Filed under: Printing Help | Tags: advertising, marketing, print advertising, printing
Historically, companies that continue to run ads during tough economic climates come out ahead of their competitors who stopped advertising when times got rough. Procter & Gamble, Chevrolet and Camel cigarettes were just a few brands that continued advertising though the Great Depression, and came out ahead of their competition. For instance, during the 1920s, Ford outsold Chevys 10 to 1. Chevy continued to advertise and even expanded their advertising budget during the depression, and as a result, in 1931, Chevy was the top-selling car maker, outing Ford. Camel did the same thing – except Camel started out on top before the Depression, but was ousted out of the high spot in cigarette sales by Lucky Strike. Camel increased ad spending during the Depression and took its top spot back in the cigarette category.
Why You Need to Continue Advertising
1. Less competition: With companies scaling back or eliminating their ad budgets, that leaves room for you to get into more markets with less money. Low competition means lower ad costs.
2. People are looking for deals: If you can offer consumers a deal on your products, they will come. People still spend money during a recession (which we still aren’t quite in yet, according to experts), they just don’t spend as much of their money. Of course, those people that are always frugal still have money to spend.
Frugal Advertising Techniques
Flyers: This is an oldie, but a goodie. You can print flyers or brochures with black ink on colored paper to give your flyer some eye-catching punch, while keeping your budget way low. Even color brochure printing isn’t that expensive, and the more you buy, the more money you can save. Try printing flyers with a message that will last you through the holidays so that you can order a large number and continue using them for the next few months. Bulk discount and longetivity sound good to me!
Write a great press release: If you can get the media to do a story about you, whether in your local newspaper or magazine, that’s free advertising right there. It’s even better than running an ad in the publication because people will know that you didn’t pay for the coverage!
Word-of-mouth advertising and referrals: This is one I turn to when times are tough and it works well. Offer an incentive that you can afford to give to current customers who drive new customers your way. Whether it’s one free item or a discount on a service, as long as the referral will end up covering the cost of the free item for your current customer, you’ll build goodwill with current customers and get new ones!
Find an advertising partner: This is a business or person who offers a product or service that complements yours. You can either split ad costs with this person and offer customers a two-for-one type of deal, or you can simply exchange business cards and brochures to set up in each other’s store. Either way, it’s cheap advertising for both of you.
If you need more ideas, you can look up “guerrilla marketing techniques,” which are cheap ways to market your business that rely more on time and imagination than money.
Filed under: Printing Help | Tags: advertising, blog, blogging, branding, brochures, business, business cards, economy, flyer printing, forums, marketing, website
Even though the economy is sinking into a recession or into a “recession-like” economy (“what’s the difference?” I’d like to ask the experts!), you don’t have to slash your marketing budget down to nothing. There are plenty of low-cost or no-cost marketing techniques you can use if your marketing budget isn’t overflowing. Here are some ideas to try:
1. Create a Web site or blog. You should already have a Web site, but just in case you don’t, make one. Or, if your Web site host is charging you hundreds of dollars per year to keep your site up, try finding another host. You can get a free site through Mysite.com or Freewebs.com. You’ll have to allow the Web host to run ads on your site, but you can also get low-cost hosting services for as little as $20 per month.
If you don’t have a blog, I’d suggest starting one of those too. (In fact, a lot of companies create blogs that function as their Web site. That’s not a great option, as you can’t create Tabs and nice graphic design like you can with a Web site host, but in tough times, you can make it work.) Either way, you should have a blog so that you have some way of communicating with your customers and prospects. A blog is a great way to get your personal side out there for your customers to see, and it’s also a great way to establish yourself as an expert – by giving advice on your products and industry.
2. Post on forums and article sites. Staying online, you should also post expert answers on forums, or at least join in a conversation about something going on in your industry. You can include a link to your Web site on these forum posts, which will drive more traffic your way, and increase therefore business. There are plenty of article databases that you can post free articles to, but make sure that your articles are informative and give the reader something of value. People want to buy from a business owner who is seen as expert; no one wants to buy from a business owner who has nothing to offer.
3. Hang some printed flyers. Yep, getting back to basics is not a bad way to drum up some business in hard times. People still have to go the grocery store and the bank, so hang up your printed flyers there. And in hard times, more people will be getting to the store by bus, so hang some flyers at the bus stops as well. Be sure to either design your flyer so that you have some tear-offs with your contact info at the bottom, or make a pocket on the flyer (simple as attaching an envelope) that has your full color brochures or custom business cards in it.
4. Word-of-mouth marketing. Simply ask current customers to spread the word. People believe their friends and family over marketing materials anyway, so use that to your advantage. You can sweeten the deal for current customers by creating some referral cards that current customers can give to new customers. The incentive? A discount on the current customer’s next purchase. This is a proven way to get new business and at the same time, show your current customers that you care about them, too.
Filed under: Printing Help | Tags: direct mailing, postcard mailing, postcard marketing, postcard printing, postcards
Postcards are an extremely efficient marketing tool. Why? primarily because of the fact that they can be applied to any business. No business should leave out the postcard marketing approach. It doesn’t really matter what business you have or even what you want to market. Even in this age and time, some of the biggest companies still prefer to market with postcards than anything else as they have a record of creating more responses than personalized letters or flyers. Quick and easy to produce, postcards are a must for every marketing campaign’s success. In the following section, we will be learning why and how postcards can be beneficial for your business specifically. Some of the major reasons as to why you should be using postcards are listed below:-
1. Cost Friendly: When using something like a postcard as a marketing tool, there is fair amount of chance that you will prefer to get them printed in bulk. This is the point where you can tap in your savings. Most printing companies charge a very small amount especially if you order in large quantities. It takes no more than 2 days for them to get printed, so you can start sending them out according to your convenience. Moreover they have a standard size. So the chances are that you will pay almost the same amount as your competitor.
2. Quick and Smart: One of the best features of postcards is that they can be designed in a really short time. There are various templates available that can help you save time. Be wise and choose one that suits your business the best. Also they have a standard size, so you can design them in one day, send it to your printer and hand them out to your customers very easily after a couple of days. There is not a single marketing tool that can get to work in such a short span of time. This proves they are a smart way of promoting your business. Some companies will even send them out on your behalf.
3. Widely read: This misconception should be cleared from your mind A.S.A.P. People do actually read them because of their simplicity in design and a time efficient way of promotion. It is easy for people to pick and read them whereas letters are much tougher to get through. They CAN NOT be ignored. In fact, even if they do plan to throw it out, they will have read your company’s name or seen your logo by the end of the process. Hence, its work is done. Remember, you are not to sell a product, its enough that they know your name through it. But in most of the cases, people pay enough attention to them, so they know what you were trying to convey.
4. Bank on the popularity: One of the coolest reasons why they are handy is because postcards are generally sent by one’s kith and in. So the receiver may not throw it out instantly thinking it’s a pile of crap. This is something that other marketing tools cannot bank on. Also keep in mind their design. Try and give it a more “card” like look. It will benefit in one way or the other, forcing people to have a look at them.
5. Instant results: Unlike other forms of marketing, postcards are effective and show results very quickly. Just be consistent and keep them printing so you can send out as many as you can. They are cheap yet effective and are undoubtedly an excellent way to boost your company sales. Moreover, as we discussed earlier, it does not take a very long time to reach your customer’s mailboxes from the printing machine.
These are just some of the ways postcards can be beneficial. All great brands including Mc Donalds, still stick to this form of marketing because of its efficiency. There are a lot of other innovative things you can do to make them work. Remember, you cannot completely be involved with this and expect to become a great brand overnight. It needs to be coupled with other tools of marketing like brochures for a greater and deeper impact.
Article Written By Mark
Filed under: Printing Help | Tags: advertising, commercial printing, print advertising, printing
Anyone can create a print ad – just get into Photoshop or Word and start typing, right? Of course, we all know it isn’t that easy. I guess I should have opened with “anyone can create a crappy print ad”! But no one can have good sales just by running any ol’ print ad. It needs to have certain elements to make it work. The five questions below will help you judge the effectiveness of your print ad.
1. Does the headline grab the reader’s attention? Advertising guru David Ogilvy states in his book, Ogilvy on Advertising, that the headline is read five times as much as the body copy. An ideal headline is nine words or less. It’s easy to compare a headline to a billboard: a billboard should be no more than 8 words long to catch people zooming by. People will also zoom by your print ad if the headline is too long.
A headline that grabs a reader’s attention is generally one that includes some kind of benefit to the reader. Ogilvy states that headlines that have some sort of promise benefits are read four times as much as headlines with no benefits.
2. What kind of graphics are you using? Photographs always work better than line drawings to draw in readers. But, you need to pay attention to the content of your photo: photos that show a solution rather than a problem are much more compelling. You also want to make sure that your photo relates to something in your business. Don’t include an interesting picture of a beach at sunset if you aren’t advertising that destination. People will be disgruntled when they learn your ad is for something totally different, like computers.
3. How long is your body copy? Long copy generally works better than shorter copy, which I think goes against our current culture. People are so busy and have such short attention spans that I wouldn’t think longer copy would work. But it does. If you couple long body copy with a great headline that draws people’s attention to the ad, people will read all of the copy to find out more about the product or service.
Of course, this also depends on your audience. Younger people that are used to texting and IM-ing prefer shorter copy because they are used to communicating in as few words as possible. Older generations prefer longer copy because they are used to reading more books and text-heavy ads.
4. How convenient is it to make a purchase? Ads that don’t include a call to action that says to call or visit a store aren’t as effective as those that do include a directive for people to follow. You need to make it crystal clear to consumers how they can reach you to make a purchase, and give all the necessary info. Give your URL, your phone number, street address and any other info that will make it easy for a customer to contact you.
