3 Ways to Free Your Marketing Materials from the Abyss

By Mary Clayton, Digital Marketing Manager

Every office has one – that scary room or closet where marketing materials go to die.  This room, that’s supposed to be your biggest resource somehow has become your biggest nightmare – packed with cobwebs, outdated materials, and *gasp* forgotten gems that you wished you’d have used.  If it’s not a business card, envelope, or letterhead, it just gets packed away and forgotten.  Well not anymore!

What if I told you I could help you stylize, organize, and awesomeize your print marketing stockroom in less than 15 minutes?   Stop calling me a liar and read on to find out how!

#1 Dig Out

Pitch Anything Outdated – Do you feel like you’re back in the archives?  If you have materials with old addresses and wrong logos, you can’t use them.  Send this clutter packing.  If you loved the piece, keep two of them for your swipe file.

Restrain Your Inner Hoarder – So, you find some marketing materials you loved back in the day but aren’t relevant.  That’s awesome, but do you need 50+ copies?  Set two of them aside for your swipe file and toss the rest in the recycling bin.  

Create Your Swipe File – Organize all of those pieces you’ve set aside.  Keep like copies together and place them in a folder to review later.  If you get an inspiration or idea, jot it down on a sticky note and put it right on the piece.  After you’ve cleaned out your materials you can revisit this file and figure out how to revitalize a piece you loved!  

#2 Take Stock and Tidy

Review What Made the Cut – Now that you only have your relevant materials to deal with, things are way less overwhelming.  Double check the materials you have are all useable and start organizing them based on how often you use them.  Keep your go-to pieces up front and close so you’re not wasting time searching for them.

Keep Your Collection Together – You may not need to have all boxes of extras taking up shelf space where you can display materials. Tape a copy of the piece to the outside of the box and number the boxes 1 of 4 (or however many boxes of you have).  Keep all of the like boxes together and you’ll know when you’re running low.

Fill in the Gaps – Did you notice that you’re missing some pieces you really need?  Now’s the time to take stock and figure out if you need to reorder, repurpose, and redesign materials.  Make a quick list of any materials you’re running low on for reordering.  

#3 Keep it Clean

Recycle Time – If you have the space, keep a recycle bin in or by your materials.  That way you can easily toss any overage right after an event or promotion ends.  This quick tidying will make future cleanings a breeze!

Straighten Up Your Shelves – Make sure you can easily see and identify your freshly organized materials.  Weird sizes?  Cut out the header or most important part of the piece.  Stand up a copy or tape one to the bottom of the shelf so you can identify what it is in seconds.

Schedule Time to Spruce  Up –  How often is up to you – aim for quarterly as a starting point so you’re not overwhelmed.  Put a reminder on your calendar or in your phone.  This way it will pop up and remind you to go and get the job done!

Have any tips that can help your fellow marketers save time? Hook me up with them and I’ll feature you in a future blog!  You can comment below or shoot me an email at mary@konhaus.com.

 

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