Niche Marketing Matters

I just finished my new book “Déjà New Marketing: Increase Sales with Social Media, Search Marketing, E-mail Marketing, Blogs, and More”.

It is now with the publisher and should be available in 120 days or so. The book took 3 years to write and is an update to my first book, “First, Best, or Different”. This one is more search marketing and social media focused.

I will keep you updated on its progress.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2009 All rights reserved.

A basic teaching of Zen Buddhism is that things are always changing. Just because we can see, hear, or feel something today does not mean that it will be there tomorrow. Essentially, nothing is permanent.

And, so it is with our economic slowdown or meltdown or whatever you want to call it. Just because it is bad economy today does not mean that it will stay that way. Zen Buddhism suggests that if you are aware of something, it is actually leaving or maybe gone. It is or will be history. And, history is not relevant.

Thus, the deep recession trumpeted by the media with dreary headlines about layoffs, corporate losses, and blame is a lagging indicator. When the media rants in unison about the lousy economic condition it means that things are actually on the mend or better.

The stock market knows this and will shortly begin a rally like we have not seen in years. But, know that the rally is not permanent.

Just watch.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2009 All rights reserved.

So how can you differentiate your service or product from the thundering herd? Better stated, how can you create a clear competitive advantage that makes choosing your offering over the others an easy decision?

Michael Porter, acclaimed Harvard strategist, describes a competitive advantage as something about a product or service that is perceived as different or better by the customer. At least, your offering seems different or better enough to make the purchase decision a bit easier. This also helps justify spending an extra dollar or two for this perceived value.

Personalization may be the key for making your offering different from the competition and for increasing your value to your buyers. This personalization could be your competitive advantage.

Increasingly, people want what they want when they want it and no more than that. Why not give it to them?

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2009 All rights reserved.

At the end of every e-mail is the signature line which tells the reader how to contact you. It also tells them a lot about you and your brand. Surprisingly, many people don’t take advantage of this last step in the communication process in an e-mail letter.

The minimum contact information that you should include in the signature line is your full name, title, company name, mail address, office phone, fax, and website. I suggest that you also restate your e-mail address.

Cell phone numbers are a personal preference. What I don’t like about including them is the perceived notion that you are available 24/7. Do you really want your customers calling you after hours or on weekends? If you do include your cell phone, it would make checking your cell phone voice mail a critical task. This is up to you.

Some people include their address for social networks such as LinkedIn, MySpace, and Facebook. Once again this is personal preference.

Your e-mail signature says a lot about your brand as a professional. One way to make your e-mail signature unique and memorable is to include a personal tagline. A tagline should be no more than three to five words and it should tell your customers why you are special. My tagline is “Be First, Best, or Different” and it appears at the top of my e-mail signature.

Sometimes a short biography is appropriate. If a bio is used make sure that it is no more than 50 words. The bio is good selling tool for an independent professional such as a consultant, attorney, or CPA.

Pulling it all together, here is a sample of what I use on my e-mails:

“Be First, Best, or Different”

John Bradley Jackson has over twenty-five years of sales and marketing experience from Silicon Valley and Wall Street. He is the author of the new book “First, Best, or Different: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Niche Marketing” and has written 100s of Internet articles on sales, marketing, and negotiation.

Mail address: XXXX Sunset Lane, Yorba Linda, California 92886
Phone: 714 777 XXXX
Fax: 714 777 XXXX
E-mail: johnbradleyjackson@gmail.com
Blog: http://www.firstbestordifferent.com/blog
Website: http://www.firstbestordifferent.com

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

My spam filter let an e-mail from am “unknown sender” named Jesus get through to my mail box today. My first reaction was to immediately delete it or hit the spam key, but instead I opened it. I thought to myself, “What if…?”

What if the “big guy” had something to tell me? Would he e-mail me like this or would he do the “burning bush” trick? Surely he is hip to the web and the possibilities of social networking. The burning bush is so last millennium (or, maybe older). I suppose Jesus could have left me a voice mail or sent me a text message. He must have many options to call upon us these days.

The e-mail read “Be grateful”. That’s all it said. No link, no parable. It just said be grateful. I paused a moment and then wrote this blog.

Hmmm. I guess I do have a lot to be grateful for—-a beautiful wife of 22 years, three great kids, my health, a good horse in the barn, enough money to do as I please, etc. The list could go on and on. I am truly blessed when compared to the others in the world; I recently read that over 800 million people go to bed hungry at night.

But, wasn’t this just a spam message? If it was just spam, now you understand why spammers spam. This unsolicited e-mail caused me to think and to take action, which is the goal of every spammer—they want to change the world (for better or worse) in some small way.

Essentially, spammers spam because they know that spam works. It may be that out of a million unsolicited e-mails only a few hundred people respond to the call to action. That click through rate may be enough for the spammer to feel successful (or grateful).

I responded to the call to action. This time the call was not to buy Viagra or hit on a link to a porn site, but nonetheless I did what the spammer wanted me to do. The spammer made me think.

Or, was it an e-mail from Jesus?

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

E-mails dominate B2B communication. E-mail volume dwarfs that of the telephone, fax, and direct mailer.

If you are like me, you are getting dozens if not hundreds of e-mail messages a day; most are spam and are deleted. The rest are scanned or put aside to be read later. The truth is most don’t get read.

Given this low survival rate of an e-mail, the writer must resolve to communicate efficiently with the hope to engage the reader. Here are a few thoughts about how to write better e-mails.

1. Always personalize the letter with the reader’s name. It is cliché, but no word is more important than the reader’s name.
2. Be brief. If you can’t get your point across in a few sentences, your e-mail will be deleted. Short e-mails rule.
3. Avoid attachments. Attachments are the domain of viruses, spam, and eye fatigue. Ever fearful of hackers, readers more and more are choosing not to open attachments.
4. Give context. If the reader does not know you by name, tell them how you came to contact them or where you met. Give them a reason to continue reading.
5. Use simple subject lines. Use a subject line that accurately describes the purpose of the e-mail. Don’t tease or fib. Clever subject lines reek of spam.
6. Be clear. Say what you mean. If there is a call to action, tell them. Be specific.
7. Tell the truth. If you are selling something say so. A good value proposition tells the reader why to buy.
8. Benefits sell while features tell. Speeds and feeds will be ignored. Focus on how your offering helps the reader.
9. Key points need white space. Present your key points with lists, dashes, asterisks, or bullets surrounded by white space. This says read me.
10. Call to action. Close with the next step, the call to action, or what is needed.
11. Contact information. Include your signature with all your contact information.
12. Consider a Postscript. Postscripts are a great place for a reminder about the call to action or for an incentive.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

In the ancient Greek poem “The Odyssey,” the story’s hero, Odysseus, tells the Cyclops that his name is “Nobody.” When Odysseus instructs his men to drive a fiery iron spit into the monster’s single eye, the Cyclops yells out in vain, “Friends, Nobody is killing me now,” so no one comes to help.

This action-adventure humor, dating to around 800 B.C., is one of the first recorded jokes, according to the classics scholar Owen Ewald, who recently presented his findings on “Humor in the Ancient World” at Seattle Pacific University. So much for the history lesson.

But, seriously, does humor belong in your advertisements? On your website? In your brochures? In your sales pitch? In your blog? My answer is MAYBE and, even then, proceed with caution! The decision depends in large part on your audience.

B2B markets are made up of business people who are a serious lot —just ask them. No time for jokes or funny business. When I was naming my book “First, Best, or Different”, I tested my prospective titles with business book readers. All of my funny titles bombed. My prospective readers were offended by funny titles such as “When Pigs Fly”; I was told with indignation that their businesses were not pigs. I think it was Bob Dole (1996 Republican nominee and World War II veteran) who said, “You don’t want to get into a wrestling match with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.”

While I agree humor can increase the effectiveness of many marketing activities, there are pitfalls or areas of risk when adding humor to your marketing effort. For example, how many times have you laughed at the Super Bowl commercials, but can’t remember what they were advertising? The joke gets attention but does not necessarily communicate the value proposition.

Also, what is funny to you can be offensive to others. While ethnic jokes are understood to be potentially offensive to some, people can get offended seemingly by the most benign things. Even jokes about hair color can prove offensive. For example, “Why do blond nurses bring red magic markers to work—-in case, they have to draw blood”. Now that is funny or is it?

Humor is also regional and cultural. What works in New York may not work in Kentucky. For example, “Kentucky: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names” may be offensive to Kentuckians. My apologies to the state of Kentucky and the fifteen families who live there. Funny? Not to my relatives.

I find humor to be particularly misplaced in email communication because it is a two dimensional medium and can be easily misconstrued. Simple sarcasm can be interpreted as mean spirited. Have ever had someone react angrily to an email you wrote when you truly meant no ill will? I know I have. Because of this I have all my blogs read by a professional proofreader and morals expert (my wife Janet who has blond hair this week).

When in doubt, be discriminating about your use of humor in your marketing. If you feel your funny idea might be offensive, it probably is. Keep the jokes for the country club or dinner table—it is just safer that way.

Did you hear the one about the blogger who …..

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

Ever wondered who creates the spam that you get in your e-mail inbox? It turns out that spammers are “very special” people and they might just be your nerdy neighbor next door.

SpamBlockers created the following profile which describes the typical spammer:

Personal Characteristics

- Predominantly male
- 16 - 35 years old
- Single
- Living in or working from home
- Technically competent (these guys are not idiots)
- Tendency to be involved in other illegal activities (e.g. credit card fraud)
- Consider their activities to be harmless
- Can/will work with other spammers on large campaigns

Methods Used

- Familiar with spoofing also known as “E-mail Phishing“.
- Uses open relays
- Never uses the same IP address twice
- Sets up a webpage/portal that looks exactly like that of a well known company.
- Sends out spam mail to this companies customers advising them to update their payment information or billing details.
- The customer responds to this by going to the website and entering their login or credit card details.
- The spammer then uses the acquired information to perform other illegal activities as the new identity.

Favorite Spam Software

- News Blast
- MailBomb
- Prospect Mailer
- Spammers will often have software custom written for them if necessary.

Amount of Spam

- A single spammer can, potentially, send 84,000,000 (84 million pieces of spam per day).

Income Potential

- A “good” spammer can easily earn $100,000 per year. Spammers work on a piece rate so the more spam they send the higher their income potential.
- On average 1,000,000 pieces of junk mail sent out will result in 100 “sales” or leads. This in turn generally means big profits for the spammer.

Spammers are people, too—-just really sick people.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.

Writing great e-mail marketing copy is hard work. You can always outsource it to a professional copywriter, but you will discover that the good ones are already booked and that they are very expensive. If your budget dictates doing this writing in-house, here are a few ideas, in no particular order.

Great writing requires great proofreading which is extremely hard work (you can trust me on this one since it is very hard for me). One tip on proofreading your own writing is to read it aloud. This helps you catch dropped words and mistakes. Another method is to have someone else proof your copy.

Remember to run a “spell check”. Run it a second time since errors don’t always get caught in the first pass with spell check (believe it or not).

Timeliness is critical to effective e-mail marketing messages. Current events or news references can add timeliness to a campaign. For example, a reference to the rising cost of gasoline or the price of oil might add timeliness to an e-mail from an auto parts retailer.

Keep the e-mail short. While there is considerable debate in the e-mail community about short form versus long form, you must remember that the e-mail’s purpose is to get the reader to take the next step and click to the website or landing page. From the subject line to the postscript, the e-mail should offer the reader the most relevant information in as few words as possible. Customers are busy and many feel overwhelmed by too much e-mail. Messages that are short and to the point are more likely to be read. When writing e-mail text, try to state the ideas in as few words as possible.

The long form argument is that an engaged reader will want more information now rather than later; if you insist on making them click for more information, they might disengage. Generally speaking, short form is preferred over long form. When in doubt, test both and see what your readers think.

Customers will start reading an e-mail from the beginning and read the introduction to see if it’s worth spending more of their time. Readers tend to pay less and less attention to what is written as they scan more quickly through the rest of the e-mail.

To make sure customers read the most relevant information, put the most important information (often referred to as the hook) at the top, followed by the most important supporting information. Each successive paragraph will receive less and less of the reader’s attention and should contain less and less important information. Bullets and images will help the reader scan and focus on your key points.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.

P. S. People always read the postscript—-use it to restate your offer or message.

For many e-mail and web marketers the youth market represents a major financial opportunity. Yet, the legal risks are high. The website “Xanga” was recently fined $1 Million for COPPA violations, for repeatedly allowing children under 13 to sign up for the service without getting their parent’s consent. Read on.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) is a United States federal law effective April 21, 2000, that applies to the online collection of personal information by persons or entities under U.S. jurisdiction from children under 13 years of age.

It states that a website operator must include in a privacy policy that state how to seek verifiable consent from a parent or guardian, and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children’s privacy and safety online including restrictions on the marketing to those under 13.

The act applies to websites and online services operated for commercial purposes that are either directed to children under age 13 or have actual knowledge that children under 13 are providing information online. For example:

What this means to the website owner is that you must beware of the underage visitor or registrant. The negative consequences are enormous.

For more information, consult your attorney.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.