Posted by Joan Bergstrom on 12/22/05 6:36pm
Msg #84211

www.vistaprint.com is offering 100 free postcards

Postcards are a great way to advertise yourself. I feel postcards are more often looked at than a letter which we all sometimes toss in the trash unopened.

These are regular size postcards but you can also upload your own design and they will print them for free.

They also offer 250 free business cards!!

Great company!!

Reply by anonymous on 12/22/05 6:43pm
Msg #84214

Just another opinion- the business cards -Vista offers do have Vista printed the back which I do believe they state that on their website when you order. Also the card stock is not of the highest quality, the card seldom lays totally flat, there is a slight bend in the card I think mainly due to the card stock itself not being heavy enough. The price is right, and nothing is free. I would be curious to see a postcard from them closeup and personal.

Reply by SignerCA on 12/22/05 6:47pm
Msg #84218

you also have to pay for shipping n/m

Reply by anonymous on 12/22/05 6:49pm
Msg #84220

Re: you also have to pay for shipping n/m

well they say the cards are free, your cost is only the shipping and handling- as I mentioned nothing is free...

Reply by TitleGalCA on 12/22/05 8:56pm
Msg #84251

They are a great company, if cutting important marketing corners in your business is what you are looking for.

Everyone I know who's ordered from Vista didn't order again (the free cards) as most recipients of the free cards KNOW they are free. Just like using a Yahoo or Hotmail account, it doesn't lend much stability to the self-employed.

Reply by John_NCal on 12/22/05 9:01pm
Msg #84253

I purchased cards for both of my endeavors from Vista Print. I went for the upgraded stock and satin finish. They both look good and I would consider ordering again. As has been stated previously, "nothing is free" and you do get what you pay for, if free is what you want, then the image you project will be reflective of your "free" deal.

Reply by CaliNotary on 12/23/05 1:00am
Msg #84303

Once I saw a business card for a signing agent. It was obvious that she had printed it at home with blank business card sheets, she had an efax number with an area code that didn't match her cell phone (i.e, the free efax number) and her email address was a hotmail account.

She might as well have just had "cheap and unprofessional" as her business slogan.

Reply by TCMN on 12/23/05 1:38am
Msg #84309

unprofessional...I guess I don't get how

saving money is unprofessional.

I guess I can be cheap but I'm sure not unprofessional. I think my ethics and standards are far higher than most and I don't think that getting something for free makes you unprofessional. I think what you do, how you do it and other things MAKE someone unprofessional, not how they save money.

If you have ever read ANY book on what makes some people millionaires and others not, you will find in every one of them that those people are "thrifty", "cheap", "bargin hunters", etc., etc., etc. They tip their pizza delivery person the change only (never another $1), IF they tip, they take any "deal" they can to save money and they make it look like they spend it, just don't.
Tell me exactly why my first year I made over $50,000 being a signing agent, had my free efax number, took the "free" vistaprint cards (upgraded of course), made some of my own cards, paid less than $250 for my website (and that was to have someone else do it) and have been told I have a very nice one, very professional, and have never had one company say they won't use me because I got a free fax number or didn't spend more money on my business cards?

FYI...you can pay additional to get the vistaprint NOT printed on the back of the card.

The key is to get the best deal you can on ANY and EVERYTHING! I save where I can and use that money for other marketing. And I will continue to do that because that's good business sense. Of course, don't use something that looks cheap or trashy, but if it looks good, then what part of that is unprofessional?

Reply by John_NCal on 12/23/05 8:54am
Msg #84340

Re: unprofessional...I guess I don't get how

The key is in the presentation! If it looks cheap, then that is the image you will project. You upgrade your cards, have no "sponsor" printing on the back that shows a positive image. If you have cards that look like they were home made, that's an entirely different image. Efax- nothing wrong with that if you get value and service out of it.

It's like the person who runs around in a rundown, dirty jalopy, soup stains on his tie, scruffy shoes and expects to be taken for a professional, it ain't a gonna happen! A person needs to dress and act the part. (Not saying that you don't.) People look at the entire package.

Reply by TCMN on 12/23/05 11:17am
Msg #84379

BUT, it can

go the other way...."Don't judge a book by it's cover"

You could have all the latest and greatest and "look" like you know what you're doing and be the most unprofessional, worst person to work with and know nothing at all. Just because you have nice things or you look perfect or seem to have things all together does mean you are or do.



"The only perfect people are the ones we don't know"

Reply by John_NCal on 12/23/05 11:29am
Msg #84386

Re: BUT, it can .....True it's only one piece of the...

package. A person has to present themselves well, exude confidence and knowledge. Can't just take a course, pretty yourself up and knock 'em dead.

Reply by TCMN on 12/23/05 11:47am
Msg #84391

Agree, just didn't want people to think

that a person can't save money, get something for free, or do things themselves and never have a chance of being professional because they didn't spend enough to be considered that.

I'm in business to MAKE money not throw it away. If you can get something for free, your dumb not to (again, IF it's worth it- because you can get free that isn't worth someone paying you to take it.)

That's all folks.

Reply by CaliNotary on 12/23/05 4:13pm
Msg #84428

Re: Agree, just didn't want people to think

Have you ever heard the phrase "perception is reality"?

I have no idea about how good or bad of a signing agent this woman was. And I didn't say she WAS unprofessional, just that that was the message I got from seeing her card.

"Don't judge a book by it's cover" doesn't really work in most business settings. As professionals we ARE judged by our cover and our first impressions are crucial. And not everything that is free is a better value than paying for it, because that free item could very well cost you more in lost business if it makes you look amatuerish. And you're probably never even going to know you lost the business.

There's a reason people say "you have to spend money to make money". Because it's true. This industry is rampant with rank amatuers and hobbyists, anything that you can do to distinguish yourself as a professional is definitely beneficial.. And that includes paying for certain things that you might otherwise be able to get for free if it gives you a more professional appearance.

Reply by TCMN on 12/23/05 5:50pm
Msg #84433

I say that same thing Cali

You need to spend it to make it.

You just don't need to waste it.


I like that I bargin shop. I think the saleperson in me can't pay full price for anything. But, I think I have great "out-of-the-box" skills that give towards creativity that I use to my benefit and goes a long way without having to spend too much.

I am at 100% agreement to your "the industry is rampant with rank,etc., etc." sentence. I had a notary ask me what was wrong because they hadn't gotten work. They started in July this year and hasn't done a signing yet. Well, I asked their experience....none, absolutely none. Then I said, well are you certified through the NNA? Did you take their test and pass so you are confident you know something? Nope. I then asked if they are signing up with companies, marketing, etc.? Nope. Then I tried to ask "what do you do for a living then"? (I was really trying to find something that gave them the confidence that they should be in this field) Ready?........................................a bail bonds man.

How exactly does that tie in with experience in the mortgage/title/re fields? What make them think that they know what any ONE of the forms would look like, let alone mean.

So, I said that how he talks on the phone did not come across well, no experience, no attempt to learn anything or further his education and the fact that you just listed yourself on some sites and are doing nothing else might have something to do with it.

So, yes, there are the hobbyists and "paper-delivery" person (earn some extra cash types) that screw things up for the rest of us taking it as a career.

Have a good night & Chirstmas.

Reply by CaliNotary on 12/24/05 1:15am
Msg #84472

Re: I say that same thing Cali

I do agree with you that we don't need to be wasting money. There is definitely a difference between being cost effective and being a cheapskate, and I'm sure we all have varying opinions of what fits into which category.

I remember seeing a post on here once where somebody said that they regularly bought higher quality and more expensive copy paper because they thought that when whoever received the docs saw them the paper quality would jump right out at them and they'd be impressed. Or something along those lines. I also remember thinking that was a collossal waste of money and that it was highly unlikely that anybody would notice and/or be impressed by the difference.

Ultimately, I just think that people need to look at the bigger picture when they're pinching pennies and make sure that they're not coming across as a Pic-N-Save notary. Personally, I aspire to Target level.