Launched Thursday, September 2^nd, the revamped web page includes proven affiliate sales tips and walk-through guides for promoting PrintPlace.com.  Affiliates now have the option to request a free copy of an in-depth affiliate marketing kit that includes demographics, sample products, sales tips and a special offer for PrintPlace.com affiliates.

About the PrintPlace.com Affiliate Program

As the leading Business-to-Business advertiser on the Commission Junction affiliate network, PrintPlace.com offers a unique affiliate experience to online partners. Affiliates earn a 12% commission rate on all sales forwarded to PrintPlace.com with a 60 day period after the initial visit. In addition to maintaining high average order values and conversion rates, PrintPlace.com has one of the top ranked EPC’s, or estimated earnings per 100 clicks on Commission Junction network.

How to Join

Interested in becoming a PrintPlace.com Affiliate? Visit the PrintPlace.com Affiliate Website today to enroll.

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!

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.

• Stand out in a crowd – At any business event where everyone is passing out their business cards, attendees usually come away at the end of the day with a handful of contact cards. Yours should accurately and uniquely represent your company. Don’t make the mistake of creating a design that gets lost in the crowd, but rather one that stands out.
• Subliminal messages – The meanings of colors is a powerful way to convey certain feelings. Taking the time to research the different messages that each color sends will result in more than just a colorful card, it will also send the right kind of message.
• Tactile advantages – One important aspect to business card printing that many people forget about is the feel of the card. When touching your card, a client will associate any unusual tactile sensation with your personality. Try velvet for a more gentle message or sharp edges for an “all-business” corporate association.
• Quality stock – Using cheap paper tells others that what you have to offer is cheap. Prospects will have trouble believing that your product has the best features of any available if your contact information is printed on flimsy, low-quality stock.
• Speak clearly – The typography you choose for your text needs to not only represent your business image but should also be easy to read. Business cards do not allow for large a font, which means that the type of font you use should be easily readable in a small size. Too many curlicues will hide the shape of the letters, so opt for something a little more easy to see.

Always consider these five aspects of design before printing business cards to insure that yours accurately and uniquely represents your company image.

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.