Jim Logan, AllBusiness.com’s marketing advisor shares some great tips on creating a strong call to action.

Maybe you have thought about direct mail. Maybe you have wondered whether it could work for you. Maybe you have done it, but it never really paid off. Possibly you thought there was so much to learn that you didn’t know where to start.

Whatever your particular ‘story’ is you are reading this. And yes, there are a million and one ways to do something wrong – but there are only a handful of ways to get it right continue reading…

Parents and non-parents alike know when it’s Back to School time. Wal-mart is extra packed, kids aren’t playing outside as much and retail stores are having huge back-to-school deals. Who says retail stores have to be the only ones to benefit?

According to the New York Times, “executives at Google said Internet searches for back-to-school bargains had soared this year. Searches for coupons are up 40 percent over last year and searches for buy-one-get-one-free deals are up 30 percent.”

Even if your small business’s product or service isn’t directly school-related, it doesn’t mean you have to miss out on potential back-to-school sales.

Buying patterns begin to change around August and September — the average person actually starts paying attention to offers. It’s like, “Vacation is over, I’m ready to buy and I’m on the radar for good deals.

4 Ideas Your Business Can Use to Make the Grade (and Profits!)

1. Create a Marketing Connection That Gets Attention
   If your product or service has no connection to back-to-school, create one! For example, dentists or doctors can promote how to stay healthy while playing sports or send a list of healthy lunch ideas for kids with an offer to try your service at a percentage off your normal price.
2. Last Chance Specials!
   If you offer a service you know kids and families may not have time for after school starts, offer a “last chance” special. For example, a swimming school may offer discounted lessons or the city zoo may offer 2-for-1 admission.
3. Throw a Back to School Party (don’t forget the parents!)
   There are many ways to do this. If you’re a restaurant, contact local schools about having pizza parties or offer easy-to-go, affordable meals for parents with busy schedules on a budget. Also, resorts can offer parents a last-minute getaway or spas can offer “I finally get a break” facials.
4. Clean House
   Many families say, “kids are in school, the holidays are coming up and this house is a mess!” If you have a cleaning, carpet cleaning, roofing or home remodeling company — send out specific postcards and emails with offers to new and current customers.

Remember, you don’t have to sell office supplies to attract customers for back-to-school. Whether you are a HVAC company, veterinarian or auto detail shop — our marketing consultants can help you come up with an effective marketing program that reaches your target market.

Best,
Joy

Jim Logan a Direct Response Advisor explains how to determine your target market to get the most out of your advertising.

The world is constantly changing, today faster than ever, and if you aren’t changing with it you’ll be left behind. If your marketing message is geared toward last month’s news, your message can quickly get ignored or even overrun by the latest breaking story.

A hot topic on everyone’s mind these days is the economy. Don’t fall into the negativity trap. Why not use these current circumstances to your advantage? Whether you agree with the new government programs or not, they are happening, so why not take advantage of them? continue reading…

Do you know what customers are saying about your business on search engine reviews and online? One way to make sure they are saying more good things than bad is to reach out and ask all of your best customers to create a review of your product and services. Google is making this a big deal and actually posting a 5-star rating system for every local search result that pops up.

Why should you do this?

1. It’s an effective way to start positive word-of-mouth recognition for your business — which, we all know goes a long way!
2. It’s FREE. Plus, it’s little effort on your end.
3. It’s genuine. Real customer comments carry a lot of weight to prospects checking out your business. People will make a decision based on another’s (even a stranger’s) review.

It’s Easy Just:

1. Make sure you have a listing on all of the major search engines. Find out how in this free download: ”How to Get Listed on the Local Search Engines for Free”
2. Send an email to your top customers asking them to please review you on these sites. View an example of what you can send them here.
3. Set up a system so that every time you get a new happy customer, you send them an email asking them to please review you.

Once you notice that your customers have taken the time to create a review, follow up with them via email or a call and thank them for their time. This also gives you a reason to initiate conversation and share any new services they may be interested in.

Best,
Joy

Don’t get greedy! You can only have one message per postcard. Find out why focusing your message is important in this critique…
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Interview with Keith Rosen, AllBusiness.com’s Sales Advisor

Advanced Aesthetic Concepts

Advanced Aesthetic Concepts helps physicians develop a steady cash flow line with the most innovative fat reduction and skin rejuvenation equipment on the market. Their products allow doctor’s offices to generate up to $40,000 a month in addition to their regular revenue while offering their patients the most-effective anti-aging and fat reduction solutions available. Working with PostcardMania, they mailed 36,000 postcards with a compelling offer and generated more than $400,000 in immediate sales. Find more details on their success in our video of the week.

To locate a doctor offering these services in your area,
please call 1-800-337-0745.

Doctors, for more info on the products mentioned above, please visit www.lipo-ex.com or www.mixtousa.com.

Has your business joined the world of Pay-Per-Click (PPC)? Even if your business has not ventured into online marketing like PPC ad campaigns, you most likely see these ads every time you “Google” something. It’s the two to three sponsored results that appear at the top and all the ads down the right side, sometimes shaded a different color.

I have an extensive PPC ad campaign for PostcardMania that I’m consistently tweaking to get the most leads for our ad spend. It’s so time consuming, I actually contract a company called ROI Revolution that solely specializes in this!

The major benefit: You’re in control. You can spend as little or as much money as you want and even change your budget from week to week. Plus, you don’t pay until someone clicks on your ad.

Downside: You can’t target your customers like traditional advertising (e.g. direct mail, radio and TV) and you are only reaching those who are proactively searching for your services (there are countless others out there who may NEED your service but need you to bring their awareness up first in order to know that – a postcard is perfect for that). Also, for PostcardMania and for many of our clients, a PPC lead is a lower quality lead than a lead from a postcard mailing or other advertising media. Most often this is because they are shopping around and getting pricing and information from you and your competitors.

While a PPC campaign can’t replace an offline marketing campaign, it is a valuable addition to ensure you are in front of those actively looking for your services.

I really want all of my customers to pair their direct mail and email marketing efforts with PPC AND get the most from it. I know PPC can be super overwhelming, that’s why I want to tell you about this really effective online course from ROI Revolution called AdWords Training.

This course includes 3 recorded 90-minute sessions including a question and answer section, PLUS you receive printable handouts outlining all the steps of conversion (converting someone that clicks into someone that buys), keywords (the words you think people will type into Google that need what you sell), how to set up a PPC campaign and more. Additionally, there is a fourth bonus session revealing 10 Key AdWords strategies to help beginners sidestep common mistakes.

I highly recommend it for beginner PPC campaigns. It is PPC 101 — and you really do need to understand this form of marketing.

Interested in taking this course? Sign up at www.roirevolution.com/adwordscourse. Cost is only $97 and it’s packed with info! I like to steer you in the right direction and this is the best bang for the buck out there that I know of.

Best,
Joy