The Best Advertising Space You Already Own and Aren’t Using – And How to Get Started Right Now!

Between the complexities of new media marketing and expensive print, radio and TV advertising, making the right advertising choice for your small business (and staying within budget) is a challenge. Worry no longer. The best advertising for your business is right outside your front door. And even better news? You already own the space!

If your business has a storefront, take a good, hard look at your windows. What do they say about your business to the average consumer walking down the street? What impression are you making? If you’re like most businesses, you’ve been so busy worrying about complex advertising strategies that you’ve neglected the most basic and affordable one: window advertising.

Window advertising is a tried and true way to attract customers and showcase your company’s products and services. This proven marketing strategy helps you maximize your revenue while minimizing advertising costs.

Stop selling, start marketing: generate customers who want to buy from you!
If you’re like most small businesses, the rising cost of traditional advertising has made print, radio and TV ads simply unaffordable. The Yellow Pages, once the premier advertising space for local businesses, is overpriced and no longer effective. And for all the hype, online advertising can be expensive (those pay-per-clicks really add up) and ineffective (it’s true; most of your marketing emails go straight to the spam folder).

Advertising is like sending your best salesman out into the world to tell potential customers all about your business. However, if your customers don’t see or read your ads, that’s a pretty big waste of your best salesman (and your money.) And it doesn’t matter how good a salesman you have – if your salesman doesn’t have anyone to talk to, he’s not going to sell anything.

Fortunately, if you’ve got a storefront, you’ve got a window – and that’s all you need for immediate, effective marketing! What does this mean for you? You can finally stop trying to give your customers the hard sell – your window advertisements will increase visibility and naturally bring customers to you! You can finally stop wasting your money on ineffective, over-priced print ads that don’t generate sales leads. And you can finally stop spending your time worrying about the right advertising strategy. You’ll be too busy helping all your new customers!

More impressions, more money: the marketing science behind window advertising.
The effectiveness of marketing is measured not only in dollars generated, but also in impressions. When you buy an online advertisement, for example, you may pay by ‘cost per impression.’ This means that you pay a fixed price every time a person views your advertisement. The greater the number of impressions, the better, as this indicates that more people are seeing your advertisement. For a storefront window, every person that comes by will see your window advertisement, whether they are driving past on their daily commute or walking down the sidewalk to another store. On a busy street or in a popular shopping mall, that adds up to a lot of impressions very quickly, for not a lot of money! In a strip mall, all the stores look the same. Stand out from the other stores with a fun window graphic and watch as the customers start coming!

Bold graphics, bold design: getting the biggest bang for your buck with window advertising.
Let’s face it; simple signs and ordinary lettering is boring. When was the last time a basic sign caught your eye as you walked down the street? If you have a storefront on a busy street, you need an eye-catching sign to attract foot traffic and to stand out to cars driving by.

Fortunately, thanks to the latest technology, window signs can be anything but boring. Using large format digital printers and computer cutters, graphic sign companies can produce custom, eye-catching and fade-resistant graphic displays. Their window perforations and window vinyl will get you noticed! They can even create the illusion of etched or frosted glass for a fraction of the cost of the real thing.

The technical stuff: how window advertising works.
When choosing a type of window advertising, consider your needs. Are you looking to brand your storefront or simply highlight a seasonal special? Are you advertising a storewide sale or a specific product? The most important decision you will make is the team you choose to design and install your window graphics. No matter the job, be sure to choose the reputable, experienced professionals. When properly applied, a window vinyl can last for years. However, improperly applied graphics or poorly designed graphics can sink your marketing plans and end up costing you big bucks. A professional team will take the time to understand your needs and will ensure the job gets done right the first time.

The helpful, friendly folks at Signs Now Mill Creek know the window advertising business inside and out. Signs Now Mill Creek has significant experience producing economical (and creative!) signs and graphics. Have an idea for a design but not sure how to make it work? Their experienced marketing staff and in-house graphic designer will work with you to turn your idea into reality and create a totally custom job. Everything’s made in-house, and they’ll come install it for you. Below is a list of commonly asked questions about the window graphic advertising process. If you have additional questions, just ask the friendly staff at Signs Now Mill Creek for help.

How do window vinyl get applied and how long will it take?
Window vinyl is computer cut and made to fit on either the outside or inside of your window. The process usually takes around 10 days from concept to completion, although jobs can be completed faster under tight deadlines. “Temporary” window vinyls can be custom made or use pre-cut shapes. These vinyls cling to the window and can easily be removed or repositioned multiple times.

How long will my window advertising last?
The short answer: as long as you want it to! Because window vinyl is an outdoor sign, it is always laminated to protect the sign from the elements. Your window advertising is fade and peel resistant, and designed to last for at least five years.

What if I just want temporary advertising?
Looking to highlight a seasonal promotion or special deal? Temporary window vinyls are a cost-effective, eye-catching, creative solution. These designs easily peel on and off the window, and are designed for multiple applications. So feel free to advertise a Valentine’s Day special – with the peace of mind that when the holiday is over, you can easily swap the advertisement out for a spring theme. No mess, no fuss!

Are window graphics see-through?
Some window vinyls can be designed so that you can see through from the inside while the outside observer can only see the marketing graphic. These vinyls are also known as ‘window perfs.’ The one downside to window perfs is that when it is dark outside at night, the perf will not be visible when the interior store light is on. Other vinyls are opaque, and you cannot see through them.

The bottom line: your business simply can’t afford for you NOT to use window advertising!
Your storefront window truly is your company’s ‘window to the world.’ Window advertising is a tried and true way to attract customers and showcase your business’s products and services. You already own or rent the space – so stop wasting money and energy on expensive advertisements and install window graphics today!

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• The seven deadly sins of bad graphic design: what you don’t know can hurt your business! (signsnowmillcreek.wordpress.com)
• How to Create Unique Custom Banners for Your Small Business (business.ezinemark.com)

Your Customers Will See You in a Whole New Light!

Image by taberandrew via Flickr

Window lettering is among the most effective marketing tools available to many entrepreneurs. Depending upon your business location, it may be the single most effective way to attract the attention of passersby. Remember, window lettering is right there at eye level, so it should not only be attractive, it should help you invite customers in to look around and see what you have to offer. Signs Now Mill Creek has perfected techniques for using color, shape and placement to achieve the best possible results from window lettering and graphics. Your customers will see you in a whole new light!

Come into Signs Now Mill Creek today to receive a FREE estimate! We have the best signs in Seattle and we’re right between Lynnwood and Everett. Please visit our website at http://www.signsnowmillcreek.com/, or visit our Facebook Fan Page at www.Facebook.com/MillCreekSignsNow.

Full Service Vehicle Graphics at Signs Now Mill Creek

At Signs Now in Mill Creek (425-481-4900) we provide full service vehicle graphics. Whether you need graphics for a single vehicle or a fleet of vehicles, we will take care of your needs. Replace old graphics with a fresh new look! Get rid of that brittle and cracked lettering and protect your brand. If you’re not concerned about the way your brand looks, then why should your potential customers care about you? Penetrate new markets by driving through them with a fresh new look. Sign up, for Signs Now signature vehicle graphics and Stand Out in a Crowded World!

Signs Now Mill Creek Delivers Graphics with a POW!

Call Signs Now….Now for all your marketing needs at 425-481-4900.

Quickie Refresher About Who We Are and What We Do!

Signs Now Graphic Design Studio
425.481.4900
18002 Bothell-Everett Hwy, Suite 6
Mill Creek, WA 98012

For Self-Promotion and Brand
Consistency, All Signs Point to
Signs Now!

 

What do you look for in a sign center?

Business cards that make people want to keep them?  Right up our alley!  A hanging or wall-mounted building sign telling customers, postal delivery service, and everyone else not just where you are, but who you are?  We love and welcome the challenge.  Or how about something a little more complex…let’s say a building mural or a 30’ convention display complete with all graphic content and verbiage?  Now you’re REALLY speaking our language.

Signs Now does them all, and anything in between you can conceive of!

Still, you have choices…we’re not the only signage company “in town.”  So let’s have a look at what sets us apart…especially since these are the qualities that allow us to help set YOU apart.

Signs Now Signature Services:

• We don’t just make signs….we design them!
• Whether you’re covering a building, wrapping a vehicle, directing, informing, or advertising…we have a solution for your business. Our unique digital solutions allow us to offer a variety of digital color products from small to large, indoors to outdoors. If you can imagine it, we can make it reality.
• We consult with you to make sure we communicate the right message, to the right audience, and with brand clarity and consistency.
• We design and build signs that COMMAND attention.  Whether they’re stand-alone or exist in a convention-like environment, our custom-designed signs will be noticed, attract attention, and remembered.
• Our design ideas and executions are market savvy.  From race-car hip to corporate class and sophistication, count on Signs Now to deliver just what you need…but better than you imagined!

 Large Studio for Enhanced Client Service.

Our Graphics Design Studio is equipped to handle large format printing and lamination.  No matter how small or big your job is we can take it from concept to finished product.  We have a large onsite garage to apply your vehicle graphics/lettering at the right temperature and in a clean environment, so that your graphics adhere effectively to ensure that you maximize your long-term investment.

We have plenty of space inside the Design Studio to assemble Tradeshow, Convention or Exhibit Displays.  Our in-house space also affords you ample space to stand back and view the finished product as your intended audience might view it…from various distances and angles…the acid test of effective and dynamic design!

From the largest of the large, we can also design and build highly portable displays…the kind you can unpack and assemble in a matter of a few minutes, and yet can be large enough cover an entire wall.  They also easily collapse into a small footprint that can tuck inside a portable case with wheels so that you can transport it to client sites or the airport. 

Make It Happen! 

We Specialize In:
Custom Business Cards and Brochures
Tradeshow, Convention, Exhibit Displays
Digital Color Graphics
Vehicle Graphics
Magnetic Materials
Banners
Window Graphics
Labels & Decals
Ready to Apply (RTA) Graphics
Dimensional Letters & Signs
Construction Signage
Real Estate Signage
A-Boards
Retail Signage
Illuminated Cabinets & Faces
Electronic Reader Boards
Way-finding Systems
Monument Signs
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Signage
Directories

 We’re Right Where You Need Us!

Our headquarter is based in Washington State within Snohomish County and covers Mill Creek, Bothell, Lynnwood, Everett, Marysville, Kenmore, Woodinville, Kirkland, Redmond, Bellevue, Edmonds, Mukilteo, Sammamish, Renton, Tukwila, Medina, Mercer Island, Capitol Hill and downtown Seattle as well as the broader Seattle region.

Contact Signs Now…now!  And allow us to perform a little sign magic for you!

Protecting Your Vehicle Wrap Investment

A vehicle wrap can cost you a few thousand dollars depending on the size of your vehicle. If you have a small vehicle, then maybe less than that and if you have a larger vehicle, then maybe a little more. If someone offers you a very competitive or cheap price, then you should immediately be suspicious that corners might be cut. For example, they may only tell you that they are using laminate when in fact they might skip the step entirely and because lamination is transparent and clear in color, it would be hard for you to tell. Or, they could be using an inferior liquid lamination process. Perhaps they are using an old, worn out or out dated lamination machine. Maybe they will rush through your job and cut corners to save time. Among the many ways to produce an inferior outcome, these are just a few that come to mind.

A high quality vehicle wrap is an excellent and cost efficient way to send out your brand identity so that you can stay at the forefront of buyers’ minds when purchase decisions are made. If you drive a vehicle, then why not use it to constantly send out your message and remind the buyers in your market of your brand? By contrast, a Yellow Page ad is very inefficient. You will spend several thousand dollars for a half page ad for one year. It should be no surprise to you that the printed Yellow Pages is losing readers in mass quantity each year as more and more people look for businesses on the internet. Though the internet is quickly becoming an attractive place to advertise your business, it also comes with its own set of headaches. Making sure that your ad is prominently displayed when people search for your business on the internet costs money because it requires expertise to ensure that your ad ranks high in the search listing. The higher the ranking, the more money it will cost you. Because businesses fight over their position within the rankings, that means your ranking could change from day-to-day or week-to-week. That means you need to hire that expertise on a monthly basis to maintain your ranking. If you sum up your monthly cost of rank positioning plus the monthly service cost of experts to keep your ad relevant, then it quickly becomes a lot of money. Also, experts vary in their skill sets and the amount of time that they will spend on you. How do you know you’re getting the best value for your money? Furthermore, how do you know if you have accurately targeted people in your market? Let’s say you own a neighborhood restaurant near the suburbs of Seattle. What good is advertising on the internet if the vast majority of people viewing your internet ad are from every other region except your region? I certainly will not object to having someone from Africa looking at my internet ad, but I’d rather have many more people from my region looking at my ad.

By contrast, a vehicle wrap’s overall cost will be much less than prominent printed or online ads.  You do the work once. You enjoy it for several years without the headache of monthly service fees. What’s more is that your wrap will receive hundreds if not thousands of guaranteed impression per day. It’s conceivable that your wrap will be viewed by well over a million potential buyers during the course of a single year.What’s more is that you have flexibility. You can drive the vehicle through any neighboring region you like.  A printed Yellow Page ad cannot compete like that. An online ad cannot compete like that.

Having said that, you want to protect your vehicle graphics with proper lamination to maximize its durability and to keep the colors looking vibrant and fresh. A proper lamination process will add years to your wrap’s longevity and keep your wrap looking at its best. The ultimate lamination process consists of a machine that will press under high pressure a clear layer of vinyl onto your wrap’s digital image. The laminate will protect the digital image from the sun’s harmful ultra violet light. Without the protection of lamination, the ultra violet light can cause your digital image to prematurely fade. A laminate will also protect your wrap from the harmful effects of pollution, surface scratches, dirt, grime and tar. Always make sure that a proper lamination machine is being used when considering the purchase of a vehicle wrap.

Another inferior method of lamination comes in the form of a can. A lamination liquid is sprayed or brushed onto the surface of the digital print. This method is not recommended. When a liquid laminate is used it makes it harder for the installation process because of all the pre-mask that the installer has to deal with. The additional headache makes it more difficult to install the wrap and that can unintentionally cause deficiencies or flaws during the installation process because the install becomes more tedious. Also, during the install process the liquid laminate can be accidentally rubbed off thereby exposing the digital print and leaving a spot unprotected to the elements. The laminate can also be rubbed off after the vehicle is delivered to the customer simply through regular wear and tear. The liquid laminate will simply not stand up to abrasive road grime or flying debris such as rock.

Finally, a liquid laminate is simply a cheap and inferior way of laminating the wrap. The customer is simply receiving an inferior product. So protect your vehicle wrap through the application of proper lamination techniques.

Signs Now Mill Creek covers: Seattle, Redmond, Woodinville, Kirkland, Bellevue, Everett, Lynnwood, Bothell, Snohomish, Kenmore, Edmonds, Mukilteo, Marysville, Capitol Hill, Sammamish, Renton, Tukwila

Our various touchpoints:

425.481.4900

www.SignsNowMillCreek.com

SignsNowMillCreek.WordPress.com/

www.MySpace.com/SignsNowMillCreek

www.Twitter.com/SignsNowBothell

www.LinkedIn.com/in/SignsNowMillCreek

www.FaceBook.com/SignsNowMillCreek

Frost Doughnuts Addresses:

http://twitter.com/Frostology
www.frostology.com

 

Our Graphic Design Studio

425.481.4900

18002 Bothell-Everett Hwy Suite 6,

Mill Creek, WA 98012

At the intersection of 180th Street SE and Bothell-Everett Hwy

At the border of Mill Creek and Bothell

Across from the 7-Eleven, Silver Dollar Casino and the new Bartell’s Drug Store

Specialties:

Digital Color Graphics (Large/Wide Format)
Business Cards, Brochures
Labels, Decals, Stickers
Tradeshow, Convention, Exhibit Displays
Vehicle, Fleet, Equipment, Product Graphics
Magnetic Materials
Banners
Window Graphics
Ready To Apply (RTA) Graphics
Dimensional Letters
Monument Signs
Construction Signs
Real Estate Signs
Retail Signs
Point Of Purchase (POP) Signs
A-Boards
Electronic Reader Boards
Directory Way-finding Systems
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Signage

New Exterior Window Graphics Coming Soon!

Time for summer and so we will be changing our exterior window graphics within the next several weeks!  The new look will more closely meet our custom design direction.

We have had the existing window graphics up since November 2008 and you can tell that they last very well especially given the very rough winter we had.  The existing graphics are on a perf material made for long term use.  We can see out, but observers from the road see the marketing graphics.  It’s like a one way mirror!

Who are we? The Mill Creek 425 Original so Click This Link to Find Out More!

Long Term Window Perf Graphics for Your Glass

Long term window perf is a perforated material that you can see out of.  So if you’re inside your site, you can still look out your window and see the outside world!  Anyone standing outside your sight will see the graphic design that has been printed on top of the perf.  It’s like a one-way window that you can see out of, but not into.  It is very, very cool stuff!

The material is best applied by an experienced installer because it is a tricky material to apply.  Once installed it is difficult to remove and so the removal process is best left to an experienced person.  Because of the strong adhesive the application is intended for long term use and therefore you should ensure that your printed design is something that you intend to keep longer than six months.

Because you can see out of the material you won’t lose the use of your window and so you can be less selective in your window choice.  The perf also marginally reduces sunlight from entering through your window and so if you have a window that has too much sunlight, then this is a great way to reduce the sunlight while creating advertising exposure for your site.

Window perf is best viewed from the outside when the outside light is brighter than the light inside your site.  During winter months it begins to get dark in the Seattle region around 5 PM and that means the light inside your site will be brighter than outside and that makes it virtually impossible for someone to see the design from the outside.  However, during the summer months the days are much longer and this is not an issue.

Window perf is a very good choice when city laws or ordinances prohibit the use of traditional banners.

There is a different material available called temporary window vinyl which is a short term application though you cannot see out of it when standing inside your site.  See another post within this blog for further information.

Who are we? The Mill Creek 425 Original so Click This Link to Find Out More!

Temporary Window Banner Graphics for Your Glass

A window banner is a temporary decal that you can adhere directly to a window.  The design, size and shape of the window banner is custom made for any window that you might have in mind. You leave the banner stuck to your window for a few days to a few months.  Then, when you’re done, you easily peel it off yourself and it leaves no residue! How cool is that!  The window banner is best used on an obscure window that you do not look out of frequently because the material is opaque and once it’s up then you won’t be able to see out of the window.  However, it is fabulous for short durations of time such as promos or seasonal advertising.  It is also great to use in areas that prohibit the use of traditional banners by city law or ordinance.

There is a different material available called window perf which is a long term application and you can see out of it when standing inside your site.  See another post within this blog for further information.

Who are we? The Mill Creek 425 Original so Click This Link to Find Out More!