For those of you who have stuck with my musings this past half year (where on earth did that time go?!), a huge thank you, and I hope you got something out of it. I know I benefited from giving myself a few hours a week to just think and write.

I wanted to end this journey with a concept very close to my heart, that of achieving balance in life.

We spend a big part of our days and lives in our businesses, yet often compartmentalise work and pleasure. For this final post in the series, I am drawing on the wisdom of the seminal novel – Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to illustrate the importance of possibly the most mundane of email marketing tasks…

Here are three reasons why keeping your customer database
updated is profoundly important…

1. Your list is your life.

“The real cycle you’re working on is yourself.” –  Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Regard your database as a reflection of how you show up in the world. Is it orderly, up-to-date, active and engaged? Or is it chaotic, inaccurate, incomplete and neglected? Wherever yours lies in the spectrum between these two possibilities will likely be a reflection on your business as a whole – and you guessed, your life. So see database maintenance as the foundation for creating the life you want.

2. Zen, like email databases, is about the present moment.

The philosophy of zen is about being fully aware of the present. Breathing in and out, stretching and meditating all help you to focus on the now, to achieve peace by transcending the daily flotsam of life. By applying these principles to your email list, you realise how crucial the accuracy of your list is. No point sending a gorgeously designed email newsletter to a list where 50% the addresses are defunct. Focusing on the now and making sure your database is fully updated as of today is one of the most powerful things you can do for your business.

3. The ultimate goal of Zen is enlightenment.

Does having an accurate database lead to some profound experience? How can regularly cleaning up a boring list of emails be anything other than routine and mundane?

Just as I find it very calming to breathe deeply when I am stressed or tired, I actually find it very useful to do something detail-oriented and monotonous once in a while, to give the creative part of my brain a rest. I awaken from the task at hand (whether it be data entry, filing mail, or just plucking spinach leaves) more refreshed and usually with an idea or two.

So don’t see updating your database as a necessary evil, see it as a way to clear the mind and achieve hidden insight. Go on, you’ll surprise yourself! Do let me know how you get on, and as always, I welcome all comments and feedback.

On that note, it’s been an absolutely pleasure sharing my thoughts with you these past 26 weeks. Watch this space for more musings soon.

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LEONIE ORTON is a professional writer and
marketing communications expert. She connects
companies with the customers who need them –
through words and strategies that captivate,
connect and convert. Find out more about her
here. Connect with her on Facebook & Twitter.

In the age of social media and multi-media, does the humble email still cut it with the youth market? Here are three reasons why the answer is a reliable YES…

I remember a time when going to the corner shop for an ice cream meant choosing from seven or eight flavours. Now, it’s a kaleidoscope of colours and funky names. Just look at Ben & Jerry’s range – from Chocolate Therapy to Clusterfluff and Phish Food. The kids love it of course, but one thing I’ve noticed is that no matter what new fancy flavours they put out, one always remains: vanilla.

Yes, plain, reliable, comforting vanilla. And email is without doubt the vanilla of the digital marketing world. You may not order it all the time, or notice that it’s there, but if it is missing, then any ice cream bar is incomplete.

My point is that even though the youth market seems incredibly plugged in to the latest and coolest app out there, emails are still an important tool for this crowd. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Fads come and go, but classics like vanilla stand the test of time.

While other social platforms are sexy and more current, they are also faddish. Only the giants like Facebook and Twitter seem to maintain their hold (MySpace anyone?), and even then, a recent Pew survey shows that teens enthusiasm for Facebook is waning.

So while new platforms will always pop up and be embraced, email – the original electronic messaging system – will always have an important role to play in our business and personal lives.

2. Students have email inboxes.

Unless there is a massive Internet revolution, any young person who is a student will likely have a school email account. Or a personal one they use for their individual pursuits.

So, barring any major paradigm shifts in the way we work and conduct our lives, email will still be here to stay.

3. Different strokes for different folks.

Go to any website, and chances are in the “contact us” page, you will see a variety of ways to do so, from e-forms, to email addresses, phone numbers, Facebook pages, Twitter, and in some really traditional companies, fax! My point is that almost all businesses will have multiple channels for contact.

The same goes for individuals – each platform may serve a slightly different function in a person’s life. For me, FB allows me to maintain communication with a group, and foster a shared identity; email allows me to reach out to individuals in a targeted way; Twitter helps me get a sense of what is popular at any given moment, and join in the conversation if I want to; and then of course there’s the telephone… Remember that?!

So it looks like vanilla ice cream (and its digital equivalent – email) are here to stay. Unless the zombie apocalypse happens, but that’s another post for another day. ;)

Love to hear your thoughts on this. Or at the least your favourite ice-cream flavour… Mine is dark chocolate and salted caramel. I wonder what its digital equivalent is?

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LEONIE ORTON is a professional writer and
marketing communications expert. She connects
companies with the customers who need them –
through words and strategies that captivate,
connect and convert. Find out more about her
here. Connect with her on Facebook & Twitter.

So apart from 80s movies, ABBA and chocolate, another guilty pleasure of mine is… reality TV. Yes, bring on the unscripted (we wish!) drama and rags-to-riches stories – all the miracles and tragedies that make up real life.

I’m quite The X Factor fan, and watch it as much to see how low Simon Cowell’s neckline can go, as to see people getting a shot at fulfilling their dreams.

Behind the pyrotechnics and shiny effects that is this music machine, lie some important lessons for small businesses.

1.When at first you don’t succeed…

I still remember watching 2012 Australian winner Samantha Jade’s first audition, where she sang The Script’s Breakeven and made Guy Sebastian cry! Her story really touched me, because here you have a gorgeous woman, someone who, on the surface, seems to have it all, but in truth has been through many rough bumps in life. The fact that she never gave up, and tried all sorts of different avenues to reach her goal shows her true resourcefulness and resilience.

For the SME, take heart if your marketing efforts don’t always pay off. One of your biggest advantages is that you can adjust your plans quickly, or change course altogether, without the layers of bureaucracy that come with larger organisations.

Stay focussed and positive, and like her, you could go from counting stock at your father’s mining factory to winning The X Factor Australia and scoring a number one hit.

2. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” (Aristotle, on the boy band, One Direction)

Unless you’ve been living completely offline in an ashram, then you probably have heard of teen boy band One Direction. And if you have Tween girls in your house, then I’m sure you probably know more about them than you care to! (My commiserations if this is the case…)

But one thing you may not know (I certainly didn’t until I read a popular entertainment rag) is that One Direction started out as five kids on The X Factor UK. They originally didn’t make it as solo artists, but were then pulled together to form a band by Simon Cowell. And the rest, as they say, is history.

I thought this was an interesting point, that individually, Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry and Louis weren’t quite ready for singing careers, but when put together, their individual charm and charisma was suddenly amplified and they turned into an entity with a touch of je ne sais quoi. That struck a chord with millions of fans.

So when looking at your marketing campaign, don’t be discouraged if individual elements of your efforts may not look like much, because, when you get the right mix, you could achieve something far more powerful than you had ever imagined.

3. Any product or service, with the right treatment, can touch your audience.

Even the most ridiculous song can be made meaningful. Just look at The X Factor UK 2012 as a perfect example. Winner James Arthur had an amazing knack for imbuing any song he covered with his trademark urban-soul style. Just watch how he injected meaning into the silly LMFAO dance track “I’m sexy and I know it”. Genius!

So regardless of whether you are selling Hello Kitty hankies or yoga lessons for seniors, an email marketing style can be tailored specially for you and your audience. So dream big, and let that x-factor shine through!

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LEONIE ORTON is a professional writer and
marketing communications expert. She connects
companies with the customers who need them –
through words and strategies that captivate,
connect and convert. Find out more about her
here. Connect with her on Facebook & Twitter.

Growing up, I loved the Where’s Wally books. Fast forward a generation and my kids love them too! There’s something very satisfying about finally spotting the waving, bespectacled dude in the crowd. Sort of like when you finally see the 3-D image pop out in those posters of yore.

The art of targeted email communication is a bit like that. How do you help the reader spot your Wally-of-an-email (couldn’t resist, sorry!) and then want to open it?

1. Link it back to people – always.

The good people of Upworthy (I’ve mentioned them before in a previous post. Do check them out if you haven’t yet. Amazing stuff.) have gotten this down pat. One of the fastest-growing media sites in history, their mission is to make important issues go “as viral as a video of some idiot surfing off his roof.” And they do this with their excellent one-liner titles for emails and videos.

One common thread running through their emails is how they humanise all their content – whether by referring to their audience directly in the title, as in “If this video makes you uncomfortable, then you make me uncomfortable” or by describing the subject of the video, for example, “A gorgeous waitress gets harrassed by some jerk. Watch what happens next” and “This kid was bullied a lot. He could have told his teacher or his principal. He had bigger plans.”

 2. Be direct. Use the paramedic approach to writing.

Aim for your titles to be easy-to-read and persuasive. I’ve found the paramedic method to be invaluable for this. This approach helps you to achieve accessible prose by removing unnecessary words.

For example, instead of writing “ABC service, the latest innovation in invoicing and budgeting, is the answer to an SME’s accounting issues!”, apply the paramedic approach to get “ABC service makes invoicing and budgeting easy for SMEs!”

The paramedic approach forces you to write succinctly, and helps steer you clear of the dreaded passive voice.

3. State the desired reaction you want in your reader.

I saw this compelling email in my inbox the other day, titled “People search for answers on the Internet, their questions will make you cry”. I opened it and found a video called Life through Google’s Eyes.

I must admit I probably wouldn’t have clicked if the subject header had been the same as the video title. While it describes what the content is about, it missed something vital, which is how the content will affect the reader – how it will change their perspective or benefit them in some way.

By spelling out the reaction you want your reader to have, you’re helping to bridge the content to them, and remove yet another barrier to them clicking on your email.

I hope these tips help you sharpen your email communications. And if you need a little help and inspiration, or just a sounding board to bounce ideas off, do drop me a line!

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LEONIE ORTON is a professional writer and
marketing communications expert. She connects
companies with the customers who need them –
through words and strategies that captivate,
connect and convert. Find out more about her
here. Connect with her on Facebook & Twitter.

What’s one thing that Psy’s Gangnam Style,  the cake resignation letter, and the Facebook children-want-puppy post have in common? They all suffer from the common cold. In the digital world that is.

Circulated around the web faster than you can say “achoo!” these posts demonstrate the profound power of the Internet to spread information. Imagine, the children-want-puppy post got over 1 million likes in seven hours!

But delve a little deeper into what makes something “go viral”, and it’s not as clear cut, as shown in the hilarious video The Next Viral Youtube Trend. Mix two parts arbitrary, to one part random, and another part luck, and you just may have your answer.

In email marketing terms, though there isn’t a proven formula that guarantees your content will achieve contagion-like status, the next three tips won’t hurt either.

1. Be genuine, even heartfelt.

Two recent videos that went viral come to mind, “Take a Seat, Make a Friend” and the Dove Real Beauty Sketches. Both were very moving in their own way (I teared watching one, guess which?), and ultimately left me happier than before I watched them. Which is why I wanted to share them with my friends and loved ones.

But heartfelt doesn’t have to mean feel-good. The “Letter to Victoria’s Secret from a Father” was circulated widely because one man’s plea to a lingerie company, on behalf of his three-year old daughter, made for compelling reading. And whether they agreed or disagreed with him, many people shared this with their friends, adding their own sentiments to it.

And here’s a post I wrote on my personal blog a while back. I wasn’t trying to sell anything, and I certainly wasn’t angling for viral status… I’d simply set a challenge to write and publish daily for a month and on this day all I could think of to write about was a recent trip to an op shop. Extremely trivial but heartfelt. And so it ended up on the front page of wordpress.com and was viewed by thousands. I received lots of comments, likes and new subscribers.

2. Take a position.

Referring again to the letter from the concerned father, his post went viral because he took a stand. His strong statement about companies needing to take some responsibility in shaping how girls perceive themselves was a conversation starter. It resonated with people.

So make sure your email newsletters aren’t generic and do offer some sort of perspective. Think about the “voice” you write in as well, and make sure that your tone is consistent with the type of product or service you are marketing.

3. Know your audience.

The Oatmeal, one of my go-to places for a good laugh is the king of understanding his audience. His comics range from poking fun at Apple users, to the evils of desktop printers, to his obvious love for cats and dogs, and hot sauce. It’s pretty eclectic, and that’s one of the reasons for the site’s popularity (more than 20 million page views a month, to be exact). His something-for-everyone approach works because whether he’s talking about his dog, the paradox, or the importance of spelling and grammar, he manages to find something in the subject matter that always connects with his audience.

Have any of your posts or content “gone viral”? Or have you worked out some common traits of successful new media content that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you!

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LEONIE ORTON is a professional writer and
marketing communications expert. She connects
companies with the customers who need them –
through words and strategies that captivate,
connect and convert. Find out more about her
here. Connect with her on Facebook & Twitter.

Not when it comes to customers anyway…

One of my favourite things to do is shop for books at my online sanctuary The Book Depository (Disclaimer: They are not paying me to say this!). Aside from their stupefying selection of books, I love seeing in real time what other people are buying around the world, and of course, free international shipping is always a good thing.

And what I’ve noticed is that I tend to shop right after receiving their regular email newsletters. And those are timed pretty well too, probably twice a month on average, and are usually themed and have some form of promotion or contest.

Whether you are in the business of selling something or providing a service, regular updates to your database helps re-connect with your customers and provides an opportunity for you to spur them to action.

Here are three reasons why every SME should be communicating regularly with their customers:

1. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Um, not always!

This old adage may hold true for old friends and lost loves, but in the fast moving world of goods and services, then out of sight could really spell out of mind. A case in point, I was ordering a gift basket for a friend who had recently been unwell and decided to go with a new blogshop that specialised in vintage-themed baskets. Why? Because after receiving their regular email updates for some time, I told myself to go with them the next time the opportunity arose. Which also meant that I didn’t order from my usual supplier. So, in my case, the business that communicated more regularly with me was topmost in my mind when it came time to act.

2. “One day you’re in and the next day you’re out!”

In the harsh world of high fashion that is Project Runway, Heidi Klum’s words ring shrill but true. And so it is in the world of SMEs as well. In an increasingly global market, where new online businesses are popping up all over the world on a daily basis, SMEs will be facing competition from all directions. So cultivating loyalty is crucial. Updating your customers regularly helps build a relationship with them, which will hopefully lead them to keep choosing you, even in the face of other tempting options.

3. The customer is king (and so are you!)

Regular updates also provide a great opportunity for you to hear from your customers. Weave in ways for them to provide feedback, whether it be through social media, comments fields or polls. One of the biggest advantages of being an SME is that you can adapt your business to respond to customer feedback quickly. And offer a more personalised experience in the process. And don’t forget to acknowledge those who do get in touch with you.

Need inspiration and guidance with your email newsletter campaign? Get in touch, I really love connecting companies with customers.

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LEONIE ORTON is a professional writer and
marketing communications expert. She connects
companies with the customers who need them –
through words and strategies that captivate,
connect and convert. Find out more about her
here. Connect with her on Facebook & Twitter.

In my previous post, I talked about word of mouth and how that was good for business. Today, I’m going to share some tips on turning your customers into advocates for your product or service. But before I do, let’s look quickly at one of the most amazing recent examples of customer-turned-advocate I’ve seen.

Unless you’ve been in living in some kind of news void, then you probably know that the fabulous Ellen DeGeneres came to Australia. At the invitation of Qantas and Swisse.

And the sheer amount of screen time she has devoted to her trip – from places she went, to people she met, to telling all sorts of hilarious stories about her time in Australia – is a marketer’s dream come true. To say her visit has given our country a little reputation boost is putting it mildly.

So how can an SME – with markedly fewer resources than big corporates like Qantas and Swisse – do a similar thing on a smaller scale?

1. Find a customer who already uses – and enjoys – your product or service.

In the course of your operations, have you come across a customer whom you particularly click with? Or a person whose enthusiasm for your product or service is palpable? If the answer is yes, then you have yourself a natural fit for an advocate.

This person should already have some connection to your company (referencing the Ellen example again, she married an Australian!). This customer should also share the same values as your brand. In Ellen’s case, she’s known for her down-to-earth humour, ability to laugh at herself, and her sense of fun. Things that I think are also Australian hallmarks.

2. Treat your (potential) advocates well.

Once you’ve identified a group of customers that are potential advocates for your product or service, treat them well! And by that I mean do what you think is best to make them feel valued. This could include organising a special event just for them – whether it be an actual physical meeting over a meal, or giving them movie vouchers, or even writing personalised messages to them. I once had an art supplies store that I frequented often, send me a voucher for a free family photo shoot as a way to say thank you for being a loyal customer. Guess where I went to buy the frame for my picture after? It all comes full circle.

3. Make it easy for your advocates to spread the love.

It’s one thing being a passionate believer in a product or service, and another thing sharing that passion with their friends. Different industries may call for different means of advocacy, but one thing remains true: that the easier you make it for people to tell their friends about you, the more likely they will do so.

It goes from something as basic as making sure you have an easy to remember website and product name, all the way to social media buttons in your email newsletters, and special privileges for your most ardent fans.

Have you managed to convert customers into advocates? How did you do so? Or are you yourself an advocate for a product or a cause? Looking forward to your insights!

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LEONIE ORTON is a professional writer and
marketing communications expert. She connects
companies with the customers who need them –
through words and strategies that captivate,
connect and convert. Find out more about her
here. Connect with her on Facebook & Twitter.

Strictly Ballroom is one of our national treasures. When it came out in 1992, it was the one movie that everybody told their friends, parents, aunty, cousin, gym buddy, hairdresser to watch.  And watch it they did. Not just in Australia, but all around the world. No wonder it has become one of the most successful Australian films of all time.

So how did this offbeat movie win the world over, and what can we learn from this?

1. Word of mouth works!

P J Hogan, the man behind another hit Aussie film Muriel’s Wedding, said that when Australians choose to go to watch an Australian movie, “it’s completely about word of mouth – marketing will only get you an opening weekend. If you’ve got the goods and the distributor allows enough time for the film to build, they’ll show up,” he said.

In the SME world, this means that your email newsletters are only the first step, a bridge if you will, connecting you to the customer. What you need is to instill passion in your stakeholders, so they will be excited enough to tell their friends about your product or service. And if you have genuine passion for your product or service, then that will come across to your stakeholders.

You can also help them a bit in this regard. You could run a mini-contest for people who post reviews of your product, or give them an incentive when they do. Or include testimony of a satisfied customer in your next newsletter.

 2. Original story, powerful impact.

One of the reasons why Strictly Ballroom was such an audience favourite was because it was so original – not just in terms of the story, but also the way it looked and felt.

For an SME, this could mean articulating your personal story. For example, what event from your life made you decide to develop the product you are selling now? For example, leading British baby food guru Annabel Karmel’s passion for cooking delicious meals for her children stemmed from a terrible tragedy in her past, the death of her first daughter at just three months old. I remember reading the introduction to her recipe book and being incredibly affected by that fact. It made her real to me.

On a happier note, a quick browse of many Australian brands shows that many businesses already pay attention to the story behind the product. The key is to find what is the most engaging aspect of your story, and broadcast that to your potential customers.

3. Stay true to yourself (and your product).

Most people can tell a Baz Luhrmann film from any other film. There’s nothing out there that quite looks like Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge or  The Great Gatsby. They all have a distinctive ‘Baz’ quality.

But his unique worldview hasn’t always worked for him. Luhrmann recalled that even after completing Strictly Ballroom, they were faced with stiff resistance from exhibitors. In fact, one exhibitor walked out before the film had even finished, declaring that “Luhrmann was ruined and that he would never work again.” But audiences and the Cannes Film Festival didn’t agree, and embraced the film’s eccentricities and spread the word to the wider world.

So what makes you, you? How have stories and word-of-mouth helped your business?

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LEONIE ORTON is a professional writer and
marketing communications expert. She connects
companies with the customers who need them –
through words and strategies that captivate,
connect and convert. Find out more about her
here. Connect with her on Facebook & Twitter.

The power of poetry & rhyme for giving tone and atmosphere to your product or service.

I recently read an amazing (though difficult) book called A General Theory of Love. Written by three doctors, the book seeks to answer why we love, and how love changes our lives. It shows us that where “intellect and emotion clash, the heart often has the greater wisdom.” Not surprisingly, poetry plays a huge role in the authors’ argument.

Poetry and science can exist together, the authors say, and in fact enhance each other. “Now that science has travelled into the realm of the poetic, the efforts of one endeavor can inform those of its twin.” I told you their writing was a little, um, challenging!

But in any case, it got me thinking that rhymes and verse can make surprising, whimsical segues into the product or service an SME is selling. So the next time you sit down and plan out your email marketing communications, why not include a line from your favourite poem in the title or header?

Here are three reasons why poetry might be good for business…

1. Poetry creates tone and atmosphere for your product or service.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

I’m a huge Robert Frost fan, and love in particular his poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. I’ve always thought the poem sounded like a quiet lullaby, and that if I ever went into the business of baby sleep training, or selling sleeping aids (and I know of many parents out there who could benefit from this!) then I’d weave his poetry into my marketing materials!

So regardless of what tone or atmosphere you are after, you should be able to find a poem to match it! And free sites like Poem Hunter make it a little easier too.

2. Some things are best expressed in verse.

Notice how we save rhymes and verse for our most important occasions? Weddings, christenings, birthdays, funerals, farewells, celebrations. Poetry captures moments of high emotion. And that’s what you want for your business.

While working on a project the other day, I thought about the words of another of my favourite poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (what a beaut name!). The poem is called The Arrow and the Song and I’m quoting the whole thing because it’s short (also, it’s perfect):

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

The poem spoke to me, especially in relation to an SME’s journey. It inspired me to dream a bit bigger, and to plant seeds today, because you don’t know what will bloom tomorrow or in the years ahead.

3. Poetry can be incredibly funny.

Those who think poetry is all sombre and cerebral have obviously forgotten about the humble limerick. I mean, how can you not want to read more with a first line like “There once was a manic bartender…”

So think a little left-field today and cast your net wide for inspiration. I, for one, hope it leads you to a field of daffodils!

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LEONIE ORTON is a professional writer and
marketing communications expert. She connects
companies with the customers who need them –
through words and strategies that captivate,
connect and convert. Find out more about her
here. Connect with her on Facebook & Twitter.

This is a story about a little fox and his friend – the snail.

Fox was very quick. He never walked from place to place, but ran and leapt. He ran to the water hole, and dug rapidly in the ground for worms and insects. Fox’s skills led him to employment on a fruit farm as a pest controller. He was very pleased with himself.

Snail, on the other hand, took a little longer to find employment. He glided everywhere at a graceful pace and found it hard to get to job interviews on time. He eventually found work at a compost plant and was valued greatly by his team.

The moral of this story is that without foxes and snails, the world would be far less interesting, and filled with pests and decomposing plants to boot!

The same goes for email (the foxes in the marketing spectrum) and snail mail. I argue that both are still vital parts of the communications mix. Here are three reasons why:

1. Different mediums for different occasions

Just as there are different strokes for different folks, some events or milestones call for different methods of communication. Hands up anyone who has received a wedding invite by email or Facebook? I know they’re done, but I just haven’t received one myself or known of anyone who has done so. Most couples still go down the snail mail route, replete with matte art card and matching trimmings.

But look at how things have evolved in say, the insurance industry. Back in the early 2000s, I still remember receiving my travel insurance documents by post. Now it’s emailed over and kept online.

So what you want to say does impact the optimal form for that message to appear in.

 2. “Tradition!” (aka I HEART “Fiddler on the Roof”)

OK I couldn’t resist quoting a song from one of the most epic musicals of all time. But the big T does affect whether you send an email or snail mail. Is your industry more risk-averse and conservative? Would your customers still prefer their monthly statements mailed to them? Do they feel more secure in your product or service if they can touch and feel what you are about? (That may have come across a little strangely, but you get my drift).

On the flip side, if your business presence is largely online – for example, you own a blog shop or are a freelance writer, then email marketing will be the way to go. There’s also the issue of being eco-friendly; many people these days shy away from snail mail because of the sheer wastage associated with it.

3. What’s the shelf life of your message?

Email works best when you need to get a message out quickly to your database, or if your message has a shorter shelf life, for example, if you are running a short promotion. It also works if your industry is constantly evolving and you need to keep your customers informed of new developments.

But some messages suit the printed form. A cool flyer with your basic business information sent to a targeted mailing list could help you stand apart from others. Or a personalised thank you note if you’ve just been awarded a grant is also a meaningful gesture.

So let me ask you, are you more the foxy type or a graceful gliding snail? Or do you embrace both aspects in your marketing efforts?

If you need any guidance with your customer communications send me a foxy email and we can arrange a time for a chitty-chat.

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LEONIE ORTON is a professional writer and
marketing communications expert. She connects
companies with the customers who need them –
through words and strategies that captivate,
connect and convert. Find out more about her
here. Connect with her on Facebook & Twitter.