So you have a killer digital presence, a streamlined, user-friendly website and products you’re excited about getting into the world? Or maybe you have a business name and idea but not sure where to start? You’re not done yet! To make the correct connections, inform consumers about your business and hype up the world about your product, you’ll need a few very important items professionally printed. Although you can print in-house with a basic inkjet printer, a few promotional materials should be professionally printed as these are the first impressions to your potential customers and people you meet. You want to put your best foot forward and even in our computer-based market, it can put you a step above to have professional materials on hand. Some well-designed, informative products can help sustain your brand—you took the time to put together a look, an image or a vibe and professional printing can take this from off the web to the consumer’s hands. Every small business can benefit from professional aid in printing promotional materials, from t-shirts to business cards. For instance, when iWeb Expert began its journey, we wrapped our cars in professional signage, immediately creating name recognition simply from driving around town. Besides the five essentials listed in this blog post, other options for professional printing include notepads, bumper stickers, stationary, pens and pencils and more. Start by getting these five basics in order as you begin to promote your business.
Business Cards
While it may seem old-fashioned, business cards can make net-working easy, fun, and effective. Your contact information, a snappy design, and a simple description of your services can be highlighted in a petite item that fits great in a wallet, a pocket, or the palm of your next client. It’s also extremely inexpensive these days to get professional business cards printed up—many services even offer bundle pricing if you’re also ordering other promotional items. From running to get a cup of coffee or attending a community-building business meeting, you’ll be prepared to leave a great first impression. Business cards demonstrate that you care and believe enough in your product to make the extra effort. Rather than awkwardly spelling out your website address or bumbling over your pitch on an off day, your professional business card takes the effort away and increases the likelihood of retaining a stranger’s interest in your services. Rather than shooting in the dark to find you digitally or physically, your potential clients will have your information literally at their fingertips.
Flyers and Postcards
Effective advertising can be a hurdle for a start-up business. Many options are cost-prohibitive or short-term but fret no more. Welcome to the wonderful world of leave-behind advertising materials. Professionally printed flyers make a cost-effective, simple way to announce your business to your local community or beyond. It’s super easy to spend a morning or evening walking about your town and taping up a few flyers—and it’s one of those tasks you can easily outsource to an intern or college student. As people are standing in line or waiting at a red light, your flyer can catch their attention, provide crucial information about a service or special, and impress passerby with your dedication. Especially if you’re already going door-to-door pitching your business, leaving a flyer behind is a no-brainer—you can leave a stack behind so your time does double the work.
Brochures
A professionally printed brochure can provide the same benefits as flyers to your business, as well as improve the quality of the information and impression you leave behind. Relaying details about your services, solidifying your image, and providing all the important facts about your business is a breeze with professionally printed brochures. Just like flyers, you can bring them along to door-to-door client pitches, and you can also leave a stack in your office for customers to take home with them. Brochures make a cost-effective mailing option, an easy way to promote through tabling at an expo or trade show booth and a simple way to contribute to an existing brochure stand at your local shops or visitor guide centers. Even more so than flyers, brochures also provide a wide array of color, design, folding, and paper stock options so you can truly customize them to promote the proper vibe for your business.
T-shirts and Uniforms
You might associate t-shirts with rock bands and uniforms with restaurants or cleaning services, but there is no reason your business cannot also benefit from this stylish and effective way of marketing and boosting sales. T-shirts will show off your design acumen, highlight your business logo, and can be used in a myriad of marketing strategies. When people wear your t-shirts, they become mobile billboards for your biz, and often times will sell your products simply based on someone inquiring about the cool threads they have on. T-shirts can be used in promotional give-aways, as an inexpensive uniform for your employees, or if you get a must-have look they can become a product you sell in their own right. T-shirts are quick and easy to order and make. In addition, they last longer than almost any other form of advertising, absolutely longer than ads in a newspaper or even TV or billboard commercials. Once you’ve got the T-shirts on lock, you can think about uniforms for your employees. Branded uniforms are an excellent way to help customers identify staff and also provide an effective way to enforce dress codes, thus helping your employees focus on what’s really important—doing their best work for you! Uniforms can be super simple, a la baseball hats, bandanas, visors, button-downs or a sweatshirt or they can encompass more of a complete look, from socks to pants to shirts to scarves or ties. The sky is really the limit here. In addition, choosing and developing a look for your employees can be a great work-bonding activity, bringing your team together to make decisions, brainstorm styles and feel proud of what they are all working toward. You can even make 1 t-shirt with Direct To Garment Printing, and Asheville Screen Printing can definitely help you out with that.
Banners and Expo Signage
Never underestimate the power of a professionally printed banner or expo signs. Let’s say you’re tabling at a big event—how can you set yourself apart from the other businesses? One cost-effective way to accomplish that goal is to create an eye-catching banner, a custom canopy tent, or even a printed tablecloth. Unlike business cards, flyers, or brochures which you will need to restock frequently depending on your hustle, banners are an awesome one and done solution that you can use over and over to promote your company. You just fold them up when you’re done and voila—no upkeep or hidden costs here! In addition, advertising this way is simply effective—signs are an ubiquitous part of modern life, meaning that many consumers pay attention to them without even thinking about it. Banners increase repetition, getting your name into people’s minds and keeping it there, especially if you keep a semi-permanent display of them on your business window or by the street. In addition, banners are a great form of targeted marketing. People who are at the trade show or in your neighborhood are your potential clients, so it makes sense to get special advertising that targets them.
