At first glance it seems that nothing could be simpler than to give a bookmark as a promotion item. After all, it's only a strip of paper with writing on it. But bookmarks are more than that these days; in fact, it's surprising how many creative variations there are on the simple place holder than we all use from time to time.



Of course, the function of the bookmark never changes. A printable bookmark mark a person's place in a book. Most people have several books going at once—more if you count books such as cookbooks, dictionaries, Bibles, or other reference materials—and will be grateful to get whatever free bookmarks they can get, and as many of them as they can get. Printable bookmarks save readers from having to dog-ear their pages to keep their place, and help keep books looking their best as long as possible.

But even though the function doesn't change, there are dozens of different unique designs for printable bookmarks that your company can benefit from. For example, not all bookmarks are made from paper. Some bookmarks are made from cloth and embroidered with logos or information. Some are made from fine leather and embossed or engraved; these can be given as gifts to valuable clients and employees. Some high quality bookmarks allow for a personalized photograph to be inserted at the top, so that a loved one's face is always present as you read. Others come with lights at the top so that you can read in dim light or darkness.

Some bookmarks are combined with other items. A printable bookmark can also be a flat pen, a magnifying glass, a ruler, a paperclip, 3-D glasses, finger puppets, magnets, stuffed animals, seed packets, pot pourri containers, or sachets.

Printable bookmarks are an excellent investment for your marketing campaign for several reasons. They provide you with a large area in which to publish your logo and contact information. And they are very inexpensive; most are less than a dollar, and even the high quality leather or sterling styles are not as pricey as some other gifts might be.

Printable bookmarks have another rather obvious application that can help your promotional activities. It has to do with their association with books. As a community business, you want to be seen as supportive of local groups and activities. It would be smart marketing to produce several hundred bookmarks for the elementary school's book fair, for the middle school's science fair, or as gifts to the high schoolers who are studying for ACTs or SATs. Attractive printable bookmarks can be given to the library; you could even donate some very nice ones and let the library sell them as a fund-raiser—and of course, they would have your promotional information on them.

Promotional bookmarks are useful promotional items because everyone needs them, because they are inexpensive but can still be classy and elegant, and because they show support for causes your community cares about. As a contributing member of that community, your use of promotional bookmarks can benefit everyone.