We generally all hate receiving plain, white window envelopes… they always seem to announce bills to be paid or other unpleasant correspondence. If you are using mail as a way to communicate with your customers or friends, and you don’t want them to open your envelopes with apprehension, or worse, put them aside, try placing mailing labels on them. Receiving mail that is personalized is morale boosting for the receiver. In turn, he or she will be much more likely to have a positive response. For a business, this can be the difference between the message being in the trash or carefully read.

Business cards are intrinsically linked to networking in today’s economy. Every person that you meet is another chance for you to expand your social network, and as a result, expand your business. You never know who might be the key to that extraordinary business contract. When you meet someone, at a business meeting, social gathering, or on the street, never hesitate to offer your business card. If you can, ask them for their business card too. People are always eager to hand them to you.

 The beauty of networking is that it’s free since all you need is a smile, a firm handshake and a business card. Take a few minutes to design free business cards and you’ll be ready to network.

One of the best things you can do to market a business is give people an item of clothing with your company name and info on it. When you do this you are not only advertising to them, but to all the people that they come into contact with on a daily basis. When they have your shirt or hat on–you are selling your company.

Doing this can mean anything from investing in employee uniforms that feature custom designed t-shirts to creating a custom hat that you use as a giveaway item for your clients. Most businesses won’t want to go through the actual process of printing these items themselves, so it makes sense to order them from a place with experience.

At Vistaprint, you can easily create a custom t-shirt or hat by following our simple instructions. We use 100% cotton shirts, and they are pre-shrunk as well. You can get both short and long sleeve varieties, and we can print in small quantities without charging you huge prices. This is good news for smaller businesses, but also for anyone who is looking for a cost-effective solution to a uniform issue.

Our hats are high-quality cotton twill and they feature an adjustable strap. Available in a variety of colors, we offer printing on both the front and the back sides for maximum exposure. Choose a design template to help guide you through the process or upload your finished design with our easy system and you’ll have your finished product back quickly. Another option for shirts and hats is a photograph. Think about doing a company picture and featuring it as a design with your logo, or using the outside of your building as the basis for a shirt concept.

If you have an idea that you’d like to try out, you can also talk to our creative services team and let them do the work for you. They are also great to use if you aren’t sure what type of design you would like to have on your clothing. Let them talk you through the process and make things even easier. We offer you a one-week turnaround on your project when you let us help you with the work, so you don’t need to worry about us slowing you down. Custom shirt printing is something we are very familiar with.

Shirts and hats make terrific marketing items, regardless of whether you use them as “freebies” or as uniforms for your employees. You can create your own design easily or work with creative design professionals to customize the look of your clothing items. The process is simple and the results are terrific!

Are your employees looking a little disjointed at your office meetings?  Design custom materials to unify your staff and promote your brand. Custom notebooks are great for any office.  Create a custom notebook with plain or lined paper for all of your employees.  Upload your company’s logo or create a special image for the cover, too.  These notebooks are great for working on special projects or just every day use.

Creating custom notebooks is simple.  You can use your own design or customize an online template in seconds!   Designing custom materials for all of your employees is a great way to create unity and convey professionalism.  Consider matching folders, too!

Business has been crazy all week and now you have half a dozen bills that need to be in the mail by the end of the day.  As a small business owner, your time is precious.  You can’t afford to go through and write your return address of all those envelopes.  Return address labels or stamps are a must-have for all business owners.

Designing labels or custom rubber stamp is is easy.  Simply upload your own design or browse through online galleries.  Return address labels and stamps will save you loads of time, and allow you to focus your energy on the important things, like promoting your business and catering to your customers.  Return address labels and stamps also convey a more professional image to your clients and investors.

Try matching your return address labels or stamps to your business cards too!

As you plan a big birthday party for your child, you are slightly horrified at the expense. The thought of the postage fees alone is making you downright nauseous. Then, a money saving idea occurs to you. Birthday postcards would be a great way to cut down on postage costs, because sending a postcard is a bit cheaper than mailing a letter. Now, you just hope Vistaprint offers birthday postcards!

A quick keyword search for birthday brings up several pages of colorful templates for birthday themed postcards, from monkeys to pirates. A few simple changes to make sure the cards will hold all the party information may be necessary if you opt for a design that isn’t already set up as an invitation, but it will be a pretty easy alteration.

Be sure you remember all of the important information an invitation should include, such as when and where the party will take place. Also, if the invitation doesnt make the party theme obvious, you should mention it on the invitation in case some of the guests want to come in costume. This is especially important for a princess party or pirate theme, since many children will seize any opportunity to put on their costumes.

Your dream has finally come true.  You opened your own business!  Now you must create marketing materials to spread the word. Custom Banners are a creative and cost efficient way to promote your business. Use banners to announce your grand opening, advertise new products, endorse a charity event, or anything!

Design a simple banner for your delicatessen, or something fun and whimsical for your childcare business.  High quality, vinyl banners from Vistaprint will last for years.

Create different colored banners for all seasons.  Hang your banners inside or outside.  Consider designing a vertical banner too.  Vistaprint offers different size banners for your business needs.

Designing a banner is quick and easy.  Customize an online design to suit your needs, or upload your own creation.

Market your business with an eye-catching banner!

Well, it happened.  He finally proposed.  You’re so excited; you want to shout from the rooftops that you’re getting married.  Planning the wedding will take months, but luckily you do have the date picked out.  You want to make sure your loved ones mark it in their calendars, but you don’t want to send out boring announcements or save-the-dates.

When announcing your wedding, think outside the box.  Create save the dates with a photo of you and your fiancé.  Design a simple, flat card, or a folded card with space for a personal message inside.  Many online printing companies have caricature products, too.

Instead of a traditional announcement, create a photo magnet that your loved ones can put on their refrigerator.   Other fun products include key chains, mouse pads, and T-shirts.

Send out fun save-the-dates for any occasion!

Celebrate the New Year with these custom calendars. Just upload your own photos, logos, icons and text. Not only are they great for family and friends, but they can also make your business stand out too. Promotional gifts are a great way to market your business. Hand them out to new customers or as a free gift with purchase. Be sure to include your company’s name and logo, so your brand will always be at your clients’ fingertips.

Tired of shuffling through unorganized piles of paper? Can’t seem to keep track of files? Design a rubber stamp to keep your office organized. Create a high quality rubber stamp for paid slips, photo copies, or faxes. Simply go online and select the appropriate design.

After you have read over an important document or processed a certain file, stamp it so you and your coworkers will be able to keep track of it. Save yourself even more time by using a rubber address stamp. Put your return address on dozens of envelopes in seconds!

Rubber stamps are an inexpensive purchase that will save you lots of time at work.