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As a tribute to our new President, I’ve gathered some poster designs that are well-designed, moving or are just plain smart. The amazing thing is that many of these designers aren’t even American, but they believe in what Obama can bring to the American people so much that they’ve been moved to design.
All designers go through designer’s block. You can’t be creative 24/7. Here are some tips that will help you get inspired to design and hopefully let the creative river in your mind flow.
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1. Watch a movie. This isn’t to zone out and hope something pops up subconsciously (although, sometimes that does happen – yay!). Watch a sci-fi or fantasy movie that includes a lot of outrageous scenes like The Lord of the Rings. Sometimes seeing architecture and paying close attention to the graphics of the movie, rather than the storyline, can give you some design ideas. It’d be best if you have seen the movie before so you can focus on the graphics and scenery.
2. Go to the zoo. It’s amazing what animals can do for us. By relaxing at the zoo and seeing all the different stripes, spots and animal prints you are almost guaranteed to see something inspiring that could be turned into a great-looking poster or logo.
3. Go to a museum. This might seem obvious, but try going to a museum that you haven’t been to. Go to a children’s museum or an American Indian museum. Try going somewhere specific instead of your run-of-the-mill museum. Try going to a museum that you’re not sure you would like – getting out of your comfort zone wakes up parts of your brain that can lead to creativity.
4. Look through Flickr and stock photos sites. Real-life photos are often a source of inspiration for something drawn or painted. There’s no reason that inspiration can’t spill over to the computer.
5. Ask “What if?” questions. What if dogs could talk? What if we lived on Jupiter? What if all you could use was red in your design? Just thinking about questions like this that out of the ordinary can boost your creative flow.
6. Take a walk. If you can clear your mind as you walk, when you get back to the studio, your house or work, your brain will be like a blank canvas for you to draw on. Many times it’s not that we can’t think of creative ideas, it’s just that we are thinking of so many other things that we can’t concentrate.
7. Create an inspiration file. On the days when you see something in a magazine or online that catches your eye, file it away – either electronically or literally. Tear a page from a magazine or take a pic of a book’s illustration you really like. Then when your creativity well is dried up, you always have a place to go to replenish your well.
For Web-only designers, you know what platform you’re going to be working on. You know that no matter what you do, it’s going to be on the Web. In the print world, you need to first decide what kind of print material you’re going to design. Does the company need a direct mail postcard, brochure, poster or flyer?
Selecting Your Printing Pleasure
One thing you have to consider with print design is portability. What will make people pick up this piece of paper and take it with them? Print does encompass including URLs, but you need to gauge where exactly the best place to put the URL is on the printed piece. And with no search engine or reviews to guide people to pick up a brochure, your design is that much more important. It has to follow the same design idea of the Web to grab someone’s attention in precious few seconds (the most time you get to capture attention is 5 seconds according to research).
You also need to consider what you want the printed piece to accomplish. What is your goal, or objective, for the direct mail postcard? To drum up new business, to announce a sale or to direct people to your Web site? All of these objectives lend themselves to different types of design and could be achieved by multiple paper sources, like flyers, postcards or sales letters.
Your Natural Competition
Once you choose what type of printed material would work best for your objective, you have to think about where people will be viewing your printed material. If you’re sending a postcard to people’s homes, there’s not much to think about there. But an item like a poster outside your building has natural competition, such as weather ruining your print job or trees blocking the view of your billboard.
Depending on if it’s the rainy season or if your item will be in direct sunlight will influence your choice in paper and ink selection. UV- and water-resistant paper and ink will help weatherproof your work and will keep it fresher longer, but it might also change the way your colors look. That, in turn, could affect your design. Another factor is finish: a high gloss finish will stand up to weather conditions better than matte, so you’ll need to design accordingly.
You’ll also need to drive by the location your printed item will be hung – are there tree limbs in the way? If you’ll be hanging it on a red brick building, you won’t want to use rust red as a background color for your poster. Also, look at the location at night to figure out how street light will affect your printed material at night.
Another biggie is that in print design you have to catch people’s attention from everything surrounding your item; on the Web, people search you out and you convince them to stay. Be sure you use colors and an eye-popping design that stands out from surrounding elements.
As long as you take into account what will get a human’s attention, rather than a search engine crawler’s attention, you’ll have success going from Web design to print.
NBC has said that it still has eight 30-second spots advertising spots still open for the 2009 Super Bowl. Most of the 67 spots were sold in September, but the spots that weren’t picked up then are still open. Super Bowl ad regulars FedEx, Garmin Ltd. and General Motors Corp. won’t be seen during next year’s game held February 1 in Tampa, Florida.
NBC says it is negotiating with other potential advertisers for the open spots. Of course, at a time when many companies are struggling to keep budgets afloat, the nearly-$3-million spots are hard to fit into the budget. Brian Walker, senior director of communications at NBC Sports in New York, said “This is a time to show strength and confidence in their brands in a challenging economy.”
Check out this video for last year’s Super Bowl Commercials:
Of course, everyone knows the time to unveil your greatest, funniest ad is during the Super Bowl. The NFL championship is considered to be the “premier advertising event” of the year. Walker doesn’t seem worried – the spots can be sold up to the last minute before the event. He didn’t comment on whether NBC is facing any pressure from advertisers to discount rates.
GM has reported that although it has bought ad spots for almost 10 years now, the current economy and request for federal funds is not the reason for not buying a traditional ad spot. GM is saving the ad money as part of a restructuring plan that has been in place for a while now – before the request for bailout.
FedEx didn’t give a reason for not buying a spot for the ’09 Super Bowl. FedEx has been a Super Bowl advertiser for a dozen years and has plans in place to grow revenue by 10 percent and earnings per share 10 to 15 percent per year. Is the $3 million part of that 10 percent? FedEx isn’t saying.
Garmin’s spokesperson Ted Gartner said that although Garmin bought ads in the past two Super Bowls, it won’t in ’09 because its strategy has changed, not because of the tough economy.
Among returners: Monster, Inc. and Anheuser-Busch. Monster hasn’t bought an ad in the Super Bowl since 2004, and A-B keeps on buying – it bought 10 30-second spots for ’09, some of which will run back to back, to run as 60-second spots.
According to CNNMoney.com, the United States is obsessed with Super Bowl ads. Many people hype up the new ads just as much as the game. USA Today has the most well-known Super Bowl ad critique. But a study by Los Angeles-based consumer research firm OTX found that consumers that watched what they were told were Super Bowl ads commercials were not “very informative about the company,” although the consumers felt more emotionally connected to the ads just because they were told they were Super Bowl ads. Super Bowl ads are expected to be funny, outrageous and better than any other ads viewed at other times of the year. If you don’t have the budget for a Super Bowl spot, it might not be such a bad thing after all – you’d have to have a homerun, or I mean, have a touchdown of an ad for it to even be worth it.
Are you proud of your business card? Do you think it’s the best designed card in the world? How many people have commented on the design of your card when they received it? If you’re like most people, no one has said a word. Although good design means different things to different people, designers can agree on the following 4 business card design mistakes. You should avoid these in designing your business cards and if your printed business cards contain one of these faux pas, seriously think about redesigning and printing new ones.
1. A cluttered business card: Appealing cards don’t use up every inch of the cardstock. People get overwhelmed when they see a lot of info in a small space. Too much print looks unprofessional. Keep the vital info – name, your title and company, address, email, Web site and phone numbers. If you have room, you can include a tagline. Use the back of the card if you’d like. Just be sure to leave some white space, which is a design term for empty space.
2. Small print: If people need a magnifying glass to read your name on your business card, it’s too small! Obviously, people aren’t going to take the time to squint their way into understanding your text. Don’t sacrifice readability just to get a tagline or extra info on your card. A good rule of thumb is to make your name 9 points in size, your company name 12 points, and the rest of the type no smaller than 7 points. Using a hierarchy of sizes will also help your design look clean and uncluttered.
3. Having a plain white card: White cardstock with black printing. How original! So many people use this format for a business card that if you do, yours will be hard to find in the sea of white. Make your card a nice cream cardstock, or gray, or go crazy and go for black or some other color that still fits your brand’s image. I love the colors of this card and the design is still simple with the bright blue.
4. Crazy shape: I actually like creative business cards that aren’t rectangles. They look good. But it can be a big design problem because then where do recipients put your card? If it doesn’t fit in a wallet, your business card has a much higher death rate (e.g., being thrown away). Rounded corners are okay because the card will still fit in a wallet or Rolodex, but beyond that you’re pushing it. This business card is almost pushing it, but I think it would still have a high “keeper” rate because it’s the traditional size with rounded corners.
If you wait to redesign and print new cards when your current stash runs out, will it be worth it to lose a few new clients along the way? Clients that you might have gotten if your business card had been more impressive? I don’t think so. Business cards are one of the cheapest marketing tools you’ll ever use, so think of new cards as an investment in your business.
If you choose the wrong color for your marketing materials or Web site, it’s possible you could be turning potential customers away before they even read a word. There’s much psychology behind color, and knowing how to use colors to get the feelings you want people to experience will help you get the marketing results you want.
Understanding Color
All color comes from two basic colors: red and blue. Browns come from a mixture of both. Purple, indigo, green and others on that side of the color wheel come from blue. Orange, yellow and pink all stem from red tones. The eye focuses on blue colors in front of the retina, which means blue tones move away from the eye. This makes them seem non-threatening and can make people feel drowsy or relaxed. The eye focuses on red tones behind the retina, which means red tones move toward the eye. This makes red tones seem energetic, aggressive and excited.
Color Psychology
So, from how we see color, it’s easy to speculate that blue tones will make people relaxed and red tones will energize people. And that’s exactly what color studies have found. In one study that was featured on the ’70s show “The Human Body”, colicky babies in a hospital room lit by red lights cried more often and more intensely than when the same room with the same babies was lit by blue light. The researchers switched the lights of the room from red to blue and back again, and when the lights were red, the babies cried more than when the lights were blue. The blue lights actually quieted the room.
Blue shades and tones emanate feelings of stability, logic, relaxation and professionalism. A spa or a doctor’s office would do well to create a blue motif in their marketing materials. Since red tones get people excited, red would work well in marketing materials created for a sports items, money, motivating products and cars.
Of course, each color on the color wheel can produce different feelings. For instance, black is seen as a color of authority and seriousness. White implies cleanliness, which is why surgical gloves, and doctors and nurses wear a lot of white. (Notice white, blue and green scrubs and items in many hospitals? This combination produces a feeling of cleanliness and calmness.) You can check out more color meanings at InfoPlease.com or do an Internet search for “color psychology.”
As you can see, colors can mean all the difference in whether your marketing materials are read with an open calmness or a distrusted aggression. The right color for your marketing materials depends on your brand message and what you want consumers to feel. There is no right color for everyone, but there is a right color for your brand and your product.
Avner Offer, professor of economic history at Oxford University, has said that “today’s rapid pace of innovation includes developments in science and technology, a widening range of consumer goods and services, and the powerful effect of media, advertising and the Internet—all pressuring us to make choices….”
What does this lead me to believe? That the affluent influence the marketplace – for themselves and for other classes below them. The middle-class and lower-class are offered what the affluent class decides is needed or wanted. The rich people are those that drive the marketplace offerings. People can afford to get high-end cars, which makes other classes of people get high-end cars, but it leaves the lower classes in a debt situation. This leads to more and more people taking out loans and using high-interest credit cards that they can’t afford. This leads to our tough economy where people can’t pay back what they’ve borrowed so the government has to step in.
Now I’m not saying that the affluent are bad in shaping the wants and needs of the lower classes; I’m just saying it’s a fact that we should be aware of. As marketers and consumers. The younger generations are used to getting what they want without having to pay for it. Mommies and daddies are charging everything for their precious little ones. And there are even games like Electronic Monopoly in which you charge things on a credit card instead of buying them with cash. Now what kind of message is that sending?
And as packaging and production methods get cheaper with outsourcing, we’re just filling up our landfills with last year’s products.
Of course, there is also global warming. With all of this extra production of products that people are just going to throw away, the factories are working year-round, 24/7 producing lovely smog clouds that are tearing up our atmosphere and killing us underneath.
And, one last effect of our affluent tastes – we’re getting fat! Obesity is at an all-time high due to the processed foods and easy access to drive-thrus every few blocks.
So what does all of this mean for marketers?
Market your line of products to all classes. Market your more affordable items to the middle- and lower-classes so that they know they have a choice. Two widgets sold at $20 each is just as much money as if you get an affluent person to buy your $40 widget. The lower classes shouldn’t be ignored – they have spending power.
Green your production methods. Whether that’s just for marketing – using recycled paper or using more online initiatives – or whether you can talk the CEO into using greener inks, greener packaging or whatever, you can then tout your greener methods to consumers. Everyone is concerned about the environment now, and you can get customers from all classes by showing how earth-friendly your products are.
Market to the affluent responsibly. While marketing to the tastemakers of society, use your marketing prowess for good. Tout all of the socially responsible things your company is doing so that the affluent will tell their friends and family. This word-of-mouth marketing will trickle down to the lower classes and encourage them to buy products that are more socially responsible.
When it comes time for business owners and CFOs to cut budgets, marketing and advertising are often the first places they turn to. As a marketer, you need to be able to recognize why this isn’t such a good idea and be able to voice your reasons. It’s tempting for businesses to try to cut money from something in which they don’t see immediate results, but doing so could spell disaster for the business in coming months and years.
By evaluating how effective your marketing is, you can present a strong argument to the CFO about why marketing and advertising budgets are not where cuts should be made. Or, maybe you can at least lessen the cuts and allocate the marketing budget into areas that will prove to be stronger than others (like moving money into the successful direct mail budget from the unsuccessful billboard budget). But evaluating your marketing is hard to do if you don’t first do research into who makes up your target market. Once you know that, you can measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaign more accurately.
Do Your Target Market Research
Traditionally, marketing involves four broad steps, which all have their own sub-steps: planning, creative development, execution and measurement. I’d like to talk more about the planning step, because I think it’s most important. Good planning sets the stage for the rest of your marketing campaign.
The insight you get from knowing your customers and their preferences will impact your marketing position and distribution channels, your media selection, the price of the product or service and your advertising offers.
Of course, researching your target market could go on for months, and can get as detailed as you want (and as detailed as you can afford!). But there are three absolute basics you must know about your customers:
Demographics: This consists of age, gender, occupation, education, income level, location and family circumstances (kids, single, married?). Lifestyle factors can also be included here. Do people have a long commute? Do they spend a lot of time outdoors? What roads do these people generally drive on?
Behavior: Is your target market full of people who love the outdoors? Are they spenders or savers? Do they like to watch TV or read magazines? What do you they like to do and what do they spend their money on?
Needs: What do they need? Why would they need your product or service? Do they know they need your product or service? Do you need to have late hours for those that work or can you be open during the day for stay-at-home moms? How can your product or service fulfill a need?
These three basics will help you create a rough sketch of what your target market looks like. Knowing these basics will allow you to create and product effective print brochures and color posters, choose the right colors in your logo and choose the right distribution channels for your marketing efforts. You have to know your audience before you can create a product or service that they’ll want to spend their hard earned money on.
When it comes time to map out a new ad, whether for a billboard, brochures, a magazine spot or any other multitude of media, it’s hard to come up with something creative that people can just look at and instantly “get it.”
And creating a creative ad doesn’t automatically mean success. If your target audience doesn’t understand it, or if the content isn’t relevant, no amount of creativity will bring in sales. It’s easy for designers to forget that the purpose of the ad is to bring is sales when all they want to do is be creative. Likewise, it’s easy for the ad account managers to see the positive attributes of a really creative ad if they don’t see the sales potential right off the bat.
But, a creative and effective ad can be done. There are plenty of successful, creative ads out there that prove it. Get inspired by this Exposed SEO blog post that showcases 23 interesting, creative ads that don’t need to be contemplated to be understood. Many of these use the environment or an existing venue to play the ad off of (check out the bus exhaust coming out of a person’s mouth like cigarette smoke). Creative, clear and motivating.
And creative ads don’t only come from pros. Students show just as much, if not more creativity, in these ads on Advertnews.com. These feature an ad for Toblerone using what looks to be a bike rack and an ingenious, yet so simple, Windex ad.
To get a creative idea, you have to look outward, I think. Yes, inward is where the creativity flows, but you have to look outside yourself for ideas. And not stealing other ad ideas, but just looking at a tree and seeing it as a palette for something bigger, like a landing spot for a blown piece of gum (see the Exposed SEO blog).
There are four key elements of making an effective, yet creative ad:
1. It must be relevant to the customer.
2. It should contain a promise to the customer.
3. It should be well understood by the customer, yet not talk down to the customer.
4. Always put the product in the center of the ad.
Many creative ads get the creative part down almost too well, which means the product gets ignored. A number of studies have shown people remember a certain TV commercial, but they can’t remember what product the ad was selling. This is referred to as vampire creativity. If your ad is too entertaining or too involving, it obscures the product.
As you can see, there’s a fine line between being effectively creative and obscurely creative. By having your creative mind(s) working with the business-oriented mind(s), you have a better chance of achieving the right balance for a great ad. Teamwork is what it’s all about, just as in any other business.
The Washington Post article “Direct Mail Ads Have Become Mostly Negative, Experts Say” caught my eye, what with me being in marketing. I must say I was disappointed when I read the article and it was all about political direct mail ads. No mention of politics in the headline, just something interesting that marketers and advertisers would all want to read. If I would have seen the word “political” somewhere in the article’s title, I would have thought, “yeah, what’s new?” Which I’m sure is precisely why the newspaper left it out.
But, hey, it’s still interesting to me even though I feel bamboozled thinking it was an industry-wide theme.
A review of 24 direct-mail ads sent from Obama’s campaign and McCain’s campaign shows a “below-the-radar battle in which the public message of the candidates becomes something more spiteful, more exaggerated and often more ominous.” The candidates are trying to get the swing states on their side, obviously. That’s where all of these direct-mail ads were sent to. The Democratic Party warned voters that McCain is “hiding something he doesn’t want us to know.” The Republican National Committee sent the message “Barack Obama: Not who you think he is” to 6 swing states.
Both candidates say the other is being unfair with all of the lies in the mailings, even as they approve their own direct mail attacks. Direct mail has a 30-year history of swaying voters late in elections, so it’s not likely that they are going to slow down in the next few days.
Direct-mail ads can be more alarmist, more negative because they aren’t produced for the masses. Direct mail is more focused, you know the neighborhoods and the way certain counties have voted in the past, so the direct mailers can choose a well-placed negative ad to give that county or that city the slightest push it needed to vote red or blue.
Direct mail has been used in campaigns since the late ’60s. And now it’s becoming more influential. Candidates feel like they can be more candid in direct mail because it’s proven to be less damaging to their image to attack through mail than on TV or radio.
The North Carolina Republican State Executive Committee sent out a picture of Obama next to the quote “I don’t regret setting bombs. I feel we didn’t do enough.” Most people would assume that Obama said that, but in fact it was Bill Ayers, a ’60s radical whom Obama later met in Chicago. Of course, the brochure didn’t attribute the quote. That’s just plain out lying if you ask me.
But, unfortunately, some court decided long ago that political ads were part of political speech. And political speech is covered under the First Amendment, so it’s okay to have lies in political ads. Is that ridiculous or what?
Obama’s camp has sent out flyers saying McCain’s campaign is run by “seven Washington lobbyists.”
The Wisconsin Advertising Project conducted a study that found that McCain’s ads are 74 percent negative while 60 percent of Obama’s ads are negative. (These numbers are for all ads, not just direct mail.)
And the reason they keep sending out the negativity? Because that’s what people remember. They don’t remember the good deeds. People don’t even want to hear about the good stuff; they just want to hear the bad. That’s why newspaper headlines are always negative; people complain, but negative headlines are what sell newspapers and are what people respond to.
How can we break this negativity cycle if that’s what the people want?
What is it about certain ads that make you remember them? A great jingle? “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is!”
Or is it a great saying: “Whassup?” The Budweiser commercial featuring the Whassup guys has been updated and remade by 60Frames, who makes original Internet programming.
Now though, it’s turned political (surprise, surprise!). The commercial shows the same guys, but the economy has gotten to them and one guy is watching a political commercial or speech on TV. It’s a sad update of what’s taken place since the commercial aired 8 years ago. The thing is, even though I haven’t thought about that commercial for years, as soon as I saw “Whassup” I knew exactly what commercial was being referenced. So the first thing to make your ad memorable is to make up a word or someone change a word so that everyone wants to copy you.
There were no cute animals, like in the other Bud commercial with the talking frogs. Now, I’m not a beer fan, but Bud seems to have some pretty good commercials. The Bud-Weis-Er frogs came on the scene during the ’95 Super Bowl and ranks at #5 on the MSNBC list for best Super Bowl ads ever. So, include talking animals. That almost always works!
The Federal Express commercial featuring fast talker John Moschitta Jr. is ranked #1 on New York magazine’s list of “The Most Memorable Advertisements Madison Avenue Ever Sold.” And isn’t Moschitta Jr. lucky – his fast talking got him at least 10 spots on VH1’s “I Love the ’80s” show. This is memorable because it still applies today to everyone’s “hurry up and wait” mentality. Plus, it aligns quite well with Federal Express’ brand. So, pick an idea that brings your brand to life. (If only it were that easy, right?)
And we love little old ladies who don’t act like little old ladies. Maybe you should add one to your next ad for some memorability. I’m sure you remember the old lady asking “Where’s the beef?” in the 1984 Wendy’s ad. I was just a little kid then and didn’t even know what Wendy’s was and I know that saying. “It’s arguably the best line in a commercial over the past 25 years,” says David Apicella, a vice-chairman at Ogilvy. When Homer Simpson repeats your slogan or quotes your commercial, you know you’ve got a winner!
Even though this is a logo and not an ad, I couldn’t leave out the “I [heart] NY” logo. And what about the “I [heart] NY” T-shirts that are still all the rage? I didn’t know the logo was over 30 years old, but believe it or not, it was created in 1977. And, it was created for free. That’s right, Milton Glaser created the logo for New York tourism for free. New York magazine says the logo “is among the world’s most recognizable, initially concocted to boost tourism to New York State as the city teetered on the brink of insolvency.” So that goes to show you that you don’t have to pay thousands of dollars to create a great logo. Just give it a simple design with lots of meaning. You can do that, right?
In a rough economy, the time to increase (or at least, maintain) marketing and advertising is now. I know it seems counterintuitive, but you need to keep up your presence with the public and your customers so that when the economy rebounds, they’ll be right there at your door.
Even if you have to cut back on your marketing budget, that doesn’t mean you have to cut it out completely. There are still many cheap marketing techniques you can use until you get more money in the bank. And these marketing techniques will be part of the reason why you get money in your bank – because you keep on marketing!
Here are some ideas you can use that won’t cost you thousands of dollars. Most won’t even cost hundreds of dollars!
Start a Web site or blog. You should already have a Web site, but if you don’t, now’s the time to start one. If you do have a Web site, you should start a blog. You can get them for free from WordPress.com or Blogger.com. There are plenty of other blogging sites, but these are the most popular and easiest to use. Blogging is a great way to build a relationship with your customers and prospects because you can start a conversation with them.
Participate in forums. Here’s another free way to get online. You can give out your expertise for free on forums and direct people to your Web site. People like to buy from experts. Also, you get a dialogue going with customers, who will get to know you, and then want to be loyal to you and your business.
Give something away. Something else that seems counterintuitive, but what you give away doesn’t have to be expensive! It just has to have value for the customer. If you have an auto repair store, you can give away an inexpensive tire gauge. A dentist could give out a free teeth cleaning (which is how I found my current dentist!). Give away something that is low cost to you, but is of high value to the customer. That will get them in your store so that you can build a relationship with them. And that’s what it’s all about.
Host a charity event. If a charity is looking for a venue, what better place than your store! If you don’t have the room, sponsor something in the charity event. A DJ could provide the music for free, or a caterer could provide the snacks or dessert for free. This gets your name in the program or on a sign at least. You could also provide a door prize or a bigger prize in lieu of holding the event at your place. Get your name in there somewhere! People like to do business with companies that help out charities.
Remember that customers buy from people they know and trust. That’s what your marketing campaign should do during tough times – remind people that they can trust you. You probably have many competitors with similar products, so establishing a relationship is key to having people spend their money with you over your competitors. Competing on price alone won’t work, even in a recession.
Everyone has those days when you just can’t get creative. It’s like every creative bone in your body has been replaced with a boring bone. Well, I’ve got some sites here that will help stimulate your creative side.
Web Sites
101+ Places to Get Design Inspiration – The Aussie that runs this blog is only 20 or 21 and still in college, but he’s already a great designer. He’s been working since he was 16 for professional clients, designing logos, flyers and everything else a business needs.
Abduzeedo – Very interesting ideas, very unique. Not for the traditionalist.
Freelance Switch’s 60 More Places to Get Design Inspiration – Online and Off – Freelance Switch has a blog with advice for all kinds of freelancers, including this article with Web sites and books recommended to help you get your design on.
Books (all at Amazon.com)
New Masters of Poster Design: Poster Design for the Next Century – This book shows top poster designers’ artwork of now, which has proven that the poster can still serve as a worthy communications tool. According to Amazon: “In doing so, they’ve brought the poster back to prominence. In this book, the author has compiled the world’s finest new work at the height of this rebirth. There is currently no book on the market that can claim it features a ‘definitive’ poster collection.”
Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop – A “comprehensive layout design workshop that assumes that in order to effectively break the rules of grid-based design, one must first understand those rules and see them applies to real-world projects.”
You get to find out about how top designers’ processes work and their rationale while designing. “Projects with similar characteristics are linked through a simple notational system that encourages exploration and comparison of structure ideas. Also included are historical overviews that summarize the development of layout concepts, both grid-based and non-grid based, in modern design practice.”
Typography Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Using Type in Graphic Design – “[This book] is part of Rockport’s popular Workbook series of practical and inspirational workbooks that cover all the fundamental areas of the graphic design business.” It contains loads of info on type without a lot of extra fun facts you don’t need to know about so that designers can get the information they need quickly and easily.
Other books on typography are more technical or showcase oriented, but this book actually gives you ideas and inspiration through real-life examples that show successful uses of typography.
It also offers “a variety of other content, including choosing fonts, sizes, and colors; incorporating text and illustrations; avoiding common mistakes in text usage; and teaching rules by which to live (and work) by.”
Layout Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Building Pages in Graphic Design – This book doesn’t only have great examples for inspiration; it also helps you understand design. “The book illuminates the broad category of layout, communicating specifically what it takes to design with excellence. It also addresses the heart of design-the how and why of the creative process.”
According to an Advertising for Peanuts blog post, ads should be entertainment. The author, Jim Morris, even comes up with a new definition of advertising: “n. Entertainment with some commercial message or agenda of some sort in there somewhere.” Morris believes that the advertising industry should stop trying to fight the fact that ads have to be entertaining first.
But I say, if advertising is firstly entertaining, how does that translate into higher sales? Isn’t the point of advertising to get info out about a product, and to sell the product? I’ll agree that entertaining people is a good way to help them remember info about a product, but I think that selling a product should be the first goal of advertising, not entertaining people. That’s what sitcoms, drama shows, books, magazines and movies are for!
In a CNNMoney.com article, Paul R. La Monica states “It’s a disturbing trend for many large corporations, who may find that instead of boosting sales, they are wasting millions of dollars on advertising campaigns that simply boost the egos of marketing executives and ad agency types who dream of being the next Martin Scorsese or Woody Allen. Advertising is increasingly morphing into another form of entertainment, and not as something that effectively conveys a company’s brand message.”
Why Advertisements Need to Be Entertaining
In an age where people can TiVo their favorite shows and skip the commercials, people need a reason to watch the commercials, and entertainment is that reason. Others argue that people see all kinds of media on the Internet and on TV, so to really stick out, you have to be funny, which is what “entertaining” translates to in this conversation.
But some people take it too far in this YouTube era where all entertainment all the time reigns. “There are some spots on TV where people say, ‘Gee, that was really cool. But what was the product?’” Neal M. Burns, professor of advertising at the University of Texas at Austin, told CNNMoney.com.
Why Advertisements Need to Be Informative
Ad agencies are taking the entertainment factor too far that their message is totally lost. If there was even a message at all. After the 2007 Super Bowl, CareerBuilder’s new entertaining, funny TV ads were poorly rated. For the sake of entertainment, CareerBuilder’s ad agency, Cramer-Krasselt, changed CareerBuilder’s lovable monkey motif ads to a jungle themed ad. The ad flopped and was poorly rated in many Super Bowl commercial reviews. CareerBuilder put its ad account up for review, which angered Cramer-Krasselt, which also created the monkey ads. Peter Krivkovich, president and CEO of Cramer-Krasselt said he was disappointed with CareerBuilder and told CNNMoney.com: “People have gotten confused between what is entertainment for entertainment’s sake and what is actually smart marketing messaging. The YouTube generation of advertising has forgotten that,” he said. “You can have a brilliant, unique, funny ad, but if it’s not coupled with insight it will be forgotten.”
We Need a Balance of Entertainment and Info
All entertainment ads don’t work because people don’t know what the ad is for. All informative ads don’t work because they’re too boring for people to pay attention to. So, as with just about anything in life, moderation is key. Add a moderate dose of entertainment and a moderate dose of information that people can use about your product, and there’s your magical dose of the “just right” ad.
For you to be able to achieve success in business, 4 things must not be neglected:
A great product/ service
A decent ad copy
The right targeted market
Repeat!
When you are out to explore avenues in marketing for your business, one of the core basics is to have a good ad copy. Once you are sure that your product or service has been perfected for a release in the market, it is vital that you put up an ad that is “unmissable”. Most businesses already know this, right? But do they know the ingredients for an excellent classified or ad copy that can show results. NO! The following tips shall give you insight as to how wonderful classifieds can be created for a deeper impact on your audience:-
Any classified in the world has to have 3 basic things in it:-
The Heading
The Body
Call to Action
Let’s take a closer look at how all of them can be effective!
The Heading: This is the single most important factor in an ad. Headings are the first thing that will strike your audience’s attention. Ether it will grab enough attention that they go ahead and read the rest of what you have to say or just step out of it without bothering at all. So make sure your heading has some strong words / symbols depending upon the space you have. Only if there is a spark between the ad and the customer, will he move forward to take an action. It should be strong but also believable. Some examples:
“Earn $5000 from your home, now!”
“Save $X on daily shopping”
By the end of your heading, you must have created enough interest in the customer that he reads the rest of your ad. Once you get this done, have the work is over!
The Body: This part will explain and expand on what you have offered through your headline. Make sure you don’t stuff it with a lot of heavy nerdy terms and words. This might take off the interest of your potential customer. Try not to exceed more than 25 words. Apply the KISS rule: Keep it Simple, stupid! What makes it worse is the use of abbreviations. Try not to use them as your message should come across very clear. If our ad has been designed well, it will provoke the customer to make the next move.
Call to Action: This is the final stage of your ad. It is the last line of your ad where the basic motive is to provoke the reader into taking an action. This can be achieved easily with coupling your contact information with action words. To get a solid response, you must put some use some action words like “call now” along with your telephone no. or web address. It has been researched a no. of times and has been proven, that for customers to respond or react to the ad, they must be enticed with the help of words. Some foolproof examples like these can really work :-
“For FREE information, call now! 1-800……”
“Call Toll-Free! 1-877….”
“Visit our website for a free demo of….”
Remember the purpose is to invite your potential customers to try out what you are offering if not ordering at all. To achieve this, you can also apply one of the oldest strategies of all, which is to give out a special offer or a discount. When people realize that NOW is the best time to call, they will do it, at least pay a visit of not much. For better results, make the offer a “limited time” one or a “week only” offer. Mission accomplished!
Apart from having great content on your classified ad, it is vital that it is published at the right time and at the right place. Make sure you use your local directories well. There are plenty of options available. Buying a space in the local yellow pages in bulk can save you a great deal of money. Following these tips before printing your ad can double your response in no time.
Article written by Mark
Branding is one of the most crucial aspects of a business. In fact, clothing for humans can very well be compared with branding for businesses. It hardly matters if your business is big or small, what really matters is to have a unique identity in the market so people can recall easily. You have to reach the stage where people see your logo and instantly connect with the business or the company name. Remember everything that the public sees is your brand. The small businesses often lose help thinking, they can never match the grounds like big ones. But this is an absolute misconception. They just need to follow a few simple rules to make it happen like the biggies. Some of them which are essential are as follows:-
1. The design of the logo is not all: A coffee lover will not prefer Barista over Starbucks, JUST because of the logo! Its not that logos are not important but it is not really required that you spend a fortune on it. You can hire a professional if needed but don’t be misguided by the fact that it will have a strong effect on your sales as well. Your logo is great as long as people get the message of your company and can recollect the name of it. Feel free to put it wherever you can, including business mails, business cards, yellow pages, local directories, websites etc.
2. Do not underestimate the power of a good website: It is important that people understand the importance of a good, professional website that can carry the message of the business well. There will be infinite instances where you will be approached by people through your website and the last thing you would want is to spoil the impression through your website. So make sure you change as the world changes, and keep your website new & updated. In terms of time, make sure you update the features and the look at least every 2 years.
3. Don’t forget to blog: Well, looking at the statistics, this is one form of marketing you cannot afford to miss in the current scenario. If you cannot continuously provide content you might just lose out on valuable customers. There are information-hungry people out there and they NEED experts. Blogs will help you maintain that image of an expert. It is simple to publish blogs and with the help of a little SEO and tweaking here and there, you can reach out to a lot of people you might miss had there been no blog. This way, the conversation would not just be one sided as the customers will be able to follow the company more closely.
4. Be seen, heard and felt: A recent survey proves people need to be shown the brand (logo, face of the company etc.) at least seven times before they actually buy the product. So don’t single out your marketing strategy with blogs and move in and around different circles as well. Trade shows, events, conferences, unconferences, sponsoring local events etc. will ensure more visibility followed by more “talking about”. If you are not keeping yourself active like this you may probably be wondering why you’re not getting the results.
5. Quick overview: The only reason why people may not be interested in your company could be because of lengthy paragraphs just mentioning the highs and lows of it. Adopt the KISS rule here: Keep it simple, stupid. Make sure that the page with your company’s overview is not overflowing with words. Use short paragraphs and sentences. Just give a small intro with your value proposition, target audience benefits etc. with a case study. All of this should be done with in one page, so your customers do not have to flick in between a lot of pages.
6. Stick to your words: You may already be aware that brand loyalty can exist only if the customers are given a consistent experience. Make sure you fulfill what you say. If you give people a date, make sure you stick to it. Be professional. Unfulfilled expectations can leave a bad taste in your customer’s mouths. But if the same customers have had a good experience, they might just refer to others. Although this comes with no guarantee. But still increases your chances of being heard.
There are several other things that you one can do to get your brand give tight competition to the already famous ones. McDonalds is just one example for a crowd of thousand others. Devise a strategy to understand your customers well and give them what they want. Your brand and image will go down the drain if you fail to provide what you are considered to be the “best” at. Remember, experts are not good at a lot of things but the best at one. So stick with it.
Article written by Mark
Many companies are taking advantage of the fact that catalog printing can reinforce and boost online sales while reducing other costs across the company. Catalog printing puts your products and services in front of your customers while the internet provides ease of access for ordering and further research. This one-two punch of catalog printing while also making your catalog available online has been generating increased online sales for companies who use both catalog formats.
But there are some important pitfalls to avoid. Both catalogs have to be tightly integrated across a number of levels. How can you avoid these potential catalog catastrophes? Read on for an overview of some areas where your online and printed catalogs must be closely connected.
Product information
The information you provide in your printed catalogs must be identical to the information you provide online. That is not to say the words have to be exactly the same, but there should be no contradictions. This is an especially easy mistake to make with technical specifications. When catalog printing, take extra special care to maintain this equivalence across your printed and digital catalogs.
Product pricing
When including prices in printing catalogs, you must be careful as your customers may also check your online catalog. If there is a price discrepancy, then this can cause confusion for your customers. One way to avoid this issue while catalog printing is to put a “call us for pricing” note instead of an actual price. This can be especially effective if some of your products and services are subject to volatile pricing.
Branding
Finally, your branding efforts must be similar across your physical and digital catalogs. Branding includes logos, color schemes, font types, and page layout, to name a few. Branding across both physical and digital catalogs works to reinforce your brand and reassure your customer that they are working with the same company.
Greeting card printing is a fairly easy process because of the simplicity of the layout. A greeting card has only a few parts to it, but taking the time to put the elements together correctly will provide for engaging greeting cards that connect you with the recipient. Whether the purpose of your greeting card is to connect with customers, employees, or family and friends, make sure that your design contains the necessary elements.
On the front of the greeting card, include either a photograph, text, or a combination of both. Spend the most time on the front of the card to make sure that it sets the mood for the rest of the message. The greeting can be serious, witty, funny, or romantic.
You can leave the inside blank for writing a personalized message or you can include a reply to the message on the front of the greeting card. For cards that open vertically, typically the text is printed on the bottom flap. Horizontal greeting cards contain the main text on the right flap. You might also decide to include a poem or joke on the top opposite flap. Including an electronic signature is necessary when mailing the cards directly from the print shop.
On the back of the greeting card, you can print your logo, company name, and contact information if your purpose is promotional. Or for personal use, create your own personal mark, print your name, the date, or simply leave the back blank.
Even with the many online greeting cards available, printed ones are still widely used and appreciated. Nothing shows someone how much you care better than a simple greeting card containing a short handwritten note. Just be sure to order a large quantity from a greeting card printing company so that you have enough and at a discounted cost.
A logo is one of the first things you should design when you start a new business. Your logo is what customers look to when they remember you or identify your business. Your logo also gives customers more faith and trust in you as a business. A business that doesn’t even have a logo is not yet a business in many people’s eyes. That’s why you gotta get a logo first!
A logo contributes to your credibility, memorability and visibility. You might want to put off designing your logo until you get more money, but the longer you wait, the longer you’ll have to wait to create marketing materials, including your Web site. That’s because your logo needs to go on every piece of marketing material and your product packaging too. That’s how important it is.
Your logo should be unique and heaven forbid, please do not use ClipArt! ClipArt screams amateur and unprofessional. Besides, if you use ClipArt, your logo could end up looking just like your competitor down the street.
The first step: design or text?
The first thing you want to decide on is whether you’ll have a design represent your company, your company’s name as your logo or a combination of both. There’s no right way to design a logo: all of these choices are equally good. It all depends on what’s needed for your company.
Design
If you decide on design, try to think of a way to incorporate your industry or your product into the design. I saw one clever logo for an airline called Peace Air, and its logo looked like a peace sign – the plane’s body was the vertical line that makes up the middle of the peace sign and the plane’s wings made up the two smaller lines that go out to the side of the peace sign. That’s pretty clever if you ask me.
Of course, you can’t always incorporate something from your industry into your logo. But it’s always nice if you can!
Text
On to text. If you decide to use purely text as your logo, here are some font tips:
1. Choose a font that fits your business’s personality. Serif fonts, the ones with “feet” give off a mature and established feeling whereas a sans-serif font (without feet) looks more modern and young.
2. Use a font that no one else uses. You can buy fonts online and download them, and some you can even download for free. I’d advise against the free ones, because those are the ones everyone else will be using. Buy a good, wide-ranging set of fonts so that you have less of a chance of looking like some other business. You can also create your own font by hiring a designer or buying software that lets you create fonts, like CorelDRAW. There are plenty of other software options out there, so just Google “create fonts software.”
3. Modify the font if possible. If you choose a font that looks similar to others, or if you just want to add a little bit of flair, modify your font just a bit. You could add longer serif “feet” or stretch the font to make it look wider. You could even just modify one letter of your logo to make it look different. A slight modification can make your logo look unique and add visual interest.
If you are reading this blog, then I can assume you are affluent and young. I’m not just complimenting you here; that’s just what the statistics say: the younger and more affluent a person is, the more likely that person is to be on the Internet. Most non-Internet users are older, poorer and more rural.
Knowing where your target audience is
Knowing who is online can help out marketers and advertisers. Online advertising is rapidly growing. And with traditional marketing, everyone from cigarette makers to clothing designers targets the young and affluent. And now all these prime targets are congregating online – it’s a ripe area for more advertising.
In an IrishTimes.com article, “Reaching an affluent market in a digital world,” marketing pros must adapt to the changing tides of online marketing. JP Donnelly, chief executive of the Ogilvy Group in Ireland, says, “Perhaps more than any time before, brands have to truly differentiate themselves. They have to stand for something and they have to walk the talk, not just in their traditional routes to market, but across all touch points with the customer. That means there is both a challenge and an opportunity.”
Marketing must engage consumers
Donnelly goes on to say in the article that it’s not about just sending out a message to consumers anymore, you must now engage consumers. Other marketers have found that engaging consumers means to interact with them on some level. Whether that’s through an online chat, a video steam or online game, you need to get the consumer in on the action. And this action must also showcase your brand.
Or, this action must showcase your company, depending on who you talk to.
Martin Bailie, strategic planning director of digital advertising agency Glue London, disagrees with Donnelly. Bailie believes you must focus not on your brand, but on your company. Bailie says, “By focusing on what people think of a company, you open out the debate to the products, chief executive, share price, etc. Marketing needs to help guide the reputation of companies so they sell more product more profitably, rather than get fixated on brands and image.”
Bailie says marketers need to think of consumers having a herd mentality rather than “passive, isolated customers.”
“Herd mentality is alive and well and, if you don’t address what people are saying to each other, you are missing the majority of the truth of the situation,” he says.
The bottom line: marketing is changing
It seems to boil down to the fact that the marketing game is changing. No longer are people looking to marketing materials and marketing pros to figure out what’s good about a product; now people are finding out from their peers. Companies are starting to lose some power in influencing what people think about their brand. Instead of fighting it, companies need to find a way to embrace this and use it to their advantage, through blogs, forums and other online outlets.
I have bad news for people who think they can slap their company’s logo on a product and call that branding. A cow might be “branded” just by slapping a name on it, but a product that looks like all others needs more than a logo to be considered branded.
Customizing Products
Nowadays, consumers can customize almost anything. From cars to clothing, you can design the product you want online. And then you can order it. You can “have it your way” anywhere, not just at Burger King anymore. Nike has been allowing consumers to design their own Nike kicks on their Web site since 1999. Jones Soda offers customization of their labels. Even kids get to design their own lovable companions with the Build-A-Bear workshops where kids can customize their new furry friends.
All this customization means that businesses can’t rely on their logos as their only brand identity. Once everyone starts customizing products, the product itself is what needs to shout to world “I’m a Mac” or “I’m a Nike.” The apple and swoosh just won’t cut it. That’s why Apple and Nike have built other brand recognition into their products so that they don’t need that logo recognition.
The Brand Function
Your brand is people’s perception of your products and company. Branding is the marketing effort of telling people about your company and your beliefs. Branding doesn’t only include your logo. It includes
• Colors (brown=UPS; red=Coke)
• Slogans (“Have you driven a Ford lately?” “I’m lovin’ it.” (McDonalds))
• Fonts
• Promise (“We try harder.” (Avis))
• Packaging
Basically, anything that consumers see when they look at your product is branding. So, if people are customizing everything about your product, how does it stay yours? How does your brand stay recognizable?
iPod: Good Branding
I hate to use Apple yet again in a branding blog, but darn it, the branding minds there do such a good job that I have to. The iPod is a great example of branding without the logo. Where’s the logo? On the back. Which goes against everything that is taught in Logo 101. You always put the logo on the front of a package where it has the greatest chance to be seen. But the key with the iPod is that the whole product is branded – from the click wheel to the shape – you know it’s an iPod without having to see the logo. No one would confuse a portable CD player made by Sony with an iPod. But people might confuse that CD player with one made by Samsung or Panasonic. If Sony removed the logo from the CD player, you wouldn’t be able to tell it from other brands. With the iPod, you can take the logo off and everyone will know it’s an iPod because the design is part of the brand.
So when you’re thinking of how to brand your product, think about how your product looks or feels different from competitors. What can you offer as part of your brand that others don’t and can’t? When consumers customize your product by altering the color or accessories, what’s left? Can you still tell it’s your brand?
Marketing materials look better with photos. Period. “A photo is worth a thousand words.” From the beginning of the first printed photograph in the 1820s, people have known the value of a good photo. But with megapixels, color and photo effect jargon floating around everywhere on the Internet and in photo studios, how do you know when you have a good photo? It all depends on the lighting, the megapixels and the photographer.
When you create a brochure or flyer that has an intriguing message and a blurry photo, people are only going to remember that blurry photo. “What was in that photo? Was it supposed to be like that?” A photo can make or break your marketing materials. And the most important factor of the blurry photo is the number of pixels.
Pixels – The Building Blocks of Photos
To have a clear photo, you need to take the picture with a digital camera that has a decent amount of pixels. A decent amount means at least 2MP (more about MP in a minute). Anymore, it’s hard to find a low-end digital camera with 2MP – most start at 3MP or more. This is good news for you that digital cameras are getting more affordable.
What is a Pixel?
A pixel is a dot of information, a dot of color, in your photo. Photos today are made up of millions of these dots, or pixels. Mega means “million” so whenever you talk in megapixels (MP) you mean X million pixels. So, a 2MP camera will provide 2 million pixels when a photo is printed from that camera. That may sound like a lot, but really 2 million pixels will only get you as far as a clear 4×6 photo.
If you are printing a poster and need to take a photo, you’ll want to take the photo with a camera that can produce a print size of 12×16 or maybe even 18×24. The bigger the MP of the camera, the more expensive it is. A 12×16 print, to be printed clearly, needs to be taken with a 10MP camera. An 18×24 print, to be printed clearly, needs to be taken with a 14MP camera.
Now, with a 10MP camera, you can make photo sizes up to 12×16 clearly. Anything smaller will come out equally as clear.
Camera Quality
Most amateur digital cameras on the market today, the ones you can get at Target or Best Buy, range from 5MP to 8MP. The largest clear photo you can print with a 5MP camera is 8×12. With an 8MP camera you can get up to 11×14. This is good enough for most people and most small businesses as well.
If you print photos larger than the maximum sizes given here, you’ll end up with a blurry, pixilated photo. So check out the MP size of camera before you buy, keeping in mind what you’ll use the photos for. If your photos will just be for regular-size flyers, brochures and postcards, you can get a great 5MP digital camera for an affordable price, between $100 and $300.
1. Use colors wisely. Colors emanate a feeling – blue can mean calm, black is associated with dread or sadness, and red is associated with love. If you are designing your own marketing materials, be sure to use the right colors that evoke the kind of mood or feeling you want customers to feel when they see your marketing piece. Be sure to look up the color wheel so you know which colors complement each other, and which should not be used together under any circumstances! Complementary colors help each other stand out; non-complementary colors will help each color fade into the background. Choose wisely.
2. Use white space liberally. Eyes get tired. If you fill every square inch of your brochure or flyer with text or graphics, readers’ eyes will get tired. Once the eyes get tired, the brain doesn’t want to read anymore. That’s bad news for business. Be sure to include plenty of white space, or empty space, in your design to give people’s eyes a rest. Think that’s boring? Look at the most popular search engine’s Web site – Google – plenty of white space and it’s still going strong after 10 years.
3. Start with a template. If you aren’t a designer, starting from a template is your best bet for a professional-looking brochure or catalog. There’s nothing wrong with getting a little design help. You can find templates at Microsoft Office Online, HP’s Business Templates and Images Web page, or StockLayouts.com. You can find basic templates for free, which you simply download from the Web site, or you can pay for a more complex template. You can expect to pay about $100 per template.
4. Match the paper to your printer. Inkjet printers need to print on inkjet paper. Laser printers need to print on laser paper. Each type of paper is specially formulated for each type of printer. Laser printers use a fuser to dry toner particles on the paper; this requires intense heat. Laser paper is made of this type of heat.
Inkjet paper is created to absorb ink because inkjet printers spray liquid ink onto a page to create an image. Using a laser paper, which doesn’t absorb ink, on an inkjet printer would result in smearing or streaking.
5. Match the paper to your purpose. If you’re creating a brochure, you’ll want a heavier, more opaque (not see-through) paper than if you were creating a flyer. Your paper needs to match your purpose. Sales letters are generally printed on lighter weight paper, about 20 to 24 lbs. Greeting cards are generally printed on heavier paper, about 60 to 79 lbs.
You also need to refer to the brightness of the paper. A brighter paper will help your images and text look clearer because more light is bouncing off the paper.
You can also choose the type of paper finish you want: matte, glossy or something in between. Colored photos look better on glossy finishes and black-and-white photos look better on matte.
6. Ask someone to proof your work. Your work might look perfect to you, but it never hurts and always helps to get a second pair of eyes on it. Ask a colleague (or two or three) to look over your marketing piece. Ask the person if the colors look right, to make sure there are no typos, to suggest a different layout and to make sure you have enough white space. Another set of eyes can make the difference between an amateur-looking brochure or a professional-looking brochure.
Booklet printing and design can be tricky because of the amount of written words and information often involved. Most companies cannot avoid booklets, though, because they are needed in almost any industry. Your company may need instruction manuals, company reports, catalogs, or magazines, all of which are types of booklets. The tone, images, and layout are all determined by the purpose. For instance, it may include graphs or charts if a manual or report, while a catalog will contain photographs of products.
You may already have some page ideas for your booklet printing, or maybe you don’t even know where to start. Both problems have a solution. You might want try first perusing similar booklet designs for some ideas, but if you still run into a block, maybe the list of booklet pages below will help.
1. Introduction, Preface, or Foreward – Each of these terms refer to a different type of introductory page. An “introduction” includes company background, goals, or objectives. The “preface” would contain a summary of the booklet itself along with the main highlights. The “foreward” is any written piece by an expert in the field, often with references to the booklet.
2. Dedication – When you need to thank those who have contributed or inspired your booklet, put these on the dedication page. You can also include a “Dedicated to” list.
3. Table of Contents – Sometimes booklet printing needs to include a table of contents in the front so that readers can easily flip to the information they need. This page is especially important when your booklet contains chapters or long sections.
4. Appendix, Glossary, or Index – All of these pages are included at the back of the booklet. The “appendix” is any extra reference information needed, for instance a list of stores that donated the information or products. A “glossary” is a list of terms and definitions contained within the booklet. An “index” often replaces the table of contents because it contains a list of terms and the page numbers on which they can be found.
5. Interesting, Fun, or Educational Information – You may want to include a page filled with tips, hints, facts, or anything else that would interest the reader. Customer reviews or testimonials are an excellent selling tool as buyers trust the satisfaction of other consumers. This page should be advertised either on the cover or in the beginning pages to encourage readers to flip through the booklet.
If you are still stumped on page designs, incorporate the help of a professional. Often, you can find more cost-effective designers provided by your booklet printing company, so check with them before searching for an actual graphic designer or design company.
It’s hard to stand out in the marketing arena. Many marketers do basically the same things: advertise on TV, Internet, radio, magazines, newspapers, etc. Many attend trade shows, create sales presentations and hand out sales brochures. You see Coke and Pepsi commercials in the same time slots on TV. You see their magazine ads in similar magazines, or maybe even in the same magazine.
Everyone is telling consumers that their brand is better than their competitors. So what makes some marketers different from others? Why are some marketers more successful than others?
It’s strategic differentiation. This relies on the consumer’s perception of the brand. It’s easy for marketers to forget that the brand is not what they make it; it’s how the consumer’s perceive the brand to be.
Consumer Perception
Let’s look at an example. If someone is thirsty, they’ll stop at the convenience store and get a drink. Everything from water to Coke to Pepsi to milk to Gatorade to coffee can fulfill this need of eliminating thirst. But perceptions of each type of drink’s brand goes through the person’s head quickly. If the person is an athlete and needs a drink because he just exercised, he might pick water or Gatorade. Gatorade is especially connected to athletes. Water is also, to a lesser degree. Water is the ultimate thirst quencher and it has no calories or sugar, so someone on a diet might grab water. People tend to like Coke or Pepsi, not both, so the person’s brand perception of each type of soda will dictate which he picks. If the person is worried about not getting enough calcium, he’ll pick the milk.
This example shows how an everyday, seemingly simple decision can be affected by strategic differentiation. Each brand brings something different to the table. They all bring it in the same ways, i.e. commercials, advertisements, but each differentiates itself from the competition.
So it’s the message that is at the core of strategic differentiation. The more focused that message, the better. The key to focusing your marketing message across all channels is to identify your unique selling proposition (USP).
USP Defined
The term and concept was introduced by Rosser Reeves of Ted Bates & Company in the 1940s. Reeves explains in his book Reality in Advertising that a USP: (1) tells the customer a specific benefit gained from using the product (as Reeves puts it: the copy is “not just product puffery”; (2) the proposition must be one that the competition cannot or does not offer; (3) the proposition must be strong enough to move millions of people to act.
Two examples of good USPs: Head & Shoulders: “You get rid of dandruff.” M&Ms: “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hands.” (Although, I beg to differ! Especially on a hot summer day.)
The point is that these brands were the first to offer these USPs. Other shampoos now get rid of dandruff, but Head & Shoulders was the first to make the claim. The unfortunate thing about a good USP is that it doesn’t usually last long. What I mean is that your competitors will copy you or at least try to copy you. The good thing is that consumers will remember that you brought the USP to the market first.
1. The headline: Use words that catch readers’ attention in the headline and that will pull them into the rest of the copy. Words like “free,” “save” and “secret” work well to intrigue people into finding out more about what your print marketing has to say.
On average, the headline is read five times more than the body copy. That means people have read the headline and it wasn’t good enough to motivate people to read on. Don’t become part of that statistic! Include a clear benefit to the reader in the headline and you’ll draw them in. If you can pair a benefit with an eye-catching word like “free,” your headline will have real stopping power.
2. Use white space. Any space in your design that isn’t filled with text or graphics, or is in other words blank, is considered “white space.” Don’t feel like you have to fill every square inch of your print marketing materials. Whether it’s a flyer, postcard or brochure, a simple, uncluttered design will look much better and will draw people into your marketing piece than a cluttered design.
3. Limit yourself to two fonts. Any more than two fonts will make your design look cluttered. Unless you have a huge poster or a big marketing piece that can handle the extra fonts, stick with two. You should use a sans-serif font for your headlines and subheads (sans-serif means “without feet” in French; examples are Arial and Century Gothic) because sans-serif fonts are harder to read when they font size is small. Use a serif font for all of your body copy, or your smaller size copy. Serif fonts have “feet,” which make them easier to read. Examples of serif fonts are Times New Roman and Garamond.
4. Address your audience. Make sure you talk directly to your audience – say “Attention CEOs” or blatantly ask “Are you a stay at home Mom?” By talking directly to your audience there will be no mistake who your message is for.
5. Use before and after ads when possible. People have an above average understanding of before and after ads, and I think many women like them because they are like makeovers. When you can give proof in a photo format that your product works, there is no contesting it.
6. Use photos instead of line drawings when possible. Photos are more believable than line drawings. Photos are better at drawing people’s eyes in because the colors are generally more saturated than in a graphic.
7. Test your ads again and again. Readership increases with repetition. Keep testing new ads against old ones to see which ones are more effective. There comes a time when repetition gets boring, so be sure to switch up your design to keep consumers interested.
It’s no secret that many marketing venues are online that were once exclusively offline. Everything from television to brochures are online now. But does that mean that print marketing is dead? Hardly. It might not be as big as it once was because people now have multiple outlets, but that just means print marketing has to share the spotlight with its online counterparts.
People typically do their initial research about products online by checking out forums, review sites and the product manufacturer’s Web site. Some people do all their research online, but many still request brochures, catalogs and other printed materials from the manufacturer. People like to be able to relax on the couch without a hot laptop on their lap and just look through a catalog. The glare from looking at a computer screen all day is not appealing.
All of this means that you must integrate your print marketing strategy with your online marketing strategy.
Here are a few ideas on how to do that:
Use your print marketing to direct people to your online marketing. If you use postcards to draw people’s attention to your product and then direct them to your Web site for more information, you’ve just drawn people in with the information that would have been on a brochure for the price of a postcard. Since Web site hosting is cheap, you can put as much info on your site as you want and not have to worry about paying for an extra four pages of content like you would a brochure.
You can also cut back on catalog printing costs. Send out a 40-page catalog with your best products instead of your usual 56-page catalog and direct people to your Web site for more catalog selections. You save money on printing and people can still see all of your products on your Web site. You can focus your catalog on your best moneymakers and feature the not-so-popular items on your Web site only.
Create an e-newsletter. Include info that your customers crave, like how to save money on products in your industry and info on the best products on the market. If you already have a print newsletter, include a link in the newsletter for consumers to sign up on your Web site to receive the e-newsletter. You can build your email database this way and also keep in touch with consumers in the way that they prefer. Older consumers prefer to get their news in print while younger consumers would rather get their news online.
Include an interactive copy of your brochure or catalog online. Make it searchable so people can browse to exactly what they want online. Many people will note what they want from your print catalog and then get on your Web site to make their purchases. Make it easy for them by including a search box for the online catalog and making it easy for people to find what they’re looking for.
Posters connect as an advertising tool where many other advertising mediums cannot. No matter how or where your posters are working for you, there is an ideal paper choice which can serve to protect and enhance your posters.
Card stock
The strongest paper type, poster printing on card stock is ideal when your poster may need to stand on its own without any support. Images typically are vibrant and rich. Card stock is excellent for poster printing when you expect to display your posters outside or plan to keep your posters on display for long periods.
Satin paper
Satin paper is still considered a heavyweight paper, but is the lightest duty that you would want to use for posters. Pictures and graphics are typically stunning. Satin paper is fine for indoor use and is a great value for your dollar.
Matte paper
Not quite as strong as card stock, matte paper is known for being ultra UV-resistant. In some cases, matte paper is said to be able to resist fading for over 100 years! Poster printing on matte paper will produce images of fair quality and your costs will be middle of the road for poster paper.
Glossy paper
Of the same thickness as matte paper, glossy paper has a shinier surface. Glossy paper also has incredible UV-resistant attributes. While slightly more expensive than matte paper, images look much more brilliant and vivid. Glossy paper is one of the most expensive poster printing paper choices you can make but also the most appealing.
Watercolor paper
For a more artistic approach, watercolor paper blends the best of card stock and matte paper. While still not quite as thick as card stock, watercolor paper has the same UV-resistant appeal of Matte paper with the strength of card stock. Images are fair quality, not as good as satin or glossy papers. Watercolor paper is typically one of the more expensive poster printing options, but allows for indoor and outdoor use.
Brochures are the paper ambassadors of your business. They represent your company, your products, and your brand on your behalf. With that in mind, the design and layout you choose for your brochures becomes essential.
There are a few fool-proof methods for designing brochures that you can use to your benefit. The father of modern print design, David Ogilvy, put as much emphasis on research as he did the artist side of layout. His tried and true methods can serve as a blueprint as you design your brochure.
Pictures
The first thing that people look at when they pick up your brochure is the pictures. As Ogilvy notes, the eye finds the graphic elements the most interesting and typically goes there first. You can use this to your advantage by doing two things: use pictures and print in color. Just because you do not have a picture on your brochure does not mean that a customer will not look at it, but using pictures will only help. Knowing that this will be the first place customers look will aid in selecting pictures that guide the customer through the rest of your presentation.
Captions
After the pictures, the customer will look at your captions of the pictures. Captions can be omitted, but using captions to highlight features of products or to emphasize key points of the brochure will only help to drive your ideas home. Keep captions short and to the point. Make sure they also are relevant not only to the images but also to the brochure as a whole.
Headlines
The next place that Ogilvy states the customer’s eye will go is to the headline and sub-heading. Headlines should always be included any time there is more than a few sentences of copy or content. This helps the customer decide whether or not they want to read the “fine print” or details of the brochure. Headlines should highlight the main point of the following copy in a few words. Sub-headings give you the opportunity to expand on the headline and divide the content into smaller pieces.
Copy
The last thing a customer will read is the copy. This is not to say that the actual descriptive text is unimportant. Unless the other elements of the brochure (pictures, captions, headlines) guide the customer to the copy, then the customer may never get to the point where they actually read what you have to say.
If you are looking for a marketing method that puts your brand in front of your customer day after day, then look no further than a calendar. Calendars are useful giveaways that you can use to promote your company. Not too many promotions will garner a “Thank You” from a potential customer! When you give your customer something they will use daily and that will keep your corporate identity in front of them year-round, it is win-win for everyone.
Not all calendars are created equally, and that’s not a reference to the leap year. You can waste a valuable opportunity to reinforce your brand if you do not carefully consider the elements of a successful calendar: the right size, the right look, and the right branding method. Besides missing a golden opportunity, you will be wasting money on a marketing tool that is ultimately ineffective. The key to a successful calendar campaign is to understand your customer, and the following ideas illustrate several elements that will ensure you give your customer a calendar that they will actually use.
Calendars come in all shapes and sizes, but what does your customer need? Would a full-size desk calendar be the most helpful, or would a miniature calendar with a magnet that can be affixed to the fridge in the break room be better? Calendars can also be designed to be put on the wall of the office or cubicle. Maybe you need multiple sizes so your customer can make their own choice. Whatever size or sizes of calendar you choose to print, keep your customer’s needs in mind.
The calendar has to have an appropriate look and feel. If your customers work in a professional office, make sure the photos and the content you use are appropriate for this environment. Peaceful scenes and landscapes are standard fare. If you have customers that work in an industrial environment, high energy posters may be better. Think about using sports scenes with figures in motion. Your customer wants something inspiring that will complement their environment. So, give them what they want and you will have a customer advertising on your behalf.
It is easy to get greedy at this stage. Of course, the natural temptation is to put your logo or other branding tools all over the posters. But keep in mind that your brand influences the look and feel of the calendar. Nobody wants to feel like they are promoting for another company. Be careful with how you integrate your brand into the calendar. Subtlety goes a long way. Consider a simple logo in the bottom right-hand corner of the picture or even along the bottom of the dates. Do not compromise the calendar by plastering your logo all over it as the result will more often than not be that the customer simply will not use it.
It is easy to ruin a good calendar campaign. Keep your customer’s needs in mind and design calendars that are the right size, the right look, and are branded carefully.
Advertising comes in all forms, from TV commercials to brochures. But it would be nice if most advertising came from people we knew and trusted, wouldn’t it? In one way, with word-of-mouth advertising, it kind of does. We see some cool shoes on our friend, she says they’re comfy so we go out and get ourselves a pair.
In another way, we see something on a celebrity and we immediately want to go out and get a knock-off since we can’t afford the real thing. Similar kind of concept – it’s almost like word-of-mouth, but more like picture-in-tabloid advertising. Either way, we like what we see and it’s not directly from the advertiser, which makes us like it even more, although some would argue that point when it comes to celebrities getting free stuff and wearing it to make us common folk want it.
Chris Brogan has a video on his blog (http://www.chrisbrogan.com/the-way-i-wish-advertising-worked/) from John Chow that shows Chow eating at a crab shack in Washington state. This kind of advertising is what Chris would like to see more of instead of newspaper ads or banner ads on a Web site.
I think the concept is good – people advertising for places that they thoroughly enjoy, without getting paid to tout it, but I don’t think this particular video is that great. It doesn’t make me salivate and want seafood the way a Red Lobster commercial can. There’s something to be said for staging and good lighting, I think.
And, sometimes ads aren’t all that bad. Some are downright funny (hello, Super Bowl) and there are even shows dedicated to showing the funniest TV commercials all over the world. Sad, but true – I’ve actually watched that show and I think I laughed out loud more than I ever did watching many sitcoms.
Besides, what would ad writers and production crews do if we took away the ad? They’d starve to death and we can’t have that! We’d have to live with the guilt and knowledge of wiping out an iconic pastime in America: the poor ad. And anyway, as people continued to make their own home video-type of ads, those people would become the ad actor and actresses and then they’d be hiring their own production crews and ad writers, and then we’d be back to square one.
So, I agree that word-of-mouth advertising works, or word-of-video or whatever you want to call advertising on the ‘Net, but I think we shouldn’t shun the traditional advertiser. When would we go to the bathroom during TV shows if we did?
If your business could use some more customers (and whose business can’t?) it’s time to put the customers first. This means in all the marketing you do, from brochure printing to answering your phones, you need to focus on your customer rather than your business.
When you are designing your brochure printing pieces, think of what information your customers would like to know and in what order would they easily understand your brochure’s message? When you answer the phone, would it behoove customers to know about your current sale? “XYZ Corporation, where we now have all our in-stock merchandise 20 percent off.”
Nowadays, consumers are so used to advertisements that they often ignore them, unless the ad really speaks to them. Consumers have been schemed in the past, which puts them on guard for any kind of advertising you aim at them. Sometimes the best marketing is the cheapest. To do your best marketing and expand your client base, follow these no-cost and low-cost tips.
Ask your customers for their opinion. You can do this informally, while they are checking out with their purchases or while they peruse your store, or you can do this formally, with an email or phone survey. The point is to ask your customers their opinions about which products are great and which products are flops. Also, ask for suggestions on what you can do better. Oftentimes, what you can do better is something your competition does better than you. By asking for your customers’ honest opinions and letting them know that their suggestions will be taken seriously, you can not only improve your business, but you’ll also build a relationship with your customers.
Expand your target market. After you’ve sufficiently tried to reach a certain target market for a period of time (at least a year), you can try expanding to other markets to bring in new customers. It’s quite possible to tap out a target market, especially if that market is small to begin with. Take a look at your current offerings and figure out who else would like or need your products. Send out a small test advertisement through direct mail or take out a small ad in a magazine or newspaper directed at the new target market. Don’t waste money on unchartered waters; just spend a small amount at first and then spend accordingly depending on the feedback from the test market.
Follow up with current customers. Genuinely show your interest in how your customers are doing and whether they’re happy with their recently purchased product or service. The conversation about the product or service is just a small part of the follow up. Ask how things have been going and ask if you can help them with anything else. Treat your customers like friends and they’ll keep coming back.
If someone called inquiring about a product, make sure you get back to that person within 48 hours. Don’t let customers get away with bad customer service.
None of these tips will break your bank; if anything, they take more time than money. If you follow these tips, you’ll pleasantly surprise your customers and they’ll keep doing business with you to see how else you can surprise them.
With the going rate of gasoline and increasing concerns about food cost, its easy to see why more and more people’s primary concern is becoming saving a buck. As we head into a full on recession, consumers are being forced to make serious choices everyday about how they spend their money. Everyone from young professionals to retirees are looking for ways to maintain their lifestyle while trimming their budget. As an entrepreneur, your challenge in this turbulent market is to maintain attract increasingly frugal customers while maintaining your own bottom line. That means offering savings that draw customers in during a time when many are cutting back. Here are a few suggestions to help you do just that.
Special Promotions – Rather than offering store wide discounts that can wreck your bottom line, use special promotions to attract customers looking for savings. These can be short-term promotions on products, or you can create special bundles of products or services that will appeal to consumers. What profit you may lose on the discounted items can be made up for with additional, full price purchases that customers are likely to make once you’ve coaxed them into your store.
Reaching Out – With the cost of gas, less consumers are taking leisurely drives and most are trying to limit their shopping excursions, cutting out on many of those spur of the moment purchases that might once have bolstered your company’s profit margin. With that in mind, it may be time for a little color printing in an effort to update your catalogue. Then you can reach out to shut ins that may be trying to avoid that now costly thirty minute drive to your store. It only benefit’s the customer if they can shop from the comfort of their home while saving on their weekly travel budget. If you really want to sweeten the deal, consider offering free shipping within a certain geographical area or for purchases over a set amount.
Evaluate Your Offerings – One of the crucial elements of marketing in a recession is understanding changes in customer perceptions. Products that were previously viewed as everyday staples are increasingly seen as luxuries. There are always “must have” products that retain their perceived value, though. Your overpriced gourmet pizzas may not be selling like they used to, but it‘s unlikely that your beer sales are hurting, in fact, they may be seeing quite the upswing. Whatever the case, discover what your customer base wants most right now and develop your marketing strategy to accentuate your offerings.
Just because times tough all over, doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways you can weather the storm. In fact, with a little strategy and creative thinking you may just find yourself making more money than you did during the so called good times.
Once you are on top of the corporate world, you don’t have to do much work to get good gigs. They just come to you. Of course, you have to work your way to the top to … not work. Or at least not work for your gigs. Here are some ways to claw your way to the top at work or just in your professional life to boost your career.
Att-i-tude
You have to have some attitude to get those high-roller jobs. Don’t be afraid to give others your opinion, but state them in a non-condescending way. You want to be authoritative without belittling others, especially the higher ups. When you’re in a meeting, don’t be afraid to speak up or to disagree with management. Just make sure you have sound reasoning and facts to back up your position. People that speak up are seen as leaders and will often be chosen as leaders later on when a new project comes up.
Create some controversy
Call out your boss or another company by criticizing something they’re doing wrong. Only do this if you know how to do right and you have the confidence and know-how to do it better. It seems counterintuitive, but by calling someone on their mistakes and telling them how to fix them, you’ll be seen as a fix-it person, a go-to kind of employee. Many people have been hired for telling a company what they are doing wrong and how to fix it. If you can argue your point effectively, you’ll stir up the waters but then you’ll have the power to calm the waters back down.
Get involved
If there is some kind of industry event going on, ask your boss if you can attend. If you’re your own boss, go to as many industry events as you can to hobnob with the higher-ups at other companies. Get your business card out there, along with your face. By going to events, you also get to impart the info you learned back to your boss or your colleagues. You might even get interviewed for the company newsletter or company Web site. This could lead to the CEO of the company calling you for a briefing or for lunch to discuss what you’ve learned.
Another way to get involved at work is to sit on committees and actually contribute to ideas and events. This is a great way for other departments to get to know you and vice versa. The more people that know you at work, the more authoritative you seem. Why else would everyone know your name?
Stand out from the crowd
Whether this is a crowd of peers or a crowd of job seekers, you need to differentiate yourself so that employers take notice. You can differentiate yourself through your clothes, actions or thought process. Elvis was famous because he was doing something no one else was at the time. Try to channel your inner Elvis and find some way you can stand out that makes you better, not weirder.
Before you send out direct mail advertising or general correspondence, make sure you think through some basics. I have received a number of letters lately that left a less than positive impression on me. Cheap looking, incorrect, and presumptive letters leave a negative impression on potential customers or even current customers. It’s never worth the few pennies you will save anyway.
· Use good paper – The statement quality stock can make is worth far more than the penny or two you will save per sheet. Cheap paper says you don’t care.
· Use quality labels – Nothing says “cheap” like a poorly printed label. You know the ones where the ink is smudged or only part of your name made it on the label. Using professional labels and labeling systems can go a long way to improving the way your labels look.
· Use the whole name or a salutation – If you are sending a mailer to Suzy Cue but don’t have her first name in your list, make sure your system doesn’t send her a letter starting with “Dear Cue.” This feels very impersonal. Instead, use “Dear Ms. Cue” as this feels much more personal.
· Use the surname in the salutation – Unless you know the customer personally, use the last name of the customer in the greeting. For example, unless you know Suzy Cue personally, use “Dear Ms. Cue” or “Dear Suzy Cue” and NOT “Dear Suzy.”
· When a response is needed, include a pre-addressed envelope – Yes, this costs more, but the odds of actually getting the item you need back improves exponentially!
· Use security labels – This mostly only applies to correspondence that includes personal information. For general advertising and general correspondence security labels would be overkill. Use the golden rule here: if it were your information, would you want it falling into other people’s hands?
So, think twice before skimping on direct mail advertising and correspondence. Sure, you might be able to save a little money skipping some of the steps, but the poor impression you leave on your customers will probably far outweigh any cost savings you may have made.
Is there such a thing as green marketing when so much marketing is still in printed form? Yes, actually, green marketing can exist. More and more environmentally friendly inks and papers are being made all the time.
People might think that going all electronic all the time is one answer to greener marketing practices with e-newsletters, marketing emails and other electronic forms of marketing, but the carbon footprint of keeping up this constant access 24/7 isn’t doesn’t make it much better, if at all better, than green printing methods.
Richard Romano went into greater detail about electronic newspapers versus print newspapers in his blog post “How Green is my Media” on Expert Business Source. Romano cites some studies conducted by the Institute for Future Studies and Technology Assessment (IZT) of Berlin, Germany, which found that the electronic newspapers have a bigger environmental impact than print newspapers. The studies found that “the environmental impact of the hardware required (that is, mobile devices) is much less than with conventional PCs or laptops, but the energy consumption that individual data transmission requires for the energy-hungry UMTS network more than compensates for the energy savings from end devices.”
It boils down to using paper versus using energy. The argument that electronic newspapers are more harmful to the environment stems from the fact that fossil fuels that create energy are not renewable, while paper (trees) is renewable.
Although these studies were about newspapers, they can be adapted to any kind of printed medium, including marketing materials.
So how can we print more environmentally friendly marketing materials? By using sustainable paper and good-for-the-environment inks.
Sustainable paper
Eco-friendly papers are recycled, processed without chlorine, are synthetic or are made from renewable fibers other than trees (like bananas and lemons!). Neenah Paper has an Environment line of paper and a Green Paper line as well as an environmental savings calculator so you can see how many resources you save by choosing green paper. You can get synthetic-free papers from companies like Polyart and Yupo. There are also companies that only product sustainable paper, like EcoPaper, which uses recycled paper fibers and fibers from bananas, coffee and cigars.
Sustainable ink
Traditional printing inks contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are thought to produce health problems and are known to produce air pollution. Alternatives include soy ink and waterless printing.
Soy ink uses a soy base instead of a petroleum base like traditional ink. Soy has much lower levels of VOCs so it doesn’t create as much pollution as petroleum-based ink. Paper printed with soy ink is easier to recycle because the ink comes off the paper more easily. Soy ink is brighter than regular ink as well.
Waterless printing is an offset printing process that doesn’t use water to dampen the ink like in traditional printing. Not only is water saved, but VOCs are eliminated in the printing process. The waterless printing process removes the need for solvent-based press solutions and blanket wash solutions, which are typically where all the VOCs come from.
These are just a few choices in sustainable ink and paper options. More and more are being discovered and hopefully soon, all printing can be less harmful to the environment.
Creative thinking takes place in two arenas: internally and externally. Internally, or in your own mind, creative thinking is all about exploring, playing, and probing with new ideas. Externally, when you relate your new ideas to others, creative thinking is about communicating, explaining, and persisting until others get the vision. But these ideas are somewhat nebulous. So let me try to take concepts such as “playing” and “explaining” and put them into a more concrete form.
Creative thinking: internally
• Exploring – To really come up with new ideas you have to be willing to look outside the box. And in the realm of your imagination you can explore anything. Here the problems are laid out and the more obvious solutions are explored. But exploring is decidedly an activity that should stay internal. Few people have the patience for creative thinking that may be jumping from point to another seemingly unconnected point.
• Playing – Beyond exploration, playing has to do with intentionally breaking the perceived rules and intentionally thinking through solutions that may seem impossible. Using scenarios like, “If I had unlimited resources, how would I handle this?” Playing pushes limits. And this part of the creative process should still remain internal as people are typically quick to judge.
• Probing – Here the creative thinker begins to challenge the status quo. Identify biases and assumptions that may be preventing ideas from flowing. Again, because of the political nature of most organizations, probing should initially take place internally since people can feel threatened by the probing process.
Creative thinking: externally
• Communicating – Once the new ideas have been sorted and sifted, the next step is to communicate those ideas. Careful thought needs to be put into how and when to communicate your new ideas. Make sure the people to whom you are communicating understand your frame of reference. It is easy to throw out an idea and confuse a group who has not been tracking with you internally.
• Explaining – Once you communicated your idea you often have to take the time to fully explain it. You may need to show people which boxes you’ve broken down and which assumptions you may be challenging.
• Persisting – Finally, you’re probably going to have to be patient while the idea takes root. The external process of creative thinking is iterative: you’re probably going to have to communicate, explain, and persist, and repeat the process several times.
Have you ever wondered why some companies are able to offer products at much higher prices than its competitors and still outsell them? Sure, you say, it’s because with the higher priced product you are paying for a brand. But how did that brand become able to offer such high prices? The answer is high product differentiation.
Product differentiation gives a company the ability to defend their prices. This term refers to the differences that make a product stand out from others like it. A company that has successfully used product differentiation has promoted both the key features and minor details of the item. They have created the perception that theirs is the best and will always be the best. Product differentiation is what gives buyers the ability to shop without needing to think. Yes, your product may be priced higher than the one next to it on the shelf, but a customer trusts that yours is worth the higher cost. For instance, consumers who purchase Cheerios know that it is priced a couple dollars higher than its off-brand competitor. Cheerios buyers, though, know that it lowers their cholesterol, has less sodium, and encourages a healthier lifestyle.
Before being able to offer higher prices than your competitors, you must use product differentiation in your marketing campaign. Your advertisements may contain tables comparing your product next to leading competitors’ products. In these tables, emphasize the better features, reliability, and results of your product. Many times, you may be up against loyal customers of your competitor, which is why it is necessary to make consumers rethink their purchase habits. You may decide that free samples may also help change consumer perceptions, but this could also backfire if your product is very similar to the lead competitors’ brand.
Companies with a strong brand are not able to offer higher prices just because of the brand. Yes, the brand may have become a symbol for those products, but the perception began through product differentiation. Therefore, if you are trying to distinguish your company and its products as an elite brand and want to be able to charge higher prices, begin a product differentiation marketing campaign. Over time, your products just might become the new top brand.
If you’ve never worked with a freelance copywriter, you might not have a clue as to where to start looking for one. Your marketing materials can make or break your profit margin this year, so it’s vital that you pick a competent copywriter that can get your message across effectively. So how do you choose?
First, Google “freelance copywriter.” You’ll get about 500,000 results on any given day from that phrase. You’ll see Web sites and ads for advertising copywriters, B2B copywriters, catalog copywriters and many other variations on the word “copywriter.” So now what?
Here are a few questions to ask to help you wade through the different types of copywriters to choose the right one for you:
1. Identify what kind of copywriter you need.
List the projects you want the copywriter to complete for you. Brochures? Web site copy? Will you be doing any catalog or booklet printing? (Yes, all those catalog descriptions are generally written by a copywriter.)
2. List your short-term and long-term objectives.
What is it you are hoping your copywriter can help you achieve? Do you want to start a monthly newsletter or just build a start-up Web site? Or do you just need a few tweaks to your Web site? Knowing whether you need work done for a one-time occurrence or as an on-going thing will help you pick the right copywriter.
3. Do you need an expert?
Many copywriters have found a niche for themselves. Some specialize in direct mail copywriting or catalog copywriting. That’s all they do and they do it well. There are other copywriters who can write everything from posters to television commercials to magazine ads. Do you need someone who can do it all for you?
Also consider whether you need a copywriter who is an expert in your field. This type of copywriter might be more difficult to find, depending on your industry. Someone who has worked in the fashion industry for years will be best for writing your fashion-related marketing copy. This goes back to #2. Knowing your objectives will help you decide on a copywriter.
4. Do you want to work with an agency or with a single freelancer?
Some people are more comfortable working with an established agency and having other resources you can call on if your copywriter isn’t top notch. Others would rather work with just one person. Do you want to build a long-term relationship with someone who will know your business almost as well as you do?
5. What is your copywriting budget?
Can you afford to work with an experienced freelancer or a copywriter at an agency? Fees will vary depending on your region and on the freelancer’s experience. You could end up paying $25 per hour for a copywriter with little-to-no experience, or up to $200 or $300 an hour for a copywriter with 20 years of experience. Many copywriters will set a budget for each project: for instance, a brochure will cost $600 no matter how many hours are spent writing it. A press release could cost between $200 and $500. A set price for the project could be the way to go if you’d like to know your costs upfront.
6. Pick a few candidates and review their work.
Copywriters should have samples of their work to show you. If they don’t, you should probably move on. Even copywriters straight out of college should have at least one sample to show you. You can get a taste of each copywriter’s writing style from the samples and choose the one that best suits you.
Between personal and corporate blogs, YouTube and social networking sites like MySpace, consumers have more control over company brands than ever before. The Internet has made it possible for consumers to practically write brand content for the brands.
Forward-thinking companies are getting in touch with customers through blogs, product reviews, consumer forums and email. But social sites like forums not run by companies can have wrong or bad information that reflects badly on the brand or company.
Most companies have their own Web sites, which is great, but the Web sites are growing bigger every day, with more and more content to browse through. With all this brand content by the actual companies floating around and consumer-generated content floating around, consumers are bound to get confused.
It’s not in your best interest to get mad and post your own fiery blog response when someone states something negative or wrong about your company. But there are some ways to harmonize all of the information out on the Internet, starting with the following:
Don’t try to control all the data and conversations
Instead of tracking blogs or product review sites to contradict every person who has a negative feeling or incorrect assumption about your product or company, create a place for all those people to converge. Create a blog or forum on your Web site or where people can leave comments and converse among themselves. If you ignore all the comments on the Internet, they won’t go away. Let customers speak their minds on your site and use your site to correct any rumors or wrong information you find on the Web.
Pay people to blog for you
Many bloggers are pros these days and get paid to blog. Seek out some freelance bloggers or writers and ask them to blog for you on a weekly or daily basis. They can either blog on your site or on their own site and link to your Web site. By having someone on blog control, you’ll be able to put out fires and start conversations that wouldn’t have been started otherwise. (How many people know you give some profits to charity? That’s the kind of thing you want people to blog about, but they won’t if they don’t know about it!)
Create good content
You can’t just babble on for paragraphs on your Web site talking about nothing. Talk about topics that have some substance and are relevant to your industry and how your customers fit into that industry. Tell customers what you are doing for them. Otherwise, people will stop visiting your blog or Web site.
Stand up for yourself
Blogs and forums are made for conversations. Search for your products or your company’s name in blogs and forums (a simple Google search will show you where to go) and then comment on what has been written. If something written is false, respectfully correct that person and direct him or her to your Web site if needed. Treat people with respect, but don’t let them walk all over your brand.
Give consumers the content they want
If you read comments about how people wish your Web site were easier to navigate, listen to them and evaluate your navigation. Could you make it easier? If people wished you had a FAQ page on your Web site, give it to them! If you give consumers the content they want, they won’t go elsewhere to get it or to complain about it.
When you hear a commercial asking “What can brown do for you?” do you know which company is asking that question? Do immediately know it was UPS? I did.
Okay, so I know a color is associated with UPS. But does that make the color their brand? I think it does.
Some organizations are so consistent with their marketing campaign colors that you can’t help but think of that organization or company. When you see pink, what do you think of? Susan G. Komen for the Cure – breast cancer awareness? That’s what I associate with pink. “Pink for the cure” is even a part of their marketing campaign.
What about when you see a light robin’s egg blue? Don’t you think of Tiffany & Co.’s jewelry store? You’d better – Tiffany’s has even registered its trademark blue as a brand asset.
What does color do for marketers?
Above all, color helps clients and potential customers recognize your company. A bulls’ eye in black or yellow probably won’t call any particular company to mind, but a bulls’ eye in red makes you think of Target stores.
Color can also be used to evoke emotion and build a connection with your customers. Many “green” companies use a lot of green color in their marketing because it helps them establish a connection with their customers who also like to be considered green.
People like to be considered green because they want to stand out and show what they believe in. Which leads to another reason color is so important in marketing: it helps you stand out from your competitors. Whenever I mention something about the “Dummies” books, people always respond “Oh – the yellow and black books?” The Dummies brand has a logo – a Dummies Man – but no one really notices him too much. They notice the color of the books.
Don’t take color choice lightly
Choosing the right color for your brand can be tough, but it’s super-important that you take the time to choose wisely. If your brand is international, think about what colors mean in other parts of the world. For instance, purple represents royalty in the West, but in Thailand purple is associated with mourning. About.com has a good basic guide to color definitions in differing cultures: http://webdesign.about.com/od/colorcharts/l/bl_colorculture.htm.
Make sure your color choice represents your brand accurately. A pink neon for a relaxing day spa just doesn’t equate.
Yes, color can equal a brand
Your choice of color can make or break your brand, so I’d say yes, color = brand. Just make sure your color(s) support your brand characteristics, is always consistent across your marketing materials, is different from your competitors’ colors and is understood in all parts of the world where you do business.
For many small businesses, networking is one of the biggest ways to market your company. In addition to having nice business cards printed and handed out to colleagues, you should make sure you have the business cards you’ve received organized so that you can quickly call or email someone when needed. By knowing where your contact’s information is, you’ll be able to quickly call on someone when you need help, have a great partnering idea or just to do some more networking. All of these situations are vital to small business marketing.
There are many different ways to organize your received business cards so that you can access them quickly as needed.
The first question is old school or modern?
You basically have two choices when it comes to organizing business cards:
Old school: keeping your business cards in a card file, like a Rolodex. You can also buy a portfolio-looking book that has business-card–sized slots so that you can have all your business cards in one neat book. The slots are clear, like plastic portfolio sleeves, so you can see the front and back sides of the cards easily. The bad thing about old school systems is that they’re not too pretty and can be a pain to lug around. A good trait is that you don’t have to worry about losing your info in a computer crash.
Modern: keeping the business card info on your computer. You can buy a computer program to keep your contacts organized, like Microsoft Access, or you can just use your email program, like Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes. One nice thing about storing info in your computer is that your office will be neater with no piles of papers and business cards everywhere. You can also find someone easily by searching for their name, company name or business location in a matter of seconds in a computer program. You can also record the date you met the person and where you met him.
The electronic method helps you by being more portable – you can either email your list to yourself for use at home or another location, of if you have a laptop, you can have your list with you at all times. Just remember to back up your system every night!
The next question: What to organize by?
The most popular method is to organize your business cards in alphabetical order. Whether you do that by the contact’s last name or business name is up to you.
You can also organize by the date you met the person, which makes it really easy to keep track of people in the old school system: the people you’ve known longer will be at the front of your Rolodex or book and the people you just met will be at the end. Make sure you stick to one system though; you don’t want to confuse yourself by alphabetizing by business name one day and then contact name the next!
Another question: When to update and organize?
You should update and reorganize your business cards when you get back from a trade show or any place where you gathered a few business cards. If you’re keeping track electronically, it’s best to update your database as soon as you get a business card. If you have an old school method, you could keep business cards in an empty slot in your portfolio or Rolodex until you have four or five, and then reorganize those all at once.
By organizing your contacts, you’ll have a much easier time of thinking of business prospects or partners, and you can easily stay in touch with people without much effort.
Advertising with posters can be a very successful venture if done correctly. Much of the success comes from careful planning and preparation before the actual creating process takes place.
First, decide on the target market you are trying to reach. Pull some demographics of the area to see if a large percentage of the population matches your target. If not, then you may want to reassess either your target market or the location.
Next, do some research on local posting laws. Some cities allow posters to be placed on telephone poles or street corners. Many businesses allow posters to be placed in windows or a bulletin board, especially if the poster topic relates to the business.
Now that you know where to post, begin planning for the design. Use clear branding on your posters. Passers-by should be able to recognize your company when glancing at the poster. For new companies, or when a company alters its brand, posters are a great way to publicize an image.
Choose a style for your poster design. The style should be based on the audience, or target market. For instance, if your company advertises a new line of clothing to middle class teenage girls, the poster headline, font, colors, and image would need to send a message that this clothing line promotes youth and popularity.
Once you have displayed the posters, keep track of the response. When prospects call the number, ask how they heard of your company. If results are unsatisfactory, do some more research. Try changing the design or location.
If possible, check your posters regularly. If your poster has been removed, any testing will give you false feedback. Also, a good marketing campaign will display a timely new version of the advertisement. Replace posters with updated information regularly. For instance, if the poster is advertising the release of a new product, alter the announcement. Change “Coming Soon” to “Coming in July” to “Coming in 2 Weeks,” as an example.
When preparing for poster advertising, avoid skipping quickly through the planning stage. The more solid your plan, the better results your company will see in your poster campaign.
Postcards are a great way to promote your Web site. Postcards are easy to read and can be hard to ignore since there is no envelope masking their message. Here are some ways you can advertise your Web site through postcard marketing:
Offer a free report on your Web site
Whether you do your own research and write a report of interest to your target market or if you buy a report, make it only accessible through your Web site. Then get the word out by mailing postcards. To make your postcards more enticing, you could use stats or a small graphic from the report on the postcard. Make sure you have some kind of system in place on your Web site that makes the visitor submit their name and email address to download the report so you can build up your mailing list or customer base.
Seminar sign-up
Seminars are great tools for many industries, like real estate, investing, technology, etc. If you host or sponsor a seminar, you can create a registration form or sign-up “sheet” on your Web site and send out postcards to let people know where they can register. Announce the seminar, along with the vital info such as place, time, cost, etc. on your postcard. Be sure to also include a benefit-laden headline. What will people learn or receive at the seminar that they can’t get elsewhere? You might even want to add some kind of incentive for people to sign up through your Web site, like a free product (that has your logo and name on it!).
Offer a free digital trial
If you sell anything digital like e-books or software, you could offer a free trial period or a sample download through your Web site. You could mail out a postcard to let people know where they can get their free trial and give them some kind of access code or coupon code. Make sure to put a time limit on your offer to prompt people to try your product sooner rather than later, because people are more likely to forget later.
E-newsletter subscription
Create an e-newsletter that you send out at consistent intervals, like once a month or once a week. Whatever schedule you come up with, stick to it! Your e-newsletter should contain helpful and interesting info that your customers possibly wouldn’t get elsewhere. Include info about your company’s doings, but also about what’s going on in the industry that customers might not be aware of. Mail out postcards announcing your e-newsletter and create a landing page on your Web site with a short URL so it’s easy for people to type. “Yours.com/newsletter” is much easier to type and remember than “yours.com/newsletter/url12685/3652-signup-i-am-making-this-up/.”
According to the large volume of marketing advice available, printed postcards should be one of the most successful advertisements available for most businesses. Are your results less than satisfactory even though you have followed design, printing, and mailing tips? If so, you may need to rethink the layout of your postcard. What works for one company may not work for yours. Successful marketing requires careful testing, so don’t despair if it takes time before you see the results everyone is bragging about. Below are some areas that might need to be reworked on your postcard to improve results.
Focus on the Back Side
Many mail carriers deliver the mail address-side-up. If the back of a postcard only contains the address information, clients may trashing your direct mail piece before the headline has a chance to catch their attention. Test placing your headline and offer on the back of the postcard and save the front for extra information.
Limit Information
Obviously, a postcard contains very limited real estate space. Avoid packing every little detail onto the postcard as this can result in a littered layout and, therefore, hidden message. Cut down the amount of words to include only the most important information. You merely need to cause clients to take the next step, not know every step of the offer.
Make a Unique Offer
If yours is the same as every other business offer, prospects will see no reason use your company above another. Without a tempting offer, an advertising campaign is useless. The offer is what compels readers to take action. So give clients what they want – the newest, biggest, and best product or service at an irresistible price.
Although printed postcards are one of the cheapest marketing tools, without high results they are not worth any cost, no matter how small. Therefore, test and test again until your direct mail postcards have become the optimum marketing tool that you have read so much about.
The newest version of QuarkXPress makes it easier than ever to create PDF files. This is a very useful ability to have, because many commercial printers want you to send your designs to them in PDF format. Quark allows you to create all kinds of products – brochures, postcards, etc. – into PDF with just a few steps.
Here is a rundown of how to create a PDF file in QuarkXPress 7:
1. The first thing you have to do is to QuarkXPress’s Resource Center (on quark.com) and download the ICC files. You have to have these to download the PDF style that you want.
2. Then, download the PDF styles archive from http://www.quark.com/products/xpress/resourcecenter/pdf.html.
3. Now you have all of the files that you need downloaded. From here, you can do all of the needed steps from within the Quark program. From inside the program, choose the File menu, and select Output Styles.
4. From this point, there will be more options from which to choose. Select Import.
5. Here, you have to choose the PDF style that you want to use. Here are your choices:
Press_HighPDF.xml
Print_MediumPDF.xml
Screen_MediumPDF.xml
Screen_LowPDF.xml
PDFX1a.xml
PDFX3.xml
6. Once you select the style you want, click Open.
7. If you want to input more PDF styles, simply repeat steps 4-6 for each desired style.
8. When you are down importing all of the styles that you want, click Save.
This process is actually much easier than it looks. Once you have done it, it will be a piece of cake. However, if you import all of the styles you want on your first session, you will not have to do it again.
Do these 8 simple steps and start creating PDF files right from QuarkXPress 7!
With technology ever-evolving, some of your old marketing strategies may not be working quite as well. Direct mail postcards, brochures, television ads and radio ads don’t have the same punch if people aren’t looking or listening to these avenues for information.
You’re competing with streaming video on a personal computer, television shows sans commercials on a cell phone and online news sites that have their own advertising avenues. How can you keep up with hippest technology to make sure you’re getting to your target market?
One word: podcast. Podcasts are video or audio files that are distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players, like the iPod, or computers. The term is a mash up of the words “iPod” and “broadcast” since the Apple iPod is the brand of portable media player for which the first podcasts were developed. These scripts are downloaded and then transferred to a mobile device to listen to or watch.
Podcast topics are as varied as the Internet – news, industries, trends and anything else you can think of have been podcasted. There’s even a For Dummies book on podcasting! Podcasts can last from a few minutes to a few hours (although the longer ones are less popular).
Podcasts appeal to people because
• they allow people to multitask. Many customers and clients are busy people. They don’t have time to read your latest book or your magazine article. But they can listen to your podcast while driving to work or while they’re exercising.
• people can get advice and info that feeds their self-improvement needs. Clients enjoy listening to CEOs and other experts that they can learn from. Podcasts are like their own personalized lecture.
Podcasts are great for establishing yourself or your CEO as an expert. Podcasts that share industry info, advice and insights create an impression that your business is filled with people the public can turn to for advice. Podcasting only takes a few hundred dollars to start for the equipment and distribution costs, so it’s a marketing strategy that can bring in a high ROI.
To create successful podcasts, your broadcasts must be concise, casual, clear and consistent.
Concise: Focus on one topic for each podcast. Remember they can be a few minutes long to a few hours long. Shorter ones have better success because, well, if people had a few hours to read a book then they would! Don’t get too longwinded in your discussion, but keep it chatty and …
Casual: Use real-life examples and simple language to get your point across. Don’t use jargon that people will need to look up in a dictionary or online. Don’t use too many statistics and “academic” talk. Talk like you’re talking to your best friend.
Clear: Make sure the volume of your recording device is up high enough to capture your voice and nothing else. Be sure to record in an area where you are free from distractions (a bar or a kid-filled living room is not a good idea).
Consistent: Pick a podcast schedule you can stick to. If you can only get to it once a week, fine. Just make sure you do it once a week, preferably on the same day each week. If you can only get to it monthly, that’s fine too. Just make sure you’re on a consistent schedule so that your listeners know when to expect you.
Once you create a podcast, you need to make sure to promote it. Include a link on your Web site and add a link to your email signature. You can also include your podcasts in your print advertising in magazines or newspapers. Just get the word out because people can’t listen if they don’t know it exists!
A direct mail campaign is one of most cost-effective ways to market your business. According to a study conducted by the Direct Marketing Association last year, direct mail brings in approximately $10 in sales for every $1 invested. That’s a pretty good return on your investment, eh?
With everyone talking about high gas prices and how to save money, direct mailing is one of those ways your company can save money. The U.S. Postal Service is giving us a bargain, really, when you think of how much money you could spend trying to reach thousands of people in a week’s time. Compare that with the approximate $1 cost it takes to create and mail postcards and you’ve got yourself a deal.
The best way to measure success of a direct mail campaign is to measure the cost versus gain
ROI stands for return on investment. ROI is basically a measurement of how much money you made or lost on an investment. To calculate ROI, you use the following equation:
ROI = (gain from investment – cost of investment) / cost of investment
I won’t go into the particulars here, except to tell you that if you Google ROI you’ll get a lot more info than you probably wanted to know about ROI! It’s a popular buzz word when it comes to finances of any sort. Basically, ROI tells you how much money you made in a percentage format. Whatever your ROI number is in the equation above, multiply it times 100 and you’ll get a percentage. That percentage will tell you how much of your investment cost you got back.
Another way to measure your cost and gain ratio is to measure your cost-per-piece or cost-per-lead and compare that with your sales numbers that resulted from the direct mail.
Measure how well you’re doing with test mailings
Direct mail enables you to control your marketing efforts better than other forms of marketing. You get to decide who exactly sees your direct mail pieces, when they see it and what the direct mail piece looks like.
When you first develop a direct mail piece, you should send it to a small group of people on your mailing list to get a feel for your response rate. You can use subsequent mailings to try out a new design, new headline copy or try a new mailing list to see what works and what doesn’t.
By testing your direct mail pieces before you send them out to your entire mailing list, you can gauge the probability of success so you know how much money, time and effort to sink into the direct mailing.
With the fourth installment of Indiana Jones out in May, it’s an appropriate time to see what we can learn from Indy about being an entrepreneur.
The great movie heroes are great because they don’t follow the rules, according to Mark Stevens, self-proclaimed movie lover and author of Your Marketing Sucks and God Is a Salesman. “Nobody wants to see a movie about someone who simply abides by the rules.”
Let’s take that rule-chucking theory and apply it to entrepreneurship. What can we learn?
Indy does his homework
Indy’s whip and gun get lots of play in the movie, but it’s his smarts that save the day. Without a Dr. Jones, Indiana Jones would have ended up dead a long time ago!
In the same way, entrepreneurs need to do their research – before they start their business, before they launch a product – generally before any kind of large undertaking. Going into a situation feet first instead of brain first will generally backfire. Make sure to do homework on your target market before you begin marketing to them and do homework on the market itself. Adding another similar product to a crowded market is not the road to a successful business venture.
Adventurous – take business risks, but not stupid risks
I believe these are referred to as calculated risks. You need to calculate the risk potential of business ventures, whether that’s to take a risk introducing a new product or trying to target a new market. Indy is adventurous, but he is also sensible. He takes risks where the outcome is more likely to be in his favor. Not a bad characteristic to try to copy.
Show your human side
“Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?” moans Indy. This one line shows that Indy isn’t a robot – there’s something that shakes him up! In the same way, you need to show your customers that you are human. Don’t talk like a corporation in your marketing materials, talk like a person. Use “you” a lot and “we” or “us” when you talk about your company. Starting headlines with “you” on postcards will grab people’s attention because you’re talking right to them.
Entrepreneurs find creative solutions
Indy would tell you as well as anyone else that no matter how much planning you do, you need to be ready for the unexpected. This includes setting up a plan B, but also being able to think on your feet. If you can’t come up with a solution to a problem, try brainstorming with colleagues to come up with something off the beaten path. Don’t strike down any ideas because oftentimes one idea that is way out there will spark the right idea later.
Don’t forget your hat
Indy always has his hat with him. When it gets punched off, blown off, however it gets off his head, he always manages to get it back to him. In much the same way, you can’t forget your hat, which is your brand. People know the Indiana Jones movies by a silhouette of Harrison Ford in the fedora – it’s the trademark of Indy. Whether you’re working on marketing materials, your annual report, producing a new product – don’t forget to include your brand on everything.
Lastly, don’t give up. Indy never gives up – once he’s found one artifact that’s not enough – he needs to find the next one. And the next one. If you have a roadblock in your way, find a way to get around it. Indy keeps forging ahead despite setbacks, and you can too.
I know what you’re thinking … where can I get a fedora?
There are so many different ways to communicate to customers through marketing – you’ve got everything from postcards to billboards to television commercials. Generally, companies divide themselves into who they sell to – businesses or consumers. Business-to-business (B2B) companies reach their customers differently than business-to-consumer (B2C) companies. Here’s an outline of which kind of marketing mix is best used for each type of business.
In B2B selling, customers are reached through the following channels:
• Mass media: print, fax, email, Internet, broadcast
• One-on-one: presentations, email
• Trade shows
• Customer referrals
In C2B selling, customers are reached through these channels:
• Mass media: commercials, Internet, print
• Display: building, signage, billboards, location, counter or shelf displays
• One-on-one: door to door, letter, telephone, email
• Follow up: in person, email, letter, telephone
You’ll notice that there are some overlaps. That’s okay – when it all boils down, you’re still selling to people. Businesses are made of people and the people are who make the buying decisions.
Let’s talk about a few of these options in greater detail:
Mass media: Many marketers think mass media is the end all and be all of marketing. And don’t get me wrong – mass media is one of the main marketing channels for B2B and B2C companies. But, mass media is generally reserved for sales (meaning discounts) and to introduce new products or services.
Display marketing: This works best for B2C marketing because most consumers will travel to your store to buy your product. Many businesses will not. Businesses are too busy to travel from store to store to pick up goods, which is why they generally have everything shipped to them. Displays also encourage impulse buying, which businesses are somewhat immune from because everything they purchase is preordered.
One-on-one marketing: One-on-one marketing works for both types of companies because it’s the most personal way to build a relationship with customers. You talk with them and there’s rapport there. You can also personalize your presentation or lineup of products for each consumer or business. This tactic is most time-consuming, but it can pay off in ways that impersonal marketing can’t.
Speaking of impersonal and personal marketing, these broader categories can also determine your marketing mix:
Personal marketing
• One-on-one: presentations, email, letters, telephone, direct mail
• Your selling environment (your store atmosphere)
• Networking
• Trade shows
Impersonal marketing
• Mass media: print, broadcast
• Display: billboards, location, signage
• General email
Generally, personal marketing is aimed at current customers and impersonal marketing is aimed at prospects. You don’t want to get all up in a prospect’s personal space (real and virtual) because they don’t know you yet and aren’t comfortable with you. If you send an email that has the prospect’s name on it, like “Dear Molly,” Molly’s going to think “You don’t know me so don’t call me by my first name.” However, Joe who is your customer already, will welcome your email opening of “Dear Joe.” He’ll think nothing of your personal greeting.
Now that you know the categories of marketing, you can make your own marketing mix based on whether you want to go personal or impersonal, or based on your type of company. If you’ve already used mass media to reach your customers, you can try some one-on-one marketing to mix it up. There is no right way to market to a group of customers because each group is different. But you can find your own effective marketing mix from these lists and tweak it as you go along.
Drip marketing is a direct mail strategy that means you send out many direct mail pieces for weeks or months to a portion of your sales leads list.
The phrase “drip marketing” comes from a farming and gardening term called “drip irrigation.” When gardeners do drip irrigation, it means the gardener waters plants using small amounts of water over a period of time. Drip marketing is a deliberate and planned sequence of marketing messages set out over a set period of time.
What’s the need for drip marketing?
Well, it was created in response to the “Law of 29” which states that an average prospect won’t turn into a client until he or she has viewed a marketing message a minimum of 29 times. Not all marketers believe in this magic number, but all marketers agree that you need to stay in touch with prospects over a period of time to gain their business. Statistics show that between three and 30 repetitions are required for a message to be remembered.
What are the advantages?
You get a steady cash flow from a steady rush of business. By consistently sending out brochures, flyers, letters and other direct mail pieces, you end up getting new customers throughout the drip cycle, instead of all at once, like at Christmas.
You are always promoting a right time to buy. For realtors and other businesses, like car dealers, whose services or products are only purchased when it’s the right time for the consumer, drip marketing works well because it’s always the right time to buy. You build recognition and awareness over time, and when your product is needed, you’re there. Most people take a few months to buy a car, and they start to slowly pay more attention to car sales ads. Since car dealerships are always promoting their product, they’re ready for whoever is in the frame of mind to buy a car. They do this year round. Consider Toyota – the Prius is selling like crazy right now – there are actually wait lists to even buy one and to test drive one – but Toyota hasn’t pulled all their Prius ads. Not everyone has jumped on the Prius bandwagon, so they keep putting out Prius ads to catch the next wave of people who want it. When you use drip marketing, you’re riding the waves and you take the new customers as they come.
You’ll have a plan in place to follow that can be easily adjusted. By creating a plan, you’ll be consistent with your marketing. But, with drip marketing, it’s easy to change your plan depending on the results of your last mailing. You’ve already got the marketing materials printed, so just change which type of direct mail piece you’re going to send next.
What kinds of direct mail should you send?
Postcards
Newsletters
Sales Brochures
Flyers
Letters
Anything else that can be sent through the mail! (like free samples, for instance)
Your plan of action
Decide on what niche of your target market you want to send direct mail to
Develop your timing plan (how often you’ll send out your materials) in conjunction with what kinds of materials you’ll send out at which interval (postcards every two weeks? Brochures every other month?)
Execute the plan
Evaluate your results after each mailing, or after a few mailings (if postcards aren’t working and brochures are, alter your plan to send out more brochures)
Your drip marketing plan should be a way for you to foster relationships your current and potential customers. You can keep them updated on your products and services, and you’ll gain great memorability.
Small business owners are finding that brochures can be easily created nowadays in their office on their own computers. With desktop publishing software on the market like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, QuarkXPress and Microsoft Publisher, it’s easy to design your own brochures and only use a printing company to do the actual printing.
Here are a few technical considerations that business owners who aren’t savvy graphics developers need to know.
Design for your print size
One of the most frequent errors do-it-yourselfers make when designing brochures is to design for the wrong print size. If you are planning on printing on 8-x-10-inch paper, don’t build your layout on an 8.5-x-11-inch palette. Many printing companies will return your file to you if it’s not sized correctly.
This is one of the hardest errors to correct at the printer – if they stretch or shrink the design to fit the paper size, your graphics and images will look funny and your text will be hard to read.
Allow your brochure to bleed
No, I’m not saying to torture yourself or your brochures for that design epiphany to break through! I’m talking about your print bleed. Print bleed is expanding your brochure design to go slightly past the page borders in your design program. When brochures are printed, they are printed in sheets, and are then sliced into individual brochures. The blade that cuts the sheets is usually right on, but sometimes veers just a bit outside of the established border. When that happens, you can end up with a white border on some parts of your brochure. Not cool if you have a great picture on one corner of your brochure, or if a picture takes up the whole front panel. Design your brochure with an extra 1/8 inch beyond the established borders to avoid any printing mishaps.
Your images and photos should be at least 300 dpi
To create a professional-looking brochure, you need professional quality photos. If you print a photo or image that isn’t high-resolution, your image will come out blurry or even pixilated.
The images that look good on the Web are 72 dpi (dots per inch). This is not enough for printing on paper – these low quality images would hardly be recognizable in a brochure. Your photo files should be at least 300 dpi to print sharply and clearly.
Choose a high quality paper to print your brochures on
Many printing companies offer 80lb or 100lb stock paper. Papers also come with a variety of glossy and matte finishes. 100lb paper is much more substantial than 80lb paper and doesn’t cost that much more. Paper weight is calculated by stacking 500 sheets on a pile. A heavier paper will make your brochure seem more professional and your images and text will look better because you can’t see through to the other side of the paper!
You can add varnish to the paper if you want it to look glossy and shiny, and varnish also helps prevent fingerprint smudges on color-heavy brochures. If you have a lot of ink on your brochure, it will look glossy anyway, so you may not want to spend money on making the small, inkless parts glossy.
Whenever you’re presenting your product or service to a client, it’s important for your presentation to stand out from the crowd. Most presentations are dull and unconvincing and not nearly good enough to keep the client’s attention, much less motivate the potential client to make a purchase.
That being said, it can be easy for you to stick out from your competitors by giving an amazing presentation. Here’s how:
Focus the presentation on the client, not your company. This means tailoring your presentation for each client. The most common mistakes people make is to create one generic presentation and use it for all of their potential clients. This may save on poster and brochure printing costs, but you won’t gain the clients’ business. Don’t give a “canned” speech – make your product relevant to your specific prospect.
Do a little research and find out your prospect’s main problems before the presentation and show them how you can solve each one.
Tout benefits, not features. Use your presentation time wisely – grab the potential client’s interest with benefits that your product will bring to her company. The best way to do this is to bring a prototype of the product and let the client touch it and examine it himself. Then he can ask questions and you can tell him about the features, if he asks. My bet: he won’t ask about features until you’re way past this first presentation.
Be brief. You’ll most likely be presenting to the top management tier of the company you are courting, and that means you need to value these people’s time. Make your points and move on. A good rule of thumb is to make your presentation take 60% of the time allotted for the meeting. This means if you have an hour allotted, your presentation should take no longer than 40 minutes. If you have a half-hour meeting scheduled, you shouldn’t take any longer than 18 minutes. Generally, a 20-minute presentation is a good length of time. If you go much longer than that, you might start rambling and talk your way out of a sale by talking too much.
Get excited! The majority of sales presentations are boring. The presenters are boring, the information is boring and the PowerPoint is boring. Try not to speak in a monotone voice, and get excited about your product. When you’re excited, other people will get excited. Your client will mirror your behavior. If you act lackluster and serious, so will your client. If you get excited about your product, so will your client. Excitement is contagious!
Do something physical. You can either do a demonstration with your product, or you can even just write down facts and numbers, and draw pictures on a whiteboard. This will keep your client engaged to see what you’re writing or drawing next.
Believe in your product. This is the most important aspect of any sales presentation. If you don’t believe in your product, then there’s no way you can do a good job selling it. It will show in your body language, your word choice and the sound of your voice. And if you can’t get excited about it, what makes you think your client will?
Whenever you’re ready to send out a brochure to new customers or existing customers, there are some key tactics to use to make sure you get a good response. After paying for a copy writer, a designer, the printer, mailing costs and everything else that goes into creating a brochure, you end up spending about $1.00 per brochure.
Make sure you don’t waste your money by following these tips:
1. Get to know your customer
You need to understand your customers’ wants and needs. You need to know what motivates them. What problems they have. And most importantly, what can your product do to help them? Do some research by simply asking customers or sending out surveys. Knowing what your customers’ wants and needs are will shape everything about your brochure – the text and the
design.
2. Use the AIDA marketing technique to writing brochures
AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. For your brochure to be successful, it needs to get people’s attention, get your prospect interested enough to read further, elevate their desire for your product or service, and get them to take action, such as calling you, making an appointment or visiting your Web site.
3. Don’t waste space talking about yourself
Your customers don’t give a lick about your company’s history and your variety of products. All they care about is how you can help them. What benefits can you offer them for doing business with you?
4. Use eye-catching headlines and graphics on the front panel
Studies show that readers take between 5 and 7 seconds to decide whether they want to keep on reading your brochure. If your headline or graphics on the front panel of your brochure are boring or bland, no one will bother opening it. You need something that will interest them and catch their attention. Use bright colors as accents for your headline text and use photos and graphics that will get people wondering what else is inside the brochure.
Use interesting, benefits-laden headlines all through your brochure – every panel should have a headline. Most people skim before they read smaller print, so using headlines will keep their attention and intrigue them to read on.
5. Include a call to action
Once you’ve gotten the reader interested in your product, tell them to contact you. You can’t assume that the reader will take the next step on his own – you need to tell him what the next step is. Whether that is to call you or visit your Web site, tell them what to do, and give them the info they need to do it. (Not a step-by-step tutorial on how to use the phone or the computer of course! Just make sure you give them your phone number and Web site address.)
6. Make it urgent!
Give readers a reason to take action sooner rather than later. Generally, putting some kind of time limit on an offer is enough to get people off of their couches. Offer a free gift, or a special coupon that must be redeemed by the end of the month – just put some kind of date on your offer. If you don’t, your brochure is likely to get lost under a pile of mail or items to look at “later” (meaning probably never).
Many companies know that not all customers equal, and yet, they market to all of their customers equally.
What I mean by not all customers are equal, is that not all customers’ business potential are equal. Some customers can bring you a few dollars worth of business while others can bring you hundreds of dollars of business. Marketing to these customers in the exact same way is not an effective plan.
So what is an effective marketing plan? The Marketing Pyramid, my friends.
What is the Marketing Pyramid?
Because all prospects are not equal, they should not all receive the same sized slice of your marketing pie. You need to spend the majority of your time and effort with the customers who are your best bets. Doing otherwise is just wasting your time and money.
The Marketing Pyramid is a tool that will help you decide how you should market to heavy, medium and light users through coupons, special offers, contests and other incentives. You build your pyramid from the ground up, spending more time and resources with the bottom tier, which is made up of your heavy, or primary prospects (A). The next tier is your medium, or secondary prospects (B). The top tier, and the smallest, in terms of time and resources spent, are your light, or tertiary prospects (C).
Determining your A, B and C Targets
You split your prospects into the three tiers based on their profit potential.
Your primaries (A) should make up 10% of your list. Your “A” prospects can include:
Current customers
Recent past customers (within the past six months)
Any hot leads from trade shows, Internet research, articles etc.
Recent referrals
Your secondaries (B) should make up 25% of your list. Your “B” prospects can include:
Somewhat recent customers – those who you’ve done business with between six months and a year ago
Somewhat recent referrals
Top targeted customers that you haven’t gotten a response from
Your tertiaries (C) should make up the rest of your list and should include:
- The rest of the targeted customers you haven’t gotten a response from
- Business cards, inquiries and other contacts
- Anybody else in your list that looks like they’d make a good potential client
Another way to categorize your targets into your pyramid is to estimate how many time you’ll close a deal with the type of prospect. A general rule to divide your list is:
A = 1 in 10 (or less) will close
B = 1 in 25 will close
C = 1 in 100 will close
Now that you know who’s in your pyramid, you can spend more time on the A’s, a little more time on the B’s and the least amount of time targeting the C’s. Generally, it’s recommended to contact the A’s 10 times per year; the B’s 4 times per year; and the C’s one time per year. If you mail out brochures or postcards, this is the number of times you should mail out your direct mail each year to balance your marketing costs with your marketing expenses.
Now you’ve got a prioritized list and you know just how much time and energy to expend on each group. Easy, right?
If you’re finding yourself running into writer’s block or if you can’t come up with a new and innovative idea for your marketing materials, you might just need to tweak your thinking a bit. Below are five tips to help your right brain take over your marketing ideas and to pump out some creative ideas.
1. Change your question. If you change the question, you’re going to get a completely different answer and a different perspective on the goals of your marketing materials. If your question is “How do we to sell more products?”, you’ll craft your message in a way to sell your products focused on quantity. You might even lower your price to up the number of products out the door. However, if your question is “How do we bring in more profits?”, you might up your price or emphasize the quality of your product in your message.
2. Don’t use the first idea you think of. In the book A Whack on the Side of the Head, the author Roger von Oech says to take the time to think of a second, third or even 100th idea. When you’re trying to think of a new idea, the quality of your ideas don’t count in the brainstorming stage, it’s the quantity that’s important. The more ideas you have to pick from, the more likely you are to pick a great one.
3. Paint a press release. What would you use to paint a press release? Sounds odd, but thinking of combining two unrelated acts can give you a creative answer you never would have thought of otherwise. What about thinking of how you could dance out your billboard design? All of this may not give you a feasible idea, but it will get your creative juices flowing.
4. Talk to your product or service. That’s right – ask your product or service how it would like to be sold. This is a more mind-bending technique that might seem a little weird at first. But it can be valuable to think of how your product would answer the following questions: What are your strengths and weaknesses? Who can you help? Why should someone pick you over your competitors? Does it look best in catalog printing or should it be sold in person?
5. If your brain isn’t working, don’t force it. If your brainstorming session isn’t working, stop. Do something else for a while. Take a walk or do some exercise. That gets the blood flowing and your brain time to sort out ideas. Your subconscious will keep thinking and you might have your answer the next day. Take a break until the next day – there’s a good reason why people say to “sleep on it” – sleeping lets your subconscious brain work out problems that your conscious brain can’t during the day.
If you’re an entrepreneur who has decided it’s time to take a crack at writing your own copy for your marketing materials, this article is a great learning tool to help you write that first great marketing piece. There are certain basics that are common to every great marketing piece, from postcards to brochures to your Web site.
Here’s a quick mini-lesson you’ll want to print out and use when you sit down to write your first marketing copy.
Lesson 1: Write directly to the person that will be reading the copy
Although you are marketing to the masses, each mass is made up of individuals. Other than grade school, people don’t read in unison with each other as a group. Ads are seen by only one person at a time. The individuals that make up your target market should share many similarities, so it shouldn’t be hard to write to that individual.
Imagine you have your best prospect sitting across from you at a table. What do you need to say to get that prospect to shake your hand and make a deal to buy your product, right then and there? This is how you should approach writing your marketing material – talk directly to the prospect. The most obvious way to talk directly to someone is to address her with the word “you.” Ask “Do you have XX problem?” Talk right to them.
Lesson 2: It’s not all about you
Don’t talk about yourself and your company in your advertising copy. Take out all of the “we” and “our” instances in your first draft and rewrite those sentences with “you” and “your.” For instance, the sentence “We can deliver our product in 24 hours” is more effective when rewritten to “You’ll receive your new product in 24 hours.” Using “you” and variations of the word is known as “outer-directed” language. You are indulging people in what they like to do best: watch out for themselves and try to get the best deal.
Lesson 3: Talk about benefits, rather than features
This is somewhat of an extension of Lesson 2. People pay attention to messages that tell them something they want to hear. They want to hear how a product or service can solve a problem for them or make their lives easier somehow. And with so many ads directed at people through all kinds of media – newspapers, magazines, television, billboards, the Internet – you need to grab people’s attention immediately before they move on to the next thing.
The best way to grab attention is to tout a benefit right off the bat – at the top of your flyer, on the front of your brochure, at the beginning of your TV commercial, etc. Use benefit-ridden headlines in all of your print materials and make those headlines bigger and a brighter color than the body copy (that’s the smaller copy).
Lesson 4: Keep it short
Good copywriters don’t use a longer word when a shorter one will do. And oftentimes, the shorter word is the more common word in a language so you lessen the risk of alienating anyone who might not know what a longer word means.
Get straight to the point and use words that evoke mental images or sounds. You won’t have more than 20 seconds on average for your marketing materials to be deemed worthy of further reading so you need to get as much info (meaning benefits) as you can in that short of space and time.
Lesson 5: Ask a question or give a command
Many marketing pieces open with a question to get people thinking. Questions intrigue people and get them engaged with your message. Including a command, like “Call now” persuades people to take action when they otherwise wouldn’t. Commanding people to do what you want them to in marketing copy is known as a “call to action.” You tell them what they should do next and make it as easy as possible for the reader to take that action.
Many times, people are hired as salespeople, are given a manual to study, but are sent out to sell before they even have time to open the manual. Here’s a quick beginner’s course, or refresher course to those new to the sales arena.
1. If you want to succeed, you must believe in the product you’re selling. You might be the greatest actor in the world, but if you don’t believe in the product, it’ll still show through in your presentation. You might make little slips of language that tell people what you really think of the product, or when you’re using brochures to explain something, your tone of voice or body language might be saying something different, otherwise known as a Freudian slip. Freudian slips aren’t only slips in language, but can be physical too, like your body language.
2. Know your product from the inside-out. You need to know the benefits of your product, and who exactly the benefits are for. This means you need to adapt to whoever you are trying to sell to – the benefits of a cell phone to a senior citizen differs greatly from the benefits to a teenager. If you know all about your product’s benefits, you can change your pitch in an instant because it’s all right there in your head.
3. Remember who you are representing. You aren’t just representing the integrity of yourself, but also the company you work for. Whatever you do reflects back on the company. You do have some social responsibility in sales. Don’t say or do anything in front of a prospect that you wouldn’t do in front of your boss.
4. Don’t feel like you need your customers more than they need you. That kind of thinking creates an imbalance from the get-go. You’ll always be on the defensive, even when the prospect hasn’t said anything offensive. This mindset will affect how you present yourself and the product. Think in terms of you doing the consumer a favor – you’re clueing them in to this great product with all of these benefits that this person is now missing out on. Consumers need people like you to tell them how to make their lives easier – by buying your product.
5. Create an air of confidence by practicing your sales pitch. If you aren’t confident in your sales pitch, do something about it! The best thing you can do if you aren’t comfortable with yourself is to practice your presentation in front of a mirror. If you aren’t confident for another reason, like lack of knowledge about the product or industry, get out that manual you were given on your first day. Look at your company’s Web site. Google your product and industry. There’s an old saying that “knowledge equals power.” Well, knowledge also equals confidence!
6. Above all, make sure you listen. You need to converse with prospects, not just talk at them. By listening to what the other person is saying, you can head off any questions or doubts early on. If you just wait to talk, on the other hand, you won’t get anywhere, fast.
“Well, if they’re big and you’re small, then you’re mobile and they’re slow,” Gene Hackman’s character says to Will Smith in the movie Enemy of the State. While in the context of the movie he’s talking about fighting in a war against a branch of the government, this same advice can apply just as easily to a business.
Sometimes a business can have its hands tied by its own success. I know all those huge businesses try to talk about how they’re really a family owned company that you can feel close to. I don’t know about the rest of the world, but I have a little trouble taking that advice to heart when I know for a fact I’ll never actually see any of those family members who own the company. They’re off in a boardroom talking about the future of the company, not on the sales floor restocking the shelves.
But if I walk into a local comic book store, video rental store, even grocery store, I very well might see the owner on his knees putting products onto the shelves. No major company can match a feeling of connection something like that can achieve.
Ask yourself about this in relation to marketing. Okay, brochures. Using this form of marketing as an example I’ll go over some of the ways you can actually benefit from not being a big corporation.
Sure, you aren’t going to have the same kind of budget for your brochures. A major corporation can pump out far more color brochures in a matter of seconds than you could probably make in the span of a week, but that isn’t always the most important thing. A brochure is only worthwhile if it actually gets people interested in the company.
You have the ability to make a custom brochure unlike anything those huge companies can match. If you own a small business you’re closer to the people. You know what they want, and really you don’t have to advertise to as many different groups as they do.
Wal-Mart isn’t just in one state or one city. They have to appease the mid-west as well as the northeast, and these are not similar people we’re talking about. This isn’t even taking into account all those other countries Wal-Mart deals with. You’re able to personally know and talk to the people you’re marketing to. You can know exactly what you need to do to appeal to them.
And really, creating a strong brochure design is a lot easier these days than it used to be for the small business owner. Do you have Adobe Photo Shop on your computer? That’s all you need to get started on some great looking brochures.
Just remember that what can appear like a weakness can really be an asset if you know how to properly wield it. You have a mobility the big business will never be able to match. Use it to your advantage.
Think Like a Customer
If you were a customer, what kind of brochure would make you take notice? Keep that in mind when you are designing brochures for your business. If you try to think like a customer, you might just find new ways to market yourself.
Use Enticing Information
The front of the brochure is where you need to convince the reader that he needs to look inside. Don’t be afraid to use some non business stuff there. For instance, you can say something like, “Coldplay’s new record just broke the record for downloads,” to try to interest the reader. Of course, you have to be able to tie that in to your company in some way, or else the customer will see right through your ploy.
Keep it Organized
Keep your brochures nice and neat. Don’t let them get too cluttered or text heavy. And if your brochures are quite long, you might want to include a table of contents to help readers find what interests them.
Information is Key
Don’t forget to include information about your company or product, or both. Your brochure cannot be completely full of enticing information without including something of substance. If it is, it will not generate any profit for you.
Throw in Something Valuable
Try to include something that will make the reader consider keeping the brochure. This can be information that does not deal directly with your company, but relates to it indirectly. The point is just to provide something that is valuable outside of the marketing aspect.
Think Outside the Box
You do not necessarily have to print a conventional brochure. Be willing to use some unique techniques to really get the customer’s attention. Change the shape of your brochures, or use a bold color (only if your business is not serious in nature). You could use humor extensively on your brochures, or anything else that will make them stand out from the thousands of others out there.
Use Story Techniques
Try to put the reader of your brochures in a relaxed mood. Try to take them away into a different world, of sorts. Use storytelling techniques to change the customer’s frame of mind as they read your brochures.
Focus on the Needs
The bottom line of any sales pitch is that you need to tell the customer what you can do for him. As early as you can in your brochures, tell the readers how you can solve a problem that they have, or fill a need that they suffer from.
The Call to Action
This is a vital part of any advertisement. You need to tell the customer exactly how to act, and why he needs to do so in a hurry.
Not every brochure is the same. There are several different types of brochures, each of which has a different purpose in life. To be specific, there are 5 types of brochure. You should become familiar with each so you can produce the right kind for your company.
Here is a rundown of each type to help you plan your next brochure project.
1. Support Brochures
If you give presentations as part of your sales approach, you may want to print some support brochures. These brochures are designed to help you get your message across. You should design these brochures to coincide with your presentation, so that the participants can follow along as you speak to them. This can be a tremendously effective technique, because if reinforces the things that you are telling them.
2. Direct Mailing Brochures
This is a very different type of brochure that you send directly to a prospective customer. Obviously, this type of brochure will not be meant to accompany a sales presentation. Instead, you will design this brochure to introduce your company to a customer, and tell him why your company is the best at what you do. You need to tell them a little about your product, and how much care and detail you put into creating it.
3. Response Brochures
When someone shows interest in your product or service, you should have some information to give to him. That is where this type of brochure comes in. Design a brochure that drives home the best features of your company, like why you are better than any other similar type of business. You will be giving this brochure to someone who is already interested in you, so design it to close the sale.
4. Check out Brochures
Putting brochures next to the check out area of your store is a good way to bring customers back for repeat business. Make sure you put a really enticing headline on these brochures, because it will take a little extra to make these customers (who have already bought something) look more closely at your information.
5. Drop Off Brochures
There will be times when you are around a lot of potential customers, but you can’t speak to them. That is a good time to have some drop off brochures at your disposal. These are different from response brochures, because they are not necessarily for people who have shown interest. They are simply there to pass out to a mass of people that you cannot communicate with directly at the time. These brochures should be designed as sales tools; you need them to persuade people that they need the product or service that you provide. Of all the types of brochures, these are probably the least effective, because you are usually giving them to people who know little about you and may have no interest in your services.
Above all else, the goal of the poster is quite simple: you want people to look at it longer than they will any of your print ads. Sure, this goes for almost any kind of advertisement, but your poster is going to embrace this mentality like no other form of advertisement will for the simple fact that, unlike all your other print ads, posters are way bigger.
Remember this also: people don’t take posters home with them, they don’t stuff them in their pocket, and they don’t look at them from the comfort of their home. A poster is only going to be seen at the location you put it and it needs to convey its entire message as fast as it can, because people won’t be looking at that poster for very long.
The question I ask now and I’m sure a lot of people are thinking is how do you get the most out of your posters then? Even more than that, why even bother to use them if they have such a limited scope of effectiveness?
The charm of large format posters is that they can grab someone like no other kind of advertisement can. Every other form of advertising simply takes more time or can’t stack up when it comes to the quality of the image.
Take for example a postcard or flyer. Now, like a poster, both are going to grab someone’s eye right away and both don’t have room to really say too much. But both are going to be on lower quality paper and both aren’t going to be able to support the kind of visual flare a color poster can achieve.
Think about photo poster printing. A poster can support a high quality picture unlike anything a flyer would lay claim to. This is what will really make someone look over at your poster. It’s always the picture that grabs my eye first, and your poster stands as the best style of advertising to get that high quality image out there.
Given that you know people aren’t going to tear your poster down and take it home with them, or you hope they won’t, you need to make sure you can tell them what you have to say as quickly as possible.
Get to the point and only focus on the point. Is it a sale? Tell them that and be done with it. Maybe you have a grand opening or new product release. This is the key point of your poster and all you should have to worry about mentioning.
The more your poster has to say the less likely it is people will care enough to read it all. I’ve seen all sorts of posters that only have six or seven words on them total. I can tell you this, I read everything those posters had to say. The more complicated your poster starts to get the less likely it is people will bother reading any of it.
I’ve designed many posters myself using all sorts of different designing programs. With a program like CorelDRAW you can pump out some truly marvelous looking posters from the comfort of your own home.
Compared to other forms of advertising, designing flyers should be a breeze, right? After all, the flyer is one of the most basic forms of advertising there is. You have a single sheet of paper to worry about and nothing else.
I won’t try to claim that a flyer is as complicated as a brochure to design, but there are some important details to be aware of before you go off and start designing them yourself.
These days I see a lot of flyers I just know people are making at home using something like QuarkXpress. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this, but I think you’ll be better served knowing more about flyer design before you go off and start making your own.
The first and most important thing about a flyer is the primary message you’re trying to convey. If your goal is to make some nightclub flyers than you want to decide what it is about the nightclub that you think will be your best selling point.
Let’s say you have a certain night that has great drink specials. This is the main point you want people to be aware of, which means this should be the biggest thing on your flyer. You want to grab people’s attention right away before they can throw that flyer on the ground, and we all know that’s what most people are going to do.
I see a lot of flyers that seem to have no particular point it emphasizes. Nothing is bigger than the rest, and so nothing really jumps out at me. Those are the flyers I drop in the first trash can I happen to pass.
A flyer needs to jump out and grab a person’s eyes. It needs to make sure they don’t look at anything else until they’re done looking at your flyer. Whether your flyer is for a nightclub or your plan on making some business flyers, you have to make sure your selling point is prominent.
Along with a strong message you need to have some strong visuals. A person is likely to see the image before they see the message, so give them something they’ll stop to look at. You could go for the extreme out of the ordinary kinds of images or the more colorful, flashy look. What you plan on selling will be what will decide the best kind of image to pair up with your message. Only you can know what that is.
And of course, make sure you have plenty of flyers made up. The cost to print flyers is cheap compared to almost any other form of advertising. Take advantage of it to get as many flyers as you can. The more people you hand them to the more opportunities you’ll have to find those people who will take your message to heart.
If you want to design your own flyer, by all means, go right ahead, just be aware of what all goes into them rather than waste your time on something people like me will just dump in the trash.
In looking for something to represent your business, it’s only expected that you want it to look its best. Print advertisements, big or small, represent your company and should not be ignored. Yes, even if it comes in the smallest dimensions like your business card.
Not only is a business card going to be what people use to remember who you are, but quite often you’re actually there when you hand it to them. You’ll see that person look right down at your card and you’ll have to deal with whatever their reaction will be.
Here are some of the basic tenants of any high quality business card. I don’t plan to get into anything too fancy, and really, you can design your own business card with ease if you know all of the basics for what makes a card effective.
The first thing to look for is the information you plan on putting on your card. Ask yourself what you want people to know about you. Obviously your name should be on it, but what kind of contact info? Do you want a phone number, an email address, a fax number, maybe a building number? Maybe you have an office phone, a cell phone, and a home phone that you might consider using, or multiple email addresses that would all work.
Wouldn’t that be a little too much information? Probably. A good business card needs to be concise enough that people can just glance at it and get all of the information they need. The more complicated you make your cards, the less likely it will be that people will bother wanting to sort through the mess of information.
Figure out only the best pieces of information and that’s what you’re going to stick with.
Now, let’s talk about the design. If you have a company logo you definitely want to make sure that’s on your card. Any good logo shouldn’t be overly complicated or too colorful. Where you place the logo is up to you, but I’d say it would probably be best to keep it close to your name. A colorful logo will be the first thing someone looks at, which means your name will be the second if the logo is close enough to it.
When it comes to something like font type I would try to primarily stick to a single style. You could probably get away with two fonts, such as having your company name in a different font, but any more than that will make the card look messy.
Also remember that white space isn’t always a bad thing. Don’t try to fill your card up with too much info or too many pictures. Sometimes I like to be able to write something down on the back of my business cards. Why rob people of the ability?
All of these things can be handled and designed in something as simple as Adobe Photoshop. You don’t have to be an expert in design to make your print business cards look professional.
Brochures aren’t always for the faint of heart or for those who don’t have enough time to adequately design something that will work.
Brochures also aren’t the cheapest form of marketing. You can get plenty of great advertising for your buck if you do them right, but you still have a larger initial investment when compared to other kinds of marketing.
But one thing you can do to help ease the financial burden is be aware of what goes into designing an effective brochure. If you have the right kind of software like In Design, you might even be able to start designing brochures yourself.
The first thing to look at is the brochure layout. How many pages do you plan on having and how do you plan on having your brochure folded? There are all sorts of different methods for folding brochures, and each carry a certain advantage. I won’t list every kind of folding method here given how many there are.
Once you do know what kind of folding method you plan on using decide the right progression for your information. A brochure should have a strong linear feel to it. Make sure yours flows along a single line of thought from beginning to end. You can have several points that you’re making, just don’t jump around from topic to topic. People will get confused before they bother to finish reading your brochure.
After the writing is decided on, pick up some good visuals to go along with it. A color brochure will always be more appealing than a plain black and white one. Think about the brochures you’ve seen, and I’m guessing most had a strong visual appeal. They had bright pictures and images on the cover to get people interested in reading what else the brochure had to say.
The brochure design will be a combination of the writing and the images. Some topics are simply going to have more that you need to say about them whereas others will center on the images. Most travel brochures are loaded with pictures because this is the most important selling point for them: letting people see where they’ll be going.
Think about the reason you’re writing your brochure and you should know exactly how much writing you’ll need and how many pictures will best compliment it.
Designing a brochure can be a rather daunting task, especially if you’ve never done one before. Make sure you take things one at a time. Do your writing first, pick out the style of folding you want next, and then decide on the number of images that will work best.
So long as you don’t let all of it bog you down, you can write brochures that are more than worth the money it took to make them.
Trade shows can be both fun and lucrative. They present a great forum for generating sales along with networking with the industry. Smart business owners realize that this second component is almost as important as the first. Say you owned a brochure printing business. Networking with peers allows all to compare underlying costs, regulations and other common interests.
There are some simple rules when selling at a trade show. Unfortunately, many reps don’t follow them. The first is to understand where you are. Most usually it is a warm beach town during winter. The prospect in front of you at your booth has other things on their mind. Keep the presentation focused and efficient or your prospect will quickly become annoyed.
Do not engage in tricky pricing. Keep it simple. Give one clear price without making the prospect do mental gymnastics while calculating discounts and rebates. Extend this thought to the rest of your presentation. As indicated, many have other things on their mind like getting out to the beach or golf course. The quickest path there will be taken. If your process is twice as long as a competitor who’s booth is across from you, then you will see your traffic head their way.
The trade show doesn’t end when the booth is packed up. Follow up is critical after the show to pursue closing all the leads generated. Follow these simple rules for trade show sales success.
It seems as if the law of the land in the world of business is expansion. You want to always be growing, which means increasing the number of customers you have and the areas you work in.
Of course a company is going to want to generate more customers. The thing I take issue with is how quick people seem to be to forget about their loyal customers in that quest for new customers.
The fact is most of your business is going to be coming from your loyal customers, not your new customers. That’s why it’s best to be sure to keep your eye on those that helped you reach the area that you’re at right now.
There are several ways you can both honor your existing customers and help generate more sales. Think of different ways to generate new marketing that focuses primarily on them.
You might consider using catalog printing to design a catalog meant specifically for your loyal customers. Put specials deals in it that other catalogs wouldn’t have. Track the kind of products that seem to be most popular with your loyal customers and have those be the emphasis within your catalog.
Most of all make sure they’re aware that these deals are being given only to them for being loyal. Someone who just started shopping with you isn’t getting these kinds of deals. People like to know that they’re loyalty is appreciated, and that they can get better savings for being loyal.
If your company doesn’t have anything like catalog printing than try to figure out other methods for honoring them. You might have a special batch of booklet printing made up that accomplishes a similar goal.
Design booklets dedicated for your faithful customers that actually talks about them. Ask to interview some of your customers and put those in the booklet along with special coupons and deals.
This helps you foster a closer sense of community with your customers. You’re showing them that you’re more than just a company but a place they can feel comfortable at. They can get to know their fellow customers and maybe be featured themselves some day.
These are just two suggestions. There are going to be several methods well beyond booklet printing or catalogs for you to show your dedicated customers that you care about their service.
Ask yourself what would work best for your customers. Each company is going to have a method that will work particularly well for their industry and you’ll be in the best position to know what will work for you.
Just keep these people in mind the next time you start your marketing. The worst thing you can do is throw aside the people who made you big in your effort to become bigger.
A great inventor does not a necessarily make for a sharp marketer. In many cases it is the opposite. The qualities resident in great innovators often prove counterproductive when dealing with the non technically savvy general public.
By the time your new gadget is ready to hit the market you should have already had your sales plan well in place. Failure to do so wastes valuable initial time which could be generating revenue. It also allows any potentially competing devices to get a leg up on you in the marketplace. The color printing for your brochures should be able to start the minute your product passes its testing phase.
There are two basic ways to obtain marketing support. The first obviously would be to hire a full time marketing specialist. This entails payroll and very expensive benefits. The other would be to hire an outside firm and ideally pay them commission based upon sales. This is far less cash intensive on the start up, but a highly successful product would generate more commission expense than would be incurred with an in house person. There are pros and cons to each avenue.
Once you have your product out in the marketplace it becomes imperative that the right people become the point of contact for your customers. Oftentimes this is not the engineer who worked on its creation just as you wouldn’t have a marketing professional go in the lab and try to invent a product.
Be proactive in your marketing plan. Create it even though you do not yet have a working prototype for your product. One can never be too early in having this plan in place.
Sometimes change isn’t easy. People like to keep things the way they’ve been. It can be comforting knowing something’s always going to be the same.
But at the same time our society keeps changing. I understand the shaky ground this can put a business on who wants to keep up with the times without turning away those who have stuck with them for years. I’m afraid there isn’t any easy answer for how best to approach the subject.
I guess one of the most important things is keeping your current customers informed about what’s in the works and what might be coming soon. I don’t think it would be much of a hassle to print out some full color flyers to advertise the upcoming changes, whatever they may be.
At least this way people aren’t going to be caught by surprise when they happen. This also allows people a chance to voice their concerns ahead of the change, whatever they may be. Flyer printing is an inexpensive way to get the word out.
Change simply has to happen. I’m aware of that. I just like to know what the changes are going to be.
When you want to stand apart from the competition you must be careful to show and educate your customer. When you make your presentation you want to assist your customer in understanding why you are their best options. You never want to bash your competition since this may offend your potential customer, but be sure to highlight the things you can do and have done to make sure you do not make the same mistakes as your competition.
Also be sure to take the time to make contact with the customer. Showing your interest and explaining how their time is important to you will help make them see how you will help them after they become your customer. Take your time and use care instead of the wham bam approach to selling. A future customer will be very excited to see you have done your homework on your competition as well as having been up to speed with the future for your market.
By using as many of these ideas as you can you can incorporate a way to differentiate yourself from your competition. They may have been there longer, but this means they have a higher likelihood of making mistakes. Knowing their faults and your strengths will also be a vital piece to standing above the rest not just standing out.
Congratulations on deciding to include testimonials in your marketing materials! Now, you need to make those testimonials as effective as possible. Follow these three tips to ensure your testimonials work.
1. Use specific details instead of general comments. Using details will make your testimonials seem more credible. We’ve all seen the commercials on TV that say “This is a great product” or “XYZ product worked for me!” That just screams “fake”! Anyone could have said those words and they aren’t very effective. Build trust by using details that people will want to hear like “XYZ product helped my pimples go away in less than a week!” Also, don’t polish or edit the customer’s testimonial – the testimonial is more convincing when it’s not edited for style (editing for grammar is okay though).
2. Attribute the quote to a real person that has a full name. When you get a postcard mailing piece that has a testimonial from “A.T. in Boston,” what do you think? I bet you think that A.T. doesn’t exist because that’s what I think! To increase credibility, attribute the testimonial to the full name of a person. If you can get permission from the person, include their city and state, and job title and company (if you’re using a client). The more information you have about the person, the more believable your testimonial will be. To cap it off, include a photo of the person – then there’s nothing to leave to your readers’ imaginations!
3. Group all of your testimonials in one spot in your marketing material. The other option of displaying testimonials is to scatter the quotes throughout your brochure or whatever marketing pieces you’re using. If you group them, you can put them in a text box or on one panel of your brochure. Both methods work, but when people read many testimonials at the same time, they have more impact.
If you want to draw new customers into your business, it’s essential to learn how to advertise. Whether you’re advertising in the media with radio and television or placing ads in various publications, the key issue is to be able to write a compelling ad that is going to jump out at people and show them what they want to see. You have to be able to write ad copies that will jump out and grab those prospects and bring them to your door. It may sound simple, but the truth is that many people do not know how to write an ad that is dynamic enough to bring new customers into the business.
The key to increasing your advertising results is knowing how to develop an ad that will gain people’s attention. Do not feel badly if you are one of those people who just can’t write effective ads thus the reason some companies hire advertising agencies to do all of their work for them. If that is not in your budget you may want to look and listen to some of the ads that other companies use in order to get an idea what may work for you.
Direct mail marketing is one of the most difficult types of advertising because most people just throw the envelopes away. It is even more difficult when postcard marketing techniques are used because everything is visible to the eye right from the start. How economically feasible is it for companies to use postcard printing if no one is going to read what they send anyway? Weighing the potential success of either method depends on a number of factors including the product line the representative is attempting to sell.
After all, most people are not going to be interested in a product that is no different from what they can buy at their local store. In order to sell a prospect on what you are selling it must be different from anything else on the market or you must be able to convince your prospect that he or she must have what you are selling. That means you have to make them want to open their letter, and the easiest way to do that is to use only your name on the envelope and not the name of your company. You can also use personal information such as a birthday or anniversary to attract their interest.
You and your business are very much alike in many aspects. For example, both would end up lonely and unfulfilled without any friends. A company builds its group of friends through networking.
Networking can come in many forms and fashions. Most popular today are the various networking opportunities existing online. There is a long list of possibilities in this arena. Some include cross promotional arrangements, newsgroup participation and social networking site membership. The Internet can provide for a large and rapidly developed network.
However, just like you, your business needs to also step out into the real world. A popular venue for flesh and blood interaction is trade shows. They often present a great forum to distribute your color business card far and wide. Business card printing rates allow for you to be quite liberal in their distribution versus other possible marketing materials.
After you have developed a wide network it is critical not to ignore it. Just like with friends in your personal life, your business friends need attention as well. Build and nourish your company’s network and the dividends will quickly become evident.
Many moons ago a cavemen probably agreed to tout how warm his friend’s woolly mammoth furs were. In return, his friend would tell everyone about the sharpness of the shark’s teeth he was hawking. Hence was born the first cross promotional arrangement.
Today’s interactive world obviously entails far more sophisticated arrangements. However, the core concept remains the same. Your company has a universe of customers. Another company has a different grouping of customers. Both sets could have the proclivity to buy products from either company. Assuming you are not direct competitors, it becomes a win-win situation to leverage each other’s customer base.
Being an exchange, the arrangement takes up neither party’s cash flow. Enhanced marketing exposure with no corresponding expense is a rare opportunity that should not be passed up.
As with all relationships, it is important to be careful of the company you keep. Assume you own a commercial printing service. You probably would not desire to host ads advocating the increase of postage rates. That would most likely not sit well with your customer base.
Like always, do your research. Know all the details of the cross promotion arrangement you are about to sign. Assure you are dealing with reputable partners. Done right, cross promotional arrangements can bring your company to the next level.
An effective marketing plan involves the development of a plan that addresses the needs of the customers and strives to meet those needs. Your plan may start with marketing brochures that provide enough information about your product line for customers to gain an understanding of what you can do for them. Of course, the process of brochure printing is only a small part of a complete marketing plan and must go hand in hand with other things such as bringing in new customers, persuading existing customers to buy more products, more expensive products, or those products that are more profitable.
If you are looking toward long-term growth, you must be willing to make the investment into marketing your business plan. That doesn’t necessarily mean an investment in money but rather an investment in your time. You need to conduct research to identify your target audience and work toward getting the marketing brochures into their hands. You need to overlook the cost of brochure printing if you want to increase the profits of your business. You have to invest some money into advertising, and brochures are a more effective way of marketing your business than running dozens of ads that may not reach your target audience.
Staying in touch with your customers is one of the easiest ways to make sure you retain their business. There are a number of ways you can do that including postcard marketing and printing greeting cards. That certainly doesn’t mean you have to invest in postcard printing by any means, but if you are very busy in the sales end of your business and don’t have the time to sit down and write a letter or email you can save time if you have something already prepared that you can simply sign, address and mail. You still want to take the time to write a short note even if it’s only one sentence.
The idea of postcard marketing has become very popular as the competition throughout the nation has become stiffer. Sales staffs are looking for new and innovative ways to make sure that they do not lose their customers to someone who has a better personality, shows more interest, or has a better marketing plan. Each person has to look out for him or herself and that means finding the best way to let their customers know that they understand the meaning of an importance relationship between a company and the sales staff that represents its vendors.
There are so many things that can change the way a graphic looks. I find it amazing how much a simple adjustment in the resolution on my computer screen can alter the color scheme of an advertisement.
What one person’s computer shows them isn’t always going to be the same as what the next person’s does. So what does this mean for color printing?
If something as little as a computer screen change can alter an image so much try to imagine the vast differences the kind of ink and paper used will change things.
Be aware of all the factors to take into consideration when you use color printing. Talk to the people you’re working with to find out what might alter the image. Better to know before than to find out by accident after the fact.
Many aspiring Internet marketers waste precious advertising dollars using a shotgun approach causing their message to fall on many deaf ears. After researching and fully understanding your target audience, the next step entails deciphering where they hang out. Are they on social networking sites? Or, are they beyond that age demographic? Would they be more interested in the Super Bowl or in a figure skating championship?
Without this knowledge it is impossible to even craft, let alone effective communicate, your company’s brand and message. Once you are fluent with the thinking of your audience it then becomes necessary to know where to find them. Small markets within larger markets are called “niche” markets. Your customers fall into many such niche markets.
Let’s say you are selling a new environment friendly paper product. Which niche markets would contain members of your target audience? One thought would be those in the business of greeting card printing. Another might be the organic section of a restaurant supply web site. You very well might be the first vendor to sell “green” menus.
If you try to speak to everyone, then you end up speaking to no one. You must focus in on your audience following them to the other niche markets in which they tend to reside. Niche marketing allows for far more productive use of your marketing dollars.
The really good kinds of commercials and advertisements are the ones people are still talking about years after they debuted. This is the dream of all advertisers, I’m sure, and I’m seen my fair share of real knockouts.
The problem seems to be that most of these, especially in print, are left to magazines and other mainstream forms of entertainment. When I get the flyers or full color brochures in the mail they have little to no flair. You can tell whoever designed them didn’t care very much about doing anything but getting them out the door.
I think people assume that if their ad isn’t going to appear in one of those mainstream formats like newspapers or magazines they don’t need to put as much effort into it. It seems to me this should be just the opposite. Brochure printing doesn’t benefit from the fact that it will automatically be coupled with a magazine people are buying specifically to read. A brochure needs to live or die on its own merits and nothing else.
People should be putting the most effort into these kinds of advertisements. If all I’m being given is a flyer I want that flyer to be captivating or else I’m not going to take the time out of my life to even give it a once over.
The next time I get that truly wonderful looking brochure in the mail I’ll take the time to read what it has to say. Until then I’ll be dropping them right in the trash.
There a whole lot of “maxims” out there when it comes to starting a business. There are almost as many opinions about how to go about presenting your product as there are people who have ever thought about the subject.
However, one “maxim” that is almost never mentioned, but should be, is:
INVEST IN HIGH-QUALITY, FULL-COLOR LITERATURE!
Far too many would-be entrepreneurs believe that promotional literature is an area in which they can save some money and help their startup budget. It is simply not the case. In fact, skimping on your literature could spell doom for your entire enterprise.
Think a customer is going to pick up your bland and white brochure, when there is a full color brochure right next to it? Probably not. Think your dull, commonplace flyer printing is going to stand a chance next to an attractive, colorful flyer? No way.
As you are planning your brochure printing, booklet printing, and poster printing, take the time (and money) to design intriguing, colorful pieces. Make items that will catch the customers’ eye.
You will be very glad you did once your product hits the market and you see the fruits of your investment. The profit will far outweigh the costs.
I, along with many others I’m sure, like to find those good deals. Who doesn’t, right? It’s also nice to find that new place to go when it comes to a type of product you like.
For me it’s usually good deals on movies. But looking through every store in town isn’t always a practical solution, and quite often I just don’t care enough to do it. That’s why it is kind of nice to have that advertisement in the mail show up, handing me a look at certain good deals coming up at a store I had never heard of. Finding a new movie store is always a nice thing.
I’m aware too that this kind of direct mail strategy, what many call junk mail, isn’t always going to be a wonderful success. I’m thrown my share of it into the trash I’ll readily admit, but when the right kind of postcard lands in my mailbox, I’m more than willing to give the store a chance. And this is what the direct mail strategy is supposed to be, targeting the group that is most likely to have interest in shopping at your store. It’s the ones who don’t know what a target audience is that gives the whole practice a bad name, and those are the ones I’m most likely to just toss right in the trash.
How important is customer trust? Let me elaborate -
The more centered around a service a company is, the more I’m going to want to know what the people working there are like long before I walk through their door.
If I’m going to go shopping for a new computer, I’m going to want good service too but if the place has a really good deal on a certain model then I might still end up grabbing it for the savings alone.
If I’m going to a dentist, for example, how well he cleans me teeth isn’t necessarily as important as how much he puts me at ease.
I’ve never been a big fan of the dentist, and I admittedly put it off for longer than I should. So when the day comes and I finally do pick a dentist, the additional bonus of knowing I’m going to get a follow-up greeting card from them in the mail and receive a thank you note afterwards does wonders to relax me and lets me be confident in the service I’m being provided.
Sorting through the mail is rarely a particularly exciting point in my day. Unless I know something is coming I typically don’t put any thought to what I might find, which is the very reason why a colorful postcard can be so successful. I’m not prepared for it, not expecting it, and it can be nice to take a moment to pause and absorb it. The fact that I wasn’t expecting it is part of what makes it so nice to see. I kind of like having the routine of my day momentarily put on hold, and few things can make me appreciate a company more than the ability to put a smile on my face when I least expect it.
Entry by Philip Roberts
Finally, you’re marketing ad such as your advertising booklets are about to be completed. But there’s one thing you have to decide on – what kind of binding method should you apply? For your booklets, your numerous pages may be a bit too much for ordinary paper clips and staple wires. When they do, you might want to consider professional binding for your advertising tool.
There are several methods you can choose from. For starters, there’s the saddle stitch binding that is actually very common for booklet binding, especially small ones. What it does is to bind together your pages after the sheets are folded with staple wires. The folded portion provides the spine to make your booklet sturdier.
Then there’s the ring binding method, where you use metal or plastic rings to put together your document. What makes this method helpful is that you can update your pages every time you need to. All you have to do is to add your pages to your document by removing the rings from your booklet, not to mention that you can lay it flat on a surface.
Perfect binding on the other hand, attaches all your pages in your document with the use of a flexible adhesive. This is so durable and less expensive that most advertisers use this to cut on costs. However, it may only be applied on documents that are not too thick such as your paperback.
Your custom business cards can be more than just keepers of your name and contact information. More than that, your full color business cards can become effective marketing tools that can get you leads for your business.
In addition to providing that concrete representation of you and your business, your cards can be used for other purposes. Indeed, your card can be designed into something more with the help of technology that we have today.
A few ideas made by some of the advertisers include offering a promotional item or bonus to keep your clients and prospects coming back for more of your cards. You could also make them loyalty cards with something like this written at the back: Call us and get your first consultation for free.
Another great idea is to make your print cards frequent buyer cards. Stamping the card each time the client goes to your shop to buy a product or avail of a service provides the opportunity for your clients to do repeat business with you. Stamping all the space available in the card can mean a free service or a bonus gift which your clients would definitely look forward to.
So the next time you plan on getting into business card printing, go out of the box and provide your target clients with more than just a contact card. Give them a marketing tool that works hard to promote your business.
In addition to your brochure design, brochure printing is the next element that would make your marketing campaign effective to your target audience. Your design would be the thing that would attract your readers to your ad; but it’s your copy that would make them stay and get to know more of your business. Hence, it is very important that you provide information that would appeal to the interest and values of your target market.
And it all starts in your headline. Your ad can be considered hot if your headline can get your readers hooked to what you have to say. The shorter your headline, the more interested your target readers would be in your message.
So what else do you do to make your headline attractive? You focus on one thing only – your target clients. It’s all about them anyway. Your ad should talk about how your target clients can benefit from your products and services, and not about you or your company.
And more than anything else, stick to short, clear, and simple copy that need not bore your readers to tears. Remember that your ad is not a journal or a thesis which you have to provide a lengthy discussion of your business. All you got to do is to give them your benefits and they would most likely decide whether to try you out or not.
Expert marketers and successful businessmen know the importance of being in a trade show. Trade shows are great venues for you to generate interest in your products and services. In fact, trade shows can help you a lot if you want to meet and network with your target clients, suppliers and other vendors.
However, you know for a fact that trade shows can really put a dent in your budget. It costs a lot to attend one, let alone be an exhibitor during these events. Not only do you invest a big amount of money (especially on your marketing aids such as your full color business cards and posters), you also put in time and energy to the occasion. Hence, small business owners indeed find it difficult to decide to attend such events.
But even with a limited budget, attending trade shows doesn’t have to be so expensive that you can’t afford it. Carefully planning for it can help you to save time and money so that you won’t have to miss out on an opportunity. Knowing how to maximize your resources will get you the best deals possible for your budget.
So where do you start? You start at the pre-trade show of course. Planning beforehand can get you great deals and discounts that you ordinarily miss out on when the event starts. Bookings for one can save you on the fees. Organizers usually give out early-bird discounts which you can avail of. Even in the hotel accommodations, especially those that are part of the sponsors of the said trade show.
In terms of your time during the actual trade show exhibit, you can also plan beforehand your actions – who are the vendors that you’re going to visit, which items are you going to buy, and how many of your competitors you can learn from.
Trade shows can cost a lot, but not too much that you can’t afford to go. Planning your strategy even before the trade show starts can go a long way in ensuring that you get the best deals for your budget.
Communicating your message to your target clients is easy because of the many mediums available – there’s the telephone, the fax machine, the Internet, and other technological gizmos that help you reach out to virtually anyone you want to. Nevertheless, it’s a different matter altogether when you want your message to be clearly understood by your target clients.
The process of communicating is actually more complicated than you think. It requires relentless concentration on your part to ensure that the right message is received and understood by the person you want to reach. Insufficient and poor communication is often the cause of conflict and misunderstanding that’s why it is very important that you get through to your target clients.
How many of you out there who gets frustrated every time your recipient did not understand what you’re saying, or when your advertiser seem to be speaking so fast it almost sounds like he’s speaking in an alien tongue?
That is precisely the job of your advertising style, especially in your postcard marketing campaigns. Your style helps you reach out to your target audience by providing them with the method to get your message right. How you convey your message on your ad affects how your target clients will respond.
In order for your ad style to convey the right message to your target audience, it is important to learn to communicate it in the style most appropriate for your recipients. Considering the style you use for your ad can greatly affect the amount of leads you can generate for your business.
To create your own advertising style, it takes three steps to do it:
Collect.
Collect as many information as you can, and from as many people and organizations as you can reach. Learning is a constant process that you can’t do without when developing your own marketing campaign. New skills and strategies can be had when you meet with other people and look at experiences that have made them a success in their own fields. The bottom line is to keep your collection as fresh as possible so you can get new ideas every time you need to come up with a new marketing campaign.
Discard.
It’s easy to collect information. It’s harder to discard them. The best way to have an effective advertising campaign such as when you engage in color poster printing is to know when to keep your information and discard the rest. You have to learn to let go of what you can’t use for your strategy. It’s a two-way process actually – when you add information you also have to remove some of them. This is to avoid cluttering your process, as well as keep your collection fresh everyday.
Create.
Finally, when you’ve collected all the necessary information, and discarded those that are not needed, it’s time for you to create your own unique style. Based on the information and knowledge you have, develop an ad that works for you. Your style will help you be different and stand out from your competitors. And most importantly, your ad style will encourage loyalty among your clients.
Trading for your advertising campaign can give your business a great opportunity and valuable time to increase your exposure. When trading for your advertisement, you need to know certain things before you start to barter:
1 – Trade with your products and services. It’s a no brainer actually. You can only barter with something you have and not with what you don’t have. If your business is graphic design then get advertising time in exchange for your expertise.
2 – Be creative. When you deal with an advertising partner, be sure to have a creative proposal that would appeal to your trading partner.
3 – Make it worthwhile for both you and your partner to invest in your trade advertising. Your partner would not even consider your trade proposal if he or she doesn’t gain anything from it. Quid pro quo. There should be reciprocity in the trade.
4 – Radio and tv stations are not the only places where you can trade your products and services. There’s the newspaper, as well as other marketing vehicles such as full color postcard and newsletter printing. Newspapers for example, often need merchandise for giveaways and prizes. You can provide the prizes in exchange for an ad space or two.
One way to get your target clients hooked to your ads is to provide them with an ad copy that is clear and straight to the point. It should be 100% clear in describing your business. And, your ad copy should be able to make it simple and easy for your target audience to understand what you can actually do.
When reading your ad, does it take your target clients a lot of time before they can understand what you’re saying? Do they need an interpreter or a dictionary perhaps before they could even make heads or tails of your booklet printing ads? Or they consider your advertising material as junk because they don’t understand what you want to tell them?
Remember that in marketing, an ad that doesn’t make sense is a lost opportunity to make a sale. A clear and concise description of what you do can be your most valuable tool in your advertising campaign.
Don’t miss out on business. Make sure you proof-read and edit your ad copy before you have them printed out. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of misspelled words and grammatical errors. It will definitely gain for you profits in more ways than you can count.
Let’s face it. Who doesn’t enjoy the entertainment and amusement of looking at striking images, dubious headlines or witty (sometimes incredibly unthinkable) punchlines, whether in the form of postcards, flyers, booklets or especially in magazine ads? We’re subliminally always in the lookout for distinct sometimes controversial ads whenever we go through any printed material that lands in our hands.
It is a fact that a good print ad is a delight to behold. There’s no doubt about it. If you have a print ad that appeals to your target audience then they will find that browsing through your advertising materials is worth every minute and second of their time.
So the fastest way to capture their attention is with print ads that stun, humor or even intrigue them. Do you make your target audience think, consider and grasp your message that they would want to take a closer look and get more information on your product? It may even lead to an eventual sale if you’re really good at it.
Do you create ads that stand out and offer a different experience than those of your competition? Do your ads make your target readers want to sit up and take action? Do your ads delight and encourage your prospects to want to know more about your business?
If you say no to all these, then it is time for you to change your print ads. Don’t let your clients be disappointed in your print ads. Make them want to clamor for more. A good print ad is a delight to behold; a bad one ends up in the shredder.
People are ordinarily attracted to marketing collaterals such as your full color brochures that have humor and laughter incorporated. They pay more attention to print ads that provide them laughter instead of an aggressive sales pitch.
This is also the reason why the most memorable commercials and print ads are those infused with humor. In fact, boring and regular ads just donʼt stick. Theyʼre easily forgotten.
Nevertheless, it also doesnʼt mean that you just put humor in your print ads without carefully planning what youʼre going to say. As we all know, thereʼs a very thin line separating humor from the obnoxious; and you definitely wouldnʼt want to become the latter among your clients. When it comes to humor, you should also learn to provide the appropriate amount in your brochure printing ads.
Humor should be appropriate not only for your business but significantly, to your customers and prospects. You have to consider that what one finds amusing can be totally annoying to another. Thatʼs why you have to know your target audiences first before you incorporate humor to your message.
Humor in your print ads can help you generate leads to your business. But be sure to plan what would be appropriate to include in your message. You wouldnʼt want to incur the irk of your clients with print ads that is not entertaining at all but rather exasperating on the point view if your audience.
1 – It’s all about your customers.
I can’t emphasize this enough – your marketing brochures should be all about your customers and prospects, and less of yourself. Again, I’d like to emphasize this fact: your clients don’t give a hoot about you or your company. They are only interested in what benefits you can give them. They are interested in how you can fulfill their needs, wants and desires. So don’t take it against them if they don’t pay attention when you go on and on about yourself. When you focus on your clients then you’ll get your just rewards.
2 – Be distinct and show them that you’re different.
As long as you’re there to give the benefits, why not present a firm case making them understand how your offer is better than anybody else. And be specific. There’s nothing more irritating than a vague and ambiguous message where you can’t make heads or tails of what you want to say. If your product is better, tell them why and what that means to your clients.
3 – A special offer for a special marketing tool.
A special offer that is only good with your marketing brochure can go a long way in making sure that your target clients keep your print ads. It can be a special gift, a discount, a free booklet, or whatever might attract your prospects and clients to your business. With an incentive, you provide more value to your collateral especially in the eyes of your clients.
If you want your target clients to take you seriously, don’t give them vague messages in your full color postcards or any other print ads you create for your business. Vague messages just don’t cut it. If you want to be successful, you better invest in specific and clear messages.
For one, to ensure that your messages accomplish their task, you have to identify your target audience. You need to be very clear about it. You need to ask yourself who you would want to reach out to and who would you like your marketing messages to focus on. Are you targeting household moms or working dads? Teenagers or young adults, or the young-at-heart? Or are you focusing on mostly females who are working? The key is to be clear about who you’ll have for your target market.
Second, be an expert in your field if you want your postcard’s message to be specific. People usually give more attention to an expert rather than a generalist. Would you rather want to be known as a jack-of-all-trades but expert to none, or someone who knows what he’s talking about and would be able to provide valuable information to your target readers.
Lastly, a message that is geared towards your target clients should talk about them and not about your business. Sure, you have to tell them about your business and what you do – but in relation to the benefits that your target clients can get if they buy your product. Marketing is all about your target clients, so give them what they want to hear and they’ll gladly give you their undivided attention and eventually their buying decision.
Aside from your design and layout when printing flyers, your ad copy creates the buzz and attraction for your target clients and customers. What can they get from reading your full color flyers? Do they get their problems solved? Will you be able to give them what they want?
The secret to having effective advertising flyers is to give your target clients what they need, want and desire. What they need is a copy that they would understand. And it doesn’t take a lot of brain cells to know that an excellent copy that has the right words that your target clients want to hear would provide a whole lot of difference – in getting you the leads, that is.
So what do they need to hear? Benefits for one. More than your features, customers have a predilection for the benefits. They don’t care how you produced your product or how you go about your service, as long as you can give them more benefits than your competitors then you’re the main man in their book.
In addition, provide them substance and information that has value for them. More than making your ads pretty and aesthetically pleasant, customers want something that they can sink their teeth in. Something with meat. If you don’t give them that then they would throw your print ads just like any other junk mail.
Lastly, provide them an honest copy. If you can deliver what you actually promised, then more than likely that your print ad would be able to accomplish what you’ve set out to do – generate leads to increase your sales.
It doesnʼt take a genius to know that people buy for the main reason that a product or service gives them what they need and want. As a business owner, you have to consider this fact. Indeed, knowing what your customers and prospective clients need instead of what you want can best help you in generating the leads you need to increase your sales.
And itʼs not just knowing what they want that you should be concerned about. More than that. You have to listen carefully to what kind of needs are they trying to tell you. Youʼre now looking at your product on your customerʼs point of view. Youʼre putting on their shoes to feel what would best solve their particular problem.
The only way to be attuned to your clientsʼ needs is to provide them with a strong relationship that is based on good communication. Without good communication, youʼre more than likely to lose clients than you can keep them in your business.
And donʼt forget to ask questions. The only way you can get answers is if you ask. When you have the capacity to listen to their needs, ask them what they want, and then provide them solution to their problems, then it really doesnʼt take a genius to know that what you have in your hands is a booming successful business.
One of the top selling principles that give direction to any business to succeed or fail is to have a top quality product or service.
Obviously, you canʼt call yourself a business owner or entrepreneur if you donʼt have anything to sell in the first place. The main factor that has to be considered when you deal with business is the product. And it is not just any other product that your target audience got from somewhere. In order for you to lay claim to the title of best quality and number one in ranking, the main criteria is to have only the best that even your competition would find it difficult to compete with.
Your catalogs and color brochures would attest to the type of product that you offer. Your custom brochures for example should have in its pages the benefits of your product so itʼll be easy for you to sell it.
It all boils down to the product and service you have. Without a product or service that guarantees your clients of the benefits that you can offer, you might as well fold your business and look for other things to occupy your time.
Without a top quality product and service, you have nothing.
It’s not anymore about competing for the most clients, or even producing the best products so you can successfully grow your business. Being in business is now measured by your success in becoming a better partner to your customers and potential clients. It’s all about partnering if you want to be successful.
In business, for you to become a better seller, you have to become a ‘partner’ that would be able to provide your clients with the answer to their needs, wants, and desires. When your marketing collaterals such as your advertising flyers and custom business cards can reflect the kind of partner that you can be – the best kind at that – then you’ll be able to expand your customer base as well as boost your profits.
And partnering is all about taking good care of your customers and your prospects. It’s all about sharing in their beliefs and concerns, and trying to be in your client’s shoes. Being able to see things in the perspective of your clients can help you provide better service and products to your customers.
When you are able to be the best partner in your chosen niche then you’ll surely increase your sales and accomplish your goals with flying colors.
One marketing analyst said that studies show that it takes four times the amount of business to get the same profits as that the home-based business. With less operating costs, more savings can be provided to the customers, which means more value for the clients.
Indeed, working from home is much more appealing not only for your clients, but most especially for you. Heaven is when you can go to work in your pajamas and slippers without having to put make up on everyday.
Nevertheless, working from home doesnʼt also mean that you forget about being a professional in the way you deal with your clients, especially in your marketing collaterals such as your color postcards. In fact, you must work doubly hard to ensure that your proficiency and professionalism are reflected in the way you do business even if youʼre in your bedtime clothes.
Presenting a professional image is basically very easy if you take strict measures to have it all the time. Even with the way you handle a phone call reflects how professional you are to work with. When you answer your phone, be sure to speak in a clear and distinct tone so your client can understand you.
Donʼt forget to always make an appointment for your clients to let them know that you have other commitments and clients to attend to. And be sure to let them know that you need a 24-hour notice if theyʼre not going to show up for an appointment.
Often, having a professional image depends on how you handle yourself when conversing with your clients. Even in your pajamas and slippers, you can be professional if you can apply some of these tips to your home-based business.
I was watching TV the other day and saw that there are certain species of deer that actually freezes up every time they feel danger lurking near. So much like when I try to talk to people and introduce to them my business.
Letʼs face it. Oftentimes, we tend to scare our prospective clients with our sales pitch.
When we try to get potential clients in a conversation so we could tell them of what we do, it is very common to see that scared deer-like eyes every time we give them our business cards. It seems as if they feel trapped and that they would best have an excuse to get out of the situation.
Well, I was finally able to get my prospects to hear me out. I finally learned to communicate what I do in a way that my business comes out as the solution to their problem.
The key here is to get them to understand that you are the solution. Itʼs how you get yourself in position that spells the difference between your target clients accepting your message or not.
Getting your clients to get to know you is actually very easy. You just have to let them know what you can do to make life better for them. Thatʼs whatʼs positioning is all about. It can help you turn a suspicious and wary prospect to an interested person that craves for more information.
A follow-through can easily provide you with the distinction you need to rise above the rest of the competition. After every sale, make sure to follow through with your customers with either a simple phone call or a thank you postcard perhaps just so youʼll know if they liked your product or service.
A quick phone call after you delivered their order makes sure that they were satisfied with your services. Similarly, a thank you note in your postcard or advertising flyers can go a long way in making your customers and potential clients feel important and appreciated.
Initiate a follow-up even if itʼs the initial contact. Youʼll never know who would be interested in what you have to offer, hence, increase your chances of getting leads to increase your return.
And when you say youʼre going to call or visit your clients to see how your product or service solved a problem for them, you better be able to do so. Promising is one thing, but to actually take action on your promises is another thing. The latter can definitely increase positive response from your customers which can very well equal to increased chances for repeat business.
The key is not to wait for your clients to call you. Take action and call them as soon as you have delivered what youʼve promised
Donʼt underestimate the power of referrals. Referrals can bring you to new heights in terms of getting your business on top of your niche. When it comes to generating the leads you need to grow your business, a strong referral system integrated in your marketing campaign such as your brochure printing pieces, can be your vehicle to success.
So why is a referral system essential for your business? For one thing, referrals help you lessen your costs dedicated in looking for prospects. You spend less time advertising to new leads, and more time building your relationship with those that can give you referrals, and of course the referrals themselves. This way, you increase your number of satisfied customers, which eventually enhances your chances for repeat business.
Some points to consider when doing referrals: one, always provide achievable goals so you can easily accomplish what youʼve set out to do.
Two, do everything in moderation. This just means that you donʼt go after a customer right after youʼve made a sale. People generally avoid those who are aggressive. Get them to experience your product or service first before you ask for a referral. Your customer may get annoyed with your aggressiveness that instead of referring you to someone they might just forget about it.
Finally, donʼt forget that your product can be your number one endorser so make sure that your benefits can delight as well as make your customers so happy that they will voluntarily refer you to their friends and lovedones.
Nowadays, we are at the time when customer decisions are based on who can build a better relationship rather than the best features. With a wider choice of products that are comparable in benefits and quality, more and more people look for something different in terms of the service that they can provide.
Advertising your business during tough times promotes consistency and reliability for your customers. A stronger bond would be created when you build your business relationships based on these two factors. When people see that you remain strong with your marketing efforts even during crises, they would be more likely to get into business with you even when the tough times are through.
Market analysts would confirm that when your competitors go slow in their promotional campaign, smart companies would do the opposite. They would even infuse the market with collaterals such as promotional flyers and color brochures. This is to create better relationships with their customers and even go further in building a stronger connection. The result? More customers who are wary of buying products during the bad times are assured that they are compensated and investments are worth every penny.
The key here is to have a long term marketing plan that stays on a steady course even when the market is down. Those that stay on course have a much better chance of succeeding in their own business niche than those who cut back and stay where they are.
There are two things you should know about your trade show prospects: one is that trade show attendees are generally very impatient; and two, they are lazy and egotistical.
Basically, attendees are very impatient when it comes to scouring the floors of any trade show exhibit. You know why? Because (1) they were just ordered by their bosses to attend the out-of-town trade show to look for an item, (2) theyʼre hot and cranky from the very long trip, (3) theyʼre missing the comforts of their homes, and so on and so forth. It is very likely that these attendees would just go directly to the one vendor that has the item heʼs looking for (of course he already checked it out from the brochures and advertising flyers his boss sent him), check out if the price is reasonable enough, immediately buy the product, and then head for the nearest hotel to relax or take the last trip to go home.
Second, attendees are usually lazy and egotistical. They donʼt really want to look around and shop; that is why most of them would just get a brochure or an advertising flyer, see whatʼs in store and head directly to the booth.
In order for you to become a better host to your trade show attendees, you need to understand not only the obvious actions that your prospects reveal, but more importantly what they donʼt want you to know. When you are able to consider the mixed emotions that your prospects have on trade shows, youʼll be able to provide a better offer that pays attention to their needs and wants. Hence, a better sales rate for you.
A trade show exhibit is the most likely place that you can waste your time, money and effort in just a snap. Why? Because trade shows are venues for people to hoard so much free stuff and then forget about them when they go home or go back to their places of work.
As a business owner, you simply cannot afford to have your promotional materials go to waste, for the simple reason that you’ve spent not only a bulk of your budget on postcard printing for example, but also dedicated most of your time and effort to get them printed in time for the trade show opening.
When you want your promotional giveaways to be effective messengers of your business, be sure to provide a promotional item that targets your message repeatedly. Don’t waste your time on trade show giveaways that are not repetitive senders of your message. If you want your color business cards or postcards to do their job well, make sure that they are used by your target audience again and again. This is for easy retention and recognition of your company and your brand.
Don’t invest on ‘throwaways’. Instead, put all your time, money and effort in creating a promotional giveaway that can give you the greatest return – an item that has value to your customers.
When customers donʼt get the satisfaction they hoped for, who do you think do they complain to? Not you, of course. Theyʼll be talking about your lousy service to just about everyone they know; and even to the one they just met on the train or in the grocery.
And whatʼs worse, the next time they need the kind of service you offer, theyʼll definitely go to the competition. Thatʼs the end for your business.
In most businesses, complaints are part and parcel of establishing your niche. You wonʼt know what to improve and change without customers making complaints. Thatʼs why many businesses have actually set up feedback mechanisms after the selling is done. Feedbacks come in the form of follow-up calls and questionnaires that ask about customer satisfaction and comments.
Often, organizations that are able to follow up and provide solutions to complaints are those that have a strong customer database. And customers are more than likely to come back for more if they feel that their issues are addressed promptly.
When you want to build a more loyal relationship, start handling your current database with utmost care. Handle your marketing efforts on your current clients with the same attention that you give to sales calls. Not only will you get your customers to do repeat business with you, you also make it possible for your business to grow and expand to the direction you expected.
When you have something to offer your target clients, a postcard printing project is the most simple, the fastest and the most cost effective tool to use. It is also the easiest to distribute especially if you’re going to send your postcard printing pieces to your target clients by mail.
And if you’re looking at making your postcards extremely attractive, you should always present your product or service as an item of value and significance. One of the most popular techniques to increase your business’ value is to offer something for free.
That’s right. The most attractive word in any advertising or marketing campaign is the word “free” – free item, free consultation services, free gift. In fact, many believe that the word “free” gives your business the importance that is otherwise missing if you don’t use it in your postcard printing copy.
So when you’re offering something for free, don’t be content in just putting it haphazardly in your postcard printing project. On the contrary, place your “free” where it would be easily seen by your target readers – the headline would be the best place for starters. Always start your headline with the word “free”. It would definitely increase response as well as generate more opportunities to make a sale.
Use “free” often when designing and printing your postcards and see the difference it can make for your business.
Some of the most common means of getting the word out about your business is through print and media advertising. Here are some of the strategies you can use to optimize your marketing tools:
Print Media (via newspaper, magazine and marketing collaterals)
1 – When you’re using newspaper and magazine ads, be sure to get a page that emphasizes power and control for your business.
2 – Choose half-page, two-thirds page, and junior-page advertisements rather than small ones. This ensures that you get exposure without having to pay for the more expensive costs of a whole page ad.
3 – Integrate color when designing your print collaterals such as your catalogs, booklets, and flyers.
4 – Make your print flyers and business brochures stand out with unique images in full color instead of the usual black-and-white.
5 – Always ask for extra treatments especially during your brochure printing, booklet printing, or even in your flyers. You’ll never know how much you can get for less if you don’t ask.
TV and Radio Advertising
1 – For radio ads, it is better to buy ‘commute’ times for its captive audience. It may cost you more but it will be worth it.
2 – Take advantage of the captive audience during the airing of news, weather, sports and traffic reports especially on primetime. This is true for both radio and TV ads.
3 – As for both radio and TV, make sure that you have the right audience listening or watching your ad. If your prospects are not the regular audience of your radio or TV spot, then you’re just wasting your time and money. There’s no sense for you to place an ad if you’re going to be ignored anyway.
Beyond your marketing efforts, you also need to make sure that your most significant element in your business is attuned with the brand of service you would want your clients to remember you by. And I’m talking about your most valuable asset – your people.
Your promotional efforts would be wasted if your people are not equipped with the training and skills to make your brand work. Can you imagine having spent so much on your brochures and flyers or even your business cards, and have it all go down the drain just because you don’t deliver what you have promised?
Branding is not mere advertising. It is most of all, the actual service that you and your people provide when the time comes that your clients make you walk your talk.
You have to make sure that you train your people well. They should be able to communicate and deliver the kind of service you have promised your clients. This is particularly important if your business provides customer service rather than concrete items.
When your people don’t deliver the brand that you have promised in your marketing collaterals, you will lose your clients and that would be the end of your career in the industry.
On the bright side, when you do have employees that can reflect your brand clearly and impeccably then you’ll surely have one successful business indeed.
So how much budget should you spend on advertising?
One expert says that 20 percent of your resources should be put in advertising, including your time. And then you increase your investment by 20% on a regular basis.
Others will tell you to lessen your amount of marketing especially when your business grows. Still some would suggest that you continue to market to the old and loyal clients as well as the new ones.
But when youʼre on a tight schedule, you got to make your money work at the fullest. You need to have business card printing items that can provide you with the best marketing tool for your business.
Again, how much budget do you need in order to have an effective marketing campaign?
And Iʼd answer that it depends on what medium youʼll use to work best as your marketing tool. Will it be in print, internet, radio time, commercials, or even tv slots? The most important thing is to test the medium youʼve chosen to see which can perform and provide you with the best results.
Learn to mix and match your marketing activities and try to cross-match your strategies. When put together, your marketing tools such as your full color business cards can be put to work along with your brochures or catalogs to bring in the success you need.
One of the very common questions asked by customers in our daily operations as a printing business, aside from “when do I upload my files?”, is “how do I compile separate PDF files into one multi-page file in Adobe Photoshop?” Multi-page PDF files, useful in creating high-quality custom calendars, as well as full color catalogs and booklets, are much easier to create than previously believed. In fact, you can even create a multi-page PDF file using high resolution TIF or JPG files!
Listed below is a breakdown of the necessary steps to create your booklets, calendars or catalogs using PDF files in Photoshop. A helpful reminder when using various files and file formats: Be sure each file is the same size as your final output. Otherwise, you run the risk of images centering on your page, which may not match your intended output.
To create a multi-page PDF booklet in Photoshop:
1.Go to ‘File’ from the main menu found at the top of the window.
2.From the File drop-down menu, click on ‘Automate’.
3.From the Automate menu, select ‘PDF Presentation’. Be sure the “Output Options” save as “Multi-page Document”. Note that all other files or windows in Photoshop must be closed at this time.
4.From here you can now browse and select the PDF, JPG or TIF files you wish to include in your booklet. Before you save the multi-page PDF, make sure the files you have selected are in the proper order.
5.Once done, simply click “Save”, name your file, and view your final PDF.
Voila! In a few simple steps, you are now all-set to start ordering catalog printing services from your favorite printer.
Even if you think you don’t have time to market your business, or that you’re too busy completing one job and the next, you’ll need to promote your business when the dry season comes.
Marketing your business through collaterals such as flyer printing can bring about growth in your business. You can always rely on promotional flyers to help you advertise even if you do it while completing such mundane tasks as answering the phone.
Here are a few ideas to help you enjoy marketing your business:
While sending your invoice. When you’re about to send your invoice to your clients, why not insert a flyer or two, or add a couple of lines to advertise your service. Your flyers can be placed inside envelopes and boxes, along with your letters and outgoing packets.
While recording a voice mail. Include a few lines on how your clients are “guaranteed” the best service when they get your answering machine. Even with misdialed calls, you can catch a few prospects that might just need your particular service.
While asking your clients for referrals. You might want to try to market your business and ask for referrals from your current clients. You can always offer a free gift or special discount as an incentive. The more clients they can refer to you, the bigger the incentives. Send out a letter or a postcard and tell them about your referral incentive. Your clients may just need a little push if they haven’t already done referring you to their relatives.
Marketing your business need not be a bad experience for you. You might be surprised how enjoyable it can be, especially when you see the outcome of your marketing campaign.
Getting your kids to work for their own spending money is a worthwhile project indeed. And if your kids are too young to get themselves hired in fastfood joints and babysitting is too common a job, here are two more jobs to get them started:
Car Wash, Anyone?
If your kid could go to the clients’ houses and do it for less, anyone would be delighted to have their cars washed any day. Have your flyers market that fact.
“A car wash service at you very own homes.” Now that would surely get more clients than your kid could ever imagine. He or she may booked for the rest of the summer.
You may check out you local car wash service and see how much they charge and what kind of services they provide. Market your price as less than what the local car wash charges and you’ll be in business in no time.
What you will need: a bucket, sponges, chamois towels, mild soap, portable vacuum cleaner, some paper towels, or soft clean towels.
Custom Businesses
Your kids can always learn at an early age that they should make work enjoyable. To be able to do this, they need to learn to use their own special skills and learn to do what they love.
Does your kid love to read, then provide story telling activities in your community. Or perhaps your son or daughter is a straight-A student. He or she can do tutoring.
Whatever it is that your children love to do, you can help them start their own custom business. With a little imagination, they can start earning their own money.
Well it’s like this. I had a major migraine when last week I was in an office where I was supposed to give my brochures to some of the executive officers of one of the companies in the city.
So I was met by this guy who was supposed to be the executive assistant of the vice president, and he took my packet. I took off then, but I turned around because I forgot to give a letter. It was then that I saw the executive assistant opening my packet and when he saw that it was a brochure he proceeded to put it in the trash can.
What nerve! It was later explained to me by an officemate that this is the way with most big companies. The executive assistants often screen the documents and letters before they ever go in to the executive’s office. She said that I’ll just have to find a way to make my brochures sent straight to the big guys.
She proceeded to tell me what she herself did with her own promotional materials. She got her president to write a personal letter to the head of the company. And voila! Her brochure was read by the president himself.
So yesterday, I did the same. Today, we got a call from the executive assistant asking for a presentation from us. The strategy was a hit.
So if ever you are in need of a tactic to get your promotional ad sent straight to the highest officials, get your letter signed by your president. It’s a president-to-president thing. Who are we to argue?
To complete your holiday preparation, here are some of the trends in color that you can consider to have yourself a Christmas marketing campaign through your postcards, posters, greeting cards and calendars:
According to trend setters, there are 3 statements that would be very popular this season. These would be apparent in the design, color and material that would be used to create fashionable and up-to-date giveaway products and materials.
Blue –
It’s the color that links the classic theme of Christmas with springtime celebrations such as marriage, christening and confirmation. The mood is dictated by what is traditional and conventional, with elements of the classic included. Cool materials would be very much apparent such as glitter, silver, mirror glass, steel, chrome, and ice crystals.
Green –
This color links summer with Christmas. For a bolder look, use white fir trees and snow to decorate your design. Unembellished and modern shapes, as well as glass materials, plastic, rattan, silk, reed and wool would be the order of the season for decorations.
Gold –
It’s autumn and Christmas all together. The choice of materials for decoration is velvet, leather, with combinations of brass, gold and brocade.
With 3 colors to help you create a visually appealing promotional ad to your marketing collaterals (i.e. postcards, posters, greetings cards, and calendars), we hope that your Christmas this season would be truly magical.
Happy holidays!
So youʼre ready to start your business. But first, you need to let everybody know about it. Itʼs now time to work on your marketing campaign. You need effective public relations to get clients coming in.
Public relations is a critical and significant feature of your business. Public relations concerns everything that you say, do and project to your target clients, as well as the media. It is the image that you would want the public to have of your company. It is what you project to those you meet on a daily basis.
In order to have good PR, you need to have a marketing campaign that would work 365 days a year. With good public relations, youʼll be able to grow your business in no time.
Here are some of the things that you should do to mount up your promotional campaign:
- Always carry your business cards and marketing collateral (i.e. brochures). Youʼll never know who youʼre going to meet each day.
- Know and research the media that youʼll pitch your sales to.
- Provide an opportunity for personal contacts as often as possible.
- Learn what makes you different from the others and make sure the media knows about it.
- Be prepared for interviews.
- Participate in social events and civic activities to develop social awareness in your image. Use these events to network.
- Have a consistent image throughout your marketing collaterals.
To sum up all your costs for your brochure printing job, it’s not that cheap to put out your promotional material. Your copy, art, photos, typesetting, printing, postage and mailing service all adds up to a hefty price for a piece of your business brochure.
Creating business brochures and having them produced by a brochure printing company is no easy and cheap task. If you’re planning to use brochures to enhance client response for your product or service, then you have to ensure that you provide an effective print material.
And the best way to drum up great response is to provide your clients with a definite call to action that your clients would surely understand.
Tell them what you want them to do and your clients will surely do what you asked of them. After giving them the information about your business, make sure you tell them what the next step would be to purchase your product.
Again, don’t assume that your clients would know what to do after they’ve read your copy. If you don’t tell them, they may actually forget about you and call someone else instead.
Give them also a reason to act on your call…and to act now. If you don’t, your clients would surely move on to the next company and forget about you that easily.
So don’t waste your resources with an incomplete brochure. Provide a strong call to action and you’ll surely get the response rate you’re looking for.
Promotional materials are more than just the means to advertise your products and services, and eventually make profits. Your promotional materials such as your catalog printing pieces, brochures, and flyers can be put to good use to promote a very worthy cause.
Build more than profits with your promotional products; build social awareness when choosing the right promotional item for your business.
1. Choose a promotional item that appeal to the masses. Flyers are very popular print collaterals because they’re not discriminating when it comes to their recipients. Anyone can have a flyer or two.
2. Don’t go overboard with your budget. If you are a small business owner, you have to work within your specified budget. Don’t be too excited; develop only those that you can afford.
3. Keep in mind that quality should always be your priority, and not quantity. Your promotional product reflects your business. You wouldn’t want to be known as a company that is not stable just because your items break down easily.
4. Choose a promotional piece that your clients would find useful. Your catalogs and brochures, for example, should have information that would be valuable to your readers that they would want to keep your print collateral for future use.
Brochures, especially the tri-fold ones, are very popular marketing tools for most businesses. In fact, designers and brochure printing companies always get a lot of requests for brochure jobs just because many believe that promotional brochures are the only way to do your marketing campaign.
But sometimes, a tri-fold brochure is just not enough to market your business. You need other plans and tools to help you revive your promotional strategy. This is where the “marketing kit” comes in.
When brochures are just not working anymore, try a marketing kit to promote your products and services. Here’s a list of what you should include in your marketing kit:
1. Pocket Folder – This one holds all your other materials in your marketing kit.
2. Template Page – A professionally printed page that acts as your base piece for your other inserts in your marketing kit.
3. Difference Page
4. Descriptive Difference Page
5. List of Products and Services
6. Products and Services Descriptions
7. Case Studies Page
8. Testimonials Page
9. Client List
10. A page that has your Description Process
11. Your Story Page
Every small business should have one marketing kit. In place of the faithful brochure, a marketing kit is your best bet to produce an effective promotional tool for your business.
As they say, keep your friends close; keep your clients closer…well, something to that effect.
In marketing, the only way for you to draw clients in to your business is to make them feel important. And the only way to do that is to befriend them. If you have more friends then you would most likely have more sales than your competition.
So how does this strategy work?
The core of this principle is actually from the famous author Dale Carnegie. According to him, in order for you to win people to your way of thinking is to make them like you. And they would only like you if you make them feel that you’re really interested in them – how they feel, their issues and concerns, etc.
If you want to sell better and make your marketing collateral work (i.e. business cards, flyers, postcards), you need to focus your attention on the other person and not on yourself. When you try to make a sale, don’t look at your desired outcome. But rather look at how you can sincerely help the other person’s life become more convenient and comfortable.
It’s actually the same thing that the Bible says – love thy neighbor. If you love your neighbor, you want to make him feel special and important.
When you learn to make your clients’ needs the priority in your business, then and then can you truly say that you have had a successful business in your hands.
When done right, cross promotions has the potential for huge marketing results as you can effectively increase your customer base through your team members’ own database. With the right offers, you are able to join forces with other businesses that are in the same league as yours and reach out to a much larger market more efficiently and credibly.
Here are more ideas on how you can optimize your marketing campaign using cross promotions:
1. Co-produce and share with the payment of expenses for special marketing promotions that is too much for individual budget. Produce TV ads, radio commercials or video and audio tapes featuring you and your partner’s business.
2. Hire broadcasting students or communication majors to produce a “how-to” video or commercial ad that features your products and the other members’ as well.
3. Develop a contest with prizes donated by each of your team members. And vice versa.
4. Give out free products or special gifts from one of your partners when a client buys a product from your team that is listed in your joint promotional flyers.
Taking advantage of cross promotions help you not only to save your own budget, but allow you the opportunity to make use of more expensive marketing campaigns that are otherwise unaffordable when you do it alone.
Despite its size, booklet printing pieces offer more than just your regular print material especially during trade shows. Whatever your business niche, you can surely benefit from using your booklets as catalog printing pieces. With a very cost effective rate, you can create your own design and then have a catalog printing company produce your promotional booklets for you.
Booklets are very effective promotional items during trade shows because in addition to their lower printing costs, they have a longer life span. They donʼt have an expiration date that you can use them anytime during the show season, as well as utilize your booklets as complements to other marketing collaterals you have for your business.
To make sure that your booklets work to their fullest potential, fill them up with how-to information that uses common sense, and the most basic and practical details that your target clients will find valuable in their daily lives.
Your target clients will be turned off with philosophical and technical information so donʼt waste any of your time and effort printing articles that look like they come from a scientific dissertation.
Keep your text updated, relevant and informative. Use everyday concerns in your specific industry as your topics. Your booklet reinforces your position as an expert and would probably help your target readers recognize you and your business.
Once you have printed your booklets, youʼll realize that you have been taking this promotional tool for granted. Youʼll realize that in order for you to draw attention during trade shows, you need the help of your booklets to get your target clients hooked.
Functionality is a big factor for your target clients to keep your promotional tool. More than the aesthetics, your target clients would most likely keep your promotional flyers, postcards or brochures if they find them useful in their lives.
While this is true with clients, as the business owner, you should also consider functionality as one of the factors to take into account when creating your promotional materials.
But look at it on the other side of the spectrum. Instead of thinking how your marketing collateral can be valuable to your clients, use functionality to discover what your promotional item can do for you.
At the most, your promotional item should be able to provide you with the means to get your clients to be aware of your company and what you have to offer as benefits. Having elements like your logo and company name in your promotional materials makes for better retention of your products in your clients’ minds.
Moreover, your promotional products can work overtime to help you build your relationship with your clients. Promotional materials like postcards can be used to show your appreciation of your clients. Promotional flyers, on the other hand, can provide for advertising of free gifts and surprises to draw new leads to your business.
So is your promotional tool a keeper? If not, then isn’t it about time that you get one for your business?
Competition is natural in any type of business. In fact, competing with other companies is often stimulating and helps you to become more creative.
But when small retail business owners come face to face with the big ones then that would generally give sleepless nights and worry. The anxiety of having to compete with large retail business owners would even keep small businesses from opening their stores each day.
Fortunately, there are recent studies that can vouch for the success of smaller businesses when it comes to customer satisfaction. According to surveys, the threat of competing with the big boys in retail business has no basis whatsoever. On the contrary, the studies proved that people are usually more attracted to shop from mass merchandisers rather than from local merchants.
The large retail owners can really be daunting, what with their incomes ranging from the million to billions of dollars. But the reality is that many small retailers survive and even flourish because they offer products and services that the big competitors forget – personal and unique items.
The key words here are personal and distinct.
Offer products that your competition does not offer. Even with lower prices and wider options, people would generally flock to the one that can give them more personal service and satisfaction, rather than the savings that they can have on a lower price.
Having a business of your own is, I think, a dream to most people. Although it may take some work and most of your savings, having that dream become a reality is not really that difficult.
To start your own business venture, you need to have a lot of patience and perseverance; as well as a carefully mapped out business plan to help you achieve your dreams. Careful planning is what it takes to make your dream a reality.
Careful planning also helps you to stay focused on your goal and keep you right on track. Often, mistakes are made just because business owners go where opportunity directs them to go.
This should not be the case. Although careful planning can be tedious and often lead you to your goal much longer than you expected, it nevertheless helps you to achieve your goals steadily, as well as keep you within your budget. This way, you are able to develop your marketing campaign and advertising strategies according to what you have in your resources.
The point I’d like to make is that starting your own business doesn’t have to be too expensive. Often, you just need to have a small amount of capital to get started – if you manage your budget wisely. You just need to build your key ingredients during your startup and you’re on your way to having not only your own business, but also a successful one.
How do you get to be different amidst the sea of postcard printing pieces circulated in your area? The only way to become different is to not do the same things that the other business owners have already done with their postcard printing project.
Although it’s good practice to get as much knowledge and reference from the other successful postcard printing materials, it would do you a great deal of good if you do not imitate what the competition has done. The only time you should copy whatever technique they’ve created is when you can do it better or you make a career out of being the best in your area.
However, if you’re fairly new in the postcard printing industry, it would be wise to come up with your own postcard printing design and layout; something that would really make you stand out from the rest of the competition.
Come up with a postcard printing idea that no one has done yet, and then organize your marketing campaign around it. More than anything else, brainstorming your way to an effective postcard printing project can get you what you need to generate leads.
What’s going on in your market niche? What’s happening in your area? What’s the buzz right now? How can you capitalize on the news? How can your relate your postcard printing message with that of what’s happening at that particular time? Etc., etc., etc.
To create effective postcards, you need to keep on brainstorming until you find the right formula for your postcard printing project. Great men used to brainstorm a lot during their times. And great ideas were born out of the brainstorming sessions that these great men had. So why not imitate what they’ve done? This is the only time that copying these mean will do you a great deal of good for your postcard printing project. And when there’s a great idea, you’re sure to have a successful postcard printing project in the offing.
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The next time you do your marketing campaign, why don’t you consider using a custom postcard instead of the other marketing medium in your arsenal? Postcards not only cost less when you send them by post, but your target readers will most likely read your postcard printing pieces precisely because it takes no effort at all to read one.
Your postcard printing message is there in plain sight that it’s no wonder that your target readers can quickly decide whether to get interested in what you have to say or to totally reject your message.
A custom postcard printing item is commonly used to get your target readers’ interest very quickly. And it often comes in three regular sizes: 4 x 6, 5 x 7, and 5 ½ x 8 ½. With its small size and format, postcards are less expensive to mail – you only need no more than 30 cents to get your postcard printing piece mailed by first class.
Here are a few more tips to get your started with your postcard printing marketing campaign:
- Use prepaid return postage to make it easy for your target readers to respond to your postcard printing message.
- Include a pre-addressed return address on your postcards, as well as on your envelopes if you ever decide to use them.
- Use paper stock in bright colors to attract more interest in your postcard printing project.
- Provide space where you could put names and addresses. Always use large fonts to make it easy for your prospects to read your postcard printing project.
It’s not enough that you have a well planned design and copy for your brochure printing project, one of the elements included in developing an effective print brochure is the kind of fold you want to distinguish your marketing material from the others.
Folding is not just an ordinary part of your brochure printing project. Folding is considered an art that requires creativity and skill in laying out the right pattern of different shapes and sizes.
Here are some of the most popular folds used for brochure printing projects:
Accordian Fold. Also known as a Z-fold or a zigzag fold, this kind of folding technique is a simple combination of 6 panels and 2 parallel folds often applied to your brochure printing project. The panels and parallel folds go in opposite directions, with each panel having the same size as the others.
The Accordian Fold varies from time to time which includes half-accordian folds (one panel is half the size of the other 2), and the engineering folds (one panel is twice the size of the other 2 panels).
Zigzag Fold. Often interchanged with the accordion fold, this type has 2 or more parallel folds that go the opposite direction. The folds create a design like that of a letter Z or an M, or a series of zigzags. The panels in the zigzag fold often have the same size because they do not nest.
C Fold. This kind of fold in your brochure printing project is commonly used for a tri-fold brochure. It has 6 panels, with the 2 parallel folds creating a spiral pattern or design. The C fold allows for the panels to “nest” inside each other, with the folded end panel usually narrower than the other panels.
Spiral Fold. Also known as a “roll fold” or a “barrel fold”, the brochure printing piece is folded to create a spiral pattern. It has 2 or more parallel folds that go into each other. When seen from above, the fold made spirals inward.
Whatever your business niche, your flyer printing project is one of the most effective and cheapest marketing campaigns to promote to your target clients. Here’s how you can make your own flyers without having to go overboard with your budget:
1 – You can choose a different shade of paper for your flyer printing project to make them stand out. Just make sure that your budget can pay for more than a thousand pink leaflets for your business.
2 – Create an interesting headline. Your headline is the first thing that your target readers would read off your flyer printing project, so make it brief and snappy, summing up your business benefits in just a few words. Apply the billboard principle: make your statement work and capture your target readers’ interest in just 3 seconds.
3 – Include graphics and images that are necessary to emphasize your message. If it’s not useful to your flyer printing project, junk it. And remember to make it simple. You don’t want to add unnecessary costs to your total fees, do you?
4 – Make your flyer printing copy short and direct to the point. You only have a small space to say what you want to say. So
stop rambling. Give your target readers enough information to get them to contact you. More than necessary would be a total bore.
5 – Offer incentives and freebies in your flyer printing project to make them come to you. If you build it, they will come.
Enjoy your flyer printing!
Aside from the marketing tool projects you indulge in to promote your business to your target clients, your envelope printing project is just as important to make your promotional campaign successful and effective.
In addition to the your design, your envelope printing size, type of mailing, budget, and what you’ll use to insert your print materials (whether automated or manually) to your envelopes – all of these factors should be considered for the type of envelopes you’re going to use.
But are you aware of how envelopes are made? Do you know how to make one? Here are the parts of an envelope to help you understand and eventually create a more effective envelope printing project that would help you generate more clients in your business.
The Face/Front – Usually the most seamless part of your envelope printing project, the front is where you put your address, postage, cancellation stamp, as well as your return address. It is often mistaken by ordinary people as the back of an envelope.
The Back – This is where the flaps meet to form and seal your envelope printing project. The back part of your envelope printing project is further categorized to:
Seal Adhesive – It is where the gum or glue can be seen to seal your envelope after you’ve inserted your marketing materials.
Top Flap – Commonly referred to as the seal flap, it is the one folded down and sealed after inserting your contents in your envelope.
Top Fold – This is the crease where the top flap is folded to seal your envelope.
Throat – This is the space that you find between the top fold and the top of the back flap. It forms the opening of your envelope where you insert your marketing materials.
Side Flaps – These are the side portion folded onto the inside and sealed with the back flap to form the pocket.
Side Folds – These are the creases found on the sides of your envelope printing project that separates the face from the side flaps.
Shoulders – Part of the side flaps where they meet the top fold.
Bottom Flap – Folded up and sealed on the edged of the side flaps.
Seam overlap – 2 or more flaps overlap.
Bottom Fold – The crease along the bottom of your envelope printing project.
Business cards don’t always have to be the usual black-on-white that has the same design with your contact information written on it. Your business card printing project doesn’t have to always suffer from lack of imagination and creativity.
When you’re in a rut, maybe it’s time to do a makeover and have yourself a brand new set of business cards that can be aggressive marketing tools to gain new clients.
Here are a few ideas to jumpstart your new business card printing project:
1 – Use your business cards as a survey form. You can combine this with a freebie or an incentive when they answer the survey and return the business card to you.
2 – You can always use your business card printing project to produce other forms of marketing strategies. You can print a frequent buyer card, or even a discount coupon card. Your card-sized paper stock doesn’t need to have the usual format. You just have to remember to include your contact information so your target clients would know where to reach you.
In addition, your business card printing project can also become other things such as nametags, tickets to an affair, or small
greeting cards.
3 – Use your business card printing pieces as referrals to your organization or club.
4 – Use your business card printing project as appointment cards.
Your business card printing project doesn’t always have to be the boring and standard format. Your business cards should have a new use, a total facelift to make them stand out. Try these ideas and see how you can have more clients than you have ever imagined.
When you don’t have enough resources (financial, that is) to develop your catalog printing project, you can make your very own print materials without having to strain your budget, as well as keep your catalog printing project on the right perspective.
1 – Know your readers. One way to reach out to your target readers and be able to get their attention is to let your catalog printing project talk to them in the way they know and understand. What is the best approach for your catalog printing project if you happen to be targeting a group of managers? Would your target readers prefer words, or will they understand your message better if they’re in graphics and images?
Bottom line: your catalog printing content should be able to make your prospective clients take the time to read them.
2 – Consider the purpose of your catalog printing project. Why do you want to have a catalog printing project? Is it your only marketing tool for your business? Will it be used in trade shows with other marketing materials? Do you need your catalog printing project to relay your information and message; or do you want your catalog printing material to make a sale?
Bottom line: your purpose for your catalog printing project will determine the design and content of your print materials which will ultimately decide your overall appearance and look.
3 – Consider giving out information that is valuable and memorable. The only reason that your target readers would give your catalog printing project their time is if they consider your print items valuable to them. So make sure to tell your target readers of the benefits they can get from your business.
Bottom line: when you provide your target readers a valuable reason to give your catalog printing project a try, then you’ve already won half of the battle. Now all you need to do is to convince them to become buyers.
Why use postcards as your marketing medium for your business?
1 – Your postcard printing project can look great even with just a simple illustration or graphic design to enhance the overall appearance. Combined with a good paper stock, your postcard printing project can come out more than you expect.
2 – Your postcard printing project is much cheaper to produce than any other printed marketing material. First of all, you don’t need to make your postcard printing design in four or full color. One or two color postcards work as well as the four-color ones. And second, one or two color postcard printing projects have lower print costs.
3 – Even when you decide to go full color with your postcard printing project, you can save a lot with gang-runs. Some postcard printing shops offer such low prices for postcard printing items in numbers of like 5,000 prints.
4 – When you do the mailing yourself, your postcard printing pieces are easy to handle because you don’t have to do all those things like folding and stuffing your postcard printing materials inside the envelopes.
5 – When you need to measure your target readers’ response for your postcard printing project, you can have your postcards act as quick survey forms. More than likely that your target readers would send them back by mailing them or faxing them to you. So make sure to include a return address or a fax number in your postcard printing layout.
The next time you’re thinking of creating your marketing campaign for your business, consider doing a postcard printing project. They might just be the postcard printing pieces you need to boost your business to the level you desire.
Are you an environmental enthusiast who regularly bemoans the state of Mother Nature? Looking for quick-drying, but ecologically friendly inks for your marketing campaign materials? Well, bemoan no more.
A group of ink manufacturer has come up with ecologically responsive inks that can help preserve the environment, without having to sacrifice the quality of your on-press performance.
Called the Novavit F918 SUPREME BIO, this is the group’s series of fast-setting, environment friendly, sheetfed inks recently made available in the US under the K+ E brand.
The manufacturers of the Novavit inks anticipate that their inks would offer users with a fresh alternative to enhance the performance of sheetfed printers. They expect that users would greatly benefit for their Novavit inks in that the fast drying qualities can help in increasing the print output. This can be done even by printers running their presses at higher speeds. The inks allow users to do their work without having to worry about setting-off their equipment, or even that they won’t be able to send their output to the finishing division, without the use of great amounts of powder.
Second, the group was able to make the inks ecologically friendly and responsive to the call of the environment, by making use of vegetable oils that can be replenished naturally. Hence, the Novavit inks will emit lower VOCs that can significantly minimize the negative impact to the environment.
Nevertheless, without any adverse effects to the printing output, the Novavit inks rather produce sharp dots, maintain balance between ink and water, produce high color intensity, as well as produce quality results even on varying substrates.
The Novavit inks are very much a refreshing and excellent alternative to the regular inks used for sheetfed print jobs. We hope that many more manufacturers would follow what this group has done to preserve more of our Mother Earth.
A new technology would give a totally new meaning to the phrase “hot bodies”. I just read from Yahoo news that soon our very own body heat would be able to power most of our electronic gadgets such as our mobile phones, laptops, iPods, among others. And we don’t even have to work up a sweat to do it. Even if you are a couch potato, you may be able to charge your gadgets by generating enough heat from your body.
According to Yahoo, the research was initiated in the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits. Researchers from that institute are actually creating specially made circuits which allow body heat to charge electronic devices.
This is indeed groundbreaking news for most of us. This would mean less use of battery generated devices, especially mobile phones and medical monitors that have been sources of radiation ever since. We don’t have to be concerned with the radiation being emitted by the batteries for these devices as the new technology will almost (if not totally) eliminate the use of batteries to charge our electronic gadgets.
The specially made circuits apply the TEG principle (thermoelectric generators) – the same one used for semiconductor parts. By extracting electrical energy from the temperature difference between the hot and cold environments and then combining this energy with several other components to boost it, researchers of the new technology can store up enough amounts to operate one electronic device.
Now this is interesting news indeed!
The EOS 40D was recently introduced by Canon in the market with advanced amateur and semi-professional photographers in mind. With features such as 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, 6.5 frames per second burst performance, newly developed AF system, and a 3.0” LCD with Live View mode, the Canon EOS 40D is definitely an impressive equipment to look forward to.
In addition to these specifications, the Canon EOS 40D is simply amazing because the manufacturers retained the camera benefits found from its predecessor – a responsive operation, enhanced color rendering, and near-instant start-up time – all of which allows for a more versatile and well developed performance for users.
And as always, the EOS 40D includes the “Integrated Cleaning System” present in all EOS models, which fights sensor dust and allows for a weather resistant element for long-lasting durability.
Why the EOS 40D is considered an absolute upgrade? For one, the CMOS sensor is improved with high quality image of up to ISO 1600. It has a “Highlight Tone Priority” mode that provides photographers, particularly those involved in weddings and landscapes, the capability to create a more tonal detail to lighter colored objects.
Two, the 6.5 frames per second burst performance provide users with the capability to handle up to 75 Large JPEGs continuously. This allows for smoother gradations, as well as excellent and accurate color in reproductions.
Three, the EOS 40D newly developed AF system gives users the ability to focus both on vertical and horizontal planes, with a dedicated AF button which allows photographers to click on the auto focus with the use of the thumb.
And four, the LCD with Live View mode helps users to shoot at awkward angles. With the AF-ON button, photographers can set their EOS 40D to allow auto focus by flipping the camera mirror for a moment.
With enhanced technologies found in the EOS series, Canon has definitely made another mark that keeps them at the top of their industry.
What makes other poster printing designs stand out? Why do other posters prove to be attention grabbers time and again?
The purpose of your poster printing project is to increase your target market’s awareness of you and your business. The best way to do that is to create a memorable poster printing design that reflects your unique identity.
Almost all the tips and suggestions in poster printing design and layout are the same. Some graphic designers and gurus only add a thing or two, and more often, most of them review old rules and reconfigure an alternative.
Although you’ve always abided with poster printing rules of design, most business owners tend to forget that a “well proportioned, carefully balanced and perfectly coordinated” poster design is not always the most effective. You have to take note that predictability is not the same with outstanding.
Mistakes are often made because:
1 – Your poster printing design tries to be more elegant rather than outstanding. Hence, your posters become inconspicuous and low key, as opposed to being outright elaborate.
2 – Your poster printing design fits in with the rest of the crowd.
3 – Your poster printing design looks like it’s cheap.
4 – Your posters are placed inappropriately, and at the same time at the most unlikely places.
The purpose of the exercise is to make your poster printing project stand out. So you have to remember that it doesn’t always pay to be the same as with everybody else. What worked for another may not have the same effect on your business. Similarly, abiding by the rules will almost always cost you – not only your money but most importantly, you’re chance to stand out.
What is so great about postcards is that you can send it by mail without even an envelope to hide your postcard printing message. Your postcard printing content and information are there for everyone to see. In fact, you can already decide whether to keep a postcard or dunk it in the trash when you see one. That means that even if you just got a glimpse of the content, you saw enough to help you make your decision.
So what postcard printing piece gets mailed and what’s not? Here are the guidelines for standard postcard mail sizes:
- Postcard size of 3.5 x 5 inches is allowed. Less than that and your postcard printing material will not be mailed by the USPS.
- Postcard size of 4.25 x 6 inches is allowed. Anything more than that and your postcard printing pieces must be mailed as a letter, with a higher rate.
- Postcards are allowed with a minimum thickness of .007 inches. Anything less is non-mailable.
- Postcards are allowed with a maximum thickness of .25 inches. More than that and your postcard printing pieces are considered as a Parcel.
- Postcards with intermediate sizes (like A4 x 5.5 inches postcards) can be mailed at a postcard rate. However, the postcard printing pieces should be within the specified size, thickness, weight, specifications discussed to be considered as postcard mail.
Happy postcard mailing!
Brochure printing materials are very popular among graphic designers and business owners because of their flexibility. Over time, brochures have proven their place in the marketing industry as one of the most effective promotional tools.
Nevertheless, with the advent of technology, people are starting to rely too much on the web for their marketing strategies. Often, business owners have put up or are about to develop a website to market their business.
But despite its presence, businesses still fail even if they invest in making their marketing medium a success. The reason? Over reliance on one promotional tool is not enough to achieve success. You need at least two promotional mediums to help each other to promote your business.
This is where your print brochures come in.
In order for you to get to your target market, you need to combine your brochure printing project with your online store. Not everyone has access to computers. Your brochures will be your alternate when technology is inaccessible.
Unlike your online shop, brochures are always available for your target audience to browse at their own sweet time. They don’t need to go online to get to know you better. Second, although people have caught up with the times, we still expect brochure printing materials in the form of paper and ink. We have this predilection for something tangible to hold on to.
Definitely, without your brochure printing pieces to support your online shop, you’ll just be wandering throughout your lifetime without the success you’ve always hoped for.
A business card is part and parcel of any successful marketing campaign. Despite its size, your business card printing project can tell your potential clients what to expect from your business. Although you most likely won’t be able to tell the whole story of your company from your business cards, but what you lack in data, you more than compensate for your style and image.
A good and effective business card printing project makes or breaks a business. Your potential clients will make their first impression based on your business cards. Hence, your potential clients expect more from your business card printing items than from the other promotional tools in your marketing arsenal.
So how do you achieve success from your business cards? Success can be had if you know how to convey the right message in your business card printing pieces.
A great business card has the makings of an excellent style that exemplifies your image, your personality as a business, and the way you conduct your business. And your business card printing style depends on the business niche you’re in. For example, if you’re into designing and graphic arts, you won’t design you’re business cards in plain black and white, do you? Similarly, if you’re business is a high end one, you wouldn’t be caught dead handing out business cards with the Looney Tunes as your border and background.
When crafting your business card printing design, choose a style that best suits your kind of business. After all, you don’t want your potential customer to mistake you for a funeral director when you have a travel agency as your business.
Youtube has become a household name in the short time that it started to broadcast online videos of just about any topic under the sun. In fact, when asked about online video sites, Youtube gets to be number one in the list.
Youtube is considered as one of the most popular online videos sites. Many users basically use this site to create, upload, and post their personal videos for millions of viewers. And it’s free. So you don’t have to worry about payments or anything of the kind.
So why is it so popular? It’s popular because for one thing, it’s free. You can post whatever and as many videos you want in Youtube’s site.
But the most significant reason is that Youtube gives every individual the chance to become a Steven Spielberg or a Francis Ford Coppola for once in their lives. And the great thing about it is that we are able to share our videos to the rest of the planet. This is what draws people to Youtube – the rawness, the peculiarity of the themes and topics in every video posted by common people.
And it’s so easy uploading your amateur videos. It only takes a few minutes and you’re on your way to becoming the next popular director.
Despite earlier comments of Youtube being just a trend that will fade later on, it seems to be flourishing with thousands, maybe millions even, of viewers getting online everyday.
Now, if we could only transfer Youtube’s success to your catalog printing you’ll be one happy business owner, indeed.
In addition to your design, content and printing style, your paper stock provides a big difference to the overall effect of your catalog printing project. To optimize your choice of paper for a more effective catalog printing pieces, here are a few of the things you need to know:
Coated or Uncoated, please. –
Coated or uncoated stocks are two types of paper used in commercial catalog printing. They are further sorted by weight; hence, we have the text and cover stock.
The text stock is the lighter of the two that it is often used for the body pages of a catalog printing project. More so with its price, which is less than the cover stock. The cover stock, on the other hand, is made of heavier and more durable paper that is why it is generally used for the outside catalog printing cover. It is also very popular among users because it adds a classier feel to the print pieces with its thickness.
Gloss and matte for Coated Papers –
Often, flyers and catalogs are printed on 80# gloss stock paper to make it more upscale and professional. It has a shiny, reflective finish that gives full color pictures and images a more vivid and brilliant appearance.
In contrast, matte is a coated paper regularly utilized for pages with more content and text than images. The matte look makes it easy for viewers to read the text or type of your catalog printing pieces.
Your brand message is what keeps your relationship with your target clients strong. Whatever your target clients see in your catalog printing pieces is what will help them to decide to bond with you and your business.
Your brand message is your commitment to your prospective customers to provide them with better service than any other companies in your industry.
So what makes a brand message strong? It all starts with your target market. You have to determine which target market will you concentrate on. This factor is the most significant element in developing your catalog printing message. Different sectors would mean a different message for each.
Creating your brand message involves a deeper connection with your target market. It is a promise made and kept regarding your way of service.
And how do you keep your promise? By understanding more of your target market’s interests and desires. You need to keep abreast of many factors like their spending habits, their age, their gender, your target market’s educational level, among others. All of these things will determine your catalog printing plan for your brand message.
When you know who you would want to get in touch with, it would be easier for you to develop what you would want to say to your target market. To effectively promote your business, your brand message should tell your target audience what makes you different from all the rest. What would make your target readers choose you? Why do you think you’re better than the other competition?
Plan what you would want to say to your target clients. Choose your brand message carefully. What you put in your catalog printing brand message would be the determining factor that will decide whether your prospective client would stick with you or not.
Full color photos and graphics make for an attractive brochure printing for your target audience. While it is true that your images make your target audience look, it is the content or brochure printing copy that makes them stick a while longer.
Your brochure printing content holds your prospective readers’ attention, far longer than your images would. Isn’t it one of your end goals to have your prospective clients read your message? Better than the images, your brochure printing copy provides the meat – the information – that would help your target clients decide to go for your products and services.
Nevertheless, selling an idea to your target readers’ needs a well thought of plan. You need to determine what would be your strongest selling points when you promote your products and services in your brochure printing copy. Persuading them to do more than read your brochures requires extra effort from your brochure printing content.
Be simple and brief. Although you have many pages to write your content, it is still suggested that you limit your brochure printing copy to a minimum. Do not bombard your target readers with too much information that they get sleepy over your products and services. Keeping your sentences brief and concise would help your target readers to understand better what you are offering them.
Be careful with your words. You know “Sticks and stones may break my bones…”, well, it’s the same with your brochure printing project. Your words can make your target audience accept or reject whatever you have to offer them. Your choice of words is important in your brochure printing content as it should be understood by the group of people you are targeting. You might want to use professional language if you’re into high end products and services; and a more casual content would be appropriate if you are targeting the younger generation.
“It’s all about YOU.” Focus your attention on your target readers. It’s all about them and not you and your business. Remember to use more of “you” rather than the “I”. They will respond more to your message when they know that you are talking about them and their needs.
In addition to your images, your content gives you further leverage when it comes to persuading your target audience to buy what you are offering them. A brochure printing content that is simple yet packed with information would get you more buyers than you can ever imagine.
Getting new customers to add to your current database is a very difficult challenge that faces every business owner everyday. Even armed with a powerful marketing strategy, most business owners often struggle in attracting new clients to their fold.
One of the popular marketing tricks used by business owners is to offer different incentives and pricing discounts to get as much prospective clients to try them and their products. This includes offer of freebies, discounts, sale incentives, and even extra allowances for new clients. However, it is often very hard to provide incentives when you’re working on a tight budget.
This is the reason why postcards are very popular with small business owners. Postcards are more cost effective to print compared to the other marketing tools. Nevertheless, postcard alone won’t get clients for you. Postcards with additional incentives would definitely do the trick.
Here are some of the postcard marketing tricks to get you more clients:
1 – Hosting an event. Your postcards can promote a special event highlighted by a fundraiser or even a celebrity appearance. This is one surefire method to promote your business, as well as maintain your relationship with current clients.
2 – Provide coupons. Your postcards can serve as coupons that you can hand out just about anywhere. Nevertheless, coupons can be ineffective when done haphazardly. To develop a winning postcard coupon, be sure to offer a generous incentive to attract attention.
3 – Include free gifts in your postcards. People do love getting things for free. A free gift in your postcards can definitely get you clients knocking on your door.
You can think of other incentives to include in your postcards. Always remember that it’s not the information and features that get you clients- it’s the benefits that make your clients attracted to your business.
Among the tools used in networking, probably the most significant are your business cards. Your business card is very important because it helps you create a first impression when you give it to someone during meetings and events. And it’s also your lasting reminder every time your network takes it out and look at it for your contact information. That is why you really have to put much effort and planning in the presentation of your business cards. Your cards are your representation and it says a whole lot about your business and how you perform.
During networking affairs and meetings, it is not how many business cards you handed out, or even the amount of stack you got for yourself from other businesses. The success of any networking event lies on the connections you were able to make with other people. The bond you created during the event speaks loudly of how you handle your business; much more than any stockpile of accumulated business cards.
Below are some of the things you can do to get the most out of your business cards to create a lasting relationship with your potential clients.
Do not forget to bring your business cards with you. Even at social events and affairs, always carry your business cards with you. You might just meet someone who may be in need of your products and services.
Always hand out a clean business card. Incorrect and crossed out information on business cards speaks much about how you handle your business. Business cards are representations of you and your business. Unclean and crossed out information on business cards tells your target clients that you are disorganized and tend to give less attention to detail.
Always have a good supply of business cards handy. Business card printing is not that expensive nowadays. To ensure that you have a fresh supply, always take stock of your business cards and order right away when you get low in number. Don’t be in a position where you can’t hand out to someone who might just become important later on just because you already depleted your stock.
Likewise, ask for a business card from someone you had conversation with. It is proper etiquette in any business meeting or networking event to ask for their business cards first when you meet someone and talked with him or her. Once they hand out their cards, you may then politely ask if you could also give them yours. And don’t always assume they’d be interested to have your business card. The polite thing to do is to hand them your business card only when they say yes.
And lastly, write something about the person you just met on the back of his or her business card. This would help you remember them when you call them after the meeting or event. But be careful not to offend by doing it in front of the person. If you need to write it down right away because of your low memory span, you need to ask permission first. Some people may feel offended when you write on their business card which they have invested in.
Okay. So now you know your ABCs when it comes to flyer printing. There’s still one thing you have to remember. Your computer is just a unit to help you fine tune your flyer printing project. It doesn’t do the thinking for you. Every design and creative idea that you want to apply to your print flyers must still come from you. Not from your computer.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s start talking about the things you have to avoid to minimize, if not totally eradicate, the mess you often make out of your flyer printing.
1 – Too many business owners and flyer printing designers frequently make the mistake of letting their computer do the thinking for them. As I have already said in the earlier part of this blog, computers do not have the capacity to create a design. You do. The computers are just there to help you complete and finish your designs.
2 – Frequent mistakes are made because business owners and designers don’t know what their objective is in the first place. With so many elements and innovative ideas available, we often lose track of our goal for our flyers. What’s our purpose for creating our flyers? We should always have this in mind so we won’t get sidetracked during our flyer printing design.
3 – Put your business name at the last part of your flyer. What readers read last are often the very things that they remember first.
4 – Use bold fonts for your headlines. You could use any font that takes your fancy. You just have to make sure that it’s readable and legible. If you get overwhelmed by the choices, you could always go back to the simplicity of Sans Serifs or Arial fonts.
5 – Your flyer’s main body text should always have a font that almost everybody can read and is easy to the eyes. Times New Roman is an all-time favorite when it comes to paragraph content. If not, there’s always the Arial font to consider. In addition, your font size should start from 10 points to 14 points. Anything smaller is less readable and gets to be annoying.
There is still no better way to promote your products and services but by word-of-mouth. Satisfied customers are the surest way to provide your marketing strategy for your business, even better than millions of flyers. When you get customer satisfaction, it spreads like wildfire. On the other hand, when you suck, it also spreads quickly like a communicable disease.
It is a fact that customers who are satisfied are the best sales agents for your business. They would sing your praises gladly, free of charge. And mind you, when a satisfied customer sings, almost everyone who is listening will probably get you or purchase the product you offer. Seems like there’s plenty out there who would gladly put their faith in you when somebody has good experiences from your business.
So how do you keep your referrals coming by word-of-mouth? Satisfied customers point to these factors:
1. Reliability. More than quality or low pricing, being reliable gets the gold anytime. Reliability in business means people can depend on you to be honest about what you can offer. You tell your customers what and when you can deliver and they rely on you to keep what you promised. When you say you can finish their flyer printing requirements in 2 days, then they’d better have their flyers in 2 days with quality results. Or they won’t get you again for their next project.
2. Quality. Customers expect to get quality results for their money. They know that when you choose to serve in your field of business it just goes to show that you know what you’re talking about. When you say that you are a flyers printing company, it says that you know your stuff and you guarantee that you can always be depended on to produce quality flyers every time.
3. Fair Price. Customers know that for quality results, they need to pay a price. Not everything in life are free, especially those that are considered the best. In fact, clients, particularly those engaged in flyers printing, know that in order for them to get quality and professional flyers, they have to hire the best flyer printing company even if it costs an arm and a leg. However, the cost must be fair enough that it equals the result it provides. Quid pro quo.
And finally, clients know that they have a winner in their hands when someone offers them an extra aside from the quality result they get. Especially in the event that you cannot deliver at a promised date or schedule, it is responsible on your part to provide additional service at no extra cost to undo the damage. And customers can’t resist an extra freebie. You get remembered (and readily forgiven) when customers feel that they are treated well and respected in the way that they believe they deserve.
When you are a real estate agent, what do you sell exactly? A house atop a hill with a scenic view of the lush landscape? Or a 15 floor building with a spectacular view of the coastline? Or do you sell a 40-hectare ranch?
As a real estate agent, what you have to offer doesn’t stop to the type of home or how many floors or the type of structure. You must go beyond that to be effective. You must be able to sell a dream. Be it the first house for a young couple or another high rise structure to a conglomerate. What you sell basically is a dream- a dream for every person to acquire something which they will call their own. You sell a future of happiness and stability. That is what people buy. More than a structure or a piece of land, people will buy what they perceive will make them happy or happier.
That is something you might want to consider when thinking about your marketing materials such as your calendar printing. Basically, you appeal to the emotions – an appeal for a better if not brighter future. For instance, you might want to sell the prospect of raising a family in the bounds of stability and comfort rather than selling a three bedroom 1 1/2 house with a one port car garage.
Your marketing strategy must focus on this. You must be able to help them make that dream a reality.
Marketing your real estate through postcards is like getting new recipes- you need secret ingredients to make your dish more attractive to the appetite. Similarly, with postcard printing, you also need certain factors to be able to compete in the real estate industry.
One, you have to trust technology to work for you…NOT! You can rely on technology to help you come up with quality postcard printing; however, you need to understand that technology alone won’t be enough to get you your sought after success.
Two, you have to identify your target market to be able to create quality postcard marketing strategy for your business. What kind of customers are you targeting for your products? Who are your clients? What are their needs and wants? How will your business benefit them? How do you offer your products to them?
Three, when you identify your audience, you will then have to find out the objective for your postcard printing campaign. Best to remember as real estate agents to make realistic objectives for your postcards. Don’t give too much burden on your postcards by making them the be-all and end-all of your marketing strategy. Aspire for a more simple response like getting a phone call or an email from your target clients. Not what you’re aiming for exactly, but a more practical reaction nonetheless.
Three, aim for a lasting first impression by offering something new and something your target audience needs. This is the ultimate objective of consumers considering real estate agents- they need to know the benefits. A postcard without clear value to them is fated to go to the garbage bin, fast.
I found a novelty idea in the Internet. I was browsing through a lot of blogs these days and one of the sites that I was really happy to have found was the one that gives a step-by-step instruction on how to make your own Life Poster. You could even finish in just 30 minutes max.
First, you have to make an album in iPhoto. The writer said to use 98 photos and get those with lots and lots of colors.
Second, edit the photos by cropping it to “4 x 3 (dvd)”. Also use the “Adjust” button in the iPhoto5 for contrast and color.
Third, well, the writer did go on and on about the instructions that you just have to find out for yourself. You could google “Life Poster” if you want. I might get sued for plagiarism or something so I’m stopping now.
But what got me interested was the novelty of it. Imagine creating a life poster from pictures of your loved ones then giving them out as gifts. It totally rocks!
If you find it a little bit taxing, you could always go online for a poster printing company. Send them your design and layout and they’ll do the rest. For a certain fee, of course.
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