Starbucks: How To Recruit For The Love And Meaning Of It.

In the previous post, “What’s love got to do with it?” I reported that most of today’s aspiring entrepreneurs say they do NOT put money first when they think of launching something of their own.

Instead, they want something they love, something that matters to them, where they can be their own boss, and then, yes, also earn some money with it.

I suggested that if we are to take them at their word, we’d better think of ways and language to attract these kinds of people to us. They’re waiting for us.

So, instead of leading with the money, or how grand the opportunity is, or how the company is positioned to be the preeminent provider of XYZ product, we offer these people something completely different - something that matches more what they say they seek.

Here’s how Starbucks attracts such people.

Big sign in Starbucks on the Plaza in KC:

“HIRING EVENT: At Starbucks you can make a difference in someone’s day–and in your career…Date and place…”

That’s it. No talk of the money, such as it is, or the bennies, which ARE nice, no talk of how wonderful the company is, or how proud they should be to be able to work at (truly) one of the top companies in the world, blah blah blah.

Nope. Just…Here, you can make a difference in someone’s day–

Think of the kind of person who responds to that. I’m sure that explains why they have the most friendly people working at those stores around the world. It is NOT the money, that’s for sure. It’s tiny compared to the lofty money promises network recruiters hold out.

I just want a chance to “make a difference in someone’s day…” Indeed.

If there’s any doubt in your mind about how little ‘big’ money means to some of the most committed people in the world, think missionaries or volunteers. Or, think of the people lined up by the hundreds and thousands to work at Google, or Nordstroms.

It’s not the money that draws them, because the pay is not special. It’s the people there they want to be around, the feeling the community gives, the chance to max out your brain, your efforts, helping people get what they want, whatever it is…somehow, to make a difference and be part of a community that values and celebrates that.

In Rushkoff’s uplifting and provocative book, Get Back in the Box ( kimklaverblogs.blogspot.com/2006/03/did-we-fall-out-of-box.html ) he notes that “Apple is still widely considered one of the best places in the computer business to work. Apple workers still feel they are saving the world.” And look at the cool stuff they come out with! iPod, anyone? No, it’s not the money there, either.

In our business more than any other I have been connected with, I hear the same desire: people who’ve had a special product (or business) experience, who now want to save those who still have the problem.

Only network marketers have never learned the words to use, so they come across like sales types. But this can be remedied. The attitude, however, needs no remedy. It needs a chance to be seen and heard, to be put front and center by anyone in the business who shares that perspective. Does that sound like you?

If so, isn’t it time we do like Starbucks?

What if we could build up and promote that kind of community within our business? You know, for those of us where meaning matters more than money…

P.S. Just in from a 20-year veteran in Shaklee: “My greatest joy is to

experience people turning their health around.” -Margo C.

How To Write A Great Sales Letter–When You Hate To Write

I can sit here all day giving you tips and hints on headlines and phrases that sell. But none of it will do you any good if you just plain hate sitting down at the keyboard.

If you can’t stand writing, you’re in good company. Most of us feel the same. I once asked a high school English teacher how many of her 300 students liked to write. “Oh, about 9 of them,” she said.

Everyone from Mark Twain to Bart Simpson has faced a blank sheet of paper for hours with no idea of what to put on it. Well let me give you a few ideas from my office of professional writers. In the world of non-fiction writing, being a professional doesn’t necessarily mean being a great writer. It does mean you have to be able to conjure up great copy every single day, even when you don’t feel well or aren’t in the mood.

The first step is just to get something on paper–anything! And I do mean anything. Just start writing down whatever comes to mind. If you can’t think of anything, write “I’m sitting here and I can’t think of anything to write.”

Yes, that sounds pretty stupid. But it’s exactly the technique a lot of top writers use to get the creative juices flowing. Next you’ll find yourself typing “I need to write a sales letter to promote my new software. It’s software to help people get organized. Most people have lots of information, but they can’t remember where they put it. This software has people organize their information in a system that makes it super easy to find, in just seconds.”

Wow! You’re writing, you’re telling your story, and best of all, you’re not worrying about being bad because you know you can go back later and change it all.

One top writer copies and pastes favorite lines from other sources (like the client’s web site.) Then she rewrites those sections in her own words so that they are completely original. That’s enough to get her going. Next she fills in additional fresh copy between the blurbs she has already completed. Even on days when she would rather be anywhere but behind a computer, she cranks out first rate copy in record time.

Another method is to just start talking. Talk into one of those little tape recorders you get at Radio Shack. Pretend you’re telling your best friend, your mother, or Paris Hilton all about your big idea. Go into all the details. Talk it all out. Later, go back, listen, and take notes. Your notes will be the start of your email message.

Don’t type very well? 60 percent of North Americans can’t type. Hunting keys often makes writing frustrating if not impossible. Follow in the tradition of a great many very famous writers. Pick up a cheap ballpoint pen and write down your ideas with the good old handwriting you learned in second grade. Then have someone type it up.

The key is to just get something, anything, on your computer screen or on paper. Once you have that, start to edit. The copy will take on a life of its own and the writing will come easier. Or, simply hand your first attempts to a professional writer. Most can churn your notes into polished copy faster and cheaper than they can write entirely new copy.

10 Income Streams You Can Add to Your Business (And Increase Your Bottom Line)

In a nutshell, multiple streams of income means your business has more than one way to make money. For instance, you sell products and you sell services. Those are different streams of incomes. But that’s just the beginning. Below are 10 ideas of different income sources you can use to increase your business’s bottom line:

1. Sell a variety of services. Or you can bundle your services into packages depending on what your typical client is looking for. But be careful about this one. Don’t spread yourself too thin. You want to offer a few different services or a choice of packages but you don’t want too many options because it’s very difficult to market yourself effectively.

2. Sell your own products. These can be information products (books, home study courses, CDs, special reports, etc.) or they can be physical products. You can also group similar products into product lines. Then you can upsell, downsell or cross-sell products to different customers on your list.

3. Sell other people’s products (or services). Here’s where you become an affiliate. Basically how it works is once you’re approved to be an affiliate, you get your own link. Anytime someone uses that link and buys a product, you can a percentage of the sale. That percentage can be anywhere from 10 percent (mostly for services) to more than 50 percent.

Which leads me to my next tip:

4. Put together your own affiliate program. Now you can get other people to market your products and services, and the only time you pay them is when they actually sell something! How cool is that!

5. Create a teleclass, seminar, workshop or other event. This can be a one-time deal or a series of classes. (But if you do this, make sure you record it so you can sell those later.) The nice thing about this tip is it’s a good blend. You can reach groups of people at one time while at the same time providing a personal touch.

6. License one of your programs or services. This is a neat idea if it works in your business. (For instance, a coach could license tools or a program to other coaches.) I don’t know much about this one, but Suzanne Falter-Barnes sells a program that can teach you how to do it.

7. Create a paid membership site. Not only will you be getting regular income each month, but you’ll also building your customer base — people who are interested in purchasing your products and services. It’s much easier to sell to people who are already customers than to find new ones. Plus people like being a part of a community, and becoming a member of something is a good way to do it.

8. Start a continuity program. This is similar to a membership site where you charge a monthly fee for a product or service. Maybe you create a paid newsletter subscription or you offer monthly coaching calls or you interview successful people. Whatever it is, it’s something people find valuable enough to pay you a small, but regular, monthly fee.

9. Sell ads on your web site or e-zine or whatever. This one is probably not going to make you rich, but it could turn into a nice little income stream depending on how many people are looking at your e-zine or web site.

10. Use Adsense. This is when you allow Google to place its pay-per-click ads on your web site or blog. In return, every time someone clicks on one of those ads, Google will pay you a percentage. Pretty nifty program, huh? Anyhow, I do think this is one you have to be a little careful with. Most of the time I don’t think people clicking away from your web site is a good thing (especially since they’ll be going to one of your competitors). But there are times when this is very appropriate. For instance, maybe you’ve developed a web site or blog around a hobby. Or maybe you build a web site or blog for the express reason of selling Adsense. Once it’s set up, you just ca^sh the checks.

Creativity Exercise — Find time to create multiple income streams

Probably the hardest part of creating multiple income streams is finding the time, especially when your primary business is service-based. So, now that you know how important it is, how are you going to find the time to start doing it?

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

* Hire a virtual assistant (VA) or bookkeeper to take care of some tasks you have no business doing anyway.

* Create systems in your business so you can complete business tasks faster and more efficiently.

* Raise your prices so you can take on fewer clients and make more money.

* Dedicate a Saturday or Sunday to working on your business. (Be careful with this one as you could very quickly end up burning yourself out.)

Get a pen and paper and do some brainstorming to see how you can find more time to start creating more income streams.

Booklet Designing, Tips, and It

Pamphlets, brochure, leaflets, folder, catalogs, etc. are just some of the different types of booklet. Booklets have many uses for us, especially for business companies. Companies use booklet as their promotion tool in order for them to market their products and services to us as their prospective consumer. Booklets are the perfect way for companies to show to their prospective customers what they can offer for them.

Booklets are not only important for business companies but also for us as their valued consumer. We need to have a clear idea of the products and services that they are offering to us.

If you are planning to make a booklet, designing is the first step you must do. However, designing a booklet is not easy. You have so much to consider in order for your readers to appreciate and read your booklet. The layout, imposition, color, contents and its printing are some of the factors you need to consider in creating an effective and informative booklet.

The booklet cover has the great impact for your readers because it is the first seen page of your booklet. So, you should be very careful in planning your booklet cover. The reason is that booklet covers speaks a lot about your company, you must first do a research for the images and photographs that you will be using for the booklet cover, if possible have images and photographs that is related to your business products and services. Do not make wrong indication to your customers which you may get in some vibrant images which are misleading.

Having just some ordinary graphics won’t help your booklet been marketed properly, create a booklet which is neat and informative. For instance typesetting the font, have a bright background with dark letter which will be easy and better to read. Always try to have a light background dark letters and dark background with light letters.

Pages are also important in making a good booklet. Always make the booklet simple in the sense that you must limit the pages of your booklet, it is wise enough that your booklet must only have 2 or 4 pages with all information on it, rather of having 10 pages. A typical consumer just takes couple of minutes to read a booklet, by that time you should be able to leave an impression about your company in the reader mind.

We have now come to the final step process in creating a booklet design, which is selecting your printing company to do the printing job. This final step could be easy because nowadays finding a printing company is easy as 1, 2, 3. Do it online, internet can provide more online printing companies that offers many services. It is also important to find the printing company that has the latest equipments for printing. Lastly, find a printing company who can finish your booklet in a professional way.

5 Tips On Making Your Business Card A Powerful Marketing Tool

When used effectively business cards can be a great marketing tool. In this article we will discuss 5 of the most effective ways that you can use your business cards everyday.

1. Be Creative.

Be creative in the design of your business cards. Business cards do not just need to be bits of paper with your contact details on them. Be creative and give your business cards a use and purpose. Make them a powerful marketing tool in the promotion of your business.

Your aim is to make your business card something that the receiver will want to keep and make use of. This is the difference between a well thought out and designed business card and a piece of paper with your contact details on it that will probably be thrown into the trash.

Give the recipient of your business cards a special offer. For example if you are a school/training centre you may offer ‘first lesson for free with this card’ or if you run a shop maybe you will offer ‘10% of any purchase over $50′.

Whatever your business, there is a creative way to give your business card real value to the receiver. If you can think and implement these new creative ways before your business does, you will have an instant advantage in that area of business, and should definitely see a rise in business if you have promoted you cards correctly.

2. The 1 minute rule

The 1 minute rule basically says, if you talk to a person for longer than 1 minute they should already have one of your business cards in their hand.

This means in conversations you need to find a way to talk about what you do, and be in the position to be able to offer one of your business cards to the person you are talking to in the first minute of conversation. This can be likened to a conversation you may have with someone at the bus stop or on the elevator. The conversation will end in a very short time and you only have a very short time to get your message across, or in this case get your business card to the recipient.

The 1 minute rule is basically just practice to get your business card out there as much as you can. Many people go through all the trouble of ordering business cards just to let them sit in a corner of their office. To use business cards effectively you must be giving them out at every opportunity that you have.

3. Make them keepers

Once you have given your business card to someone what is going to keep it from being thrown in the trash or forgotten about. Unless you are selling necessities it is probably fair to say that most likely they do not need the product/services you are offering at the present moment. Hopefully though in the future will come a time when they are looking for that product/service and that is when your business card still needs to be in the hands of the person.

Why does someone want your business card? If you cannot answer that easily, maybe it is time to think about a new business card design.

Does your business card have valuable information on it? By valuable I mean a map, discount, calendar, measurements, charts or anything relevant to your industry? If it doesn’t, you may want to think about adding a value feature to your business card.

4. Leave them everywhere you go

During a number of trips around a number of businesses in my local area I have noticed piles of business cards on the counters of various businesses. For example a recent trip to my accountant I noticed they had a few piles of business cards on the counter for mortgage lenders, home loans, etc.

This can be likened very much to link swapping that goes on with webmasters looking for business referrals from similar businesses.

Every place that you frequent, you should ask if they mind you leaving a stack of you business card there for their customers. You could try this at your doctors office, your dentist, accountant, lawyer, beauty saloon or hairdresser.

For similar businesses (e.g. accountant > lawyer or money lender) maybe you can arrange to have a stack of their business cards displayed at your business when they offer your business cards at theirs. This can be a very effective way to use you business cards and can have great returns.

5. Ask for an opinion

‘Do you mind if I ask you a quick question? I’m looking for opinions on my new business card’. After asking the question and bringing the topic up hand them a business card. Make sure that they keep it, even if they try to hand it back to you tell them that you have thousands printed already.

Thank the person for their time, and if they ever need the product or service that you are offer that your contact information is on the business card. Even if that person may not directly contact your business, there is always a chance that they may pass your card or business name onto another party.

Even in the worse case they may go home and tell their friend how a nut just came and talked at the bus stop and handed them a business card for his lawn mowing service. That friend may say, ‘I’ve been looking for a good lawn mower’. ‘Here’s the business card I got’. And there is a situation where you may still even get business out of handing your business card to a stranger and even a disinterested stranger.

By following just one of the above five ideas each day, you can turn your business card into a great marketing tool, and see an almost instant increases in business.

The Benefits Of Branding

Branding is the process of creating distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds of consumers. A brand is a persistent, unique business identity intertwined with associations of personality, quality, origin, liking and more. Here’s why the effort to brand your company or yourself pays off.

1. Memorability. A brand serves as a convenient container for a reputation and good will. It’s hard for customers to go back to “that whatsitsname store” or to refer business to “the plumber from the Yellow Pages.” In addition to an effective company name, it helps when people have material reminders reinforcing the identity of companies they will want to do repeat business with: refrigerator magnets, tote bags, datebooks, coasters, key rings, first aid kits, etc.

Memorability can come from using and sticking with an unusual color combination (FedEx’s purple and orange), distinctive behavior (the gas station whose attendants literally run to clean your windshield), or with an individual, even a style of clothing (Author Tom Wolfe’s white suits). Develop your own identifiers and nail them to your company name in the minds of your public.

2. Loyalty. When people have a positive experience with a memorable brand, they’re more likely to buy that product or service again than competing brands. People who closely bond with a brand identity are not only more likely to repurchase what they bought, but also to buy related items of the same brand, to recommend the brand to others and to resist the lure of a competitor’s price cut. The brand identity helps to create and to anchor such loyalty.

Consider the legions of car owners who travel up to 2,000 miles at their own expense to attend a Saturn celebration at the company’s plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. That’s loyalty. And supposedly, more people have the motorcycle brand “Harley-Davidson” tattooed on their body than any other brand name. That’s out-of-this-world loyalty.

3. Familiarity. Branding has a big effect on non-customers too. Psychologists have shown that familiarity induces liking. Consequently, people who have never done business with you but have encountered your company identity sufficient times may become willing to recommend you even when they have no personal knowledge of your products or services. Seeing your ads on local buses, having your pen on their desk, reading about you in the Hometown News, they spread the word for you when a friend or colleague asks if they know a ____ and that’s what you do.

4. Premium image, premium price. Branding can lift what you sell out of the realm of a commodity, so that instead of dealing with price-shoppers you have buyers eager to pay more for your goods than for those of competitors. Think of some people’s willingness to buy the currently “in” brand of bottled water, versus toting along an unlabeled bottle of the same stuff filled from the office water cooler.

The distinctive value inherent in a brand can even lead people to dismiss evidence they would normally use to make buying decisions. I once saw one middle-aged Cambridge, Massachusetts, intellectual argue to several colleagues that Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee tastes better than Starbucks’. So contradictory was this claim to the two companies’ reputations for this demographic group that the colleagues refused to put the matter to a taste test.

5. Extensions. With a well-established brand, you can spread the respect you’ve earned to a related new product, service or location and more easily win acceptance of the newcomer. For instance, when a winery with a good reputation starts up regional winery tours, then adds foreign ones, each business introduction benefits from the positive perceptions already in place.

6. Greater company equity. Making your company into a brand usually means that you can get more money for the company when you decide to sell it. A Coca-Cola executive once said that if all the company’s facilities and inventory vanished all around the world, he could walk into any bank and take out a loan based only on the right to the Coca-Cola name and formula.

7. Lower marketing expenses. Although you must invest money to create a brand, once it’s created you can maintain it without having to tell the whole story about the brand every time you market it. For instance, a jingle people in your area have heard a zillion times continues to promote the company when it’s played without any words.

8. For consumers, less risk. When someone feels under pressure to make a wise decision, he or she tends to choose the brand-name supplier over the no-name one. As the saying goes, “You’ll never be fired for buying IBM.” By building a brand, you fatten your bottom line.

Business Marketing Mistakes: 3 Biggest Marketing Mistakes Every Business Manager Makes

Who hasn’t let a typo slip by or misspelled the CEO’s name or printed the wrong phone number somewhere? Those marketing mistakes don’t warrant an article. In fact, just one word of how-to-fix-it advice is sufficient: proofread!

Here are a few more important marketing mistakes that just about every business manager out there makes, along with a recommended fix that will help you attract more business and get better results from your marketing, regardless of how big or small your marketing budget is.

Mistake #1: We think that marketing is something we ‘do’.

“We need to do some marketing.” It’s the first thing you think when you need to boost business. Problem is, when you think of marketing as something you ‘do’, you’re usually thinking about publicity, direct mail, flyers, email, ads and promotion. Marketing is much more than merely promotion, and it’s rarely a quick fix.

The real fix is to expand your definition of marketing. Instead of thinking of it as something you ‘do’, think of marketing as anything that helps or hinders the sale or use of your product or service. This includes: your location, the attitudes of the person who answers the phone, your name, pricing, policies, proposals, personality and more.

Before you write a promotional word, do a ‘help or hinder’ once-over. Make a list of what’s helping you attract business and what’s getting in the way. Figure out what obstacles you can quickly fix or remove? What ‘helps’ can you enhance or spotlight? Until the help-or-hinder homework is done, working on promotion is premature.

Mistake #2: We breathe too much of our own exhaust.

We are such big believers in our businesses that we can’t wait to show it off. We admire our attributes and inhale our excellence. Then we exhale it all into our marketing communications. The problem is, when you do that, your marketing is all about you. And people don’t care about you. They care about themselves.

If your marketing is going to get any response at all, the first thing it must do is connect to something prospects care about. Connect before you convince. Try this four-step exercise:

1. Describe your products and services. Get the exhaust fumes out.

2. Identify one or two attributes or attraction factors.

3. What is the benefit, the need or the want, that is satisfied by those attributes?

4. Why is that benefit important, personally, to the target audience?

For example, Joy dishwashing liquid (descprition) has real lemon (attribute) that cuts grease and leaves dishes shinier (benefit). What a nice reflection on you! (Connects to what a mother cares about.) Connect to what people want. Not to what you do.

Mistake #3: We all look alike.

A bank is a bank is a bank. Realtors, lawyers and consultants are a dime a dozen. The list goes on. But here’s the good news: the more two businesses look alike, the more important each difference becomes, and the more impact even the tiniest difference will have on setting you apart. Why?

Consider identical twins. What’s the first thing you do when you meet a pair? You try to find a little something to tell them apart. The same is true for your business. Your prospects are looking for a point of difference (just about anything )they can use to set you apart from your competition.

To find your points of difference, start with your points of contact, or ‘touch points’ in your company. Make a list. Business card, fax cover sheet, invoice, phone greeting, front door, home page, etc. Then look at what the competition does and ask yourself how you can do it differently. Just a little bit will make a big difference, because your prospects are looking for them.

For now, try the Help or Hinder, Connect Before You Convince and Find Your Points of Difference tools to make your marketing more meaningful and effective. Be wary, too, of unrealistic expectations, faulty research, deadly bullet points and lack of follow through– four other common marketing mistakes.

More Marketing Dope

Direct marketing can make you very successful, but you’ve got to understand the basics. Here are some more gems of the industry that can take you from being a diamond in the rough to the luminous bling-bling.

When advertising your product or service, honesty is not only the legal and ethical path, but also the path to the highest amount of repeat business.

Many times companies fall into the trap of trying to “lure” customers in to their store. They make claims that are technically true but are worded in a way that make them sound better than they actually are. The company may not be consciously trying to deceive their customer, but none the less if exactly what is advertised is not delivered the customer will feel deceived. This customer is not likely to do business with this company no matter what their advertising offers in the future. List the benefits of your product factually and deliver what is promised and your customers will keep coming back.

When advertising, it is best to outline the benefits of your product or service. Simply naming the features that it has may not show what it can actually do for your customer.

Example: A car company releases a new model of car that features “new indestructible porcelain brakes”. This fact is touted in all of their commercials but the cars aren’t flying off the lot. It is very likely that the customers in their target market, mostly families that are concerned about safety, have no idea what difference these brakes make in the performance of the vehicle. If they had instead advertised the benefit that the car is “equipped with brakes that can stop your car three times faster” it would have given the customer a compelling reason to be interested.

Think about what the benefit of your product or service is and focus on that. If you are a computer maintenance company your product may be “server management and database maintenance” but you will be better off saying that you can help “increase office productivity by allowing easier access to client files”. Many times your customers don’t understand your business. That is why they have to hire you. Make sure to explain to them not only what you do, but how it can help them.

When a customer gives you their email address you have one more way to get your message to them.

One of the best ways to supplement Direct Mail Marketing is Direct Email Marketing. However, unlike direct mail marketing, unsolicited email marketing is illegal. You can’t just go out and buy a list of email addresses and start sending to them. There is one way to purchase lists for emailing called “opt in” lists but this method is not recommended because the rate of people on the list that actually “opt in” to receiving your promo is very low. This is why you should always collect customers’ email addresses as you are getting their physical addresses.

Also be sure not to slam your customers with too much email promotion. I recommend not sending more than one email per week to each client. Not only will this keep you from angering your customers, it will also keep up the interest level and keep your emails from getting deleted before they are even opened.

If your company is planning on emailing specials or a Monthly Email Newsletter you will need to have this list for them to be effective. If you are not planning on contacting customers and prospects via email, you should be!

Work For Results

The internet today comes with promises of wealth and fame. This allows many to dream of riches and notoriety. The opportunity is out there but the fact is that most people don’t have a clue how to get there.

So many think that they can achieve this prosperity by just showing up. Unfortunately, that is not the way this ball bounces.

Is there a simple answer? I don’t think there is a single simple answer, yet how to be successful on the internet is pretty basic. You have to be willing to work. Work at what you may ask?

First thing is to work hard at learning everything you can about your chosen field. I would suggest to read and study the people who have had success in the past. There is a endless supply of knowledge floating around out there and you want to read as much of it as you can.

When I first started trying to make a living on the net, I thought I was wise enough to do it on my own. It sure didn’t take long to figure out that was a joke. When I started paying attention to what some of the successful marketers were doing, I started making money myself.

People pay thousands of dollars to go to college to get the information needed to be successful. Yet most are not willing to pay a hundred dollars for educational information on the net. This is not to say that you should go spend thousands of dollars for an internet education but there is information worth paying for.

Now you have read and you have read some more and you are ready to start working on the internet. It is now time to put in some more of that hard work. Work is the key ingredient to get you where you want to go.

Part of the learning experience is to learn how to work. When I first started on the net, I wasted much valuable time. The problem was that I did not know what kind of work was worth the time. This is part of the education that comes with experience. You will find that managing your time well is very important. May be time to read some more.

The internet is a great place for anyone who wants to work and work is the key word. There is money to be made but it is not going to jump in your lap just because you showed up.

Color Meaning–Unlock the Symbolism and Color Psychology of Common Colors

Color is a magical element that gives feeling and emotion to art, design, and advertising. By understanding color meaning, (or the psychology of color) you can choose the right color to support and emphasize your design.

A dominant color or overall color scheme can determine the tone of your document. Certain colors will help your product, corporate document, or advertisement attract specific target audiences and evoke desired responses.

The information below provides generally accepted guidelines on the symbolic meanings of color and how you can use color more effectively in your marketing pieces.

The meaning of the color yellow (including coral, orange, amber, gold)

What it Symbolizes: Energy, caution, warmth, cheer, joy

Yellows are often associated with the following characteristics: homey, friendly, soft, welcoming, moving, excitement, or adventure. Good for press kits, stationery, and shopping bags.

Use yellow for signage in work situations warning of danger. Yellow is also good for any project that needs to evoke feelings of lightheartedness, humor, or friendliness.

The meaning of the color red (including mauve, magenta, crimson, scarlet, poster red)

What it Symbolizes: Power, romance, vitality, earthly, energy

Reds evoke highly charged emotions such as aggression, danger, or love. Red makes us pay attention and catches our eye immediately so use reds on items that need to grab attention.

In the financial arena, red symbolizes a negative direction.

The meaning of the color green (including lime, leaf green, sea green, emerald, teal, sage)

What it Symbolizes: life, foliage, grass, trees, water

Greens are sensuous and alive. Green is associated with the following characteristics: friendliness, dependability, freshness, non-threatening, safe, secure, healthy, strong, expensive, and primitive.

In the business world, green symbolizes growth and prosperity.

The meaning of the color blue and purple (including sky blue, ultramarine, violet, purple, azure)

What it Symbolizes: Peace, law and order, logic, analytical, intelligent, honest, calm, clean, good will, tranquility, compassionate, serious, thoughtful, quiet, reflective, regal, classic, dependable, trustworthiness, tradition, magical.

Blues are often used for older, more mature audiences and situations. Blue is common in financial institutions, hospitals, and legal and medical professions. Purples have long been associated with royalty, magic and power. Purples are often used with feminine, rather than masculine designs.

Make sure the colors you use in your marketing materials attract the attention of your target market. Check color resource design guides or swatch books to discover what color combinations work best to make your designs pop.