Are Your Promo Materials Out of Date?
(Illustration by Victo Ngai)
Do you use business cards, postcards, or some other form of physical promotional materials as part of your marketing strategy?
If you’re like most professional Illustrators, these probably make up a substantial part of your efforts to impress new clients and secure new work.
However, many creative professionals neglect to update their promo items on a regular basis.
For example, as I prepare to order a new batch of postcards, I realize that I haven’t updated my business card design in over 2 years. The worst part is, I don’t even work in the same style that is shown on the card. I’ve gone in a completely new direction, and my website and new postcard design reflect that fact.
Why not my business card?
With so many printing companies out there offering great deals on things like business cards and postcards, there’s no reason not to keep your marketing materials fresh. This also goes for your email newsletter and any other forms of communication you use.
Innovation
After all, part of your job as an artist is to constantly innovate and create new work. One of the best ways to do that is to regularly recharge your brand identity and give both your peers and your potential clients something new to be excited about.
This doesn’t mean that you have to do a complete brand overhaul, but rather show off some new work or even introduce some simple new design elements into your design so your clients know you’re alive.
If this post strikes a chord with you, I highly recommend revisiting your promotional materials and consider whether it’s time for an update.
How often do you update your promo materials? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section of this post.
Special thanks to Victo Ngai for providing the artwork for this post.
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About Victo Ngai: Victo Ngai is a freelance illustrator born in Hong Kong and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design. Victo is Victoria and is actually Chuen Ching. But she gave up trying to teach the British to say “Chuen Ching” and the Chinese to say “Victoria.”
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Related Posts:
- Promotion 101 for Artists
- Email Marketing vs. Print Promotion for Artists
- Creating Your Promotional Strategy
- 10 Rules of Effective Self-Promotion
- How to Build an Effective Mailing List
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i agree, materials should always be fresh and updated :)
With online printers who offer short run printing its really inexpensive to create new promo materials for each mailing. I have found the quality of their materials pretty good overall. Personally, I try to do a mailing quarterly/seasonally as not to bombard potential clients and also to show new work. But sending out follow up promo materials right after networking is also good since you are still fresh in their mind. I always hand them a business card (which has my artwork on both sides) and try to follow up with a postcard or e-card (from my web gallery).
How often does everyone send a new promo postcard? 4 a year? 2 a year? …12?!