Leave the Bastard Behind by Richard Maun

Author:Richard Maun
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789814484893
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish International

Once you have had fun with your planning kit, draw up a single-sheet ‘flyer’ that describes your business and what makes you different. I did this at least 10 times, because each time I went away from it I thought of something new to add and had to update it. Being a catherine wheel I polished it for a week until it shone with a burnished glow.

I showed some samples to my trusted chums and nobody laughed. I even showed a copy to a potential client, who expressed an interest in coaching work, and I nearly fainted. So then, someone actually wanted this stuff? My hunch was right all along: I could strike out on my own and could leave the bastards behind.

When buying promotional literature, take into account all the costs involved in the project and the consequences of doing or not doing it. For example, I once went to order some replacement leaflets in a previous working life, and was told, ‘No problem, sir. Two thousand is our minimum order quantity.’

Given that this was about 10 years’ supply of glossy literature, I declined to place the order and instead redesigned things so we could cheaply print them out from a PC printer or get a commercial printer to do them digitally. The quality wasn’t quite as sharp as more traditional litho printing, but we did save a stack of cash.

It doesn’t matter if the unit cost is higher if you use your PC printer, because the flexibility of doing things this way can far outweigh the cost. My own leaflets have been produced like this, and I use high-quality paper to help get round the home-grown feel. Nobody has ever questioned the leaflets or sniffed and said,

‘I would have booked you, Richard, but since you have cheapskated your marketing literature, I couldn’t possibly contemplate it now.’

Here’s a tip: think about how much it will cost to get rid of any marketing literature you pay for. I know a talented copywriter who got a good deal on 5,000 small leaflets and still has 4,950 left six months later. Of course they can be distributed, but this costs money and time to organize. So be cautious; little and often can be the mantra to use when producing your own brochures and flyers.

If you want to go all technological and have electronic leaflets, it’s worth investing in a website. Although you aren’t required by law to have a website to promote your business, I have found that people seem to derive a sense of comfort if you do have one. There is no rational basis for this, as there are a good few fraudsters on the net, but stacks of people assume that because you have taken the time and effort to put up a page or two, then you must be who you say you are. When I started out, a web-literate designer friend helped me to put together a straightforward site, and I was staggered when people would open a meeting with, ‘Been to your site.

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