I used to think marketing was never my forte until I got introduced to it unknowingly! Strange as it may sound, email marketing caught my fancy one day after I was receiving a series of marketing mails for tours and I decided to delve into this subject out of sheer curiosity and interest. The triggering point was: who gave them my email address? Well, my research says the following top things about direct mail marketing. You will find this useful if you plan to venture into this marketing strategy for your small business.
I prefer to go with the descending order for you, the business owner as, this reverse sequence attracts the target audience.
1. Offers
This is the first and foremost point to keep in mind when dealing with direct mail marketing. The reader is interested only in the offer you are providing; everything else comes later. Make sure you highlight the offer well. Also include the payment options.
2. Post Scriptum
This one is interesting, like they say, people tend to read what was forgotten to be told. This applies in email marketing pretty well. Ensure that you have something left to highlight in the end. Chances are high that your audience will only read that.
3. Quality Content
This goes without saying that quality rules the roost when people have to sit and read something. Your content should be error free, informative and avoid superfluous sentences if you want to make an impact.
4. Non-Irritable Approach
The first reaction from most of the readers, if not targeted well, is irritation, on seeing a marketing mail. The trick to avoid causing frustration to your reader is, inform first, advertise later. Tell the reader what you are trying to convey, then give the biography.
5. Target Audience
Demographics are very important if you want your money to be utilized properly and more importantly – if you want to steer clear of negative marketing. You don’t want to address a school kid with retirement investment schemes.
6. Budget and Plan
Planning your budget is important and the best part of email marketing is that it is cost effective and track-able too. Technically, it’s called the return on investment (ROI). Your money is likely to get double returns when it comes to advantages of direct mailing. You can experiment with the demographic plan in case you think the customer statistics aren’t matching your product or service criteria.
7. Know the Law
Take care of privacy infringement when you gather the mailing lists. You don’t want your mail address to be marked as spam by your targeted audience and neither you want the mail to go into spam box.
