Posted January 30th, 2008
Do you like getting free stuff? Chances are, you do. And so does everyone else. In-fact: people absolutely love getting free stuff, especially things they can use.
That’s why using custom, affordable, creative gifts as advertising for your business or website is something you need to be doing. All it takes is a few bucks, a little bit of your time, and some creativity.
A creative gift for advertising is something you buy for a small price, add your own label/business card to it, and then give it away as a gift to potential customers, friends, or clients. People love this type of advertising because it’s not pointless, it’s not just another piece of paper that they can throw away. It’s a product they can use.
An example of an affordable, creative gift to be used as advertising is a bottle of tabasco sauce. I ran down to my local grocery store the other night, picked up a few small bottles of tabasco sauce for .75ยข, and mocked up some labels for the bottles. Using some glue that I had already purchased for my DIY light tent, I glued the custom labels I had made onto the tabasco bottles.
Voila!
Spending only a few dollars, about half an hour, and a little imagination, I was able to create a product that I could give away and have people NOT throw away. Not only that, but the gift is creative enough that it will attract people’s attention for sure, and whenever a potential client uses the product they will think of my website.
Using a small bottle of tabasco sauce is only one idea for a creative advertising gift. There are millions of things you could buy, customize, and give away to advertise your business or website.
The thing to remember here is that you want to be giving away gifts that people will use, but aren’t readily available. There are already millions of companies that print their label on promo products like USB drives and pens and water bottles. Try coming up with a product that is really unique, but still valuable to people.
Cheap - but useful - items like rulers, staplers, and other office items are always great, and gluing or taping a custom-made label onto each is easy. Other useful things you could buy for cheap, add a custom design to, and then give away include: alarm clocks, paper bags, wallets, envelopes (or even stamps), flashlights, bowls and dishes, and even some small food packages.
Just be sure that, if you buy a food item as an advertising gift, you keep it completely closed and in it’s original wrapping; almost nobody will use/eat the gift if it has already been opened.
Using creative gifts for advertising is a great way to show people that you care, that you are willing to invest for them, and that you are creative. Even if you don’t own a business or website, using creative gifts just to say “Thank you” is better than giving away generic thank you cards.
The possibilities with affordable, creative gifts for advertising are limitless. Get creative and start putting together some unique gifts. Hand out your gifts, mail them, leave them on doorsteps, or put them where people can freely take them, and get your brand out there. Doing this is much more affordable than most advertising campaigns, and it’s often much more effective as well because people love getting free stuff.