Let’s face it. Marketing is one of the areas where small business owners often try to cut costs. And the unfortunate case is that your company’s brand image can often pay the price. If you’re thinking about creating your own marketing materials such as business cards, brochures, logos, or sell sheets then there are some careful considerations to make before taking that leap.
Think about your brand. Remember the image that you are displaying to your clients and the old adage first impressions make lasting impressions. Some reasons you might want to avoid using homemade marketing materials and find a professional:
The copy is often not compelling.
Business owners with active and creative minds who understand emotional trigger points are the perfect types of people to write copy. Piecing together strong copy is a vital part of any sales piece or marketing material. If this is not a strength for you then consider hiring a professional to write the copy for your brochure or sell sheet.
The design is poorly put together.
Visual distractions, too much information, varying fonts, and other design mishaps all lead to disaster on any marketing material. Working with a designer who understands color variations, font placement, and proper placement of visual images can prove to be effective in helping you product high quality marketing collateral.
The images are low quality.
Grainy spots and blurry images are often the result of using low-resolution images that do not print well. You’ll want to ensure that your custom design has high enough resolution to produce a clear image and any designer that you work with should be able to guarantee this is the case. If you are creating an image at home then just remember the file needs to be 300 dpi for high quality commercial printing.
The paper is low quality.
When sending your business card or brochure to a professional printing service, you’ll want to use a service that has good quality paper or paper weight. Printing materials at home may be an option, but just keep in mind that the paper may not be as sturdy and the colors may not be as vivid as sending your material to a professional printer or at the very least a place like Fedex Office. With some printing services you can request samples in advance so that you can determine the best paper weight or style for your marketing material.
You sacrifice large amounts of time trying to get it done.
Being a DIYer has its pros and cons. Just remember that you might spend a lot of time creating your own marketing materials to save on cash, but always ask yourself what did I lose in the long run? If you could have spent that time meeting face to face with new clients, closing deals, making sales, or writing proposals then you really have to wonder if it was easier just hiring someone to do the job for you.
There are a lot of templates that business owners can use on websites like Microsoft, HP, and Vista Print. If you decide to design your own materials and you are using these ready-made templates then this is one case where staying within the box might be a good idea if you’re inexperienced. The right graphic designer can step outside of a template and make your vision come to life and a strong content writer can write compelling copy that will move your potential customers to take action. Consider these factors when it’s time for you to produce your next marketing or sales piece.