Easy Postcard Marketing

How to Earn Money Using Newsletter

epostcardmarketing — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:15:29 +0000

Offering newsletters to visitors of your website is a great way to achieve name recognition and trust between you and your customers. It is also an effective way of collecting e-mail addresses which you can use for your marketing campaigns. Is it really possible to earn money using newsletters? If yes, how can you make your newsletter campaign even more productive?

Check out the following tips on using newsletters to promote your business:

Introduce yourself.

Your newsletter should contain an introduction about you and your company. The introduction should be done in a professional yet personal tone so as to build confidence between you and your readers. Treat your reader like a real person. Talk to them in a tone you normally use when talking to your friends. A personal approach is always more effective than using a very formal tone of voice.

Keep your newsletter fresh and up-to-date.

The originality and value of your newsletter’s content is very important in keeping your subscribers’ interest. Not providing fresh content in your newsletter might drive them to lose interest, stop opening your newsletter, and eventually unsubscribe. The last thing you want is to lose your subscribers because it will be more difficult to convince them to subscribe again. Thus, make sure that you spend enough time and effort to provide your newsletter subscribers with fresh, unique and valuable newsletters regularly.

Respond to your readers attentively.

When your subscribers e-mail you to ask a question, clarify things, provide feedback, make a suggestion or request more information, be sure to respond to them attentively. When a subscriber takes his time and makes an effort to contact you, it is your chance to prove that you’re a company that they can trust. Never miss the chance to reply to a subscribers e-mail.

See to it that newsletters are received.

Usually, an e-mail account has its own spam filter to help filter out unwanted mails. Sometimes, even if a person has personally subscribed to you, the newsletters may accidentally be filtered out into the bulk mail folder. One way to avoid this is to ask your subscribers to be sure to include you e-mail address to their contact list. This way, your e-mails will not be automatically treated as spam and you can assure that your subscribers will receive your e-mails or newsletter on time.

Use effective headlines.

Your subscribers will not have the patience to read your newsletter if your headlines are bland, boring and uninteresting. Make sure that your headlines will grab your readers interest quickly and will make them stop a few minutes and read the full content of the story. Of course, be sure that the content of your newsletter lives up to what your headline offers.

Include affiliate links in your newsletter.

One way to make money from your newsletter is to include appropriate links to your affiliates. For instance, if your newsletter discusses giving gifts for a special occasion, you may want to include links to a flower-delivery affiliate or a gift-store affiliate. Just remember not to include too many links in your newsletter e-mail as to make it look like an annoying promotional e-mail.

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Printing Postcards that Gets Noticed

epostcardmarketing — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:15:05 +0000

Designing postcards for advertising is a serious task. Yes, it is fun and exciting but let’s not forget that the success of your postcard marketing campaign will largely rely on how well your postcards are presented. Poorly designed postcards will surely be neglected. On the contrary, a postcard with an attractive and catchy design is sure to win the recipient’s heart. In this article, let’s talk about some important aspects in designing and printing your postcards.

Designing Your Own Postcards

A lot of home based business entrepreneurs choose to take over the designing of their postcards. This is understandable as many of these home business owners are also artists in their own rights. Theses shop owners often sell products that they designed and created themselves. Thus, for many of these sellers designing postcards for advertising should be an easy and enjoyable task.

The most important thing to remember about designing postcards for advertising is to create a catchy message and match it with an equally captivating photo or image. By combining these two elements, you should be able to come up with a postcard that will get attention.

Another factor to keep in mind is to focus on just one message. Postcards have a limited space and you’ll want to make sure that there’ll be enough white spaces left on your card. Overcrowding a piece of card with too many texts or photos is surely not the best way to go. You’ll want your recipient to be able to read your message easily and grasp what you’re trying to say.

Don’t forget that your main purpose is to encourage the recipient to take a positive step after receiving your card. The best way to achieve this goal is to focus on one message at a time. If you want to invite a recipient to visit your online shop, then focus on that message. If you want a recipient to try your newest product, you’ll have to create a separate postcard for that. Focus is the key and that’s what every marketer should work on.

Printing Your Postcards

Is it okay to print your postcards on your own? If you’re sending a small number of postcards to a bunch of people, doing the printing yourself can save you costs. If you were able to create a great design, then the printing job should be the easiest part.

Don’t forget to purchase your materials in bulk to save money. Shop around first and compare prices before placing your order. Check out office supply stores or craft stores for schedules of sales and take advantage of these events to cut back your expenses.

However, if you plan to launch a postcard marketing campaign on a larger scale, you may want to consider hiring the services of a professional printing company. A lot of printing services offer package deals that include both the printing and mailing of the postcards. By availing combined services, you should be able to save more from the printing and mailing costs.

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Marketing with Postcards

Boost Your Website Traffic With Postcards Advertising

epostcardmarketing — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:24:04 +0000

Marketing with postcards has been a method used by businesses for a long time. Despite the advancement of technology and the introduction of new marketing methods, they has not totally took the place of postcard marketing. The traditional way of sending postcards via post mail is still proven to be effective.

Even internet marketers find the usefulness of promoting the business offline through postcard marketing. Why? Because not everyone has the time to surf the web and not everyone is aware that your business exists online. That is why, promoting with postcards is also valuable even for online business owners. Postcards help them generate more traffic to their business website.

If you have a business, have tried marketing with postcards? If not, let’s talk about some suggestions you can do to make your postcard marketing a success. If you’re already marketing with postcards, make sure that you do not forget the following tips:

Use the right mailing list.

Sending your postcards to the appropriate market will surely generate positive response. If people are genuinely interested in the products or services you offer, they will surely take the time to read your postcard and check out your website. On the contrary, inviting people to check out your site will be a waste of time if they don’t have any interest in what you offer.

Where can you find the right mailing list? One way to collect mailing address is to get recommendations from your existing clients. Ask them if they have friends or relatives that they know would also be interested in your products or services. If you only get a small number of referrals, you can also buy a mailing list from a reputable mailing list broker.

Focus on your goal.

As an online business, the goal for sending postcards is to invite more people to visit your website. Therefore, don’t try to sell your products or services in your postcards. Postcards can only contain short, concise messages. In this case, use the postcards to encourage recipients to check out your business online.

Compose an effective message.

In connection with focusing on your goal, compose a message that will reach out to your reader’s interest. Why should they check out your website? What will they get out of it? One great way to encourage people is to offer a bonus, a discount or a freebie for the first visitors of your site. People love to receive gifts so they will more likely take the time to visit the site.

Personalize your message.

A personal message generates more response from customers rather than a strictly promotional message. Don’t make your postcard look like an ordinary print ad. Instead, try to appeal to your reader’s hearts and make them feel special.

Use a captivating image.

A heart-warming photograph or a funny picture will say more than what words can. Take the time to choose an image that will perfectly illustrate what you want to say or what you want the reader to feel. Beautifully-designed postcards are kept for a long time and achieve more response.

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Study: Global use of e-mail and SMS marketing varies

epostcardmarketing — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:56:40 +0000

By Christopher Hosford

Story posted: June 8, 2009 – 12:27 pm EDT

Dallas—Marketers eyeing overseas regions to launch direct campaigns should be aware of the differing ways consumers and businesses respond to opt-in e-mail, mobile messaging and other forms of digital marketing, according to a new study by multichannel marketing company Epsilon.

While e-mail remains the No. 1 form of communication in North America and Europe, cited by 87% and 74% respectively of those polled, its use as a main communications channel in the Asia-Pacific region is at just 58%, according to Epsilon’s “Global Consumer E-mail Study.”

Balancing things out, the use of instant messaging is notably high in the Asia-Pacific region, with 28% citing IM as their primary communications modus, compared with 15% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 6% in North America. The Asia-Pacific area also differs in the use of smart phones to access e-mail, at 32% of respondents, compared with only 9% from North America and 7% from Europe.

The online study was conducted during April 2009, polling more than 4,000 consumers and businesses in 13 countries.

From btobonline.com

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Postcard Marketing and the Right Mailing List

epostcardmarketing — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:43:34 +0000

One important aspect of being successful in postcard marketing is using the right mailing list. What sets postcard marketing apart from other advertising methods is that the promotion is directly sent to the intended recipients. Thus, a business gets to choose who to market its products or services to so that the message will be directly delivered to the target market.

Where can you find the right mailing list?

There are different sources of mailing lists which you can turn to. However, not all mailing list companies offer the same price for a database. In addition, not all mailing list brokers distribute the right names and addresses. Some mailing list brokers may include some false addresses or non-existent names on the list just to complete a database. Thus, it is very important to ensure the reputation and background of your mailing list source before buying a mailing list.

There are mailing list companies that provide not just the name and address of possible prospects. Along with the addresses, there are databases that include other details about the list such as the income level, age, gender, occupation, e-mail addresses, etc. A database that contains this additional information will be a tremendous help in creating a profile for your target audience. As expected, this type of mailing list can cost more than a simple name and address list. Nevertheless, if you haven’t exactly defined a target audience, a mailing list with demographic details will be a great help in your postcard marketing campaign.

Choosing a mailing list

Before choosing a mailing list company, make all the necessary inquiries about its services. For instance, ask how often does the company update its list. What are the sources it uses to complete its listing? Make sure that you’ll be getting an updated mailing list to ensure that the names and addresses on the list still exist.

Tell the mailing list company exactly what is your target audience. For example, if you only want women at the age of 30 and above in your list, be sure that the mailing list company will be able to provide it for you. If not, you might be given a mailing list with both men and women with younger people included. Thus, you might be paying for a mailing list without getting much valuable prospects.

Request a database format like Excel or Access which can easily be used to print the names and addresses directly from the database. This will save you time when printing the postcards.

Selecting the right mailing list will determine the response you will get from your postcard marketing campaign. An effective mailing list will help you reach out to the people who are genuinely interested in the products and services you offer. Obviously, if you’ll be marketing your products or services to the people who has the need for them and wants them, you have more chances of acquiring customers and getting the sales you want.

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Cleburne postcards to be featured at weekend show

epostcardmarketing — Thu, 28 May 2009 06:43:54 +0000

FORT WORTH — Over one million antique photos, vintage postcards and paper collectibles provide a window to the past at the 5th Annual Fort Worth Postcard and Paper Show at the end of May. Many rare images dating back to the turn of the century and beyond reveal interesting historical information and are treasures for decorators and collectors alike. The unique event boasts some of the finest collections from pretty Victorian artisan cards to rough old west cowboys.

Several postcards featuring Cleburne historical sites will also be on display, including the Post Office, First Baptist Church and First Presbyterian Church.

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Postcard Marketing and its Target Audience

epostcardmarketing — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:22:06 +0000

You may be already aware of the efficiency of marketing with postcards. However, before launching a postcard marketing campaign, have you taken enough preparation to ensure the success of your campaign?

One of the first things that should be considered is your target audience. Where would you send your postcards to? Defining your target audience is crucial to the result of your postcard marketing campaign. Just like with any marketing tactic, trying to promote your business to the wrong crowd will most likely be futile and unsuccessful.

Defining Your Target Audience

Who is your target audience? Of course, they are the people who have genuine interest in your business. They are the people who have the most potential to buy the products or services you offer. Trying to sell your business to people who have no need or interest on what you’re selling would be pointless.

How can you define your target audience? First of all, you need to know the profile of your target audience. For instance, are they individuals or are they business owners themselves? Are you trying to sell your products to a retail business or to individual customers? What is the income level of your target audience? What are their interests?

Knowing your target audience will help you decide what type of marketing strategy you would need to get results.

Where can you find a mailing list for your target audience? One way to obtain a mailing list is to buy from a reputable broker. If you have a listing of customers in your database, you can use them as well. You may also ask referrals from your existing customers to widen up your list.

Appealing to Your Target Audience

Once you’ve defined your target market, you can now focus on creating the right postcards for your audience. When putting together a postcard design, always focus on your goal. What would you like your postcards to accomplish? Do you want people to visit your website, go to your store, or try a new product? Postcards can only get across one message effectively. Trying to sell all your products at once would be an ineffective way of using postcards.

Because many businesses use postcard marketing, try to come up with a unique design for your postcards. Use an image that will best capture the message you want to convey. But don’t forget to use a text message that clearly emphasizes what you want the recipient to do.

Make your headline as interesting as you can. Try to capture your audience’s curiosity and attention right from your headline. Follow it up with a message that will convince the reader to take action. Don’t forget to use straight-forward call to action statements instead of using ambiguous lines that can be confusing for a reader.

Lastly, sending a postcard once will not guarantee getting a response from your target audience. Most successful businesses have found that sending postcards at least twice or three times generate better results in the long run. Thus, be consistent and do not give up easily just because your postcards didn’t generate sales the first time.

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Q&A: Credit Card Reform

epostcardmarketing — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:10:40 +0000

Congress passed legislation that will overhaul the credit card industry by placing new restrictions on interest rate hikes and penalty fees that consumers face.

The Senate passed the bill on Tuesday and the House followed suit on Wednesday. President Obama has said he’d like to sign it into law before Memorial Day.

Here, a look at how some of these changes will affect consumers.

What impact will this legislation have on credit card interest rates?

The legislation will prevent arbitrary interest rate hikes by credit card companies.

Banks will have to wait 60 days before raising the rate on late-paying customers, and they will be required to reinstate the old rate once the cardholder makes payments on time for six months.

The legislation will also prevent companies from raising the interest rate on any outstanding credit card debt consumers have if they are late paying bills for other credit cards they might use. And it will require credit card companies that choose to increase interest rates to periodically review and lower them if the review warrants it.

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Boost Your Website Traffic With Postcards Advertising

epostcardmarketing — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:23:46 +0000

Use the right mailing list.

Focus on your goal.

Compose an effective message.

Personalize your message.

Use a captivating image.

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Advertising Postcards

Business Post Card

Dodd tackles credit card problems

epostcardmarketing — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:54:24 +0000

WASHINGTON — With so many abused customers coming forward, U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd said the Senate is in a mood to further limit financiers’ power and would consider intervening directly on credit card rates.

“Caps on interest rates, that’s something we would consider,” Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, told Connecticut media in a conference call after he spoke in favor of the bill on the Senate floor Tuesday. This is a compromise bill Dodd, D-Conn., and U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., hammered out over the weekend to deal with the myriad problems in the industry. It is based on Senate bill S 414 and House bill HR 627, passed by the House last week.

Tom Swan, executive director of Connecticut Citizen Action Group, said he supports the bill and said during the conference call that the issue has gained bipartisan support. He credited Dodd for years of work to try to address these abuses.

But the bill does not have industry support. The American Bankers Association expressed its concerns in a formal letter to the Senate leadership, saying the bill would reduce access to credit for many American families.

As the bill stands, it would not cap interest rates but severely limits when and by how much those rates can go up. It would prevent marketing credit cards to minors and end the practice of universal default, in which a credit card issuer raises interest rates on a customer after that customer is late paying a differentaccount. The bill also would impose fines of up to $5,000 per violation of the act, a provision not contained in the House version.

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