Building a quality list of opt-in prospect email addresses is more like a marathon than a sprint. It takes time to to assemble addresses of prospects who are truly interested in learning from your professional expertise, or about your products and services.There's no quick fix to building a list, but here are five ways to get started:
1)Ask your email and newsletter subscribers to forward your info to any of their friends or associates who might be interested in receiving it too.
2)Reciprocate. Ask partners and complementary newsletters to promote your newsletter to their lists while you'll do the same.
3)Ask for it. At the end of your sales process or when you're collecting prospect information at a trade show, always ask if s/he would like to receive your valuable monthly newsletter, discount coupons, or emails.
4)Post you opt-in form in a prominent place on your homepage or on any consecutive pages!
5)Incent them! Give your prospects something in exchange for their email address: a discount coupon, entry in a contest, a free e-book, etc.
What other methods are you implementing to build your list?
Friday, January 14, 2011
Monday, December 20, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Small Business Holiday Marketing Checklist
You can't help but notice all the promotional marketing that big businesses put forth during the holiday season. Small business should take advantage of the season and but their best marketing foot forward too:
- JR Griggs, author of 10 Ways to Put Yourself Out of Business suggests that you "Send out Christmas cards instead of emails. People will hang a Christmas card but they will not print and hang an email." Sending holiday cards is a thoughtful way to thank your clients for their business.
- Create a fun, unique personalized item that your prospects and clients will remember. Try personalizing the stamp on your holiday cards with your logo! Or send bags of M&M's or Hershey Bars customized with your own message.
-For retail stores, offer free cider, coffee or treats to encourage your customers to linger longer.
-Offer holiday specials. Any product or service can be repackaged with a holiday offer or theme.
What holiday marketing tactics work best for your business?
- JR Griggs, author of 10 Ways to Put Yourself Out of Business suggests that you "Send out Christmas cards instead of emails. People will hang a Christmas card but they will not print and hang an email." Sending holiday cards is a thoughtful way to thank your clients for their business.
- Create a fun, unique personalized item that your prospects and clients will remember. Try personalizing the stamp on your holiday cards with your logo! Or send bags of M&M's or Hershey Bars customized with your own message.
-For retail stores, offer free cider, coffee or treats to encourage your customers to linger longer.
-Offer holiday specials. Any product or service can be repackaged with a holiday offer or theme.
What holiday marketing tactics work best for your business?
Monday, November 29, 2010
Turn Your Event into a Money-Making Promotion for your Business
Marketing & Event Resources recently provided marketing and publicity services for the grand opening of Shelter Interiors, a new interior design studio in Milford, CT on the Green. Many of the marketing activities that we implemented can be applied to any event and help turn it into a smart money-making promotion for your business.
Be Community-Minded
Is there a way that your event can be tied in with a greater cause? Shelter Interiors hoped that their grand opening could help the local community in some way. We decided to conduct a blanket drive in conjunction with the event (which would be given to a Milford non-profit) and announced it in all the newspaper community calendars.
Traffic Generating Incentives
Coupons are always a smart marketing tool. Promote a product or service that prospects will respond to and make it time sensitive to encourage a speedy response! Shelter Interiors offered a 10% discount on all purchases for the entire month as part of their Grand Opening promotion.
Marketing
Beginning a month prior to the event, send timely email, 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.
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.
Advertising and Public Relations
If your budget allows, advertise in your local daily and weekly newspaper and on the radio for one to two weeks leading up to your event. Write a great press announcement and get it out all the local trade and community outlets.
Partnerships
Team up with related businesses or neighboring businesses so that you all can contribute to and benefit from buzz of your event. Brainstorm who you can create reciprocal marketing partnerships with for the event and ongoing!
Be Community-Minded
Is there a way that your event can be tied in with a greater cause? Shelter Interiors hoped that their grand opening could help the local community in some way. We decided to conduct a blanket drive in conjunction with the event (which would be given to a Milford non-profit) and announced it in all the newspaper community calendars.
Traffic Generating Incentives
Coupons are always a smart marketing tool. Promote a product or service that prospects will respond to and make it time sensitive to encourage a speedy response! Shelter Interiors offered a 10% discount on all purchases for the entire month as part of their Grand Opening promotion.
Marketing
Beginning a month prior to the event, send timely email, 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.
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.
Advertising and Public Relations
If your budget allows, advertise in your local daily and weekly newspaper and on the radio for one to two weeks leading up to your event. Write a great press announcement and get it out all the local trade and community outlets.
Partnerships
Team up with related businesses or neighboring businesses so that you all can contribute to and benefit from buzz of your event. Brainstorm who you can create reciprocal marketing partnerships with for the event and ongoing!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Social Media's No Longer Optional
Check out these stunning facts about social media and reconsider what your business is doing to incorporate them into your marketing plan:
51%-79% consumers are more likely to buy or recommend a brand if like/follow on FB/Twitter.
Social media adoption among U.S. small businesses doubled in the past year from 12% to 24%
Facebook has over 550 million users
Twitter has over 160 million users
51%-79% consumers are more likely to buy or recommend a brand if like/follow on FB/Twitter.
Social media adoption among U.S. small businesses doubled in the past year from 12% to 24%
Facebook has over 550 million users
Twitter has over 160 million users
Friday, October 15, 2010
Promote Your Events through Social Media Marketing
Are you using your social media connections to effectively promote your upcoming seminar, open house, networking event or trade show exhibit? Social media tools should be part of your plan to spread the word to your customers, prospects, friends and others about the event.
Start by creating an event web page where you can house all the relevant info. This page should provide all the detail that people want to learn before registering.
Check out Constant Contact's Event Marketing tool to help you set up your event's details, manage and promote it through professional looking e-invites, updates and reminders.
Start early by posting save the date or registration announcements on all of your social media networks and email the same notice to your clients, prospects and constituents.
Continue to promote your event with a stream of updates on Facebook and Twitter. Try to build interest by promoting what attendees can expect to learn/receive at your event. Create your event on LinkedIn and invite people you're connected with. Don't forget to join any business networking groups in your event's city so you can post the event to their discussion boards.
For effective Twitter marketing, create an event hashtag on Twitter and encourage attendees to use it when they mention your event in their Twitter posts.
Post-event promotion is important too. Use social media to share photos, videos, information, etc. to remind or inform everyone how successful the event was.
Start by creating an event web page where you can house all the relevant info. This page should provide all the detail that people want to learn before registering.
Check out Constant Contact's Event Marketing tool to help you set up your event's details, manage and promote it through professional looking e-invites, updates and reminders.
Start early by posting save the date or registration announcements on all of your social media networks and email the same notice to your clients, prospects and constituents.
Continue to promote your event with a stream of updates on Facebook and Twitter. Try to build interest by promoting what attendees can expect to learn/receive at your event. Create your event on LinkedIn and invite people you're connected with. Don't forget to join any business networking groups in your event's city so you can post the event to their discussion boards.
For effective Twitter marketing, create an event hashtag on Twitter and encourage attendees to use it when they mention your event in their Twitter posts.
Post-event promotion is important too. Use social media to share photos, videos, information, etc. to remind or inform everyone how successful the event was.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Social Media vs. Email Marketing?
There's lots of discussion these days about whether or not social media marketing trumps email marketing! Will social media become a stronger communications tool or will email keep it's place in your marketing arsenal? My advice is to do both! You never know which one your prospects will be using most. And the synergy of using both tools can increase your odds of engaging with prospects and customers, gaining awareness and increasing business!
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