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In this issue:
Marketing Article: Direct Marketing Focus - Save Money, Save Time: How to Control Your Mailings
Marketing Article: Relationship Networking

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If you're like many direct mailers, you think you have absolutely no control over your mailings. Right? Ah, but it's not so. You have a great deal of control over them. The trick is to know when and how to do all the "little" things that can ensure you maximum return.

No matter how good your sales literature is in content, if it's not sent properly, if it's not sent when it should be sent and if it's not sent to the right people it's a bad mailing. It's destined to fail.

Let's assume for now you have a really good mailing list. That leaves the matters of packaging your mailing and timing it. Both depend upon to whom you're mailing. If your mailing is going to consumers in their homes you do it one way. If, on the other hand, it goes to business people in offices it is handled entirely different.

So first, evaluate your prospects. Who are they? What are their habits?

Let's take business people. They get a ton of mail on Monday. They also often have meetings on Mondays. (Those horrid bell-ringing events we all hate.) Friday is a day that many people take off or leave their offices at noon. They have their minds on the weekend. (Unless they're like some of us who are entrepreneurs. We do business any day, any hour.)

So to send those people mail that will get to them on those days is suicide. Yours! You'll increase your returns if you avoid those days when mailing to business people.

If, however, you're mailing to people in their homes, try to get it to them midweek or on the weekend. Also, holidays are good for consumers. But they're very bad for business people.

After your mailing is done the fun begins. Make a chart. I keep mine in a three-ring binder. On it put a place for the date, the day of the week, returns and responses. Under responses make a place for the per day responses, the total responses and the actual percentage of the total mailing it represents.

I also usually try out three different sales letters. So I keep track of where I send each letter, i.e. what zip code or town or state. Then I can begin to see which letter pulls best for me. I then begin to use only that letter.

Then you want to figure out your actual break even point. You know your advertising cost and you know what you can afford to get a lead. So you divide what you can afford to spend at break-even for a sale into your advertising cost. Then you will know how many sales you must get to break even.

Let's say your break-even or par is 5%. If you're not getting that you can do a number of things to improve your chances of success.

You can raise your price, lower costs, try another list, make your prospects a better offer, improve the quality of your marketing literature or increase the size of your average order. To increase the size of your average order, I usually offer a package deal. This is a combination of two of my most popular items that people usually buy separately. I sell it to them as a package. They get a good deal and I increase my average order.

Suffice it to say that you must keep track of everything about your mailing.

From the kind of envelopes you use to what's on the envelope you will either improve or reduce your chances for success. Every little thing in direct mail matters.

If you see your mailing is not doing well you can change it before going further. Sometimes you need only to change something very minor. You may be mailing on the wrong day. You may be using an envelope that turns people off. It could be a hundred things.

Direct mail is one of the finest ways to increase your business. Joe Danler, a RE/MAX broker in Wichita, KS, is living proof. Danler does about three very large mailings of 10,000 pieces each per year. He makes himself known to Wichita residents while other agents remain anonymous among the hundreds of other real estate agents who daily roam the streets in search of listings.

The difference is, Danler gets them. He does so well, in fact, that he's sold more homes than any RE/MAX agent in the area in the last year! And best of all, he doesn't have to cold call. People come to him because of his direct mail.

RE/MAX agents, unlike most other real estate agents, can control their own advertising. They do not co-op and are not told how to advertise. As a result, they can be very creative. That pays big dividends to people like Joe Danler.

Danler has been in the real estate business for eight years. He started using direct mail two years ago. "Direct mail has been important to reach people who weren't aware of me at all," he says.

He adds, "It's an important thing for people who have really thought about a real estate need but have not started looking yet."

It's a good initial first step to let people know that I'm out there," says Danler. He says direct mail gives him name recognition.

So we know that direct mail works. But the fact is you have to have control over your mailings. You can't just mail out a ton of letters and wait for your leads. It doesn't work that way.

Before you do your next mailing, plan it out. Get the best list available. Prepare the finest DM literature money can buy. Plan each step and chart your success. Direct mail can make you successful. But first, you have to become a successful mailer. When you do, your returns will increase and so will your income.

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Susanna K. Hutcheson is a professional advertising and direct mail copywriter. She was the first copywriter to utilize the Internet as a place to market this type of service. Susanna has clients all over the world. She writes everything from Web site content to direct mail and radio spots. Visit her Web site at http://www.powerwriting.com. Her email address is powerwriter@powerwriting.com. Telephone: (316) 684-0457.

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What is Relationship Networking?

Relationship networking is simply the art of meeting people and benefiting from those relationships. Often the benefit of these relationship is to obtain information and leads to further grow your business. Any successful relationship, whether a personal or a business relationship, is unique to every pair of individuals, and it evolves over time. Effective relationship networking is all about building those relationships and maintaining long lasting connections with other professionals.

The Internet is an excellent vehicle for networking. Relationships can develop in newsgroups, forums, and via email. Though nothing really beats good old-fashioned face-to-face networking to start the process of building a relationship and trust, which is why industry conferences can be so important.

Not all contacts will be useful or worth pursuing. There will be leads that don't provide much information. Use your judgment on whether the information and relationship is worth spending more time on.

Relationship networking opens new doors, often it's "who you know, not necessarily what you know".

Tip to Build Network Relationships:

1. Provide genuine assistance to others.
2. Be open-minded.
3. Remember personal details.
4. Respect cultural differences.
5. Research people and companies. Know their goals and interests.
6. Reciprocate.
7. Introductions.

Where to Network:

So many people wear multiple hats; everyone and anyone could possibly be a networking opportunity. However, just like targeted search engine traffic, the more targeted the networking the higher the chance of success. 'Targeted' networking offers the most potential.

1. Trade associations or industry specific organization.
2. Trade shows.
3. Friends.
4. Schools.
5. Focused newsgroups and topic specific forums.
6. Customers.
7. Suppliers.
8. User groups.

Constantly refine and grow your network of relationships, as they are valuable and need cultivating. If you are perceived as someone who is only trying to get something your network will likely not increase. Networking is about building relationships and mutual interaction benefiting both parties. Share information and help others grow their businesses.

In many ways relationship networking and partnering overlap, and on some occasion's relationship networking will lead to synergistic partnering.

Partnering

Partnering is an attractive flexible way for companies to develop new markets and additional revenue. Working together, partners can combine strengths in critical areas. Often a larger well-known vendor provides small vendors with credibility, while the smaller vendor contributes specific industry knowledge unknown to the larger vendor. Synergistic relationships come in all shapes and sizes, but the best relationships and partnerships are the ones that benefit everyone. Partnering is a good way of tapping into related customer bases. Often the partners complement each other in such a way that they can provide a combined solution that neither partner could deliver alone.

Expectations

In order for a relationship to work you must have a clear understanding of both your companies and product(s) strengths and weaknesses. By being aware of any deficiencies, you will find partners with strengths in the areas of your weaknesses.

1. Know what you have to offer.
2. Know what you are looking for.
3. Don't waste yours and your potential partner's time.

Different relationships/partnering that works:

1. Product bundling.
2. Newsletter exchanges.
3. Integrations.
4. Link exchanges.
5. Technology or knowledge exchange.
6. Revenue share.
7. Ad exchange.

Win/Win

Only when each partner is successful can the partnership itself claim success. Partnerships are genuinely a win-win. Developers, who master the art of strategic partnering and relationship networking, will obtain long-term profitability and success.

Final Tips

1.) Qualify sources.
2.) Adage - you are who you hang with.
3.) Not every relationship is a good one.
4.) Evaluate potential partners.
5.) Make it personal by taking the time to say thank you.
6.) Results are not always immediate.
7.) Carry business cards everywhere you go.

Being proactive and following up, you can have a network of contacts that you will be able to access quickly when you need them. Whether by more traditional means, such as in person or over the Internet, personal networks are essential for furthering your business. Relationship networking is give and take, be sure to help others in your quest for help.

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Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions.