Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: advertising, branding, design, marketing, small business
A beautifully printed calendar is a smart gift that people will actually use! They can also be a great promotional tool for your business or service too. When someone uses your calendar, they will get a daily reminder of your company. Not only that, when you give wall calendars, you may gain new customers from their friends and coworkers viewing the print calendar. Following are tips for designing an attractive calendar that people will want to use and share.
Use Creative Photos of Your Product – Your calendar can be both functional and a tool to sell your product or service. Make sure your pictures are attractive and interesting to look at. For example, if you own a boutique that sells children’s clothing, you could take photographs of animals dressed in the clothing you sell. Or if you run a restaurant, you could feature toddlers dressed like adults placed like customers. If you have an interesting business such as making custom jewelry, you could put photos of different steps in your work. Then you could include a little information at the bottom of the picture. Or, if you own a bakery, you might feature attractive pictures of your baked goods and include a recipe underneath each corresponding picture.
Use Photos of Local Attractions – People like seeing pictures of their home town. You could include pictures of local landmarks or places of historic significance. You might also take pictures of local festivals and events. Be sure to include people in your shots, but get their permission if they are close by.
Leave Space for Writing – To encourage people to use your calendars, leave enough blank space on each page for people to write. You should make the date squares large enough to write in. You can also leave room at the top and bottom or sides of each page for notes. Adding lines is a great idea!
Create Monthly Calendars – Give people a monthly reminder of your business by sending a postcard every month with a one-month print calendar on one side. If you send out a monthly or so newsletter, include an attractive calendar on one page with your business’s monthly events.
Print Pocket Calendars – Pocket calendars get used a lot because people can keep track of appointments in them. For example, a doctor, dentist or even an optometrist might want to print a pocket calendar. When patients make their next appointment, ask them if you can write it in a pocket calendar that you give them.
Whatever your business, a print calendar is an excellent way to connect with customers and also create loyalty by giving them a gift they can look forward to each year. Just don’t forget to include your logo and contact information in an inconspicuous spot on your calendar so that customers remember how great your company really is!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: advertising, branding, design, flyers, posters, print advertising
It’s every garage band’s dream to make it big. And today, with music mixing software and some studio time, you can create your own demo CD and market yourself to the world!
There are plenty of bands who have managers who book the dates and do their marketing. But when times are tough and there’s no official management, band members need to be able to wear a lot of different hats – including the one with “Manager” embroidered across the brim.
But whether you are employing a manager or doing it yourself, one of the very best tools available for marketing and promoting a band is the press kit. A press kit is by far the most professional way to introduce your band to a potential venue.
What few bands realize is the importance of working with a professional printing firm. Almost every element of your press kit will need to be professionally printed. As you read through these press kit essentials, think about how best to promote your brand – and your band – with colorful graphics and catchy lingo.
Press Kit Essentials
Make sure your press kit includes the following:
- Business card – This gives your customer an easy tool to find your contact information when they’re ready to call you.
- 8 x 10 glossy photo – Your customers want to know what they’re getting, so send them an 8 x 10 glossy photo so they can see what you look like. For a personal touch, sign it and mention the name of the venue – a very cool touch that begs your photo to be posted on the venue’s “Wall of Fame.”
- Artist Bios – Make sure to include an artist biography that tells a little about the history of your music or your band. Make sure that the section also includes some references from other venues, if at all possible.
- Press Release – Many venue owners would gladly submit a press release about an artist that they will be featuring at their venue. Often, they do not have the time to write one of their own, so include a press release to make their job easier.
- Posters and Flyers – While many venue owners have their own network for advertising, be sure to include some free posters and flyers where dates and times can be filled in. Besides, wouldn’t you rather have quality posters advertising your show rather than something someone put together in 5 minutes on a word processor program?
- A copy of your CD –You should always include your CDs so the owner can listen to your music. Many artists have begun to print CDs that are only for promotions and press kits. Don’t forget the CD liner notes! Professionally printed liner notes make you look like a major player.
- Presentation Folder – Finally, you need a professional folder to fit the entire press kit into. Make sure to at least put your mailing address, logo, and band name on the folder. Some artists are even printing full color folders to grab the venue owner’s attention.
As you can see, nearly every part of the press kit includes printed materials. So find a quality online printing firm – like PrintPlace.com - that can complete your project in a cost-effective-yet- professional manner – and ensure that your press kit is appropriate for venue owners.
Presentations can be intimidating for the presenter and even – unfortunately – boring at times for the audience. One way to lessen the intimation and reduce boredom is to have a presentation that includes your presentation and marketing materials in beautifully designed custom folders. Custom folders can enhance presentations on any topic to any audience. Here are some tips for a powerful presentation with the use of custom folders.
Custom folders are an attention grabber – A beautiful design on the glossy cover of your presentation folder will catch the attention of your audience. The design can be customized to the presentation of a new product being launched or simply a representation of your business logo, large and prominently placed. Custom folders immediately give your audience something to focus their attention on and can help guide their attention throughout the presentation. Instead of the audience’s mind wandering, they can focus on your folder and the information it contains.
Custom folders inspire confidence in your product – Selling is all about the confidence you have that your product can meet your customer’s needs. In addition to your spoken presentation and the points made in it, a custom folder gives the audience an impression of the confidence you have that your product will meet their needs. When your customers have confidence in your abilities, having your name and logo on the cover of a custom folder gives credence to all that it contains. Customers will trust your recommendation because they trust your judgment.
Custom folders hold information – Without the use of custom folders, at the end of your speech the audience will stand up and walk out perhaps never again thinking about the information you presented. With a custom folder, all of the information your customers need can be placed inside ahead of time, and when they prepare to leave they can take all of that information away with them. Custom folders are often printed with the business name and have a place to hold business cards inside in addition to product brochures and other marketing information. Organizing all of this information neatly for your customer helps bolster their confidence that you can manage their needs as well as you can manage your presentation.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: advertising, branding, copywriting, marketing
Effective marketing does not have to cost a fortune – it just needs to have the right persuasive techniques employed. By using these five persuasive marketing techniques, you will be able to create advertising that will, over time, increase your brand recognition and increase your revenue. Using these five principles and see what happens to your message!
Be Frequent and Consistent - A lot of small businesses become discouraged when their advertising efforts don’t bring about the desired results. There are no marketing techniques for “instant” results, but employing your message on a regular, frequent schedule over a continuous period of time will, in most cases, pay off. Effective advertising requires getting your persuasive message in front of your market as often and as consistently as your budget allows.
Create Comprehension - The first principle in creating a persuasive message is comprehension. Readers should be able to instantly understand the message of your marketing piece. To create instant comprehension:
- Make sure your message is clearly stated with text and illustrated in the graphics.
- Use the principle of repetition to emphasize your message.
- Keep the message simple.
Build an Emotional Connection - The second principle for creating a persuasive message is connection. Readers will remember and respond to an advertisement that evokes an emotional response that helps them relate to your message. To create an emotional connection:
- Use a message that has meaning and significance for your target market.
- The message should trigger an emotional response – excitement, happiness, nostalgia, passion, etc.
- Use an emotional message that calls readers to action.
Be Credible - The third principle for creating a persuasive message is credibility. Your target audience needs to be able to believe your message. This ties back to the reputation of your business as well as the message being used in your campaign. To create credibility:
- Have high customer satisfaction standards for your business.
- Use ethical business practices based on integrity to build a believable reputation for your business.
- Use an emotional message that your target audience can believe.
Be Contagious - The fourth principle for creating a persuasive message is contagiousness. Think of the Gieco gecko: he is cute, he is funny, he is clever, and he is memorable. How can anyone resist this witty little reptile? To create contagiousness:
- Incorporate elements of humor, likeability, cleverness, and energy.
- Coin a memorable slogan or catch phrase that will stay with your target audience.
- Make sure your message is able to evoke an emotional response that will have your target audience talking about it and will motivate a demonstrable reaction.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: advertising, branding, brochures, business cards, marketing, printing
Whether you are a new company looking for ways to make sure your brand is successful or a company that has tried and tried again but just can’t seem to get your brand to stick, there is a solution. When a brand flops, it is usually due to the same few mistakes. Your business can create a successful brand simply by knowing the most common reasons for branding failure and know how to correct them.
No Memorable Image – Some companies make the mistake of creating a logo without a memorable image. Make sure that the image in your logo is something that is uniquely yours and is appropriate for your company. Think of the Nike logo – the swoosh image is not only one-of-a-kind but also appealing to their target audience. The swoosh looks athletic.
Inconsistency - In every single item that is associated with your company, whether color posters or packaging materials, consistently use the same core branding aspects. The same logo, company name, tagline will reinforce your brand over and over to the public. For the same reason, you will need to give employees the same business card design for further branding consistency.
No Focus – What do you do best? What do you want to be known for? Whether it is one-on-one personalized service or the newest technology, constantly reinforce this unique offer. Also, know who your company appeals to. Know your target market so that you don’t waste your branding efforts on an audience that doesn’t have a need for your services. Knowing your target audience will further help you fine tune your company image to fit your customers’ needs and lifestyle.
Unbelievable Message – Your tagline and core message should be believable to customers. If you advertise like Verizon Wireless that “we never stop working for you,” you’d better follow through and never stop working for a customer when they come to you with a complaint about your service or product.
Poorly Constructed Message – In order for your customers to both remember and believe your message and tagline, they need to be able to understand what it is you are offering. If your message is jumbled with too many technical terms, your customers will get frustrated and give up trying to understand you. Be clear with your words and phrases so that customers know exactly what you offer and also what sets you apart from your competitors.
Poor Maintenance – Ever heard the phrase “keep on keeping on?” Don’t just stop with one marketing campaign, one run of color posters, one printing of brochures. Your marketing campaigns should be ongoing and constantly putting your brand in front of your target market. This concept is at the heart of successful branding. Most brands are successful simply because they become recognizable because they are always in the public eye.
Poor Customer Service – Train employees on your mission and goals. If your employees don’t know the image your company wants to portray, how can you expect them to portray this image to your customers? Employees should know the reason for your tagline; they need to be excited about making your brand known to customers.
Old Marketing Materials – Keep your look fresh by re-designing your marketing materials, including flyers, brochures and postcards every so often. While it does save money to order larger quantities, don’t order too much or you’ll bore your target audience with the same materials year after year. Just remember to keep your key branding items the same.
No Word of Mouth Advertising – One of the most common reasons for customers to switch companies is through referrals from their friends and family. Give existing customers referral postcards with a 10% discount for new customers, and give your existing customers the same for every postcard with their name on it that gets used. When you get positive feedback from customers, ask if you can use it in your brochures or place it on your website. Referrals help to reinforce the integrity of your brand.
No Plan for Testing – Your business needs to keep track of marketing efforts so that you know what works for getting your brand name to your target market. Track the return on investment (ROI) of your direct mail campaigns, research the best locations to hang your color posters, ask new customers how they heard of your business. Testing your marketing efforts will help you to build a tried and true campaign that will work for you year after year.
