Ever wondered who creates the spam that you get in your e-mail inbox? It turns out that spammers are “very special” people and they might just be your nerdy neighbor next door. SpamBlockers created the following profile which describes the typical spammer: Personal Characteristics – Predominantly male – 16 – 35 years old – Single…
“Different isn’t always better, but better is always different.” – Marshall Thurber, entrepreneur I like this quote because it sums up my thinking about how customers will buy an offering because of its differences and not because it is similar to another offering. This is true even if the offering is a commodity or is…
Writing great e-mail marketing copy is hard work. You can always outsource it to a professional copywriter, but you will discover that the good ones are already booked and that they are very expensive. If your budget dictates doing this writing in-house, here are a few ideas, in no particular order. Great writing requires great…
For many e-mail and web marketers the youth market represents a major financial opportunity. Yet, the legal risks are high. The website “Xanga” was recently fined $1 Million for COPPA violations, for repeatedly allowing children under 13 to sign up for the service without getting their parent’s consent. Read on. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection…
Creating publicity with public relations is a lot of hard work but studies show that PR is 8-10 times more believable than advertising. Getting your name in the newspaper, in the trade press, on the internet, on the radio, or on television helps build credibility and helps build your brand. A PR strategy has the…
You own a small business and don’t have a lot of money for market research firms or consultants. What can you do to better understand your competition? Here are a few ideas: • Visit your direct competitor’s stores and talk to the sales staff; it is amazing what people will say. • Websites can be…
The “executive summary” is the first part of the business plan that gets read and may be the only part of the plan that actually gets read. Its job is to get the plan funded whether by an investor or a banker. Many plans are rejected based on the executive summary alone, so perfecting this…
E-mail marketers figure that once a list member has opted-in that this means that their readers will read and value their e-mail marketing letters. Well, this is not always the case. According to blogger Stefan Eyram, “BACN” is a marketing e-mail that many readers agreed to receive, but is not immediately read, if at all.…
A highly effective marketing technique used by successful e-mail marketers is to personalize the e-mail letter. This personalization can be accomplished in many ways. One way to personalize an e-mail letter is to use the recipient’s organization logo or web site. The purpose of a personalized image is to provide a familiar frame of reference…
Some people will tell you that niche marketing can be like jungle warfare and that you must conduct battle like a “guerrilla soldier.” You may have heard the term “guerrilla marketing” used by others. Admittedly, this is a powerful image but I believe that this paramilitary characterization puts the focus on the wrong parties: you…