Site promotional tool

[roadrash]

Greetings!

At some point in the past week or two, I read mention of telling other ti drivers about this web site. I don't remember what thread it was, but it made me think a bit. Here's the the idea that's a result of that thinking........

I occasionally see a 318ti parked or driving by, and I'm sure you do to. I've often wanted to tell them about this site but that's obviously pretty tough if the car is unattended. So, it occurred to me that it would be very handy to have something like a "business card" that I could stick under a wiper blade, hand to the person, etc. So, I decided to start working on a design. Once I create a decent design, I can put 10 cards on US "letter" sized paper (maybe make an A4 size too), create an Adobe Acrobat file (.pdf) and upload it here. Then, any of you can download the file, print out some cards, and begin to promote your favorite web site.

So, now I'd appreciate some feedback on what information should be on the card. For starters...
1) Obviously, the URL (http://www.318ti.org/)
2) The "318ti.org" logo graphic
3) A brief list of the type of content found on the site. E.g., "Maintenance tips, Classified Ads, and Technical information specifically for your 318ti"
4) A way to identify who left the card. E.g., "Refered by: ______" or "Tell them ____ sent you!" You'd write your user name in the blank. Or you could simply write any info you wish on the back of the card.
5) Maybe a graphic of the 318ti.

Perhaps site sponsors would receive a personalized version with their user name and/or contact info pre-printed upon it, or I could send them the raw file and they could customize it a bit.

Good idea? Bad idea? Thoughts? Suggestions?

[BmWwHiPPin]

Greetings!

At some point in the past week or two, I read mention of telling other ti drivers about this web site. I don't remember what thread it was, but it made me think a bit. Here's the the idea that's a result of that thinking........

I occasionally see a 318ti parked or driving by, and I'm sure you do to. I've often wanted to tell them about this site but that's obviously pretty tough if the car is unattended. So, it occurred to me that it would be very handy to have something like a "business card" that I could stick under a wiper blade, hand to the person, etc. So, I decided to start working on a design. Once I create a decent design, I can put 10 cards on US "letter" sized paper (maybe make an A4 size too), create an Adobe Acrobat file (.pdf) and upload it here. Then, any of you can download the file, print out some cards, and begin to promote your favorite web site.

So, now I'd appreciate some feedback on what information should be on the card. For starters...
1) Obviously, the URL (http://www.318ti.org/)
2) The "318ti.org" logo graphic
3) A brief list of the type of content found on the site. E.g., "Maintenance tips, Classified Ads, and Technical information specifically for your 318ti"
4) A way to identify who left the card. E.g., "Refered by: ______" or "Tell them ____ sent you!" You'd write your user name in the blank. Or you could simply write any info you wish on the back of the card.
5) Maybe a graphic of the 318ti.

Perhaps site sponsors would receive a personalized version with their user name and/or contact info pre-printed upon it, or I could send them the raw file and they could customize it a bit.

Good idea? Bad idea? Thoughts? Suggestions?

sweet idea man! i totally agree !!!! +100

[96cali]

+1 !

[Tyler]

What happend to sticking a note under their windshield wiper? You can always just write i say your ti in the parking lot and wanted to tell you about this site called 318ti.org. You should check it out it has alot of useful info on there.
Yes it's a good idea but waste of money imo. If i see one it's usually when i'm driving around and if they notice my ti drving past them maybee they'll notice the logos on my window. Hell a guy in a vw saw me on the highway and my 318ti.org logo and joined the site the next day.

[roadrash]

What happend to sticking a note under their windshield wiper? You can always just write i say your ti in the parking lot and wanted to tell you about this site called 318ti.org. You should check it out it has alot of useful info on there.
The card I'm making is merely a pre-printed version of that. One advantage for me is that I won't have to write the note every time.

Yes it's a good idea but waste of money imo.
These could be printed out on any PC printer, providing you've got the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to open the file. That's pretty cheap in my opinion. You could spend a bit of extra money on heavier paper, but that's optional.

I just realized that I'll need feedback from Steve about using the various logos before I make anything public.

[aceyx]

It would be great if we could print this information on the back of the stickers. I'd pay for a handful of them if we could get that done.

[cali-ti]

i like the idea, assuming steven approves. i agree with the idea of each person wishing to use the cards printing them out themselves.

i like the idea of having them preprinted for the reason you mentioned roadrash (you don't have to write it each time), as well as being more "professional" than a handwritten note. also have the benefit of consistency across the group which is just a nice spiff. please make at least one form "best viewed" in grayscale or as line art so those of us w/o color printers can still make nice looking copies.

good thinking 'rash!

[1996 328ti]

We did something like this for the ti maillists.
I wouldn't mind having people print things up but I'd be careful about placing things on cars, especially if the ink tends to run.

I would think a 318ti.org decal would be enough.
I'm up for anything as long as it is not tasteless or tacky.

[roadrash]

I wouldn't mind having people print things up but I'd be careful about placing things on cars, especially if the ink tends to run.
Personally, I plan to have my cards printed at Kinko's because I had some "business cards" printed on the heavier "card stock" paper and they worked out well. I just sacrificed one of those cards to a stream of hot water and the ink didn't run. But, people will use various printing methods, so there will need to be some "instructions" or "guidelines" to accompany the card.

Will it be OK to use the "318ti" part of the logo? I think I remember you previously mentioning that BMW keeps a tight reign on useage of their logos, etc.

[nusstroy]

personally i thinnk its a great idea, i have seen a couple ti's in the past week to tell you the truth, and i would have liked to put the card on their car if i had one.

+1!:rolleyes:

[1996 328ti]

Will it be OK to use the "318ti" part of the logo? I think I remember you previously mentioning that BMW keeps a tight reign on useage of their logos, etc.I wouldn't say there are tight reigns. I would like to keep it consistent though. So knock yourself out.

Maybe we need bigger decals for the rear window?

[roadrash]

I would like to keep it consistent though.
Me too, and being as lazy as I am, I'll use some of the existing graphics on the site, if that's OK.

Maybe we need bigger decals for the rear window?
Well, if "stickers = horsepower"... surely "bigger decals = MORE horsepower"?? :wink:

Seriously though... that's a personal style preference. I'd be quite happy with a couple of small decals, but would never put a big decal on my car.

Do you have any thoughts on what "content" to put on the card, e.g. what I included in the initial post (above)?

[1996 328ti]

Do you have any thoughts on what "content" to put on the card, e.g. what I included in the initial post (above)?No idea. I have no creative ability as you can tell with this site.

[roadrash]

LOL... Oh, stop it. I like this site! But, I wasn't referring to graphics, colors, etc. , but to textual information. Specifically this sort of thing: "Maintenance tips, Classified Ads, and Technical information specifically for your 318ti"

I.e., when you brag about this site, what features do you mention most? What features are likely to be the most useful to the newcomer?

Personally, I've found the technical info and classified ads to be quite helpful. If this site and community didn't exist, it's very unlikely that I would have purchased a 318ti. Heck, I'd probably have bought a slightly newer Honda.

[drkblu318ti]

I think the idea is awsome. True you might have to watchout for the runy colors but i too have many times wanted to put something on a ti that i saw.. even if the person is on here they can pm the person to say Hi and let them know who it was.

[roadrash]

Here's the first basic draft to get us "on the same page."

http://www.318ti.org/gallery/data/500/snapshot11.png

I'm still pondering ways to make it "pretty" (fonts, graphics, etc.) I'll also try using the full header graphic from the site rather than just the "318ti.org" part.

Any suggestions on what textual content to include?

The "referred by" section will be left blank or possibly customized

The final result will be 10 cards on a page in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format.

[cali-ti]

any way to create a pdf form with the referred by name/username editable? i think it looks pretty good. not sure how well the ".org" will come out if you have a non-color printer, so possibly a separate one with the ".org" in white for those of us with laser printers? maybe chuck "bmw" in there somewhere too ... " BMW 318ti" ... just a thought.

[roadrash]

And here's an alternate version:

http://www.318ti.org/gallery/data/500/snapshot2.png

[roadrash]

any way to create a pdf form with the referred by name/username editable?
I don't think so. You'd have to have the (relatively expensive) Acrobat software to edit the .pdf file directly. In theory, I could provide the DTP file... but I don't know if the software I'm using (Scribus for Linux) is available for Windows. It might be just as easy for me to customize the name and send the file to ya. That would keep things more consistant too because I'd be the only one who could tinker with the content.

possibly a separate one with the ".org" in white for those of us with laser printers?
yeah... I'm sure that can be done... I'd just need to mess with the graphics a bit.

OK... How about this:
"You are invited to join other BMW 318ti owners at our online forum, featuring free registration, classified ads, maintenance tips, and technical information specifically for your BMW 318ti."

Granted... it should be obvious to the person reading the car that they own a BMW, so there's no real need to include it. But I can use "BMW" to make the lines of text closer to the same length so that it looks better.

Thanks!

[cali-ti]

I don't think so. You'd have to have the (relatively expensive) Acrobat software to edit the .pdf file directly. In theory, I could provide the DTP file... but I don't know if the software I'm using (Scribus for Linux) is available for Windows. It might be just as easy for me to customize the name and send the file to ya. That would keep things more consistant too because I'd be the only one who could tinker with the content.
unless you want a full time job spewing out pdf files for ... how many members do we have now? ... or unless it can be automated with scribus? or maybe someone has a full version of acrobat?

yeah... I'm sure that can be done... I'd just need to mess with the graphics a bit.
cool.

OK... How about this:
"You are invited to join other BMW 318ti owners at our online forum, featuring free registration, classified ads, maintenance tips, and technical information specifically for your BMW 318ti."

Granted... it should be obvious to the person reading the car that they own a BMW, so there's no real need to include it. But I can use "BMW" to make the lines of text closer to the same length so that it looks better.
sounds good to me. i like the simplicity and clean look of the first design better and it would definitely look better on a grayscale printer. just mho :)

[roadrash]

The easiest way is to simply leave it blank, e.g. "Referred by: ______________" This would allow the card distributor to write in their real name or user name. I'd vote for having that version, and a version without the referred line.

[Kraln]

http://i4.tinypic.com/105885w.png

Here's my go at it. The lighter area of color around the top is the bleed (the part that usually gets cut off. This is a standard business card size, 3.5/2. I have a full-sized, 300dpi version if this needs to go to a printing shop. (http://i4.tinypic.com/10589j6.png)

Alternatively, I do have a full copy of Acrobat, and I can make those editable fields that some of you had requested.

[cali-ti]

hmmm ... that looks good too :)

[3DGE]

SO i herd there is some hotchick in my area who drives a red TI, i got to find here!!!! MAybe go no a date and go ...dogging haha jpjp.

Anyway I told my buddy about this site, he has a 96 black TI, but he is not on the web too much.

[cali-ti]

Anyway I told my buddy about this site, he has a 96 black TI, but he is not on the web too much.
what? does he have a life or something? we don't want any of those type of people on here :p

[nusstroy]

what? does he have a life or something? we don't want any of those type of people on here :p


hahahahahaha
:blink: :weirdface :dance:

[roadrash]

Here's my go at it.
NICE! I like the look of that more than what I've come up with so far. I think Steve wanted it to look more like the graphics on the web site, but I could be wrong there.

I can make those editable fields that some of you had requested.
Cool... so we can pretty easily have a couple of versions. One with editable "referred by" and one blank so you can write what you want, or not.

I typically print 10 cards on a sheet of card stock and then cut them apart. That may or may not be cheaper than having "real business cards" printed, depending on quantities, etc.

[bmw318tiChic]

I really like this idea, I would definitely use those! The version by Kraln looks better in my opinion, but both still are awesome.

[roadrash]

A couple of new versions:
1) minor modifications (http://www.318ti.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2487&cat=500" target="new) from the initial version.
2) "Achtung Bimmer (http://www.318ti.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2485&cat=500" target="new)" version

[3DGE]

Give me a basic drawing, then I can use my MAD photoshop skillz to produce a nice looking thing.