This is a topic that has perplexed the printing industry for years. OMG 5,000 cards for $20! Thats crazy. It sure is. And in the printing industry you will get what you pay for. And if you pay crap prices you're going to get crap product. You may get 5,000 cards to hand out, but they are going to be of thin stock, have color irregularities throughout the run and probably have the printer's logo on it. Is that the impression you want to give about your company? Absolutely not! You want an impression of integrity. When you hand your customer a piece of your company, you want that customer to know that your company is worth investing in. They desire confidence in your business. And handing them a crappy, flimsy card is no way to go about it. And today, printing has changed so much it is not necessary to do do that anymore. The price difference isn't that great between quality and quantity. You can still get a professionally designed business card, full color for under $100.00. And that is a minimal business expense to promote confidence, wouldn't you agree? That goes for more that just your business cards. That goes for brochures, presentation folders, everything you're going to put your name on. Give your customers confidence. Print your materials professionally and with the right designer. I know I do not have a bunch of readers, but I would like to share the most amusing videos I have ever seen on a business card below. Please take a look, it is fabulous. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YBxeDN4tbk Our current business card is to the left. It is printed on a silk laminated 14 pt stock with spot UV. You cannot see the contrast in the background and the shine here, but you can request a card to be sent to you by going to our contact page. I will be glad to send one out right away.
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Presentation folders are a great way to make a first impression. They not only come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, but you can get them custom made to your specifications. Which makes it a wonderful way to show a little creativity. You can get very original with die cuts.
Die cuts are custom metal shapes designed for cutting paper (and other materials). Usually when you have a custom folder shape, they are made specifically for your project, so there is an additional charge. So custom folders are more expensive. But I say, make sure you get exactly what you want, even if you have to pay the additional expense. There are many types of materials to use. Thousands of beautiful papers. Now there are a variety of inks to choose from. Folders can be embossed, printed with metallics. The sky is the limit. It really depends on how you and your designer choose to use your budget. The inside pages should reflect the design and materials on the outside. You want the entire package to be cohesive down to the business card. Folders are usually pretty expensive so there are a few ways to get the most of your budget. Go with higher runs. Low runs will run you $1 or more a piece, but if you get into the 1000, 2500 or 5,000 quantity range, you can really bring that number down significantly. What you need to do is get the most out of your higher runs. Do not put dated artwork on them.Also no contact information, that is for your business card. You want to put the minimum amount of words on them so that there is less chance you will need a reprint any time soon. I would suggest a nice full color folder with just a logo. And make sure you get the business card slits. That way when numbers, website or anything else changes, you won't have to get your folders printed, just your business cards. And those are cheap. Direct mail is a way of specifically targeting your potential customers. It is very popular because you can really focus on a particular group. Whether its region, income, household, business, ages, sex, etc, direct mail can really be very specific as to who it's reaching. The drawback from this is that the market is saturated with thousands of other advertisers trying to get their message through and the cost is high. The cost is high because there are several items that need to be acquired before a successful campaign is attempted.
The List The first thing to think about is your list. Who will be ultimately receiving your flyers? Have you been collecting your customer's contact information? If you have been in business, you should already have a list of current customers and their contact information. Those are the best contacts to have, because they are already interested in your products. If you have not been collecting contact information, start! There are several ways to gather the information, through your website or offer a drawing...whatever it takes! It's very valuable information and also increases the value of your business. Ultimately, you can purchase a list. If you are new in business or would like to expand your customer base, there are hundreds of services that sell lists. You can be very specific as to an area. If you are a retailer, you want to stick within 5 miles of your establishment, a little longer if more rural. Otherwise you may be wasting those dollars. If you're a service provider you may want to concentrate on certain neighborhoods. Think about what other demographics are important for reaching your customers. The lists are available through the United States Postal Service, other services online or through marketing firms. The Flyer Next you want to think about the actual flyer. You will need to have something professionally printed and of good quality. You want to make a good impression. If they see bad flyers, they will think you have bad products or services. So, spend the time to have a professionally designed and printed piece. Make sure it stands out. A boring flyer will get you nowhere. You can make your piece original in many ways and if you cannot figure out how, find someone who can. Just remember, the more original the shape or size, the more expensive it is going to be to deliver it. Sending out a direct piece with no offer is like waving to someone going down the road. Its nice, but you probably won't get any sales out of it. There needs to be a hook. An offer or discount that will peak interest and compel someone to keep your flyer. Once you have your marketing piece designed you will need to have it printed, labeled and mailed. Labeling Most printing companies offer direct mail services. These services are usually cost effective and a great way to save a little time, frustration, and postage. Once your piece is printed the same facility can usually set up everything for you. You download your list, or can sometime even buy your list from the same company. They will usually charge you a service fee for labeling and cleaning up your list. It is very important that your service checks the integrity of your list and make sure there are no duplicate addresses, the changes of addresses are up to date and that your coding is accurate. Postage The service provider usually has a bulk mailing rate based on the number of items they have mailed. The more mail, the cheaper it is to send something. By keeping your size to a standard one and using a bulk mailing service's rates, you can usually get your piece down to about $.21 to $24 per piece for postage to mail. It is up to you and your designer to know exactly what those sizes are. The USPS offers a complete resource area with templates and important dimensions. Mailing Once you have paid for postage, your mailing will be sent out within a few business days. Your service should finish by handing you a confirmation from the postal service of completion of your services. So when you're asking yourself why is this direct mail thing so expensive keep these fees in mind:
The Return According to many reporting services the response rate is 1 to 2%. The best way to use direct marketing is in a campaign where the flyer is part of a larger campaign. You should follow up with a phone call or place other advertisements at the same time to reinforce your business presence. I was asked recently what information should be printed on a business card. So I thought I would try to make it easy to understand and hopefully helpful to someone else asking the same question.
First and foremost, the role of a business card is a tool. A tool that gives someone your contact information so they may later contact you when they actually need your product or service. It gives people all the information needed to make contact in any way, such as fax, cell or toll free numbers. The business card can be in any form, it does not necessarily have to be the standard 2"x3.5" size that approximately 95% of people print. But it needs to be legible and hold all of the necessary information. Below is a list of the necessities as far as contact information goes:
Electronic business cards are really starting to become popular. With a simple text message from your smart phone to someone else's smart phone, all of your contact information can be saved into their phone. No printing needed. Only one problem, not everyone yet has a smart phone, so we always need to keep the standard business cards handy. A valued special offer is a great way to further encourage someone to save your card for future use or a map giving the exact location. Many people use the back to print a yearly calendar. This is another incentive for people to keep the card. And many people will keep a calendar for reference in their wallet. There are many people out there that would say you should invest thousands into your cards on folds and die cuts, etc. And you certainly can do a lot to them to make them stand out, including printing to plastics or using metallic inks. Whatever you decide, make sure it fits into your overall image and be consistent in your message. You do not want it to lose its purpose; which is to have all of our contact information in a neat easy to read place so it can bring you more business. |
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