I recently received a marketing email from Printing For Less (PFL), who I think runs a great organization – go learn about them if you don’t know them.

The email I received from them (shown below) was a great example of a well-written and well-executed email marketing piece.

I wanted to take the time here to outline what I think works well about it so you can learn something for your next email marketing campaign.

First, the following email was received from my inbox at my role with Insperity as a marketing supervisor.  The PFL email was likely intended for an in-house marketer who might partner with vendors to execute direct mail marketing projects.  So for audience targeting, PFL gets a thumbs up.

It’s now football season and PFL knows this so their email designed with two football helmets going head to head and each labeled with direct marketing tactics that sometimes compete against one another, was another win.  Plus, they color coded the messages in the body copy of the email to associate with each “team.”  This makes it very easy to scan and understand what’s going on.

What I love most about this email marketing piece is that its main focus is to educate you as the potential customer about the difference between Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) campaigns and Targeted Direct Mail campaigns (both of which PFL can help you with).

The email doesn’t focus on the sale, but rather on building rapport and a relationship with me to help me understand what might be best for my marketing needs.  In that way PFL wins “points” of goodwill for being an informative advisor vs. a pushy sales person.

Beyond the email’s wonderfully short, educational descriptions of each marketing tactic and accompanying bullet points you can click through to their website to get far more information on EDDM and/or Targeted Direct Mail via PFL’s EDDM Success Kit or their Direct Mail Master’s Toolkit, both of which are free tutorials on their respective subjects.

Subtly, throughout the email – right at the top, near the final third of the email and again at the bottom – you see small sales calls-to-action to contact PFL to speak with a mailing expert or to get a quote, but these calls-to-action are not the main focal point.  They’re there and available if you’re ready for them, but PFL is not jamming it down your throat.

The fact that this email teaches me something and encourages me to get more in-depth knowledge by following their call-to-action tutorial kits takes me on a journey.  Along that journey I’m learning and building rapport and a relationship with PFL.  Even if I don’t buy today, you can bet if I have a need for a direct mail campaign and I am in the market for a vendor to partner with and help me execute it, PFL will be top of mind.

Posted By:  Nick Venturella

Is recorded music more of a marketing tool for musicians today, or is it truly the end product to sell (as it has been in the record industry, at least until the advent of the Internet)?

Follow the link to read the article geared toward working musicians and those interested in the entrepreneurial business of being a professional musician.

Posted by:  Nick Venturella

I’m guilty of having spoken in jargon and online-business-conceptual-talk without explaining further.  I don’t intend to do that, and I don’t think I’m alone in that intention.  

I do believe in helping others, and I think others actually want to help people get better at marketing themselves or their businesses online.  Again, the intention isn't to annoy or confuse you.

However, a lot of online advice gets generically spouted in a way that makes the audience feel like every blog they read says the same thing, or “it’s very simple, really,” but no one truly explains what it means or how to actually take the action to achieve the online marketing “success” to which the author is referring…unless of course, you buy their product.  

Even then, much of those products are overpriced, and they read as commonsensical information that could have likely been found in various places online if you looked hard enough (okay, so maybe you’re paying for the convenience of it all in one place and the author’s unique way of explaining things, which may resonate with you – there is definitely value in that).

I digress…I don’t want to be that guy that I get frustrated with online who just really doesn’t give me that great of advice or insight about online marketing, business, life or anything.  I don’t expect to always get blown away, but give me some original thought and your own perspective…  

…What’s worked for you?  How did you approach it?  What steps did you take?  What’s working for others who you know?  Why do you think things are working for you or others?  

                                                             ***

Specifically, here are some things I want to avoid using in my own blogs from here on out, unless I can offer some more insight and explanation of how this relates to you and how to achieve it (just a note:  my way may not always be the best or most effective way -- it's simply one way).

• Remarkable content
  

What does that mean?  How do I know it when I see it, let alone how to create it?  Is it remarkable because it becomes popular and helps generate traffic or because the content is truly useful – can you have one without the other?

• Increase your web traffic
  

Yes, I could use more traffic to my website and I understand that that will have an effect on my conversions and my ability to generate leads and/or subscribers to my blog, but how do I actually increase my web traffic?  What are some tactics that have worked for others in my niche/situation?

• Increase your web conversions to aid lead generation
  

Again, I would love to increase my web conversions to allow myself the ability to engage in conversations with those who convert to build a further relationship and ask them if they would like to buy what I’m selling, but you told me nothing of how one goes about actually increasing the conversion of “just looking” website visitors into interested and engaged website subscribers or potential customers.  You say I need “remarkable content,” ugh!

Do you have some similar questions?  Feel free to contact me and tell me a bit about your endeavor, your challenges, your questions, etc., and I’ll do my best to address them in a way that is useful for you.

Thanks,
Nick Venturella

I'm excited to be sharing the stage again with my friend and fellow singer/songwriter, Keith Hampton.  

We'll be splitting the show, bouncing back and forth, each of us taking turns to perform a few songs.  It keeps things interesting and fun.

Plus, we're playing at a venue that is a favorite for both of us, The Water House Bistro -- home of good food, drinks, art, music and most of all, good people.

You won't want to miss this show.

Water House Bistro
132 East Lake St. 
Lake Mills, WI
Sat. Sept 6, 2014
Start 6:30pm 
(two for one deal - splitting the show with my friend Keith Hampton)
http://waterhousefoods.com/