Search Results for ‘direct mail’
… to get you blog noticed, read and followed
Starting a blog may be the craze these days, but is it for you? Do you have what it takes to not just start a blog, but stick to it? Do you know what you want to accomplish with your blog? Do you know how you want to position your blog, what you want to write about and more importantly who you want to write for? A blog without an audience is still a blog, but it may not be effective in achieving your overall goals.
If you want to have an audience, you have to market your blog. You have to let people know it exists. Most people don’t write for themselves, they write for a consumer, a fan or someone(s) who has similar interests. Having others read what you write affirms that you have information worth reading. And if you have ever received comments on your blog you know that feeling that someone does take what you have to say seriously. Even when they don’t agree with your stand, they took the time to respond.
If you want to increase your readers and get more feedback from them (comments) you need to create a plan. And there are “little” things you can do every day to make that happen. In fact, I created a list of 15 tips to get your blog on the radar of your target audience and am sharing 3 tips today. That means I have content to span 5 blog posts. Maybe more if I decide to add to it. Here are those 3 tips:
Tip #1 ~ Create good content. Many blog consultants will tell you that content is king and that you need lots of it. I believe what you really need is strategically created informative or entertaining (and best if it’s both) content that interests readers and gets visitors to become followers. Writing posts strictly for the search engines may get you better rankings in the short term, but in the long term could hurt your credibility.
If you are having trouble coming up with content, start with a list of something in your genre or niche. Lists are very popular with readers and often lists get picked up and referred to on other blogs. On my blog WE Magazine for Women, I compile a quarterly list of Women Bloggers to watch. It is by far the highest visited (and commented on) post of all the blog posts we write.
Other types of content that are popular with readers is how-to advice. Teach what you know. On my Redhead Marketing blog I write about how to use weird, zany and unusual holidays to promote your business.
Write a 99 Ways to article. Or 33 steps, or 47 tips. Break those tips down into bite-sized pieces and do a series. For instance, the 99 ways could be broken down into a series of tips over a period of time such as a few days or weeks. Similar to what I am doing here with 15 tips shared over 5 posts.
For more ideas about what to write on your blog read How to Write Great Blog Content by Darren Rouse of Problogger at http://www.problogger.net/how-to-write-great-blog-content/
Tip #2 ~ Many successful bloggers have increased their following and built a loyal base by creating an online community on their blog. You can create a forum, a social network or a simple chat room. In fact, most blog software these days allows or has plug ins that will help you establish your community. For an example of how one person did this, check out JamieOliver.com. Keith Ferazzi (author of Never Eat Alone) has a great mix of website, blog and community to take a look at as well.
If you are not sure if you should include a “community” for your readers, check out “Should Blogs Have a Forum?” at Blog Herald
Tip #3 ~ Create a Directory on Your blog. The Directory can include resources your readers would value and want to visit often. By including the directory link you increase the likelihood readers will return (provided the content is good). You can start compiling your directory content based upon your blog posts.
For instance, if you write a technology blog and offer the latest and greatest gadgets in every post. The gadgets could then be compileed and referred to in a directory of recommended sites that your visitor can refer to often. A directory could work with almost any type of blog. A parenting blog could list parenting resources, magazines, books, experts, educational sources, etc. A social media blogger could create a directory of social media sites, social media tools, resources, plug-ins, experts, etc. You get the idea. One of my favorite blogs BlogHer has a directory of other female bloggers on their blog. It is one of the most popular and respected blogs in the blogosphere.
The point is a directory can increase readers because if the content is good, your readers are likely to refer to the directory on their blogs and in their newsletters and emails. After all, if they find a great resource, they too will want to let their readers know about it. Why not be the “it” they refer their readers to?
April 13th, 2009
So you want to start a direct mail campaign for 2009, but you aren’t sure where to begin or what type of campaign to run? Before you do, you should know your options.
Here are Eleven time-tested direct mail options for you to consider:
Package inserts ~ a package insert can be anything from an informational brochure to a postcard to a little business card size document. The purpose of the insert is to get the recipient to take an action such as go to a website, call the company for more information, send in a warranty card, redeem an incentive such as a coupon and gift certificate.
Co-op Mailings ~ A form of trade sales promotion where a marketer offers non-competing companies the opportunity to share the cost of mailing to a particular database or group of customers and prospects.
Postcards ~ an economical way to promote a business or particular product or service less expensively than mailing a letter. Postcards can be very effective because there is no envelope to open and the prospect can see the offer at a glance .
Flyers ~An offer detailed on a single sheet of paper.
Card Decks ~ a package of individual cards wrapped together and mailed to prospects. These decks vary in quantity, and can contain 60 cards or more, each competing for the prospect’s attention.
Sampling Programs ~ A method of encouraging trying products free-of-charge or very inexpensively.
Statement Stuffers ~ Marketing brochure in a customer’s billing or account statement containing an offer or brief sales message along with a call to action mechanism such as a short-form, postcard or toll-free telephone number. Statement stuffers are an inexpensive way to market additional products and special offers to current customers.
Catalogues ~ A publication, such as a book or pamphlet, containing a list or display of products, services and offerings to a specific group of prospects and customers.
Door Hangers ~ door hanger marketing is where you create a small flier (often in mixed in with a few other direct mail pieces that are included in a plastic bag to be hung on the door knobs of prospects. This form of direct mail is often seen in residential areas however has also been effective in large office buildings (provided leaving them is allowed).
Webserts ~ A websert is a text or graphic link that appears after an online purchase is made. Webserts are more cost-efficient, offer more accurate source tracking, and can be dynamically served more easily.
Classifieds ~ Print advertising that is limited to certain classes of goods and services, and usually limited in size and content. Classified ads can appear in print media such as newspapers, magazines and catalogs as well as in digital media such as ezines, online magazines and websites.
In my next post I will be sharing 8 tips to run a successful direct mail campaign.
For a complete list of marketing definitions, visit: Speaking With Spirit and download your FREE copy of the Self-Marketing Dictionary TODAY!
January 8th, 2009
November 29th is Electronic Greetings Day –
Post Free Funny, Edgy Video e-Cards On Social Networking Sites & Blogs with RattleBox. Or send a traditional ecard for free from several sites including Smilebox.com DoozyCards.com or American Greetings.
Like the real thing but don’t have time to go to the post office or local card store? You can sign up online for SendOutCards and send a REAL CARD that gets mailed to your recipient the very next day! SendOutCards are a wonderful stay-in-touch method to let people know just how much you care. You know that feeling you get when you go to the mailbox and in between all the direct mail soliticitations, and bills is a beautiful hand written greeting card? You see that and forget about all the other mail. All you want to do is tear that envelop open to see what’s inside. Real cards are no longer a lost art. Not since SendOutCards came on the scene.
Try it out! See what I mean. Way better than Electronic Greetings because people can keep these cards, post them on their bulletin board or refrigerator.
And if you like what you see, you can sign up with SendOutCards www.SendOutCards.com/Heidi as a distributor. What a wonderful way to add you’re your monthly income stream.
Source: Your Marketing Calendar 2008
November 29th, 2008
According to Urban Dictionary, shopportunity is a golden opportunity for shopping. When the opportunity for shopping arises at the same time as you find a parking space in front of the store and you have plenty of cash.
Check out the new book Shopportunity: How to be a Retail Revolutionary by Kate Newlin.
Here’s an excerpt from the back cover:
“Shopportunity: Instead of listening to customers and creating the goods and services they ask for, manufcturers and retailers have completely blundered. Customers shop in short staffed stores and buy inferior quality goods. Clerks are constantly overworked and underpaid, if not outright exploited. Shopping used to be fun.
In Shopportunity, Newlin looks behind the aisles of our best known retailers to demonstrate how what we find on the shelf falls far short of the promise of a brand. ”
Get a free download excerpt of Shopportunity at http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/eBookDetails.asp?BookID=59453
November 16th, 2008
Excerpt from Promoting Your Business on the WEB Special Report.
Cross Promote – Share costs and prospect lists with a complementary, non-competing business. For instance, if you are a realtor, you could share the cost of a direct-mail postcard with a mortgage or title company. Or put links to a complementary business site on your Web site, and ask the other business to do the same. For example, if you send out brochures, both partners could include a brochure and/or business card of the other’s business. Nothing is more powerful that a recommendation from a trusted source and if your cross-promotion partner has customers or clients, chances are they trust her or him and will listen when a suggestion to use another company is presented. When you cross-promote with another business you have the opportunity to reach a whole new circle of potential customers. Some of the companies you could consider include to collaborate with a well-known company, competitors (not in your area, but in the same industry that serve a different market) and nonprofits you support.
Cross promoting or partnering reduces a small business marketing and promotion costs and also opens the door to implement techniques you could not previously consider because of the expense of doing so. Read It Takes Two – How to Cultivate Profitable, Strategic Alliances To Increase Your Market Share for more tips on how to find Cross-promotion partners to serve your target niche.
Want more ideas to promote your business on the WEB? Get a FREE copy of the 8-page Special Report Promoting Your Business on the WEB TODAY!
November 13th, 2008
November 29th is Electronic Greetings Day ~
Post Free Funny, Edgy Video e-Cards On Social Networking Sites & Blogs with RattleBox www.rattlebox.com. Or send a traditional ecard for free from several sites including Smilebox.com DoozyCards.com or American Greetings.
My personal favorite are Jackie Lawson cards. These electronic greeting cards are not free but they are innexpensive (and worth it).
Like the real thing but don’t have time to go to the post office or local card store? You can sign up online for SendOutCards and send a REAL CARD that gets mailed to your recipient the very next day! SendOutCards are a wonderful stay-in-touch method to let people know just how much you care. You know that feeling you get when you go to the mailbox and in between all the direct mail soliticitations, and bills is a beautiful hand written greeting card? You see that and forget about all the other mail. All you want to do is tear that envelop open to see what’s inside. Real cards are no longer a lost art. Not since SendOutCards came on the scene. Try it out! See what I mean. Way better than Electronic Greetings because people can keep these cards, post them on their bulletin board or refrigerator.
And if you like what you see, you can sign up with SendOutCards www.SendOutCards.com/Heidi as a distributor. What a wonderful way to add you’re your monthly income stream.
November 2nd, 2008
What if there was a system that could help you develop a continuous stream of solid referrals and all you had to do is set it up one time, add contacts as you receive them and few clicks of the mouse start your referral building process?
Continue Reading October 30th, 2008
On Thursday Oct 30 12:00 Eastern Diane Walker, Senior Executive with SendOutCards will be hosting a webinar on how to use the SendOutCards system to create residual income as well as how stay in touch with clients and customers – high touch marketing in a high tech world.
In addition to this event, on Friday November 7th at 11 AM Eastern you are also invited to attend, ”How to Create a Follow-up System to Save You Time AND Grow Your Business” featuring Heidi Caswell and Heidi Richards Mooney (The Follow-Up Divas).
In this teleseminar, the Follow-Up Divas will talk about the importance of staying in touch with your clients, and how to effectively stay in touch with them without spending a lot of money. They will talk about a variety of stay in touch mechanisms such as email, telephone and greeting/postcard and other direct marketing ideas. You will learn new strategies for following up with leads that can save you time and money and create loyal customers and clients for life.
Note: everyone who attends both events will receive a special gift in the mail!
To RSVP, email heidi@successandthensome.com with SOC Webinar in the subject line to receive webinar links and info to attend the teleseminar.
October 28th, 2008
“Staying connected to email has become a lifestyle more than a choice these days… take back your right to choose and free yourself to do other important tasks.” Heidi Richards
Yesterday I wrote about being addicted to your inbox. You know you are addicted if you have to check your e-mail several times during the day and it’s not for business!Did you know you can set your e-mail to check itself?
I just found out that with many email programs including Outlook Express you can set your email program to check at whatever interval you set it for – you can check every five minutes, every 30 mintues, every hour or twice a day (I highly recommend the latter – which is much more efficient – and you will be amazed at how much more you can accomplish in a days time.
Here’s how you do it with Outlook Express: open IE and go to Tools, Options and choose the General tab. Look for the Send/Receive Messages section.
Choose “Check for new messages every (blank) minutes.” Check that box and then choose how often you want your e-mail to be checked. Also, directly right below that option, there is an option that if your computer isn’t connected to the Internet at the selected time you chose to check email, you may choose to have your computer not connect you, connect only when working offline or connect even when you are working offline.
If you use a program other than Outlook Express to manage your email, do a little research to find out if this option is available to you.
This is a more efficient way to stay “connected” to your inbox without being dependent on it.
Wishing you a great day… and more!
September 23rd, 2008
or… How to Drum up Business by Knocking on Doors!
I love the idea of Door to Door Marketing and in fact years ago when I first started in business “hired” my kids to do this for me. I also hired teenagers in the summer to put door hangers out there in neighborhoods. It really was a great way for customers to find out about my products and
services.
According to the Associated Press “Others factors besides the do-not-call list have prompted companies to put sales staff back on the street. Unsolicited e-mail annoys most computer users, and improved spam-blockers make the tactic less effective. And it’s hard to persuade customers tovisit a company’s Web site.”
And a spokesperson for the Direct Selling Association said “I think companies are looking for new distribution channels for their products. Door-To-Door selling has traditionally been undervalued by Wall Street, but many realize its strength. It’s a niche market, but $28.7 billion in
sales last year make it nothing to scoff at.”
After a few years of doing the marketing ‘in-house’ I hired a company that sold the space in the form of a flyer insert to local businesses and then would go around and hang these on doors in specified neighborhoods. Prior to every major holiday I would do a door-to-door campaign to raise awareness and more customers. The main reason I stopped is that it got costly and didn’t really have the same return as when we hired “kids” to do the hangings. It may also have had to do with other companies sharing the space. People might look at that as junk mail and yet, when a company does it as a single ad, it looks like it is more effective.
So guess what? I am going to do it again! On my own… with no other companies in the hanger. and I might even knock on a few doors and introduce myself this time.
I am going to create a gift certificate that can be either used toward a purchase or can be redeemed for something of value on the certificate.
So, what kind of Door-to-Door Marketing campaign could you come up with?
Need help marketing your small business? Redhead Marketing Can Help! Contact heidi (at) redheadmarketingblog.com for a quote.
August 23rd, 2008
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