Virtual Assistant Forums | Work from Home

InfinityBLUE · #11 (**permalink**) 06-08-2010

Calendar magnets are great, Ideally, you know they'll be around for a year (at least, lol). Typically the more useful or unique the item, the more effective. Pocket planner books are great, although they can be a bit costly.

assistantnikki · #12 (**permalink**) 06-14-2010

I love Vistaprint for promo items especially since I get them mostly free. The only fees associated with them will be probably shipping and if I want more colors than the standard print. Before I rebranded my company, I got 2 spiral notebooks for free with my company logo and such on them. I still use them, but haven't given them out since I changed my company name. I think pens are nice, but let's be honest, when is the last time you got a pen from a company that made you say "Hey, I really should give them a call?" LOL! Or when has a client called and said "I saw your name on this pen and figured I would check you out." Pens get tossed/lost so frequently, I don't know how effective they are and when they stop writing, into the trash they go and your brand along with them. But everyone loves a free pen, especially a good writing one (probably because they lost the last pen they had) so it's a double-sided coin. I guess for that matter the same arguments can be made about any promo material, to which the question for me would be - are you using the material as a way of saying "thank you" and staying in touch with former clients, as Shelly does, or as a way to gather new business? I really like the tip calculator idea.

During Holiday time, VistaPrint gave free Holiday cards with matching envelopes, which I thought were handy. I sent them out to former and potential clients and included my business card.

I went with Zazzle and got 1 shirt because I was going to advertise on "She Wears Your Tee" but the company closed a week before my ad was to run. There is another guy that will wear your t-shirt for advertising but he is pretty pricey. (www.iwearyourshirt.com)

I don't know how helpful that is, but that's my 2 cents worth.

Teressa · #13 (**permalink**) 08-27-2010

This may be posted somewhere on here already, but I wanted to post it before a forget to--- I purchased printed pens from The Ink-Spot. They don't have as many choices as Vistaprint, but they have really low minimums and are really reasonable, plus its a flat rate. I've yet to receive them, so I hope they are good quality. They look like good pens on the website.

Teressa · #14 (**permalink**) 09-12-2010

Another good site...which i've used in the past for kid stuff is oriental trading. they have some items that would be good for gifts. They just have minimum space for personalizing.

Tess · #15 (**permalink**) 12-15-2010

I know I started this thread ages ago but wanted to say how much I appreciate all of the replies and feedback. I'd love to see pictures of some of the items you've ordered!

LizVA2B · #16 (**permalink**) 02-09-2011

I'm just getting up and running, so recently sent an e-mail to my contacts letting them know what was up. I also own an antiques store and my window faces a busy street, so I made a sign to put in the window. I'm also going to start out doing some post cards to hand deliver to local businesses, then eventually do a mailing - either post cards or letters.

Stewartwin · #17 (**permalink**) 02-10-2011

Originally Posted by Tess

I'd love to hear from members about which items you've had printed up with your company info [pens, calendars, mousepads, calculators, magnets, etc.], where you got then, and in what ways you've used them [client gifts, distributing at events, etc.]

I'm trying to decide where the best investment could be made for this kind of thing - there are a lot of 'junky' options out there - so what imprintables did you feel good about spending your marketing dollars on?

Thanks for your input!

This is exactly what I'm doing right now! We're in the process of setting up a sponsorship for a festival here in Columbus, OH later in the year, and I'm looking for promo items to hand out. I found an awesome site (I apologize if someone's already mentioned it as I haven't read through all the posts yet). The company is Adco Marketing and they have tons of items for you to throw your logo on. Some of the items they offer I've seen companies like Progressive use in their marketing. Hope this is helpful!