3 Tips for Creating Business Calendars Your Clients Actually Want

Calendars used to be one of the go-to promotional marketing items and some people are worried that their popularity is diminishing due to:

• Photo sites making it cheap to create your own and print them on demand.
• The increase in printables all over the Interwebs.
• Fewer people being saddled to a desk and thus not needing a desk calendar.
• Most businesses haven’t updated the pictures in their calendars since the 1970s.
• People using electronic calendars accessible through their phones.

But that doesn’t mean you should ditch calendars. There’s still a demographic that looks forward to them every year. Betty Crocker publishes a free one with recipes using their products that is only available to people on their mailing list prior to a specified date. It’s a reward for being part of their team and it’s wildly successful.

Scarcity

Learn from Betty Crocker when trying to create a successful calendar for your business. Don’t set them on your desk and throw them at anyone who walks by. If you create scarcity, as they do by needing to be on their mailing list and limiting your quantities, people are more apt to want them.

Look for Quality

Everyone with a smartphone has a camera in their hand. You want to find or create a calendar with unique shots, one that doesn’t look like every other business calendar out there. In this visual age you can’t afford to offer the same-old, same-old. For added interest, consider adding promotional codes and monthly surprises like Chick-fil-a does.

Personalize Them/Offer Choices

With print-on-demand and falling prices of color printing, calendars do not need to be ordered in the thousands anymore to be cost effective. You could, instead, offer 3 different styles — one that would appeal to each of your buyer personas. Personalizing your offerings or giving your audience a choice of styles makes your calendars much more appealing.

While it may seem a little too early to be talking about 2017 calendars, late spring and early summer are your best times to order them if you’re looking for a great deal.

So start thinking about designs and we’ll check back shortly.