We care about our clients and are committed to providing results-driven, cost-efficient marketing packages that are tailored to their specific needs. If you’re searching for new strategies, we have three customizable marketing ideas for you to consider in 2022, that you may have not yet considered! Keep in mind, our recommendations work best for established, service-based industries.

Direct Mail is back!

In the last decade, email and social media have replaced the printed materials that used to end up in people’s mailboxes. This increase in digital marketing means that direct mail is once again a less saturated means of reaching your audience. For less than $500 you can print and canvas several neighborhoods or send your materials to a list of targeted addresses. We recommend budgeting to be able to canvas a neighborhood at least twice. Research shows receiving promo mail more than once results in up to double the response rate compared to promo mail that’s received only once. When it comes to direct mail, design trumps content! If it doesn’t look good, it won’t be read. Our priority is to design something that is aesthetically pleasing and motivates the reader to action.

Try Advertorials if you’re tired of your Print Ads

If you have the budget for print ads, why not consider an advertorial instead? Advertorials are a great way to be featured in magazines. You’ve likely found yourself reading them before, and halfway through asking yourself, “Woah wait, am I reading an ad?” These paid placements look like a story but "advertorial" is written somewhere on the page in small print. In a world where we are exposed to between 4,000-10,000 advertising messages per day, we’ve all learned how to tune ads out. When we flip through magazines, we scan for articles, glossing over ads. Opting for an advertorial over a print ad gives your ad a higher chance of being looked at by readers. Eyes on you drive awareness, keeping you top of mind with potential customers.

Try Paid Email if You’re Tired of Print Ads

There are several ways to advertise in news publications. A common way is to purchase a full-page print ad. Local magazines can range from $5k to $10k, and you can imagine the cost of a national publication. Yikes. However, most news publications also offer dedicated email blasts. When you purchase a dedicated email, you only spend about $800, and you have full control over the design and content of that email. A dedicated email gets sent to thousands of addresses from the publications’ email list, which means your business is likely to have a greater impact than a typical print ad.

More thoughts on Print Ads

Paid print ads have their place, but there are a lot of other marketing channels I would put budget towards before an ad in a local magazine…more direct mail, dedicated email blasts from publications being the top recommendations I have. To me, print ads make sense when you are established and killing it, and that ad placement gives you serious street cred. Everyone knows what they cost, and the people who look the closest at ads are the other people who have placed ads. They know what it costs, so they go, "Wow, they must be doing well.” Thus, the strategy changes. Is your marketing goal leads, or credibility? I have heard from so many people that they tried ads and ended up with a few low-quality calls, or nothing at all so I would not confidently recommend a one-time ad to see if it leads to any calls. Research shows it’s the repetition that makes the difference.

More Marketing Ideas for Your Business

Clever Punch has loads of branding and marketing ideas. While certain strategies work for certain types of businesses, every business deserves its own custom plan and approach. We offer a free marketing plan for businesses that are a good fit for us. To learn more about our offerings, click the button below to visit our pricing page .