Author: Katie Darden

Top Ten Tips for Using E-Mail to Improve Your Marketing Effectiveness

E-mail is used extensively throughout the world for both business and personal use. As a small business person it can be a very valuable ally in your marketing effort.

Here are some tips that will assist you to use e-mail effectively.

  1. Let your Signature Tell a Story.
    Make sure you enable the "signature" feature in your e-mail program. This feature allows you to create a short message that goes out at the bottom of every email you create or reply to.

    Some keys to an effective signature:

    • The message should be short – no more than 3-7 lines.
    • It should contain your name and the name of your company.
    • It can contain your tag-line, Unique Selling Proposition or Competitive Advantage.
    • It should contain your website address (if you have one). It does not have to contain your e-mail address since that will be in the header of your e-mail anyway.

    An example of an effective e-mail signature:

         Alice Friendly
        Friendly Services, Inc.
        707-444-4444
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        We make it easy for you to make friends!!
        www.friendly.net

    AOL doesn't currently allow you to do this "automatically", so if you have AOL you'll need to cut and paste or type it every time. I understand the next version (ver. 5) will allow it.

     

  2. Have an Integrated Approach.
    If you have your own virtual domain, make sure your email address reflects it. Using our example above, which makes more marketing sense: johnt@internet.com or john@friendly.net? It's easy to have the "friendly.net" mail forwarded to the internet.com address (ask your webmaster to do this), and, unless you use AOL, it's easy to change your e-mail program to send the "friendly.net" address on your outgoing mail (check your Help files). Unfortunately, AOL doesn't allow this.

     

  3. Entice Your Audience in a Subtle Way.
    Whenever possible, create a "signature" that's included in your Bulletin Board or Discussion Forum posts. This gives people who are interested in whatever you've had to say an opportunity to not only e-mail you, but can also provide the address so they can look up your website.

     

  4. Provide Added Value.
    When responding to someone's question or comment on a newsgroup, e-mail list or discussion group, it's okay to discuss your expertise or offer something from your website that solves their problem, but beware of blatant advertising or promotion. For instance, if someone is asking about using the Internet for job searches, it's okay to let the person know about a page on your site that provides links to several resume posting services. On the other hand, it's tacky to say, "That's my business and I can help you for a fee." Provide something of value on your site, and they'll come back.

     

  5. Provide Good Customer Service.
    Respond to your e-mails in a timely manner. And let people know what to expect in terms of your standard response time. Be sure to answer complaints immediately. Use good customer service techniques and follow through until the issue is resolved. Make your answers short and positive, but avoid being abrupt.

    When you are replying to a message, only include the relevant parts that you are responding to. It's sometimes tedious (and difficult) to wade through several paragraphs trying to find the newly added comments. And, when a discussion has gone back and forth several times, the e-mail file can become overly long.

    Remember, some issues are better handled by phone, regular mail, or in person. Use e-mail to set up appointments or to share information. Even using the smiley icons can't really express irony, humor or wit very well. NEVER USE ALL CAPITALS – IT'S LIKE SHOUTING AT THE OTHER PERSON.

     

  6. Build Your Network Database.
    Begin today to collect the e-mail addresses of all your prospects, customers and clients. Let people know you will protect their address and keep it confidential. When you return from a business trip or conference, send a short e-mail message to the folks whose cards you've collected. Make it personable and friendly, and if possible, add some value by including information you think they will find interesting.

     

  7. Broadcast Your Message.
    If you have an e-mail account, you can send out broadcast e-mails. For instance, you can effectively use e-mail to announce sales, send newsletters, surveys, schedule group meetings, etc.

    Many traditional media are beginning to accept e-releases. When you send your press releases through e-mail, make sure they are very clear (who, what, where, etc.) and get to the point even more quickly than you would with a mailed or faxed release.

    If you send out e-letters, be sure to include information about how an individual can unsubscribe or remove themselves from your list. You might even want to follow up with people to find out why they unsubscribed. You could learn a valuable customer service lesson.

     

  8. "Group" Your E-mail.
    Learn how to set up "groups" to make your process easier. Using groups streamlines the process and lets you add and delete people from a specific "group" list rather than having to individually add everyone to every mailing you send.

    When sending out a group e-mail, only put one address in the "to:" field (use your own if your e-mail program allows it) and put the rest in the blind carbon copy ("bcc:") field. This way you respect the privacy of your group by not passing their addresses on to everyone else. E-mail privacy is a very big issue. Using this process also eliminates the problem of having to scroll through several pages of header information just to get to the message.

     

  9. Use Descriptive Subjects.
    With all the competition for people's attention, it's even more important to make sure your "subject" field is quickly and easily understood. Many people skip over (or even delete) messages unless there's some compelling reason to open and read them. Give them a reason by having your subject tell them what's in the message. And use effective marketing techniques to focus on the benefits.

    And a suggestion from John Butel (Organised Solutions – jbutel@volante.com.au) "For short messages use the subject line only. Get your message across and people don't have to spend time opening the email. Takes your message to the top of the list when selecting emails to open."

     

  10. Proofread For Safety.
    Assume your e-mail will be read by everyone – even though it probably won't!! Re-read it at least once before you press 'send', and for goodness sake, spell check it for errors!!

©1999 Katie Darden – Career Life Institute

5 Secrets to Marketing Magic

"…Because its purpose is to create a customer, business has two—and only two functions: Marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results, all the rest are costs." Peter Drucker

1. Understand Your Product

If you can’t state it, your customers won’t see, understand, or want it

  • What are you REALLY selling?
    You must be able to articulate this is a way that makes others want to buy from you.
  • Features vs Benefits
    Always focus attention on the benefit to your customer as a result of using your product or service.
  • Unique Selling Proposition/Competitive Advantage
    What makes you/your product distinctively different?

2. Have a Marketing Plan

Whatever marketing plan you intend to roll out, test first to measure your success probability and to reduce the risk of failure. Test prices. . .Test product. . .Test headlines. . .Test everything. Have a diversified effort and then continue to test EVERYTHING. Some areas to consider:

  • Public Relations
  • Publicity
  • Direct Mail
  • Personal Selling
  • Trade Shows/Industry Participation
  • Newsletters
  • Specialty Items
  • Articles, Books, eBooks & eProducts
  • Speeches, Seminars, Workshops
  • Referrals
  • Networking
  • Ads – newspapers, signs, flyers, radio, TV, Yellow Pages, etc.
  • Thank you notes & gifts
  • Coupons, Special Offers, etc.
  • Websites, email signatures, etc.

3. Understand Your Customer

How do you create real value? By understanding what's important to your customer or client…and then providing it

  • Who is your “ideal” client?
    Ask yourself:
    "What do I know about them, their buying/spending habits?"
    "Where would my customer look for me?" Then make sure you put "yourself" (your coupons, advertisements, website address, etc.) in the places where they can find you.
  • What do your clients need? How can you find out?
    Ask your clients:
    "How can I help you?"
    "How can I make it easy for you to buy from me?"
    And of course: "What else?" (do you want, need, wish to tell me…)

4. Value Existing Customers

  • Follow their needs
    You can use a simple data base to track customer buying patterns as well as the effectiveness of your marketing plan. Determine the "lifetime" value of your customers and clients, and continue to find ways to keep them loyal by providing what they want and need.
  • Special offers/preferential treatment
    Existing customers have already made a commitment (they've spent money with you), don't reserve your “specials” just for new customers – reward the loyal (existing) ones, too. It's much easier and more cost effective to sell to existing customers than to try to find new ones. Surprise and delight your existing customers by giving them "freebies" or added value from time to time.

5. Collaborative Marketing

  • Networking

    • Networking is really relationship building. When you want to expand your market, an effective way to have instant credibility is to use the influence of someone who is well respected. Remember to provide value, not only in the product or service you are offering to the "new" network, but also to the person who is introducing you to their network.

  • Host/Beneficiary Relationship
    Consider who you know that you could "team up with". People with complimentary businesses (those who market to similar customers) provide a great non-competitive way to expand your own customer base. (It works the other way, too!) By the way, have you ever asked your suppliers or vendors for help in growing your business? They have an interest in keeping you in business, too.
  • Referrals
    Remind your customers that your business grows through their referrals. And then, make sure you thank and give value back to those who are willing to share their satisfaction of your services with others.

What makes some businesses more successful in the marketplace? They continue to explore new ways to bring in business. Remember what marketing guru Jay Abraham has to say about your marketing plan:

When you limit your business to doing things the same way every other competitor of yours does it, you can only produce modest, incremental gains at best.

© 1998-2001 – Katie Darden, Career Life Institute

Personal Management

(NOTE: Although this article was originally written for a woman's publication, the same basic principles of self-care apply for each of us, regardless of gender.)

Women are natural supporters. We take care of our families – our children, our spouses and our parents. It’s a natural extension for us to take care of others who need us. That’s why so many women “naturally” find themselves in a supportive role in business – whether the job title is clerical support, secretary, or administrative assistant.

Even those of us who have never actually held the “secretarial” title, find that in general, we are more concerned than our male counterparts with the well-being of our employees. As women, we tend to empathize with the child-care and personal life issues when they come up because they are so close to us in our traditional roles.

Unfortunately, we caregivers (male and female alike) don’t always take as good care of ourselves. To be successful in our modern multi-tasking world, it's just as important for us to be concerned and considerate with ourselves as it is with our employees.

Remember that sometimes you must simply put yourself first, regardless of deadlines or other outside requirements.

This translates into time for yourself and your personal needs. Each of us is different, and our individual needs will be different. Just as we have schedules that require us to block out time for various projects, it’s important to create appointments with ourselves to take care of our needs and nurture the creative parts of ourselves.

Take time to rejuvenate yourself – in whatever way is important to you. This means taking the time to just “be”. As Deepak Chopra says, we are human beings, not “human doings” or “human thinkings”.When you take time to "re-create" yourself, not only do you recharge your own batteries, you will discover that ultimately you have even more to give to your work and to others.

So pay attention to what is important to you. Discover and develop a personal regimen that is right for you.

Notice your venus weight loss reviews diet and what works. Understanding your body and what it responds to well will give you a better sense of control and may ease some of the bodily tensions of keeping to rigid and artificially imposed schedules. This could mean spending 2 hours on Sunday reading, doing your nails (or waxing the car), or walking on the beach with the dog. It could mean working out with weights or creating a regimen for yourself that includes a walk every morning.

Personal time also means recognizing that no matter how efficient and effective we may be on the job, being a superwoman/superman is an unrealistic goal. Life has a natural order of activity and rest. We have the seasons, and we have the agricultural growing cycles to remind us. Life has a natural order of activity and rest. Creating balance is what life does naturally. If we want to offer 100% of ourselves in our business roles, then we have to play as hard as we work.

Being a whole and complete person means taking care of ourselves, too. Maintaining our mental, physical and spiritual health and vitality will go a long way towards insuring our longevity and business success over time.

©1998,2003, Katie Darden, Career Life Institute

Successful Entrepreneurship – Achieving the American Dream

Note: This article was written in 1999, but the trends continue along the same lines, making it relevant today.

Did you know the number of women owned businesses increased 89% over the past decade to an estimated 8.5 million? Or that during that time they generated $3.1 trillion in revenue, a 209% increase after adjusting for inflation? The Small Business Administration’s Office on Advocacy recently completed their Women in Business statistical report, and concludes that the projected growth rate through the year 2000 and beyond will continue to outpace the overall rate of businesses in the United States.

For those of us in business, it’s truly an exciting time. For those of us considering our own business, help can be found. Organizations such as the North Coast Small Business Develop Center (NCSBDC) and the Women Entrepreneurs Institute often sponsor entrepreneurship courses to assist budding entrepreneurs to overcome barriers and pitfalls on the road to success.

By the year 2000, it’s expected that women-owned sole proprietorships will number 7.1 million, or 35% of all sole proprietorships, an increase of 33% over the preceding decade, compared to an overall increase of 23%. The Office of Advocacy also estimates that by the year 2005, there will be 4.7 million self-employed women, an increase of 77% since 1983, along with an increase of 6% in self-employed men. More and more of us are opting to be our own bosses.

But where do you start? How do you get going so you can be part of the growing numbers of entrepreneurs and self-employed? What if you’re not sure about your business idea? Identifying and tapping into your resources is the way to start. Taking a course in entrepreneurship or business plan writing will give you the opportunity to clearly identify your business concept and what it has to offer; to research and analyze your markets, your customers and your competition; to fully develop your business plan; and to consider how much cash you need to get started and keep going.

Extensive resource materials are available from the Small Business Development Centers and the Western Entrepreneurial Network at the University of Colorado (Denver). Although it may initially seem to be a lot of work, when you take the time to research and develop the specific components of your business plan you will create the necessary foundation to start a new business or restructure an existing business for growth and expansion. And completing a business plan is essential to secure the funding you need.

A good course will help you define your dream. It will include real world experience and advice from local business owners who have successfully faced the same challenges. And along the way, you must use your networking skills to begin to build your own support network of business and financial professionals from among the other participants, speakers and the business world.

Nearly three-quarters of all women-owned firms accessed some type of credit in 1993, with one half using traditional loans and 60% using nontraditional sources. Whether you’re just starting up, or expanding an existing business, cash is still king (or queen). A good course will cover cash flow issues and financial statements, and provide some kind of access to representatives from local financial institutions who can explain available funding sources and share information about what is needed from you to access these resources. Your local SBDC will also be able to provide feedback on various aspects of your business plan. They may even have automated business plan software that can assist in putting your plan together into a professional package.

Not surprisingly, more than 60% of women-owned businesses were operated in the home when they were first established. With the use of today’s technology, and one really good idea, anyone can be “up and running” in a short time. If you or someone you know has an interest in fulfilling your own American Dream of becoming an entrepreneur, entrepreneurial training can be an inexpensive way to insure you learn how to build the foundation and network for success.

By Katie Darden
(Note: If you would like more information about local classes e-mail the Career Life Institute at info@careerlife.net,