Tag Archives: message

Offline Promotions

Making Your Postcards Work Harder for Your Business

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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

Offline Promotions

Car Dealership Promotion: Marketing Ideas for Direct Mail Postcards

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by Mina Palencia

Among the most effective but inexpensive marketing tools that you can use to spread the word about your car dealership are postcards. These prints give that personal feel to the recipient especially if they are not packed with advertisements and if they have personal message from the business owner — you. Using postcards, you can send your marketing message to a number of people and encourage them to check out your business.

The success, though, in postcard marketing relies on how well you are executing your campaign and how enticing your prints are, especially if those are printed online. You need attractive prints to get people to read them and stir up their interest towards your products — in this case, the vehicle units that you are selling. The way you execute your postcard marketing campaign is important because this could make or break your success. You might have designed the perfect postcards but if you are sending them to the wrong people, you will not get any profit.

Ideas for Your Direct Mail Postcard Marketing

On the one side of your postcard is where you should catch people’s interest. You can use a photo of a gorgeous sports car or a vehicle that will get people to save on gas and provide better mileage. Depending on your target audience and your message, you need to use the right photo. You can also catch people’s attention by solving their problem (i.e. they want to save on gas, and then tell them that your car units are designed to solve just that problem). Add a unique selling proposition and an irresistible offer.

After you have stimulated the interest of your reader, the other side is where you will sell. You can put your call to action on this side. But, don’t tell them to order. You can annoy your reader if they feel that you are only pressing them to buy your cars. Instead, tell them to visit your website or your showroom.

Always remember to include an offer that your clients will not resist. Free gas, percentage off of total price, free maintenance for a few years, some years warranty on parts — these are great offers. Your prospective clients will find these treats handy in the current economic problems that we have.

You will generate more leads with successful postcard marketing but only if you know how to do your marketing right. You need to start with the design of your postcards. And always remember to hand out copies only to the right people — a mailing list will be handy.

About the Author

Mina Palencia is a writer who resides in Lancaster, LA. She has experiences writing for online marketing campaigns, writing technical documents for online audiences and loves blogging.

Everything Else

Small Business Marketing – 3 Secret Weapons For Promoting Your Business

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New small businesses are often faced with the task of marketing on little or no budget. Aside from the staple marketing materials like business cards and a website, there are other strong and effective marketing tools which are often overlooked. Here are three secret weapons for the small business to create awareness, reinforce brand recognition, and keep customers.

YouTube Videos
Internet Video Marketing is designed to create a general awareness of your business and attract potential customers. Unlike television advertising, it’s cheap (or completely free), is always available, and not bound by a region. They have the advantage over commercials in that you can add more value by providing useful information. Such added-value video ideas include: tips, frequently asked questions, product demonstrations, facility tours, or interviews.

Moreover, if your video is entertaining and informative enough, it has the opportunity to go viral across the internet, thus spreading your brand worldwide. This is every business’ dream, so be prepared for when it happens by having your web address or other vital contact information on the video.

Jingles
The sole purpose of a jingle is to create instant brand recognition in your customers’ minds. The power of music and its ability to associate with memory is an amazing tool for any business. To illustrate this, think back to the jingles of your childhood. I’ll bet you can still remember them. You can, and should, use this same power to reinforce your brand.

An important thing to keep in mind is that jingles don’t have to be corny and campy like the jingles of yesteryear. Most modern jingles emulate the sounds that are currently popular. Think of them as a song in miniature. Let’s say your business is an extreme sports facility. Your jingle could be likely have an edgy modern rock or pop punk sound. Anything is possible!

While a jingle package may be a bit of investment initially, ranging anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, generally, once the jingle package is produced, it can serve you well for many years to come. Because most jingles are buy-out (meaning you own the rights once it’s paid for), you are free to use the jingle for virtually as long as you’re in business. In some cases, for as little as $500, you can have a fully-produced jingle package with multiple edits to use on television, the web, and in on-hold message systems.

Custom On-Hold Messages
On-Hold Messages serve to keep callers (i.e. customers) on the phone line when they call your business. They dramatically decrease caller anxiety while increasing wait time while customers are on hold. On-Hold messages also provide useful information about your business, products, or services.

If your phone system is equipped with a “music on hold” feature, it’s important not to be tempted to play a local radio station or a store-bought CD of your favorite artist. Such use is illegal and constitutes as copyright infringement without an expensive annual license. On-Hold message packages, on the other hand, contain royalty-free music underneath your custom message. Purchasing a custom on hold message package grants you permission to use the music in your telephone system. With telephone systems with music on hold capability, a 6-minute on hold message typically costs around $200–a relatively small investment to improve customer conversion and caller retention.

Jingle and On-hold Message Production http://www.butlerproductionsmultimedia.com/audiomarketing.html

Clay Butler is the owner of Butler Productions Multimedia, a full-service audio production facility. Clay specializes in Audio Marketing Solutions, which include jingles, on-hold messages, and audio commercials. His voice and production work can be heard on jingles all over the US. For more information about Clay or Butler Productions, visit http://www.butlerproductionsmultimedia.com

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