Listen Up. I’m only going to tell you once…

The masters of marketing say that you have tell prospects what you are going to tell them... then you tell them... and then you remind them of what you told them. In other words, repeat your message.

So why would you think that one email or one direct mail or one tweet or one text message would be enough? Surely one of anything will pull in some business, but if there were an easy way to multiply your effectiveness wouldn't you want to do it?

You'd be an idiot not to! And yo' Momma didn't raise no idiots. Right?

But if you've read this far you already know how to create this marketing magic.

Need a hint?

Go back and read the first paragraph again. And again.

Got it now? Repeating your message is good marketing.

No, I'm not saying to robotically say the same thing over and over again until you hypnotize your audience into zombie-like group think. I'm saying to use multi-channel marketing. Mix the media, but not the message.

Need corroboration? Consider this statistical gem: Direct, targeted direct mail, combined with a same-day delivery of an email can boost response rates above 10%.

It starts with direct mail. 98% of consumers retrieve their mail the day it is delivered; and 77% of that 98% sort through it immediately. A great DM piece—well written, well designed, well presented—grabs eyeballs and attention. It probably lands in a "to do" pile, and it probably brings in a 3-8% return.

Now add a little "sweetener" in the form of a complementary email. Same message. Same graphics. Same call to action. Same day. Voila' marketing magic!

OK, usually only 10% of your email recipients open your email, and only about 10% of that 10% click through to your offer. Now that's an itsy bitsy group, but if the email and the DM appear on the same day, they exponentially reinforce each other.

Let me say it one more time:

Mix your media and repeat your message.

Then get out of the way.

Say it Ain't So! You're Too Busy to be Social?

Dearest CEO/BMOC or other overworked executive,

Don't think you have time to get involved in social media? Hmmm. Remember 15 years ago? You didn't have time to use email either. Hah! How times have changed.

Get with it.

I know you're busy. I know you are overcommitted. Spare time is precious. So I'll keep my comments to you short as well, thus respecting your time. I promise I won't take more than 2 minutes today.

Here are a few tips to help you get in the swing of things socially:

1. Write your own content. Your own voice will be more genuine than a hired hack.

2. Schedule time for social media into your day. Just 10 to 15 minutes twice a day will be enough at first to learn the ropes.

3. Don't get distracted. Remember why you're using social media. Is it to build your business, get business leads, or reinforce your web presence? Is it to keep up with your teenagers? Keep your eyes on the prize.

4. Focus on 5 or 6 relevant sites. We're taking baby steps here, remember?

5. Share information, ideas. People appreciate others who contribute to the conversation.

6. Remember, it's not just about you. When you find interesting content outside of yourself and your business, share it. Start a conversation…or add to one.

7. Showcase your expertise. Succinctly. People will learn to value your wisdom.

8. Hire a social media expert to help. You write the content, but let a "pro" distribute it. It will save you time, and keep you focused.

Think it's all just too much? If Virgin CEO Sir Richard Branson, Marriot CEO Bill Marriott and Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz can write their own blogs and tweets, so can you.

I'd say more, but I'm out of time I had allocated for this task today.

Ta Ta!

Spam Alert!

I’ve long suspected that the gazillions of spam messages I get every week are bogus.  And now I have proof.  Unadulterated, irrevocable proof.   From the fingers of the perpetrator himself.

One day this week, after deleting all the fascinating offers for sexy new electric cigarettes, slinky lingerie and Viagra…and obliterating the ads inviting me to go back to school to learn to be a pharmaceutical assistant…and rigorously culling all the sweepstakes in which I have magically won a fortune…and momentarily grieving all my unknown relatives who have died in a foreign country leaving me filthy rich…in this jungle of craziness I finally found THE TRUTH.

It was an email promising me that I could make $138,000 a month on the internet.  From home.  Wearing my bunny slippers and sipping pina coladas.  If I only had a home computer and a couple of hours a day to devote to this effort, I was in like Flynn.

And there it was.  Above the colorful photo of the happy couple clutching handfuls of dollar bills, celebrating jubilantly before their blessed home computer was this copy in tiny, tiny type: “Phony picture and fake testimonials.”

I gasped as reality dawned.  The evil genius who concocted this ad had spoken THE TRUTH!

I wonder if a tiny bit of conscience had pricked him, and he had wanted to warn off the gullible, but I doubt it.  I suspect that he was in a hurry and he simply slipped up.

I hope I will never meet this creep who is preying on vulnerable people.  But his five little words summed up so much of the email crap I get every day:  Phony picture and fake testimonials.

Truer words were never typed.

Content with your Content? Maybe you shouldn’t be!

I don’t pretend to be The Final Arbitrar of things e-marketing. I’m still learning as I go. I do read a lot about the subject, however, and have found several “truths” on my travels that might enhance your web site or e-newsletter or e-pitch.

In a nutshell, the “authorities” (ie those who have book deals so someone somewhere must think their information valuable enough to share) agree on 4 points. Your materials must have good content, real value and usefulness to its readership, authenticity and a genuine point of view, unique products, pricing, delivery or some other differentiator.

Sounds pretty simple and straight forward until you really get down to it. Then it becomes amazingly complicated.

Let’s start with SEO—Search Engine Optimization. You want as many eyeballs as you can attract on the theory that some of those eyeballs will become buyers. Right?

Step back a second. David Meerman Scott says in his book, World Wide Rave, that “performing SEO on crappy site content does not make any sense.”

Hmmm. Makes sense, doesn’t it? If you throw a party and no one comes, it was a bust. If you have a website and drive traffic to it, but no one converts, signs up, joins or buys your stuff, then you have a bit of a problem. It just isn’t doing what you need it to do.

So what will make your website better? More SEO-driven words? Probably not. More than one expert suggests you go back to the drawing board and do what you do best. But do it with passion. Let that passion, intensity and purpose shine through your materials. Put quality into your product and passion into your presentation. It’ll shine through. As Steve Martin wrote, “Be so good that they can’t ignore you.”

As an obvious corollary, you’ve got to like what you do. It will show. Like dogs that can sniff out explosives, your audience will sense your enthusiasm or lack of it. If they like what they sense, they will want to be part of it; if they don’t, they won’t.

So what is “good content”? It’s something that you are truly, deeply interested in. It is special knowledge that you have that you want to share. It’s something that you are so interested in or enthusiastic about that you want to share it with others, and you do it with such enthusiasm that they want to know about it, too. It’s something that when you share it, it makes your audience smarter.

What makes it valuable or useful? Your site must impart information that your readers need/want to know. Maybe you’ve got an industry-specific site. Give your readers the best up-to-date info you can on industry trends…legislation that will affect them…tips, tricks and techniques that work.

Whether you’re concerned about Barbie Dolls, a medical issue, a resort on a Caribbean Island or the high school marching band, the rules are the same: if it doesn’t talk to the needs and interests of your readership, you’re a tree falling in the forest. No one is listening.

How can you tell if anyone is there? Talk to them. Blog ‘em. Ask questions. And really, really listen to their answers. You can even poll them with Survey Monkey and Poll Daddy. They will tell you if there is any “there there.” Or not.

So how do you sound authentic? Sincere? Real? The best response is to just be yourself. Some people find that talking into a tape recorder helps. Then they edit.

If you’re not comfortable expressing yourself in writing, find someone who can take your words, your enthusiasm, your point of view and turn it into presentable prose. Maybe someone on your staff can help; maybe your spouse will volunteer—for who knows you better than your spouse!

One last critical piece of advice I’ve gleaned on my travels: There is no get rich quick scheme. You’ve got to be in it for the long term. You’ve got to be constant and you’ve got to be consistent.

Sure, keep an eye on the Google analytics. Measure the audience and see if your audience is building. That’s a good thing. But don’t obsess on the details. If your trend lines are upward, you’re heading in the right direction.

And that’s as good as it gets.

Goodness knows Paul&Partners is trying to get better at this stuff, too. Please contact me and tell me how you think we’re doing. I’d like to know. Really! Call me at 703-996-0800. Ask for Sam.

43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 150, Dulles, VA 20166
Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888 1.866.365.2858
www.paulandpartners.net sales@paulandpartners