Many B2B marketers want to cut marketing costs by shifting more of their marcom budgets from traditional direct mail and paper newsletters to e-mail marketing and e-newsletters. But if you want to ramp up your online marketing program, you should … Continue reading →

Almost universally, the great writing teachers tell us to avoid jargon, and to use small words instead of big words. “We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon,” writes William Zinsser in On … Continue reading →

How important is the offer in business-to-business marketing? Answer: very. I have seen numerous tests in which a simple change of offer has increased the response rate by 25% to 900% – dramatically improving ROMD (return on marketing dollars) for … Continue reading →

It’s often the case that when a marketing technique is overused, it gradually loses its effectiveness over time. When that happens, usage drops off, and prospects are consequently no longer bombarded by the technique. Example: the AOL CD mailings. A … Continue reading →

There’s lots of buzz about blogging, viral marketing, social networking, and other new methods of generating eyeballs and traffic online. But all that traffic won’t make you any money unless you can convert those unique visitors to leads or customers. … Continue reading →

I started my career in business-to-business marketing in the late 1970s, and by the early 1980s, I thought I had a pretty good handle on the basics of b-to-b. I also didn’t see where b-to-b was likely to change much. … Continue reading →

We are now well into the Information Age, and the rise of the Internet has only accelerated the proliferation of free information. The resulting information glut and increasingly rapid access to online content create an especially challenging environment in which … Continue reading →

What’s working in Web sites for newsletter subscriptions and other information products? Here are a dozen quick observations:             1. Provide links to the order form early and often. Marc Stockman of TheStreet.com says that placing links to order forms … Continue reading →

As Bill Bonner of Agora Publishing is fond of pointing out, nobody wakes up in the morning, taps his or her significant other on the shoulder, and says, “Honey, let’s go out and buy some newsletters today.” Indeed, the glut … Continue reading →

Offering one or more premiums is a standard ploy in direct mail used to sell newsletter subscriptions. But what premiums work best? What are your choices? This article presents a round-up of what’s working in newsletter premiums today. Print premiums … Continue reading →