B-to-B direct mail: Don't get lost in the details

It seems that we business-to-business marketers too often get caught up in the details of direct marketing, rather than concentrating on the things that are most important: the list, the offer and the results.

Stop worrying about the unimportant details such as whether it is better to use gray paper or white for your B-to-B direct mailer. It really doesn't matter what color paper you use--if you're mailing to the wrong people with the wrong offer, your campaign is going to bomb.

For example, if you're sending a mailing about graphic design software to chief financial officers -- or sending a mailing about financial forecasting software to design professionals, you're betting against yourself with regard to generating sales leads or orders - no matter how good the copy or offers are.

When planning a business-to-business direct mail campaign, first determine your objective.
* Are you trying to generate sales leads?
* Are you trying to move prospects along the buying cycle?

Your copy and offer should be designed specifically to support your objective.

The next step is to consider your list.

When choosing a list for B-to-B direct marketing, focus on the important things--such as results--instead of worrying about less important details such as the percentage of undeliverables on the list.

A client of mine recently told me she was concerned by the high percentage of undeliverables from a business mailing list she rented. She was seriously considering not using the list again because of it. However, when I reviewed the overall results of previous mailings with her, it was clear that the same mailing list she was questioning generated more leads and sales than any of the other lists she had tested to date. In fact, that list resulted in the best overall return on investment. When considered from that important perspective, the list she was about to not use again was a real winner.

The next step and the best way to boost B-to-B direct mail response rates is to create a strong offer--that is, a targeted offer, or "call to action," that will entice prospects to respond.

In business-to-business direct marketing, educational offers work well for getting people to "raise their hands" and express interest. These types of offers include how-to guides, buying guides, reports, white papers, articles, case studies and invitations to events (e.g., webinars, presentations, seminars).

Also consider boosting your response rates by making multiple offers, each designed to appeal to people at different stages of their consideration/buying process.

However, don't make the mistake of offering something "cool," like an iPod. Yes, you'll get a high response rate, but those responses will be from people who want the iPod, not from people who want your product or service.

The last step is to always make it easy for prospects to respond to your call to action.

Your response form should include the various ways people can request the offer (e.g., Web address, e-mail, toll-free number or even fax). Your form could also include a few questions that elicit the information that you need to determine whether the respondent fits your definition of a qualified lead. Don't ask too many questions, however, as you risk turning off the prospect.

Successful B-to-B direct marketers understand that most of their campaign's success relies on the list and the offers. So be sure to determine the objective of your direct marketing, and then ensure that your list and offers support your objective. Your response rate will be much higher in terms of qualified sales leads.

About the Author

M. H. "Mac" McIntosh is described by many as one of America's leading business-to-business marketing consultants and an expert on the subject of B-to-B direct marketing. To get more high-quality sales leads and turn them into actual sales read his B2B marketing blog, Sales Lead Insights™, visit http://www.sales-lead-insights.com

The Ipod Audio Revolution

Do you know anyone who today doesn't know what an iPod is? Unless they've been asleep for the last ten years or are totally out of touch with today's technology, the answer is probably not.

But, in case you don't know, just be aware that the iPod, made by Apple (of Macintosh fame), is the absolute king of the MP3 market. Don't know what MP3 is? Well, that's for a seperate article. Speaking of articles, go check out more at http://www.foraudio.com.

The iPod is the most popular and successful portable digital music device in the world. Another way of explaining it is that he iPod is The Format for digital music, period. End of story. You can love the iPod or hate it, but it's hard to dispute the facts. And, or such a tiny device, Apple's iPod sure knows how to throw its weight around!

And, your iPod is about more than just music. Here are a few interesting things to know about an Ipod:

*The iPod is the latest educational tool
*Thanks to the emergence of the podcast, the iPod is a powerful tool that makes learning just about anything fun and more convenient to access
*The latest version of the iPod includes a video player feature
*The iPod is no where even close to being 'out of date'
*Moving your songs to the iPod is as easy as copy a file to a disk
*Although the iPod is an Apple product, it works with both Mac and Windows machines.
*The greatest advantage and disadvantage of an iPod is its small shape.

And there are many more features to mention.

Here is a surprising statistic that you may find of interest: Apple's iPod is turning 5. That's right, the iPod's development dates back to 2001. In that short time it has become such a huge success that some people have predicted that in the future Apple will be more of a music company than a computer company. Well, that remains to be seen, but it could happen.

But one thing is for sure, the iPod is still in the prime of its life and has many years ahead of it even without the upgrades and updates that are sure to come. Add the future improvements to the mix and we have a product that will be with us for many years to come. An iPod is many things to many people, but it can be much more than most people realize.

So, do you have your iPod yet? If not, be sure to do your homework and determing how you will use yours. There are other MP3 players out there, but if you are fashion-concious, the Ipod is your choice.

For many people, their iPod is a constant companion. Are you ready to jump on board?

About the Author

Yvonne Volante, the author, is a big fan of digital music and writes for foraudio.com, which is the premier audio resource on the internet. You can see all of the articles over at http://www.foraudio.com

eMarketing 101- Chapter 1: What is eMarketing and how is it better than traditional marketing

Marketing has pretty much been around forever in one form or another. Since the day when humans first started trading whatever it was that they first traded, marketing was there. Marketing was the stories they used to convince other humans to trade. Humans have come a long way since then, (Well, we like to think we have) and marketing has too.

The methods of marketing have changed and improved, and we've become a lot more efficient at telling our stories and getting our marketing messages out there. eMarketing is the product of the meeting between modern communication technologies and the age-old marketing principles that humans have always applied.

That said, the specifics are reasonably complex and are best handled piece by piece. So we've decided to break it all down and tackle the parts one at a time. This week we'll be looking at the "what" and "why" of eMarketing, outlining the benefits and pointing out how it differs from traditional marketing methods.

By the end of the series we're pretty sure you'll have everything you need to tell better marketing stories.
What is eMarketing?

Very simply put, eMarketing or electronic marketing refers to the application of marketing principles and techniques via electronic media and more specifically the Internet. The terms eMarketing, Internet marketing and online marketing, are frequently interchanged, and can often be considered synonymous.

eMarketing is the process of marketing a brand using the Internet. It includes both direct response marketing and indirect marketing elements and uses a range of technologies to help connect businesses to their customers.

By such a definition, eMarketing encompasses all the activities a business conducts via the worldwide web with the aim of attracting new business, retaining current business and developing its brand identity.
Why is it important?

When implemented correctly, the return on investment (ROI) from eMarketing can far exceed that of traditional marketing strategies.

Whether you're a "bricks and mortar" business or a concern operating purely online, the Internet is a force that cannot be ignored. It can be a means to reach literally millions of people every year. It's at the forefront of a redefinition of way businesses interact with their customers.
The benefits of eMarketing over traditional marketing Reach

The nature of the internet means businesses now have a truly global reach. While traditional media costs limit this kind of reach to huge multinationals, eMarketing opens up new avenues for smaller businesses, on a much smaller budget, to access potential consumers from all over the world.
Scope

Internet marketing allows the marketer to reach consumers in a wide range of ways and enables them to offer a wide range of products and services. eMarketing includes, among other things, information management, public relations, customer service and sales. With the range of new technologies becoming available all the time, this scope can only grow.
Interactivity

Whereas traditional marketing is largely about getting a brand's message out there, eMarketing facilitates conversations between companies and consumers. With a two-way communication channel, companies can feed off of the responses of their consumers, making them more dynamic and adaptive.
Immediacy

Internet marketing is able to, in ways never before imagined, provide an immediate impact.

Imagine you're reading your favourite magazine. You see a double-page advert for some new product or service, maybe BMW's latest luxury sedan or Apple's latest iPod offering. With this kind of traditional media, it's not that easy for you, the consumer, to take the step from hearing about a product to actual acquisition.

With eMarketing, it's easy to make that step as simple as possible, meaning that within a few short clicks you could have booked a test drive or ordered the iPod. And all of this can happen regardless of normal office hours. Effectively, Internet marketing makes business hours 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for every week of the year.

By closing the gap between providing information and eliciting a consumer reaction, the consumer's buying cycle is speeded up and advertising spend can go much further in creating immediate leads.
Demographics and targeting

Generally speaking, the demographics of the Internet are a marketer's dream. Internet users, considered as a group, have greater buying power and could perhaps be considered as a population group skewed towards the middle-classes.

Buying power is not all though. The nature of the Internet is such that its users will tend to organise themselves into far more focussed groupings. Savvy marketers who know where to look can quite easily find access to the niche markets they wish to target. Marketing messages are most effective when they are presented directly to the audience most likely to be interested. The Internet creates the perfect environment for niche marketing to targeted groups.
Adaptivity and closed loop marketing

Closed Loop Marketing requires the constant measurement and analysis of the results of marketing initiatives. By continuously tracking the response and effectiveness of a campaign, the marketer can be far more dynamic in adapting to consumers' wants and needs.

With eMarketing, responses can be analysed in real-time and campaigns can be tweaked continuously. Combined with the immediacy of the Internet as a medium, this means that there's minimal advertising spend wasted on less than effective campaigns.

Maximum marketing efficiency from eMarketing creates new opportunities to seize strategic competitive advantages.

The combination of all these factors results in an improved ROI and ultimately, more customers, happier customers and an improved bottom line.
Next up in the eMarketing 101 series:

Having identified the "why" of eMarketing, our next article in the series will look at the "how". We'll be glancing at some of the weaponry in the eMarketer's arsenal, and looking at how these tools should be used to target customers.

SEO, >PPC, ORM, WebPR - the acronyms are never far behind. We'll take a brief look at each, defining what they are and giving some guidance in terms of which tactic to use in a given situation to ensure optimum ROI on advertising spend.

Later on, we'll examine each of these weapons more closely and see just how they are used to produce results.
Other Articles in the eMarketing 101 series:

* What is eMarketing and how is it better than traditional marketing?

* The Arrows in the eMarketer's quiver
* Blogging - everyone else is doing it, so why can't I?
* A focus on natural search (beginner's guide to SEO)
* Case Study
* PPC - you gets what you pays for
* Case Study

* Email marketing - no, not SPAM
* Affiliate marketing - because we all need friends
* WebPR and ORM - blah blah blah conversations
* Case Study
* Viral marketing - linkerbation is a normal, natural thing. Perfectly natural.
* Online advertising - throwing a banner into the works

* Conversion optimisation. Are you closing the deal?
* Case Study


About the Author

The services offered by Quirk eMarketing include everything from the conceptualisation of a comprehensive online marketing strategy, through to the implementation of the various methods needed to make that vision a reality.

Write Off Your iPod as a Business Expense

If you've been eyeing those sleek new iPods, but you didn't like the price tag, Uncle Same wants to help you buy one.

Before I go on, here's the standard CYA...
I'm providing this as information only. It's up to you and your tax professional to figure out if this is indeed a legitimate tax strategy for you. Now on with the show...

There are two principles at work here:
1) You have the right to deduct reasonable and necessary business expenses from your income before calculating tax on that income.
2) Continuing education to improve your business results has long been recognized as a reasonable and necessary expense.

So where does that shiny new iPod fit in?
If you're like me, you have many hours of mp3 recordings on your hard drive-- recorded conference calls, teleseminars, webcasts and other educational materials. I know I have well over 100 hours of such material on my hard drive.

There are also an increasing number of podcasts available dealing with business topics. Listening to those relevant to your business contributes to your ongoing business education.

There are also similar offerings on subjects like investing, tax planning, and so on.

Purchase your iPod through your business, and you can expense the total cost the year you buy it.

How's this for leverage?
You (meaning your business) spends $200 for a new iPod. You write off the entire cost this year, reducing your taxable income by $200.

You load up that 4 hour webinar you've been meaning to get around to, and listen while commuting. You learn something that adds $200 to your bottom line immediately.

Congratulations! You just got your iPod for zero net cost.

And the iPod is so small and light that you can leverage a lot of dead time (commuting, waiting in line, workouts at the gym, etc.) into productive continuing business education.

And it even plays music!
Music to help you concentrate while writing that new article or newsletter.
Making that music a deduction on its own.
As one guru said, the proper question is not
"Can I deduct this?"
The proper question is
"How can I deduct this?"

About the Author

John McCabe covers business topics like tax savings for the Success Letter, part of John McCabe's Web Guides

iPod Music Downloads – Free or Cheap Download Is Better?

iPod music downloads are available to music lovers either for free or at a cost. It can be perplexing to users as to why some sites could offer music downloads for free while some charges a fee. Let’s dwell a little deeper into the world of online iPod music and find out whether it is better to download free music or pay for your iPod music downloads.

When talking about free iPod music downloads, we are referring to downloading music files directly from sources such as Kazaa or LimeWire. These sites are essentially file sharing networks or what we term as peer-to-peer (P2P) networks where the music files are shared.

Now, there are some concerns associated with downloading free music from these networks. One potential problem could be the legality of the iPod music downloads. There could be instances where copyrighted music is uploaded and shared. This is in direct violation of copyright laws. Users could be toeing the line when downloading these copyrighted music files. While this may be true, there are millions of files that are uploaded by amateur musicians and singers who use these sites as a platform to share their music and songs and to launch their careers. These files are completely legal to download. In fact, talent scouting folks do scour these sites in search of the next Big Thing.

There are a host of other shortcomings you may have to deal with if you are considering if you should get some iPod music downloads from these specific sites. The security and protection from attacks of adware, spyware and viruses, or rather the lack of it when downloading the iPod music files is a cause for concern. The downloading speeds could be incredibly slow and the audio quality of the songs and music can be exceptionally poor. Some users have also complained that the songs are incomplete. You wouldn’t want to trade your precious time to download such iPod music that isn’t worth listening to. So it seems that there is some truth in the saying, “There aren’t any Free Lunch in this world.”

On the flipside of the industry is another group of iPod music downloads sites that have recently emerged. These sites offer users memberships to access millions of music and music video download files. It’s not free definitely, but you would be surprised to know that the price of lifetime memberships costs lesser than what you would be paying for a full-length music video DVD at some stores. Word has spread among the online music community that the problems discussed earlier about downloading iPod music files are non-existent at these download sites. It makes sense now why increasing numbers of people are turning to these sites to satisfy their iPod music hunger. Learn more at my blog about which are the iPod music sites that are fast gaining status as top sites for iPod music downloads.

The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Apple, iTune, or any company or subsidiary of Apple. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

About the Author

Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Find out how you can access to unlimited ipod music downloads - digital quality music and music videos instantly and easily from home at ipod--music-download.blogspot.com.

iPod Download Tips - What You Don’t Know About iPod Song Downloads

The technology behind iPod downloads is interesting. If you are an iPod user, it is not new to you that you simply cannot download those stored song files in your iPod to your computer. In short, iTunes only allow a one-way transfer of files, from the computer via iTunes to your iPod device but not vice versa. People have questioned the rational behind this somewhat inconvenient shortfall in the design of these portable digital devices. We will find out in this article how we can work around this inconvenience and also explore other cost-effective ways to download tons of songs and music videos for pennies.

No, it is not because there is a design flaw but rather the design intention to ward off attempts of piracy, ie indiscriminate duplication of music files to be sold or shared. It may sound harsh to say that even sharing song files with friends could be illegal, but it is true that you may be in danger of infringing into copyright laws. The copyright laws are put in place to govern and protect the intellectual properties of their creators, the musicians, etc so that it remains profitable for them to run their music business. Without that, the music industry slowly wanes and dies a natural death. As a consumer, or music lover, you obviously won’t want that to happen right?

However, not being able to download iPod songs from iPod to computer meant that we cannot do a backup of our song collection. This can be a nasty experience if our computer crashes or when our iPods are faulty. There is a need for easy transfer of song files between the iPod device and any computer such that retrieval would not be so painful. The “piracy-proof” functionality of the iPod device to prevent transfers of songs to a computer ended up becoming a handicap for owners who genuinely just want to do proper backups.

Software developers saw this shortfall coming and have already designed some applications to work around this problem. iPod users can now conveniently carry out transfers from their iPods to their computers with ease, without fear of formatting problems. Here’s a list of iPod-compatible software applications supported by Mac/Windows Operating System that are available for downloading. Free trials are available for testing.

1. iPod Music Liberator
2. iPodRip
3. PodUtil
4. iPod Access

With the above software, you can rest at ease, knowing that your private iPod downloads of song and music collection is safe even when your iPod or computer is down. I am sure you have heard of horrific stories where folks who have painstakingly built up a huge iPod music collection only to see them wiped out with a technical glitch. It’s not a matter of effort only but the amount of money that has been invested into the iPod downloads.

Fortunately, there is now a better way to download iPod songs, music and music videos. In the past year, other than iTunes, many new players have entered into the market changing the business model of paid iPod downloads. Instead of charging per iPod download of song or music video, these membership sites are offering life-time membership for pennies. Considering the vast library of millions of iPod downloads they offer which range from the latest music to movies and TV shows, it is proving to be a more worthwhile investment for iPod users. Learn more about how you can access to unlimited iPod downloads of music and other media files at my iPod blog.

The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Apple, iTune, or any company or subsidiary of Apple. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

About the Author

Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Find out how you can access to unlimited ipod downloads - digital quality music, full length DVD quality movies, TV shows and videos legally and easily from home at ipod-downloads-site.blogspot.com.

iPod Music Downloads – Download iPod Music to Your Heart’s Content

Downloading iPod music always brings thrill to users whenever they manage to find the tune they are searching for. Just not long ago, when radio was the only free source of music, people would stay tuned to their radio or portable receiver. Then CDs came along, followed by music MP3s. It is apparent that the MP3 player has invaded almost all the modern homes of America. Chances are you would find one MP3 player or more specifically an iPod in the homes since it is the most popular MP3 player. More than 21 million iPods were sold in just the last quarter of 2006 alone, boosted by the Christmas sales. Having a nice gadget with such enhanced capacity to hold hundreds to even thousands of songs and music is not enough. You need to know how and where to get hold of unlimited iPod music downloads in order to do justice to your iPod.

When people think of iPod music downloads, the first place they would think of is iTunes. If you do a quick review, you would discover that they have a wide selection of over 3.5 million songs, movies and over 200 TV shows, over 20,000 audio books, games etc. Prices range from $0.99 for a music track, and movies retail at $9.99 per movie, while TV show sells at $1.99 per episode. Frankly, that’s quite a large database of iPod media files and there are old fans who stick with it since that’s probably the very first site that they knew and got their first iPod music downloads.

However, there are others who feel that it is ridiculously expensive if they want to beef up a private stash of music and songs with tons of iPod music downloads. Naturally, they would switch to downloading iPod music at free download sites like Kazaa or Limewire. Why should anyone bother to download iPod music that comes with a price tag each time you do so? People quickly figured this out and as a result, huge demand for free iPod music downloads ensued. More download sites using the same concept as Kazaa pop up.

But there are some problems with downloading iPod music at sites like Kazaa. These download sites would expose your computer system to malware such as viruses, adware and spyware. In exchange for downloading iPod music for free, you are obliged to view those pop-up advertisements, or commercial ads. Needless to say, this would badly affect your PC’s performance such as speed and memory and its functionality. Imagine the kind of trouble you would be in should your PC crash on you and wipe out all your important files and documents. The reformatting, reinstallation and so on so forth is something most people would love to avoid.

Business owners saw the loopholes and pitfalls in these free iPod music downloads sites. In meeting the ever-increasing demand for cheap music downloads for iPod, new membership sites that offer lifetime access to millions of iPod music files, music videos, and other media files like business audio books, TV shows and movies came into the music scene. Instead of a pay-per-download fee structure, they go for a one-time fee based concept. Various download sites charge a different fee but it is generally in the low range of $40. The music community, especially iPod users has welcomed such a refreshing change. Music enthusiasts can now access to as many iPod music downloads as they wish, without expensive charges under an environment safe from malware attacks.

Read my blog to find out how it is possible to access to millions of iPod music downloads and get the latest tips and reviews of top iPod music sites.

The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Apple, iTune, or any company or subsidiary of Apple. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

About the Author

Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Find out how you can access to unlimited ipod music downloads - digital quality music and music videos instantly and easily from home at ipod--music-download.blogspot.com.