Why Email is the Top Marketing Tool

Although email marketing might not get the praise that the latest social media platform does, it can have a far wider reach than all the social networks combined.  Email generates a significantly higher click-through rate and total return on investment.

If your business or nonprofit isn't emailing your clients, prospects, and donors regularly, you're missing out on an important marketing opportunity. Email is inexpensive, yet effective, simple to execute and ideal for small business marketing. With user-friendly tools like Constant Contact, you can easily develop newsletters, promotions, coupons, invitations, announcements and more.  

Here are some stats to confirm the importance of email in your marketing:

• Email gets delivered 90+% of the time

• For every $1 spent on email, there's a $44.25 average return on investment 

• 91% of US adults like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with. 

(sources: Direct Marketing Association, Marketing Sherpa)

The core of your business is about developing relationships with your clients and prospects.  By emailing quality content or emails with a purpose, you can manage and nurture those relationships and build your business too. 

Start working on your email campaigns today!  Or contact me at 203.377.9980 for help in creating and distributing your emails to maximize results.  

Six Innovative Ways to Promote Your Next Event

Looking for some new marketing ideas to give your next seminar, trade show or other corporate event a big boost? Here are some promotional activities that we implement for grand openings, but they can be applied to any event to help turn it into a smart money-making promotion for your business:

1. Be Community-Minded

Is there a way that your event can be tied in with a greater cause? Can your grand opening or event help the local community in some way?  If it can, you're bound to get more attention and publicity!

2. Traffic Generating Incentives

Coupons are always a smart marketing tool.  In conjunction with the event, promote a product or service that prospects will respond to and make it time sensitive to encourage a speedy response.

3. Marketing

Beginning a month prior to the event, send timely emails, fliers and personal invitations and use social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) to spread the word.  Create a video for YouTube that acts as a teaser ad for the event.  Don't forget to include your special offer or incentive.

4. Use the Media

For big events, think about media partnerships with local radio stations, TV stations, newspapers and cable companies. In exchange for exclusive rights to promote your event on site, you can try to obtain on air promotions or advertising at no cost to you.

5. Advertising and Public Relations

If your budget allows, advertise in your local daily and weekly newspapers and on the radio for one to two weeks leading up to your event. Write a great press announcement and get it out to all the local trade and community outlets.

6. Form Partnerships    

Team up with related or neighboring businesses so that you all can contribute to and benefit from the buzz of your event.  Who can you create reciprocal marketing partnerships with for this event and ongoing? 

For more event promotion advice, contact Jocelyn Murray at 203.377.9980.    

Market your Business with Facebook Offers

Businesses can share discounts and coupons with their prospects and customers by posting an Offer on their Facebook Page.  Offers are a great way for small businesses to engage with existing or new audiences to drive sales.  Your Page must have at least 50 Likes in order to create an Offer.

Facebook suggests that you should carefully consider your Offer's value, headline and the image you use. If people don’t understand your offer or think it looks like spam, they might hide it from News Feed, mark it as spam or unlike your Page.

Sample Facebook Offers

Offers used to be only available to brick and mortar businesses but now any business can use them.  Here's a sample discount offer from Macy's that you may have seen in your News Feed:

When someone claims an offer, they'll receive an email in their Inbox about it.

Use an Offer to promote a FREE giveaway in exchange for users’ email address. This offer directs people to a custom landing page that allows users to enter their email in order to get the PDF download.

How to Create a Facebook Offer

Go to the status update box on your Facebook Page and choose Offer.

1. Create a Title and Description for your Offer

2. Add an Image

3. Set the Offer's expiration date and any limit on the number of Offers you want to make available.

4. Choose your audience. Click "Not Now"  and your offer will appear on your Page to your Fans only. Or choose a dollar amount and your Offer will appear to a new custom audience (specify location, gender, age or interests).

The more Likes, Shares and comments your Offer gets, the more likely it is to show up in the News Feed.  Happy "Offer"ing!

Holiday Business Marketing Tips for a Holly Jolly Season

The holiday season is the busiest selling time of year for many companies. Experts (National Retail Federation) predict that sales increases in November and December will be greater (3.9%) that last holiday season (3.5%)!

If your business earns a majority of its income during the holidays, here are a few marketing tips to help you maximize your holiday success:

1. Pursue repeat business from existing customers by offering them specials, free shipping and secret sales.

2. Bundle products or services to create holiday "packages" to sell more.

3. Now's the time to post your holiday tips, advice or gift ideas on social media (use lots of pics and video). This timely info will get you noticed on your social sites.

4. Attract new customers by offering holiday specials on daily deal sites such as Groupon and Amazon Local.  Extend discounts on high margin products or services.

5. Target local customers through print ads in newspapers (always include a coupon!). For easy local online advertising for small businesses, check out Google Adwords Express.

6. Send a press release to local media with your business' holiday related tips. Follow up with a phone call to the editor/reporter you emailed the information to and you'll increase your odds of getting it published.

7. Give affordable gifts to your best customers or throw an open house/holiday party for all your customers and business partners.

Need more marketing ideas or help putting together your business' holiday campaigns? Contact me to set up a complimentary consultation to see how I can help!