These days, we are all looking for new and interesting ways to save some money. Printing promotional materials can get expensive, but it is a necessary cost for furthering your business.
How then can you get around this cost? Well, you shouldn’t cut back on your promotional spending, but there are some things you CAN do.
Let’s take a look at the different aspects of self promotion. You’ve got your online media, your printed media, your billboards, etc. Some of your budget might be spent on internal promotions, but a majority is spent on external promotions to people who are not members of your “community”. The most important part of your budget is what you decide to spend on external promotions, because you need to make sure that your company’s name is getting out there and that people are aware of who you are and what you do.
We have seen too many clients cut back on this type of spending and, eventually, go under because of it. They have tried to take on all of their buying, planning, creating themselves only to become overwhelmed and inevitably, get nowhere. Cutting back on their promotional budget only forced them out of the public eye – and as they say: out of sight, out of mind. They might be saving themselves some extra dough, but they are not giving their promotions the kind of love and attention they need. For this reason, the area of spending that should be cut back on is the internal promotions, not the external promotions.
That being said, you should not cut out these fun things altogether. Maybe you use some of your budget to pay for posters for employee parties or workshops you’re holding. Or, you might use this budget to print invitations for events and to make t-shirts or polo shirts for your employees. How can you do all of this without allocating a large portion of your advertising budget to internal promotions? Well, that’s where the Yudu Machine comes in.
For under $300, you can get a machine that will help you print all of these types of media in just a few easy steps. Of course, you will have to be a bit more “hands on” with this approach, but the savings might be worth it. To use the Yudu Machine, you just need a few key elements.
- A Yudu Bundle – This bundle comes with most everything you would need to begin.
- Blank Transparencies – Make sure to buy the kind that can be put through an ink jet printer.
- An Ink Jet Printer – Or, if you would rather design/draw your posters by hand, you’ll need a Sharpie.
All of these elements make it easy to print your own posters, shirts, cards, etc. I will let you do your own research about the details of screen printing, but just so we better understand each other, here is a four-step intro for how the process works.
- Draw/print your design onto a blank transparency.
- Apply an emulsion sheet onto your screen.
- Burn your design onto the emulsion by exposing it to light.
- Clean the screen and you are ready to print!
It does take a bit of practice to get into the hang of things, but once you get it down, it’ll be much smoother. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “$14 for 2 emulsion sheets?!” I will admit, I thought that as well. There are, however, plenty of ways to save yourself even more cash and be even more thrifty by buying off-brand liquid emulsion, paints, and emulsion remover. You can get large quantities of these items for a fraction of the cost. It is, however, a bit more messy to use….so be prepared!
Moral of the story: if you own or work in a small business setting, there are plenty of ways to cut back without cutting back the most important parts of your budget. Keep in mind that it’s always more important to put business before pleasure, meaning that you should always put your external promotions budget before your internal one. But most of all, remember to have fun!
For a more in-depth view on the screen printing process, you can check out my blog here. Happy screening!