Our Guide to Making Promotional Mugs as a Business

Is your business shaping up to be the king of promotions? If so, then you have got to get into producing your own promotional mugs for your clients. When it comes to making something memorable and highly personalized, this product is your perfect cup of tea. There are many viable benefits of producing promotional mugs, and it’s much easier now to make it happen!
As you pour in your time and resources into this project, remember that your goal here is to successfully pull the customers or clients in with your product and branding. In this article, we will guide you through each step of the promotional mug production process as you take on this next stage of your business:
Benefits of Producing Promotional Mugs
As you venture into this new promotional aspect, take note of the following benefits to help set your goals for this project:
1. Personalized marketing: With so many businesses going through digital marketing and other viable mediums, you can stand out from the crowd by starting more personalized and specific projects. By producing promotional mugs, you can effectively make connections with your customers as they enjoy your unique branding identity. By buying into your signature style, you also are able to effectively pull customers in to continue supporting your business.
2. Effective branding: Having your own line of promotional mugs is like telling a story to your customers. You are able to identify more with specific customers, such as among employees enjoying coffee in the break room. With your recognizable design on the cup, branding opportunities are made more effective as they attract customers to your business. You could also take a look at custom branding options like stickers with your mug packaging to make it stand out.
3. Fast and easy to produce: Compared to the more traditional time of manufacturing, now is the perfect time to make use of state-of-the-art printing technology. You can now come up with more signature designs for promotional mugs without stepping into the factory. You can do it through your computer screen with a web-to-print portal, all thanks to the professional help of brand management companies.
How to Produce Promotional Mugs
Now that you know more about its benefits, take note of the following steps to produce your promotional cups successfully:
1. Know what your clients want: Your first priority is going through background research on your customers or clients. You can do this effectively by having a focus group discussion or through surveys to get a feel for the overall taste and preferences of your customer/client base. This will help you come up with great designs for your promotional material.
2. Come up with designs: Now that you have some ideas about what the product may look like, be sure to come up with a few sketches or design boards to effectively make your vision come alive. Don’t worry if you are not as creative or artsy. There are viable tools and experts who can help you flesh out your vision.
3. Partner with a brand management company: If you want to effectively come up with promotional mug ideas for mass production and excellent branding opportunities, have a professional team back you up. With the help of a brand management company, you can easily frame the success of your venture into promotional mugs.
4. Make viable prototypes for testing: Before you start mass production, you need to first come up with prototypes of your promotional cups. This will help you to effectively refine your final product if there are any errors to be corrected.
5. Get feedback from your clients/customers: Using your prototypes, you can get the opinions of clients or customers about your product. This will help you to also get a hold of the demand for your promotional mugs – it’s like having a pre-sale.
6. Mass produce the mugs: It’s now time to print out and produce your mugs! Get into mass production mode and shipping with your brand management company by your side to effectively oversee the success of the finished product.
Conclusion
At this point, you now know the benefits and methods of having promotional materials for your business. With the previously mentioned benefits and process in mind, be sure to produce quality and unique promotional mugs today to take your branding and business forward.
Are you hoping to produce high-quality promotional products? We at Optamark Graphics can assist with that. We have a professional web-to-print portal to help your product vision come to life. Consult with us today to produce highly marketable promotional mugs!

6 Branded Merchandise Ideas to Use Amid the Pandemic

In this trying time, you have no choice as a business but to try to find a silver lining if you want to maintain your operations. Despite the global pandemic threatening life as you know it, you can still find ways to rise above this unpleasant situation. As the economy reopens and businesses are encouraged to run with strict safety measures, you should look for a way to promote your business.

One way to do so is to come up with branded merchandised items and have them sold or distributed. However, be sure that these items are relevant to the current plight and use them to send a strong message of hope, resiliency, and positivity.

If you are not sure how to proceed with your branded merchandise, here are six practical ideas that you can consider:

1. Custom t-shirts for powerful statements

Topping the list is a custom t-shirt that you can print with a powerful statement, as people love to wear strong words up their sleeves. This is a straightforward yet the best approach to convey a message about the COVID-19 crisis that can resonate well with your customers. At the same time, be sure to incorporate inspirational or funny messages relevant to the global pandemic.

2. Color-coded necklaces for emotional representation

It is understandable that people may find it hard to decipher and unleash their feelings during this challenging time. The chances are that they’re faced with pent-up emotions, such as stress, confusion, and anxiety. You can help your customers identify their feelings and release them by wearing color-coded necklaces. Be sure to incorporate proper color representations and let your customers wear them based on what they feel.

3. Keychains for heartwarming quotes

When it comes to branded merchandise, keychains are the most utilized among businesses. Why not use them during this global pandemic? To make them more personalized, be sure to attach or engrave warm quotes to boost your customers’ spirits. The more heartfelt and authentic they are, the better it will be to comfort them!

4. Puzzles for creativity

Now that most family members are confined in their homes’ comforts, let them take a break from hooking up online. One bonding activity is playing puzzles as a way to kill boredom and bond with the family. As a business, you can create fun and unique puzzles and sell them to various households. At the same time, be sure to incorporate proper branding on these items.

5. Umbrellas for social distancing

Umbrellas will undoubtedly work for your branded items. To stay relevant, however, it’s best to have umbrellas to encourage social distancing. Take, for instance, a village in India that had 10,000 umbrellas for the residents where everyone’s required to use them along with their masks. Why not do the same for your local business? Distribute them in your locality as you do your part in helping your community!

6. Coloring books for therapy

Did you know that coloring is actually therapeutic? It can allow people to release their emotions through colors. That said, what better way to help ease anxiety levels than to design coloring books for your customers? Doing so can be a great way to promote your business while giving your customers some form of therapy.

Conclusion

This list of six branded merchandise ideas can help you promote your business in the face of a global pandemic. At the same time, they can help uplift your customers’ spirit despite the ongoing crisis. Whether it’s a t-shirt, necklace, keychain, puzzle, umbrella, or coloring book, you can take your business up a notch while increasing your relevancy and taking the utmost social responsibility!

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the best way to promote your business is by distributing branded merchandise to your customers? As we specialize in print, promotional, and digital products in the US, we can help with your branded merch efforts – get in touch with us today!

3 Steps to Design a Shirt to Increase Brand Exposure

There are many ways you can increase your business’s brand exposure. You can go about it digitally and set up a social media account to interact with your community. You can also use physical solutions, such as setting up billboards and posters to tell people all about your business.

That said, one of the best ways to expose your brand to the public is through business events, conferences, and even charities. You can go to these events and hand out flyers, but one way to really draw attention is by giving out t-shirts with your design!

A great t-shirt design can spread awareness of your brand for many years. It encourages people to wear them multiple times to different places, which equates to free, long-term marketing for your brand.

So, how do you design such a t-shirt? Here are the steps you can follow:

Step 1. Understand the shirt’s purpose

The first thing you need to do is understand what you plan to do with your shirt. Obviously, you want to use it to gain exposure for your brand, so the design has to reflect your brand’s identity.

Start with the right logo placement, as you want this to be clearly visible. Next, pick the right colors that complement your logo and draw attention to it. All the elements of the t-shirt must work together to achieve the intended purpose.

Step 2. Pick the right shirt

While the shirt’s design is critical, the type of shirt you choose is also important. For example, if your business is based in a hot climate, you want to opt for light materials like cotton to keep the wearer comfortable. On the other hand, if you’re in a colder climate, you may opt for shirts with long sleeves or thicker material.

Either way, you must pick the right type of shirt to work with. That way, people will be more likely to wear your shirts and spread awareness about your brand.

Step 3. Create a stunning design

Once you have the purpose and the type of shirt sorted, now is your chance to create a design that will give your brand the exposure it needs.

You can take inspiration from many sources, such as social media platforms, art websites, and even your business’s logo. What’s important is that you gather ideas from as many resources as possible. That way, you and your team can find the best choice and develop unique designs that will work perfectly on your shirts.

Conclusion

With the designs ready, now’s the time to have the shirts printed. There are many printing services out there, and some specialize in t-shirt printing. Take time to select the right service providers to work with, as the quality is vital to expose your brand the right way. You wouldn’t want the design to start falling apart after a few uses. You want it to last for many years so it can continue spreading awareness about your brand and attract interested individuals to your business.

Are you looking to have your designs printed on quality shirts? Optamark Graphics can offer you the shirt and print quality you need to boost your brand. Get in touch with us today!

How to Choose a Custom Printed Box for Virtual Event Giveaways?

As every moment passes, 2,760 packages are delivered worldwide, which means approximately 16 billion packages are shipped every year. Such growing popularity of mailed gifts has made it challenging for companies to think out-of-the-box for gift ideas that need to be mailed.
The fact is that the challenge is only intensifying with virtual event gift boxes turning increasingly popular. The question arises, how can you make your business catch-the-eye then? The answer to your question is the Custom Gift Boxes.
In case you are organizing a virtual event or considering sending a holiday or thank-you gift box to your buyers, a customized gift box will help you stand out and put your company’s action better than several other parcels that appear at the recipient’s doorstep.
Custom Gift Boxes – Why?
Custom gift boxes help to add a flywheel approach to your promotional product list. One benefit of changing your package into a gift is that this creates great enthusiasm for your company that people enjoy to share, and this results in creating brand ambassadors who boom your brand’s exposure. It’s the ability to build satisfied consumers and use that same tempo to compel recognition, which helps actuate the company.
So, let’s look at why a custom box is so significant and how it can set your company apart from others.
Make Your Box a Gift!
To start with, the complete purpose you are shipping a swag box would be to either give or praise your candidates or event attendees. These days, consumers are doing their maximum shopping online; they order a box for themselves almost every day. Therefore, to make your gift sense like a gift, the easiest and best way is to make it appear like one.
Let’s illustrate it in this way. When you buy a gift and bring it to your friend’s birthday party, do you carry it in a traditional brown bag, or do you cover it in a pleasant wrapping paper, perhaps with ribbons and bows? I’m quite sure it’s the latter.
You can make your swag box a perfect gift by simply following the same procedure. Certainly, shipping gets a little bit in the way of stuff; however, you can still make shipping boxes amusing and customized. It’s the way to make your swag box seem like a gift.
Promote Excitement
Getting ready for an event? I presume the entire aim of your swag box is to make people enthusiastic about it. Or if you are only shipping out gift boxes, then the aim is to get people fascinated about your business and your brand. Well, nonetheless, it all comes down to inciting sentiments.
So, assume this. You’re going to your doorstep to grab your mail from the mailbox, and you see two stuffed parcels inside. The one you see is a regular shipping box that is likely to hold one of the many household objects you just bought online. While the other is a beautiful textured box, branded on its side with a fun phrase. It will stand out, and ironically, it won’t look like anything that you ordered.
Now, can you decide which one you’re going to open first? I know I’ll go to the second one.
Let’s take a more practical example. What if you are a user of a monthly subscription box like Birchbox or Hello Fresh? These are boxes that you are keen to get in the mail every month. The reason behind why they look so attractive is that they are made with elegant colors and branded logos.
That is the strength of the custom boxes. People are drawn to the glitzy and flashy things as consumers. As per a market research company Ipsos, 75 percent of customers are concerned about product packaging design. That’s a completely astonishing percentage, but it’s not a waste of time to concentrate on your package’s look.
Increase Brand Exposure!
Did you even know that if they can, 90 percent of customers will reuse a package box? I’m the living example of that percentage.
I attended a virtual conference recently organized by Commonsku. Sending out virtual event swag boxes to a range of registered attendees was the part of their event plan. I was among one of those lucky winners of a custom-designed box that had different promotional products included. The box was indeed beautiful and was crying to be reused. Now, it is the happy new keeper of my very expensive tea collection. Whenever I brew a new mug, it reminds me of Commonsku’s event and the unforgettable experience.
That is the strength of a custom swag box for your event or company. It’s all about making an impression that lasts. And a custom box will help you to spread the word if you are organizing a virtual event.
Just imagine-because of your custom packaging, 40 percent of customers are more likely to share pictures of your brand on social media. To increase exposure to your event in a cost-efficient way, custom packaging plays a major role. It creates something share-worthy for your already committed attendees.
Three Steps to Sending a Custom Gift Box!
So, are you willing to invest in your custom swag box, but where to start? Fortunately, the process isn’t that complex at all! However, before you start buying, it’s good to have a strategy in mind. To help get you moving in the right direction, here are a few steps.
1. Identify and Consider Your Budget
The first step to consider before making any purchase is to decide your budget. As far as customization goes, the double-edged sword of customized boxes is that there are no limits or restrictions, but like everything else, the more you do, the more costly it will become. Therefore, determining your budget will help assess how far you can go with the customization and how large you go with the box size.
Firstly, decide whether a custom box would make sense for your situation. We’ve already outlined the advantages that one can have, but there are scenarios where the budget is not wise. And that’s all right, as long as you make a good decision for your business. We recommend that at least 100 custom boxes should be ordered to be worth the price. Nevertheless, you can also buy as few as 12-15 custom boxes. In that case, a standard white box could be a decent purchase if you plan on buying just a small number.
In case you have a very broad recipient list, then custom is the path to choose. When you determine the total quantity you will need, always bear in mind that custom boxes are usually retailed in increments of a dozen.
The next step is to access the size that would work best for you. You will need to keep two things in mind while choosing the ideal size:
a. The type of products you are going to put in your custom box
b. The shipping costs.
Every brand has a different swag box, but we have a few recommendations based on our experiences. Bear in mind that the typical swag box has 2-6 products inside. We recommend going for the following three sizes:

2. Plan your Timeline
Planning properly is an extremely important consideration for shipping custom boxes, and we can’t emphasize this enough. Are you planning for an event or sending a gift for a particular holiday? Then keep in mind that you have a very crucial deadline for your custom box arrival.
If you are thinking of sending a custom box with swag items inside, then it is vital to know that the whole project takes about seven weeks from start to finish. This also comprises the boxes’ printing process, which takes about 15-25 working days or sometimes a month.
Keeping this in mind, it is advisable not to hurry when it comes to Custom boxes. The more time you spend, the better the outcome will be, and the less tension you will suffer in the end. With a decent amount of time, the procedure would be closer to perfect.
3. Create your Design-Plan
After determining the budget and planning the timeline, then comes the time for the most interesting part, the design. Certainly, it is significant to plan how you want your custom box to look like.
Don’t fuss about your lack of Photoshop skills, as you don’t have to stress the actual design process. This is what our DMG crew is here for. But considering that only you know your clients, prospects, and event attendees best, the box’s overall idea and design would be most useful from you.

  • Come up with a few bright and pleasant colors that will match your organization or event brand.
  • Utilize the innovation of the brand of your company by incorporating your logo.
  • You can come up either with a branded hashtag or expression for your gift box. This will also help in better interaction at social media as people will have a primary spot to post about your box-related content.
  • To help fund your custom box and attract sponsors, an excellent way is to open the ability to have their logos displayed on your box.

Our team will do the rest once you finally decide the appearance of your box. Our brilliant team of graphic designers will coordinate with you to build a look that portrays both your business and your event. Here’s a look at the work we did for CSTA, a customer who hired us to build their virtual event swag box strategy
Now Take your Call!
We believe most of these tips have helped boost some creativity for your gift campaign or virtual event. Swag is indeed a very effective tool to communicate with your audience, but then something that is sometimes ignored is the delivery method. Once you integrate a custom swag box into your promotional product strategy, you’ll reach one step closer to communicating well with your customers or event guests in the most intimate way possible.
Please remember that the purpose is not to let your ability to organize a successful virtual event be disrupted by a custom swag box, nor will it get in the way of any other task. And for this exact reason, our skilled team is here to guide you through the entire process. It will help develop a personalized technique that will be designed just for your organization and its objectives.

 

4 Types of Fonts- How to Choose Fonts for Promotional Materials

One fallacy in marketing and communication that has definitely been relegated to the past is that content is much more important than aesthetics. Current consumer practices show that this could not be further from the truth, as many people come to value the manner in which a message is presented almost as much as the message itself.
After all, a truth, poorly expressed, is a lie. Whether this expression is in the clarity of the words used or in the design of its presentation, one thing is certain: design and delivery matter.
One crucial consideration in graphic design is fonts. What fonts should I choose? How big should the text be? In this article, we will go over these questions and more so that you can make better decisions about the design surrounding your messaging.
The Four Font Families
There are four major font families, and they are characterized as follows:

  • Serif. Serif fonts include older styles, such as Times New Roman and Baskerville. They are characterized by the little tails at the end of each letter, with the belief that these little tails actually increase readability. They are often used to give a sense of formality to the body of the text.
  • Sans serif. Sans serif fonts are known for their straight lines. Verdana and Helvetica are some examples of these fonts. These days, they are growing in popularity because they are versatile and positively received. They are also regularly used as titles and headlines because of their boldness.
  • Script. Script fonts look like natural handwriting. Some of the most popular examples are Snell Roundhand and Brush. These are normally used for more creative businesses and establishments, such as coffee shops and bakeries, as they bring a sense of the familiar and casual.
  • Display. Display fonts include all those highly decorative fonts you see, and they are used very sparingly unless appropriate. Wingdings is a special example of display fonts. Other fonts of this family have seen use in horror movies and science fiction.

How to Choose a Font
Every graphic design project relies on a certain tone or mood, so the fonts and typefaces you choose should match the mood you’re trying to achieve. As such, horror fonts like Chiller wouldn’t really fit the promotions of a medical blog, but they might be appropriate for the promotions of a horror podcast.
Make sure to examine a font on its own and against the rest of your materials to make sure it’s an appropriate fit. If you are still not sure, show it to someone else and get their opinion.
Now, depending on how you intend to deliver your message, try to look at it from different angles. If it’s meant to be used for a billboard or poster, try looking at it from a distance. Does it look too bland? Is it difficult to read? Does it stand out too much?
The right font will give you satisfactory answers to all of these questions and deliver your message with ease.
Final thoughts
Whatever message you hope to deliver, and whatever industry your business is operating in, it is critical to employ good design techniques in all of your promotions and related materials. Choosing the right fonts, sizing them correctly, and positioning them well are all elements of good graphic design practices.
If you’re looking for a graphic design partner for your business so you wouldn’t have to worry about fonts at all, send us at Optamark a message. We have the expertise and experience needed to help deliver your message accurately and beautifully.

 

3 Strategic Locations for Distributing Promotional Flyers

While many people move mostly in a digital space, physical marketing is still important in the promotion of a brand. Small- or mid-sized businesses especially benefit from the distribution of flyers and other such promotional materials. Also, the distribution of flyers also accounts for that small portion of the population that is not on the internet, which is still around 30 million Americans.

There are few things that can match a well-designed and informative flyer. Not only can it capture members of your target market that are more difficult to find, but it can also promote your brand and business in unique and inventive ways. However, even the best-designed flyer won’t be effective without proper distribution channels.

In this article, we are going to talk about the best places you can distribute flyers to promote business. Here are some of them:

Local newspaper distributors

Even if the majority of the news is now distributed online, newspapers are still a popular choice for most people. However, taking out a full-page (or even just partial ads) can be expensive for a small business.
As such, you can go to your local newsstand and leave out your fliers, which costs nothing if you’ve built a solid relationship with your local news distributor. If you’re lucky, they might even agree to let you insert your flyer into their publications before they are sent out.

Other businesses

One of the easiest ways to ensure that the local economy stays strong is for local businesses to band together and form great relationships. If there is a business nearby that provides goods or services that relate to your enterprise (that do not necessarily compete), it might be good to carry flyers and pamphlets promoting each others’ businesses.
It can even be as simple as placing one of them on a corkboard in another person’s business. It doesn’t stop there, as you can put up flyers in your local coffee shops, gyms, community centers, and so on.

Go door to door and car to car

In small communities, going door to door and leaving flyers on the windshields of cars can be effective ways to raise awareness of your business. This is especially important if the business caters to homeowners and their houses. Not only would they be getting information about a beneficial new business in their area, but they would also be getting it from the most reliable source.
However, before distributing in public spaces, make sure you know the rules regarding the handing out and hanging up of flyers. Follow the rules and regulations strictly, so your business does not get a bad rap.

Conclusion

Whatever industry you might serve and whatever your target market might be, it is important to consider every option when it comes to marketing.
Yes, having an online presence might benefit you, but there are many instances and circumstances that require more traditional means of advertising, such as flyers and pamphlets. Keep the tips above in mind so that your business doesn’t miss out on any opportunity to gain more visibility.
If you need help designing your flyers, send us at Optamark a message. We have experience in various fields and methods of marketing as well as graphic design.

6 Common Promotional Product Mistakes To Avoid

There are plenty of marketing tools to use these days that help spread a business’s influence. One of the most popular ones that tend to attract a significant amount of clients is the use of promotional products.

Promotional products are an excellent marketing tool because they can be customized and distributed creatively. As such, it provides marketers with more choices to approach advertising—which unfortunately also leaves room for errors to happen.

To make the most out of the products you use, these are the common mistakes to avoid with your promotional materials.

1. Lack of Purpose

It’s easy to see a product lacking purpose, and when customers see this in yours, you’re in trouble. That is why before you launch a product in the market, you must have a clear purpose for it. When you know exactly what you want to achieve, it will influence your choices as you create and distribute your products. Without a clear purpose, your marketing campaign will likely fail even before they begin to take off.

2. Lack of a Distribution Plan

Having a lack of a distribution plan spells chaos for your business. When you have the purpose all sorted out, plan out how you will distribute the product. Keep in mind that handing out the product to everybody you see could be a waste of time and money! Instead, target the audience that factors in a greater deal with your brand’s image. Your distribution plan plays a significant role because it will help point you towards the path to achieving your goal.

3. Not Considering What Your Customers Like

A lot of business owners have done this—selecting a promotional product that they like without factoring in what their audience likes. Avoid this by considering what will be well-received by your target audience with your campaign—simply put, know and understand what your customer wants.

Remember that just because a product is relevant to your business doesn’t mean it’s something that your customers will want. Doing some basic research on your audience’s interests and hobbies and find the right product that will resonate with them and further spread your business’ influence as your promotional items intend to.

4. Going For the Cheapest Ones

It’s natural to want to save more money when it comes to promotional products—however, spending your money on cheap items doesn’t mean you get a quality product in return. When it comes to promotional products, quality is just as vital as it would with your own products and services.

It would be much better to spend more to establish your brand rather than spend so little and get a poor quality product in return. Keep in mind that when it comes to promotional products, you get what you pay for. As such, loosen up the purse strings a little, and invest in quality products that will really wow your clients.

5. Sticking To Generic Design

It’s common for some business owners to approve a promotional product with a generic design. While it might be a common practice, it can become even more problematic because people are less likely to respond to the uninteresting design. Aside from making your brand more recognizable, put some effort into investing in a good design that will catch the attention of your clients.

6. Putting Generic Information

It’s not all about the design when it comes to promotional products. The product should also contain direct and valuable information. Since you only have a limited space to work with, make every word count. When writing product information, consider the goal of your campaign and include information that will be most effective towards making it a reality.

Conclusion

Creating, buying, and distributing promotional products are challenging—but it’s achievable. By avoiding these common mistakes, you will save yourself from a lot of headaches, while simultaneously helping structure your promotional campaigns even better.

Are you looking for a digital marketing service in the United States to help you with your promotional products? Optamark Digital is your digital experts that deliver results. We will help you optimize your marketing efforts. Contact us today!

4 Reasons You Should Use Promotional Products To Advertise Your Business

Ever thought about different ways you could promote your product or business all the more? Going traditional may not be such a bad idea—there’s a reason these strategies have persisted for a long time.

Even though the promotional landscape has drastically changed within the last decade, many businesses have succeeded in getting new customers through promotional products. You won’t have to worry about waste, either—customers usually use these, and if not, they tend to give it to their friends or family.

Here’s why you should consider using promotional products to advertise your business:

It’s Budget Friendly

You might think that shelling out extra money for promotional products is expensive, but they’re actually quite affordable. Compared to other forms of advertising, promotional products are a cost-effective way to help you advertise your business over a period of time—usually months. Integrating this into a well-structured marketing plan will guarantee you a wider and more sustainable way to get in touch with your customers. The products don’t have to be large to make a statement. It could be anything from a business card to a sample of your product.

It Makes Your Customers Come Back

Distributing promotional products to customers, especially on a regular basis, will encourage your customers to choose your business over any other brand. It also communicates to your audience that your business isn’t afraid to spend a little to give customers a free taste of your products.

You can also opt to reward loyal customers through special gifts or personalized products—a customer that feels taken care of will genuinely see a reason to keep doing business with you. This will not only encourage customer loyalty but establish a good relationship with them.

It Generates Quality Leads

Sending out promotional products can actually give you quality leads, as they have the power to convert people into returning customers. Sample-sized products are a fantastic way to convert since it allows them to try it for free and see how much they like it. To encourage the recipients of your promotional products to come back, make sure to include links to your website and social media profiles so they can find out more about your products and services. This will also increase the traffic to your website—hitting two birds with one stone.

It Boosts Brand Awareness and Visibility

One of the most potent benefits of using promotional products to advertise your business is that it increases your brand visibility. Many people may have heard of your company for the first time upon receiving the products, which is important—this means more and more people are hearing about you! Using relevant promotional products to promote your business, like a free tumbler if you’re a company that sells organic juices, will make it easier for people to recognize your brand.

Final words

Marketing your business using promotional products is one of the most effective ways to reach your intended audience. Even if an uninterested person gets a hold of your product, they’re likely to know someone who will appreciate it and hand it over to them instead—giving you a new and potential customer.

Need print and promotional products for your business? Optamark Graphics is a full-service brand merchandising company in the US with global partners in China and India. We help you reach your target audience by supplying eye-catching merchandise and products. Get in touch with us and we’ll love to help you out!

The Best Ways to Feature Your Custom Packaging in Your Ads

One possible but not often taken route to ensure a product will sell better is the quality of its packaging. Custom packaging can maximize the presentation and highlight the value of both your product and brand. It can add to the overall selling power and appeal of any product under the right circumstances.

The pandemic doesn’t have to hold back your business

Many large brands rely on in-store purchases from brick-and-mortar businesses, like grocery stores and retail outlets, for their revenue. In the wake of the coronavirus, extended stays in quarantine have forced them to pull back marketing on all fronts.

That has led to a boom in business for smaller online companies, as the digital space expands to become the largest in terms of customer interaction. Many businesses figured out models of operation that work for them, maximizing their profits and giving them a firm foothold.

In the age of online shopping, though, most customers are only able to enjoy your luxurious packaging once it arrives at their doorstep. If marketing and branding were the purposes of the packaging, then it hasn’t been given a chance to do its job.

That’s why it’s best to include your packaging in your ads

Various marketing campaigns on Facebook have shown that showcasing your custom packaging in all its creative glory has resulted in lower costs per acquisition and higher returns.

Now more than ever, cutting costs and improving your profits are important. It is a strange time, though, because online businesses are booming intensely and online commerce is more competitive than it has ever been.

Make an unboxing ad

An unboxing video can take your possible customers on a journey to enjoying your product. Such videos are often a taste of what it’s like to buy or own the product you’re selling.

There is a simple power in taking a flat-lay video that features everything that comes in the box. Choose a background color that is pleasing and relevant to the colors of your brand or logo, lay the box out, and film its inspection while music plays in the background.

All this is far more effective if your packaging is unique and creative. It can serve as an additional selling point and added value.

You could also let an influencer or YouTuber open your box

There is a lot of controversies when it comes to the effectiveness of influencers, but a paid collaboration with a respectable influencer can be a mutually beneficial partnership. Make sure to highlight in your agreement with your influencer the need to focus on the packaging.

The selling point of using an influencer to market your product is their closeness to your target market. They often serve as ambassadors or representatives of your target market who have built up credibility as consumers. Lending this credibility to your product and its magnificent packaging can help it go a long way.

Conclusion

These days, the unboxing video is an important way for people to determine whether something is worth buying. That’s because the insights of a skilled video blogger or influencer can bring up product features that your customer might not have noticed. It can let potential customers experience your product before they even buy it.

For more information on creative packaging and video ads for your product, get in touch with us. We at Optamark have the digital marketing resources and expertise you need to take your business to greater heights.

E-commerce – How to Make Your Product Packages Shipment-Ready

One of the most crucial aspects of e-commerce industries is how a package is delivered and received by their customer. If you don’t invest in error-free shipping practices, you may end up paying a hefty price from your logistics budget, whether you ship in-house or outsource your courier services through third-party logistics providers.

Physical concerns for digital platforms

Dealing with e-commerce’s business operations requires just as much work on the tangible aspect as it is with its digital platform. Product packages play a vital role in delivering quality customer service, which is why online retailers need to be familiar with the right packaging practices to ensure that they’re making their customers satisfied with their products.

In this article, we will share three tips in making sure that your products’ packaging is shipment-ready to arrive safely at your customers’ doorstep.

1. Pack your products in light packages

Making use of light materials can reduce your shipping costs since covering for the load weight of your shipment will dictate how much inventory you can pack. Before heading on to shipping containers, know that postage rates will depend on the dimensions of your products and their overall weight. This is why using light packaging materials, or even on your products’ components, can save much on your logistics expenses.

2. Lessen your box’s unused spaces

Choosing the right box dimensions helps ease up space for your shipment’s item count and prevents you from incurring additional fees. Using a box that’s one or two inches too big can also quickly add up into unused space when you’re packing bulk orders.

Extra space inside your boxes, whether it’s your products item box or shipping box, needs to be minimal at most. The best way to reduce package dimensions is by ensuring that your product can be packed tightly within its container so that it won’t need too much stuffing or cushion.

3. Invest in durable packaging materials

Sending your products out for shipment can easily cause you to feel anxious because there’s no telling if the shipment personnel will treat your packages lightly or roughly. Human error is also a factor that you need to consider in choosing your packaging products.

Most packages arrive safely with little to no damage as long as you choose the right shipping partner. However, falls and accidents can still happen, and you need to make sure that you’re prepared for these instances. Make sure that the box for your product can handle at least a four-foot drop. If you’re shipping fragile items, use a corrugated box paired with lots of packing material to increase its shock resistance.

Too much reinforcement on your packaging’s safety can save the issue of having product returns. Unfortunately, this will be a costly expense on your part. This is why you should learn how to balance the right durability for your packaging without sacrificing too much of your item’s shipping weight.

Conclusion

As a product seller, you need to make sure that your products are in good condition when they reach your customer’s doorstep. Besides reinforcing your packaging, you should also use the physical transaction of sending packages to include marketing materials that your customers can appreciate, such as promo announcements or discount vouchers.

At Optamark Graphics, we manufacture different types of print promotional products to help businesses expand their branding potential. We also manufacture branded coffee mugs, apparel, tech items, and more. Get in touch with us today, and we’ll help you conceptualize retail-ready goods for your company!

What Promotional Products Will be Trendy in 2020? See Our Predictions Here!

What promotional products are going to be hot trends in 2020? 2020 is here and we are so excited to see what promotional products it has in store for us. Will the 2019 trends still be hot, or should we expect other new products to spring up and take the top spot? What will happen with Pop Sockets or custom socks? What promotional products are you really hoping to start trending in 2020? Only 2020 knows what it has in store for us, but we have compiled a list of 5 promotional products that we think are going to be popular for giveaways and office gifts in 2020 Let us have a look for trendy promotional products in 2020.

Wireless Earbuds

You definitely knew this already, right? Wireless Earbuds have so much potential in 2020. They are so cool, it’s being rocked (yes, we know what we said–it doubles as a fashion item) by people everywhere now.
Wireless earbuds are an easy pick for promotional products because of the branding advantages they offer. Customers love the earbuds for a gift, and since those earbuds go with the customers wherever they go, it helps your company’s brand awareness and visibility. See? It’s a win-win!

Re-useable Straws

Re-useable straws were the winner of the 2019 Promo Item of the Year, according to the Advertising Specialty Institute. This handy drinking tool, which can be made of glass, stainless steel and bamboo, doesn’t seem like it’s backing out from the 2020 spotlight anytime soon.

Stainless steel Drinkware

Stainless Steel Drinkware will likely be a top promotional item for a long time to come. Manufacturers are very innovative and keep on pushing these products through constant repackaging. The manufacturers also try to improve their quality by making it more cost-effective and useful.
Stainless Steel Drinkware, just like the earbuds, are very good products that customers love to get as gifts and also show off company branding well. This drinkware has been in the game for a very long time and hasn’t lost its luster so far, so we believe that it’s going to continue that hot streak in 2020.

PopSockets and Phone Wallets

If your brand wants a promotional gift option for teenagers and young adults, PopSockets and phone wallets are here for them! With these, you can easily appeal to a group of younger would-be customers that you may not otherwise. We know that brands will continue to use these products as incentives to attract their target audience in 2020.

Custom Socks

Everyone loves custom socks! Their beauty and expression of creativity is something to really admire. Those cartoon characters and other beautiful designs can help spice up even the most boring outfits. Custom socks are suitable for fashionable and fun dressers and have a high probability of still being among the too promotional items for 2020.

So there you have it! Our predictions of trendy promotional products for 2020. If you would like to purchase any of these really cool products and or see a sample for marketing purposes, be sure to contact Optamark Print and Promotional to improve your chances at business/brand growth.

The 7 Different Types of Promotion and How They Can Impact Your Business

Promotional strategies have developed over time in order to be able to create the space you’ve always wanted for your business. By creating communication between the seller and the buyer, promotional activities are quite useful for a business’ growth. Depending on the promotional strategy that you find appropriate for your business’ growth, you can choose to go for general advertising through posters with the help of Stamford’s printing services or social media marketing with the help of portals like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Every promotional strategy is formed as the outcome of a mix of a few different types of promotions. Based on the outcome you’re hoping to receive out of the plan, you need to work out the best strategy for you. The 7 different types of promotions that are followed in the process of building a brand’s image are:

Personal Selling

The very first form of promotion. With the help of person to person conversation, products and services are sold with the help of persuasion through either phone calls or face to face interaction of a company’s representative with a consumer. While cars and office equipment are sold through telemarketing, call centers are the perfect example of inbound marketing.

Digital Promotions

All forms of promotion found on the internet are part of digital promotions. Online advertisements through SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, PPC, affiliate marketing, etc. are all part of digital promotion. Although these tend to be cheaper and faster to create, the impact created by this form of promotion can take time to be impactful.

Public Relations

The maintenance of a public image with the help of non-paid media is known as the process of performing promotion with the help of public relations. Press releases are the most common method of announcing news, however, it isn’t the only way. These help in protecting, enhancing or even rebuilding the reputations of an individual, company or brand.

Sponsorships

Sponsorships are some of the most common forms of promotions. Every public event is supported mainly by sponsorships. In a sponsorship, a company provides resources and money for an event or to an individual in order to receive publicity and advertising for the same. These are a great way of taking up ‘paid ads’ to the next level since you are able to get the credibility of a celebrity through the same. For example, if a new and upcoming brand were to sponsor David Beckham, their sales would easily reach millions the next day.

Sales Promotion

Sales promotions follow the process of limited time offers, which tend to leave the customer in a position where they need to take immediate action. These include giveaways and sales, which leave customers tiptoeing throughout the process. Whether it’s a free item or an item on sale, most customers are likely to be attracted to a sale if they are shown that they need to pay less than the original price. Too many of these can ruin the excitement, so you should know your limit too. Companies like Optamark Graphics help in getting the best of all promotional products in order to assure that you get the quality you want for the price point that you set. As a screen printing franchise, they can help you get any and every design you need on the product of your choice.

Direct Marketing

While following through with a promotional strategy of direct marketing, the company reaches out to its potential clients by itself. With the help of emails and other forms of media, the company can inform the client about their ongoing offers and promotional details, etc.

General Advertising

General advertisements place brands on common ground. Without concentrating on simply one company, with the help of mass media like newspapers, magazines, TV spots, and billboard posters, several companies can get within the eye of the public with the help of general advertisements. Though these are not targeted, these can help with brand awareness on a more widespread scale.

There are a lot of different ways to combine the different types of promotions in order to make the most out of your strategy. Depending on your targeted audience and what you’re hoping to receive out of the plan of action, you can pair up 2 or even all 7 strategies to get your business recognized.

Benefits of Promotional Products and Franchise- Reap from Optamark!

For a business, it can be strenuous at times to arrange financing for advertising. But just because your rivals spend millions, does not mean you too are required to do that. One can even benefit from various economical and effective forms of advertising. One such field of marketing is a fully promoted franchise.

Promotional Products are especially noticeable with an advertiser’s logo, name, or message imprinted to increase brand awareness among customers. Promotional Products are the most powerful advertising tool as they allow a brand to interact directly with the target audiences. It is the only marketing exercise that allows your brand to have direct physical interaction with people, promotional products create the most indelible brand experience.

A study confirms that about 90% of the product recipients remember the name of the advertiser’s brand. About 80% of them do business with the advertisers and 85% of people love receiving them. Promotional products do work!

Optamark Graphics provides commercial merchandising for brands to create a remarkable image in the industry. We provide a full range of branding products services for your business growth. Optamark serves cutting-edge printing, branding, and promotional products needed by the business to create a remarkable statement of your brand. We create eye-catching visual design and content though our promotional products which will boost your brand image.

We believe “products are made in the factory, but the brand is created in mind.” The human eye catches more than human ears strongly adhering to this, we create the best visual appearance of the brand, which will result in customers visiting your brand again and again. The design industry has changed tremendously and is continually evolving with the latest technology and equipment. Optamark is proud to have an avid interest in staying up to date with all the latest innovations, to ensure we leave no loophole in promoting a business through top-notch branding solutions.

Almost anything can be branded with the company’s name or logo and then used for promotion, right from a pen to a handbag. Optamark offers you a variety of promotional items such as bottles, eye mask, selfie stick, mugs, plastic bags, journal book, bags, sunscreens, umbrellas, and many others for you to choose the right product for your audience. Promotional products are the best tool for boosting user experience and interaction with your brand and eventually your business.

Advantages of Promotional Product Advertising:

  • Amplified image marketing
  • Promote better relationships with customers
  • Budget-friendly marketing tool
  • Boost brand visibility
  • Lead generation
  • Loyalty & Retention
  • Ability to stand out among your competition
  • Reach beyond your intended audience
  • Favorable ROI

Why Choose Optamark?

  • The one-stop destination for design and content
  • America’s fastest-growing company
  • 3 decades of expertise and experience
  • Cutting-edge technology
  • Custom solutions to individuals

Optamark welcomes the ones who looking to start their own business with the fastest growing industry. We welcome you to own part of Optamark and efficiently run your own business. As an Optamark franchise owner, we take your success as our priority and to stand by you in your journey with Optamark. We efficiently deliver results that make the brands shine. With the highest quality printing and promotional products can fuel your brand reputation. Whether you are a product manufacturer, graphic designer, promotional product distributor, we have your back when it comes to delivering a wide spectrum of commercial branding products may it be postcards or any other branding products. No matter what size company you have, we can achieve everything your business needs to be highlighted. In Stamford, promotional products have been served from a home-based service franchise, you can contact us today! With Promotional Product advertising, create a brand experience that lasts.

Let Them Know That They Matter: Promotional Products For Your Clients And Employees

Just like handmade goodies have their own essence because they have a personal touch. Customized promotional products are the same. As the year 2020 begins, it can be a kickstart for your organization by giving token of appreciation to your clients and customers. You might have certain goals and plans for the new year. Then why not appreciate the people in your organization who are going to help you to achieve those goals? Needless to say, nothing motivates employees more than recognition and sense of belonging. Giving them awards, certificates or trophies has been an age old method to appreciate the efforts of the employees. This year, go the extra mile and give your employees something customized exclusively for them. We can help you customize some promotional products for your business which can be gifted to your employees and clients.

Why Promotional Products?

Whether it is a pen or just a T-shirt, items with your business logo printed on them along with the respective person’s name for a more personal touch to it. Promotional products are not only a powerful marketing tool but they are also a way to connect with your employees and clients at a personal level. People are always grateful for free products. Especially products that they can use in their daily lives. When you want to create a brand appeal, there is nothing as assuring as promotional products. Compared to other forms of advertisement, promotional products are a great value for money. According to a survey, 50% of the people who receive promotional products use it in their everyday lives.

With promotional products, you don’t have to use annoying means of advertising to stay in customer’s mind. Unlike pop up advertisements that can be irritating for your customers, promotional products can remain in the homes, office or cars as they gently remind people of your brand as they look at those products. Seeing your brand everyday as a product will be more likely to attract the customer’s attention and remind them of your brand.

Enhance Customer Loyalty and Brand Recognition

Promotional products bring in strong retention rate and bags loyalty towards the brand. With the help of well-planned gift items you will be able to target the right niche of customers and create a significant impact on the target audience. Promotional products with a simple message like ‘ Thanks for being a part of our journey’ or ‘ Thank you for being a loyal customer’ can make them feel valued. You can precisely target the type of customers and then distribute products accordingly. This will help you to keep your name in front of the network and sales contacts. Rather than using mainstream mediums like television, radio or web; going for promotional products can provide more return on investment.

Give Your Marketing Campaign a Unique Flair

In this highly competitive era, customers are looking for something new everyday. If you are not unique then your business will not stand out in this competitive market. Promotional products can be for motivation or for marketing. Both ways, it suffices the purpose effectively. Looking for quality promotional products for your business in Massachusetts? Get in touch with us and we will help you to create promotional products for your brand according to the kind of audience you want to target and your preference.

Know How to Promote Your Brand: The Importance of Promotional Products

For the consistent growth of a brand, the promotion of their products is one of the most important parts of the process. Promotion can help inform and influence the customers in a way that leaves them wanting the product, even if they thought they didn’t actually need it. In Stamford, promotional products, advertising, and publicity are some of the top ways of working for the success of your business.

Promotional products are materialistic items that are imprinted with either the name or the logo of the respective brand in order to create more awareness of the brand’s image and have a more physical reach amongst the audience they’re aiming to serve. Since promotional products fall under the category of advertising that is physical and actually ends up interacting with the user on a more personal level, they are more likely to create a memorable impact on the person than the publication of a simple ad statement. With a consumer reach of almost 80% and above, you can be assured that a promotional product falls under the best forms of marketing for your business.

Besides the extensive reach that you are capable of achieving with the help of promotional products, they can also have the following advantages for your business:

  • Low-cost, effective marketing

    Most businesses keep the actual cost-levels of the products in order to be able to distribute the items at a large scale, however, the impact caused by them is much larger than the money you’ll end up investing.

  • Brand recognition

    If you are given a product, a mug, for example, and it holds the name of a particular company or brand, you are likely to remember the name even if you don’t want to. The name becomes a part of your subconscious as a result of its consistent presence. Brands that advertise their logos, Starbucks, for example, can easily be recognised by even just the colours of green and white.

  • Greater exposure

    As mentioned before, if you were to see an ad statement made on a billboard or even a newspaper, it’s not likely to create as much of an impact on you as a T-shirt that has the company’s main slogan written on it could. While a statement on a billboard is a passing thought, a T-shirt is an item that stays with you, an item that you wear, needless to say, the impact is much larger than a vague image in your head.

  • Builds customer loyalty

    If you were to invest a little more money in your product, or find a promotional products distributor that is reliable, and can be trusted to give you the best quality product, any customer that receives your product will associate it with the quality of the products you’re looking to sell. A good marketing process assures a good customer buildup. Optamark graphics is a company that can help you advertise your business with the help of quality promotional products. With 30 years of experience and a wide clientele ranging from universities to companies, your product will not only be top-quality but also be delivered right on time, if not before.

The distributor is as important as the advertiser. Since promotional products are known to create a memorable impact on any consumer, you wouldn’t want any potential customers to be driven away by the distribution of a promotional product that isn’t even satisfactory. If you can, for optimal satisfaction, advertise with the help of a product that is similar to your actual range of products. For example, a mug with the name of your company or its logo would be perfect if your brand sells coffee.

How to Create a lasting Impression on Your Clients Through Gifts

Gifts are a way of showing appreciation to your clients for being the driving force that kept you in business all year round. Clients are an integral part of any business and determine whether a business outfit grows or declines. To create a lasting impression on your clients through gifts, be sure to select the best holiday gifts that they will really appreciate for a very long while.

How to Create a lasting Impression on Your Clients Through Gifts

  • Be Unique: You don’t need to be conformist when it comes to giving out valuable gifts to your clients. Be creative. Don’t just go out to any gift outlet to purchase gifts for your clients, show them how much you really appreciate them by branding gift products with your name or even customizing them to suit your client’s taste.
  • There’s no use in giving out gifts if they can’t serve a purpose apart from providing aesthetic value. Let your gifts be something they can use or something that adds value to their life.
  • You can kill two birds with one stone and give branded gifts. Create a win-win situation by giving your clients thoughtful gifts that make them feel loved and appreciated, while also spreading your message to potential clients through gifts with your business’ branding. Adding your logo or other unique visual designs on the gifts will ensure that everyone knows they come from you, thereby improving your brand awareness.
  • Another idea is to use your gifts to help the less fortunate. Here at Optamark, for example, a percentage of gift card sales are donated to charity. Everyone loves to be associated with a thoughtful brand that has the best interest of the public at heart.

Conclusion:

We hope that you can incorporate some of these ideas into your holiday’s gifts to your clients. Giving something that they will love and appreciate will impress them and ensure ongoing stability and visibility for your brand.

Using Promotional Products To Elevate Your Sales And Developing a Strong Customer Base

Question: How can you use your current customer base to increase sales and build your future customer base?

Answer: By using the most cost-effective form of advertising in Stamford, Promotional Products!

By giving promotional items to current customers, you will create long-term relationships with them. You will create new customers by word-of-mouth advertising from your existing customers by handing these out. You will increase sales by using them as a giveaway when someone buys a specific product. It will also increase return visits from your current customers.

First, you got your customer to most likely buy a product or service or spend more money that was not their original intent when they walked in your store. Then this offer creates an “upsell”, and you accomplished it without pressuring your client.

Second, you just gave away a promotional product that is reusable for your customer, and in many cases even longer since it is something they can use. It is more “free advertising”.

Customers love to get something for free, especially when they were planning on buying something from your store in the first place. This helps you in creating repeat customers for your business. Now you have “upsold” two customers, possibly created free “word-of-mouth advertising”, and picked up a new customer who will likely help you to gain more new customers down the road. And the process continues on and on. This is only one of many scenarios that could take place with just one promotional product you hand out.

You could give a promotional product for each holiday throughout the year. On Valentine’s Day, try handing out a heart-shaped box of candy. St Patrick’s Day is always a perfect time to try a beer mug or shot glass. Then you got your final Holiday ” Freebie” of the year, where you can print “Seasons Greeting or Happy Holidays on so many different cool things to hand out. Every time you hand out a promotional product, you just gave a current or new customer a valid reason to continue to choose your business over your competitor’s. You have created more sales by offering a special that most likely was not on your customer’s list to buy. What’s exciting is that you will begin to build and maintain a customer base that will look forward to doing business with you for years to come, and maybe even make a friendship or two that will last for years.

When you sit down to plan your advertising budget for your business this year, think about what a simple promotional giveaway can do for your business. Be creative and use promotional items and apparel that do the following;

Will appeal to your customer base? Is it a product that your customer can use more than just once, and is visible to other potential new customers?

Does it fit with what your business has to offer? If you have an auto repair business, try a License Plate Frame, Pocket Screwdriver, LED flashlight key chain, or Ice scraper.

Think about how many Promotional Products you will need to order. How many people visit your store on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Figure out how many are usually return customers and how many are potential new customers. This way when you order for a particular special giveaway like a “January Special” or Holiday, you have enough to hand out throughout the entire month. Always ask your Promotional Merchandise Sales Person to give you ideas and figure out these questions if you need help. If you have an experienced sales person who knows what they are doing and wants to keep you as a long-term client who continues to re-order, then they will be happy to help you.

If you are looking for useful quantified promotional products distributor or quality printables in Stamford, we highly recommend you to browse the services of Optamark.