Make the Envelope your Shop Window!

Many communications are sent in the post.

Even in this ‘digital age’ there is still a place for a well-constructed direct mail campaign as it remains a popular and effective route to market.

Yet, many organisations fail to grasp the fact that the envelope is your ‘shop window’ and can tease the recipient to investigate further … by actually opening the envelope!

For instance, a sales letter (carefully targeted) can help generate leads and drive sales with the help of some compelling copy and, more importantly, an irresistible offer.

But before your recipients get to read your letter, they have to be motivated by your envelope to do so.

For this reason, your sales letter campaign starts with the envelope you use.

     

To get the envelope opened it must first capture your prospective customers’ attention.

Your campaign’s success depends directly to the open rate of your envelope.

By carefully implementing the best approach, you can significantly bump up your open and response rates.

Here are a couple of tips to maximise your envelope printing … and gain cut through!

• Tease your audience: A teaser printed on the outside of the envelope hints at the benefits you are offering inside. Your teaser can be something that would stir your recipients’ curiosity. Or, you might want to state some up front benefits
• Call to action: You may also include a call to action that aims to drive your audience to know what’s inside the envelope.

Research proves that if you can get your audience to open the mailing then you are increasing your chances of increasing sales and profitability.

Some really amazing facts about Printing

It is uncontested that the printing press was a very important invention that changed the ways people communicated with each other and shared ideas. For instance, Printers could make books faster, which meant that knowledge could be spread more widely, and more people learned how to read.

It does beg the question … where would be without the invention of the printing press?!

So, time for a bit of essential nostalgia as I take you back with some really cool facts about printing:

Johannes Gutenberg adapted a wine press to make the first printing press in about 1439.

Instead of pressing grapes, the equipment pressed metal letter forms into sheets of paper, parchment or vellum.  

Guttenberg was a professional goldsmith who used his metalworking skills to make the first set of movable type in Europe!

It took almost two years to produce Shakespeare’s ‘First Folio’. The First Folio was printed in 1623 and was the first time that Shakespeare’s plays had been published together.

  

When books were made by hand, scribes used water-based inks; these inks did not stick to printed pages very well, so printers had to invent oil-based inks. The oil-based inks spread over the metal type more evenly. Printers sometimes used ingredients from their homes to create inks. Soot, for example, made a good homemade black ink.

Mexico had a working printing press in 1534 – before Ireland, Russia, or America!

The first American printing press was started in Cambridge, MA in 1639. Jose Glover came from England with his family to open the first print shop, but he died either on the journey or very soon after his arrival. His widow and one of his assistants – Stephen Daye – successfully started America’s first printing press.

Each piece of movable type, including letter forms, punctuation, and blank spaces, was originally made by hand. Some printers created their own typefaces also called fonts. Some of these fonts are still used today, Garamond, for example, is on many computers and is named after the French printer Claude Garamond.

Paperback Rider! Technology and Printing produce a Bicycle!

Scientists in Bristol have designed a bike on a computer and sent it to a printer, who placed layers of melted nylon powder on top of each other to build up a fully working machine.

• The bicycle is the first in the world to be created simply by printing it out on a computer using the ground-breaking technology.
• The nylon made cycle is the result of an extraordinary project and is as strong as steel and aluminium but weighs up to 65% less.  

Individual components such as gears, pedals and wheels are usually made in different factories and assembled into a finished bike, but the Airbike is a single complete part. The wheels, bearings and axle are incorporated into the ‘growing’ process known as ‘Additive Layer Manufacturing’ (ALM)

The Airbike can be built to the rider’s own specification so requires no adjustment. It also requires no conventional maintenance or assembly.

It was made by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space group in Filton, near Bristol. The 3D printing method allows products to be made from a fine powder of nylon, carbon-reinforced plastics or metals such as titanium, stainless steel or aluminium.

Lead engineer Andy Hawkins said; “The possibilities with ALM are huge – it’s a game changing technology.” Andy went on to say … “Many unique design features have been incorporated into the Airbike, such as saddle cushioning or the integrated bearings encased within the hubs.”

Why should print media be part of your strategy?

There’s little doubt that the world today is defined by information.

Whether its news opinions, interviews or advertising, its information that provides the direction and structure to our lives.

Never before in history have such giant leaps in technology been made in such a small period of time.

Print media, television, online, mobile, and social media are all now vital components of any campaign.

With such a range of technology and channels, how can you ensure that you’re getting maximum reach, exposure and ROI for your marketing spend?     

It is indeed an integrated world that we live in…

Add Print, Add Power

Let’s consider some of the attributes of an ideal communication channel:

• It needs to be available in large and small numbers
• It needs to be engaging … you need to grab your Customer’s attention and hold it long enough to get your message across
• And, not all messages can be put across in 140 characters! … But don’t under estimate the power of Twitter as part of an integrated approach

Meanwhile, a recent Synovate survey in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy shows that:

54% of advertisers and 46% of agencies expect the share of print to remain the same or to increase.

All of this means that the message is loud and clear … Print is here to stay and it has the potential to build a brand from the ground up, working with other media to create awareness and drive sales.

Your Letterhead, Your Business … Your Tips!

Letterheads are often wrongly considered as an ordinary heading in company stationery.

Yet, it spells out a lot of difference when doing official business.

Your company letterhead captures the essence of your company’s purpose and style:

• It’s your brand and identity
• It lets your customers know just how professional your company is
• It distinguishes your company from the competition

 Here are some guidelines and tips to make your letterheads that make your organisation look great.

Keep it Simple

Too many special effects overshadow your message of professionalism.

Make the letterhead design reflect your company’s image. Create a logo that points out your company’s strengths – a logo should not stand out its own as a piece of artwork.

Design a Letterhead that is Readable

Take care with the choice of font size, colour and style of your letterhead.

Stay away from those fancy fonts!

You want your name to stand out – not the font.

Use Colour and Graphics only as needed

Don’t overdo the use of colour. When colour is used in too many areas, the areas start to fight for attention. Use colour to emphasise specific areas.

Include only the necessary details

What do you want your customer to know from looking at the letterhead?

You’ll want the company’s name, phone number, physical address, e-mail address, but not much else.

Leaving out extra information will keep the look of your letterhead clean and readable.

And … Make sure the information on the letterhead is correct!

One final piece of advice: 

If you are trying to design your own letterhead and create the artwork on your own but are not confident in what you are doing, it may be worth the cost of having someone experienced do the work for you. They will be able to provide the artwork prepares according to the printers requirements, which could save you money further down the line.

And you can, of course, speak to us … we’re here to help you with all your printing needs!