Print is assumed to be obsolete when it comes to marketing materials. While social media is a crucial element to every marketing campaign, having print collateral for your business is equally as important. It can be an incredibly effective way to promote brand awareness and generate leads if executed correctly.
Many business owners might not have the eye for design like a seasoned graphic designer might have. That doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to step up your game and create beautifully crafted materials.
Here are a few design tips for beginners to make successful print materials.
1. Stay Consistent With Your Brand
Everything from the colors you use to the messaging you share on your print materials should be consistent with your branding. If you haven’t yet developed a brand identity, you’ll want to go ahead and do this first. However, if this piece of the puzzle is already complete, you’re a few steps ahead of the game.
Sometimes your brand identity has several colors involved. On your print materials, stick to using only two or three colors maximum. While utilizing color can be eye-catching, too many can be overwhelming and take away from the overall message of your materials.
This also can save you money on your printing costs. The more color you have, the more ink the printers will have to use, making it more expensive in the long run.
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2. White Space Is More Pleasing
The simplicity of allowing more white space within your print materials can make or break the attention of the viewer. This concept of white space applies to any text or images that are too close to the edge of the paper, or trying to cram too much information onto one sheet. Nothing distracts the reader more than a chaotic pamphlet or postcard. A general rule of thumb is to leave around 0.25” from the edges and only use one or two images max for your print design.
3. Don’t Make Your Call to Action Hard to Find
The most important piece of any printed item is the call to action. What is it you are asking your potential client or customer to do? Is it to fill out a survey or visit your store? Is it to claim their 10% off coupon or sign up for a free tour of your facility? Make sure your call to action is clearly printed and easily found. Otherwise, your print materials will end up in the recycling bin in no time.
4. Share Your Print Materials Online
There is something to be said to having your brand and business in the physical hands of other people. But now that you’ve captured their attention with a flyer or postcard, why not send them to your website or social media to stay connected? You’ll want to be able to capture their information to maintain the relationship, and you’ll have a much easier time by getting connected digitally.
You can easily do this by adding a QR code or social media handles to your print materials. This will allow them to gravitate to your business right from their mobile devices. It gives you the opportunity to merge both types of marketing and provides customers the ability to be a part of the conversation with your company, too.
5. Templates Are Your Best Friend
Not every material you make has to start from scratch. There are several platforms online that provide free plug-and-play templates for your business needs. If you’re a realtor, working with a printing company that specializes in real estate postcards will provide you with available templates that can coincide with your branding.
If you’re a fitness instructor, you can work with a printing company that offers both the templates and printing of flyers that are perfect for posting in local coffee shops without having to design a single thing.
As we said before, print is still an important way to get your business and message into the hands of potential customers. It’s how you implement the design elements, along with your very important call to action, that can make all of the difference.
