Say the word “bookmark “and most people will immediately think of somber libraries with stern-faced librarians or bits of tasseled old leather in-between the pages of dusty bibles! However, a bookmark doesn’t have to be such a grim and serious product. It’s actually one of the most usable print products for your home or office.
Used in business as a marketing tool or in the home environment as a gift for your friends and family, a bookmark is a pretty nifty item. Here are a few bookmark ideas for your home and business that you might not have considered:
Personalized Bookmarks for the Home
Custom bookmarks are a really nice accompaniment to any book that you’re giving as a gift. If you’re gifting a self-help book, an academic text or other book with personal significance, you could include a quote from the author or a heartfelt message about how the book has helped you in your life or studies. You could even use a bookmark as part of the gift-wrapping. A personalized gift tag would be a great complement to any book. Create a bookmark that reflects the book’s cover graphic or find photographs of scenery, places or pictures that illustrate passages in the text.
Why not place your own portrait or pictures of your family on a bookmark? A bookmark can be a great gift in itself! Especially for those grandparents and other family members who are avid readers. A really great bookmark gift idea is to create a bookmark for a toddler or baby’s “first book.” Put their baby photo on the bookmark and package it together with a classic children’s hardback, and you have a really personal and thoughtful gift.
Bookmarks are also perfect for celebrating Easter, baptisms or other religious occasions. Include a patron saint or a favorite prayer on your bookmark gift for the perfect ceremonial gift.
Bookmarks for your Church, Library, School or Bookstores
This may be obvious to most people, but organizations with lots of books can always use plenty of bookmarks! Nowadays, even churches and religious organizations can use a little help in generating interest. Whether you’re a schoolteacher who wants to give “special bookmarks” to students as achievement prizes or a librarian who has a weekly calendar of events to promote, a bookmark is fantastic for getting your point across- especially for organizations that encourage reading and learning.
How to Make Your Own Fancy Bookmarks
If you’re an artistic individual, then it might be quite lucrative to create and sell your own custom bookmarks. You could establish an online bookmark business or sell them at craft fairs, etc. Maybe you just want to create an extra-special bookmark gift. Here’s how easy it is to make the kind of bookmarks that you see in the stores:
- Create a custom bookmark design using an online bookmark template (download templates at online sites such as OvernightPrints.com.) This template will give you the standard bookmark size and design guides.
- Design using your template guides. Once your design is completed, upload your custom bookmark design and checkout your design for printing.
- Buy some fancy rope or ribbon from an arts and crafts store.
- Once you have received your bookmarks, purchase a 1-hole puncher (inexpensive at office supply stores) and make a hole in the top of your bookmark. Thread a fancy ribbon through using a square knot (two ends through the hole, then through the loop).
- You can make some really elegant looking bookmarks using this simple method.
Bookmarks for Your Business – Mini Flyers and Promotions
From a marketing perspective, bookmarks are incredibly useful. For a small business owner who’s looking to create an effective marketing tool, there’s nothing more useful than a custom bookmark to give potential and existing customers a print product they can actually use.
Create an impressive bookmark design to showcase your company logo, business number or special promotion, and you’re likely to get people really interested in your business. Stick a funny saying, some words of wisdom, a cute cat, a calendar, etc., and you’ve got yourself a marketing product that your customers will look at for weeks…even months!
For online businesses, a fun idea would be to create a “bookmark this” list of webpages on your actual bookmark for a great way to drive traffic to your site!
Bookmarks as Event Tickets
Another great use for custom bookmarks is as tickets for events. They are just the right size to fit in a person’s wallet or pocket. Many people use online printers to produce their event tickets. If you regularly organize events, stage productions, competitions or parties, it’s a good idea to use bookmarks as an alternative to expensive custom ticket printing.
Bookmarks as Gatefold Business Cards
You can make quite a neat little business card out of a bookmark by designing your bookmark in two halves. Simply download a business card template from a site such as this one and design your bookmarks as if it were a greeting card splitting -splitting the 6″ template into two 3″ design spaces (one for inside and one for outside). Once you receive your bookmark prints, you can fold them down the center and make a gatefold business card out of them! This certainly makes your business card stand out from the crowd, and is an elegant and sophisticated way of presenting yourself and your business.
Souvenir Bookmarks
If you own a guesthouse, hotel or other business connected with a tourist destination, then you can create a travel souvenir that customers can pass onto friends and relatives. Use a gorgeous image of your travel destination so that they can relive the experience of being there and tell everyone else about how good it was.
Use your imagination
Like most print products, it’s a case of using your imagination to think of new and interesting ways to use a product. Bookmarks are especially versatile, and it only requires a little extra thought and effort to create something really special.
