How To Put The ProfitProducing Power of Couponing

How To Put The ProfitProducing Power of Couponing To Work For You…

by: Thom Reece

Coupons have proven themselves to be highly effective sales tools for every conceivable size and type of business.

Because coupons กpull in the businessก they have gained remarkable acceptance and popularity among astute marketing managers. A simple explanation for their acceptance by advertisers is their overwhelming acceptance and use by the consuming public. In fact, Advertising Age (the Bible of the advertising industry) reports that 87% of all shoppers use coupons.

Another independent marketing research firm, the A.C. Nielson Co., reveals that 95% of all shoppers like coupons. And 60% actively look for coupons.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled, กIn a Pinch, Snip.ก, states that coupon use rises, as the economy in any given area slides. 54% of shoppers surveyed said they had already stepped up use of coupons, and even more are expected to do so.

Itกs very easy to see why coupon advertising is sweeping the country. Regular use of good couponing strategy will provide a steady stream of new customers and high quality sales leads.

Savvy marketers cite these reasons for heavy reliance on couponing:

A. Coupons have the effect of expanding or increasing your market area. We know that consumers will travel far to redeem a valuable coupon.

B. Coupons will entice new customers that have been shopping at your competitor. Itกs a proven fact that consumers will break routine shopping patterns to take advantage of a good coupon offer.

C. Coupons attract new residents when they are actively in the market for products and services.

D. Coupons will reactivate old customers. Those customers that have been lured away by your competitor will start buying from you again when you give them a good reason to do so.

E. Coupon advertising provides the opportunity for additional profits through sale of related items. (Business owners often forget this.) When you offer a special กdealก on a coupon to invite a customer to do business with you, you have to remember that this same customer will probably end up buying additional items that carry a full profit margin.

In addition, you also are being given the opportunity to กsellupก to a more profitable product or service. You would not have had this opportunity had it not been for the coupon getting the customer through the door in the first place.

F. Coupons build store traffic which results in additional impulse purchases.

G. Coupons are measurable and accountable Don’t overlook that couponing is the most measurable and accountable form of promotion.

Itกs simply a matter of counting the number of coupons redeemed to judge the effectiveness of the offer. Wise use of this consumer feedback will guide you in creating future offers that improve your results.

Understand that the media delivering the coupon has very little to do with the response. Publications simply deliver your offer to a specific audience. Itกs up to you to determine what offer produces the best response from that audience. You do this through methodically testing various offers. Savvy use of this กcoupon testingก technique will give you the specific knowledge you require to greatly improve all of your advertising response, your sales, and your profits.

How do you go about creating a coupon promotion that will work for YOU? Hereกs what I like to call…

THOMกS TWELVE TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE COUPONING:

TIP#1…MAKE A SOLID OFFER!

* OFFER DISCOUNTS…ก$50.00 OFF!ก, ก60% OFF!ก, (percentage discounts are only good when they are high percentages and the value of the product or service is well known.)Dollars Off discounts work best.

* OFFER BONUSES…กBuy One/Get One Free!ก, or ก2 Free with Each Case Ordered!ก, กFree Batteries When You Buy One Super Flashlightก, or กFree Drop Cloth with Each Gallon of Super Paintก, etc.

* OFFER PREMIUMS…Offer premiums for a presentation, for a trial order, for a subscription, for a demonstration, for a new customer referral, for an order amounting to $xxx or largerก, etc.

* OFFER FREE INFORMATION…กFREE bookletก, กFREE brochureก, กFREE estimateก, กFREE detailsก, กFREE samplesก, กFREE trialก, กFREE consultationก, กFREE quoteก, etc.

TIP#2….USE BOLD, COMMANDING AND SPECIFIC HEADLINES!

* กSave $50.00 on Any Portable TV….This Month Only!ก

* กFREE BROCHURE…กBeauty Secrets for Career Womanก!ก

* กFree Catalog Saves YOU 70% on Office Supplies!ก

* ‘rent Two NEW RELEASE Video MoviesGet One FREE!ก

* กBuy One Dinner EntreeGet One FREE!ก

* กBuy Five Cases of Copier PaperGet the Sixth Case Absolutely Free!ก

TIP#3…USE LINE ILLUSTRATIONS OR PHOTOGRAPHS.

* Illustrations work best when you show products inuse.

* Illustrations enhance credibility, aid understanding, and create desire.

TIP#4…USE YOUR LOGO IN YOUR COUPON.

* Use of logo: builds company identity and awareness in the marketplace, enhances your image, lends credibility to your offer, and improves response.

TIP #5….MAKE EFFECTIVE USE OF WHITE SPACE.

* Don’t clutter. Don’t cram.

TIP#5…SELL THE BENEFITS.

* Save time, save money, increase profits, protect your family, improve your standard of living, be happier, improve your health, increase your income, increase your comfort, more convenient.

TIP#7….APPEAL TO THE SELFINTEREST OF YOUR CUSTOMER.

* Your customer is only interested in what you can do for him or her. Your customer will only buy the benefitsofuse of your product or service. Let me say that again…your customer is only interested in the benefits of use of your product….not the product itself.

TIP#8…MAKE EFFECTIVE USE OF THE 18 MOST POWERFUL WORDS IN ADVERTISING.

* free, now, new, how to, save, guarantee, money, easy, simple, you, proven, love, results, discovery, fast, amazing, sex, profit.

TIP#9…ALWAYS UPSELL.

* Offer extras when a customer requests information or places an order. Always suggest related items. Point out the added features and benefits of a higher priced item and then show the customer specifically how these features will make his life easier, safer, etc.

TIP#10…SPREAD YOUR SPECIALS AROUNDCONSIDER THE TRAFFIC PATTERN IN A RETAIL STORE.

* Set up product displays so that you force your customer to walk the entire expanse of your store. Your กimpulseก buys will increase dramatically when you expose your customer to more products by well planned placement of กsale itemsก.

TIP#11…CAPTURE YOUR CUSTOMERS NAME, ADDRESS, AND TELEPHONE NUMBER. DEVELOP AN INHOUSE MAILING LIST FOR ONGOING DIRECT MARKETING USE.

* Your customer list represents your most valuable asset. Your greatest potential for sales and profits lies in the customer database. To ignore this potential is pure folly.

TIP#12…DON’t STOP AFTER THE SALE.

* Create a planned program of continuous followup to your customer list.

* Use ridealongs, invoice stuffers, new catalogs, new product brochures, special sale flyers, preferred customer sales and discounts, customer appreciation events, more coupons. Keep your customers coming back to YOU!

© Copyright 2005 Thom Reece All Rights Reserved

About The Author

Thom Reece is the CEO of OnLine Marketing Group, a direct response marketing agency with headquarters in Hawaii. He is the creator of the Online Marketing Resource Center [ http://www.ecomprofits.com ] . Thom can be reached by email at: thomATecomprofits.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 02

by Thom Reece

Cutting Down Your Trade Show Budget

Cutting Down Your Trade Show Budget

by: Susan Friedmann

Whenever a recession or volatility threatens the economy, companies immediately look at where they can cut budgets. Without much forethought, the first to hit the block is inevitably training, followed closely behind by marketing. Why? Both are viewed on the balance sheet as expenditures rather than income generators, so obviously they’re hot contenders for elimination.

This is a very myopic way of thinking, especially for companies who want to remain globally competitive. Instead, at times like these when resources are under severe scrutiny, look at this as a golden opportunity to analyze your strategies. Put your activities under a microscope and closely examine what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Often during times of plenty, the finance reins loosen up and some highly creative juggling takes place when budgets exceed their estimations. Obviously, we enjoy the abundant mentality and wish that it could last forever. But just as with all things in the universe there has to be a balance, and shortages add stability to plenty. Whenever highs exist, lows are inevitable.

So, instead of reacting to the highs and lows of the marketplace, what can you do to maintain a steady balance? Marketing and training are definitely keys to your success, so let’s examine five benefits and how they relate to your tradeshow participation.

1. Analyze your weakest links

When you take time to look examine your operation in more detail, you often discover that many of your actions are done out of habit rather than being productive and profitable. Think about some of the shows that you attend. How do they really fit into your marketing strategy? Are you attending them just because you’ve always done so, or because your competition is there? These are often your weak links, the shows that utilize unnecessary time and energy. Think about doing away with the ขnice to be at showsข and rather opt at putting all your energy into the more profitable events that attract larger quantities of your target market.

Another weak budgetary link is associated with excessive employee spending at shows, such as dining at the finest restaurants and ordering the highest priced items just because the boss is paying. Consider setting up a per diem allowance and make employees accountable for expenses. You might even reward them with the difference if they under spend their stipend.

2. Exhibit a global competitiveness mindset

To be a contender in the global marketplace and establish a vanguard positioning, you have to be out there come rain or shine. And, tradeshows signify an essential marketing strategy when it comes to visibility. Exhibiting demonstrates that you’re a serious player in the industry. However tough, it’s important to keep tradeshows as one of your major promotional strategies. Rather consider reducing space than totally pulling out a show, provided of course, that it’s the right show for you. Unfortunately, if you stop exhibiting completely, the ขbuzzข on the show floor says publicly that you must be in financial trouble. This may be completely false, but it’s people’s perceptions that count. They’re the reality they believe. As the old adage states, ขout of sight, out of mind.ข And, since memorability is a key factor associated with exhibiting, if you’re not seen, how can you possibly be remembered!

3. Focus on longterm results

Investing in both marketing and training means that you’re interested and willing to focus on longterm results. Neither is designed to give a ขquick fix,ข rather using them continuously in an organized and planned manner, will produce results. They’re like a dripping faucet, so long as the drops constantly fall into the tub, it will fill up. However, if you maintain a ขturn on, turn offข approach, that is train and market in times of plenty and discontinue when there’s a shortage, then your results are likely to mirror your actions. Look at how you can keep an operational equilibrium to avoid the highs and the lows. Develop a consistent marketing and training strategy.

4. Inspire loyal workers

Often companies are reluctant to invest too much in training staff for fear that once trained, they’ll leave for ขgreener pastures.ข Since there are no guarantees in life, that’s always going to be a risk, but does that mean you shouldn’t develop your people to be the best they can be? Absolutely not! The reasons employees leave may be many. Employees may leave because of frustration or stress. They might feel unappreciated or undervalued. It could be that they believe your company is heading for an iceberg and want to กjump shipก before it sinks. Maybe they feel that their salaries are not in line with the jobs they are performing. Or they could feel that they don’t have enough authority, growth opportunities, or direction in their careers. Training is often the key to help inspire loyalty.

5. Improve performance

Employees are the backbone of your company. Without them, your company cannot stay afloat. The relationship between employees and employers has to be a partnership; if they feel their needs are being ignored, they will leave you. But when both sides work on the same wavelength, share the same goals and ideas, the company will be on the right track for success. What better place than the tradeshow floor to exhibit this mentality. Your exhibit staff represents your internal customerservice team and your company ambassadors. They stand for your entire organization. These people have the awesome responsibility of making or breaking future relationships with attendees, prospects and customers. Their attitude, body language, appearance, and knowledge help to create positive or negative perceptions in the minds of visitors. Make sure that they’re well trained and can do what you expect of them. Training shows that you recognize your team’s importance in the company and look to develop their skills to improve performance.

Exhibiting is a powerful extension of your company’s marketing strategy and your people are the backbone of your company. Eliminating your marketing and training budgets during times of recession is tantamount to profitability suicide. So consider looking at other places to make those cuts!

About The Author

Written by Susan A. Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: ขMeeting & Event Planning for Dummies,ข working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training. Go to http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com to sign up for a free copy of ExhibitSmart Tips of the Week.

This article was posted on May 07, 2004

by Susan Friedmann

11 MONSTROUS Small Business Marketing Mistakes and

11 MONSTROUS Small Business Marketing Mistakes and How To Avoid Them

by: Susan Carter

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 1: Sinking a Fortune Into an Unproven Product

Is your business idea built on market research or a hunch?

Entrepreneurs often fall in love with their products or services before they determine if there’s a real market, and they throw fistfuls of money into the venture. If you, your spouse, your uncle, and your neighbor think you’ve got a winning idea, that’s simply not enough qualified input to run to the bank and drain your savings account!

Avoid this mistake by:

Conducting your detective work (research).

Testing your business idea with the real marketplace.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 2: Believing That “If You Build It, They Will Come”

Do you think you have a product or service that will practically sell itself?

Trust me — you don’t.

There is a misconception among small business owners that, with the right product or service, your customers will simply “find” you when you open your doors for business. Whether you have a physical storefront on a corner lot in the busiest part of downtown, or a graphically pleasing online storefront offering easy access to your hot products and services, your customers will not find you if you do not market to them.

The day you open for business is the day you put on your “marketer’s hat” and never take it off. You must consistently move product, or schedule service time.

To stay in business you must profit.

To profit you must sell.

To sell you must market.

The good news is that, with a marketing strategy, you take the control out of your potential customers’ hands and put it into your own. If you have a product that will “practically sell itself,” then your marketing job will be easy. Just remember that the job must still be done.

Avoid this mistake by:

Defining your niche market and USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that differentiates you from your competition.

Developing a marketing action plan and strategy to reach your niche market with your USP message.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 3: Trying to Reinvent the Wheel

Marketing is an ageold practice with some very basic principles. Yet, I’m sure you’ve read many marketing information products that stress the importance of being innovative and creative with your marketing efforts. It’s easy to get caught up in the innovation process and forget that the REAL focus should be on results.

Avoid this mistake by:

Emulating success instead of trying to create something completely new. Please note that I am not saying, “copy” what others are doing. Look at the basic structure of a tactic, campaign, advertisement, or event and use the same formula as a basis for developing your own tactics.

Realizing great marketing ideas are used over and over again with just the right twist to make them fit a specific business. Focus on results, and choose imitation over innovation to create your own twist on a proven, winning technique.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 4: OverPreparing and Doing Nothing

The fear of failure can be powerful. So powerful that we do everything we can think of to prevent it. Yet, there is a point at which we are so busy preparing, organizing, and researching to prevent failure that we never get around to the actual marketing of the business. Here are two things to remember:

Activity is not productivity.

In order to sell a million of something, you have to sell the first ONE.

Avoid this mistake by:

Doing something! If you believe in your business and have done your detective work, it’s time to dive into the marketing pool. Start small, track results and build from there.

Not being afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are the entry to success. At the very least, a failed promotion means you have SUCCESSFULLY determined what promotion does not work. And, to learn what does NOT work is a valuable tool in getting you closer to discovering what WILL work.

So, go ahead. Fail a little. It will make your eventual successes even sweeter.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 5: Boredom

When I was working for an ad agency many years ago, I had one client that was running an extremely successful ad campaign. After about six months, I received a phone call from the client. He wanted to develop an entirely new campaign. When I asked, “why?” he simply said, “I’m bored with the one we have.”

What?

That client may have had the money to spend on a new campaign due to “boredom” but you and I usually don’t. Yet, I’ve often seen my small business clients switch promotions for the same reason. This is detrimental to your business!

“Losing money” is a reason.

“Boredom” is not.

Avoid this mistake by:

Remembering that, what is old to you, is new to an untapped target market. If you have a promotion that is consistently getting you results, stick with it until results show you its time for change.

Testing new promotions without abandoning the current one. Then track results. Never swap a current promotion with a new one that hasn’t been tested.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 6: Relying on Networking to Generate Sales Leads

Joining the Chamber of Commerce and schmoozing at association meetings can put you in contact with vendors and possible joint venture partners, and will be invaluable exposure for you as a community supporter – but it will rarely generate substantial sales leads.

Everyone else who attends these “meet and greet” assemblies is there to do the same thing you are. You may be able to make some valuable contacts for future ventures and promotions, but oneonone networking is timeconsuming and results are unpredictable.

Avoid this mistake by:

Treating networking opportunities the same as any other marketing tactic. Track results by determining your costs and measuring your payback.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 7: Doing What Your Competitors Do

It’s important to be aware of what your competitors are offering, but do not let it dictate the strategy you use for your own business.

If your competitor wants to be the low price leader, let him. Don’t try to become the “lower price” leader. Chances are this will lead you to financial problems because it will thrust you into an ugly price war.

If your competitor wants to tout low prices, then you focus on value. Bargain hunters don’t necessarily want the lowest price. They want the best VALUE. Make what you have to offer something of value.

Avoid this mistake by:

Finding an unmet need or want of your target market, and fill it to differentiate your products and services from your competitors.

Giving customers a reason to choose you over your competitors. Define your USP, and identify your niche market.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 8: Not Targeting a Specific Market

If you believe your market is “everybody,” you will struggle to attract people who will buy from you. The value of target (niche) marketing is one of the toughest sells I make to my clients. They understand the logic of it, but the “fear of losing a potential customer” gets the best of them.

Avoid this mistake by:

Viewing the practice of niche marketing as inclusive, not exclusive.

Think of your business as part of a person’s support group. It’s logical to say, “Everybody needs a support group so my business should attract everyone.” But, will it? People – your customers – want to go to a support business that understands their specific concerns, needs, and wants. Make sure you ARE that business by targeting a niche market.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 9: Targeting a Market You Can’t Reach or One That Can’t Afford You

Targeting a niche market is the smartest way to market. Yet, targeting a market that is too specific will limit your ability to succeed long term. For example, a market that might be too specific would be: female pilots under the age of 35 who fly ONLY New York to London flights. That’s a pretty narrow market to sustain your business in the long term unless you can capture the ENTIRE market with a product or service that has a high profit point and customers need to use or replace it often.

In that same vein, a market that is begging for the service or product you have but cannot afford it will also be a business impossible to sustain. Never compete for someone’s rent money. Your target market must have the means to buy your products and services.

Avoid this mistake by:

Creating your customer profile to identify characteristics of your potential buyers,

Identifying a niche market,

Examining the long term potential for new and repeat sales.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 10: Focusing On Acquiring New Customers Instead of Promoting to Current or Previous Customers

When you first start a business you have little choice but to focus on gaining new customers. The cost of finding those new customers can be expensive, which is one reason it is so important to really target a specific niche. However, once you’ve made just one sale, you’re ready to start looking at other marketing options.

Wouldn’t you like to:

… slash your marketing costs by half or more?

… reach proven buyers for your service or products?

That little goldmine of proven buyers available to you “on the cheap” is already yours in the form of current and previous customers.

Any respected marketing guru, past or present, online or offline, will tell you that the biggest asset your company has is your customer base.

Avoid this mistake by:

Realizing that, when a sale is finalized, it is the beginning of your relationship with that customer, not the end.

Offering additional products or services to current customers. If you don’t have your own to offer them, then develop a referral, joint venture or product bundling program so you can reap profits from your alreadyinterested (and buying) customers.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 11: Not Systematically Following Up on Leads

The least expensive part of business is making the sale. The most expensive is generating leads – finding the people who are interested in what you have.

Once you find people who express an interest in what you have to offer – whether they buy from you or not – you MUST develop a follow up system that will keep marketing to those interested prospects. A person who has expressed interest in your products and services is far more likely to eventually buy from you than someone who did not respond at all!

Avoid this mistake by:

Curbing the tendency to become obsessed with generating more leads until you have exhausted the ones you already have.

Developing an easy, systematic follow up for leads, designed to convert a “maybe” into a “yes.”

About The Author

Susan Carter helps business owners “do more with less” to operate and market their small and growing businesses. She is the author of How To Make Your Business Run Without You, and SPLASH Marketing for Overworked Small Business Owners. Carter offers FREE book chapters, and distributes free businessbuilding advice in her twicemonthly ezine, SuccessExpress Press, available at http://www.successideas.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on May 05, 2003

by Susan Carter

How To Succeed In Network Marketing (PART 1)

How To Succeed In Network Marketing (PART 1)

by: Kevin Thompson

How to succeed (and fail) in Network Marketing. (PART 1)

When I first got involved with Network Marketing, I was so excited that I didn’t know what to do. I had signed up the same day that I first heard the plan and was going to be rich! I was ready to run outside and holler my program details to anyone in shouting distance. Instead, I decided to make a plan.

My plan was to place an ad in the newspaper, and wait for the phone to ring. Surely Iกd be rich by the end of the week.

It didn’t work…zero calls and out $60! I was running out of ideas.

Next, I called my friends and asked them to come over for a meeting to see a new business idea. Well, they came, they liked the presentation and a couple of them wanted to sign up. The next day was spent trying to contact my upline to get answers to questions for my friends. It was a long process but I tried to sound excited just like I had been told.

In the end my friends lost interest and came up with excuses why they couldn’t join at this time. They also started to avoid my calls and our relations became strained.

Now I was left with no further ideas and not only was I not rich, I had actually lost a few hundred dollars on advertising, sign up, and products that I didn’t want. I didn’t even know if they worked or if they were safe.

Four days into my new venture and I promptly quit.

How embarrassing!

Network Marketing doesn’t work!

Sound familiar?

So whatกs the secret?

How do some do great in Network Marketing while others never get out of the starting blocks?

Itกs not as hard as you may think…but itกs not easy either.

Hereกs the secret formula.

Secret #1. Know your company.

Look around, compare and contrast, don’t just sign up with the first company that promises to make you rich.

Do your due diligence…research the company, ask the tough questions, try to prove it will not work.

Get help, ask questions, put the upline to work for you. Are they willing to help you?

Read everything they have, study the compensation plan, the products, the manufacturers, the upline, and the president.

Find out what your upline will do for you? Are there hidden costs? Will you be provided training? A website? Conference calls? Is your upline available for you? Is he/she doing well? Can they answer all of your questions promptly? Do they operate professionally? Do they pressure you? Do you feel important?

Until you know it all and have no more questions, this is the stage you should remain at. Do not sign up for anything until you complete your research.

You must fully research a company before you can truly believe in it.

Secret #2 Believe!

This one is tricky and the real key to success in Network Marketing.

If you don’t believe in the company, don’t bother…it just won’t work.

Do not confuse belief with hope! Don’t hope it will work, don’t hope the opportunity is real, prove it, believe it.

Believe it by proving it. If you thoroughly know your company (see #1) , did your research and can answer any question asked, then chances are you believe in the company. If you can’t answer the tough questions, and didn’t research every aspect…then you are simply hoping to get lucky. Looking for the get rich quick scheme will lead you to lose your money and waste your time.

Don’t กknow itก….believe it!

Everybody knows that mlm can work. They don’t all believe that it can and will work for them.

If you truly believe in your company and in the opportunity, then you will not have trouble getting people to a meeting. You will not have trouble answering the tough questions, you will not have trouble contacting people or promoting your opportunity.

Look at all the successful network marketers. Do they take it seriously? Can they answer questions about their company? Do they believe in the opportunity they are promoting? Of course they do.

If you know your opportunity inside and out and truly believe that it is a realistic shot at getting out of the rat race, you will be excited. You will not be bothered by a กno thanksก because you know that you will eventually succeed. Your company and opportunity is solid!

The only path to true belief is through your own research. You can’t take somebody elseกs word for it. You must do the work for yourself.

See for yourself, when you truly believe, you are on your way to becoming a successful network marketer!

Kevin Thompson

www.cashinontrim.com

[email protected]

Where everybody wins.

About The Author

Kevin Thompson is a full time internet marketer and mlm leader.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 14, 2004

by Kevin Thompson

10 Essential Steps to Developing a Successful EMa

10 Essential Steps to Developing a Successful EMail Marketing Campaign

by: Fabian Lim

Developing and executing a successful email marketing campaign is becoming more challenging. The SPAM problem isn’t improving and laws are tightening their grip on email marketing.
So, you need to carefully develop your email marketing campaign with great care.
Here are 10 steps you can use to develop a successful email marketing campaign:
Step #1 Define the purpose of your email campaign
Whilst this step may seem pretty obvious, you will be surprised at how many email marketing campaigns are carried out without a clear purpose or goal.
This is especially prevalent with online newsletters or ezines many don’t provide the reader any valuable or useful information.
So, start your email campaign right by first defining a clear purpose or goal.
Step #2 Develop a clear call to action
A call to action is a specific set of instruction(s) contained within the email with the sole purpose of leading the reader to take a specific action.
Hereกs an example of a call to action: กClick here to download your f~ree Special Reportก
With the introduction of the CANSPAM act and advancement in SPAM filter technology, it is difficult enough these days to get your email pass SPAM filters, yet alone opened and finally read.
It would be a sheer waste of time for both your reader and yourself if you didn’t create a clear call to action in your email.
Step #3 Personalize your email message
Use your full name in the From: field rather than your companyกs name.
And use your recipientกs name in the subject line.
This will increase the กopen rateก of your email (The กopen rateก is the percentage of emails opened against emails successfully delivered), because recipients will more likely open and read emails from people they recognize.
Personalization will also reduce the probability of the email being mistaken as SPAM.
Step #4 Develop an interesting subject line
Itกs true.
First impressions DO count in email marketing!
If you have an important email you want your reader to open and read, you need to develop an interesting subject line to woo your readers attention.
The reasonกs really simple.
If your subject line does not appeal to the reader, your email will not get opened and your email campaign will fail miserably.
And remember not exceed 40 characters when developing your subject line.
Step #5 Remind your subscribers where and when they optedin
If you do not email your subscribers very often, say once every fortnight, it would be good to remind them where and when they optedin, right at the top of your email.
In email marketing, the popular axiom, กOut of Sight, Out of Mindก bears much truth.
Don’t expect your subscribers to remember where and when they optedin to receive information from you if you’re not in frequent contact with them.
If they can’t recall when they optedin to your list and you fail remind them don’t be surprised if they scream กSPAMก!
Step #6 Provide an unsubscribe link
In email marketing, you should never ever hold anyone hostage.
Youกd rather settle for happy unsubscribers than angry subscribers, right?
So, provide your readers with an easy and convenient method to unsubscribe.
Theyกll sleep more soundly at night and so will you.
Step # 7 Check and test your email
Youกve spent a great deal of time crafting your email.
So it is a good practice to check through your email to make sure you do not overlook the following: 1) Spell check your email 2) SPAM check your email 3) Test all email links 4) Doublecheck mail merge codes (if any) e.g. $firstname$ vs. {FIRSTNAME} (especially if you’re sending out the same email using different autoresponder software)
Step #8 Use fixedpitch font and proper formatting
Use a fixedpitch font like Courier and perform a hard carriage return at the end of each line at 60 characters to avoid formatting problems.
Step #9 Track all email links
This is an often overlooked step. Tracking your email links will allow you to gain valuable insights and discover what works and what doesn’t.
Use the tracking information to refine your future email marketing campaigns.
Step #10 KISS (Keep It Simple and Short)
Lastly, keep your emails simple and short.
The more email content you create, the higher the chance of triggering the SPAM filters.
If possible, use email marketing to PreSell, not Sell.
Follow these 10 steps in your next email marketing campaign and watch your campaign results skyrocket!
Copyright 2004 Fabian Lim

About The Author

Fabian Lim is a Management & Internet Marketing Consultant. He helps organizations and individuals succeed online. He is also editor and publisher of กBizSuccess Tipsก, a No Hype, No B.S. internet marketing newsletter. Visit his website at http://www.BizSuccessOnline.com

This article was posted on May 12, 2004

by Fabian Lim

What Kind Of MultiLevel Marketer Are You?

What Kind Of MultiLevel Marketer Are You?

by: Gerard Bulger

MultiLevel Marketing or MLM as it is usually referred, is a complex business, not in terms of its concept, which is fairly simple, get somebody to buy a product or service, give the person who sold it a commission or profit and then also give that person a commission each time they get somebody else to start selling that product or service. There, thatกs it, no problem, go away and make a fortune, after all don’t we see ads every day telling us how this or that person made a killing after only selling a product for a couple of weeks. Live on the beach just answering the odd email, new car expensive yacht never wanting for anything. But wait a minute how come most of us are still living the same life, with the same unfulfilled dreams, so there must be a catch.

Some people do get a flash of inspiration and create a product every one on the Internet seems to want and hey presto instant millionaire. As Thomas Edison, one of historyกs greatest inventors said, กGenius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspirationก, and so it is with MLM, to be a success you have to work at it or have a product that does most of the work for you, no matter who does the work effort and energy are required.

So if you want to try and produce an extra income or even go full time working at home using a MultiLevel Marketing product or service you need to understand what type of person you are and what you are looking for. For the benefit of this article Iกm talking only about MLM on the Internet and not about famous MLM companies in your local area or city, although most of those are on the Internet now.

MLM can be split roughly into two groups, those selling a product and those selling a service. Products can include just about everything from vitamins, books, gifts, porn, cars. Those selling services are mostly concerned with selling กhow toก use the Internet, they teach about marketing, producing websites, emails, copy writing etc, all the information that you might need to conduct a business online. The companies selling products tend to teach people how best to sell their product, the information learned on the services group can be applied to many other forms of business on the Internet.

In both cases it needs you to believe in the product you are selling, you undoubtedly at some stage will have to try and explain to somebody the benefit of your product, both in terms of the product itself, as in vitamins or a marketing service. How it will affect their lives, all the options available and eventually the bottom line, what it will cost and how can they recoup those costs.

Where eCommerce is concerned, that it is selling a product from an online shop, such as health goods or gifts, many of your customers may only buy once or if they like the product they may order on a regular basis. But where a service is concerned such as Internet Mentoring, that is teaching people how to use and benefit from the Internet, you need your customers to signup and become กdownlineก members. This may involve having regular contact with your members, to help them understand and progress or if you are new to the Internet yourself, then you need support from your กuplineก to help your members. A good MLM mentoring company will give such support and help. But in both cases of a product or service if you want to go forward and really succeed it will require energy on your part. Before you jump into the MLM bandwagon look at both these areas carefully before deciding which route to take to those riches and lifestyle change. And remember you take out of life what you put into it.

About The Author

Gerard Bulger is an IT Consultant who has been studying the work at home Internet business market for several years, he also writes on selfhelp and the esoteric sciences. He is a sponsor for the Internet Mentoring system Empowerism and can be found at www.empowerism101.com and www.ok101.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 09

by Gerard Bulger

Build Your Business Through Brilliant Branding

Build Your Business Through Brilliant Branding

by: Wendy Maynard

Branding is more than product recognition or a simple logo. It is the overall intellectual and emotional impression people have when they think of your company and its product. It is a strong and consistent message about the value of your business.

A memorable and trustworthy brand reinforces customer loyalty. It helps them remember that your business provides the perfect solution to their problems. Therefore, to succeed in branding you must understand your customers’ needs and issues.

Brand building is an ongoing business strategy that has an easytomeasure cost in time, money, and effort. Its value, on the other hand, is harder to establish because it involves measuring emotional associations that may not immediately translate into revenue. Branding is an essential element of success, however, and it should be reinforced during times when business is booming and when sales are slower. You want customers and potential customers to maintain a positive association with your company and its services.

You control the messages you send out through marketing, advertising, customer service, and your Internet presence. Branding is a combination of everything your company uses to present itself. Here are a few key elements to analyze and enhance in your branding strategy:

Professionally designed marketing materials (logo, stationery, ads, and the like): These tell customers your company is strong, confident, and credible. Your marketing materials should reinforce your companyกs image and positioning over and over and over.

Consistency in advertising: Develop a tagline to succinctly describe your company and use it! Develop a campaign that can provide different messages, but it recognizable as your brand.

Excellent customer service always! Make sure your entire staff positively represents your business image.

A strong and professional website: It must be easy for viewers to navigate and understand. It should let visitors know what your company does and why they should care. Provide compelling, easytounderstand, and interesting content. Make it easy for visitors to make purchases.

Differentiate your brand: Make sure your customers and potential customers understand why you are different from the competition. You want to establish a superior benefit with you target audience that encourages longterm loyalty.

Branding is not what you say about your company and products; itกs about your customersก perception of your company and products. To strengthen your brand, make sure you can answer the following questions: What do you do that is different from anyone else? Why do you matter to your customers? If you can’t answer these questions, you don’t have an effective brand.

ACTION ITEM: Take a good look at your company and product/service strengths. Determine your primary strengths and benefits and then make sure your branding strategy (marketing materials, advertising, sales, customer services, logo, etc.) reinforces this. Simple, eh?

About The Author

Wendy Maynard, your friendly marketing maven, is the owner of Kinesis. Kinesis specializes in marketing, graphic and website design, and business writing. Visit http://www.kinesisinc.com for more articles and free marketing wisdom.

Want to harness the power of kinetic marketing? Sign up for Kinesis Quickies, a free bimonthly marketing enewsletter: http://www.news.kinesisinc.com.

This article was posted on April 15

by Wendy Maynard

Arrgh. . .Those Stupid Internet Marketing Cliches

Arrgh. . .Those Stupid Internet Marketing Cliches Are True!

by: Isaiah Hull

If you have read any internet marketing resource ever created, you have no doubt seen simple, one sentence, potshot solutions to all of your problems: You will only be successful if you think you are successful. You will make money if you work hard. Think outside of the box. Content is king!

. . .If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

How can this possibly help me, you think. These people are just crackpots! They do not actually have any real help to offer mejust general advice, which really has no practical implications for me and for my business.

This is exactly what I thought and this is now what I see newer marketers and affiliates saying. I was always skeptical of general advice. I thought success stories that ended with an exhortation to กwork hardก and กmake plansก and ‘think outside of the boxก were just plain worthless.

What I now know (what I learned as I slowly became more successful) is that this กcommon wisdomกwhich I initially regarded as foolish and too unspecificwas actually the best advice available on the internet and it didn’t even cost me money.

These simple cliches make up the best possible overarching structure of complex business and marketing plans. They arbitrate the decisions of the most successful internet marketers. And when marketers decide to be shortsighted and deny these cliches for quicker returns, they are smackeddown and brought to reality or ruin by the manifestation of these cliches.

As someone who has received many brutal, unrelenting smackdowns from the Internet, I can verify this.

So what is it about these cliches that give them such universal, lasting truth?They ignore hype. They ignore nuance. They don’t marry a fad. And most importantly, they are resultsoriented.

They don’t give you the specifics. They tell you what to focus onbroadlyand allow you to find the best way to nuance, build, and strengthen that simple concept, which ultimately should to be your choice, anyway. Just think: if we all tried to occupy the same niches, optimize for the same keywords, and advertise on the same sites, then none of us would be making money (and this is actually why quite a few of us do not make money).

If you create an ebusiness according to these simple cliches, you will not become wildly successful overnight. You will not find that silver bullet to turn everything around. You will simply create a solid, practical business with linear increases that achieves realistic outcomes and will one daywith enough workbecome that profitpulling empire you have dreamed of since day one.

Thatกs great. But how do I apply these ethereal parcels of กwisdomก to my real ebusiness?Through structural adjustments and longterm planning, the two most important parts of building a successful, longterm internet business.

Unfortunately, too many new internet marketers in their eagerness to see immediate resultsrefuse to plan anything. Instead, they rush forward, purchasing products and services and piles of nonsense that, no matter how good they are, cannot be useful unless implemented within a solid business plan.

They get frustrated. They give up. They fail.

Other internet marketers, weary of trying new plans, constantly pound away on unprofitable ideas that also will never achieve longterm results. They purchase thousands of clicks, impressions, and guaranteed visitors. They never remake the amount they spent on advertising.

They get frustrated. They give up. They fail.

They never sit down and create plans. They never follow up with those plans and revise them as they go. They make no structural adjustments to their businesses to reflect their successes and failures.

They react to everything immediately or just stagnate altogether.

But you are different. You will no longer do this. You know that content really is king. And that if you want to succeed, you really must work hard.

You know that when you make a new product, you had better be thinking outside of the box or else you will be smackeddown by those stupid cliches that make you cringe whenever someone repeats them.

So set goals and try to achieve them. Make your business resultsoriented. Stop hinging your entire internet business career on a single marketing fad. Don’t count your echickens before they hatch!

. . .And most importantly of all, always remember: if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.

Copyright 2004 Isaiah Hull

About The Author

Isaiah Hull teaches ordinary people how to use stepbystep, complete, proven, replicable ebusiness systems to make any amount of money online. One such system is currently free on his website: http://www.workathomerightnow.net.

This article was posted on November 29, 2004

by Isaiah Hull

Avoiding Information Overload

Avoiding Information Overload

by: Karin Peavy

Maybe you have an online business up and running or maybe you’re just thinking about starting one. In any case, you probably spend a fair amount of time surfing the net for affiliate opportunities, resources, software, etc.

Most likely you run into lots of advertisements for ebooks, marketing courses and ezines all promising the chance to learn secrets no one else knows about, all promising your sales will skyrocket.

Those ads used to make my mouth water! So, I found myself constantly purchasing ebooks and subscribing to ezines and ecourses. Do you know what happened? My head was soon swimming from all the advice. After all, there is only so much information one can digest at a time. I allowed myself to slip into information overload.

Iกm not knocking ebooks, ecourses or ezines. After all, thatกs a large part of what I offer. Truth be told, thereกs a lot of wonderful information out there.

However, whether you’re new to the Internet or a seasoned marketer you need to give yourself time to digest concepts BEFORE you can implement them.

Hereกs what I suggest. Find one ebook, one ezine and ecourse you’re interested in. As you read through them, think about the ideas conveyed and make sure you understand all the terminology. Think about how you can carry out the steps outlined and then apply what youกve learned. Do this BEFORE buying another ebook, or subscribing to another ezine or ecourse.

Personally, I find it easier to zero in on a single item but if you can concentrate on more than one publication, go for it.

You might find that the material you selected isn’t meeting your needs. It could be the information is too advanced or maybe not indepth enough. In that case, you could then move on to something else.

You can avoid the confusion that results in information overload by focusing your energies. Gathering, understanding and applying the information you need to build a successful online business will take time. So, be patient with yourself.

About The Author

Karin Peavy has been marketing online for three years. She is owner of http://www.incomewaterway.com, home to some of the webกs best marketing resources. Her goal is to help fellow networkers zero in on exactly whatกs needed for online success.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEBSITE? You may do so as long as you do not alter any portion of the article and include the กAbout the Authorก resource box in its entirety.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 10, 2004

by Karin Peavy

The 9 Critical Steps To Success In Demolishing You

The 9 Critical Steps To Success In Demolishing Your Money Worries For Good!

by: Alain Diza

Articles on กHow to make moneyก come a dimeadozen. How about a fresh, new perspective? Hereกs a rather unique, untapped, revolutionary article about the 9 Simple (Yet Powerful) Steps You can use right now to Demolish Your Money Worries for Good,…for Life,…Forever!

1. Evaluate Your Options

What are Your กIncome Todayก Options and Selection Criteria?

Use the following 5 key evaluation points to determine the ideal กIncome Todayก source for You and Your situation:

1.) Is it Worth Your Time? If you’re trading time for money, you want the highest possible for your effort. 2.) Compatible with Your Skill Levels right now? Does it have a short learning curve, or can you really earnandlearn at the same time? 3.) Provides Instant & Immediate Cashflows? Itกs not a true กIncome Todayก source if it takes longer than a week or two to get cash in hand. 4.) Will it Last Long Enough? This cashflow must carry you through to the second phase of stability, as you build your กIncome for Tomorrowก. 5.) Abundant Supply of easilytargeted Prospects? You must have a continuous supply of easilyidentifiable people that want the Value of your source.

2. Select & Quickly Build an Additional กIncome Todayก Source

Now that youกve learned how to evaluate the various กIncome Todayก options that are available to you, the next step is to simply Choose One and Get Started! This is where youกll build a second income stream.

Here are some powerful, viable ideas to get You started right now:

1.) Home Parties for various products/services (i.e. basket parties, gourmet food, candle parties, lingerie parties, scrapbooking, jewelery, etc), all for instant cashflow with people that are not only attending for fun, but also knowing full well that theyกll be making a purchase! 2.) Get a Second Job (selfsxplanatory). 3.) Flea markets & yard sales to generate immediate cashflow from knickknacks, and strange or odd things (it doesn’t have to be sexy or fancy to generate a great income source!) 4.) Use Ebay like an automated version of the yard sale, completely online. 5.) License a product for immediate profit which already has a proven marketing sysem for a highly indemand product, with a builtin proven track record. 6.) Become an authorized Dealer/Distributor of highlyvalued online information products, such as this กIncome For Lifeก Ebook, which also comes with a builtin proven marketing method, readytouse for immediate cash in hand.

3. Learn NetProfitsOnDemand (NPOD) Knowledge

N.P.O.D. principles are based on กEmotional Direct Response Marketingก. In its most basic form, emotional direct response marketing is making a specific Offer to a qualified group of prospects and then Measuring how many of that group of prospects take Action and respond to that offer. The กActionก could be to request more information (lead generation) or to make a purchase/sale (profit).

4. Apply Your NetProfitsOnDemand (NPOD) Knowledge

This step is simply about applying and putting into action, your newfound N.P.O.D. knowledge from the last step. You can either apply this new knowledge to a brand new business model, or you can apply it to a business that you already have up and running to make it run better, make you more money, grow it more rapidly, and create bigger and bigger กIncome Tomorrowก reserves.

5. Leverage Your NetProfitsOnDemand (NPOD) Knowledge

This is the fastest way youกll ever find to creating a huge spike in your cashlow should you ever need it. Word of Caution: Some are tempted to stop once theyกve reached this level … if You’re smart, you won’t.

Most businesses are doing the same stodgy thing. They spend all their time & money efforts on attracting only the กnewก customer and doing business with them one time. The real money, however, is made on the กadditional purchasesก that the new customer will buy in the future from that business (also known as the LTCV, which weกll talk about in the next step). This is quickly, yet carefully crafted through the mutual Trust and Respect developed in the relationship between the new customer and the business.

6. Maximize the LTCV (LifeTime Customer Value)

What is the LTCV? The Lifetime Value of the Customer can best be explained in the following premise. Once a new customer has made that initial purchase from a business by means of mutual trust & respect, the likelihood of that same customer going back to that business to make more & future purchases is very high, especially when the product/service is of great value, and the customer is beyond satisfied.

There are 3 main categories that will Maximize Your LTCV to its fullest possible potential: 1.) Getting more sales of additional products/services to your already Existing customers. 2.) Increase the size of an average purchase (ex. if the avg. customer spends about $100 every 3 months with you, how do you increase those numbers so now they spend an avg. of $125 or $150 every 3 months instead?) 3.) Systems & methods to attract more firsttime, new customers and prospects to You.

7. Automate Your NetProfitsOnDemand (NPOD)

This is the Most Critical of all 9 Steps. This step either makes or breaks your business!

The Secret to turning your business into a true asset is to set it up so it does the work Without You by Systemizing (automating) it in every way possible. Look at your entire business, fronttoback, and look for every single place in it that is dependent on you, and figure out how to automate that function to remove yourself from the process. By doing this, you are now escaping the trading of your time for money, in a highly powerful and leveraged way, and can now focus all of your efforts on building your กIncome For Lifeก through Diversification.

8. Diversify It!

This is the Secret of the Wealthy: when your money/assets (not your time or knowledge) makes you more money…The Power of Diversification.

The point of this step is to take some of the income you’re making from your first business asset (i.e. your NPOD business model), and turn it into additional assets working for you to generate even more additional income.

Youกll discover that a whole new world opens up to you when youกve got money to work with. Be sure to invest a good portion into diversifying your holdings to other assets you can leverage for increased wealth creation.

Here are some excellent highlyrecommended ideas: investing in real estate, getting into the stock market, investing in mortgages, mutual funds, jointventure direct marketing projects and splitting the profits, etc., or how about creating another successful NPOD business model???

9. Protect It!

The 9th and final step is to simply employ some asset protection strategies (i.e. corporate entity structuring, such as LLCกs, SCorps, CCorps, etc.) so you can sleep soundly at night, every night.

This is a critical piece of your puzzle that youกll want to factor into the process here, but when you get to this stage of the game, be sure to seek professional counsel to guide you, educate you, and advise you on the correct & legal ways to carry this part out.

In a nutshell, what you’re really doing here, is making sure that all of the hard work that youกve done up till now, is completely protected from unfit lawsuits, claims, etc. against you.

On a parting note, no matter what you do, don’t stop your forward momentum…because you now have the basic knowledge and 9 critical steps of what truly guarantees your Income For Life (IFL) with Net Profits On Demand (NPOD)! Put these 9 Steps into action either by yourself, or with some FREE help (see website resource below!). But do it Today! Lifeกs much too short to miss out on!

Copyright 2004 TrustedMarketing.Com LLC

About The Author

Alain Diza, recognized as ‘the Trusted Marketerก, is the CEO of TrustedMarketing.Com LLC, delivering fast, proven directresponse killer marketing strategies to help online & offline business owners explode their traffic, sales, & profits. Get the FREE Ebook that reveals the secrets to his unconventional methods, at: http://www.TheTrustedMarketer.com.

This article was posted on October 17, 2004

by Alain Diza

Guest Articles: Good for Some, Bad for Others

Guest Articles: Good for Some, Bad for Others

by: Bobette Kyle

A recent debate started me thinking about how some marketing strategies can be right for one Web site, but wrong for another depending on the site’s purpose and the underlying reasoning behind the action.
If an action doesn’t directly and logically plug into site goals, then there are likely more profitable ways to spend that time and effort.
Publishing thirdparty articles on a Web site is one of those marketing strategies that can be right for one site, yet wrong for another.
Publishing Guest Articles as a Strategy
Publishing guest articles as one of your Web site marketing strategies can help broaden the amount and quality of content on a site, which in turn can lead to a more solid, stronger reputation. James Edwards of UmbrellaConsultancy, http://www.umbrellaconsultancy.co.uk, explains:
กIMO having quality articles on your site will show that you are…someone who embraces the industry and respects the work of others. Most research scientists post links to other respected scientists’ work. I think it can only be good to have quality material by other people in your field posted on your site.ก
Helping Web Site Visitors
Another situation where adding others’ articles to your site can make strategic sense is when a lot of visitors arrive looking for a solution other than the one you provide on your site. Rather than have them wander off, no closer to an answer to their problem, you can build goodwill and credibility by having articles on the Web site that give them more information.
For example, several types of people arrive at my site through the search engines:

Some are people researching marketing consulting services.
Some are students looking to write a paper or finish an assigned project for school.
Some are looking for marketing software.
Others are looking to buy printed material (ebooks, templates, workbooks, etc.) in order to proceed, stepbystep, on their own.

The only ones that are going to be interested in what I have to sell are those in the last group. Instead of letting the majority of visitors go without a fight, I have articles on the site from handpicked individuals or companies.
Those articles are chosen according to how good the quality is, how well the subject matter fits, and whether I think the information will help site visitors.
Information Sites
If a site (or section of a site) is informational in nature, guest articles can be a viable Web site marketing strategy, for several reasons:

Repeat, purchaserelated visits. A good information library can help potential customers through the decisionmaking process. If they find the information on your site especially helpful, they will be predisposed to coming back later, when they are ready to purchase.
Increased Web site revenue. Publishing others’ work can generate more revenue for your own site. For example, when I publish a thirdparty article, elsewhere on the page I include one or more of the following: AdSense; an advertisement for my own products; a newsletter signup box; or a relevant affiliate link. That way, every path off the page satisfies one of my own goals (direct ad revenue, new newsletter subscriber, or product sales lead).
Increased targeted traffic. Each new page of quality content has the potential to bring in a happy chunk of incremental traffic from the search engines.
Future collaborations or other projects. An indirect benefit from publishing others’ articles is contact and future collaboration with authors. For example, after one author received several new signups to her newsletter through an article published on my site, she contacted me about collaborating on an audio product.

Poor Fit With Marketing Strategies
For some business models, including guest articles in a list of Web site marketing strategies does not make sense. For example, it can be counterproductive to include guest articles on Web sites where the primary goal is to sell.
Service Web Sites
If the goal is to generate direct sales and leads for your own services, it doesn’t make sense to dilute the message and call to action with diversions. Karon Thackston explains:
‘the purpose of my site is to get those in need of copywriting services and SEO copywriting services to contact me in order to do business. People who come to my Marketing Words site, http://www.marketingwords.com, are looking for information about copywriting. They are also looking to hire a copywriter.ก
Therefore, you will find only material written by Karon on her site.
Product Sales Sites
Some sites have a single goal: to sell product. Every page on the site is devoted to product descriptions or copy designed to move a visitor toward a purchase. In these cases, where the predominant call to action is กbuy the product,ก articles could hurt sales by diverting visitor attention away from the products.
Visit your favorite online retail sites, and you are likely to find product descriptions, reviews, photos and other productdriven content but little or no guest articles. Their absence on many ecommerce sites is an illustration of the poor fit of such articles as a marketing strategy for those sites.
Understanding how different techniques support, or sabotage, Web site marketing strategies can be critical to a site’s success. Align your strategies with overall goals, and your business is more likely to flourish.

About The Author

Bobette Kyle draws upon 10+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, Marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network, http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com, and Moderator for the Web Marketing topic at highrankings.com forums.
Copyright 2004 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.

This article was posted on July 21, 2004

by Bobette Kyle

Direct Mail Marketing Now As Easy As Email

Direct Mail Marketing Now As Easy As Email

by: Michael Lemm

Is the United States Postal Service (USPS) a marketing innovator? As it turns out, the kind folks in the blue shorts are in fact making it easy for even the smallest business to duke it out with their biggest competitors by using the USPS new “mailing online (MOL)” direct mail service check it out at http://www.usps.com/mailingonline

With MOL, you can escape the dreary part of direct mail marketing the printing, the stuffing, the stamps, etc. MOL users simply create a document, upload it to the MOL website with their mailing list and credit card information, and press “go”. Within 48 hours, the members of your mailing list are receiving the marketing message in their postal mailboxes.

Speed & Price

The best two parts of the MOL service are the speed and the price. Jobs uploaded early in the business day can be printed and postmarked the following day. The per piece cost is not much more than the price of a single stamp since even MOL jobs sent First Class get a “presorted” USPS discount.

A 4.24 by 6 inch postcard can be printed and mailed First Class for just 24 cents. A one and twothirds page business letter or brochure can be sent “envelope free” (the last third is needed for the address) for just 56 cents per piece. And the minimum number of pieces you can send per job? One. That’s right, while other direct mail houses turn away customers with minimums under several thousand, the USPS takes all customers and gives them all equally great service.

Before MOL you had to create your master document, drop it off at the printer, wait until it was done to figure postage, apply postage and addresses, and drop it off at the post office. This whole process could take you a whole month to finish. And if you’re say mailing from the West Coast… it would be another week before East Coast recipients received their copy. With MOL your document is printed and dropped in the mail from several dozen USPS distribution points across the country…so everyone gets their document at the same time no matter where they live in the US.

As Easy As Typing An Email

MOL users don’t need to know anything more about document creation than how to type and save a document on their hard drive. Novice computer users can use their PC “Notepad” utility and save the document as a text (TXT) file. Most users will probably use Microsoft Word and create a slightly more appealing document. You may already have access to documents through your company that have a more professional appearance. You could also invest in a copy of Microsoft Publisher as it provides many templates to choose from and makes professional document creation a snap.

Content Creation Keep It Simple

The biggest challenge will be in generation of content you believe is worth the price of postage. The following types of content pieces will get your creative juices flowing…. pretty much write themselves….and are worth reading:

Price & Product Postcards Many of you may dream of being able to instantly contact your customers and tell them whenever you come out with a new product or price point. MOL makes that a snap. Simply write a 57 word headline followed by a three sentence description ending with a phone number or web address for more information.

Personal Postcards Remember your customers birthday, anniversary, graduation or other significant occasion. Be sure and include a brief description of some product you want to highlight…even just a web address.

Monthly or Quarterly Newsletter Most of you would look forward to writing a monthly newsletter with the same excitement as having a monthly root canal…..but the customer retention benefits and referral business make it a smart business decision. The easy way to do a one or two page newsletter would be to simply include one or more of the following:

Summarize price and product news…simply repeat what you sent out (or should have sent out) on the postcards.

Summarize industry headlines related to your business…give your views, or if you don’t have a view simply reprint the views of others (with proper attribution of course).

Case Study…write up three paragraphs on a new or existing customer you helped solve a problem…or their experience with one of your products.

Top 10 List….any of you with any experience at all can write a years worth of top 10 lists in a day. How about the top 10 benefits of a particular product? How about the top 10 reasons to (insert topic)? Or how about the top 10 mistakes made by (insert topic)?

Just Ask For Referrals!

If you do nothing else, just send out a monthly postcard asking for referrals. The commitment to a monthly postcard does two separately important things for you. It keeps your contact information in front of your customer and it reminds them on a monthly basis that they have immediate access to a friend in the “ABC” business. And of course the number one reason you don’t get referrals is you don’t ask for referrals. Well, if you’re too shy to ask in person or on the phone, let the postcard do the talking!

If you haven’t attempted direct mail marketing before because you thought it too costly, too time consuming, or too much work….think again. Things have changed in your favor. The time is right for you to give it a try.

About The Author

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications….providing a variety of voice, data, and internet solutions for homes and businesses ( http://www.billzilla.com/mscprez ) Try his Toll Free ISP service for business travelers: http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R7915_TollFreeISP

This article was posted on August 19, 2003

by Michael Lemm