I’m going to let you in on the first rule of marketing. It sounds kind of obvious once I tell you it, but if you look around, that rule gets violated a lot. I can’t tell you why but it seems like everyone forgets the rule when they put out their marketing.

Here it is:

Results Rule.

It doesn’t matter what it says, what it looks like, all that matters is that it generates results for you. This means you should never judge your competition’s advertising based on how it looks or its content. Your opinion doesn’t matter. The results are all that matters.

Thankfully there are a rules to follow to actually achieve results:

Good Copy + Good Design + Good Printing = Results.

Let’s go through what each of these elements means.

Good Copy.

Generally, good copy is written the way your customers talk. It contains all the information that your clients need to take the next step described in the piece. It follows an architecture for presenting a sales argument in the most persuasive way possible. I’ve written in the past about a simple persuasion architecture called P.A.S.P.O.G.S. which stands for Problem, Aggravate, Solution, Proof, Offer, Guarantee, and Scarcity. 

Don’t think you can write to this architecture or one like it? Then considering hiring a professional copywriter to take care of the copy for you. It will be cheaper and faster than doing it yourself and getting it wrong.

Good Design.

Good graphic design has one goal. To get the copy read. If nobody reads your copy then the message can be written in Greek – it would be just as effective. The truth is everyone is bombarded by advertising and yours needs to work hard to get its share of attention. A good designer will help you with this.

Beyond getting your materials read, good design is about enhancing the copy. A good graphic designer will work with you or your copywriter to make sure the visuals convey the right information. A good designer will make sure the file that gets sent to the printer is the highest quality.

Good Printing.

Fuzzy images, bad cropping, colour variation, poor register, smudging, dodgy folding. Not all commercial printers are created equal. They don’t invest in equipment the way we do. They don’t put the same effort in quality control we do. They compromise on paper quality or use the incorrect stock for your job.

The bottom line is good printing helps make good copy and good design stands out and gets read so that you can get results.

 

If you want to create successful campaigns you need to follow the Good Copy + Good Design + Good Printing = Results formula. We have the good design printing part covered. We can help you with the good copy too if you need it. If you have an upcoming project and need some help boosting results then give me a call on 1300 85 77 85 or shoot me an email at blair@carissprinting.com.au and we can organise a quote based on your specific project