Thoughts on Marketing…

If you’re in business of any kind, your e-mail signature can be an even better “silent salesman” than your business signage, because it’s not fixed in one spot.
You might think it’s only for business correspondence. Many real estate professionals have a signature with their name, the name of the company, a phone number, and the [...]

Want to do something today – right now – that will help build your business?
If you have a pen, a piece of paper, an envelope, and a stamp, you can do just that. You can write a thank you note.
In fact, you’ll do even better if you write a dozen thank you notes. And if [...]

If you’ve been wanting to set up an e-mail marketing program but don’t want to lock in to a monthly fee, you’ll like this news.
Yesterday I learned about a system called Mail Chimp that you can use for free as long as your list stays under 500 people.  And since it takes a while to [...]

Is your mailbox full of junk? Mine sure is, and some of it is getting really annoying.
I can’t count how many e-mail marketers have been telling me things like “Only 2 days left” – “Today’s the last day!” and similar shouting-type messages for at least the past 3 weeks.
If it’s the last day, fine. Wonderful [...]

You know I’m a big fan of using autoresponders to stay in touch with past, present, and future customers.
But lately I’ve been seeing people doing it all wrong, and I think they’re doing themselves more harm than good.
When customers opt in to get your messages, they expect the messages to hold some interest for them. [...]

Last night I somehow ended up on a web page advertising software that would improve your SEO.
According to the ad, running your article and your headline through this software would tell you if you were using enough key phrases and apparently would insert them for you. I’m not really sure, because it wasn’t making a [...]

Whether you’re writing a postal letter, adding copy to your web site, sending an email, or placing an ad in your local newspaper, it’s important that your customers don’t have to think when they read your message.
OK – I hear you telling me that of course they have to think. And they do. They [...]

Well, it was my fault, of course, because I didn’t buy them. But I’m going to blame the owner of our local grocery store.
It’s his fault, because he not only hired the produce manager, he keeps him on year after year. And because the guy is so rude and nasty, I detour around the produce [...]

Marketing your business in tough economic times requires more from you than marketing when business is booming.
The message you send out must be clear and compelling, and give your prospective customers a reason for buying that they can’t resist. In addition, the methods you choose to get that message out must be carefully chosen to [...]

Small business marketers across the world are trying to get their message out to consumers – and failing miserably.
They know they have a wonderful product or service, but somehow, no matter how often they send a letter or an e-mail, and no matter how often they pay to have their message printed in a publication, [...]