When you’re designing something that will help better market your business, it’s important to get it right first time. As you’ll likely be printing in bulk, one mistake can impact the entire production line and leave your end-product unusable. Together with Direct Letterbox Marketing, providers of leaflet distribution services, we investigate the best design techniques to make your print effective — from call to actions to bold lettering. We’ll also address what you shouldn’t do with your designs by looking at some of the biggest mistakes marketers have made with their printed materials.
The impact of print marketing
Surveys have found that 89% of people remember flyers they received through the door. On top of that, almost half of those who responded admitted that they keep leaflets in a drawer or on a board for future reference and 48% claimed to have visited a store, bought a product, or sent for information because of door-drop advertising.
Print marketing has a longer life than its marketing counterparts. The likes of social media might be great for short-term advertising, but the online world is a fast-paced environment. How often have you clicked away from a page to never be able to find it again? With print marketing, you’ll always have a hard copy at hand unless you physically get rid of it.
Think of the last time you picked up a magazine or brochure – or indeed any physical piece of print. Chances are you spent more time looking at this than you would at any online content. Print copy is certainly more engaging than digital.
There are also many forms of print marketing, whether it’s a leaflet, brochure, roll-up banner or any other form. This means you can grab your customers’ attention in a variety of ways, be it in long or short form, colourful or plain. It also helps your brand stand out from the crowd when used correctly, helping to build long-term trust and gain repeat customers. This is crucial as nine out of 10 customers would buy a brand they recognised if presented with two of the same offers.
Design must-haves
Designing the appropriate content is crucial. Every layout must engage the reader. After all, if it doesn’t draw the audience in and grab their attention, then you have failed and ultimately wasted time and money. You shouldn’t just settle for dull images – you want to stand out and make people take notice. At the same time, you want to guide the reader’s eye so it’s key to avoid images that distract from your message. Instead, pick images that will help guide them to the content your promoting. It’s necessary to have a pleasant balance of used and unused space. You don’t want to overpower your audience with too much activity, but you also don’t want to waste your opportunity to get information in front of them.
With this information, be sure to include a call to action. It’s no use producing an eye-catching document that has no end purpose. Without prompting an action from a potential customer, the marketing campaign hasn’t done its job. Another must-have, which may sound obvious, is correct spelling and grammar. We’ve all seen the signs or advertisings that have poor punctuation, and this is a sure-fire way to diminish your brand’s credibility.
Alongside a captivating logo, make sure you include your complete contact information. Without this, how do you expect your audience to find you? They are not going to go out of their way to search for your details if they are not on hand. Include this alongside your social media logos to give the audience all the relevant avenues to research your brand.
Print marketing mistakes
Print is here to stay – there’s no getting away from it. However, you don’t want to end up in the recycle bin or be just another sign. Many companies have fallen foul to an array of mistakes when it comes to print marketing.
Some companies forget to think about their audience when creating content and don’t ensure that it’s easy to read and has a simple message. Sometimes, graphics can explain your service better than words for those who have limited English skills. In an ideal campaign, you’ll cater to each audience and tweak your campaigns to suit the needs of each targeted mailing list.
However, such tweaks need to stay within consistent boundaries. It’s extremely important to use the same logos and styling throughout any campaign. This will allow you to speed up the revising and updating process and save you money as you won’t be reinventing the wheel every step of the way.
It’s also crucial to remember any logo and branding you choose will have to go across other marketing forums, such as online. Make sure that any logo and colour scheme you choose will work well across the board. This will make it easier for any potential customers to recognise and relate with your brand.
