New Media Mavens Blog

What's your call to action?

Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day and the call to action is: Remember those who have died in our nation's service!

However, in marketing our businesses -- whether on our websites, newsletters, in print or in video we're so committed to what we're saying that we sometimes forget the call to action.

What is the call to action?

Here's a definition below from the Business Dictionary:

Words that urge the reader, listener, or viewer of a sales promotion message to take an immediate action, such as "Write Now," "Call Now," or (on Internet) "Click Here." A retail advertisement or commercial without a call-to-action is considered incomplete and ineffective.

Allbusiness.com's marketing advisor, Jim Logan explains the call to action in this brief video:

Regards,

Lena Claxton

Green Marketing Techniques

Happy Earth Day everyone!

On this day, it seems most appropriate to discuss the environmentally friendly benefits of new media marketing.

Here's just a sampling:

• Using e-mail marketing means cutting down or eliminating the need for paper brochures or fliers
• Putting your sales letters on a page on your website means there's no need to mail them, thereby saving emissions in all the process of getting one piece of mail from one place to another
• Using webinars instead of traditional meetings means saving on fossil fuels

Remember, using "green" practices doesn't have to put you in the red. Most of the new media technologies we discuss are free or low-cost. If you are looking to "green" your marketing practices, think new media!

Enjoy Earth Day everyone!

Alison Woo, Chief Media Maven

12 Common Pitfalls to Avoid in Creating an E-book

Getting ready to create an e-book to showcase your expertise and attract more clients? It’s a surefire way to increase e-mail subscriptions to your blog or website. I’ve read many e-books, some I’m impressed with and others fall way short. You may want to consider these 12 common pitfalls when creating your own e-book:

1.    Creating an e-book that is too short. If it's less than 20 pages it's probably a report or a white paper.

2.    Providing content that is all fluff—with little or no value for the reader.

3.    Heavily promoting and upselling your other products in every paragraph or so. It's a guaranteed way to turn off your audience. I've read some that were nothing more than slippery slope sales letters to get you to buy their more expensive product(s) in every other paragraph.

4.    Ending the book without including an author page and an upsell to a product or program.

5.    Producing your e-book without an attractive cover. A cover will increase the perceived value of your book.

6.    Fuzzy, shoddy cover graphics + poor text layout = no readers.

7.    Using a huge font and lots of graphics to increase the page count.

8.    No copyright protection.

9.    No editing or proofing. Remember your spell checker will not determine the difference between certain words e.g. principle and principal.

10.    Insufficient sales copy or description that details the benefits of the book to your reader. And offer an easy way to purchase online!

11.    Going it alone and not using affiliate marketing to promote in a big way.

12.    The title of your e-book is not benefit-laden. Create a title that will have your audience say “I want that!”

Creating an e-book is an integral aspect of new media marketing. It’s a tool that business owners should use to not only package their expertise but to generate more leads and passive income.

You are welcome to add any more pitfalls that I’ve missed by clicking on “comments” below.

Regards,

Lena Claxton
Chief Marketing Maven
Want to join us and other like-minded entrepreneurs at the 2009 Enterprising Women's Conference at the Disney Yacht Club? It's on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 Register here.

How to Use E-Mail Marketing to Raise Awareness About Your Company

During our trip to San Francisco this week to talk to business owners at the city's fabulous Chamber of Commerce, we met Sarah Layton Wallace, vice president and principal of Circlepoint -- a strategic communications firm in San Francisco, Oakland and Washington DC. Wallace was an early adopter of e-mail marketing and she shares her secrets to success on our show.

How do you use e-mail marketing to drive your business?

Alison Woo, Chief Media Maven

Ignoring Customer E-mails?

A recent survey by Hornstein Associates cites that only 33% of top firms responded to their e-mail inquiries within 24 hours in 2007. This is in comparison to a 63% response rate in 2002. The surveyed firms are all big businesses.

Now that's one way that small businesses can level the playing field. Do not ignore customer e-mails. Customers are the lifeblood of any business - especially for small business.

To see who these big companies are, read the entire article on CBC News get it here.

Regards,

Lena Claxton The Marketing Maven