A massive guide to the best types of marketing collateral

The 33 Best Types of Marketing Collateral

Marketing collateral is any material that tells your customers who you are and what you do. However, there are so many types of marketing collateral in the business environment that it can be challenging trying to decide on the best one to use.

Well, don’t worry, we’re here to help. In this guide, we provide an overview of the best types of marketing materials and explain how and when to use each type.

What is considered marketing collateral?

Marketing collateral describes a compilation of different media that are used to help improve the sales of a product or service. In the past, marketing collateral was mainly brochures that were used to support the sales process.

But today’s companies use the term “marketing collateral” to refer to both offline and online media.

The specific marketing message depends on the type of collateral you’re using. In general, concentrate on answering the following questions (among others):

  • What makes your product or service unique?
  • What are the benefits of using your product or service?
  • Why is your product or service better than the competition?

How do you use marketing collateral?

A “buyer’s journey” is the term used to describe the decision-making process consumers undertake as they explore, assess, compare, decide and eventually purchase a product or service. Now, let’s take a look at some examples of marketing collateral for each stage of this journey.

Awareness stage

In this stage, the buyer knows they have a problem, but the solution or solutions to those problems are not yet known. This is the first stage of the buyer’s journey; at this point, buyers are open to exploring their options.

Marketing collateral for this stage should focus on educating the buyer as to how the product or service offers a solution to their problems. Examples of materials fit for this stage include long-form blog content, e-books, infographics, brochures, flyers, press releases, and business cards.

Consideration stage

The consideration stage is where the buyer is comparing their options and evaluating the pros and cons of the available solutions. Marketing collateral at this point should focus on guiding the buyer’s decision to make an informed purchase.

Some examples of collateral for this stage include case studies, product comparison pages, testimonials, portfolios, white papers, and augmented reality images or videos. These types of media allow potential buyers to experience the product, thus aiding their decision-making process.

Decision stage

Once the buyer has narrowed down their list of options, all that’s left is the decision of which solution is best for their problem. Marketing collateral at the decision stage needs to convince buyers to purchase by reinforcing the brand’s value proposition.

Examples of marketing collateral for the decision stage include product pages, proposals, cart abandonment emails, and point of sale displays.

What are examples of marketing collateral?

Anything you can use to communicate the brand message of your company to consumers is considered marketing collateral. Marketing collateral ranges from print materials like brochures, flyers, and posters to digital content such as catalogues, e-books, videos, newsletters, e-magazines, white papers, blog posts, digital annual reports, and more.

Although digital media assets can give companies limitless opportunities to promote their brand, print media is still a very useful channel for communicating with customers. It’s necessary to understand online and offline types of marketing collateral and determine which is best suited to address your target audience and goals.

How to manage the creation process of marketing collateral

Before we dive deeper into the key types of marketing collateral, let’s take a closer look at how you can manage content creation. For most pieces of marketing collateral, there are four steps you should follow – here’s a closer look.

1. Concept

The marketing team launches this process and works to create a strong “concept”. A concept is essentially the high-level idea behind marketing collateral. It should answer questions such as:

  • Why do we need this particular marketing collateral?
  • What do we want to communicate to our audiences in this piece?
  • What are the specific goals for the marketing collateral?
  • How can we structure this content to achieve those goals?
  • How will the marketing collateral look/sound/feel?

Sometimes, the concept has to be created in cooperation with internal or external stakeholders.

2. Briefing

Once the concept is clear, the marketing team needs to turn that abstract concept into an actionable briefing. A creative brief needs to give every stakeholder a clear idea of the project. It should include all the key information so that team members can use it as a guide while working on the project.

Here’s a sample collateral creative brief from Filestage. Feel free to make a copy.

Briefing - marketing collateral

Once a brief has been completed, the owner should share it with all team members responsible for the creation of the collateral. This collaboration can be done via Filestage – the tool allows stakeholders to review the brief, leave feedback, request changes, and approve the final brief.

3. Content creation

Now, with the final briefing in hand, it should be clear to all copywriters and designers what content is needed to create the new marketing collateral.

4. Review and approval

Once the first draft of the collateral is ready, the content manager can share the file with all stakeholders, so they can leave their feedback.

We recommend using a tool like Filestage for the review and approval step, since it allows stakeholders to leave comments and annotations directly on the file. Plus, all feedback is collected in one place, which makes it easy for reviewers to discuss changes.

Review video file timecodes

After the first review round, content creators can make the required changes to the material and upload a second version. Now, stakeholders can review the file again and leave additional comments or approve it with just one click.

37 types of marketing collateral

As we mentioned earlier, marketing collateral comes in a variety of forms and can be supported on either digital or traditional marketing channels. In this section, we will review some of the most important types of collateral, and we demonstrate how and when to use each type as well.

Digital marketing collateral

Thanks to the internet, there are multiple ways that brands can use digital material to communicate with consumers without the need for physical interactions. Additionally, companies can now reach a wider global audience than ever before.

Keep reading for useful examples of digital media assets for marketing collateral.

Biographies of founders and executives

Founder Biography
Image source: Loop54

Place biographies of your founders and executives on your website as social proof that informs your visitors about the successes of your founders and executives. That way, they will associate the performance of your company with these leaders’ accomplishments.

When to use biographies of founders and executives

Did your founders and executives previously work for well-known organizations, or are they considered to be leaders in your industry? Perfect. Present this information to your prospects as a warranty for success.

How to create biographies of founders and executives

If your founders and executives are very busy, just have a look at their LinkedIn profiles, and compose a compelling bio from that public information. Afterward, be sure to send it to them for approval.

Blog posts

Filestage blog
Image source: Filestage blog

Blog posts are great ways to provide your prospects with a lot of value. Don’t concentrate on selling in a blog post. Instead, focus on solving problems and helping your prospects. Moreover, blog posts are good methods for describing topics in-depth.

When to use blog posts

Blog posts can be used whenever you want to tackle topics that are not directly related to your product or service. Posting regularly is also a great method to nurture prospects and remain in touch with them in a non-sales-focused way.

How to create blog posts

You don’t need to be as talented a writer like Hemingway or Goethe to start writing blog posts. Concentrate on the challenges facing your prospects, and help them solve these issues. Convert this knowledge into text, and post it on your corporate blog. Getting started is easy; you can use a content-managing system such as WordPress to set up a blog within five minutes.

Case studies and success stories

Case Study example from Cisco
Image source: Cisco

With case studies, you can show prospects what past customers have achieved through using your product or service. For example, if you’re selling marketing software, you could illustrate that a previous customer increased his ROI by 123% through the use of your tool.

When to use case studies

Case studies can be particularly powerful if they involve popular companies. For example, doing a case study of Microsoft will provide strong evidence that can convince prospects from similar industries to test or even purchase your product or service.

We suggest creating a separate section on your website or blog to feature case studies.

How to create case studies

There are many great marketing resources out there that can help you create case studies. You could use this template (or its included case study examples) as inspiration.

“Throughout years of testing different collateral, I believe case studies have the best impact on your businesses growth. A case study backs up your pitch to prospective customers with real-world proof. The idea would be to have multiple case studies that focus on all the verticals you sell into. If the prospective customer can relate more to a case study, it will increase their chance of purchasing your product.”

Garrett Smith, Founder of RepCheckup

Company awards

Company Awards
Image source: Content Marketing Institute

Company awards are effective ways to demonstrate your quality work to prospects. Put them on your website, and let them bloom into results that will convince your potential clients.

When to use company awards

Of course, the central requirement for presenting company awards on your website is that you’ve won some. If you have, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t place them on your site.

How to win company awards

First of all, identify important awards in your niche. After determining suitable awards, you’ll often be able to apply for one without being nominated. For example, if you’re a content marketing agency, you could apply for a content marketing award.

Company background

Company Background
Image source: SAP

People prefer doing business with people they know. Make the first step, and inform prospects about your company and its background.

Let them know about the way you were founded, your progress during the first few years, the important milestones you’ve achieved, and the ways that your company has evolved. Share your values. Then, your potential clients will become more familiar with your company

When to add company background to your website

As long as you have an interesting story to tell, put a company background on your website, and help people get to know you and learn about your values.

How to use a company background on your website

Write a compelling text about your company, and add some visuals. Make everything as personal as possible.

Ebooks and downloadable guides

Ebooks & downloadable Guides - marketing collateral
Image source: Filestage

In the modern era, eBooks and downloadable guides are some of the hottest marketing materials. Everyone loves free things, especially if they are also entertaining and educational. Hence, people love free eBooks and guides.

These PDF files should contain actionable, supportive, and useful information. eBooks and downloadable guides will help you gather emails and generate leads.

When to use eBooks and downloadable guides

If you know that your prospects and customers are struggling to tackle specific topics, make it your job to help them. Compile an eBook, and offer it on your website for free. But ask interested visitors for their email addresses. That way, you’ll be able to reach out to them later and continue nurturing these leads.

How to create eBooks and downloadable guides

Creating an eBook or guide doesn’t need to be complicated. If you’ve already created lots of content, just take 3-5 blog posts about a specific topic, merge them together, and convert them into an eBook. For the conversion, you can use eBook templates or a tool like Google Docs or Word.

“We would argue the most important marketing collateral is not physical, but digital downloadable PDFs directed at your target audience. These PDFs entice your audience to give you their email addresses so that they can access your files. Then you have their email in exchange for giving them valuable information and can use that to market to them and stay in touch for the future.”

Stacy Caprio, Founder of Accelerated Growth Marketing

Email signature

email signature filestage example
Image source: Filestage
Your email signature is marketing collateral? Yep. You’re sending out hundreds or even thousands of emails per week. So, use your email signature as an inconspicuous way to promote your product or service.

When to use an email signature

You should use your signature whenever you want to make a good impression, such as following up with a potential client.

How to create an email signature

You can easily use one of the signature generators out there to create a compelling email signature in seconds.

Explainer videos

How to create an email signature - marketing collateral
Image source: Filestage YouTube channel
Did you know that people spend more than 500 million hours on YouTube every day? People love videos.

Explainer videos can present your product or service in an easy and intuitive way. Is your product rather complex? Even better. Use an explainer video to simplify the product’s functionality.

When to use an explainer video

Explainer videos can be used if you have a product or service that can be visually described in 1 to 2 minutes. This definition should apply to most businesses. Put explainer videos on your homepage, or share them online via social media.

How to create an explainer video

Either create an explainer video on your own or hire somebody on a marketplace like Fiverr or Upwork to do it for you. You can use tools like Fastreel, PowToon, or Biteable to create customized explainer videos.

Creating a great explainer video involves teamwork. Use Filestage to get simple feedback on your video from colleagues and/or clients.

“Clients and prospects consume data in different ways, and so we meet potential clients and understand what they need, creating materials tailored for each opportunity. That said, videos are very hot right now and have given us the highest open rates. It shows the human element of our people and enables us to explain complex concepts in less than 2-3 minutes.”

Michael Mellor, Director of Marketing at Pryor Cashman LLP

Landing pages

Shopify - marketing collateral
Image source: Shopify
A landing page is quite similar to your actual website. The only difference is that the landing page is solely focused on delivering your marketing message and refrains from needless distractions and links.

It is only one page and includes one type of Call-to-Action. So, it focuses on the most important aspects and benefits of your product or service.

When to use a landing page

All of your marketing campaigns should have dedicated landing pages. Here’s the advantage of having a landing page compared to using your homepage for all of your ad campaigns: You can easily adjust and rebuild it according to the specifics of your campaign.

How to create a landing page

If you don’t want to code pages yourself, you can use tools like Unbounce, Instapage, or Leadpages. They create stunning landing pages within seconds. Finetuning landing pages is essential. Design collaboration tools like Filestage help you easily collaborate on a landing page layout with colleagues and/or clients.

One piece of targeted marketing collateral that every business should have is a landing page. Landing pages allow you to make the most of your advertising and inbound marketing efforts by having a specific page where you can drive traffic.

“Moreover, you can provide a personalized offer to visitors in an effort to capture leads or make a sale. Essentially, instead of driving all traffic to your website, you’re able to segment your audience and send them to a page that speaks more directly to them, allowing you to improve your conversion rate. Additionally, landing pages are great places to tie in other pieces of marketing collateral like testimonials, whitepapers, ebooks, etc. to further a business’ objectives of generating leads or making a sale.”

Josh Brown, Content Manager at Sales & Orders

List of partners or vendors

Slack - marketing collateral
Image source: Slack
A list of partners or vendors can demonstrate powerful collaborations with leaders from other or similar industries. If you work with trustworthy companies, you must be trustworthy as well (at least in the eyes of your prospects).

When to use a list of partners and vendors

If you’re collaborating with a well-known entity, proudly present these partnerships on your website.

How to create a list of partners and vendors

You don’t need to create a whole page for your partners and vendors. Simply list them on your website in a subtle but visible way.

Mission statement

Mission Statement - marketing collateral
Image source: American Express
A mission statement is the compass of a company. It gives your team direction, but it can also send a strong, bold message to outsiders.

When to use a mission statement

You should put your mission statement on your website if you feel that it’s perfectly aligned with your marketing message and demonstrates your exemplary way of working.

How to create a mission statement

Not sure how to create a powerful mission statement? Utilize this guide to compose an effective statement.

Newsletter

Newsletter example
Image source: UXPin
A newsletter is an email that you regularly send to all of the subscribed recipients. It should contain valuable content and interesting news about your company.

When to use a newsletter

Before using a newsletter, make sure that you build an email list of recipients. You can build this list by using lead magnets, such as eBooks or downloadable guides. Afterward, you should regularly send out newsletters.

How to create a newsletter

Creating a newsletter is no longer complicated. To easily create your own newsletter, you can use software for email marketing like Sendpulse. Alternatively, you can use other tools like Mailchimp, Mailjet, or Campaign Monitor, which offer drag-and-drop interfaces. If you want to go one step further, create and design your own digital, interactive publications. You can use tools like Instant Magazine to create beautiful publications in minutes.

Portfolio

Portfolio - marketing collateral
Image source: Toyfight
A portfolio is especially interesting for those companies that create products or provide services. Are you building websites for your customers? Make sure that you put all the websites you’ve designed so far on your own website, and add them to your portfolio.

When to use a portfolio

You can either present your portfolio directly on your website or use an external service like Crevado. Either way, make sure that it can be accessed online. An offline portfolio is no longer sufficient.

How to create a portfolio

Creating a portfolio requires compiling a collection of your best work. You can learn how to create the perfect portfolio on sites like Canva and Creative Blog.

Testimonials and reviews

Testimonials
Image source: mHelpDesk
Hopefully, some of your customers really love your products or services. If so, you should try to get testimonials from them.

Nowadays, prospects don’t really want to hear what YOU have to say about your product. Instead, they want to hear what other customers say about it. So, you’ll have to proactively ask for testimonials.

But there is another source of opinions about your products: online reviews. And yes, you can use positive reviews from Google or Yelp on your website, too.

When to use testimonials and reviews

You can put testimonials and reviews directly on your website, or you can combine them with other marketing collateral, such as flyers or landing pages. Remember, trustworthy testimonials and reviews always look good, and they’re good ways to convince prospects of your expertise.

How to create testimonials and reviews

Reach out to your happiest customers, and ask them for testimonials. You can even use incentives to motivate them. Additionally, you can use reviews from Google or Facebook, and add them to your website. Interestingly, reviews don’t always have to be positive. Examples like this usual review demonstrate that even negative reviews can create buzz.

The most important marketing collateral today is social proof, specifically in the form of online reviews. Online reviews are one of the most effective forms of social proof because consumers check online reviews when researching a business. Consumers want to know what the experience at a business is like for other customers.

So, if a customer writes “The service here is terrible”  in a review, then that is going to affect consumers researching the business and deciding whether or not to visit the particular restaurant.

“More evidence that online reviews are a powerful form of social proof comes from our 2018 Online Reviews Survey. According to the survey, over 63 % of consumers say they are likely to read online reviews on Google before visiting a business. That’s more than any other review site. In addition, negative reviews actually drive consumers away — 94 % of consumers say an online review has convinced them to avoid a business.”

Megan Wenzl, Associate Editor at Review Trackers

Sales presentation

Sales Presentation
Image source: Contently

Sales presentations can help you sell a certain product or service by stressing its benefits. But they shouldn’t be product or service-centric. Instead, presentations should focus on solving the problems of the target audience.

When to use sales presentations

You should use presentations if prospects are interested in your product or service, and you want to convince them that it can solve their specific problems.

Don’t be lazy when you adjust a sales presentation to a specific client. Instead, make it as personalized as possible, and cover the use case of your prospect.

How to create sales presentations

When creating sales presentations, it’s important to tell a story that results in a solution to your prospect’s problem.

When creating your own sales presentation, you can use these examples as inspiration:

Vertical/ industry pages

Freshdesk - marketing collateral
Image source: Freshdesk
Often, products are used across various industries in different ways. You can use this information and create dedicated subpages for each industry.

For example, if you’re selling software that can be used in both the real estate industry and the manufacturing industry, create separate pages for both of them. On these pages, you’re explaining the use case in detail so that prospects will more easily understand how your product can help solve their specific problems.

When to use industry pages

You should use industry pages if your product is used in different industries. It’s as easy as that. All potential customers want to see how you have helped other customers in similar situations. And industry pages can easily accomplish this.

How to create industry pages

Select the industries that you want to present use cases about, and create web pages for each of them. On each page, you should clearly show how this industry and its specific customers benefited from your product.

Website

Zapier
Image source: Zapier
Surprisingly, some businesses still don’t have decent websites or websites at all. But an appealing, user-friendly website is the meat and potatoes of your business.

When to use a website

Always.

How to create a website

You can either code it on your own, use a drag-and-drop editor, or pay somebody to do either for you. If you decide to hire an agency, you can compare suitable agencies on Clutch.co. If you’re looking for a suitable website builder, you should check this overview.

“I’ve been in digital marketing for 7 years, and consider a business’s website the single most important piece of marketing collateral they can invest in. A strong website can promote a company’s products 24/7. More importantly, people who are researching products or services online are usually more motivated to make a purchase in the near future than people who are simply reading a magazine or listening to the radio. By putting your products right in front of a potentially motivated buyer— right when they’re motivated to act—you’re increasing your chances of a successful conversion. If you’re not doing this, you can rest assured that your competitors are. Of course, developing a successful website takes much longer than developing an ad or an email blast. But the ROI tends to be higher as well. I’ve seen companies reduce their cost per lead by 40-50 % when they implement smart digital marketing strategies.”

Faith Kubicki, Content Marketing Manager at IntelliChief

White papers

Whitepaper
Image source: DocuSign
A whitepaper is a comprehensive document that informs the reader about a complex topic. Prospects expect whitepapers to be backed up by research and to contain valuable and actionable information.

The topics in whitepapers should be related to your business. For example, if you own a Facebook advertising agency, you could write about how to succeed at Facebook marketing.

When to use a whitepaper

You should use whitepapers as part of your marketing collateral. They should attract potential prospects and deliver information as they consider buying your product or service.

How to create a whitepaper

“The type of collateral you provide your leads really depends on who your target market is, and what industry you’re in. A whitepaper is basically an extended blog post and is a good tool for most industries and audiences. You can leverage whitepapers as a way of explaining a product, service, or aspect of your business that would be too lengthy for a blog post. A whitepaper is a good tool to use if you want to provide your prospect with persuasive information that gets straight to the point. It’s not as descriptive as an eBook, but it’s more complex than a blog post. In order for the whitepaper to be effective, you need to include facts, statistics, and research with documented references. Whitepapers are basically guides to help people make more informed decisions.”

Britt Armour, Director of Digital Marketing at Kibii

Product comparison pages

Twist Slack Alternative - marketing collateral
Image source: Twist
Believe it or not: You’re not the only choice for your prospects. They’re always comparing products and services. Make sure that they can easily compare your product/service to your competitors by creating a product comparison page.

The huge benefit: You decide the comparison criteria, so you can make sure you look superior to your competition.

When to use a product comparison page

If you have strong competitors, you should use product-comparison pages to decently and honestly compare products and services. Just remember to utilize this opportunity to concentrate on your strengths.

How to create a product comparison page

Choose the most important comparison criteria, gather information about your competitors, and compare your product/service with theirs on a dedicated website. If you need inspiration, you can use these product comparison templates.

Infographics

Inforgraphics - marketing collateral
Image source: Visual.ly
Infographics are simply a visual representation of information. They present information in an easy-to-understand format using graphics such as illustrations, graphs, and charts. Infographics are quite popular because they use pictures and minimal text to relay messages. After all, compared to text, pictures are more consumable, engaging, and memorable.

When to use infographics

Do you want to summarize information regarding statistics, data, step-by-step guides, or listicles, but you’re worried about overwhelming your consumer with dense text? There’s no better option than an infographic as it is great for simplifying complex topics, storytelling, and increasing audience engagement.

How to create infographics

Creating infographics isn’t hard, but if you don’t want to do it on your own, you can hire a creative to do it for you. If you’re going to do it yourself, you can use the templates on platforms like Canva, Piktochart, Easel, or Infogram.

Select a template that fits your message on your preferred platform, then customize your infographic with the elements available on the tool and design as you like. Try not to go overboard with creativity; remember, infographics are not about design but communication.

When you’re done, download and share your infographic with your target audience. You can also embed it in your blog posts, as infographics can also be used as part of an article to summarize or underline key points.

Podcast

Podcast - marketing collateral
Image source: Pexels
Podcasts are audio recordings made available on the internet where listeners can stream and/or download to their computer and mobile devices. These audio files are typically available as a series and can focus on a variety of topics. Think of them as a kind of  ‘internet radio on demand’.

When to use a podcast

Videos are great, sure. But if your target audience includes people who are frequently on the go, they may not have time to watch anything. However, they can always listen and absorb information, and that’s where podcasts come in. Use podcasts to give your consumers something to listen to on the go and use the opportunity to communicate your brand’s values.

How to create a podcast

Starting a podcast is easy. You can host a podcast on platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor, or Spreaker. To start, you will need basic recording equipment like a computer, microphone, and headphones. You can do a solo-style podcast where you educate and inform your audience about the latest trends in your industry.

You can also try the interview-style podcast where you invite industry experts to join you in a conversation, or better still, you can have a regular co-host. Either way, the most important thing is to ensure that every episode you publish and share with your audience increases brand awareness and improves the relationship between your business and the audience.

Offline marketing collateral

Offline marketing collateral, as the name implies, refers to materials used for marketing outside web channels. The internet may have revolutionized marketing collateral, but there’s still a place for non-digitized materials in this day and age. In this section, we review some of the most common tangible marketing collateral.

Business cards

Business Cards
Image source: CUB on Behance
Business cards are essential for every business person who has any contact with external businesspeople. Although business cards could be considered old school, everyone is still using them. And it’s obvious why: Business cards allow you to swap contact information in a very quick and frictionless way.

When to use business cards

You should use business cards when you’re attending conferences or meeting people in a business context.

How to create business cards

There are literally thousands of products and services that allow you to create and produce business cards. If you want to create business cards on your own, you can use templates from Canva or Shopify. If you also want to print them, use a service like MOO.

“The most important marketing collateral, hands down, is a business card. It may often get overlooked, but that’s what makes it a great marketing tool, because it’s unassuming, small, and mostly inexpensive. Everyone carries business cards, and when you’re out in the field making connections, word-of-mouth marketing is king. How else will someone remember your elevator pitch or details of your business if you don’t seal it with a business card? That way, you can give your new connection an easy way to remember you and contact you in the future.”

Harrison Doan, Director of Analytics at Saatva

Calendars

Calendar
Image source: Steph Olson
Calendars make great marketing collateral. Everyone needs a calendar and is happy to get one for free. Accordingly, provide your prospects with a free calendar that’s branded with your expectations.

That way, your customers are reminded of you and your company each and every day, all year long. Of course, you can also brand and provide other useful things, such as pens or cups.

When to use calendars

Calendars can be used when you are searching for physical marketing collateral that can be given away for free, for example, at an event.

How to create calendars

You can either use online printing services (including their drag-and-drop calendar editors). Or you can create the calendar on your own by (again) using Canva and even print the calendars in your local copy shop.

Company folders

Company Folder
Image source: Behance
Company folders contain comprehensive information about your business. They should include some brochures, your business cards, a company or product presentation, and other relevant documents. Make sure that the folder’s design itself captures the attention of your prospects and stands out from the crowd

When to use company folders

You should use company folders each time you want to provide prospects with a comprehensive collection of information. Remember to make it as easy as possible for them to go through the materials.

How to create company folders

A service like company folders easily provides excellent folders.

Direct mail

Direct Mail - marketing collateral
Image source: Behance
Most companies concentrate on sending outbound emails. In fact, only a small percentage still use direct mail. Utilize this opportunity, and surprise your prospects and customers, especially if you’re in a digitalized industry.

When to use direct mail

If you want to conduct a national marketing campaign, use direct mail as an additional channel, and test the impact.

How to create direct mail

Creating good direct mail is hard. Today, less direct mail is sent because people are reluctant to do anything with it other than throw it away. Nevertheless, you can find the Top 10 direct mail providers from 2021 here.

Branded envelopes

Branded Envelopes
Image source: Axiom Designs
Branded envelopes are the offline version of the email signature. Use branded envelopes to stand out. Letters are sent each day. Why shouldn’t you use this easy marketing tool?

When to use branded envelopes

You should always use branded envelopes when you’re sending letters.

How to create branded envelopes

You can use a service like envelopes.com to design and order your individual envelopes.

Point-of-sale displays

POS Display
Image source: Evolution Displays
Point-of-sale displays are effective ways to support the sales of your products. You can use these displays to provide potential customers with additional materials about your product (in the form of brochures, flyers, or free samples).

​​When to use point-of-sales displays

You can use point-of-sales displays if you sell retail products and want to boost a product launch.

How to create point-of-sales displays

To create an appealing POS display, you should work with retail experts who are making them every day. Companies like Creative Displays Now or Smurfit Kappa allow you to buy and customize such POS displays.

Flyers

Flyers
Image source: Dribbble
Flyers are quite similar to brochures, but they aren’t folded. They should attract attention by being well-designed, and engage prospects by being well-written.

When to use flyers

You should use flyers if you need physical marketing collateral that can be distributed quickly to a large number of people.

How to create flyers

Many flyer templates are available these days. For instance, you can browse through the collections at Freepik and GraphicRiver or use Venngage’s flyer template to find the one that suits your needs.

Gift cards

Gift Cards - marketing collateral
Image source: Unsplash
Gift cards are used like prepaid debit cards. They are loaded with a specific amount of funds and can be used for a variety of purchases at specific, accepted locations. Gift cards are popular as they are a convenient choice for many occasions. As you can expect, they come with several benefits, not just for the recipients, but businesses as well.

When to use gift cards

If you want to increase brand awareness, attract new customers, drive loyalty among existing customers, and improve sales, then selling and accepting gift cards at your business would be a great idea.

Gift cards encourage people who might not otherwise visit your business to take a look around and shop. And if you make a great impression, they may return in the future to make more purchases.

How to create gift cards

Some of the best, relatively inexpensive gift card vendors you can use to launch a gift card system for your business include Square, Revel, and Lightspeed. Don’t forget to do your due diligence to determine the supplier that best meets the needs of your business.

Offline and online marketing collateral

Some offline marketing collateral that pre-dates the internet has been adapted for use online. This crossover is quite effective for many businesses as it provides companies with a means of targeting offline and online consumers with a single material. And the most interesting part? There’s a multitude of options.

Press releases

Press Release
Image source: BizLabs
Press releases include news about the most important and newsworthy successes of your company. You should put them on your website, but you can also print them out and hand physical copies directly to prospects.

​​When to use a press release

You should write a press release when you have something interesting to relate. It’s not enough to simply present a new feature of your product. Concentrate on the benefits for the reader and the broader impact of your news.

How to create a press release

Unsure how to write a press release? Don’t worry. To create a newsworthy press release, just use these tips by Forbes.

Price list

 

Price List
Image source: sampletemplates.com
This list includes the prices of all your products and services, and it can be easily sent to prospects – either digitized or printed.

When to use a price list

If you have many different products and services, you don’t need to publish a price list directly on your website, where it can be seen by all visitors (including your competitors). Instead, you can send the list out whenever somebody is interested.

How to create a price list

Of course, you can use sophisticated tools like Photoshop to design your price list. However, if you aren’t sending out 100 emails per day (including this list), keep it simple. Open a Google or Word doc, and create a table that includes your products/services and the related prices.

Product catalog or guide

Product Catalog - marketing collateral
Image source: Behance
Are you selling products whose functionality needs to be explained in detail? To describe all the facets of your products, use product guides and catalogs that can be downloaded on your website. That way, you can easily nurture your prospects while providing them with the information they want.

When to use a product guide/ catalog

You should create a product guide/catalog if you’re selling multiple products so that your customers get a comprehensive overview of all listed products.

How to create a product guide/ catalog

Making a product catalog can be hard work, but it will pay off. In the beginning, start gathering the information you want to include in your catalog. Then, decide on a format, and start designing the guide by using tools like Catalog Machine or other catalog software to manage the process.

Reviewing product catalogs can take a lot of time and involve a lot of back and forth. Speed up the approval process dramatically by using a feedback tool such as Filestage.

Warranty sheet

Warranty sheet example
Image source: Kramer
Warranty sheets ensure that your customers can have repairs made within a certain amount of time.

When to use a warrant sheet

Simply put, you should use warranty sheets when you’re offering a product that involves a warranty.

How to create a warranty sheet

Use one of the existing free warranty sheets.

Brochures

Brochures - marketing collateral
Image source: Ikea

Brochures should be well-designed and provide information about your business, your product, and/or your services. Use visual elements to make them appealing.

When to use brochures

You should use brochures if you need physical marketing collateral that can be easily handed to prospects without becoming overly expensive. Most likely, you can easily print thousands of brochures for big events without blowing your budget.

How to create brochures

These days, you no longer need an in-house designer to create an appealing product brochure. Instead, you can use tools like Canva, or capitalize on available brochure templates. If you don’t have the capacity to create brochures yourself, you might hire a graphic design agency such as Inkbot Design. You can also make your brochure actionable by adding a QR code to it. Create QR codes using Canva’s QR Code Generator to create customized codes.

Company/ product/ service fact sheet

Product Fact Sheet
Image source: Xtensio
Fact sheets about companies, products, or services are great sources of information for prospects as they summarize the most important information on one page while being well-designed.

When to use fact sheets

You should always use fact sheets when you want to provide a relatively large number of prospects with physical marketing collateral. It’s fairly easy and cheap to produce them, and they offer a lot of valuable information.

How to create fact sheets

There are many templates available for fact sheets. Simply choose one of them, and print the sheets in your local copy shop.

Banners

Banners - marketing collateral

Image source: Pexels

Banners are advertisements that companies display to promote their products or events. Banner ads can be physical – such as custom banners you can put in front of your store or event booth. They can also be digital – these would be the advertisement graphics placed on web pages that promote a campaign and link to a specific website.

When to use banners

You should use banners if you want to increase brand awareness. Whether it is a custom vinyl banner in front of your business to let your customers know you’re open or a web banner to boost online traffic, a banner is an effective way to improve brand awareness.

How to create banners

If you’re not a professional designer, consider hiring a web designer to customize the perfect, clickable web banner ads for you. For physical banners, you can design and print custom banners yourself with platforms like Office Depot, Staple, and Vistaprint (or just have the business do it for you).

Magazines

How to create banners - marketing collateral
Image source: McKinsey
Printed and e-magazines are great promotional materials for businesses. What’s especially useful about magazines as marketing collateral is that they can combine different types of collateral such as product catalogs, testimonials, blog articles, reports, infographics, and so many others.

When to use magazines

You should use magazines if you want to share information about your products and services with your customers. They are quite effective as educational and promotional materials. Magazines provide consumers with answers to some of their questions, and they help businesses connect with their audience over shared interests.

How to create magazines

Unsure of how to go about creating a magazine? Not to worry. Services like Lucidpress, Canva, Foleon, and Blurb can help you create and design both print and digital magazines.

Conclusion

Every brand and business needs top-notch marketing collateral. However, creating marketing collateral is not a one-time task. Marketing teams must regularly review and update collateral to stay up-to-date with consumer trends and new technologies in their business environment.

The more in tune your marketing collateral is to the needs of your target audience, the more valuable it will be to your marketing campaigns and business as a whole.