8 Marketing Options For Promo Distributors
By Hayley BellFractional Marketing Leader, PromoPulse
TL;DR
Distributors usually end up in one of a few marketing paths: do nothing, try to DIY, hire help, or buy a “plug-and-play” system.
Most of them fail for the same reason: they still require ongoing time, weekly decisions, and constant follow-through.
AMP is different. It’s always-on marketing you can turn on in about 10 minutes — then it continuously creates and sends campaigns for you using your brand + top suppliers, on the cadence you choose.
The real problem: marketing that depends on you will eventually stop
In promo, you don’t lose because you don’t know you should market.
You lose because marketing becomes a recurring project:
- “What should we send?”
- “Who’s writing it?”
- “Do we have images?”
- “When do we schedule it?”
- “Did anyone remember to send it?”
And when quotes, orders, and fires pop up (which they always do), marketing is the first thing to slip.
So let’s talk about the common options distributors try — and where they break.
Option 1: Doing nothing
This is the default for a lot of distributors — not because they don’t care, but because there’s no bandwidth.
Why it doesn’t work:
- Customers forget you when they don’t hear from you.
- Reorders go to whoever is top-of-inbox.
- Your competitors look “more active” even if their service isn’t better.
How AMP is better:
AMP turns marketing into something that happens automatically — not something you have to remember.
Option 2: Inconsistent marketing (“we do it when we have time”)
A blast here and there. A seasonal push. A “we should send something” moment.
Why it doesn’t work:
- Random sends don’t build momentum.
- You never get enough reps to learn what works.
- It feels like a lot of effort for not much payoff.
How AMP is better:
AMP is built for consistency. You choose a cadence (typically 1–2x/week) and it keeps you showing up without turning it into a weekly project.
Option 3: Doing it yourself (AKA the time sink)
You write it. You find products. You build the email. You schedule it. You repeat.
Why it doesn’t work:
- It’s a ton of invisible labor.
- It competes with revenue-driving work (quotes, follow-up, customer service).
- The blank-page problem slows everything down.
How AMP is better:
AMP creates the campaign for you — content + copy — based on your brand and suppliers. You’re not starting from scratch every time.
Option 4: Hiring an intern (or “someone to do marketing”)
This sounds great in theory: hand marketing off to someone else.
Why it doesn’t work (most of the time):
- They still need direction, approvals, and product knowledge.
- Turnover is real — and marketing resets when the person leaves.
- The bottleneck becomes you anyway (because only you know what’s actually true/important).
How AMP is better:
AMP doesn’t need weekly direction. Once it’s set up, it keeps running — and you’re not rebuilding the system every time staffing changes.
Option 5: Hiring an agency
Agencies can be helpful — but they’re rarely built for the day-to-day reality of promo distribution.
Why it doesn’t work (for many distributors):
- It’s expensive.
- You still have to feed them info, approve drafts, and keep them aligned.
- They often don’t have the nuance of promo: suppliers, seasonality, customer types, and what actually sells.
How AMP is better:
AMP is designed specifically for promo distributors. It uses your suppliers and your brand to generate campaigns that fit your business — without the ongoing agency management.
Option 6: Buying “copy/paste marketing” systems
This is the category of tools that promise marketing… but mostly deliver templates.
Why it doesn’t work:
- Generic content feels generic.
- You still have to pick content, edit copy, and schedule sends.
- If it doesn’t sound like you, you won’t keep using it.
How AMP is better:
AMP creates campaigns that are unique to your business (your branding + supplier mix) and it’s designed to keep sending — not just give you a library you’ll never open.
Option 7: Relying on suppliers to “provide the marketing”
Supplier flyers, product one-sheets, and promo ideas are useful — but they’re not a marketing system.
Why it doesn’t work:
- Supplier content isn’t customer-ready.
- It’s not consistently packaged into campaigns.
- It still requires someone to curate, write, and send.
How AMP is better:
AMP turns “supplier info” into actual campaigns — consistently — without you having to assemble it.
Option 8: Turning on AMP (the “marketing that runs itself” option)
This is the option for distributors who want to show up consistently without hiring a team, managing an agency, or turning marketing into a weekly project.
Why it works:
- No blank page: AMP creates the content + copy for you.
- No weekly planning: you set it up once, then it keeps going.
- Tailored to your business: campaigns reflect your brand and the suppliers you actually sell.
- Consistency without headcount: you stay visible even when the shop gets busy.
The value: AMP makes marketing repeatable — so it actually happens.
So what does AMP actually do?
AMP is always-on marketing you can turn on fast:
- Enter your work email (AMP pulls in your branding automatically)
- Select your top suppliers (AMP uses them to shape campaigns)
- Connect your accounts & contacts (link your email list, CRM, and/or social accounts)
- Choose your channels & campaign frequency (AMP creates your campaigns and keeps your marketing running in the background)
From there, AMP keeps creating and sending campaigns — without you picking content, writing copy, or figuring out what to send next.
