Promotional marketing is incentive-based and event-based – it could be a competition, free samples or coupons. Advertising is taking out a Yellow Pages ad or distributing posters designed to facilitate brand recognition.

Do you engage in promotional marketing? If not, you should. It works. Regardless of your company’s products or services, the right promotional marketing campaign can increase business exponentially; especially if you heed my three tips for promotional marketing success.

1.Set clear goals. You have to define a purpose for your promotional marketing campaign, and set clear goals so you measure your success. Your purpose might be lead generation, with a goal of 100 new leads; or your purpose might be direct sales, with a goal of 20 sales. If you define a purpose and set a clear goal, you can accurately measure your success when your campaign ends.

2.Think like a customer. Sure, your entire department knows that your new widgety-whack might be the hottest thing to hit your industry in a decade. But does your customer know that? Put yourself in your customers ’shoes and think about what benefits your product or service offers that will make them happy to spend their hard-earned money with you. Build this reason into your offer to motivate action.

3.Follow up. If you capture names, generate leads, or make sales as a result of your promotional marketing campaign you must follow up. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush … and a customer who has given you their name or already made a purchase is more likely to buy. Try comparing your marketing return on investment between campaigns tailored to prospects versus those catering to current customers, and you’ll probably see a difference. Use this data to your advantage on future promotional marketing campaigns.

©2009 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

… simple yet striking, like this new year invitation card that gives the what, when, where, details and RSVP contact at a glance.

… elegant, like the meandering petals and stripes on this Chinese New Year invitation card.

… creative, like the “2009” snow sculpture design printed on this new year invitation card. The signs, in French, loosely translate to “Happy New Year” and “Best Wishes.”

… funny, like this 2009 new year invitation card that depicts a bull (the Chinese year) pulling a water skiing Santa through the ice.

… anything you want them to be, as long as they lead to good memories with friends and family.

What are the best New Year invitation cards of 2010? If you find a great link, post it here!

©2009 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Different nonprofits incorporate different poster marketing strategies, but they all have the same purpose: to elicit powerful emotions to change or reinforce the way a person thinks about a topic; to encourage joining the cause and taking action.

Take a look at the Red Cross’s poster marketing efforts over the decades. The Red Cross is well-known for distributing posters that depict a hero saving the life of another. More modern Red Cross posters focus on your ability to become a hero.

The American Heart Association inspires action by showing how easy it is for even cubicle partners to get up and walk – this poster encourages everyone to wear their sneakers to work for National Start! Walking Day.



And how can I possibly leave out PETA, well-known for outrageous-yet-poignant posters that captivate both supporters and detractors? There are other animal rights groups, sure, but PETA is undoubtedly the best-recognized largely due to the organization’s marketing strategy. Who can forget the McCruelty anti-McNugget poster?

You can print 500 posters for under a buck each, and if you’re a nonprofit organization you can’t afford to miss out on the power of poster marketing.

©2009 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Eat pork!
This is a funny invitation card for Thanksgiving that depicts a turkey and a sign proclaiming that we should “eat pork.” Classic edible animal diversion strategy, but I think it would be more effective with a bacon visual.

Game over
A cheery wedding invitation card that tugs on the heartstrings is difficult. I suppose the wittiest groom could contend that the words “game over” refer to the fact that they’re no longer playing games – they’re officially committing their love to their brides. But that’s not what I think the designer of this funny invitation card had in mind.

You are coming to this party
These commanding words alone might seem humorous to some, demanding to others. But when coupled with the shotgun, they’re hilarious. Ever been held up at the mailbox by a funny invitation card?

Last fling before the ring
A bachelor party invitation that promises fun and guilty pleasures … one of the most remarkable things about humans is our ability to make fun of the most sacred institutions. This funny invitation card says it all!

Halloween party
Sometimes, designs and text can stand on their own. Sure, this funny Halloween invitation card has a lot of text on it, but the image itself is what strikes the funny bone. If it were only the image, just about anyone would be compelled to open the invitation to see what’s inside.

©2009 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Thanksgiving invitation cards for business
Thoughtfulness and pleasant surprises: Toss these two elements into your small business marketing mix. A perfect way to do this in November is to print Thanksgiving invitation cards to send to your customers.

Your unexpected invitation to a special offer preempts others’ Christmas promotions, and your thoughtfulness at Thanksgiving will be a pleasant surprise that builds relationships and increases loyalty. Tip: Instead of simply sending a coupon, send a voucher for a free Thanksgiving turkey or bottle of wine along with an expression of gratitude for your customers.

Thanksgiving invitation cards for pleasure
This where it gets fun. If you’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner for family and friends, design your own Thanksgiving invitation cards and send them out. Your Thanksgiving greeting cards could be photo cards, humorous sayings or inside family jokes, reflective of all the blessings bestowed on your family and friends, or anything else you want it to be.

You should be able to get 50 greeting cards with envelopes for around $100, and sometimes you can find good deals when printing Thanksgiving invitation cards. At the time of this writing PsPrint was selling 50 5-inch by 7-inch custom invitation cards (your design), full-color front and back on 14-point gloss – complete with envelopes – for under $50. At under $1 per card and envelope combo, that’s worth the fun whether you’re in it for business or pleasure.

Image use Creative Commons license from WikiMedia, author Woodwalker.

©2009 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Guess what? You can use your graphic design skills to make money full-time or on the side by selling your own greeting cards. You’ve probably seen websites that promise to market your designs and handle the greeting card printing services. Such sites are great for pocket change, but if you want to make real bread you’ve got to knead the dough yourself. Running your own greeting card business is easier than it sounds when you follow three simple steps:

1. Design to a niche. In today’s economic climate, it seems anything can happen. Still, I think it’s a safe bet that you’re not going to enter the greeting card market tomorrow and take down Hallmark on Friday. Thus, you have to find your own little niche where Hallmark is lacking. Instead of creating greeting card designs for every single category, draw greeting cards that focus on a specific type of customer. You could be humorous, thoughtful, poignant or event-oriented; you could sell greeting cards for motorcyclists; or sell greeting cards under the “Funny Birthday Card” category. Don’t worry about limiting future success – as your company grows you can add different divisions (think Shoebox Greetings as a division of Hallmark).

2. Choose the right greeting card printing company. Superb greeting card printing services are crucial to your success. Your greeting card designs should pop with brilliance on professional-grade greeting card paper. You also want greeting card printing services that can do both large runs and short runs so you can start small and build an empire.

3. Sell your greeting cards! As a lone entrepreneur, success will come in small doses. Be encouraged because there are many venues for selling your greeting cards, including:

• on your website
• at gift shops (print enough greeting cards to full up a rack, and see if you can sell your greeting cards on consignment if you can’t entice the owners to buy wholesale)
• grocery stores
• mail-order catalog
• business-to-business (to send to customers)
• at trade shows

Keep at it – the greeting card industry can be tough to track, but if you’re talented and dedicated you could build the next American Greetings!

©2009 PsPrint Blog. All Rights Reserved.