Unlike general advertising media like TV commercials or yellow page ads, direct marketing sends your sales message directly to your customer. You can target a very narrow segment of prospects with messages calling them to an action of your choosing.

Do you want to generate leads, set up appointments or close sales? With the right message you can move people to take action.

Direct Marketing is more than general branding. By sending your message directly to your prospects you are saying this is what you need and I have it so come get it from me instead of anyone else.

Request your copy of the free report “Why Smart People Appreciate the Value of Direct Marketing in Building Lifetime Customers” by clicking here to learn how to get your message to you prospects and bring it profits even during a recession

Are you getting a mediocre response to your sales and marketing media? With the right words you can move people to take action. Check out this 5 minute video on Youtube. It shows vividly the value of copy that reaches emotions instead of just stating the facts. (Have some tissues handy.)

Need help with copy that moves people to action? Check out www.directmarketingrx.com today.

Did you know that breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the world today? Promote Breast Cancer Awareness during October. Encourage employees, customers, friends and family to get screened for breast cancer. Have a special promotion to raise money for cancer research, education, screening and treatment.

The Susan G. Komen organization has Passionately Pink for the Cure. Have your employees and customers wear pink on a day you choose in October and make a personal donation of $5.00 or more to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. You could have a specific dollar amount goal to donate and track progress on a poster for all your employees and customers to see.

Promote the event in your advertising and direct marketing and get customers coming in wearing pink. Send out a press release to local news outlets.

You’ll get a participation kit to help you plan your event when you register at Susan G. Komen for the cure. Check out the details here: Komen Donations

National Fishing and Hunting Day is September 27^th. Have some sort of hunting or fishing related sale or promotion. Send out themed mailers and get your customers in the door. Have them supply photos of their best catch and post them on a bulletin board. Offer a prize for customers with the best big fish or hunting story.

Send your clients who love to fish or hunt a complementary tackle box or hunting vest with your logo on it.

I have a friend that loves to go fishing on sunny days. She’s loves to talk about the fish she caught and later cooked for dinner. Hmmm…she’s never shared her catch with me!

Another friend went wild boar hunting and emailed me a photo of her with the huge scary looking beast she caught. She had him made into flavored sausages. I hope he tasted better than he looked. The boar was ugly!

That’s another idea – if you hunt send your best clients some sausages made from the game you bag – be sure to let them know you caught it. Maybe include a photo with it like my friend did.

Send me a copy of your promotional mailer with the fishing or hunting theme. Include the results and I’ll post them here.

September 22^nd is National White Chocolate Day. Send your customers a certificate for a box of white chocolates when the make a purchase online or visit your business.

Some people love white chocolate. My mother enjoys it but I’m a milk chocolate gal. I do like a rice crispy treat dipped in white chocolate on one end and milk chocolate on the other made at a local sweet shop. Yummy.

If you run a candy store have a special promotion to celebrate National White Chocolate Day. Post signs in your store windows to get customers coming in. Offer gift baskets filled with a variety of white chocolates and related items.

Yes I know white chocolate isn’t officially chocolate but it’s delicious and if your customers love it get them in your store with it.

Do you have a business that caters to romance? Then focus a direct marketing promotion around Love Note Day on September 26^th. Greeting card stores, lingerie, chocolate shops, beauty spas, massage therapists and even hotels can create a whole marketing campaign around Love Note Day.

Everyone loves getting a love note. Create a love note special contest…customers writing the most romantic love note win a gift to share with their loved one.

Or have people describe the situation where they got their most romantic love note and have other customers vote on which story is the best with the winner getting a prize.

Or send out your own mailer that looks like a love note explaining why you love your customers so much and offer a special discount for Love Note Day.

Let me know what kind of promotion you put into place for Love Note Day and the results.

September 22^nd is the anniversary of the ice cream cone. Some say cones were invented at an ice cream stand at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair while others credit an Italian immigrant street vendor as the inventor of the ice cream cone. Either way we all enjoy ice-cream cones!

Use this anniversary to promote your business either with free ice cream vouchers to a popular ice cream store or host your own in-house ice cream party. Or if you are an ice cream shop or restaurant offer coupons or discounts on ice cream cones on this day.

You can send out fun mailers with ice cream cone themes. Customer appreciation can be a yummy day on September 22^nd. What other ideas can you think of to promote your business with the anniversary of the ice cream cone?

September 21-27 is National Clean Hands Week. Avoid colds and other germ related illnesses that can be transferred with dirty hands by promoting clean hand awareness.

Schools, doctor’s offices, hospitals and pharmacies can use this week to raise awareness on the value of clean hands. Adults and children alike can benefit from learning why it’s important to have clean hands. Give adults hand sanitizers and soaps personalized with your business logo.

To make clean hands fun for kids check out  Henry the Hand for information to use in your marketing media. The site has four principles of hand awareness and a cute song that Henry sings along with other educational articles.

The Henrythehand.com has kits for schools or hospitals to encourage children to have clean hands. Available for other businesses there are also stickers, buttons and temporary tattoos available. These items will take the guesswork out of what to give away at health fair or other event focused at children. You can also use the items for promotional mailers and not worry about getting your logo embossed on items.

What do you plan to do for National Clean Hands Week? I’d love to hear about your marketing promotions.

Want an affordable mailer for you business? Try postcard mailings. They aren’t just for sending out to friends and family while you’re on vacation. Here are three reasons to give postcards a try:

1. People automatically read postcards so you have less of a chance getting your sales message tossed in the trash unread.
2. Postcards are cheaper to print and mail than flyers or sales letters in envelopes.
3. You can do a test mailing on your own since they are small and easy to handle.

Need a good printer? Check out America’s Printer. You can get 1,000 full color double sided postcards for $119.00 plus shipping! I’ve used them before and their print jobs are high quality. Included in that price is a gloss coating on one side. They have other quantities and pricing available so don’t worry if you need more than 1,000 postcards.

Make sure you use attention getting marketing copy on your postcard. Fun eye-catching clipart is also important. If you need help coming up with copy and graphics on your postcards contact Direct Marketing Rx.

Tired of run of the mill results with marketing campaigns that seem like the same old thing? Outrageously innovating marketing themes can propel a seemingly ordinary service into something that gets customers excited to do business with you.

I was reading an article about a shocks and struts manufacturer that started a new campaign with the theme “Save a Squirrel” for all animal lovers. The message was to replace worn ride components so you could improve automobile steering, stopping and stability – and possibly save a squirrel darting across the road.

The business sent a bag of squirrel food, the Squirrel Street Journal newspaper and a personalized note fro a squirrel to reporters. Next the recipients got a logoed bag or peanuts and a squirrel (mouse) pad.

These outrageous promotional items were sent out to build hype for the “Save a Squirrel” campaign before it started. The campaign included billboards and radio, along with a web presence. It generated word –of-mouth buzz and got support from businesses that sold and installed the brand of shocks and struts being promoted. The manufacturer added an assortment of other promotional items like note cubes, pens, trash cans and bagged peanuts for use by the sales force.

What outrageous marketing theme can you use to promote your business? I hope this article helps you come up with multiple ideas. If not contact www.directmarktingrx.com for help.