I know what you’re all thinking.

Jo – why teabags for your latest promo merch?

Okay, okay, I’ll tell you.

Though my personality is probably enough of a gift to bestow on my clients and all those who work with me, I always think it’s nice to send people a little something every now and then to show them that I’m thinking about them, and to remind them that I’ve got a mortgage to pay if they fancy slinging some further work my way.

I’ve previously sent out handwritten cards as tokens of appreciation, which I opted for because such a thing is a nice surprise in the post, and one that I’d certainly count as liking to receive myself. Plus, it makes sense for a writer to share something related to writing, I guess! I wanted something else, though. Something extra. The cards were no longer enough!

The most popular merch for brands to go with these days has to be pens, and that option would have been an obvious choice for me to make seeing as I’m a writer and stuff. But, I don’t like going along with the crowd, and if you’ll allow me to make a rare serious statement at this point, I don’t like the idea of more plastic tat ending up in landfill, so I knew that pens wouldn’t be the gift I’d go for. In my 37 years so far, I’ve lost more pens than I’ve found, and I’m not about to add to that tedium.

Instead of having to call a marketing meeting with myself in order to discuss merchandising options, I decided to leave it to somebody else. By ‘somebody else’, I mean any old random Facebook networking group that would give me the time of day to entertain my musings. I targeted the groups where I’d previously been to physical events –  and where I’d been given a goody bag on arrival. The bags would generally contain freebies, testers, gifts, samples and vouchers etc from people present who were willing and able to contribute. I felt bad that I’d never contributed anything to the bags during my visits, so I asked the online groups to come up with concepts and to send them to me. I got a lot of responses and ideas over the next few days, but three stood out in particular. Those three I’m referring to proposed that I brand up some teabags for agoodwriteup, but what was really interesting was that all three people stated different reasons for this choice, and so this confirmed to me that they would be a good option to consider.

The first case was made because teabags tied in with a controversial statement on the Hello page of my website, where I warn potential clients that I like to be different, and that I make tea with the milk in first. That’s an argument for another time, before anyone starts…

The second case for teabags was supported by the fact that during my guest speaker/training session, I’d talked about how proofreading and editing is best done after a break from your writing, even if it’s just to go away and do something different for a few minutes, like make a cup of tea. For reference, this is because you can temporarily separate yourself from your writing, and can approach it with fresh eyes after a short break away and so more easily spot any errors! Not just a pretty face, you see.

The third case in support of teabags as my promo merch (I can speak like that because I’m so urban) is possibly my favourite. The suggestion was made because “It’s always nice to sit down and read something with a brew“. I like to think that my clients take genuine pleasure in what I create for them, and view receiving my drafts as an enjoyable experience as well as a transaction to serve a purpose. That’s the hope, anyway.

Promotional teabags for agoodwriteup had to be created, and I started to put out the feelers for designers who could make my dreams come brew.

In getting all of this sorted, I had to weigh up more factors than I’d given it credit for in looking at different quotes from some amazing suppliers. Minimum print runs, print constraints, image file types, environmentally friendly considerations… I hope that my clients realise just how much I love them for this!

Anyway, attached is a picture of some of the treats indeed! They are branded paper envelopes with my agoodwriteup logo on the front, and a writing tip printed on the other side, along with my contact tea-tails. Then, inside each envelope is an individually packaged Twining’s teabag – like the ones you get in hotels! Although my initial idea had been for the actual teabag envelope to have my agoodwriteup logo printed onto it, this way works much better. You can marvel at the envelope, take out the tea, enjoy it, apply the tip to your writing, and still be left with a beautiful little envelope for your notice board or fridge.

Or you could just bin it. It’s up to you, really.

I’d just like to shout out two people in addition to all the clever ideas, marketing and design people who looked into this for me (you lot are ace). One is the ridiculously helpful Rebecca Harrison from http://www.giftstwogive.co.uk, who sorted these treats for me from concept through to cup. The other is my good friend and client, Tom Wormald, whose text message of constructive criticism upon receiving his teabag simply read, “I hate tea. Could you not have done coffee pods instead?”

Some people…