Do's & Don'ts of Naming Your Business pt1

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How to use Trending News to Promote A Business

Promotion

I’m sure you’ve noticed lately that tons of people are making the move into the entrepreneurial arena with hopes of turning their passion into a business. But this idea should not only be for the newbies. Established entrepreneurs can pursue passion projects within their businesses.

The other day, I was walking past a business that encouraged “Pokemon trainers to stop in for a discounted drink”. There is a chance that this business owner is a “Pokemon Go” player but since running a business is very time consuming, I assume he happened to notice a lot of traffic in the area due to the fact that there is “Pokemon Dojo” up the street in the park. While I noticed this promotion in front of the business on a chalkboard. If integrated and marketed correctly, this business could be driving traffic from online to their store, by word-of-mouth, as well as passersby on the street.

So the next time you digest some pop news or just news in general, remember to keep your eyes, ears and mind open to promotional opportunities.

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Don’t forget it’s your job to Keep Your Business Bubblin'!

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I am the founder of Bubblin' Banter, a blog about Direct Marketing and Fundraising. I have been in the Direct Mail field almost 10 years. I love everything about it and love sharing advice with others on how to keep their organizations Bubblin'!

Who I've Worked With...

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Conversations With Sissies 

Brand Building & Marketing Strategies

Ledgendz Unisex Salon

 Social Media Managment & Campaign Development
2013

5 Ways to Boost Email Response with Direct Mail Strategy

Fundraising

Last week I attended the DMFA's Package of the Year Awards, an annual event in which members come together to vote on direct mail and email campaigns. From personal experience, as well as industry-wide, it is obvious some winning strategies in direct mail crossover into email.

Here are 5 successful tactics that can be used for both print and digital to boost response:

1.  A great teaser – The teaser is that eye-wrangling copy found on the outside of an envelope and can easily become an email subject line. When people peruse their inboxes they are intentionally looking for those subject lines that grab their attention. Of course there are terms and words to avoid that could land you in the spam folder, but with some planning it is definitely worth your time.

2. Sender – Who is this email coming from? You wouldn't believe how many emails I get from people at a companies that I don’t know, and therefore don't trust. While it is highly suggested that the email sender be a company employee, people are highly unlikely to open an email from an unknown person, regardless of the company. To buffer this effect include the person’s title after their name. It's a small change but it adds an air of trust that the person can actually be looked up at the company.

3. Graphics – emails don’t have to be graphic heavy. A simple picture or no picture is always better than too many graphics for the sake of responsive design.

4. Copy - Make the key sentences stand out by underlining and highlighting. No it’s not cheesy it’s eye-wrangling and it works.

5. Finish Strong – Add in a P.S. While originally created to add in something the writer forgot in a letter, these days it’s used to make your call-to-action one more time or stress the purpose behind the email for the last time.

These techniques have been suggested by many of the Direct Mail greats and from my observation they are valuable no matter the medium.

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I am the founder of Bubblin' Banter, a blog about Direct Marketing and Fundraising. I have been in the Direct Mail field almost 10 years. I love everything about it and love sharing advice with others on how to keep their organizations Bubblin'!

[Recap] AFP- Digging Out of the Rut - Panel Discussion

Last week, I attended the AFP Panel Discussion-Digging Out of the Rut, moderated by one of my favorite fundraisers, Margaret Holman. It was everything that I expected it to be jam-packed with juicy tips. Everything from approaching Foundations to cultivating Major Donors. The one running theme for the whole discussion however was relation building.

I'm sure you're probably thinking, fundraising well of course, relationship building is important but you'd be surprised how many fundraisers are either too scared to even call a donor or just don't know the importance of making meaningful contact. Some Development Departments are strictly cash driven, treating their donors as if they are ATMs, and there is an annual merry-go round process of mail a letter, get a gift, send the thanks...next!

There has been a major push this year to change the route of present day fundraising and to bring the focus back to the donor; providing a philanthropic experience and not just a transaction.

Thinx Panties

Yes, you read that correct! I looked up one day on the train and there they were in a 1/2 car Ad Campaign; panties meant to be worn as protection during menstruation. Despite how I felt about this device or the placement of these ads, I decided to conduct a survey within a Mommy group that I frequent and was actually shocked to find that at least 1/2 of these women (a group consisting of about 400 females) had heard of and some even owned this underwear.

Regardless to how you may feel, Thinx Panties are What's Bubblin'!

The Easy Start to Video Marketing Success

(Photo credit: Adweek.com)

The newest movement in social media marketing world is video. Due to the immense take off last year of visual platforms such as Periscope, Babl and Snapchat it's no surprise that Video Marketing is the reincarnated tool of the year. With Facebook rolling out FBVideo it is now becoming easier than ever to enhance your Social media presence.

Curate YOUR Content 

If you feel like your being left out of the loop have no fear we have an easy trick for you...use what you've already got! Think about it I'm pretty sure you have a piece of content, whether a blog post, direct mail appeal or e-mail, you know the one, the one that you put out expecting it to bring in the sales or leads that you really believed in but it ended up lost in the online noise. I say break out the red pen and chop that sucker down and hit record! You'd be surprised the new life a piece can take on when you throw a little sound and motion to it.

Dig in the crates and find that piece that speaks to your brands purpose so perfectly you want to tattoo it on your chest (okay, maybe a bit much but you get the point). Edit it down and make it your first video, have fun and remember this isn't new, you've already put this out and your just reiterating it's importance to your audience and don't forget to pin it to the top!

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I am the founder of Bubblin' Banter, a blog about Direct Marketing. I have been in the Direct Marketing field for 10 years. I love everything about it and love sharing advice with others on how to keep their brands Bubblin'!