Is Email Marketing Dead? Not if you consider how many of us continue to receive, read and react to our emails from company’s we have requested to receive information (ie not spam).

Companies like Groupon and LivingSocial, for example, use email marketing every day to promote their daily deals. But other, smaller businesses use emails, too, to communicate what is happening in their business, to provide updates in a particular industry or to solicit information in the forms of surveys.

In fact, email marketing is hardly dead – it’s a thriving and inexpensive marketing vehicle that can help drive business, generate goodwill, support a social media strategy and increase brand awareness. It is not a marketing tool we should abandon but there are ways in which you can make an email marketing campaign better. We found this post that lists the top 12 things to do or consider when developing an email newsletter for your business:

1. You need a clear and simple message
2. Understand your target market
3. A clean and creative design
4. You need a call to action
5. There needs to be purpose to the email
6. You need to measure it success
7. Make sure your logo is visible
8. Personalize the email
9. Catchy headlines
10. Keep away from purchasing email lists
11. Analyze each campaign and the effectiveness of the message
12. And last but not least it needs to be useful

Read the blog post to get more specifics on each of the dozen points – it’s a really good reminder of what we should think about when developing content and to whom the newsletter should be sent.

When Should You Send Your Emails?

Studies continue to show Thursdays are the best days to send out an email with Tuesdays being the best “open” day of the week. This hasn’t veered much over the years so it’s a good rule of thumb to consider the day of the week that you want to send your emails out depending on your goal. Obviously if something is breaking news and you want to send it out on a Monday, be thoughtful of your email subject line and send it on Monday. There are no hard and fast rules – just things to consider.

How to Start with an Email Marketing Campaign

Many companies exist solely to help you with designing and sending out your emails. The ones most companies use include Constant Contact, MailChimp and MadMimi although many companies use their own internal email systems, too. Keep in mind that all emails must provide an opportunity to unsubscribe according to CAN-SPAM rules. Each of these services make designing, uploading images and email lists, managing your emails and sending them a breeze. You also can include share buttons to promote your social media sites and your website which makes email marketing that much stronger as a marketing tool.

Is email marketing dead? No way. Email marketing is a fast, easy, inexpensive marketing tool that should be part of your marketing toolkit.

~Megy

Megy Karydes is principal of Karydes Consulting, a boutique marketing and communications firm that specializes in working with both for profit and not-for-profit organizations. This post is part of her weekly Marketing Monday tips. She loves getting emails from companies and has been known to break out her credit card within seconds of receiving an email and placing an order – proof that email marketing still works.

Direct mail is among the most cost-effective ways to reach your audience.  Even though design, printing and postage, per se, isn’t inexpensive, when you average out the Return On Your Investment (ROI), it is still pretty strong when you consider other marketing opportunities. And, while most people today are looking to online marketing vehicles, direct mail (while still very strong) is become less of a cluttered space so your message can stand out more.

Recently we learned that the USPS is offering its Every Door Direct Mail program – a program which allows you to drop off up to 5,000 mailing units to the post office where you want your mail (standard mail flats only) delivered – for a fraction of the postage cost. For example, you can provide the post office with 5,000 5″ x 7″ double sided postcards and they’ll be delivered to the 5,000 homes that you specify within a specific territory. You can choose your territory by city, county or zip code, then play with the territory until you reach 5,000 homes. You can add business addresses as well if that’s a target market for you.

Postage start at 14.5 cents per piece, which is less than half of a postcard stamp cost (as of January 22, 2012, a postcard stamp costs 32 cents).

PROS

• You don’t need names or addresses
• You can make arrangements to drop off your mailing to the post office and your mail carrier will do the rest
• Very cost-effective
• Great for new businesses in the area or businesses who want to re-introduce or remind its local market that it is still around

CONS

• You don’t have control as to whom receives your piece (other than the fact that you’ve chosen the geographic territory)
• You still need to pay to have your mailing piece designed, printed and delivered to the post office (and, obviously, pay for the postage)

It’s a nifty option for those of us who still enjoy getting mail or to reach a very hyper local market which is so important to businesses like independent retailers, restaurants, health clubs, hair salons and dry cleaners.

Is this something you’d be willing to try (or have tried)?

~Megy

Megy Karydes is principal of Karydes Consulting, a boutique marketing and communications firm that specializes in working with both for profit and not-for-profit organizations. This post is part of her weekly Marketing Monday tips. While she enjoys learning about new companies online, she still looks at every single piece of mail that comes through her door. 

Reading your own industry trade magazines should be a given. Not only do you learn about new products or innovations within your industry, but you can keep up with industry trends, personnel changes and garner new ideas on how to run your own business.

But have you picked up another industry’s trade publication recently? Most large libraries house various trade publications so you could ask a librarian to steer you in that direction and you’ll have a host of publications from which to choose. Otherwise, head to a bookstore to see their selection. You also can ask friends who work in other fields if they could let you borrow a few of their recent issues.

The reality is that although we may work in different industries, trends are pretty consistent across many of them. Other issues like credit card processing fees, leasing negotiations, sales, customer service, marketing and accounting issues are par for the course across any industry whether it be retail or running an auto repair shop or non-profit organization.

So this week, for our Marketing Monday tip of the week, find a trade magazine outside of your industry and scour it for suggestions that you can incorporate into your business. Each time I’ve done it myself, I’ve always come away with a new idea for my own business or a client’s.

Do you regularly read other industry trade magazines or have you found a great piece of information from a magazine outside of your industry? Share your news with us in the comments section! We’d love to hear what you learned!

Megy Karydes is principal of Karydes Consulting, a boutique marketing and communications firm that specializes in working with both for profit and not-for-profit organizations. This post is part of her weekly Marketing Monday tips. She reads dozens of consumer and trade magazines monthly and her husband wishes she had a better organizing system at home that didn’t include piles of magazines throughout the house.

Turns out the city birds sing differently than their country counterparts. Part of the reason is adaption: city birds have to contend with the city noise factor and tall buildings that cause their sounds to bounce and echo when the birds sing as they try to attract mates. NPR had a great segment on this topic late last year and compared the city birds to trying to compete in a crowded bar.

As I read the piece, it struck me how often we use the same language for different audiences, expecting the same result. Hiring managers and recruiters try to hammer the message that you have to craft your resume based on the position you want and the company’s needs. Having one draft of your resume won’t cut it. The same is true with your marketing messages and the tools you use to communicate them. Just like a city bird can’t get a country bird mate using his “city” voice, you can’t expect to get the same response using the same messages over the same outlets.

Take Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email newsletters and your website. Each has a distinct purpose and your marketing messages should have a distinct voice when you’re using those platforms. Certainly you can cross promote them but the way you communicate on Twitter may be more conversational (and it should be) than, say, the text on your website. Then again on Facebook you want to encourage comments on your posts and sharing and that will be different than the content you include on your LinkedIn profile page.

This isn’t really rocket science but for those who look at marketing their business as taking up too much of their time and not committing to it as they should, it’s easy to just lump everything together and update all of it using the same language – and that’s a mistake. Just like we don’t dress the same when we go to different functions with different purposes, you need to be thoughtful and tailor your message to your audience and think about where you’re speaking. Only then will your marketing messages stick and you’re not wasting your time singing your praises and no one is bothering to listen because they can’t hear you from all of the other noise already being generated.

~Megy

Megy Karydes is principal of Karydes Consulting, a boutique marketing and communications firm that specializes in working with both for profit and not-for-profit organizations. This post is part of her weekly Marketing Monday tips. Sadly, the only time she can sing when someone isn’t asking her to shush is in the shower. And, even then, with two little ones who claim all parts of the house as their own, she can’t enjoy any privacy to sing to her heart’s content. But she still tries every to belt it out anytime she can – much to her childrens’ embarrassment!

Redmoon isn’t known for putting on boring performances. The Chicago-based theater company is know to wow its audiences with outstanding performances and over-the-top events. Its mission is to “transform the experience of our urban landscape through ephemeral events that disrupt everyday life and provide opportunities for public engagement, community building and recognition of the possibility of change.”

This weekend’s annual fundraiser, Spectacle Lunatique, was nothing short of amazing and it made me wonder how many of us can learn something from this performance and apply it to our businesses.

The event created a buzz from the beginning. As an invite-only event, it created an aura of excitement before you set foot in the place. The location was the Hudson Club, a gorgeous space in Bronzeville. As you walked in, you were serenaded with performs clapping as you entered the space. Continue to the VIP Lounge, where you were walked to, to be greeted by10,000 square feet of white leather couches and seats, some of Chicago’s most celebrated chefs providing you sample sizes of amazing food, mixed drinks by owner Stephen Cole of the newly launched Barrel House Flat in Lakeview and Choo Lipsky of MorSo in Lincoln Park. Performers in stilts, large table (yes, TABLE) dresses and even on bikes mingled around the crowd serving hors d’ oeuvres.General admission was no less exciting. Beginning at 8:30, everyone was treated to 30,000 square feet of the “Redmoon Spectacle” and food truck gallery.  A third, late night entry began at 10:30 p.m., complete with drinks, desserts, and dancing until 2 a.m.

Even the speeches/live auction segment (which, you know, have to happen at these fundraisers since they are, after all, fundraisers) weren’t boring. Rather the traditional podium speech and live auctioneer, Redmoon has a 120 person chorus SING its “speech” and participate in the live auction. Talk about interacting with your audience.

And, there it is – interacting with your audience. You don’t need to have a theater company to put on a “spectacle” or performance of this level (although, if you’re a non-profit looking to raise money, there is something to be said about putting on this level of performance!). But to be memorable or have people want to come to your event, you’ll need a hook, a tie in, something that they will want to get out of by taking up their time to be a part of it.

Are events something that can drive your business? Are there any businesses that cannot benefit from events? Retailers love hosting trunk shows; accountants host complimentary seminars on expenses you can itemize; grocery stores offer cooking classes; graphic designers teach the latest software and how to effectively use them. Honestly, the possibilities are endless but you need to sit down and think about what it is you’re trying to achieve first and then back into a theme or idea and work it out until it makes sense for your time, business and budget. If you don’t have the expertise to pull off the event, consider hiring an event planner – while it is another expense, the planner is often less expensive than you think when you consider how much time it will take you to plan this event if that isn’t your expertise (it’s called the opportunity cost).

And, as with anything you do for your business, you’ll want to plan it properly and that includes dedicated a portion of your time and budget on marketing the event. From press releases to invitations, word of mouth and social media – an event is only as good as your guests attending and being excited about it before, during and after.

Can you host a memorable event to make an impression and stand out from the crowd? Of course you can. And please make sure to send me an invite!

~Megy

Megy Karydes is principal of Karydes Consulting, a boutique marketing and communications firm that specializes in working with both for profit and not-for-profit organizations. This post is part of her weekly Marketing Monday tips. She has been to hundreds of special events from fundraisers to trade shows and concerts but admits Redmoon’s Spectacle Lunatique was among her favorites. Perhaps it also was because she had a babysitter so she could enjoy her evening with her husband!

You get a call or an email from a member of the media and she wants to cover your business for an upcoming story. It’s not a negative story or an investigative piece. What do you do? I’ll tell you what you don’t do – not call or email her back. Unfortunately, this happens all too often.

In addition to my consulting work, I freelance for a number of media outlets whose editors assign me articles to write on various topics: store or company executive profile pieces, marketing tips, eco-friendly ideas, you name it. I’ve even written about a cryogenics company in Canada. In each case, when I need a source or am writing about a company, I call or email and introduce myself and why I’m reaching out to them. Not always, but most of the time, this is what I hear on the other end: silence. Or, “um”.

Maybe it’s because I also handle public relations for clients that I don’t ever utter the words “um” or stay silent but it still baffles me that some people do not either understand the value of media attention or don’t want it.

Last week I was assigned an article by a trade magazine editor to write a profile piece on a shop on the east coast. She asked me what I thought of the shop so I researched it and thought it would make for a good story (she was open to my suggestions, too, but since she found this one, I thought I’d go with it). I called up the owner of the shop and told her what I was doing, told her I’d written for this magazine many times before and even have a piece in the current issue of the magazine. Response? Um.

I get it, sometimes we’re contacted at times we’re not ready or haven’t had time to process the request. So I offered to email her the details and asked for a response within the next couple of days. Guess what? No response. Sigh.

This isn’t a unique circumstance, unfortunately. Securing media coverage is not easy so it’s always exciting for me when we land something for a client. Perhaps this is why it’s so frustrating to see great, small businesses lose out on opportunities to get their business more visibility via media attention.

So, for now, I’m on the hunt for another local and independent retailer that fits my store profile criteria and I will find it because there are some really awesome shops out there to feature. It just won’t be this cute shop on the east coast because its silence is deafening.

Megy Karydes is principal of Karydes Consulting, a boutique marketing and communications firm that specializes in working with both for profit and not-for-profit organizations. This post is part of her weekly Marketing Monday tips. She often writes for national and local consumer and B2B magazines and is always on the hunt for good stories. See her latest writing work here.

Blogging for your business is a great way to share your knowledge, establish yourself as an expert, drive traffic to your business, create dialogue between you and your customers and increase your SEO ranking. So why aren’t more people blogging, especially when software like WordPress and Blogger exists that makes it free for you to do this? Because it takes time, like any good marketing strategy. It takes time to develop quality and relevant content and to share it with others. Although, really, it doesn’t need to if you plan ahead.

Some of us are strong writers while others are better at things like keeping their books. While I fall on the former end of that spectrum, I still sometimes struggle to find something to write about – perhaps it’s because I’m writing the better part of the day, sometimes I just don’t want to write anything else.

Here’s a three things that you can do to minimize your time investment on blogging and get blogging right now:

1) Develop an editorial calendar. If you’re not familiar with this term, it’s what editors use to craft a calendar of what their issues are going to cover. For example, a monthly magazine’s editorial calendar will include the features (stories) they will cover in a future issue and that will determine the types of articles that will be in in the magazine. Also, if the editor hires freelance writers, it will seek out stories and writers relevant to the editorial calendar.

By creating an editorial calendar for your blog, you’re essentially holding yourself accountable for writing about certain themes or topics around a period of time. This helps maximize your time because it not only focuses your attention to the topic at hand (as opposed to waiting for some inspiration to smack you in the face) but if you find articles or topics that relate to your editorial calendar, you can file it away for when the time comes and, viola, relevant content at the ready!

2) Write several posts in one sitting. Aside from what to write, the other issue I hear from many clients is that it takes TIME to write. This is true. However, you can minimize the time you spend on writing by sitting down at one time and knocking out several posts at once. For example, every Monday I write about a Marketing Tip. My editorial calendar for Mondays says: Marketing Monday Tip. So I know what I’ll be writing – but rather than sit at my computer every Monday morning and write a tip, I sit down at the beginning of the MONTH and write the next FOUR posts in one sitting. It takes about an hour and then I’m done for the month. If I were to do it every Monday, it would probably take me twice the time because I’d have to log into the site, draft my post, find a accompanying photo and then publish it. By concentrating on the task at hand, I essentially buy myself an hour.

3) Invite guest bloggers to write for you. While you’re trying to establish your blog’s voice and assert yourself as the expert, you also can invite others to write a guest blog post for you. When deciding who will contribute to your blog, consider what they will bring to the table. Is their information appropriate for your blog and business? Will she offer valuable and informative information?

By inviting others to write guest posts, you not only provide relevant and different content to your readers, but it encourages more traffic to your blog since it’s likely the guest blogger will share the post with her audience, too.

Megy Karydes is principal of Karydes Consulting, a boutique marketing and communications firm that specializes in working with both for profit and not-for-profit organizations. She likes her calendars, whether digital or on paper, and has her editorial calendar pinned to her board in her office to remind her what day it is!

This week we welcome the month of March. Sit down for 30 minutes and think of all the people you need to reach out to this month and plot them on the calendar right now complete with their contact information so you won’t have to dig that out when you’re ready to make contact.

Also, pull out a 2013 calendar right now (you can download one online if you’re like 99% of the people and haven’t bought a 2013 calendar yet).

Review your January and February months and look at what you did and with whom you connected as well as any annual deadlines that are important to you and your business. Is there anyone you need to reach out annually that you don’t want to forget? Plot their information in your 2013 calendar now and as months pass, make sure to keep your 2013 calendar up to date with those annual check-ins or deadlines such as production schedules, trade show dates, etc. This will make your 2013 calendar more accurate and it will save you time come November and December when you’re thinking of first quarter 2013.

Besides getting organized for 2013, what is more important is the task at hand. I’m looking at March 2012 and reviewing my clients, appointments and events that I know are solid. Now I’m adding those people whom I know I need to reach out to because I haven’t spoken with for the past few months or are on my list of people who are waiting to hear from me. I’m also adding my media contacts with whom I need to maintain a relationship and see what they are up to (hence why it’s called media relations). I might have a story or two that might work with a piece they are working on (or not). I won’t know if I don’t take the time to reach out to them and see what they’re doing. I’m also reviewing editorial calendars of key publications to see if I have anything that would work with those ed cals and deadlines.

From a business perspective, relationships are key to being successful and being organized is definitely part of the equation. From a marketing perspective, keeping your calendar up to date and clean helps visualize those important existing relationships (ie clients/customers) and top of mind. If you can’t be pro-active because other commitments come up, move those appointments to the following month and make them a priority.

Once you get into the habit of keeping your calendar up-to-date, it will become easier to manage your appointments and your customers will appreciate that you remember how important they really are to you.

~Megy

Megy Karydes is principal of Karydes Consulting, a boutique marketing and communications firm that specializes in working with both for profit and not-for-profit organizations. While she’s a digital fan and keeps a calendar online which syncs to her phone, she often refers to her trusted spiral bound calendar as well to help her plot her calendar for the following month. She recommends you find a calendar that you love and be diligent in using it.

The weekly performance series begins with India and the journey continues to include Greece, Lithuania, Mexico, Italy, the Philippines, Africa and ends with a trip to Germany.

It all takes place in Navy Pier’s gorgeous Crystal Gardens each Sunday from February 26 through April 15, 2012. The events take place from noon to 5:00 p.m. and are free. To learn more, visit Navy Pier’s website.

I’m excited to take the kids – I think they’ll enjoy taking a trip downtown while learning more about different countries (and a continent) and getting a taste of culture in a beautiful setting. Care to join us? Let me know and we can make it a date!

Here is the line up in greater detail:

• February 26: Amazing India
  Presented in partnership with the Indo-American Heritage Museum and the Consulate General of India
• March 4: A Greek Journey in the Windy City
  Presented in partnership with the Consulate General of Greece and the National Hellenic Museum
• March 11: Celebrate Lithuanian Independence
  Presented in partnership with the Consulate General of Lithuania
• March 18: Celebrate Mexico
  Presented in partnership with the Consulate General of Mexico and the Mexico Tourism Board
• March 25: Bell’Italia
  Presented in partnership with the Italian Cultural Institute and the Consulate General of Italy
• April 1: Philippine Fest Chicago (Piyesta Pinoy sa Chicago)
  Presented in partnership with the Consulate General of the Philippines and the Philippine American Cultural Foundation
• April 8: Africa in Chicago
  Presented in partnership with Africa International House
• April 15: Germania on the Pier
  Presented in partnership with DANK-Haus German American Cultural Center and the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce

There are five advantages of creating a Foursquare account:

• It’s free (other than the minimal time commitment to set it up and keep it updated/fresh with new offers)
• It’s terribly easy to create a new account
• It’s viral so once someone “checks-in” to your place of business, their check-in is communicated to those within their networks (which, depending on how they set up their account, could include Foursquare, Facebook and Twitter)
• It encourages loyalty
• Did we mention it’s free and easy to use?

So why wouldn’t a business like a retailer, hair salon, insurance agency or any other business with a bricks and mortar presence want to have a Foursquare account?

The argument I hear from my clients and friends is that it’s yet another social media network to remember to update. However, the argument is faulty because, in all honesty, it’s so easy and painless that it’s worth the ten minutes it will take for you to set up an account. And, since we now live in a social media culture where everyone likes to tell everyone where they are and what they are doing, NOT being on social media sites like Foursquare, which broadcasts your business to hundreds and thousands of people and not having to do much to encourage it, is senseless.

To get started, set up an account, claim your location, update your contact information and image, add an offer, and, viola, you’re done. It’s really that simply. You can even “check in” to your own location everyday to remind your friends and family that you’re there and hope you’ll see them, too.

Below is an offer from Eataly (one of my favorite places to visit in New York City) which features an offer when you check in to one of its many restaurants at the location.

Eataly and Foursquare

You’ll notice the offer is for a complimentary glass of wine for “checking in” at the location. By checking in, the person has communicated to her network that she is at this location. In exchange for her communicating the information and letting the venue know she’s there, the venue is awarding her with a complimentary glass of wine. Next time she comes in and checks in, another, more attractive offer, may await her (hence, building loyalty for returning). Or perhaps another glass of wine. The decision on what to offer your visitors is up to you. It could be a financial incentive like a free item, a percentage of a purchase of a certain dollar amount or something else entirely.

Social media is just that – social. Yes, we may be deluged with updates from our friends and family on places like Facebook and Twitter, but part of the appeal is that it does connect us, even if in the viral sense. So let’s use the marketing opportunities that help drive our businesses in the upwards direction.

Easy enough? Are you on Foursquare yet? Will this information compel you to get on it?

~Megy

Megy Karydes is principal of Karydes Consulting, a boutique marketing and communications firm that specializes in working with both for profit and not-for-profit organizations. She’s a fan of many social media sites and especially loves it when her Foursquare check-ins at a bar reveal a free drink, too!