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CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: Writing

Can asking a question in an ad increase sales? Some will argue vehemently that the use of a question is a non-starter, a pre-ordained copywriting disaster. Craig Huey, founder and president of the award-winning Creative Direct Marketing Group, froths at the idea of a question in sales copy. Nevertheless, a question is a tool. And as with any tool, any copywriting strategy or tactic, if a question is not formulated and handled with proper caution it could indeed do immeasurably more harm than good. Well, let me correct that: If you're a direct marketer who tests, you can measure precisely how much harm a poorly phrased question will do... or how well a good one will convert.

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

It's a fact of list life: You're always going to lose a chunk of your email list to bounces, unsubscribes, and spam complaints. In the past, you might have just shrugged off this loss—typically 30 percent or more annually—because you were able to acquire new subscribers at a much higher rate than what you lost. But your ability to do so might be getting tougher now. With consumers getting pickier about whom they want to receive email from, along with the growing constraint caused by consumer and business spending cutbacks and the prospect of tightened marketing budgets, it's more important than ever to focus on retaining your subscribers and customers. These three strategies can help you reduce list churn and, subsequently, boost list performance.

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

Ongoing economic uncertainty has made aspirational luxury customers more selective about what they purchase than ever. "Aspirationals" are aggressively prioritizing discretionary spending, purchasing a select few emotionally charged luxury items but buying everything else at mass or "masstige" outlets. Companies that want to continue to profit from aspirational customers must make their brands accessible and relevant to them by taking their lifestyles into consideration and meeting them half way. Here are seven tips to draw out aspirationals, just in time for the holidays.

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

White socks are great. They go with everything, wear forever, and are excellent value for the price. And for those who love this argument, you can't measure On the downside, white socks are vanilla to the bosses and not always welcome in the Board Room. Furthermore, they represent discretionary spending and if ROI can't be measured,

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

This is a sequel to my most recent post dealing with company Today, I answer the question, "Should a company have one person as its 'voice' in the market via various social media The simple Companies should have at least one person participating in the ongoing conversation that's taking place across a broad spectrum of social

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

How would you like to drive sales and achieve an all-time company high in product sales? And at the same time, create word of mouth about your product and make customers feel a connection with your brand? Sound too good to be The video below is part of a marketing campaign called "Inspired Season" implemented by

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

There's been a lot of around the social media release (SMR) lately and since it's an upheaval and departure from a 100-year old tradition, I thought I'd share my experience with utilizing an SMR (or a variation of one) sprinkled with a few opinions for good The SMR made its back in May 2006 and yet,

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

I've had a few questions sent my way thus far, including "Should a company blog be written by one person, or several, or by a faceless 'voice?' Should a company have one person as it's 'voice' in the market via various social media Allow me to respond to the first in this post followed by a

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

An interesting new concept is cropping up these days, according the Wall Street . In a large consumer product companies are looking for the inventive ideas many small business owners and entrepreneurs have–in order to gain an edge. Let's face in increasingly competitive, slowing markets where a continual pipeline of new products is called for, this

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

A year that's looming larger each day for social media. Or is Times are tough. Many people may be looking forward to four years of hope and change, but the realities of a slumping global economy are upon us today. As we conclude budgeting season - or some procrastinating companies are just beginning - social media

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

Frankly, I'm overwhelmed by all the options available for media marketing. That's why it's refreshing to see something simple that About a week ago I got an email from my favorite record store. Inside, there was just four lines of text. No images. No flash. No links. No HTML wizardry. No articles on topics of But

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

I have a Dell laptop. It's not a particularly impressive machine, in fact you could say it's pretty boring. But I already know that my next laptop is also going to be a Dell. And the reason why I've already made that choice has nothing to do with the product, and everything to do with the

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

Social network (SNA) is helping companies map and understand the links, associations and possibly behaviors of customers and employees. In the following hypothetical situation, we'll explore the ramifications of using social network analysis in marketing processes and attempt to discern if SNA is "hype" or a valuable Suppose you are a marketer at a wireless telecommunications

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

Here's a case study from the Media Convergence via Liz Cahill, VP of Marketing and Communications of Lee Thirteen years ago Lee recognized women were the top consumers of their jeans. And at the same time cause marketing was starting to take hold. Lee studied the causes that women really identified with and breast cancer was

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: Social Media Marketing

The more quantitatively you can measure your social media, the better. And the closer those measurements are to business outcomes, even better. How rapidly people in the network engage with you and respond to your "call to action," such as write a review, participate in the blog discussion, or forward something to a colleague... can (and should!) all be measured.

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

During the 12 years that Christa Carone has been with Xerox, the company has been on quite a roller-coaster ride, having gone through significant challenges back in 1999 through 2001/2002, when the company's brand and reputation really took a hit. Recently she discussed with Roy Young her work to strengthen the company's reputation in the marketplace, to bring the brand back to a place that is worthy of such an iconic name like Xerox, and to help the company grow.

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

A Web site has to accomplish only two basic things to deliver success for your business—and those two things are mission-critical. A successful Web site must be built from the ground up to attract and capture: first, the attention of your target audience and, second, the attention of the major search engines.

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

In this day and age, one could say that green is the new black. More than ever, consumers are engaged in environmentally sound practices. And companies can easily leverage this "green" trend to not only show their customers their concern with the global environment but also reduce the continually increasing cost of the direct mail process.

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

As a social media strategist, I find it hard to believe that the names of some Web 2.0 companies don't play a large part in traditional marketer's dismissal of new media. When traditional marketers say things like, "New media is a fad for kids," it's hard to refute it when you have to use company names

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: None

There is no doubt the speed of change in the media space is blinding. New tools become available to marketers and individuals alike nearly every If you have ever felt like it is hard to keep up (and I know I have) then this book is for you. Admittedly, Paul Gillin wrote this book for the