How to Use Marketing Materials to Grow Your Brand

Office Depot sponsored this post, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Printed marketing materials should be the cornerstone of any healthy marketing plan, no matter what the size of the business.

Why? Because printed marketing materials are the most affordable way to market and capture an impression. It’s the most affordable way to capture a conversion. It’s the easiest thing for a business that’s not as hardworking to leave out or forget. That will give your business a steep advantage that you have to take.

Although there is no perfect way to track the ROI of these materials, most marketers agree that for every 20 items that you will pass out you will make an impression and for every 50-100 you will pass out you will make a conversion. Not only is that a pretty great ROI, if you consider how affordable it is to produce these materials, that ROI is even more exciting.

So what do I mean by marketing materials? I mean creating and using a variety of business cards, brochures, flyers, postcards and more and then getting these items out into the world. Imagine how helpful it is to have business cards that you hand to colleagues at a lunch, posters for upcoming events in your gallery, stickers that you send for free to online shoppers, or email sign-ups for in-person events that you are participating in.

Creating and using marketing materials is an extremely affordable way to market your business and I recommend that you always have a variety of items with you at all times.

First of all, I get all my marketing materials from Office Depot. No matter what city I am in, I can find all the items you need. I for example place my orders online for pickup in the store, and most marketing materials will be ready the same day or next day.

At Office Depot you can find sticker labels for products, postcards, banners and brochures, in addition to regular copy and color copy printing. Most printing is finished same day if you order before 2pm and next day if you order after 2pm. It makes printing stress free.

Do yourself a favor and create an Office Depot account right now so you can start using this service. Office Depot offers design, print and copy services that help to keep your small business running smoothly – no matter where you’re located. The consistency from location to location means you can order without headaches.

When I’m in a pinch, I can easily get the materials and resources I need to keep my business running through Office Depot’s array of Workonomy™ print and copy services. From business cards to marketing materials, they have my back to get the job done quickly when I don’t have the time.

Here are my recent Marketing Material Orders from Office Depot and Why I Got Them

1. Email Sign-Ups in Kansas City: I was recently participating in a festival in Kansas City and my email sign-up sheets got crushed in the journey there. I use a simple color copy paper attached to a clipboard for my sign ups. And if you know anything about email marketing, you know it’s super important to capture in-person sign ups when you can.

2. Last Minute Posters: We host events in a suburb of Houston that I don’t travel to every day. I realized I needed new event posters the night before I had a meeting in that area. Ordering from Office Depot online and picking them up the next morning helped me promote these events more easily. I don’t know how I would have done it otherwise!

3. A Copy of My Power Point Slide Deck: Last weekend, I gave a talk on Email Marketing. It was awesome! But of course, when I was about to head out the door I realized having a hard copy of my slide deck would be super handy. Luckily it was before 2pm, so I just drove straight to Office Depot and asked if I could pick it up then. It only took a couple of minutes and was just what I needed.

What Types of Marketing Materials I Recommend for your Business

Office Depot has a wide variety of options for marketing materials that every business needs, such as:

1. For Every Business: No matter what you do, here are a couple of things that are always helpful. Business cards are a must. Imagine meeting a new connection and not having one on you. Promotional items like pens or magnets are also fabulou. Last, it’s much overlooked but banking accessories like a deposit stamp will save you a lot of time and help your employees when the bosses are out of town.

2. For Retail or In-Person Events: If you have a public-facing business don’t ever go without having posters, postcards, and flyers. Hang those bad boys up everywhere you go – coffee shops, bars, and pass them out to friends. You will be surprised by when and where you can reach the right person or make the right connection. Next, you must have email sign-up sheets. I just use a regular size color copy paper that I attach to a clipboard.

3. For an Ecommerce Business: If you are shipping out orders you will want to make sure those boxes and packages look great. A quick tip is to add a sticker or ink stamp a design on the package. I also recommend adding postcards with helpful info or coupon codes inside your orders.

4. For an Office: When I am working with large groups, I am a fan of having personalized calendars and planners made. Hanging a master calendar for all of the staff is a great way to keep everyone on the same page.

You can also get creative with the marketing materials that you use depending on what type of business you run and what your goals are. If you need inspiration just check out the