E-Marketing Strategies to Reach Your Prospects
The world of content distribution is in a constant state of flux.
Everything you read, including what follows is liable to be obsolete within a year. That does not mean you should hit the back button and read something “useful.” On the contrary, updating yourself on content distribution techniques and nuances may be your most important strategy for e marketing today if you have any intention of staying ahead of the competition.
Whether you know it or not, everyone who owns a business has a miniature “content distribution network,” aka, a CDN. It may not be as sophisticated as AT&T’s or Microsoft’s, but the structure and goal is the same.
The question is, does your CDN perform up to its capabilities?/
For the sake of simplicity, think of content distribution as a two part process:
- Developing useful and usable content
- Getting it to the end user – your customer
Content Development
Effective e marketing strategies are designed to create content that is not only useful, but also usable, two distinct concepts. It must always be useful — it must provide readers with beneficial knowledge about your product or service. But, it must also be usable, which covers two subcategories: it must be both interesting, captivating, and readily available.
You can no longer get by simply by putting out 500 words of sleep-inducing nonsense that includes some keywords. Good! We have all had about enough of companies running off about how wonderful they are and how incredibly short-sighted you are if you do not fill out their contact form NOW! We are equally unexcited about poorly written, grammatically deficient prose. You will find less and less of this type of content moving into the future as search engines become more sophisticated.
Content Distribution
Advertising has become ubiquitous in the new millennium. It seems like every building has naming rights, every wall has a sign, and every article of clothing has a logo. Ultimately, they all represent differing ways to convey the same message. Once you define the message, the trick then becomes how to tailor it for the medium. That 140 character Tweet will be quite different from a blog post, but both can be equally effective.
Radio, Television, Newspaper
These traditional delivery systems can still deliver customers. While newspapers are transitioning more toward electronic distribution, the essence of providing provocative content punctuated with relevant marketing is timeless. The key is matching the two.
Email Marketing
When it comes to focused e marketing strategies, one of the biggest questions is whether or not to demand a name, email address, or some other information that many site visitors see as violating their privacy.
A judgment call is necessary as to whether or not the content is strong enough to overcome a natural tendency to avoid giving out personal information. If you are like most people and someone offers you a $10 gift certificate in return for your email address, there is a strong likelihood they will provide their contact information. Now, not only does the company have your email address, but you’re probably going to come to their business, online or in-person, to cash in.
Objections to providing an email address will almost never occur if you are offering a subscription to a newsletter. There is a presumption that there is no way to deliver that newsletter without the email destination. You certainly aren’t going to print it, put it in an envelope, apply postage, and mail it! Or, are you?
Direct Mail Marketing
Rumors of the death of snail mail are premature. Although the cost of sending out a piece of mail is substantially higher than email, the chance of reaching your prospect is also much higher. We all complain about “junk mail,” but most of us can’t resist at least opening the envelope or perusing the card to see what’s it’s all about, especially considering there are far fewer pieces to look at today than in the past.
Autoresponders
An autoresponder is a programmed email distribution schedule. The goal is to find a niche delivery interval that is neither so high that it becomes perceived as spam, nor so low that it fails to adequately maintain your marketing message. Effective auto-responders facilitate solid relationships that enable your customers to know, like, and trust you: the cornerstones of all marketing.
Stratified Lists
One of the best ways to maximize your advertising budget is to set up stratified lists. Every business has key customers and prospects that should receive the most attention. Set up lists in order of value to your business. Size matters. It’s a simple fact of life that a customer with two St. Bernard dogs is going to get more attention from the kennel than someone with one Siamese cat.
Remember, no matter what strategy for e marketing or traditional advertising method you employ, it has to stimulate and retain attention. All of the research in the world about metrics, delivery cycles, and analysis is worth nothing if the content you distribute is boring and useless. Even the search engines won’t pay attention to you any longer!