workload and needs a change.

Sign #4: Tardiness/Sick Days

If you have a worker that’s always late or calling in sick, it’s clear that they don’t want to be at the office.

How to help:

Be careful with this one, as there may be external factors coming into play. So if there’s a problem at home, give the employee time off to sort things out. If it’s an issue of getting to the office on time, consider allowing the worker to telecommute.

Sign #5: Disruptive to Co-Workers

One bad egg can disrupt an entire team. And if your company’s productivity is suffering due to one unhappy employee, it’s important to have a sit-down with the worker immediately to let him or her know that kind of behavior won’t be tolerated.

How to help:

Talk with them one on one. Unfortunately, not every unhappy employee can be turned around and that’s where you might have to make the difficult decision to let a person go. But if you ensure that you take the time to appreciate, reward and work with your employees throughout the course of the year, you’ll find that you’ll have much more happy ones than unhappy ones.

February 26, 2014

St. Patrick’s Day Promotion Ideas

Filed under: Business Marketing Ideas,Marketing & Sales Promotion Techniques — PDWriter @ 3:07 am

Sweet Shamrock Border PapersHolidays represent a golden opportunity for businesses. Using the right marketing approach, you can create holiday promotions that motivate your consumers to make purchases they may not have considered otherwise. Holiday promotions can also be useful if you’re trying to figure out how to make the office environment a little more relaxed and fun. Below are some ideas you can use to develop a promotion for the next upcoming holiday in 2014: St. Patrick’s Day.

Discount for Wearing Green

On Saint Patrick’s Day or during the days before, offer a discount to any customer who enters your store and makes a purchase wearing green. This will not only encourage customers to visit the store on that day, but also to purchase more items than they normally would because of the discount.

Lucky Customers

Lucky Leprechaun Postcards by PaperDirect

Before St. Patrick’s Day arrives, send out promotional cards to your direct mailing listand entice your customers with a chance to “get lucky.” Include a four-leaf clover in a select amount of cards. If they receive one of these coupons, offer them a free product or service. For the remaining customers without a four leaf, offer a smaller discount. People enjoy playing to win so you can’t go wrong with this one!

Green Drinks/Food

One of the easiest things you can do is offer green food or drinks. If you’re a restaurant,
this is easy and almost necessary. If you’re not, try bringing in simple cupcakes or punch- you can’t go wrong with treats.

Festive Newsletters

Greet your loyal or new customers with a festive newsletter. This can cover new specials, company news or things to look for in the upcoming months. Sending out something like this is eye catching and festive. Your customers will love receiving it and hanging it on their fridge.

Happy Hour

Sassy Shamrocks Newsletters by PaperDirect

Offer special incentives, such as lower prices, coupons or free gifts, for customers who come to your store during “happy hour.” You could hold this sale just on Saint Patrick’s Day or every day on the week leading up to the holiday.

Find all types of papers, envelopes and stationary in our St. Patrick’s Day section. Good luck! Regardless of the promotion you choose, remember to announce it to customers via mail, on your website and on social media.

February 24, 2014

Punctuation Rules for Business Letters

Filed under: Designing Your Business Communication — Tags: — PDWriter @ 8:43 am
Pristine Foil Letterhead by PaperDirect

While business letters can often be compelling and even fun to read, they should also showcase proper punctuation. Punctuation rules for business letters are fairly straightforward, but you can mess them up as early as the salutation.

Salutation and Closing

Business letters can feature one of two types of punctuation based on the punctuation marks you use after your salutation and closing. Mixed punctuation uses a comma after the salutation and a comma after the closing:

  • Dear Mr. Robert Edmunds,
  • Sincerely,

Open punctuation omits any type of punctuation after the salutation and closing:

  • Dear Mr. Robert Edmunds
  • Sincerely

Body of Letter
Tattersall Letterhead Papers by PaperDirect

The body of the letter follows standard punctuation guidelines, which it never hurts to review. A big change over the years has been the use of one space, instead of two, after a period. Semicolons are used when you’re combining two independent clauses. Example:

  • It was a pleasure meeting you on Friday; we look forward to working with you.

Commas have a reputation for being tricky, but two main rules can help you use them properly in business correspondence. The first is to use a comma before a short conjunction when you’re combining two independent clauses. Example:

  • It was a pleasure meeting you on Friday, and we look forward to working with you.

The second comma rule is not as strongly set in stone, and it involves the use of the comma when listing three or more items. It even has a special name: the Oxford Comma. The rule depends on whom you ask, with the AP Stylebook omitting the Oxford comma before the conjunction. Example:

  • We are ready to set up our website, launch our product and begin our first marketing campaign.

Your other option is to include an Oxford comma before the conjunction. Example:

  • We are ready to set up our website, launch our product, and begin our first marketing campaign.

Both options are technically correct, and the latter can be helpful if omitting the comma changes the meaning of the sentence. Example:

  • Our company picnic will feature hot dogs, macaroni and cheese.
  • Our company picnic will feature hot dogs, macaroni, and cheese.
Swish Letterhead Papers by PaperDirect

Once you’ve mastered the punctuation rules for business letters, you’re free to be as creative as you like with your business letterhead or decorative border paper. The whole properly punctuated package will confirm your professionalism and perhaps even make for a fun read.

Looking for new stationery or letterhead? Check out the selection at PaperDirect.

February 21, 2014

5 Useful Google Apps for Small Businesses

Filed under: Online Marketing Ideas — Tags: — PDWriter @ 11:22 am

Create invoices, letterheads, logos, as well as track and categorize your data. These are just a few of the tasks that you can complete with apps from Google. Here are five of the top rated Google Apps for Small Businesses.

capsule google app1. Capsule CRM

By Zestia

First 30 Days free then $12 a month per user

Capsule CRM offers you simple, flexible CRM for your small business. You can easily keep track of all your contacts. This app works with Google Apps and does not require a separate login. You can also keep track of sales and activities.

Capsule works with Google Apps to:

  • Manages your business contacts allowing you to share them with other uses on your Google Apps account
  • You can create custom fields to track, categorize and list your business data
  • Easily access Capsule from Google’s universal navigation with no separate username or password
  • View contact details inside your Gmail when you receive emails

gofiledrop google app2. GoFileDrop

By Slrsoft

Free

Pro version available for purchase in the app

GoFileDrop lets you receive files from users in your Google Docs account. This entire Application is web-based.

GoFileDrop allows you to:

  • Upload files to a specific folder for automated sharing
  • Securely receive files to Google Drive
  • Handle large file transfers
  • Automatically upload files to a specific folder
  • Brand your application with your Company Logo
  • Upload files to share with groups and users automatically
  • Have your employees securely drop files into your Google Docs account

GoFileDrop is essentially a mailbox for your Google Docs account. You can open your dropped files directly from your notification email in your Google Docs account.

eslip google app3. eSlip

By eSlip

Free for up to 3 users and 5 clients

Learn more at http://www.eslip.com

This online invoicing application is perfect for professional service firms or small businesses. You can create and then manage your invoices, timesheets, expenses and estimates with eSlip.

  • Window-based interface (AJAX)
  • Multiple languages, taxes and currencies
  • You can send invoices by fax, post or email with just one click

cloudlock google app4. CloudLock DLP

By CloudLock, Inc.

Enterprise-Class Google App Security

7-day free trial

$7 a year per user

CloudLock is the perfect app to protect your sensitive data. Data like the PCI and PII stored in Sites, Google Docs, Google Drive and Google+.

CloudLock’s Policy Engine is designed to automatically detect, alert and remedy sensitive data exposure with context and content-aware security policies.

Auditing and Compliance

You can meet the data privacy regulations if you enforce acceptable use policies. Get bidirectional visibility and generate audit reports for both internal and external users.

Secure PII/PCI in Google Drive Docs

The Compliance Scan that CloudLock offers has the ability to identify, classify and secure sensitive information such as social security numbers and credit card account numbers.

Data Management

You can see and control all the data in the domain. Use keywords to find sensitive content, transfer ownership, inspect a document’s contents, change permissions by applying bulk operations and copy documents.

aviary design suite google app5. Aviary Design Suite

By Aviary

Free

Aviary Design Suite offers you free templates and design tools so you can create, share and modify presentations, logos, images, podcasts, audio tracks and more. Employees can collaborate on multimedia projects within Google Docs.

Use Aviary Design Suite to:

  • Retouch Photos
  • Make Web Templates and Banner Ads
  • Remix Audio
  • Develop Podcasts

Create:

  • Logos
  • Business Cards
  • PowerPoint Slides
  • Letterheads
  • Labels

With Aviary Design Suite, you have all the important features used by desktop editors. This app is simple to use and accessible with a web-based application. Simply create your business cards, letterheads and logos using the design tools. Then upload them to an online print company like Paper Direct. This type of online printing company prints your customized products and mails them to your home or business.

February 18, 2014

3 Easy Ways to Show Employee Appreciation

Filed under: Employee Recognition Ideas — Tags: — PDWriter @ 12:00 pm

Chalkboard NoteCards by PaperDirect As a manager, you’re aware that making your employees feel valued is simply good business practice. It increases productivity, improves the workplace atmosphere, and reduces employee turnover.

While every employee would welcome a cash bonus or a promotion, these aren’t always within your power to offer, but these aren’t the only ways to show your employee that he or she is valuable. In fact, there are hundreds of creative ways to show employee appreciation. Here are 3 simple ways:

Set up a white board for “kudos”

By hanging a white board in a place where all staff members have easy access to it, you can provide public acknowledgements to staff person or entire teams. This medium also allows spontaneous praise to be offered by one team-member to another, which helps build a spirit of cooperation and unity.

Also, the white-board provides an outlet for some creative playfulness, as thank-yous and compliments can be elaborated with doodles, stars, different-colored inks, and so on.

Trumpet your praise on social media platforms

While businesses are becoming familiar with using their Facebook and Twitter accounts for purposes of marketing, they are only beginning to explore the tremendous potential of these platforms for employee recognition.

If you make a special Twitter or Facebook post to praise an employee for going above and beyond the usual duties, you will be sowing an entire field of good will. Your employee will share this post with friends and family members, and co-workers will be able to “like” or re-tweet it.

One more, your customers will see that your business has a heart, and they’ll feel good about buying your products and services.

Give a custom-made certificateOxford Standard Certificates by PaperDirect

A formal award certificate, custom-printed with your employee’s name and special achievement, carries with it a unique sense of permanent recognition. PaperDirect allows you to design your certificate online using a wide selection of templates, and receive them fully printed and ready to present.

These types of certificates or awards convey a sense of serious importance, and the staff person who receives one is likely to frame it and keep it as a long-term reminder that he or she is valuable.

Investing the time to give your employees a heart-felt message of appreciation will provide you with high returns in both productivity and good will so show your appreciation today!

How to Avoid Employee Burnout between Christmas and Memorial Day

Filed under: Recognition & Motivation Ideas — PDWriter @ 9:48 am

Gold Balloons Casual Certificates by PaperDirectIf you let the daily work grind take its toll, it can lead to a drop in productivity and employee burnout. This is especially true between the Christmas holiday and Memorial Day, as it’s the longest stretch of the year without any extended holiday time off.

So how can you keep employees fresh, motivated and productive during the “dog days” of the work year? Here’s a look at a few tips and suggestions:

Encouragement and praise:

You should be your workers’ biggest
Swirly Stars Casual Certificates by PaperDirectcheerleader. So be sure to encourage your employees and, just as importantly, be sure to praise them when they meet – or exceed – their goals. You can praise employees verbally, with award certificates and with salary bonuses.

Refresher days:

It’s a long stretch of work days between Christmas and Memorial Day and the regular weekend rejuvenations may not cut it. So consider introducing mandatory “refresher days” that your workers need to use during this period of time. This shows you appreciate their hard work and gives them an additional day off or two to rest and relax to prevent employee burnout.

Have fun:

Sure, your office probably already has a “casual Friday,” but consider introducing other themed days to your workers to help break up the monotony of the regular work week. Ideas might be a pajama day, sports spirit day or a costume day.

Happy hour:

No, we’re not condoning drinking on the job, but it sure would brighten the day of a lot of workers – not to mention put you in their good graces – if you closed the office early one day and treated everyone to a drink or two at the local happy hour. If your office isn’t into the bar scene, head to an ice cream parlor or pizza place.

Schedule company activities: Stars Foil-Stamped Gift Certificates by PaperDirect

Boost employee morale by organizing group, team-building events. Even something as simple as walking over to the nearest baseball diamond for a game of softball at lunch can be a big boost for many employees.

Turn it over to the pros:

Consider bringing in a mental health expert to hold a class for your employees on burnout, what it can mean in your work and personal life, and how to prevent it. By educating people about the signs and consequences of burnout, you’re being proactive in addressing it with your employees and likely preventing it from happening.

Burnout may not just lead to a drop in productivity, but a high turnover rate. That’s why it’s important to take the necessary steps to prevent it from happening.

January 29, 2014

5 Business Expenses You’re Wasting Money On

Filed under: Business Marketing Ideas — PDWriter @ 8:00 am

Renaissance Standard Certificate Paper by PaperDirectAs the New Year gets going, you might be looking for ways to reduce your business’ expenses to help improve your bottom line. Getting your business’ budget in order can be tough, especially in leaner times. For starters, try cutting these business expenses you’re wasting money on.

Unhappy, Unproductive Employees

Learning how to keep employees happy is part of running a small business successfully. Small perks such as reward certificates and appreciation days don’t have to drain your budget. But, unhappy, unproductive and unsuccessful employees are a major money-waster. Hire employees on a trial basis. If they aren’t able to perform the job well after a period of 8 weeks or so, politely part ways and start again.

Stocking Up Too MuchTriumph Foil-Stamped MiniAwards by PaperDirect

Investing too much in inventory can seriously deplete your business’ cash on hand, and can be a major waste of money if the product you’ve invested in ends up not selling well. You might have to discount it greatly, reducing your profit or even losing money in the end. Start with a modest order of stock to see how an item sells. If it does well, you can order more. If it doesn’t, you haven’t spent all of your money on a dud.

Fancy Equipment and Furniture

Your office doesn’t need to have the best of the best when it comes to computer equipment and furniture. Cut costs by choosing moderately priced equipment or by making use of what you already have. If you need to buy more furniture to accommodate new hires, check out resource exchange shops or budget-priced stores. You can also have employees work from home to reduce your office expenses even further.

Too Much Energy

Take a look at your company’s utilities bills and energy use. If the electric bill is sky high and everyone leaves their computers and printers on 24/7, consider making an adjustment to cut costs. Have employees power down their workstations at the end of the day and ask them to switch off lights when they leave a room. The next time you need to buy new equipment, look for energy efficient models to save money over time.

Marketing

Examine your marketing and advertising budget closely to see which outlets are providing a return on your investment and which aren’t. Stop paying for the outlets that don’t result in customers. You might find that you no longer need to pay for print ads in the newspaper, for example, if all of your new clients are coming to you through your social media profiles.

Once you’ve trimmed wasteful expenses from your budget, check out PaperDirect for ways to promote your business and celebrate your employees.

January 28, 2014

10 Award Ideas for Tech and IT Employees

Filed under: Employee Recognition Ideas — Tags: , , , — PDWriter @ 8:43 am
Impressions Certificate Paper by PaperDirect

The tech and IT team at your business works hard to make sure your computers stay functional and your company stays online. Since what your tech and IT employees do remains mysterious to many, their hard work and commitment should be recognized and rewarded. After, all without them, your business might be in the dark. Let your IT team know how much you appreciate them with these award ideas for employees.

Gift Certificate to a Tech Store

A simple way to thank your team is to distribute gift cards to a local or national computer store. You can give each employee the same amount or pick an Employee of the Month and award him or her a larger sum.

Video Game Hour

Let your IT team relax, on the company’s dime, by giving them a “video game hour” every month or so. Set aside an hour in the middle or near the end of the day for them to play their favorite video or computer games together.

Tech-Themed Reward Certificates
Grand Certificates by PaperDirect

Hold an award ceremony for your IT staff and give each member of the team a reward recognizing his or her achievements. Print out certificates that describe what the person is being recognized for. You can make the rewards goofy, such as “Certificate of Excellence for Untangling the Most Cat-5 Cables” or go the more serious route.

Gift Cards to the App Store of Choice

Let your tech team get their hands on the latest apps for their device by giving them a small gift card to GooglePlay for Android users or to the app store on iTunes for Apples users.

Funny T-shirts

Reward your staff and celebrate inside jokes by printing up T-shirts with a funny slogan or saying on them. For example, you can print shirts that have a quote from a favorite tech-related TV show, such as “The IT Crowd.”

Coffee or Energy Drink Supply

travel tumbler recognition gift

Fill the staff refrigerator in the tech department with quality gourmet coffee or your staff’s preferred energy drinks, so that they have enough caffeine to fuel them through long nights of coding or troubleshooting.

Books

Pick up a book covering the latest development in the tech field for your employees. You can also give your IT team gift cards so that they can pick out their own books to read for work or for fun.

Action Figurines

Say thanks to your tech team and help them decorate their desks by giving each person an action figurine, from a popular series such “Doctor Who” or “Star Trek,” for example.

Certification Course

Another way to recognize your team members’ efforts, and benefit the company, is to pay for staff to take a certification course. They’ll gain new skills and you’ll gain more highly trained employees.

Equipment Upgrade

Here’s another award ideas that benefits everyone. Invest in an equipment upgrade for your tech team. They’ll be happy to be able to use the latest software and hardware, and your business might see a boost in productivity and efficiency with the upgrade.

Saying thanks to your team for a job well done doesn’t have to be expensive, but it should be fun. PaperDirect has what you need to recognize and award your IT staff and other employees.

January 24, 2014

Tips for Creating a Professional Certificate

Filed under: How to Design Certificates — Tags: , , , , — PDWriter @ 10:00 am
Sienna Specialty Certificates by PaperDirect

Creating professional certificate templates for use in workplace award ceremonies is a great way to let your employees know you appreciate them without having to spend a fortune on expensive prizes. Here are a few tips to help you create certificates that people will display proudly.

Pick the Right Paper Stock

A lot depends on the kind of paper that you use when creating a professional certificate. Lightweight paper feels flimsy and can therefore give the impression that your recipient isn’t very valued. Heavier paper stock, on the other hand, feels a lot more substantial and can have a more positive psychological effect.

Delicate Standard Certificates by PaperDirect

Choose an Appropriate Color Scheme

There is no one size fits all method of creating professional workplace certificates, but one thing you definitely want to pay attention to is your use of color. Some colors, like neons and pastels, look great but bring across a more lighthearted feel than others. If you’re creating an official workplace certificate, stay away from loud colors and stick to a more conservative color, like black, gray, and blue on white paper. If you’re giving away a series of slightly more goofy awards for things like “Funniest Person in the Office” or “Best Boss Ever,” feel free to experiment.

Don’t Clutter the Layout

When you’re making your own business certificate, you only have so much room to work with. Instead of trying to fit as much information as possible onto it, be sparing and make sure to leave plenty of white space between words. Otherwise, you run the risk of creating something that looks unprofessional.

Intricate Scroll Standard Certificates by PaperDirect

Use Several Fonts, but not Too Many

The use of different type fonts and sizes in certificates is commonplace – but the one thing you absolutely want to avoid is overdoing it. How many is too many? Set yourself a three font rule and stick to it just to be on the safe side. Going crazy with fonts can make a certificate look unprofessional, cluttered, and impossible to read.

Spell the Recipient’s Name Correctly

Few things in life are as disappointing as receiving a certificate so badly spelled it looks like it belongs to someone else. When presenting an employee or close business partner with an official certificate, take great care to ensure their name is spelled accurately. Leave no room for doubt. If there’s any question, ask the individual to write down their name for you.

If you need help creating certificates or just want to explore your options, pay a visit to Paper Direct and check out our variety of custom and standard certificates available today.

January 22, 2014

How to Improve Your Business Communication Skills in 30 Days

Filed under: Designing Your Business Communication — Tags: — PDWriter @ 9:46 am

Business communication is tricky. Whether it is B2B or B2 community, effective communication enables a small business to build trust and earn respect; it creates a productive work environment where creativity and problem solving can flourish. But here is the thing: despite the fact you are conducting business in the information age, an age where messages are sent, received, and processed at the speed of light, much of what you try to communicate to others is misunderstood. If you want to better connect with clients and businesses, you need to learn how to improve business communication skills.

1. Text messages, emoticons, and “likes” –in the age of instant communication and 140-character tweets, formal writing is falling by the wayside. Formal writing, however, is key to good business communication. Whether you are writing an article, preparing a report or giving a presentation, good vocabulary, grammar, and word context will enable you to get your message across.

2. Business isn’t just what product or service you are selling; it is the presentation of that product or service. There is a visual aspect to communication that should not be taken for granted. If you want clients and businesses to pay attention to your brand, then you need the right displays, boards, flyers, and mailers. Envelopes and letterheads say a great deal about your business, so make a good first impression when it comes to formal communications.

3. Yes, the bottom line is important. However, forging positive and meaningful relationships with clients and companies is the heart of good business. So how do you forge those relationships? You listen. Communication is a two-way street, and in order for it to be effective, you need to understand and empathize with what the other party is telling you.

4. There are numerous online communication tools at your fingertips. For example, Hootsuite enables you to manage your social media campaign by scheduling daily posts, tweets, and messages. Do you need to streamline your email marketing system? MailChimp makes it easier to create, edit, and manage email campaigns and newsletters. Finally, a conferencing tool like Skype is perfect for new contacts or conducting international business.

To discover other ways to improve your business communication skills, visit PaperDirect.

January 20, 2014

How to Motivate Employees without Money

Filed under: Employee Recognition Ideas — PDWriter @ 9:56 am

Perpetual Award Plaque by PaperDirectIt’s no secret that one of the best ways to motivate employees is by using some sort of incentive. For many employers, this incentive is some sort of monetary amount. After all, nothing quite lights the fire in an employee like knowing that he or she has the potential to add to their earnings.

But let’s face it – times are still tough and there might not be any wiggle room left in the annual budget to allocate these additional bonus dollars for deserving employees. So what can you do to show employees that you appreciate their hard work, yet not have your efforts be scoffed at by the hard working people that are helping you run your business?

Here’s a look at some ways on how to motivate employees without money:

  • Award certificates: A certificate is a valuable keepsake that can really show an Tracery Gold Certificate by PaperDirectemployee how much you care. Consider awarding such certificates for employee of the month, perfect attendance and more. You might even consider framing the certificate for the employee to help dress it up and make it an even more valuable keepsake.
  • Verbal praise: Sometimes the greatest motivator is as simple as praising the employee, whether it be in front of their peers at a weekly or monthly staff meeting or in an e-mail newsletter that goes out to the whole company. Being praised shows an employee how much they are appreciated.
  • Take an employee out to lunch: Another cost-effective way to show an employee how much they’re appreciated is simply to take that worker out to lunch, unexpectedly. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference.
  • Bonus vacation days: If money isn’t a viable option for rewarding employees, other things that don’t necessarily factor into the bottom line quite as much might be – like bonus vacation days. So don’t be afraid to dish out another personal day or two to a qualified employee in lieu of a bonus. To many employees, more time off is just about as good as a pay bonus.
  • Premium parking spot: In every office lot, there’s always those spots that are closest to the door or in a covered garage. These spots are typically cherished, as they’re close to the door and offer more protection from any weather elements compared to other spots in the lot. Offer special parking privileges in these spots to employees that qualify.

January 17, 2014

ASAP, FYI, IDK: Which Acronyms are Safe to Use in Business — and When!

Filed under: Marketing & Sales Promotion Techniques — Tags: , , , , — PDWriter @ 3:01 pm
how to use acronyms in business

There are some acronyms that are safe to use in business communication and some that are not safe. Knowing which ones you can use in your business communications will reassure you and your employees when you go to draft an official email or letter. Here are a few hard and fast rules to follow when using three of the most frequently used acronyms in business: ASAP, FYI and IDK.

ASAP –

This is one of those acronyms that has been around so long it’s actually worked its way into every day, conversational language. Sometimes, it’s even pronounced as its own word: “Aysap.”

Whether you spell it out or speak it phonetically, the shortened version of “As soon as possible” is one that is perfectly acceptable when composing interoffice messages. However, if you’re dealing directly with a client and you want to put your best foot forward with them, consider going to the trouble of actually typing out the words. Conveying to someone that you will contact them “as soon as possible” simply sounds more professional.

FYI –

The English language shorthand way of saying “for your information,” FYI is one of those phrases that’s so firmly entrenched in our culture that you might not think twice about using it in business communication. People hear FYI and don’t even have to think about what they’re being told. However, using it in a sentence can be tricky because no matter how you frame it, it looks and sounds informal.

Before you weave it into a sentence, consider your audience. If you’re composing an email to a co-worker or an interoffice newsletter, using FYI is entirely appropriate. In an official communication to a client? Not so much.

IDK –

There are acronyms that are safe to use in business, and acronyms that are just bad taste. IDK falls into the latter category for two distinct reasons. First, it’s shorthand for “I don’t know” – three words you never want to use when discussing business matters with another party. Second, it’s a slang phrase that’s right up there with LOL and OMG in the lexicon of frequent phone texters. Just as you’d never consider including abbreviations like B4 (before), JK (just kidding) or L8R (later) in a professional communication, IDK should be strictly reserved for after-hours text chat with your BFFs.

Now you’ve got that down pat, visit Paper Direct for all your business stationery needs including business cards, brochures, custom envelopes, and lots more.

January 15, 2014

10 Cutting Edge Hair Salon Marketing Ideas

Filed under: Business Marketing Ideas — Tags: — PDWriter @ 10:27 am

Blunt Hairstyle Vinyl Banners by PaperDirectRunning a successful hair salon requires a lot more than the ability to know a good haircut from a bad one. Anyone who’s been in the business longer than a week can tell you that marketing plays a huge part in the ability of a salon to remain in business. To help boost your efforts, here are 10 of the most effective hair salon marketing ideas.

Embrace social media. Take advantage by creating a Facebook page for your salon, regularly posting news about price specials and posting photos of your clients’ new do’s.

Offer discounts to Pilates, yoga or dance studios. Many members of these organizations get frequent haircuts and services. Ask the studio owner if you can put up aWoman Red Lipstick Business Cards by PaperDirect flyer or leave business cards. Offer 50% off your first service if they were referred.

Hold contests that leverage your social media presence. Ask your social media followers to share a photo you’ve posted and keep track of who’s participated. In exchange, hold a random drawing from participants for a free service or product.

Run regular discounts on goods and services. Use your social media profiles to let your followers know about them. Posting discount information with a photo helps ensure your post is more likely to be seen.

Participate in fashion shows. This is a great opportunity to show what you can do. Choose a boutique that caters to a similar clientele and work with them to develop seasonal shows.

Beauty Mirror Woman Postcards by PaperDirectOffer private parties and include hair or makeup services. This can be quite profitable, especially as word of mouth spreads. You can even let your customers bring their own food and music to make it a completely personal experience.

Reward referrals. Offering discounts or free services to people who bring in other clients can foster a great sense of loyalty among your clientele.

Start a blog and update it regularly. Not sure what to write about? You can blog about fashion, trends, events, new products, and anything else you can think of that’s remotely associated with your business. Blogging is a great way for potential customers to get to know you and your style. It’s also a great way for you to reach new customers.

Carry business cards. Always. Make it a habit to grab your business cards every time you go anyplace – and if the topic of your salon comes up in conversation, pass on the card. Design your very own business card today!

Stay up to date on fashion trends if you don’t want to lose customers. Do research, attend classes, and watch the latest movies and TV shows to stay up to date on what people like – and what they want to look like.

As a bonus tip, use custom stationery for all of your business cards, newsletters, and marketing postcards. Visit Paper Direct today to learn more.

January 13, 2014

5 Important Things to Include on Your Brochure

Filed under: Designing Your Business Communication — Tags: — PDWriter @ 8:46 am
Green Medallion Foil 3 Panel Brochures by PaperDirect

A brochure can help your company or school attract new customers or students, or draw attention to an upcoming event your business is organizing. Your brochure is only as good as the content inside of it. People won’t feel compelled to work with your business or school, or seek you out, if you don’t give them reason to. Remember these five things to include on your brochure:

Compelling Image

Your brochure needs something to grab someone’s attention, and an image is often what does the trick. Choose pictures that give a person a clear idea of what your business, school, clinic, or center is offering. Pick a photo or image that’s clear and good quality.

The Purpose of the Brochure
Escape 3 Panel Brochures by PaperDirect

A brochure shouldn’t present a person with a mystery. They should be able to figure out what its purpose is, and what your company’s or school’s purpose is, right away. Decide what you want from the brochure before you start designing it. For example, are you letting people know about an upcoming event or are you trying to convince people to switch schools pick your school instead? Highlight what makes your business or school stand out from the rest.

Contact Information

Include every possible way to contact your school, clinic, center, or business on the brochure. For example, list your phone number, email address, and street address. Don’t forget to include your social media profile information, such as your Twitter handle or Facebook page. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to reach out to you.

Time and Date

Let people know when the specific event is or when your school or business is open. If you’re strictly online, note that, so that people feel comfortable visiting your website at all hours. Include the year on the brochure or pamphlet, too, if you’re creating one for an upcoming event. You don’t want a person finding your brochure a year later and getting confused.

Call to Action

Put a call to action somewhere in the brochure so that people feel compelled to do something. Examples of a call to action include, “call us today” or “send in the coupon below for a free consultation.” Make the call clear and convey to the reader what will happen if they act.

When designing your brochure, make it as readable as possible, using easy-to-see fonts and big print sizes. Put the most important information, such as date and time of the event, right on the front of the brochure. When in doubt, keep the content short, sweet and to the point.

Double-sided Golf themed brochure

Ready to design an eye-catching brochure for your school or business?  Visit PaperDirect for all of your brochure printing needs.

January 10, 2014

How to Easily Create a Plaque for Your Small Business

Filed under: Recognition & Motivation Ideas — PDWriter @ 11:56 am

Piano Wood Custom Engraved Plaque Creating a plaque is a great way to recognize your employees and add some new life to your small business. You can make a plaque for any number of reasons, whether it be for an Employee of the Month contest or to acknowledge a sales goal in the previous month. The best part is, you can make the plaque any way you want and customize it specifically to your company’s needs.

How to Create a Plaque

PaperDirect offers a wide variety of plaques, certificates and awards that will be sure to boost morale and encourage your employees. You can choose a basic certificate holder plaque, or you can go with a standalone design featuring a medallion. You can even get a plaque with multiple name slots, allowing you to recognize multiple achievements.

When you select the perfect plaque for your organization, you’ll be asked to customize 5 Star Certificate Plaque by PaperDirectyour new plaque. Depending on which plaque you order, you may be able to customize multiple areas of the plaque. You can select the color of the frame on certificate plaques and the font you’d like to use for engravings. The Specifications section on the plaque’s page will show you exactly how much room you have to compose your message.

While you can write any message you want, and you can (and should!) have a little fun with what you write, be sure that your text is typo-free.

Once you finish customizing your plaque, add it to your cart. Before you check out, you’ll be able to see when your plaque will ship and how much shipping will cost. From there, you can either add more plaques to your order or simply check out.

Star Medallion Star Plaque by PaperDirectWhy PaperDirect?

At PaperDirect, creating a plaque is fun and easy! PaperDirect is one of the Web’s leading plaque retailers, allowing full customization of plaques for any occasion. We encourage customers to submit reviews on our site so that future customers can be assured of our commitment to quality. For more information, visit https://www.paperdirect.com.

January 8, 2014

5 Punctuation Rules that are Made to be Broken

Filed under: Designing Your Business Communication — Tags: — PDWriter @ 11:43 am

Stardust 3-Panel Brochures The only people who do not find punctuation sticklers to be, well, just plain annoying, are the nitpickers themselves. Although we do need punctuation rules simply because misplacing a comma or period can create serious miscommunication issues, some punctuation rules are made to be broken. Here are five of them:

1. Comma dilemma over whether to use a comma after an introductory clause or phrase. For example, punctuation fanatics insist that this sentence is correct: The play was over, but everyone wanted an encore. What makes the difference if a comma is placed after the word “over?” The sentence implies the same idea without the comma and it is one less thing for the writer to worry about when writing items like brochures or award certificates that need to be informative and meaningful. Break this rule!

2. Oxford commas, or putting an unnecessary comma (again) in a sentence because Oxford University says to do it. This only applies to sentences listing least three items, i.e., She detests broccoli, spinach, and peas. Notice the “Oxford” comma after the word “spinach”. However, omit the comma and the sentence reads the same. Break this rule!

3. Are semicolons really necessary? Do two independent clauses really need connected by a funny-looking dot with a tail? Why not just put a simple period in between independent clauses like this: Sharon worked hard to finish the essay on time. Consequently, she missed her favorite television show. Break the rule!

4. Punctuation police hype the hyphen as a necessary evil that should join two words serving as one adjective. However, does anyone care if there is a hyphen between “chocolate” and “covered” when describing raisins? Ask anyone if “chocolate covered raisins” and “chocolate-covered raisins” mean the same thing and you will get an across the board answer–yes Break the rule!Pristine Invitation Papers by PaperDirect

5. Last punctuation rule everyone should break deals with the number of spaces expected to separate a period, exclamation point, question mark or colon–two. Why? When you need extra space for inclusion of more important words (information on business cards or invitations, for example)–break that rule!

Want sensible advice on punctuation etiquette for printed paper communications that can contribute to establishing your company’s brand name? Get it and more by visiting PaperDirect for all your designed paper needs.

January 6, 2014

5 Small Business Valentine’s Day Promotion Ideas

Filed under: Marketing & Sales Promotion Techniques — PDWriter @ 8:26 am

Flawless Valentines Border Papers by PaperDirectCupid is known for promoting love on Valentine’s Day, but the winged cherub is also a savvy and skilled business marketer. Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas in terms of retail gift giving, with consumers spending 16.6 billion on greeting cards, flowers, candy, and jewelry in 2013. As a small business owner, it is time to borrow Cupid’s bow and arrow and take aim at promoting your industry. Consider these 5 small business Valentine’s Day promotion ideas.

1. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” There is nothing more romantic on Valentine’s Day than poetry, so team up with another business and host a poetry reading/contest. Present the winner with 30% off coupons at both participating businesses, or give them a gift certificate for a local restaurant. That is called paying the love forward, B2B style.

2. Did you know that roughly 196 million roses are produced for Valentine’s Day? While you can’t send roses to everyone on your mailing list, holidays are the perfect time to ramp up your direct mail campaign. Customers and businesses alike will enjoy receiving a personalized, hand-written notes on Valentine’s Day inspired stationary.

3. Valentine’s Day is about love, right? Partner up with another business and donate to
Sweet Surrender Valentines Border Papers by PaperDirectyour favorite charity. Creating a good reputation for your brand is important, and the meaning behind Valentine’s Day has become lost in sea of Godiva chocolates and overpriced roses. The average consumer spent a whopping $130.97 on Valentine’s Day gifts in 2013. It is time to promote your business by giving a little of that back.

4. The word “free” makes people all warm and giddy inside, just like Valentine’s Day is supposed to do. The February holiday is the perfect occasion to give small promotional items as thank-you gifts. Pens, magnets, calendars, tote bags, t-shirts -give these tokens of appreciation to all your customers and the companies you do business with on a daily basis.

5. Show some love for social media. Use Facebook and Twitter to send 29 messages (one for every day in February) to customers and businesses. Whether it is a customer service promise or just a quick measure of affection to the people you do business with, a 140-character tweet is the modern equivalent of sending a Valentine.

To find more inspiration for small business Valentine’s Day promotion ideas, check out PaperDirect.

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress