Clark Marketing -

Direct response marketing, like any successful form of marketing, should form part of a measured strategy. Simply firing shots off into the dark, however, without any idea of who you’re targeting and why is likely to yield little in the way of returns.

An effective email marketing strategy is one of the most powerful tools available in the digital age. Even the greatest email marketing campaign, however, isn’t worth the (virtual) paper its written on without that pillar of direct response marketing – a quality email list. So how can you build and continually grow a responsive email database?

The Key to Email Marketing Success 
In this article, we’ll examine some effective strategies for gathering information from both current customers and, more importantly, prospective clients in order to build, and maintain a strong email list.

1. To give is to receive 
How many times over the last twelve months have you supplied your email address in exchange for information? Requiring prospective clients to register to gain access to protected areas of your website is an extremely effective method of gaining contact information.

Offer something exclusive – whether it be a report, ebook, video or some kind of interactive content. This is a great way of enticing both new prospects and those that have dropped off your current list.

2. It’s not all about online 
Whilst the internet has both enhanced and forever changed the way we do business, it’s important not to forget that traditional offline channels still have a part to play in terms of growth.

A personal approach can often yield better results than an impersonal email – don’t be afraid to use any method of contact to ask for contact details. Be up front and explain what’s in it for them, your honesty may be rewarded.

Train staff to ask for an email during conversation as a matter of course, preparing them with a valid reason as to why your organisation would require the information. A little persuasive talking and a personal touch will pay dividends.

3. Incentives 
A more refined version of the first point, offering some kind of reward-based incentive in exchange for information can be a pretty effective tool. We all like to get something for nothing, and if the reward is good enough, it may just be enough to cause someone to part with their valuable personal information.

Be clear as to whom the offer applies to – current/past clients, new prospects or both? Oh, and don’t forget this is a tool which can be driven through both on and offline channels.

4. Accessibility 
For those that are willing to sign up, how easy is it for them to do so? Do you have a simple sign-up form on your homepage? Great. However, consider extending the sign-up interface to include links to social media pages, retail environments or via applications within the mobile domain.

A good direct marketing strategy involves a measured, step-by-step approach. You won’t achieve success in a single day, but by steadily adopting tried and tested methods over a period of time. Don’t be afraid to experiment – what works for one business may not work for another.

Remember – if no one’s reading, then no one’s buying! Call us on 0207 183 7111 if you would like help in building your own email list.

Social media sites, blogging, tweeting, YouTube – the internet is littered with a veritable treasure trove of usable content for savvy marketers. Yet for the uninitiated, understanding where to start can prove a daunting – if not near impossible – task.

Whilst it can be tempting to grab the nearest social media platform and launch a marketing assault, the absence of a measured, viable strategy will ultimately spell failure. Knowing what to put and where to put it is the key here, along with stringent content quality control.

A Steady Stream of Great Content 
A targeted, concise approach will pay dividends in the long term. The first part of this article contains some essential steps towards building a long-term content strategy – look out for Part Two next month.

1. Understanding your audience 
Sounds simple doesn’t it? Taking a little time out to assess your target audience will ultimately dictate the success of your long term goals. Different audiences have different needs, desires and expectations.

The internet is a great resource for researching tried and tested methods. Choosing topics and defining your message becomes simple when you know who you’re trying to reach.

2. Creating a message 
The central focus of any successful marketing strategy should extend beyond simply pushing a product or service. An aggressive strategy is likely to fail more often than it succeeds and can easily damage your brand image long term.

Understanding what your audience wants and why they want it is the key to successfully engaging them.

Larger businesses for example will need to consider the bigger picture, perhaps interweaving content with related current affairs stories and think pieces to pull readers in. Small, local businesses might consider quirky anecdotes or local links to build an audience relationship. Tailor your content and the rest will follow.

3. Pace yourself 
Whether you’re blogging, tweeting, YouTubing or updating your website – consistency is critical to success. Many would-be marketers start out with good intentions, falling at the first hurdle as they either lose interest or their marketing efforts take a back seat to the demands of work.

If daily updates aren’t viable, consider that monthly may not be enough to keep the content fresh and engaging. Create a realistic schedule that suits you and plan your content for the coming month in advance, or even a week at a time. This way you’re less likely to fall off the wagon straight away.

4. Plan a content calendar 
In much the same way as your favourite magazine features monthly columns or weekly articles dedicated to a particular subject, linking relevant content to your schedule will help to pull your audience in. If a subject yields a particularly positive response from your readership, consider making it a regular feature.

Pose questions or ask for suggestions in relation to future content. Try it – you might be surprised at the response.

5. It’s good to talk 
Short of ideas? A great way of finding fresh and engaging content ideas is to speak with fellow professionals in your field. Not only does this help to both build relationships and garner fresh ideas, but can also serve as useful content itself as a ‘spotlight’ style feature.

Don’t be afraid to bounce ideas off one another – the most enduring business relationships involve a mutual exchange of experience and knowledge. So, make a list of individuals you might like to interview and if it works for you, make it a regular feature in your content calendar. A little variety is more likely to keep your audience engaged and demonstrates.

Keep an eye out for 10 Steps Towards Building a Better Content Strategy – Part Two, coming next month. If you would like assistance with creating fresh content for your web presence, call 0207 183 7111.

With increasing exposure and focus on social media as a business marketing tool, you could be forgiven for thinking the humble blog has had its day. Indeed, whilst some social media users effectively use a business page as a blog, it shouldn’t be forgotten that the traditional blog – when optimised for search engine success - remains one of the most powerful marketing tools available.

Recent research carried out by Hubspot identified that businesses who use blogs as part of a consistent content strategy on average have 97% more inbound links, 434% more indexed pages and 55% more visitors. Surprised? Well don’t be.

Increase Traffic With a Business Blog 
In this article, we’ll take a look at how blogging can help your company achieve better returns from your internet investment.

Link building 
In terms of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), blogs represent a fantastic opportunity for building inbound links. A well-written, interesting blog provides a wealth of information encouraging others to create links.

For example, take amateur US photographer Ken Rockwell, a knowledgeable photography enthusiast who writes objective, informative and unflinching reviews on photography equipment. Look at literally any photography related site or forum and it shouldn’t take you too long to find mention of his name. His reviews are held in such high regard that even major players such as Nikon have realised his use in terms of promotional kudos. Ken earns a comfortable living off his blog/site alone.

Establishing roots 
Major search engines such as Google index pages individually, yet in terms of SEO it is still usually the primary page (homepage) that receives the most attention, because this is where many companies focus their efforts.

With blogs, any links relate directly to any mention of a particular post, whether the link has been shared or referred to. This in turn helps to spread links across different pages of the website itself, encouraging page indexing across the website as a whole.

Outbound traffic 
Many marketers aren’t aware that SEO is a two way street - outbound links are also vitally important. With the depth and variety of content included in a typical business blog, there are far more opportunities to post outbound links to external content. This will increase your blog/site’s value in the eyes of both visitors and search engines alike.

Keywords 
In terms of your average brochure website, there are only finite opportunities to push certain keywords before you overload either the visitor or search engine ‘ indexing bots’ that scan content on the web.

Blogs represent a fantastic opportunity to experiment with different keyword strategies and boost your rankings with fresh, engaging content which, by happy coincidence, leads us onto the final point...

Updated content 
Search engines love fresh content. The more content is created, the more attention that content receives from the search engines. Incorporating a blog feed or even creating a content management system within your main site is an extremely useful tool in raising the profile of your website.

Of course, it goes without saying that regular updates are pretty vital to the success of any blog. If you want to keep the attention of both your readers and the search engine, get blogging!

If you would like help implementing a blog for your business, call us on 0207 183 7111