The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

Is sending a printed newsletter passe?

For years, I have been receiving (in my mailbox!) a 2-page bi-monthly printed newsletter from Alyssa Lebovic, of NJ-based Keller & Lebovic,CPAs. I recently asked her if it's worth the time and effort and expense to write, print and send it, now that email newsletters have become so inexpensive and easy. Here's what she said:

My thinking is that at first, I looked like a dinosaur with a paper newsletter, but I continued to stand firm and now we've been bombarded with email newsletters to the point that I delete most of them unless I really know the person, like you, so I can only imagine that other people do the same.

I've become such a minority at this point, that I have little other competition for people's attention to read mine. I hope that people put it aside to read when they're on hold on a call or otherwise have a moment, to read it and save it for later or as a reference.

My partner and I have agreed to disagree on the value of this newsletter. We send about 450 to clients and about 250 to contacts and prospects. I am committed to maintaining the databases at 700 names, so each mailing, (bi-monthly) forces me to clean the list to keep it at no more than 700.

My partner says, if you can't follow up 250 names, then what's the point. My argument is that it's cheap advertising (I'd still need to order the main subscription to send to my 450 clients) to a directed target of people who have met me somewhere, sometime in the past 2-3 years. By repetitively getting in front of them, it's still passive marketing.

And every so often, someone will say, "You know, I've been getting your newsletters, and I've been meaning to call you and I finally got around to it." So, I figure, even if that's only once or twice a year, it still paid for itself and you just can't measure how much name recognition subliminally works on people.

I agree with Alyssa, although I haven't sent anything like that in the mail in years. What do you think?

Introducing: The Un-Newsletter

Even though I think email marketing is still one of the best ways to stay in front of prospects and clients (and I love MyEmma.com as an email marketing service, especially if you take advantage of our 20% discount, I am moving away from recommending that you send out an email newsletter.

Instead, I am recommending an un-newsletter.

You see, the word "newsletter" seems to trip people up. It takes too long to write and too long to read. The "un-newsletter" is much shorter, doesn't require a lot of reading or writing (sometimes just a couple lines and a link to more, for those who want it) and still serves the main purpose: to remind everyone that you're out here and available to help.

My own newsletter, Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor, is gradually becoming an un-newsletter too. (If you don't already get that, you can sign up here: http://www.marketing-mentortips.com/)

What do you think about this idea of an "un-newsletter?"

Guest Post: Marketing Through a Slowing Economy

Colleen's note: Today's guest poster, L.A. designer Heather Parlato, seriously walks her talk. We've "known" each other online through Spencer Cross's KERNSPIRACY designer's mailing list for years, but it wasn't until this year that we met in person—and we've met now at three separate networking events! (So far—another one coming up next Wednesday, in the Marina; any of you interested Angeleno indie biz types please, check it out!)

With the slow-down in the economy, the question comes up repeatedly—how are you marketing yourself to stay afloat in leaner times? When the latest incarnation of this question surfaced in a KERNSPIRACY discussion today, I circulated a list of ideas I think work well for small businesses and sole-proprietors, and Colleen asked me to share them here.

We all know we’re supposed to keep marketing and stay visible, so I decided to get personal by investing more time & energy in existing relationships, and kicking up my networking circuit to build new ones.

Holiday Gifts – Borrowing from Marketing Mentor’s Designers Guide to Marketing and Pricing, I picked a selection of my favorite clients and sent holiday gifts. To keep them affordable, I made them myself, shopped for cute packaging, assembled personalized elements, and sent them through the mail.

Mine Existing Clients for Referrals – Pick the clients you like working with most and tell them how much you appreciate them [because it’s true] and then ask them if they know anyone else as fantastic as they are who might need your services. If appropriate and affordable for you, offer an incentive for them in the form of a discount.

Mailing Campaigns – Taking the advice I give clients all the time: map out the year and plan a campaign of evenly-timed, seasonally-relevant mailings. It can take between 6 to 12 touchpoints before a company decides to hire you, so put your name & brand in front of them regularly throughout the year.

Chambers & Industry Associations – I decided to expand on my current affiliations by looking into a larger area chamber, and other business-supported organizations that offer regular networking opportunities and referral breakfasts. I tend to target area before industry, but a quick search on the criteria that’s important to your practice can lead you to organizations where potential new business can be found.

Social Networks – Expand your social networks for maximum exposure. Cross reference everyone you know in every community. Scour any communities relevant to your business focus for meetings, mixers & seminars and meet people face-to-face as well [biznik.com, meetup.com, blankspaces.com, mediabistro.com].

Trade Clients – If you can afford to, and are approached by a client who offers a good trade in place of payment for services, consider taking it. A major touchpoint of your brand is the experience of working with you, which can lead to referrals to new business.

Marketing Mentor’s 2009 Marketing Plan – This isn’t a paid plug—the plan just happens to work really well with my style, personality and willingness to market myself. Admittedly, the smaller checkpoints allow you to make a lot of headway in small steps. I feel good when I know I’m doing everything I can to further my business, so this plan keeps me on track.

Try a selection of these strategies and see what works. The mantra in times like these is to get noticed and stay visible, so when you find what works for your business, make the commitment to keep doing it and expand on the ways in which it works best.

Heather Parlato is a freelance graphic designer in Los Angeles enabling small- to mid-sized companies to expand market presence through smart design solutions. She can be found online at www.heatherparlato.com.

Guest Post: How a copywriter uses Facebook (and gets projects!)

A recent post on the Marketing Mix suggested that Facebook is the least useful of the social networking services. I agreed when I first read it, but changed my mind a few days later when Facebook dropped a potentially lucrative prospect in my lap (more on that in a moment).

Facebook has enormous potential to be a colossal waste of time, but with a few simple strategies it can also be a valuable part of your marketing toolbox. It may lack the professional directness of sites like LinkedIn and Biznik, but its “ambient intimacy” can keep you visible to the clients you want most and put you on the path to valuable client relationships.

Here are four strategies to help your creative business get the most out of Facebook:

Publish and promote your work in my new book!

Can a book change the world? We're about to find out with my next project, and I'd like you to be part of it. There's absolutely no cost for you to be involved, but your participation could place both your work and the issues you care about in front of thousands of influential readers worldwide. And that’s good marketing!

The book will be called Designing for the Greater Good, and I am working on it with Jonathan Cleveland of Cleveland Design -- who also did the recent redesign of the Marketing Mentor web site and blog. This new book will showcase the best design work for non-profit and cause-related marketing produced in the last five years.

There's a much larger purpose for this project compared to other design books. That's because we won't just be presenting the best socially-responsible design that's going on in the world today. We also want to tell the stories of the people who are doing it and raise awareness of the causes that mean the most to you.

This is your opportunity to be part of a movement...something bigger than a design book. We want to see your best work for a cause, whether it's for a non-profit organization or a paid campaign designed to bring about social change.

There's a lot of great cause-related work happening out there (probably a lot more than we know) but there's never been a book that reveals the best the industry has to offer until now.

If you're one of the people doing it, I’d like to hear from you today.

Visit the official book website and submit  your work online today to learn more!

2009 Can Make You Stronger

As we start 2009, I am thinking about the challenges ahead.

I've been hearing lately from many creative professionals who relied, during 2008 and before that, on word of mouth and a couple good clients. Now, not so suddenly, the pipeline is empty. So they're starting to put a business development foundation (i.e. a Marketing Machine) in place.

It's not too late, that's for sure. And if you already have one in place, you're ahead of the game. Early 2009 is going to be an important time to rev it up.

If you need business now, here's what to do: network your butt off and pick up the phone.

These two tools are the most proactive ones available and they will bring you into direct contact with people who may need your services.

When deciding who to call, start with everyone you know. The relationships you have already established will lead you more quickly to available work because you won't need to waste time introducing yourself and building trust from scratch.

I am convinced that this year has the potential to make a lot of us much stronger.

(And if you want help, check out our new 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and online and in person Marketing Mentor Groups to keep you accountable. They get started the week of January 19. Details here.)

Do "open rates" matter?

Last month, I was on the panel at the October Taste of Technology session that focused on email marketing (read about that here), moderated by Jennifer Sheehan of Technology Therapy.

During the discussion, we were asked about average "open rates" for email newsletters (that is, now many people "open" the message, according to the tracking through your email marketing provider). As the flood of email increases, open rates seem to be decreasing.

That's when the question came up as to whether, for an email marketing campaign, open rates and click thru rates are even relevant.

I suggested they might not be, based on an email exchange with my client, Bob Bly, who runs a very successful Internet business. (I had asked Bob to share open and click thru rates for his email marketing messages. His response to me: "We don't track that because we don't think it's relevant.")

What do you think? Do you watch yours? What do they really mean? How accurate are they? Does it mean someone actually read your message? Or just that their cursor happened to land on it? And if they do matter, what can you learn from them? How can you use them?

Please answer any or all of these burning questions.

Holiday ideas (already!)

It's time to start thinking about holiday gifts for clients and prospects. But with this strange economic situation, things may be a little different this year.

We're not sure yet what to do. I like to give something useful and relevant and not so expensive, of course. So we're tossing around a few ideas along those lines. (Here's my latest find for something decidedly not useful or relevant, but delicious nonetheless.)

How are you handling holiday gifts? Any different from last year? What are you planning to give, if anything? What resources and web sites do you recommend?

Guest Post: Another HARO success story

We're big fans of Peter Shankman's Help a Reporter Out (HARO) mailing list here at the Marketing Mix blog. Previous guest poster and NYC-based feng shui consultant Ann Bingley Gallops is, too. Check out her latest experience with the list, and how she addressed the reporter in question to maximize her chances of becoming a journalist's resource.

I am on Peter Shankman’s Help a Reporter Out (HARO) mailing list. One of last Monday's editions (editrix's note: HARO goes out three times daily) contained the following query:

"I need an expert in the field of Feng Shui to speak about how harmonizing your bedroom/house will help relationship dynamics. This article will be posted on Beauty News NYC, an online beauty publication with over 400,000 unique visitors monthly. This is an opportunity to promote yourself as an expert. High resolution photo needed.”

I responded immediately with the following email:

"I am a Feng Shui expert here in NYC and have just given an entire workshop on this very topic, Feng Shui in the Bedroom.  In Feng Shui, the bedroom is one of the top three most important areas in any home. I love to talk about it because there are so many things people can do with Feng Shui to enhance their love lives in the bedroom."

I signed off with contact information and a link so that the reporter could check out my credentials.

The result? The reporter contacted me immediately to ask about my background and experience, and out of over 30 respondents to her query, she chose me for her piece. She told me that unlike the other responses she received, mine was "the most sincere". I interviewed with her the next morning and will be going to her home for a sample Feng Shui consultation. The results will appear on BeautyNewsNYC.com throughout the month of December. 

What did I learn? That “Be Yourself” applies in the field of media relations just as it does in so many parts of business life. This reporter didn’t want to hear about all the credentials I’ve accumulated until she was convinced that I was passionate about what I do.

Here's your chance to shine eco-consciously!

Crescent Hill Books, publisher of many collaborative design books (we told you about one of their logo books a ways back), is currently accepting submissions for a new book on eco-conscious design, The Big Book of Green Design. Over 1,000 entries, printed on environmentally-friendly paper, and no charge to submit.

This link will take you to their submission site. You'll need to take a moment create an account in order to view the various books and to submit your own entries.

Don't dilly-dally, either. Deadline is December 1, and November is a short month!