The holiday season offers welcome downtime for most busy professionals. But in these quiet moments away from day to day business operations, success-minded decision makers are reflecting on their goals for 2020. Now is the time to ask yourself: will your marketing materials support your growth or hold you back?

C. Liston Communications is helping clients assess and plan. We recently did a site rebuild for a client who had been holding back for over a year on revamping their old website for budget reasons, only to have their highly paid sales staff report that the delay was costing them tens of thousands of dollars. Potential clients who liked the sales pitch naturally went to the website for more info, where they saw an out of date presence that caused them to doubt the company’s ability to deliver.

Make sure your marketing materials are helping, not hindering. Contact CLC today.

Most people have a visceral history with proofing. Some people dread the red pen, some people bristle at “It’s good, but…”, and some are just slow to heal from hearing “No, this is just not right.” It can be painful when you take critical feedback personally. Flip the script and get joyful about proofing.

When you seek excellence in your work, being proofed is your most valuable tool. Good proofing refines your work, taking it to higher levels. You always proof yourself (I hope) as a first line of defense, but the efficacy of self-proofing is limited. There’s a tension that begins to mount as you try to take your work from 90% to 100%; whether repetitive viewing is blinding you to errors or “overworking” the product is creating new errors, you’ve reached the point of diminishing returns. It’s time for a fresh set of eyes.

In proofing, not all eyes are not created equal. Basic traditional proofing is for spelling and grammar, and is absolutely necessary. But when you’re putting out marketing materials to build your brand and reputation, there’s more to consider. Design proofing looks at crucial design elements like white space, alignment, and consistency of color and logo for brand recognition and a professional impression. Marketing proofing looks at target audience, messaging, calls to action, and how this piece fits into a larger suite of materials. For larger pieces or campaigns, you might even want the review of an informal focus group of decision makers, influencers, and friendly honest members of your target audience.  

As marketing materials become more do-it-yourself, getting a solid proofing plan in place is crucial. It’s easier than you think to be that guy who didn’t put his restaurant’s address on his website. For small businesses, finding the time to focus on marketing tasks is hard, and spotting the mistakes weeks or months after publication is sickening.

We’ve assembled a team to proof content, design, and marketing… Treat yourself and your company to the quality you deserve: GET PROOFED!

As the world of online information began to explode, decades ago, it was clear that the need for and use of print would change. It has. But far from being unnecessary, printed materials have come to make their content more special simply by virtue of being in print.

Print is the phoenix of marketing communication. Why?

FOCUS. Print gives specialness to chosen content and helps readers focus on specific information, instead of swimming in a sea of never-ending and unpredictable content.

TACTILITY. The touchable nature of print—which we once took for granted—engages an additional sense and connects on a deeper level.

RESPITE. Print gives its audience an opportunity chance to unplug, to escape the assault of lighted, flashing screens.

Online sources are invaluable in many cases, like up-to-the-minute information and specific searches. Consider, though, that what makes them great for some messages also makes them less significant if you have an audience you can reach physically.

If what you have to say is special, consider print.