Instructions on how to put up your own small business press kit
In our piece from last week, we discussed the importance of having a press kit for your small company. For the reason that they are not just for the press, I like to refer to them as a small company information package. To summarize, you need a small business information packet to supplement your business card, which contains just a limited amount of information about you and your organization.
Your small business information package consists of printed materials that you give or send to prospective customers to inform them of who you are, where you are, how to contact you, what you do, how to buy from you, and why they should buy from you rather than your competition. Who are you? Where are you located? How can I contact you? What do you do? What do I buy?
It is our goal this week to talk about what you should include in your information packet. For all intents and purposes, it is possible to put anything that advertises your organization within it. Some of the most prevalent items are as follows:
Products and services reviewed: price list Press releases: White papers Recent articles published by you or about your firm. business cards Small business brochure A letter of introduction Product or service review: Price list Press releases White papers Press releases: Press releases White papers
Flyers, coupons, or direct mail pieces with biographical information on key officialsInformation pamphlets
So let’s have a look at each of them in turn. First and foremost, your small company brochure is the most important document you will create. Your small company brochure may be used as a stand-alone document. Make at least a tri-fold brochure if you decide not to have a comprehensive small company information packet, so that you can provide them with extensive printed information if they want it.
According to statistics, if a potential customer reads just one item from your whole information bundle, it will almost certainly be your brochure. Why? Because it attracts the reader’s attention more effectively than any other item in your information package, it is recommended. Letters, articles, and reviews will make up the majority of your other stuff. However, unlike your full-color tri-fold brochure, which will stand out to readers because it is printed on your letterhead, your letterhead will not draw attention to itself.
In order to make sure it is the first thing people see when they open your information package’s front cover, you should place it near the top of the page. You have a better chance of getting them to read the remainder of your brochure if you can pique their interest with your brochure.
The front page of your small business brochure should include your company’s name and logo, as well as a photograph or other graphics if possible. Make it bright and eye-catching. Make it fascinating for the reader. On the front, include a slogan or motto that will pique people’s interest and make them curious about what is inside. Not wanting them to simply glance at the front cover and dismiss it is essential!
Inside, make an effort to introduce yourself and provide a brief overview of your product or service. If at all possible, confine the introduction and review to no more than the first inner page or two of the book. Including a few visuals or photographs throughout the whole brochure, in addition to relevant content, can help maintain your readers’ attention for longer. In addition, make effective use of your headers, keeping in mind that most readers will skim from left to right, pausing at images and headings but not always continuing to read the final paragraph.
It’s crucial to understand this section, and it’s also the most common mistake small businesses make when creating their brochures: at least some of the other two inside pages could be better utilized to demonstrate to prospective customers how your product or service can benefit them, rather than simply listing the features of your product or service.
This is something I cannot emphasize enough. Small business brochures are often used just to promote the author, the firm, or the product or service being promoted. The majority of your readers will have little interest in who you are, what you do, or how you do it. What they actually want to know is how you can help them in some way. When it comes to time and resources, explain how you can save them time and resources. What you should be thinking about is how you can make their lives just a little bit simpler.
It is common for the final outer page of your brochure to recap the contents of the interior pages, or to provide a bulleted list of items or services. It might be possible to provide a pricing list as well, if you have one.
The next few elements in your small company information package are all written on your letterhead, and the possibilities are endless as to what you may include in them.
If you’re shipping the information package, you might add the letter of introduction right behind the brochure cover, or you could place it outside the information package cover if you’re not mailing it. Typically, this is a one-page letter in which you introduce yourself and your organization and in which you express gratitude to the receiver for taking the time to go through your information package.
Depending on what you’re selling, your product or service review might be lengthy or brief. This is not the area to emphasize the advantages of your services or goods; rather, it is the place to simply list and explain your services or products. Product or service reviews may be used with your pricing list to provide highly effective results.
Include any press releases about your firm as well as articles produced by you or about your company in your submission. Don’t be concerned if you don’t have any. You may compose some, particularly for your information packet, if you want to be creative. Make sure to include information like your grand opening, a new range of items, or a new location, among other things. Alternatively, you might create an article on one of your goods or services.
The use of white sheets is becoming more and more widespread. Are you a subject matter expert in a certain field? If this is the case, you may want to write a white paper to include in your information package.white paper” is a document that focuses on a certain business problem, product, technology, or other subject. It frequently presents facts about the issue before proposing a course of action, including research evidence to support the rationale for the proposed action.With the purpose of educating customers while also selling your product or service, it discusses your issue in clear language that the majority of people can comprehend. White papers assist the author in establishing himself or herself as an expert.
The biographical information about your important officers is essentially a résumé. Make sure to include one-page bios of important officials to emphasize their areas of expertise and years of experience working in your sector.
In addition to brochures, discounts, and direct mail pieces, your small company information package might contain other marketing materials. Flyers and coupons draw attention to current promotions or reductions. Here are a few pointers. When thinking about promotions or discounts, aim to create a feeling of urgency in your customers by limiting their availability or making them time-sensitive. Consider the 10/10 rule, which states that customers are more inclined to purchase when they see discounts of 10% or $10 off their purchase. Alternatively, you may provide something additional for free.
It is also possible to incorporate recent direct mail sales mailings. There’s just too much to say about them to do them justice in this short essay, but some things to keep in mind are to emphasize the advantages, create a feeling of urgency, follow the 10/10 rule, and include a bolded P.S. that includes a call to action in your copy.
Keep your direct mail sales letter short and to the point. Be enthused, familiarize yourself with your goods, employ your creativity, and comprehend your target audience. Trust and credibility must be established. Make use of testimonies. Free informational nuggets are distributed. Write your direct mail sales letter for how people will read it, scanning left to right and pausing at visuals and headlines, as well as the P.S. Just like you did with your brochure, write it so people will read it.
As soon as you’ve completed all of the writing and printing for your information package pieces, it’s time to put everything together. Covers in your corporate colors may be purchased, and your logo and business name can be put on them as well. Place your business card in the front slot and your other information in the interior pockets, making sure that your brochure is the first thing they see when they open the package. Then send it out and sit back and wait for the answers you’ll undoubtedly get!