Are you tired of reading all about the ins and outs of social media? About how the internet has endless opportunities to engage and track users and all their various interests? How there are about 10 new things each day you could be doing to improve your associations value in the eyes of your members?
Did you know that print still works? Really, it does! It can be a huge benefit and provide great ROI for your organization. We work closely with many different organizations and we work hard to help them understand the power of digital AND the power of print. There are three big misconceptions that you should consider when you are evaluating marketing methods for your group in 2017:
We can’t afford printing and postage.
This is the number one reason a lot of associations stop printing publications. Did you know that most of our clients actually make a profit on their printed publications? They off-set their expenses by selling advertising. We have helped many organizations improve their communications by providing opportunities for vendors to market to their members. In addition, we work to strategically plan when publications should be mailed and put together to ensure the best bang for the buck.
Our members don’t read anything we send to them.
Warning, this is going to happen online MUCH MORE often than in print. But yes, if you are sending them a twelve page publication with no pictures or value, they aren’t going to read it. All content needs to answer the question…”What’s in it for me, your member?” If you don’t answer how you are going to save me time, money, reduce my stress or help me do my job better; it is likely that I am not going to pay attention to what you have to say.
More importantly what can you teach me or tell me FIRST. This is critical in any printed publication and why often digital methods of communication are more effective. We wait until the news is already out to put it in print and then by the time it arrives it is old news. Make your printed publication the “first” place to read something and the engagement will rise dramatically.
We don’t have a graphic designer.
You need one! There are hundreds of resources that are very inexpensive for producing well designed and beautiful printed pieces. From canva.com to istockphoto.com there are templates, photography and various tools that can help anyone make their marketing message memorable.
Interested in learning more about the power of print in 2017? Send me an email and I am happy to answer any questions you might have [email protected]
