If you are new to the marketing scene, you need to know some basics. Here is a brief guide to the most well known and most used marketing tactics that you also should be using. If you come across some tactics that you aren't using, start using them in your marketing materials as soon as possible to increase your sales and profits.

Tout your benefits, not your features. This is a biggie! Features tell what the product does; benefits tell what the product will do for the consumer. Consumers want to know how your product or service will help them, or will benefit them. People buy drills because they want to produce a hole (it benefits them), not because the drill has spirals (a feature).

Use methods your competitors aren't using

You might think, “hey their marketing materials worked so well for them, I should do the same thing!” Doing the same thing as your competitor is not going to work for you – it works for them because it's their thing. Come up with your own thing – your own marketing strategy that works for you and your product. If poster printing works for them, maybe flyers or brochures will work for you.

Use testimonials

Marketers use testimonials to garner trust from prospects. Consumers that haven't used your product before won't believe it when you say you have the greatest product, but they will believe someone else who says you have the greatest product. Testimonials are great because they can go on almost all of your marketing materials. From custom poster printing to your Web site, testimonials can enhance any content. The important thing to remember is to get permission to use people's quotes!

Break down your price for people. If your product is expensive (and of course, “expensive” is subject to opinion), but let's say your product costs $300. Most people would gawk at that price, and think your product is too expensive. But, if you break down the price to “less than $1 a day,” then people can see your real value in their day-to-day lives and will be more likely to buy your product. Always break it down to the lowest increment that people can relate to.

Use functional headlines. All of your print materials need to have headlines. Why? Because most people won't take the time to read a whole brochure or flyer – they'll only skim it. Headlines draw people's eyes to the page and that's what they read first. Include benefits in your headlines to entice people to read the body copy, or fine print. That's what makes a headline functional – when it offers the reader something of value and doesn't just sum up the text below it.

Include an offer. If you advertise your product or service without an offer, there's really no reason to advertise. Your marketing materials need to give the consumer a reason to respond to your ad and an offer is the best way to do that.

Include a call to action. You need to tell consumers what you want them to do. A call to action is a commanding statement like “Call now to order” or “Visit our Web site for a special deal.” You also need to include any information needed to take action on your call to action.