Taking my struggling consulting business online and
following the business model I now do turned everything
around for me, financially and otherwise. So when I started
hearing from my mentors that I might want to add some
offline marketing tactics back into the mix, I was hesitant
to say the least.
But then I started studying and learning more about some
specific direct mail strategies, and recognizing the power
they have, I started wondering in maybe I wasn't missing an
important piece of the puzzle to take my business up
another notch.
Then I started seeing some amazing results from my
colleagues who were using direct mail in addition to their
online marketing efforts - things as simple as a postcard -
and I decided I needed to get into this game myself. (I'll
keep you posted on my own results in a future article.)
How do you get started adding direct mail marketing to your
mix? Here are 5 simple steps:
1. Start collecting physical addresses
You may have the addresses of those clients and customers
who have purchased from you already, which is a great
start. But you also want to start collecting snail mail
addresses from those people who sign up for your list. This
way, when you're ready to send a physical mailing out,
you'll have all the information you need. AND, as email
deliverability gets muddier, you'll always have this other
option of reaching your audience.
2. Plan a campaign
I always tell my clients to plan an online promotion
campaign when they are ready to market a specific product,
program or service, instead of sending out a single
announcement. The campaign I recommend typically includes a
minimum of three emails.
Same goes for an offline mailing. You need to plan a
campaign, with more than one mailing, in order to truly get
and discern a return on your investment.
3. Go cheap the first time
Something I learned when I was the PR director for a
university was NOT to do an expensive mailing until we had
cleaned our list. Peoples' addresses change for a variety
of reasons and you may not always have the most up-to-date
ones when you're ready to send your mailing.
So, here's a tip to clean your list before you start
investing in some higher-end mailers. Send a postcard that
has your return address on it to your current list. Then
update your list via the returned postcards you get. Then
make sure you have your return address on every mailing you
do to keep your list as up-to-date as possible.
4. Keep it simple
Do a postcard, which gets read right away, with a simple,
direct, compelling message and an immediate call to action,
with graphics that don't distract but support your message.
5. Track your mailings
The easiest way to do this is to send your readers to a
simple website address (URL) that you only use for the
purposes of that mailing. All you have to do is redirect
that URL to your existing web page (where your offer
resides) using the tracking link feature in your shopping
cart. That way you can tell how many people typed in the
URL and how many people took advantage of your offer. This
is how you measure your return on your investment.
Getting started with adding direct mail to your marketing
mix isn't difficult. And by combining your online
strategies with offline ones, you'll be gaining a lot more
clients and customers and bringing in a lot more income.
----------------------------------------------------
Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach T,
founder of ClientAbundance.com and creator of 21 Easy &
Essential Steps to Online Success SystemT, teaches
professionals how to attract more clients, create
profit-making products and services, make more sales, and
ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE
tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit
http://www.ClientAbundance.com .
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