Leveraging Community Guides and Business Resource Directories Advertisements

If you are not taking advantage of a business directories and community guides to advertise your products and services, you are missing many great opportunities to expand your business. These tools are a goldmine.

Think about the benefits and evaluate your options:

• The goal is to get listed in a good directory or guide that reaches many of your target audiences. An important feature to look for in a directory or community guide is having it edited by a real person who will place the content in the best suitable categories. This personalized attention will put your message in a more valuable and precise position.

• Directories can be a two-way connection. Make sure your company’s listing has valuable content and that the directory has quality principles.

• If you would like to submit your Web site to top directories that reach your primary decision makers, look for ones that offer a manual procedure. This is more accurate and generally higher level listing than an automatic directory submission.

• Manual directory submissions can be time consuming, but are worth doing. They offer the best opportunity to match categories and descriptions to your business so that you attract more prospects that are in need of your type of product or service.

Is your company listed in any directories or guides? If not, what steps are you taking to get listed this year?

A Holiday Message For You

The Printing and Graphics Association MidAtlantic (PGAMA) introduced a consumer education campaign in March 2010 titled Print Gorws Trees. This movement has garnered attention from the printing industry and organizations worldwide!

Here is how the organization has asked printers like us to describe the value of print in the context of our daily living and the environment:

“If you love clean air and clean water, you have every reason to love print. If there is a demand for print, there is a demand for paper. If there is a demand for paper, there is a demand for trees. If there is a demand for trees, landowners and foresters who manage our woodlands have an incentive to plant more trees and productively manage our forestlands instead of selling them for develeopment or other purposes.

“But it gets better. It turns out that young trees are more efficient at sequestering carbon in the atmosphere and cleaning the water aquifer. This means that the air we breathe, the water we drink and our overall environment will be healthier. We all benefit from the thoughtful use of this magnificent renewable resource.

“Paper is a completely renewable resource. Most every community has an active paper recycling program and today, over 64% of all paper is recycled and reused.”

This holiday season, be sure to spread the message of print and help us to maintain a clean environment!

Teeing It Up “Fore” Scleroderma – Brochure

As the summer unofficially ends after the Labor Day holiday, we are reminded that in Chicago, there are not many golf days left in the year. Well, you can golf for a good cause with the Scleroderma Foundation of Greater Chicago Chapter on Monday, September 13th at The Arboretum Club in Buffalo Grove, IL.

Scleroderma is a tissue disease that involves hardening of the skin, blood vessels, muscles and internal organs. While the cause of scleroderma is unknown, it has been found that individuals with this condition have a buildup of collagen in their body.

Visit the Scleroderma Foundation of Greater Chicago online at http://www.scleroderma.org and view the brochure linked to the Home page for more information on registering for the charitable golf outing. See you there!

Pooch Walk for the Homeless 2010

Corporate Graphics of America is highly involved in the community and supports local charitable events!  We would like to ask you to join us for this year’s Franciscan Outreach Association Pooch Walk for the Homeless.

What is the Franciscan Outreach Association?

Since their founding in 1963, the Franciscan Outreach Association (a 501c3 non-profit organization) has been focused on serving the poor by providing them with basic services that preserve their lives and their dignity, while engaging in efforts to help them improve their lives. They offer their services without regard to the religious affiliation of their guests and do not conduct any kind of religious services.

What will the proceeds from the Pooch Walk benefit?

All proceeds will benefit the Franciscan House (a 246-bed shelter), the Marquard Center (soup kitchen) and the Case Management Programs that they have implemented.

What activities will be hosted at the same time as the Pooch Walk?

Your Pooch Walk registration fee helps the Franciscan Outreach Association provide:

• a 1.5-mile walk with your dog (or on your own)
• goodie bags for every dog
• pet blessings by a Franciscan friar
• items for the silent auction
• snacks and beverages
• entry in the Doggie Olympics
• a prize for the youth group that raises the most donations for the homeless
• photos with your pet
• a DJ and more!

The Pooch Walk will be held on Saturday, September 11th at the Lake Katherine Nature Center in Palos Heights, IL. For more information or to register, contact Tony at 773-278-6724 or tony@franoutreach.org.

See you there!