Jan 18, 2017

8 min read

http://inkbotdesign.com/effective-marketing-materials/

How To Create Effective Marketing Materials

Business is all about first impressions.

So, a businesses custom marketing material is considered as the front face of the company.

Creating effective marketing materials takes research, creativity and knowledge of your business.

Businesses need catalogues and brochures to list products and services to customers.

They also need custom letterhead, envelopes, presentation material, white papers and business-related materials.

Effective marketing materials are targeted and simple. If your marketing materials aren’t good for your business, they may be missing any important aspect of custom marketing materials.

Every business owner must use effective marketing materials to:

Inform customers about your business
Attract more customers in your locality
Add a marketing package for potential investors
Advertise an upcoming event
Advertise your business at job fairs or conferences
Create positive customer service experience

Before you create marketing materials, you must add information you want to show on your marketing materials.

Business Name
Company Logo
Business Phone Number
Business Fax Number
Business Email Address
Business Address
Business Website URL

We have compiled a few tips to give you some marketing material ideas.

Consider Your Audience

It is imperative to think about your audience when it comes to designing your marketing materials.

Your custom marketing materials must have a crisp and clean feel.

It is important to consider the print size, the visual involvement and quality of the print when you design something for an audience of seniors.

So, always design your materials with your audience in mind.

Use A Professional Logo

Having a low-quality or unprofessional logo affects every business.

It is advisable to create a professional logo for you.

Changing your logo works to alienate your customers.

Catchy Cover

The cover of your collateral sets the tone for your catalogue or brochure.

It must be memorable and attractive and correctly represent the culture of your business. Keep in mind that the cover is what people see first.

You must intend to create a positive impression for your collateral.

Clear Direction

What do you want your marketing pieces to do for you and your business?

Your marketing materials will be highly effective if you provide a call-to-action that encourages customers to take an action.

Positive Proof

Does your business have happy customers?

Gather testimonials from them and incorporate them into your marketing.

Success stories are highly convincing, but make sure to be real and trustworthy in your business.

Upfront Introduction

It is advisable to give a detailed introduction about your company.

Be sure to represent who you are and what your company is all about.

Tell Your Story Clearly

People are like scanners.

It is important to hook them into your visual design.

It implies high-quality graphics, appealing headlines and short paragraphs.

It’s no secret that a picture speaks louder than words.

So, try to add the right amount of graphics to attract a wider audience.

Follow the Hierarchy

It is important to obey the hierarchy while creating your marketing materials.

People reading your custom marketing materials will want to understand the important things: what, where, where etc.

Less is More

If your marketing material has complex text, colours and images, your message may not reach out to your audience.

A lost message will affect your business.

A simple, clean and well-organized design makes your marketing material look professional.

Text and Images Should Work Coactively

The text and images utilised on your marketing materials must work with each other coactively.

It is imperative to design short and compact text.

Avoid text that makes the reader think a lot, as it may fail to grab their attention.

When it comes to using images, make sure that they convey the right message.

Grab Your Audience

While creating effective marketing materials, you must focus on grabbing your audience’s attention and convincing the reader to examine everything you have to say.

Use the plain and simple words.

It is important to give the reader a solid reason to read the material.

It is generally done by the images on the page. You need to convince the reader to learn about whatever you want.

Be personal and use messages that talk about them and their needs.

Keep An Idea Folder

When you find the interesting marketing materials, save them for reference.

When discussing your marketing design visions, be obvious about why you prefer some pieces to others.

It helps us to create custom marketing materials that are true to your business.

Your audience must be able to understand your business in the material design, even though your company name was not on it.

You need to use constant design elements- logo, typefaces, graphics and colours on all your marketing materials.

Brand Everything

Place your logo on all your marketing materials and focus on unique and engaging content.

From business cards to notepads, all your marketing materials must represent your company.

Keep your marketing custom materials simple and consistent.

Make Marketing Material A Main Focus Of Your Marketing Strategy

Before your next big marketing campaign, you need to highlight the content you use for marketing material.

It will make your marketing more effective. For instance, a business that focuses on printed brochures for a vacation must consider their selling points.

It allows them to reiterate these points with distinct marketing material.

Create A Style Guide

A style guide is an intuitive way to sort out numerous elements to design your collateral.

It allows you to highlight your theme elements including logo, key graphics, key phrases and brand-oriented words.

It allows you to build a focus on your content as you design it. It allows you to consider your audience and build the effective collateral.

Let’s take an example. If you’re running a home tuition agency and looking for the effective marketing strategy, it is advisable to create a style guide along with other marketing strategies.

Revise Your Current Materials

Believe it or not, your current marketing materials have a lot of strong points.

You must intend to eliminate your weak points and create new content to engage readers.

You must revise your current materials.

Consider the Thought Process For Your Materials

It is important to understand the thought process of how your bespoke marketing materials will be viewed.

You must conduct studies to find how your content is viewed by readers to eliminate the guesswork.

Use High-Quality Materials

The type of paper you utilise and quality of your recorded video contribute to how your audiences respond to your collateral.

It is advisable to use the highest quality paper that is economically feasible.

Use The Right Amount of Graphics

Graphics shows the flow of your content and attracts your audience.

The amount of graphics varies from business to business.

The right amount of graphics depends on what your audience looks for.

Feel Free to Ask For Help

A professional graphic designer can be helpful in figuring out how effective the use of graphics.

Don’t hesitate to ask their help as you can save money and boost your business’s profits.

Mix Physical and Digital Marketing Collateral

It is advisable to integrate physical and digital marketing collateral.

By doing so, your business will experience improved sales and profits.

Make Sharing Easy

Referrals and social media marketing attract a wider audience towards your business and boost your marketing efforts.

White Space can be Good

White space refers to clean space in your marketing space.

Too much information will overwhelm your readers.

Furthermore, recent studies indicate that people are looking for an innovative solution so reading much text is the next thing they will do.

Add Bullet Points and Subheadings

Use simple words but don’t hesitate to use jargon if you’re sure that your readers will understand it.

Generally, Jargon helps to build a relationship but it’s a great balance between that and alienating some readers.

Be Active

Use the active voice wherever required.

For example, write ‘You must notice a difference in two days’ rather than ‘A difference within two days can be noticed.’

Give Proof

Enhance your authority and credibility by using testimonials where leading clients have spoken about the technology.

Hire One Person as Lit Boss

Your business needs will be ever-changing with new products and markets.

You must have an individual responsible for analysing future needs and maintaining inventory.

Poor marketing material seems less useful and more frustrating.

Every new marketing piece must have an audience description and content outline.

Consider the Layout

After choosing the right assets, you must arrange them in the appropriate layout.

Using a proper layout builds brand confidence. Businesses need to arrange them in an effective manner.

Add Value

It is important to use your marketing material to provide helpful information to your audience.

It helps to engage the reader. Be sure to add value to your collateral by creating an effective marketing material.

Final Words

Marketing materials can make a great first impression if presented effectively and efficiently.

Taking the time to create your marketing material is a great investment in your company image.

As you create an effective marketing collateral, it is important to create objectives, maintain the message and choose the right layout.

It will help you get more leads and boost your company’s bottom line.

How is your marketing material ideas working?

Are you getting the results you want?

Let’s share your answers and ideas in comments.

If you wish to discuss how we can develop your brand or provide graphic design for your product or business, email us at: hello@inkbotdesign.com

Inkbot Design is a Creative Branding Agency that is passionate about effective Graphic Design, Brand Identity, Logos and Web Design.

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