Feburary 2018 Volume 3 Issue 2 - GLGA · 2019-09-13 · Introducing Printing Industries of...

Feburary 2018Volume 3

Issue 2

Orientation to the Graphic Arts

Adobe Lightroom

Adobe InDesign for Prepress

Adobe Illustrator for Prepress

Adobe Photoshop for Prepress

SEO Basics

Data Demo: Making It Relevant

Sheetfed Offset Lithographic Press

Building a Data Plan for Variable Data

Introducing Printing Industries of America’s all-new iLearning Center!

Learn something new or brush up on your skills in this FREE PIA Printer �� developed and taught by industry experts and are tailored to the ��now and more courses will be added ��

Visit www.printing.org/ilearning today!

Courses include:

Great Lakes Graphics Association — www.glga.info • 3

Website: www.glga.infoToll-Free Phone: (855) 522-2210

Joseph [email protected]

Bill GibsonIllinois [email protected]

Brent EckhartIndiana [email protected]

Sharon FlickCommunications ManagerEditorial [email protected]

Debra WarnerMembership Development and Engagement ManagerAdvertising [email protected]

Staff Contacts

Technical HotlineDo you have questions about a technical process? Call the PIA Technical Hotline at (800) 910-4283.

Free HR HotlineUse the free InfoNow line to get answers from MRA’s HR profes-sionals. Call toll-free 24/7 at (866) 275-6721, or email [email protected].

GLGA Hotlines

Board of Directors Elections

Events

Graphic Excellence Awards

National Awards

State News

Make Recruiting Your Mission

The Kids Will Be Okay

Copyright Infringement, Intellectual Property, Still Evolving

5 Critical Steps for Effective Content Marketing

New Products and Services

Membership News

Calendar

The monthly membership magazine for the Great Lakes Graphics Association

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4 • Graphics Journal — February 2018

2018 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

New Chairman, Executive Committe, Directors Take Office

With the start of a New Year, a new executive committee is now leading the GLGA Board of Directors. Accepting the chairmanship for a two-year term is James Sandstrom, President of HM Graphics, Milwaukee, WI. He succeeds outgoing chairman John LeCloux, WS Packaging, Oak Creek, WI, who stays on the board as the immediate past chairman.

Also joining the executive committee are vice chair Rob Straka, Priority Press, Indianapolis, IN; treasurer Kirk Larsen, Graphic Partners, Zion, IL; and secretary Shane Lauterbach, Lauterbach Group, Sussex, WI.

The results of the recent election have been confirmed. The following individuals were elected to seats for two-year terms:

Representing Illinois Active Members:

Marilyn Jones, Consolidated Printing, Chicago, IL

Mary Richards Lawrence, Richards Graphic Communications, Bellwood, IL

Representing Indiana Active Members:

Chris Eckhart, Eckhart and Co., Indianapolis, IN

Representing Wisconsin Active Members:

Shane Lauterbach, Lauterbach Group, Sussex, WI

A seat representing Associate Members and a seat representing Illinois Active Members remain vacant at press time.

Also joining the board is Adam LeFebvre, Specialty Print Communications, Niles, IL. Mr. LeFebvre was appointed to fill the vacancy in the seat that formerly was held by the late Jerry Haapanen, Haapanen Brothers, Gurnee, IL.

The new executive committee members and directors took office at the Board of Directors meeting held on January 24, 2018.

Retiring from the board are Steven VanderVeen, ABS Graphics, Itasca, IL; Dave Biddenstadt, Platinum Converting, Itasca, IL; and John Graf, Xerox, Rosemont, IL. Thank you for your service and guidance to the association.

Rob StrakaPriority Press

Kirk LarsenGraphic Partners

Shane LauterbachLauterbach Group

James SandstromHM Graphics

John LeClouxWS Packaging Group


EVENTS

Winter Is Education Time: Focus Forums and Webinars Register Online at www.glga.info

Insurance: Understanding the Pieces from Start to Finish

GLGA is hosting a Financial Focus Forum on Wednesday, March 14, 2018, at Jimmy’s Charhouse in Elk Grove Village, IL. The program includes lunch and a special presen-tation by Scott Little of Rand-Tec Insurance Agency.

What pieces do you need to finish your Insurance Puzzle? We will discuss how to put that puzzle together, starting with the corners pieces, Property, Liability, Auto, and Workers compensa-tion. We will then fill in the middle, with pieces you may want to add like Equipment Breakdown, Printers E & O, Employment Practices, Data Breach, and others. Once you understand the pieces, and how they fit your business, your puzzle is complete.

Robert Dixon, Jr. Director, Product Technology and Innovation for USPS, takes a question at GLGA’s USPS Focus Forum, held on January 10, 2018, in Elk Grove Village, IL. The forum discussed USPS’ Intelligent Mail, how it will affect the marketplace, and how printers can expect it to affect their profits.

FREE MEMBER WEBINARS:

8 Imperatives for Growing Your Printing Business

Please join GLGA on February 20, 2018, for a Profit Matters webinar - the Great Lakes Graphics Association’s latest effort to address all issues regarding profitability in the Print Industry.

In a highly competitive industry, printers must focus on two things to succeed: efficiency

and growth. The first delivers a better bottom line; the second produces a more robust top line.

In this session, Paul Reilly and Joe Polanco of New Direction Partners focus on eight imperatives for growing your printing business, In a mature market, if you don’t grow, you will run out of business to make more efficient!

ASI’s Group Buying Power Program for Branded Products

Looking for additions to your capabilities? Have you considered branded products?

Please join GLGA on February 28, 2018, for an informative webinar with Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), our national Group Buying Power Program partner. ASI is the largest educa-tion, media, and marketing organization serving the promotional products industry.

Learn how you can provide your clients access to a full line-up of branded products--such as writing instruments, trophies and awards, and apparel--through the program. Members can use ASI’s products and services to locate suppliers, source products, and sell branded products to clients and prospects. Members receive greater supplier discounts and can even use branded products to generate awareness for your business.


AWARDS

The Great Lakes Graphics Association proudly presents the 2018 Call for Entries for the Graphics Excellence Awards – the most prestigious symbol of printing excellence through-out the Midwest and the largest three-state graphics awards competition in the United States.

This awards competition showcases one of the largest collections of diverse printed products in the country. With 100 categories to choose from, there are opportunities for every company and every capability. This is truly a competi-tion where size doesn’t matter - small, medium and large companies take home honors every year.

GEA winners leverage their awards to gain competitive advantage in their markets, strengthen current and future client relationships and establish a win-win for both organi-zations. It’s a singular and powerful promotional tool.

Showcase your company and enter the 2018 Graphics Excellence Awards competition – together, let’s celebrate PRINT. Start selecting your winning entries today - the deadline to enter is March 1, 2018! Questions? Contact Debra Warner at (855) 522-2210 or via email at [email protected], or visit gea.glga.info to download the Call for Entries brochure and Easy Entry System files.

Show the World How Great Your Work Is: Enter the Nineteenth Annual Graphics Excellence Awards Competition!

CATEGORY CHANGES FOR 2018:• Categories B5 and B6 are now combined into one

category, B5 Flyers.

• Categories F1 and F2 are now combined into one category, F Internal Communication Pieces.

• Category O1 Foil Stamping and Embossing/Debossing has been split into two categories, O1 Foil Stamping and O2 Embossing/Debossing.

• The other categories in O Postpress and Finishing Techniques have been renumbered.

• Category O5 has been enlarged to include folding tech-niques. It is now O5 Other Special Finishing, Binding and/or Folding Techniques.

From left: Michael Johnson, Jaime Weileder, Angela Carton, Brittany Smith, and Ashley Petchel of LPI Letterhead Press display their plaques at the 2017 Graphics Excellence Awards Celebration in Milwaukee. The New Berlin, WI-based company took home three Best of Categories, for Brochures and Broadsides, Book Jackets, and Foil Stamping and Embossing/Debossing; and a Best of Division, for Diecuts, Pop-Ups, Unique Folds and Involvement Devices.

Bill and Christina Rongey of Fujifilm Graphic Systems Division pose with the company’s wins at the 2017 Graphics Excellence Awards Celebration in Addison. Fujifilm won a Best of Division for Calendars; an Award of Excellence for Print/Graphic Arts Self-Pro-motion; and a Best of Category for Magazine Series.


NATIONAL AWARDS

Congratulations to the 2017 Best Workplace in Americas Award winners, sponsored by Printing Industries of America.

Eleven companies, including two GLGA members, received a Best of the Best designation; 26 companies, including six GLGA members, earned a Best Workplace designation; and nine companies, including two GLGA members, won the Safety Shield designation in its inaugural year.

For 17 years, the Best Workplace in the Americas award has acted as an acknowledgement of printing industry excellence in human resources practices. Judged by an anonymous panel of human relations professionals from the printing industry, the BWA awards show that companies of any size can excel in their commitment to employees.

In the Best Workplace program, companies were evaluated on policies and benefits in the following areas: Communication and Culture; Employee Resources and Benefits; and Safety and Work Environment.

In the Safety Shield program, companies were evaluated on OSHA compliance and best safety practices for the printing industry.

For the entire list of winners, visit https://tinyurl.com/yabm7xx5.

Eight GLGA Members Win Best Workplace in the Americas AwardThe Best of the Best Winners:

Royle Printing, Sun Prairie, WI

Suttle-Straus, Inc., Waunakee, WI

Best Workplace Winners:

GPA Specialty Substrate Solutions, McCook, IL

Inland Packaging, LaCrosse, WI

Ripon Printers, Ripon, WI

Supreme Graphics, Arcadia, WI

Tailored Label Products, Menomonee Falls, WI

Worzalla, Stevens Point, WI

Safety Shield Winners:

Ripon Printers, Ripon, WI

Suttle-Straus, Inc., Waunakee, WI

This year’s honorees will be celebrated at a luncheon awards presentation at the 2018 President’s Conference to be held March 4-6 in San Antonio, TX.

We’re here to help with:• Digital• Color Management and Prepress• Business Management• Production Operations• Plant Layout

• Press Testing and Equipment• Acquisition• Lean• Sustainability

Contact an expert today at [email protected].

Contact expert, third-party consulting from the Center for Technology and Research.

IS YOUR LATEST IMPROVEMENT PROJECT STALLED?


WisconsinWhat’s Your Return on Investment?

We just finalized the numbers for membership return on investment (ROI) for calendar year 2017 and it is official – Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA) and Printing Industries of America (PIA) returned $876,000+ of value to members. This includes every-thing from discounts on GLGA and PIA products, services and events/webinars to rebates on commonly used items in the marketplace.

The offerings are for every aspect and department of your company, and the number of products and services we offer grows every year. What I am increasingly proud of is that the return on investment we provide members is 57 percent larger than the amount GLGA receives in membership dues.

Despite the large number, the Association still has work to do to encourage its members to use the wide range of benefits and services we offer. Are you maximizing your membership effectively? Have you looked at our recycling rebate program? Shipping program? Do you participate in GLGA/PIA quarterly human resource, Digital Technology Council and Profit Matters webinars and updates? Do you take credit cards as a form of payment, and if so are the processing fees you pay competitive? Are you utilizing the resources and tools to measure your profitability, productivity and efficiency?

I am challenging you to contact me to discuss how GLGA can help your company profit and even grow. My direct line is (262) 522-2212. I want to even visit you if you are willing. After all, the greatest resource we provide is the knowledge the staff possesses from best practices, industry trends and even the contacts we have. Don’t wait – contact me today!

STATE NEWS

By Joe LymanPresident

Contact Joe:(262) [email protected]

Labor Relations

Collective Bargaining

Employment Counseling

Regulatory Compliance

Employment Litigation

Employee Benefits

Immigration

Work Injury Defense

Restrictive Covenants

411 E. Wisconsin Ave.

Milwaukee, WI 53202

(414) 273-3910

lindner-marsack.com

Highly Regarded by Clients and Colleagues

Alike for More Than 100 Years

PUTTING OUR PRINTING INDUSTRIES EXPERIENCE TO WORK FOR YOU


IllinoisBenjamin Franklin once stated that an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. I couldn’t agree more and I would recommend entrepreneurs take his age old, and still valid, advice!

I believe that trade and professional associations can be very beneficial for business, especially entrepre-neurs. But, I am surprised by the lack of people who belong to trade associations. The investment in a professional association is an investment in knowledge and a career.

On occasion I hear that an investment in membership can be pricey and that is true … But when you consider the value and benefits, and take full and complete advantage of your membership, I know you will find that trade and professional associations such as the Great Lakes Graphics Association and Printing Industries of America will be a positive return on your investment.

Alas, I am preaching to the choir, as the majority of the readers of the GLGA Graphics Journal are members and take advantage of the value of GLGA/PIA! But to our prospect readers I encourage you to look at us for an outline of the dozen plus benefits that members have received from involvement in the association. It is noted that approximately 85 percent of all business failures occur in firms that are NOT members in their trade association (according to the Petroleum Institute), and that the industry leaders in print are members of Printing Industries of America.

I could outline the many benefits and value of membership in a trade association but bringing it down into four bullet points sums up our commitment to you:

Membership Has Its Privileges – American Express

IndianaIt was so long ago that newspaper “want-ads” were the employment search medium of choice. The ad read, “Printing company looking for delivery driver/bindery worker. Immediate opening.” It was so long ago that hackles were raised when we got irritated, and as a bindery owner my hackles were upright over that ad. I felt the ad diminished the value of bindery work with its inference that when you weren’t busy delivering you should step over and hand collate some sheets or off bear a folder.

I’m long past the righteous indignation phase, but the ad has stayed with me because I think it evidences a mindset that leads to false economy. Thirty years later, as I visit various printing plants and listen to print owners and managers I still see a fundamental divergence on how to respond to a part-time task.

Imagine the delivery driver who got hired and picture him as he is told to go over and help collate the annual report that can’t be run automatically because of gate folds, die cuts and inserts. He knows he is just filling in time, and the probable attitude of indifference along with the probable lack of manual dexterity slows production and in the worst case leads to quality problems. For the $33.00 you saved by having him help with the collating for three hours, you took what should have been a well-functioning line of perhaps half a dozen people, slowed their combined rate by 15 percent and cost yourself $40.50 in lost production over the same three hours. Congratulations on your “savings.” I hope his book with the misplaced gate fold isn’t the one that ended up on the CEO’s desk.

Isolated incident? NO. Mindset? YES! That sort of thing is probably happening all over the plant. I would argue strongly whether the function is HR, bindery, marketing or shipping, if you are not doing it at a top level then find a way to get it done at a top level. Simply put, profit leaders are top performers and average profitability comes from average performance. Hire for, train for, enable and demand excellence. If the task is not worth expending your own resources to generate top performance then find another way to get it done. Especially today, the opportunities for outsourcing are almost unlimited. Next month I intend to write about Business Process Assessment, but for today I just want to lay the ground work for why every-thing - yes everything - matters.

By Brent Eckhart Indiana Director

Contact Brent:(317) [email protected]

By Bill GibsonIllinois Director

Contact Bill:(312) [email protected]

• Education

• Research

• Advocacy

• Networking


I want to be a fireman when I grow up!

Being a fireman is cool – It’s daring – It’s fulfilling – It’s admirable.

Well, we are not in the business of saving lives, although sometime our customers act like we are risking theirs…

At SPC we are printers, we are marketers, we are manufacturers.

We simply don’t end up on the cover of superhero magazines.

Maybe this is why we have a tremendous talent shortage in our industry today. Or maybe it’s because we had a period of time where people considered the industry an endangered species on the verge of extinction.

Lucky for us, it appears today that the industry has found a new life, one in which through specializa-tion, efficiency and client realization that they still need print we have a happier and more upward

pointing outlook than we have for many years. The trouble is, we don’t have the talent we used to. Some aged out and retired, some moved to other trades – now what do we do?

As I talk to peers again and again, one of the largest concerns we have is finding good people. At SPC we have decided that it is imperative to begin recruiting new people into our trade. We need a workforce that is interested and even excited about the opportunity to be a printer.

As printers we touch so many lives. Every day we interact with people all across America. We do it quietly hiding behind other company’s brands and logos. Without us, there is no box for the cereal people are about to eat, there is no discount coupon from your favorite retailer, there is no signage in store to announce the deal of the day. I find when you talk about our industry in this light, people are much more interested in what we do.

At SPC we mail more than one billion pieces of mail each year. That means that every person in America gets roughly three pieces of mail that we produced. It’s a connection we have with people that they are unaware of. With that in mind, we have begun to realize that it is our job to tell the story. We need to tell it to people who are blissfully unaware of how exciting and important our busi-ness really is.

We have set out on a mission to remind schools that our industry is alive and it needs human capital more than ever before. We need help training them and showing them that print can provide them with a great career. We are working with high schools, trade schools and universities. Some of these programs are print programs, some of them used to be print programs and some are simply interested in finding new avenues for their schools that generate revenue and student interest. The one thing we have found at all of them is a genuine interest to listen, and in most cases we have created successful partnerships to help them guide their program along.

We need people – We need printers.

Trade groups like GLGA are powerful when we band together. I believe that if we all take an active role in asking schools and technical training programs to reintroduce print into their curricu-lum, we won’t be quite so worried ten years from now where we are going to find that human capital we all find so important to our business.

Adam LeFebvre is president of Specialty Print Communications in Niles, IL. SPC is an award-winning, single-source direct marketing resource for national marketers. As a family-owned business, they apply an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach to every program to help ensure the opportunity to impress you again in the future. Visit SPC online at www.specialtyprintcomm.com.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Make Recruiting Your Mission

By Adam LeFebvre

President

Specialty Print Communications

“As printers we touch so many lives ... and it is our job to tell that story. ”


By Wendy Dailey

HR Business Partner

South Dakota State University

X

For the last, well, for a long time, we’ve been having the “generations” conversation. Traditionalists vs. Boomers vs. Gen X vs. Millennials (formerly Gen Y) vs. whatever is coming next. Ninety-five percent of the conversations seem to focus on the differenc-es between the generations and why. These genera-tions do have some things in common: bigger world events are going to affect you differently. My parents (Boomers) had a different reaction to the Challenger explosion than I (Gen X) did. That seems like an odd reference point, but it’s one that seems to come up in every generations talk I hear.

We try to put each generation into a neat little box based on these larger shared experiences. But, are we looking at the right shared experiences when we look at the generations from an employment stand point?

I am Gen X. Smack dab in the middle. But, I didn’t get married and have kids in my 20s; so, while many of my classmates are having high school graduation parties and grandchildren, I am still

picking up Barbies and Legos. While I am thinking about retirement, I’m also still saving for college and wanting some flexibility in my work day to chaperone a class field trip. In other

words, my current life experiences have nothing to do with where I was when the Challenger blew up or being a latch-key kid. My current life needs are probably closer to a Generation Y or Millennial (when did it switch and why?) So where do I fit? Do you try to attract me with benefits that are for the empty-nester? Or for the person look-ing to purchase their first house and needing to know about FMLA? Or are we having the wrong conversation?

I think we need to stop looking at when our employees were born and start looking at where they are in their life. We need to look at the full life cycle of each employee when we look at who we want to be as employers. How can we be supportive of the employee, regardless of their generation, who is dealing with childcare issues, the death of a parent, purchasing a house or a car, going back to school or just trying to figure out if there’s enough cash at the end of the month for some beer in the fridge?

The answers are not easy, nor are they the same for everyone. What I do know is that it is difficult to get 25-year-olds to care about a retirement plan. It’s difficult to get those who are thinking about retirement to remember what it was like when they wanted some flexibility in their day to see their kid’s play or ball game.

We humans are short-sighted and have short memories. We look out for the here-and-now and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It just means that we as HR professionals need to be able to meet them where they are and understand what they need. We need to look past the generation labels and look at the whole employee.

We need to start having the conversation about who we want to be and then have our employees be a part of that conversation. What is the vision of your organization? What is the mission? Obviously this is a bigger question than can be answered here. But it’s one we need to start thinking about because I know I’m not the only one sick of the generations conversation.

Ultimately, I think we need to stop talking about millennials and boomers and complaining about Kids These Days. The kids will be okay and will soon be the old curmudgeons complaining about the next generation. Let’s look at our employees as whole individuals and try to meet them where they are.

Wendy Dailey is a HR Business Partner for the Facilities and Services Department at South Dakota State University. With almost 20 years of experience in human resources, she assists the department in all their human resources needs, coordinates the training and oversees the IT requirements. She regularly blogs on My Dailey Journey and converses with other HR professionals on Twitter (@wyndall93).

This article first appeared in MRA’s Inside HR news-letter. GLGA’s partnership with MRA provides you with valuable HR services that will be useful in your daily interactions with your employees. These services include MRA’s free advice hotline; the free Thursday Spotlight on-demand webinar series; the HR Digest newsletter; and a 15 percent annual rebate on MRA products, services and training. For more informa-tion, visit www.mranet.org.

The Kids Will Be Okay

“We need to look at the full life cycle of each employee when we look at who we want to be as employers. ”


By Scott Little

Sales Executive

Rand-Tec Insurance

MANAGEMENT

In today’s world of print and social media outlets and the possibilities of infringements, the only thing for sure is how fast it will keep changing. Insurance carriers are trying to keep up, but a lack of up-to-date case law make this subject difficult.

If your company gets caught up in an allegation of some form of infringement, it is best to alert your Insurance Broker right away. If you purchased the standard Commercial General Liability policy, your CG 0001 04 13 form may provide coverage. In that form, it provides coverage for “Personal and Advertising Injury.” The policy defines this coverage as:

14. “Personal and advertising injury” means injury, including consequential “bodily injury,” arising out of one or more of the following offenses: d. Oral or written publication, in any manner, of material that slanders or libels a person or orga-nization or disparages a person’s or organization’s goods, products or services; e. Oral or written publication, in any manner, of material that violates a person’s right of privacy; f. The use of another’s advertising idea in your “advertisement;” or g. Infringing upon another’s copyright, trade dress or slogan in your “advertisement.”

The policy defines “Advertisement” as a notice that is broadcast or published to the general public or specific market segments about your goods, products or services for the purpose of attracting customers or supporters. For the purposes of this definition: a. Notices that are published include material placed on the Internet or on similar elec-tronic means of communication; and b. Regarding websites, only that part of a website that is about your goods, products or services for the purposes of attracting customers or supporters is considered an advertisement.

The policy also has an Exclusion as follows:

i. Infringement Of Copyright, Patent, Trademark Or Trade Secret. “Personal and advertising injury” arising out of the infringement of copyright, patent, trademark, Trade secret or other intellectual property rights. Under this exclusion, such other intellectual property rights do not include the use of another’s advertising idea in your “advertisement.”

However, this exclusion does not apply to infringe-ment, in your “advertisement,” of copyright, trade dress or slogan.

For most printers content, logos, and layout are provided by the customer. Any issues of Infringement usually rest with them, unless you have made suggestions to change things that resulted in the infringement. Your exposure increases when you do logo design, assist with content, and advise on layout. It is suggested that you always consider what might be an infringe-ment when customers provide content. It also is a good idea to consult an attorney with infringement law experience to draft a Hold Harmless for your company to use in all contracts or job orders.

If you do get caught up in litigation, notify your insurance carrier right away. It appears that the policy does want to cover simple, unintentional, infringements of copyright, trade dress or slogan in the everyday environment of an “Advertisement.” It also appears to want to stay away from providing coverage for more serious issues of patent, trade-mark, trade secret, or intellectual property infringe-ment. Coverage will depend on what you are sued for, and the allegations that make up the suit. If those allegations arise out of contract issues, or intentional acts, it will be hard to get coverage. As I mentioned earlier, the lack of up-to-date case law, and the potential for ambiguity in policy language, may help you secure coverage for the allegations of infringement of copyright, trade dress or slogan. The evolution of these terms, and the court’s interpretation of them, may help you. Courts look at ambiguities in favor of the insured; so, you could end up with the defense and indemnification needed to resolve the claim.

If you feel that this may not be enough for your company, talk with your insurance broker about an Intellectual Properties policy. These are tailored to cover on a broader basis issues of infringement.

Scott Little is a sales executive with Rand-Tec Insurance Agency in Vernon Hills, IL. He has been in the insurance industry for more than 33 years, and specializes in property, casualty, business auto, and workers compensation coverage. Contact Scott at (847) 996-3854 or [email protected].

Copyright Infringement, Intellectual Property, Still EvolvingEditor’s note: a recent inquiry sent out on our confidential Member Questions service asked to what extent do companies perform due diligence on the legitimacy of printing products for customers. GLGA member Scott Little wrote this article as a follow-up to that Member Question. Our thanks to Scott and to GLGA member Tom Heneghan of Husch Blackwell for sharing their expertise on this issue. To see the original Member Question with Tom’s response, please visit the Members Questions archive on the GLGA website.


Do you suffer from a common condition that afflicts content marketers? It’s known to paralyze even the strongest writers - and even make them queasy. It’s so strong that it can force inaction and second guessing and erode the ability to produce effective content marketing.

Jack Black (in the movie School of Rock) would call it Fearofpublishingcontentneosis. If you have written any kind of customer-facing content, when you look back you’ve undoubtedly found:

• The occasional misspelled word or grammatical error

• A topic that didn’t really connect with your audience

• A point you found compelling when you wrote it but not nearly as much so when you look back

• A weak headline or subject line

• Missed publication dates

And who knows how much worthwhile informa-tion your audience missed because you didn’t optimize your content and, as a result, it didn’t show up in a search.

Fearofpublishingcontentneosis causes you to hesitate publishing your content. Sometimes it derails well-intended content marketing programs. But, if you take these five steps you’ll produce more effective content and remedy the effects of Fearofpublishingcontentneosis!

1. Develop A Content Marketing Strategy

‘Build it and they will come’ worked for Kevin Costner but effective content marketing requires a different script. It needs a defined strategy. For example:

• What’s your goal?

• Who is your target audience?

• What are their needs?

• How can you help them fulfill their needs?

Connecting, educating and building understanding with prospects and driving profitable customer action is the primary goal of content marketing programs. Achieving that goal requires that you roll up your sleeves and do the necessary dirty work. That detailed work includes getting inside the heads of your target audience.

You know your customers. Plus, your sales and customer service teams may have great relation-ships. But, effective content marketing requires a deeper customer understanding than the typical relationship provides. Dedicating the time to ask questions and gather information will uncover the insights necessary for a successful program.

Customer personas are the most common method used to collect these insights. Customer research is an essential part of this step. Don’t skip it!

2. Develop Ideas and Topics

A compelling topic that speaks to the needs of a target audience will dramatically increase the number of people who consume the content.

So, before you start writing, foster ideas and develop topics that connect with your audience. While your customer research will uncover clear themes, tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Answer The Public, and BuzzSumo will uncover subjects that offer viable options.

In addition, defining topics in advance promotes productive writing. Researching topics online and engaging internal and external subject matter experts will uncover information that makes your writing both easier and better.

Ultimately, it’s unproductive to write content when you don’t have a topic but do have a tight deadline.

3. Commit to Writing Well

Ultimately, the quality of the written material you produce will determine the success of your content marketing program. Poorly written, uninteresting and unhelpful information will hurt, not help, your cause. Developing effective content marketing programs requires effective writing sources.

You can succeed without having a professional writer on staff. You or an employee can under-take that role, but not without a commitment to prioritize the content marketing program, meet deadlines, and hone your writing skills. Delivering consistent, useful information will maximize its value. If you or your team regularly get pulled away from accomplishing your content goals, your program will fail.

If your current job functions and other priorities limit the time you can spend on a content market-ing program, external sources are a good option.

MARKETING

5 Critical Steps for Effective Content Marketing

By John Edmundson

Principal

InterEdge Marketing


Freelance writers, college interns with communications backgrounds and content marketing organizations are viable external writing alternatives.

Although each resource can develop written materials to quickly elevate your program, content marketing organizations are more versed on tactics that target your audience and elevate your investment.

4. Polish. Polish. Polish.

If you are in the market for a new home, which one is better? A yard with perfectly manicured grass and shrubs? Or a yard like the Addams family’s?

If you click on a link to read an article which one is better? Well-written content? Or meandering content with spelling and grammar errors?

A good editor takes effective content and perfects it. Well-edited content will elevate your standing even if your target audience doesn’t include English professors.

Although artificial intelligence tools like spell-check reduce errors, they aren’t foolproof. For example, spell-check doesn’t sound the alarm when you use the correct spelling of the wrong word. Nor will it correct missing words or wrong dates. But, a good editor will.

In addition to proofreading, restructuring and editing, an effective editor also will integrate keywords bolstering your position in search when possible.

5. Perfect Your Headlines and Subject Lines

What is the one thing that guarantees more people read your content? Effective headlines and subject lines. Yet, content programs often devote little time and effort to arguably the most important component. Plus, in order to meet a deadline, headlines and subject lines are often rushed and slapped on as an afterthought.

A writer can develop good headlines. So can other members of your staff. But, it requires prioritization.Effective content marketing programs need powerful headlines and subject lines. Make sure you take the time to craft them carefully.

But What If The Lone Ranger Didn’t Have Tonto?

Can one person execute these functions? It’s not easy. But keep these tips in mind if you’re going it alone:

• Research is still essential - it will quantify the most effective content components.

• Let your writing breath - finishing up a blog post and sending it out just a few minutes later is a recipe for mistakes. Instead, let it rest and revisit your content the next day. It will open your eyes to improve-ment opportunities you previously missed.

• Enlist a coworker in Accounting or Estimating to review your content- they are great sources for identifying mistakes that we Marketing folks make.

• Write 20 headlines or subject lines for every communication - spend the necessary time to develop the right one.

Action leads to insight more than insight leads to action. So, take the next step and launch an effective content marketing program!

InterEdge Marketing provides B2B companies with online and offline marketing services. Utilizing methods include website optimization, content marketing, social media strategies, direct marketing and lead nurturing, the company helps organizations expand their audience, generate additional leads, increase conversions and drive revenue. Contact John at (630) 442-0040 or [email protected].

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To have your company, product or service featured, contact Sharon Flick toll-free at (855) 522-2210 or via email at [email protected]. News will be published as space allows. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.

NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

HP introduces HP Indigo Wallpaper Solution to Transform Wallpaper Market to Digital PrintingHP Inc. today introduced HP Indigo Wallpaper, an HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press solution for wallpaper manufacturers to transition from analog production to a digital color printing process with gravure quality, while benefiting from on-demand printing, faster time-to-market, and reduced waste.

Launched at the Heimtextil trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany, HP Indigo Wallpaper is yet another example of the growing HP print technology portfolio for décor. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/yc8vug8e.

Ricoh Unveils Enhancements to Clickable Paper™, Further Expanding Service that Transforms Print into an Interactive ExperienceRicoh USA, Inc. has unveiled new gamification and cookies-enablement features for Clickable Paper™, revealing its latest strategic investment for the future of print and augmented reality (AR) applications. Clickable Paper leverages Ricoh Visual Search image recognition technology to enable communications to reach beyond the printed page by linking printed materials to rich online media sources – photos, websites, e-commerce portals, videos, social media platforms, to name a few – empowering marketers and other users to make print interactive quickly and easily, as it does not require any special markings such as QR codes. Read more at newsroom.ricoh-usa.com.

Sun Chemical Acquires C.T.LAY to Expand Portfolio for Plastic and Security CardsSun Chemical and its parent company, DIC Corporation, have acquired C.T.LAY S.R.L. Based in Modena, Italy, C.T.LAY is a global leader in pre-laid overlays, pre-patched holograms, and, through its joint-venture branch 4PLATE, experienced in lamination plates and sophisticated lamination plates with security elements and plasma coatings. Read more at www.sunchemical.com.

Xerox and EFI Lay Groundwork for Next Generation Printing with New Fiery-Powered Digital Front EndAt the EFI Connect show in January 2018, Xerox and Electronics For Imaging (EFI) demonstrated a new Fiery® digital front end (DFE) that will give print providers a powerful new tool to manage high value jobs that require special embellishments and effects using dry inks including silver, gold and clear.

The new DFE delivers fast Raster Imaging Processor (RIP) speeds, seamless automation integra-tion, and advanced workflow efficiency and productivity. Read more at www.news.xerox.com.


MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Webinars

Did you know?Many of our webinar recordings are available in the Printing Industries Press Online

store and may be accessed by members at a discounted rate, or even Free. VisitVisit www.printing.org/store and click on Downloadable Products for more information.and click on “Downloadable Products” for more information

Welcome, New Members!CLEARWATER PAPER - MANCHESTER INDUSTRIES2132 W. Shore Drive Delafield, WI 53018 www.manind.com Michael Curley, Senior Sales Executive (262) 370-5512 [email protected]

At Manchester Industries, Where Every Customer Matters, we provide unparalleled service and the best solutions in Paperboard Sales, Sheeting, and Distribution. Since 1978 we have helped our customers meet the daily demands of the commercial printing, publishing, point of purchase display, specialty packaging, and folding carton industries.

FEDERAL ENVELOPE COMPANY608 Country Club Drive Bensenville, IL 60106 www.federalenvelope.com Lee Shaw, Vice President (630) 595-2000 [email protected]

For your custom envelope and printed material needs, look no further than Federal Envelope Company. With a long history of providing high-quality, cost-effective products, our family-run team is dedicated to world-class service and quick delivery times. We equip our facilities with leading industry technology and source our materials only from SFl-certified forests. With Federal Envelope Company, you can be sure the job will be done right. The first time.

EO JOHNSON BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES1505 Prairie Lane Eau Claire, WI 54703 www.eojohnson.com Garrett Baumgardner, Production Print Sales Manager (844) 365-4968 [email protected]

EO Johnson Business Technologies is a leading business technolo-gies company, providing Managed IT Services, Managed Print Services, Document Management and Scanning systems, Business Consulting Services, and print/document and Production Printing/Wide Format equipment. Founded in 1957, EO Johnson has offices in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. EO Johnson is certified as a Woman Owned Business through the State of Wisconsin and a 2016 BBB Torch Award for Ethics winner.

SPECIAL EDITIONS, LLCN56 W24619 N. Corporate Circle Sussex, WI 53089 www.specialeditionsinc.com Brandon Esser, President (262) 820-9168 [email protected]

Operating in a 10,000 square foot facility in Sussex, Wisconsin, Special Editions Inc. was established in 1993. Our location helps us easily serve Southeastern Wisconsin and beyond. We offer customers limitless offset printing capabilities. Four presses to match your needs and a full service bindery.

MANCHESTER INDUSTRIES

2018Graphics

Excellence AwardsCompetitor’s Tip

Do you find the process of writing out your entry tags time consuming? Make your entry tags in seconds with GLGA’s Easy Entry system: simply fill out a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and follow an easy three-step process to create your tags in Microsoft Word. Need help? Email your spreadsheet to Sharon Flick and she’ll send you back the merged tags. Download the Easy Entry files today at https://tinyurl.com/yclatz2r.


CALENDAR

Upcoming GLGA Events and ActivitiesTo learn more or to register, visit GLGA’s website at glga.info.

Profit Matters Webinar: 8 Imperatives for Growing Your Printing Business February 20, 2018

Lunch with the PrintersFebruary 20, 2018, Indianapolis, IN

Sales and Marketing MixerFebruary 24, 2018, Pewaukee, WI

Graphics Excellence Awards Entry DeadlineMarch 1, 2018

Financial Focus ForumMarch 14, 2018, Elk Grove Village, IL

Save the dates:

Graphics Excellence Awards CelebrationsMay 23, 2018, Addison, IL, and Milwaukee, WI

Indiana Golf OutingJune 20, 2018, Carmel, IN

Chicagoland Printers Scholarship Golf OutingJuly 18, 2018, Bensenville, IL

Wisconsin Golf OutingAugust 8, 2018, Lake Ripley, WI

Upcoming PIA EventsTo learn more or to register, visit PIA’s website at www.printing.org.

President’s ConferenceMarch 4-6, 2018, San Antonio, TX

Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA) ConferenceMarch 18-21, 2018, Baltimore, MD

Continuous Improvement (CI) ConferenceApril 8-11, 2018, Chicago, IL

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Feburary 2018 Volume 3 Issue 2 - GLGA · 2019-09-13 · Introducing Printing Industries of...

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