What are mock ups and how can they be used?
When starting a new business one of the most important things to do is to share your products with your clients so that they know what it is you are offering, this is even more important if the service you offer is a creative one. Your clients need to see ideas, designs and samples in advance. They want to be able to visualise what it is they will receive and imagine it being used or being featured in a certain way at a certain time and for this they need to be shown what it will look like. When you are offering custom made designs, bespoke creations and personalised items, this can be a little bit harder because as a small business you need to be able to show your clients lots of different design ideas in the hope that one particular one will inspire them, match what they have in their minds eye and work with the personalisation’s they want to include. This can be problematic, especially at the start of the business as you will need to create an array of products without having specific clients lined up which, with personalised products, is not cost effective.
So what is the answer?
Luckily this is no longer an issue, or at least it doesn’t need to be. Now that technology has adapted so much and most stores have an online shop where they can showcase their goods instead of only having a physical store with shelves of products you can share hundreds, if not thousands, of your ideas in picture format with your potential clients at a fraction of the price of making actual samples using mock ups. These are particularly great for items such as mugs, T-shirts and stationery but can be created for pretty much any item you wish to sell. An additional benefit of having mock ups to hand is that you can create image samples for potential clients quickly and easily and make any changes they request without any added cost it also makes finalising a design and ultimately a sale a lot smoother.
What exactly are mock up files?
Mock up files are stock pictures that allow you to insert your design onto the picture so that you or your client can see an image (or mock up) of what the finished product would look like. This mock up will not only have the product on but it will also be dressed to look like a professional photo shoot.
For example, if you wanted to show a company how you could insert their business logo onto plain white mugs you would either need to create a sample of one at a cost to your business or rely on them being able to use their imagination and minds eye to envisage the product and then commission you to create them. Whereas if you use a mug mockup of the mugs staged with a nice back drop with their logo or design clearly visible they will look much more attractive to the client.
Mock-ups can also be used to put together a few options, maybe changing the font or including images with text, text only, or image only but at no additional cost to yourself allowing you to offer your clients choices.
With a mock up file you can change the mock up as many times as you want so it is a one off payment that can be used repeatedly at no extra cost. Another great thing about mock ups is that you can buy different types and use them to fit the occasion. For example, you could by a Christmas themed mock up for festive products or mock ups that look office based for businesses and more casual ones for an event related order.
Where can you buy mock ups?
One of the best places to purchase some brilliant mock ups at a very reasonable price is at Design bundles.net. At design bundles you can choose from a whole host of stock photos and mock ups that are clear, enticing and professional. Design bundles offer affordable digital products such as Graphics, Templates, Mock Ups, Patterns, Illustrations and Craft Files. They have a proven track record and since starting out in 2016 have a customer base of over 1 million users. You can browse over 150,000 Marketplace Products and save money by purchasing Design Bundles with up to 96% off the Regular Retail Price. So whether you are starting a new business from scratch or are looking at expanding your business by introducing new products you will be sure to find the perfect mock ups here.
Who can use mock up files and what for?
Any small business that sells design related products should invest in some mock up files as it is a quick, cost effective and efficient way to showcase what you offer. However, mock up files are not only for small business owners they can also be used by people who want to create photographs that look a certain way such as bloggers creating gift guides or lifestyle round up posts where they want all the images to have the same back drop. Mock ups can be used by anyone for any number of projects and at these prices they are even great for small projects so why not go and check them out and have some fun with them.
(This is a collaborative post, all opinions are my own).