Strategic thinking for business means so much more than "what color will we paint the canteen?"
Did you know that if you took every single job in the USA and shipped them all to China that China would still have a labor surplus?
Watch this video for some powerful insights into the change that is taking place right now…
ideas for e-mail marketing list building © Jeff Miles
As you know, free incentives are an excellent way to increase the size of your e-mail list. This works for both online and offline businesses. It's imperative, of course, that you tell your customers that their addresses will be added to your e-mail list so that they know that up front. You should also emphasize the benefit of signing up for your list by telling them that your e-mails and/or newsletters provide helpful information that helps their business.
Here are some incentive ideas:
1. Free Consultation. This is a great incentive because with a consultation, a customer actually comes in your door and meets with you in person. And if you can meet with a prospect in person, the chances of doing business with them increases greatly. If you are an accountant, dentist, hair stylist, interior decorator, nutritionist, chiropractor, massage therapist, etc. you should consider a free consultation as an incentive.
2. Drawing for a Free Dinner. Put up a fishbowl or box at your business (at the checkout counter is best) and put a stack of forms next to it. Ask people to fill out the form and drop it in the box. Do a weekly drawing to increase the odds that people will win. Mention the winner in you e-newsletter. If your business isn't a restaurant you can still use this incentive. Give away free dinners to area restaurants (use gift certificates). You can use a different restaurant each week to encourage sign ups.
3. Thank You Gifts. Nowadays, customized things like pens, magnetic calendars, post-it notes, writing pads and calculators are inexpensive. Tell people that if they sign up for your list, they get a free gift. Make sure your logo, business name and website address are on the items.
If you go to trade shows, here's an idea for you. Get a laminator (around $150) and a box of 500 laminator pouches (around $25). Also buy some luggage tag loops (500 for $25 or so). When you ask someone to sign up for your mailing list, ask them for two of their business cards. You can laminate one of them for them along with your business card, back to back. For $200 you can collect 500 addresses this way.
4. Contest. Ask the customer to fill out a form on your website and they can enter to win:
* A $500 shopping spree on your website.
* A $150 Gift Card to a local store.
* Dinner for 4 at a popular local restaurant.
* A case of one of your popular products that is worth $200.
* An IPod or digital camera..
Calculate how many e-mail addresses you need in order for this to work for you. For example, if you're giving away a $500 gift certificate and you get 250 entrants, then the cost to you was $2.00 per entrant. If 50 of those entrants make at least a $10 purchase, then you've made your money back plus more, in the future.
Have you used incentives and giveaways? What has worked for you?
Have you ever wondered what the future will look like? I know I have.
Check out this amazing video - it will give you a few insights…
Database Marketing © BusinessDoctorSecrets.com
Database Marketing is a form of direct marketing.
A database contains the name, address and purchase history of a customer, so it is more than just a mailing list. Marketers sometimes purchase these lists from other organizations and import the list into their database.
Even though databases sound very dry, they actually give the business owner the ability to relate to their customer on a more personal level. For instance, they can send e-mail targeted to that person's interest, based on their purchase history. Databases are used by large businesses with huge mailing lists.
When a company is so large it is hard to remain personal, so database marketing helps solve that problem. Everyone is tired of junk mail and spam. Database marketing is supposed to be a way to make the mail more targeted to the consumer so that it is less likely to be thrown in the trash right away.
Street-smart companies spend a lot of time analyzing the data in their databases. They sort each name on the mailing list into sub-categories based on how frequently they purchase, what they purchased, the average dollar amount of their purchases and more. It's possible to predict future customer behavior based on past history.
When you see online sweepstakes forms, contests, offers for a free product and online surveys, these are all part of database marketing. Responses to these items give marketers valuable information to put into the database so it is worth the expense of a sweepstakes or freebie to get this information. Customer service surveys sent through e-mail to current customers, with the offer of a discount, are also common ways of filling the database with valuable data. People like coupons and will often be willing to spend five minutes filling out a survey in exchange for a 25 percent off coupon or something similar.
The systems used to manage these databases are called Customer Relationship Management systems. The data isn't used just for direct marketing purposes. This information gives the customer service department a complete history on the customer when they call. The customer service representative can make special offers to the customer based on this information and can also speak to the person on a more personal level as a result.
The information in the Customer Relationship Management system goes even further. It can be used to develop new products and services. It's easy to track popular or unpopular products with a database. Not only can the company have improved communication with the customer, it can also create new products that meet the specific needs of the customer. It's a win-win because both the company and the customer benefit.
There are laws regarding database marketing, of course. There are programs that help consumers remove their phone number from telemarketer lists. There are laws that regulate the use of credit data and health data.
The person who is most likely to buy from you is the person who has already purchased from you. Acknowledgment of this is at the core of database marketing. Even a very small business can benefit from these principles by keeping an e-mail list of clients and noting their previous purchases.
A couple of good database marketing tools you may want to consider are ACT! and Goldmine.
Viral Marketing 101 © Chris Bloor
Today I'd like to show you five common elements in a viral marketing strategy. Viral marketing is electronic word of mouth and gives a big boost to any marketing plan when it works.
1. Freebies. Everyone loves getting something for free. Free information, free software, free graphics, free e-mail programs, etc. can all attract attention. If it's free, it's easy for a person to forward it to a friend and then the word of mouth starts to spread. You can't give away something useless, however, if you want viral marketing to work for you. Make sure it's useful to the consumer.
2. Easy to transmit. Your marketing message must be easy to transmit. This is why the internet is so useful. You can transmit anything (software, reports, graphics, etc.) very easily. Much easier than telling them they can get your free product by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope.
3. Scalability. You need to prepare in advance for the possibility of your free product becoming very popular. Make sure your servers and mail servers are up to the task. Also make sure your website is well-equipped to handle a surge in traffic. The design and graphics should be up to date and you should have a mailing list in place so that people can sign up.
4. Understand human psychology. As a marketer you need to know what motivates people. In thinking about your product, you should think about what people's fears are and what would motivate people to buy. Tap into basic human emotions such as greed, pride and the desire to be cool. People have a longing to be accepted and to be told what to do.
5. Use social networks. Even with the proliferation of social networking sites, social scientists say that people usually have a close network of 8-12 friends. Their broader network of acquaintances (ranging from store clerks, neighbors, classmates, co-workers and more) can be in the hundreds. It's now easier than ever for people to remain in touch with their acquaintances thanks to Facebook and other similar sites. People are communicating with more people now. For instance, when you drive past a college campus it's unusual to see someone NOT talking on a cell phone. When people are excited about something it's very easy for them to mention it on their Facebook page.
You don't have to work in isolation when you are preparing a viral marketing campaign.
As you can see, there are many ways to kick start viral marketing campaign. So think viral the next time you are coming up with a marketing plan.
Viral Marketing 101 © Jeff Miles
If you have an online business, viral marketing can be a big boon to your net profits. It's the electronic version of free word-of-mouth for your business.
The social networking sites are largely responsible for viral marketing. Also, if a prominent blogger mentions a product or business, that can be all it takes to unleash a round of viral marketing directed at your site.
You don't have to be a large business to benefit. Last summer a woman listed some Pokemon cards for sale on eBay. The cards weren't worth much but she wrote a long, engaging story about how she and her son purchased the cards and what the trip to the store was like. It was such an usual eBay listing that people started bookmarking it on Stumbleupon and other sites.
Eventually it reached the attention of well-known marketer Ed Dale and his blog post about it undoubtedly drive even more traffic to the site. Almost 100,000 hits by the time it was over, if I recall correctly. Before she knew it, local radio stations were calling her and there was even discussion of a book deal.
On a larger scale, Microsoft used viral marketing to create enormous interest in Halo 2 a few years ago, prior to its release. According to a USA Today article, "To build such buzz, Chris DiCesare, director of marketing for Microsoft Game Studios, created a complex marketing scheme that began online with an apparent War of the Worlds-style invasion. A beekeeper's Web site, ilovebees.com, appeared to have been overtaken by the evil force — the Covenant.
"The campaign then involved calling random pay phones, messaging and calling consumers' cell phones and blogs and live chats online. The game tallied first-day sales of $125 million last November.
"Since I couldn't go with the other regular marketing forms, I figured I would take a calculated risk with viral," DiCesare says. "It was a small portion of my overall marketing budget but had the potential to show great return on investment, if it worked."
That is how viral marketing works. This is why it is important to use all the social networking sites. It can be a little bit labor-intensive but the sites are free and are capable of sending an enormous amount of traffic your way.
Research shows that satisfied customers tell, on average, three people about a product or service that they like. A dissatisfied customer tells 11 people about a product that they disliked.
If you have a quality product, look for high-profile bloggers or people with Social Networking Potential (SNP). Create messages that appeal to these people. Think of your customers and what approaches what appeal to them and create interest in your product in a unique way.
Making sure your e-mail marketing is CAN-SPAM Compliant © BusinessDoctorSecrets.com
If you use your e-mail marketing in your business (and you should, after all) then you need an understanding of the CAN-SPAM law.
President George Bush signed the CAN-SPAM act into law in 2003. CAN-SPAM stands for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing. It is a play on the word spam. In 2005 the FTC reported to congress that as a result of CAN-SPAM, the amount of overall spam has finally tapered off a little and the amount of sexually explicit spam has decreased significantly.
Some anti-spam activists say the CAN-SPAM act doesn't go far enough because it does not require marketers to get permission before sending e-mails. Even though the law doesn't require this, you should definitely get permission before sending e-mails to your customers. An opt-in form is a must. Unfortunately, 75 percent of the e-mail that is sent is spam so people are still very put off by spam. If you send unsolicited e-mails the chances are good that the recipient will delete it without reading it.
If you do send unsolicited e-mail, the law permits it, as long as you meet the following criteria:
• Include an unsubscribe link in all e-mails and honor unsubscribe requests within ten days.
• Accurate from lines and subject lines. A physical address also has to be present in the e-mail.
• It can't be sent to a harvested e-mail address.
Even though CAN-SPAM violations are very expensive ($11K penalty per violation per e-mail recipient) don't let CAN-SPAM compliance put you off from e-mail marketing. Autoresponder service providers like Aweber are CAN-SPAM compliant and if you use them you won't have to worry because your e-mails will automatically have all the necessary CAN-SPAM features.
Opt-in e-mail marketing is part of the permission-based marketing trend that Seth Godin described in his popular Permission-Based Marketing book. Someone that signs up for your e-mail list is much easier to market to than someone who receives unsolicited e-mail. People hate spam; people are sick of interruption-based marketing (commercials) so, with the right e-mails, you can effectively reach your customers and prospects and still abide by the CAN-SPAM law.
Make sure your e-mails don't resemble spam in any way. The subject lines should be low-key and you should just send e-mails that are full of offers and discounts and don't have useful content. Make sure you also send e-mails that have helpful information that they can put to immediate use. Don't just talk about your products all the time. Write the e-mails as if you were writing to a good friend. Let the personal side of your company show and tell stories.
If you treat the people on your e-mail list with great respect, both with great content in your e-mails and also with CAN-SPAM compliance, your customers will in turn, reward you with their loyalty. After all, the person the most likely to buy from you is the one who has already bought from you, and you can help make that happen with an autoresponder e-mail series like this.
Using white papers to market your business © Jeff Miles
White papers are authoritative reports and are used for a variety of reasons.
Sometimes governments publish white papers to outline and further define a particular policy or an intent to pass a new law. Businesses use them to educate their customers and sometimes to collect leads and get new prospects. Professors and scientists write them to establish themselves as authorities in their field.
One of the most famous white papers was the Winston Churchill White Paper of 1922 in which he addressed the conflicts in Palestine. Another famous white paper was In Place of Strife, which argued to abolish the Indian Act in Canada and recognize First State as the same as all other minorities in Canada.
White papers have come to be associated more and more with marketing documents issued by businesses. Commercial white papers like these highlight the benefits of a particular product or a particular solution that the company can provide. These white papers are viewed as credible sources of information and are not sales pieces.
When using white papers to market your business you have to be persuasive yet, avoid using sales language. Be careful though, from a marketing perspective you will highlight the positive benefits and not mention or minimize any negative information.
In the opening pages of the white paper you should focus on the reader's needs otherwise they won't keep reading. You have to know what your readers are concerned about and zero in on that. Then you should define the problem that you are solving. After that, give an overview of the history of the problem. Then you can propose the solutions that your product or service will provide. Remember that the tone needs to be professional and should not read like a sales letter.
There are copywriters who specialize in writing white papers.
To ensure that your white paper has all the necessary elements, you should seek out a copywriter. If your business is a high-tech business you can find copywriters who are also technical writers.
A copywriter like this understands the marketing perspective while also understanding the technical material and knows how to present it.
Just because a white paper has to be professional doesn't mean it has to be boring. A white paper copywriter knows how to do this.
Once the white paper is finished you can offer it as a free report to your mailing list to help attract new customers to sign up for your list or as a giveaway to your current customers. You can send it to media outlets and also to colleagues. A white paper is a professional document and helps the image of your company. Your company will come across as one that is serious about research and not at all as a fly by night operation if, you add white papers to your marketing plan. Used correctly, you can even position yourself as a leader in your field through white papers.
(For more information about white papers, read Writing White Papers by Michael A. Stelzner).
11 reasons to use e-mail marketing © Chris Bloor
E-mail marketing is similar to direct mail. You are communicating directly with your customer or prospect, using print.
Direct mail is still very effective, of course. In this article we will look at 11 reasons why you should also use e-mail marketing:
1. It builds rapport with your prospect. Through a series of e-mails your prospect can get to know you and your business.
2. The audience is receptive. Unlike with direct mail, the reader has actually signed up to receive your e-mails, so they are already in a positive frame of mind when they receive your e-mail rather than a suspicious one.
3. Increased repeat business. You can use e-mail marketing to stay in touch with people who are already customers. The easiest person to sell to is someone who has already purchased from you. You can stay in touch with these people through e-mail, by sending newsletters or informative e-mails. This is also a way to offer special discounts, especially during seasons when business is slow.
4. More than half of internet users check their e-mail each day. This means your message will get read quickly.
5. Easy to track. Through the reports that your autoresponder service provides, you can see how many people click on the links in your e-mails. This gives you feedback on what readers thought about your e-mail, even if they don't write to you. You can use these statistics to make changes to the text of your e-mails or in the offers you are sending, if you are not satisfied with your click rates.
6. The content is fresh. A website can be static (unless yours is a Blog like this one) whereas an e-mail has content that is very current.
7. Environmentally-friendly. You aren't adding to the landfill when you send e-mail.
8. You get to know your customer. E-mails provide the opportunity for two-way conversation. In addition to the customers getting to know you, you get to know your customers. Sometimes they will write back to your e-mails and you'll receive valuable feedback.
9. It's instantaneous. An e-mail is sent as soon as you push the button.
10. It's easy to sell via email. Email marketing is responsible for iterally billions and billions of dollars a year in extra sales.
11. It's practically free. The monthly fee you pay your autoresponder service is peanuts. It's practically free compared to the printing and postage costs associated with direct mail.
Unfortunately, spam is still very common and this can be your greatest enemy when you try to send e-mail. Most e-mail programs have spam filters so if there is anything about your message that could be viewed as spam, it'll end up in those spam traps, even if your message is not spam.
You have to take care to make sure that your subject line and content of your message doesn't have spam-type language.
Fortunately, there are autoresponder service providers that have relationships with the major ISPs and can help you avoid these spam traps.
If e-mail marketing isn't already an important part of your marketing plan, give it a try. You'll see that your business will grow as a result.
If email marketing is an important part of your business, or you want to make it one, there are six terms you need to know and understand:
1. Autoresponder. This is the name for e-mails that are automatically sent for you, by your autoresponder service provider. The computer program usually sends these e-mails in a timed sequence. It is an efficient and effective way of remaining in regular communication with both prospects and customers.
2. Bounce Message. This is also known as a deliver status notification message. If an e-mail doesn't arrive at it’s destination you will receive a message from your autoresponder notifying you of this. To cut down on these bounce messages, you should tell people at the time that they sign up for your e-mail list to add your e-mail address in their address book.
3. Click-Through Rate (CTR). This is a very important term because it is the CTR that determines the success of your e-mail campaign. Your autoresponder service provides these statistics for you. The CTR is the number of readers who clicked on your link then divided by the number of e-mails that were sent (impressions). For instance, if you sent 100 e-mails and one person clicked on the link, your CTR was one percent.
4. Opt-in and Double Opt-in. An opt-in is crucial in e-mail marketing. When a person signs up for a bulk e-mail list, like yours, their e-mail account will treat it like spam unless they have given permission for this e-mail to arrive. They give this permission when they sign up with your opt-in form. A double opt-in is when they receive an e-mail asking them to click on a link to confirm that they really did give permission.
This ensures that no one can sign someone else up for a mailing list without their permission. It is very important that you use an opt-in form when building your e-mail list.
5. Open Rate. This tells you how many people opened/viewed your e-mail. This is tracked through a transparent tag in your e-mail that is invisible to your reader. You can use this information to help you determine how successful your campaigns are. If an e-mail had a low open rate it probably means that you need to change your subject line.
A subject line needs to be alluring to the reader and shouldn't resemble a spam subject line in the slightest. Just like a headline is the most important part of the sales letter, the subject line is the most important part of your e-mail and greatly affects your open rate.
6. Spam. Ugh. We all know what that is. It's junk e-mail and forbidden by ISPs. It's crucial that you take measures, such as opt-ins, to ensure that your valid messages don't get caught up in spam traps.
As you choose an autoresponder service, look for all the above terms on their website and make sure they provide opt-ins, reports about CTRs, etc. Then you will be on your way to having successful e-mail marketing campaigns.
If you need help marketing your business online, contact me - chris.bloor @ yahoo.com (remove the spaces)
