One way to decrease the already low cost of door hanger marketing is to print your own door hangers. You need to plan a method of delivery, even if you utilize your company staff to distribute your door hangers directly to your target audience.

Design elements for custom door hangers include:

1. The header: use this to grab attention with big, bold type that a person can read as he approaches the door;

2. The body: this part of the door hanger advertisement communicates your message and tells your audience why they need your product or service;

3. And the footer: use this to identify your contact information and the action you want your reader to take.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use blank, printable door hangers to print your own door hangers

Blank, printable door hangers have pre-cut or pre-perforated holes to place them easily on a door knob. Be sure to choose a blank door hanger that is made of sturdy card stock. Plan your design with bright colors and bold lettering on the front to catch your audience's attention.

I recommend: Select a blank door hanger cardstock style from OnlineLabels.com, which sells specialty labels and paper. Pick from several styles of printable blank door hangers at Rippedsheets.com. Choose one of a number of types of blank door hangers for sale at Burris Computer Forms.

Get software for door hanger printing

You can create a door hanger using software you already own, but you might want to consider trying a different program if you need help with design. Software that includes templates gives you access to designs made by professional graphic artists.

I recommend: Download ClickBook software that you can use to make your own door knob hangers from Blue Squirrel. Use MyCreativeShop to create professional brochures and door knob hangers. Make sure the software you purchase allows you to use the program for business and not just personal use.

Put your literature in door hanger bags

Door hanger bags are clear bags designed to hang marketing literature on a door knob. Benefits of using these over printed door hangers include the ability to include more literature or a longer brochure with more information, and the fact that they are waterproof. A disadvantage is that your potential audience might never open the bag.

I recommend: Find various styles of clear bags with a door knob hole in them at Discount Poly Bags. Choose from several styles of plastic bags designed to hang on a door knob at Bagbarn.com.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Whether you print door hangers with or without a perforation, you can include a coupon offering your potential customer a discount to entice them to become a customer.
• •  When considering the cost of supplies for door hanger printing services, compare the cost of buying paper and using your printer's ink to getting door hangers printed by an online digital printing service, many of which offer free design services and low prices.

Advertising door hangers are a great way to advertise your product or service to a neighborhood you would like to serve. Since you don't have to worry about postage, door knob advertising can get the word out about your business in an affordable way. For $200 to $300, you can have an advertising vehicle you'll be proud to distribute to potential customers.

You can use custom door hangers to announce a new business or a special deal for customers. Look for door hanger printing services that offer:

1. Full-color double-sided or single-sided printing of door hanger ads.
2. Door hangers in several different sizes to suit your budget.
3. Fast turn-around time for your door hanger advertising order.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get your door hanger printing job done fast

It's easy to place your order right online if you already have a logo or design that you want to see on an advertising door hanger. You can get it done and in your customer's hands in a week's time.

I recommend: Look into Direct Mail.com for a quote on printing door hangers. Using their online product calculator, you can get a good estimate of job costs and complete the ordering process. 48 Hour Print.com can finish your door hanger printing job in 48 hours on card stock with your choice of gloss or matte coatings. Printing Center USA offers printing of custom door hangers in several different sizes and coating options. Most orders ship out within five days after you approve the proof of your print job.

Find the design help you need on door hanger advertisement

Maybe you've never thought much about advertising before for your business, but you're starting to think it might be a good idea. But where do you start? Here are some websites that can help you with the total design process.

I recommend: Consider the eDesign Studio for help with the design for your advertising door hanger. The company has die-cut door hangers in two sizes, 4.25 x 11 inches and 5.5 x 17 inches and two-sided or single-sided printing. DoorHangers.com has door hanger advertising down to a science. You can upload your own logo, or use their templates for different industries to build a design. They also have a graphic designer available to help you create your door hanger from scratch.

Big-time door hanger marketing for small companies

You would love to try out doorknob advertising for your business, but you're not a large company. You envision stacks of leftovers that you can't distribute. But some door hanger printing companies will print smaller press runs.

I recommend: The Marsid M&M Group will print a small press run of 250 advertising door hangers. Get anywhere from 250 to 50,000 custom door hangers with UPrinting, which also offers technical advice and a free proof of your order before you commit to the purchase.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Look for the option to purchase custom door hangers with a perforated tear-off section for your business card or a special deal such as a coupon. These could boost the response rate.
• •  Make sure you view a proof of your custom door hangers before you place the order.

Each choice you make affects the pricing and costs of door hanger printing services. Door hanger advertisement can be a very effective and inexpensive means of marketing, because you target each customer directly and they encounter your message all by itself, not mixed in with many competing messages like it would be in the mail, in a print publication or even on TV.

The following choices affect the price of advertisement door hangers:

1. Quantity: you pay more when you order more, of course, but the price per piece drops dramatically when you order higher quantities of door hanger advertisements.

2. Size: firms that have one standard size often have a lower price, and you usually will pay more for a custom size.

3. Color: you have the option of color on both sides, no color at all, and everything in between.

4. Style: there are several styles of door hanger ads, which vary in shape, and some have a perforated tear-off or a pocket.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Order door hanger printing for very small quantities

Some printers will not print very small quantities of door hangers, and others charge a substantial price for printing even a small amount, since the setup is often the highest cost. Printers that use digital equipment have lower prices for quantities as low as 100. Some also offer free design services to save you even more money.

I recommend: Order custom door hangers in many different sizes starting at quantities of 100 from KoolPrint.com, which offers free design services. Obtain two sizes of advertising door hangers in quantities from 100 pieces up from Blue Technologies. Check the price chart to view the prices for various quantities of six different styles of door hangers printed by VictoryStore.com.

Find low prices on small quantities of custom door hangers

Each printer varies on the minimum quantity it will print, but these printers offer relatively low prices for quantities in the hundreds. An option that can affect price is how quickly you need your door hangers printed, so plan ahead and order well in advance to save money.

I recommend: Upload your own digital file or choose one of the designs and get low prices on quantities of 500 door knob hangers or more from Printfirm. Choose from several standard sizes and find low prices on quantities of 250 or more from PrintPlace.com.

Save money on large quantities of door hanger advertisements

Some printers offer quantity discounts that amount to a cost of approximately 10 cents per door hanger, depending on which options you choose. Consider the effectiveness of various add-on options such as perforation and whether it's worth the extra cost. Another factor is how weather-proof the paper stock is, which may be an issue depending on where you plan to leave the door hangers you purchase.

I recommend: Input your choice for size, perforation, color, quantity and shipping options to see an exact price quote on quantities from 250 to 30,000 door hangers printed by Digital Room. Get low prices on one standard size of door hanger in quantities of 2500 to 50,000, or choose two higher-priced options with more style choices, at PSPrint.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Door hanger marketing is a good choice when your target market lives in apartments, condominiums or other closely-spaced dwellings.
• •  Use door knob advertising to pinpoint houses adjacent to your existing customers. Consider getting them pre-printed with a message saying, 'Your neighbor at [blank to write in address] is one of our satisfied customers.'

Often, business owners find that a door hanging flyer or piece of literature is a great way to get a message out to customers. And many times, the business needs a whole lot of these handy designs with advanced print features. So, it will contract with door hanger printing companies skilled in creating and delivering door hangers.

There are a number of things that buyers will need to talk about with door hanger printing companies to get the product and result they want. Here are a few of the basic terms for talking to door hanger printing companies.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Cardstock

Cardstock is a type of paper product that printers use to make door hanger literature. Buyers choose from different kinds of cardstock for projects.

I recommend: See more about cardstock at WiseGeek.

Print run

The print run is the number of door hangers that will be printed. This is a very important aspect of dealing with any printing service as it impacts price directly. Buyers want to maximize costs with longer print runs, but don't want a lot of extra inventory sitting around their office.

I recommend: Offset Printing Services answers questions about the color, quality and consistency of its long run printing services.

Gloss and matte

Buyers will also choose between gloss and matte options for their door hanging literature and flyers. Gloss has a 'magazine page' look that feels smooth, almost laminated. Matte finish is more flat, with papery look.

I recommend: See more about gloss and matte options at Graytex.

Heading or header

The heading of a door hanger is the lead in to a particular message. The text of the heading is generally larger and print designers pay special attention to making this key element stand out.

I recommend: Read up on headings and other flyer or brochure design elements for door hangers at the Senior Corps Tech Center, a Corporation for National and Community Service project.

Perforation

Perforation is a way of making tiny holes in a sheet of paper so that recipients can easily tear off a part of the whole piece of literature. This technique is a common one for door hangers, as designers want customers to be able to collect a critical portion of the printed door hanger as a coupon, or for billing purposes.

I recommend: Learn more about perforation at PerforatedPaper.com.

Door hanger bags

Door hanger bags, or door knob hanger bags, are clear plastic bags that door hanger materials go into to keep them protected from the elements. Some door hanger printing services may provide such bags for their clients.

I recommend: Find details on door hanger bags at Door Hangers.com.