50 marketing mistakes / Mistake #44
Mistake #44 of 50Don’t forget your contact information on the damn thing.
Beautiful postcard. Great offer. No phone number. It happens.
What it costs you
You just paid for a smile.
It happens more than you’d think.
Beautiful design. Great offer. A line that makes people laugh.
And no phone number. Or the old website. Or one digit off.
If they love the line and can’t find the number, you just paid for a smile.
Nobody is going to look you up. They’re going to put it down and call whoever is easier to find.
A real example
The magnet with no number
A Thai restaurant that delivers orders 500 refrigerator magnets. Great idea. The fridge is right where people decide what’s for dinner.
The line is perfect: “Hungry? You know who to call.”
The logo is big and bright. Everybody at the restaurant loves it.
The magnets go out with every delivery. A couple of weeks later, a customer calls. “What’s your number again? It’s not on the magnet.”
Nobody had checked.
Five hundred refrigerators know who to call. None of them know how.
Same magnet. Same price. Only one of them rings the phone.
Why it happens
How the number goes missing
Every line ends the same way: with a way to reach you.
Do this instead
Check it before it prints.
Before anything goes to the printer, run it through this check. Every item, every time.
| Check | Ask yourself |
|---|---|
| The number | Is your phone number on it, and can you find it in a second? |
| The right number | Did you dial it, straight off the proof? |
| The website | Is it spelled right, and does it work? |
| The QR code | Did you scan it? Does it open your booking page? |
| The next step | Does it tell them what to do: call, scan, book or bring it in? |
| The handle | If your social handle is on it, is your number on it too? |
Make it one person’s job. Nobody approves a proof until they’ve dialed the number on it and heard your phone ring. Ten seconds. It saves the whole order.
Do this today
- 1
Gather one of everything you hand out: cards, magnets, pens, shirts, signs.
- 2
Find the phone number on each one. If it takes more than a couple of seconds, it’s too hard.
- 3
Call every number and visit every website printed on them.
- 4
Add “dial the number” to your proof checklist, so no order goes out without it.
A great line gets a smile. A great line with your number gets the call.
From the book
Chapter 9: The Silent Call to Action
Starts on page 87. The whole chapter, plus 250+ ways to market your business, in the free book.
Download the free bookIdeas that fix it
Put your number where they’ll see it.
Idea 86 · book page 304Magnets$0.75–$2 eachOn the fridge right when the pipe bursts.
Idea 66 · book page 294Promotional Pens$0.30–$1.50 eachUseful, cheap, and passed from person to person.
Idea 64 · book page 293Stickers$0.25–$1 eachGood stickers end up on laptops, bottles and cars: free ads.
Idea 82 · book page 302Key Tags & Keychains$0.50–$4 eachRides on someone's keys every single day.Want a plan for what to hand out, with the right line on it?
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