So why have I recently talked clients out of using e-letters for their businesses? Because e-letters are not a quick fix solution. They should be one tactic in an established marketing strategy.

Have a marketing plan If you don’t know where you’re going and what you’ll say when you get there, don’t bother communicating. You need to have your company’s branding messages developed.

• Mission – The basis for your brand is what your company provides to customers and why should they care.
• Visual elements – Logo, identity, tagline, colors. All the graphic elements that stimulate customer recognition and support your Mission.
• Message planning – The marketing messages you want to focus on for the next 12 – 24 months.
• Tactics – The specific action points that will communicate your brand and message.

Getting your brand in the door One of the big reasons I believe in email as a marketing or branding tactic is because it supports visual recognition. Certainly content is important, but recognition allows the receiver to acknowledge the brand and let the message in. Let’s give it a quick test right now. Think about Coca Cola. Unless you have never seen their logo, chances are that right now you are visualizing the white script on red background. You let the brand in immediately and now you’re ready for the message.

Well-executed e-letters work the same way. Your letter’s identity is the first image your readers will see and a positive reaction gets you in the door to tell your story. Maximize that opportunity:

• Consistently use a masthead, including e-letter name that immediately connects clients to your company identity.
• Use photography and other graphic elements to create excitement. A picture is still worth a thousand words!
• Design a layout that is appealing and a format for articles that’s easy on the eyes. Font type and size as well as colors used are a major issue in viewing any written Internet communication. Take variou
  Church Marketing: Should there be Separation of Church and Business?
  Have you ever considered that the church is responsible for carrying out God’s global public relations and marketing efforts? That’s right. It’s true. The church is the single most powerful and influential medium to bring transformation to neighborhoods, communities and the entire world. The proliferation of mega-churches is evidence that the message of the gospel is reaching the masses.With the tremendous growth of the church, however, comes an even greater responsibility to preserve the integrity of the gospel message. I say this because many corporations and businesses are tapping into the power and influence of the church; but we must be careful n
  letters for their businesses? Because e-letters are not a quick fix solution. They should be one tactic in an established marketing strategy.

  Have a marketing plan If you don’t know where you’re going and what you’ll say when you get there, don’t bother communicating. You need to have your company’s branding messages developed.

  • Mission – The basis for your brand is what your company provides to customers and why should they care.
  • Visual elements – Logo, identity, tagline, colors. All the graphic elements that stimulate customer recognition and support your Mission.
  • Message planning – The marketing messages you want to focus on for the next 12 – 24 months.
  • Tactics – The specific action points that will communicate your brand and message.

  Getting your brand in the door One of the big reasons I believe in email as a marketing or branding tactic is because it supports visual recognition. Certainly content is important, but recognition allows the receiver to acknowledge the brand and let the message in. Let’s give it a quick test right now. Think about Coca Cola. Unless you have never seen their logo, chances are that right now you are visualizing the white script on red background. You let the brand in immediately and now you’re ready for the message.

  Well-executed e-letters work the same way. Your letter’s identity is the first image your readers will see and a positive reaction gets you in the door to tell your story. Maximize that opportunity:

  • Consistently use a masthead, including e-letter name that immediately connects clients to your company identity.
  • Use photography and other graphic elements to create excitement. A picture is still worth a thousand words!
  • Design a layout that is appealing and a format for articles that’s easy on the eyes. Font type and size as well as colors used are a major issue in viewing any written Internet communication. Take vario
    What is Most-Management
    I am not interested in a theory of management. I am interested in the practice of management. I am interested in having managers fulfill their purpose. And their purpose is that the jobs get done more and more effectively with them there than without them there.That needs to begin with an honest look at how we are as managers.The Distinction ‘Most-Manager’There is a class of management….equivalent, say, to 2nd and 1st lieutenants. They have no real management authority. They often cannot even make recommendations.They may have supervisors report to them (or even very low level managers). They have between 8 and 40 people dir
    ity, tagline, colors. All the graphic elements that stimulate customer recognition and support your Mission.
  • Message planning – The marketing messages you want to focus on for the next 12 – 24 months.
  • Tactics – The specific action points that will communicate your brand and message.

  Getting your brand in the door One of the big reasons I believe in email as a marketing or branding tactic is because it supports visual recognition. Certainly content is important, but recognition allows the receiver to acknowledge the brand and let the message in. Let’s give it a quick test right now. Think about Coca Cola. Unless you have never seen their logo, chances are that right now you are visualizing the white script on red background. You let the brand in immediately and now you’re ready for the message.

  Well-executed e-letters work the same way. Your letter’s identity is the first image your readers will see and a positive reaction gets you in the door to tell your story. Maximize that opportunity:

  • Consistently use a masthead, including e-letter name that immediately connects clients to your company identity.
  • Use photography and other graphic elements to create excitement. A picture is still worth a thousand words!
  • Design a layout that is appealing and a format for articles that’s easy on the eyes. Font type and size as well as colors used are a major issue in viewing any written Internet communication. Take vario
    Why Use An Air Freight Shipping Service?
    You have no other option and you must move your goods by air. But the challenge is to find an air freight shipping service that will meet your deadlines and can deliver to all the major centers around the world.Using an air freight shipping service means that you are provided with global coverage and you can move international shipments with almost no size or weight limitations being placed on what you are asking to be delivered. Such shipping service companies will also have access to thousands of flights every day. Plus many of these companies will provide you with an online service in order for you to track your shipment.There are many re
    ant, but recognition allows the receiver to acknowledge the brand and let the message in. Let’s give it a quick test right now. Think about Coca Cola. Unless you have never seen their logo, chances are that right now you are visualizing the white script on red background. You let the brand in immediately and now you’re ready for the message.

    Well-executed e-letters work the same way. Your letter’s identity is the first image your readers will see and a positive reaction gets you in the door to tell your story. Maximize that opportunity:

  • Consistently use a masthead, including e-letter name that immediately connects clients to your company identity.
  • Use photography and other graphic elements to create excitement. A picture is still worth a thousand words!
  • Design a layout that is appealing and a format for articles that’s easy on the eyes. Font type and size as well as colors used are a major issue in viewing any written Internet communication. Take vario
    When You Work For a Man
    Years ago, most offices had a saying stuck somewhere on the walls. It might have been near the copier, near the coffeepot, or near the water cooler – where supposedly everyone gathered. (Funny, I never saw people gathered around any water coolers where I worked.)These words were a motivational saying that showed up when the copy repairman arrived. When he repaired the copiers the man needed something with words and graphics on it to test the copier, and he brought his own pages with him. He gave a copy of the week’s or month’s motivational quote to the receptionist or secretary before he left, and she usually made a few copies – one for the boss,
    or to tell your story. Maximize that opportunity:
  • Consistently use a masthead, including e-letter name that immediately connects clients to your company identity.
  • Use photography and other graphic elements to create excitement. A picture is still worth a thousand words!
  • Design a layout that is appealing and a format for articles that’s easy on the eyes. Font type and size as well as colors used are a major issue in viewing any written Internet communication. Take various systems into account and test on as many as you can until you are sure your e-letter will display equally well on most servers.
  • Follow all the rules. Read the Can-Spam Act and use only your own permission based mail list.

  Your in, now make it worth their while Once your e-letter achieves entry, give the reader something of value. Do not use an e-letter for blatant advertising or you risk losing subscribers. Support your brand with information related to your company’s industry, articles that can inform and educate, even entertain, without a hard sell. For instance, if you are in the automotive business offer topics like “Fill Your Tank Less Often” or “Lease or Buy, Which is Best for You?” rather than directly selling cars.

  • If no one on your staff has the ability to craft well written articles, hire a professional or use a publishing service that allows reprints of articles at no cost, like ezinearticles.com
  • Keep articles to 250 – 300 words. If an article must be longer, show the opening paragraphs on your e-letter and link to the full story.
  • Add humor, points of interest that are relevant to your industry and link articles and photos to appropriate web sites that might be useful to your readers. Our own web site receives the most click thru’s from our e-letter; second place goes to “Cool Site,” a feature about other sites that we like and find very entertaining.

  Decide what success looks like Reports are available from all e-letter service companies and you should regularly review them to measure the effectiveness of this marketing tactic. We looked at click thru’s to develop future content and bounces to correct addresses. Even more importantly, we listen to the feedback we receive and react to it. Our readers know what they like and we think servicing this customer is part of our overall client service objective.

  Consistency counts Don’t embark on an e-letter campaign unless