The Power of Promotional Products (Book Review) Book by: David Blaise and Maria Carlton

• Book: The Power of Promotional Products: how to motivate prospects, reward performance and Creat Targeted Promotions with Residual Value
• Authors: David Blaise and Maria Carlton

• Released: (2004) paperback
• Publisher: Blaise Drake & Company

 

Where did I discover this book?

Amazon book recommendations suggested this book to me.

I was in the process of using some promotional products to help market my personal businesses: DannyPettry.Com: Self-Study Continuing Education program for the Recreational Therapist.

 

Some useful tips I discovered from author/ book:

 

·         Notepads are a good idea because your business name will be on each sheet of paper and these will probably get passed around.

·         Ink pens are the same way. They often get passed around (by accident/ dropped/ or someone else using them).

·         Personalized letters work best. All letters should be as personal as possible. Emails that are directed towards an audience are not effective.

·         Lumpy mail gets opened. People throw away junk mail. However, if it is lumpy and looks personalized (not computer label) and personal stamp (not machine stamped), then it gets opened. If it gets opened it is more likely to get read.

·         Encourage test trials. Samples.

·         Include a call to action. Tell people exactly what you want them to do.

·         On average, it takes 8 to 9 exposures to a letter/ ad/ brand before a person takes action. Just one promotional product will not work.

A good way to get people to subscribe to your email newsletter is to give away a few e-books with tips or suggestions. In example, I use this at my site: http://www.self-publish-a-book.com/. People who subscribe to my email newsletter with tips on writing, creativity and pubishing can download a Consumer Guide on Self-Publishing with tips that could save a person $1,000. People won’t subscribe and download this e-book unless they are interested in writing and publishing.

 Measure effectiveness of promotional products!

The authors suggested sending a key chain with a key on it to people for a car dealership. They call to action is to bring the key down to the showroom and open one of (maybe four or five car doors). If it opens the door, they win a prize in the car. This prize can vary on the agencies budget. It could even be a free car if they have a budget for it. The people in the promotion can measure just how many people out of the (100 key chains with keys) that were sent out showed up. The people who did show up are probably the ones who are interested in a new car. Of course, they suggested being weary of people who just show up for free items.

Consistent advertising increases awareness. 

 

Who would enjoy this book?

People who want to use promotional products to make a difference. It isn’t about just giving away stuff. It needs to be measured to see if it works.