In planning any calendar printing project, the obvious truth to concentrate to is that each calendar is a time-sensitive product with a built-in distribution deadline. For the standard 2014 calendar, in case your calendar just isn’t in the end consumer’s palms earlier than January 1, 2014, they might already have found another. For a non-standard calendar that deadline could also be sooner (eg., a school-year calendar needs to be in the consumer’s arms near the beginning of school if it’s going to be useful to them). Working backwards from this absolute deadline may give you a very good timeline for all the undertaking.
How are you getting your calendars into the tip consumer’s hands? Are you giving them away? If that’s the case, then it ought to be comparatively straight-forward to determine the distribution logistics and determine by what date you will want to have calendars in hand. Or perhaps you are mailing them out to your prospects or members; in that case you just must make sure you allow enough time for inserting into envelopes, adding a cover letter, addressing and mailing. Or consider having the printer or a neighborhood mailhouse handle mailing the calendars – it should most likely be cheaper and simpler for you. Simply ensure you discover out from the printer or mailhouse how much further time they’ll want and issue it in.
If, on the other hand, you intend to print a calendar and promote it, either as a nonprofit fundraiser or as a profit-making venture, then distribution is a bit more sophisticated. How much time you want for sales is dependent upon your gross sales strategy. Are you selling at a local competition or other event? In that case, then that gives you a deadline, however take into account that you may be higher off in the event you can promote at a number of events, in case attendance or sales at one occasion aren’t what you count on. Or possibly you are having volunteers sell calendars to family and friends or door-to-door. If that’s the case, you must allow a minimum of two weeks, and preferably as much as 4 weeks, since volunteers all have their own totally different schedules, and a few will need reminders and encouragement.
Should you print a calendar that you just plan to sell, you should make sure you develop and implement a stable advertising plan. Advertising does not have to add to the general duration of the calendar undertaking – you may and should begin advertising through the planning and manufacturing stages of the venture. Nevertheless, when you wait to begin marketing till you might have the calendars in hand, then you will have to permit at the very least a number of additional weeks, perhaps extra, in your marketing message to achieve the meant audience and encourage them to purchase.
The manufacturing part of a calendar printing venture starts once you hand off all the photos, text, logos, advertising, and so on. to the printer, and the printer turns it into calendar artwork for you to approve after which puts it on the press and delivers to you the finished product. Ensure you speak to your printer early on to fins out how long this takes. In our case at Yearbox, it is usually about three weeks (sometimes sooner if you have a selected deadline). Should you anticipate last-minute changes or additions, or if you may be proofing by committee, then you must probably permit slightly additional time – perhaps a month in total – for production.
