AMiable Solution #188: Keeping Honor in Marketing

Honor.  For too many people, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer.  Period.  But for anyone who has known, loved, or raised a member of the military, Memorial Day is about recognizing those who displayed bravery, sacrifice and honor in service.

Most of us will never experience the fearful sights that our military members experience.  We will never have our integrity, our commitment, our training tested so mortally and with such dramatic and lasting results.

And although we compete with other marketers for donations, orders, members, and on occasion, awards, we will never risk everything we are and love for our jobs.

Still, we can model ourselves after our military examples and work with integrity and honor.  We can do that by keeping our marketing honest.  By not misleading or manipulating.  By listening to our customers and responding promptly and professionally.

We can’t bring those who were lost to war and conflict back, but we can remember their sacrifice and emulate their example by practicing what they lived: honor.

Happy Memorial Day.

AMiable Solution #187: Are You Guilty of this Practice?

It’s nearing the end of the month, and sales/memberships/donations are below budget.  In an attempt to bolster numbers, you dust off your email list and conjure up a quick email.

Is this you?  Do you include email campaigns in your marketing, but only when you’re in a time crunch or desperation mode?  If so, you’re not alone.

According to Elyse Dupre in her April 6, 2016, DM News article, “The Three P’s of Email Marketing,” nearly a third of marketers polled in a Litmus survey of 900 email marketing professionals said that the email campaigns they send are completely ad hoc.  Only about half maintain a calendar all year.

That could change, however, as more organizations recognize the value and benefit of sending regular, targeted, segmented emails to their customer base.  Campaign Monitor, an email-marketing service provider, claims that email marketing yields an average return of $38 for every $1 spent.  Who wouldn’t want that?

So how do you fill a calendar with emails?  What’s a good reason to send an email?  Consider the following ideas:

·        Remind customers about a previously mailed offer

·        Provide a sneak-peek or exclusive offer for an upcoming product, event, mailing, or web offer

·        Notify members or buyers of forthcoming expiration dates on services

·        Update donors on progress made with their donations

·        Reach out to customers who haven’t engaged with you lately

·        Send regular company tips or industry insights to develop customers and relationships

Whatever you choose, make email marketing a regular part of your marketing schedule.

AMiable Solution #186: Tips for Teasers

Once you’ve made the decision to include teaser copy on the outside of your mailing, you need to write it.

With so much riding on a handful of words, getting it right is crucial.  The next time you sit down to develop envelop teaser, keep the following tips in mind:

·        Choose your tone.  To generate interest, you need to inspire emotion.  Whether you’re going for fear, greed, empathy, or curiosity, make your audience feel to get them to act.

·        Don’t give up all the goods.  Your teaser copy should raise questions, not answer them.   If you reveal your offer on the outside of your envelope, you eliminate any need for your prospects to venture inside.  Speaking of questions…

·        Don’t ask a question that can be answered “yes” or “no.”  You could lose prospects without them ever opening your mailing.

·        Remember: what works for consumer mailings won’t necessarily work for business mailings.  One key to getting past mailroom gatekeepers, says Craig Huey, President of Creative Direct Marketing Group, is to focus on conveying value.

·        Call out your audience.  Let your prospects know that the offer inside has been developed specifically for them.

Even after you’ve written your envelop masterpiece, be sure to test it and tweak it, if necessary.

Happy writing.

AMiable Solution #185: To Tease or Not To Tease

Is teaser copy something you do without thinking, like throwing on your watch in the morning, or it is something you consider more carefully, like which pieces to include in your ensemble? 

The implications could be greater than you imagine.

When done well, teaser copy helps your envelope get opened.  But when it’s put together haphazardly or without much thought, the results could be quite different.

In fact, according to copywriter Robert Bly, your teasers could actually be doing more harm than good.  In his December 11, 2003, DM News article, “9 Ways to Improve Your Outer Envelope,” Bly says that sometimes even strong teasers can decrease, not increase response.

So how do you know if you should include teaser copy or not?  Even if you think you have strong copy, test it.  Do an A/B split with a teaser and a teaser-less envelope and roll out the winner. 

If you can’t come up with something strong, Bly suggests skipping it.

Why can no teaser be better than a teaser?  According to Bly, a blank envelope does what copy can’t: it creates an interest in who it’s from and what it is and will always get opened.  An envelope with teaser copy may or may not.

How will you dress your next envelope?