5 Reasons Custom Stationery Items Work For Marketing

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There are many ways to market your business. However, very few businesses capitalize on all the available marketing tactics they could be using to promote their business. The best marketing strategies are the ones that require little effort and capital, of course. And yet, so few business owners recognize the value of custom business stationery in promoting a company. This is one of the most common marketing mistakes you can commit. Do not let this cheap, no-effort marketing strategy pass your business by. Find out the top reasons custom stationery items work for marketing purposes.

Makes Communication More Powerful

Business communications can be made much more impactful when you use custom business stationery. Without branding, a letter to a potential customer or client is just that – a letter. When you buy branded business stationery however, those business communications become marketing materials. They reinforce your brand with your business logo. That re-purposes your ordinary business letters into full-fledged lead generation tools. They take your regular operational tasks and turn them into some of the best business marketing opportunities.

Demonstrate A Degree Of Professionalism

Custom business stationery items demonstrate a high degree of professionalism on behalf of your business. These types of positive associations work wonders for marketing your business. When someone sees the level of detail your business pays even the most mundane, insignificant business tasks like writing a note, they immediately think more highly of your business. They appreciate that level of professionalism and attention-to-detail. Ultimately, that helps to market your business as a leader in its field. Clearly, that is what makes branded business stationery products such effective marketing strategies for all businesses to employ.

It Does Not Break The Budget

One of the most significant reasons branded stationery is great for business marketing is because it does not actually hurt your marketing budget at all. As you can see at https://www.envelopesuperstore.com/, custom business stationery is only slightly more expensive than classic letters and envelopes for business communications. Further, it can come out of your business office supplies budget, rather than your business marketing budget. That is a considerable advantage. It allows you to effectively increase your marketing budget without needing any additional capital to do it. Ultimately, that is one of the reasons why custom stationery is one of the best marketing tools for business.

Enhances Networking Capabilities

Having branded office stationery enhances your networking capabilities. This is one of the top reasons custom stationery items work for marketing. No matter where you are going, as long as you have a small supply of custom stationery items with you, you can turn any interaction into networking opportunities. This should be part of every business startup guide. Further, your employees can do the same. They are sure to grab a couple notepads and pens from the office supply closet every once in a while. When they do, others are sure to see your business logo. That is certain to improve your brand recognition among potential customers both in and outside of the confines of your business’s target audience. Ultimately, these types of custom office stationery products are sure to enhance the networking capabilities of both you and your employees.

Makes Customer Contact Easier

Custom branded business stationery makes it easier for customers to get in contact with your business. That is definitely a helpful marketing technique. Custom stationery items for business should always include business contact information, like the address and phone number for your business. When potential customers know where to reach your business, they are much more likely to reach out and start doing business with you. You can even choose to include your business’s hours of operation, to make it even easier for customers to get in touch with you. If you do, these little elements of custom stationery design will turn your ordinary business stationery products into full-fledged marketing materials.

Customized business stationery products are some of the top marketing materials you can use to promote your business. However, too few businesses use customized office stationery for marketing purposes. Hopefully, you will use these materials to market your own business effectively. Custom stationery products can make communication more powerful, and demonstrate a high degree of professionalism to your business’s target audience. These branded office stationery products can also enhance networking capabilities and make customer contact easier, all without taking out much from your business marketing budget. To take advantage of these benefits, start designing custom stationery for business as soon as you can.

Three Types of Celebs That Are Investing In Tech

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“The effect of influencers and celebrities on startup investing has only increased, and as technology eats more of the world,  I don’t see that changing. Influencers and celebrities can be useful for your company, but they aren’t going to make the business succeed or fail and need to used thoughtfully.”– Lee Jacobs of AngelList

Long gone are the days where celebrities made their fortune solely from their musical acts, big-screen movies, and sportsmanship. Today’s celebrities are becoming entrepreneurial influences, and putting investment dollars into startups that can take their capital far beyond their front-street performances. And in today’s social business world, traditional celebrities aren’t the only ones getting all the attention. A new kind of celebrity–social celebrities–are also paving the way.

Rather than blowing their millions on another high-end vehicle, yacht, or mansion, these entre-celebs are siphoning their cash into startups that demonstrate tremendous potential in exchange for equity. And rather than cashing out on product endorsements they aren’t themselves invested in, they’re doling out funds to businesses they believe in.

The following three individuals demonstrate the versatility of the funding landscape, as well as the potential to use “fame” as a springboard for a different type of money generation. They include a rapper, a social media maven, and an actor. Here’s how they’re investing in tech:

Nas

Rapper Nas launched his investment firm QueensBridge Venture Partners firm in 2013, and since then, has invested in many major companies, including Lfyt, DropBox, and Rap Genius. One of his more popular investments was in home security product, Ring. Ring is a video doorbell product that allows you to open the door remotely and let others enter, while monitoring their activity.

Founder of the product, Jamie Siminoff, touted the company as a “caller ID for your front door” and pitched it on Shark Tank, where he sought $700,000 for a 10% stake. None of the sharks took the bait, but Nas’s QueensBridge Venture partners invested a fine sum during a funding round, and are reaping the benefits.

The company was recently sold to Amazon for $1.2 billion. According to some sources, Ring would work well with the company’s Amazon Key, a smart lock and camera system that allows delivery personnel to safely place packages in a consumer’s home without it resulting in a theft.

Jake Paul

Jake Paul is a mega social media influencer during one of the best times to be one. Today, influencers are very powerful in the business world, prompting billion-dollar brands and small businesses alike to invest huge portions of their budgets into influencer marketing. One Forbes article declared, “Influencers are the new brand.” According to Google, 70% of teenage YouTube subscribers trust influencer opinions over traditional celebrities. Even more, roughly 86% of women turn to social media before making a purchase.

This is the kind of influencer power that social celebs like Jake Paul possess. One of his more prominent investments was 123Wish.com, a platform that raises money for charity by providing unique experiences with other influencers. 123Wish.com serves as a testament to Paul’s own social influence, and is an ideal demonstration of how that influence can power brands, generate sales, and make a difference.

The premise for 123Wish is simple enough: each experience is paired with a different charity, and users can enter to win the experience and support the corresponding charity in the process. Winners are then chosen at random. Participants can sort experiences by category (like Beauty, Music, and Travel), or by value. Some of the current experiences include:

  • Spend the day Go-Kart racing with Nickelodeon superstar Jace Norman
  • Win a sneaker shopping spree with Fat Joe in NYC
  • Hit the batting cages with Boston Red Sox’s Hanley Ramirez
  • Star in Amanda Cerny’s next YouTube video and be seen by millions of subscribers
  • Swim with sea otters alongside Nick Bateman

Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher is one of the most oft-cited examples of celebrities who have turned to startup investment to diversify their portfolios. You most likely recognize him from TV shows like “That 70s Show” and movies like “The Butterfly Effect.” But today, his on-screen appearances are somewhat different. He’s even guest-starred on the show Shark Tank, where he’s made deals with promising tech companies and continues to diversify his portfolio. Alongside Guy Oseary and billionaire Ron Burkle, Kutcher founded A Grade Investments, which was able to turn an initial fund of $30 million into $250 million.

Ashton Kutcher says of his transition to tech, “I spend a lot of time thinking about new and simpler ways to do things, but don’t have enough time to execute on all those ideas. So I found people who were executing on them and invested in their success.” Some of Ashton Kutcher’s investments include Uber, Spotify, Airbnb, Fab, and Path, and he’s known for frequenting conferences like SXSW in search of new talent.

How to keep your business event in budget

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Regardless of which area of business you’re in, keeping within budget is perhaps the biggest challenge when it comes to hosting an event. You will need to consider how you can include all of the important aspects, from the promotion to the equipment, right through to the catering and not go over the allocated budget.

Here are some tips on how to keep your business event in check:

Plan for every eventuality

Right from the outset, it’s important to know how much money can be spent on the event, and this will probably involve a conversation with those in the finance team. Once this has been determined, you should work out your break-even point, so that in the worst case scenario, you do not lose any money. The amount of money needed to make your business event a success will vary, depending on the type of event it is. For example, some require fees for entry, while others are either sponsorship-driven or guest invitations only, so make sure that you have all of this information from the outset.

Throughout the event planning process, unexpected things that can eat into your budget may pop up. Perhaps you’ll have staff drop out, so you’ll need to source some last-minute employees, or you might not have enough seating and have to order more just days before the event. Of course, it’s impossible to plan ahead for everything that could happen however, you can set aside a portion of your budget so any last minute troubles won’t leave you out of pocket.

Renting Equipment

Rather than purchasing new equipment for your business event, you could save a lot of money if you choose to rent, particularly if you don’t have much need for the equipment on a long-term basis. For example, you might not know everything you need for a good sound system or how to set it up. By renting sound systems, or other equipment for your event, you should be offered the help from experienced professionals with set-up and a helping hand if anything does go wrong.

Renting equipment also affords your company a certain degree of flexibility, so you can have an insight into whether the equipment should be purchased at a later date. There’s nothing worse than splashing out on purchasing a piece of tech only to find it’s not what you are looking for after all.

Venue

Choosing the right venue for your business event is often crucial to its success, and the sooner you get this part done, the more precise your cost expenditure will be. Before you can realistically book a venue though, you need to have a rough estimate of how many attendees there will be so that you can make the decision accordingly. Choosing a venue that’s too big for the number of guests you have will not only ruin the atmosphere but hurt your bottom line as well. You should also consider location, taking into consideration whether guests can get there easily, and the style and layout of the venue, to make sure it is suitable for your needs.

Online Marketing

To try and get your business event to full capacity, you can generate interest by marketing your event online. Paid social media marketing can be expensive, depending on the niche and the location, so a really effective way to cut back on these costs is to run organic campaigns to generate exposure for free. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are a great way to create awareness in the lead up to your event, especially if you use specific and memorable hashtags in each post. If your event requires a ticket, then be sure to include a link with special early bird prices or bundle deals as an incentive for potential attendees.

Another powerful marketing tool is email, so if you already have a sizeable email list, don’t forget to send out a message detailing the most important information about the event, as well as any competitions or activities that will take place on the day.