Promotional items under $1

By Samantha O'Rourke

Promotional items are a fun, low-cost way to introduce potential customers to your brand. Especially at high-traffic events—like trade shows or conferences—where attendees are actively looking to discover new products, services and companies—offering promotional products is an effective tactic for building and growing your business.

For the best results, you’ll want to think carefully about what kind(s) of items you offer. The best promotional items to give away are creative, useful and made of quality materials. But what are the most cost-effective promotional products? Read on to discover how you don’t have to break the bank to give away promotional products people will actually want to receive and keep. In fact, you can find great items for $1 or less!

What is considered a promotional item?

A promotional item is any branded product that a business gives away for advertising or marketing purposes. Companies typically hand them out for free, with the intention of generating and converting leads. They’re a great way to introduce prospective customers to your brand, and to make a meaningful first impression.

What are examples of promotional products?

Today, companies have a wide range of promotional products examples to consider, so they can take a creative approach that aligns well with their brand and culture. If you’ve ever been to a trade show, conference or similar event, you’ve likely received some promotional items yourself. To this day, you may even still use some branded items you’ve picked up over the years—illustrating the potential power of promotional items!

Do promotional items really work?

Yes! Many companies have found great success using promotional items to increase brand awareness and connect with prospective customers. Typically, the goal of gifting these items is to provide prospective customers with something they’ll use and appreciate—and to lead to new business. If you’re wondering whether they’re truly effective, consider not only the fact that 80% of consumers opens in new window “own at least one promotional product,” but also:

• 67% “have promotional products they plan to keep for a year or longer”
• 86% “can recall the advertiser on a promotional product they received within the past 24 months”
• 85% “do business with the advertiser after receiving a promotional product”

While these statistics give you an idea of promotional items’ impact and staying power with consumers, companies naturally wonder about the ROI of promotional items. With a lower cost per impression than more traditional marketing strategies, promotional items can be both impactful and cost-effective opens in new window. Finally, a majority (70% opens in new window) of brands that have given away promotional items have found them to be “effective or mostly effective” in helping reach their top sales and marketing goals.

How do I choose a promotional product?

Generally speaking, choosing the best small business promotional items involves weighing a few different factors, including:

• The story you want to tell about your brand, or the impression you want to give consumers about your business
• The usability and quality of the items being given away
• The extent to which items can be customized to complement your brand
• The potential distribution channels for your items
• The relationship between items’ cost and their potential impact/ROI

Unsure what to offer? One of the best ways to jump-start your brainstorming is to browse different promotional items online. If when you think of promotional items or swag you picture pencils and stickers, you might be surprised by the sheer number of categories that exist today. At 4imprint you can browse dozens of different categories, including apparel, bags, drinkware, stationery, tech and more!

What are the best promotional items under $1?

You might be surprised at how affordable promotional products can be! Some of the best inexpensive promotional items include products like customized pens and pencils, cups and can holders, keychains and calendars.

To find the widest range of promotional items that cost $1 or less, start your search with 4imprint. You’ll find hundreds of customizable items to consider, which you can then filter by category. Whatever products you choose, we make it easy for you to customize them with your own artwork, as well as your company’s colors, logo and other branding elements. And once you’ve placed your order, you can rest absolutely assured that our team will bring your vision to life with high-quality products, always delivered on time.