Online Printing Blog

Uncoated…the new Classy

Business Cards. Considered to be the single most important first impression you can give to a potential client or customer. Naturally, you’d always like to put your best foot forward, but how to do that. Well, let’ consider a few things.

Design: A very Important aspect of the Business Card, perhaps the most overall. An excellent design makes all of the difference.

Shape: Another aspect of design that is often overlooked. An awkward card shape can be an inconvenience to the recipients of your card.

Texture: An added bonus to an already well designed and terrifically shaped card. A glossy or UV Coated card can sometimes be seen as gaudy or over the top. An un-coated finish can give your BC a very refined look even for companies that have a more whimsical persona.

Something to note.

• No need for UV coating. Unlike regular 14pt. without UV, the Un-Coated stock used at PrintPapa.com allows the ink to soak in completely and eliminates the chance of smudging or scratching from excessive handling.

You NEED Direct Mail Marketing…Here’s 7 reasons Why

Get your information, Coupons, Messages and any other correspondence directly to your customers & potential customers with Direct Mailing. It’s a very effective means of marketing and has been tried and true throughout the years. If it didn’t work, your mailbox would be empty. Here are 7 key reason why you need to use direct mail for your Business. Using Postcards, Greeting Cards or Flyers.

1. It works when you’re not. Whether you’re sleeping, vacationing, working, or too busy managing your company, your direct mail is working for you. It continues to tell your story over and over again. It gives your best sales presentation over and over again—and you don’t even have to be present. Like the old saying goes, “Neither rain, snow, or sleet” can stop your mail. It’s always there, always delivering your message.
2. It leverages your efforts. Do you want to know how to waste your time? Give your best sales presentation to one person at a time. If you do this, you’ll only sell one widget at a time. Send out a thousand direct mailers and your best sales presentation gets presented to a thousand prospects simultaneously. That’s called leverage … and in this case, it’s very smart.
3. Allows you to target with precision. Instead of “spraying and praying” your message to people who may or may not be interested or even qualified to take advantage of your offer, direct mail allows you to pinpoint the people who fit your psycho-graphic, demographic, and geographic profile.
4. It’s easy to track your return on investment. If you’re a small business owner you can’t afford to waste a single penny on wasteful marketing. With direct-mail marketing you can code your mail pieces to determine the exact number of responses you received from each campaign. The results of your direct-mail campaign come back fast, so once you know what worked and what didn’t, you can immediately start to “tweak” your mail piece to increase your response and hold your marketing dollars accountable.
5. It’s relatively inexpensive. With just .42¢ you can send out a first class direct-mail piece that includes your full marketing message. It’s amazing what you can fit into a business-size envelope and keep it under the .42¢ limit. Newsletters, brochures, sell sheets, special offers, and more can be put into the envelope for .42¢. This means you can mail to 100 targeted prospects for only $42.00. Comparatively speaking, that is a bargain. And don’t forget, with bulk mail postage rates, you’ll enjoy dramatically discounted postage rates! (For mailings of 200 pieces, minimum.)
6. It gets one-on-one attention. One of the best things about direct mail is that it gets one-on-one attention from your target prospect. Unlike billboards, radio and television commercials, or newspaper ads that try to get your attention while two or three things also scream for your attention, direct mail is opened one piece at a time and read one piece at a time. It gives you the best chance of catching your prospect’s undivided attention and keeping it for a period of time.
7. It’s something you can touch and feel—it hangs around. Direct mail is something that you can hold in your hand. It’s not made of electrons that can be deleted with the twitch of a finger. It’s not a radio frequency signal that is here and then gone a moment later. It is physical. It is something that can hang around for a period of time. It has “lingering” marketing effects.

Summary: All these reasons make direct mail a very powerful marketing medium that, if done right, can provide a very high return on your marketing dollar.

Greetings can equal Loyalty

Nothing says “thank you” like an actual card that says…well Thank You. Everyone enjoys receiving Greeting Cards, but they are even more unexpected and appreciated when they come from their local Print Shop, Cable Company, Handy Man or restaurant. Show your gratitude for their business and patronage by taking the time to thank them creatively.

The best thing about a Folded or Flat Greeting Card is the versatility.  You can send one just because, for a Grand Opening, for your big sale or as a coupon. This can be done seasonally. Greeting cards are typically used for Holidays, so why not follow the themes. Christmas Cards during Christmas and so forth.

There are really an unlimited number of uses for a Greeting Card when it comes to marketing. It really depends on what message you are trying to convey and how personal you’d like that message to be.

You can even go the route of sending different cards for different stages of business. Here are a few examples of reasons to send cards to custmers:

1. Enhance your current business relationships
2. Attract new customers
3. Show appreciation to supportive clients
4. Remind old clients that you’re still around
5. Thank a new customer for their business and let them know you are looking forward to more in the future