Why It Pays to Look for the Best Printing Service for
Your Promotional Needs
Why do you think there has been a surge in the popularity of online printing companies? More and more business owners are enjoying the convenience of not having to visit a printing company for their promotional printing needs. With a purely online ordering process, you can now have 100 business cards printed out within 24 hours. If you’re launching a mailers campaign, you can have 300 postcards printed out – and even mailed directly to every door – within two to three business days. No matter which product or service it is that you are offering, you can easily find an online printing to deliver the printed promotional materials that you need right at your doorstep.
Why Should I Even Bother Ordering Print Promotional Materials?
You might ask, why should I even bother ordering print materials when there’s been a decline in the popularity of physical books, newspapers, and magazines? There are also very cost-effective ways for me to advertise my business digitally, so why should I still go for print advertising? Take a look at the following reasons:
- Print enhances name recall.
When you take advantage of a printing service, you will benefit from the fact that print ads enhance name recall. One might totally forget a website that you just mentioned in passing but when they see it printed on a business card or postcard, the name recall would come much easier. If you have a full-blast digital advertising campaign, there are a lot of elements from a single webpage that can easily distract a reader who’s browsing through your site. The same thing holds true for email ads. Compare this with a postcard with a simple message and a discount code that they can use when they visit your store – you can easily see how you’ll get a more positive response by hiring a printing service for your printed promotional material needs.
- Print ads work hand in hand with digital advertising.
Just because print ads boost name recall doesn’t mean that you should totally ditch your digital ad campaign. In fact, you can have the two work hand in hand to deliver speedy, beneficial results. Let’s say that you’re an existing business and you are launching a new line of organic products for women. When you send out sachet samplers in the mail, you can use a hashtag that customers will most likely post on social media. Once they see the hashtag printed out on a postcard, flyer, or brochure, they can easily post it on their Instagram feeds or Facebook walls. The more people posting your hashtag online, the better the results you will gain from your print/digital marketing campaign.
- Print ads lead to more conversion.
In the real estate industry, survey results show that print advertisement leads to more conversion. When you look for a printing service to create business cards and flyers for you, you will find out how it is much easier to get leads and sales using printed advertisements. The same thing holds true for businesses in other industries. Again, it’s all a matter of printed materials having better recall than electronic ads.
- Printed promotional materials last longer.
Perhaps the number one reason why you should still consider looking for the best printing service despite the popularity of digital marketing is that these are tangible and therefore, they last longer. Business cards can be kept in the office drawer for practically a lifetime, especially if they are made with thick paper and a state-of-the-art printing process. The more elegant your business cards look, the more hesitant a customer will be to just throw it in the trash. Having high-quality printed promotional materials also boosts your image. If they see how much effort you put into creating an elegant business card or postcard, they will know that you deliver the same quality when it comes to the products or services that you are offering.
Which Products Should I Print to Promote My Business?
Now that you already have an idea about the importance of printed promotional materials, which products should you actually use to promote your brand with? The good news is that there are many online printing service providers where you can get any of these products:
Whether you’re newly launching a business, relaunching, rebranding, or if you’ve been in business for a long time but haven’t had time to print business cards, these are a must. You can always go for your in-house office printing service to have these cards created, but it’s better to rely on a professional to do a good job of it for you.
There are printing service companies where you can order the standard-sized 3.5” x 2” business cards. Depending on the image that you’d like to portray as a brand, you can take your pick from different materials, thickness, and finish. For example, you can order 100 pieces of textured linen business cards with an elegant black-and-white design.
If you want something a bit flashier, go with 14-pt. pearl metallic business card that’s made from ultra-smooth paper and shimmers in the light. Or how about a gold foil-stamped business card which has 100% the thickness of a credit card? For these, look for an office printing service provider that specializes in creating business cards – and make sure that they’re using an offset printing method for best results.
Brochures can be distributed out on the streets where there’s heavy foot traffic. They can also be placed in the reception area of your office, brought during tradeshows, and distributed in mailers. Look for the best printing service that offers full color HD printing for brochures. You can take your pick from thick paper stocks, different sizes, folding options, and finishes. If you want to introduce a new company to your prospective customers, for example, you can have an 11” x 17” brochure made with a French Fold option. This gives you eight pages to write your content in – that’s plenty enough to give customers a preview of what you have to offer as a business.
Flyers can be easily distributed anywhere that’s there is heavy foot traffic. Brochures and postcards can be turned into flyers, so look for an office printing service provider that specializes in this.
If you are in the food business, it is a must for you to print out menus – to be used in store or distributed to hungry diners. There are office printing service providers that can print out 8.5” x 11” menus for you, with different folding options. If you must incorporate images of food in your menu, make sure that it’s printed with full color HD or using the offset printing technology. Otherwise, the menu might end up making your food look unappetizing.
Another product that you should consider getting from an online printing service provider is postcards. There are different postcard sizes to choose from and the best thing about them is that they are easy to mail out. If you’re holding an in-store sale, for example, you can order 500 pieces of postcards from an office printing service provider. Using the Every Door Direct Mail service from the United States Post Office, you can have the postcards mailed out at every door at a fraction of the price that you’d pay for mailing lists. This way, you can have customers lining up at your store because of the success of your postcards mailing campaign. Just make sure to time the mailing during weekdays and a few days ahead of the actual date to get the best response possible.
Rack cards are what you’ll see in hotel lobbies. These come in two sizes: 3.5” x 8.5” and 4” x 9” with a tear-off business card option. These have an eye-catching design, are made from super thick paper, and come in glossy or matte finishes.
The other products that you can order from online printing and office printing service providers are booklets, door hangers, envelopes, folders, letterheads, banners, canvas prints, flyers, greeting cards, notepads, roll labels, and signs. Novelty items like stickers, decals, magnets, mugs, and buttons with pins can also be printed for you. You can use these items as corporate giveaways during the holiday season.
Factors to Consider when Looking for the Best Printing Service
What are the factors that you should consider when looking for the best printing service to order your promotional materials from? First, make sure that they offer full color HD printing using an offset printing method. Although there’s nothing wrong with desktop digital printing, these are limited in terms of quality and the volume produced. You cannot order thousands of copies of business cards from digital printers and expect them to be delivered the next day. Offset printing uses state-of-the-art printing presses so they can deliver in terms of volume, speed, and quality.
Second, learn about the small details. What’s the turnaround time when you order 200 plastic business cards from an online printing service provider? Have you seen the client testimonials to check on the quality of customer service that they offer? How about the price? How do they compare from other online printing service providers? When launching any type of promotional campaign, always consider the costs incurred and the expected profitable results that you will gain from it.
Third, consider the quality of material used. Business cards should be thick and substantial. Brochures, rack cards, and menus should be made from thick paper stock as well. When it comes to the finish of the business card, for example, would you like it to appear matte or glossy? What about the fineness of the print? There are complex printing methods like foil stamping or spot gloss that can only be done using offset printers.
If you want your business card to stand out, go for unique options like having a three-layer edge, making the card have 100% the thickness of a credit card. You can also go for an eye-catching material like plastic. There are business cards that can be made with painted edges or rounded corners. For something organic, you can go for brown kraft business cards. The classic options are textured linen, suede, and pearl metallic.
Lastly, the best printing service provider should go the extra mile in offering as many convenient options for you as possible. For instance, some online printing service providers offer downloadable templates that you can use when designing a brochure or a business card. Instead of hiring a graphic designer, you can simply download the templates and design it yourself.
There are also websites offering the free use of design tools. Depending on the turnaround time that you require, you can either design the printed material yourself using the online tools available – or ask the company whether they can design it for you. The latter produces more professional-looking designs, but if you have limited time or budget, you can always design it yourself.
If you’re launching a postcards marketing campaign, look for a printing company that offers EDDM. This makes it easier for you to launch a full blast postcard marketing campaign without too much effort on your part.
A Final Word about Using Printed Materials to Promote Your Business
No matter which among the printed promotional materials you end up including in your ad campaign, what’s important is knowing how to distribute them properly. You may have the best-looking, professionally designed brochures or business cards but if they will not leave your office desk, they’re practically useless.
Bring them with you on business meetings and get them to as many people as possible. Post them on public bulletin boards, distribute them during tradeshows, give them out to people in streets where there’s heavy traffic. You can also include them in mailers or receipts when doing business transactions.
Finally, make sure that your print promotional campaign is working hand in hand with your digital advertising campaign. By keeping these tips in mind, you can imprint the name of your brand in the minds of your customers, benefiting your business in the end.
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