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In this issue:
Marketing Article: 7 Steps for Improving Your Email Marketing
Marketing Article: 10 Secrets to Get Your News Release Noticed

Directory of Associations

The Directory of Associations is a comprehensive source of information on professional, business, and trade associations, 501c non-profit organizations, chambers of commerce, and other charity and community institutions.

Businesses of all types can benefit from the powerful niche market of associations and non-profit organizations.

The success of your email marketing campaign is often based on a set of complex factors. However, a number of these issues can be proactively managed to ensure an optimized response. When developing your next email campaign, consider the following guidelines.

1. Your list.
Certainly one of the most important aspects of any email marketing campaign, your list is directly correlated to your success. Are your names recent? Have they agreed to be marketed to? Have they shown an interest in products or services similar to your own? Make sure that you are using a house list (names you collected on your own) or have been purchases from a reputable broker.

2. Your subject line.
Getting a user to open your message is paramount any email marketing campaign. The best way to determine the subject line that works best is to break your emails into three random yet equal groups. Measure the response to each email and use the highest producing one as your control. In follow up emails, try to beat the response rate of your control email.

3. Your sender information.
What information appears on the sender line of your email? Will your prospects recognize it? Do they want to hear from you? Often times, emails are deleted without ever being opened due to an indiscernible sender name. Your sender name should be brief and easily understood.

4. Track your results.
Tracking allows you to determine who opened your message and clicked on a link or multiple links within your email. By determining what worked and what didn’t, you can replicate success on your next email. As described above, tracking is particularly important when testing subject lines, imbedded links, and other direct response vehicles.

5. Make sure your unsubscribe method is in place and working.
The CAN-SPAM act of 2003 requires that all email messages contain clear directions on how to opt-out from subsequent mailings. Provide an unsubscribe mechanism that allows those receiving your email to send you and email and indicate their desire to opt-out from receiving further emails from you or your business. If recipients no longer want to hear from you, it’s in your best interest to remove them from your list.

6. Your images are correctly referenced and you've used alt tags in each image.
Improperly referencing your images can cause them to appear broken when you send your message - the dreaded red x. To insure the image is referenced correctly it must appear as, img src="http://www.yourdomain.com...." rather than, img src="/images/picture.jpg". Alt tags are another important part of your images. The new security features on almost every email client these days disables images automatically. Having alt tags in place allow your reader to identify the image and determine if it is safe to enable.

7. Test, Test, Test!
No matter what your involvement with email marketing happens to be, it is essential that you follow the guidelines above for successful results. In addition, the key is to test, test, test! After each email campaign, measure your opens, click-throughs, and purchases. Document the specific date, time, list, subject line, and content used to produce your results. Refer back to your documentation prior to your next campaign.

Email doesn't have to be a complex form of marketing. There are many best practices you can follow and some simple rules that ensure effectively delivery, open and conversion. By following the simple rules presented in this article, you’ll not only deliver and effective email campaign, you’ll discover a consistent method for generation revenue for your business.

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Michael Fleischner is the founder and President of MarketingScoop.com. With more than 12 years of marketing experience, he has appeared on major media including the TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and more. Visit http://www.MarketingScoop.com for further details, FREE Marketing resources, or more FREE articles.

Press Release Services from Concept Marketing Group, Inc announce your company and products to the Internet and general media!

• Internet-Only distribution options
• Reach virtually every newspaper, tv/radio station, and publication
• Writing and Editing services to make your news POP

It’s difficult enough running the day-to-day aspects of any online or brick & mortar business, let alone trying to drum up new business as you go. But even if you have additional staff helping to get the word out about your products and services, location and prices, delivery and sales support, news releases can make your company grow faster.

A news release is sent to editors and journalists in order to generate a news story in the media. It’s one of the easiest and cost-effective ways to get your message out there. If a reporter decides to run your release, your business receives space for free - and more credibility than just running an ad.

It’s critical in today’s business world to be seen, a key element in any business plan. And a news release can help in that.

Here's the top ten secrets to getting a news release noticed:

1) Your press release should sound like news, not an ad. You need to make sure your news is newsworthy, so start thinking like a reporter.

2) You should only send your press release to the media related to the topic of your press release. Don’t just send the press release to every reporter you can find.

3) Keep your press release one page in length. Truth is, most editors will only read the headline and the first line or two of your release.

4) Your header, contact information and release date should be at the top of your press release.

5) Use short sentences and double space your lines.

6) Your headline and first few sentences should grab the reader’s attention. Write like the news organizations you are targeting.

7) You should tell a story and mention your business, product or service in the body of the release.

8) Proofread your release many times. Look for grammar and spelling mistakes.

9) Follow up is not only recommended, it is vital. But don’t call every other day asking if your release will run. Call once to see if there is any interest, but don’t nag.

10) Stick to the facts. Tell the truth. Avoid fluff, embellishments and exaggerations. tone it down a bit.

And a bonus:
Use active, not passive, voice. Verbs in the active voice bring your press release to life. Writing in this manner helps guarantee that your press release will be read.

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Shannon Cherry, APR, MA helps businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations to be heard. She’s a marketing communications and public relations expert with more than 15 years experience and the owner of Cherry Communications. Subscribe today for Be Heard! a FREE biweekly ezine and get the FREE special report: "Be the Big Fish: Three No-Cost Publicity Tactics to Help You Be Heard." Go to: http://www.cherrycommunications.com/FreeReport.htm