Unlike your online and digital marketing efforts, advertising materials like direct mail and leave behinds, have a better chance of generating valuable engagement with your audience. This is because printed marketing materials are tangible and can be kept for long periods of time, making them more memorable. Not to mention, printed materials have less competition as they aren’t drowned out by digital clutter or blocked by cyber obstructions.

From small businesses to multibillion dollar companies, utilizing printed marketing advertisements can make your marketing campaign truly successful. And with so many benefits advertising materials provide, it is important to choose the right types for your business. That is why we have provided a list of the 10 best types of advertising materials and why they are the perfect tools to promote your business effectively.

#1 Business Cards

Business cards are a marketing tool that every type of business needs to have. They are the perfect way to make a great first impression and are necessary for representing your brand with an effective and informative message. Although traditional forms of sharing contact information, business cards provide a refreshing, more memorable and interactive marketing tool for your brand. The professionalism that comes into play when physically exchanging business cards will never become outdated. That is because unlike an email or phone call, your recipient can hold onto and save the card for further contacting which is extremely valuable in the business world.

You want your business card to tell a story of who your business is and what it represents. Including all of your contact information and an eye-catching design that gives a glimpse into how your company is the one your recipients should choose within its industry.

Business cards do not always need to be directly handed to your prospects either. They are the perfect addition to place in a package or along with a direct mail piece. They can also be effectively used when left behind at a trade show, entry way of your company’s building or a neighboring business or anywhere else where potential clientele can grab one.

This one card speaks volumes about your company's name and no matter what type of industry you are in, should always be an advertising material that you use.

#2 Postcards

Another type of advertising material that is perfect for all industries are postcards. They are cost-effective direct mail materials and are very versatile, including numerous sizes, and layouts which can accommodate any marketing purpose. From promotional sales, upcoming events, company announcements to all other types of marketing messages, postcards are your go to marketing tool.

Because postcards are priced so low, they give even the smallest businesses the opportunity to use direct mail marketing. So, whether you are considering affordable Proximity Mailing to saturate an area or looking to convert your web traffic with Mailbox Retargeting, postcards can help you accomplish your goals with any advertising strategy you choose.

With their flexibility and effectiveness, no matter what your marketing message is, postcards are the advertising material that will always generate the responses your company wants.

#3 Brochures

Brochures are a low-cost advertising material for any business to use due to their adaptable nature to be molded for any marketing communication. Brochures can be used to introduce your company, promote your products or services, sales presentations, be used as an infographic, a menu, or even a map! You can hand them out at events, presentations, or mail them out to prospects and customers.

With brochures being such an interactive material, they help build your brand awareness with each recipient who receives your brochure. From half fold brochure to z-fold brochures to half-tri fold brochures and every brochure in between, all of your marketing content flows from one panel to the next giving your audience an organized and tangible material to hold onto and engage with.

With so many types of brochures and numerous purposes for each, the possibilities with brochures are truly endless. And using brochures for your advertising efforts will capture the attention of your audience successfully in the most budget friendly way possible.

#4 Catalogs

Catalogs are an advertising material that highlights the best and most profitable products or services your business has to offer. Although one of the more expensive advertising materials, a well-designed catalog can increase your ROI tremendously and more so than any other online marketing strategy. They boost your businesses mail orders and drive customers and prospects to your website which increases your online sales.

Catalogs are well known within the retail and service retail industries but are effectively used as well within education, healthcare, technology, food and beverage and many other industries. This is because they give a large platform for businesses to display a wide range of information and promotional messages about their brand. And when your audience flips through the pages your content within your catalog strongly influences their purchase decision more than any other advertising platform.

#5 Newsletters

Updating your audience on information about your business, sales, upcoming events, new services, or products is extremely important to keep your brand relevant and top of mind. This is often done through emails and social media posts but those aren’t always seen. That is why low-cost newsletters are the perfect advertising material to send to your customers and even potential ones. Newsletters are guaranteed to be seen and because of their physicality, they are going to have a greater effect on the recipient than an email.

Keeping up with your audience helps your business build trust with them and influences them to take action on what your brand has to offer. That is why industries like nonprofits, home improvement, healthcare and all other types of businesses benefit from sending out valuable newsletters.

#6 Flyers

One of the easiest, cheapest, and effective advertising materials are flyers. Considered to be one of the oldest advertising tactics, flyers are still an essential tool to gain results in your marketing efforts. They are suited for all types of business as they can be handed out after a presentation or at a trade show, left behind for people to grab or placed within a package or booklet.

Flyers have a high impact on the viewer especially when the art is carefully thought out and has an appealing call to action. Consider including a unique QR code for your reader to learn more or an irresistible deal that can't be ignored.

#7 Booklets

Booklets are a unique advertising material that can be utilized for all kinds of companies. Depending on the type of binding and paper stock you choose, your booklet can provide a professional material to display as much information about your products, services, or any other information pertaining to your brand. You can include as much detail as you need and include vibrant imagery to intrigue your readers to flip through and learn more about what your advertising message has to offer.

Although booklets make for great tool to advertise items for sale and information about your services, they can also be successfully used as a guide, a photo book, a coloring book, annual report, or any other booklet type that can help your business thrive.

#8 Letterhead

Next to business cards, customized letterhead is one of the most important advertising materials for any business. If you want your company to come across as though you care about the details and your professionalism, branded letterhead is an essential advertising material. When you provide your customers or prospects with a custom letterhead you create a sense of legitimacy within your advertising communications. Branded letterhead is a simple and cheap way to reflect your brand powerfully and impress your audience.

#9 Pocket Folders

Any business can provide a standard folder to hold paperwork, documents and more for their audience. And some unfortunately don’t even handout a pocket folder along with their papers. But utilizing a branded pocket folder gives your recipients a handy tool to keep their materials all together.

Pocket folders also have a higher chance to be help onto because they can be useful materials for any paper organization needs in the future. This increases brand awareness as your business’ name will be seen every time your recipient needs to look through the content.

Businesses in the real-estate industry, home improvement industry and any other business who frequently hands out multiple documents, papers or need a presentation folder to provide their audience, can benefit from branded pocket folders.

#10 Greeting Cards

Greeting Cards are another cost-effective and great way to stay in touch with loyal customers and to show new ones and prospects that you are committed to helping them and care about their interest in your business. Many businesses have even integrated greeting cards into their CRM or marketing automation platform to send contacts a thank you, holiday greeting, happy birthday, congratulations or “miss you mailer” as easy as an email.

Sending custom greeting cards are the perfect way to send your audience a personalized message showing them that you care about them, the details and their impact on your company.

These are just 10 of the best advertising materials that your business can use, and there are many more that can help your company increase revenue and generate success. Click below to explore other advertising materials your company can utilize along with advanced mailing and marketing solutions we have available here at Conquest. We have everything you need to effectively advertise your company's message.