1 Way to Keep Your Social Media Accounts Consistent + a FREE Handy Guide

Hello there!  Hope your week is off to a great start.  I've been putting the finishing touches on my new website and blog platform and am excited to launch!  During this process, I had pictures taken for my profile page (I was overdue for new photos) and intended to use them for my social media profile pics as well.  Just a tip...

1 Genius Item To Keep With You At All Times For Mobile Photography

Today I'm excited to share one super easy, super quick tip that will change the way you take photos on your phone!  Mobile Photography is essentially micro photography, so thinking about it in that sense you will want to use common photo equipment in a portable, micro form.  For example, you can use a small flashlight to add extra lighting to a dark image without using the dreaded flash.  The flashlight would take the place of a bulky lighting kit.  Even better than that, there is one genius thing that you can do that will solve a common photography problem and make your images look more appealing.

5 New Years Resolutions For Your Blog/Biz + A Freebie

Happy New Year, friends!  I'm so pumped for the year ahead and for the exciting things that will be taking place in Color Hug land!

The new year is all about changes and crafting a better situation for yourself.  This is great, but how about setting New Years Resolutions for your business as well?  To get you started, I have compiled a list of 5 resolutions that you can and should implement into your blog/biz structure.

One Game Changing Factor That Will Free Up Your Time

Raise your hand if you have time to waste............... *crickets*
I know I don't and if you're in the process of building your business and/or blog, you absolutely don't either.  There is something that I've been doing for a while that has made life so much easier and it's also something that I recommend to business companions to start utilizing wherever possible!

7 Ways to Keep Your Brand Consistent

Brand consistency is so important for bloggers and business owners because it not only distinguishes you from a sea of sameness, but it also helps to create a recognizable image for yourself.  This is quite important these days considering the lightning speed of social media feeds.  If you stick to these seven tips, you will be sure to create brand consistency and be more memorable.

1 Instagram Tip That Will Make Your Followers Love You

People are all about convenience and making their lives easier.  This is also the case on social media.  On Instagram, there is one simple thing that you can do to give your followers a better experience and in turn make them love you even more:

3 Reasons That Repetitive Information Is Beneficial

I have been watching various business webinars for a while now and they have discussed similar strategies for building an engaged audience, increasing your social media following, etc.  I've noticed that the strategies that were taught were similar across all of the webinars.  Even more interesting is that the people hosting the webinars have collaborated with each other but both have taught the same exact strategies in their individual courses.  When I came to this realization, I had two choices...either stop watching webinars because "I know it all now" or continue watching them anyway and let it all soak in.  I decided to go with the latter choice because no one really knows it all and education is never a bad thing.  With that in mind, I would like to share three reasons that repetitive information can work in your favor.

3 Settings on Your Smartphone's Camera That You Should Be Using

We all have smartphones now, right?  AND we're all taking photos with them quite frequently.  More than likely, if posting these images to Social Media, there is post-editing involved.  What does post-editing look like?  Here's an example:

1. Take a photo of something.
2. Import into VSCO cam, Snapseed, etc.
3. Apply filters to "fix" the image

• The image looks a little dark, let's brighten it up
• The images looks a little yellow, let's change the temperature
• The image is a little blurry, let's sharpen in
• The image is missing something...let's just throw a filter on it.

In reality, this is being approached the wrong way.  When I was taking photography in college, my instructor drilled in us that we should be taking photos with the intent of minimizing post-photo edits.  This not only saves time, but also keeps the image as pure to life as possible.

In order to minimize your post photo edits, start taking advantage of these three built in features on your mobile camera.

1.  Exposure- you can adjust the brightness of the image before taking it which makes much more sense than adjusting it afterwards.  If you do have to adjust it afterwards, it should be very minimal.

2. White Balance- If there is a tint of color on the screen, you should adjust the white balance to play nice with your light source.  The image will generally have a tint of yellow if taking pictures indoors with artificial lighting.  Adjust the white balance to offset the color or choose "Auto White Balance" and the camera will adjust automatically.

3. Selective Focus- Focus on your subject so that the image will be sharp from the start.  You can generally do this by tapping the location on the screen that you want the focus to be on.

Using this approach, the steps for mobile photography should actually be the following:

1.  Adjust settings on your phone to optimize the photo BEFORE taking it

• Adjust the exposure if the lighting isn't ideal
• Adjust the white balance if there is a tint visible
• Choose the actual spot on the screen to focus on

2. Focus on the subject then take the photo
3. Apply last minute, MINIMAL tweaks to the photo using photo editing apps and preferably NOT using filters.

Bonus Tip:  Be aware of your surroundings.  Hold the phone up and look in the background to see if anything is potentially intrusive.  If so, remove it before snapping any pictures.


Hopefully this approach to taking mobile photos will help to make your process flow better and your images will look more true to life!

5 Things That Will Make Your Business Card Legit

Your business card says a lot about you and your company...in fact, it literally does just that :)  When deciding on your business card, keep in mind what the most successful companies in the country would want for their business card and follow suit.  There are various things to be aware of when choosing your business card, but these are my top 5 and what makes one legit.

1. Paper Thickness (AKA Stock weight)- This is what I look for first when it comes to my business cards.  I have seen a business person take someone's card and immediately bend it to see how thick it was.  Maybe this is a gut reflex, but it's real.  My business card is a 28pt stock and I'm very pleased with it because it feels luxurious, professional and legit.  I recommend using a stock of at least 16pt or 110 lb.

2. Cardstock/Finish- The cardstock is the type of paper that your card will be printed on.  Choose a cardstock that is timeless.  This means no gloss.  Glossy business cards look more like club promotional flyers.  Unless you are a club promoter, I recommend sticking with matte or uncoated finishes.  Keep it simple.

3. Dimensions- The standard dimensions of business cards are 3.5x2 inches.  I think it's best to stick with these dimensions because it's also the size of business card holders.  I have seen smaller business cards using dimensions of 3.5x1 inches and 1.75x2 inches which cuts the card in half.  This is creative and cute, but you loose valuable space and risk the card getting lost in a sea of other larger cards.

4. Design options/ no limitations- There are so many deals out there for inexpensive business cards, but a lot of these deals come with limitations.  For example, you may get 100 business cards for $5, but the printing company's name and website will be listed on the cards.  Also, it will just be printing on one side of the card, so valuable space on the other is being wasted.  Lastly, you are limited to customization options, so if you have a specific font that is used in your logo, if it's not in the company's library, you won't be able to use it.  It's best to go with a card that you can actually customize to fit your brand.  In some cases it may be best to work with a Graphic Designer to create a unique business card for you.  The cost of business cards vary, but they can be custom and professional while still being affordable.
Tip: Even if your card is a little more on the pricey side due to certain customizations/upgrades that you want, just remember that this is a business expense and can be included when filing your business taxes as a deduction!

5. Taking advantage of both sides of the card- A business card at minimum should include your name, title and at least one form of contact information.  Why limit yourself though?  There are two perfectly good sides of the card to be used and the cost to print double-sided isn't much more than single-sided.  One side of my card is strictly my logo and the other side has my name, contact info, URL, social links and email.  If I tried to squeeze this all onto one side, the card would look rather busy.

So tell me, if you have a business card (if you don't, you need one now), what were the key factors in your selection?

3 Things That You are Overlooking When Processing Orders

To my tangible product creators, this post is for you!  There is a plethora of business information out there (webinars, e-books, e-courses, etc.) which I've found targets businesses that don't make/sell tangible products.  If there was mention of tips for tangible product creators, the section was small.  Now, it's true that the same business principals apply whether you sell a physical product or a service, but when it comes to physical products, there are a few more steps that you can take advantage of that someone selling services may not have the opportunity to do.

1. Handwritten thank you notes to EVERY customer.
Depending on the amount of orders you process in a month, this may be a huge task.  Look at it this way, though, each order has to be packaged individually anyway.  Take the extra 30 seconds to tell the customer thank you in your handwriting.  It gives an instant connection and may create a repeat customer.
Tip:  If time really isn't on your side for this one, you can delegate this task out. Provide a guideline on what you would want the thank you notes to say so that everyone can be on the same page.  Even if you aren't physically writing it, a representative of your company is, and that's still golden.

2. Branding and Logo Placement
As a business owner of physical products, you have direct access to your customers.  I'm talking about their mailing address.  I'm not saying to knock on their door and thank them for being a customer, because that would be stalky.  I am saying, though, that you are sending something to them, so take advantage of that luxury!  Your logo should be on everything.  This means on your product, shipping label, receipt/packing slip, etc.  Put that sucker everywhere that makes sense!  What this looks like for me is the following:

• Logo and URL on the back of every greeting card and art print.
• Product packaging label with my logo and URL to seal each product.
• Logo and URL on the packing slip/receipt .
• Logo and URL on the shipping label and I have created a template for it so that the fonts, spacing, etc. are consistent with my brand.

3. Including a Business Card
Some people love them, some people don't.  I say it's still a great idea to send your customers one or two business cards with each order.  You never know who they know or if someone may inquire about your product.  If they have your business card they can hand it to them and you may have just made a new customer!

I hope these points have encouraged you to take another look at your processes.  As a bonus, I have created a free checklist of all of the steps that I take when filling an order from beginning to end.  You can either print the 5x7 out to keep on your desk as a reminder, or you can keep the 8x10 file on your computer desktop to open and check off each item as you complete it (the pdf is clickable!).  If you are trying to get a process together for your own business or would like a new perspective, download the checklist now!

Coffee and Ideas...They Just Go Together!

This is an open letter to ideas//
--------------------

Hello Ideas!

My name is Coffee, and I would love to work with you on improving your lifespan.  I sometimes get a bad rap because of my caffeine content and potential addictive qualities, but in moderation (or when you're pulling an all-nighter) I can be your best friend!  You know when people talk about getting their creative juices flowing?  Well they're talking about me;  I'm the creative juice!  We are a power couple because we compliment each other so well and we perform at our highest levels together.  Drinking me keeps people alert thus creating more of you, and the more of you that they have the longer they stay up.  As a result, more of me is needed in the morning!  Really...Coffee and Ideas...we just go together.  I hope I have convinced you to give me a shot...we can create magic together!  If I haven't convinced you, perhaps this free 7x5 download of us together will?

Sincerely,
Coffee

++ As a note, we offer larger sizes of this print for sale at Color Hug and the background color can be customized!  Check them out here.

Looking Forward to Helping You and Your Business/Blog!

Hello!  My name is Lauren Myers and I am the owner and creative director of the Social Paper company, Color Hug.  That's right, just give me a color and I will hug the living daylight out of it!  If you are right there with me, lets give each other a virtual fist bump.

Well then, now that we've gotten the small talk out of the way, let just jump right in!

There are a few things that I intend to bring to you as a reader of my blog.  You will see icons that categorize each post into one of these four helpful topics//

1. Creative Business Tips- I will give sound advice on situations that I've experienced first hand and ways to avoid certain pitfalls in business.  I will also share ways that you can add a little more creativity and consistency to your blog or business.

2. Mobile Photography Tips- We are all photographers now that we have high quality cameras in our pockets, right?  Wrong!  I will share tips on how to make your mobile photos look good, and a lot of these tips will involve thinking outside of the box.

3. Blogging Tips- I have 8 years of blogging experience and have learned a lot along the way.  I'm here to shed some light on common questions and to provide tips that will make blogging make  sense.

4. Caffeine for Your Brain- We could all use a little inspiration and motivation in between building our blogs and businesses.  This segment will focus on taking a break from the day-to-day and opening your minds to something different.

I hope you're as excited as I am to begin sharing plenty of amazing and helpful content with you!  If you're pumped about it, I would love for you to follow along by adding me to your feed reader or
follow my blog with Bloglovin!

Have a splendid day and Welcome!