Tag Archives: Don

Making Your Postcards Work Harder for Your Business

by Kaitlyn Miller

Postcards are good at what they do. When sent by mail, they are easy-to-read marketing materials. As magazine inserts, they serve as an ultra easy order form. But it is only when designed well that postcards are great at what they do. Here are some ways that you can easily optimize the effectiveness of your postcard printing, making this marketing tool work harder for you.

Send your postcards to the right people. Find out who your target audience is and build a mailing list full of them. If you send out your postcards only to those who are likely to do business with you, then you will have a much higher return on investment than if you send out a general mailing.

Past or current customers should receive postcards. You can send them out when you have news to deliver, when you have a new product to introduce, and for special holiday offers or promotions.

Be direct with your message. Because your space is limited with postcard printing, your reader should understand your message immediately. Take care to write a headline that is short and full of information, and make sure your graphics reinforce your message.

Make response easy. For postcards used as order forms, always self address and stamp. Another option is to make check boxes so that ordering is fast and easy. If your customers have to wait until they can look up your address or stop by the post office, they may never get around to ordering from you.

Don’t try to sell with postcard printing but do include a call to action. There is not enough space on a postcard to close a sale. The idea is to make prospects interested in finding out more. Include direct orders to “call our toll free number,” check out my website today,” and “send a request for more information now” on your postcards. Don’t leave your customers wondering what to do next.

Mail your postcards on Tuesday or Wednesday. Mail traffic is lighter in the middle of the week, so your postcards will have less to compete with on these days. They will get more attention and you will get more responses.

The harder your postcard printing works for you, the more responses you will receive. If you are going to send them out, make sure to get the most out of them by using some smart marketing and design techniques.

About the Author

For more information, you can visit this page on postcard printing

Remembering People’s Names

by Alexander Rorty

Remembering people’s names is one of the most important parts of social etiquette. Even if we don’t admit it, we dislike when people can’t remember who we are. One remembers the scene in American Beauty when Kevin Spacey’s character says, “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t remember me either”. Having one’s name forgotten makes them feel unimportant.

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to remember the names of lots of people. However, there are some fairly straightforward tricks you can do to help you jog your memory. Most of them come from the tricks of medieval poets who had to remember long lines of verse. The trick is that, while sounds (especially arbitrary sounds, like names) are difficult to remember, patterns and images are very easy to remember.

Some of these tricks will work better or worse for you, depending on how your mind works. Pick and choose from the following list:

Make a rhyme: Take the person’s first name and rhyme it with something starting with another word starting with the first letter of the person’s last name. So, for example, if the person’s name is “Jane Smith”, think of the name as “Jane Smane”. The rhyme will stick more easily in your mind than the actual name, and you’ll be reminded of the name when you hear it.

Turn it into a number: If you’re one of those people who is very good at remembering numbers, but not names, just turn the initials into a number. Every letter of the alphabet can be mapped onto a number from 1 to 26. So, when you meet Jane Smith, you can turn her name into 1019. With a little practice, you can easily remember everyone’s initials, which can be used to remember the names. Don’t forget to use zeros, so that you’ll always have a four-digit number. For example, Andrew Barnes should be 0102.

Use an image: If you don’t remember rhymes or numbers very well, try using an image instead. In these cases, what you should do is to think of something that sounds similar to the person, and then imagine that thing right on the person’s face. So, for example, Jane sounds a little like “chain”, so when you meet Jane smith, imagine a chain going from her nose to her ear, for example. It takes a little imagination, but once you’re good at it, you’ll be able to recall anyone’s name with ease.

Different people remember differently. However, for most people, rhymes, numbers and images are easier to remember than the arbitrary strings of sounds in which names normally consist. The above three tricks can help you remember others’ names.

About the Author

Alexander Rorty, M.A. has been writing articles on the internet since 1997. He lives in Toronto with his wife, Janet, and their two children. Their latest site is called Island Hood, and features articles such as the one on under-cabinet range hoods.

How to Build Your Email Marketing Contact List

by Darcie Duttweiler

To grow your business in today’s online-dominated environment you’ll need an amazing eNewsletter. Creating a monthly eNewsletter is easy with the plethora of online email marketing companies offering low-cost services. The more difficult part of effective email marketing-once you’ve crafted a catchy newsletter, of course-is building your list. Here are easy steps you can take to make sure your email marketing list is maximized for the most open clicks:

* Make it easy for readers to sign up for your email marketing campaigns. Don’t request too much information-the more you ask for, the fewer people will likely sign up. Just ask for their name and email address.

* Make sure your eNewsletter subscription form is easy to find. If it makes sense to add this to every page of your website without creating clutter, feel free to do so. You can even add a form at the end of popular articles, in addition to having one at the top of the page.

* Utilize social media. Integrate your sign-up forms with your social networks.

* Create an archive so that potential subscribers can see past eNewsletters and are able to decide if they want to sign up.

* Reward your subscribers. You can offer an opt-in bonus for those who sign up for your emails, but you can also reward those who respond in some way-such as answering poll or survey questions or providing testimonials. Appreciated subscribers will want to stick with you-and your email marketing campaigns

* State your Privacy Policy. No one will want to subscribe to your eNewsletter if they think their personal information will be published, so let them know by providing a policy page that clearly outlines you won’t share their information with others.

* Blog often. This helps to build a community with prospects and potential clients, along with complementing your email marketing strategies. You can also post comments on others’ blogs with links back to your site.

* The No. 1 way to build a larger email marketing list is through publishing useful content. No one is going to want to sign up for your eNewsletters if you don’t provide them with unique and worthwhile content. Don’t send out newsletters too often, and make sure your content is worth reading.

For information on email marketing services, including reviews of popular companies, please visit http://www.Email-Marketing-Options.com.

About the Author
Darcie Duttweiler is a copywriter at ChooseWhat.com.