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Marketing Information
Fundraising Letters Are Easier To Write With AIDA
Learn a lesson from professional direct mail copywriters. They follow a time-tested format in their sales letters, a format that you can also follow when writing direct mail fundraising letters for your non-for-profit organization.
2 Little Words That Work Marketing Magic
In his classic best-seller, "How To Win Friends And Influence People," Dale Carnegie's second chapter is entitled The Big Secret of Dealing With People. The secret is summed up in this principle: Give honest and sincere appreciation.
The Testimonial Writing Machine
Almost every small business marketer knows that they should gather testimonials to use in their marketing materials.The problem though is that getting your clients, the ones who know your greatness, to sit down with a blank sheet of paper and crank out a glowing testimonial can be a bit of a chore.
Nine Must-Do Positioning Steps
Every professional or consultant knows that clients typically hire people they know, like and trust. But how do you build trust with strangers?As Ralph Waldo Emerson's 150-year-old essay titled "Compensation" teaches, first you must give if you want to receive.
Has the Internet Killed Off the Direct Mail Baron?
Over the past 30 years, direct mail has been responsible for generating vast amounts of money for businesses and individuals alike, but is it still an effective means of marketing?The short answer, in the short term, is yes. But the Internet has without doubt diluted the power of pen on paper and will continue to do so, until only a few die-hard individuals and the glossy brochure brigade, are left to pick the bones of an industry once plump and ripe for plucking and plundering.
Lessons Learned at the Harvard Business School
"If God wanted to create a perfect punishment for a high achiever, then He would have that person manage a professional service firm," says Professor John Gabarro of the Harvard Business School.Gabarro is on the faculty of the Leading Professional Service Firms program, an intensive, one-week executive education program taught twice a year at the Harvard Business School.
Provacative Research Works
If you want to double your business, then you need to get inside your client's head through proprietary research and provocative results.By conducting proprietary research, you obtain special information that prospective clients can't find elsewhere.
Down To The Wire
When you want to win and woo new clients with national publicity -- and don't have an enormous budget to distribute your message -- turn to the news wires. But first, be sure you're telling a story that's worth printing.
21 Must-Have Web Site Elements
Your Web site should be the cornerstone of your client seduction efforts. The site is your silent salesperson -- the one with whom prospective clients visit before granting you permission to meet with them.
Gift Cards - Is It Time to Use Them for My Business?
You're probably thinking, here we go again somebody is trying to sell me something that I really don't need. I'm sure it will benefit them, but will it benefit me? Firstly let me say that my company, Solutions Ink does sell gift and loyalty cards.
The Mighty Marketing Brochure
"Brochure" is French, and it comes from brocher, meaning to stitch. According to The American Heritage Dictionary, a brochure is "a small booklet or pamphlet, often containing promotional material or product information.
A Pass / Fail Test for Any New Market
If you are considering entering a new target market, with an
existing or new product or service, it makes sense to first
systematically analyze the market in question via some
fundamental market evaluation criteria. It is not only
rational but most cost effective to determine if a new market
pursuit makes sense for your company before any significant
resources are further applied to the effort.
Polishing Your Translation Style - Marketing Your Services
You have read part 1 & 2 of this article series (see below for link). And, you are probably asking yourself "what else is there to say about improving one's translation style?" The answer to that, my friends, is the most important part of the message.
Write Effective Fundraising Letters By Being Conversational (Includes Examples & Samples)
I am doing what you do, sitting at my computer, trying to get my thoughts out of my head and into a written form that will help you make a decision. In this particular case, I am trying to write a few intelligent remarks about sounding conversational on paper.
Basic Brand Building
A brand is the essence of who you are. The more powerful the brand the more memorable you will become.
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RELATED ARTICLES
The First Rule of CRM for Financial Services
Things have to change. Cross selling is not going to happen simply by installing new CRM technology.
Perceived Value Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
Q: My partner and I are having a hard time coming up with what we feel is the perfect price for our new product. We know what competing products sell for, but we don't know if it's better to price our product cheaper than theirs or charge more based on what we think is a superior product.
Unique Marketing Ideas That Generate Cash!
First of all - keep in touch with your customers! One of the best ways to do this is with a newsletter. Today it's easier than ever to have a newsletter - use email.
Fundraising Letters Are Easier To Write With AIDA
Learn a lesson from professional direct mail copywriters. They follow a time-tested format in their sales letters, a format that you can also follow when writing direct mail fundraising letters for your non-for-profit organization.
Using Flyers In Your Business
If you are not using flyers in your business you are missing out. Flyers can be used to sell your product, promote your product, promote your services, and in a number of other areas.
Direct Mail Response Rates Low? Eliminate These Mistakes
Are your direct mail response rates lower than you expect? Check your sales letter or direct mail package against this checklist to uncover the reasons for your poor response.LIST
You are mailing to people who are never likely to buy
You are not mailing to others in the same business who influence the buying decision
Your list is out of date
Your names and addresses are not formatted correctly for proper delivery
Your list has job titles only, not namesFORMAT
You are using the wrong format for your audience (self-mailers to professionals, for example)
Your letter and brochure are not complete sales pitches in themselves
Your liftnote or buckslip confuses your offer or main selling promiseENVELOPE
Your envelope gives too much away, so your prospects throw it away unopened
Your mailing envelope looks like junk mail
Your package is addressed to "Occupant" and not to a person by nameMESSAGE
Your letter lacks a strong, customer-focussed headline
The opening line in your letter is not compelling
You spell your prospective customer's name incorrectly
Your letter lacks specifics about product size, weight, color and other vital details
You discuss product features but not customer benefits
You talk too much about your company and not enough about your reader
You do not create enough desire
Your letter lacks urgency
You do not offer a guaranteeOFFER
You are offering the same thing that your competitors are offering
Your offer is not specific
Your offer is not exclusive
Your offer is not relevant
Your offer is not valuable
Your offer is not unique
Your offer is not usefulCALL TO ACTION
You do not ask for the order
You ask for the order, but too late in your letter
You conclude by saying, "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me"
You give too many ways to respond-or not enoughREPLY DEVICE
Your reply device is too cluttered
You do not tell prospects what to do to buy your product or service
Your reply device is not postage-paidTIMING
You are mailing at the wrong time of the year
Your letter is arriving on the wrong day of the week
You are mailing too often, so prospects ignore you
You are not mailing often enough, so prospects do not remember youAbout the author
Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter who helps business
owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers
using creative direct mail.
Go Guerrilla
Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term guerrilla marketing, which I define as low-cost, creative and typically self-implemented public relations techniques.Here are a few thoughts that might spawn some ideas for your own business.
Top 10 Ways to Create and Manage Opportunity
Most of us are used to the concepts of risk management or time management. Many of the same principles can be applied to creating and responding to opportunities.
Getting The Big Picture Series: Part 2-Whats Beneath The Surface?
When you take a piece of gold to a pawn shop sometimes they will take a small saw-like tool to scrape the jewelry to find out for sure "What's Beneath The Surface". Sometimes they find pure gold, silver, or tarnished metal.
The X Factor
So you've invested more time than you ever believed possible on your website and in optimizing the pages for the search engines. Having sacrificed weekends and holidays, you've ensured that your site ranks in the Top 10.
Fundamental Strategic Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
This is a pretty tough global economy and it is critical for a company to leverage every bit of their marketing resources. So, if this is the case, why are so many companies shooting themselves in the proverbial foot by breaking some of the most fundamental rules of marketing? It's a very simple question with complex answers - here are some of the pitfalls to avoid:1) Believing a second rate web site communicates integrity: So many web sites are just plain funky looking (graphics, text, menus, etc.
Why Doubling Your Fees Can Increase Business: How Pricing Affects Buyers Decision Making Process
Want to know the simple way to get all the business you could ever handle? Charge almost nothing.That's the approach employed by busy fools anyway.
The Value of a Good Sales Letter!
Regardless of how many forms of promotional material you create, the simple yet very important sales letter never goes out of style. As a matter of fact a good sales letter should definitely be included as part of your marketing strategy for it can be the most effective tool over any other promotional material.
Stretching The String: Five Tips To Maximize Your Marketing When You Are On A Shoe String Budget
"I know I need to market my business in order to
grow my business, but right now I can't afford it."I have heard this statement numerous times from
business owners that are struggling to stay in business.
Five Tips for Trade Show Success on a Small Budget
No matter how small your marketing budget, your business can afford to have a successful presence at trade shows without incurring big expenses. Here are five tips for exhibiting in trade shows inexpensively:1) Have a sales representative exhibit your line at a trade show.
7 Great Ways to Market Yourself and Your Business to Help Increase Sales
Do you own a business and need ideas on how to market your products or services to your customers? Well, the one thing that every business owner needs to know is that in order to survive, you need customers willing to spend their hard earned money for your products or services. The only way to drive customers to your business is to market yourself and your business in a way that customers believe in you and willing to spend money.
Create a Blueprint for Your Success
Having a strong foundation enables you to build a thriving,
profitable life and business. A simple method to create this
foundation is with Discovery, Vision, Planning and
Benchmarking, the four cornerstones of your life as well
as your business.
If You Can't Answer This Question Your Business is Doomed!
How do you answer the seemingly easy question, "What do you
do?" Do you talk about YOU? Do you talk about your
products/services? Do you talk about your industry?
Do you explain the process of how your products/services
work? If you answered yes to any of these questions you
are missing an enormous opportunity.Every time someone asks you "What do you do?" and
every time someone reads your marketing materials you
have the opportunity to:* Interest potential clients
* Increase the potential for referrals
* Find out about potential strategic alliances
* Create recognition for yourself and your business
* Position yourself as an expertStop right now and take the time to discover how to answer
the question, "What do you do?" in a profitable way.
When Business Cards Arent Enough: Unusual, Unexpected, and Uncommon Networking Tips
There comes a time in every small businessperson's life when common networking practices like handing out business cards, attending various meetings and schmoozing with potential clients only goes so far. Eventually, the same old techniques get overused to the point that they become insufficient.
Systems - Marketing Your Business Successfully
Business Systems that work for anyone, are a fundamental necessity for any networking venture. While most people rely upon their own company business system or plan for success, there is always a different option.
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