Create Promotional Materials
No matter what type of business you choose, at some point you will need to create promotional materials.
Promotional materials can include brochures, flyers, business cards, posters, and various digital outputs. If you have the equipment you might decide to produce your promotional materials yourself; if not, you will need to choose a professional to do it for you. Regardless of whether you use a professional, you should maintain responsibility for the setup, decision making, and quality control. After all, you are the boss.
First Considerations
When starting down the path of designing your own promotional materials, ask yourself:
- What do you want to achieve?
- Who is the message aimed at?
- What needs to be said?
- How will you convey this message?
Use the AIDA Format for Creating Promotional Materials. The AIDA format is helpful in creating your marketing piece, whether it is a brochure, poster or flyer. The four parts of AIDA are:
A – Attention (grabber)
How does this flyer capture the consumer’s attention?
Example: Headline stating, “African monkey successfully forecasts financials with Macrolink’s Biz4Caster™!” Photo showing a monkey towering over a notebook computer, beating it’s chest triumphantly.
I – Interest (highlights features)
What keeps the consumer interested in reading?
Example: CD contains ready-to-use business plan and financial templates; don’t have to think about the technical; let’s you focus on your business.
D – Desire (describes benefits)
What’s in it for the consumer?
Example: Start your dream business today with confidence! Saves you valuable time, energy, and money!
A – Action (asks reader to do something)
What is the call to action?
Example: Sale ends Tuesday. Call us while supplies last, at 250-612-9161.
Some Budget Considerations
Listed below are a number of factors that affect the cost of promotional materials. You can use several variables from this information to keep within your budget.
Promotional Materials Pitfalls to Avoid
Your promotional material is your face in the marketplace. You will want to avoid these common pitfalls:
- Blurry logos, print, or photographs.
- Incorrect website address such as .com instead of .net.
- Spelling or grammatical errors.
- Color mismatched to your other marketing materials.
- Sloppy or inaccurate folding.
- Much higher cost than anticipated, due mostly to added setup costs.
Be careful not to fall into the trap of assuming that your marketing is finished once you produce promotional materials. Your work is actually just beginning at that point. Professional marketing materials supplement, rather than replace, your marketing efforts. Your strongest marketing technique is to get yourself out into your market and interact with your customers.
Tips for Choosing a Print Shop
- Get estimates in writing from at least three printers for each job.
- Determine costs for (a) setup, (b) first printing, and (c) additional printing.
- Decide if you need quantity, quality, or a combination.
- Read the fine print before signing a contract, and make sure you understand the language.
- Never assume anything. Check twice, print once–make sure your product is perfect.