Posts Tagged ‘Santa Rosa’

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New Marketing Secret: Free Tips on Local Search Engine Marketing

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Local Seo Is A Powerful, Effective Way to Promote Your Business

One of the good things about the growing use of the internet is that it is becoming easier to promote your business in your local community.  We are a printing business and we have been here in Sonoma County for over 50 years.  And we have experienced real pressure on our business because of computers and the internet.

But now there is an opportunity to capitalize on the fact that people are looking to find things in their own communities, like Sebastopol or Santa Rosa, not just buy things on Amazon or Ebay. On the whole people are developing in the use of their computer and are searching for services and products in their local community.  And the search engines have recognized that.

Google, Yahoo and Bing have set up local search results that help find local businesses that people are looking for.  And getting your name into these  directories is free.  The search engine companies realized that making it easier for people to find what they were looking for, especially on a local level, made the search engine more valuable because people would use it more regularly.  So they decided to add these local search capacities for free.  nadda.  zilch.

This is like being listed in the yellow pages for free!  I suggest you look into how to do this for yourself.  Below is a link to a youtube video where Google introduces their service. They call their service Google Places.

I suggest you check it out and consider making your business more findable on the internet.  This is something you can do yourself or we at Ajalon can help you do this if you don’t have the inclination or time to set it up.  The search engines are battling for this part of the market right now and you can benefit for free.

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

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The Number One Question to Ask Every Web Designer

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

The Pain of a Website That Isn’t Working for You

What can a business in Sonoma County do when their website is not up and working for them?

I have been talking to business owners about their websites and I have been hearing some common themes.  Most of them painful to hear, and certainly not helpful for the local businesses here in Santa Rosa or anywhere.

I was talking to a local winery from Alexander Valley, near Healdsburg.  They paid an experienced web designer a big down payment to create a new web site for them in December.  It is now 4 months later and not a single page of the new web site is up.  There has been much frustration and broken promises.

Whenever you are thinking of working with a web designer, a very important question to ask is, “By when?”  Some designers are very upfront with you and will tell you they can’t get to your project for weeks or months.  Others are eager to take your downpayment or deposit, because they have cash flow problems, and then move on to the next victim, whoops, I mean client, and get another deposit to tide them over.

We have learned how to do business with most people, but it seems to me that web design has led business people to neglect the normal best practices they would follow with other vendors.  Most business owners would not give money to a vendor before a job was started without have a very clear, written commitment and production schedule.

For some business owners, websites are this fuzzy area that they don’t know very much about and aren’t even sure what questions to ask.  As a consequence they look to the professional that a friend recommends and don’t ask many questions because they don’t feel very confident about what to ask.

I will be offering a series of questions to help you make intelligent choices by asking the right questions when you are going through the process of wanting to put up your web site or getting something improved on your website.  Web sites are important and can be a big help for your business.  At Ajalon we are always happy to help you succeed.

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Pretty But Broke, The Truth about Websites

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Having a good looking website is a little better than nothing, but what you really need is a site that will do the heavy lifting of bringing in more business, not just look pretty. All  businesses, whether in Santa Rosa or Sebastopol, or really anywhere, need to have hard-working websites.

What most people think about when putting up a website is, “How much will it cost and will it look good?”  These are important concerns, however, since your site can be attractive, but not attract much business.  Having a site that is pleasing to you does not mean that it will get you business.

A site might be pleasing to you and not cost very much, but if it doesn’t attract business, it is not worth it.  A site might be beautiful and have cost a lot of money and still not help your business much.  Having a website, no matter what it costs, is not the answer.

First things first

What you want from your website is that it work for you.  Being a pretty face is not enough.  Simply hanging out on the web is not enough.  There are over 183,000,000 websites.  What you need first with a website is to get found.

The most basic reason, in my mind, a website is put up is so that the information on it is found by those who might be interested.  Most of us would not hire a person who simply looks pretty or to just show up and hang out at work.  But some of us want a site so that we can say we have a site, not asking if the site really WORKS for us, beyond being there.

In the case of a website it is important what it does, not just that it be.  I have reviewed many business websites in Sonoma County, most of which are not working very hard for their owners.

You can be one of the best dentists in Santa Rosa and have a beautiful site, but if it is all in flash, it only about as effective as the simplest one page website.  The only people who will find you are those that are specifically looking for you.  Search engines see the flash and move on, not being able to read the flash content, they don’t index it.

So if you want to talk to someone who has walked the walk and is not into just creating pretty pages, but websites that work for you and are productive, call Ajalon Printing.  707.528.0288

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

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Event Marketing Materials–Messages that Matter

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

When you are planning an event, or have a program to present, it is important that you meet your goals and communicate effectively.   Ajalon can help with any aspect of what you need, whether it is with posters, banners, tickets, programs or PowerPoint presentations. When you want materials that will engage your audience, or stand out from the crowd, and attract people to your presentation we are ready to help.

Posters

Posters come in all sizes and formats.  You can have your posters digitally printed on a wide variety of materials.  Posters can be used to advertise an event, to draw attention to a particular presentation in a booth or to let people know of a drawing for a prize.  How ever you want to use a poster, we can help you design and print it.

Banners

Banner can be used indoors or outdoors.  They can be part of a large display or they can stand alone.  We have made banners for a company in Santa Rosa that wanted to prominently display rules for drop off that could be read from a vehicle.  Social or community events often use banners to announce the event and add to the festive atmosphere.

Once again Ajalon can help with your banners.  Our  vinyl banners are durable, affordable, and come with finishing options that make them easy to display. We can design any banner  so that you can fully customize what you need with images, photos, graphics and text.

Tickets

We have been producing tickets fund raising breakfasts in Occidental and Santa Rosa.  Casino nights in Windsor or silent auctions in Petaluma.  Whether you need books of tickets stapled together, pull off tabs or to have them numbered, we can handle it for you.

We have both a digital press and letterpress that can number, perforate and print, so whatever you need we are able to produce–pronto quick.  Call us and find out what Sonoma County’s oldest printer can do for you and your ticket needs.

Programs

After all the planning and getting ready, you might realize that now you need to tell people who come to your event or presentation what is going to be happening and where. Now is time for your program.

Often this item is left to the end because of all the other more pressing details of the event.  Ajalon can help you design and print your program quickly.  We have multiple machines available that make it possible for us to meet your deadlines and create exactly what you want.  You can relax knowing that Ajalon will take care of it.

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

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Marketing, Making Money and Mass Media

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Most of us got into business because we loved doing something and thought it would be cool to make a living doing it.  Michael Gerber, who used to live right here in Santa Rosa, called this an entrepreneurial seizure.  It befell us because of a fatal assumption: if you understand the technical work of a business, you understand a business that does that technical work.

What does this have to do with making money you say? Well I’m just trying to quickly get to the point that the way to make money in any business is by attracting clients who will pay for what you do.  And to do that you have to market yourself.  Few of us got into business to be marketers.  We wanted to do work we loved.

So now that we are in business we discover that the work is to get customers, not do the thing we love.

The Good News

The good news today is that with the internet and search engines and websites, it is actually easier for your potential clients to find you and for you to meet up with your clients and not try and guess how to reach them.

They are out there searching for your type of work.  You don’t have to hunt them down and try to get their attention.  We all are bombarded with thousands of advertising messages each day.  Traditional marketing tried to get your message out there in a way that interrupted a person’s attention long enough to get them to consider contacting you.

With the internet today there are always people out there searching for what you are  offering.  You just need to connect with them and follow through on helping them get what they want.  This shift is an important one to recognize and take advantage of.

The Bad News

If you put the bulk of your marketing effort into trying to interrupt people’s attention, and neglect the people out there that are looking for your work, somebody else who is out there connecting with those who are looking on the web  is likely to capture their business.

If you are like me, you put up a website sometime ago because it seemed to be the thing to do.  You did it as inexpensively as you could.  Maybe some years later you realized that this web thing was only getting bigger and maybe you went out and spent more money  to put up a better site.

Now you might be hearing more about search engine optimization and social media marketing and  you wonder what way to turn.

The Solution

For certain the internet is not going away.  Maybe it won’t impact your business too much before you retire.  If you aren’t engaged with it though, it will decrease the value of your business.

What we can offer you at Ajalon is to sit down with you and sort out what the best course of action is.  We have been here in Sonoma County for over 50 years.  We have survived and have helped many other businesses with their marketing by staying closely in touch with what works and what is economical.

We have gone through internet marketing.  We personally have got our website to the top of Google rankings.  We did it ourselves.  We didn’t pay somebody to do it for us.  We can help you make the educated choices to take advantage of this great new resource and to avoid the pitfalls.  Call us for help in your marketing today.  707-528-0288.

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

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Business Builders for Doctors and Dentists

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

There are some marketing materials that are particularly appropriate for doctors and dentists.  These are referral forms or pads, practice brochures and welcome packets. Ajalon has been providing these for medical and dental professionals in Sonoma County for over 50 years.

Referral Pads or Forms

Some specialties such as periodontics and orthodontics rely on referrals from general dentists.  Ajalon has been involved in providing attractive, effective forms for dentists from Ukiah to Petaluma for many years.  Whether you need pads or individual forms.  Carbonless forms are no problem.  Maps and postcards are easily provided.  Whatever you need is only a phone call away.

Practice Brochures

It is especially important when someone comes in contact with your office, whether it is in Sebastopol or Santa Rosa, that you have a well done brochure to explain your practice to them.  Your brochure should communicate the particular focus that your practice has and provide a warm, welcoming message.  We are proud of the many medical and dental professionals that we have been honored to help over the years in designing and printing their practice brochures.

Welcome Packets or Pocket Folders

When a new client comes to your office for the first time there is a lot of information that needs to be communicated and forms to be filled out.  It is a good practice to have a welcome folder with the forms to fill out and information about your practice for them to take home.

At Ajalon we are experienced experts in planning and producing presentation materials that fit for your office.  If you are looking to upgrade your look, and to present your practice in the best light possible, call or email Ajalon today.  707.528.0288 ajalon@ajalon.com

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

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Notepads

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Notepads are one of the most versatile and appreciated  marketing pieces that people can receive.  Everybody, it seems, likes to have some paper on which to write things down.  I was on a hike the other day in Santa Rosa and started talking to a dentist from Guerneville, Dr. Skyrja, D.D.S.  I was talking about my printing business and he said, “Oh, you are the printer who passes out note pads at the Redwood Empire Dental Society meetings. I have a whole collection of your notepads.”

There you go.  Somebody who I have not really met, remembered my business because of the notepads that I had passed out.  And he kept them.

What more could we want from a marketing piece.  Name recognition, positioning.

Notepads are appropriate for almost any business.  There are memo pads with your logo and some text, custom post it notes, a “to do list” notepad, notepads with individual’s names, graph paper notepads, and then a wide array of occupational notepads.

Persons in the medical, dental, real estate, building and contracting, professional, or services industries can all use notepads.  Whether you are a carpet cleaner, florist, photographer, dry cleaners, jeweler, electrician, architect or painting contractor, it can be profitable for your business that perspective clients have a notepad with your name, phone number and web page on it so that they can easily reach you when they need your services.

Ajalon can produce any size notepad you want with any number of sheets per page. We produce top quality pads at very competitive prices.  We print in one, two or full color and we offer free delivery in Sonoma County.

We can handle your artwork and design, use your graphics, do all of the printing and binding operations so that you can receive your pads quickly and at affordable prices.  Give us a call today.  707-528-0288

Written by David Walrath

Ajalon Printing & Design

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Labels

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Labels are almost a non-ending category.  Labels actually seem to have more applications than the rest of the printing industry put together.  Here in Santa Rosa, centered in the great wine country of Sonoma County, we easily think of wine labels. But wine labels are only a tip of the label industry.

Here is just a short listing of the types of labels: anniversary seals, embossed anniversary seals, asset tags, bar code labels, bumper stickers, business card magnets, vinyl decals, fan folded custom labels, foil labels, hang tags, laser labels, name tags, roll labels, sheet labels, short run custom labels, tamper proof seals, security stickers, window decals. And did I mention wine labels?

In this dizzying array of offerings, it is good to have a printing business like Ajalon Printing to help you with your label printing needs.  We can help you sort through the many different requirements that you have for your label and help you choose the best product that will serve your needs.

We can simplify your label shopping by helping you decide what the best solution is to your labeling needs.  Applying the wrong label to a product can make the product unsellable.  That can be expensive.

And we can help you with your label design.  If you aren’t sure exactly what you want on your label, our designers can work with you in creating exactly what you want.

If you only need a few labels and you need them fast, Ajalon can step right up and help you. If you need thousands of specialty labels that have to be a specific size, again we can produce them for you.  Sheets of labels or rolls of labels, we are ready to help you.

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Black and White and Color Copies

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

We used to have a copy center in downtown Santa Rosa and before that we were the Ajalon Lettershop in Sebastopol.  We migrated from letterpress printing to offset printing and into the copying business. We still do all those things, now we just use computers in the process.

What this means for the somebody who wants to get something printed is that with digital printing we can produce the quantity that you need at a cost savings to you.  This is particularly true with color printing.  Short runs of full color printing are now economically done.

It used to be that in order to produce a full color brochure the only way to do that was to put down the four process colored inks, cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black.  This was expensive and only made sense with long runs over several thousand.  Quality was good; however, set up expenses were high and short runs meant individual pieces could be quite costly.

With digital printing it is now possible to apply the same four color process, but it is done directly from a digital file.  This saves all the production costs of film and plating and the time to set up the proper inking.  All this means that we can produce printed pieces for you at a cost savings.

So printing and copying have changed and merged and the distinctions that used to be made no longer hold up. The old adage, printing is expensive, copying is cheap but the quality isn’t there, is no longer true.  Today printing is economical and copy quality is very good.  The two worlds continue to meld and the winner is our customers.

Ajalon has been helping businesses with their communication needs here in Sonoma County for over 50 years and we will continue to stay on top of the printing marketplace so that we continue to give you great service and value.

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Books, Biographies and Manuals

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

It used to be that books were something that big, mega sized companies published and the rest of us bought  in bookstores. But that is no more.  Ajalon Printing & Design has printed as few as 20 books for a gentleman from Oakmont.  Conversely, we have printed tens of thousands of books for John Lee MD Solutions in Sebastopol.

With the computer and the digital world upon us, it is possible to print most any size or quantity of books.  It can be a short run of poetry books for a reading in Petaluma or the book faire in Santa Rosa.  We can do perfect binding (soft bound), so that the book looks like a regular trade paperback.

Or for that especially precious biography, we can do a hard cover book in a large or small quantity.

We do many different types of binding from plastic spiral binding or comb binding.  Wire-0 or velo binding.   Or the traditional saddle stitched pamphlet or chapbook.

We love helping our clients with their books.  For some people this might mean even scanning something previously printed for which there is no digital file.  Scanning can be done quickly and it is a lot easier than retyping many pages.

Some people bring in books created in Microsoft Word and we can format them for printing into a book of a traditional size paperback.  We can add art or pictures to a book and help in the layout.

So book printing is right up our alley.  We have been helping folks from all over Sonoma County with their bookmaking needs.  After we do a book, often times people bring in their friends so that we can help them.

With our letterpress we can produce beautiful poetry books where the type kisses the fine 100% cotton paper and leaves a sweet impression.  The quality of the written document literally makes an impression that is beautiful and classic.

So we aren’t one of those big publishing houses, but if you want to self publish a book or just get a few copies of a manual printed, Ajalon Printing can help you.  Give us a call today.

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