Thomas Jefferson was one of our most innovative presidents. On a recent tour on Monticello, I was able learn more about his constant tinkering and inventing to make his home more comfortable, save time and money, and produce more at harvest time. His home is featured on the back of the nickel. Since my clients are always interested in saving money, I thought you’d be interested in some cost saving ideas related to producing marketing materials. It might put more nickels in your pocket.

Before you embark on a marketing project, consider how you can save money by finding many purposes for your efforts. When customers are looking for ways to save money on marketing, we take action by finding multiple uses for the messages, materials and graphic images.

For example, one of my clients creates graphic email messages to go out from the association promoting members’ services. To help members with their budgets and as an added value of membership, the association shares the graphic art file through a private portal. That way, those who are part of the group can modify the eblast by adding their own logo and information. Some of the members use the text from the message and customize it to more prominently promote their own firms when sending it out to their own contact lists. This saves members the cost of writing and designing the message.

To take the project a step further, the association then turns the email into a pdf flyer that can be inserted into mailings or used as an attachment on individual emails. The flyer graphics are similar to the eblast; this cohesive look reinforces the brand. This is another cost saving measure as it does not take the designer very much time to use similar graphics on the flyer.

When you are implementing your communication tactics, you should think about ways your efforts can be repurposed for multiple uses to save money on your marketing budget. You can make very nickel count.

If you interview a client you may be able to get:

• Testimonials to use on brochures or tradeshow displays
• Content for a blog post
• Information for an article in your newsletter
• An announcement in a press release

If you take photos at an event, you can use them:

• In social media posts
• On your website
• In ads or billboards

If you produce postcards, use them to:

• Mail out to your contact list
• Hand out at a tradeshow
• Package in a gift basket with promotional items

Planning ahead and thinking creatively can help you get the most out of your marketing budget and leave more nickels jingling in your pocket.