Mailing Lists Direct Blog

2009 Channel Preference Study

Whether you are engaged in a dedicated Internet marketing campaign or a mix of marketing methods for your business, the bottom line is converting prospects into customers.

Business owners and marketers are constantly testing and evaluating the effectiveness of a variety of integrated marketing campaigns. There is a much bigger variety of communication channels available to the marketer today than was available in the past and a good marketer has to be alert, organized and ready to make changes swiftly in order to be using the most effective and efficient marketing at one’s disposal.

The 2009 Channel Preference Study conducted by ExactTarget sheds some important light on direct mail in today’s marketing environment. The study concludes that when comparing traditional and emerging media for driving purchases, 76% of consumers have been directly influenced to purchase through direct mail. It is therefore important for marketers and small businesses to realize that direct mail will continue to influence more consumers to purchase than any other channel. ... Read Full Story

Marketing Report

SAN JOSE, CA -  Market research company, Global Industry Analysts, Inc. announced the release of it’s new report entitled, Unified Communications: A Global Market Report on August 22, 2010. According to the report, Direct mail marketing campaigns are expected to increase significantly over the next few years. The report predicts that global marketing expenditures for direct mail will reach $25.45 billion by the year 2015.

Unified communications includes all forms of call and multimedia/cross-media message-management functions. It can include the integration of real-time communication services such as instant messaging, video conferencing, telephony, IP telephony. It is a set of products that provides a consistent unified user interface and user experience across multiple devices and media types. ... Read Full Story

VSS Forecast For 2010-2014

NEW YORK, NY – On August 10, 2010, private equity firm, Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), announced the release of its Communications Industry Forecast for 2010-2014. The forecast predicts overall growth in the communications industry for the next five years.

The forecast provides a five-year forecast of spending for 2010 – 2014 plus a five-year historical record from 2005 – 2009.

The report is available for purchase, but VSS has provided an article which includes a summary of some of the key points in the report on their website.

Visitors to the VSS website can view the article at http://www.vss.com/news/index.asp?d_News_ID=190. The article includes a few charts and a PowerPoint presentation which is helpful and describes how the forecast breaks down by industry sector.
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FT MEYERS, FL – Florida based mailing list company, Alesco Data is providing mailing lists for troubled Gulf Coast businesses in the wake of the BP oil spill. The local coastal areas, well-known for their beaches and tourist attractions, have been hurt by the recent oil spill from British Petroleum.

Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Destin, FL just east of Pensacola

In an effort to help in the cleanup efforts, Alesco Data is helping contractors promote their services to local businesses by providing mailing lists that are specifically targeted to Gulf Coast areas. ... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Postal Service (USPS) has launched a new promotional campaign called “Getting Started in Catalogs” that shows online retailers how to increase their sales through the use of direct mail catalog marketing.

Direct mail catalogs will increase online sales

Businesses can visit the USPS website and order a free DVD called “Catalogs and E-Tailing: Reaching Customers Beyond the Web.” The DVD contains case studies from successful retailers who have expanded their online business with direct mail catalogs. ... Read Full Story

USPS Proposes Postal Rate Increase

WASHINGTON, DC – The Postal Regulatory Commission began hearings on Monday, July 12, 2010 for proposed changes in for the U.S. Postal Service. The proposed changes being considered are postal rate increases plus the elimination of Saturday delivery plus shrinking the work force through attrition.

The end of Saturday delivery would bring about a major change from a six-day delivery week to a five-day day delivery week.

Included in the proposed rate changes would be the possibility of raising mail prices above the inflation rate. By law the USPS is limited to rate increases of no more than the rate of inflation. The inflation rate was 0.9% for the 12 months ended in May, 2010. ... Read Full Story

GetResponse.com Marketing Report

WILMINGTON, DE – The Implix company has released a new marketing study called “Email Marketing and Social Media Integration Report” at its website at GetResponse.com. The new report can be obtained as a free download here.

The report focuses on the use of social media links within email marketing and its affect on click through rates (CTRs). The marketing study analyzed social media integration and sharing using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg and MySpace. The study was derived from nearly 500 million e-mails sent out by 19,149 GetResponse customers.

The study compares emails sent out with and without a social sharing option. The study was eye opening because it shows that emails sent out with a social sharing option generated 30 percent higher click-through-rates that those that were sent out without one. ... Read Full Story

In the recent week or so there have been a few blog posts that address the question, “Which leads are better, direct mail leads or leads generated from the Internet?”

Direct Mail Leads vs Internet Leads

The first article from BiggerPockets.com – Why You Should Do Almost ZERO Internet Marketing (by Jason Hanson on June 5, 2010) was followed by a second one entitled, Why You Should Do MORE Internet Marketing (by J. Lamar Ferren on June 12, 2010).
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When starting a new small business or when overhauling the marketing of an existing small business do not become so focused on your main distribution channel that you overlook opportunities for additional outlets for your product or service.

Business Marketing

For example, as an owner of a small business, you open a brick-and-mortar business in a location with a street address and you rely on drive by traffic, walk-ins and business generated from local advertising. You have a few employees, a public area or showroom and a stock room, work room or office in the back. If you rely wholly on this limited scenario, you could be struggling to make ends meet. You can be missing out on another third, half, three quarters or more revenue simply because you have confined all your marketing efforts to this single channel of distribution. ... Read Full Story

Howard Stern

NEW YORK, NY – On May 1, 2010 in the New York News Today website, there is a good article by Small Business Marketing Coach, J D Moore entitled, 5 Things Howard Stern Can Teach You About Small Business Marketing.

Good call by Mr. Moore. Who would expect such business acumen from a radio “shock jock” and who would even bother to pay attention? It just “shows to go ya” that people will surprise you so it pays to pay attention.

Howard Stern’s advice is right on the money. He clearly demonstrates that he has a good sense of business and the branding that is necessary for success. I’m not a fan of Howard Stern. I don’t particularly like his brand of entertainment. But I have to hand it to him because he’s good at what he does. Here is a summary of the points in the article: ... Read Full Story