John Rowbotham's blog

Literature Dispensers Will Put Your Message In People's Hands

Getting your message across to others is the name of the game when marketing a product. There are many different ways to get your product marketed. These include conventions, auctions, and other events where a large number of consumers are gathered. When this is the case, literature dispensers can be the best way to get more information into the hands of those consumers.

A company that sells a service or a product will all need to distribute information about that product or service. This means making a pamphlet or flyer describing what their product can do, or what their service provides. When such information is put on a brochure the next thing you need to do is distribute that brochure. Sometimes the best way is to go to a convention within the industry your involved in.

Conventions are a great way to spread the word about what you do. When doing so you will usually have a table set up for which to display your products. This is an opportunity you cannot waste. In this example where a convention setting is being used you have two main locations to utilize a display or a method to distribute your brochures or other such information about your product.

Not only are they good at getting information to people in one location but you also have the carry off factor as well. This is when someone grabs a copy of your brochure and reads it. Once they are done looking at it they may decide that what you are selling is not for them so they drop it on a table where they have gone. This table happens to be 30 miles away from where they picked up the brochure. Now your information is being distributed in an area that you never intended, showing your message to new markets.

In addition to places like showrooms, they are often utilized very well in convention centers. They are placed near the entrance to distribute information about the convention. They are used to hold maps of the convention center as well as information on all the different companies participating in the convention. In this capacity they can be very useful. A company may also place their own dispenser to give away information about their products.

There are many various ways these can help to grow your business or distribute information on your products or services. You don't always have to go big with these either. Small tabletop models can be placed in smaller shops and cafe's. This will give you the chance to reach a different market in a less obvious setting. Giving out coupons or small pamphlets on your products in a comfortable setting can sometimes be more readily received by consumers.

Money saved can be used for a variety of reasons. But getting your message out to your customer is the most important use for these dispensers. Nothing can help a business more than information. The more a customer knows about a product or about a business the more apt a consumer is to purchase from that business. With the many variety of dispensers there are on the market, it is easy to find one that will fit your needs.

If this is the case then you will want to get your brochures in the hands of your target audience. Putting your literature dispensers in various areas will do the job. You can place them in supermarkets, smaller convenient stores, hotels or area conventions. This will put different variations of your printed material in front of your market in every possible situation. This will increase the chances for people to pick it up and begin to read. This is a win-win situation for your business.

There is another great article which you might like to read about "The Reasons of Buying Portable Literature Dispensers for your Company"

How to Sell Handmade Cards

Handmade cards are one of the most popular and intimate ways of sending that special message, be it happy birthday or good luck to that special someone and more and more people are starting to get in on the action.

And why wouldn’t they, the greeting card market in the UK in worth £1.2 billion a year.

The big question is, ‘how do I sell my handmade cards? You might want to sell them because your friends and family think there’re good, you want to create some extra income to help fund your passionate hobby or just to set up a business and one day become one of the big players in the greeting card market

 

The first step we would recommend any crafter to do is to research their local market. Try to find out if anyone else in your local area is selling handmade cards, look at their designs, look at their prices and where they are selling them. You could even go to the extent of phoning them up to see how selling their cards are going for them and how they operate.  Basically gain all the information you think you need to set up and run your own card business. 

 

The next step for any handmade card crafter is to do is do what they do best, and that’s create some designs. Ideally you should be looking at a wide range to begin with to see what works and which designs you like. Be creative. That’s one of the main things people like about handmade cards, their originality. However don’t make them too complicated. After all you don’t want to spend four hours making one card, when might have hundreds to make!  Keep in mind (with the exception of Valentine cards) around 80% of cards are purchased by women.

 

The next question is ‘How much should I sell my cards for?’ Set the price too low and you won’t make any money but set the price too high and no one will buy your cards. The first step is to work out how much your cards cost to make. There are numerous costs to consider and it this depends on how far you want to take it. Some common examples of costs that you should consider are: Supplies e.g. Paper, glue, ribbon, envelopes.

 

Equipment – do you need to buy new equipment to make cards? E.g. a laminator, trimmer or a stand to display your cards

Labour – how much are you going to pay yourself?

Postage and packaging e.g. stamps, boxes, petrol if you deliver them.

 

Once you have this information you can then work out a selling price. Pricing strategy is quite important and you should look at the prices of other peoples handmade cards in your area to ensure that yours are similar.

 

Now here comes the fun part, selling your cards. You should by now have about six designs of cards, some stock, know how much each design costs to make and know how much you want to sell them for. There is a number of different ways you can sell your cards and different methods work for different people so don’t give up if you don’t get any sales to begin with.

 

One of the most popular methods of selling handmade cards is at craft fairs and car boot sales. These are good because they are easy to attend and set up costs are relatively cheap. Simply research you local fairs to get more information. Other people will also be selling cards at these fairs so the competition for customers will be quite high. Ensure your stand is presented well, invest in display stands that give good visibility for your cards and are easy for your potential customers to browse. Make sure prices are clearly shown.

 

The internet is a good way to start selling. EBay is the most obvious choice, easy to use and set up therefore making it ideal to sell cards on. However lot of people are selling handmade cards on eBay for very low prices so be prepared not to sell your cards for a high price. Also there are listing fees and commissions to be paid which will take away from your profit.

A more complex way of selling on the internet is to set up your own website. There are a lot of handmade card websites out there so looking at those for inspiration is a good idea. The downside is it will take time and patience and some knowledge of computers will be required.  Selling to Retail outlets is one of the more challenging ways to sell cards, but also has the potential to be very successful.

 

Keep a few points in mind.

 

Retailers typically look to sell cards around 2.3 times the purchase price, so if they buy at £1 they will look to sell around £2.30 including the VAT.  

 

Retailers are people too, if having a bad day, they’re unlikely to buy your cards, but if in a good mood and like your designs, and the chances are they will give you a try.

It’s not unusual for retailers to request greeting cards be supplied on a sale or return or consignment basis, this involves you supplying the cards and quite often a suitable display stand free of charge and returning at agreed intervals to replenish and charge for any cards sold. An easier way to get space in the shop, but more time consuming and with you carrying all the risk.

 

Even if purchasing outright retails will often expect a display stand to be supplied, normally on the basis of buy £xxx of cards and get a free stand.
  
The most common reason for rejection is “we don’t have any space”.  Look around as you go in and suggest possible locations (make sure you have display solutions for wall, counters and free standing)

 

Cards tend to sell better when they are well lit so don’t go and put them in that dark corner of the shop. Try to get somewhere near a window with plenty of day light or under strong lighting to really emphasise them.
 
‘Eye level is buy level’, tries and locates where customers can see easily and not have to bend down or search.

The busier the shop, the more cards are likely to sell. Hairdressers and cafes are easier to get into, but sell less due to limited number of people entering each day.
 
Have a good pitch for the shop owner, tell them about yourself and take a stock of cards into the shop already in a display stand so they can see how it will look and make it easy for them to say yes

 

Some more ideas of where you could sell your cards are listed to below.

Craft fairs

Car boot sales

EBay

Own website

Farmer markets

Local shops

Post offices

Family and friends

Cafés

 

Good luck selling your cards; we hope this guide is helpful.

Golf Business Card Holder

Your kids can gift you with this unique golf business card holder on father's day or mother's day. This kind of business card holder is that simple to make. Your kids would love making this kind of business card holder, and you would like to flaunt it in front of your peers, and prospective clients. Business card holders come in many shapes and designs, and golf business card holders are a part of this vast array of variety that you would get in terms of business card holders. These card holders are super easy to make, and your kids can finish making them in a jiffy.

 

In general, this kind of business card holder is based on the theme of golf, as the name suggests, and has popsicle as its design. While your kids can make such a card holder with great ease and comfort, you can also make one for yourself, or to even gift your colleague or friend. Designing your own business card holder is extremely easy. All that you would need to make this kind of a card holder would be, a pair of scissors, around 11 popsicle sticks, school glue, green craft paint, 2 golf tees made of wood, 1 small pom pom, white in color, and a plastic cover or a wax paper which would be used to protect the surface on which you would be working. Now coming to the process of making this kind of card holder. First, to begin with, lay out the plastic cover or the wax paper which you have got on the surface.

 

Please do not use a newspaper for this same purpose, as that would stick on to the project. After this, put down 3 Popsicle sticks right next to each other, side by side, in a flat position, and stick the three sticks together to form the front portion of the card holder. To make the base of the card holder, put down 2 Popsicle sticks next to each other, and stick them the way you did for the front portion. To make the back of this card holder, put down 4 Popsicle sticks next to each other, and stick them in the same fashion. To make the sides of the holder, cut 1 and 1/4 inch from the top and bottom of the 2 Popsicle sticks. Then, put down the two long sides together, and stick them up.

 

Do the same thing with the other two ends for the other side. Stick up the front side to the base of the card holder at a right angle. Do the same with the back portion, and you would get a U-shaped figure. Stick up the right and left sides to the base, front, and back of the holder, and your card holder is done. Let the glue dry off, then you can paint the card holder green. After the paint dries off, stick up the white pom pom and the golf tees in front of the card holder. Your golf style business card holder is now ready to use.