Industry Insights

Email Marketing Update

2002 was a very successful year for direct email marketing, but what does 2003 hold in store? Some of the biggest challenges are direct byproducts of the ever-growing problem of spam. The amount of unsolicited bulk email marketing continues to grow dramatically, with serious implications for legitimate email marketers - marketers who are emailing to recipients that have opted in to a list.

One issue to consider is the practice of spam filtering - when an email program scans all incoming mail for certain words and phrases that trigger a filter. Depending on the filtering program, the message might be flagged as potential junk mail, bounced back to the sender, or simply deleted. The proliferation of spam filtering products means that email marketers must be more careful of how their messages are worded -- inclusion of certain words and phrases commonly used in direct marketing could mean that substantial portion of your list will never see your message.

We haven't listed the common words and phrases here in this newsletter because it's very likely than many of our subscribers would not receive this issue. Microsoft Outlook contains a built-in spam filter - and since it's such a commonly used email program, we think it's a good place to start learning about how spam filtering works. Follow this link for a list of the default words and phrases that Outlook looks for in filtering out spam - you might be surprised to find out how little it takes to have your email message blocked: click here.

• Current Issue
• December 2003: Update on Federal Anti-Spam Legislation
• November 2003: Direct Mail Tips
• October 2003: Impact of Spam on Direct Email; Value of PR (Part III)
• July 2003: The Value of PR (Part II)
• March 2003: The Value of Public Relations (Part I)
• December 2002: Reader Feedback on Hawthorne's 50 Tips
• November 2002: Making Sales in a Tough Economy
• September 2002: The Secrets of Effective Communication with Customers, Employees and Partners
• June/July 2002: ROI & Distance Learning
• May 2002 Newsletter: Accelerating E-Learning Adoption Inside Organizations
• March 2002 Newsletter: Trends in the Training & E-learning Industries
• October 2001 Newsletter: Marketing Thoughts
• August 2001 Newsletter: E-Mail Direct Marketing Tips
• June 2001 Newsletter: Marketing E-Learning Inside Organizations
• May 2001 Newsletter: Sales & Marketing Tips for Tough Times
• March 2001 Newsletter: Search Engine Visibility Tips
• February 2001 Newsletter: Trade Show Tips
  
• January 2001 Newsletter: Marketing Tips

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The Value of Public Relations

As companies continue to look for cost-effective ways to reach their target markets, public relations continues to be an excellent part of the solution. When done correctly, a public relations campaign establishes relationships with the people who get your message out to the right people--those who will buy your product or service. Though it takes time and effort, a public relations campaign costs far less than a similarly targeted marketing program and can, if handled properly, send your message out to a very wide audience. But PR campaigns take time to build, so do not give up regular lead generating marketing activities in the meantime. The two should work together.

Getting Started

Good public relations depends on taking the right steps in the right order. To begin a public relations campaign, capture a powerful story or detail a newsworthy product or service in a press release.

The Press Release-Your First Communication

A press release explains what's new. New can be many things: launching a new product, hiring of new personnel, promoting a current employee at the management level, or offering a new service. In our experience, it's important to be brief. Ideally a release should be fewer than 200 words. We make an exception for trade publications because they often require more technical information than a newspaper does. As a result, they will accept longer releases.

Regardless of its length, start your release with the big news. Since editors may cut some of the text for space reasons, you need to have your main point right at the beginning. Then expand on the headline, provide some in-depth information, and return to the main point. Close the release with a call-to-action: a phone number, e-mail address, or web site where your reader can learn more.

When you submit a press release, name a contact person-someone who will promptly respond to media questions and give great interviews. With deadlines always looming, reporters will pass you by if you can't provide them instantaneous access to a content expert.

Expand Your Outlets

Writing a well-crafted press release is only the beginning. Getting your release into the right hands comes next. You can easily identify the editors, reporters and producers who cover your type of news and make a list of good prospects.

Begin by sending your press release to the print outlets-newspapers, magazines, and even hometown "free" papers (if appropriate)--read by your target audiences. Next, explore all other print or broadcast media that your target audience might encounter. PR expert Eric Yaverbaum calls the technique "Surround Strategy" because you surround the "community" through a variety of media.

Look Beyond Print

Sending press releases to print media starts the process of exposure, but doesn't end it. If you feel that your product would benefit from radio or television exposure you can find hundreds of talk shows on television and radio. As you shape your list of potential broadcast media outlets, remember that the shows are highly targeted. So, look for television and radio shows that reach your potential audience: daytime, nighttime, business or "tech" shows, and even local news.

We caution you, however, that only certain products benefit from this approach. Your company must sell a consumer focused product and one which is easily sold with a short sales cycle and without much of a relationship sale to gain the full benefit out of any radio or TV PR, unless you have a product or spokesperson strong enough to be interviewed on major business shows. If you have a huge budget then things are different but most companies in the training/learning field work on tight budgets that must be allocated to get the greatest bang for the buck.

Local broadcast media wants a local spin on national issues, so prepare your materials accordingly. You can benefit from local press that profiles your company so particularly look at major newspapers business sections and any local business journals or other daily or weekly business focused publications.

Obviously, then, it may be important to include television and radio in the mix of any PR campaign, sending releases to the appropriate person at each station. It's also critical, however, to make sure that whatever media outlet you target is read by your buying audience. If your company sells primarily to a technical audience, for example, then publications aimed at, say, the financial markets won't do you much good. Whether it's marketing, direct mail, or public relations, always target your markets as much as possible.

Speaking Engagements:

If you are an expert in your field or employ an expert, obtaining speaking engagements at conferences that your clients attend is an excellent way to highlight your company, increase credibility and obtain strong leads. Most conferences have a 6 to 12 month lead time for speakers so you need to begin now to get engagements in 2004. You already know most of the conferences in the training field but go to www.tsnn.com to find others in vertical markets you may want to penetrate.

The Next Step

In an upcoming issue of The Hawthorne Newsletter, we'll talk about how to assemble the right media list and point to some resources available to help make your PR initiatives successful.