A newsletter can be a wonderful, economical way to communicate with prospects, customers, employees or distributors. Just follow these ten easy steps for newsletter success. 1) Define Your Audience -- Who are you publishing for? Clients (customers) - present, past and prospective? Employees? Your audience will define your content. 2) Set Objectives -- Create a solid foundation for your newsletter by writing down what you want to achieve. 3) Plan Content -- What interests your audience? Build your newsletter around whatever that is....

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According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (the trade association for trade shows), industry spends more than $60 billion annually on trade show participation, more than the expenditures for magazines, radio and outdoor billboards combined! And, trade shows are more cost-effective than direct selling when it comes to reaching new customers. But, despite the abundance of opportunities that trade shows provide, many executives complain that their trade show expenditures offer little return for the investment of money and time....

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Is your business growing, or are you on a plateau in need of a boost to move up? I know that I always tell you it is best to have a positioning statement and a plan. But sometimes, you just need something to get you off square one. Below is my list of 20 marketing vitamins that you should choose from daily over the next month. 1. Consider starting a monthly e-newsletter. They are a great way to communicate with existing customers, and to remind them of other services you provide. 2. Call a customer at random just to thank him for the business he has given you....

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Gain the exposure you need to succeed with these ten tips: 1. Present yourself as a specialist and/or an authority in your field. Identify where you excel and use your skills, core competencies, knowledge and experience to become a valuable resource. 2. Be clear on the services you provide, the target markets you serve and the kind of results you can deliver. Create an effective oral introductory message and printed business card that clearly provides this information. 3. Demonstrate confidence....

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Organizations often get stuck in neutral when it comes to marketing. Sometimes, you just need a kickstart. Here are 14 ideas to push you into high gear. 1. Do what you say you're going to do and do it on time. If you do nothing else, this is the one that can make a real difference in your business and in your life. 2. Hold a monthly session with employees or associates to discuss marketing strategy and to solicit marketing ideas. Ask employees about what is happening in the field. Your customers often have the best new product and service ideas....

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Readers spend only a few seconds deciding the fate of your direct mail fundraising appeals. Either they open them on the spot, set them aside for later, or chuck them in the waste paper basket. Here are some creative ways to tease your donors into opening your envelopes. Hint at the contents A #10 envelope from Covenant House is covered in retro 1960s flowers, with the headline, "A Special Gift for you inside . . ." Demonstrate exclusivity A 6 x 9 envelope for Nature Conservancy shows wetlands, forests and coastlines and bears this teaser headline: "...

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Every direct mail package you drop in the mail should contain an offer. The offer is the incentive or reward that motivates prospects to respond to your mailing, either with an order or with a request for more information. "Subscribe to Hook, Line and Sinker today and save 45% off the newsstand price" is an example of an offer. To be effective, your offers must pass eight tests. Test 1. Is your offer specific? "Visit our website for more information" is not an offer. Your offer must be specific and tangible....

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Are your marketing messages to Realtors® guilty of these promises? - To render great customer service? - To close loans on time? - To offer the best competitive rates? - To help them make more money? - To deliver referrals or free leads? - To co-market services? - To qualify all buyers through a diversity of programs? Guess what? Realtors® have heard this before. So much so, that they've become immune to listening. Your message is competing with other similar messages and getting lost in the noise....

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Is your marketing plan dull, flat, and downright boring? Is it lacking the zest and appeal which can penetrate the consciousness of your buyers? If so, you may be driving away folks who could easily buy your products or services. If so, these ten signs from The 90 Day Marketing Marathon Blunders from A to Z: B is for Boring will support you in raising your awareness of what drives folks away and tips on how you can create a message which will catch fire in the market place. 1. It's all about you....

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Pricing is one of the four major components of marketing. Psychological pricing forms one of the key elements of demand pricing wherein the consumer demand is the main focus. The price and quality relationship that governs the central theme of the consumer market relationship is surrounded by uncertainty and gives the consumer the perception that higher the price, better the quality. The science of pricing is an art in itself. Rounding off the figures may be good for basic math but never in business....

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A lot of advertising and mailings promise to reveal the secrets of something. Most of this kind of mailings deal with search engine optimization. They promise to know how to achieve a high ranking at Google. They tell the readers that they have a special access to Google or that they have cracked the algorithm how Google ranks websites. Secrets are always exciting! People are attracted easily by secrets. There is something special with them. Cracking the secrets of the Google algorithm seems to be a mystery like finding the Holy Grail....

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Recently, I stopped by a new car wash in my town and while preparing to insert my six quarters into the machine to start the cleaning process, the owner came over to me and thanked me for stopping in. He also handed me a pen that had the name and address of the car wash imprinted on it. The fact that the owner was going around passing out free promotional pens to patrons impressed me. I stop at car washes all the time and never get free stuff. In fact, if the cleaning wand removes most of the dirt and the spot-free rinse is actually spot-free, Im pretty happy....

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I could tell you that the average temperature in the world is 60 degrees Fahrenheit. But that fact wouldn't keep you from getting sunstroke in Cairo. Or frostbite in Tuktoyaktuk. Averages tell you only so much. Direct mail results only tell you part of what you need to know. They tell you the percentage of people on your list who responded. That's it. They don't tell you if you broke even. If you made a profit. Or if the sales people who followed up on the leads closed any sales. Response rates are misleading if you read them incorrectly....

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