In the previous post, I mentioned a quick tip that I've used on several occasions to get me over the direct marketing hurdles of creating a winning marketing piece from scratch.
I have no formal education or training in marketing and sales, so it would be important to me as a small business owner to see exactly what others have done that have been successful for them.
I suggested visiting local print shops because many of them will have files of successful examples of pieces they've printed in the past for their clients.
From these examples, you should get a pretty fair idea of the best sizes to use in your own marketing pieces, the colors to employ, headlines that have done well, the types of offers that have worked well, good narrative copy ideas, and other details that have already been tried and proven to be successful.
I'm not telling you to copy exactly what others have done before. You should never plagiarize another's work or claim their work as your own. Just get ideas, concepts, and impressions of the successful ads of other companies that will be shared with you so you're not starting from scratch.
Besides door hangers, printers should have files full of other successful ad pieces like flyers, coupons, direct mail letters, postcards, tear-outs, posters, and on and on.
When you find successful examples of ads that would easily convert to your type of project, simply ask the printer for a Xerox copy of the example that you can take with you as a guide. Then ask for a cost estimate of so many units so that you can compare prices with other printers.
Now, go and visit other area printers to see additional examples of their printing work and to compare the prices of all these print candidates.
By doing this, you will be getting the benefit of reviewing, first hand, the work of many different companies and you'll be comparing the prices of local printers that might end up doing the print work on your campaign.
It's like having a mentor standing at your shoulder showing you what has worked in the past. Why not take advantage of that help?
Remember, that it would be a good idea to begin your own file of not only your own marketing materials, but also of other examples that you come across from outside firms that are noteworthy.
This file will become an ad "swipe" file, that over time, can become a very valuable business asset.
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