Develop Loyal Customers with Email Marketing - How to Grow Your List

Marketing to customers has changed over the last few years. If you're wondering how you can use online tools to help your business grow, you're not alone. Twitter and Facebook are great at getting customers to you. But what do you use to keep your customers loyal? That's where Email Marketing comes in.

Whether you’ve just got on board with Email Marketing or have done it for years, you can use this information to develop a loyal customer base. We’re starting this series of Email Marketing information with growing your list.

How to Grow Your List

There’s no real magic to growing your Email Marketing list. It takes tenacity and patience. Below are some simple ideas that can get you started.

Service/Sales Calls

• If you notice that your customers are asking the same type of questions repeatedly, gather your answers and put them in your E-Newsletter.


• Choose what topics you want to discuss and write 2-3 sentences for each topic.


• Tell prospective clients/customers about your E-newsletter if their questions are relevant to the topics covered and ask if they would like to be added to your mailing list.
  

Networking Event

• Choose your recipients carefully and make sure you have permission to e-mail them.


• Do not send a mass email to everyone at a networking event.


• Make 5 good connections and ask them if you can follow-up with an E-Newsletter.
  

LinkedIn

• Having a network on LinkedIn doesn’t necessarily give you permission to send a mass Email to everyone in your network. Chances are you’ll lose some great contacts!


• If you are consistently in contact with a group of professionals on LinkedIn, ask for permission before hitting the send button.
  

Tradeshows

• Your main goal is to stand out from hundreds of other exhibitors and make sure that leads remember you.


• Have a Preferred Customer Mailing List notebook to gather information from interested leads. Use a small spiral notebook – they’re easier to handle and tend to be more memorable.


• Print out an email address where the Email will be coming from and place the signage near the signup notebook.


• Put a person next to the sign-up notebook to lend a personal interaction.
  

In-Store Guest Book

• Have customers sign-up and write their Email address themselves. 60% of customers who sign-up themselves will give you a real email address.
  

Website Sign-up

• In the upper right corner of each landing page, place an area where people can sign up for your newsletter.
  

Tune in next week as I discuss how to get people to open your Emails! Click here to go directly to article.

Lessons from Celebrity Apprentice – Episode 1

Episode Synopsis
The celebrities on Celebrity Apprentice, Season 3, were separated into two teams - the women's team and the men's team. The women named themselves Tenacity and picked Bret Michaels to lead the men's team in their first task. The men called themselves Rock Solid and chose Cyndi Lauper to lead the women's team. Their first task was to run a diner during the lunch-time rush to raise money for their charities. Obviously, the team who raised the most money won.

Surround Yourself with the Right People
As soon as they were assigned the task, Bret Michaels turns to Curtis Stone, a renowned chef, and admits that he knows nothing about running a restaurant and that he was going to count on Curtis’ restaurant and cooking expertise to help Rock Solid win. A great leader recognizes his own weaknesses and surrounds himself with people who are experts in their field. Sure, Bret didn’t pick Curtis to be on his team. But he knew immediately who to turn to for help.

Don’t Underestimate Your Competition
Tenacity picked Bret to be the men’s project manager because he was running on an hour of sleep. They figured that his lack of sleep would impede his judgment and leadership ability. Boy, were they wrong. Rock Solid is comprised of, well, rock solid team members. They rallied behind their leader. They stepped up to the plate when Bret needed help (Curtis with his cooking expertise and Bill Goldberg lending a hand when Bret’s blood sugar was too low). And they kept their goal in mind.

Know Your Target
Tenacity did a great job advertising for their fundraiser. On the morning of the fundraiser, the women did several radio interviews to broadcast their fundraising event. They got the publicity they wanted. Tenacity had a long line of people waiting to get in the diner to meet the stars and buy a $25 burger. The problem? The line was so long that friends of the celebrities couldn’t get in . . . friends with deep pockets. Tenacity was serving people who were more interested in photo-ops than donating and ended up turning away serious donors.

Keep Your Goal in Mind
Rock Solid didn’t really do any advertising. They had window signage while Sinbad directed traffic into the diner. But they didn’t need advertising. They knew they needed to raise more money than Tenacity. Why waste their time targeting the Average Joe who couldn’t afford a serious donation? They called all their friends in New York and asked them to come and support their fundraiser. Rock Solid priced their items so high that many people who casually walked in to order a burger or salad walked right out without ordering. But guess what? Their strategy kept their doors open for serious donors. And serious donors they got. They sold truffle burgers and truffle risotto for $250! For every one burger they sold, Tenacity had to sell 10 of their $25 burgers! They didn’t need to bring in a large crowd. They just needed the RIGHT crowd!

SUMMARY
In case you missed it, the men raised nearly twice as much money as the women and won the first task. Sure, their price point was a little risky – but they were targeting a specific customer. Their goal was to get BIG donations, not to attract the biggest crowd.

Are you targeting the right customer?

Social Media: Tweeting Effectively for Your Business

BE PROFESSIONAL
It’s all in the set-up!
When you set up your Twitter account, use a professional photo or logo, a professional user name, a professional description, and a background that reflects your business. Be personable yet professional looking and sounding. Just what that looks like will depends on the nature of your business.

Start tweeting usable information related to your business.
For example, tweet stock information if you are stockbroker, tips on choosing produce if you are a farmer, or tips to make money onlineif you are an online marketer.

Share articles that you are reading relative to the field you are promoting.
Stay in your industry of your site or business. Become a valuable resource by filtering articles others would be interested in. If others like them they will retweet them to others. Retweeting is taking someone else's tweet and re-broadcasting it to your followers.

Sound like an expert.
Provide a regular tip and point followers to your blog or E-zine article. Shorter than 140 characters so that regular followers can use and retweet. Figure you start with 140 characters minus your tweet name and minus 5 more characters. The @ sign in front of your name makes up for the 5, and the space after your name when it is retweeted.

EFFECTIVE TWEETS
Use Hash tags.
What are hash tags? Hash tags are a simple way to organize topics. For example if you are tweeting or twittering about knitting, you would create a hash tag by adding the # symbol in front of the word knitting. You hash tag would look like this: #knitting. Now that you have created a hash tag, how do they benefit you? A hash tag is clickable and searchable. For example if someone is searching for tweets relating to knitting they will do a search for #knitting. Also if a person encounters a tweet with the #knitting hash tag, they can click on the hash tag to find other results with the #knitting hash tags. Essentially, you are making your tweet easier to find and viewed by more people.

Retweet often.
Why would you want to advertise other people's tweets? There are several benefits to the practice of retweeting. One of the benefits of retweeting is that it helps to add followers. Another great benefit of retweeting is that you will probably be retweeted back by the person you RT'ed (retweeted). Retweeting works on the idea of, scratch my back and I will scratch your back. If you are retweeted you should do your best to retweet back. When I retweet I try to think about my followers. Will my followers benefit from this information? Will this retweet bring me more followers?

Set up a list of retweeters.
This will make it easier for you to retweet those who retweet you.

Send a Direct Message.
Thank followers that retweet and that you retweet back, sort of like a if you scratch my back I will scratch your back. Then make sure to retweet something of theirs.

Schedule your tweets ahead of time.
Some people have the luxury of spending all day in front of the computer. Most do not have such a luxury. Get a program such as Twaitter or Hootsuite. These programs will allow you to schedule your tweets ahead of time and they are free.

Announce things about your business periodically.
Gradually begin adding the occasional marketing message to your tweets. Let people know what you can do for them. If you are selling a product or service, people like "free," "contests," "discounts" and other relevant information.

ATTRACT FOLLOWERS BY BEING A FOLLOWER, TOO!
Follow people in your industry.
You can keep up with the latest news in your industry and respond to tweets that enable you to showcase your expertise. Retweet relevant information to your followers, too!

Follow people who may be interested in your products or services.
Many people new to Twitter will randomly follow anyone, but just as you target customers in offline marketing, you are likely to see more results from Twitter if you work on getting a targeted following. Use # and keyword(s) in the search function to find prospective customers.

Grow your list of followers.
As more people follow you, more people will see your tweets. Start by adding those who follow you. Add those who retweet you. You can do a search by location and add those people who live near you. Most tweeters will follow you back.

Cultivate relationships with your followers.
Make sure you are engaged and act human when writing in Twitter. Read and comment on other Twitters. Retweet their posts. Respond to someone who writes you. @sign is when someone is writing to you.

Source: e-How.com

Designing Direct Mail that Sells

With social media and online advertising on the rise, you may wonder if direct mail is still an effective way to use your marketing dollars. Have you checked your mailbox lately? Chances are, most of the advertisements you receive go straight to the recycle bin. But there is always a post card, flyer, or insert that pulls you in and piques your purchasing interest.

Perhaps you received a post card for an air vent cleaning with free carpet steaming – just while you were thinking how dusty your house keeps getting and how disgusting your carpet is looking. Or maybe you received an insert announcing a sale on bath towels and a $5 off coupon – just as you dug out your mangled old towel from the dryer. Sometimes timing is everything.

Whatever the advertisement, you’re now thinking about making a purchase. Response rates from direct mail are usually lower than e-mail campaigns. But, as with all marketing campaigns, repetition and reinforcement are keys to reaching your customers. So how can you design an effective direct mail piece?

The basics are in your mailbox.
When you need inspiration, just go to your own personal direct mail idea vault... your mailbox! You probably receive tons of good direct mail each year. Set aside packages that catch your eye. The companies mailing these have spent thousands of dollars researching the best methods. Why not learn from their research?

Always try to beat your previous response rate.
Play around with the design before sending the mailing out again. See if minor changes make a significant difference in the response rate. Send out different versions of your design to similar groups in your database, and test to see which one results in the most responses. Whatever you do, test it, and then test it again!

Use words that grab the reader’s attention.
Here is a recent list of “Words that Grab Attention,” produced by Starch INRA Hooper Research Worldwide:
Announcing / Discover / Easy / Exclusive / Free / Guarantee / Health / Help / Immediately / Introducing / Know / Learn / Love / Money / New / Now / Powerful / Profits / Protect / Proven / Results / Safe / Save / Secret(s) / Today / Trust / Understand / You

Source: PostNet

Home-Based Business Ideas for $5,000 or Less

Need a Business Idea? Here are 55. You can start any of these home based businesses for less than $5,000.
By Entrepreneur Press & Cheryl Kimball May 20, 2009

This article has been excerpted from 55 Surefire Home Based Businesses You Can Start for Under $5,000 by Entrepreneur Press & Cheryl Kimball, available from Entrepreneur Press.

Today, tens of thousands of people are considering starting a home based business, and for good reasons. On average, people can expect to have two and three careers during their work life. Those leaving one career often think about their second or third career move being to their own home. People who have been part of the traditional nine-to-five work force and are on the verge of retiring from that life are thinking of what to do next. The good news: Starting a homebased business is within the reach of almost anyone who wants to take a risk and work hard.

$1,500 or less to start up

1. ACCOUNTANT
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

2. BICYCLE REPAIR

3. BOAT CLEANING
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

4. BUSINESS PLAN SERVICE
Has expansion possibilities.

5. CHIMNEY SWEEP

6. CLEANING SERVICE

7. COMPUTER REPAIR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

8. CONSULTANT
Has expansion possibilities.

9. DOG BREEDER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

10. EBAY ASSISTANT

11. EDITORIAL SERVICES
Has expansion possibilities.

12. ELECTRONICS REPAIR
Has expansion possibilities.

13. EVENT PLANNING
Has expansion possibilities.

14. EXPERT WITNESS SERVICE
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

15. FINANCIAL PLANNER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

16. FLEA MARKET
Has expansion possibilities.

17. GOLF COACH
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

18. HOME ENERGY AUDITOR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

19. HOME INSPECTION
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

20. HOUSEHOLD ORGANIZER
Has expansion possibilities.

21. IMPORT/EXPORT SPECIALIST
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

22. INTERIOR DECORATOR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

23. JEWELRY MAKING
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

24. MARKETING COPY WRITER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

25. NOTARY PUBLIC/JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

26. PERSONAL CONCIERGE

27. PERSONAL TRAINER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

28. PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

29. SMALL ENGINE REPAIR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

30. SOLAR ENERGY CONSULTANT

31. TAX PREPARER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

32. TAXIDERMIST
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

33. UPHOLSTERING

34. USED BOOK SALES

35. WEDDING PLANNER

$1,500 to 3,000 to start up

36. APPLIANCE REPAIR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

37. COMPUTER TRAINING

38. DESKTOP PUBLISHER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

39. FENCE INSTALLATIONS

40. FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

41. GIFT BASKET SERVICE
Has expansion possibilities.

42. GRAFFITI REMOVAL

43. HAIRSTYLIST
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

44. HERBAL FARM STAND

45. LANDSCAPER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

46. MASSAGE THERAPIST
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

47. MOVING SERVICE

48. MUSIC LESSONS
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

49. PHOTOGRAPHER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

50. RUG CLEANING

51. WEBSITE DEVELOPER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

$3,000 to $5,000 to start up

52. BED AND BREAKFAST

53. CHRISTMAS TREE SALES

54. DAY CARE
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

55. PET SITTING
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

Market Research: Keys to Brand Success

Companies are oftentimes turned off by the idea of market research for many reasons. For one, it can be time consuming and costly. You may also be afraid that by asking consumers what they really think about your brand you may be opening up Pandora's box. But the value and importance of market insight research should never be overlooked. Performing an effective market research can be the difference between a company's brand success and failure.

Here are some points to keep in mind:

• When building your brand, begin with the end in mind. What outcome do you want? What would you measure as your success?
• Spend a day in the life of your audience. As a market researcher, you will need to become the customer. Attend events that your consumers attend. Visit places they would normally visit. Shop where they shop. Audit your competitors! With this experience, you can develop a meaningful brand experience in a tonality that speaks to them.
• What do consumers currently think about your brand? Develop a strategy to obtain unbiased information from your consumers. You can use on-line or phone surveys, facilitate test groups, or coordinate one-on-one meetings. Ensure your participants that their answers are completely anonymous.
• What do you want your consumers to think about your brand? How do you want consumers to perceive your brand? Is it the best value for their money? Is it the most technologically innovative? Is it tastier? Does it last longer? Is it brighter? Can it increase their chances of survival? Does it improve their health?
• What can you do to stimulate a change in your consumers' perception of your brand? Everyday consumers are bombarded with marketing advertisements without even knowing it! Your challenge is to develop a relevant message that stands out from the clutter! Remember that repetition and reinforcement are key to getting your message across to your consumers. Be consistent with your promise. Make sure your advertising, whether its online or print, reflects your consumers' actual experience.

Brand communication is about persuasion and marrying your organizational objectives with individual consumer behavior. The process is a continuous cycle:

1. Discover your brand perception ->
2. Execute a strong marketing campaign ->
3. Measure your results ->
4. Learn from your results and make changes if necessary ->
5. Begin step 1 again.

Market insight research is important because it reduces uncertainty, reduces risks, and reveals opportunities. For instance, you may be uncertain of your brand's success or consumer perception of your brand. Research can also prevent a financial disaster by revealing financial or branding risks you should avoid. Finally, your market insights can reveal areas where you can increase the value proposition of your brand to consumers, increase brand equity and credibility, and enhance the performance of your product.

Source: Mitch McCasland, guest speaker at DFW-AMA Marketing Research Special Interest Group. Topic: "Insights Made Easy: Connecting with Your Customer"