Your prospects - the people who are still spending money - see thousands of advertising messages every single day. I read somewhere that we see more now in a week than our great-grandparents saw in a lifetime. And I don't doubt it - Just the junk e-mail puts a hundred or so in front of most of us every day. Add the newspaper, TV, radio, direct postal mail, Billboards - and it's astounding.
So... how can you stand out from all this noise?
I think you need to start with the customers you have - Give them a good incentive to give you their email addresses, and then mail to them regularly. But not just with an ad.
I believe you need to send them something interesting enough that they might pass it on to friends. Then include a weekly special that's for your email list only. In other words, let them feel special, and let them invite their friends to feel special too.
What's interesting enough to read regularly, and send on? Articles about your field of expertise are one good idea. But you could also send a weekly quote, a good joke, or even a puzzle. If you get alerts about viruses, send those as a courtesy. If there's a special event coming up in your community you could give updates about it. If you're supporting a local charity you could talk about it.
Just make sure you:
1) Send something in addition to a sales message.
2) Include a call to action in the form of something special for your customer
They call it viral marketing, and if you do it correctly, you can begin to reach more and more people who are actually interested in what you offer - and spend a fraction of what it would cost to run ads in newspapers and magazines.
If you offer a "once in a while service," such as real estate sales - use this method to maintain top of mind awareness - and perhaps even to bring your customers super special (exclusively from you) deals from other businesses. (You could even sell ad space in your email - but do be sure you believe in the other person's product or service before you do!)
Spend less - benefit more! And if you can't figure out how to write those letters, write me! Copywriting to add to your income is what I do.
Yours for prosperity,
Marte
Marte Cliff
writer@marte-cliff.com
Showing posts with label email marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label email marketing. Show all posts
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Proofreading - one of the most vital steps in marketing
Ever get a marketing letter from someone and change your opinion about them and their business? I try not to let that happen if it's a person I know - and know that they're good at what they do - but when I hear from a stranger, I can't help but form an opinion based on their written words.
Sometimes a letter can do more harm than good when it shines a negative light on the expertise of the sender.
It's not just the composition that counts. It's true that a letter that fails to tell the reader "what's in it for me" will not get the hoped for results. But a letter filled with mis-used words, misspellings, and plain old typos can portray that person or business in a really bad light. As in sloppy, or unintelligent.
One accountant wrote that she had lost business because the letters she sent out made her look as if she paid no attention to details. Not a good trait for an accountant!
The cure is proofreading - not just once, but 2 or 3 times. And not immediately after you finish writing. At that time you still know what it is supposed to say - even if it says something else. It's easy to overlook a missing word or a repeated word or a spot where it says "teh" instead of "the." (Yep, you guessed it - that one is one of my big problems. Even copywriters need proofreaders.)
Sometimes it's helpful to use tricks on yourself. Read your work aloud to catch missing or doubled words, or read it backwards to catch misspelled words. The best method of all is to get someone else to read it aloud to you.
When you go to the trouble to contact your clients and prospects, make sure that your letter makes a favorable impression - proofread before you send!
Oh - and that goes for email, too. It's such an easy place to make a silly goof!
Sometimes a letter can do more harm than good when it shines a negative light on the expertise of the sender.
It's not just the composition that counts. It's true that a letter that fails to tell the reader "what's in it for me" will not get the hoped for results. But a letter filled with mis-used words, misspellings, and plain old typos can portray that person or business in a really bad light. As in sloppy, or unintelligent.
One accountant wrote that she had lost business because the letters she sent out made her look as if she paid no attention to details. Not a good trait for an accountant!
The cure is proofreading - not just once, but 2 or 3 times. And not immediately after you finish writing. At that time you still know what it is supposed to say - even if it says something else. It's easy to overlook a missing word or a repeated word or a spot where it says "teh" instead of "the." (Yep, you guessed it - that one is one of my big problems. Even copywriters need proofreaders.)
Sometimes it's helpful to use tricks on yourself. Read your work aloud to catch missing or doubled words, or read it backwards to catch misspelled words. The best method of all is to get someone else to read it aloud to you.
When you go to the trouble to contact your clients and prospects, make sure that your letter makes a favorable impression - proofread before you send!
Oh - and that goes for email, too. It's such an easy place to make a silly goof!
Thursday, June 07, 2007
E-mail marketing: the subject line puzzle
How much time do you spend each day hitting the delete button? And how many tenths of a second does it take you to decide to click?
I'm personally getting pretty fast -- hope I don't accidentally delete something I want. But sometimes the titles, or the sender names, are so silly that I stop and stare a second. For instance, I've been getting mail from someone named Ron Representive. How clever.
Meanwhile, I read a good tip this week, so have to share. The writer was discussing the difficulty of getting email opened, and he had a good idea. Put your main subject first, and some follow up words after a colon - like I just did with this title
It makes sense, especially if you're talking about 10 ways to do something or promoting a class or maybe sending an invitation to an industry event. For instance. Instead of writing
"10 ways to write a better business letter", you could say "Business letters: 10 ways to improve yours."
That method might help your open rate, and might alert quick fingered folks like me to stop and look just an instant longer.
The other method I've read, which I think is really good if you're writing to folks who know you, is to put your name or your company name in brackets at the beginning. Such as [Marte Cliff]
Not much help though, if you're writing to strangers.
Whatever we do, its definitely time to identify who we are and what we're offering - or at least find a way to differentiate our messages from the ton of pure junk that floods our in boxes.
I'm hoping that all those people who write the cute, tricky subject lines will become so discouraged by their results that they'll fade into the sunset. You know, the ones that say things like "I got your message" when it's from someone you've never heard of. But, I expect when they do, others will take their places.
If you have any great tips to share on this subject -- or any other -- please write!
Yours for success,
Marte
P.S. If you want some tips on writing a better business letter, join my marketing ezine. Just send a blank email.
I'm personally getting pretty fast -- hope I don't accidentally delete something I want. But sometimes the titles, or the sender names, are so silly that I stop and stare a second. For instance, I've been getting mail from someone named Ron Representive. How clever.
Meanwhile, I read a good tip this week, so have to share. The writer was discussing the difficulty of getting email opened, and he had a good idea. Put your main subject first, and some follow up words after a colon - like I just did with this title
It makes sense, especially if you're talking about 10 ways to do something or promoting a class or maybe sending an invitation to an industry event. For instance. Instead of writing
"10 ways to write a better business letter", you could say "Business letters: 10 ways to improve yours."
That method might help your open rate, and might alert quick fingered folks like me to stop and look just an instant longer.
The other method I've read, which I think is really good if you're writing to folks who know you, is to put your name or your company name in brackets at the beginning. Such as [Marte Cliff]
Not much help though, if you're writing to strangers.
Whatever we do, its definitely time to identify who we are and what we're offering - or at least find a way to differentiate our messages from the ton of pure junk that floods our in boxes.
I'm hoping that all those people who write the cute, tricky subject lines will become so discouraged by their results that they'll fade into the sunset. You know, the ones that say things like "I got your message" when it's from someone you've never heard of. But, I expect when they do, others will take their places.
If you have any great tips to share on this subject -- or any other -- please write!
Yours for success,
Marte
P.S. If you want some tips on writing a better business letter, join my marketing ezine. Just send a blank email.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Working from a home office...
Do you work from a home office? Then you know just how difficult it can be some days.
For some reason, people think that when you work at home, you aren't really working. Sometimes even your beloved family falls into that mindset. Take today, for instance.
My husband, who is retired, is getting ready to go on the annual fishing trip to Montana. That means about 2 weeks of planning and packing in order to be away for 4 whole days. He thinks he's not bothering me with any of it... but somehow, having someone running in and out of the house all day looking for things really is an interruption.
About the time I've figured out exactly the right words to help promote a client's business, I hear footsteps overhead and the sound of someone rummaging around in the cupboards. The words fly out of my head and I go upstairs to help.
Then a very good friend called, asking me to go on an outing with her on Friday. She's retired too, so forgets that I need to keep fingers to the keyboard if I plan to pay the bills.
And then there's the neighbors. This afternoon our neighbor lady, also retired, came by to give me some plants for the garden. It was very thoughtful of her, but...
So, once again I've decided to quit fighting it. After the house quiets down tonight and my husband is fast asleep, I'll be able to concentrate and I'll get back to work. Then all I'll have to worry about is the cat jumping into my lap at an inopportune moment -- and the dogs reminding me that it really is time to go outside.
It's a very good thing that I am, by nature, a night owl.
How about you? If you work at home, have you trained family and friends to let you work during "working hours" or do you, like me, burn the midnight oil? Have you found great ways to cope with the "work from home" situation? If so, share...
OK, off to do stuff around the house until things quiet down...
Marte
P.S. If you've been sweating over how to get your emails read, go grab some great free information at emailpromosexposed.com
And of course, if you want some help with those emails, your web copy, a letter you need to mail, your personal brochure, or any other marketing piece, get in touch. Visit me at www.marte-cliff.com or email: marte@copybymarte.com
For some reason, people think that when you work at home, you aren't really working. Sometimes even your beloved family falls into that mindset. Take today, for instance.
My husband, who is retired, is getting ready to go on the annual fishing trip to Montana. That means about 2 weeks of planning and packing in order to be away for 4 whole days. He thinks he's not bothering me with any of it... but somehow, having someone running in and out of the house all day looking for things really is an interruption.
About the time I've figured out exactly the right words to help promote a client's business, I hear footsteps overhead and the sound of someone rummaging around in the cupboards. The words fly out of my head and I go upstairs to help.
Then a very good friend called, asking me to go on an outing with her on Friday. She's retired too, so forgets that I need to keep fingers to the keyboard if I plan to pay the bills.
And then there's the neighbors. This afternoon our neighbor lady, also retired, came by to give me some plants for the garden. It was very thoughtful of her, but...
So, once again I've decided to quit fighting it. After the house quiets down tonight and my husband is fast asleep, I'll be able to concentrate and I'll get back to work. Then all I'll have to worry about is the cat jumping into my lap at an inopportune moment -- and the dogs reminding me that it really is time to go outside.
It's a very good thing that I am, by nature, a night owl.
How about you? If you work at home, have you trained family and friends to let you work during "working hours" or do you, like me, burn the midnight oil? Have you found great ways to cope with the "work from home" situation? If so, share...
OK, off to do stuff around the house until things quiet down...
Marte
P.S. If you've been sweating over how to get your emails read, go grab some great free information at emailpromosexposed.com
And of course, if you want some help with those emails, your web copy, a letter you need to mail, your personal brochure, or any other marketing piece, get in touch. Visit me at www.marte-cliff.com or email: marte@copybymarte.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
