Show Appreciation
If you have a client who buys a big ticket item from you, show your appreciation with a thank you note. Everyone likes to be appreciated. You can even cut costs through postcard printing in the form of a thank you note; 4″x6″ postcards are cheaper to mail than regular mail.

Keep in Touch
Regularly contact your customers. Send out greeting cards around the holidays. Mail birthday cards to clients. Give customers seasonal coupons sent with postcard printing pieces. If your business deals with just a few clients, take them out for coffee or invite them to a cocktail party at your house.

Have Rewards Programs
Encourage customers to do business with you by giving out loyal customer cards. Punch out a hole each time they make a purchase, and offer something for free, or a discount when the card is full.

Offer Package Deals
Get a paying customer to spend more by offering package deals. Make the package price less than the sum of each individual product. For instance, sell a wireless mouse and surge protector with a laptop. Offer humidity blocker and shine serum at a reduced price with the purchase of shampoo and conditioner. Customers will appreciate the discount on things they would need anyway, but perhaps had not thought of yet.

Survey Customers
Send out surveys to your customers asking what they like and do not like about your business. Be sure to follow up with some suggestions. When customers see that you listen, it gives them a feeling of involvement, which increases loyalty.

Send Out Announcements
Remind customers of your business on a regular basis by sending out announcements periodically. With postcard printing, let customers know when you have a new product line or when you are having a sale. Mail copies of good reviews in the newspaper.

Refer Customers to Each Other
If a customer tells you about her business, take interest and ask for her card. Then if you find another customer who needs that type of service, you can refer him. Both customers will appreciate the help.

Postcard printing, greeting cards, great deals, and customer appreciation are all ways to keep your customers loyal. Constantly remind your customers of your great service and sincerity and your business will continue to gain and keep customers for a long time to come.

Sell Seasonal Items
Short term advertising is great for selling seasonal items. People already have a desire or need for such things when the season comes around; all you have to do is convince them to buy from you.

Send out postcards telling about a special seasonal offer. Mail a brochure featuring two or three items and some rave reviews from satisfied customers. With brochure or postcard printing, you can easily remind people to plan ahead and get what they need before the good stuff is gone.

Sell Event-related Items
If there is a special sports event taking place in your area, do a radio commercial that lets people know about the sports gear or tailgating equipment you have. If you own a salon, postcard printing is an inexpensive way to remind high school students to get their up-dos done by you.

Offer Specials
If you just want people to get into your store, offer short term sales specials. Do a print ad letting people know coats will be 40% off for one weekend only. Pass flyers around a college campus offering a 25% discount on office supplies at the beginning of the semester.

Print Coupons
Include coupons when postcard printing and then mail them out. Postcards are effective because you can grab the reader’s attention without them having to open an envelope; even better, postcards are also cheap to mail.

Identify Your Brand
In any form of advertising, be sure to identify your company. On radio and TV commercials, say your company name three or four times. On print materials, make sure your logo stands out.

Promote One Item Type
Stick to one item per advertisement. If you try to sell too many things at once, people will get confused or just tune you out. They will remember a single, simple offer more easily.

Use Simple Language
Always use simple, conversational language when selling to consumers. Use short sentences, common vocabulary, and do not say too much. It is okay to repeat yourself though; repetition helps your advertisement to stick in people’s minds, making it more likely that they will choose you over a competitor.

Economical
TV and radio ads are rather costly, and in a time of economic crisis, these advertising methods may not be an option. Poster printing is an alternative marketing option that can be equally effective. Designing and distributing posters can be done by you or someone within your company to even further save money. Be sure to explore your options for poster printing. Different printers specialize in different areas, and if you find those that specialize in poster printing, you should get a better rate but high quality.
 
Effective
The purpose of marketing is to make your business better known. Poster printing is a very effective way to do just that. After you have created a poster with colorful graphics and a punchy headline, hang them up all over the place and soon your name will be well-known. The more your business name is seen, the more familiar it will become. The more familiar the name, the more trusted it becomes. If posters are designed well and printed in high quality, then it is even more likely to impress its readers.
 
Easy
The steps for creating a quality poster are few, whether you find a designer or design your poster yourself. If you are designing your own poster, then here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Simple is better, a clear and concise message should be easy to read. Your headline should be the largest element of your poster, since it is likely the only thing to be read.
• Use bold graphics that reinforce your message, and a headline to elicit strong emotions.
• Throw in your contact information so that viewers who are moved to action can easily get a hold of you. 
• Find a printer online and send in your design; be sure to thoroughly look over the proof to avoid embarrassing mistakes.
• Have your employees, family, and friends help you hang up posters all over town.

Create interest in your business with poster printing! Poster printing is far less complicated than other marketing methods. In no time, your customer base will grow, and your business will be the talk of the town.

Colors of Easter
Regardless of how your customers may view Easter, pastels are the primary colors of Easter.  Light blue, yellows, pink, and greens are standard fare and should be integrated into as many elements of your print advertising as possible.  Of course, don’t forget the company logo and other branding tools, but try to keep Easter colors and pastel times as often as possible.

Mix it up
One of the ways to make your print advertising standout from the crowd is to use different materials.  A common material that more professional printing firms are using is plastic.  Plastic print advertising has the shine of glossy paper plus the durability of the strongest card stock paper.  Plastic print advertising stands out to the customer because of the strong feel and vibrant appearance.

Die Cut
Another great way to emphasize the softer tones of Easter is to use die cuts for your print advertising.  Rounded corners are one of the easiest ways to set your print advertising apart.  This look accentuates the gentle feel that should be integrated into your print advertising, and has the advantage of being very inexpensive as well.

Print professionally
Finally, make sure to print with a professional.  It is difficult or impossible to get consumer grade equipment to create the same professional look and feel that you need for print advertising.  Besides, most professional printing firms can also handle direct mail on your behalf, which will save you time and money.

This article reviews the basics of offset printing and digital printing, while also discussing which one’s right for you and when.  Knowing the difference can drastically improve quality under the right circumstances.

Offset printing
When you send your postcard printing project to an offset printer, the first thing they have to do is create metal plates which will transfer your images onto the postcard paper.  This step is incredibly important and time-consuming, which makes offset printing much more expensive for short run postcard printing projects.

Offset printing is still the king of quality.  Your postcards are sure to look great if offset printing is your choice, but keep in mind that the printing firm must to recoup their costs in time and materials to develop the metal plates.  This means that short run postcard printing projects through offset printing is not very economical.

Digital printing
Recent innovations in digital printing have meant that now small businesses can have the comparable quality that their larger counterparts have had for years.  Digital printing is fast and looks great.  Printing firms who use digital printing presses have very little prep work to get a project started.

While digital printing does not look as good as offset printing, the quality is certainly comparable.  The biggest drawbacks with digital printing are that fewer paper options are available and large projects do not enjoy the same price breaks that offset printing can offer.

What does all this mean?
For postcard printing projects of 500 postcards or fewer, digital printing is the best way to go.  For postcard printing projects of 2000 postcards or more, offset printing is your best bet.  For projects that range from 500 to 2000 postcards, you’ll probably see very little price difference.  So, depending on the size of your postcard printing project, offset printing or digital printing each has their own distinct advantages.

The best way to avoid any kind of headache when trying to choose between digital and offset printing is to find a printing company that can handle both. This way, you will have the best quality and cost for the quantity of postcards you need.

There are many design elements associated with Independence Day that can be incorporated into print advertising.  Knowing the right one for you depends on your goals and what kind of print advertising medium you are using.  This article discusses a number of design tips that you can use to connect your business with the positive excitement and energy surrounding Independence Day.

Support local business
Don’t be afraid to point out the fact that your business is locally owned, if that is the case.  Many customers would gladly support a local business over an international firm as long as prices and services are competitive.  Using the “Made in the U.S.A.” phrase can go a long way to connecting your customer with the fact that you are a local business.

Be brilliant
Make sure that your print advertising is in full color.  Independence Day imagery should include fireworks and summer themes.  Black and white simply cannot translate these ideas properly.  Explore a number of alternative printing methods, such as plastics, to really help your promotional items standout.

Call to action
Make sure to include a call to action such as the “limited time only” sale, promotional events, or even include coupons in your print advertising materials.  Print advertising has at its core the goal of improving sales, and a great way to get customers shopping with you is through a call to action that includes sales and promotional events.

Red, white, and blue
Of course, a great way to connect with the patriotic elements of Independence Day is through the red, white, and blue colors that are iconic of this holiday.  To stand out from other patriotic advertisements, incorporate the colors of your company into your print advertising materials and consider using red, white, and blue as a backdrop or incorporating these colors into other graphical elements.

Really, Really Free

Public-Domain-Photos.com
With 5,000 free photos and 8,000 free cliparts advertised on their front page for personal or commercial use, Public-Domain-Photos.com is one of the safest places to look for free stock photos. In fact, all photos are marked as public domain, meaning that the artist relinquished all rights to the photo or clipart. Can it get anymore free than this?

Image*After
Another website that openly claims that all photos (and textures!) are for personal or commercial use is Image*After. All photos are high resolution and range in size from 1600×1200 to 2560×1920. According to their terms of use, the only thing that you can not do with their photos is to use them in direct competition with them. Other than that, it’s free game for the taking. Now this is what I call free.

MorgueFile
Providing top quality stock photos for public and commercial use, MorgueFile allows you to download images for free without a registration. Their license comes in “human code” making it easy to see that once you alter a photo, you can pretty much do anything you want to with it. Before downloading, make sure to check the image size in the info link for each image to make sure it will work for your purpose.

Photl.com
Check out the legal information for Photl.com and you will find that basically any public use of their photos are allowed, with reasonable exceptions such as for slander and for sale. Plus all stock photos are sized at least 4368×2912, and with no registration required you can download up to 35 mb of photos a day. Search by keyword and color!

Free with Lots of Conditions

Stock.xchng
One of the largest websites with stock photos, both free and at a price, Stock.xchng allows companies to use photos without a watermark (free photos) in any corporate materials or advertisements, with some exceptions. The contributor of the photo usually asks to be contacted before public use, and photos are forbidden for pornographic and other similar unlawful uses or on art intended to be sold for profit. You can check out their image license, located underneath any photo you view. Plus, no account required for downloading free photos! To browse through photos, you have two options: (1) search through their image by category or (2) search by keywords, such as “happy family.”

Photoxpress.com
Photoxpress.com adds thousands of new stock photos daily to their site, all free for use when brochure or poster printing, on business cards, websites, and any other corporate and advertising materials. The only exceptions include photos for use as logos and reselling photos for profit. Check out their license for a complete list of terms. You do have to register in order to download, in which you are allowed one free photo a day. The allowable download amount bumps up to 10 a day if you become a fan on Facebook and add your contact information.

Freerange
Once again, this website requires registration for free downloads, but all photos are at least 2400×1600 pixels. And you may want to review the license since some uses of stock photos on Freerange require citation, such as for use on book covers and websites. In general, though, once you have completed registration, all photos can be used for advertising or corporate literature purposes as long as they are not sold for a profit.

Dreamstime
With both free and priced stock photos, Dreamstime offers a large database for commercial use. When needing free photos for brochure or poster printing or any other advertisement, you will need to choose from their list of free or unwatermarked items. It is unclear in their terms of use if free photos can be used for corporate image materials or not, so contacting the site for permission may be necessary. And you will need to register in order to download any stock photos, free or not.

Get Your Name Out There

Spread the “word” with print. Use printed marketing material to gain customers. Print brochures that explain why your lawn care or landscaping service is more beneficial than your competitors. Don’t just stop with print brochures, though, use business cards, door hangers, and flyers to spread awareness and keep your business in the memory of the future client. State what makes your business great: do you have a special mulching mower, or always edge and blow off the grass clippings for free?

Network with Similar Contractors

Networking with other contractors will increase revenue. Remodelers are a great source for networking. They are often working in established areas where the homeowners have disposable income. Share your print brochures and ask the contractors to hand them out on the job. Be courteous and do the same for them.             

Use Direct Marketing to Reach Locals

Use direct marketing. Direct marketing networks work well to spread the word about small local businesses. You don’t have to contact a network of Amway or Avon reps, although they may help. There are value coupon packs and other direct marketing saving plans available. Distribute your print brochures or flyers through these networks.      

Ask for Referrals

When asking a valued customer for a referral, offer a discount or special incentive. Not only will your customer actually want to find you a great referral, you’ll build up a loyal customer base much more quickly!

Consolidate Marketing Endeavors

Focus on gas and time saving locations. When delivering print brochures, pick homes in subdivisions that you already have a customer in. If you get a new customer that is out of the way, just go door to door in subdivisions that are on your way back home or back to the office. This will allow you to put your customers on convenient routes, saving you both time and money.

Research is key when you are developing a marketing strategy. You have to know your target audience before you can design materials like brochures and door hangers that will appeal to them. While most people are probably familiar with the idea of catering to a specific demographic, there is a new way market researchers are starting to group people, and they call it psychographics. 

Demographics Explained
Demographics have to do with tangible differences between people. Demographics are categorized by information like age, gender, weight, and income level. It’s pretty easy to separate people into these kinds of groups because the distinguishing characteristics are observable.

Psychographics Explained
Psychographics are groupings of people according to intangible items like beliefs, values, and preferences. These are a little more difficult to measure than demographics, since it’s hard to know who believes what.

Using Demographics
Demographics are very important when planning your marketing campaign. Unless you have unlimited funds, you will need to target your marketing to a specific group. Which group you need to focus on should be relatively simple to figure out. If you run a beauty salon near a college, you know that you need to focus mainly on women between the ages of 18 and 22. Then you can just ask people in this group what kinds of things they want. Then you advertise that you offer these items.

Using Psychographics
Using psychographics is a bit trickier for some kinds of marketing campaigns. If you are using door hangers, for example, it may be difficult to know whose door to hang them on because people don’t generally congregate based on values. You probably don’t want to make your beliefs the focus of your marketing, just include them as a side line. 
 
The Benefits of Using Demographics
The biggest benefit of focusing on a specific demographic is that you save money because you aren’t trying to design a bunch of materials like door hangers and posters for everyone.   
The Benefits of Using Psychographics
People like to do business with those who have similar values. If you have an environmentally friendly business, let people know, and you will probably attract some like-minded customers. When you take psychographics into account in your marketing, you make a personal connection with people, which makes them more likely to do business with you.

Using Psychographics and Demographics Together
Probably the best marketing strategy utilizes both pshychographic and demographic research. Go ahead and target a certain age or income group, and within that you can also appeal to certain values or beliefs. This way, you have the ability to initially draw in new customers, and then turn them into loyal buyers for life by appealing to core beliefs and values.

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. The Nike swoosh image not only is 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 be 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, 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 of they are always in view of 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 poster printing projects and brochures 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.