Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

Response rates and timing

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Here is a simple marketing tip, to help you quickly improve your mail shot, email marketing and blogging response rates.

response rate email mail shotsIt’s all about – Timing.

Even if your marketing message is irresistible, you will only get the maximum return form it, if you get it in front of people at the right time.  This holds true, regardless of what form of marketing you use – though in this post I will focus on; mail shots, email marketing and blog posts.

Mail shot response rates

If you send a business to business mail shot out, which people receive first thing Monday morning, it will typically get a lower response rate than the same mailing would, if it arrived on a Tuesday – Friday morning.  Letters that arrive on Monday morning, have to fight for the reader’s attention, against all the other Monday mail PLUS all the mail that arrived on Saturday.  Equally, Monday morning is usually a particularly busy time for most businesses, meaning the reader often has less time to read their mail too.

In short, by arriving first thing Monday morning, your mailing could be reaching people who have less time to read it and it will have to compete for their attention, against a lot more mail.   Does avoiding the Monday morning post make a massive difference? No, but it will usually give you a better return.  Now, as it costs you the same to send a mail shot, regardless of what day you post it, it makes sense to avoid Monday’s and improve your response rates.

Whether you sell business to business or direct to the consumer, you need to find out when your target audience is most likely to have the time to read your message.  This is why testing and measuring your marketing feedback is so important.

Email marketing response rates

Timing is also important for email marketing.  In my experience, you should get business to business marketing emails out during office hours; again avoiding Monday mornings.

For example, the best time to send my marketing newsletter, is after 9:30am Tuesday – Friday.  I have tested and measured this for almost 4 years and the results are constant.  Think about it and it makes perfect sense.  If Sue gets into her office Monday morning and finds my newsletter in with 30 pieces of spam or junk email, that arrived since she left work on Friday evening, it’s way too easy for her to delete the newsletter by mistake.

It also makes it harder for her to actually see my newsletter, in with all that clutter and junk.

Blog post viewing numbers

I have spoken to many, many business bloggers who have all found that their weekend posts are usually read by far fewer people than their weekday posts. Clearly, a lot of people disconnect from their business or job between Friday evening and Monday morning.

However, a lot of bloggers write their blog posts during the weekend, because it’s the only time they have available to write – Then publish their posts immediately.  In my experience, this is not usually the best way to maximise your reach.

I find that when I publish a post on a Saturday, the post will usually get just 25% as many views as it would have got, if I published the same kind of post during the week.  On a Sunday the numbers are usually a lot higher, but still 50% lower than a midweek post.  So, if you only post once a week or less and you write a business to business blog, avoid publishing your content during the weekend.  It’s fine to write posts whenever you like, but businesspeople read in greater numbers during the working week.

Of course, if you blog 7 days a week like many professional bloggers, this is far less of an issue.

Your experiences?

I would love to know if YOU have noticed any time-related trends, when you send or publish marketing material. If you have anything to add, please share it below.

The power of attraction marketing

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I am going to show you how to use attraction marketing to attract leads and sales!  Please do not confuse this with the so-called ‘law of attraction!’

In fact, if you use the ideas I am about to share with you, you will never have to chase; business, income, sales, clients or leads ever again.

The power of attraction on people

Have you ever noticed what happens when a beautiful woman or a handsome man walks into a bar? That’s right – people look at them. In fact, people will often walk over and offer them a drink or simply strike up a conversation with them. The reason we call these people ‘attractive’ is because they (literally) ‘attract’ the attention and interest of other people.

What does this have to do with you and your business?

The most effective businesses use the power of attraction in order to attract sales, clients, readers and customers! Just like the attractive person who walks into a room and gets everyone’s attention, these businesses gain the attention and interest of potential clients by being attractive.

If you decide to use attraction marketing, you can quickly sky-rocket your results without having to make cold calls or ‘sell’ anything to anyone. It’s a wonderful, zero-stress way to grow your business.

Attraction marketing in action

For example, I use the power of attraction for 100% of my marketing! People find my blog and my marketing newsletter ‘attractive’, so they forward them to their contacts, colleagues and friends – helping me attract more people. These new people then do the same etc, etc…

Without me spending a penny on ANY form of advertising, (pay-per-click, affiliates or anything else), there are now millions of people who know all about my ability to help them produce great sales results. So, when my readers decide they want someone to look after their marketing, they give me a call.

Clients should be attracted NOT pursued!

Most businesses get it the wrong way around. They choose to ‘pursue’ new clients and customers; unaware of just how much they are damaging their chances of success and their reputation. Even though people are not responding to their mail shots, email marketing or calls; they just keep on grinding away regardless.

This approach costs a fortune and the results are dire!

That’s because people universally HATE being; pursued, pestered, hassled or chased.

  • This is why people are so rude when you cold call them!
  • It’s also why people hate being sent spam email!
  • AND why we all avoid over-eager salespeople!

Using attraction marketing in your business

Here’s an example, from one of the most competitive industries on the planet; the recruitment business. A client of mine used to call people and was often the 4th or 5th recruitment company to call that same person that same day!  He knew something needed to change, and quickly, because it was getting harder and harder to reach potential clients.

I suggested he set up a simple, low-cost website, aimed at candidates (people looking for work). The website was then packed with hints, tips and ideas that were designed to help people find the perfect job. He then wrote to the top 100 HR people in his target market – Not asking for business, but asking if he could interview them for his new website.

Guess what?

Not only did he manage to meet with stacks of powerful decision makers, many of them went on to become clients! The interview was an attractive proposition, which attracted a great deal of interest.  These powerful people actually CALLED HIM to arrange a time for their interview! It totally changed the way they positioned him and his company in their mind, compared to his competitors, who were hounding them for business in desperation.

A low cost website and the marketing power of attraction was all he needed, in order to achieve stunning sales results.

So, stop chasing new business

If people are not replying to your mail shots, marketing emails or returning your calls, they are telling you something.  They are telling you that your offer or marketing is NOT attractive to them!

Like my example of the recruitment company earlier, you must find a way to market your services so that you become irresistible.  You see, when you use the power of attraction to generate sales, you spend 100% of your time speaking with people who are:

  • Already interested in you and your services.
  • Already aware of the value you offer.
  • Ready to proceed.

Conclusion

No matter what industry or profession you are in, the power of attraction can slash your marketing costs, take the stress away from selling and transform the way your future clients think of you and your business.

Get YOUR mailshot letters opened!

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This post is all about how to get YOUR marketing letters opened.

When a company sends out a mailshot, it does so in order to generate enquiries or sales.  Of course, in order for these marketing letters to work, they must first be opened and read!  After all, you can have the strongest, most compelling and motivating marketing letter imaginable inside that envelope, but in order for it to generate business for you, the envelope must be opened.

Amazingly, although there’s stacks of information ‘out there’ about writing a marketing letter, there’s very little written about how to get someone to actually open the envelope (what some trendy marketing people call ‘the carrier’!)

Get your marketing letters in the right pile!

I was reminded of how poorly most companies deliver their mail shots earlier today, when the post arrived at my home.  My wife Sharon divided the letters into two, unopened piles.  I asked her what the piles represented and she said;

“The letters in the left pile are junk mail – the letters in the right hand pile are going to be opened”

Now, my wife has no marketing experience, yet she was able to spot junk mail without even opening the envelopes, with 100% accuracy!

Get YOUR marketing letters opened!

If you want to make sure your mailshot letters get opened, here are a few simple guidelines:

  • Make sure the name and address of the person you are writing to is displayed clearly.
  • Use ‘window envelopes’ with the name and address of the recipient printed onto the enclosed letter.
  • Don’t address letters to a job title or ‘the occupier.’
  • Be extremely careful about printing any kind of message on the envelope.  If you really must have a message on the envelope, make sure it is written by a professional copy writer.  If in doubt, leave it!  Get the message even slightly wrong and you could find 100% of your letters remain unopened!
  • Don’t address the letter IN CAPITAL LETTERS.
  • Never, ever, ever use printed labels for the name and address.  These tend to be mainly used for mass-mailings, so people tend NOT to open them.
  • Don’t use highly decorated envelopes unless you want people to know that there’s a sales pitch inside that letter.

Finally, here’s a quick marketing tip: Take a look at the mail you receive, which you instinctively think is either junk mail or a sales pitch. Ask yourself what it was that made you feel that way, before even opening the envelope.  Then, make sure you avoid the same mistakes. Then, check out the letters that you DO OPEN and ask yourself, what it was that motivated you to open those particular letters.

The bottom line here, is that you need to make sure that recipients of YOUR mailings are not thinking negatively about what might be inside your envelopes!

Your marketing mix part 2 of 2

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I am going to show you how to make your marketing more successful and more reliable, with something called your marketing mix. I am also going to give you a list and explanation of some of the most popular types of marketing, used by small and medium sized businesses.  I strongly suggest you read part one of this before proceeding.

This is a BIG marketing guide, with lots of great ideas, so please share it on your favourite social network or social bookmarking site.

In part one of this guide I shared one of the most common errors small businesses make with their marketing. The error is that they rely on just one or two different marketing activities in order to generate their sales.

This is a REALLY bad idea!

Firstly, if you rely on just one or two different forms of marketing, you are missing out on STACKS of new business and opportunities! No matter how good you are at getting the full leverage from a couple of marketing activities, you will be placing a very low ceiling on your business’s potential, if you limit yourself in this way. The most successful small businesses all use at least four or five different kinds of marketing – often 8 or 10 or more!

Secondly, by relying on just one or two marketing activities, you leave yourself extremely vulnerable when one of them stops working! A business owner emailed me to say that she relied on an advertisement in a business publication for over 90% of her sales leads. One of her competitors started advertising in the same publication and her number of leads (and sales) dropped by 40% overnight – That hurts.

So, your marketing mix should combine at least four or five different marketing activities, which compound and create a regular supply of sales for you. Here are some of the marketing options you should consider adding to YOUR marketing mix.

Advertising

A targeted message delivered through a great ad, which is read, listened to or watched by your core target client group is REALLY powerful! For a free advertising guide, click here.

Online networking or ‘social networks’

Online networking has great marketing potential. The key is to join a network that is best suited to your needs and to be selective with whom you network! Focus on the quality of people in your network and NOT just the quantity. If you develop a network of 30 well-connected, motivated, professional people and I develop a network of 3000 people who ‘just wanted to join my network’ – your network will be massively more valuable then mine.

A couple of the more popular business networks are www.ecademy.com and www.linkedin.com.  Other’s now use Facebook exclusively as a business networking tool.  I personally use Twitter and have found, like many others, that it is perhaps the most powerful of all.  Whatever network you choose, you are likely to see FAR BETTER results than through wasting your time at traditional ‘networking events’ (Click here to see why traditionasl networking is a waste of your time!)

Exhibitions

As an exhibitor at, (or visitor to), a well-attended exhibition aimed at your target client base – you can easily get to meet people face-to-face, who are almost impossible to reach using other forms of marketing. Depending on your industry or profession and the average lifetime value to your business of a client, you could find exhibiting at well-attended exhibitions an extremely valuable part of your marketing mix. I know companies who win most of their high quality work via exhibitions.

Email marketing

It’s a fact; email marketing is extremely cost effective and certainly one of the most powerful marketing tools available to small businesses. It works incredibly well – and costs little or nothing.

Here are a few things to consider before adding email marketing to your marketing mix. I recommend you build your own email database (mailing list) rather than buy one from a list broker. The best way to get started is to ask your existing clients and contacts if you can have their email address and if it’s ok for you to email them occasionally with news or special offers.

You also need to get people joining your email list from your website! To do this, make it as easy as possible, and offer something of value as an incentive for them to join your mailing list, like a free ebook. Also, only ask for their email address – not their life history, and let them know that you will never, ever pass on their details to ANYONE!

ONLY send people valuable information (like this free guide) or a genuinely special offer. I also strongly recommend that you don’t bombard people with email; just one message every week or 14 days is more than enough. I send my Newsletter out once every seven to 14 days, because people hate being bombarded with information; even great information! As a result, very few people ask to be removed from my subscriber list.

Finally, to grow your list, ask readers to forward your emails on. Obviously, making sure all the while, that you abide by the rules governing email marketing in your country.

Telephone marketing – Tele sales

Telephone marketing works – but it’s less effective than it used to be. Not that long ago, you could call someone’s direct ‘phone line and know that if they were in, they would pick up the phone. Today, people from even the smallest of companies screen all their inbound calls with voice mail; to eliminate unwanted interruptions and sales calls. This means you now need to make massively more calls to reach a smaller number of people!

I used to tell the owners of small businesses to learn how to make telemarketing calls and then set some time aside and make those calls! Today, I suggest you outsource the whole process to a proven telephone marketing company. Doing it yourself is now a low-leverage marketing activity, because it requires so much time.

Outsourced telephone marketing is still a high leverage activity, because you will usually only pay per lead or sale.

Traditional networking

Traditional networking is a total waste of your time – avoid it!

Your website

It’s not enough to simply ‘have a website’! Your website needs to work for your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; generating leads, making sales or collecting the email addresses of potential clients. If your website is simply an online brochure, it’s costing you a fortune in lost sales, lost profits and lost opportunities!

When your website is supported by a newsletter and some Internet marketing, the results can be transformational. Still not convinced? Without spending a penny on advertising, my Internet marketing often reaches over 2 million people in a week! I will be writing separate guides all about forum marketing, article marketing, pay-per-click and blogging shortly.

Joint ventures

Sometimes known as a J.V, a ‘Joint Venture’ is where you and another business or person get together to (usually) cross-market your services. The key to JV success, is to find someone credible, who offers a non-conflicting product or service to the exact same profile of person or business as you do.

So, if you sell recruitment services to the hospitality industry and they sell employee benefits packages to the hospitality industry – BINGO! They can include one of your flyers or letters in one of their mailings and you can do the same for them; everybody wins. Avoid doing a JV with ANYONE you contacts you via email – unless you know them or can check them out. If in doubt – leave it.

Endorsed relationships

An ‘Endorsed Relationship’ is similar to a Joint Venture – BUT with one BIG and POWERFUL difference! The person you do the venture with actually gives you their professional or personal endorsement. This is marketing gold dust.

For example: Rather than just slipping one of YOUR marketing flyers in with one of THEIR client mailings (as they would in a Joint Venture), they actually write to their clients and give you their full endorsement. This is easily the single most powerful form of referral and one of the most powerful marketing tools on the planet.

I have seen endorsed mailings return a 90% positive response rate!

Conclusion

Obviously, the above list does not cover every marketing option open to you, but I hope it gives you a few ideas.

No matter how good your service is, your future success will be determined by how good you are at winning and retaining good quality clients. As Robert Kiyosaki says, lots of people can make a better hamburger than McDonalds; but very few can sell hamburgers more successfully. In today’s super-competitive economy, your marketing is more important than ever before, so make sure you give it the time and investment it needs!