151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring

Chapter Title Here Please 1 151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring 2 Book Title Here Please Blank page Chapter Title Here Please 3 151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring Jean Joachim The Career Press, Inc. Franklin Lakes, NJ 4 Book Title Here Please Copyright © 2008 by Jean Joachim All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press. 151 QUICK IDEAS FOR ADVERTISING ON A SHOESTRING EDITED BY GINA TALUCCI TYPESET BY MICHAEL FITZGIBBON Cover design by Jeff Piasky Printed in the U.S.A. by Book-mart Press To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and Canada: 201-848-0310) to order using VISA or MasterCard, or for further information on books from Career Press. The Career Press, Inc., 3 Tice Road, PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417 www.careerpress.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Joachim, Jean C. 151 quick ideas for advertising on a shoestring / by Jean Joachim. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-1-56414-982-4 ISBN-10: 1-56414-982-X 1. Advertising —Management. 2. Advertising—Costs. 3. Advertising— Evaluation. I.Title. II. Title: One hundred fifty-one quick ideas for advertising on a shoestring. III. Title: Advertising on a shoestring. HF5823.J65 2008 659.1--dc22 2007031655 Chapter Title Here Please 5 Dedication To Diana Finegold 6 Book Title Here Please Blank Page. Chapter Title Here Please 7 Acknowledgments I would like to thank the following for their understanding and support: Larry Joachim; David Joachim; Steve Joachim; Deirdre Wyeth; Regina Ryan; Dr. Steven Shapiro; Professor Sally Shapiro; Professor David Arentsen; my editor, Gina Talucci; and all my clients, past, present, and future. 8 Book Title Here Please Blank Page. Chapter Title Here Please 9 Contents How to Use This Book Introduction 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Find New Products for Current Customers Stick to a Budget Consultants on Commission? Opportunity Budget Define Your Unique Selling Proposition Be the Best You Can Be Big Ideas Mean Big Business Increase Payment Options Exchange With Noncompetitive Businesses Donate Give a Break to Nonprofits Establish the Lifetime Value of Your Customers Make Lemonade From Lemons Build Your Business Carefully Mail Catalogs to Online Buyers 17 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 10 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 151 Quick Ideas for Start-Up Entrepreneurs Your Cover Is More Than a Pretty Picture Create a Co-Op Bulletin Board Use Strong Selling Words for Success Let Testimonials Sell for You The Problem/Solution Formula Never Forget the “P.S.” The Multi-Purpose Brochure Find Fresh Talent Standard Formats Save Money Copy Do’s and Don’ts Keep It Personal Design Do’s and Don’ts Make Your Banner Ads Rock Turn Your Customer List Into a Database Enhance Your Customer List Contests Grow Lists Test New Offers in Every Mailing List Exchanges Save Money 80/20 Rule Follow Postal Requirements Negotiate List Prices Promote Customers Often More List Negotiation Create Multi-Buyers 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Chapter Title Here Please 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. Rent Lists Carefully To Pay or Not to Pay…Postage Duplicate Names Are Multi-Buyers Direct Mail for Lead Generation? Save Money on National Cable Soap Operas Aren’t Responsive Infomercials Are Expensive Best Programming for DRTV Success 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 11 What Are the Best Times to Run DRTV Advertising? 68 Reduce DRTV Budget for Busy Retail Seasons Run Heavily in Best Seasons Run-of-Station Is Cheapest DRTV Is Best for Demonstrations Ask for the Order No DRTV Time Available Broad Rotations Get the Best Clearance Consumer E-mail Business-to-Business E-mail Never Send an E-mail Without an Offer Getting E-mail Read E-mail Is Free E-mail Response Is Fast E-mail Electronic Gift Cards E-mail Mistakes to Avoid 69 70 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 12 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 151 Quick Ideas for Start-Up Entrepreneurs Foolproof Fulfillment Increase Your Customers’ Lifetime Value Use Direct Marketing Establish Your Seasonality Integrate Your Marketing, Maintain Your Image Create Separate Pages for Internet Ads Holiday Advertising on the Net Magazine Remnants Save Money Use of Color in Magazine Ads Small Space Ad Units Make a Difference Insert Cards Create Response Are Special Issues Right for You? Time Your Ads for Maximum Impact Use Magazines to Create a Leadership Program Split Testing in Magazines TV Guide Is Great for Testing How to Project Early Bingo Cards Select the Right Media for Your Business Create a Take-One Exchange Make Money With Package Inserts Evaluate Media Using CPM Always Negotiate Rates Use Your Best Media First 85 86 87 88 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 Chapter Title Here Please 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. Standby Space Can Save You a Bundle Timing Newspaper Ads Is Key Know What Days to Run Newspaper Ads Target by Newspaper Section Target by Newspaper Columns Should You Use Color in Newspaper Ads? Newspaper Frequency Discounts Save Money Pre-Printed Inserts in Newspapers Coupon Booklets Have Low Rates Larger Newspapers Offer More Options What Ad Sizes Are Best? Design Is Paramount in Small-Space Ads? 13 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 100. Keep Creativity Fresh 101. Hire a Newspaper-Savvy Creative Team 102. Offer Testing: A Way of Life 103. The All-Important Guarantee 104. Keep Your Product the Star 105. Try Newsletters—They’re Inexpensive 106. Video Offers Work on TV 107. Sweepstakes and Contests 108. Installment Offers Boost Response 109. Tailor Offers to Suit Customers 110. Add a Sticker for Last Minute Offers 111. Free Shipping—Always a Winning Offer 14 151 Quick Ideas for Start-Up Entrepreneurs 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 149 150 112. Send an Offer in an E-mail That Is Guaranteed to Be Read 113. Work With Printer’s Format 114. Saving Paper Saves Money 115. Gang Up Printing and Save Big Money 116. Save Money by Folding Instead of Cutting 117. Samples Make Sales 118. Be Your Own Premium 119. Cross-Promotion Saves Money 120. Ride-Alongs Reduce Postage Pinch 121. Back Local Contests and Giveaways 122. Not Great for Direct Response 123. A.M./P.M. Drives for Awareness 124. Barter for Time to Save Money 125. Vanity Phone Number: The Way to Go 126. Top-Notch Customer Service Increases Lifetime Value 151 127. Loyalty Cards Pay Off 128. Good Communication Creates Loyalty 129. Use Research to Reduce Mistakes 130. Run Contests in Your Store 131. Use Technology to Drive Store Traffic 132. Use Your Store Window to Showcase Offers 133. In-Store Pick-Up Increases Sales 134. In-Store Events for Online Customers 135. Upselling on the Telephone Increases Profit 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 Chapter Title Here Please 136. Voice Messaging Creates Sales 137. Keep Landing Pages Uncluttered 138. Websites: Necessities, Not Luxuries 139. Test Offers on Your Website 140. Create Your Own Bulletin Board 141. Keep Your Website Fresh 142. Too Flashy With Flash 143. Easy Site Navigation Is the Goal 144. Use Pop-Ups to Upsell on Your Website 145. Run Ads for Google 146. Advertise With Google 147. Analyze Your Web Stats 148. Web Success—Trial and Error 149. Make Your Web Content Strong 150. Keep It Branded and Service-Oriented 151. Create Web Stickiness to Create Success Index About the Author 15 161 162 163 164 165 166 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 177 178 181 189 16 151 Quick Ideas for Start-Up Entrepreneurs Blank Page Chapter Title Here Please 17 How to Use This Book Every quick idea in this book is tried and true. They come from years of trial and error, from many different companies, and from people with years of experience. These ideas are offered to help your advertising programs, to make your business more profitable, and to help you work smarter, not harder. The book has ideas to help reduce your costs and boost your profitability from many different angles. It includes general advertising, direct marketing, marketing, promotion, and even word-of-mouth ideas. Read the whole book and flag ideas that pertain to what you are doing now, what you plan to do, or what you think you should do; use different colored flags for each category. Sort your ideas and discuss the ones that pertain to what you are currently doing with your staff. Implement what is feasible and hold the others for later in your development. Make lists of the ideas that you plan to use down the road; color code them and circulate them among your staff for feedback. Every three months, reread the book, flagging more new ideas. You may find new directions for your advertising that are right for your business as you continue to grow and change. 17 18 151 Quick Ideas for Start-Up Entrepreneurs Blank Page. Chapter Title Here Please 19 Introduction If you are reading this book, you are either currently running an advertising campaign or contemplating running one. Or maybe your advertising campaign isn’t producing results; perhaps you feel that the best deals go only to the biggest advertisers. Is it possible that the idea of running a successful advertising campaign is just a little overwhelming? If you’re an entrepreneur, then you’re probably an ace at what you do, but not the most knowledgeable about advertising. This book won’t teach you all the basics, but like a good tip sheet, it will help you bet on more winners than losers. Advertising is necessary to keep your business top-of-mind with your customers. Without advertising, it’s difficult to keep ahead of the competition. The most important point to drive home is that you must be evaluating your advertising at all times. Advertising isn’t difficult, it just takes time: time to evaluate, time to plan, and time to think how to stretch your money as far as it can go. This book is about helping you make your advertising effective and profitable, for the least amount of money. 19 151 Quick Ideas for Start-Up Entrepreneurs So as you read this book, put the quick ideas into different folders to be used at the right time. Discuss them. Try them. Revisit them every few months to see if you can step up to the next quick idea on your list. Then, reread the book and choose new ideas to take you to the next level. 20 1 Find New Products for Current Customers The most expensive part of any business is acquiring Assignment customers. The best way to On a 3 × 5 card, write, build your business is to sell“Find new products for curing more products to the same rent customers.” customers. My mail order business geared to new moms spent a bundle bringing in new customers. We expanded our business by selling unique products that appealed to new mothers, such as good quality audio tapes for mother and baby, books not easily found in big book stores, and simple, quality puzzles for small hands. Incremental sales of these and other products increased our customers’ lifetime value to our company. The more a customer is worth, the more we could afford to pay to acquire them. If we had tried to expand our company by selling totally different products, we would have had the high cost of acquiring new customers to buy the new products, and we would not have had the additional products to increase their lifetime value. Through time, that strategy would have put us out of business. Epilogue Stay focused on increasing sales within your customer base. Don’t waste money branching off in the wrong direction. 21 151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring 2 Stick to a Budget Spend time preparing your budget and put together a budget committee. It may help to Assignment have several people examining On a 3 × 5 card, to be your expenses and projecting reviewed before every meetsales. ing with your ad agency, Include spending to support write, “I will spend what I your sales staff, your overhead can afford.” costs, and, of course, advertising. You need an advertising budget; without advertising it may be very hard to bring in customers and make sales. However, once you have a solid advertising budget, stick to it. If your advertising agency or consultants try to convince you to spend more than you have allotted, don’t be swayed. If they are getting paid on commission, they make more money if you spend more. They need to figure out how to get you the biggest return within your budget. No one knows your business as well as you do. Therefore, consultants cannot tell you what you can afford to spend on advertising. If your advertising is successful and sales increase, then you can afford to increase your advertising budget, based on results. Epilogue While advertising is essential, don’t spend to the detriment of other aspects of your business. 22 Quick Ideas 2 to 3 3 Consultants on Commission? Commission arrangements with the sales staff are Assignment good for the company; you On a 3 × 5 card, write, only pay out when sales are “My advertising budget will made. But commission arnot be taken up by consultrangements with advertising ant or agency fees.” Revisit agencies or consultants work the reminder whenever you against you, because the consider hiring advertising more you spend, the more help. they make. You can’t be sure that a recommendation to use expensive billboards or network television is really going to work for you—is it recommended because it will create income for your consultant? In all my years of advertising, I never worked for an agency that charged the clients on commission; we charged fees based on hours. When I began my own agency, I charged by the project. If you are paying by the hour or on a project-by-project basis, create an advertising plan with an estimated number of hours you will need to execute the plan. Also, create an agreement in which additional hours will not be charged without prior agreement. Epilogue By holding your advertising advisers to reasonable fees not tied to your spending, you can have more trust in what they are recommending to you. 23 151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring 4 Opportunity Budget Set aside funds to create an opportunity budget. During my 30 years in the advertising business, I’ve had to turn down some amazing, last-minute deals for clients because there was no money left in the budget. Assignment When you deal with as Put aside some money many magazines and newspafrom your budget to take pers as I, you get 11th-hour advantage of an unplanned calls, sometimes even after the opportunity. Put it in a sepaclosing date, when another adrate account if need be. vertiser has missed the materials deadline. The bargain of a lifetime is at your feet, but, if there is nothing left in your budget, you can’t take advantage of the special deal. A good way to be prepared for such opportunities is to leave 10 percent of your budget unplanned. You never know when you may have the chance to ride along with another company’s mailing at a reduced rate or get a special price to advertise in a new magazine. What about an unexpected success? Did you have an ad with a special offer produce more business than expected? Use your opportunity budget to repeat your advertising successes. Epilogue Missing special opportunities that come your way because you don’t have an opportunity budget can hurt your business. 24 Quick Ideas 4 to 5 5 Define Your Unique Selling Proposition Create a strong, unique selling proposition (USP) for your product or service. Avis Rent A Car Systems, LLC first used theirs Assignment as their advertising slogan: “We Try Harder.” The words We Brainstorm the stronTry Harder appeared on everygest USP you can with your thing. The public began to bemanagers, consultants, or lieve that they did try harder, and trusted friends. Avis began to grow. Your unique selling proposition defines who your company is and what it is selling in a few words. Sometimes a unique selling proposition can be just two words, such as American Express: “unlimited credit.” American Express was the first credit card not to impose a credit limit on it customers. For years, it ran ahead of the pack, just because it had the best unique selling proposition. In the early years, Burger King made great inroads on McDonald’s with its short but meaningful unique selling proposition: “flame-broiled, not fried.” Geico’s USP, “save 15 percent,” got it off the ground. Once you have a solid USP, use it on stationery, your Website, and so on. Your USP is who you are. Don’t hide it. Epilogue A USP guides all advertising and defines who a company is and what its products and services are. 25 151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring 6 Be the Best You Can Be As an employee, you have to cut corners to preserve money at all costs. However, sometimes saving money damages the image, reputation, and integrity of a business. While I had to do that for others in the past, when I worked for myself, I refused to cut corners, and was proud of the services Assignment we provided. If a customer In a place visible to your called up to complain about an employees, write “Be the error, we reprinted and reBest.” Then live up to it. shipped the stationery by priority mail at our own expense. I never asked for proof of an error or required a customer to mail back the faulty product; that is tantamount to calling your customer a liar. Our “no questions asked” policy has led to many reorders. When you own the business, always strive to sell the best products and services, make the best offers, and have the best customer service. Be proud of what you do, and allow yourself to look in the mirror every morning and know that your company has integrity. Epilogue Being the best lifts your spirits, even through hard times. Quality wins in the marketplace. 26 Quick Ideas 6 to 7 7 Big Ideas Mean Big Business What is a big idea? How about Nike’s “Just Do It,” American Express’s “Don’t Leave Home Without It,” and Geico’s “Even a Caveman Could Do It.” A big idea is a concept that gets across your USP in a memorable way with few words and great visuals. Sum it up with a Assignment good tagline that paints the picture. The big idea should make On a 3 × 5 card, write, your company, products, and “Have you thought of a big services different, better, more idea today?” Put it where affordable, or more desirable. people can see it. This may When the big idea is right, start their thought process. the slogan will write itself. The most fantastic big ideas become part of pop culture, such as Geico’s gecko and cavemen. A small, local business needs a big idea just as much as a national one. In the local arena, it’s easier to make a big splash with less money. A new idea can garner more attention and recall, and a top-notch idea can actually make your advertising budget go further because it is more memorable. Epilogue The bigger your ideas, the greater your advance against the competition. 27 151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring 8 Increase Payment Options Offering customers multiple payment options will increase sales. Credit cards are now necessary for online, mail order, and retail Assignment sales. Although cash-on-delivery Create payment plan (COD) is no longer used, tests. The results will tell you PayPal is now an option for which plan brings in the most online purchases. PayPal is revenue. very easy to sign up for; merchants and consumers can do it online. What about installment payments? Watch for TV ads using these methods. Direct response TV commercials often offer three monthly payments of $33 rather than one payment of $99. Not only may it be easier for the customer to handle three lower payments, the lower payment price makes the product seem less expensive. Basically, you are offering no-interest credit when you delay payment due dates by several months. Where else can the consumer get that today? Conversely, if you make it difficult for the customer to pay, you will lose the sale, so be sure to make your offer easy to understand. Epilogue The consumer will always choose the option that is the easiest to select and the easiest to live with. Give your customers what they want. 28 Quick Ideas 8 to 9 9 Exchange With Noncompetitive Businesses Do you mail to your customers? Offer to put promotion Assignment material such as letters or flyCreate a list of noncomers from a noncompetitive competitive businesses in your pany in your mailing. Be sure area that want to reach the to ask those companies to exsame customer you curchange with you, and put your rently reach. Approach them materials in their mailings. for exchanges. You can arrange an even exchange like this: You mail 5,000 flyers for the bakery down the block to your customer list, and they mail 5,000 flyers for your stationery store to their customers. You will save on list rental and postage, which are usually the biggest expenses when you mail. Exchange with as many companies as you can find. Analyze results and drop the ones that don’t produce. Be sure that your exchange partner’s mailing piece isn’t so heavy that it will increase your postage cost. One page printed on light-weight stock shouldn’t add much to your mailing if it isn’t heavy to begin with. Also, be sure the other company isn’t going out of business before you get your reciprocal mailing. Epilogue Joint ventures can expand your advertising for a fraction of the usual cost. 29 151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring 10 Donate Local schools, churches, and scout troops are always trying to raise money. Why not donate to them? Not only is it the right Assignment thing to do, but it will bring loyList all the nonprofit oralty and free advertising for the ganizations in your neighborpaltry price of a few items or hood. Keep their addresses services. and phone numbers handy, When Domino’s Pizza doand donate to as many as you nated 10 pies to our Cub Scout can afford each year. troop for our awards ceremony, it had a big effect on me. At our house, Domino’s became our number-one pizza place. You can’t buy that kind of loyalty. The organization to which you donate will advertise your business every time it sends out a flyer with your donation listed, every time the members talk about your donation, and, if it’s an auction or raffle, every person who attends will see your donation. Supporting your community will benefit you tenfold from the cost of your donation. Epilogue Generosity is often rewarded by consumer loyalty. Donating to nonprofits is one way to build an excellent reputation for your business. 30 Quick Ideas 10 to 11 11 Give a Break to Nonprofits Give discounts to local church members, local schools’ family associations, and scout families. Create a coupon booklet or disAssignment count card and give them to your local nonprofits for distriGet the contact inforbution among their families. mation for the five largest Offer $1 for every card companies in your area. Call presented at your place of busithem or send a letter. ness, or give them a 10-percent discount. Either way you are giving nonprofits an incentive to promote your business at little cost to you. Giving back to the community is good for business in addition to being the right thing to do. Take it one step further and offer the cards to large businesses in your area. If you can connect with the human resources department of a large company, your discounted offer can be distributed to all the employees: free advertising and promotion happening right in your neighborhood! Epilogue Even if you only distribute discount cards to 100 people, those 100 people may come to you before your competition because of your discounted prices—and they will spread the word. 31 151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring 12 Establish the Lifetime Value of Your Customers The lifetime value of your customer is more important than Assignment the cost to acquire him or her. Create a formula that Lifetime value means how measures the lifetime value much that customer spends with of your customers and the you through the years. If your average order size. Breakcustomers only purchase once ing even or losing money up or twice, then you have to spend front on customer acquisition less to get them. But if they may pay in the long run. spend hundreds or thousands of dollars through time, you can spend more to get them. Business customers are worth more than consumers because the price of business supplies is higher than consumers. The college at which I teach goes through hundreds of reams of paper each year. The school has a high lifetime value to their paper supplier. If your customers are high-ticket buyers, you can afford to spend more on them than you make in the first year. Do the math, and know what a customer is worth to you before you budget your advertising. Epilogue Consider the long-term effects when you evaluate your advertising and promotion for success. Promote heavily to increase lifetime value. 32 Quick Ideas 12 to 13 13 Make Lemonade From Lemons Be analytical. When something doesn’t work, don’t just toss it out without learning what went wrong. Was the offer not good Assignment enough? Was it the wrong medium? The worst thing that can Establish a control ad happen is to have a test that you with all the elements that can’t read. work for you. If you know what went wrong, you can save money by not making the same mistake again. The important lesson is to create tests that you can read. Don’t test too many variables. If you’re testing a new medium, such as a co-op, use an offer that has been successful for you in the past. Testing an offer and a medium at the same time is risky; if it doesn’t work, you won’t know what failed—the offer or the medium. Establish a control that has a history of success. Then test new media or ad sizes with the control offer. Also consider positioning, headlines, and timing—was there a snowstorm that prevented the newspaper with your ad from reaching its full circulation? Epilogue Never test too many elements. Having results you can’t read is worse than having an ad that doesn’t work. 33 151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring 14 Build Your Business Carefully Mike and Sarah had a personalized stationery business. They were doing well, so they decided to double the amount of Assignment catalogs they mailed before Christmas. They also added a Create a time line. Make free shipping offer to increase accurate response projecsales, and the response was tions before advertising. overwhelming. Unfortunately, they didn’t plan for this success, so they didn’t have enough stationery in-house to fulfill all the orders. Their printer was printing catalogs, and couldn’t print their new stationery for several weeks. They couldn’t afford to go to another printer because their profit was down, because they had to absorb shipping costs. They had many angry customers who didn’t get their stationery and cards on time. Mike and Sarah didn’t count on huge success putting them out of business. You must be ready for your response. Don’t launch a big e-mail campaign until you are ready to respond and fulfill. E-mail responses will start arriving on the same day the e-mail is launched, sometimes within minutes. If you delay, you will lose customers. Epilogue Expect the unexpected. Have a contingency plan for higher response. 34 Quick Ideas 14 to 15 15 Mail Catalogs to Online Buyers Create a catalog—even a mini-catalog—and mail it to your Internet shoppers. Research shows that many catalog buyAssignment ers prefer to shop from a cataCreate and mail a small log and place the order online catalog to your online buyers. rather than call an 800 number. Nike, Amazon, Hanes, and Easy Spirit (just to name just a few) have sent catalogs to me, even though I only shop with them online. Having their catalogs gives me time to look through the merchandise and think about my purchase when I’m riding the bus. Your catalog will keep your products in front of the consumer and allow you to make special offers whenever you wish. You can beef up sales during your best season, or increase promotion during slow times to encourage more sales. You can also test products and offers. Sending a catalog gives you more control over sales than just the Internet alone. And this doesn’t have to be a big catalog. A small catalog with a few main items will be enough to keep the consumer buying from you online. Epilogue Mailing to online buyers will add incremental sales and increase the lifetime value of these customers. 35 151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring 16 Your Cover Is More Than a Pretty Picture How do you test offers for a catalog without spending lots Assignment of money on plate changes durDesign your catalog so ing the printing process? Seayou can have a special ofsoned catalogers know that you fer on the front cover. can slap a sticker on the front cover for each different offer. You can print stickers with different offers on them to test offers for your catalog. A sticker with an offer of 20 percent off or free shipping grabs the eye when it appears on the cover. Also, make the change on the black-and-white order form bound into the center of your catalog; making changes on the order form is inexpensive because it is only a black plate change. Remember: Be sure that the offer on the sticker matches the offer in the order form if you’re not doing the same offer on every catalog. If stickers are too expensive, just print your offer in a burst or circle on the front cover in black and white. For the control catalogs, print covers without the black-and-white extra. Epilogue Special offers g