Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Q is for QR

QR codes stands for Quick Response codes. They are those funky little boxes on EVERYTHING these days that, if you take a pic of it with your smart phone, you are led directly to a website. They are the all the rage in the marketing world. You see them on mailers and billboards and bus shelter signs. Do you know what I'm talking about? There's a picture of one to the right.

Yeah, now you know what I'm talking about. Let me tell you what's cool about QR codes - they are an easy way to get people to your website without them having to type in the address.

And they aren't just for the big marketing people. You can easily get your own QR codes for FREE to put on your own marketing materials. You can put them on your business cards, bookmarks, postcards, t-shirts - anything - and whenever someone scans the box with their smart phone, they will be taken to your website, or wherever it is you want them to go. Let me clarify, your smart phone has to have a QR app, but lots of people have that app.

Here's a website I have used for QR codes. If you want to better manage your codes and track them you can purchase a plan for as little as $25 a month, but I doubt that any of us will really need that. When we get to that level, our publishers should be handling it for us, right?

Do you use QR codes? Do you have the app? Have you even seen QR codes?

20 comments:

Jeremy Bates said...

Hey, thanks for the very useful information. I will use it as I had forgotten all about QR codes since coming to the Philippines. The majority of folks here don't have smart phones, but on books etc, this will work. Thanks again.

Joanna Marple said...

Thanks, this is all new to me.

A Daft Scots Lass said...

its all new to me.

Brooke R. Busse said...

Oh yes I've seen this! I haven't downloaded the app needed though. I was thinking I needed a separate app for each QR code. Don't know where I got that idea...

Ashley Nixon said...

They are becoming very popular around campus, though I don't have an Iphone, I have an Itouch, so where I might use them more if I had an Iphone, I don't because I don't normally have my Itouch in my hand. It's usually in my backpack. I think they'll become incredibly important in the near-future. They are a part of social media.

Julie Hedlund said...

What kinds of QR reader apps are out there? How many people do you think have them?

Bonnie Way said...

I saw these all over the place and wondered what they were before I finally read an excellent blog post about them. I have then on the back of my business cards. If I ever printed other publicity materials, I'd definitely put my QR on it.

Stacy S. Jensen said...

I'm attending the Pikes Peak Writers Conference this weekend. Organizers are using QR codes. I guess I'll find out tomorrow what I'll find if I scan it. Lots of interesting uses.

Laura Barnes said...

You're welcome! Hope it works out for you!

Laura Barnes said...

Glad I could provide some knowledge :)

Laura Barnes said...

I adore that you put up with my marketing tips even though you're a blogger not a novelist. :)

Laura Barnes said...

I actually had the app and then got rid of it. I don't use it. It's not my type of thing. But I know people who use it.

Laura Barnes said...

I have a Droid and I had the app, but I didn't use it so I removed it. But it will probably become more and more popular. Or something like it will.

Laura Barnes said...

I know for Droid there are a few if you just search for QR in Market. I don't know how many there are for iphone, but you should find it at the istore pretty easily. I don't have numbers on the use of them and I don't know that there is enough feedback out there yet about it, but this is how I think about it: if all the major advertisers are using it and they pay the big bucks to market researchers, then it's probably at least somewhat happening. Since you can add them for free, I'm all about trying them out and then watching the stats to see if it drives anyone. The cool thing is that the QR doesn't have to go just to your website. You could make it go to a specific page so that when people scanned they got to see a book trailer or anything really.

Laura Barnes said...

Let us know what you find if anything is interesting!

Laura Barnes said...

That's great! I kind of want publicity materials just so I can try them out. :)

Susanna Leonard Hill said...

I've been wanting to try these out for ages! I've really got to do it! But as for the publishers handling? Dream on :)

Susanna Leonard Hill said...

Oh, and now that I've clicked over and looked at the site you mentioned, how fancy do you get with color etc?

Laura Barnes said...

Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Laura Barnes said...

I generally don't get too fancy with color because then it costs more to print. But if you are already printing in color, then do it! Color is always better. :)

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