Since I started working online I’ve used product mockups a lot. They’re a key part of online marketing. You can use them to showcase what a product looks like (just check out the endless website mockups on Envato and a dozen other online marketplaces), they make a great hero image on the top of your website and they come in useful for offline marketing.
One problem I’ve faced is mockups are a real pain to make. I’m not a designer and I can’t use Photoshop (to tell you the truth I don’t even have it on my computer). Hands up if you empathize…
Up until recently I always outsourced this kind of work. He’d insert the image I wanted into a mockup and send it back to me. It was a long process and cost money. Not much money, but a dollar here and there quickly adds up. So when we found a simple solution we decided to secure an offer for Youzign members.
Before I get into the Smart Mockups offer we secured for Youzign customers, check out our list of 3 different ways you can use mockups in your business. To get your creative juices flowing we’ve also shown you some niche relevant ways of using different types of mockups.
3 Ways We Use Mockups in Our Marketing
1: Hero Images
Hero images are a great way to showcase the work that you do if you’re online. Images created with a mockup look clean and visually represent your business. You can see a nice example here , it’s used with an overlay and here to show results for a marketing agency.
2: Offline Marketing Material
You can use a simulated office environment or custom backdrop, with text overlays to advertise your business on flyers, posters and such like. These kinds of designs are very simple to make and done right they look great.
3: As Mockups… Just Saying
Contextual mockups are an obvious way to promote your business. If you’re a designer you can show your client what that business card design would look like. If the image is a guy sitting in a car holding a tablet, it’s easy to sell related products or services (mechanic, local car wash, car salesmen, etc.). Bertrand is using just this kind of thing at the moment in marketing material for a fashion line.
How to Use Different Mockup Formats
1: Transparent Images
I use these templates to create hero images for websites. Combine two or three separate images with an aerial shot of a cup of coffee and a plant pot and your company logo and you have a pretty sexy website design. Takes 10 minutes to do.
2: Layered Images
I like layered images. They make simple things look really complex. Whenever I see them I think that the company that created them have a big design budget (kind of makes you look more professional).
They’re good for 3D presentations. App developers come straight to mind… There’s lots of potential though. Layer them together to show how a chiropractor relieves muscle pain, how you install flooring and a whole lot more.
3: Smart Phones and Tablets
As I mentioned earlier, contextural mockups really lend themselves to niche advertising. And Smart Mockups has a big library of smart phone and tablet mockups… You’ll find people sitting in cars staring at a tablet, holding phones up at concerts, sitting in an office staring at a screen, sitting in a café staring at a screen (and just staring at a screen). All you need to do is shove a screenshot of your website in their and you’re away. Easy media for blog posts, websites and marketing material.
4: Mixed Mockups
If you’re in any way linked to website design you’ll find yourself needing mockups all the time. They’re normally used to show what a responsive website would look like. Well, I’ve rarely seen them used for anything else (but you can use that to your advantage to promote your website).
5: Desktop and Laptop
If you signed up to example Gifzign you’ll have seen a lot of desktop and laptop product mockup images on the sales page. These mockups help potential customers visualize what the software will look like, which helps conversions.
6: Offline Graphics
If you’re involved in creating graphics for offline advertising mockups are an essential part of your marketing toolkit. You can show what a new logo will look like on business cards or an outside sign. It’s an effective way to showcase company branding.
7: Advertising Mockups
While I don’t claim to run an e-commerce platform, there are a lot of obvious ways that these mockups can be used to promote products and services (especially useful for local business). You can preview what your offline marketing material will look like. It can also give the impression you have a pretty big marketing budget (that mockup above could easily be real).
8: Banners and Posters
These mockups really lend themselves to interior designers, people selling interior design items, and photographers. There are mockups here of offices and photo studios. Oh, and bands… There’s a lot of potential here for music or event related mockups.
Using Mockups for Your Business
I hope this blog post gave you plenty of ideas about how you can use mockups in your business. Now we partnered up with a company called Smart Mockups to make it super simple to create mockup templates. Here’s what we’ve done for you:
Smart Mockups and Youzign
1) 22% Off Smart Mockups Regular Price
2) Integration between Smart Mockups and Youzign (check out the demo video here)
3) 393 Custom Mockup Templates
If you plan to, or use, mockups in your business we suggest you get this tool. We’ve been using it for the last two months. It’s a great timesaver and we hope you’ll find it useful for your business (especially as we’ve secure that discount). Check out your copy and get access to 200+ PSD mockup files here.
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