The Parker Jotter is a popular promotional giveaway!
Free promotional merchandise builds brands. Who wouldn’t want a free promotional Parker Pen or a new top quality shopper bag?
The trick is to offer the kinds of promotional gifts that people will both want to own and also need to use regularly.
Promotional pens are this type of promotional gift. They are always one of the top selling promotional gifts every year without fail. Everyone needs a pen regularly and each time a logo printed pen is used it is building the advertising company’s brand. Recently promotional pens have started to be used much more often to get people to subscribe to blogs.
I know this because I sell promotional pens every day of the week and have done for many years. I have seen all the trends from the early days of the internet when anyone and everyone had their email address printed on their pens to the recent trend to promote social networks.
Now as increasing numbers of people are using blogging to communicate and educate their customers, blog address are beginning to be printed much more often.
Following is an example of how one of my customers does it who is on what one might call the A list of bloggers.
Anyone who visits his website and registers on his site receives his company brochure and a free Prodir pen. Prodir is famous for their top quality plastic pens so they are a good low cost gift that people appreciate. These pens and for that matter his blog advertise that anyone who subscribes to his blog’s RSS feed will receive a Parker Jotter Steel Pen and Pencil Gift Set.
This is a generous gift and perhaps more than most people will want to spend but it works perfectly for him and achieves the results he wants.
You may have a new blog and want to test the water first. Why not try offering a free Prodir Pen to anyone who subscribes to your blog. This is a very inexpensive way to get your customers and target customers to get to know you better and read your posts.
An Extra Bit of Advice
What do you think of when you hear the word ‘subscribe?’ My customer made a point that could be of interest to you. When most people hear the word ‘subscribe’ they think of subscribing to a magazine or newspaper. What do you need to do when you subscribe to a magazine? Pay!
When you offer your free pen for subscribing to your blog’s RSS feed don’t use the word subscribe. Instead say something like ‘Follow my blog’s RSS feed and receive a free Parker Pen’ or ‘Join my blog’s RSS feed and receive a free pen.’ He changed his wording and saw instant results. I hope you do too.
So what do you think? Do you want to give it a go? What do you have to lose? Would you like to leave a comment and share your thoughts or experiences?
By Dan Toombs