How to Create Your Own Marketing Tip Sheets

By now you should know I am a fan of simple and effective marketing strategies. While I am a believer in technology and forward-progress, I also believe that many times it’s the simple marketing strategy or tactic that yields the best results. One example are marketing tip sheets.

I’ve been using and prescribing the use of marketing tip sheets for years. Prospects and customers like them because they offer helpful information in an easy-to-digest format. I like them because I know they make great “bait” for lead generation, and because they are easy to create and inexpensive to produce. I am currently using tip sheets as part of my High Impact Marketing campaign (see the optin box to the right of this article).

I believe everybody reading this can figure out a way to benefit and leverage either a digital tip sheet or a printed tip sheet in their business, like my Private Client Member, Jon Toy has done. Jon wanted to offer his sign-creation services to manufacturing companies and created a tip sheet to show managers in these companies how to use signage to keep employees safer, etc.  He offered his tip sheet as “bait” in a direct mail campaign to get the recipient to say “yes.”

To help you get started on the development of your tip sheet, I want to share some of my best tips on tip sheets.

Before you start, you should picture the ideal person you want to receive and find your marketing tip sheets useful.

Before you start – answer these questions:

1. What is one area of life or business my customers consistently have trouble with or would like to know more about?
2. What is the most common mistake my customers make relative to what you sell?
3. What is the one thing I wish my customers knew relative to what I sell?

How to create your marketing tip sheets:

You want to put a headline on your tip sheet, similar to other copywriting projects. It needs to be big, bold and attention-grabbing for your intended audience. Think benefits, news, etc. as you craft.

For example:

• 10 Common Mistakes Made When Buying a Mattress
• 7 Things You Should Know Before You Visit the Dentist
• Hints on How to Remodel Your Kitchen

And don’t forget the tried and true “How to” headline, which is always is good choice:

• How to Save Money on College – 12 Tips
• How to Market Your Business Effectively
• How to Save on Direct Mail Costs

Eight helpful tip sheet tips:

1. Give it an attention-grabbing name. Is it a checklist, tip sheet, hints list, hot sheet, etc.?
2. Come up with 5, 10 or more helpful tips, your goal is to offer an easy-to-digest piece that leads recipients to the next logical step.
3. Write one to three sentences per tip.
4. Create a bold heading for each tip.
5. Include your contact information on the sheet.
6. Include a special offer or specific call-to-action.
7. Proof, print and distribute!
8. Consider laminating it for additional perceived value. I use www.uprinting.com.

How to design your marketing tip sheets:

You can design your tip sheet as simple or attention-grabbing as makes sense for your target recipient. You can print it on your letterhead or have a professional designer create it for you. I like printing tips sheets in full color and laminating them. You could also consider a pocket-sized or magnet tip sheet, and make sure to include all your contact information on it!

How to use your marketing tip sheets:

Personally, I like using tip sheets for lead generation as bait to get somebody to give you their first “yes.” I also like creating tip sheets as new customer tools or bonus gifts.   With these in mind, here are a few more useful tips:

• Post a digital tip sheet on your web site as a downloadable PDF. Remember Google indexes PDF files, so you might get some SEO juice by doing this.
• Distribute your tip sheet in a WOW! package that goes out to prospects or new customers.
• Distribute your tip sheet at networking events, local meetings, trade shows, etc.
• Include your marketing tip sheets as a bonus download in your book or special report in return for a person’s contact information.  I offered my  “Copy Cosmetics tip sheet” as a gift when Dan Kennedy asked me to author a chapter in the 4th edition of his Ultimate Sales Letter book.  You can click on the image below and download a digital version of this tip sheet.

If you’ve created your own marketing tips sheet or have a question, leave a comment below!