Driving Sales

Decision-Makers Value Industry-Specific Digital Media ... Why Don't You?

As a business-to-business marketer, are you taking advantage of media that is most important to the decision-makers you are trying to reach?

Before you answer, check the results of an October 2007 American Business Media (ABM) survey that measured b-to-b media consumption trends.

All Digital Media is Not Created Equal

Conducted by Forrester Research, the online survey entitled "The Digital Transformation," found that business decision-makers increasingly favor digital media to do their jobs better.

When asked which digital media they rely on at work, decision-makers ranked industry-specific magazine websites first (70%), followed by email or electronic newsletters (70%) and vendors' websites (64%).

But wait... asking b-to-b marketers which media they used to reach these decision-makers in the past 12 months, they ranked ads on industry-specific websites fifth (50%), well below two other tactics: corporate websites (87%) and ads and listings on web portals (71%).

A clear mismatch. Decision makers are looking for information in places that b-to-b marketers have yet to consider most important.

Shifting Marketing Dollars to Catch the Wave

The ABM survey shows the pace of change in digital media and the need for b-to-b marketers to re-evaluate their media buys in a regular basis.

In other words, what worked last year, might not work this year . . . especially if you're behind the wave of digital media use. The smart media move: make sure you're in sync with evolving trends and shift the flow of dollars to match consumption habits.

For more ideas to drive sales go to blog.ambitmarketing.com or visit Ambit Advertising and Public Relations.

Get Your Email Messages Through With a Rock-Solid Reputation

Is your brand or company name instantly recognizable in the sender line of emails? Does your subject line clearly brand your company, newsletter or product -- whichever is more relevant to your target audience?

You can have the most attention-grabbing email in the world, but if its recipient doesn't recognize you as a reputable source, they will delete it and possibly report your message as spam. (Ouch!)

Permission Doesn't Prevent Rejection

These days, it takes much more than "permission" to make it into your subscribers' inboxes. Tighter ISP spam filtering systems continually monitor and re-evaluate emails to substantiate the reputation of a legitimate sender.

Even those that reach an intended recipient who has opted in can be accidentally marked as spam if the reader doesn't recognize you as a trusted source or judges the content to be irrelevant. And every spam click is a mark against your reputation.

Take Steps to Keep Your Reputation Strong

With so much riding on your email reputation, following good sending practices is the only way to optimize your delivered, opened and converted email results.

• Send an opt-in reply confirming exactly what the user is signing up for
• Cultivate a relationship through active, consistent communications
• Use a "from" name that is clearly recognizable
• Craft a subject line that creates trust and interest in opening the email
• Establish a strong reporting system on the backend to track bounces, opens and clicks and review the source of email complaints

With a rock-solid reputation leading the way, being a careful, permission-based marketer will give your relevant email messages every chance to be delivered to the people waiting to receive them.

For more ideas to drive sales go to blog.ambitmarketing.com or visit Ambit Advertising and Public Relations.

Extending Your Reach By Advertising In Other E-Newsletters

Want to give your brand or product an immediate boost in visibility while gathering quality email addresses and prospects for future promotions?

As Karen Bannan reports in the Nov. 12, 2007 Issue of BtoB Online advertising in other companies’ e-newsletters can be the lead generation tool you need to break through to new frontiers of e-marketing success. 

Two chief benefits:

1) It exposes you to audiences who are similar to your own but may not already be customers or prospects.

2) It also helps increase subscriptions to your own newsletter if you are collecting email addresses. 

Getting the Most Out Of Your E-Newsletter Buy

By following best practices suggested by industry experts, you can tailor your e-newsletter buy to deliver maximum response rates from each placement. Among the key issues:

Make sure you’re hitting the right audience. Ask what the demographics are so you know if a newsletter is appropriate.

Consider a package deal. The more places a prospect can see your ad, the better. Explore access to additional placement channels.

Weigh sponsorships against in-newsletter ads. Do you want your name linked to the entire content of a newsletter you didn’t create or do you want to place an ad?

Think outside the banner. Get additional value out of a placement by asking to write a column or story or by sponsoring a section.

Be consistent. A recurring buy is the best way to get people to see and recognize your ads over time.

Don’t forget the mobile audience. Make sure your e-newsletter buys are viewable on mobile devices such as BlackBerry or Treo.

Remember, creative matters. Use a strong call to action and keep copy brief and compelling.

Ask for metrics. Publishers track how many people are opening and reading their e-newsletters. Ask for a breakdown so you know just what you’re paying for.

For more ideas to drive sales go to blog.ambitmarketing.com or visit Ambit Advertising and Public Relations.

Grabbing Publicity With “Caveman Easy” Press Releases

In the popular GEICO Insurance commercials, viewers are reassured that “using geico.com is so easy a caveman could do it.”

While the slogan may offend cavemen, it’s exactly the right mindset for creating press releases that hook reporters and editors and get your story to the target audience you want to reach.

Short and Sweet Beats Big and Boring

In the modern world of information overload, wordy, poorly-crafted press releases have little chance of breaking through the clutter. Take a look at your most recent press releases. What do you see?

Do they convey your news or describe what happened with as few words as possible?

Do they have the kind of story-appeal that builds excitement and interest and makes you want to read more?

Does the audiance you are trying to reach match the audiance the editor is trying to reach?

Unless the answers are "yes", the journey from desktop audition to trashcan extinction will be quick.

Score Early with Key Messages That Pack a Punch

Even in the best-case scenario, you’re likely to have less than 30 seconds to grab a reporter or editor with your story.

Press releases that get published as written or become the catalyst for an article start with a strong, compelling headline and first paragraph that strikes a cord of newsworthiness and intrigue.

You’ll find that taking the time to craft professional, persuasive press releases pays off in gaining media acceptance, reaching you target audiences, and positively impacting your reputation and goals.

For more ideas to drive sales go to blog.ambitmarketing.com or visit Ambit Advertising and Public Relations.