Advertising Tips and Tricks

A typical flyer is usually a one-way form of communication – a business has something to offer and they want the public to know about it. Flyers that are singularly informational in purpose can still get noticed, maybe even spark curiosity in some audience, but there’s a fine line between talking to your audience and speaking with them. To interact with your audience, your flyer should first engage and connect with your audience.

Here are some useful tips to make your flyers more audience-friendly and interactive:

1. SPEAK TO ONE

Develop a voice for your brand. This is a purposeful and consistent way of speaking to your customers across all your marketing platforms, both in the tone of communications as well as writing style. Without a brand voice, your flyer tries to appeal to anyone and everyone, and from there, it’s hit or miss. More importantly, the voice of your brand is intended to speak to your target audience. One person at a time – and this is essential in establishing that connection.

2. ASK A QUESTION

With the information that keeps getting shoved in their faces, people are growing numb and indifferent. Instead of telling your audience what you want them to know, formulate a question that makes them think or feel that they would like to know the answer. Since every business has a different target market, there is no one size fits all approach to formulating the right question. Knowing what makes your audience tick will let you arrive at the right questions to trigger it, resulting in an instant connection. Furthermore, one question is usually enough; a barrage of questions are annoying and can even make your audience feel inadequate when they don’t know the answer.

3. BE ORIGINAL

Similar to having a unique brand voice, being original in your flyer content and style gives your customers a glimpse of what you have to offer. If you will be using the same catchphrases as your competition, for example, your audience will not have too much confidence in you. Instead of recycling and repurposing old ideas, come up with one of your own and develop it fully. If your audience found something they can’t get anywhere else they can obviously tell it.

4. SOLICIT OPINION

Getting feedback or tagging on a survey to your flyer is another great way to connect with your audience. This works two-fold: you are letting your audience know that you value their ideas, and you’re giving them something to act on. Even if your flyer doesn’t lead to a sale, getting your audience’s feedback can help you deliver better products and services in the future.

5. USE TESTIMONIALS

Customer testimonials let your audience know that there are real people who trust your brand. When using a testimonial on a flyer, make sure that it is honest and direct to the point. Overly edited testimonials appear fake and unreliable and will only hurt your brand.

It may seem overly ambitious to expect so much from such a small piece of paper. But when your flyers connect with your audience, the returns will connect with your pocket.

For all your printing and advertising needs, contact Adpost Group.

Last week, we discussed 5 common mistakes in advertising. Those mistakes arise from lack of research and planning, and that translates to marketing dollars going up in smoke.

Here are a few more advertising mistakes to avoid to help you protect your investment:

1. PROMOTING FEATURES INSTEAD OF BENEFITS

Emphasizing how your product or service can benefit your potential customer is very important especially to a business that caters to consumers. Nobody wants to read a laundry list of product features and in the end, not know why they would want or need it in the first place. When selling to consumers, you have to create the need and sell the benefits so you can create that connection with your audience. On the other hand though, if you are trying to sell to another business, studies have shown that it is more effective to actually promote the technical aspects of the product or service instead.

2. TOO MUCH FOCUS ON WHAT’S NEW

As discussed in Part 1, many businesses make the mistake of trying to offer everything at once. The same is true when trying to launch or offer a new product. Of course, offering something new has the potential to attract more customers and hopefully bring in new and more business. However, if the original product or service still works, you should still continue to promote and offer what your customers are familiar with. The bottom line: when promoting a new product or service, the business doesn’t have to abandon what it started with.

3. NOT FOLLOWING UP ON POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS

From time to time, you would encounter inquiries about your products or services from random people and never heard back again. Many businesses assume that those are people who are not interested or may have found a better deal elsewhere. However, throwing away a potential lead because of an assumption is like throwing away an opportunity. It is better to follow up on those people through gentle reminders that the offer is still on the table. Make them aware of other products or services that you do offer which they may need in the future.

4. BEING TOO TRADITIONAL

Businesses that are stuck in the Stone Age will never make it in today’s world. Most consumers would refer to the internet when trying to get information about a business. If your business is not online, you are seriously limiting the marketing reach of your business. Also, having an online presence allows you to communicate with and advertise to your audience in numerous, effective ways. Observe what online trends are effective and expand your reach in no time.

5. ONCE IN A BLUE MOON ADVERTISING

If you only advertise during your peak season, then you can bet that customers will forget you for the rest of the year. On the other hand, if you advertise all the time, then you will end up breaking the bank. The key is to find the right frequency when it comes to marketing and advertising. Finding the right marketing tools also brings the most visibility. For instance, using car magnets on your vehicle is a relatively inexpensive way of marketing your brand and having a movable advertisement year round. You can order your custom car magnets from FMF and let the magnets do the advertising for you!

There are many mistakes that businesses can commit when it comes to advertising. Fortunately, all it takes is a little bit of research and planning to make your advertising efforts worth your while.

Any business faces that struggle of getting the word out, especially during the first year. Advertising is such a crucial part of business success. Not to advertise is like shooting yourself in the foot, you can’t sit around and wait for people to discover what you have to offer. Choosing to advertise your business is not as simple as making a decision and knowing how much to spend. Coming up with a plan or strategy to advertise can be daunting, but knowing what you should not do can help set you on the right path.

Here are the first 5 of 10 advertising mistakes you should steer clear of:

1. GUESSWORK ADVERTISING

There are many ways to advertise, but if you do not keep track of your marketing campaign’s results, there is no way to tell what works and what doesn’t. Placing an ad or running a campaign does not automatically translate to more customers. However, knowing what delivers better results means that you can invest more in that particular campaign. Keeping track of your campaign’s success puts your marketing dollars where you can get the most return on your investment. Using coupons and personalized URLs in your marketing material can help eliminate the guesswork in your campaign’s effectiveness.

2. LACK OF BRAND IDENTITY

Consider brands that have become household names. What do they have in common? For one, these brands are effective because they are easy to remember – there is a unified theme or color in their marketing and advertising campaigns.  Sticking to a specific theme or color scheme makes your brand easier to recall because it becomes synonymous with your brand’s identity. Now, this doesn’t mean that you use the same design over and over in all your marketing materials, but the idea is for your designs to be cohesive and communicate your brand when somebody sees it.

3. USING THE WRONG MEDIUM

In extreme terms, consider advertising an online service purely offline. Sounds ridiculous, right? Choosing the right media for your advertisements is crucial to the success of your campaign. If you were offering services for the home like plumbing or lawn care, you wouldn’t be setting up posters on the street or hanging banners – you would use a fridge magnet for easy visibility right where it’s needed – in the home.

4. TRYING TO OFFER EVERYTHING

A mistake common to start-ups is the pressure to offer more than just one thing. Being versatile is of course an advantage, but when you are just in the process of trying to build a name for yourself, trying to offer a little bit of everything takes the focus away from what your specialty is. It is best to first build on one product or service at a time.

5. NOT TAKING CARE OF OLD CUSTOMERS

Customer referrals help keep businesses alive, and are especially important when you are trying to expand your customer base. Your advertisements should aim to attract more business, not just new ones. Taking care of your old customers through loyalty cards and exclusive rewards will help solidify their relationship with your business.

These mistakes sound simple and easy to avoid with proper research and planning. Those advertising dollars won’t have to go down the drain. Watch out next week for the second installment of advertising mistakes and how you can avoid them.

When submitting graphic designs to any printing company, you will often find that one of the requirements is to submit it using the CMYK color model. What exactly does this mean?

There are two common color models used: CMYK (stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) which is used for anything printed and RGB (stands for Red, Green, and Blue) which is used for digital media like computer screens and televisions. Why is this the case?

Additive versus Subtractive:

Basically, it all depends on how light is used to create a certain color. RGB is an additive color, which means the more light is emitted, the lighter the color will be. CMYK is a subtractive color, meaning the more light is absorbed, the darker the color will be. The color you see on your computer screen is created by emitting light, while color on print (using ink) is created by absorbing light. Essentially, since the ink does not emit light, the colors you see on your computer screen will behave differently once printed on paper.

Also, your computer screen in RGB will have a wider spectrum of colors compared to CMYK. The limitation in color range between the two systems is very evident in bright, vibrant colors. The colors that you can get on a computer screen appear brighter and more vibrant because the screen emits light – the ink that you have on printed material does not.

RGB vs. CMYK in Printing

So why don’t we just use RGB inks in printing? Ink does not emit light when printed, which means that when you mix two RGB colors (which are already dark, to begin with), the resulting color is darker because the two colors will block each other. This makes it impossible to create light colors like yellow. On the other hand, CMYK colors are created by overlapping two of the primary RGB colors. Blue and green make Cyan, red and blue make Magenta, and green and red make Yellow. When you combine these overlapping colors, you can start subtracting lightwaves to get the color you want. For instance, if you mix Magenta (red and blue) and yellow (red and yellow), the Cyan color which is red and blue are being absorbed (subtracted) and you are left with the Red.

What does this mean to you? If you were designing a logo, flyer, or poster, using the right color system will determine how closely the printout will resemble the colors on your screen.  Printing RGB files on a CMYK printer will not drastically alter your colors, but the mismatch is noticeable – like with Blue looking more like Purple, and Green being dull.

Converting your RGB file to CMYK before hitting the printers can be tedious. You won’t always get the exact color conversion, especially with Blues. To avoid any problems, for anything print, always start your design in CMYK color mode. This will give you the closest color match from monitor to print material. No system is perfect, so always leave room for some inconsistencies – even colors look different on different computer screens.

Car magnets are a great and inexpensive way to advertise your business on the road. But like any sound investment, you want to make sure that careful attention is given from start to finish. You want to make certain that your signage effectively represents your brand and communicates your message. Before getting a car magnet that will literally take your business places, consider these five factors that will affect how your custom car magnet turns out:

1. INFORMATION

Simplicity is key. Many people make the mistake of overloading car magnets with numerous details about their business. As is the case with most advertisements, less is more. Too much information can confuse your audience and make them lose interest. Since your potential customers only have a few seconds to look at and absorb your sign, you need only provide the most essential information: company name/logo, phone number, and website. If your business name does not clearly imply what services you provide, name one or two of your services, or use graphics to depict this. If you have a brick-and-mortar store that only caters locally, include your city or state. Above all, your information should be readable, even from a passing vehicle.

2. DESIGN

Whether your vehicle is parked or on the road, you want your car magnet to get noticed. Using full color graphics on your design is one of the best ways to achieve this. The right graphics will also make it easier and faster for your audience to understand what you offer. Consider billboards that grab your attention while driving – what visual elements are used? What image best represents what you do? Your design should be clear but not overpowering because your audience still needs to pay attention to your business name, at the very least. Make sure there is enough contrast between the image and your business information.

3. IMAGE RESOLUTION

Some people would draw inspiration from their business cards, or even use the exact same format for their car magnets. Now, there is nothing wrong with using the same design. In fact, a similar designs can create a cohesive feel for your business. However, this only works if you already have a killer design in the right resolution. Zoom in on your design ad check the image quality. Better yet, get your manufacturer’s expert opinion.

4. SIZE

Nothing can be more frustrating than having a car magnet manufactured and ready to install, only to find out that it’s either too small or too large for your car door. Also, check the surface where you plan to stick your car magnet – does it have bevels or auto molding? More importantly, check what your car door is made of; fiberglass or aluminum car doors obviously won’t work.

5. MANUFACTURER

Choosing the right company to print your custom car magnets can make or break your investment. Go with a reputable company that promises quality without drilling a hole in your pocket.

At FMF, your business will really go places. We use full UV 6 color ink, and weather and heat tested vehicle grade magnets that give you the highest quality car magnets in the market. When your brand is on the line (or on the road), car magnets help spread the word.

You can also contact Adpost Group for all your printing and advertising needs.

Car magnets are great for fundraisers because they appeal to a very wide audience. Everybody loves magnets, and a magnet that supports a cause gives it that added value.

Here are a few tips on how you can use car magnets to make your next fundraiser a success:

1. Bigger car magnets are not necessarily better.

It is always important to keep in mind that the objective of fundraisers is exactly that – to raise funds. To effectively raise funds with car magnets, you should consider the production cost versus the sale price and selling potential. Bigger car magnets may seem preferable at first because you can sell them for a higher price. However, bigger items will have a smaller audience and higher priced items are harder to sell. Big car magnets may be too large for your potential customer’s car door or any other part of the vehicle. Also, some parts of the car could be made of fiberglass, aluminum, or plastic, and the remaining metal surfaces may be too small to fit a big magnet. It would be more practical to go with smaller car magnets that would cost less and appeal to a larger audience.

2. A great design sells to a wider audience.

When raising funds using car magnets, you automatically have a good potential market for existing supporters of your cause, regardless of the magnet’s design. However, a successful fundraiser means that you appeal to the interest and support of a much bigger audience, and this is why your car magnet’s design is crucial. It’s no secret that there are consumers out there who buy something just because it looks good, but if you want a fundraiser that makes money and educates your customer about your cause at the same time, you want a car magnet design that communicates a message loud and clear.  Have several custom shapes and designs available for variety.

3. Quality car magnets make a good, lasting impression.

Whether your customers will actually use the car magnet on their vehicles or not, it’s a matter of principle to provide the best quality product possible – a product you are personally proud of. Having a quality product also means that you can sell it at a premium price. Selling cheap magnets that chip or peel off after a short time will make people feel like they’ve been ripped off, and could dissuade them from supporting your cause in the future. When using car magnets for fundraisers, make sure that you have only vehicle grade magnets like the ones used by FMF.

4. Promote and spread the word about your fundraiser.

A fundraiser would be useless if nobody knows about it. Make sure that you advertise your fundraiser through flyers, on your website, and/or by word-of-mouth. Better yet, use a big car magnet to get the word out – you’ll hit two birds with one stone, and even reach a much wider audience. The more people who know about your fundraiser, the higher the chance for success.

Follow these easy tips and get more people to support your cause. Get your custom car magnets at FMF and have a quality product you would be proud to sell.

Using a car magnet to advertise your business is not as simple as sticking it to the side of the vehicle. As long as that custom car magnet is visible, anyone driving the vehicle has the responsibility to heed the following rules:

1. OBSERVE RESPONSIBLE DRIVING.

Everyone should practice defensive driving and observe road courtesy. Apart from the obvious reason of road safety, it is imperative that you and your employees understand that both the vehicle and the driver represent your business – it says so right there on your car magnet. Sometimes all it takes is one irresponsible driver to give your company a bad rap and ruin your business.

2. SAY NO TO DIRT.

Whether your car is on the road or simply parked outside your store, you have the potential to create an impression. A little film of dust on your personal car may not hurt your reputation, but the same thing on a vehicle with your business name on it can associate your business with sloppiness and laziness. If you can’t keep your car clean and presentable, then you’re better off removing the car magnet for the mean time. The same case applies to having unsightly dents or scratches on your car – all this creates is an unflattering representation of how your company works.

3. GRAB A MIRROR.

Picture an immaculate car with a company name proudly displayed on the sides, and the driver emerges looking like he/she just got dragged out of bed, looking like the remains of last night’s party gone wrong. It doesn’t matter if you’re using your own vehicle or if it’s a company-issued car – the driver’s personal appearance can speak volumes about the company.

4. KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE WHEEL.

Everyone knows that it’s illegal to use a hand-held phone while driving. Imagine being written a ticket on the side of the road, and other cars are passing you by. When promoting your business and your brand, you don’t want to be caught breaking the law. Besides, getting caught or not, holding your phone while on the road is just risky and defies common sense. And if you should ever cause an accident because of your phone, your company name is automatically part of the chaos.

5. STAY ON TOP OF CAR MAINTENANCE

This is a no-brainer. Routine maintenance is necessary to keep your car in shape and avoid costly repairs in the future. Car trouble doesn’t just mean extra costs, though. Once again, having that car magnet on your vehicle means you represent the company; if you attract attention because your car sputters into a parking lot, your company name is there for the world to see. What’s worse, your car could break down on the road and cause traffic, and guess what those angry drivers behind you will see when they maneuver around you?

All these rules apply to anyone who drives, but the implications of disregarding these rules are more severe when representing a business. Whether on the road or parked on the street, these rules help protect your brand and your company image.

Getting custom car magnets or car wraps can help you on expanding your audience reach and becoming more visible to your target market

Here are 5 very important factors to consider when choosing which vehicle sign to invest in:

1. COST

Custom car magnets only cost a few dollars while car wraps can cost thousands. If you have more than one vehicle that you would like to have your sign on, the cost of ordering dozens of car magnets wouldn’t even come close to the price of one car wrap. In addition, car magnets are reusable, whereas car wraps are rendered useless once removed from the vehicle, not to mention the added cost of getting it removed professionally. Lastly, you can order your car magnets in different designs and just switch as needed – if you suddenly grow tired of your car wrap, you can’t just modify a portion of it.

2. MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS

Car wraps have a higher potential of attracting attention but sometimes the message can get lost because it is spread all over the car. Design layout would play a crucial role if you want a car wrap to effectively communicate your brand. Car magnets, though smaller, contain all the information you want to convey in that piece of material. You just need to position it correctly on your vehicle. Potential customers won’t need to walk around the car to get the information they need. Furthermore, you can have more car magnets at the fraction of the price of a car wrap. This means expanded exposure when you have multiple vehicles in multiple locations at one time. While a single car wrap has a relatively limited audience reach.

3. INSTALLATION

Custom car magnets are easy to install and remove. You just need to find a flat, smooth surface and make sure that the magnet is positioned correctly. Vehicle wrap installation is best left to the professionals.

4. REMOVAL

Custom car magnets are intended to be removable. This is especially helpful if you or your employees use personal cars on the job. A huge advantage of car magnets is when there are communities or areas that prohibit commercial vehicle parking. Car wraps would need to be parked inside your garage or otherwise covered when your vehicle is not in use.

5. CARE AND MAINTENANCE

Both car magnets and vehicle wraps come with proper care and maintenance instructions to extend their lifespan. Car magnets should be removed and cleaned at least once a week but some manufacturers recommend daily removal and cleaning. On the other hand, car wraps require cleaning at least once a week. It is also recommended to be cleaned by hand using water and a mild detergent. Having it cleaned at an automated wash is not recommended. Strong jets of water and brushes can damage the car wrap. Car magnets simply need to be detached when going to an automated carwash.

Car magnets clearly have the upper hand when it comes to advertising with your vehicle. Order your quality custom car magnets at FMF today and watch your investment drive your company on the road to success!

Anything you spend on advertising or branding has to be a worthwhile investment. Quality car magnet are no exception, but there are several marketing tips to maximize the potential return on your investment.

Check out these helpful hints.

1. TAKE A LOOK

Signage that doesn’t grab attention is a waste of money. This is a challenge, especially on the road. Your car magnet will be competing for the attention of motorists who keep their eyes on the road, and their passengers who are probably on their phones or singing along to the radio, or whatever it is that keeps passengers occupied. You want a quality car magnet that commands attention but is not too loud and distracting – you don’t want to be accused of causing any accidents. Use contrasting colors and/or graphics that represent what you do. Keep your design simple and display only pertinent information: company name/logo, phone number, website.

2. DON’T PICK SIDES

Many businesses cut their advertising exposure in half by using only one side of the vehicle for the car magnets. Whether your vehicle is moving or parked on the street, you have the potential to attract the interest of people on all sides. Maximize your car magnet’s visibility by using both car doors, even the back door (for vans and SUVs). Get your employees to pitch in with your advertising efforts and have them use the quality car magnets when driving to work.

3. FIND YOUR WAY

Speaking of maximum exposure, you want to make sure that your sign is seen and is seen by the right audience. Know your target audience and the places they frequent. Having your car parked in one spot all the time works for that area alone, so you might as well just hang a poster or banner. But if you want to reach a wider audience, get your car on the road. Now, you don’t want to be wasting fuel by driving around aimlessly. You don’t want to creep people out by circling the same block over and over. Find a reason to do business in the area and be a familiar face in the neighborhood.

4. THE FMF QUALITY

You might think you’re getting a great deal by landing the cheapest manufacturer, but quality beats price any day of the week. Most of us love a quality car magnet that lives long and proud. Car magnets that are strong enough to stay on your car but doesn’t damage your car’s paint when you try to remove them. A quality that doesn’t chip or peels from exposure to the elements. You want vehicle grade car magnets from FMF.

5. TAKE CARE

Pay attention to your car magnet’s care and installation instructions. Treat your car magnets like any other investment – but this is an investment that travels with you. Make sure you apply your car magnets on clean and flat surfaces and properly store them when not in use. Taking proper care of your car magnets translates to getting more use out of them.

Follow these helpful hints and watch your car magnets deliver the results. Order your quality car magnets from FMF today!

The first marketing material that every person related to businesses (as business owners, freelancers, managers, sales agents and so on) should have is business cards. They help you not only to leave your contact data in a professional manner but also to advertise your business. Even with the introduction and development of the modern advertising techniques, the business cards must be a part of your marketing plan and advertising strategy.

In the past years, the business cards have gone through many changes, one of them being the increasing use of the magnetic business card.

One of the advantages of a magnetic business card is that they practice paperless marketing. Another great advantage is the great exposure that they can bring to every business that uses these tinny advertising tools. As I have mentioned many times, the magnetic business cards (as other fridge magnets) can be placed not only on the fridge doors but also on any metal surface, at home or in your office. Also, they can stay in front of your customers’ eyes for many years.

Small and medium companies use the magnetic business cards as part of their guerilla marketing strategy. They work for any business, regardless of the size of the company and the products or services offered. Keep in mind that when people see your business name on the eye level, they are likely to remember you. This means an increased chance of drawing new customers and reinforcing your brand.

Before designing your magnetic business cards, you must target your audience and know what they expect to see. The magnetic business cards design can be the same as the printed-paper business cards. Thus, becoming an extension of the latter. The magnetic business cards design can be complementary to the paper printed business card design. But it must be integrated into the overall company’s communication strategy. Being always in front of the customers and prospective eyes, the magnetic business cards design must include the logo. It also needs to include the contact data and the color scheme of your company, regardless of whether their objective is to increase brand awareness and recognition or to stimulate sales.

If you have set the objective of increasing sales using the magnetic business cards, you may include a coupon code in their design, in exchange for which the customer receives an incentive. For example, every time when the customer recites the code, he could get a percentage discount from the amount of his order or a small gift; but, in this case, you must be careful, because these small gifts could substantially increase your campaign costs. This way, your customer gets advantages from his orders and may become a loyal client for you. In addition, you have a tool to measure your campaign results.

For the distribution of your magnetic business cards, you may combine some distribution techniques, such as:

• Place them into your packed orders
• Distribute them with your flyers or brochures
• Distribute them together with other marketing items, when you attend fairs and exhibitions and so on.

If you promote your company, you may stick the magnetic business card on your car panels (blow up the size for a better viewing).

Even if the magnetic business cards are not widely used, they can be very effective marketing tools. Order yourself a couple batches, test them and see what results you get. This marketing tool can help you to grow your business, without spending a large amount of money.