Information tools to help you manage your marketing program

- Email Advertising Definitions (scroll down)
- Web Advertising Definitions (scroll down)
- Marketing Calendar Sample (download PDF)
- Business Plan Outline (download PDF)
- Marketing Plan Outline (download PDF)

EMAIL ADVERTISING DEFINITIONS:

Email advertising is extremely affordable and can be very responsive to customer preferences. To use email advertising requires having email addresses available (a database of contacts) and compliance with federal law governing additions and removals of people in mailing lists. Because of this legal requirement to maintain good data hygiene, it is recommended to use a service provider to send to lists of over 100 entries. They will manage unsubscribe requests, outdated addresses and duplicate entries for you. Companies providing bulk email services can provide detailed tracking information so you know exactly what kind of response your message received. If you have questions about building your database, give us a call to discuss ideas.

Enewsletters Customer retention and public awareness objectives are addressed effectively using newsletters. To be effective, newsletters must be published dependably at whatever interval is selected (ie - annually, quarterly, monthly). People already using your products or services often look forward to seeing your new offers and like to keep up with what's going on at your business. An email newsletter can drive a good amount of traffic to your website.

Opt-In Bulk Emailing There are companies who farm the internet for people with specific interests. They provide interesting information or enticing offers and ask if the internet user would like to receive more information about the same topic. If the user says yes, this is called "opt-in". The internet user has chosen the option to be included in that mailing list. Many list companies are using a double opt-in system to avoid allowing people to sign up others to receive information. It works like this. If a person click yes to opt-in, an email is sent asking them to confirm their desire to receive additional information. The person can then say yes a second time or decline. This practice is optional at this time but it is anticipated to become a legal requirement in the future. Sending an email message to someone randomly who has not requested it is called "spam". You can rent an opt-in list and send your email message just as you would rent a postal list and send a direct mail postcard. And, just as with a traditional mailing list, you can choose from categories of interests, geographic locations, income levels, etc. You pay based upon the number of addresses sent to. This is a very affordable way to make contact with fresh audiences who are likely to be interested in your product/service.

Triggered Response Messages If you buy a music CD on Amazon.com you will receive an email saying that many of the people who buy that title also buy this other one. You will be offered the second title at a discount if you want to add it to the same order. This message was triggered by your selection and sent automatically. Automated messages can be triggered by almost any customer action. For example, you can set up a system to send a note to a customer 30 days from their last transaction, for instance. Triggered response messages are only practical where the internet activity level is fairly high (ie - strong attention to website, internet sales process is used, good database management practices, commonly using email to communicate with customers).

Announcements Email is a good way to announce new products, personnel changes, new equipment or credentials, or deadlines to register for an event. For relatively small lists, a simple email note with an attached photo, brochure or form can be copied and sent to customers or last year's participants even one at a time without assistance from an outside firm. Where a relationship already exists, this is a simple and surprisingly personal way to stay in touch.

Response to Inquiries If you have made the offer and someone responds you MUST fulfill the request in a timely fashion. When advertising by any method, it is important to have a designated person to monitor and fulfill orders or inquiries. Email is a nearly immediate way to answer a question, send a link to the webpage where the information they want can be found, confirm that a brochure has been sent, or send a UPS tracking number along with their order confirmation.

WEB ADVERTISING DEFINITIONS:

Like all advertising, the cost of web-based messages is based on the anticipated exposure level. Some measure the exact exposure and charge on that basis. Unlike other forms of advertising, most internet activity does provide some type of response measurement or tracking which documents the number of resulting inquiries. These responses may be measured by "open rates", people who viewed the message, or "click throughs", people who advanced from the ad message into your website's "landing page", the place where your website best describes the offer presented by your message.

Website Having your own website provides a forum for others to investigate your products or services at their convenience. Having a website does not automatically mean that people will find it. Websites must be marketed to attract traffic. Many use traditional forms of advertising to inform prospects of their website URL (address).

Search Engines Searches allow people to locate websites that have information within their scope of interest. Google, Yahoo, InfoSeek and other companies provide search services free of charge for internet users. They determine which websites provide the closest match to a user's search words. The matching sites are placed in order based upon their strength of site criteria including traffic, frequency of updates, amount of new information added, number of links, etc. The text, meta-tags and other information within a website provides search terms that may be found by a search engine scan.

Pay-Per-Click Highly competitive industries bid on search terms in order to rank in higher position on search result pages. Much like an auction, where high bidder wins, premium search terms can demand high fees. The company who is willing to pay most is listed first. Each time an internet user searches for that term, then clicks on the bidder's weblink, they are billed by the search engine. Frequently searched terms can become expensive because of click volume even if the bid price is relatively low. This is free enterprise in its purest form.

Banner Ads Many websites and directory sites offer banner advertising which is a paid ad that runs across the top of the page. Sometimes there are several smaller banner ads stacked along one side of the page. Often there are several ads that rotate so that each time a site is accessed, a different ad is shown. Most of the time banner ads allow internet users to click on the ad as a link to your website. These ads are billed based upon number of exposures. The amount of exposure may vary along with the site traffic level.

Pop-Up Ads These often annoying ads "pop-up" as a new window while internet users are surfing. Use pop-ups with caution as they are often seen as unwelcome interruptions by internet users. If your product/service would be of high interest to visitors of a particular site, using a pop-up ad may be a valid way to present your message. Like banner ads, pop-ups provide a link to your landing page and are billed based upon variable exposures.

Directory Ads Web directories help people shop. Each industry has associations that provide listings of its members, or referrals to internet users searching for qualified suppliers. Directory sites tend to have better strength-of-site and pay-per-click programs than single company sites and therefore provide opportunity to increase traffic to your site. Ad styles include listings, listings with links, featured link banners, and even embedded storefronts where internet users can complete transactions with your company through a directory site filter. The cost covers a similarly wide span from free listings, to options with small fees like $100 per year, to an amount per exposure. Some directory sites offer a mix of online and traditional media advertising.

Link Exchanges Some businesses compliment each other without actually competing (such as real estate brokers and mortgage lenders). Often such companies exchange links so visitors to each site are directed to the other. Normally these links are considered an even exchange with no cost to either partner. However, if one partner has substantially less site traffic they may be asked to pay a link fee. Link exchanges are strongest where there are strategic alliances already in place.

Blogs Slang for "web log", blogs are most often used by individuals as online journals. They talk about things they do and like or don't like. Taking "word of mouth" advertising into the future, blogs tend to have strong impact on the demographic matching the blogger. If they happen to mention finding something they really liked about your product, it can mean a lot of attention coming your way. This is called VIRAL ADVERTISING because it spreads quickly and automatically through a population. Sometimes companies write their own blogs, or pay employees to write and maintain blogs that speak favorably about their products. To keep a blog online it must be updated at least once a month. It is a commitment to keep a blog’s content fresh. Blogs with strong audiences are normally updated daily. Companies looking to encourage bloggers to talk about their products need to evaluate the type of content a blogger may write. Some bp logs are not very professional, some even X-rated. You cannot control what a person writes in their blog, but you can use websites like www.Technorati.com to search blogs and monitor what people are saying about your company.