Here are some tips on producing a good and effective campaign.

The Title or subject line is the most important part of the whole project. You have only about 40 characters to motivate your members to click and read on.

That’s why subject lines must be all about benefits. The best (if not the only) reason to open a message is to find a benefit within. The goal is to get people intrigued so that they’ll want to learn more. If you give them too much info or seem too aggressive, you risk pushing them away.

The recipient’s concern is literally, “What’s in it for me?”

Once your visitor does click onto to your mail one of the crucial elements of an email marketing campaign is a clear call to action. You want the reader to start reading and then, almost without thinking about it, scroll down and continue reading. Your copy needs to be concise and focused; it should be formatted with lots of white space so that it’s easy on the eye; and it should include a call to action with a link. Don’t distract with too many links or offers, and make not only the call to action clear but also what recipients can expect when they click through. This can be as simple as “Click here for a 20% discount on your next purchase.” You want them to go to your website.

Your email marketing strategy as a whole must be an integrate part of the overall marketing strategy. Similarly, the design (and the content) of your newsletter or email marketing campaign should reflect your corporate design.

Now you need a database list of people who give you permission to email them.

With a never-ending flow of spam on the Internet people are careful with every new message they receive. Some people immediately delete suspicious emails without opening them, others use anti-spam filters that block any email they consider as spam. Its great if you already have a list of subscribers, to which you are sending newsletters at a regular basis. People know who you are and most likely have your email address in their address books or whitelists, so your email is let through with no problems. As you meet new people at networking or other functions get their card and immediately add their email address to your database. Most everyone has their email address on their business card.

Finally, your presentation of your email marketing campaign needs to be professional and well thought out. It might be a good idea to hire a professional to design your initial template. You know the old saying “first impressions” and “you get what you pay for.”

The deeper our economy slumps, the more all size businesses that plan to stay around, will want to ramp up their exposure.The serious marketers with budgets will have ‘exposure’ advantage as they wisely invest their advertising dollars through these times…till the inevitable upswing returns.

The savvy types recognize
Investing in their brand with “Custom printed functional quality” items stretches and strengthens the brand recognition now, even more than in good times. (Ask yourself if you used a logo promo item used today?)

As business owners, marketers steeped in simple science, we hope for a cause and effect to our efforts; it is actually that domino effect with measurable rewards. No matter the venue- the sale, attendance at an event, a contribution to a charity, enrollment in a class, we all aim for Return on Our precious time, our psychic energy and emotional investment. (Ask yourself if you can recall the advertiser on your favorite promo item today?)

BRANDING can be as Memorable as the keepsake. A custom printed ‘gift’ doubles as a Reminder that soon penetrates the psyche, workspace, kitchen when Used handled and seen daily — it gets results. With prolonged exposure and experience with your brand – you can guess what can happen next. (Ask yourself if you have used the services from that promotional product you used today?)

SELLING is trackable – just ask your accountant. Invite your prospects repeatedly for a return dialogue, that test drive, that special offer, etc. The smart & serious avoids wasting time in this cycle. So, don’t start this advertising/marketing with out including a promotional product; And Don’t bother unless you are going to follow through from start to finish.

REPEAT EXPOSURE: Your promotional products will be hard at work repeating your message long after your personal encounter. (Ask yourself if you had to pick a promotional product for someone like yourself, what would you like to receive?)

The fun is crafting the plan, picking the item that fits budget, demographics and Distribution method – and tracking the action. Remember only those on the radar screen as ‘best prospects’ will see receive your promotional product

Promotional marketing items do not need to break your budget; their return is everlasting with the right product. Plus without waste, you can’t ask for a better medium.

PS This wildly popular industry has proven statistical results; if you are curious about how your answers compare to others or for the unconvinced or curious click www.ppai.org and find out how the mind recalls, remembers and how physical advertising effects behavior; Retention/ recalls studies are available.