15Jun 2004 by Bob Cargill

Talk about Target Marketing

Direct Marketing
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 – If you’re like me, you own more loyalty cards than you care to admit, but like a good boy scout showing off his merit badges, you don’t hesitate to flash them -- with great pride -- at the register. These cards, of course, are used by database marketers to keep track of our purchases, but on the surface, all most of us consumers care about are the “rewards” (read: discounts) we receive for our frequent patronage. Yes, there are those who dismiss such loyalty marketing tactics as too “big-brother”-like. But privacy concerns aside, I think these cards point up an incredibly effective way to forge bonds with your audience and introduce them to products and services they’ve shown a predisposition to buy. For instance, the…
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11Jun 2004 by Bob Cargill

Those Whom Are Sure to Attract Others

Direct Marketing, Fundraising
Friday, June 11, 2004 – Some of the best ideas have a way of falling into your lap. For instance, one of our higher education clients is doing something on its Web site that any other school, non-profit organization or association (I can’t help but think of the New England Direct Marketing Association) could emulate. In promoting Alumni Weekend 2004 on its Web site, Ithaca College is posting a list of those alumni who have already registered to attend, the idea being that if you see someone you know, or someone you want to know, you’ll be more likely to attend. Think Evite. After all, if it’s all about networking -- and you just so happen to be on the fence -- what could be better than knowing in advance…
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10May 2004 by Bob Cargill

Planting the Seeds for Bountiful Results

Copywriting, Direct Marketing
Monday, May 10, 2004 – An article I wrote, 10 Ways to Grow Your Audience with Direct Mail, was just published in Perfect Register, the newsletter for employees of International Business Systems (IBS), Inc., and their associates in the business community. I am grateful to IBS (thank you, Aleka and George) for asking me to write this article, as it gave me the chance to talk shop with an audience of more than 1,000 readers. And while plans call for us to post the article on our own Web site at Yellowfin Direct Marketing, I thought I’d be remiss if I didn’t incorporate at least a piece of it in A Fine Kettle of Fish. The original article ran in the vicinity of 1,500 words, but I won’t be going…
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03May 2004 by Bob Cargill

Addressing the Facts on Labels

Direct Marketing, Fundraising
Monday, May 3, 2004 – One of the more interesting newsletters I’ve been reading lately is the Fast Company Now Newsletter DIGEST, which notifies me of new posts on the FC Now Web Log. On Friday, something posted by Heath Row, entitled “Marketing Play,” caught my eye, given that it spoke to the business of direct mail and the lengths we direct marketers go to convince people to respond affirmatively to our offers. One riff led to another, of course (the tangled webs we weave), and I eventually found myself reading a page on G-Blog.net -- written by a user named Spam on March 31, 2003 -- about charitable organizations and their use of address labels as a front-end direct mail premium. “I just got forty-five adhesive address labels in…
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22Mar 2004 by Bob Cargill

A Good Offer Squandered

Direct Marketing
Monday, March 22, 2004 – Denny, our production artist, has performed yeoman’s duty in helping me prepare for my appearance next week at the 18th Annual New England Meetings Industry Conference and Exposition in Boston. He’s scanned dozens of direct mail packages for me, each one illustrating one of the points I’ll be making in my presentation, “The Shoestring Secrets of Well-Heeled Direct Marketers.” It’s a thankless job, all this R&D leading up to a speaking gig -- but the extra effort now makes everything that much easier come show time. A couple of the packages I’ll be sharing with my audience speak to the importance of your mailing list -- that is, a bad offer to a good list is better than a good offer to a bad list.…
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18Mar 2004 by Bob Cargill

The School of “Emo” Copywriting

Copywriting, Direct Marketing
Thursday, March 18, 2004 – In the latest edition of the I-Copywriting Digest, “moderator” Nick Usborne suggested that online marketers are becoming less and less personal online. “Why,” he asked, “are we retreating into that familiar territory of corporate-speak, when we would do better to step forward and touch our readers one by one?” I must say his commentary struck a chord with me, as I’ve always been partial to the school of "emo" copywriting. Show some enthusiasm. Express your emotions. Don’t be afraid to open up to your audience and connect with them personally. They’ll respect you for it. And respond affirmatively. That’s what I say. And that’s what I did say -- for the most part -- in a letter I wrote back to Nick (agreeing with him…
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