Business Tips Archives - Adrian Graphics

10 Negative Keywords That Should Be In Every Google Ad

Face it, wether you are a newbie at Google Ads or a seasoned Veteran getting the right negative keywords in your campaign can be a tedious process.

Here is the top 10 negative keywords we use in almost every campaign we build.

I started working with Google Ads way back in 2011 when Google Partners was still a thing. There is very few advertising tool on the internet today that are as powerful as the Google Ads Platform. Formerly known as Google Adwords this platform offers a massive network of sites to display text ads for your business or brand.

The key to harnessing the power of the platform may seem simple to some but in reality the depth that you can go with your ads is nearly unlimited. One of the biggest parts of ranking your ad is to use the right keywords, but there is more than just one type of keyword that should be added into your campaigns if you want them to be cost effective.

This nifty Keyword feature is called “Negative Keywords”, and it’s an absolute must if you want to setup a campaign properly. Otherwise you’ll waste money on clicks that are not relevant to what your visitor is searching for. Relevancy is the secret sauce to cost effective and high performing ads on Google.

Before we get into the list I’d like to explain briefly why Negative Keywords are so important. Let’s say you are a residential carpet cleaner and you are looking for customers that will spend good money for a fast and reliable cleaning service. You don’t want the do it yourselfers or cheap customer.

The best way to eliminate those types of buyers is with negative keywords, For Example: “Cheap”, “DIY”, “Rug Doctor”, and “Video” are great keywords to include in your negative list. Coming up with only 10 best is a challenge in itself seeing as you will need way more.

No matter the type of business you will always get the person that tries to haggle or beat you up on price. It’s up to you to educated the customer of why your service warrants a competitive price. You are paying for ads, you have maintenance, travel, and costs for the best supplies to do the job right.

So let’s get to it shall we? Below is a list of the top 10 negative keywords we believe should be in almost every Google advertising campaign.

Free (No One Should Work For Free)
Cheap (Nothing cheap is good, unless it’s Google)
Jobs (Unless you’re hiring this is a big one)
Download (People looking for free stuff)
How To ( Classic Do It YourSelf Keyword)
Equipment (Someone in research mode)
Course (Someone in learning mode)
Career (Looking for a Job)
Salary (Future competitor)
DIY (Has No Money)

Keep in mind that this is a very small list and if you’re like me you will want at least 100 negative keywords in your campaign. It was difficult for me to pick just ten to share with you, because there really are so many more than you can add, and you really should.

If you would like a full list of the negative keywords I used drop a comment at the bottom with your email and I will send you my top 100 list for free. I want everyone that ready this article to save money and maximize their potential with Google Ads.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out our blog every week for new articles and content.

As always, God Bless and Keep looking up!

3 Steps To Become More Successful – Your Business Minute

Millions of Americans are feeling trapped in their day-to-day jobs, dreaming of a better way and a better future. Although some of these employees may achieve great levels of success in their careers, there is still no comparison to owning your own business. The personal and financial freedom that comes from it is almost impossible to find in a typical j.o.b.

Want to become more successful?

Here are just three tips I have for you that will help you become wildly successful.

At a young age I was taught that “when you work for someone they pay you what they think you’re worth, but when you work for yourself, you pay yourself what you think you’re worth.” There are truly no limitations in your potential and success except the beliefs in your own mind.

So how do you achieve this new level of success and potential? Here are 3 tips to help you become wildly successful.

#1 Affirmations- Every day and one at a time write down your biggest dream or goal. Something really important you want to achieve either in your personal and business life, in doing so you will see over time that new doors will begin opening up.

#2 Gratitude- Don’t look over the small wins – a constant attitude of gratitude will bring a better perspective, in your day to day operations and overall success.

#3 Live it out, act successful if you want to be successful, It takes a routine of good habits to build momentum. I’ve found for myself that creating a consistent daily routine that focuses most on my mornings and how I start my day makes a big difference in how the rest of the day will be. Good habits breed huge success!

5 Valuable Web Tools to Increase your Productivity in 2017

The saying goes “A workman is only as good as his tools”, if this saying is true does that same philosophy still apply today? Why are so many people refusing to accept technology to make them more productive, organized, and efficient? My explanation for this common resistance to advancing technology is fear, it what tops most potentially successful entrepreneurs from accomplishing success in their new business. Fear has no place in your business and will only cause you to make illogical decision. These few resources I have discovered and applied to my daily business have made drastic improvements to not just my career but my personal life as well.

1.Evernote

In no particular order, these are all equally amazing!I use this not once, not twice, but dozens of times a daily for my business and personal life. Evernote is a powerful iphone, ipad, android, and web browser application that allows you to literally remember everything by creating multiple types of notes, photos, audio, simple, and detailed notes for the more in depth flashes of genius. For example say you just got out of an important business meeting with some new potential customers, why carry that business card in your wallet for the next months when you can snap a photo of the business card you received with your cell phone and set a reminder to follow up with this person in your designated time period with the reminder tool. Evernote’s cloud inspired system allows you to access any of your notes from any web device in the world. You can keep your notes organized by creating different notebooks for different types of notes such as personal, work, and team. Premium users are also able to share their notes instantly with other Evernote users by creating a shared notebook and adding your team members to that notebook.

2.Skitch

Powered by Evernote this powerful application allows you to take screenshots and add annotations, notes, and even sketches to it. Getting your point across has never been easier, from drawing circles, squares, arrows, and symbols in areas that needs attention. You can create shareable images of a website design change or a highlight a correction on a ad piece for your team, this tool truly makes it so simple to do. It will increase your productivity and turnaround times, ultimately increasing your margins.

3.Google Voice

Every Business Owners Secret Weapon, the amazing developers at Google have created a free tool that gives you a local phone number that rings directly to your cell phone is trackable, customizable, and unbelievable convenient. For over 4 years I have been using google voice for all my print, online, and social media marketing. Once you pick your free number you will have the option to screen incoming calls with a prompt or just during voicemails. Voice also allows you to display the google number you pick on your caller ID, instead of the person who is calling’s number so you can identity how to answer the call. For example if you see your google number show up you know to answer in a professional manner and stating your company name and your name. You can also add additional users to have the calls forwarded too, with custom scheduling you can pick and choose who’s phone will ring and when, you can also playback voicemails, record calls, and create conference calls with Google’s powerful “Voice” platform. All these tools in one place is down right unheard of and completely free, that’s right nada, zilch, nothing! So go download the app today and sign up online with your google account.

4.CamScanner

More than you could ever ask for, CamScanner is a web tool that will practically eliminate your need for a scanner at your home or office . Your camera and this app is all you need, once you take the photo with the CamScanner app it will automatically and to the best of it’s ability find all 4 edges of your documents wether it’s one page or a 100 pages, crop them, and then adjust the perspective. It will also give your documents the “scanned” look that you get from your office scanner and you can even make adjustment until you are satisfied with how it looks. You can then title your single or multi page document, convert it to a .pdf and then share it via email, fax, or dropbox. This is must have app for anyone in business for yourself or not, download it for free on the Apple App Store or Android market. You will not be disappointed I promise!

5.Freshbooks

Simple and affordable this has been lifeline for creating my passive and non passive income. Freshbooks cloud accounting is a tool designed for freelancers, consultant, photographers, web and graphic designers. You can create estimates, recurring and one time invoice, professionally and quickly. Freshbooks gives you the power to track your time and automatically import all of your expenses directly from your bank account. Collecting payment has never been easier with Paypal and tons of other payment processing companies. Freshbooks also integrates with other great programs like Basecamp, Salesforce, and Mailchimp, you can even install a late payments feature allowing you apply penalties for past due payments from difficult customers. There is also a support feature allowing you to create trouble tickets for order issues and create internal notes that can be shared with your team. It has turned many tedious processes such as accounting, invoicing, estimating, time tracking, and payment processing into a neat and organized dashboard with exportable reports. If you are using quickbooks and love it then great maybe freshbooks is not for you, but if you are not a quickbooks user and you find their system seems to intimidating for you then give Freshbooks a try. They offer a 30 day free trial so you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

If you find one, or all of these app help please make you more productive, efficient or successful then please send us your feedback, whether it be negative or positive we would love to hear back from you.

Wow that’s a nice business card!

Everyone has seen and heard the ads for the cheap online printer offering 250 business cards free or 500 cards for $10. Truth is, you can not buy quality printing for $10, whether or not you have ordered from the big box printer like Vista, who will even admit that their templates are generic and customization and quality are clearly lacking.

I have spent the last 7 years in the printing business and have seen over 100 businesses using the boring brown background with ivy design. If you have seen this template you know exactly which one I’m talking about. Can you recall one company that has used that template and remember what their business name or brand was? Did their card have rounded corners, custom glossy coating, or just the logo with a smooth matte finish on the rest of the card? Was the card flimsy or single sided? Now take your business card out and ask your self “Is this a unique business card?” If your immediate reaction is not yes, then your missing out on making a lasting first impression with a new potential customer. You only get one first impression and your business card is a representation of you, your brand, and the services you offer.

Internet printers are only able to offer such cheap pricing for one big reason. “Gang Run Printing.” this is a term commonly used in the changing printing industry. Gang Run Printing is when a printer creates a set of metal plates for each color in your design. The colors will not be matched up, and the colors can sometimes shift by up to 50%.

The craft of quality printing may no longer be with many internet printing companies, but that is not the case with Adrian Graphics. Your printing job is guaranteed to be printed on the best quality paper with environmentally friendly inks and up to 70% recycled paper.

Bottom Line: If you are willing to compromise on the quality of your companies printing to save $25-$30 on a set of business cards, it will translate into the rest of your business and immediately say to your customer “cheaper is better.”

7 Cures for being broke!

1. Start saving now!

A portion of your income is yours to keep. For every dollar you make, pay your self a minimum of 10 Cents. That is 10% and yours to keep. The sooner you start the more your wealth will grow, if you can afford more than 10%, great, but remember small wins everyday create large long term gains.

2. Control your spending

Do not confuse neccesary expenses with your temporary wants a desires. Your expenditures should not exceed 90% of your income. Create a hard copy budget of your expenses and cross out all but the absolute neccesities. However much you have left, if less than 10%, should be stored away from temptation in a safe, or inaccessible bank account.

3. Multiply your money by investing

Investing into low risk programs is a great way to build additional wealth and put every dollar to work for you. The sooner you invest, the faster the stream of money will become a reality. Put your dollars to work by making your money your slave. Lending to someone you know with collateral and who has the means or ability to give you a guaranteed return is a great way to make profit.

4. Protect your money from loss

The penalty of risk is probable loss. Research heavily before parting with your hard earned dollars. Be careful not to spend to much time deciding. If you have not come to a confident decision within 24 hours, it is probably best to move on. Be careful that the person or company you are investing or lending to can guarantee their ability to pay you back. Would you trade places with the lender business you are investing with? Consulting an expert is also a great way to determine if you have a good investment in front of you. Be sure it’s an experienced person in the proper handling of money.

5. Buy your own home or property

A great sense of confidence and happiness comes from owning your own home. Though you may have a mortgage, each payment will go towards that debt and will greatly reduce your overall cost and improve your quality of living.

6. Guarantee yourself a future income

Prepare for a suitable stream of income that will provide yourself and your family for many years. Real Estate, Land, and other investments are great ways to gain more income. It must be stable income that will provide even once you are gone.

7. Increase your ability to earn

Your preceding accomplishments must be desire or drive. Your desire must be strong and definite- general desires are weak longings. Your desire should be simple and attainable the more you take interest in your craft. Cultivate wisdom by studying, practicing, networking and learning about your industry. This will make you more experienced and confident, and the more confidence you have, the more you will earn!

If you put these 7 cures into action we know you will see your wealth grow and your financial situations will dramatically improve.

How to avoid losing your business to greedy investors!

Why did you start your small business? For passion, for money, or both? Truth be told, most entrepreneurs have a dream to not just do what they love but want get paid handsomely to do it.

Are you currently, or have you in the past been faced with making a decision that may compromise the future and control your passions, dreams, and small business? I have on multiple occasions, and my first time making this decision could have cost me my dreams of being an entrepreneur. I hope the ideas and strategies from this article will shed some light and give you some qualified advice on how to make the right choice. For some, these decisions will be easy to make, and for others, not so easy. Is your business providing a roof over you or your families heads, do you have employees working for you that depend on your leadership to secure their career with your company? These are just a few of the questions you may ask yourself when deciding to take on investors, sell your business, or bring on a partner. Can you afford to risk losing your income, or eventually lose a business you’ve risked everything for to start? If you are like me, then you have put in blood, sweat, and tears to see your business succeed. Letting a wanna be big shot with a checkbook just waltz in and start telling you how you should run YOUR business, or tell you that it is flawed and not running right is not a place that you ever want to end up. Here’s my story of how I was taken by a greedy investor myself:

In late 2007 I started a retail print, sign, and graphics store called Kalifornia Printing aka KalPrint.com located in Citrus Heights, CA. By the end of 2010 I had moved my small operation from 650 Sq ft to over 3000 Sq Ft. in Midtown Sacramento just blocks from the capital. We had over 3,000 happy customers, tens of thousands in equipment and we provided jobs for more than 10 people. In April of 2011 I was approached by a former employer Randy who was also in the printing business but specialized in direct mail. Randy talked about all the success he had and how he had all the resources he needed for his business under one roof. He then offered to buy my entire company from me, while keeping it as my business and told me to put together a proposal for purchasing my Kalifornia Printing. Randy said that he saw great potential in me and saw the vision I had for my brand that I had worked tirelessly to build. He went on to say he could see us taking KalPrint nationwide. He even went as far as putting stars on a map in his office of locations where he would want KalPrint facilities. At this time my business, although profitable, was going through some real growing struggles. My stress level was high, my liabilities were very minimal, but I was truthfully overwhelmed. I thought at the time that this offer could be something really great. After all my hard work, I was more excited than I had ever been about the future of my company. I wrote the proposal and emailed it over, within 3 days we met again and he had a contract written up with his counter offer and what he was willing to give me. Not one of my offers were met, in fact, I was offered a tenth of what I was asking for upfront, and half of my monthly salary that I wanted. I felt at this point like I was stuck in a corner. I needed help. I could continue like I was with all the stress and wearing 12 hats, or take his offer. So there I was, faced with a tough decision that would not only affect my life but the lives of everyone of my employees and customers. Randy was offering to relieve me of all my liabilities, stress and give me the financial backing and resources I would ever need. It seemed like a no brainer at the time. So I signed on the dotted line without taking some qualified legal advice first. It was this decision that I would regret for a very long time!

After signing, Randy ordered (not asked) but ordered that we move our entire operation over in one weekend and begin to run out of his facility in West Sacramento. Hesitantly I made the switch hoping that two moves in less than 9 months was not to big of a jump, we had been growing our facility month by month in downtown and things were really starting to pick up. Randy then fired all but one of my current staff which was my cousin, and he exiled my company mascot “Gizmo the Pug” from the building, which was one of my biggest sources of traffic downtown. Unwilling to even compromise, Randy told me that I was no longer allowed to design, or draw, the whole reason why I had started Kalifornia Printing in the first place! My new job was sales, and sales only. I was no longer allowed to have my own office, and I would now have to take orders from one of his managers. This was not at all what I had in mind for the future of my company, and the horrible feeling that I had made a huge mistake began to sink in. It was not 3 weeks after our move when Randy, trying to prove a point began to threaten me, so harshly that his nose began to bleed. He said to me that if I did not do things the way he wanted then he would “sue the shit out of me and take me for everything I had”. The situation had quickly become a hostile working environment and keeping quiet was no longer an option. I explained to Randy that one more threat of that nature and I would walk out immediately. Clearly my promise to leave was not enough to get his attention, because less than than two weeks later on a Friday evening one of his employees directly went against his and my requests and let a customer take an order that was not supposed to leave the building. This sparked an absolute furry and Randy began to belittle, and threaten me while screaming at the top of his lungs on the phone. Luckily the last employee I had happened to be my cousin. He heard the entire conversation and told me “You don’t deserve to be treated this way.” So I packed up my computer that Friday, wrote a letter of resignation over the weekend and delivered it via email Monday morning to Randy himself. That was the end of my empire I had worked so hard to build, it was at that time the most devastating experience I had encountered since becoming an entrepreneur, it affected my personal life, my drive, and will to continue working for myself.

With the small sum of money I had received from Randy for my business I took some time off to assess the situation, reflect on the decision I made leading to this event, and how I was going to dust myself off, learn from my mistakes, and keep pushing forward. This first thing that I learned was choosing money over my passion had been a huge mistake and was a bold statement that I was giving up to the trials and tribulations that came with starting a new business. If I was ever going to prosper and repeat the success I had with KalPrint I needed to stay committed, be patient, and turn the stressful times into learning experiences and use them to make my business better. Make sure that the ideas and visions you have for your business are in line with your investors goals and ideas and that the changes in your vision are red flags that you should take very seriously. The second thing I learned was that just because the investor tells you it’s still your business, it all comes down to what is in writing. I signed the contract stating his corporation was purchasing KalPrint. It was my choice that led to the failure of my first company. Failure, like crisis, breeds the opportunity to learn and to grow as an entrepreneur. If you are even considering the idea of selling, partnering, or buying a business NEVER make a final decision without consulting a legal professional who can asses the situation from a legal standpoint and guide you in the right direction. The last thing I learned is to trust my instincts, my heart, or what some might call “My Gut”. Every good decision I’ve ever made I had followed “my gut” and it had never let me down. If you have to ask yourself if it’s the right decision more than once, chances are high that it’s the wrong decision. Fortunately my negative experience was not enough to make me give up my dreams of entrepreneurship, and after a long vacation away to reflect, my fuel for starting over and building Adrian Graphics LLC began.

The bottom line is that good relationships are built on trust and take time to form. Make sure the person that you are thinking of working with is not only qualified, but has the same life values as you. Never give away complete control of what you have created. Trust your gut and don’t rush or make a rash decision just because you are being pressured by a potential investment.

I hope you enjoyed my story of my hard lesson I experienced, if this helps just one person it will be a great success, and I would love to hear from you. Also if you have experienced something similar to this please get in touch with me, I’d like to hear your story as well.

Artist Profile – Graphic Designer Sacramento, CA

Adrian Boysel, Graphic Designer and Videographer Sacramento, CA

Since the age of 4 years old, before I even realized I was an artist, my parents noticed my affinity toward drawing. I can still remember drawing my first picture for my Aunt Brittany while we sat at my Tinker Tots multi color picnic table and pretended to be doing business with each other. Since that time my love for art has only grown significantly.

Oriental Cuisine Express – Panda Drawing – Panda Art

That passion for art carried me until my beginning years as videographer and graphic designer, where I won my first award in junior year of high school. When I was just a youngster, maybe 9 or 10 years old, my step mother Gina told me “Someday you will combine your awesome artwork with computers, I don’t know how, but I know someday you will.” If I only knew then what I know now about my future in art and business. She was completely right!

With the advancement of Photo editing, graphic design and video editing software I was then able to take my hand drawn works of art and bring them into my a computer to illustrate them into clean vibrant designs that were scaleable to any size. As I continue my career in the business to business world, I see a growing need for brands to create a unique brand through creative artwork and design.

I’m driven to inspire other artists and companies to convey who they are and what matters most to them through custom images and artwork planned and executed by the best artist’s in the country. I’m excited to see what more the future holds for not just myself, but for everyone that is a part of the Adrian Graphics family.

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