Exploding Boy

Custom Coffee Mug Gift Guide: The Perfect Mug for Each One on Your List

The past year has left everyone at home loving the fact that no boss is going to judge them for wearing their pajamas while working. And while the rest of the world is enjoying the work-from-home setup, a year of lockdown can be very draining.

You’re not the only one feeling the dullness of your work station; your friends have the same sentiment, too. One of the ways to spice up a workspace is to add personal items – starting from a simple coffee mug. If you haven’t found the right mug yet, here is a gift guide to help you out.

1. For the one who can’t stop eating sweets

As if you need another reminder that you have to get that dose of sugar, this mug says it all. Or rather, it just shows you a mouthwatering stack of donuts.

2. For the horror movie addict

Sometimes you wonder how your friend can ever take scary movies. While you don’t want to find out how, here’s a gift you can just give to feed their horror obsession.

3. For the one who can’t stop waiting for Christmas

Whatever season it is, Christmas is always around the corner. It looks distant from now but it’ll come without a doubt!

4. For the best employee and boss of the household

Raise your hand if you had no idea that doing house chores, cooking, doing laundry, sweeping the floor, and so many other things take so much time and effort. Apparently, that’s what your mom does so it’s time to show a little appreciation.

5. For the future sculptor

Learned some pottery over the lockdown? Here’s a cute mug that has a very natural-looking shape.

6. For the home fitness guru

There’s at least one friend who has gone full-on fitness guru over the course of the lockdown.

7. For the meme lords

Can’t get enough of memes? Here’s another one for you.

8. For the forever besties

Miss your best friend? Show how much you miss them with this sweet BFF mug.

9. For the ones missing Fashion Week

Whether you’re a Chanel girl, part of the Gucci gang, or simply a Devil Wears Prada fan, this simple but elegant mug from Imprint is sure to make you miss Fashion Week even more. Don’t worry, there are still digital spaces to get your fashion week fix!

10. For the cat lady

After Taylor Swift made it look like being a cat lady is pretty cool, everyone else started loving cats a lot more than a decade ago. Here’s a mug to remind you to always play with your cat even if you’re so busy staying on your computer.

11. For the dog whisperer

Everyone else thinks like they’re their own dog’s whisperer. If you’re just so in love with dogs, here’s some custom mugs that takes your obsession to the next level.

12. For the ones who need The Force

Feeling tired? Here, let the force be with you. Kidding aside, this Baby Yoda mug is just the sweetest reminder that you can overcome your day with a cup of coffee.

13. For the astrology junkie

Is it Virgo season yet? Whatever your zodiac sign is, here’s a mug that fits any kind of personality.

14. For the Super Mario brother (or sister)

No going out means there’s more time to play video games! This is the best mug for your friend who would rather stay all night playing Super Mario than having a video call with friends.

15. For the new breed of minimalists

Hate patterns and fluff? This is a no-fuss mug that will surely pique your minimalist dreams.

16. For the artist inside of you

Everyone is an artist, one way or another. If you need any reminder that it’s time to get creative, here’s the mug for you!

17. For the ‘90s kid

Don’t you just wish to go back to the ‘90s where everything else was simpler? Here’s a throwback for you.

18. For the one who would rather get their nose stuck in a book

Feeling a little like Belle in the Beauty and the Beast? This mug will be your best companion when you get cozied up and ready to read a book for the whole afternoon.

19. For the plant lover

Nothing beats seeing your own plant bloom some flowers or fruits. Here’s a little reminder to water your babies.

Exploding Boy

Custom T-shirt Design Tips for Your Wedding Party Favors: 10 Most Common Mistakes You Should Avoid

Who would not want to have a great T-shirt design? Everyone would love to wear an exceptional shirt that would make them wear it countless times. In order for you to design an amazing shirt, what are the things to consider? What are the dos and don’ts to avoid ruining your t-shirt?

1. Size Matters

One of the most necessary things to consider in designing your shirt is the design’s size. A lot of people often tend to go with standard sizing. Keep in mind that size should be decided according to the design’s nature and the garment’s properties. Your design’s shape can also affect the sizing. Some shapes look larger than they should.

2. Design Placement

The design placement is often merged with the location. Placement is the particular measurement of where to stamp the design within the location. If your design is placed in the wrong area, your shirt will be unappealing. A usual flaw is the belly print, which is so unpleasant to see.

3. Fonts and Typography

You should remember a single rule in typography, “never use more than 3 different fonts in a design”. The font you use conveys a lot about your design. This brings out ideas and emotions you want others to see. There are standard fonts that would work just fine in everything. Explore your choices well.

4. Design Composition

The design elements of your shirt for your wedding party favors should be arranged in relation to each other. One of the usual errors regarding the elements is they are too spaced out and off-balance. You can improve this when you research from several resources online. Be sure to follow the tips to enhance your shirt’s design composition.

5. Picture Quality

This is one of the most often problems encountered in shirt printing, the quality of the image that the customer submitted is low in resolution. In order for the printing service to give you a quality type of shirt, you have to provide them with a high-resolution image with at least 200 dpi or higher at full size.

6. Color Choices

Your design’s choice of color is one of the most essential things you should consider, not only in terms of design but also its cost. The more colors you add, the more expensive your shirt would be if screen printed. But if you’re printing directly-to-garment, then you don’t need to consider budgeting for the design’s colors.

7. Color Contrast

Contrast is the degree of how dark or light the parts of your image are. The goal isn’t to apply the highest contrast possible. Your image is fine if it has a low contrast look. Take note that there is a difference between low contrast and no contrast. It is not recommended to use Navy on black shirts, Ice Gray inks on whites.

8. Color Inversion

When printing white-colored inks on black garments, color inversion is something usual that needs to be done. If your image is not inverted properly, the resulting photo would look like an x-ray. Doing this can be a little tricky, but if you are unsure of your results, better ask an expert for the best result.

9.Design Complexity

It is said that the human eye can only process a particular amount of information at once. This also applies to your shirt. You are usually moving thus; the viewer has a limited time looking at your t-shirt’s design. Stop making a chaotic design for your shirt. You’ll make it hard for people to identify what’s on your t-shirt.

10. Photo Borders, Masks & Edges

Who wants to wear a boring shirt from 24hourwristbands custom tshirts? A photo with plain edges looks too dull and unimaginative. You can try to put a border or edges in that simple photograph of yours. If you don’t want a plain square border as your shirt’s print, you can try using a “mask” that offers various shapes you can pick from.

Be a head-turner with your amazing designed t-shirts. Follow these tips from above so you can have the best-designed shirts to wear.

Exploding Boy

How To Master High Ticket Closing With High Ticket Sales Signature Coaching Programs

High ticket items are not like other products or services. There is a lot that goes into the sales funnel and it’s important to understand what your options are in a situation such as this. Mistakes made during this process will hold you back and it’s essential to pursue the process with a purpose.

This includes understanding the art of how to master high ticket closing in this day and age.

Here is a breakdown of what you are going to need during this process to get things right.

1. Personalize Everything

When you are looking to sell a high ticket item, it is easy to want to streamline the process. This is the wrong way to go about doing things because you will not see appropriate results. You are going to end up seeing inferior results and it will not work out in your favor.

You will want to personalize as much as you can, which includes taking the time to focus on what works and what does not for the person.

You want to hit those pressure points that will get them to want the item. This will vary but it is important to continue to personalize it based on who you are targeting at that moment.

2. Build A Relationship

It is important to build a relationship in a situation such as this. A lot of businesses will not do this and that is what holds them back.

Customers are not going to want to spend a lot of money on something where they are unsure about who they are dealing with or whether you have their best interests at heart.

This goes a long way for those who want to do things properly and don’t want to make mistakes along the way.

Be diligent about the approach you are taking and build a relationship that is going to work when the process begins.

3. Show The Solution

It is essential to highlight why the high ticket item is a must. This is a serious investment for the customer and they are not going to treat it the same as buying a bag of chips from the local gas station. They are going to put thought into it and this is where you come into action.

You will want to show the reason these high ticket sales programs work and that it is a must for them.

Doing this is going to let them get a better read on the benefits of the product or service. This is how you are going to convert them when everything is said and done.

Final Thoughts

You will want to learn how to master high ticket closing and ensure the right measures are taken during the process. Too many people get stuck in a situation where they are not getting things right and it becomes confusing as to what the next step should be.

The tips mentioned here are going to go a long way in helping you learn how to master high ticket closing with your new 90 day signature coaching program.

Exploding Boy

Apple Maps Ratings: Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

Apple released a statement in August 2020 that there will be changes in their Apple Maps rating system. This announcement had stirred up speculations on Twitter about what this new rating solution would mean to users and other third-party review apps. The news regarding the changes in rating system was released after they added new features in Apple Maps, such as indoor maps and favorite locations last February of the same year.

It has been reiterated that the new rating solution would not be reviews but ratings. Beta testing was done on iOS 14 and will shortly be launched worldwide. At present, Apple Maps depends on TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Foursquare regarding review data.

What to Expect

With the current situation, if Apple users would like to learn more about business reviews via Apple Maps, they will be redirected to TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Foursquare. They will be asked to download the app, which is a bit inconvenient to users. That will all change with the new rating solution.

Instead of downloading the app, Apple will have its own rating system. Based on what Apple had released it seems like it is somehow similar to Facebook recommendations where users can rate a business by using a thumbs up or thumbs down sign.

Since they won’t be downloading third-party apps which is a great relief to users, the new rating system will give its users and Apple more control. The way the new rating solution was presented is that a business will be rated in categories, instead of just leaving a thumbs up or down rating as a whole. Users can rate a business’s services and products individually. Apart from that, Apple will allow users to upload their own photos to Apple maps, which is also similar to how it works with third-party review sites.

This is far from how Google Maps works, as users can write a comprehensive review about their experience in a particular business. This setup provides more value and insights into what other people can expect from an establishment, which can help them decide better. Similarly, users can also upload their own photos along with their detailed reviews.

You probably have a lot of questions going on inside your head right now. Like how these changes can affect the future of the review industry as well as the world of local SEO.

How will Apple Maps affect third-party review sites?

Taking these third-party review sites from Apple Maps will certainly have a big impact on them, particularly with Yelp. This may mean that people may be using less of Yelp once Apple Maps rolls out this new rating system. Some people were in favor of this, especially those who are not happy with Yelp’s performance.

However, Cori Graft, a local SEO expert noted that without the help of Yelp, Apple Maps ratings will not earn high stars. It was through Yelp that Apple users get relevant and helpful insights into businesses. So, what does it means to Yelp when Apple gets rid of them through their Apple Maps? Will it mean lesser users and interaction on Yelp? Since based on Statista, there are 23.3 million users (unique) that use Apple Maps every month. This can lessen the number of people who use Yelp. That being said, will this also decrease local SEO focus on Yelp?

Will there be more changes after the launch?

It’s still hard to assess whether or not Apple will stick to its new rating solution by just giving out thumbs up and down and pictures to describe a customer’s experience. Since it hasn’t been launched, Apple will probably do analytics and see how users will react to this change.

Maybe from ratings, they would also change their minds and include reviews as well? People would love to know specific details about an establishment and it’s quite hard to get enough data with just thumbs up and thumbs down even if it’s per category. Plus, there’s more than just a picture, as they say, looks can deceiving.

Considering the current Covid 19 situation, people would like to learn more about how shops, bars, and restaurants follow certain rules and other topics. Customers have a lot of questions all the time, and most people only get answers from other customer’s reviews. But hey, a lot of things can still happen, and can all just hope for the best.

How soon will Apple Maps bid farewell to Yelp?

There’s still no clear date as to when, but considering the amount of data that Yelp provides to Apple Maps, it may seem like it would take a while. There’s still a lot to do before they can bid farewell to Yelp completely and forever.

It seems like this announcement from Apple will affect a lot of businesses and not just Yelp. While it hasn’t officially launched yet, all we can really do is wait until it happens and see how it plays out for Apple, its users, and businesses. So, is this change a thumbs up or thumbs down for you?

Exploding Boy

6 Ways to Increase Your Business Visibility Online Even on Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had slowed down many businesses, particularly the small and local establishments. During this time, business owners need to innovate and find ways on how they can continue to reach out to their customers without going against health protocols.

One way to do that is to improve their marketing strategy and visibility online. The only way businesses can survive this pandemic is to adapt online approaches to keep their customers informed. With the help of Glass Digital’s Creative Director Jonathan Birch, he will share how local businesses can continue to thrive in this trying time.

1. Embrace the Changing Landscape Fast

There’s no telling when this pandemic will be over and if businesses don’t act quickly, it can do real damage to their income. With all the restrictions that are happening now due to Covid-19, businesses need to accept and embrace the changing landscape in order to survive.

Obviously, what worked for you before Covid-19 will not work out right now. What you need to do is listen to your existing and future customers’ needs and wants. As an example, you can change how you sell your products or what people can see on your website.

If your current website only advertises the products you sell in your store, then you might want to add an option to sell online as well. It may still be far from your selling volume before the pandemic, but it will surely increase your sales.

2. Focus on Changing Your Online Marketing Strategy

Now is the time to re-examine your online marketing strategy. Your current marketing strategy will not work like how you imagined it during this pandemic. Focusing on remarketing is one way to understand what your customers are currently looking for and this is one way you can convert them into sales.

With the current situation, the right approach would be to retarget a consumer who had shown initial interest in your product or service or an ad similar to yours. This means that the consumer is somehow interested and has a better chance of converting them into sales rather than convincing consumers who have not shown even a slight interest.

You can use numerous tools to help you find these customers. Facebook Pixel is one example if you rely on Facebook to advertise your products or services. This tool can help optimize ad delivery to those who have a higher chance of engaging. In addition to that, Facebook can show the products and related products that potential customers had already viewed on your site. Reminding them of the products they’ve previously shown interest in may lead to higher conversion rates.

3. Collaborate with Other Local Businesses

Remember that you’re not the only one struggling during this pandemic, so why not team up with other businesses and show support for each other. But remember to choose a business that shares the same values as you so as not to confuse your existing customers. Apart from your own values, be sure to consider your customers’ desires as well.

Here are some of the things you can do with your chosen business partner.

• Create a social campaign and host an online event together.
• Run a friendly competition online, be sure to promote it on both of your websites to get more interaction.
• Come up with collaborative product bundles together

When doing these activities be sure to always promote them on both of your websites. The more people who can see your posts, the more chances both of you can gain more potential customers. Be sure that you offer interesting, creative, and worthwhile events, prizes, and packages that both your customers and followers will appreciate.

4. Host Live Events

You may want to get in touch with your customers virtually to break the cycle from what they call the new normal. Your customers will appreciate you taking the time to ask how they are and interact with them even for just a few minutes or an hour.

This is a nice opportunity to learn more about your customers and find out what they would like to see added to your range of products and a good way to announce any business news if any. There are a lot of things you can share at these virtual events. You just need to be creative and think of something that your customers would like to see.

5. Reoptimize Your Keywords

Again, what works before may not work right now, so best to take a look at your analytics and listen to what it’s saying to you. They might be a need for you to reoptimize your elements and see if you need to target something new.

You may need to optimize your site with keywords pertaining to Covid-19. One way to do this is to use Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush.

6. Incorporate a Knowledge Hub in Your Website

If you still don’t have a knowledge hub on your site, this is the best time to do so. You can use keyword tools to find out what people are interested in. You can also use Google’s People Also Ask feature to help you come up with topics to write. Adding this to your site will keep your customers coming back to you.

The effect of this pandemic had pushed businesses to think outside the box and act differently to survive. So, hopefully, these 6 strategies will help your business continue to flourish even during this adversity.

Exploding Boy

5 Best Press Release Writing Tips To Help You Succeed

Nothing is more disheartening for business owners and marketing professionals than writing several press releases that no one will read. Yet, press releases are a leading factor for the growth of your organization that make journalists, investors, and the broader audience that generally stays outside your marketing channels get to know about your business or organization.

A press release holds enough power to attract people and engage them in the content you provide, which also increases the chances of turning readers into potential clients or customers. However, ignoring factors, such as publishing on the wrong day or time, can bring down the effectiveness of the press releases.

complete guide to writing press release

Below are some sound tips to help you write an engaging press release that grasps the attention of a wider audience and help your organization succeed.

  1. The headline holds the attention

Suppose a journalist gets hundreds of emails daily. How can you make your press release stand out from the rest of the others? A simple piece of advice would be to work on a headline. Believe it or not, a headline is enough for the reader to catch the attention and be interested even to read the complete information further.

A single-sentence headline can reflect authentic creativity that will engage the readers. Keep it as short as six words, but write in a way that provokes the readers’ emotions and directly connects to them.

  • Organize the information correctly

Remember to mention the location, state, and city of your organization. You would want the journalist and then the audience to stay away from the words that might turn them completely off track to the basic general information.

  • Leading is for the lead

Journalists read your press release in a hurry and look for only the information they are interested in. That is why you need to include all the necessary information regarding the main point with specified vital facts and information that is required for someone to get the overall idea of the supporting information within the first paragraph. Then, save the secondary information for the second and third paragraphs if the reader decides to go on further.

  • Keep a check on the five “Ws.”

The reader is interested in what, who, when, where, and why. The basic five Ws rule must be on your fingertips to prep before writing the press release. What is happening, why, and where?

When and who are all involved? Without all this information, your email is going straight into the dumps.

  • End organically:

After you have mentioned all the necessary information about the company, always figure out a smooth segway to end the press release. An efficient way to do this is by adding a catchy but encouraging quote. Journalists and readers love quotes, and nothing is more impactful than an insightful quote by the company’s president or the chairperson. Remember that the section must be the original words and should not look copied and pasted. Refrain from mentioning anything that looks nothing like a natural person would say.

You must keep in mind that the press release always ends with a minimum of three hashtags. It is to justify your points and signal to the reader that your press release has been completed. In addition, this is an intelligent way to hint to the reporter or the journalist that you know how the news releases work and are obliged to be taken more seriously.