Wordsmithery
. 20/03/24
How to Maximise ROI in Your Print Marketing Campaign

Don’t spend ages going to the trouble of commissioning a beautiful publication, without taking the time to understand your audience and what interests them, or having a good distribution strategy.

We once had a new client tell us that the ROI wasn’t as high as they hoped for their existing customer magazine and so they had switched agencies to us to see if we could do better.

Always analyse your data

Here’s the thing – as we started investigating we realised they hadn’t shared any data with the other content agency. None whatsoever.

The client was sitting on a rich pile of data but wasn’t in the practice of analysing it – and so struggled to know what would be helpful.

As a result, the previous agency had absolutely no real-world information about the target audience or the language they used. It had been shooting in the dark when it came up with feature ideas and angles without any clue whether they would be well received. 

Hope does not deliver results.

Ask your customers what they like

After publishing the magazines, this same client failed to follow up with customers to find out what they liked, didn’t like, or wanted to see more of. This meant they couldn’t hone the content to their audience.

Speak to your top customers to find out what they want to see – sometimes you can get your entire marketing strategy with a few meetings or calls with your customers!

You’d be surprised how willing your loyal customers are to share, when given half the chance, especially if it’s incentivised. 

A survey or a mass email campaign asking for inputs often doesn’t cut it – be personal and pick up the phone, or send a polite email!

Consider different distribution methods

Our new client and the previous agency hadn’t looked into different distribution channels – they were simply mailing to their existing customer pool, which meant that they were preaching to the converted. 

While this approach is brilliant for brand awareness and generating repeat and referral leads, it’s not good if you wish to see growth in your business.

For a really good ROI, we recommend out-of-the-box distribution.

Collaborate with reputable brands who can deliver your magazine right into the hands of your target audience. We will help you with your strategy and budget.

Make your printing more cost-effective

If the above steps don’t increase your ROI then there’s one other way: to reduce the costs of your printing.

It could be a simple case of changing to a more competitive printer. If you’ve been with the same printer for a while, it’s worth getting a few new quotes and samples to see if anyone else is offering a better solution.

You could look at using a different paper stock or grammage, as these too can adjust you.

You could reduce the pagination of your magazine, or you could even increase the number of pages but reduce the frequency and be more intentional with your timing.

Look at your distribution methods to see if there are cheaper ways to do it. Rather than having someone else do the fulfilment, perhaps you could bring it in-house?

Bring on brand partners

And here’s our favourite recommendation, which can really maximise the ROI in your print marketing campaign…

…Bring in appropriate partners who are willing to pay to be featured with some editorial coverage. This could be in the form of an advertorial, or a straight-forward display ad. We can help you identify who these partners could be, but this approach always helps your production costs.

We’ve been in the contract publishing business for 20 years – and here to help you with all your print marketing needs, start to finish. Get in touch today!

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