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April 12, 2010

Get More Out of Direct Mail by Making it SENSUAL

Filed under: Marketing — Apryl @ 8:56 am

Want to get more attention with your direct mail pieces? Now you no longer have to rely on just the visual sense to grab the all-important eyeball. I recently read an issue of Inside Direct Mail Weekly (by Crystal Uppercue of EU Services) that had some interesting insights. Here are a few tidbits:

Smell
“Scratch- n-Sniff” is so yesterday—but today’s new mail is benefiting from state-of-the art micro-capsules that can be embedded in paper for an oh-so-realistic and yummy smells each time the paper is touched. According to “Whiff! The Revolution of Scent Communication in the Information Age” by C. Russell Brumfield, scent has the power to evoke images, memories and emotions like no other sense—yet marketers generally ignore it.

However, Royal mail of the UK sent out a “chocolate letter” which generated a whopping 80% recall among 6500 recipients—and a gardening center used the same technology to imbue a mailing with a “cut grass” scent. The technology ads 10 to 20 percent to production costs, but might be well worth it, depending on your product.

Hear Ye…Hear Ye…
“Web-enabled print” ads are tiny touchables can be affixed to a magazine page, direct mail or any print vehicle. Readers touch or click on them to make something happen, such as being sent a coupon or a free sample from the advertiser. Click here for a demonstration from a top developer of the technology, SpyderLink.

Hey, Honey…Taste This!
Mailing a bulky taste sample isn’t always practical, and it’s expensive, to boot. However, according to the Australia Post, companies down under are experimenting with wafer-thin Peel ‘n Taste® technology. A flavor of a product is replicated and applied to a dissolving, edible film strip (like those used for mouthwash) packaged in tamper-resistant sachets. Check it out at: www.firstflavor.com.

Who knew that technologies like these could help us “get back in touch” with our target markets by engaging their senses in print media? While there is no doubt that the rising costs of direct mail have given many marketers pause, these new technologies could breathe new life into their use—especially if they increase returns like the chocolate letter sample. Check out the rest of Crystal’s article at Inside Direct Mail Weekly.

Have you employed any of these tactics? Would you be interested in doing so?

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April 2, 2010

Heads Up! Important Social Media Summit Coming in May

For those of you who are confused about what the heck to do about incorporating social media in your marketing mix, here’s some light for the end of your tunnel. My old “apprentor,” Mike Stelzner, has organized another virtual Social Media Success Summit for 2010, and has lined up an all-star cast (over 20) top industry gurus to give detailed webinars on our favorite subjects.

Check out the following video for details. He’s running a limited time, half-off pricing for the event (you can even pay in 2 installments–and every little bit helps today). The price will go up soon, so if you want to come, I would jump on the half-off pricing. I did~!


Michael Stelzner, founder of SocialMediaExaminer.com explains the power of social media

I went to the summit last year, and it really took a HUGE bite out the learning curve for me–plus I made some great contacts with others across the world.

Don’t miss out on this–here’s the link for more information: Social Media Success Summit 2010.

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January 19, 2010

3 Common White Paper Mistakes–FREE Webinar

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 8:34 pm

Are you rethinking your marketing plans for 2010?  Have you contemplated using white papers to grow your business?

If you’re pondering these questions, I strongly recommend an upcoming webinar (it’s free) called 5 Ways to Grow Your Business With White Papers and the 3 Mistakes You Must Avoid coming on January 20, 2010.  I know both  presenters and they’re great guys.

Bob Bly (author, White Paper Marketing Handbook) and Michael Stelzner (author, Writing White Papers)—are the world’s leading white paper experts, and they’re coming together for the first time.

Wouldn’t you like to  attract quality leads and grow your business? You can make 2010 the BEST year ever with the world’s number-one marketing tool—the white paper.

The free seats are limited, so be sure to go here and secure yours now before they’re gone: http://bit.ly/7bUmqW.

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January 7, 2010

SUPERCHARGE Your Marketing in 2010!

Today’s corporate executives don’t want a sales pitch, they want valuable content that helps them solve their business problems. Without a doubt, the best collateral to do that is white papers. If you’re a marketer who wants to unleash the power of the mighty white paper to reel in qualified leads, White Paper Success Summit 2010 will show you how.

At White Paper Success Summit 2010—the only online professional development event of its kind—white paper thought leaders will serve an all-new menu of proven business-building tactics.

Michael Stelzner, organizer of last year’s sold-out inaugural White Paper Success Summit and author of the best-selling Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged, says now is the time for white papers: “The old-fashioned way of selling—advertising, traditional press releases and product marketing—doesn’t work anymore. These days, educational marketing is much more effective and that’s where white papers come in.  And white papers are especially effective in a down economy.”

White Papers Influence Decision Making
A September 2009 survey by Eccolo Media supports Stelzner’s comments. In the study, which polled 501 executives involved in B2B technology purchases, 84% rated white papers as moderately to extremely influential in purchasing decisions. The survey also revealed that white papers are the most frequently shared type of collateral—with 89% of respondents passing them on to other people.

If you’re a marketer who is under the gun to produce quality leads in 2010, the masters of white paper marketing will share their secrets at White Paper Success Summit 2010.

In addition to Stelzner, you’ll interact with an all-star team of white paper experts, including Bob Bly (The White Paper Marketing Handbook), Brian Carroll (Lead Generation for the Complex Sale), Jonathan Kantor (Crafting White Paper 2.0), Roger C. Parker (White Paper Design That Sells), Joe Pulizzi (Get Content, Get Customers), John Jantsch (Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide), Jill Konrath (Selling to Big Companies), Ardath Albee (eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale) and Gordon Graham, to mention a few.

Tricks of the Trade
Here’s a sampling of a few of the Summit sessions, where the white paper pros will reveal the tricks of the trade:

* More Business Than You Can Handle: How to Achieve the Business Dream With a Single White Paper
* Supercharging Your White Paper Distribution for Maximum Impact
* Launching White Papers Like Products: 7 Steps to Boosting White Paper Performance
* Leveraging Social Media to Promote Your White Papers
* Proven Techniques for Using White Papers for the Complex Sale

In exclusive live forums at the event, attendees will pose questions to the white paper “professors” and use special LinkedIn groups to network with peers. If you miss a live session, no worries—you’ll have  access to recordings and transcripts of every one.

No need to book pricey hotel reservations, pack a bag and trudge off to the airport to attend this conference. You can relax and enjoy the online Summit from a comfortable chair in your home or office. The sessions are spread over an entire month so you can fit them into your hectic schedule.

Highly Successful Event
To say that last year’s White Paper Success Summit was a hit is quite an understatement—96% of attendees (including me) said they’d recommend the event to a friend. In fact, last year’s Summit was where I met Mike–and how I became his Apprentice!  Plus, the other folks like Jonathan Kantor, Roger Parker, Bob Bly and others who taught at the 2009 Summit are all very approachable, kind, and lots of fun to learn from.  I promise.

The 2010 Summit starts Tuesday, February 2 and runs through Wednesday, February 24.  Attendees can get tickets at significant discounts by booking early, but time is short.

Don’t rely on the same old sales pitches in the coming year. Attend White Paper Success Summit 2010 and learn how to generate a steady stream of leads by providing valuable business content with white papers. Now is the time—your business might depend on it.

“Without costly ads or fancy designs, white papers are saving businesses by establishing thought leadership, attracting steady streams of quality leads and helping businesses close deals,” says Stelzner. “Once a white paper is done, it can continue to reliably deliver leads for months or years to come.”

For more information or to register for the Summit, visit http://bit.ly/4IiJsC

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December 7, 2009

Help People Find You: Optimize Your Social Media Profiles

Filed under: Copywriting, Marketing, Social Media — Apryl @ 12:33 pm

How long ago did you create your LinkedIn, Facebook or YouTube profiles? Do you remember? Did you know that certain aspects of your information profile have SEO value?

 

If it’s been a while since you created your social media profiles, things have changed a bit. The industry is evolving, and it helps to stay on top of how your favorite channels can be optimized for better search results. In the next few blog posts I’ll share some of the tidbits I’m learning in my International Social Media Association (ISMA) certification course to help you make the most of your online networking efforts.

 

Today I’ll start off with LinkedIn, because it’s one of the oldest networks. Most of us set our profiles up long ago and then forgot them! Here are a few tips to polish up your info:

 

Develop an Updated Keyword List

 

You should use your keywords in as many places as possible in your social media profiles to take advantage of today’s enhanced search features. Take a look at your current list and update it to include phrases around your:

 

·        Industry

·        Job title

·        Offers

·        Products

·        Services

·        Clients

·        Company name

·        Client’s industry

 

You’ll want to keep this handy for optimizing all your public profiles. For LinkedIn, you can use these keywords to optimize your headline, content, updates and summary, so strategize a bit about those items, and use terms that your potential clients may be using to find your services.

 

Pull up LinkedIn’s People and Company search options and study the fields available, then do some searching on your own with a few specific keywords and see what you come up with.

 

You can also use those keywords when writing answers to industry questions in LinkedIn’s Answers tab—or when coming up with questions of your own.

 

Customize Your Profile Link & Website

 

To can edit your website name, which defaults to “My Website.” Just click the little [Edit] tab next to the field and change the name. Mine currently says Apryl’s Writing Website, but I’m thinking of changing it again. Also, it’s a good idea to change your public profile link (from the default letters and numbers) to a name that will be easy to remember and share.  There’s a handy “Customize Your URL” example right on the profile page before your summary.

 

Once you get started, you’ll probably find several areas in your profile that could use improvement —but that’s ok. Consider it a work in progress, and make a note to stop back in and make updates periodically.

 

Over the next few posts I’ll concentrate on Facebook, but if you’ve come across more items on improving LinkedIn, please share!

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