Print marketing is the most powerful tool your business can use to boost brand awareness, increase customer retention, and drive sales. This is because people enjoy and trust something that is tangible and unlike digital marketing efforts, print marketing can’t be blocked or deleted with one click.
In order to create marketing materials that stand out, set you apart from the competition, and deliver better results, you’ll need to think creatively. Luckily, the team at Minuteman Press Calgary Shepard have eight proven ways you can make the most out of your print marketing and materials your audience won’t be able to ignore.
1. Know Your Target Audience
Your print marketing will stand out more to those who it is made for. Figure out who your target audience is to help guide you in choosing the right tone, colours, images, copy and more for your printed material. Who is your current audience? Understanding who your customers are is the key to determining who your target audience is. Look at what makes up your most successful customers. Does your business cater to families with children or to middle-aged executives? Are they new homeowners? The neat thing about print marketing is that you can use it to bolster the word-of-mouth promotion you are already getting within your target audiences. (Check out this article to learn how print materials can enhance your presence within these groups!)
2. Choose The Right Images
The imagery your print marketing conveys is a visual representation of your products, services, story, and your overall brand. They evoke strong emotions and are what will make people stop in their tracks to look at your printed collateral and advertising. It is important to deeply understand your target audience and what message you want to convey in order to be impactful. Once you have figured out who your audience is, ask yourself these following questions to better determine your marketing message:
- What is your marketing message goal? – What feelings do you wish to evoke in your potential buyers? Images can reflect many different messages and feelings, so be sure to include images that clearly represent what your marketing message goal is.
- Is your location important? – Do you depend on local traffic or is your business a destination for people to visit on their travels? If your location matters for your audience, include images of landmarks or a beautiful view.
- What is unique about your brand? – Are you selling useful, time saving products or are you promoting relaxation and luxury? Images help communicate your brands message. Show your audience what makes your company unique through your imagery.
It also probably goes without saying but make sure you use high-quality images. Pixelated, blurry or less than professional shots will send the message that your brand is amateur or takes little notice to the details. Make it a goal to utilize high-resolution and crisp images. Images print best when they are at least 300 dpi in resolution. Seek professional help or take advantage of a stock image database to ensure and maintain the best quality. (Check out this article for 4 More Ways to Market your Business Through Print that will get you started on the path to success.)
3. Include People in Your Images When Possible
People respond best to marketing that has people in it – specifically people they relate to. Be sure to represent a diverse group who relates to your target audience. This will ensure that there’s a level of likeness achieved through your images. It is also important to include images of people who are reflecting a feeling you want your audience to feel when interacting with your brand. For example, photographs of happy people reflect a happy feeling. Images of people looking back at the camera versus looking off to the horizon convey different messages. Ensure your people images are conveying the action you intended.
4. Choose the Right Font and Typeface
When choosing fonts, it might be tempting to go big, bold, and wild to set yourself apart from the competitors, but consistency to your brand guidelines is far more important than making a typeface splash. The three most important decisions when choosing fonts for your print marketing campaign are typeface, sizing, and color. There are thousands of fonts and typefaces and each one can have a different impact on your marketing. How do you know which direction to take when there are so many options available? After ensuring brand consistency, your priority should always be legibility and a style that fits your message. Times New Roman, Helvetica, and Arial are three popular fonts that have proven to show success in attracting and retaining customer attention. Their appearance is a great balance of class without detraction. However, depending on your brand and your audience you should consider other fonts as well. If your brand has a typeface that is clear and consistently shows on your website, be sure to use your branded typeface – after all, consistency is the key to success.
5. Print Marketing Words (Are Your Bond)
- Audience – Per Tip #1 above, your copy needs to be tailored to your target audience.
- Focus – Including a focal point within your images, attracts the readers eye while also creating a place for their eye to rest. Avoid images with clutter and think clean and bold. This will ensure that you are generating positive and quick engagement. Carefully thought out and good copy can transform your regular products into products your audience needs to buy right away. Consider why your brand is the best, and why your products or services are better than your competitors and then tell your audience why in your copy while following these guidelines below.
- Language – The language you use in your marketing is part of your brand and brand consistency creates better brand recognition and promotes trustworthiness. Just like you need to use the same logo on your business cards, brochures, and posters, you need to use consistent language as well.
- Headline – A good headline grabs the reader’s attention and persuades them to read further. For printed materials that contain pages of copy, like catalogs, booklets or brochures, it’s important to also use subheadings to break down information and act as a navigation tool for your audience.
- Call to Action – A call to action or CTA, is the use of words or phrases that prompt an immediate response and encourages your audience to act on your marketing message. This could include deals that can’t be ignored or intriguing text that drives your audience to your website.
6. Proofread Everything
We’ll say it again – PROOFREAD EVERYTHING! This should be obvious but be sure that your copy is free of misspelt words and grammatical errors. Have multiple eyes proofread your copy and don’t limit your copy editing to your word processor’s spell check function.
7. The Right Size, Colours and Texture
- Size – For the body of your copy, a good rule of thumb is to use a font size that is 10-14 point to avoid your reader from having to squint to read your print marketing. Your company name and headline should be larger and bold. You’ll then want to balance fitting the necessary information in one place while avoiding the text seeming cramped. Bigger font sizes will work best for highlighting the most valuable information that you want your reader to see first, and smaller sizes work best for the details. Look out for these common mistakes when preparing your print-ready files.
- Colours – Colours have different meanings and evoke different feelings. Be sure that the colors you choose for your font revolve around the tone of your advertising campaign and your brand’s identity. Materials with less text can benefit from colorful fonts while colors are often limited to just the headlines for catalogs and newsletters, leaving the body of the copy monochrome. Also, it is important to take your printed design background color into consideration when choosing your font color. For example, a neon orange font on a green background can be painful on the eye while a white font on a blue background can pop and attract the eye.
- Textures – Textures add dimension to your print marketing campaign, everything from the paper weight you choose to the coating option, play a role in how your audience will feel your print advertisement. Thicker paper for postcards, business cards and catalog covers are ideal for durability and to convey importance. While a thinner paper is great for brochures so your audience can unfold it with ease. A matte or satin coating on your printed materials offer a smooth and timeless feel while a gloss coating offers a sleek feel that catches your eye. You can even use a spot coating to highlight certain images and text.
8. Personalize Your Print Marketing with Variable Printing
Whenever possible, personalize your print. Technology and pricing over the past decade have made this more economical than ever. Everyone engages more with something that is customized just for them so why not personalize your printed marketing materials to be tailor made for each of your recipients? With Variable Data Printing, you can easily, and affordably achieve this personalization. In Variable Data Printing or Variable Image Printing, the content including names, images and more are changed from one printed piece to the next. This allows personalization within a digital press run, a process referred to as mass customization or 1-to-1 marketing. There is a wide range of creative ways you can use Variable Printing including:
- Special Offers – Include unique barcodes or QR codes on your postcards for each person in your audience to enjoy a special offer just for them.
- Special Gifts – Design faux magazine covers and add your prospect’s name in one of the teasers for them to hang up and keep forever.
- Loyalty Cards – Create cards with your customer’s name and unique ID they can use for special promotions.
- Table Cards – Have a wedding or formal event? Print names and even photos on small, colorful seating cards. If it is a corporate event, you can add your logo for a branded experience.
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Personalized packaging – you can create unique boxes or bags for occasions like birthdays, promotions, or anniversaries that are customized for the receiver.
Using these techniques and taking advantage of variable printing technology can help you bring your next print marketing campaign to the next level.
Post-Press
Now that you’re ready to make your print marketing truly stand out, you are ready to begin a successful marketing campaign. Do you need some help along the way? We take care of the details, so you don’t have to. Contact the team at Minuteman Press Calgary Shepard today.
We Design. We Print. You Profit!