Category: print

In this blog post, I finish out a series on why you should give printed marketing materials a second look. If you’ve been focused largely on social media and digital advertising, now’s the time to consider adding printed materials to the mix. If you’re on the fence, check out this blog post for three reasons to consider print marketing. And if you’re concerned about the cost, read this post for tips on how to be smart and cost-effective with your printed marketing plan.

Now, for some real-life examples. Here are some printed materials I’ve created for clients.

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition

Thousands of people attend this event each February in Charleston. Many are repeat attendees – both locals and visitors – so a mailer is a great way to let people know what to expect in the coming year’s festival and how to get their tickets. This one is a self-mailer so it’s sealed on the bottom and eliminates the need (and cost) of a separate envelope. Plus, when it lands in mailboxes, people immediately see a beautiful image and the SEWE branding so they are more likely to open the piece. We also chose to do a vertical format to make it stand out more than a traditional tri-fold brochure.

Alhambra Hall

This sales brochure positions Alhambra Hall in Mount Pleasant as an ideal wedding venue. This printed brochure includes all the information a bride or wedding planner would need: a site map illustration, a map of the facility and surrounding property, pricing details and plenty of photos to showcase the venue. The design mimics a wedding invitation with its pearlescent paper that gives the piece a metallic sheen. And the cover has a registered emboss that makes it stand out and is similar to what you might find on a wedding invitation or ceremony program. The size of the piece is 4.625 x 11 inches – tall and skinny – giving this printed piece an uncommon size and makes it stand out.

Lowcountry Food Bank

Most nonprofit organizations produce an annual report as a way to showcase their good work, detail how they spent their donations and to recognize large sponsors and donors. Oftentimes, an annual report can run multiple pages, thus, driving up the printing costs. To make this Lowcountry Food Bank annual report both budget-friendly and readable, we opted for an oversized tri-fold brochure (10.5 inches x 5.5 inches). Keeping the piece shorter means you pick out the most critical items for print and then you can supplement with more details on your website if needed. Annual reports typically have stats and numbers so it’s important to present those in an impactful way. For this report, I presented the numbers in a pie chart shaped like an apple (apple pie chart?) matching the image of the apples on the cover.

Like I said, printed marketing collateral can be a great tool in your marketing toolkit. You might be surprised at the reaction you get from potential customers who appreciate the time and effort you put into giving them a tangible takeaway.

Have a great week,

Tips for Keeping Print Costs Down

In our last blog post, I gave you three reasons to add printed marketing materials to your strategy. You took my advice and paid a graphic designer to create a beautiful piece. Now that you’re ready to turn your PDF into a physical print piece, you may be concerned about the cost. I get it. I feel the same way when I print marketing materials for myself. The trick is to be smart when it comes to your printer and to create pieces with a long shelf life.

Here are five tips for keeping printed costs from busting the marketing budget:

1. Befriend local print shops. If you plan on printing several pieces over time, develop a relationship with a local printer. And don’t settle for the first salesperson you meet. Once you establish a face-to-face business relationship, you can more easily negotiate costs. Better yet, get a few local printers and get multiple quotes for each job.

2. Use quantity control. Do NOT overprint. I launched a kid’s book a couple years ago. To prepare for my launch, I ordered some 1000 beautiful promotional rack cards. I sold all my kid’s books. I still have ~983 beautiful rack cards. There is a savings for printing large quantities, but make sure you need them. If the savings is minor, print a smaller amount and then reprint as needed.

3. Go with evergreen content. For your high-quality printed materials, create pieces that will last. Avoid putting any information on a brochure or rack card that might change in the next few months (employee names/photos, event dates/times). Keep content high level and direct consumers to your website where they can find more detailed information. There’s nothing worse than putting information on a printed item only to have it inaccurate two months later.

4. Design with print in mind. Check with the printer before you start the project. Give the print vendor an idea of the project and ask them what can be done from a design standpoint to lower the printing cost. For example, it’s often cheaper to print something that is a standard size. You can also find interesting cost variations if your project is printed on a traditional vs. digital press.

5. Shop online. If price is more important than quality, use an online vendor. There are some very good online printers. Some of my go-to online resources are primoprint.com, smartpress.com and 4over.com. I avoid vistaprint like the plague. My caveat for online printers is that quality isn’t always a sure bet. And if you hit a snag, customer service won’t be nearly as easy as dealing with your local printer.

One last tip on creating printed marketing materials: give yourself plenty of time. Factor in the design time, edits and approvals as well as the turnaround time for the printer – which could be anywhere from two days to two weeks.

Print doesn’t have to be a major cost investment if you take a smart approach. Let’s talk about how to add print into your marketing budget. 

Next month, I wind down this three-part series on print marketing collateral with several examples of print materials I’ve created for client projects.

Have a great week,

P. S. I sprinkled in some animations on this blog post. Thumbs up? Down? LMK.