On a scale of one to 10, one being no sales or lead generation and 10 being more leads and sales than you ever imagined, how did your print campaigns perform generally? Be honest.
Well, unless you said 10, your campaigns could probably use some improvement. But seeing as you clicked on this blog post, I’m guessing your print campaigns didn’t score a 10.
Print marketing can be a powerful way to reach your target audience and make an offer they can’t refuse. But, as with other advertising channels, print can only work for you if you followed some proven strategies.
- Know Your Audience
It’s your significant other’s (SO’s) birthday and you’re throwing a celebration dinner. Do you invite people your SO hates and serve food they are allergic to? Of course not. You know your SO well and you create the entire dinner with their needs and likes in mind.
The same needs to happen with your print ads. You have to know who your audience is so you can create messaging that speaks TO THEM. And typical demographic information such as age, education and yearly income is not enough. Dig deeper to uncover what is troubling them. What frustrates them? What do they need help with? How can your brand make a positive impact? Once you know these answers, only then can you create relevant messaging that moves the reader to action.
- Don’t be Cheap
Have you made this common print marketing mistake? In order to ensure you have a solid ROI, you skimp a little on design print and quality? The reality in business is you often have to spend money to make money. We all know this, and yet many people still try and cut corners in order to make their bottom lines look more robust.
You only have a few precious seconds to catch a reader’s eye and make a great first impression. A professional design and quality materials will go a long way in setting your brand up to be an option in their mind.
- Integrate Your Campaigns
If you haven’t been integrating your print and digital campaigns, you’re missing out on increased reach potential. You should be advertising your print pieces on your social media pages and including social media icons and addresses on your print marketing materials. Just be sure your brand has the same look and voice across all channels.
- Make it Easy for Your Audience to Interact with Your Brand
Every ad campaign you launch, whether print or digital, is a chance for your ideal prospect to interact with you. And each interaction must encourage them one step further through the sales funnel.
For this reason, you need to make it as easy as possible for your prospects to keep interacting with you. Be sure to put your social media page and email addresses in your print ads. QR codes are also an easy way to allow your print audience to interact with your digital assets. And those assets should definitely collect an email address from the prospect so you can nurture the relationship further. When your print campaigns point to your digital assets, you are using every opportunity to get people to convert.
- Measure Progress – Adjust When Necessary
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.”
This was said nearly one hundred years ago by John Wanamaker, who many call a “pioneer in marketing.” You can’t launch a campaign and then sit back and hope for the best. You must watch that campaign like a hawk. Test. Watch. Test again. And again… watch, test… I think you get the idea.
By using tools like custom phone numbers, vanity URLs, custom landing pages, discount codes and coupons, or by simply asking customers how they found you, you can easily track which campaigns/designs/copy are working and which aren’t and make the necessary adjustments.
These 5 print marketing strategies can help your ads perform optimally so you get the best ROI possible. Do you have any other print marketing strategies that you commonly use to get your ads to perform better?
