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Make the most of your Leaflets

Make the most of your Leaflets

Spotlight on Starmarque

Leaflets are so versatile, and it’s no surprise so many businesses find them to be an essential part of their marketing.

Leaflets should be an essential product in your marketing toolkit, and they look great in glorious full-colour and are incredibly low cost. Many things will affect the response you’ll get from your leaflet drop. Answer these questions and make your leaflets work harder for you:

Who’s your target market?

Who are you trying to reach? Are you selling to consumers or businesses? What age group? If you can’t answer these questions, you’ll find it a bit trickier to find the right way to target your market.

What are you trying to say?

Presumably, you’re investing in marketing to win more business. Think about what makes you different or special. What’s your Unique Selling Point? Why should they buy from you?

What’s in it for me?

When you get a leaflet what do you do? Save it or bin it? The most effective leaflets have an offer. Maybe “half price this month” or “free consultation during November”. Think hard about offering an incentive – and the level of it. “5% off” may be enough… but what would “25% off” do?

What do you want them to do?

Tell your customers what you want them to do next. “Call now for a free sample”. Spell it out. Make it easy to buy from you.

What will it look like?

Design can mean the difference between success and failure. A poorly designed leaflet may do more damage than you think. We can help. Design is our business, after all. Talk to us.

Our top tips for marvellous flyers

Give more info to your customers by summarising your services and offers.

Make your message simple,add a QR code to direct customers to more information.

Add a map to connect customers to places. It could be where to find you, or around your premises.

Show off your branding, so your customers will be able to remember you!

Leaflets

Folded Leaflets

Folded Voucher Leaflets

Get in touch with your closest Studio

Our studios are more than ready to lend a helping hand. Feel free to give them a bell or pop into your closest studio to have a chat with how we can help your business stand out.

In other news…

Finding Your Voice

Finding Your Voice

Finding Your Voice

Establishing your brand tone of voice & replicating it.

What does tone of voice mean in branding?

Your voice is the essence of how you express yourself, your values and your mission as a business in written and spoken communications. The tone of your brand voice helps your customers pre-empt what to expect from your service and guides your team to deliver that consistently. Tone of Voice describes the way your brand speaks to its audience. What your business sounds like, and what people can expect from you.

What is an example of tone of voice?

There are a multitude of aspects making up tones of voice, each can be used in isolation
or in conjunction with others.

A brand’s voice might be that of a caring, parental, confident presence that evokes a cosy and protected feeling that builds trust in the brand.An example of this is seen in brands whose ideal client would be parents of babies, like Aptamil. It builds confidence in the consumer that this brand shares the parents’ value and is a trustworthy business who shares their interests; raising healthy, strong babies.

A different tone of voice might be that of the pioneer, at the forefront of technology and
ready to upset the status quo. They may use short sentences and superlatives (words like most, best, fastest). Tesla would be an example of a brand with a tone of voice like this. They make their clients and audience envision that fast, futuristic and luxurious life they want to live.

Why does tone of voice matter to my branding?

Branding is the way to share your values and mission with your audience across all senses; visual, aural, tactile, olfactory and gustatory. Your brand Voice appeals to your target clients’ emotions and goals. It tells the story of what life is like when they work with you. It gives another layer of personality to your brand.

Tone of voice to distinguish your brand from competitors

How do you stand out from the crowd? In a world of stiff, bureaucratic businesses, are you a voice of human connection and understanding? When your competitors take a lacklustre approach, do you champion efficiency and results?

Appeal to an audience with tone of voice

When trying to break into a new customer segment or establish yourself in a geographical location, mirroring the language of your target audience can be a great way to speak to the people, literally. Use the phrases of your ideal age demographic. Adapt for the colloquialisms of your new location.

Your tone of voice can connect you to the people, or create a contrast from competitors. Use it wisely.

How can a clear, consistent and intentional tone of voice help my business?

It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it.

When speaking to someone, the nonverbal cues we share massively influence the message they receive. In a world where our clients are inundated with communications, every touchpoint we make is crucial to grabbing attention and making an impression. Establishing a clear, consistent and intentional tone of voice increases the likelihood that your message will be received and resonate with your target audience.

    • Bring your brand to life with tone of voice, inject anything from humour to comfort to authority, with your voice.
    • Make yourself relatable to your audience by mirroring the language and tones they use when speaking to one another.
    • Motivate your target audience to envision a certain life for themselves through your brand voice. Tell the story of what their life will look like with your product or service.
    • Remove a barrier to trade – the unknown – by allowing your audience to build an image of what to expect from your brand if they work with you. Are you cheeky and informal? Or factual and no-nonsense? Pave a clear path to working with you by sharing an insight into your personality.
    • Useful content – an established tone of voice enables you to speak directly to the reader, in words that they understand and connect with. This builds confidence in your brand and improves the user’s experience as they interact with your marketing.

How do I create my tone of voice?

1. List your Brand Values

The voice of your brand should emulate who you are, what you value and how you interact with your audience. Begin by identifying what your brand values are.

 2. Create an Ideal Customer Avatar

Answer these questions to build an image of who your ideal customer is:

    • Who would benefit the most from your offering? How would it impact their lives?
    • What do they do for a living, where are they based, what are they interested in?
    • Why would they love your product or service?

It may help to answer the above questions thinking of a particular person you know would fit the description. Highlight the outstanding qualities about them that would make them a perfect match for your business.

If you’re in business, list your 3 best/ most profitable clients, and answer these questions:

    • What industry are they in?
    • What is your contact’s role in the business?
    • Where are they based?
    • Why do you enjoy working with them?
    • How would you describe their demographic? Think about their age, interests, values. etc.
 3. Once you have established the avatar of your ideal client, brainstorm how you should speak to them:

What are they looking for from your business? To feel luxurious? Efficient? Safe? Avant garde?

Where do these audiences currently get your service from? What do those sources sound like? Are they authoritative and factual? Quirky and witty? Caring and homely?

Research your target audience to identify if they have certain needs or expectations from a business like yours. How do they want to interact with you as a service provider? What language do they use together?

 4. You should now have a bank of information that builds a picture of the feelings you want to evoke with your voice. Identify the following:

Which common types of tone fit into your goal? Formal or colloquial? Quirky and friendly? Or official and authoritative, with lots of specific terminology? Add to this list if you have identified other prominent qualities.

What literary techniques are you going to use to emulate this type of tone? You could draw from and take a look through examples of literary techniques at work in copywriting.

 I already have an established brand, how do I uncover my tone of voice?

What great news, you’re way ahead already! Many businesses have adopted a distinct tone of voice without even realising it. Here are some ways to uncover yours.

Particularly if your tone of voice came into existence pretty organically, annotating marketing or communications that effectively sound like your brand, can help you identify what it is that makes your tone of voice, and also highlight to others ways in which they can recreate it. 

Find your tone of voice

Take 1-5 documents that effectively sound like your brand and ask yourself:

  1. What tone is it written in? Is it serious, playful, informative, cheeky, sarcastic, caring?
  2. If I knew nothing about the company, how would I feel when reading this? Are they authoritative, expert, relatable, forward-thinking?
  3. What literary techniques or words keep cropping up? Are there a lot of short sentences and technical terms? Does it have metaphors or similes? Alliteration or assonance, rhyme or rhetorical questions?

From your answers in 1-3 above, which are the most crucial parts to sounding like your brand? What should be included always and what should be dispersed sparingly throughout? Begin building key aspects that form the core of what your tone of voice really is.

Challenges with brand tone of voice

My employees keep butchering my brand’s tone of voice!

Sometimes, as hard as we will and want our colleagues and partners to adopt and use our tone of voice, they still fall flat. Here’s how you can prevent others sounding farcical when they create content for you.

Your tone of voice should seep into everything you do. Remind your teams of the key internal and external communication routes where they should bear the brand tone of voice in mind.

External
  • Website content
  • Website blogs
  • Marketing collateral
  • Social media captions and comments
  • Press Releases
  • Interviews
Internal
  • Brand Identity Document
  • Brand values
  • Internal knowledge articles
  • Internal group communications

Help – my digital marketing agency just asked me what my tone of voice is, what do I say?

You may have many people (internally or externally) working on projects that require your tone of voice, sometimes team members can struggle to get the tone of voice. When dealing with external parties like social media management companies, content creators or copywriters they will also ask you for input on your tone of voice to create authentic work. 

Guidelines to maintaining a consistent tone of voice across marketing and communications

If you don’t have Brand Guidelines and you’re looking to grow and scale your business, you need to contact a marketing or design team, like your local Printing.com, to get those sorted, pronto. If you have already created your Brand Guidelines, make sure you’ve included some instructions around tone of voice.

Include a framework tone and literary techniques used with examples of them in action. This way, until your team internalises your tone of voice themselves, they can pluck a few examples from here.

  • Create a bank of tone of voice types / phrases
  • List the literary techniques that achieve this tone, with explanations of each
  • Add key questions others can use to review whether they’ve nailed the tone of voice
Here’s an example of tone of voice Guidelines:

Your tone of voice could be described as, quirky, fun, old-timely, other-worldly and informal.

We’ve collected some literary techniques, phrases and words for you to include in your writing to help achieve something quintessentially quirky in nature.

Access their attention with alliteration

Repeated use of the first letter in a word. It makes writing more playful and helps it roll 

off the tongue. E.g. Zack the zoo-keeper read his zodiac zealously.

Rhyme

Using words that end in the same sound. This adds a musical feel to the writing and encourages people to keep reading on. Great tales need a moral and lines to read between. E.g. So choose us, because more customers, Old Bean

Help me create my tone of voice!

If this has left your brain a little frazzled don’t fret, we’re here to help. Reach out to your local studio for help and advice on creating a brand that brings your business to life and speaks personally to your target audience.

Interested in more ideas on how to market your business?

Download our digital Print and Marketing Ideas magazine or pop into your local Printing.com studio and ask them about how we can help your business with our awesome print and marketing ideas!

In other news…

Be Clear

Be Clear

let’s picture it…

You’re trying to win a new customer. Perhaps you’ve blown on the pie at
a networking event. Or they’ve seen the banner on your premises, or seen an advert you’ve posted.

What do they do next? Probably Google you. And, almost certainly, look at your website. Why? For more information. For assurance. To decide if you’re a credible outfit. Does the “online you” match the “offline you”?

Does your website match your signage? Are there different generations of branding across your leaflets, your posters and your website? Different colour schemes?

That’s where we come in. We’ll look at your marketing and work together to make it transparent. Read on and find some helpful tips on how to make your marketing crystal clear!

Business Cards

You don’t need a psychology lecture on how the quality of your card influences people’s perception of the quality of your business. You’ve heard it often enough. (Probably from us too!)

Instead, ask “is it clear what you actually do”? You’d be surprised how many cards we see with just a business name. Maybe fine if you’re “Sparky Electricians”. Not fine if you’re “PAP Associates”.

Use the reverse to list your services. Spell it out. Or splash a pic of your bestselling product.

Leaflets

Leaflets should be a fundamental part of your marketing plan.

Leaflets, whether folded or not, are super versatile. Use them for price lists, showcase products and handy tips, or even use them for promos. The list is endless!

The key thing about leaflets is to be clear about what you want a recipient to do next… Is it to order online? Book an appointment? Contact you?

Tell them what you want them to do next.

Other Ideas

Notepads

Notepads aren’t only for notes; they can be used for checklists, forms and much more. With a variety of sizes from A7 to A2,
you’re sure to find a size that fits.

Magnets

Have your contact details at the
ready on your customers fridge.

Stickers

Get sticker happy, pop these on every box or order that leaves your store. Use them as address labels or product labels, the uses are endless!

Footpath Signs

Great for grabbing passing foot traffics attention. Let people know you’re open for business and direct them where to go. Super sturdy so it can withstand most weather.

Take the next step…

Let’s meet. Let’s look at the marketing you’re using today. And work on a plan to make things clearer. To find a common voice and a consistent feel.

To convert browsers into buyers. To persuade passers-by to buy. Mastering consistent marketing just needs a desire to be clear.

In other news…

It’s a Fabric Fiesta!

It’s a Fabric Fiesta!

Everything you need to be seen

Are you ready to wow new customers?
We exhibit at lots of events through the year. Some big, some small. Some cost more, but attract more customers. Some cost almost nothing, yet we still meet new people.

Which events will your customers be going to this year? A trade fair? A convention? Classic car show, music festival, vintage fete? Could you drum up new business at one of these?

The great thing about our display range is it’s totally reusable and completely modular. Mix and match depending on the space you have.

Deciding to exhibit is one thing. Making people notice you is another. How do you make them stop? It’s our job to help you stand out. To get your message noticed. To existing buyers and to turn strangers into customers.

Create atmosphere in your space

Walls

Our wall displays pop up in minutes. Each has a continuous graphic, so you don’t need to worry about lining up panels – stretch your message across the whole stand!

We have Straight, Curved or S-shaped walls, for any occasion.

Booths

Rent a space-only stand at your next expo and pop-up one of these bad boys – they’re incredible in real life.

These ‘curve’ around and make a neat little space to chat and have a yarn!

Dress it up with furniture

Counters

Display stands

Table Cloths

Flags

Tablet Stands

How do our displays work?

Fabric Displays are made up of two main components — a strong, lightweight, tubular aluminium frame and a printed fabric cover.

The fabric cover is designed to fit snugly over the frame, it is secured at one edge with a zip fastening. The fabric cover is changeable – additional covers can be ordered separately.

These ‘next generation’ displays deliver maximum impact and eliminates the problem of visible join lines on larger displays.

1. Fabric Display frames utilise
a simple ‘click together’ mechanism. 

2. Each part is numbered for easy identification and quick assembly.

3. Stretch the fabric graphic over the frame and zip up.

4. All Fabric Display frames are supplied with a carry bag for easy transportation and storage.

Have a Question?

Get in touch with your closest Studio

Our studios are more than ready to lend a helping hand. Feel free to give them a bell or pop into your closest studio to have a chat with how we can help your business stand out.

In other news…

Tell a story with your brand

Tell a story with your brand

Once upon a brand…

Your brand portrays your business visually.
It represents you and should evoke instant emotion.

Take the strawberry for example, when you see a bright, ripe strawberry you instantly want to eat it. But what the pip has that got to do with marketing? Well, here is a little story…

Birds know that red berries are the ripest and tastiest. Strawberries have evolved to advertise their tastiness by changing colour to an intense red. But what’s in it for them? Birds eat the fruit, but don’t digest the seeds and scatter them around the area.

This made us think. We’re all in business to attract attention. Right? The trick is making sure it’s us that customers want to pick. And that’s where branding comes in.

Don’t be shy

Your logo is a visual shortcut that reminds people who you are.

There’s a famous study which shows the more someone sees a picture or name, the more likely they are to pick it. Familiarity leads to trust.

And subconsciously, when faced with a choice, we choose the more familiar name. That’s how branding works and this logic applies to your brand.

Rebrand it, they’ll
freak

Every so often the press reports some company rebranding costing eleventy bazillion bucks. And the crowd goes crazy. “What a waste of money” they squeal.
We design identities for businesses like yours every week.
For a lot less than eleventy bazillion bucks.

The magic $0.001 per view

You should be proud of your logo. And liberally plaster it everywhere.
You’ll definitely use it on your website, business cards, stationery, and so much more.

Over its life, how many times will it be seen? How many people drive past your premises each hour? How many visit your website each day?

Think about where people will see your logo, it could be seen MILLIONS of times each year.

Mystery Shop yourself

Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to look at your business in a new way. To look at it like a customer does.

But that’s hard for us to do ourselves. Our automatic, or ‘1 track’ mind, blanks out details we see every day. We become blind to the way our business looks. That’s our brain’s way of protecting us from information overload. But it’s dangerous.

You could ask a friend to review their experience as if they were a client. But an alternative technique is to take photographs of the journey a customer would take and print them out. You’ll be surprised at the results and the insights you get from looking at your business through a lens. 

Reboot, refresh, repeat

Not everything goes to plan. Things evolve. You keep meaning to
do that new thing. Then life happens. Things get in the way of our
best intentions.
Let us help. Branding is our business. We’d like to be involved from the start of your refresh. We can be a second pair of eyes. We can be your mystery shopper. Ask us to experience your business as a customer and let’s start building the next chapter of your brand story.

Perception is part of your brand

People make a judgement about the quality of your business, based on the feel of your brand. Everything.

The overall experience. If your website is out-of-date, if your brochures are skimpy, if your marketing looks amateur then customers will subconsciously judge you. Now’s the time to supercharge your refresh with elegant leaflets, brochures or a new catalogue.

Make yourself look irresistible, and tell your story.

Let us help craft your brand .

Get in touch with your local studio who’d love to help you.

Tell your story in a book

All the biggest brands use books to share their story. Consider how you could turn your business story into something more than a price list. Whatever you need your book for, we have a solution for you. We have 3 different print processes to print your book, Offset, Digital or High-Speed Inkjet.

Offset printing is the best quality full-colour print. It’s great when you’re printing a large number of books as it becomes more cost-effective. It is best for brochures and catalogues.

Digitally printing your book is best when you need smaller quantities. The quality is great and our digital books have the most diverse range of paper options.

High Speed Inkjet printing is perfect for workbooks, notebooks, newsletters, and much more. Why? Price! Your book can be printed in glorious full colour for the price of black and white.

4 simple steps to build your book

1. Choose your size

Size is important when it comes to your book. The first thing you should ask yourself is… How is this book going to be used?
Will you be carrying it around with you? Will it sit on a coffee table? This can help you determine what size you want your book. If you’re after a more custom size, just ask us.

2. Choose your paper

Depending on how you choose to print your book or booklet here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing your paper.

  • Uncoated paper is ideal for when writing notes in the book.
  • Coated paper is recommended for brochures and catalogues as it gives that luxurious feel.
  • Coated paper comes in a range of different finishes e.g. matt, satin and gloss.

3. Choose your cover

Some people are happy with all pages in their book being the same paper. However, most opt to put a thicker cover on the outside.
We have a range of papers and card to choose from for your cover.
Then you can spice your cover up with some laminate, and add
Spot UV gloss to make your cover glimmer and shine!

4. Choose your Binding

We have to keep all the pages together somehow, otherwise, they will just flutter about! We have 3 sweet ways to keep all those pages in order.

Perfect Binding, the pages and cover are glued together at the spine with a strong, flexible thermal glue.

Saddle stitching refers to folded sheets that are stapled on the folded edge.

Wiro binding allows documents to lay flat and will accommodate various paper thicknesses, inserts, tab dividers and cover options.

Chat to us about your story, get in touch with your local studio who’d love to help you.

Have a Question?

Get in touch with your closest Studio

Our studios are more than ready to lend a helping hand. Feel free to give them a bell or pop into your closest studio to have a chat with how we can help your business stand out.

In other news…