By Newfangled Blogging! | July 06, 2011 at 12:10 PM EDT | No Comments
Have you ever gotten something in the mail and then followed up by checking out the senders website? That's the point. I'm always amazed when around November 1st every year I get mail from one of the worlds largest on line retailers: amazon.com. I also am greeted in my snail mailbox by eBay and other on line stores. Why is that? Well, it seems that the old fashioned direct mail marketing campaign still works. Direct mail is not passive for the recipient, even if all that happens is it is tossed. It will be seen and held and a decision has to be made to keep or toss, the recipient is actively deciding and has seen the company name and offer.
Amazon.com, eBay, Llbean and the other large on line retailers want to remind you to go directly to their site, without using a search engine to get there. Sure, you can pay for ads and go crazy identifying as many search engine words as possible with google, yahoo, bing and other search engines as well as YouTube and Facebook. I ask you, how often do you click on an ad when you are redirected to YouTube by a friend and click an ad link? As often as you have when you've gotten something in the mail and then at your leisure, because you have a hard copy reminder, followed up at the website? Direct mail is one of the best ways to drive traffic directly to your site.
So, what to do? Who to mail to? Postcard, letter, brochure, catalog? All of this depends on your business.
You probably already have what you need to mail. With a little tweaking, your brochure or catalog may be able to be adapted as a self mailer (mail that is not inserted into an envelope). Or, consider a post card. It is a great way to get attention, it doesn't require action by the receiver to see the content. Maybe, for business to business services, a formal letter of introduction is more appropriate.
For mailing lists, if you are an existing business, start with your current customers. It is easier to keep a client than to get a new one, so offer a loyalty discount or alert clients to new products or services that they may not be acquiring from your business, use the mailing to up-sell. Networking with business' that are not competitors but have a common demographic is also a good way to get a list. Also, consider a co-op mailing to share costs an reach new customers as a qualified referral for all participants.
You can also buy a mailing list. The possibilities are endless. Pin point demographics can be used to present your products to the most likely users. Filtering by age, zip code, buying habits, new residents and much more can be used to create your ideal list. The more specific the filtering, the higher the price of the list. Lists are available for purchase in two basic formats. Limited use, you pay for a certain number of times that you can process the list or purchase the list outright and then you can use it for as many mailings as you want. The first option allows you to keep as current as possible on the mailing recipients. The second is better for geographically oriented mailings.
Check out the United States Post Office web site, USPS.com, for information on the available cost savings for bulk mailing rates. Properly processed, a post card mailing can be sent for as low as 19 cents per unit. You can use your mailing house's postage permit, or you can purchase your own. It all depends on how much mailing you will do over a one year period.
Consider these direct mail statistics:
• 72% of adults said they replied to direct mail pieces that contained a "Buy One, Get One" offer
• 3.42% is the average response rate for an in house list mailed in letter sized envelopes
• It takes 3 mailings to the same addressee to get a response, so be prepared for three mailings per campaign
Direct mail campaigns can generate leads, promote special offers, support other campaigns, communicate with customers and raise visibility-that’s a workhorse of marketing!
By Newfangled Blogging! | June 16, 2011 at 01:24 PM EDT | No Comments
Creating a brochure is possibly the most difficult task for a business without a creative services department. What format: four or 6 page slim-jim folder, full page, small booklet? All possible choices. What kind of paper, what ink colors, what fonts? All of this can be overwhelming.
To get started, think about the brochure as asking someone out on a date. You want to give information, but not too much, leave a reason to call and ask questions about products and services. This can be tricky, if something isn't specifically listed, users may assume you don't have that product or service. So, don’t be too coy.
Try to remember that a brochure is not a catalog, it's a teaser. List types of service, not specific products. Use pictures, as they say worth a 1000 words. Use colors and papers that reflect your company’s culture. These are subtle subliminal cues about your business that the end user may not consciously notice, but gives a feel for how your company operates. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of ink colors and just as many interesting textured and hued paper options. Check them out.
Keep a visual balance. Be sure that your margins are even and cutting and folding centers all of your panels and pages. Other visual items to keep in mind are to keep font usage and formats, color breaks and paragraph formats consistent, ie: the same color and bold for headlines, numbers and bullets the same size and color, centering and flush right and left are consistent for body text, etc. If there are more than three fonts in your document, there are too many. It’s like the question about how much jewelery to wear, put on what you want, then remove a piece. Too many fonts are distracting and make for difficult reading. Use a combination of color and font formatting to distinguish important themes.
Keep in mind how you will use the brochure. Will it be sitting in a rack in retail locations? Will it be hand delivered as a leave behind by company representatives? Will you use it at networking events? Will it be mailed, by it’s self or in and envelope?
Who will be receiving your brochure? Busy decision makers with little time? Purchasing agents who will keep it in a file? These are important considerations. The busy decision maker needs a quick reference snapshot. The Purchasing agent may need more detail, but more importantly, you want something that will stand out in a file draw.
Once you have answered all of the questions and contemplated other specific considerations. It’s time for content. KISS- we all know this rule, but often lose track-Keep It Simple, Silly. Use bullets or lists and pictures or diagrams and captions to best keep the reader interested and to quickly get to the point.
Finally, provide a tag line or hook along with contact information several times throughout the document. After all, it’s really about getting clients to contact you.
By Newfangled Blogging! | May 31, 2011 at 10:04 PM EDT | No Comments
Origami-the Japanese art of folding, oh, wait, that's not what this is about; this is about graphics folding, which is just as much an art. Specialized machines are operated by highly experienced artists to put the finishing touches to a project.
When planning a folded piece, work from finish to start. Take a piece of paper and fold it, then measure it. Then measure it again! Use the actual paper you are planning on for the finished project whenever possible. The weight, grain, texture and finish of the paper may all have an effect on how the final piece will fold. If you are planning a French fold, you will want to use a text weight paper, if you are planning a 6 page brochure that will live in literature racks, you will want to use a beefier weight so it will out last the pressure of standing upright for a long time. The reason these are important to consider when planning a folding job, is the different paper reacts differently to the folding process. There are two basic folds: parallel and right angle.
Parallel folds are a series of folds that are in line with each other. This is the most common brochure fold, usually 3 panels yielding 6 pages, although more are possible. The important consideration with this fold is the panel that folds into the project will need to be 1/8" shorter than the others. If you are making more than three panels, pay attention to all of the pages that will be folding to the inside of finished piece.
Right angle folds crease in two directions across each other like maps and the instructions included inside some packaging. The French fold is a right angle fold that is used for notes and invitations. The number of folds, as with the parallel fold, is even more important when using multiple folds that include a right angle. Twice as many panels will be affected by the creep of folding, changing the panel size with each additional fold.
Once you have created your dummy, you can accurately place text and pictures centered on the panels and in an order that make sense to your narrative.
There are many standard templates available for folding and having a professional bindery do the work guarantees crisp precise edges and a professional finish. Do it yourself hand folding, can, in some cases yield the same results, but keeping the centering consistent without the use machinery or a jig is challenging.
Intricate folding can help to maximize space as well as create intrigue and interest. Using a professional who has templates and experience not only saves time it will maximize the bang for the buck.
By Newfangled Blogging! | May 10, 2011 at 03:55 PM EDT | No Comments
Still, even with web sites, email, smart phones, the business card is the work horse of sales and marketing. It is accessible to all size business' and tells the world about your business in a pint sized package. Since it is so prolific, it is important to make sure you make your first impression count. Below is a list of ‘Dos and Don’ts’ for creating and using your business card.
1. Do remember it's size. The standard size is 3.5" x 2". That's it. Not a lot of space, so pick your content carefully. Today, you may have several contact phone numbers, a URL, an email address, physical address and a fax number. Everything doesn't need to be on this small space. Pick one phone number-the one you answer all the time. People don't care if it's your office, home, cell, etc.; they just want to talk to you, NOW. The same is true for your email address and physical address, pick one. If you must include extra information, consider a fold over card or printing on both sides of the card so that it doesn't look crowded.
2. Do remember when developing your logo to create it for printing first. We are well on our way to a paperless society, but we're not there yet. Logo art or other branding images created first for digital media use do not translate well to print; however, it works well the other way around. The reason for this is images for screen viewing need a much smaller dpi (dots per inch) resolution than those being used in printed materials. The screen viewing standard is 72 dpi, print requirements are at least 150 dpi, for best quality, 300 dpi is the standard.
3. Do remember the branding. If you represent a national company, you should maintain the branding you are representing. Substantial time and money have gone into market research to create the brand for you, don't dismiss it. This means, use their color scheme, fonts and basic layout. If you are a small business, take a lesson from the big boys and follow the ‘less is more’ theory. Use one or two ink colors, two different font choices, quality paper.
4. Do remember to use a professional. You can print your business cards your self on your ink jet printer and save money. And they look and feel like that is what you did. Home-made business cards are just that and do not imply professionalism and quality. Also, having "go to www.yaddayaddayadda.com for free business cards" printed on the back is just as unimpressive.
5. Do remember to order plenty. Yes, they are cheaper by the dozen (or thousand). If you have lots of them, you'll give them to everyone. Which brings us to number 6...
6. Do remember to carry them...all the time. They do you no good in the box on your desk. Keep some in the car, some in your coat pocket, in your brief case, lunch box, gym bag, you get the idea. Give them to everyone, even people who have no need for your product, you never know who they know.
The humble business card, give it the respect it deserves!