The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

Create a Newsletter Subscribers Value

We hear all the time that people "just don't know what to write about" in their e-newsletters. Well, thanks to Karen, here is a source of very good ideas.

Giving value is essential in today’s marketplace, regardless of what industry you’re in.  Today I’m going to share one way I give value to my newsletter subscribers.

First it may help you to know who my target audience is: People who work at charities and professional membership associations responsible for getting donations, raising funds, and for acquiring members.  By the way, charities and associations are both nonprofit organizations.

Because I’m a copywriter and marketing advisor, my newsletter content centers around these two topics as they relate to my target audience.  I publish twice a month.  Oh, and my subscribers include clients and prospects.

Each issue contains a main article plus three to five short tidbits of information.  I refer to these as “Hot Tips” and they’re the focus of this post. 

Why? Because many subscribers have told me these Hot Tips are very helpful to their work, and that they’re a big time saver for them.  Subscribers love them.

What’s in these tips?  Examples include:

• Upcoming conferences, workshops, webinars.
• News articles related to marketing and fundraising for nonprofits.  There’s a sentence or two of teaser copy with a link to the online news article.  
• Bits of advice and recommendations on how to write better copy – or market themselves better – to help the nonprofits reach their goals. 
• Another idea that compliments or builds upon the topic of the main article.
• Updates on what the U.S. Postal Service is doing and how it impacts nonprofits.
• Other funding sources such as grant resources, contests where the nonprofit winner receives cash or a gift-in-kind (i.e., professional services), award programs for nonprofits, etc.
• Creative examples of what other nonprofits are doing to help spark the creativity of my subscribers.  Examples come from direct mail, email, social media, mobile, and anywhere.

I hope that gives you a few ideas on what you might also share with your readers. 

Newsletters are a powerful marketing tool.  But they require content that your readers find valuable.  And the content they value isn’t always what’s most valuable to you.

Karen Zapp is a freelance copywriter and marketing advisor.  Clients include charities and professional membership associations.  Karen publishes a newsletter (ZAPP Nonprofit Leader), and a blog (ZAPP Nonprofit Blog).  She is also the co-author of “Mobile for Nonprofits: Connecting Donors Through the Power of Mobile.”

Are your clients inside your head?

Welcome to Week 45 of my adventure as a member of the Marketing Plan Group. In my posts, I talk about my voyage down the road of self-employment as a website copywriter, my achievements and roadblocks along the way, and what I’m learning from my group experience.

Our prospects are not inside our heads. And even if they were, they still might be confused about what we do.

Because in order to tell others, we first have to be clear about it ourselves. Right?

Laura Foley, Massachusetts-based designer and PowerPoint expert, did something simple and brilliant in her latest newsletter. She took a look at what she really does for clients, instead of the generic idea of what she thinks she does. I liked this so much, I took a stab at it myself:

What I usually say/think I do:

“I’m a copywriter.”

Here’s what I really do for clients:

• Write the words that go on websites
• Develop and polish the ideas they send me for e-newsletters
• Create taglines
• Get their personality across with words
• Simplify, refine & take out nonsense
• Write cool, fun bios
• Determine their page layout based on the content they need
• Listen
• Guide them
• Show personality
• Get inside their heads & their audience’s heads
• Research keywords and write meta tags
• Remove stress

I just thought it was really innovative to take a deeper look at what I actually do. Your turn! Give it a try, and post your responses here.

This reminded me of a blog post Dyana Valentine did last summer, Pitch Perfect: How-To. Dyana is the master at helping you figure out how to say what do you. In the blog post, she talks about creating the “perfect pitch,” and she shares this amazing handout.

Need more help creating the magic? Work with her. You’ll create something incredible.

Listen Closely to Your Ideal Clients

In response to my latest Quick Tip, What Do Your Ideal Clients Say?, in which I asked what separates typical clients from your ideal clients, I received a question from a designer -- and I’d love to get some insight from other creatives on it. Here’s the question:

When I think about what our ideal client says, it would have to be, “It’s important to us that it’s very well designed.” But that could be a big company, a small company, an individual who is starting a company, etc.

How do you identify who out there cares about the quality of their design (other than if their materials already are well designed – in which case, they may or may not need us)?

What do you think? Any insight to share?

Our first time was all smiles and candy bracelets

We are just back from Denver where, after a very successful CFC, we moved over to the HOW Design Conference where we had a Marketing Mentor booth in the Resource Center (see photo below). It was our first time at a trade show, and we had so much fun meeting new people, hearing what they do – and sharing what we do.

We were like kids in a candy store. Speaking of candy… people seemed to love the candy bracelets we were handing out, and we found ourselves to be quite popular because of them. We were thrilled when one person said, “I was in a bad mood, and this candy bracelet just made me so happy!”

From talking to so many people at the trade show, something became very clear:

The more you talk about what you do – the more natural you become.

Deidre and I got plenty of practice talking about Marketing Mentor – and as the time passed, we got more and more casual and adaptable. Conversation just flowed, and we found ways to connect with people depending on each unique situation. By immersing ourselves in this trade show situation, we got better.

Here we are in the booth:

 

Want to practice your 10-word blurb?

Join me and Dyana Valentine in NYC this Wednesday, June 16th, at 6:30PM. Details here: http://workingtoday.org/events/2010/winter/speed-networking.html

How do I make social media productive?

Last week, I did a presentation for ASPP with Allen Murabayashi, co-founder at PhotoShelter, where we talked about marketing strategies for photographers and small business owners.

Allen’s presentation, Social Studies: Understanding Social Media for Business, shared some really good insight and guidance about how to use Twitter, Facebook and Blogs to achieve the marketing goals you have. One of the most important points he made (with which I agree) is this: "Having lots of 'friends' is useless if you cannot get them to do what you want them to do."

You can’t tell from the slides what a sense of humor Allen has, but if you couldn’t be there to hear the presentation, at least you can see what he was presenting with…

Check out Allen’s post (and slides) here: http://blog.photoshelter.com/2010/05/social-studies-understanding-social-media-for-busi.html

A business card that stands out

If you network (which I hope you do), and if you’re coming to the Creative Freelancer Conference (which I hope you are), then you need a business card.

While I think a business card is very effective, even when it only includes the basics, sometimes something more unique, edgy, or different can stand out and make you memorable to your prospects and connections.

Do you have a business card?

If not, and you’d like some creative ideas, check out this blog post on Freelance Switch, 37 Unusual Examples of Business Card Design.

P.S. These business cards are highlighted in the Creattica gallery. Creattica is a gallery of great design and inspirational imagery. Anyone can submit their work for consideration and voting on items is open to one and all. The best work is accepted and featured in the gallery which receives thousands of visitors every day.

How far are you from Denver?

We're counting down – only 10 days 'til the Creative Freelancer Conference.

And it’s not too late to attend -- especially if you’re near Denver! If you can drive there, take the bus there, or even get a last-minute deal on a flight, we know it will be worth your while.

Join us on Friday, June 4th for the Tweet Up. It’s open to all (even if you’re not attending the conference). Details here: http://twtvite.com/summertweetupdenver

Save $25 and enter to win a free iPad and 2011 conference registration too! Details here: http://www.creativefreelancerconference.com/twittercontest/

All CFC attendees get a free 6-month trial subscription to Creative Business –which includes the incredible newsletter devoted to creatives as well as unlimited phone and email support.

Are you hesitant because you don’t know anyone? Don’t be. Most people come to CFC alone looking to make new connections. Find out more in this video I did with Dyana Valentine.

Are you making money by using freelancers and temps?

In the latest edition of the Creative Business Newsletter, Cameron Foote talks about Profiting from Freelance & Temp Creatives. Here is an excerpt:

Workload and the means to handle it can occasionally get way out of balance, necessitating extra help. But assigning work to outsiders raises possible problems, not the least of which are ensuring quality and profitability.

It could be because you’ve downsized, and business is beginning to pick up again. Or maybe you’re overloaded but unsure how long it will last. Or maybe you want to avoid, or at least delay, going the employee route altogether.

Whatever the reason, work flow is under water, and you’re not ready to hire permanent staff. So you need to hire an outsider to help get things done. But you also can’t afford to lose money or control of quality…

This article covers:

•    Being prepared
•    Where they’ll work
•    Taxing Issues
•    Making Money
•    Controlling Quality
•    Protecting Vital Interests

Also in this edition, The Coming of Age for Electronic Marketing amd What Do You Own? And When Does It Matter? In addition, you will get advice on special rates, retainer overtime, employee pay, valid sign off, forced collaboration, downturn causes, spec response and photo use.

Find out more about the Creative Business Newsletter or sign up here: http://www.creativebusiness.com/

P.S. In addition to way cool networking, know-how, and inspiration – all Creative Freelancer Conference attendees get a free 6-month trial subscription to Creative Business – which includes the incredible newsletter devoted to creatives as well as unlimited phone and email support.

Share your non-linear marketing story

In my latest Quick Tip, How Marketing Really Works, I talk about how marketing is never linear and it takes multiple marketing efforts -- over time -- to get the project. (And how sometimes, you don’t even know how it all happened.)

Here's that tip and some more details about how it actually happened.

Recently, I wrote a recent blog post called, Should I Friend My Mom?, and I asked my client Jonathan Cleveland of Cleveland Design, to read it and comment. It was a few days later when he did, by which time another post was first up, World's Best Subject Line, by another client, copywriter, Conrad Winter.  So he read them both.

Why was Conrad’s guest post on our blog? Because the day before, he had sent out his email newsletter, called the World’s Best Subject Line, and Deidre (our Mix Mistress) read it and thought it would perfect for the Marketing Mix, and she asked Conrad if she could post it.

On the day that Jonathan read the post, one of his big, big clients asked him to find a copywriter for a big, big project. Because he had just read the post, Jonathan thought immediately of Conrad, called him, connected him to the client and within a day or two, Conrad had the project.

Here’s what Conrad had to say about all of this:

I had met Jonathan almost two years ago at HOW, but hadn't stayed in contact. I didn't want to pester him, and I just assumed he'd remember me if he ever had a need. The reality is that I wasn't on his radar at all until he saw my post. It's a good lesson to me that you have to do people a favor and remind them that you're out there.

If that’s not enough of an example of non-linear marketing in action, take a look at what Kathleen Giarrano from Giarrano Design sent in response to my Quick Tip:

Last week I ran into a friend at a tag sale and gave her one of my fun marketing postcards. Later she ran into a friend at a school sporting event who needs a Web site. She gave her friend the card. We had a meeting on Monday and I just sent off a proposal to design a Web site for her start-up Belgian chocolate and party favor company. Weird but true.

Has this happened to you?

If you need help getting your marketing efforts on track so they can produce some linear, or non-linear results, join my next Marketing Plan Group. It starts on May 6th. Details here or fill out this form.

World’s Best Subject Line

If you're like me, you probably strain over what to put in the subject line of your e-blasts. You ask yourself:

"What will compel people to open it and not delete it?"

"How do I make sure my email passes safely through spam filters?"

"Is there anything I can do to make sure people know it's from me and not some freak in a dingy back room in Karachi?"

Your subject line, and your attribution line—you know, the "from" of your email—are worth straining over. Because if that adage "if they don't read your headline, they won't read your ad" is true for print (and it is) it is 100 times truer with subject lines.

In the case of subject lines, the listless, the over-hyped, or too-familiar end up being trashed before they even have a chance to become an email—or worse yet, they spur people to opt out or tag everything from you as junk.

Let's not let that happen. Here are some tips I've learned from writing emails for the likes of Audible.com, CENTURY21, and last week's Thinking Creatively Conference.

• Keep it to 69 characters (including spaces)
• If you have to go over in characters (long subject lines display, but not as well) put the important stuff first.
• Don't be redundant; put your company name in the "from" line and don't repeat it in the subject line.
• Try packing a benefit to your recipient in the subject line
• Action verbs are best, e.g., learn, see or start.

Rather than writing a general line about all the great stuff inside the email, highlight one exciting detail.

For more tips like this, sign up to receive Conrad’s newsletter “a little something from backpocket copywriter” at www.backpocketcopywriter.com/tips.htm