4 Steps to Generating Leads from LinkedIn

For businesses, LinkedIn can be a goldmine for those who know how to use it. Here are four ways your business might benefit from using LinkedIn for generating leads:

Participation.  Encourage your staff to participate with LinkedIn.  Your business will have more visibility when staff creates an account so more professionals will associate with  your business.

Presence within LinkedIn.   Make an effort to spread the word about your availability in LinkedIn.  Promote your profile on your blog and Twitter feeds.  Add a QR code to the back of your business card that drives traffic to your LinkedIn profile.  Include the LinkedIn link on your email signature.  Add clients as connections to see their contacts (aka, new potential prospects).

Group Think.  Contribute to active group discussions and position yourself as an expert in your field.  Don't waste time on groups that have low member counts and little or no participation.   Give thoughtful and expert responses to questions.   Don't pitch your services on LinkedIn, there will be other opportunities for that.

Follow Up.  Track who is viewing your company website and your profile.    These people may be potential leads researching your company.  Follow up leads with an email, LinkedIn's InMail or phone call.

Lead generation within LinkedIn does require some investment of your time.  But by engaging with professionals from relevant industries on social media sites, your list of prospects will grow.

Branding on Social Media

Social media is a trend that is not slowing down in the branding world.  Almost everyone is using one type of social media.  Not everyone has signed  on to social media but they have utilized social media almost every day.  Creating a company page is another way to advertise your brand.

Before  you jump into creating several social media pages and posting random tweets or comments on Facebook, think about how your business wants to use social media.  Identify what you intend to achieve with each social media outlet.  Facebook could be used for customer service comments and Twitter can be used to express your industry expertise.  Even if your business is not ready to go ahead for a  social media campaign ,  create a page in each social media outlet to claim your business name.   You don't want to wait to sign up and then have your business name taken.

Try to be consistent with using social media outlets.   Try to interaction with your followers as much as possible to engage them in your brand.   Be careful on the content you publish, if your company is a longstanding traditional brand, don't post something that  is not consistent with the way your business operates. 

Remember to post on a regular schedule.   By jumping into social media outlet and then not posting or replying to followers can potentially hurt your brand.   The more your business brand displays on  computer, ipad or phone screens,  the more your brand is being instilled in your followers minds.

Visit us at www.austinmmp and like us on our Facebook page.

After Hour Networking

When drumming up new business, almost everyone is reaching out to consumers via social media and/or direct mail campaigns.  Meeting new people at after hour networking can be a challenge for some personalities.    Here are some tips on how to tackle the after hour networking event:

Don't be shy when it comes to networking.  You need to put yourself out there and think of every interaction as a networking opportunity.  If you tend to be shy in this environment, you can overcome that by being prepared.  Find volunteer opportunities that will help you get comfortable talking with strangers to overcome your shyness.

Don't just think of the traditional happy hour events as your only place to find new business.  Try to engage with people everywhere you go.    You never know where your next customer may come from.  Example - while at the dog park and talking with another dog owner, it came up we own MMP  and they happen to need a poster rushed the next week.   We gained a customer by interacting with other dog owners.      Keep your business cards on you at all times for these unexpected opportunities.

Don't overwhelm people with a long elevator pitch.  Make the pitch short, simple and relevant to the person you are engaging with.  You will  also want to find a way to stand out from everybody else.

Don't force a business relationship.  Find commonality with people by sharing hobbies or passions before talking business.  Not everyone you meet will become a customer, however, you never know if that introduction might turn into a referral.

Like us on Facebook and visit us at www.austinmmp.com

Turn your Office Place into a Green Environment

We all have heard of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”.   This may be easy to do at home but harder to accomplish in the workplace.   However, if you are able to make your marketing material green than there is a chance you might attract a variety of customers by advertising with the green approach.

Reduce -- If your habit includes sending emails, internet new articles, projects to the printer to have  a hard copy of then you may want to change your habits.  Although it is important to see how the product will actually look on paper, employees tend to print unnecessary documents.  Encourage employees to limit clicking the print button.

Reuse and Recycle  -- Do you have left over letterhead, flyers or other materials that are not used anymore?   Before tossing them, think of ways to reuse this paper.   Create a bin for paper that can be used again.  Put back in the printer to print on other side.   Use this paper as scrap note paper.  See if the staff can come up with creative ways to reuse paper.  

Many customers appreciate hearing about what your business is doing to help the environment.   Be honest of your recycling practices that you have established.  They may be no brainer practices, but is can be easy to embellish your recycling practice. 

Planning for Successful Project

Planning is important for a business to be success.  A well detailed plan can fail if not executed successfully.   Here are some tips to keep in mind:

Communicate to employees what is the most important to accomplish by prioritizing goals.  Don't have employees spend too much time on things that do have much impact on the end result.

Setup procedures for keeping everyone updated about problems and progress.  Not every issue needs to be shared, however, let people know what questions and information they should bring to you and who else needs to be informed.  Establish a time line to review progress on a regular basis for all large and small projects.

Document what decisions were made and what actions were taken for large projects.  So when the project comes around again, you can be better prepared to avoid mistakes or misunderstandings. Evaluate the project if needed, discuss on what the team achieved and what process needs to be changed.

Visit us online www.austinmmp.com and like us on Facebook.

Social Media and Customer Feedback

Most consumers are connected in social media in at least one way if not more. Your business will get positive and negative feedback from customers so you will need to understand how to respond strategically to their feedback.

When you joined a social media, were you thinking you might be putting your business at risk. Being open to customer feedback on Facebook or Twitter can help your business.

Customers want to interact with you on social media. It is great to get positive feedback for the attention. Keep in mind negative comments still can have value when your response is appropriate.

If a customer has a negative comment to make about your business, let them say it. You should respond to the negative comment appropriately. You might be surprised when you find loyal customers coming to your defense.

The rules for responding to complaints on social media is the same as in person. Review the complaint and then look into the situation. Respond right away if you plan on responding on social media. Handling negative feedback on social media well, could turn into a positive. Customers and prospects may be impressed on how your business handled the comment.

Keep an eye on your business’s social media properties so you can turn a bad customer experience into a sales opportunity.

Visit us on Facebook and check out our website www.austinmmp.com

Streamline all your Marketing Channels

Streamline  all your marketing channels campaigns to help your customers identify your brand.
If your customers are familiar and can identify your business based on your branding, it is a better chance your customers will feel comfortable with your business.

Design all your business materials such as letterhead, envelopes, business cards  to be consistent with your branding.   Before you create your next marketing material, ensure they all match with your brand’s color scheme.   

Take a look at your  in-store signage and other promotional pieces.   Do they have the same look and feel?  Does the in-store signage match what your website or social media accounts are saying?  Point of purchase should match your email marketing too.

When creating your direct mail flyers,  remember to keep these pieces  should connect with the rest of your marketing materials.    When you send out direct mail flyers, you want  your flyer to jog a prospect’s memory of seeing your branding before. 

The two most important elements that need to be streamlined is email and website. The  color scheme in your email message ought to complement your website’s colors.   If you catch a customer’s attention from your website, expect an in person visit.  Thus the in-store theme should match the website.

Streamlining all your marketing channels is important for customer retention and closing a sale.  Link  every element to keep them hooked.

Visit our website for more information, www.austinmmp.com

Facebook's EdgeRank Algorithm

EdgeRank promotes brand pages based on the number of interactions such as comments, likes, and shares a page or post receives.  Posts with more interactions tend to be ranked high by this algorithm and is then displayed to the people who like the page.  Posts that have less comments, likes or shares might not be ranked high in this algorithm.   EdgeRank algorithm is specific to Facebook users who have their news feed settings set to Sort By Top Stories.   Sort By Top Stories is the default setting of Facebook.  When a Facebook user has their news feed set to Sort By Most Recent, they do not have to worry about the EdgeRank algorithm.   The setting Sort By Most Recent allows users to see all of their friends' and liked brands' posts since they are posted in chronological order.

Here are a couple of ideas on how to get your brand's posts to show up in your fan's news feeds:

- Interaction with your own posts by creating dialogue.  These posts will appear in your fan's news feeds.
- Respond within the first hour of your new post.   Majority of post interactions occur the first hour of a post.
- Mix up your post feeds with videos, photos, link to relevant articles.   Don't use the same posting style.
- Ask a question or encourage opinions on a subject in a post.   This makes it easier for your posts to be viewed and ranked important by EdgeRank.
 - Keep posts short.  Don't post a long paragraph, people will be bored.  

Remember, engage with your Facebook friends' and interact with them online to get your posts visibility and relevant.

Back to the Business Basics

Many business owners have wisely spent time and money to keep their business name out there for the buying public.  With everyone working on their SEO program, having a presence with LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, attending networking events and happy hours, you may find yourself saying "Am I doing all I can?" 

Remember the basics of running a business.  Do not overlook how your staff is answering incoming phone calls, email responses and greeting customers.

Answering the phone by saying "ABC Company" isn't the way to answer the phone.  Saying "Good morning, this is ABC Company" is a more professional way to answer.  It is up to the office manager or business owner to ensure your staff is properly trained on answering phone calls. 

Review your companies email policy.  Does the staff respond to emails within a reasonable time?  Is the reply email worded in a professional manner?  Keep in mind the written words should be written as if the person is in front of you. 

How does your staff greet customers?  As soon as a customer walks into your business, greet them with at least a "Hello" to acknowledge you know they are there.  Your staff may not be able to assist them right away so have a policy for these situations.  If a customer is not greeted professionally they could walk right out your door, therefore, you probably lost a sale and potential customer.

Customers come to your business for your expertise.    Each business and profession has different terminology.   Do not assume your customers know all about your business terminology and processes. Remind your staff that they may need to talk in more basic terms when explaining a project with customers.   People in nature are sometimes afraid to admit they are not familiar with a process.      Customers will appreciate your staff taking to time to explain your business terminology or  showing them the process.

Generating Leads on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional networking site businesses need to know how to use.  We came across a few ways businesses can use LinkedIn to generate leads.

Create a company page as we did for MarketMailPrint and fill out your profile as much as you can.  Have the staff participate by creating an account to help get more visibility to your company page and name.    Remind the staff to maintain a professional image of their profile.  LinkedIn should not be used to post party pictures or silly personal information.  

Once you have a company page created, do not let it go dominate.  Promote your company page profile on your blog or twitter accounts.  Do you have a blank side on your business cards?    Since you are handing out your business cards, have your business cards have a dual purpose.   On the blank side, print  a QR code that drives traffic to your LinkedIn profile.  Another idea is to include a link to your LinkedIn profile on your email signature.  

Be active with LinkedIn profile by joining groups and participate in some discussions. Select your groups wisely.   Look for groups that have a lot of participation.   Stay away from groups that have lots of members but little activity.  

Use Google analytics to track who is viewing your LinkedIn profile.  Track those people who have viewed your profile, these may be potential leads that are researching your company.   Follow up with an email or phone call to see if they may be a viable lead.

Generating leads from LinkedIn will need some investment of your time but it will help introduce potential customers.

Do you need a new Marketing Plan?

Has your company been doing the same marketing strategy for years?   If so, it may be time for you the change.  Social media  and QR Codes have introduced several  new marketing strategies.  See which ones may work best for you to help grow your business.

You will need to figure out  what marketing activity worked from your marketing plan last year.  There is a simple way to find out, just  ask how you are doing.  Publish an online survey, phone calls or ask customers in-person.    Feedback may be difficult to hear sometimes but listen to everything your customers are saying.  They will give you a different view of which promotions worked and which ones did not work as well as you had planned.  

When considering changing your marketing plan, remember to consider your Return on Investment.   Look at each marketing activity and evaluate if it was worth the Return of Investment instead of evaluating your marketing budget.   Make changes to marketing activities that were lacking.   Keep the marketing activities that had a good Return on Investment, you may want to think of ways to improve them.

No Cost Tips to Market Your Business

Attend networking meetings and event to meet potential customers.  Be present when you attend networking meetings and talk positively about your company.

Networking groups allow you to meet other companies you can partner up with that might complement your business.   A joint venture with another company will get publicity from your current customers and you will be able to hopefully benefit from attention from their customers. 

Having a strong presence with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter does not cost anything.  Once these online tools are in place, it will help with your SEO ranking of your website.

Network groups are always looking for speakers to talk about a variety of topics.   This is a great opportunity for you to introduce your business to a small group of potential customers.    Share some educational aspect of your business to the group.   

Show a little gratitude to your current customers.   Sending a thank you note to show them you appreciate them as a customer.    This may help promote your brand positively.   These customers are then more likely to talk about your business positively within their own networking groups.

Managing Your Time Wisely

Running a successful business makes it important to effectively manage your time.  If your business is does not manage the office time wisely, how can customers rely on you to help them get their jobs done in time?  Here are a few ideas how to make managing time less stressful and more productive:

Create a written to-do list.  Write down everything you need to complete for each project or daily activities.   Try not to create a mental list since this may add to being overwhelmed when items are forgotten mid-day.  Crossing tasks off as they are completed will help you feel a sense of accomplishment. The crossed off tasks can give you a status overview of your day or a project.

After the to-do list has been created, rearrange the tasks by priority.  Put the time-consuming and most difficult tasks as the first items.  People tend to be more efficient in the morning.  Your time will be managed better by completing the most difficult or time-consuming tasks before you start to feel fatigued later in the day.

Some people work better with deadlines.   If you fall into this category, move your deadline time up by 30 minutes to 1 hour.   This gives you a time to strive for and gives you a little freedom if you need extra time without missing the deadline.

Limit your urge to multitask when in stressful situations. Mistakes can happen if trying to multitask, focus on finishing one to-do task before starting another task.

 On the days you don't complete your list, try to identify what was holding you back from completing more items on the list.  Was the priority order wrong,  too many phone call interruptions or issues out of your control?   Stay calm and figure out how to fix these distractions for the following day.

Managing your time will help your business operations run smoother and customers will notice and appreciate the good service.

How to Handle Charitable Donation Requests

Donating your services or products to a charitable organization is a good way to give back to the community and effective way to build your company's relationships.   As you would like to say yes to all request, it is just not possible.   Here are a some ways your company can handle these request:

Create a dedicated page on your website to handle charitable contribution request.   You can direct visitors to a specific page to submit a form request.  This form allows you to setup an automated response email for every submitted form request. 

This dedicated page can also contain your step-by-step procedures for handling charitable donation requests.   For example, once a form is submitted, it goes to a committee for review and then the organization will be notified whether or not their request can be fulfilled.

This page is a good place to highlight all the charitable organizations and events you have already sponsored.   Include testimonials from the organizations you have supported on this page.   Showcasing your contributions will show the community how supportive and involved you are which will strengthen your brand and reputation. 

Getting people to talk about your business offline

Social media is an essential way to get customers talking about your business.  Word of mouth is still an effective way to keep your business on customer’s minds.  Here are a few ideas to create buzz around your business:

Since MarketMailPrint offers free delivery and pickup, we try to engage with our customers when dropping off a business card order or customer brochures.  Customers have a busy schedule and appreciate staying at the office to handle their day-to-day operations instead of driving in busy traffic to pick up an order at MarketMailPrint.

Tell a story about one of your staff’s accomplishments, achievement or recent trip.   Feature this story  in your business window or front counter.  The story does not need to be very personal but make it interesting to spark conversation.  A table tent may help to make the display even interesting.

Put a guestbook on the front counter or by the receptionist desk.  The presence of a guestbook with help the staff focus on customer service.  Encourage customers to sign in and to write their thoughts about their experience with your business.  Leaving colorful markers or pens by the guestbook may get more customers to participate in signing the book.

Take some of these ideas and incorporate what works best with your business.

What is a Landing Page?

What is a Landing Page?

A landing page is a specific page on your website that is dedicated to a product or service.  Landing pages are created to help online users/customers to find what they are searching for without navigating through an entire website.

Create keywords for these landing pages for SEO so that when a user searches on those keywords in a search engine, the return result will be a link to that specific page on your website not your Home page.   This takes the user/customer to the product or service their searching for.

Landing pages have to be structured well to get the attention of your audience.  Make these pages visually interesting and not complicated.   Focus on one product or service per landing page.  Your content should be easy  for anyone to understand and relate to.   Try to keep your content to a computer monitor length.  Avoid too much text which causes the user to scroll. 

Add a clear call to action comment for the user to take.   Adding a simple statement  such as "call us" or "like us on Facebook" will get this user one step closer to becoming a potential customer.
Tracking these landing pages by analytics will help you see how many visitors came to that landing page and what they clicked on.   This gives you valuable information about your website and landing pages on which ones work well and which ones need improvements.

We, MarketMailPrint, created a landing page that list all our product categories.  This allowed us to create another landing page for one specific product so when clicked, the user is taken directly to the product page not the Home page.  See a sample landing page for MarketMailPrint business cards.

Scoring

     Scoring is creasing a paper for the purpose of making folding easier. If you were to take a sheet of card stock and try to fold it in half, it would look cracked and uneven, and pretty much not very attractive at all. But when you score a sheet of card stock, it indents the paper where it is intended to fold, giving a nice clean and even crease without the cracks.

     In the past, whenever a customer ordered a job that needed to be scored [cards, booklet covers, table tents, pocket folders, etc] we were setting up and scoring these jobs by hand. Even though it proved as a pretty decent arm workout, it was very time consuming. But, good news! We recently obtained a new Auto-Creaser that scores jobs over 10 times faster than before, and just in time for our yearly slew of Christmas and New Years card jobs. With this new machine, we can finish folding job faster and more efficiently.

     Another benefit of this machines is that it can even helps text weight papers look better. Text weights can be folded without scoring because they are light weight sheets. Unfortunately, for many small quantity jobs that are printed on digital copiers, there can still be cracking where the artwork meets the fold. As you may or may not know, copiers lay toner (a polymer/plastic) on top of the paper. Because it's not a real ink and hasn't soaked into the fibers of the paper, digital will crack when folded. Scoring these jobs — especially brochures — dramatically improves the look and quality. Once you see the difference you won't ever want to go back to the old way again.

Preparing Files for Print

Setting up your files properly for print can save yourself and your printer from getting a headache, and will help your prints come out in a quick and timely manner. I'm sure nothing is more inconvenient for you than having your files stuck in the Proof process because your files were not set up properly.

There are some things to do, though, to make sure that your files will print just as you want them. You may have noticed in some of my earlier posts that I try to stress the importance of images being 300dpi and in CMYK. If you're unsure of the resolution of your image, you can either test print in on your own printer, or you can open it in Photoshop. If at any point you remember sizing UP your image, it will probably be low resolution.

It is also very important to make sure your file is in CMYK. This is also something that I have mentioned in a earlier post, but if your images have Pantones or is in RGB, digital printers (which print in CMYK) will convert those colors to their CMYK equivalent. There are true conversion values, but the printer itself, when converting, takes a guess.

Most of them time we do not have all of them typefaces that you are using, so when we open your files in our programs we lose all your typefaces. There is a couple ways around this: if you are sending a file in it's original format (InDesign, Illustrator, etc) you can send in your typefaces as well (Refer back to Sharing InDesign Files on packaging images and fonts). This is extremely helpful for both parties, because then we have the ability to change information in your file without you having to worry about fixing it yourself and then resending it. Remember, most of the time we are still able to open and edit PDFs. The second way, in Illustrator and InDesign, is to outline the fonts. In order to do that, simply highlight all of your text, and in the menu bar go to Text and select Create Outlines. If you set your type in Photoshop, well, just hope for the best.
Make sure your margins are correct (Refer to Margins and Bleeds)! The preferred margin size is a fourth of an inch (.25) away from the edge of the page, but absolutely NO LESS than an eighth of an inch (.125). This is especially helpful when pages inevitably shift while going through the printer and when it is necessary to give booklets a face trim.

If your file has bleeds (which means the color goes all the way to the edge) be sure to export your file WITH the bleed settings. When you click Save As, the Export Adobe PDF window will pop up, and under Bleed and Slug, make sure you select the Use Document Bleed Settings box.

This will make it so when we print and cut down your piece there will be no white lines around the edge. It is not necessary to have the crop and bleed marks in your file, but at the same time it doesn't hurt. You can find those in the same area as the bleed settings, but under the Marks section.

If your file does NOT have bleeds, then that step is not necessary, and simply exporting to PDF will do just fine. But still be sure to double check that everything else that was mentioned is correct.

Finishing Techniques

These finishing techniques are common not only with business cards, but with anything from book covers, to package design, to even wrapping papers. Each of them make your product appealing in its own way, not to mention the combination possibilities are endless!


Embossing is when a page is pressed between two dies and heat and pressure is applied to the back of the page causing an area of the page to rise.

Blind Embossing/Debossing is when a piece is embossed/debossed but no ink is used to add color.

Blind Embossing

Debossing is the opposite of embossing. The page is pressed between two dies, but instead of pressure to the back of the page, heat and pressure is applied to the front of the page causing an area of the page to recede below the surface of the paper.

Debossing (pattern)

Debossing is not as popular as embossing, but it is commonly used to personalize leather materials. The example above is an example of blind debossing, but regular debossing is the same just with added color.

Letterpress is a technique similar to debossing, where the letters are covered in ink and are pressed into a sheet of paper causing a sort of debossed effect. When done right, letterpress work can be absolutely beautiful. You can also use a letter press without having the debossed effect, just flat text, such as how books used to be printed. I can go on forever about Letterpresses, but this is just the letterpress basics. I'll save going more in depth perhaps in a later blog post.

Letterpress

Thermography is a technique where powder, ink, and high heat are combined to create a raised effect on a page. A powdered polymer and a slow drying ink are applied to a page and the page is exposed to extremely high heat causing the powder and ink to melt. When the ink cools it hardens, thus giving the effect of thermographic printing.

Thermography

Engraving is a technique where an image is carved into a flat sheet of metal, and that sheet of metal is coated in ink and used to print. This technique, as you may know, is used to print currency (as well as many other high security paperwork), because it is nearly impossible to recreate the great level of detail.

Engraving

Foil Stamping is a technique where a metallic foil is applied to a page by means of a heated die. Foil Stamping is a little different than the other printing techniques, where you can feel the foil layer on your page, but it doesn't effect the physical dimension on that page like the other techniques. It is, however, often combined with embossing.

Foil Stamping

Die Cutting is a technique where a die is made (similar to a cookie cutter) and is used to knock out a specific shape in a print. It is kind of opposite of the printing techniques mentioned already. Instead of adding color or adding style to the page, die cutting is taking away from the page.

Die-Cuts

Coating/Varnishes are another way to add a little something to your piece. These are pretty popular when it comes to business cards. You can get anything from UV coating, to dull/aqueous, to matte or silk varnishes. Many exist to add levels of tactile quality - from extremely glosses down to flat matte. You can even to spot coating, which is a coating applied in only the places you want them.

Who would want a boring ol' business card when the finishing techniques truly are endless?

Image Sources: http://www.toxel.com/design/2010/06/30/24-creative-die-cut-business-cards/
http://www.gomediazine.com/design-articles/foil-stamping-a-finishing-favorite/
http://www.engravingmachinesite.com/2011/04/22/engraving-2/
http://www.abcoffice.com/office-equipment-news/2011/01/how-does-a-thermography-machine-work-thermographic-printing/
http://www.beastpieces.com/2009/02/capsule-letterpress-folder-invite/
http://www.offsetprintingtechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/deboss2.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Embossing-stationery.jpg

Opacity vs Tints

I know this is probably one of those basic "well, I know that!" things, but I had to learn this one the hard way here at MMP and it is something that everyone should be sure to know... especially if you are designing for press.

I think the opacity settings threw me off originally because I started designing in Photoshop, and I had no idea where or even if the Tint setting was available. Once I moved into other design programs I took my habitual use of Opacity with me and ignored the Tint setting option all together.

The above image is an example of a press print when the opacity of a color turned down. The section on the left has the opacity turned down to 40% and the section on the right has the opacity turned down to 20%. Notice how the dots in the image get smaller and further apart as the opacity or tint  is turned down.

Opacity is the translucence of a color or layer. It can be 100% opaque meaning that it is full color and you can not see anything behind it, 99-1% opaque which makes it to where you can still see the front color as well as the color behind it, or 0% opaque meaning the color is completely translucent.

When the opacity of a color is turned down, if there is a color behind the color you are adjusting, that back color can affect the hue of your front color. In the first image above, both shapes are at 100% opacity and tint. In the second image, the blue square's opacity has been turned down to 50% making the yellow square behind it visible through the blue, as well as changing where the squares overlap to green.

Opacity in Photoshop, can be found in the Layers panel above all of the layers. If your Layers panel is not shown in your sidebar, go to 'Windows' at the top of your program window and select 'Layers' to activate it in your sidebar.

Don't get confused between the Opacity and the Fill options in this panel. There is a small but major difference between the two. Opacity takes the opacity down on EVERYTHING on that layer (including layer styles), whereas adjusting the Fill only affects the pixels in the layer but leaves the layer styles as is.

Opacity in Illustrator can be found in the Transparency panel. If your transparency panel is not active in your sidebar, simply go to 'Window' at the top of your program window and select 'Transparency', and it will appear in your sidebar.

Opacity in InDesign is in your Control Panel located at the top of your program window. If you do not see it, simply go to 'Window' and select 'Controls' to activate the control panel.

Tint is a field of color made out of dots that creates any available shade lighter than your original color. No matter how much you change the tint, the opacity of the hue never changes.

Unlike opacity, when the tint of a color is changed any color behind the color you are adjusting will not affect the front color. In the first image above, both shapes are at 100% opacity and tint. In the second image, the blue square's tint has been turned down. As you can see, unlike in the opacity example, no matter what you change the tint to you can not see the color behind it.

Tint in InDesign is in the Swatches palette on the panel on the right side of your program window. Just like finding any other available panels, go to 'Window' and select 'Swatches' to activate.

Tint in Illustrator can only work and be found if you have an item selected that is a Pantone color. If you have a Pantone selected, click on 'Colors' in your sidebar and you can change the tint.

Changing the tint is also an option in Photoshop, but only through the Duotone mode.

You might think it's strange that Illustrator only allows you to change the tint if you are using Pantones, but if you think about it it really makes more sense than trying to change the tint of a CMYK color. When you have a Pantone, if you need a lighter or darker shade you would have to search for a completely new Pantone swatch [refer back to Digital Printers vs DI Printers], thus making press jobs more complicated as well as expensive. Whereas, if you are working with CMYK all you have to do is move the color selector to a lighter or darker shade.

Knowing the difference between the two and knowing how to change them can save you from nasty color changes and printing blunders.