Digital content today is a must — but as many businesses begin ignoring print, the effectiveness of print marketing is actually increasing. With digital content, you have one chance — a headline — to capture attention. But with print marketing, you have much more space and the possibility of using a colourful design and photographs to capture that potential customer’s attention. Print gives your audience something physical to hold attention much longer than the few seconds it takes to read an email. Here are some print marketing opportunities that you may be missing out on.

Business Cards

Word-of-mouth marketing isn’t going anywhere — but boring white business cards are. Today, it’s easy and inexpensive to create an eye-catching business card that reflects your brand and grabs the attention of those that you may come across. Instead of the traditional plain white background, create a business card that’s as memorable as that in-person meeting. Printing technology today makes it easy to print high-quality images on both sides of the business card. Well-designed graphics also work well. Even finding metallic prints and die-cut business cards today is easy to do. While you’re making the card modern, include a QR code for easy access to your online presence.

Brochures

Eye-catching with plenty of space for information, brochures are seeing a resurgence. Unlike a business card, a brochure doesn’t just get tucked inside a wallet — they’re placed on desks and fridges. If you can make a brochure that’s attractive and informative, your band can stay around longer than a website click.

Like other print materials, however, the brochure has evolved too. Don’t feel constrained by the traditional designs like the tri-fold. Think outside the box. Better yet, hire a designer instead of using a template for an even more eye-catching design.

Post cards

Potential customers will probably hold a post card that they’ve received in the mail a lot longer than they’ll spend reading an email. As more marketing shifts towards email marketing, direct mail begins to earn more attention — and it should. Design is important here too, but so is what you put on it. Discounts and coupons work well for this type of print, because customers are more likely to keep it around longer.

Thank you cards

This print product works particularly well for service businesses that rely on repeat customers, such as photographers. Sending along a thank you note with the final product is more likely to leave a lasting impression than the work alone. Printing custom thank you cards that fit your brand simplifies the process while also keeping it professional.

Signs and photo prints

Always a staple in brick-and-mortar stores, signs are still a viable way to promote your business — if you think outside the box. Gone are the gaudy, busy signs and in their place are modern signs and posters. Photographers and print shops don’t even necessarily need all that marketing text. A canvas of a newborn photo hung inside an area hospital with a business card in the corner, for example, can be a great print marketing material that’s not over the top. If you are a photographer or print shop, use prints and canvases to show off the quality of your work and display some business cards next to that print to show who’s behind that quality work. Even better, find a way to display that image where potential customers frequent, like inside a bridal shop for a wedding photographer.

Digital marketing is huge — but as more companies move to digital, printed marketing materials have less noise. Printed marketing doesn’t have to be traditional either, with modern designs and outside-the-box placement.