Whether it’s a simple flyer or a well-designed business card to impress your clients, the best promotional items for small businesses should help build your brand identity, aside from making you more memorable at events. They can even help gain new leads, site visitors, or social media followers, depending on your call to action.
I’m rounding up the best small business promotional items people actually find useful, based on my experience as both a marketer and event attendee. By promotional items, I mean both materials for traditional marketing, like flyers and postcards, and giveaway items for events, like branded swag.
No matter what kind of promotional materials or freebies you’re looking for, one platform that I’ve always been able to rely on is VistaPrint. You can use it to outfit your business with just about everything on this list. VistaPrint makes it easy to get your message across with personalized items, customizable design templates, and high-quality items delivered to your home or office. Grow your local presence, outfit your team, or make a lasting impression on current and future customers.
If you need help selecting products, designing merch, or getting your prints just right, VistaPrint’s team is ready with expert advice and insights.
Visit VistaPrint
Are promotional items still relevant?
Honestly, yes, and in my opinion, even more so because of how digital the world is. Today, everything is so ephemeral that tangible materials can help you stand out even more. In fact, 83% of customers in 2025 say they still use promotional items from brands, even more than the year before.
So yes, small business promotional products like business cards or wearable merch are still an effective marketing tool in 2025. They might even get an extra boost of visibility if an event attendee posts it on their social media. It all comes down to choosing the right one for your business and your event.
1. T-shirts, caps, and apparel: Best for social media giveaways or event prizes
Apparel like T-shirts and caps are always a good event giveaway or prize. (Source: VistaPrint)
When it comes to giveaway items for events or contests, marketing swag like T-shirts, caps, and other apparel is some of the best promotional products. They let attendees bring a small piece of your brand home with them that won’t easily get lost (unlike a smaller item like a pen or magnet) and that they can use time and again.
Plus, simple apparel like T-shirts and caps is versatile. They can be used by nearly everyone and are appropriate for any type of event, from corporate to casual, so they’re good promotional items to stock up on.
Where to get them: VistaPrint, PrintShop by DesignHill, GotPrint
Approximate cost: A simple tee can be as low as $7.99 or as high as $32, depending on the logo size, cut, and material; hats are in the $10 to $56 range for the same reason
2. Retractable banners: Best for advertising your business at events
Retractable banners can help you stand out at events and tell the audience what you offer. (Source: Envato)
Don’t underestimate the ability of a good banner to help your business stand out at events. So it lasts longer and won’t require changing every few months, consider a retractable banner instead of the standard vinyl.
They’re easy to fold up and transport, and come with their own stand. They’re also versatile and can last multiple uses — great for taking with you to events. Use them to show people what your business offers and how they can get in contact with you.
Where to get them: VistaPrint
Approximate cost: From $135 each
Pro tip: Retractable banners are great for indoor and outdoor events, but if you’re planning on taking them outside, consider investing in a weight or sandbag to stop them from taking off in the wind. I can attest that the feet on these stands are sturdy, but not quite long enough to keep the banner upright in all conditions.
3. Stickers: Best for giveaway product freebies
Die-cut stickers are a cut above regular-shaped stickers and are great as product giveaways. (Source: VistaPrint)
Stickers are a pretty common giveaway. Stand out by actually making them interesting and relatable to your audience instead of just having your brand logo as your sticker.
For example, my local vinyl store gives away “Vinyl Forever” stickers in the store’s brand color and font with every purchase. It’s a fun way to promote your brand while being relatable to your core audience. Similarly, you can promote your brand by incorporating your brand elements or adding a small version of your logo to your sticker.
Where to get them: VistaPrint, Printshop by DesignHill
Approximate cost: From $9.99 for 10 stickers
4. Business cards: Best for networking at trade shows, small biz expos, or other local events
Business cards are a networking and marketing staple. Upgrade them with QR codes or special finishes to stand out.
(Source: VistaPrint)
Business cards are a marketing staple. They’re especially useful for networking events, from local trade fairs to bigger events like expos. While they’re not exactly the most “useful” merch, they’re still the most widely accepted marketing material to formally introduce and promote yourself (and your business) to fellow business owners and future clients. Your business card’s design can also promote your brand identity and shape how prospects view your business.
Where to get them: Places to get business cards include VistaPrint, Looka, and MOO
Approximate cost: $9.80 to $42 for 100 business cards, depending on quality
Pro tip: Because business cards are so common, standing out is the name of the game. Some easy ways are by using special finishes like gold foil or premium, extra-thick paper stocks that won’t wear easily.
Even better: Transform your business cards into digital experiences by adding QR codes that lead prospects to your website’s home page, a dedicated landing page, a social media profile, or even your newsletter sign-up form.
5. Postcards: Best for inviting customers to loyalty programs or offering coupons
Postcards are a staple direct mail marketing material, ideal if you have a local, community-focused business. (Source: Envato)
Postcards have always been one of the best promotional materials for direct mail campaigns. However, I like to use them most for inviting customers to loyalty programs or exclusive memberships, or for offering coupons.
Loyalty programs are one of the best ways to build customer loyalty to your brand, which you can start by inviting your best customers to a membership club via direct mail. Postcards are also a great medium for offering discount coupons, for example, as part of a “Welcome” campaign to new people in the neighborhood.
Where to get them: VistaPrint, PostcardMania, PsPrint
Approximate cost: $10 to $20 for 100 postcards
6. Flyers: Best for promoting seasonal campaigns
Flyers are most impactful at promoting seasonal campaigns and limited-time events. (Source: Envato)
Flyers are a tried-and-true local marketing tool. You’ll probably find a dozen of them in your local community bulletin. But that’s exactly why I prefer using them for seasonal campaigns like holiday sales or upcoming events.
Make them more impactful by emphasizing duration of your campaign (e.g., “Sale ends December 31!”), and have one clear call to action, whether that’s to visit a specific store location, a website, or to scan a QR code. With flyers, clarity and conciseness are key. Audiences should be able to get your message in five seconds or less.
Where to get them: VistaPrint, Canva, GotPrint
Approximate cost: $19 to $30 for 100 flyers
Pro tip: Wherever you design your paper flyers or other printed materials, make sure to change your design file over to CMYK, the color model used for printing. Digital displays use RGB color models, which make it possible to see bright, neon hues.
Download your design files in CMYK, note any color changes, and adjust your palette as needed to stay on brand. After spending precious resources to print, you don’t want to open a box of flyers to find your signature pink is more of a dull purple.
Furthermore, keep print sizes in mind. Canva Print makes it easy to design and print in one go, but their flyer size is limited to 8×10. When a small biz client of mine wanted smaller 5×7 flyers, we ended up resizing and designing in Canva, but ultimately, printing through VistaPrint because it had far more sizing options.
7. Brochures: Best for explaining your business’s value proposition or unique selling points
Brochures give you more space to share information and images about your business. (Source: Envato)
If flyers rely on being short and impactful, brochures are where you can tell more of your brand story, what makes it different from competitors, and how people can benefit from your product or service, instead of just one call to action. It’s also a space to express your brand identity and share photos about your product or service.
Brochures are a handy and versatile promotional material — keep them at your physical store (if you have one), or take them with you to events. If you have a community center, see if they allow small businesses to leave brochures.
Where to get them: VistaPrint, Canva, GotPrint
Approximate cost: $86 to $113 for 100 brochures
8. Self-published newsletters or magazines: Best for building your topic authority
A self-published brand magazine about topics in your industry builds your credibility as a brand and helps you stand out. (Source: Envato)
Here’s something a little more unique that’ll help you stand out at your next event: a self-published newsletter or magazine about relevant topics in your industry. For example, a pet clinic might publish a magazine about common pet care issues and how to spot them, the best pet parks in the area, and other pet-related topics.
Newsletters and magazines are a staple in content marketing. Aside from being different from your usual brochures and flyers, they also position your business as a knowledgeable and trustworthy one in your industry.
Add a fun and catchy title to your mini-publication, and include a few details about your business and what it offers near the end of your magazine or newsletter. The key is not to make your business the star but the content. Audiences can get to know your business organically in the process of reading your content.
Where to get them: VistaPrint, GotPrint
Approximate cost: From $15 to $20 per eight-page booklet
9. Journals and high-quality pens: Best for tokens of appreciation or thank-you gifts
Journals make great promotional products for high-value clients or customers. (Source: Envato)
A good, high-quality (make sure it’s high quality) pen also has the same effect. (Source: Envato)
If you’re gifting to clients, partners, or high-value customers, I’d go with items with a little more prestige than regular apparel, like journals and high-quality pens. Items like these feel more personal and well-thought-out than standard caps and T-shirts and make great tokens of appreciation or thank-you gifts, say for major sponsors of an event or donors to your organization.
They tend to have a higher cost per item than apparel, though, so I’d recommend reserving them for special occasions. Still, they’re some of the top promotional gifts you can give to make your recipient feel extra special.
Where to get them: VistaPrint, MOO
Approximate cost: $12 to $42 each
10. Mugs and insulated water bottles: Best for corporate event giveaways
Insulated water bottles are guaranteed to leave lasting impressions as a giveaway at corporate events. (Source: Envato)
The same goes for coffee mugs — a staple for many desk workers. (Source: Envato)
I won’t lie: Mugs and insulated water bottles are among my favorite giveaways because they’re always useful. If you have the budget, consider them for your next event giveaway, especially at corporate events whose attendees tend to work at desk jobs (and drink tons of coffee).
Mugs and insulated bottles won’t be easily discarded and forgotten, and are therefore a good choice for making your brand memorable. They also give off the impression of a respectable and reputable brand that cares about its customers.
A little advice: Consider handing them out as an incentive to generate new leads. Have people sign up with their name, email address, and other contact details to get your water bottles and mugs as a freebie.
Where to get them: VistaPrint, MOO, SwagUp
Approximate cost: $13 to $20 each
11. Tote bags: Best for using as sold merch to build brand ambassadorship
Tote bags are useful and eye-catching, and are a great vehicle for promoting your creative brand identity. (Source: Envato)
What better way to have your customers casually promote your brand than through a tote bag they can carry around on day-to-day errands? Tote bags are also a good starting merch if you’re an artist and want to print and sell your work. They’re useful, have long lifecycles, and almost everyone loves them. There are many types of tote bag materials to consider, from thin cotton canvas to recycled material totes.
Where to get them: VistaPrint, Canva, PrintShop by DesignHill, SwagUp
Approximate cost: From $2.50 to $25 each, depending on quality
12. Calendars: Best for seasonal customer gifts or loyalty program rewards
Calendars are a great end-of-year holiday gift for customers (for the following year, of course). (Source: Envato)
While perhaps more underrated than the others on this list, calendars are some of the best small business promotional items to give as end-of-year gifts or loyalty program rewards. They’re a great gift because no one usually buys calendars, but almost everyone will accept them because of how useful they are.
As a promotional item, they also tend to be on the lower end of the price range — a simple poster calendar starts at $5 per unit from VistaPrint, for example. Aside from poster calendars, you can also choose from desk, wall, or magnetic calendars.
Where to get them: VistaPrint, PrintShop by DesignHill
Approximate cost: $5 to $28 each, depending on calendar type
13. Mousepads, earphones, and other tech accessories: Best for internal branding and employee engagement
Tech accessories like mousepads can be a great gift for internal team members. (Source: Envato)
Laptop sleeves are also a good, uncommon option, considering how many people carry company-owned devices unprotected. (Source: Envato)
Nothing says “useful merch” quite like office tech accessories — the likes of mousepads, earphones, charging cables, or laptop sleeves — that employees can actually get some use out of. (I’ve had a company-branded dual Apple and Android charger in my car for years that still gets compliments from my passengers.)
These types of promotional products are great for internal marketing and brand-building; for instance, as part of a welcome gift pack or as prizes at an office event. They’re especially helpful if you have a corporate or fully remote team that relies largely on tech to get work done.
However, I tend to steer clear of items like power banks or memory sticks because they don’t last very long, and in the latter’s case, can pose security risks.
Where to get them: VistaPrint, SwagUp
Approximate cost: From $9.99 per mousepad; from $16 per laptop sleeve
14. Gift boxes: Best for gifting to loyal customers or clients
Leave a memorable impression on your most valuable clients, partners, or customers with a customized gift box. (Source: Envato)
If you want to really make a statement and leave an impression, consider a customized gift box. Nothing shows value and appreciation like a curated gift box with branded merch, like journals and apparel, or even snacks.
Gift boxes are a good option for gifting to your biggest clients and investors, content creators you’re partnered with, or even your most loyal customers to show appreciation for their support and encourage brand loyalty.
Where to get them: Swag.com, or get branded packaging boxes from VistaPrint and DIY your own gift box
Approximate cost: Custom, from $26 for a basic box with three items from SwagUp
Other useful small business promotional items that work for (almost) any occasion
The items above are just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of other less common — but still useful — items that make good giveaways to promote your small business. These include things like branded coasters or other stationery items, which are all appropriate for just about any event or occasion.
- Branded drink coasters: They’re always useful and make a great pair for mugs and other drinkware. Similarly, they’re a good giveaway for people who work at a desk.
- Snacks and branded cookies: Almost everyone appreciates a free snack. For an extra branding boost, consider cookies customized with your logo or brand colors. They’re especially great as a holiday or thank-you gift for clients or partners.
- Lawn signs: Less of a giveaway than a promotional giveaway or freebie, lawn signs are great for anyone in the business of community or political campaigning. But they also make great directionals for real estate agents or businesses whose locations are harder to find or off main roads.
- Umbrellas: As someone who lives in an area with a lot of rain, I always appreciate and regularly use free branded umbrellas. If you live in a rainy area, chances are your recipients will, too. They’re one of the most useful and practical promotional items.
- Notepads and sticky notes: These are particularly appropriate if your business is in the education or literary sector, like a school or a local bookstore.
- Cardholders: Underrated, but still handy. Many people carry around several cards, so your cardholders have a decent chance of sticking around in your recipients’ handbags. They’re especially appropriate for tech or finance businesses.
- Phone holders or stands: These are other items that people generally don’t buy, but almost anyone with a phone will find useful. They’re also one of the less common tech accessories, which helps you stand out all the more.
- Bucket hats: As a piece of apparel, these will help you stand out from the standard baseball cap. In true Y2K-comeback fashion, they’re especially popular among younger demographics.
- Coupons: These are a bit of an outlier, but what better way to get people to try your product or service than by offering it for free, or at least at a discount? Decide on your coupon strategy, then print your coupons and hand them out as standalones or as an extra giveaway with other items.
On the other hand, items I wouldn’t generally recommend as giveaways are keychains, lanyards, fridge or car magnets, or button pins. They’re not the most memorable giveaway item or the most useful. The day my SMB client found out her car’s exterior didn’t have enough metal to hold a magnet wasn’t a good one. They’re also easy to misplace and discard, which is the exact opposite of what you’d want from a promotional item.
Where to get the best promotional items for small businesses
Finding the best promotional items for your small business is just half the journey. The other half is knowing where to get them at high quality and prices that won’t blow a hole in your budget. If you don’t have a design yet, an ideal platform should also have design capabilities or mockups.
Some of the best places to print marketing materials and swag like the ones above are VistaPrint and PrintShop by DesignHill. Providers like Swag.com also offer a specialized service for gift boxes.
First impressions count with promotional items and giveaways. They need to spark an immediate reaction before they can leave positive impressions about your business. That’s why choosing the right promotional item is often the most important part of the process.
Difficult-to-carry items like mugs or water bottles may not be the best giveaway item for sales teams who are always on the road or out in the field, but make for great seasonal gifts. Other things to consider are the number of people you expect to give out products to and audience characteristics.
- Audience characteristics: If you’re at a tech event where lots of tech experts will be present, consider if a memory stick or power bank will only make your business look amateurish or one that doesn’t take security seriously. Meanwhile, if you’re at a casual event like a local community fair, items like stickers and pens will be a better fit than tech or desk accessories like journals.
- Your primary objective: Do you mean to give out promotional items just as a freebie to go with your products, or are you looking to generate new leads from event attendees? Maybe you want to solidify your customers’ brand loyalty.All of these are very different objectives and will have different promotional items that work best. Small items like pens and T-shirts can work for fairs and expos, while more high-value ones like drinkware or stationery are more effective for building brand loyalty.
- Volume order: One of the more practical considerations is the volume of items you’re ordering, especially if you’re ordering multiple promotional materials. If you’re ordering items to give away for just one event, see if you can get the approximate number of attendees beforehand to avoid waste and excess spending.
- Item quality and longevity: Items like drinkware and desk accessories tend to last longer than pens and notepads. Consider how long you want your item to stick around among recipients and still be useful. I have many discarded pens from brand giveaways past that quickly ran out of ink, but I still use gifted coffee mugs regularly.
- The impression they’ll create of your brand: The impression your promotional items make extends to your overall brand. Giving out casual items like pens and apparel makes your brand seem approachable and friendly, while custom-designed stickers and tote bags give a more creative, artsy feel. Items like drinkware and desk accessories tend to feel more serious and professional.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Some of the most useful promotional items to give away are drinkware, like mugs and insulated water bottles, or tech accessories, like mousepads and earphones, especially to office workers. Some other useful promotional items to give away for almost any occasion are apparel like T-shirts and caps, calendars, or other stationery like journals and pens.
Some of the cheapest promotional items to give away are stickers, which can cost less than $1 apiece from printing sites like VistaPrint and get cheaper with bulk orders. Other low-cost giveaway items are pens, pencils, and notepads, which typically cost less than $3 per piece. Small tote bags or drawstring bags are also popular giveaways that cost less than $5 each.
Some of the best promotional items for businesses are business cards, stickers, flyers, and brochures. Materials like these introduce your business to new audiences and give them a way to contact you. They also help build your brand identity.
Meanwhile, useful items like pens, notepads, and tote bags are also good promotional giveaway items at almost any event. They also give attendees a piece of your brand to take home. Other more premium promotional giveaway items are customized journals, calendars, or desk accessories like mousepads and drinkware.
Bottom line
Promotional items cover a variety of products and merch items. They can be as simple as business cards and flyers that make your business known in your local area, or they can be bigger, more useful items like tote bags, drinkware, or desk accessories that create positivity about your brand.
That’s what the best promotional items for small businesses do: They give your brand staying power and memorability in a marketing landscape that’s so often ephemeral and instantaneous. It comes down to choosing the items that best represent your brand and fit the context of how you’re giving them away.