May 14th, 2013
Over two-thirds of online visitors read customer reviews before choosing to make a purchase on-line. Client referrals and reviews are an important piece to your success and including these reviews on social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter is another avenue of marketing yourself in front of potential prospects. Positive reviews and five-star ratings are valuable content that shouldn’t be overlooked in your social marketing strategy.
Categories: Social Media
May 9th, 2013
An e-mail newsletter is a critical tool in your marketing strategy; however, it must deliver the right message to your audience and contain valuable information to keep the readers interest. Here are a few points to consider when writing:
1. Keep the information relative to your audience. Make sure it is something of value that the reader can put to good use in their personal life or business.
2. Know the purpose of your newsletter, create a timeline to execute it (i.e. daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly). Stick to your schedule for each newsletter and maintain quality content.
3. If you’re going to have contributors to the newsletter, give them clear guidelines to follow regarding the topic, length of article and deadline in which to have the article submitted for production. Give your writers a byline which includes their name, e-mail, url and a couple of short sentences about their expertise.
4. Graphics have a place in newsletters but don’t overdo it. Balance your text and graphics together. Use colored boxes to break up content.
5. Proofread your copy! The biggest mistake you can make is to have spelling or grammatical errors. It’s always good to have a few sets of “eyes” to make sure your copy is perfect.
6. Grab your reader’s attention with the Subject Line. Keep it short and descriptive to peak their interest, they won’t open it to see what you have to offer. Keep your subject line to 40 to 50 characters.
Categories: Newsletters
May 6th, 2013
How many times have you hit the delete key on an email newsletter; I do it myself. With our busy lifestyles, many newsletters are sent to the Trash box without ever being opened. If the subject line doesn’t interest me, I hit the delete key, and I move on to the next e-mail. Here are a few things to consider when writing your next newsletter:
- Your subject line can “make or break you” Your subject line is one of the most important pieces that will get you a higher open rate for your newsletter. Make it personal and intriguing – you need to peak the reader’s interest.
- Write a newsletter that will bring value to your customer. Keep your sales pitch for your products to a minimum while providing valuable tips, strategies and resources. Not only will it give your company a good reputation for producing good content, readers will share the information with other colleagues.
- Get straight to the point: Write in terms your readers will understand, and keep it short. This will give you credibility and keep the reader focused.
- Branding: While you want to make sure your company logo, and information, are in the newsletter, don’t overdo it. Keep the branding space to a minimum and focus on the content.
- Write as if you’re speaking to the reader. If your newsletters are more personal, you will have a better chance of connecting with your reader.
Categories: Newsletters
May 2nd, 2013
Newsletters are a great venue for building your brand identity. It will keep your name in front of customers and prospects, and it will assist in developing your web presence. Here are tips on how to create newsletters that will peak your readers interest:
Know your target audience and write for this audience; if you have clients in various industries, you may want to consider writing newsletters that are directly related to their industry and the products/services they would most likely purchase.
Write in a way that your audience will understand; don’t use technical jargon – make it easy to read and don’t include too much content. Use bullets, subtitles and paragraphs. Balance your images and text – don’t overload the newsletter with too many images – readers are looking for useful information. Include content from other companies if the information would be useful for your reader, but do get their permission to use it in your newsletter. Insert links to your web site in the content to drive the reader to your web site.
Use colored boxes to highlight information or quotes from other people. Use them to break up the written content so your newsletter will flow better and make it easier to read. Make sure to choose your colors wisely. Bright colors can make the newsletter difficult to read.
Proofread your newsletter – you will lose credibility if you have spelling errors. Your subject line is vital to getting your newsletter opened – create a curiosity level. It should relate directly to the content in your newsletter. Keep your subject line short.
Track your responses – know your click-through rate, open rate, etc. It’s critical to know if your newsletters are attracting your readers.
Categories: Newsletters
January 23rd, 2013
There are many stories on direct mail mistakes – marketing pieces that were missing phone numbers, addresses, e-mail addresses, web sites and other key information. You must proofread your copy several times. If you feel you are lacking in these skills, hire someone to proofread the copy for you – or ask a colleague to review the text.
Focus on your headline – one of the most common reasons we all send direct mail to the trash is because it doesn’t have a captivating headline. You only have a few seconds to grab the reader’s attention; create an attention-grabbing headline so the prospect will want to read further. Make the headline something that will catch someone’s eye without insulting their intelligence.
Don’t over think the design – we’re all attracted to eye-catching colors, interesting shapes and four-color graphics. Don’t lose the content somewhere in the process – the content will sell your product.
Follow up – you spend money on print material; you need a follow-up plan. Be prepared to either call, mail out additional information or fulfill requests for additional information. This will optimize the success of your campaign.
Talk to the experts – companies have spent many years mastering the art of direct mail. They have figured out how it works, the right words to use and the best way to get optimal results. Do your research and ask questions from people who’ve mastered this process; they’ve made the mistakes and you could shortcut your road to success!
Categories: Direct Mail
January 23rd, 2013
1. Know your consumer and or/business prospect.
2. Provide your mailing list broker with an accurate description of your product or offer. The broker may have suggestions as to the type of list that would be suit your needs.
3. Know the difference between a response and a compiled mailing list. Response mailing lists are comprised of individuals who have responded to an offer either through the mail, phone, television or through other means of mass communication. Compiled mailing lists are a compilation of information from public records and sources such as the phone book, courthouse records, bankruptcy filing, mortgage deed records and more.
4. Have a customer profile – address your offer to an individual. Do some research to understand your customers’ needs and desires.
5. What is your offer? Be straight forward and enticing in the merchandising of your product.
6. Make sure there is quality in your offer – you must show the consumer how they will benefit from your product.
7. Evaluate your costs – what is the cost per lead versus the pricing of your product.
8. The appearance of your mail piece should look personal so the consumer is more likely to open it.
9. You may want to include informative brochures and testimonials regarding your offer.
10. Track responses. You can evaluate the success of your mail campaign by analyzing and tracking response rates. This will allow you to make adjustments to future mailings which will increase business and profitability.
11 Repetition is key – it takes more than one contact with a consumer to turn a prospect into a loyal customer.
Categories: Mailing Lists
January 23rd, 2013
When should I order my mailing list?
Timing is critical. Your mailing list is custom ordered; it’s not sitting on a shelf waiting to be mailed. Mailings lists are available by e-mail within hours of making your purchase, but you must allow time to receive a specialty list. A general rule of thumb would be to order to order your mailing list before ordering your print material. If the list you have ordered has gone through an update, or a count was pulled a few weeks before your count may change. A discrepancy of even 500 names may affect printing and mailing costs.
If you have dated material to mail – make sure you allow enough time for your mailing piece to be delivered. The post office has 2 working days to process your mail – but don’t forget that the mail piece can go through 3-4 different post offices before being delivered. It could be 6-8 days before your piece actually reaches the destination. If you have taken your mail to the post office a week before your sale, you run the risk of it being delivered on the day of the sale or after the sale has already occurred – resulting in disastrous consequences.
Remember to plan in advance when purchasing your mailing lists and planning your direct mail campaign.
Categories: Mailing Lists
January 23rd, 2013
When choosing your mailing list, consider the various types of lists offered. List brokers offer a variety of specialty lists; here are some examples of specialty lists along with information on how the list is compiled.
Business Lists
Compiled using yellow page telephone listings then additional information is pulled from Federal, State and Municipal documents such as incorporations, SEC and other published data. Additional selects include the number of employees, sales volume and executive contact information including their title.
Consumer Lists
A consumer list is one of the largest mailing lists. It allows you to reach residents, or heads-of-households that have an interest in the product and/or service you offer. Criteria can be selected using age, gender, presence of children including age range or exact age, income, marital status, dwelling type, length of residence, mail order buyers, buying habits and more.
Resident/Occupant Lists
If you’re looking to reach every household and/or business in a targeted geographical area, you need a Resident/Occupant list. There is no named individual at the address. Since you are hitting every home and/or business within a designated area, there are no custom selects available (i.e. income level, household with children, etc.). Selections do include state, county, SCF, zip code, carrier route or radius from a fixed point. It is a very cost effective way to reach a large targeted area.
“Niche” Mailing Lists
While the most common lists available are business and consumer lists, there are “niche lists which represent different stages in life. During our own lifespan, we move through these stages (i.e. student, a registered voter, retirement, etc.). This type of list can be very powerful as you have the ability to use criteria that will “zero” in on your specific target market. In addition, it helps you target your message, offer products and/or services that fit the prospects and it can identify cross-selling opportunities. Here are some of the most popular available:
New Homeowners and Movers
Reach consumers who purchased a new home or moved recently, target within a specific demographic area to reach your audience. Fiiles are updated weekly and monthly. This group has an initial need to purchase all types of neighborhood services such as home furnishings, telephone and Internet service providers, banks, churches, doctors, schools, entertainment, etc.
Ethnic
Ethnic lists are compiled from various sources such as public real estate documents, census bureaus, financial publications and direct mail respondents. Selects include nationality, language preference or religious preference.
Lifestyles
Information is compiled from self-reported data and product registration cards. Target lists of art enthusiasts, automobile enthusiasts, books, camping, clothing, crafts, fishing, fitness, gardening, golf, home decorating, sports, wine, etc.
Registered Voters
Complete registered voters lists by city, state county and broken down by district. Information is gathered from election boards, county clerks and Board of Registrars. Contributors lists are also available with information on who contributed to political candidates, parties and PAC’s.
Credit Score
Credit reporting agencies make your information available to banks and credit card companies which then compile mailing lists and sends out offers.
Bankruptcy
Pull any Geography: zip, zip code with radius, SCF, county, city, metro area and state. Selects include chapter, payment amount, discharge or filing dates.
Ailment and Illness
Created by self-reported survey data, targeted by specific health issues including acid reflux, back pain, cancer, cholesterol, depression, diabetes, emphysema, weight problems and more.
Churches and Religious
Selects include denomination, religious leader, membership size and geography.
Magazine Subscribers
Magazine subscriber lists can tell you a lot about the prospective customer including whether they are the right customer for your business. If you are making a health or fitness product, then subscribers to a health and fitness magazine will be more likely to purchase your product.
Students
Target families by income level and children’s ages. Target this niche group for toys, clothing, photography, pediatrician and dentistry, camps, music, athletic equipment, amusement parks, etc. College student lists are also available.
Teachers
search criteria for this list can be identified by the grade taught, from kindergarten to high school. The individual teach can be identified from any subject department.
Ultra Affluent
The households in this list are extremely upscale, in both earnings and their propensity to spend. They are homeowners who are highly educated and employed in professional, technical, managerial and sales/service occupations. These households enjoy the pleasures of wines, gourmet foods, fashion, travel and cultural events.
Categories: Mailing Lists
January 23rd, 2013
Questions to ask yourself before purchasing a list?
1. Who is the target audience I am trying to reach?
Don’t waste time, money and postage mailing to the wrong prospects. Choosing the right demographics, geography, etc. will give you optimum results. If you need help, ask your list broker to make recommendations.
2. Will I send a one-time mailing or mail multiple times?
List are typically rented on a one-time or multiple times usage. There is a cost difference and the lists are “seeded” so the list broker will know if you use it more than once. There can be significant penalties if you pay for a one-time list and use it multiple times.
3. Will I need phone numbers to follow-up with a telemarketing campaign?
If you’re planning to do a follow-up phone call, make sure to ask for phone numbers when ordering the list. If you decide to do this at a later date, you may have to re-purchase the entire list.
4. If mailing to businesses, what contact person do I need to reach?
Don’t send your mail piece to the President or CEO when you’re trying to reach the Human Resources Department. Determine who your primary contact should be. If there aren’t enough contacts with that specific title, you might want to “title slug” (i.e. Attn: HR Manager) rather than take a significantly smaller list.
Quality versus Quantity
Purchasing a targeted list with the appropriate contact will bring you optimum results – even if the list is smaller than you originally wanted to purchase. In addition, it doesn’t do you any good to purchase a large list and mail over a long period of time – the list will lose its “freshness” and you’ll waste time, money and postage.
Frequency of Updates/NCOA
Before purchasing the list ask how often the list is updated. It’s critical that the data is “fresh”. The NCOA (National Change of Address) is required by the U.S. Postal Service. Their database updates addresses on the list that have moved and submitted a change of address form through the Post Office. If the list isn’t certified, you run the risk of having undeliverable addresses.
Categories: Mailing Lists
January 23rd, 2013
List brokers will customize a list based on your specifications that can target your ideal customer – the individuals or businesses most likely to buy from you. Using specific search criteria such as age, gender, income, households with children, etc. can put you in front of your target audience. Criteria selections are virtually endless, and if you put some thought into it, your list will deliver results!
List selection is key – all the fancy graphics and the most beautifully created sentences won’t do you a bit of good if you don’t carefully select the people on your mailing list. If you’re selling senior products, you don’t want to target 23 year old people. If you’re trying to reach households with children, is there a specific age group you want to target (i.e. pre-school, elementary school, high school, college students)? Do you want the household to have a specific income; furthermore, do you want the income to include one person or two? These are critical issues when choosing a list that will work for your business.
Tighten your mailing list as much as possible to be sure it’s tailored to your needs. It difficult to make people believe they need your product and even harder to convince them they need it now. If you’ve researched your target customer, and purchase the appropriate list, you have a higher chance of reaching your potential customs instead of the trash can.
List response can be confused with list deliverability. A list can be 100% deliverable, but you many not get a high response rate. Many people automatically assume that it wasn’t a good list when, in fact, the mailing list was targeted to the wrong market – the key to making the list work for you is knowing who your target audience is!Statistics show the average rate of response for direct mail is 1-2%. If the mail piece is eye-catching, has a call to action, and the timing of the mail piece is correct, we’ve seen response rates as high as 8-10%.
Categories: Mailing Lists
