Here are some of our favorites at Amsterdam Printing:
1. Golf Tournament Pack. Your company will be remembered every step along the way, thanks to this sharp pack that comes with two golf balls of your choice.

2. Promotional Pro Am Golf Umbrella. Perfect for golf tournament attendees and also off the course (think school outings and corporate events). These are large and durable, which is just what you need when you’re braving the elements.

3. Cotton Twill Golf Visor. Perfect for golfers and anyone who likes to play in the sunshine. Seven cools colors to choose from.

4. Promotional Tall Tees Pack with Divot Tools and Markers. Golf lovers will especially appreciate this product, and your business will appreciate the exposure.

5. Custom Titleist Golf Balls. It’s the brand that golfers love and respect. Now you can custom print your company name/message alongside one of the legendary names in golf.

Do you ever play in charity golf tournaments or take part in corporate golf outings? What are some of the promotional products you’ve encountered (or what are some you’d like to see, in addition to what we listed above)? Share in the comments.

1. Not being realistic about how much an event costs. Unless you’ve recently planned an event, it’s easy to experience sticker shock. While we recommend having a budget in mind before you start any planning, this may be difficult to do if you have no idea what things cost. We recommend talking to two to three potential venues to find out a typical cost per person for food and beverage, which is one of the largest expenses, as well as entertainment, décor, and venue rental. From there, you’ll be able define your budget.

2. Not having focus. You need to have an established purpose for the event (e.g. charity event vs. networking event), reasonable expectations, and the ability to measure outcomes. Are you raising awareness, raising money, building your brand, thanking employees, appreciating customers, or something else? Don’t have an event “just because.” Have a specific goal/purpose and organize the event around this purpose.

3. Not being aware of “minimums” in the fine print. Many large venues have minimums for food and beverage, which does not include tax, gratuity, and fees. So even though you think you can get by with a small menu, it might not be possible at that venue. If you plan to do a cash bar, you should confirm with the venue that the proceeds of the cash bar can work against your minimum.

4. Not understanding the concept of “packages.” Many venues have “package” deals that they will offer that include room, food, beverage, decorations, transportation, etc. This is good if you have limited resources to go out and look for all of the vendors yourself, but know that they are building in the “convenience” up-charge and that you could end up spending more than if you did outsource on your own. Also, the packages may include things that you don’t need for your event.

5. Not knowing when to hire a professional event planner. Be careful when determining who is going to run the event planning. Make sure it isn’t someone who is going to get caught up in the office politics that invariably come from these activities, or someone who “loves to throw parties.” It’s quite different planning your son’s seventh birthday party than it is planning an awards event for 150 people. Know when it might be appropriate to bring in an outside planner to help play “bad cop.”

6. Not being aware of too much self-promotion. If you’re planning a corporate event with clients, avoid too much self-promotion — the event shouldn’t be all about you and your company. If you’re planning an event to thank customers or employees or to raise money for a charity, then the event should be focused around this specific purpose, not your company. (Don’t worry — your organization will still get props for the event!)

7. Not thinking about your attendees’ needs. Make sure that you select a location that not only fits into your budget, but is also in close proximity to where your potential attendees are coming from. Make it easy for them to attend.

8. Not thinking through logistics. Check out all of the venue’s logistics. Is there parking? If so, how expensive is it? How is the traffic in that area at that time of the day/night? Are you selecting a date the makes sense for your attendees? For example, if you want the “after work” crowd, don’t schedule your event on Saturday night.

9. Not allowing for time to mingle with guests. Don’t make your event so chock full of different elements that you’re too busy to meet and greet guests. Spending quality time with your attendees will likely be an important thing to you, your team, and your event’s overall purpose. Bring in help for the event (e.g. for the registration area) so that you can actually make those connections and assure your purpose is met.

10. Not thinking beyond the one big night. Just like a marriage is more than the wedding day, so is an event. Don’t have an event and think that’s the end of it. Look at ways to extend the life of the party. How can you follow up with the guests and/or give them something to remember? Hint: think promotional products, such as:

• Custom totes. Imprint your logo on them and fill ‘em up with fun stuff (this can work well if your event has outside sponsors – the sponsors can provide items for the bags). People love custom tote bags because they’re re-usable…perfect for grocery shopping.

• Fundraising pens. These are great for non-profit events like year-end galas or silent auctions. Keep plenty of them handy at all the tables/stations and encourage people to take them home.

Can you think of any more pitfalls to avoid? Share in the comments.

(Oh, and a special thanks to Jennessa Durrani, an event planner out of Boston, who provided insights for this blog post.)

Your wish is our command! Here are 10 questions to ask yourself as you plan your special event. (A special thanks to event planner Jennessa Durrani from Celebrate for her insights.)

1. What’s your budget? You can’t start anywhere until you have your threshold for how much you can spend. Once you have that, you can back into the event and determine the totals for each category (e.g. food, entertainment, etc). Be sure to include everything, from location and catering, down to the smallest detail, such as promotional products for your goodie bags.

2. Where will you be holding the event? Ah, location, location, location! Similar to wedding planning, the location for a special event is something you need to determine right after you settle on a budget. You can determine everything else after that, including the date. Keep in mind that larger and/or popular venues, such as hotels, are often booked months (and sometimes years) in advance.

3. What’s your vision for the décor? The location you choose will influence the answers to some of these questions, such as does the space need decorations, centerpieces, special lighting, etc. You should also ask the manager of the venue what restrictions, if any, the location has when it comes to decorating for the event.

4. What will you feed guests? Does your venue include food or do you need to hire a caterer? That’s the big question. If the venue provides food, you’ll work with someone there to come up with a menu that fits your budget. If you need to hire a caterer, we recommend talking to three to four caterers and getting quotes.

5. What’s the theme? It’s important to establish a theme or concept for the event. In addition to making the event more fun and cohesive for your guests, it will also inform the decisions you need to make each step along the way. For example, a Hawaiian luau theme will drive the decisions you make concerning colors and decorations, food, promotional products, etc.

6. What’s the schedule? Create a production outline for your event. When will your event start, what will your guests be doing when they arrive, what will happen during the middle of the event, how will your event close? It’s important to determine the flow of the event (and to make sure you don’t have too much – or too little – planned for the time period).

7. Will you need entertainment? The answer is probably yes. So, what are you going to do at this event? Will you need a DJ, comedian, keynote speaker? Even a networking-only event will need some sort of MC to start and close the event.

8. How about graphics? What’s the look and feel of the event? Does it have a title/name? A special logo? Develop a graphic that you can use throughout the event (including invitations, advertising, and promotional products).

9. How will you promote the event? Just as you’ll be creating a schedule for the event itself, you should also create a promotional schedule. Create a calendar for press releases, advertising deadlines, newsletters, social media (i.e. when you’ll promote the event through tweets, Facebook updates, etc), when the invitations will ship, etc.

10. Who will handle on-site logistics? Who will be the main point person on the day of the event? How many other people will you need in addition to this person (for things like registration)?

BONUS QUESTION: What sort of party favors will you offer guests? Remember, promotional products always add a nice touch to special events and provide an additional way to get the word out about your business, charity, or cause you’re promoting.

Here are two promotional items that make perfect event favors:
Custom umbrellas. Umbrellas are useful and a great way to display your business logo and name.

Custom Frisbees. These are especially perfect for spring and summertime events.

Have you planned a special event recently? Do you have any other important questions you think people should ask? Share in the comments.

By the way, later this week, we’ll be posting part 2 – the 10 pitfalls to avoid when planning events. Stay tuned!

What is camera-ready art? “Camera-ready” refers to art and copy that is ready to be imprinted onto a product without being retouched, reworked, or otherwise “cleaned up” by the art department. Learn more about Amsterdam Printing’s requirements for camera-ready artwork.

What are hex values and RGB? In print design, colors are defined by red, green, and blue color values (RGB). In HTML, a hexadecimal (i.e. “six”) notation is used to identify the red, green, and blue color values. For example, the RGB for black is “rgb (0, 0, 0)” and the hex value is “#000000.” Don’t worry – it sounds complicated, but it’s not. A tool that’s great for the lay person is Color Cop. It’s free. Just download it to your computer, and you can get the hex value or RGB used in an existing graphic, such as your company logo.

What’s the difference between high-resolution and low-resolution images? Resolution refers to dots or pixels that appear in an inch (on printed docs or on digital displays). You’ll often see these abbreviations: dpi (dots per inch) or ppi (pixels per inch). Print documents typically require a much higher resolution than what you need on digital displays, like your computer’s monitor. Here’s a great article from eHow.com that goes into more depth on the difference between high and low resolution.

What’s the difference between raster and vector graphics? Raster graphics are made up of pixels (think jpegs and gifs). Vector graphics are made up of paths, also known as lines, that are straight or curved (think .eps files). Raster graphics don’t scale well, but vector graphics do, which is why they’re preferred for design production. See the example below, which illustrates the difference.

Remember, at Amsterdam Printing we offer full-color promotional products, which can really help your promotional product stand out. If you have more questions involving design or artwork, be sure to check out our FAQs on all things related to full-color promotional products and printing.

If you’re ready to place an order with us, be sure to check out this video on how to upload your logo to Amsterdam Printing.

But maybe those good intentions have fallen by the wayside. (Sound familiar?) Not to worry! It’s the perfect time of year to get back on track.

All that said, we understand settings goals with employees and reviewing their performance can be just as stressful for YOU as it is for them.

Here are six tips to make sure it’s a productive and stress-free session.

1. Lead with the good. You’ve likely heard this tip before, but it’s worth repeating: start with the positive. People need to hear what they’re doing well. It will help build their confidence, put them at ease, and show them the things they should continue doing.

2. Be consistent. When we say consistency, we mean from top to bottom: be consistent in how often you have performance reviews and goal-making sessions. Be consistent in the amount of time you give to each employee. Be consistent in the manner in which you perform reviews (e.g. open with the positive), and be consistent in your treatment of employees. As for how often you meet, it will depend on the type of company you have, but it certainly can’t hurt to sit down with each employee every quarter.

3. Be organized. These sessions can be stressful enough (for all involved!). Don’t make them even more stressful by pausing or stopping the session because you can’t find the right human resource forms or you’ve grabbed the wrong set of paperwork. Invest in tools that will keep everything organized, such as these comprehensive employee history folders and these promotional padfolios, like the one pictured to the right.

4. Be reasonable. The goals you and your employees set together should be ones they can reasonably achieve in the time period you’ve identified. Sure, it’s good to throw in a “reach” goal — one that they may or may not achieve due to time constraints and other issues. But the majority of the goals should be ones they can accomplish. If you discover during your next sit-down session that your goal-making was too aggressive, then scale back and/or adjust expectations. Don’t set up your employees to fail — help them succeed!

5. Seek help/coaching if you need it. Still uncomfortable or unsure if you’re doing the most effective job during these sessions? Seek some objective advice and guidance from someone like a business coach or HR consultant.

6. End with something positive and schedule the next session. Just as you opened with something positive about your employee’s performance, you should strive to end on an “up” note as well. Also, the conclusion of the meeting is the perfect time to schedule the next session (which reinforces the consistency concept above and also shows your employee you’re serious about the items you discussed during the meeting).

If you manage employees, how often do you meet with each individually, and what tips can you offer to make the meetings go smoothly? Share in the comments.

Check out the video below to learn more about our laser engraving process at Amsterdam Printing.

Of course, reaching out to — and successfully working with — programs in the community will take some effort and organization. Here are some tips that can guide you and your company.

How to structure community outreach programs:

You could approach this in a few ways. Here are some ideas:

• Each year, choose a new charity/cause to support and make it THE focus for the year.
• Change it up quarterly/seasonally – for example, you might sponsor a little league team in the spring and a breast cancer walk in October.
• Make it more casual. Let employees know that a fund exists for community outreach. Assign someone to handle requests (such as your HR person) and decide what causes you’re going to support on a case-by-case basis.

Some community outreach program ideas:

• Sponsor a team. It could be a youth sports team in the local community or an adult softball team that’s raising money for a specific cause.
• Sponsor a walk. There are walks for every cause imaginable from breast cancer awareness to Alzheimer’s awareness.
• Organize a “volunteer day.” This would be a day where you and all of your employees or organization members volunteer at a specific event or charity. Another option: offer employees one paid day a year to volunteer at their favorite charity. Get the biggest bang for your buck and promote your organization while you’re at it by having employees wear a custom printed T-shirt with your company’s logo (and, of course, a logo or verbiage supporting the charity).
• Create an event. For example, for the months of November and December, you might accept online and in-store donations, and for each sale you make, you donate a percentage to a favorite charity. Or perhaps you hold a yearly dinner honoring the good works your employees do in their lives outside of work and you have a silent auction that raises money for a specific charity.

You get the idea. There’s no right or wrong answer here – the key is for you and your employees to be passionate about whatever it is you’re supporting.

Promote the goodwill:

• Help create awareness for the program you’re supporting – this will, of course, help your business, but it will also create exposure for the charity/event/cause in question, which is a good thing. Many smaller organizations rely on others to help get the word out about the work they’re doing.
• Create a section on your website. “Community Outreach” is a perfect section to include under “About.” Customers and prospects like to see businesses that do good things. Highlight what you’re doing this year, but be sure to archive information about past programs as well.
• Alert the press. This is especially important if you’re hosting or organizing your own event. However, you could also send a press release out on behalf of an individual. For example, if one of your employees is using her vacation time to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, send a press release on her behalf to the weekly or daily paper in her town. Smaller newspapers are often looking for ideas for features on people living within the community.
• Tell your customers. Use all the ways you’re connected to customers — email newsletters, social media, etc. — and let them know about the charity or event your company is supporting.
• Think visual reminders. The best way to represent the work you’re doing when you’re “in the trenches” (e.g. taking part in a walk or volunteering somewhere for a day) is by having promotional products handy. Promote your business AND the charity in question. Here are some ideas.

1. Custom t-shirt printing. These are perfect items to offer organizations you’re sponsoring, such as sports teams. You provide the shirts, and you get promotional exposure through the inclusion of your logo.
2. Water bottles. Offer these to employees and encourage them to take the promotional water bottles with them to whatever events they attend. Or make the water bottles available at events you hold.
3. Event-specific promotional products. A great example is breast cancer merchandise, such as custom shirts or pink ribbon hats.

What do you think? Has your organization tried embracing community outreach programs as an employee morale booster? Share your thoughts or experiences in the comments.

Here are five of our favorites:
1. Custom lanyards. Wear it around your neck and promote your business. Use it for ID badges, keys, or even a lucky charm — the choice is yours.

2. Hand sanitizers. This a no-brainer for health professionals, and it’s a product that’s bound to get a lot of use from the people you hand it out to.

3. Stress balls. These are a popular choice among health professionals, given that so many discuss the effects stress has on their patients’ overall health and well being.

4. Custom pedometers. The link between excess weight and poor health is in the news almost daily. So many health professionals encourage their patients to increase their physical activity, and walking is often at the top of the list. By offering pedometers to your patients, you’re giving them a tool that they can start using today (and a subtle reminder to stay in touch with you).

5. Custom badge holders. Perfect for businesses, like nursing homes, which issue badges to employees. Also, health professionals often attend lots of conferences and networking events. The custom badges help to effectively promote your business.

Are you in a health-related business? How do you promote it? Share in the comments.

1. Promotional imprinted blankets that wrap something extra special inside – could be a Kindle, iPad, theater tickets, or dinner and a movie (i.e. dinner gift certificate and movie passes).

2. A personalized padfolio, and instead of business cards in the holder, insert something else like tickets to a show, game, etc.

3. A box of promotional Callaway Hx Diablo golf balls plus a gift certificate for greens fees at a favorite course your customer frequents.

What sorts of special things do you do for your longest, most loyal customers? Share in the comments.

You can’t get through a day without being bombarded by likes and tweets and pins and follows. It’s enough to overwhelm even the most tech-minded soul, which is why we decided to write this post. We’re business owners, too, so we understand the challenges you’re facing as well as the need for smart tips to help you navigate the social media waters. Here are 10 small business social media tips to help you out.

1. Focus on only one social network, at first. Here’s the thing about social media: you can’t expect to become an expert in Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumblr (we could go on), just like that. It takes time to learn and get comfortable with each one, which is why we recommend starting with only one social media platform, getting comfortable with it, and then adding in another. (Rinse, lather, repeat.)

2. Choose wisely. Do you really need to be on all of them? Probably not. While it makes sense that you want to build a strong social presence with wide reach, this strategy will only work if you plan on diligently engaging and using each one.

The other thing to consider? Certain platforms might not make sense for your business. If you’re in a b2c business, like a clothing shop, connecting with customers through LinkedIn probably doesn’t make sense, since it’s more of a b2b atmosphere.

All that said, we do recommend you consider the heavy hitters: Facebook and Twitter. (And, depending on how things play out, Google+ and Pinterest may very well end up in the heavy-hitter category if they prove they have staying power.)

3. Prioritize. Dedicate a certain amount of time each day to social media, even if it’s just a half hour. Block it into your calendar if you have to. Not being on a particular network isn’t going to kill you. But starting a social media account and then abandoning it after a few weeks doesn’t look good.

4. Take advantage of apps that will make your life easier. Certain apps, such as HootSuite and Ping.fm, allow you to update ALL of your social media accounts from one easy-to-use interface. HootSuite also allows you to schedule updates in advance. Note: we actually recommend doing manual updates for certain social media like Facebook, since FB is all about the status updates, how you word them, and what pictures are “pulled” from links. But for other networks, especially Twitter, automating and scheduling stuff in advance is a lifesaver.

5. Experiment. Sometimes business owners are so worried about making a mistake they forget that, for the most part, much of social media is still new territory. Using it well is more of an art form, rather than a science. While there are social media best practices, it’s still important to experiment with what you post, how you word things, when you post, and how often you post. That’s the only way you’ll be able to determine the “sweet spot” for your customers/prospects on that particular medium. Be aware that what works on one may not work on another.

6. Delegate/share. The best way to spread the social media “time investment” is by sharing the workload. If you have employees or interns, this is a great way to empower them. Add them as admins for social media accounts (make sure you’re still an admin, though!) and give them some freedom/latitude to experiment.

If you’re worried about what they’re going to post and whether they’re going to accurately represent your company, consider creating a brief “style guide,” which outlines things, such as how to refer to your company in social media (e.g. are initials and shortened names okay?) and what topics to avoid (e.g. sharing anything political in nature). Your company culture and the way customers perceive your company will help inform what sorts of things will be acceptable to post. An “edgier” company, for example, might get away with posting more controversial topics, whereas a more traditional company, such as an accounting firm, should probably avoid off-color topics.

7. Learn. The best way to get comfortable with social media is to read up on it. Love Facebook and believe it’s critical to your business? Consider subscribing to something like All Facebook, which provides a daily digest of all things FB. Enchanted by Twitter? Consider downloading HubSpot’s Twitter guide for business. The info you seek is a simple Google search away.

8. Promote. Once you’ve got your accounts up and running smoothly, don’t forget to promote them! You should have social media icons on your website, your advertising, your email signatures, and your promotional products – you get the idea.

9. Understand that traditional ROI doesn’t apply to social media. Traditional calculations for return-on-investment (ROI) doesn’t apply to social media. While you can certainly measure and keep track of certain things, such as likes, followers, and re-tweets, it’s harder to measure your social media efforts against sales, which is why we recommend taking the long view.

Social media is all about relationships, and building solid relationships takes time. How you and your company act on a day-to-day basis on different social media platforms WILL influence customers and prospects. And, over time, these folks may very well buy. But again, it takes time. View social media as a way to expand your reach, stay relevant in your field, and help foster the notion that when someone is ready to buy your particular products or services, all the efforts you’ve done in the social media space will help make sure your company is front and center in your prospect’s mind.

10. Have fun (in other words, BE SOCIAL). Don’t forget, it’s called social media for a reason. Give yourself permission to have fun! If a particular platform ever feels like an albatross around your neck, that’s an indicator that that particular medium is probably not the right one for your business.

Do you use social media for your business? Which network is your favorite and why? Share in the comments.