The 60-30-10 Color Rule: How to Use It in Print Marketing (and When to Break It)

Designing eye-catching postcards, brochures, and business cards for your company might seem daunting- especially if you don’t have a background in graphic design.

But don’t fear! It’s easier than you think to bring visual appeal to your print marketing.

Follow this simple principle for how to use color, and you’ll be on your way!

5 Steps to Use the 60-30-10 Color Rule in Print Marketing

1. Choose Three Colors for Your Print Product

To begin, choose three colors that represent your company well.

If you have a signature color, use it as one of your three! And keep in mind that different colors communicate different emotions and meanings to your customers.

You should also make sure to select colors that fit together. If your colors clash, it will decrease the visual appeal of your design. 

A foolproof way to choose three colors that look well together is by choosing either analogous or complementary trios. Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel (ex. orange, red, and yellow), while, to determine one color’s complementary matches, you should draw a line straight across from it and then choose the two (ex. blue, red, and orange). 

2. The 60%

Next, you’ll need to designate which color will be the base of your design.

Following the rule, this first color should occupy 60% of your print marketing piece. 

This color will fill the most space, so it shouldn’t be the most vibrant of the three you’ve chosen. You can use this color for your primary background or large text blocks. 

3. The 30%

This will be your secondary color, which will take up 30% of the space in your printed piece.

It’s intended to draw attention to the more critical parts of your design. 

It’s wise to use this color for any headlines, sub-section titles, bolded words, or statistics within the text of your ad.

4. The 10%

Your final color is your accent color, which will only take up 10% of the space in your design.

This should also be the most vibrant and bold of the three you’ve chosen. 

This third color is best used to make your call-to-action stand out from the rest of your design. It draws your customer’s eye toward the piece you want them to interact with: a QR code, contact information, link to a social media account, or coupon code. 

5. Breaking the Rule

Maybe your company has a design idea, and it will take more than three colors to bring that idea to life. Don’t stress!

The 60-30-10 rule is a helpful way to get started with your use of color, but going outside the box is perfectly fine!

If you want to emphasize more than just one part of your print design, consider choosing two accent colors for your 10%- 5% of one and 5% of the other.

Another impactful idea is to go monochromatic. Rather than choosing three complementary colors for your design, you could use different shades of the same color.

Don’t be afraid to create your own formula if it feels right! Use the principles in the 60-30-10 rule to get started, but once you’ve got an idea of how different colors and shades work together, you can break the rules and find a balance that works for you.

Contact us today for expert advice on the best colors, paper, and print for your next campaign! 

5 Key Factors for Planning a Profitable Direct Mail Piece

Direct mail can be a fantastic way to spread the word about your company and promote new interest!

Regardless of the size of your budget, there are many cost-effective ways that a company can create engaging direct mail. 

Here are five budget-friendly tips to craft effective direct mail for your company!

5 Key Factors for Planning a Profitable Direct Mail Piece

1. Use Every Door Direct Mail® (EDDM®)

Purchasing a mailing list can be pricey.

But using EDDM® makes it possible for companies to send their direct mail to one specific mail route or multiple routes without investing in a mailing list.

To save your company money, consider sending your direct mail out through EDDM® rather than a mailing list- it will be far more profitable regarding production costs and postage.

2. Go Bold With Colors

If your company’s printing supplier does their printing digitally, don’t shy away from using lots of colors! 

This won’t increase the cost of printing, but it WILL catch your customers’ attention and boost your reply rates! 85% of consumers share that color and visual appearance are the most critical factor when considering whether or not to buy a product, compared to text, which only has 6% influence. 

3. Try a 2-Way Match Concept

If you design multiple components for your direct mail piece, such as a letter, reply card, and envelope, it will be processed as a 3-way match during manufacturing.

Instead, consider a different concept: create a single component with multiple pieces. You could use a perforated line to create a tear-off reply section, which will then be processed as a 2-way match of the letter and its envelope. 

This will cut down the manufacturing cost of printing your direct mail.

4. Keep it Light 

Keeping your mail’s weight in mind will serve your company’s budget well!

If you were hoping to include a small premium or token for customers with the mail, you don’t have to rule it out completely. 

There are many options for flat items that you can include without raising the cost of postage or requiring unique packaging. Coupon cards and discount codes, decals or stickers, magnets, bookmarks, and other small goodies can provide that engagement for customers without adding extra weight to your mail. 

5. Choose Paper and Envelopes Wisely

Getting creative with your direct mail designs is a great idea and can showcase your company’s personality to potential customers.

However, don’t underestimate the importance of the basics! 

One way to keep paper costs down is using text paper, cover stock, and neutral-colored papers since these are typical types we have on hand. Using these will save you time and money!

When choosing envelopes, consider the same thing. Standard-sized envelopes with standard windows will likely be the most available and, therefore, the most cost-effective option. 

Whatever the size of your budget, we are here to make your next print marketing campaign successful. Contact us today to learn more!

7 Powerful Postcard Direct Mail Ideas We Love

Postcards are a practical, versatile medium to send in your direct mail campaign. According to the Data & Marketing Association, postcards get a response rate of up to 4.25%, one of the highest in direct mail marketing.

Take advantage of this marketing method with seven postcard direct mail ideas we love! 

1. Switch up the norm

Although standard postcards are 4.25” by 5.5”, usually in a horizontal position, not all postcards are designed this way. 

Try switching it up with a larger postcard format with dimensions of 5.5” by 8.5” or change the orientation by sending a vertical postcard. These designs that deviate from the norm will stand out from the crowd and make the recipient take a second look. 

2. Make bold designs

With bright colors and attention-grabbing images, your postcard will speak for itself. 

Be bold in your design choices. The design significantly influences how long a piece stays in a home. Of course, adhere to your branding guide so the final design still looks like your company and produces the image you want to share. 

3. Include a compelling Call to Action (CTA)

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and brainstorm what message would compel you to act. 

Whatever you decide, ensure the action you’re requesting is easy and will yield high rewards. For example, fill out this short questionnaire to receive a $10 gift card. Or perhaps visit our website by following this QR code to receive 50% off your next purchase.

4. Provide testimonials 

Center your postcard design around a couple of happy customers and their testimonials. 

Testimonials are powerful because they can increase overall conversions by 34%. Perhaps this is because 88% of consumers trust user reviews as much as recommendations from someone they know. Whatever the reason, providing testimonials boosts sales. 

Make sure to include short but impactful quotes. There’s not much room on a postcard, and you don’t want to oversaturate it. 

5. Send multiple postcards 

Sometimes marketers make the mistake of contacting a prospect once and then leaving it at that.

But clients often need multiple points of contact before the conversion. Therefore, make it part of your strategy to send several postcards to the same person over time. It’ll keep your business on their mind and give them the nudge they need to act. 

6. Personalize the postcard

The more personalized, the better. 

Some 84% of customers say being treated like a person instead of a number is very important to winning their business. Therefore, try to personalize your communications as much as possible. Identify all possible points of personalization and use what you know about the customer, such as demographics and past purchasing history.

Treat your customers as people, not numbers. 

7. Narrow your focus

Postcards don’t have a lot of surface area.

Therefore, narrow your focus on one key message to not overwhelm the client. Tie in this vital message with an attention-grabbing headline that is true to the intent of the postcard. 

We love postcards thanks to their unique benefits and versatility. Send the best postcard by following the above postcard ideas.

Contact us today to craft a compelling post card campaign that gets your customer's attention!

How to Do a Direct Mail Marketing Campaign on a Budget

Even with a tight budget, you can still run a direct mail marketing campaign with a great return on investment (ROI).

If you focus your campaign, design the mail well, and perfect your mailing list, investing in direct mail can be a wise choice for your company's budget.

Here are five steps to ensure your direct mail is effective while sticking to an affordable budget. 

Step 1: Choose the right product or promotion to market

It's best to start crafting your marketing campaign with a specific goal.

Your company can use direct mail marketing for advertising a new product, a popular service, or even an update or improvement that you've made. 

Promoting something specific that will interest most of the public is wisest. Considering this will help your marketing dollars further increase the likelihood of people taking action after seeing your print marketing materials. 

Step 2: Refine your target audience

80% of consumers are more likely to purchase after seeing an advertisement that they feel is relevant.

Thus, advertising to only a specific subgroup of potential customers can help keep your direct marketing budget low while getting you the best possible ROI. 

Understand the demographic of most of your customers so that you can seek out and target more prospective customers with your direct mail marketing. 

Step 3: Use mailing promotions to keep costs down

Direct mail postage doesn't have to drain your company's budget!

Make sure to research different options available to you since your mail is part of a marketing campaign.

Multiple mailing services like USPS offer discounts for companies sending out ads in bulk. Take advantage of these deals; they could help you save up to 4% of your company's direct mail cost. 

Step 4: Create a straightforward message

If you want your company's direct mail marketing to be effective and cost-efficient, it needs to elicit a response from the consumer. 

The best way to do this is to include a clear call to action (CTA) within your ads. Time-sensitive offers and coupons are a great way to hook prospective customers. Make sure to include contact details so the customer can connect immediately.

Your CTA could be anything- asking the customer to send a reply, use a coupon, buy a product, or visit a website. As long as it's simple and engaging, it has a bigger chance of increasing your ROI. 

Step 5: Track your responses.

If you're spending your company's budget on a direct mail campaign, you want to see what works and what you could do differently next time to improve results.

Include a unique QR code or personalized URL on your print ads that will send customers to a designated webpage and allow you to track responses. Then look at the sales made and the number of coupons used to adjust your campaign so that your money is only being spent on the most effective ads. 

Contact us today to help you craft the perfect message, design the most compelling visuals, and make the most of your print marketing dollars! 

How SEO and Print Work Together (Plus 3 Ways to Improve Your Site's Ranking)

The purpose of search engine optimization (SEO) is to get your website to the top of Google’s search engine. 

The higher up your business is, the easier it will be for potential clients to find you. This is especially beneficial given that 68% of online experiences start with search engines. 

Many factors impact SEO ranking, such as

• Bounce rate is when visitors leave a webpage without taking any action—the lower the bounce rate, the better.


• Dwell time is how long visitors stay on the page. The longer, the better.


• Traffic is how much activity the page has. The more steady traffic, the better. 

Knowing what impacts your website’s SEO rankings can help boost your website. 

How SEO and Print Work Together

Print marketing can help improve your website’s SEO ranking by driving people to your website. 

One convenient, powerful way to accomplish this is through QR codes. QR codes provide an easy way to drive people from paper to online. QR codes can be added to… 

• Business cards. Drive people to your website to direct them to information that couldn’t fit on the card.


• Catalogs. Next to the advertised, popular product, put a QR code. This will make it easy for customers to buy the product.


• Posters. Bring people from the physical world to the online world by including QR codes on posters. 

QR codes increase your website’s traffic, and they will likely improve dwell times and bounce rates because the people visiting your website are actively seeking it for a purpose. Compare this to someone who stumbles across your website on Google but realizes it’s not quite what they’re looking for. 

3 Ways to Improve Your Site’s Ranking

1. Improve your website

Making your website easier to use will improve its SEO ranking.

Some areas to look at include: 

• Page load speeds. A website’s conversion rate drops by about 4.42% for every second of load time. The faster your website, the better it’ll do. People don’t like waiting.


• Mobile-friendliness. A user-friendly mobile phone website is essential, given that 64% of searches are on mobile phones compared to 35% on computers.


• Navigation. Improve website navigation using clear, everyday language and easy-to-find links to the most important pages. Use design techniques to separate parts of the page and stick to already established website structures. 

A faster, user-friendly website will get people to stay, boosting SEO. 

2. Improve your backlinks

Backlinks (also known as inbound links) are hyperlinks to your website from an external website.

As a business, you want other websites to link to your website. Sometimes this happens naturally. However, you can improve your backlinks by reaching out to editors of other websites and suggesting they link to your page, explaining why doing so would benefit them. You can also create internal links by linking pages within your website. 

3. Create quality content

Having quality content will naturally drive people to your website. 

A catchy headline can get people to click, but quality content keeps them. Make relevant, well-formatted, easy-to-read, and engaging content. Be sure to use everyday language throughout. Include a skim layer with headers, sections, pictures, and infographics. 

Using print and other SEO optimization techniques can help you improve your website’s ranking, making it easier for potential clients to find your business through Google. 

Are you ready to optimize your SEO with print? Reach out to our team now!

Effectively Engaging With Customers Using Direct Mail

In today’s tech-savvy world, it might be easy to assume that the best way to catch the attention of your potential customers is through digital ads. In reality, according to Marketing Sherpa, 76% of consumers said they would trust printed ads they received in the mail when making a purchase, while only 25% said they would trust online pop-ups. 
 
The advertisements you’re sending out through the mail can significantly impact customers. Here are seven ways to design direct mail to make your company stand out! 

7 Tips to Refresh Your Direct Mail Strategy

1. For direct mail, BIGGER IS BETTER!

Research has found that using a larger envelope increases the response rate from customers by 53% when compared with the same content being sent in a standard-sized envelope. 
 
Try something new by sending out your mail in larger, oversized envelopes to intrigue your recipients to read what’s inside! 

2. Use POSTCARDS instead of letters for your direct mail.

In addition to being a cost-effective choice for your company (no envelopes necessary!), using postcards can be a unique way to switch up your mailing strategy. 
 
Postcards are eye-catching, concisely deliver your message, and are often more interesting for readers than a traditional letter. 

3. Make your direct mail SEASONAL.

Putting extra effort into the visual appeal of your direct mail could have a significant impact. 
 
The Data & Marketing Association found that 27% of direct mail is still present within the household after 28 days. Incorporate a seasonally festive design into your mail- it’ll give your recipients a reason to keep it around, making them more likely to take a second look at it. 

4. Include COUPONS in your direct mail!

People love getting discounts! 
 
Include a sale code or a coupon brochure along with your company’s information to give your recipients a reason to purchase immediately. They won’t be able to resist checking out your website so they can score that deal! 

5. Make your direct mail PERSONAL.

Personalization in your communication is key to keeping customers interested in your brand. 
 
For life milestones like birthdays, send out cards! When your company has an anniversary, let your customers know. If you have a loyal, high-value customer, send them a thank-you! This practice will keep your customers feeling valued and connected to your company. 

6. Combine your direct mail with DIGITAL TOOLS.

While direct mail can significantly impact your customers, it’s no secret that sometimes online options are more attractive for today’s customers. 
 
Include the information on your printed mail for your company’s website or social media accounts. Allow customers to redeem coupons online rather than filling them out by hand and mailing them back. 

7. Re-evaluate your company’s MAILING LIST.

If your current direct mail strategy is falling short, try shifting some things around with who is receiving your mail. 
 
Instead of using a mass-marketing tactic, try a targeted mailing list to focus your efforts on your best leads. To get the most responses, you’ll need to ensure you send your information out to your target customers. 
 
Direct mail can be a great way to create interest in your company among a vast pool of recipients. That said, the printing quality for your company’s mail matters and our printing firm has got you covered with high-quality printing for any of your direct mailing needs. For more information, visit our website! 

4 Tips for Getting More People to See Your Direct Mail

Direct mail is naturally advantageous when getting people to notice your business. 

85% of consumers open their direct mail, and 62% act after receiving direct mail, according to a recent report. However, your business can take action to increase further the number of people opening your direct mail. 

1. Use a Call to Action in Your Direct Mail 

The best call to action, or CTA, follows the format “Do something simple, get something great.” 

In this scenario: 

• Do something simple = open the envelope.


• Get something great = receive a credit card, special discount, or a gift or sample.

Creating a sense of scarcity works exceptionally well when prompting people to act. For example, try advertising a limited-time offer or a special discount while supplies last. Fear of missing out or not being enough gets the customer to act soon. However, don’t create a false sense of scarcity.  

2. Send Your Direct Mail in a Unique Envelope 

The envelope is the first thing people see when they take the mail out of the mailbox. 

Whether to open your mail or not relies heavily on the impression the envelope provides. 

Get your envelope to stand out and generate curiosity by switching up the characteristics of the envelope like… 

• Size. Larger envelopes stand out but can be more costly. Smaller envelopes create a sense of casual and friendly correspondence.


• Style. Use a color that catches the target audience’s attention, such as silver, gold, neon, or bold colors. Try changing the texture by using a matte or a glossy finish.


• Font. Using a handwritten style font will make your envelope seem more personal.


• Format. Including a see-through window lets your business prominently display products or enticing offers. 

Switching up the standard white 4 1/8 ” by 9 ½” envelope will make potential customers more likely to open the envelope. 

3. Personalize Your Direct Mail Marketing 

If the direct mail recipient feels that the mail is truly meant for them, they will be more likely to open it. 

Research your target audience so you can better personalize your direct mail. Create target market subgroups based on their interests, potential questions, geographic area, and products or services most interesting to them. 

Often, businesses will have better luck advertising to their local target market because there’s a greater desire among consumers to support local businesses as opposed to non-local ones. 70% of consumers support local businesses because they want to keep money local, connect with the community, support local creators, and have better service. 

4. Track Direct Mail Statistics 

Finding out what methods work for you and what don’t will help you generate a higher return on investment or ROI. 

Track cost per 1000 impressions (CPM), open rates, response rates, and conversions. Impressions are the number of people who see your direct mail, and conversions are the number of recipients who follow your call to action. 

Remember that those who have interacted with your business are more likely to engage again. Also, sometimes it takes multiple direct mail deliveries before the customer acts. 

Once you find a high ROI strategy, scale up your marketing. 

We’re here to help you stand out to potential customers through direct mail. From the design to the mailing itself, we’ve got you covered!