A belated happy new year to everyone. I hope the crippling January ice storm and the brutally cold weather we’re experiencing as I’m writing this, won’t dampen your enthusiasm. There’s a lot going on at Graphic Arts Magazine. To further help your bottom line, we’ve decided to run more features on the “business of printing” every single month, beginning with this issue. This includes articles not just on boosting profits, but on cutting costs as well.
First, we’ll be publishing regular columns by acknowledged industry experts David Fellman and Elliott Schiller. Fellman, a renowned printing sales authority, is the President of David Fellman & Associates, a leading sales and marketing consulting firm serving numerous segments of the graphic arts industry. This month he’ll discuss transparency in the sales process. Schiller is a Director at Teeger Schiller Inc., a company that specializes in obtaining federal and provincial government funds. He’ll tell you how the federal government’s Scientific Research & Experimental Development Program could be a source of capital for your operation. Their columns appear on pages 22 and 24.
Our Associate Editor Natalia Lumby explores a variety of essential selling strategies, including some valuable tips, on page 17. She’ll cover hard selling, soft selling, education and social media.
On page 30, Canadian web-to-print guru Slava Apel, President of Amazing Print, will reveal five ways to calculate your marketing budget. In future issues, we’ll continue to provide proven strategies from the industry’s best that will positively affect your bottom line in the areas of sales, equipment, insurance, financing and so on.
Continuing with our online sales efforts, last month we also initiated our affordable e-mail blast service. I’m happy to report that, in the space of only a few weeks, we’ve gotten several new clients. We’ll also be promoting our other online marketing strategies for printers – such as microsites, press releases, SEO blogs and several others. You can call me personally at 1-877-513-3999 to discuss options and how our experienced team will work closely with you to help grow your business.
We’re also planning this month to post our entire printed magazine online at www.graphicartsmag.com. That’s great news not just for our readers, but for our advertisers as well who’ll enjoy added exposure.
Finally, have you been receiving our informative weekly E-newsletter that currently goes to 10,000 subscribers across Canada every Thursday? If not, please visit our website (www.graphicartsmag.com) and sign up. It takes only minutes and it’s absolutely free.
As always, stay positive and stay focused.
Congratulations also to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on winning the 101st Grey Cup game on their home turf. It was a great accomplishment for the green machine in a province that absolutely loves CFL football.
Finally, this is the time of year to get some well-earned rest and think about the reasons why we work so hard – our friends, families and loved ones. From all of us at Graphic Arts Magazine, have a Merry Christmas and a holiday season filled with joy (and perhaps a little Guinness!).