Postcards Work

What's the fastest, simplest and cheapest way to promote just about any business?

The answer is postcards sent by direct mail. You can get your message to a targeted group of prospects or to your existing customers for a cost of about 25 to 30 cents each including postage. You can actually send someone a postcard every 30 days for only $3 a year.


Postcards Work.

You can generate leads, create sales, ask prospects to give you a try or convince existing customers to buy more or buy more often.

Postcards Work.

What are the 2 biggest secrets of marketing with postcards?

1. Regular, repeated mailings are the way to create big predictable results. When you mail every 30 days for a year you will cause a dramatic growth in your business. People respond to repetition. If you are a parent you know how hard it is to refuse repeated requests for a cookie or a desperately wanted toy. If you are not a parent, I'm sure you remember asking, even begging for a toy, treat or permission to stay up past your bedtime until your parents finally gave in. Your customers and prospective customers are similar. They need to be asked repeatedly too.

Postcards Work.

2. There are really only 4 reasons people don't buy your products and services. Look at your own buying behavior and see for yourself if you believe me when I tell you these 4 apply to you too.


Reason #1. No need.


When people don't buy from you, it's because they don't want what you are offering. They may need what you are offering and not know or acknowledge that need, but the bottom line is they don't want it.


Save lots of time, effort and money by targeting your postcard mailings to groups of people who have demonstrated they want your product or service or one's similar to yours and then mail to them. Follow at least this one piece of advice and become more profitable immediately.

Examples of those who have demonstrated they want your products and services are:

1. your own customers,

2. your competitor's customers and

3. people who have bought products and services which your products and services supplement or complement.

Target your marketing. Promote your business exclusively to people likely to have a strong desire for the benefits provided by your product or service.

Postcards Work.


Reason #2. No money.


Businesses and consumers don't usually avoid purchases because they don't have or can't get the money necessary to purchase. They usually don't buy because they decide buying something else is more important to them (like food).

You can get them to buy from you by making it clear to them that buying your product or service will get rid of something they don't want or will get them something they do want or will get them more of something they already have that they like having.

It is your job to get your people and businesses to see that your products and services give or get them what they really want. Consumers and businesses rarely avoid buying something because they don't have (or can't get) the money needed to make the purchase. They avoid buying what you offer because they place a higher priority on spending money for something else. What is the most nagging problem you can solve for prospects in your targeted market? Make it real to them how they'll feel when your product or service eliminates that problem. Use postcards to communicate how they can get their problem solved.

Postcards Work.

Reason #3. No hurry.

People tend to drag their feet after they decide to buy something. The longer they wait to purchase the more likely they are to forget why your product or service is valuable or even absolutely necessary to them. Keep your message in front of them with repetitive mailings. If you don't...You'll lose the business. The reason repetitive mailings are so effective is that they remind your customers and prospects of what they are missing by not having your product or service working for them in their life. You can avoid losing sales because of "no hurry" by rewarding customers for taking immediate action and penalizing those who don't. For example, offer a special discount price or a special bonus for ordering before a deadline.

Do repetitive mailings to targeted customers and prospects and you will make more sales.

Postcards Work.

Reason #4. No trust.

Most people's fear of losing something is a bigger concern than getting something that they want.

This fear causes them to frequently avoid buying something they truly want.

They don't want to buy and then find out that your product or service won't solve their problem. They don't want to be or even feel ripped off or still at a loss over the solution to their problem.

You must take away their risk in doing business with you.

You must provide a way that they can "trust" you.

If you don't they won't buy and you will lose business.

Most people fear losing something they have more than they desire gaining something they want. This fear causes many people to avoid buying something they really want. They're reluctant to buy because they might not get what they expect from your product or service and they'll lose their money. You have to remove this perceived risk to avoid losing business because of "no trust". Here are 3 ways I've found effective for any business...

1. Eliminate the risk with an unconditional money back guarantee.

2. Give them testimonials from satisfied customers and/or provide references that prove the quality and reliability of your product or service.

3. Make it easy for your prospects and customers to communicate with you and get their questions and concerns answered. Let them see you and your business are real and that you value getting and keeping their trust and present and future business.

These are really the only 4 reasons why people don't buy from you. You can increase your sales and profits by knowing them and doing everything you can to mail your postcards to the people and businesses most likely to want and benefit from your products and services, make it clear to them how valuable the benefits of your products and services are to them, get them to see the urgency of getting the value of your products and services now and finally that they can trust you to help them get the benefits you promised your products and services would give them.

When you do all these things, guess what? People will buy from you like crazy. Postcards are a perfect low cost medium to overcome the 4 reasons people don't buy from you.

Use postcards in repetitive mailings and make your business soar.

Don't ever forget.

POSTCARDS WORK!

Autor: Joy Gendusa

Steve Conn, a Marketing Consultant, consulted PostcardMania before it could afford its own in-house full-time marketing director. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania (Postcardmania.com) in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, and made Inc. Magazine"s prestigious Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. PostcardMania is a full service postcard direct mail marketing company which includes graphic design, printing, mailing list and free marketing advice.

Added: March 5, 2007
Source: http://articlebin.com/view-Postcards Work-40924.html

Specialized Mailing Lists Make All the Difference

by Joy Gendusa

If there is one thing I can't say enough it is that the most important part of your mailing campaign is your mailing list. It is vital that you put the right amount of energy into learning about lists – who to mail to – so that your mailing efforts aren't wasted. There are a few different ways that you can get an adequately targeted list.

As always the first step is to determine who your target market will be. Should you market to consumers or businesses? For this example consider that your product is a set of home woodworking tools. This should be marketed to consumers because it is not an industrial grade product. Good, now we have narrowed it down to only 291,324,219 people in the US. As a minimum, your mailing campaign should send to the same names three times. So all you have to do is send out 873,972,657 postcards at $0.185 per piece & you get the point. We need to narrow it down some more.

So how do you accomplish the narrowing of your list? Many factors can be considered, including age, gender, zip code, annual salary, profession and number of children are some of the more common qualifiers. It may take a while to figure out what combination works for your specific product. Don't worry about political correctness when considering whom you should mail to. It is perfectly acceptable to test certain lists that may be considered "stereotypical". Many times these lists will work well. But you never know until you test them.

A special eye cream would go to women over 40, right? You need not worry that you're targeting "older women" or that 40 is no longer considered old. No matter how great an idea you have about a certain market, ALWAYS DO A SMALLER TEST MAILING FIRST! Average test mailings run around 1000-1500 names. Once you see acceptable returns on the smaller mailing then you can jump in with the larger numbers. You may think 40+ is a good age to start with the eye cream, but you may get better results purchasing age 50+. Test test test!

Sometimes, like with our home woodworking tools, you have a product or service that you are not comfortable that you can adequately narrow your list by the normal qualifiers. You can make certain assumptions about people who are woodworking hobbyists: Mostly Male, Probably Homeowners, but what else do you really know? At this point you may want to consider using a privately "managed" list. These lists are going to cost more per name but will give you a much better way of pinpointing possible customers. For example you could order the subscriber list for Fine Woodworking Magazine. The cost per name would be $0.095 per name compared to the normal average cost of $0.05 per name. These names are nearly double the cost, however you are guaranteed that all of the names you get are for people interested in woodworking and therefore are much more likely to be interested in your product. With the "women over 40" example – some may be wrinkly and some may look quite young and aren't even thinking of eye cream yet.

Managed Lists are not appropriate for all situations, but can be a major help when a very specific target is needed. Don't fret over the extra cost, the more targeted names will undoubtedly show greater overall returns in the end.

The purpose of special mailing lists is to target a specific type of customer for your specific type of business. The eventual end result is more customers and a better bottom line. And this is what we all want, right?

About the author

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made Inc. Magazine's prestigious Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. PostcardMania is a full service postcard direct mail marketing company which includes graphic design, printing, mailing list acquisition and mailing services with free marketing advice. Visit PostcardMania's web site at www.PostcardMania.com

Rules of Thumb for Marketing to Your Past Customers

by Joy Gendusa

Keeping in touch can dramatically increase business, when done properly.

It's a fact that your customers are your best leads. This means that the most likely people to purchase your products and/or services are the ones who have paid for them before. It's also a fact that it costs far less money to keep a customer than it does to go out and get a new one. These are the two reasons that using direct mail to keep in touch with your customer database is a must. There are a few principles to follow when marketing to contacts in your company database that can maximize your bottom line.


Rule #1 - Collect all of their information.

It sounds like a no-brainer but you would be surprised. The more information that you have on your customers, the more likely it is that you will be able to get in touch with them to let them know about specials or to remind them it's time for their next service. Also, don't neglect to ask for your customers' email addresses, most everyone has one and most will give it up pretty easily.


Rule #2 – Don't treat your customers like prospects.

Make sure when you collect the information in your database you differentiate between people who have placed an order in the past and people who have not. Customers want to feel like you are paying attention to them and when they have placed a few orders with you and are still getting your "10% for First Time Buyers" postcards they tend to feel unappreciated. Bottom line, if they don't qualify for an offer you are sending out, don't send it to them.


Rule #3 – Don't let your designs get stagnant.

When you are mailing to databases of people that you have never spoken to before, it is OK to send them the same postcard multiple times. It helps to increase recognition and will eventually increase your response rate. Dealing with customers and prospects that you have already spoken to (meaning they already know most or all of the details of your business) you need to mix things up a bit. Your mailings should be attention getting and informative. If you have started offering a new service recently, a piece designed to let your database know about it would be a smart move. The main point is to keep your company in the front of their mind and to keep them reading your promotion.

Being great at what you do is not always enough to keep the customers that you have earned. With all of the competition out there today you need to be constantly reminding your customers that you are the best at what you do. Direct mail is the best way to give them that reminder.

Always remember to keep mailings that you send to your database informative, attractive and most of all current. Personalize everything that you can and make sure that what you are sending to a past client actually pertains to them or their company. Anything less and your customer may start to drift, and the only people that are going to be happy when that happens are your competitors.

About the author

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made Inc. Magazine's prestigious Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. PostcardMania is a full service postcard direct mail marketing company which includes graphic design, printing, mailing list acquisition and mailing services with free marketing advice. Visit PostcardMania's web site at www.PostcardMania.com

Running An Effective Email Marketing Campaign - Getting the Help You Need

by Michael

Email marketing is a form of direct marketing which uses electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial or fundraising messages to a targeted audience. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered e-mail marketing. There are a number of advantages to email marketing - compared to other marketing investments such as direct mail or printed newsletters, it is less expensive. and the return on investment can be high when done properly.

Savvy business owners realize the importance of email marketing even if they do not know how to run an effective email marketing campaign. Simply stated this means a business owner may realize it is imperative for him to run an email marketing campaign to help him meet the needs and expectations of his target audience but he may not know how to orchestrate an email marketing campaign which is truly effective. Fortunately for these business owners they do not have to know a great deal about email marketing because there are plenty of Internet marketing consultants who can assist them in planning and running an effective email marketing campaign. This article will provide some tips for finding a consultant to assist you in orchestrating an email marketing campaign.


One of the most important criteria in seeking a consultant to assist you with our email marketing campaign is experience. Specifically it is experience which has resulted in past success. This is important because one of the best indicators of how well a consultant will perform for you is how well they performed in the past. This means if a consultant was able to help a variety of past clients to attain their goals through email marketing, the consultant will likely be able to assist you in the same way.


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Make sure you're not blacklisted!


Companies considering an e-mail marketing program must make sure that their program does not violate spam laws such as the United States' CAN-SPAM Act, the European Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 or their Internet provider's acceptable use policy. Even if a company follows the law, if Internet mail administrators find that it is sending spam it is likely to be listed in blacklists such as SPEWS.


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Another important criterion when hiring a consultant to assist you with your email marketing campaign is the opinions of past clients. Before committing to work with a particular consultant you should request references from past clients. You should not only request these references but also contact each of the past clients provided and question them about their experiences with the consultant. It is important to keep in mind the consultant will likely only provide reference he is confident will offer a positive opinion of his services. However, you can still learn a great deal about the consultant's style, personality and techniques through these references. This is important because the consultant's personality as well as his skill and abilities is also very important.


If you do not get along with the consultant and have difficulty talking to him, it can be difficult to work with him. Additionally, it might be hard for you to meet your business related goals because you are likely not providing the consultant with enough information or offering feedback which could help him to adjust his strategies to better meet your expectations. While it is true that skill, knowledge and ability are all important sometimes none of these matter if personality conflicts prevent you and the consultant from communicating adequately. Therefore your personal opinion of the consultant should always be carefully considered before making hiring a consultant.


Although consulting references is a good idea, you should also consider contacting the Better Business Bureau (BBB) as well and also seeking out independent reviews of the consultant you are considering hiring to assist you in your email marketing campaign. The BBB can provide you with a great deal of information regarding the past performance of the consultant. If the consultant has been in business for a number of years and does not have any unresolved complaints with the BBB, this is a good indication the consultant performs adequately and treats clients fairly. Conversely a consultant with a number of unresolved complaints against him is not likely going to be a good choice. Similarly a consultant who has a number of independent reviews raving about the quality of his service is likely a good choice to assist you in your email marketing campaign while a consultant who has a number of poor reviews on the Internet is not really a good choice for assisting you with your email marketing campaign. Likewise, you can assume if past clients were not happy with the services he provided, you will likely also not be happy with these services.

About the author

Michael Saunders has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He edits a site on Email Marketing Strategies and maintains the Best Internet Marketing Strategies Site.

Exercise Fitness Made Simple

by David Chenault



You may consider this as a confession of an average Joe. I, like many people have a genetic predisposition toward being heavy.

It seems like most of my adult life, I have had to pay special attention to my weight and therefore my appearance. I have tried many different exercise fitness programs and routines. Some delivered much better results than others.

On the one hand, you have the myriad of diet and fitness plans we are all inundated with through advertising and media, on the other, we have our own ideas and thoughts
about weight loss and exercise fitness.


I am not here to sell you on any ideas or to hawk any programs but, I wanted to tell you what I have tried and what has worked for me.

About four years ago, I was so fed up with the weight I had gained and the gradual but obvious loss of my youthful health, that I decided I had to do something about it.

I looked at many different programs and plans and decided that I would try a low carb, high protein diet. I also decided that I would find an exercise fitness program
that fit my schedule and that I could find the time to do. I didn't want big muscles and all that, I just wanted to burn the fat and look and feel better!

I made a decision to go with the Atkins diet for my diet plan approach and to try Tom Venuto's "Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle" for my EXERCISE FITNESS PLAN.

My key approach to all of this was to be realistic and keep it simple. I set a goal to lose 44 pounds. I weighed 204 pounds at the time and my goal was to get to 160 pounds. I also wanted to firm up my sagging body parts and my primary drive and motivation was to LOOK and FEEL better.

I also decided that I would follow these programs' recommendations to the letter and be as disciplined as I could to achieve the results I wanted. It was not easy but like I said, my thought was to keep my approach simple and attainable. I decided I would give myself one year to achieve my goals.

To my great astonishment, as I got involved with the Atkins low carb diet, and the Burn The Fat exercise fitness program, the weight began to melt away! I stuck with the recommended "induction" phase of the Atkins diet twice as long as recommended, (four weeks instead of two) and I lost 16 pounds my first month! At the same time, I began to tone up my sagging muscles and dropped two pant sizes!

Inspired on by my progress, I became more determined than ever to keep going. I developed a plan to allow myself one "free day" a week to eat whatever I desired and then tested my weight to see if it would work and if I was still losing weight.
I was!

The end result was, I lost 44 pounds and achieved my goals in four months rather than a year, and I have managed, with proper exercise fitness and low carb dieting to keep it off! Essentially now what I do to stay in "maintenance" is I eat meat, fruit and vegetables (all I want), and I continue to have one "free day" every week.
I think the key to my success is allowing my own body to develop my metabolism to deal with my exercise fitness and low carb diet lifestyle.

I stay away from soft drinks, sugars, high starch foods and breads. On my one free day per week, I eat whatever I want. This continues to work for me.

I wrote this post to encourage you to develop your own exercise fitness and diet program if you haven't already. You WILL LOOK BETTER, FEEL BETTER and be in BETTER HEALTH. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose! Regardless of age or health conditions, you can do it! I am 53 years old and was 44 pounds heavier than I am now.
I am in the best shape of my life and I feel great! You can do it to!
Start today and make a change because you are worth it.

Please feel free to write and post your comments or suggestions. I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts.

Exercise Fitness

http://fitnessprogram1.blogspot.com

About the author

David Chenault is an online Marketer who owns and operates several online businesses including Websites, Blogs, Affiliate Marketing Programs and Advertising Sites.

Postcards Work

by Joy Gendusa

What's the fastest, simplest and cheapest way to promote just about any business?

The answer is postcards sent by direct mail. You can get your message to a targeted group of prospects or to your existing customers for a cost of about 25 to 30 cents each including postage. You can actually send someone a postcard every 30 days for only $3 a year.


Postcards Work.

You can generate leads, create sales, ask prospects to give you a try or convince existing customers to buy more or buy more often.

Postcards Work.

What are the 2 biggest secrets of marketing with postcards?

1. Regular, repeated mailings are the way to create big predictable results. When you mail every 30 days for a year you will cause a dramatic growth in your business. People respond to repetition. If you are a parent you know how hard it is to refuse repeated requests for a cookie or a desperately wanted toy. If you are not a parent, I'm sure you remember asking, even begging for a toy, treat or permission to stay up past your bedtime until your parents finally gave in. Your customers and prospective customers are similar. They need to be asked repeatedly too.

Postcards Work.

2. There are really only 4 reasons people don't buy your products and services. Look at your own buying behavior and see for yourself if you believe me when I tell you these 4 apply to you too.


Reason #1. No need.


When people don't buy from you, it's because they don't want what you are offering. They may need what you are offering and not know or acknowledge that need, but the bottom line is they don't want it.


Save lots of time, effort and money by targeting your postcard mailings to groups of people who have demonstrated they want your product or service or one's similar to yours and then mail to them. Follow at least this one piece of advice and become more profitable immediately.

Examples of those who have demonstrated they want your products and services are:

1. your own customers,

2. your competitor's customers and

3. people who have bought products and services which your products and services supplement or complement.

Target your marketing. Promote your business exclusively to people likely to have a strong desire for the benefits provided by your product or service.

Postcards Work.


Reason #2. No money.


Businesses and consumers don't usually avoid purchases because they don't have or can't get the money necessary to purchase. They usually don't buy because they decide buying something else is more important to them (like food).

You can get them to buy from you by making it clear to them that buying your product or service will get rid of something they don't want or will get them something they do want or will get them more of something they already have that they like having.

It is your job to get your people and businesses to see that your products and services give or get them what they really want. Consumers and businesses rarely avoid buying something because they don't have (or can't get) the money needed to make the purchase. They avoid buying what you offer because they place a higher priority on spending money for something else. What is the most nagging problem you can solve for prospects in your targeted market? Make it real to them how they'll feel when your product or service eliminates that problem. Use postcards to communicate how they can get their problem solved.

Postcards Work.

Reason #3. No hurry.

People tend to drag their feet after they decide to buy something. The longer they wait to purchase the more likely they are to forget why your product or service is valuable or even absolutely necessary to them. Keep your message in front of them with repetitive mailings. If you don't...You'll lose the business. The reason repetitive mailings are so effective is that they remind your customers and prospects of what they are missing by not having your product or service working for them in their life. You can avoid losing sales because of "no hurry" by rewarding customers for taking immediate action and penalizing those who don't. For example, offer a special discount price or a special bonus for ordering before a deadline.

Do repetitive mailings to targeted customers and prospects and you will make more sales.

Postcards Work.

Reason #4. No trust.

Most people's fear of losing something is a bigger concern than getting something that they want.

This fear causes them to frequently avoid buying something they truly want.

They don't want to buy and then find out that your product or service won't solve their problem. They don't want to be or even feel ripped off or still at a loss over the solution to their problem.

You must take away their risk in doing business with you.

You must provide a way that they can "trust" you.

If you don't they won't buy and you will lose business.

Most people fear losing something they have more than they desire gaining something they want. This fear causes many people to avoid buying something they really want. They're reluctant to buy because they might not get what they expect from your product or service and they'll lose their money. You have to remove this perceived risk to avoid losing business because of "no trust". Here are 3 ways I've found effective for any business...

1. Eliminate the risk with an unconditional money back guarantee.

2. Give them testimonials from satisfied customers and/or provide references that prove the quality and reliability of your product or service.

3. Make it easy for your prospects and customers to communicate with you and get their questions and concerns answered. Let them see you and your business are real and that you value getting and keeping their trust and present and future business.

These are really the only 4 reasons why people don't buy from you. You can increase your sales and profits by knowing them and doing everything you can to mail your postcards to the people and businesses most likely to want and benefit from your products and services, make it clear to them how valuable the benefits of your products and services are to them, get them to see the urgency of getting the value of your products and services now and finally that they can trust you to help them get the benefits you promised your products and services would give them.

When you do all these things, guess what? People will buy from you like crazy. Postcards are a perfect low cost medium to overcome the 4 reasons people don't buy from you.

Use postcards in repetitive mailings and make your business soar.

Don't ever forget.

POSTCARDS WORK!

About the author

Steve Conn, a Marketing Consultant, consulted PostcardMania before it could afford its own in-house full-time marketing director. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania (Postcardmania.com) in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, and made Inc. Magazine's prestigious Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. PostcardMania is a full service postcard direct mail marketing company which includes graphic design, printing, mailing list and free marketing advice.

Reasons to still use Direct Mail

Direct mail is almost deemed old fashioned now a days with the huge move away from offline marketing towards online marketing but direct mail still is a very important marketing tool when used correctly. You probably do not realise how much direct mail you receive through the post yourself.

Think of the big supermarkets that send you a leaflet every week with the latest bargains in store or the utility provider that sends you a direct mail every month wanting you to sign up with them because this month they have a fantastic deal.

If many of the UK's biggest companies are still using direct mail as part of their direct marketing then it must be an effective marketing tool. They are using targeted database marketing campaigns as an effective method of capturing customers. So direct mail should be considered when planning any marketing campaign.

When using direct mail as part of your direct marketing or database marketing campaign you can get a clear message across to your potential customers and you can add more detail into the message. You can spend time thinking about the layout and the presentation of the direct mail and obviously there are fewer restrictions with the amount of information you can add.

Direct mail has a longer shelf life than say a commercial on a radio, as a leaflet can be put to one side and read later when time allows. A commercial is a 30 second data surge and once its over you have nothing to reference back to for further information unless you managed to catch the telephone number they through in at the end.

More importantly, using direct mail for your direct marketing campaigns is cheaper than most other advertising channels. You can normally get a discount rate for bulk purchases from the post office so remember the more you send the cheaper it will be. You will need to get your flyers designed and printed up but remember this is a lot cheaper than producing any kind of TV or Radio advertisement

Once you have sent out your direct mail make sure you exhaust all your opportunities by making follow up calls to the contacts that you sent your direct mail to. Ask them if they received the direct mail, are they interested? Do they need any further help or assistance with your product or service? You will vastly increase the conversion rate of your campaign if you pro-activity contact these contacts after you have sent out your direct mail.

So, the reasons to still use direct mail… well, a) it is a proven, tried and tested method. b) You can deliver more information and the contact has a physical reference. And c) it is cheaper than most other methods but remember to follow up your contacts for maximum opportunities. This may seem like general information but it is important to consider all your options when planning your direct marketing or database marketing campaigns. It is only when you have all the information that you can really decide on your best course of action.

About the author

Phil Smith is the managing director of Prospect List, one of only a few UK companies to provide B2B marketing data instantly online at the most competitive prices. As well as being involved with other start-up businesses, Phil also has over 20 years experiance with Pricewaterhousecoopers.Prospectlist is a provider of business mailing and telemarketing lists for direct mail campaigns and other database marketing services.

The 4 Step-Program for Using Direct Mail to Recruit

by Joy Gendusa

So you're are looking to recruit for new mortgage brokers. When you think about doing that you probably hope that you can create enough interest in your company that you have enough hiring prospects to choose from and still be able to get the cream of the crop. There are many options out there for recruiting. But when looking for good mortgage brokers, it is best to look at what will get you the best Return On Investment. Just like in attracting clients to your business and calculating the ROI by tracking what each of those leads spent, take a look through the same window in applying Direct Mail to recruiting brokers.

Direct Mail is one of the best ways to recruit. Why?

1. You can get a targeted list. Because when using direct mail you can easily acquire a very targeted list of mortgage brokers. You can get a list of mortgage brokers with home addresses. You can get a list of brokers with a certain income. You can get a list of brokers in a certain area, a certain age range. This makes it easy to only attract the brokers who will fit into your business model.

Pay your list close attention. It could take you from the "pedestrian" approach and shoot you over into the fast lane. Targeted lists are not the only benefit is using Direct Mail to target new recruits. Now let's look at the other two points and see how they all tie together.

2. You can make the main "button" your headline. A "button" is word, phrase, picture, etc. that elicits an emotional response. Your direct mail piece should show that the opportunities they will have at your company are better than the opportunities they will have at their present company - right off the bat. You want an emotional response because you want them calling you.

In designing many direct mail postcards for the mortgage business, I have found that there are three key buttons that brokers respond to when being recruited. You can use any of these when you are using direct mail for recruiting. Using them in the headline will evoke the best response.

The three main points that are going to get a broker's attention are:

a) Earn larger commissions,
b) A better selection of products to offer,
c) "Brand Recognition" – you have a great company identity to back them up.

Making the headline tie in with your list is key. Maybe you pick a list with their annual income a little low so that you can target this demographic by saying something like "Not Taking Enough Home? We can give you higher commissions".

If your business model is having more products to sell and consequently a higher closing percentage for that mortgage broker, then get that message across in your headline. Remember, you only have a few seconds to communicate your message in a direct mail piece, so push your particular button in the headline.

Let's say that your business model is such that you only offer a small portfolio of products because that is your niche and you don't plan to expand your product line. You may want to push higher commission structure. In essence, pick which one of the big 3 fit your company best and run with it.

As a mortgage company, you give your brokers opportunities and pay them – in its simplistic form. Direct Mail is one of the best forms of advertisement when recruiting because you push whichever opportunity button that directly communicates your business. Make that "button" your headline. Elicit that emotion, get the call. The other opportunities or benefits you can put as secondary communication – for example in a bulleted form on the back of the postcard. But your headline needs to pop and pull with the main button that you want to get across.

3. Use a postcard. The difference in sending a nice professional letter rather than a postcard is this one thing: Are they going to open it? How many "junk mail" pieces do you get in the mail and don't even open? Plenty. Get their attention in the few seconds that you have and get your point across. Postcards are short, sweet and to-the-point. You may never have that opportunity with a letter. Then when they respond, follow up with a letter telling more about your company. But make sure that the letter has your same colors and/or logo on it so they recognize it as the same company who sent them the postcard.

If you have a full color dynamic postcard that says "Wish you were reaching your full potential as a mortgage broker?" Or "Are you're commissions not what they were cracked up to be?" That is going to jump out at them. That's exactly what you want. Now you've got their attention and they will be more likely to call and see what you have to tell them.

Also, you want to get your message across with two or three postcards – each slightly different than the first, but with the same look, feel and colors. All you want to say is what opportunity you are offering – don't put all the details on the card, just make them want it and make them call. A letter or package sent out afterwards that explains your whole business, what you can offer them, what products you offer, what your commission scale is (a lot of times your commission scale is too much to put in the postcard) is a great follow up. In the postcard, just tell them that more than likely what you're offering is better than what they are getting now.

4. Finally, tell them to give you a call. Your headline and graphic are the most important parts. Get their attention first as the main focus – then they will turn the postcard over to read what else you want to tell them. But don't forget to command them to call you.

You can be extremely effective in recruiting with direct mail postcards because with direct mail you are directing your message to a well-defined target that is more likely to respond than if you just shot off an arrow with your eyes closed. Good luck and happy hunting!

About the author

Joe Niewierski is the VP of Marketing & Promotion at PostcardMania, became published after graduating with a BA in Advertising from USF. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made the Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. For more free marketing advice, visit her website at www.PostcardMania.com

You Are An Internet User... But Many People Are Not

If you are looking for copywriter books, youâ ll want to devote some time to reading. In fact, if you plan to look online for your copy writer resources, you might as well just devote your life to reading! There are so many books that are available for you to purchase. Sure, there are standard things that each book will probably include. And, like the vast amount of diets out there, copywriter books are just as versatile and, unfortunately, misleading.

Now, before you get frustrated with that, letâ s clarify that there are many thousands of different copywriter books available. Some do have very good points, business tips, and offer a great amount of help. But, letâ s get realistic when it comes to the outrageous claims of making millions as a freelance copy writer just from reading a book. Like those fad diets, there are those that like to fluff the quality of their material incredibly. The key is to find the good stuff, pull it out, and use it wisely.

Letâ s think about that analogy about diets claiming fantastic results again. We all know that tried and true diet of eating healthy, well balanced meals and getting in a good amount of exercise is going to result in weight loss, right? The same goes for these books claiming fantastic results. If you want a freelance career as a copy writer that makes you millions, youâ ll need to work for it, from the beginning.

There is no easy way to make a career as a proof reader or copy writer unless you build strong, good relationships with your clients from the beginning. Sure, you can find copywriter books that can give you great tips on how to get out there, how to present yourself, and how to make your business work, but in the end, if your work is not of good quality, you can forget the whole thing. Do not be discouraged away from purchasing these books though. They can provide you with an outstanding amount of useful information. Just donâ t set your goals so high that you canâ t see the first step of the ladder!

Autor: Niall Cinneide

Visit FreelanceWritingResource.com for more Articles, Resources, News and Views about Freelance Writing Jobs. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and links are included intact.

Added: January 18, 2007
Source: http://articlebin.com/view- Looking For Good Copywrite~.html

Increase Repeat Business and Referrals with Direct Mail

o you have been writing mortgages like crazy now for the last few years. You have a pretty big database of customers and hopefully you have been getting and keeping full contact information for them. An organized database is the first key to customer retention.

The next step is to put together a direct mail campaign to keep these customers thinking about you when they think about mortgages. It is often years between times when each customer needs a mortgage professional, and it takes far less than that for them to forget your name. As well as fighting time, you are fighting indifference. Customers who get great service are often reluctant to pass that information along, while customers who feel they have gotten poor service will tell everyone. Most of the time good customers need to be reminded of their experience. By following up with each customer on a regular basis you will not only stay in the front of their mind but you will also start to build a reputation as a solid and responsible business.

So how do you get started? Below are a couple of the most frequently asked questions when starting a campaign to keep in touch with past clients.

What Type of Direct Mail Piece Works Best?

There is a great debate amongst Mortgage Professionals about what type of direct mail will work best for getting new business. Many swear by letters for their appearance of professionalism, while others like the low cost and high visibility of postcards. Overall, both seem to work adequately for bringing in new business. You just need to find which works best for you personally.

For keeping in contact with past customers, however, the way to go is postcards. This is due to the fact that if your customers are not currently looking for a mortgage for themselves, they are far less likely to take the time to open a letter. That causes most of your "keep in touch" promo that is in envelopes to get thrown out before it ever gets read.

Since the goal is recognition and not direct action you only need to get them to read the message. Postcards have the message visible when mailed, which means that while your customers are deciding what to read and what to throw out, they are already being exposed to your message.

How Often Should I Send Promo?

You will want to mail a piece to your database every 30-60 days. Any longer than that and they may have already forgotten you when their friends are looking for a mortgage. Since you will want to send promo out often, you will need to keep your costs down. With postcards there are no envelope costs, no assembly costs and the postage is 30% less than letters. When using a mail house to send your postcards you can often get postage rates as low as 18 per piece.

What Should Be On My Brand Recognition Pieces?

There are some basic rules for the design of a brand recognition direct mail piece.

Rule #1: Keep color consistent.

Many times people fall into the trap of changing the look of their promo for the seasons or for the holidays. The thought is that people are thinking about Christmas or St. Patrick's Day so they will respond better to promo with those colors. The truth is exactly opposite. Their senses are so flooded by those images that they actually start to skip right over them. Pick a color for your company and stick with it. You will do much better in building recognition.


Rule #2: Make a logo and use it on every piece.

Having a clean, professional logo is best. It may be a little pricey to have designed but in the end it is well worth the money. Experienced designers can often charge up to $2000 for a corporate identity package including logo, letterhead and business cards. If you aren't looking to make that type of investment simply pick a type style for your company name and use it every time. Consistency is key because your logo is your main identification point.

Rule #3: Make it Informative.

Every piece should have something useful for your customers. Whether it is new information about the mortgage industry or even possible investment properties in their area, it can even be completely unrelated to the mortgage industry. A calendar or list of emergency numbers, even the old recipe card trick still works pretty well. Anything that is likely to be kept around will help to build recognition in the minds of your past customers.

The mortgage industry has experienced a huge amount of growth over the past few years. Unfortunately this growth cannot last forever. At some point it is going slow down and the only way to keep your income in the range that you have become accustomed to is to ensure that you retain as many past customers as you possibly can.

A direct mail campaign is the best way to do this, but remember, this type of program is a long term process. Don't get discouraged if you can't directly calculate the amount of money that you bring in right off the bat. What you are doing is burning your name into the minds of your customers. Eventually it will work out to you seeing less attrition and far more referrals.

Autor: Joy Gendusa

Joe Niewierski, the VP of Marketing & Promotion at PostcardMania, became a published writer after graduating with a BA in Advertising from the University of South Florida. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998; her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made Inc. Magazine"s prestigious Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. Gendusa attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. 70% of her staff are young creative minds under the age of 35, like Joe.. For more free marketing advice, visit Joy and Joe her website at www.PostcardMania.com

Added: January 30, 2007
Source: http://articlebin.com/view-Increase Repeat Business an~.html

Direct Mail Postcard Rules

It"s a fact that your customers are your best leads. This means that the most likely people to purchase your products and/or services are the ones who have paid for them before. It"s also a fact that it costs far less money to keep a customer than it does to go out and get a new one. These are the two reasons that using direct mail postcards to keep in touch with your customer database is a must. There are a few rules to follow when marketing to contacts in your company database.


Rule #1: Collect all of their information.

It sounds like a no-brainer but you would be surprised. The more information that you have on your customers the more likely it is that you will be able to get in touch with them to let them know about specials or to remind them it"s time for their next service. Also, don"t neglect to ask for your customers' email addresses, everybody has one and most will give it up pretty easily.


Rule #2: Don"t treat your customers like prospects.

Make sure when you collect the information in your database you differentiate between people who have placed an order in the past and people who have not. Customers want to feel like you are paying attention to them and when they have placed a few orders with you and are still getting your "10% for First Time Buyers" postcards they tend to feel unappreciated. Bottom line, if they don"t qualify for an offer you are sending out, don"t send it to them.


Rule #3: Don"t let your designs get stagnant.

When you are mailing to databases of people that you have never spoken to before it is OK to send them the same postcard multiple times. It helps to increase recognition and will eventually increase your response rate. Dealing with customers and prospects that you have already spoken to (meaning they already know most or all of the details of your business) you need to mix things up a bit. Your mailings should be attention getting and informative. If you have started offering a new service recently, a postcard designed to let your database know about it would be a smart move. The main point is to keep your company in the front of their mind and to keep them reading your postcards.

If the promo that you send to your database gets too repetitive your customers will lose interest and at that point you are just wasting your money on postage because your postcards won"t get the attention that you want.

One of your main goals should be to educate your customers about how your product or service works and this will in turn help them to get more use out of your entire line of products and services. Many times it is as simple as sending out mailings that make your customers aware of all that you can do for them.

Take, for example, a California based software company called Forté Systems. Not only do they use direct mail postcards to acquire new business, they know how to use them to effectively market to their current customer database as well. To fully understand how you will need a little background information.

Forté Systems is one of the current leading companies in Medical Practice Management and Billing Software. This means that their software will essentially run an entire medical office. The software can be purchased in any one of four levels, depending on budget and number of doctors working for the practice.

Once a medical practice becomes a customer of Forté Systems the marketing strategy is changed to reflect the rules above. They are no longer trying to convince the doctor to become a customer, they are now educating them on how better they can be served by Forté Systems" products. Now the customer receives direct mail pieces concerning:

Updates on software upgrades (example 1)

Notices when they are running specials (example 2)

& information about Other Forté Systems products such as
software training tutorials on CD (example 3)

This enables them to continue to service their customers at the highest level and also helps to strengthen the customers loyalty to Forté Systems. Sometimes you lose customers because they either forgot who they dealt with last time they made a purchase or they received some kind of promo from one of your competitors and decided to check it out. If the customer is constantly updated about what is available from your company they will not have to spend their valuable time doing research and will be less likely to "shop around." This will help to control the normal attrition of your database to other companies.

The pieces are all designed with the Forté Systems logo prominently displayed on the front and back - the same general feel and most importantly the same color scheme. Picking a company color or group of colors and sticking with it will help to increase recognition and readership of your promo. Simply put, your customers will get to the point that they read what you send them. They need to know it is from your company before they read it because if it doesn"t look like what they are used to you sending it may go in the trash without a second look.

Being great at what you do is not always enough to keep the customers that you have earned. With all of the competition out there today you need to be constantly reminding your customers that you are the best at what you do. Direct mail postcards are the best way to give them that reminder.

Always remember to keep mailings that you send to your database informative, attractive and most of all current. Personalize everything that you can and make sure that what you are sending to a past client actually pertains to them or their company. Anything less and your customer may start to drift, and the only people that are going to be happy when that happens are your competitors.

Autor: Joy Gendusa

Joe Niewierski, the VP of Marketing & Promotion at PostcardMania, became a published writer after graduating with a BA in Advertising from the University of South Florida. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998; her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made Inc. Magazine"s prestigious Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. Gendusa attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. 70% of her staff are young creative minds under the age of 35, like Joe.. For more free marketing advice, visit Joy and Joe her website at www.PostcardMania.com

Added: January 31, 2007
Source: http://articlebin.com/view-Direct Mail Postcard Rules-~.html

10 Elements Every Direct Mail Piece Should Have

Do not want your direct mail to end up in the trash with the rest of the unread mail? Studies show an effective direct mail campaign should draw a. 5 to 1 percent response. These 10 tips will help you get the results you want:

1. A clear, bold headline. On the envelope or front of the mailer there should be one central message. The best way to achieve that is with a bold, clear headline that"s not cluttered up with other text. A good guideline is to have the headline fill up at least 15% of the front of the mailer.

2. A graphic that supports the message. The graphic should be easy to understand and add to the message the headline is trying to convey. For instance, if you are trying to get people to list their home you would want to show a home with a SOLD sign clearly visible out front. That graphic reinforces the message more than a simple picture of a home.

3. Color that pops. Make the headline and other text stand out by using a color that stands out from the background color. When you look at the card, ask yourself, What do I see first? If your answer isn't the headline, you might want to tweak the colors.

4. Subheads that lead into text. If you have a couple of paragraphs of text with no lead in, there is nothing to entice people to actually read the copy. A subhead will give people a place to start reading. If you have only a 100 words or so you may be able to get away with it, but if the text gets any longer than that the average reader will want to have some guideposts along the way.

5. Benefits, benefits, benefits. One of the biggest errors people make in advertising is stating features, rather than benefits. For example, never assume recipients know what benefit can be derived from a lower interest rate on their mortgage. Let them know how their monthly payments will go down.

6. The offer. An offer is always a good idea and should represent a specific reason to call now, such as Limited supply or

Autor: Joy Gendusa

Joe Niewierski is the VP of Marketing & Promotion at PostcardMania, became published after graduating with a BA in Advertising from USF. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made the Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. For more free marketing advice, visit her website at www.PostcardMania.com

Added: January 31, 2007
Source: http://articlebin.com/view-10 Elements Every Direct Ma~.html