two impressive ideas for swag bags

Do you know what a swag bag is?  It's a little gift you get when you attend an event.  It's a nice touch and fun to receive.  I recently created TWO items for swag bags that are UNIQUE and FUN!  I love how much these make me stand out!  These are great for business (which is what I'll be showing you here today), but these are also fantastic ideas for goodie bags for birthday parties or any other gift bag occasions you have.

I go to a couple of networking groups that have swag bags that I can contribute to.  Since I can't give away a true sample of my business like a book of your vacation to Florida or your grandma's life storybook, I wanted to come up with just a little something that would be a taste of my business to go inside the swag bags.

IDEA #1:  goodie bags with chocolates

INGREDIENTS

• Business cards.  I actually have three business cards--a regular one, a social media one, and an events one.  They're all double-sided (made with Heritage Makers).  The social media one gives people who haven't heard of my business before a chance to really SEE what it's about through their chosen method--my YouTube channel, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, etc.  The events one is an invitation to my local "bring your laptop and work on Heritage Makers projects" events.  (I have online events, too, BTW!)
• Specially-made chocolate labels.  These serve as a sample, advertising, and a treat.  :)  You can put pictures, logos, anything you want on these!  They're made with Heritage Makers, too.
• 4x3 bags.  Everything goes in these bags.  Available at craft stores.

COMPLETED GOODIE BAGS FOR SWAG BAGS

I think they're adorable, but I also love that they're not that expensive!

• Business cards:  The double-sided cards are around $5 for a pack of 50.  That's 10c each, so for my three cards, just 30c per bag.
• Labels:  The address labels I used for the chocolates are about $2.70 for a set of 54.  That's about 5c each.  For my three labels, that's 15c per bag.
• Chocolates:  A bag of Hershey Nuggets is around $3.50.  I counted about 33 chocolates inside, so we'll call that 10c each, so 30c per bag since I'm giving 3.
• Bags:  I got 100 for $2 at Walmart, so that's 2c each.

The way I did the bags, this comes out to 77cents per bag.  If you did one chocolate and one business card, that's 27 cents per bag!  They're impressive and completely personalized for your business, yet very inexpensive!

"I found you through Pinterest as I was looking for swag ideas for an upcoming reader's retreat (where readers meet authors.)  I used your video tutorial to make labels for the Hershey Nugget candies out of address labels, and I was thrilled with the results.  I made nine different designs, each with a photo of one of my book covers, my name, and my website address.  Thanks to your video, it was easy to design and order the labels."  -Jan

IDEA #2: recipes from cards

INGREDIENTS 

• Greeting Cards.  You could put your business information on one side and a recipe on the other.  Isn't that cool?! 

Here's what you'll need (or, if you don't have Artisan, remember I hire out to create projects for you!)

2023 UPDATE:  Heritage Makers became YPhoto under Youngevity (which purchased Heritage Makers in 2013).  YPhoto uses only templates, so the creativity showcased here is no longer available there. Best-in-the-industry quality and permanent cloud photo storage with guaranteed privacy are required for anything recommended here by Photo & Story Treasures, so we highly recommend Forever.  

Using Forever's Artisan program for digital scrapbooking, you can make items similar to those shown here.  This video tutorial shows you how to craft with high-quality scrapbook pages, and this one shows you how to use Artisan to create something unique and then print at home (for instances in which you need thinner paper, sticker paper, etc.)  You can see just a few examples of crafting I've done using Artisan here, including cards, magnets, dry-erase boards, and other products.

If YOU make goodie bags or swag bags with these ideas, I'd love to see them!  Send pictures to photoandstorytreasures@gmail.com and tell me what fun and amazing thing YOU did!  I'd love to feature you and your business or event here.