Why Is Business Writing So Awful?
Nearly every company relies on the written word to woo customers. So why is most business writing so numbingly banal?

By Jason Fried | Inc.com

What’s bad, boring, and barely read all over? Business writing. If you could taste words, most corporate websites, brochures, and sales materials would remind you of stale, soggy rice cakes: nearly calorie free, devoid of nutrition, and completely unsatisfying. Read the rest of this entry »

Copywriting: The Big Grammar Argument
By Elaine Berry | iSnare.com

If there’s one subject that seems to divide copywriters more than any other, it is the argument about whether good grammar is important or not.

Some copywriters are obviously careful to check their work for grammar and spelling mistakes. Others clearly don’t bother. It always amazes me when I read something by a successful copywriter and find it contains several fifth-grade errors.

If you query one of these writers, you are likely to get a response like:

· “My clients don’t mind as long as I make them money, so why should I mind?”
· “It’s the message that’s important, not the grammar.”
· “Successful direct response copywriting is not about correct grammar and spelling.”

So what IS copywriting about? Read the rest of this entry »

The New Rules of E-mail Marketing
New legislation, loftier customer expectations — the old rules of e-mail marketing just don’t seem to fit anymore. Here’s what does and how you can implement them.

By Bill Nussey |  Inc.com

In this new era of CAN-SPAM legislation and ever-increasing customer expectations, many of the practices that worked for e-mail marketing in the past simply won’t work anymore. The companies that can boast the most effective e-mail programs today have been successful because they’ve changed their way of thinking. Here, I outline some of the old rules and compare them to the new rules. Implement today’s e-mail marketing rules to make your e-mail marketing program a long-term success. Read the rest of this entry »

3 Ways to Move Customers to Action
Why waste your marketing dollars on messages that don’t create a sense of urgency?

by Susan Gunelius   |   Entrepreneur.com
 

When do you want consumers to move to action after seeing or hearing your marketing messages? Now? Tomorrow? Next week? Next year? How about whenever it’s convenient?

If you’re investing time and money into getting your marketing messages in front of your target audience, it’s safe to assume that you want that audience to act sooner rather than later. Therefore, it’s essential that your marketing messages create a sense of urgency in consumers’ minds so they are motivated to act. Read the rest of this entry »

Are You Using Postcards?
by Robert Johnston

No company should be without a strong postcard marketing approach. This style of marketing is such a proven and effective form of advertisement that any company bypassing it is failing to capitalize on a great approach.

The first great thing about postcard printing is that it can apply to any business. It doesn’t matter what you sell or what industry you’re in, you can still effectively use postcards to market yourself.

The next reason to use it is because of the cheap costs. Few strategies are capable of generating such strong results with such little money spent. The smaller your marketing budget is the better the reason to take a hard look at adding postcard marketing to your list of tactics. As an added bonus, the postage rate for sending postcards is lower than a normal envelope, which adds a nice additional touch to your savings.

Postcards are also one of the easiest kinds of marketing to design. Even flyers require you to fill up an entire page, and something like a brochure will require extensive writing to make it work. Now think about the size of a postcard and you could probably come up with a few ideas right now for what you’d like to put on it. That means you can set up, design, and send out your postcards in a short period of time when compared to other marketing strategies.

You can also use your postcards in relation with other strategies. If you have a website you’d like to direct people to then send out a postcard with the web address prominently displayed. The same is true for upcoming sales or other discounts you want to focus on.

Plus, postcards give you an almost complete guarantee that they’ll be seen. A white envelope doesn’t hide them, and if you have a colorful enough design, they’ll draw the eye in a pile of plain mail most people receive. This makes them work even better with sales promotions because you know people will see your offer in big letters across the front of your postcards.

Be aware too that postcards can be aimed at a very specific audience. You know you’re sending these right into specific people’s homes, so shape your mailing list around one target group, and then gear your postcard printing specifically for them. This way you know that you’ll have a better chance of gaining their interest.

And, best of all, the success rate of postcard marketing can be traced like no other marketing strategy can boast. Because you know exactly how many people you’re sending them out to you can figure out how much sales you’re generating from them.

I could go on for longer about the benefits of postcards, but I have a feeling you can get the point by now. If you haven’t already, I’d take a very hard look at what strategies you’re using, and then look at the benefits of postcards. I think you’ll realize that no matter what company you run, postcard marketing is the way to go.

source: www.isnare.com

Do you use postcards in your small business’ marketing campaign? If so, what returns have you seen in your bottom line? If not, what’s holding you back?