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How to Tell if Your Small Business Marketing is Working

how to tell when your small business marketing is working Measuring the effectiveness of your marketing efforts is a crucial but often confusing part of business. This is perhaps even truer for small businesses, where you likely don’t have an entire team devoted to search engine optimization or business analytics.

But small businesses can and should track how well their marketing efforts are working. Here we’ll walk you through some of the first steps you should take, key metrics to look at, as well as how to track them so you can better attribute your successes to your marketing efforts.

Set a Baseline for Marketing Metrics

It is critical to have a clear picture of where you’ve come from.

If you haven’t already, get your website hooked up to Google Analytics (learn how to get started here) so you can start easily tracking growth and regression. Set up a baseline report for:

  • Organic SEO traffic. This measures how many people are finding your site and how they’re getting there.
  • Learn how to set up conversion events – these track important actions on your site such as online purchases, filling out forms, or sharing your content on social media.

If you’re a brick and mortar operation, start tracking foot traffic, looking at your point of sales data (vendors like Square make it easy to pull reports about what you’re selling).

The point is – take your current marketing temperature, that will be your baseline for improvement.

Formulate Regular Reports

Just like it’s crucial to set your business up to be able to visualize trends in your website statistics, it’s also important to regularly write up reports on the results of your marketing efforts. Start sending your team a monthly marketing recap, which details what you worked on, as well as the results of those efforts.

How many website visitors did you have this month compared to last? How many people found your website through organic search this month? How many pages did the average person click on before exiting your site? Were those blog posts you wrote to try to rank for certain keywords found in people’s Google searches? Include screenshots or links to the graphs from Google Analytics for each metric so you and your team can easily visualize the impact. Google Analytics is loaded with tools that make it fast and – somewhat – easy to create reports.

Having a written report where you dive into not only the statistics for your business, but also interpret what you think those trends mean and why you’re seeing them, will help you and your team have a clear picture of where you’re coming from and where you should be heading to reap the most benefit from your marketing.

Track your marketing performance with reporting
A typical Google Analytics dashboard.

Focus on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

There are several ways to analyze whether your small business marketing efforts are working, but a few key metrics will give you a good jumping off point. Some of the most indicative are:

Website Visits. This one is pretty straight-forward. How many people are coming to check out your product or service via your website? This metric gives you a good idea of the level of interest your product or service is gaining.

Sources. Just as important as the number of website visitors, is where those visitors are coming from. How did they find you? Was it through keywords they typed into Google? If so, great job! You’re rocking your SEO efforts. Did they find you through social media? Also a good indicator of marketing success.

Be sure to create tracking links for all digital ads and sponsorships you send out, so that you can also see how many people visited your site as a result of those individual pieces.

Bounce Rate. When people land on your website, are they truly interested in your content? Is your site compelling and easy to understand so that people want to click on to another page to learn more?

If not, you might see a high bounce rate, where visitors click out of the page they landed on, without visiting any other pages. If this is happening, consider adjusting your messaging on your website to ensure it’s crystal clear and contains plenty of CTAs and other links to grab visitors and begin pushing them through the funnel.

A high bounce rate can also be a sign that you need to adjust the messaging on your marketing materials. For instance, if your ads or social media content seem to promise one thing, but your website doesn’t mention that right away on your home page, visitors will quickly grow frustrated or lose interest and exit your site. Consistent messaging is key.

Tracking bounce rate.
Here’s what bounce rate looks like in Google Analytics.

Session Duration. You know that cute girl you went on a first date with last weekend? How long did you hang out for at dinner? Did she want to take a stroll with you after you ate, or was she anxious to get home?

Just like the amount of time a date wants to spend with you indicates his or her interest level, so does the amount of time prospects spend on your website. Is your content interesting and informative? Are people finding what they came for (and even better, are they finding more than they came for)? Do they click to the next blog post in the series, or are they just skimming for a few seconds and quickly exiting?

Coupling this metric with your sources metric, you can start to identify which of your marketing channels are resonating with the right people, and which could use some adjusting. You might find that your Facebook ads are getting great engagement and clicks to your website, but those people only stay on your site for a few seconds, whereas prospects that come from your tactile marketing piece are browsing for an average of six minutes, despite similar messaging on both campaigns. If that’s the case, you’ll want to adjust the amount of money you’re spending on social and consider pouring that into another, more successful source.

Assess and Adjust. Now that you have the tools set up to monitor and analyze the results of your marketing efforts, you can identify the areas where they might be falling flat. Once you do, try making small changes at first. Is your messaging just a little too long or confusing? Are your blog titles clickbait-esque and so prospects get frustrated when your content isn’t what they expected to get? Start with small changes and monitor your progress in those monthly reports.

Think Outside the Computer

As a small business, it can be tough to compete with bigger brands online that have more robust budgets and staffing. Combine that with the fact that consumers are over-loaded with digital content — yes, including your ads — and you might find that your marketing efforts aren’t delivering quite the punch you thought they would.

That’s why some of the smartest businesses are turning to direct mail, or tactile, marketing. Delivering a personal touch in the form of a physical mailer or piece of branded “swag” can leave a lasting impression your competition is missing out on.

And don’t fret. You can track the effectiveness of tactile marketing campaigns too with software like Printing for Less’s Tactile Marketing Automation (TMA) software. Even better, you can set up your tactile marketing campaign just like a digital one, where when prospects take a certain action, a send is automatically triggered for the next piece in the campaign. See how it works here.

Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

How To Save Images in Photoshop EPS Format

This is the third posting about formats for saving images. We started a couple weeks ago with the Photoshop PSD format. EPS stands for Encapsulated PostScript because it was designed as a way of saving graphics to be used with PostScript printers. However, today the format is showing its age because it doesn’t support a lot of the features which we can create in Adobe Photoshop –for example, layers, transparency, Smart Objects, etc.

Notice in the dialog box below that when I save a layered file with transparency, I see an alert icon in the Save As dialog box, and the notice that the “File must be saved as a copy with this selection” because data will be lost.

This is not a good format for non-PostScript printers (for example, inkjet printers) because these printers can only print the low-resolution preview.

eps format save as

Traditionally, EPS was the format used to save silhouetted images with a clipping path, and was used to save multitone images (duotone, tritone, or quadtone). However, the native Photoshop format can save all of those things so there are generally no advantages in saving as EPS to do those things.

Photoshop EPS format can also save vector data like type or vector shape layers. The vector data will be sent with sharp edges to a PostScript printer. However, if you try to reopen the EPS file in Photoshop to data will be re-rasterized so will become soft, not sharp.

When you save as Photoshop EPS, you have the options shown below. The Preview option chooses how you create a low-resolution preview that is used for viewing or printing on non-PostScript printers. Encoding determines the way the data is delivered to the PostScript printer. (If your commercial printer asks for this format, ask which option works best with their PostScript processor.) The defaults work in most cases.

Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

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Why the Font Should I Care?

Why the Font Should I Care?

Sometimes an idea is great enough to rise above even the worst presentation.  For all other ideas no pictures, poor grammar, or a bad font can lose your audience before you even have a chance.

In the span of human history, few things have truly changed our culture more than the invention of the written word.  And ever since then we have struggled to bring to our writing the same meaning and emotion that we are able to breathe into words.  This is just as true when we are pouring our hearts into a personal blog, as it is when we are writing our brand promise on a company brochure.  Our business is our livelihood. Our business fuels the most important things that we need as humans: a meal to eat, a place to rest and a means to participate in the world around us.  

So when it comes to putting cursor to webpage, or printing press to paper, every choice that we make matters to our message.  There are so many of these decisions that we make while speaking that don’t even register to our conscious brain. The way we move our hands.  The way that we angle our head slightly to maintain eye contact. The gleam in our eye as we get into an exciting topic. How do we put that into a written piece?

Part of the secret is in the font choice.

The Power of Font

Research tells us that fonts can drastically change the way readers react to your writing.  A 2012 New York Times study by Errol Morris found that using Baskerville font lead to a 1.5% increase in readers believing a false scientific report over five other fonts.  Serif fonts, those with the ‘tails’ and ‘feet’ on the ends of letters, have been used in scientific and professional reporting since printing began. Baskerville has a classic, reliable look that breeds confidence.  

The Internet went into hysterics when CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, announced the discovery of a new subatomic particle in a press release using Comic Sans.  If CERN had a marketing department they would have been nominated for awards based on the coverage from that release. There was even a Change.org petition to change the name of Comic Sans to Comic Cerns.  You can’t buy coverage like that.

So how do you choose what font will best represent your message?  While there are no clear rules to follow, a few guidelines can help add nuance to your writing.

To Sans, or not to Sans?

The Serif, also called Roman fonts, have small projections on the ends of most letters.  Serif fonts are some of the most recognized because of their early use in print. Serif fonts convey credibility, professionalism, and academic integrity. These fonts are easily recognizable, especially in print, because they created the standard.  

Sans-Serif fonts have none of the projections and are sometimes referred to as Grotesque or Gothic fonts.  These letters give a cleaner, more modern look and are usually easier to read in long paragraph formats.

Script fonts mimic cursive letters.  You can tell a story of class and elegance, quality and royalty using a script font.  They can be difficult to read in long sentences or paragraphs.

Display fonts are the strange ones.  Marquees, Old Western, Ransom Note. Used sparingly, these fonts can create an instant connection before the reader has even acknowledged what the words say.

Choose Colors Wisely

Contrast is an important element in print and on the web.  Bold color can draw attention to a line of text, but be aware of background images and color.  It is also worth remembering that 8-15% of people are colorblind and unable to differentiate certain hues next to each other.  

So Why the Font Should I Care?

All of your choices are important when creating your brand, and font choice allow you to bring the reader into your story without saying a word.  If you would like help crafting the perfect look for your story, Printing for Less’s design and print team have the experience and knowledge to make it happen.

Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

 

Be Seen: Signage Design Done Right

Need to get your small business out in the open? Signage — indoor and outdoor— is a great way to get your message out there. But where do you begin? The options and best practices may seem overwhelming. But we’ve been helping people get their ideas printed, so let us help you! Ready to turn some eyes your way? Let’s begin your signage journey.

Signage for Different Occasions

First things first: be clear on your needs. There are different signs for different purposes and occasions, not to mention marketing purposes, so let’s break them down:

Brand Awareness: Need to get your logo and tagline known? Banners, posters, yard signs, car magnets and flags are a surefire way to get your contact details, information, branding, or anything else you need, out in the open.

Outdoor Events: Festival goers and craft fair mavens need to know how to get to your goods! Arrows, signs, banners and flags can help attract the attention of potential customers.

farmers market

Trade Shows: Prepping for an indoor event? We can help you choose the best table tents, banners, foam boards and branding details with ease.

It’s a Sale! Estate, yard, liquidation sales and more. People won’t want to miss out on your mega deals when they can see them advertised!

Window Displays: Posters and decals help attract extra attention and spread your news.

Consider the Details

Now that you know what kind of signs you need, think about how and where they’ll be used. For instance, an outdoor sign in Florida needs to not bleach out in the sun, whereas a sign outside in Montana needs to stand strong against wind and snow. Where is the sign going to be physically placed? Size up and down, with respect to your messaging, appropriately.

outdoor signage

Do your signs need to tie to a pole or trees? Does it need to be free-standing? Does it need to be tied down some other way? Think the physical details through before you head over to design and get it all laid out.

Get That Sign Designed

You know what you want and you know what your signage needs to stay in plain sight. Now it’s time to get your idea into its visual shape. Here are some tips to get you started, straight from our design expert’s mouths:

  1. Wise Typography Wins: Use big, bold fonts to capture attention. Fonts with elegant, thin lines are hard for the eye to immediately recognize and understand.
  2. Keep it Simple: Big signs are not meant for complex messaging. Keep your ideas boiled down to the fewest possible words and symbols. The longer details belong on printed pieces that are closer to people’s eyes and that can home with them, like brochures, one-sheets and cross foldes.
  3. Be Eye-Catching: High color contrast is hard to miss. If your logo is a dark color, go for a light background. Keep the sign’s location in mind too– don’t use dark shades in a shady area, or for instance reds against a brick wall!
visitor and service parking entrance sign

  1. Learn Substrates: Will there be glare? If so, avoid glossy finishes. Matte finishes work best in brightly lit spaces.
  2. Vector logos only: You need your artwork to be scalable, and a fixed, flat image file won’t work. Go for as high-resolution as possible, always. A file can always be scaled down, but not up, and keep its clarity. We gladly accept virtually every Mac & PC file format, including any version of:
  • Adobe: Acrobat, FrameMaker, Illustrator, InDesign, PageMaker, Photoshop
  • Apple: Works
  • Broderbund: The Printshop, version 15
  • Claris: Works
  • Corel: Bryce, Draw, Lotus, PhotoPaint, Quattro Pro, Ventura, WordPerfect
  • Deneba: Canvas
  • Macromedia: Fireworks, Freehand
  • Microsoft: Excel, Home Publishing, PhotoDraw, Powerpoint, Publisher, Word, Works
  • Quark: Xpress
  • Serif: DrawPlus, PagePlus, PhotoPlus
  • Also: .EPS, .JPEG & .TIF files

Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

How to Make Direct Mail More Effective

how to make direct mail more effective Direct mail is alive and well, in fact, effective direct mail stands out in a world oversaturated with digital marketing. A Facebook ad campaign, email marketing, and digital search are all still important but they are just table stakes now, real engagement is happening with direct mail.

People think direct mail is dying because it is not used very effectively. You’re used to seeing direct mail for real estate, where may make sense, but what about direct mail for restaurants, retailers, consignment shops, cafes and other small business? The secret is combining your direct mail and digital marketing. But this sounds like something only big companies can do, right? No way! We’ll show you how to use direct mail effectively.

What Makes Direct Mail Marketing Effective

Before we jump into the cool tricks and tips, let’s talk about what makes direct mail marketing effective in the first place: it’s really real.

When people touch an object, they can recall it 30% more effectively. The recall duration for direct mail triple that of any other channel. This means they will remember your direct mail marketing better, longer.

Believe it or not, direct mail is a powerful driver of digital action. It’s perfect for getting people to check out your website, order online or share something.

Now, let’s talk about what makes direct mail ineffective: it is expensive. Compared to Facebook Ads and MailChimp newsletters, direct mail is a pretty big investment for most small businesses, even if you are getting great rates from the best direct mail marketing companies.

Because of cost, direct mail is often not personalized (even though it can be, just like an email). Direct mail also requires a mailing address, which can be a challenge to get.

Let us see how to use direct mail as a surgical tool, not an out of control fire hose.

How to Combine Direct Mail and Digital Channels

Once you understand direct mistakes to avoid, you’re ready to start combining direct mail and digital marketing.

This might seem like something only a larger company with expensive marketing technology can pull off, but you can do it too. Here are some ideas.

Use Direct Mail to Drive Digital Action

Make a list of digital actions you want your customers to take. Here are some good ideas:

  • Subscribe to your email newsletter. Newsletters aren’t spam!
  • Share your site.
  • Cash in a coupon on your site.
  • Use a feature in your app.
  • Create an account on your site.

Here’s how direct mail can help.

  • Create a direct mail coupon that’s only good on your website.
  • Send a unique, creative direct mailer that advertises your newsletter.
  • Send a personalized report showing some key features of your app, or site, that your customer hasn’t been using.
  • A postcard that is a personalized, VIP invitation to make an account.

You can use variable data printing to personalize your direct mail and personalized URLs (they’re not that hard to make!) to make digital links and calls to action relevant.

Send Direct Mail Based on Digital Actions

Take the reverse tactic and only send direct mail when you need to, this frees up your pocketbook to make more effective direct mail.

  • Send a personalized birthday card when it is close to a customer’s birthday.
  • Reward loyal customers with a discount coupon – systems like Square, Shopify, and WooCommerce can help you track customer loyalty.
  • Turn in-store conversation into a chance to get both email and mailing addresses, send potential customers reminders to both their inbox and mailbox.

Creating a blended offline & online campaign is a good idea too if you have the time. Here are some simple, fun ideas we’ve seen work for our customers.

  • Use direct mail to send something fun, like a punch-out figure, a silly picture or something else and have customer share it online with hashtags or links driving traffic back to your site.
  • Create a referral program and use both direct mail and email to send requests. As customers refer new customers to you, give them both a reward. Send the reward via direct mail if you can, it will be more meaningful.
  • Send personalized thank you notes, no offer included, just a thank you. It will get you noticed.

The key to a happy marriage of direct mail and digital marketing is data. You are capturing more data than you realize. Check software like Square or your e-commerce solution – there should be some data there to mine for marketing. Here’s the most important data to building a clean, usable list:

  • Name, birthday and customer loyalty.
  • Mailing Address.
  • Email Address.
  • If possible, buying preferences.

Tips and Tricks for Effective Direct Mail

Here are some more tips and tricks for effective direct mail.

Every Door Direct Mail. Learn how to use Every Door Direct Mail to reach potential customers that aren’t on your list. EDDM will make an effective direct mail campaign that converts strangers into customers.

Small List Means Bigger Spend. The smaller your list, the most you can spend per direct mail piece. When you use a service like Every Door Direct Mail, you are reaching hundreds or even thousands of customers so the cost per piece must be as low as possible, but when you have a curated list such as ‘all customers having a birthday this month that have spent more than $1,000 with us’ you can spend more money per piece to make a bigger impact.

Measure Results. Try to create unique links, phone numbers, landing pages and personalized URLS only for direct mail to track engagement from a specific campaign. This way you know that customer that accessed your company that way only did it because they saw your direct mail (and took action). Measure these results against email and other marketing channels.

Need some inspiration? Check out these direct mail campaigns that got our attention last year.

Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

10 Direct Mail Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

10 direct mail mistakes to avoid Direct mail gets attention, but what do you with that attention? You only have about 3 seconds before your prospect, customer or lead puts the direct mail down so you better make those seconds count. Here are the top 10 mistakes we see people make with their direct mail campaigns every day.

Your Direct Mail Has No Defined Goals

Start with the basics: what will make your campaign a success? Will it be more walk-in traffic, better name recall, or a huge turnout for an event? Set your goals up first and be clear, honest and demanding with how to measure success. Once you have goals, you can measure how close you got to them.

  • Pick one goal per campaign.
  • Figure out how to track it (we are fans of using direct mail to drive digital action, like using your app or going to a website).
  • Make the goal easy to complete. Have a 35 question form? What is wrong with you. Throw that away.

You Picked the Wrong Audience for Your Direct Mail Campaign

Too many people don’t think about their audience when launching a direct mail campaign. Targeting everyone isn’t a marketing strategy, it is just plain lazy. Direct mail doesn’t work for everyone, no channel does, so use direct mail intelligently. Research your market, slice and dice the data, and build segments that join together to reveal your audience. Tailor your message correctly.

Also, the right audience becomes the wrong audience at the wrong time. Get your timing down. Know when your mailer will land and time it with other events in your area, the season or where the customer is in their buying decision.

Think about all those times you bought something on Amazon and then the ads for that item follow you around the Internet. Don’t be like that – get your timing right.

Too Much Copy in Your Direct Mail

Too much copy is boring to read.

Use white space. Use sizzling hot adjectives and verbs that fly off of the page.

Keep it short.

Your Direct Mail Has No Clear Call to Action

Our opinion is that the number reason that direct mail campaigns fail is a muddled call to action. Your direct mail piece must contain one, single call to action. It must be enormous, bold, memorable and easy enough for someone to actually complete.

Pretend your prospect will put your direct mail piece but will remember it, vaguely, days later. Because that is exactly how direct mail works. If your call to action is easy to remember you are more likely to get them to take action.

Here are some tips:

  • Seriously, just one call to action.
  • Bold, bright colors. Research shows that people remember some colors, like orange, better than others.
  • Make your call to action personalized by using  Personalized URL, a QR code or personalized copy or images on the piece.

Your Direct Mail Focuses on Features

No one cares about who you are, what you can do or how you got where you are. No one cares if you’re having a good time or if you’re going out of business. Remember: people don’t buy drills, they buy holes in things.

Your direct mail, and the rest of your marketing, can not lead with features. You must lead with value. Too many direct mail campaigns stutter and die because they don’t offer value.

Be relevant and be read.

Only Using Direct Mail as a Coupon

To be clear, sometimes a direct mail coupon is a fabulous idea but unless you already have a relationship with the recipient (they are an existing customer or partner), a direct mail coupon can spur the wrong type of action.

No one wants a customer that is just looking to save a dollar. Those people are mercenaries and they’ll drop you fast for the pennies on the dollar in savings. Here are some ideas to get that same great juice without squeezing a coupon-lemon. (Just go with us, we know that was a weak analogy).

  • Send a sample. You get their purchase at full price and a lumpy package gets opened.
  • Offer a discount if they refer a friend. Include all the info on the direct mail. This works great because direct mail is perfect for literally giving to a friend.
  • Send a catalog personalized to a customer’s taste, so they see products that are curated just for them. Sounds expensive? Impossible? Think again because Printing for Less can make personalizing your direct quick, easy and affordable.

Your Direct Mail Branding is Off

Everyone hates the brand police. But you know what they hate more? Going belly-up because you can’t be consistent with your message, your customers leave you and everyone hates what you’ve become.

Seems dramatic? Well, it is, but that could happen. Being consistent in your marketing messaging is critical. You should be able to boil your company down into one, short and memorable statement (sentences are way too long).

Keep your direct mail bound to that core idea.

  • Use the right brand colors.
  • Use approved messaging and copy.
  • Target audiences that are part of your marketing strategy.
  • Give direct mail its own special twist so it can stand alone, but keep it on brand.

Top level branding is pretty high-level, squishy academics. In the real world just remember: follow the style guide.

Your Direct Mail Ignores the Power of Tactile Sensation

Direct mail is the only marketing channel that lets you advertise to fingers. Seem silly? Did you know the human finger is one of the most sensitive fingers in the entire animal kingdom? If your finger was the size of the Earth, you could tell the difference between a house and an SUV.

Why would you pass that up! Add a tactile element to your printed direct mail. Use a textured paper, embossed design or even an element that is normally intended for visual pop like high gloss spot UV coating.

But add small designs for touch, like tiny wrinkles, bumps or ridges. Anything that the finger can process with a touch. If someone feels something startling, they will remember your message longer.

There’s a special coating called SoftTouch that feels like velvet, add it to your next piece.

You Didn’t Think You Could Make Direct Mail Personalized

People respond to their name, birthday or other personal information. Using a technology called Variable Data Printing you can print your direct mail pieces so they are hyper-personalized to your customers.

  • Include a customer’s name, birthday or anniversary.
  • Change pictures or graphics based on customer age or demographics.
  • Change copy on the direct mail piece to keep the message local by referencing their city or sports team.

If you have the data, almost anything is possible with personalized printing.

You Didn’t Follow Up Your Direct Mail

The cardinal sin of any marketing campaign is not following up. If you get responses, action or interest you have to take action. If people are walking into your store, ask them about the direct mail campaign. If they are emailing you or filling out forms on your site, thank them for opening up their mailbox to you.

Follow up with an email, phone call or replying to a social media message. These folks raised their hand, they want to talk to you, do what it takes to make these conversations happen.

The problems that stimy a direct mail campaign aren’t that different from the ones that hamstring other campaigns. Remember to use a mailing service to save time and your sanity, and look into special services like Every Door Direct Mail, which can get your direct mail circulated without needing an address list.

Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.