Picture these two ordinary places: your mailbox and your desk. Just about everyone has them.

Both places matter to your day-to-day life. Sure, there’s junk mail and a pile of papers to toss. But there are also bills, advertisements to follow up on, coupons you can’t wait to use, permission slips and even “back of the napkin” dreaming. Each item informs you, fills your to-do list, and reminds you to make important decisions.

If you want a complete strategy to reach your customers, you must be in that mailbox or on that desk. Even in a digital world, physical reminders last, make a sale, and build trust, especially when your pieces are simply nice to look at and hold in your hand. Think about how it feels to hold the coupon clipper vs. your favorite magazine.

What matters most is making sure your print and online marketing work together. A few things to keep in mind when creating a print piece:

Info: Include just enough info for offline purchasers to act, but teasers with more info or better deals online. Mentioning updated pictures or an online quiz to find just the right product can drive traffic.

Branding: Colors, logo, fonts, even writing style should match, so that your customer knows, just by looking at both pieces, that they landed in the right place. That may mean updating your logo on your web properties if your print piece leads to a new logo.

Personalization: Know what your customer groups want. Think a personal greeting might help? Use a mailhouse to mail merge your list and address each piece with your customer’s first name. Here is a list of mailhouses to choose from. Marketing to women vs. men? Use the same content but tweak the color scheme or accents. Reaching customers with different price points? Break your list into multiple price points and match the call to action.

Flexible: Drive customers to purchase your latest deal by promoting that deals are on your site, rather than printing the exact deal. For example, instead of “Get 15% off of your 2019 retired products”, your print piece can say, “Check out our site for daily deals on our best-selling products!”

Tracking: You will always drive to an online property – for a sale or just info. Track which print pieces generate more traffic, with QR codes and/or unique URLs in each print piece (for example: “www.**yourwebsite**.com/april20mailer” or “/contact me” for your business card). Make sure your web site is set up with these URLs, which can just be linked to your main homepage, and whatever analytics tool you use that can track traffic to these URLs. Google Analytics is a good source.

Using these principles, we recommend investing in these pieces first:

Business Card – They are small, inexpensive, and helpful even in the most casual conversations. Get creative in your design or include a coupon. You also want to be sure that your website, email address, and all of your social media properties are on your card. Make your web address trackable with the tips above.

Multi-purpose Informational Piece – How will the majority of your print pieces be used – in-person, mail, or in a kiosk? There is likely a format that fits all three available at any online printer. Even if you print with different tracking URLs, you will still only pay for the design of one format.

A branded piece with space for handwriting – Old-fashioned handwriting still takes the cake, because it’s the highest form of personalization. Brand a very simple notecard that can become a thanks in the mail, an attachment to a contract, or another personal touch note.

BONUS – Stickers – If you have a little extra cash, and your audience is the right one, print a few stickers! The only evidence of your company should be your URL. Otherwise, choose a lifestyle phrase or emblem that your audience would proudly display on their laptop or gym water bottle. For example, if you sell oils or health products, choose a 3-word phrase (not trademarked!) that invokes calm, health, or energy. These start conversations, and can lead to referrals!

Of course, don’t break the bank and don’t ever pay full price with all the deals through online printers like VistaPrint and UPrinting! Online advertising is still a growing leader compared to print. But discounting print materials is like forgetting the foundational parts of your morning routine or ingredients in a recipe. Sure – you’ll likely get by. But your final result could look and taste so much better!