Promotional products have been used to help keep your name, logo and message in front of clients and prospects.

However, these eight mistakes are being made time after time that end up costing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. How many of these mistakes have you made?

1) Avoid Unnecessary Set ups Charges: In order to get the job printed correctly, several test runs are made to ensure the proper color and ink thickness. These steps can take as much as 30-45 minutes, so most orders have a setup charge fee to help defray these costs. Be prudent and anticipate supply so that you only have to pay for setup costs one time, easily saving you hundreds of dollars per year.

2) Order Sufficient Quantities to Reach the Next Price Level: Most promotional products have quantity price breaks; price per piece goes down as quantity increases. By ordering a quantity that takes pricing to the next level, a company can save 10-15% on an order-often paying for itself in the long run.

3) Use As Few Colors As Possible on Imprint: In order to silk screen or pad print a promotional item, each color requires both a separate step, as well as additional screens.

Many companies of all sizes have two logos available for advertising: one is often a one-color logo for yellow page ads and black and white forms; the other is a multi-color logo for printed material. Depending on the usage of the item, the cost per piece, as well as the recipient, many companies can save extra run charges by using their one color version of their logo (or having one designed for your company).

4) Plan in Advance to Avoid Rush Charges: A typical production facility schedules it print runs weeks in advance. When a rush order comes in, in order to move one job ahead of others, production changes must be made at the factory or plant. Although rush orders for imprinted products are becoming commonplace, they tend to require additional service and time, thus requiring a rush charge of 10-25% or more. If you can plan accordingly, this is one of the easiest ways to dramatically reduce costs of promotional products.

5) Check Proofs Carefully to Avoid Errors: When a company receives a pre-production proof, be sure to completely look over the details-which usually spell out the ink colors, location of the imprint, ship to address, in-hands date, as well as the actual imprint and imprint position. Once approved, you will not have any other opportunities to correct any errors. Once a proof has been signed and the print job is run, changes will mean having to re-print the job, which will incur additional costs.

6) Ship by Ground to Avoid High Freight Charges: As people are wearing many hats these days, rush orders are occurring at greater frequencies than ever before. However, with the constant rise in shipping rates, shipping by air can add significant costs to any order.

7) Try to Order Products that Are Not Bulky: Since most freight companies now charge for dimensional weight rather than actual weights, try to avoid ordering bulky items--especially when shipping by air. The more tightly products can ship, the less the freight costs will be. The best products ship flat or can nest together - especially when shipping by air.

8) Use Flat items When Planning for a Direct Mail Project: When planning your promotional marketing campaign, it is wise to determine how the products will be distributed and plan accordingly. Direct mail gifts are a great way of reaching your potential customers when planned in advance, as you can find promotional items that are lighter in weight, ship flat, come in a protective gift box and that don't require special handling or packaging. However, when thrown together at the last minute, many companies find they are spending as much for a shipping box or package than they spend for the actual item itself.

With a little advanced planning, any company can easily save 10%-25% on their promotional products. You might even be able to save money by ordering a more expensive item which ships flat rather than a less expensive item that is bulky to ship. Perhaps finding a factory that is closer to the convention center or fulfillment center can also save you on freight costs. Talk to your promotional products solutions provider about these, and other, ideas to save you money. The best solutions providers will be looking for ways to maximize your promotional products budget by asking questions to determine the best options for your event or promotional campaign.