What is Print Finishing

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A Guide to Print Finishing

Marketers are always looking for ways to make their direct mail marketing campaigns stand out from the others. Creating a memorable direct mail experience with the same old postcards is not easy. If you use it right, print finishing can turn your plain old direct mail into something that is unique and attractive to the reader.

There are numerous attention-grabbing and unique finishing techniques that you can use for your mailers. However, choosing the right one for your business and its campaign is not easy without first understanding their specific characteristics.

Hence, we have compiled a list of all significant and promising print finishing techniques that you can use for streamlining your direct mail campaigns. Go through the print finishing processes listed in this article to find how you can make your direct mail stand out and grab the reader’s attention.

What is Print Finishing?

If you are familiar with the print industry, then chances are you have already come across the term print finishing. However, most people only have a vague idea of print finishing unless they work in the print industry.

Print finishing is a term that you can use to describe any process you carry out after you have finished printing a job. It means every simple process that you carry out on a freshly printed piece of paper can be considered print finishing. Some of the standard print finishing processes include the following:

• Cutting
• Folding
• Binding
• Laminating
• Stapling
• Glueing

What Are The Print Finishing Processes Available Today?

Above, we have listed some of the most common print finishing processes. These processes have been around for as long as printing itself. Today, a wide range of print finishing processes are available for customers. It doesn’t matter how complex or unique your printing and finishing needs are. Because for your every unique need there is always a suitable solution.

Print finishing has significantly grown in popularity in the last few years, and so has the technology that supports it. Marketers often use the latest printing and finishing technology for their creative marketing campaigns.

The latest print finishing technology enables marketers to increase their marketing campaigns’ scope significantly. What makes it even more enticing for marketers is that finishing processes are competitively priced. Hence, marketers can cost-effectively build creative print campaigns.

What Are The Different Types Of Print Finishes?

As we have mentioned, there are numerous print finishing processes or print finishes available in the market today. Marketers or businesses that use marketing strategies like direct mail campaigns must make it a point to educate themselves on the different print finishes.

Below we discuss some promising print finishing processes that marketers and business owners can use in their direct marketing.

Machine Sealing

Machine sealing is a print finishing process where a thin covering is added during the printing process. The purpose of this covering is to “seal” the ink onto the paper. Usually, the method uses matt and silk papers as they are less absorbent.

You can prevent the ink from rubbing away from your print material and thus prolong its life. It does not add much to the print quality, but the longer life makes it ideal for storing and printing mailers like postcards.

Varnishing

Varnishing is ideal for making the printed material visually pop. However, it can also enhance the printed material’s durability. There are different types of varnish finishing processes available in the market, and each has its unique characteristics. Some of the more popular varnish finishes are discussed below.

Glossy Varnish

You can use glossy varnish to add a shiny coating to the print. The glossy varnish is perfect if the print material contains photographs or other visual elements.

Matte Varnish

You can use a matte varnish to minimise reflections on the paper and maintain a smooth feel. The matte layer is also ideal for reducing glare while reading.

UV Varnish

UV varnishing involves covering the whole print material with a thick, smooth, transparent coating. The speciality of the process is in how it is dried using UV lights. You can get it in gloss or matte formats.

Textured Varnish

Textured varnish is similar to glossy varnish, but it adds a rippled tactile nature to the print material. Most marketers prefer this type of finish over a regular glossy finish for their printed materials.

Spot UV

As the name suggests, Spot UV enables you to enhance a specific part or item on the printed page instead of the whole page. Hence, it is ideal for getting the reader’s attention on one particular aspect of your mailer, such as the CTA.

Other Varnishes

There are several other varnishes that you can consider for your printed materials, such as metallic flake varnish, tinted varnish, scratch-off latex varnish, and so on.

Die-cutting

As you can guess, die-cutting is when you use a steel cutting die to cut out a shape on printed material. It lets you cut all sorts of shapes out of print, from regular holes to decorative shapes.

Using irregular or unique shapes for your direct mail is a great way to capture the reader’s attention. However, there are some limitations to die-cutting. Some papers or cards can not be cut by swinging the steel die as it compromises the integrity of printed materials.

Folding

Folding is perhaps the most common print finish used by marketers worldwide. Unlike most other print finishes, there are not many limitations to folding. You can use it to create unique shapes for your direct mail or have a hidden message inside it.

There are different ways for folding a paper item. You can use a buckle, a knife or a folding machine that combines the both. Some of the basic folding techniques that you can commonly see on direct mail materials include:

• Half-folding
• Tri-folding
• Z-folding
• Gate-folding
• Roll-folding

More complex folding methods can often be challenging for marketers to implement. An easy option is outsourcing your print and mail requirements to a fully automated system like PostGrid.

Perforating

Perforation is a finishing process that lets you make a line of dotted holes on printed materials. The perforations are usually in a straight line as their purpose is to let people easily tear off a part of the print.

Hence, marketers use perforations to include a detachable piece in the direct mail. Perforating is a very common print finishing marketers use in their direct mail. You can use this finish when you want to include a detachable coupon or voucher in your direct mail campaign.

Polywrapping

Polywrapping involves enclosing print materials such as magazines, brochures, etc. It is highly preferred for this purpose because it is fast, economical, and highly efficient. You might have noticed the same kind of packaging every time you receive things like books, CDs, magazines, etc.

Polywrapping is significantly lighter and cheaper than envelopes. It is also the better option for protecting its content from external damage caused by water, dust, etc. Furthermore, as it uses see-through material, the impact on the reader upon receiving the mailer is almost immediate.

Booklet Making

Booklet making is the print finishing process where you bind multiple printed materials (sheets or spreads) to form a booklet.

The booklet or multi-page printed material is ideal for situations where you want to put extensive details of a product/service you offer.

However, you need to note about booklets that the page count should always be divisible by four.

Binding, Stapling, and Stitching

Binding, stapling, and stitching is similar print finish processes that you can use to join printed materials together. You can use saddle stitching for joining the printed materials where they fold at the spine. The stitching process goes by different names, such as pamphlet stitching and stitch wiring.

Comb binding is a process that involves feeding a plastic/metal comb through holes punched along the edge of multiple prints.

Lamination

Another widely used print finish process is lamination. There are mainly three different types of lamination processes which are:

• Matte lamination
• Glossy lamination
• Silk lamination

Matte and silk laminations are very similar. Both laminations combine spot UV varnish and foil blocking. Both matte and silk laminations are softer to touch. In comparison, glossy lamination is shinier and reflects more light.

Embossing/Debossing

Embossing and debossing are processes that press into a printed material such as a card or paper. You can do the pressing around an image, logo, or text. The difference between the two processes is that the pressing happens from underneath to leave a protruded design on the front in embossing. In contrast, debossing is done in the opposite direction to leave a depressed imprint.

Letterpress

As far as printing and finishing processes go, letterpress is one of the oldest methods you can find that we still use today. It uses a wooden block and pieces of metal raised on the front. The process itself is relatively simple.

You place the piece of metal in ink and then put it on a piece of paper/card/fabric. Then you press the two together, and you get the print based on the letter or shape of the metal you use.

Foil Stamping

Foil stamping is a print finish that you can often find on print materials like wedding invitations. The process involved in foil stamping is similar to the one in letterpress as they both apply pressure for printing. Here, a heated die is pressed against the paper with enough force to seal the letter with a layer of foil.

Other Print Finishing Processes

There are several other print finishing processes that you can employ for your business’s marketing strategy. However, it is impossible to list all printing and finishing processes here. Some of the other print finishes you can employ for your direct mail include the following:

• Edge painting
• Heat & Reveal
• Glow in the Dark
• Fragranced ink

Conclusion

Marketers can use numerous print finishing processes to make their direct mail stand out. Combining an excellent direct mail marketing strategy with a unique and intriguing print finish, you can execute a successful direct mail campaign.

To get the best results for your direct mail campaign, you should use an automated direct mail solution like PostGrid. With a system like PostGrid, you can leave the entire direct mail process to a computerised system.

PostGrid can personalise, print, and mail your unique direct mail to the target audience with minimum to no errors. Such a system can significantly enhance your direct mail campaigns. Furthermore, PostGrid even lets you schedule your direct mail or set up an automatic response for your business.

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How to Promote a New Offer

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How to Promote a New Offer for Marketing Your Business?

Have you ever seen a product fail due to poor marketing or promotion? Undoubtedly, a company should advertise all their products and services adequately. It helps people know about the brand’s offerings in-depth so that they can consider buying them.

Launching products without marketing leads to a wastage of time in the hopes that customers find you by themselves. However, we all know that it is impossible and all brand offers need to be promoted. 

In this blog, we will discuss how to promote a new offer or product to increase engagement and sales. 

Let’s get started!

Ways to Promote a New Product/Service Special Offers

Below are some proven tactics on how to promote your business offers successfully:

Grab Cross-Selling and Upselling Opportunities

Introducing new products and services opens up the chance for you to get back in touch with your existing customers. They should be the first ones to know about your new launches as they are most likely to buy them.

Also, your customers would feel valued to know about your latest developments before an official launch.

It is the perfect opportunity for companies to cross-sell and upsell. You can arrange personal meetings with old and loyal customers to discuss your new offers and collect feedback.

Stress On the Benefits

Many marketers focus too much on product features and forget to talk about how its benefits can help customers.

Here’s what you can do to emphasise the pros of your new offering:

• Develop point-of-sale (POS) materials to enlist product benefits.
• Tell an engaging and informative story that allows prospects to know the uniqueness of your products.
• Include real-life stories and examples to help people understand better.

Utilise Your Connections

Sending regular updates to your target audience is the best way to promote your business offers. Try targeting your entire prospect and client database to increase mouth publicity.

Small businesses can team up with other business owners to get people talking about their brand. It is helpful to build networks and constantly keep in touch with them.

Employ Email Marketing

If you are wondering ‘how to promote our product,’ make sure to add email marketing to your to-do list.

• Schedule your emails every day for at least a week to get the attention of your target audience.
• Start with catchy subject lines to persuade readers to make it till the end of your email.
• Include all your email subscribers, existing customers, and prospects in your list.
• Add a CTA button in your emails to prompt readers to reply.
• Segment your email lists based on demographics, interests, and previous engagement.

Get Press Coverage

Brands draft press releases from time to time mentioning their latest achievements, news, product launches, etc. You can utilise the services of a PR agency to publish your press releases in popular newspaper and magazine publications.

Look out for relevant publications according to your industry. Don’t forget to add promotional offers to your press releases naturally.

Bring Out User-Generated Content

Publishing user-generated content on your website is yet another excellent answer to the question of how to advertise a new product.

User-generated content is what your customers talk about your brand. It enables prospects to view your company’s offering from a customer’s perspective.

Also, people are more likely to buy from a brand that has excellent reviews and testimonials.

Create Eye-Catching Videos

It is crucial to make your special offers and product promotions creative and appealing to the audience. Thus, you can use visual media with colourful images and engaging videos as part of your promotion strategy.

Video marketing can help you keep your audience hooked and convince them to complete the call to action. Plus, you don’t need a huge budget for it—you can just record customers using your products or create something that provides value.

Some more ideas for video marketing are:

• Unboxing videos
• How-to tutorials
• Behind-the-scenes videos depicting the history of your products—the idea behind them, how they were made, etc.

Send Direct Mail Items

Sending out direct mail collateral is one of the most effective ways of promotion. Mail is personal and can establish emotional bonds easily. Also, it helps you push people ahead in the sales funnel by impressing them with your creative and thoughtful direct mail pieces.

But, small businesses might find it expensive to conduct direct mail campaigns. Yes, large-scale campaigns that include blasting entire neighbourhoods can be costly.

Yet, you can send direct mail on a budget by drafting wise marketing strategies beforehand. Here’s how you can keep costs under control:

• Segment your mailing lists according to preferences and geo-demographics.
• Print and mail small-sized postcards that highlight your promotions to get new customers.
• Use PostGrid’s direct mail API that allows you to send such items speedily, affordably, and efficiently.

Trade Fairs and Conventions

Trade events are a great way to present your new offers in front of thousands of people altogether. You can also use trade fairs as a launch point for your new products and services.

So, how to promote a product at a trade event? Firstly, work on your booth design to attract more footfall. You can use banner stands and posters to communicate details regarding your new products.

Also, make sure to invite all your prospects and customers to visit your booth at the exhibition. Seeing you participate in such events can convince them to trust your brand and buy from you confidently.

You can speak to people one-to-one and explain your brand offering in-depth. Remember to collect the contact details of visitors so that you can follow up later if you can’t seal some deals in person.

Also, you can host your own events, like webinars, seminars, press meets, etc.

Conduct Pre-Order Promotion Campaigns

Companies can order certain perks to customers on pre-ordering their new products or pre-booking services.

Also, pre-orders help you estimate the demand of the product and start earning even before it is launched.

Generally, pre-order promotions create a lot of buzz among people as they are intriguing. Also, the special discounts and offers further incentivise them to buy your new products.

Perfect Your Social Media Marketing Plans

Social media helps you connect with people who are already aware of your business. Also, it allows you to introduce your company to other people who are yet to learn about your brand.

You can promote all your new product launches through social media and get enough engagement if you have a huge followers base.

Social media marketing can be very effective if you target audiences according to the following factors:

• Search queries
• Post engagement levels
• Amount of time spent on your website
• Specific pages visited by people on your website
• Things they have added to their shopping carts
• Opt-ins or lead forms
• Web activities in general, etc.

Take care to post original and helpful content to get more followers and increase responses.

Write Guest Posts For Popular Websites

Content marketing can do wonders for your company. It can help you get more attention from prospects and push them to try out your brand’s new offers.

You can get more exposure by writing high-quality articles for other sites. Select domains that are relevant to your brand and industry.

However, remember that these guest posts should not contain any promotional messages. Instead, they should be centred around informing and educating your target audience on specific topics.

Also, you can create a blog section on your own website and start posting all kinds of content. It will help you increase your site visitors and accelerate your digital marketing strategies.

Different Types of Offers to Promote and Get New Customers

A company can introduce several types of offers to bag more sales. Here, we have enlisted all the effective ones that are sure to turn heads and push up conversions:

Buy One Get One Free

It makes customers feel that they are paying only half the price for a product. Also, taking home two products without draining their budgets is quite an incentive.

Hence, ‘buy one get one free’ offers work great, and you can significantly increase your sales level using them.

Competitions

Several travel companies hold competitions or contests wherein winners get a free holiday package. Similarly, all businesses can conduct such contests and motivate people to participate.

Please note that competitions are a successful promotional tactic only for high-value items.

Free Delivery

We may have come across this term on several eCommerce websites and food delivery apps. Not paying extra for delivery encourages people to buy from a brand as they view it as a cost-saving option.

If you launch a new product, offering to deliver for free can help you increase sales.

Gift Vouchers

You can give gift vouchers to your target audience as part of your promotional tactics. Using these vouchers, they may be able to claim free gifts or get some discounts on buying your new products.

Loyalty and Reward Points

Your existing customers deserve to feel appreciated and special. Hence, you should consider allocating loyalty points to repeat customers as a token of your appreciation.

Not just that, such reward points encourage customers to buy again from your brand.

You can send gift cards with discount coupon codes to them via direct mail or give away redeemable points online.

Student Discounts

Several restaurants, online stores, cinemas, and clothing brands offer student discounts to promote their business. You can do the same and offer students a 10-20% discount to expand your customer base.

Though your profit margins reduce due to such discounts, it can lead to more sales and profits in the long run.

Limited-Time Offers

Limited-time offers are more successful than offers that have no deadlines. In this case, people think they have very little time to grab a good deal.

Creating a sense of urgency and pushing people to take speedy action helps in almost all advertising strategies. For example, some gyms offer personal training for free if a person signs up during a specified period.

Free Trial

Most people are hesitant to try out new things, and hence, end up not buying those products at all. But, you can change that and offer free trials to prospective customers. This way, customers can get to know your products better and decide whether they want to buy them.

It may not seem like a profitable practice, but offering free trials can help you promote new products dramatically. You can mail free samples right to your prospects’ doorsteps for them to try, which is often followed by a purchase.

Other types of offers include cashback, package deals, and warranties. They help you promote a new product or service launch through offline and online marketing channels.

Wrapping Up

It is significant to promote new things even though they are beneficial and good. Prospects should be informed of them and presented with a deal to buy them.

We hope this blog helps you understand how to promote new products in the market. There are tons of marketing options available for you. Plus, there are many ways to convince people to take action.

Direct mail is one of the best ways to achieve this motive. It can help you reach out to different segments of your target audience and grab their attention.

Also, it is more personal than online marketing and lets you connect with people personally. Such personal relationships go a long way and can keep your sales cycle running for years.

You can use PostGrid’s direct mail API to make your mailing campaigns a huge success. It allows you to build targeted lists, print items, affix postage, mail, and track—all in an automated manner.

Request a demo to find out how to promote a new offer in the most profitable way using PostGrid!

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Marketing Ideas for Loan Companies UK

If you are a lending company, you may have questions, like how to get leads as a loan officer. But, there are a few things to consider before going on a quest to find the answers to such questions.

The financing sector is expanding as more and more people are seeking to apply for a loan. But, with the rise of financial technology (FinTech), the expectations of individuals and businesses have increased considerably.

With tons of financing options available, they seem to enquire more about the company’s services. They also need a smooth onboarding process, payment convenience, and overall convenience.

In short, customers need a loan company that can offer them excellent customer service. Hence, loan companies should use top-notch loan and mortgage advertising ideas to close deals.

They should promote themselves in a good light and demonstrate what they offer.

Plus, loan businesses should differentiate themselves from their competitors. This way, you can impress your existing and potential customers and drive conversions.

In this blog, we will discuss all the best marketing ideas for loan companies that can help you get there!

Effectual Marketing Ideas for Loan Officers

Here, we have enlisted all the helpful financial services business ideas for marketing. You can use these ideas as a stepstone to push prospects ahead in the sales funnel.

Let’s have a sneak peek into them:

Optimise Your Website

Your loan originator’s website is the centre of your online presence; it is the most crucial tool in your digital marketing kit. Every loan company should have an official website where it can:

• Display its expertise in the financing industry.
• Talk about its loan programs.
• Answer clients’ frequently asked questions (FAQs), etc.

A website can help you form personal bonds with your target audience through your content. But, there’s more to it!

Below are some critical aspects that you should work on to make your website stand out:

• Clean and elegant website design: Your website should provide convenience and knowledge to potential clients. Also, it should be able to solve the queries of your existing customers. Thus, it is advisable not to add too many elements and keep your website clean so that anyone can find the information they need quickly. Also, try improving your website’s user experience (UX) constantly.
• Upfront calls to action: Once clients find the details they were looking for, they should know what to do next. You can guide them further by adding a CTA at several parts of your webpage.
• Client testimonials: Including some testimonials of your old and loyal clients can help establish credibility for your loan business.

Besides these things, make sure that your website is mobile-friendly and appears on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).

Improvise On Your Content Marketing Strategies

Content marketing is taking over the entire marketing industry. Businesses that provide value through their content will likely get more repeat business and new leads.

In fact, content marketing is one of the most impactful marketing ideas for title loan companies. It is also another great way to increase the number of website visitors and get more people talking about your business.

But, your content should match the needs of your potential customers. You must also take care to post them on all the right platforms. There are tons of topics to cover, like:

• Differences between the different types of loans.
• How to improve credit score.
• Tips and tricks on investing early.
• Loan refinancing options, etc.

You can offer genuine advice on such topics to captivate your audience’s attention. They might not need a loan now, but your content will keep you fresh in their minds. Here are some content marketing ideas for payday loan companies:

• Create a separate section for regular blog posts.
• Answer questions about the products and services you offer.
• Post-high-quality and informational e-books, press releases, infographics, whitepapers, etc.

You can also post some of these content materials and send them via direct mail to their prospects. This way, you can assure that they read everything and know about your company in-depth.

Monitor Your Company’s Online Reputation

Undoubtedly, we all have the habit of checking reviews about a brand before dealing with it. Hence, loan companies should keep records of every review posted on their website, social media pages, and other platforms.

These online reviews can make or break their business and need close monitoring. Below are some tips to help you get positive reviews:

• Provide quality services: If your clients are happy with your services, they are likely to give you positive feedback. At least, you can avoid getting negative reviews by doing the best you can in serving your clients.
• Ask your loyal clients for a review: You can approach your long-term, satisfied clients and ask them to leave a review on your company website. Positive reviews are the most subtle yet powerful loan officer marketing ideas.
• Claim the ownership of your business pages: Often, websites like Google and Yelp list several companies without informing them. Hence, you may not be aware that the details of your financial services are available on a particular website for people to view and comment on. It is your responsibility to check for such things and claim ownership for your company. This way, you can have better control over everything posted about your brand.
• Deal with negative reviews without getting defensive: One unhappy client can influence the decision-making process of several potential clients. Hence, you should deal with negative reviews carefully. Instead of getting defensive, pay attention to the finer details, like what went wrong and how you can fix it. You can leave a short public apology and ask the client to connect with you offline.

Here’s a sample:

“This is (loan officer’s name) from (company name). I am sorry to hear that you aren’t satisfied with our services. Our motto is to help our clients with their financing needs and offer a convenient and smooth experience. We hope to talk to you further about your concerns and come up with a solution as every client is a priority to us. Please drop me an email at (email address) or call me on (phone number) so I can look into this issue and resolve it at the earliest. Thank you.”

Make Social Media Posts Regularly

Social media marketing is an excellent marketing tool to increase visibility and drive conversions. But, you need to remain active and work on your posts. Here’s what you can do:

• Select some social media platforms where you plan on posting.
• Develop a social media calendar for accurate scheduling.
• Create eye-catching posts featuring attractive visuals and informative content.

You can look up some creative loan officer Facebook ads as a reference. Take care that your posts are about the finance sector’s current affairs and suit your clients’ preferences.

Select a Niche and Define Your Buyer Persona

Though generic marketing can help you get a few leads, selecting a niche and focusing on it can go a long way for a lending company.

You can start by answering some critical questions, like:

• Do you offer loans to first-time home or auto buyers?
• Does your business specialise in specific types of loan products?
• What kind of clients can benefit from your company?

Remember, it is not essential to focus on one niche only. Still, you can optimise your marketing campaigns by identifying those you serve.

Also, it is crucial to clean your direct mailing or email lists from time to time. Luckily, PostGrid’s direct mail API can help you build targeted mailing lists and update them frequently.

Invest in Email Marketing

Almost every company sends out marketing emails and tries to lock new deals through them every day. But, today, people see marketing emails as spam messages and tend to ignore them faster than the speed of light.

So, does that mean you should drop your email marketing campaigns? Absolutely not!

99% of UK email users check their emails every day. Thus, it is safe to say conducting email marketing campaigns is also one of the most effective marketing ideas for loan companies in the UK.

You can get the email recipient to read your message by starting with an impactful subject line. It is the first thing that people read when they open an email—hence, focus on the words you use in this line.

You can turn it into a question, like- Looking to buy a house on loan at the lowest interest rates?

Such questions can intrigue your audience and convince them to complete the said CTA.

Conduct Direct Mail Marketing Campaigns

Direct mail is one of the oldest marketing channels and yet still effective. It can help loan companies with their lead generation marketing strategies. They can achieve several objectives with direct mail marketing, like:

• Increasing brand awareness.
• Establishing solid company-client relationships.
• Pushing up response and conversion ratios.
• Improving company reputation, etc.

People love getting mail as it creates a nostalgic effect. Also, they tend to give more attention to physical mail than online marketing ads.

Below are some tips to excel your direct mail marketing plans:

• Get creative: Design your direct mailing collateral in a minimal yet creative way. Try unique colours, sizes, fonts, layouts, etc., to make your items stand apart from the rest of the mail your audience usually receives.
• Provide value: Make your mail genuine, interactive, engaging, and valuable. Offer to solve the reader’s financing needs and explain how your programs can improve their lives.
• Include promotions or offers: Add an exciting offer that persuades people to take the next step. Tell them how you are unique and better than your competitors.

Use Video Marketing

Videos are more appealing than written text and can help you add life to your marketing efforts. We have listed a few reasons below why video marketing is one of the best loan advertisement ideas:

• They are attention-grabbing.
• Videos are shared 1,200% more than images and text combined.
• They drive traffic to your website.
• They improve brand recognition as they are memorable.

You can make videos highlighting interesting loan statistics, offering advice, breaking down how to process a loan application, etc.

Go Heavy On Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Apart from creating valuable written and video content, it would also help to make it easily accessible. Your company should rank high in search results so that prospects can find and view your landing pages.

Setting up your company’s Google My Business (GMP) page is the first thing you should do. It is free and straightforward to use, but you need to optimise it using SEO.

Taking care of the following things can help you increase your website’s organic traffic:

• Make a list of all the products and services your loan company offers. Each of them should have its own webpage. Select relevant keywords and create quality content outlining them.
• Create separate pages for “Contact,” “About Us,” “FAQs,” “Blogs,” etc.
• Keep updating your website content frequently to keep up with the recent trends in digital marketing.

Automate Your Marketing Tactics

Automation can help you and your clients both. For example, you can use custom calculators and chatbots to answer clients’ questions and make the process much faster.

Employing such interactive tools helps you cut down manual effort and smoothens the customer journey.

As said above, direct mail, social media, email, etc., are among the most creative marketing ideas for loan companies. But, you can get the most out of them by automating the entire process.

Marketing automation allows you to use the above mortgage broker marketing strategies efficiently. Also, you can save yourself a lot of time and money.

PostGrid’s direct mail services help you automate all your offline mailing activities. Our API and software enable you to design, print, and mail marketing items speedily and effortlessly.

Combine Offline and Online Marketing Activities

All the above marketing ideas for loan companies near Manchester work great, but you can do better by combining them.

You may choose a combination of two or more marketing channels and integrate them as part of a broader campaign. Thus, you can reach more people and increase your brand visibility among everyone.

There are other ways for loan companies to get clients, like:

• Hosting offline and virtual events.
• Asking clients for referrals.
• Marketing themselves to real-estate agents, etc.

How Can PostGrid’s Direct Mail Services Help Loan Companies Connect With Their Prospects?

As discussed above, direct mail is one of the crucial loan marketing ideas that help companies reach out to prospects personally. It enables them to form emotional bonds with their target audience for a long time.

But, loan companies need to keep in constant touch with their clients, and direct mail makes it possible. They don’t need to conduct direct mail campaigns every week. Here are a few occasions that you should consider utilising for your direct mailing efforts:

• Clients’ birthdays or weddings.
• Anniversaries with your company.
• Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• New Year’s Day, etc.

You can also mail on random days when you have something to offer—like “Get interest rates starting at 6% only on applying today.”

The point is that you can create your own occasions; you should only have something to say to your audience.

PostGrid’s print and mail API can help you plan your direct mail campaigns from start to finish. Some of our most popular features include:

• Designing direct mail collateral
• API integration
• Speedy set-up
• Address verification
• Printing and mailing
• Real-time mail tracking
• Campaign analytics and reports, etc.

Our services enable loan companies to generate fresh leads and increase sales by establishing business communications. Thus, you can increase brand reputation, build client rapport, and increase response ratios altogether with PostGrid.

Sign up here to explore more about PostGrid and implement your loan officer marketing ideas!

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Business Postcard Ideas & Examples

Postcards are now one of the most effective ways that allow marketers in different verticals to reach out to their target audience. The diversity of postcard marketing is so incredible that it is a perfect fit for practically all industries.

Sounds a little too good to be true?

Well, you don’t have to take our word for it. Below we have listed some excellent business postcard examples and ideas to convince you why postcard marketing is a perfect fit for your business. Also, We will also give you a quick tour of how to write a business postcard.

So, check out the postcard ideas below to get inspired to create your own business postcards!

#1 Postcards For Restaurants

One of the popular business postcard ideas is to use postcards for marketing restaurant businesses. Now, you might wonder how you can use postcards to market a restaurant business. Let’s take an example to understand some applicational use of restaurant postcards.

Suppose a restaurant chain opened its new branch at a new locality. Naturally, the restaurant wants to let people in and near their locality know about their new venture because they are its target audience.

Target Wider Audience

You can send postcards to the addresses in the same postcode as the restaurant. And depending on the marketing scope, you can expand your outreach by sending postcards to addresses in the neighbouring postcodes.

Showcase The Restaurant Menu

One of the best things about business postcards is their ability to include attractive pictures. In the case of restaurant postcards, the image used is usually of the popular dish from their menu. However, business owners can highlight other attractive aspects of their restaurant too. For example, a library-themed restaurant can showcase the racks of books inside to attract new customers.

#2 Postcards For Real Estate Businesses

Postcards for real estate businesses work the same way as restaurant postcards. Both real estate and restaurant postcards let your brand gain recognition within the community it operates. The real estate industry has always remained loyal to postcard marketing because of its effectiveness.

There are numerous postcard ideas real estate agents can use to market their businesses. A couple of business postcard ideas that you can consider for your real estate business include the following:

Introduce Real Estate Agents/Businesses

One of the familiar postcard ideas you can see in the real estate industry is using postcards to introduce a real estate agent/business. 

You need to make sure that your portfolio stands out to the prospects. Featuring some of the best listings and sold properties can help create a positive impression on prospective customers.

Use Real Images Of Listed Properties

Seeing authentic images of listed properties can motivate prospective real estate buyers. Furthermore, anyone genuinely interested in the property is likely to hold on to the postcard.

When using authentic pictures of the property, try to use high-quality images. Consider hiring a professional photographer for taking the pictures you want to use in the postcards. 

Include Median Home Values

The median home value gives a broad idea of the cost of buying a real estate property in a specific locality. Including median home values in a particular area effectively boosts interaction with prospective real estate buyers.

#3 Postcards For Travel Agencies

Postcards and travel are like butter and bread. It just feels right when you put the two together. Hence, it is no surprise that postcards are one of the best ways for travel agencies to market their business. Some of the postcard ideas you can use to sell travel services are as follows:

Present a Variety Of Vacation Destinations

As you can guess, the most popular way travel agencies can use postcards for marketing their business is to present attractive vacation destinations. Using beautiful pictures of specific places is a must for this approach.

Present A List Of Must-See Spots/Must-Do Activities

Presenting a list of must-see spots in the travel agency postcard is perfect to appeal to the prospect. It informs or teaches what your customers can do at a particular destination.

You can provide a list of things the prospects can do or watch at a destination. The chances are that the postcard recipient finds at least one of the activities or places that genuinely interests them.

Provide Travel Tips

Providing travel tips to prospective customers is an effective way to showcase your expertise in a specific destination. If the customer finds your insights useful, they will likely think about your travel agency when the time comes.

#4 Postcards For Educational Institutions

Educational institutions such as schools and colleges use postcards to attract more students. Using postcards is a much more affordable option for educational institutions than any other mailers. Some of the popular postcard ideas used for educational institutions include the following.

Recruitment Postcards

Recruitment postcards are one of the most common postcards used by educational institutions. It lets you bring more visitors to the campus premises without spending too much money on expensive recruitment packets.

Campus Tour/Event Invitations

Postcards are also the perfect little mailer for sending invitations to parents and students. The invitation can be for campus tours or events such as open houses. It is relatively inexpensive and adds a personal touch to the invitation.

#5 Postcards For Non-Profit Organisations

Another vertical that often employs postcards as part of their communication channels is non-profits. Usually, non-profits use postcards to reach out to their donors. However, postcards are more than just a communication channel for non-profit organisations.

Tell Compelling Stories To Shed Light On Causes

One of the best ways to get an emotional response from the users for a good cause is to tell a compelling story. When describing the story, you must be careful to focus on individuals affected by a specific social issue.

Keeping the focus on individuals and telling their stories helps the reader connect with the specific individual and create an emotional response.

Explain How You Spend The Donor’s Money

When it comes to non-profit organisations, it is vital to maintain a long-term relationship with their donors. The best way for nonprofits to ensure a long-term relationship with their donors is to be transparent and earn their trust. Postcards are an affordable way of giving such information to the patrons of non-profit organisations.

#6 Postcards For Cafes And Bakeries

Cafe and bakery postcards are ideal for starting a conversation among the target audience. Much like restaurant postcards we discussed, cafe and bakery postcards are also perfect for letting customers know about your newly opened shop.

Free Coffee/Pastry Voucher

A popular postcard idea for cafe and bakery postcards is to include a free voucher for a cup of coffee or pastries. It is the perfect way to market a newly opened bakery. Additionally, it also lets your customers have a taste of your cafe/bakery products.

Event Invitations

Cafes and bakeries can attract more customers by conducting special events, such as a stand-up comedy show or karaoke night.

You can then use postcards to send invitations informing the locals about the event. Additionally, you can include all the necessary details of the event in the postcard, such as the time, address, etc.

#7 Postcards For Spas

Although not as popular as the other businesses we have discussed, spas also use postcards for marketing their services. One of the reasons why postcards are a good marketing channel for spas and beauty parlours is their affordability. Here are some business postcard ideas you can try for spa businesses.

Invite To Try Out New Services

Spas can send out postcards to their target audience, including past customers informing them about a new service. You can make the offer even more enticing by providing a discount or free service for first-timers.

Leave Postcards At The Front Desk

One of the business postcard ideas that work well for spa businesses is leaving the postcard at the front desk. As postcards are easy to carry, there is a good chance existing customers pick one up and pass it along to their family and friends.

#8 Postcards For Gyms or Fitness Centers

Much like spas, gyms can also use postcards to boost their business. Here also you have the option to use postcards like a brochure. You can leave the gym postcards at the front desk, let your clients pick them up, and pass them along as they feel.

Partner Up With Other Small Businesses

One of the postcard ideas you can use for gyms or fitness centres is to partner up with other local businesses. For example, you can place your postcards in the cafe or sports store nearby. You can even add discount offers to the same companies on your postcard and put them up at your front desk.

Present Diet Plans And Trainer Programs

One of the easiest ways to make an impression on the prospects for gyms and fitness centres is to pitch with a dietary plan. You can also include pictures and advice of your trainers to showcase their expertise and attract new customers.

#9 Postcards For Clothing Stores

As we all know, postcards are mainly a visual medium, which makes them a perfect fit for clothing stores. Despite having so many pictures in it, postcards are still one of the most affordable means for marketing clothing. Some of the business postcard ideas you can use for your clothing stores include:

Use Postcards As Product Catalogs For A New Clothing Line

You may have come across clothing store postcards that showcase a new clothing line or collection. Postcard lets you use the best or most popular clothing to market entries. You have to use attractive pictures of the clothes and deliver them to the target audience.

Advertise Sales & Promotional Materials 

Seasonal sales are enormous for clothing stores. However, they often fail to get the desired result during sales because more people don’t know about it. Sending postcards advertising your sales through an automated direct mail system like PostGrid can significantly boost your sales.

#10 Postcards For Art Galleries And Museums

The postcards used by art galleries and museums are somewhat similar to those used by non-profit organisations. Galleries and museums also have patrons or members contributing to their upkeep and running. The most popular postcard ideas employed by museums and galleries include the following:

Use Postcards For Event Invitations

Galleries and museums often conduct high-profile events for their contributors. The best way to reach out to them is to use an elegantly designed postcard to match the occasion. Postcards give a formal feel to the invitation you send out to the patrons or members.

Use Postcards As Promotional Material

Like a fashion store adds new clothing lines to their collections, galleries and museums also add new items. However, the items added to the galleries or museum collection are priceless artefacts and artworks. It is also customary to stage a big unveiling event for favourites like a Van Gogh painting.

#11 Postcards For Healthcare Service Providers

Healthcare is yet another field where postcards play a vital role in promoting its services. Additionally, you should always include the working hours in a healthcare service postcard. You should also provide the contact information and emergency line to the healthcare service.

Introduce New Staff

Healthcare service providers, like small clinics, can use postcards to introduce new doctors who are joining them. Giving a short profile and their expertise in the postcard is perfect for letting patients know that the doctor is available for their treatment.

Invitations To Healthcare Conference/Talks

Healthcare service providers can conduct health conferences or talks that the public finds useful. Even something as simple as a diabetes awareness camp can drag people across various demographics to your healthcare business.

How To Write a Business Postcard

Writing a business postcard can be divided into four distinct stages. If you have zero experience writing or sending a business postcard, the following explanation is for you.

Stage 1: Select The Postcard

The first thing you need to do is select a postcard best suited for your budget and specific postcard requirements. Although you can use a postcard without any pictures, it is not advisable. Additionally, you should also check whether you need a bigger size for the postcard and if it fits your budget.

Stage 2: Add The Address

The address stage is arguably the most crucial part of writing a postcard. You can use a postcard template for printing the content of your postcard. However, the address part of business postcards is often prone to error unless you use an automated direct mail solution like PostGrid.

Stage 3: Add The Message

You use the left-hand side of the postcard for writing the message. However, the straightforward approach is to use a postcard template and personalise it accordingly. Suppose you are using a manual process for personalising the postcard. In that case, you should be extra careful to avoid any unnecessary errors.

Stage 4: Apply The Necessary Postage

The last stage of writing a business postcard is to apply the necessary postage for the postcards. It is easy to find where to apply the postage on the postcard because it is marked. If your business sends postcards domestically and internationally, the postage can vary significantly. Hence, make sure that you have the correct postage for each postcard.

Skip All The Stages & Use PostGrid’s Direct Mail Automation 

A one-stop solution to all your business postcard needs lets you automate the entire process and skip the above stages altogether. PostGrid is a direct mail automation tool that can personalise, print, and deliver your business postcards via Royal Mail.

The best thing about using PosGrid’s direct mail solution is that it lets you send bulk postcards in an optimised manner. PostGrid also has access to Royal Mail’s official address database and uses its system to print standardised addresses with full postcodes.

As a result, the deliverability of your business postcards maximises and minimises the scope of error.

Conclusion

Business postcard examples can help businesses develop attractive postcard ideas to market their products and services. However, executing these postcard ideas is easier said than done. To optimise your postcard marketing campaign, you need a direct mail automation tool like PostGrid.

With the help of PostGrid, you can replace lengthy and error-prone direct mail processes with a single streamlined one. You can even use pre-built postcard templates to speed up the initial setup of your postcards.

PostGrid even standardises the addresses and apply the necessary postage for each postcard. It means all you have to do is lay back and relax while PostGrid does all the heavy lifting for you.

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Leaflet Marketing

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Leafleting or Leaflet Marketing

It might be surprising that leaflet marketing or leafleting is still a popular choice for marketing businesses in the UK. Interestingly, more and more companies are now considering leaflets for marketing their products/services.

But why is it that leafleting is still popular even with digital platforms overshadowing the print media in every possible way? More importantly, can leaflets help businesses reach their profit goals, and if so, how?

As you read on, you will find the answers to such questions. You will even find some tips that help you create a leaflet marketing campaign for your business along with the different ways to implement leafleting.

What Is Leaflet Marketing Or Leafleting?

Leaflet marketing is one of the popular marketing strategies employed by small and medium businesses. It is a simple yet effective way for companies to market their products and services. Another reason why businesses love leafleting is that it is a much more affordable way to boost their sales and bring in new customers.

Still, thinking how?

Here are the basic 4 approaches to consider when implementing leaflet marketing in the UK. They are:

• Door to Door leaflet marketing via Royal Mail.
• Hand to hand leaflet marketing.
• Business to business leaflet marketing.
• Walking billboard leaflet marketing.

Usually, most companies prefer to use the door-drop or Door-to-Door marketing method. Royal Mail even offers an exclusive Door to Door service, which lets you run a cost-effective door drop marketing campaign.

We will discuss the four types of leaflet marketing in detail as we proceed further.

Are Leaflets And Flyers The Same?

Legally speaking, there is no distinctive difference between leaflets and flyers. Practically, however, there are some differences that you may have already noticed. Usually, leaflets are folded and more elaborate than flyers. However, there is no distinction between the two when it comes to leaflet marketing.

Why Are Leaflets A Good Way To Advertise?

The advantages of leaflets in marketing are numerous. However, the most desirable benefit of using leaflet marketing is its cost-effectiveness. It is not so hard to implement leaflet marketing either. You can design a leaflet on a free tool, print it yourself and deliver/give them out as you please.

But, such an approach is only feasible if yours is a small business with a limited target audience. The best way to implement leafleting is to employ a fully automated solution like PostGrid. It lets you print and deliver your leaflets via Royal Mail without any unnecessary haggle.

Easily Adjust The Reach Of Your Campaign

With leafleting, you can quickly bring up or bring down the reach of your marketing campaign. For example, if you use Royal Mail’s Door to Door service, you can add more neighbourhoods to your target list. And, if you want to hand out the leaflets, you can easily find new people to do it.

Significantly Cheaper Than Digital Advertising

Running digital advertising campaigns such as Google Ads can cost you a fortune. Leaflet marketing is an effective alternative to such expensive advertisements. Furthermore, a single print of leaflets can last you for months or even years, unlike digital ads that require regular payments.

The Expenses Do Not Add Up Over Time

Other forms of advertising such as newspapers, magazines, TV, and even radio stations keep on adding to your expenses over time. On the other hand, Leaflets can be printed and stored as you please. You can even use an automated system like PostGrid to print your leaflets per demand.

There Is No Fixed Limit To The Information It Can Contain 

Regardless of what medium you use to advertise your product or service, you will always need to stay within the specified character limit. Even though leaflets also have dimensional limits, you can add or remove content depending on its size and number of folds.

Significantly Lower Cost For Bulk Printing

Leaflets are mostly bulk printed, and it significantly reduces the price for a single piece leaflet. An A6 leaflet/flyer can cost as little as a couple of pence. Even the most affordable or small leaflet can house all the necessary details of your business. It means every leaflet can contain details such as your business’s name and logo, contact details, working hours, and so on.

Establish Customer Relationships

An advertising leaflet is a great way to establish your business with your target audience. The leaflets provide a way for the audience to reach out to your business. It also provides a sneak peek into the products you have to offer and your quality of service. The customers can even save your contact details for later by keeping aside the leaflet.

Give Exclusive Offers Through The Leaflet

You can also use leaflets to hand out exclusive offers similar to those in postcard marketing campaigns. Only people who have received the leaflet can redeem such exclusive offers. It is an effective strategy to raise the leaflet’s value and ensure that the customers do not throw it away.

Ability To Assess The Audience And Target Them

Leaflet marketing is not about choosing a random neighbourhood to market a specific set of products and services. You can assess particular areas and identify high traffic spots where your intended demographic often pass through.

Ability To Choose The Method Of Delivery

Unlike other print ads like postcards which need to go through a postal service provider, you can choose how to deliver leaflets. Many companies prefer to hand out leaflets/flyers in person. They believe it can help them better connect with their target audience. However, using Royal Mail’s is the easier option. It also lets your brand gain popularity in a specific local area. 

Leaflets Come In All Shapes And Sizes

One of the best things about using an advertising leaflet is that it comes in different shapes and sizes. Hence, you have the freedom to pick a design that fits your unique needs and budget. It also gives you creative space that is often absent in digital advertising. 

The 4 Types Of Leaflet Marketing

Depending on the delivery method of leaflets to the target audience, you can classify leaflets into four different types. We have already stated these four different types of leaflet marketing at the beginning of the article. Now, we will discuss the salient features of these four types of leaflet marketing.

Door to Door Leaflet Marketing Via Royal Mail

Door to Door leaflet marketing is one of the most efficient and effective ways to implement your leafleting campaign. You don’t need Royal Mail to deliver your leaflets to a specific locality. However, it is often considered the best option for businesses.

The main reason for using Royal Mail for your Door to Door leaflet delivery is that it offers an exclusive service designed explicitly for leafleting. Royal Mail has access to almost 30 million relevant homes. Hence you can reach new customers locally or nationally depending on your unique goals set.

To top it all, you can use PostGrid’s automated direct mail system to personalise, print, and deliver your leaflets. PostGrid can use Royal Mail’s Door to Door service to deliver your flyers, and you can minimise any error or wastage. As a result, you save yourself a load of money.

Hand To Hand Leaflet Marketing

If providing a memorable experience is a priority, and you have the necessary resources, hand to hand leafleting is your best option. However, having the right distributor and an apt presentation is a must for this type of leaflet delivery.

It means that you should educate the people handing out the leaflet or flyer on the leaflet’s content. They should quickly articulate and answer any customer question regarding the leaflet/flyer and its content.

Additionally, you must ensure that the area you choose for distributing leaflets is somewhere your target audience is likely to frequent.

Business To Business Leaflet Marketing

As you know, business to business marketing or B2B direct marketing involves one business selling its products/service to another. B2B advertising can be simple, like paying a local company to rent a window or counter to advertise your business.

Sometimes B2B leaflet marketing can be more complicated than renting a counter. It can have two-way contracts that can benefit all parties involved. However, you should make sure that your sales pitch focuses on customer retention and profit generation in B2B leafleting marketing.

Walking Billboard Leaflet Marketing

Surprisingly enough, walking billboards are still an option for marketing your business. However, it can not be employed everywhere. Usually, walking billboard leaflet marketing is used in high traffic areas.

Like the hand to hand leafleting approach, you must train the employee on the product/service they pitch to the customers. Furthermore, you must ensure that the billboard’s design is appropriate to catch customer attention.

It must catch the user’s attention with eye-catching colours and reflect your brand’s image. Using more colours and pictures instead of words is a desirable approach to getting a conversation started with the customer.

4 Tips For Effective Leaflet Marketing

Leaflet marketing can be somewhat challenging, especially if you are new to it. Here are some tips that can help you create an effective leaflet/flyer marketing campaign for our business.

#1 Smaller The Better: But Not Too Small

When it comes to leaflets, especially in hand to hand leaflet marketing, you must make your flyers small in size. Can you imagine having to carry around a massive booklet in your hands walking through the street or an expo? So, make sure your leaflet is small enough to carry but not small enough to compromise its readability.

#2 Partner Up With Complementary Businesses

Another way to boost the effectiveness of your leaflet marketing is to collaborate with complementary businesses. You can place your business leaflets inside carrying bags in shops or left at the counter. Such an approach is ideal for promoting your brand in specific local areas.

#3 Use Leaflets As Inserts

Inserting your leaflets into popular publications is ideal for reaching your audience. However, it can only work if the said publication already has a distribution that coincides with your target area. You can use the local newspapers, magazines, and more for this method, but you will have to pay for the service.

#4 Use PostGrid To Automate Leafleting

PostGrid is an advanced automation tool that lets you run all types of direct mail campaigns. It can easily print bulk leaflets for your business and deliver them to a specific area you want to target. PostGrid even uses Royal Mail’s Door to Door service to minimise your expenses and get the best results for your leaflet marketing campaigns.

Conclusion

Leaflet marketing or leafleting can effectively boost your business engagements and contribute to its growth if you implement it right. There are several types or methods of leaflet marketing that you can choose from. 

However, Royal Mail’s Door to Door service is the most convenient and measurable way of sending a promotional leaflet. Furthermore, the Door to Door leaflet marketing via Royal Mail can be optimised using PostGrid.

PostGrid can personalise, print your leaflets and then deliver them through the Door to Door service from Royal Mail. Since PostGrid automates the entire process, there is zero error and wastage, which ultimately saves your business a lot of money.

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