Promotional Products That Are Powerful & Effective

Promotional products are everywhere. They consist of a huge variety of products – if it’s a product that exists, you can pretty much put your logo on it. Businesses spend $20 billion per year on promotional products (otherwise known as advertising specialties), so they must be working.

Well the fact is, promotional products can be one of the best uses of your marketing dollars or they can be a total waste of money. The point of this article is to help you make sure your promotional products are working for you and your business instead of wasting your dollars. Here are 5 tips to help you purchase promotional products that are powerful and effective:

1. Make them relevant and convenient. In other words, choose products that will be used in the environment where the decision maker will choose to purchase your product. For example, if you have a salon, hand out combs with your logo on them. That way, when someone is using your comb and thinking about how they need a haircut, they will be more likely to call you since you will be the salon on their mind. If you have a mortgage company, hand out something that people would use when paying their mortgage, such as a calculator.
2. Make them creative and memorable. Sometimes, instead of choosing an item that is relevant to your business, it makes sense instead to choose something that is highly creative. For example, you could give away a flashlight and the marketing message that goes along with it could be, “Let me shine a light on __(your service)__ for you.” This is memorable because each time the person uses the flashlight, they will remember the message you conveyed and associate it with you. Some products that might get you thinking of creative ideas for fun play-on-words are: card decks, yo-yo’s, knives, pencils, combs, tape measures, rulers, clocks, plants, fans, fly swatters and umbrellas.
3. Use them in creative ways.There are unlimited ways you can use promotional products, other than just handing them out at trades hows or giving them out on a sales call. Here are some other ideas:
   • Promoting new product launches
   • Reactivating inactive accounts
   • Employee appreciation and motivation
   • Creatively using them to get in the door
   • Handouts at charity events to demonstrate community goodwill
   • Celebrating company milestones
   • Rewards for large purchases
   • Thank you’s to new customers
   • Celebrating a client’s anniversary with you
   • Client birthday gifts
   • Conveying something your company stands for, such as environmental consciousness
   • Contests and premium giveaways
4. Make them something they will look forward to each year. We have been printing a personalized calendar for our clients for the past 3 years. People love it so much that they consistently send us emails saying they can’t wait to get their calendar this year. When you can create a product that people love and use, they will be excited to receive it each year and they will anticipate its arrival.
5. Make them about the recipient too! Of course, you want your logo displayed on the promotional product because that’s the whole point, but don’t forget that people really love products that have their own name on it. Many promotional products are available these days that allow you to not only include your logo, but also your customer’s logo and/or name. Getting the client to associate their name with yours is what you want to do, plus they will simply appreciate it more because you are giving them a gift that is about them, not just you.

What is a PDF?

PDF is a file extension (a three-letter code that appears at the end of file names). This extension is like a little file recipe – it describes the file ingredients and tells your operating system how to prepare it for electronic consumption.

Like most file extensions, PDF is also an acronym: short for Adobe Portable Document Format. Adobe PDF is widely used by publishers, web writers, graphic designers, and everyday laypersons; and is generally accepted as the preeminent format for universal document exchange.

PDF’s popularity and power originate from its five key attributes:

1. Compatible:
   PDF’s are cross-platform file formats. This means that a PDF can be used to recreate documents without taking into account where they were originally created. Also, PDF’s will preserve the document’s original style and formatting (including color, font, and imagery) exactly as they were intended to be seen. For the most part, with Adobe Acrobat Reader, virtually anyone, on any computer, with any platform, running any application version, can recognize, read, and print identical PDF files.
2. Active:
   PDF files are highly navigable— They contain highly useful navigation tools like internal and external links, structured bookmarks, search capabilities, thumbnail page views, multi-directional buttons, magnification options, and more.
3. Accurate:
   PDF files are both ultra-printable and ultra-viewable. PDF’s utilize the PostScript language-imaging model, which means that it ensures true, faithful, and crisp printing. Also, PDF files viewed on-screen retain precise color regardless of software or hardware variation (so long as your monitor is calibrated), and also retain precise clarity in magnifications upward of 500%.
4. Convenient:
   PDF files are both smaller in size than original source files (potentially as low as 20% as large as HTML files) and easier to download and view. PDF documents also offer page-at-a-time downloading; allowing you to read and revise the early pages of a document before the entirety has been received.
5. Secure:
   PDF’s offer extensive security protections. Users can assign security passwords to PDF documents before sending them to maintain strict control over sensitive information. Further, PDF files can be authenticated and secured with digital signature technology. A PDF feature known as SelfSign enables creators and users to restrict and track access to critical documents through the use of an encoded digital signature.

When sending files to your printer, the best way to go is to send them a high resolution PDF in addition to the native file with all fonts and graphics collected for output. Generally, the printer will use the PDF to print from, but if any problems arise, it helps if they have the native file to turn to.

If you are designing in Word, Publisher or another program that doesn’t offer PDF as one of the saving formats, you can use our PDF JobReady software to create your PDF. This will eliminate a plethora or issues that can come up when transferring these types of files to different computers. The software is available for free download (NOTE: it will only work if sending your printing order to us because it sends the file directly to our server).

Environmental Paper Specifications at a Glance

There are so many papers to choose from that it can be an overwhelming task to find the right one for each of your marketing projects. Plus, people are more and more concerned these days with making sure the decisions they make are not going to have a bad impact on the environment, and that includes paper.

To make choosing the right paper an easy task, we created this convenient chart as a gift for our clients for earth day, and we wanted to share it with our readers as well. This is an easy reference for some of the most popular papers available, which allows you to see at a glance just how environmental each paper stock is.

You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised as you notice that almost all papers nowadays have some environmental aspect to them. You can download the chart here:

Environmental Paper Specifications Chart

Environmentally Conscious Contributions

This week, we celebrate Earth Day! As a company, we have made huge strides in the past year to reduce our carbon footprint. We’d like to share the following video, which demonstrates our biggest environmental undertaking to date

Please share your environmental contributions below as well.

9 Tips To Get Your Envelopes Opened

Direct mail is one of the most effective forms of marketing, but only if it’s done well. It’s certainly a waste of resources and money to send out information that doesn’t get opened. Here are 9 tips to help you spark curiosity so you can get your envelopes opened:

1. Include a colorful tagline that will grab attention and generate curiosity. Envelopes don’t have to be reserved for contact names and addresses. By printing a tagline or slogan on your envelope in an eye-catching color, you will intrigue people by giving them a teaser of what’s inside. For example, you could say something like: “Money-Saving Tips Inside,” or “Your VIP Pass Waits Inside.”
2. Add graphics for visual appeal. People are visual creatures, therefore they are drawn to visual images. Text on an envelope can only inspire someone so much. An image can often pique their interest even more. It can be graphics that relate to what’s inside the envelope or to the season or even just star bursts or interesting shapes and designs.
3. If the piece inside is interesting-looking, put it in a clear or translucent envelope. Colorful, interesting pieces deserve to be seen, not hidden behind an envelope. Show them off! This is often a good way of saving on envelope printing costs as well.
4. Use a bright colored envelope or a unique envelope stock. How fun is it to get unique, colorful mail? Venture away from the norm and do something different – it’s bound to grab attention.
5. Hand write the name and address. Personalization is always a winner, and when you can tell that someone hand addressed the envelope, you are more apt to take more notice. Just make sure the person that writes them has nice handwriting.
6. Choose a unique font. Being unique is always good because it makes you stand out from the crowd, but make sure it is not difficult to read. Fonts need to always be legible and oftentimes people try to be so unique that they choose a font that is too hard to read. Another tip: Don’t use all caps – IT MAKES PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE SCREAMING AT THEM!
7. Make the envelope bulky with contents. Isn’t it more intriguing when you get an envelope that is bulky instead of an envelope that is flat? It makes you wonder what could possibly be inside and it makes people think they are receiving more of a package, which is always fun.
8. Use stamps instead of an indicia or meter strip. Stamps add the personal touch, whereas an indicia or meter strip makes people feel like they are just one of a ton of people that are receiving the same thing.
9. Add a deadline on the outside of the envelope. By printing a tagline that says something like, “Deadline: April 30th!” or “Expires 1 Week From Today!” you will add that extra element of curiosity.

How to Use Fonts Effectively

One of the main things that sets apart a professional-looking marketing piece and an amateur-looking marketing piece is the use of fonts. There are tons of software options available nowadays that allow any novice to become their own graphic designer, but no program can take the place of knowing how to utilize design elements, including fonts.

Here are some tips that will help you use fonts like a pro:

• Don’t use more than two font families in your piece. The exception to this rule is when you are using the extra font as an accent character, such as a list of numbers. Many people make the mistake of using too many fonts, and the result is an unprofessional-looking document. Professionals keep it simple!

• Combine fonts in a pleasing manner. In most cases, professionals make sure to use one serif font (a font with feet) and one sans serif font (a font without feet) in their design piece. This creates a pleasing design and it allows them to avoid combining fonts that are too similar (which can cause your design to look haphazard instead of done on purpose).

• Make sure it is legible. Instead of trying to be too unique with your fonts, go for readability. What good is a phone number on a business card if you can’t read it? We have seen this too many times. Make sure the font size is legible for the people who will be reading your piece, and make sure the font isn’t so unique that it is too difficult to read.

• Choose your fonts according to your design. For example, a script font will look better on feminine or elegant-type designs and a font with hard corners will look best on a more masculine or bold piece.

5 Tips For Creating Direct Mail that Gets Noticed

Direct mail is still a highly effective form of marketing, and it actually stands out as unique nowadays since so much marketing has moved to the Internet and email. Good response rates are promising with direct mail, especially when the time is taken to plan a campaign that will really grab attention.

Like any other form of advertising, you will have a few seconds to generate interest from the recipient. To help you accomplish that, here are some tips for creating eye-catching, must-read direct mail pieces:

• A little humor goes a long way. People want to be entertained and you will attract attention when you give them something to be amused about. Add a spark of humor to the voice of your direct mail. Dare to be funny. But don’t let your humor get in the way of the original purpose of your mailing.
• Make your offer up front. Don’t make readers dig for the benefit you’re offering. Make sure it is prominent in location, color and font style. Above all, make sure you offering is of great value to your target market. Make it all about them and what you can do for them.
• 
Direct mail is strongest when partnered up with another form of marketing. Whether that’s a QR code, a landing page on your website, or even making a traditional follow-up phone call, don’t rely on a single direct mail piece to do the whole job.
• What’s more important than what you’re saying is who you’re saying it to. Make sure your database is highly targeted so that the majority of your recipients are people that will be interested in your offer.
• Personalization helps response rates. Consider employing variable text and images based on the information you have about your prospects. If you know their gender, for instance, you can select appropriate photos for either a man or woman.