OnLetterhead Brandnews

The Inside Scoop on Search Engines

By:  Dakno Marketing

You have a great Web site. You offer great service. And, you’re sure your comissions will go through the roof, if only…

If only your clients could just find you on the Web!

Today, with millions and millions of Web sites, how does anybody ever find anything on the Internet? Is it really as easy as submitting your site to search engines to get it listed?

It can be just that easy. But, sometimes easy doesn’t mean simple.

When it comes to getting listed with search engines, confusing is the name of the game. There are bewildering terms, tricks, and strategies that make getting listed no small adventure. But, if handled properly, using search engines to help you advertise and direct customers to your site can be a very inexpensive and effective way of promoting your business.

Getting Listed

When you want to get your site listed on a major search engine, one way is through “Search Engine Submission”-a process where you simply submit your site for listing. Sounds pretty easy, right? Well, each search engine (e.g., Yahoo, Google, MSN) has different hoops for you to jump through in order to get listed. In addition, some engines even charge you for the honor of showing up in their search results. How nice of them, don’t you think?

Keep in mind that submitting your site to search engines is simply asking the engines to look at your Web site. Whether it seems fair or not, this doesn’t guarantee that you will be included in their listings. Even if your site is included in the listings, it can take months for it to show up. And, even then, your site could be listed on page 24,000! In other words, favorable rankings are far from guaranteed.

Think of it like this, submitting to search engines is like buying a lottery ticket. Just because you have a ticket doesn’t mean you’ll win. But, luckily, there is a way to help increase your one-in-a-million odds to becoming a winner and this magical means is called Search Engine Optimization.

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the act of “tweaking” your Web site so that it’s more favorable to the search engines.

All of the major search engines have computers that surf the web 24 hours a day. They’re called Spiders and they “crawl” (visit) all over your Web site-ranking your site on how well you do a number of things. The tricky thing is that each search engine places importance on different areas of your site. Some rank your site heavily by your MetaTags-lines of code in your Web site that are only seen by these spiders that tell them what your site is all about. Others weigh heavily upon the actual content on your site. And, still others consider how well your code is written, the number of people linking to your site, and the frequency that certain keywords show up in your copy.

Now, let’s say you hit the lottery and your page lists at the top of search engines. Congratulations! On the search engine’s results pages, your site will appear at the top of the page directly under the “sponsored results”. These sponsored results are reserved for companies who bid (meaning they pay money) against other companies to be at the very top of the search results page. These companies are charged every time someone clicks on their link. Being at the top drives business-it’s a good place to be, so these companies are more than happy to pay for the privilege. This method is called Pay-Per-Click.

Pay-Per-Click

Pay-per-click (PPC) allows you to buy your way to the top. If you’ve got the money, this guarantees that you are listed at the top of search engines. There’s no lottery here! You bid against other companies on keywords. Obviously, some keywords are much more competitively sought after than others. For example, if 75,000 people a month are searching on the keywords “loan consolidation,” you better believe that companies that sell related services are going to do what they can to get that top spot. In fact, for loan consolidation the recent top bid was-are you sitting down?-$29.69! That means that the top bidding company is willing to pay almost $30.00 every time someone visits their site. Wow!

Thankfully, this is an extreme example. In most cases, you’ll see bids range anywhere from ten cents per click to a few bucks per click. If no one else has bid on your search term, the minimum bid is only $.10. That means that you and your business can jump to the top of the list for only 10 cents! Amazing, isn’t it?

I bet you’re wondering how to get started?

A company by the name of Overture handles the PPC of most major search engines with the exception of Google. Google has their own PPC called Google Adwords. But, be careful of jumping into this alone. It’s not as simple as just going online, purchasing a few keywords, and then being listed at the top. There are many, many variations of keywords that get very different results. Choosing the wrong keyword(s) could be costly. In addition, since Overture and Google charge a minimum monthly fee that must be spent each month, choosing the wrong group of keywords can result in no increased traffic to your site and a lot of wasted money out of your wallet.

11 email design best practices

By Ryan Buchanan

Sense And Sensibility In Email

by Cynthia Edwards

Amid the millions of marketing emails that are launched every day, it isn’t hard to find some lead balloons. Sometimes even top marketers are guilty of approaches that mislead, defy logic, are distasteful or just plain silly. Here is a sampling from my inbox, presented in the categories of “sense” — for those lacking in logic — and “sensibility,” for those that may breach feelings or trust.

A targeted email that misses by 1,000 miles. I subscribe to a travel e-newsletter that recently started sending me more targeted emails based on what they know about me. Good idea? Not in this case! The emails now feature hotel deals in my home town. Seriously — how likely do they think I am to vacation one mile from home?

Sensible approach: When you get serious about segmentation, ask your subscribers to update their preferences first. I would love to let this publisher know my favorite travel destinations  — if they asked!

Silly tie-Ins. How do you like my fancy Super Bowl shoes? Yes, an online shoe store actually sent me a promotional email themed around the Super Bowl. They didn’t showcase footwear appropriate for a tailgate party or playing tag football in the backyard or doing a happy dance. They just wanted me to buy some shoes.

Sensible approach: Don’t shoehorn your e-marketing into holiday themes unless you can make some connection between the holiday and the content. Be creative!

Check your dates. Recently an online retailer sent me a “welcome” message, congratulating me on being a new customer. The problem? I have been shopping with them off and on for four years. Instead of making me feel special, the email communication made me feel anonymous and unappreciated for my past custom.

Sensible approach: By all means have a welcome stream queued up and ready to deploy to new subscribers or customers; this is a great practice. But do pay attention to your data. A simple query would have separated out customers who have been on the database for a while.

Let them eat cake. With the world economy shrinking and bailouts growing into the trillions of dollars, one-third of Americans are losing sleep over their personal finances, according to the National Sleep Foundation. In this climate, purveyors of luxury goods face new challenges. Sadly, some upscale sellers seem unaware of people’s sensibilities on this score, and some have even depicted their premium goods amid settings of poverty and want.

Sensibility approach: Unless you are sure the individuals on your email database are cavalier about the times, market with caution. Good taste in depicting the use of luxury goods could spare retailers from any pent-up public outrage. Remember the AIG bonuses…

Lies and misinformation. I once allowed an online community to lighten my wallet by $35 for a membership, based on the assurance that people I knew were actually searching for me on their site. In fact, no one I knew was searching for me, even though some people were undoubtedly searching for friends with my (rather common) name. Retention efforts consisted of continued emails with the same tease.

Sensibility approach: It is not nice to mislead people, and it’s no way to build a relationship. Online communities have much to offer — they can easily build campaigns promoting true stories of members’ great experiences and the possibilities inherent in membership, without distorting the truth.

Unsettling subject lines. I receive a newsletter about heart health with the same subject line every month: “Your heart attack newsletter.” I experience a mini-infarct every time I see that in my inbox.

Sensibility approach: Even if your subject matter is deadly serious, you can draw readers’ attention in creative ways that do not upset them. Lead off with this month’s health tip or news about the latest research. Give readers hope through highlighting solutions rather than problems. In any event, every newsletter deserves a subject line that promotes the current content — not just the title and date.

Do you wish to achieve sense and sensibility in your email program? Scrutinize your messages for gaffes and gasps, and ask your customers for honest feedback. They will surely help you get back on the most rewarding path.

Marketers Moving to Social Media

2009 eMarketer

It took a while.

Even though tens of millions of users were flocking to social media sites every day, most marketers stayed away. They either didn’t understand how to join the conversations—without sounding like shills—or they were frightened away by the prospect of associating their brands with questionable content.

But things are changing.

Companies are learning how to leverage social media and tap into the rising tide of consumers participating in social network sites, blogs, wikis and Twitter.

According to the “The ROI on Social Media Marketing” report from the Aberdeen Group, sponsored by Visible Technologies, marketers have developed the tools and methodologies to drive marketing ROI by listening to and learning from customers and prospects.

The money is following the methods.

Aberdeen found that 63% of the companies in their survey (defined as best-in-class) planned to increase their social media marketing budgets this year.

“Companies use multiple approaches to identify the individuals who wield the greatest amount of influence in any given topic area and to track changes in their influence over time,” said Jeff Zabin of Aberdeen. “Best-in-class companies engage these top influencers as brand evangelists, and then track the impact of their words and actions in terms of return on marketing investment.”

eMarketer estimates that social network advertising alone will rise over 17% this year to $2.35 billion, up from $2 billion in 2008.

But simply because companies are increasing their spending on social media doesn’t mean all the drawbacks have disappeared. Measurement, in particular, is a sticking point.

The Aberdeen research showed that 39% of companies found it somewhat difficult to measure social media, and 20% said it was very difficult.

11 email design best practices

By Ryan Buchanan

Lay the foundation

Remember the last great offer you didn’t see? The savvy email marketer knows that you catch more conversions with honey than you do with vinegar, so make sure your email design is sweet!

If you’re starting a new email marketing program, or looking for an edge to take your email campaigns to the next level, consider these ideas for designing emails that get your compelling offer noticed. These tips and tricks will start you off right, and even help experienced email marketers amp-up existing campaigns, turning precise communication into profits and visibility.

1. Before you start

Prior to constructing your email, make sure that your message is clear and concise. Develop and refine what you want to say so that readers don’t lose interest or get confused about what your call-to-action is. What is your offer? How will reading and clicking through this email help the reader? Make sure they know what’s in it for them. Before and during the building process, continually ask yourself, “What would I think if I got this in my inbox? Would I immediately delete it? Or worse, report it as spam?” Rule No. 1 — don’t be spam.

Even the most compelling message can be rendered ineffective if it’s presented in an undesirable way to your readers. During this process you may encounter many challenges and obstacles. Your design team may want to create something striking and beautiful, but your audience may not want it. At the same time, don’t throw readers for a loop with a design that is off-brand. Your email design should be able to flow well with the look of your website as well as any pieces collateral offered. Consistency is good. Also, design the email around your readers by responding to their personality. Are they tech savvy? Parents? Students?

Campaign checklist; messaging hierarchy

2. Email design 2.0

We all know the basic components of email, but let’s face it — your emails have to be pretty sexy to be read in this day in age.

With the amount of email the average person gets bombarded with, email marketers need to be more targeted and relevant than ever as they continually strive to stand out. In this hectic email marketing landscape, it’s very important to send precise emails that resonate strongly with your readers. This means never overlooking any aspect of your campaign.

Try using a campaign checklist to ensure you always send a well-designed, optimized email that will be more likely to get great results.

3. Layout and theme

The hierarchy of messaging is your secret weapon to great email design.

First, keep your layout simple and free from complex tables by avoiding unnecessary embedded rows and columns.

Second, make sure that you achieve balance between the amount of text and images your email contains. Non-text content such as videos or background images should not be used as the main focus. Replace them with an attractive call-to-action button that will lead to a landing page with the promised content.

Since many users simply scan emails in lieu of reading them, it’s important to make your copy easy to process. There are several ways to ensure your message is easy to scan. Try a light background with dark copy, placed in short, centered lines that read vertically above the fold.

Another effective approach is to make sure that your important content is placed in an F-shaped pattern. Studies show that readers will first view the headline, followed by the text down the side and finally the middle section of text.

F-shaped reading pattern

4. F-shaped pattern in action

This design for the InFocus projector took advantage of the dominant reading pattern, which typically follows an F-shaped pattern. Since readers almost always skim content, it’s important to have the crucially important information and primary calls-to-action strategically located in the content.

•  Users first read in a horizontal movement, usually across the upper part of the content area. This initial element forms the F’s top bar.
• Next, users move down the page a bit and then read across in a second horizontal movement that typically covers a shorter area than the previous movement. This additional element forms the F’s lower bar.
• Finally, users scan the content’s left side in a vertical movement. Sometimes this is a fairly slow and systematic scan that appears as a solid stripe on an eyetracking heatmap. Other times users move faster, creating a spottier heatmap. This last element forms the F’s stem. (Source: trustpass.info)

The email header

5. Who’s it from?

A study conducted by eROI found that 50.98 percent of companies are listing their header as from “the company.” Examine how your readers associate their experience with you. Is it on the whole or individually? If you understand how your readers view the company, you can determine how to best send the email.

For example, an organization can use a personalized “from name” (e.g., John Smith) for its sales emails and send them from an individual sales representative. For sales purposes, this can help establish the one-to-one relationship that is crucial to closing deals.

On the other hand, that same organization can use a branded company name as the “from name” (e.g., XYZ Corporation) for its newsletters, as such communications speak to a more general audience.

Keeping user experience consistent

6. Site navigation in email

Nearly 30 percent of marketers duplicate their site navigation in email. Of those, 15 percent find it more effective than the main content in driving clicks, while 11 percent of marketers find their navigation converts better than the main content of their email.

Using site navigation as part of your email design can keep the user experience consistent from email to website to checkout, as evident in these emails from Expedia and The Gap, which focus on transactional messaging and driving traffic to their ecommerce sites. Also notice the two different ways each brand uses the pre-header, which we’ll explore further later in this piece.

Subject lines; pre-headers, footers

7. Subject lines — this is only a test

Did you know only 25 percent of marketers are testing subject lines on a regular basis? If you’re not constantly testing, you’re missing opportunities to find out which ones maximize opens and conversions.

Before you test, make sure that your subject line is relevant to the call-to-action in your email. Subject line studies by Alchemy Worx and other groups have shown that using a subject line with 72 or more characters gives added relevance, increasing click through and conversion. Likewise, by going with a subject line that’s 60 characters or less, the open rate will tend to increase.

The area between 60 and 72 has been shown to be a “dead zone.”

8. Pre-header and footer: Do you have one? Is it working?

The pre-header and footer are two of the most important elements of your email. The pre-header is located at the very top of your email, and is what your reader is going to see before scrolling down into the body of the email.

Currently, one-quarter of companies do not use any type of pre-header, and 80 percent do not use white list instructions. Surprisingly, snippet text is only used by about 13 percent of marketers. Again, it’s crucial for campaign optimization to test using the pre-header a few different ways in order to find out what works best for different campaigns and audiences.

With the footer, make sure that you include an option for readers to view the email by mobile device. Currently, 75 percent of marketers are providing a good user experience by having links for profile and subscription management, yet fewer than 10 percent create a mobile version of their email.

Don’t be a statistic! Get ahead and grab those customers who want to view your emails on mobile devices.

Images; preview pane

9. Use HTML: Got images?

The biggest advantage of HTML emails is the ability to display images. Images help convey brand messaging better than words and can excite and entice the reader to be receptive and interact with your company. But, for those email providers who do not display HTML, make sure you are able to reach your entire audience by linking to a text version available in the pre-header.

Finally, make sure that you have alt tags on all images. By describing the image simply in an alt tag, you will be able to help with user accessibility and tell them what is going on in the image in case it’s not displayed or it’s blocked in their email.

10. Preview pane: Engage before the open

This is what we at eROI call “prime real estate.” This is the window below your inbox that previews the email and is found in many popular email clients such as Outlook and MacMail.

To ensure that the reader is engaged and can clearly view the email, our recommendation is that emails be between 550 and 700 pixels wide. Also make sure that the purpose and call-to-action of the email is made apparent in the top 300 pixels so that readers can see the email even if they don’t open it.

This top area is a great location to place your company logo. In addition, design several different background scenarios so that you can cater to each email client’s specifications.

The final steps

11. Test it and tune it

The last steps before you launch your brilliantly designed email are testing and tuning. Our years of email campaign trials, tribulations, and testing have helped us to develop these tips and tricks for you. Follow them closely and you’ll have less to adjust and fix before you launch your campaign. Keep in mind that testing is the single most important part of your campaign; without it, you’re just flushing away money. Testing lets you know how your email campaigns perform across different email clients and will alert you to any spam traps that you may fall into.

There are four easy tests that you’ll want to conduct through the use of an A/B split. This will allow you to learn more about your subscribers and what they react and gravitate to in your messaging.

The first test is between short and vague subject lines versus long and detailed subject lines. When looking at the results for open rates, clicks, and conversions, you may find that you get a lower open rate with longer subject lines, but a higher conversion rate.

The second test is pretty straightforward. You will compare the results of a graphical button versus a textual link in order to find out which gets the most clicks.

Next, send out a test that compares the results of “$” versus “%” in your subject line and/or body copy. Your readers might react differently to dollars versus percentages.

The last test before you launch is to compare the results of emails sent at different times of the week. For a start, try Tuesdays versus Saturdays.

After completing the final tests, you’re on the homestretch.

The last step is to adjust those elements of the email that did not perform well in the test. Make sure you analyze the results and make adjustments to create the most appealing and effective email before you launch.

With these tips and tricks in mind you should be able to create well-designed and performing emails in no time.

Defining A Third Screen

by Steve Smith

“You’re buzzing,” my partner tells my daughter as they sit on the couch trying to watch “Rachel Getting Married.”

My daughter is always buzzing. I for one am used to the background hum of her friends tossing SMS messages at her throughout any movie or TV show. My partner, who is still learning to hit Send on her new cell phone, doesn’t get it. “You people and your phones. Why don’t you watch the movie?” My nose is deep in my mobile bookmarks, testing sites and catching up on headlines.

“Actually, I like this movie,” I tell her. It has long stretches where nothing essential happens — good for multitasking.” With second and third screens available, you develop a new sense for when relevant drama is about to strike. I pull my head up when Anne Hathaway winds up to emote.

Unwittingly, my daughter and I are exploring our own new ways of using mobile as a second screen. The relationship between the biggest and tiniest screens in the living room is going to be one of the most interesting areas of mobile evolution in coming years, I expect. I doubt any singular relationship will develop. I think there are some times when simul-casting will make sense. I enjoyed having the contestants in one season of “Top Chef” send me SMS messages during the telecast with background gossip on the characters. And sports has already benefited from predict-a-play mobile extensions of live games.

VH1 has a new mobile app called “Watch and Discuss Live Chat” in the App Store that lets its viewers drop into ongoing chat sessions around the on-air show. This is interesting, because it productizes a habit that is already abroad, one-to-one texting during a show about the show. My daughter occasionally reads to me comments that her friends text to her about something we are watching concurrently in our own living room. I am not sure about a model that restricts us to one cable channel, however. I am sure there are “VH1″ brand lovers out there, and that this group is very important to the company. But I suspect a third party would give us a greater reach that maps better against our viewing habits. This would seem to me a great opportunity for the nascent digital video hubs like CBS’s TV.com, TVGuide.com, or NBC/News. Corp.’s Hulu to make a mobile mark. They are fetishizing TV watching in their own ways, so why not offer a mobile app that allows live chat across the network and cable brands, too? This might prove more lucrative and effective than simply mobilizing their current video services.

Another approach to third-screening is creating a new mode of interaction apart from the telecast. The TV brand that helped launch SMS in the U.S. market, “American Idol,” rolled out a new iPhone/Touch app last week with Zumobi. In addition to feeding up to 76 exclusive-to-iPhone Idol video clips and a “Buzz” section of news updates, the app has a fan service element. Users can drag and drop the final 13 into ranking slots that are actually time-stamped. Apparently, predicting the voting outcomes is a bid deal among Idolistas, so you need proof that you called it right ahead of time.

“From a marketer’s perspective, this is a proof point of mobile apps as an entertainment experience,” says Cindy Spodek Dickey, vice president of marketing at Zumobi. “It is not a novelty or a one-trick pony. It is quality content with a really engaging experience designed and developed for the mobile community.”

As we have said here before, a branded app of real value to users requires a serious editorial commitment from the maker. iPhone-specific video was shot for the “American Idol” app and persistent news is fed into a very efficient interface that zooms in and out of the sections.

Zumobi and “American Idol” are enjoying the benefit of full Apple support on this. The app was featured on the App Store deck catalog and in iTunes from the first day. Sitting at number 15 among the most popular paid entertainment apps, it is not killing the charts, however. But this is a case where Apple has a vested interest in the success of the app. There are hooks within the app itself directly into the iTunes music store for on-the-spot purchasing of all the “Idol” tracks and performances. This is one of the more powerful aspects of the applications model, having the ability to push people so seamlessly into multiple revenue streams. Apple shares the revenue with “Idol” production company Freemantle Media. The app is also a platform for brand partnerships, which Zumobi is trying to sell. Plus, the app costs users $1.99. It is rare to see any digital property exercise all three of the major available revenue streams at once, but this is one of the ways that a powerful TV content property can drive such a model.

Curiously, the one obvious thing that is missing from the American Idol app is the most fundamental to the relationship between mobile and the brand: SMS voting. You can’t vote for your favorite directly from the app? Go figure. The VH1 and “American Idol” apps are just scratching the surface. The relationship between the biggest and littlest screen is fascinating terrain because the creative possibilities are staggering here. Imagine having the ability to personalize the TV viewing experience in so many ways via a mobile screen. Sure, tandem usage with laptop and TV screens has been going on for years in living rooms, but usually one person controlled that screen, and the online activity sometimes seemed too ambitious. Mobile screens seem to me portable, personal and ubiquitous in ways that make them better, more reliable second screens. This is a place where the limitations of mobile can be an asset. You don’t want the activity on the second screen to overwhelm the action on the first, but you want to modulate the interactivity.

But let’s not overlook the market and creative possibilities of building longer pauses into our entertainment mix to allow for double-screening. Imagine if future film and TV production adjusted to the reality of multitasking during long boring bits. David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick could experience revivals. In a standard Kubrick flick, you could triage your BlackBerry in-box just in the time it takes to slow-zoom into a scene. I am telling you, look for that “Multitasking Approved” sticker on your DVD or in your download store in five years. “Barry Lyndon: The Mobile-Friendly Edition.” “Dune: The Watchable-At-Last Cut.”

 

Are Email Appends An Achilles Heel For Deliverability And Strategy?

by Ryan Deutsch

Last Thursday, I joined a friend for a pick-up basketball game, played (poorly) for 30 minutes, made a move on the baseline and ripped my Achilles tendon in half!  Four days later, I was in surgery, and I am now in a cast for the next ten weeks….arghhhhh!   What does this have to do with email marketing? Not a thing — other than giving me some extra time to read up on all the latest email articles and putting me in the mood for a good fight — I mean, debate! 

On Tuesday, I came across a blog post denouncing the use of opt-out email appends.  For those of you not familiar with the practice, it is essentially a quick way for marketers with large postal files to add emails addresses to their database.  For example, Acme Company sends their postal file to a database company, said database company matches Acme’s postal records to the records in their database, and when a “match” is found with an email address they add that record (with  the new email address) to an “append” file.  The database company then does a quick “welcome” email to the entire append file with an opt-out only link and then ships the resulting file back to Acme company.  The issue with this process is that Acme Company now has a file that is NOT opt-in and could cause serious delivery problems for their business.

While opt-out email append is not without risk, if managed correctly it can be an excellent way for marketers to grow their email lists.  In these tough economic times, companies are looking for ways to accelerate the use of the email channel, essentially reallocating marketing budget from less “accountable” channels to email.  As experts in the space, I think it is our job to help them do so responsibly.  

We often look at things as black and white with regards to email best practices and deliverability. I understand and agree that from a delivery standpoint, email append can be a bad idea, especially if the senders simply add the append to their current list.   However, I think from time to time we should try and look at things from the marketer’s standpoint.  If we know that they are going to go down this path, why not try to help them do it effectively?

Here are some thoughts on opt-out appends that folks should consider before deciding to throw in the towel altogether:

1. Only append active customer files.  Do not append inactive or “stale” customer files.  These result in poor match rates and are riskier than active customer files.  Furthermore, it is critical that these customers pass the PBR (Prior Business Relationship) test.  As a general rule, be sure that the customer has purchased and/or interacted with your organization in the last 12 months.   If you append bad data you will, as the article I read Tuesday suggests, destroy your deliverability.

2. Build an append-specific communication strategy.  You should not treat your appended email recipients the same way you treat subscribers that have been on your file for months and years.  First, make sure you isolate your append mailings from your core programs.  While I believe opt-out appends can deliver value to a marketer, we must accept that this file IS riskier than the house file.  As a result, keeping it separate limits any negative impact the program will have on your existing email campaigns.  Second, develop a series of communications that repurpose email content for the appended addresses, and be sure to place opt-out front and center and continually remind recipients how they ended up on the email list.  Be transparent; your customers will appreciate it.

3. Build rules to migrate append addresses to your house file over time.  As time goes by, proactively migrate appended addresses into your house file.  Migration should be based on specific recipient activity (clicks, purchases, etc.) Companies can build these rules to apply to their unique business models. 

Of course, as with any other poorly executed email program, opt-out appends can negatively affect your email strategy.  But if executed correctly, they can add tremendous value quickly. In these tough economic times, what marketer can afford to ignore ways to reallocate budget to more effective direct channels?

Tags: email appends, Email Marketing

Geo Segmentation: Add ZIP To Your Email

by Jordan Ayan

Everyone is looking for ways to make their dollar stretch a little further. This may mean clipping coupons, eating at home, carpooling or taking a stay-cation (stay at home vacation) this year. When it comes to email, there’s an underutilized — but highly effective — way to stretch your marketing dollar. And you may just rev up your customer loyalty in the process.
 
Geo segmentation is an advanced email segmentation tool that enables you to segment your opt-in list on a geographic basis using ZIP codes. Using a filter, you can target all subscribers who fall within a specified ZIP code range. For example, a 10-mile radius from ZIP code 12345 will include subscribers from all ZIP codes that even partially fall within that ten-mile range.

Combining geo segmentation with dynamic content functionality to automatically customize each email to the customer’s profile creates highly relevant and personal emails. A national radio talk show host segmented his list to notify his listeners when he was traveling around the country and making local appearances. This information was of high interest to listeners who lived in the cities he was visiting. Similarly, book retailers, concert promoters, and other venues can geo segment lists to promote appearances, performances and events pertinent to that geography. Businesses can geo segment to promote traveling seminars. Restaurants and retailers can geo segment to include retail locations in emails.

Geo segmentation also enables you to target subscribers who are more recession-proof and therefore more likely to buy your product or service. This is not to say that you should drop all marketing efforts to those customers who are not purchasing right now, but geo segmenting allows you to concentrate your effort and pay special attention to those who are spending right now.

This tool can be used to deliver different messages to different audiences defined by geographic location. For example, a retail store can send “Offer 1″ to likely buyers in a nearby ZIP code and send “Offer 2″ (a better one) to buyers further away to entice them to make the trip. Retailers can offer private sales for their best customers or offer a pre-sale event for items that must be seen in person before being bought, such as cars, furniture, real estate, etc.

Finally, geo segmenting enables you to run various offers using different ZIP codes to test the effectiveness of the offers. This will allow you to test for any variable you’d like, including price points, free shipping, gift with purchase, coupons, email copy changes, or combinations of these variables.

Using advanced tools like geo segmentation provides businesses an edge, which is especially important during difficult economic times.

10 High-Impact, Low-Budget Ideas for Marketing in a Down Economy (Part 1)

by Jonathan Kranz

When the going gets tough, the tough get… cheap. Today, a good marketing idea has to be as inexpensive as it is clever. In part 1 of a two-part series, I offer five inexpensive suggestions that can lead to productive results.

1. Use all of the buffalo

The buffalo was more than a source of meat. Hides became clothing and shelter; bones became tools; sinews became bow strings.

Think like a Plains Indian and get the most use out of every marketing effort possible. One case study, for example, can serve as
    * Spider-food on your website that boosts SEO and provides meaningful content
    * A direct mail insert in lieu of the traditional product brochure
    * A tradeshow handout to jump start conversations
    * A leave-behind for sales calls

Bonus

Exploit the public relations potential of a big project such as a whitepaper or e-book. If the content is genuinely valuable (not merely promotional swill), you may be able to pick up good press on the cheap.

One of my clients got a half-page article in the leading trade magazine for its industry—and scored a seat at the executive leadership table in the industry’s dominant professional association as a result of the great press.

Target appropriate editors/bloggers/reporters with your content and include a quick note explaining its relevance to their audiences.

2. Choose your social-media weapons carefully

What’s that background hum? Oh, it’s the swarm of expert wannabes chattering endlessly about Web 2.0, social media, the death of print, etc. No matter what the technology or medium—whether blogs or mobile devices, Facebook or Twitter—the message is always the same: You gotta be there—or you’re a dumb-dumb… or worse, a dodo.

Look, no doubt some of these may have real value for your business. But the hard truth is that you can’t do ALL of them well. Nor should you. Concentrate your resources on the ones that

    * Are likely to be used or welcomed by your target markets
    * You can excel in
    * You can sustain on a regular basis
    * Don’t impose unrealistic burdens on your resources or budgets

Bonus

A client of mine leveraged social media to help a branch of the armed services meet its recruiting targets. But instead of chasing the latest social media fads, they focused their efforts by doing two key things: listening to the online conversations already in progress and creating open content that their target audiences could freely share. Result? They’ve hit their recruiting numbers every month.

3. Go organic

Place greater emphasis on your organic SEO rather than simply dumping money into Google AdWords. It’s not only cheaper, it can be more productive; I’ve read various analyses on the Web suggesting that natural listings attract 60% or 70% of clicks as opposed to 40% or 30% for paid listings.

Successful organic SEO requires

    * Aggressive identification of keywords that should be optimized for each significant page on your site
    * Development of deep content that feeds search engine spiders and attracts incoming links
    * Constant monitoring of your site statistics to track trends and progress

Bonus

Don’t neglect your titles and meta descriptions. “Titles” are the words that appear at the top of the visitor’s Web browser. Search engine spiders take titles seriously, so be sure yours include keywords. The “meta description” in your HTML is what the search engines use to describe your site when it appears as a response to search query; write yours to appeal to potential customers.

4. Play to your strengths

Many years ago, as I was starting my copywriting career, I met a businesswoman who shared what she described as the best advice she ever got at a motivational seminar: Don’t try to improve your weaknesses; just concentrate on developing your strengths.

I think that’s wise. For us, it means focusing our business operations on our most productive, profitable areas and focusing our marketing efforts on those strategies or tactics at which we most excel.

It’s not a matter of what works, but what works for you. If, for example, cold-calling simply isn’t effective, drop it. If you’re good at networking, plan on investing more of your time and money on networking opportunities this year.

Bonus

So many of my clients get hung up on this so-called “elevator speech” thing—that 30-second pitchoid that each of us is supposed to have at the ready. The problem with these things is that they sound every bit as contrived and unnatural as they really are. So forget about them. Instead, think about questions, things you can ask new prospects that can jump-start conversations and lead to a natural introduction of your products or services.

5. Profile your best customers

Consider this reverse-engineering for marketing. Think of your best customers. What do they have in common? Is it an industry or role? A similar problem or challenge? A quality of temperament, habit, or attitude? The answers form a profile of the kind of prospects you should pursue.

Then think about how you attracted your top customers. Did they come to your Web site first? Or respond to a direct mail campaign? Or meet you at a conference? Again, whatever worked, do more of. And consider trimming back the rest.

Bonus

Be prepared for surprises. You may have started your business with the intent of serving one kind of customer with one kind of need, but in retrospect you may find that your best business comes from an entirely different kind of client with a different need.

I work with a company, for example, that started out in the business of providing inexpensive security for PDF documents. But, over time, it found that the real interest lay in offering PDF analytics—and they’ve shifted their efforts accordingly.

In Part 2…

I’ll offer the remaining five tips.

Everything is Possible

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