Last week, I talked about the changes that I made to my branding and online promotion. Today, I want to share a bit about how I tweaked the paper items to prepare for my new shop launch.
In general, my thought about the paper stuff is: "make it look good, but don't spend a lot of money." If things are going well, you're giving these pieces away constantly. If each business card costs you $.50 that's an extra fifty cents out the door every time you sell an item. Not ideal. (Unless, of course, stationery and branding is your business, but even then, it might be a good idea to have some less expensive cards to hand out in high traffic situations.)
Over the past few years I have experimented with a few different things for my promotion and have decided that what I "need" is a business card, a thank you note, a stamp/sticker for the outside of the package and a stamp with my logo for creating simple stationery or letterhead.
I loved my old business cards, but they had a photo of my rubber stamps on them and since stamps are out the door, so are the cards. I kept the backside (which is now white on black) the same because it does the job and changed the front of the card to display the MAKE29 logo.
I ordered two different versions of this card from overnightprints.com. A large batch with __/290 on the front and a smaller batch with __/29. I will be handwriting in the number of the product that is sold and mailing it with the appropriately numbered edition. I hope it adds an extra touch and plays on the fact that this is a limited and special edition item.
I will be using these cards when I pack shipped orders, but am realizing now that I need another business card that has nothing to do with MAKE29…something that just promotes the blog and my website that I have on hand to pass out in person and at craft fairs. Adding this to the list…
Also shipping out with each order is a 4×6 thank you postcard (printed by overnightprints.com as well) that includes a unique coupon code for 10% off the next order should a customer decide to shop again. I designed the graphic with a space for a roller number stamp and will be stamping each card with a 5 digit code. This is the first time I have tried a loyalty/rewards program like this and I am curious to see how it goes.
My old thank you cards (before they needed space for a coupon code) had a version of the above message on them. Years ago, I purchased something from an Etsy shop and the shop owner's default email message was something along the lines of "your order made my day." As a small business owner, I saw the absolute truth in her sweet message and I have adapted my own version.
I decided to transfer the message to packaging stickers that will go on the outside of each mailer. I went with metallic gold ink to play on the "bright" and added the "hooray" in my own handwriting. These stickers were ordered from stickergiant.com. I ordered 3000 and paid a pretty penny for the gold, but in this case, I felt like the extra punch that comes with metallic is worth it.
Last, but not least, I always order a custom branding stamp (from simonstamp.com) to go along with any project. They are cheap(ish) and can turn any piece of paper into something that fits with your brand. I purchased two sizes this time around and have already used them both.
Seriously…coming up with this stuff might be my favorite part of the whole process Thanks again for letting me share.
enJOY it 
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