"Internet Direct Mail Is Different: 14 Things To Remember"

Written by Aran Kay


Internet Direct Mail (IDM) and Traditional Direct Mail (TDM) both haverepparttar same goals in mind. They are to generate leads or orders.

However, marketers need to respect that online media and print media present different hurdles in achieving this goal. Some of these hurdles will require that copy be written differently for each media. And some not.

Here is a list of 14 things you should remember when writing copy for Internet Direct Mail. And how each one relates to Traditional Direct Mail.

1. FROM and SUBJECT are very important. Duringrepparttar 124973 anthrax scare in America, these two items became very important in TDM because any given envelope could contain a deadly poison. And while this fear has passed for TDM, it is still very present in IDM. That's because any given e-mail could contain a computer virus. Prospects are more apt to simply delete a message they are unsure of nowadays than risk opening it and ruining their computer.

Here are a couple of tips to solve this problem:

- FROM line should display someonerepparttar 124974 readers will trust

- for house lists,repparttar 124975 prospect has presumably bought fromrepparttar 124976 company before and would trust them. So include some company identifier: "FROM: Macromedia FLASH Team"

- SUBJECT line should be treated like envelope teaser copy. You have to giverepparttar 124977 prospect some reason to openrepparttar 124978 e-mail to see what is inside. "SUBJECT: Try The New Update For Your Macromedia Product!"

2. Your first paragraph or two should contain a mini-version of your whole e-mail. So instead of carefully spreading out your 4 P's (Promise, Picture, Proof, Push) or AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action), you should try to get all these elements in early. Online users have little patience in general and they need to know your whole offer fast.

3. For readers willing to spendrepparttar 124979 time to read every word of your e-mail (God bless them), you can expand on your opening later. Just remember that less people will read right torepparttar 124980 end than will scan your first couple of paragraphs. So include all your best stuff up front.

4. Avoid using "hard-sell" techniques in IDM. These tend to produce poor results. Readers onrepparttar 124981 internet expect to see information. The information can be onrepparttar 124982 benefits of your product and how to order, butrepparttar 124983 tone must remain helpful. If it's slick, your email will be trashed.

5. You should include multiple response options for your prospects. But ALWAYS remember to have a web-based response form. Many online users prefer to keeprepparttar 124984 entire transaction online. That wayrepparttar 124985 user keeps control and does not have to worry about more sales talk or being upsold when they phone in.

6. Limitrepparttar 124986 amount of click throughs in your IDM piece. Usually onlyrepparttar 124987 first 2 or 3 get used. The rest are ignored.

Website Marketing 101

Written by Scott 'Gears'


When it comes to website marketing and promotions, you need to start here...

Every website, whether new, old, or just a thought needs to considerrepparttar marketing that will be put that website in front of it's targeted audience. Sounds easy huh? It just takes time, perseverance, andrepparttar 124972 will to succeed! A budget will help too!

The hardest part is sorting through allrepparttar 124973 crap that's available to (supposedly) help you. Yes, I said crap.

There is a mountain of businesses out there making incredible claims about FREE traffic generation, FREE hits, Mega sales, $20,000 in 3 hours,- or worse, for a small fee of $29.95 we can... blah, blah, blah.

Save your money! I have spent enough for all of us.

Following through with our suggestions offers yourepparttar 124974 most lucrative, ethical, and professional ways to achieve substantial results and still sleep at night. No, you don't have to go for your wallet, I will tell you about these programs in this article (for no charge). A good education will assist yourepparttar 124975 most.

If you already have a site, we recommend a Website Analysis.

Before You Build

1. Have a plan - Not just a good idea. Take your idea and formulate a complete plan around your goals. Highlight any USP's you may have.

2. Build Meta-tags into every category page!  This is crucial to targeted traffic success withrepparttar 124976 Directories and Search Engines. You need to be found, not by your company name (only) but by "keywords" thatrepparttar 124977 general public would use to find your type of business or service. DO NOT just pick any words, this is critical!

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
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