As I was browsing through a magazine the other day, I noticed one of those mix and match layouts that showed you how to build a fall wardrobe with just a few articles of clothing. I thought, if mixing and matching could work for a wardrobe, why couldn’t it work for marketing?
What follows are some tips on mixing and matching a few key marketing essentials to create a dynamic and magnetic marketing program. The essentials? A logo package, a top 10 article, a WordPress blog and an e-mail marketing service to generate a powerful marketing program that you can use all year long.
A logo package
Whether it’s fashion, furniture or marketing, it always makes sense to take the bulk of your money and throw it at something that really packs a wow factor. The logo package you create should do that.
A basic logo package is loaded with value. For anywhere from $300 to $800 you will have a professionally-designed logo, business card and letterhead package. With the design elements that you’ll get in this bundle, you can give your business an amazingly professional look for less.
- Business cards: Many logo packages will provide a business card design. If you didn’t get one of those, you can pair the elements of your professionally-designed logo into a pre-designed business card template. Simply search Google for “creative business cards” and get some good ideas.
- Digital letterhead: If you have a great business card design, then you can cut and paste some of those design elements into a great looking digital letterhead that you can use to print memos and letters off of your desktop.
- E-mail signatures: Now take your logo and create a killer signature. There’s a cool app out there called WiseStamp that has great templates that will make your signature a digital contact information powerhouse.
- Website headers, banners and ads: Armed with a professional logo, you can create website and blog headers, banners and ads in a snap. You can use MicroSoft Publisher. It’s easy, but the images can come out slightly grainy. Instead, try using BannerSnack. It's an online website header and banner tool that is free and really easy to use.
A top 10 article
The top 10 article is like the little black dress of the marketing world. You can use it, bend it, twist it and turn it into dozens of terrific applications. Start with a list of top 10 reasons your ideal customer should choose you. Write it in plain language, the way you’d tell your best friend when helping him or her make a decision. Now you have a coherent marketing document that you can use internally and externally. Here are a few ways in which I’ve used my top 10 articles.
- A marketing message summary: After your market research and market planning is done, the top 10 article summarizes your marketing message in a way everyone inside and outside your company can understand and repeat.
- Selling sheets: I’ve turned these articles into dozens of selling sheets. Start by creating one sheet for each point and a single selling sheet with all ten points. Then, you can turn these into even more selling sheets as you mix and match the top 10 reasons customers should choose you by customer industry, segment or product. The possibilities are truly endless and you keep your selling message straight, consistent and on point.
- Blogs: Your top 10 article is an ideal blog post. Use it as a foundation landing page and then link out from within the article to products, services, customer testimonials and other forms of credibility and proof of your statements. Just like the selling sheets, make a point of writing articles that features each individual point that’s in your top 10 list. Use those 10 ten bullets as the foundation for everything you write about, and you’ll never be at a loss for great brand-building content.
- Direct marketing: Use that top 10 list to create direct marketing pieces that go out to key customers and prospects and reinforce your message, and drive them to try and purchase additional products.
- Trade show exhibits: Make a list of the trade shows you’re attending and then use that list as inspiration for your trade show marketing, including the exhibit, display, pictures, pre-show marketing, etc.
- Landing pages: If you’ve done a good job of segmenting your market and used your list to create at least one selling sheet, then you are ready to create landing pages to drive these ideal customers into your lead generating system. The more landing pages, targeted to specific customer niches, the better leads you will get.
WordPress blog
The WordPress web platform is a great tool. You can start on their hosted service for free and have the opportunity to get your feet wet, learn your way around the software and start creating content without spending a dime. When you outgrow the free platform, you can take on the responsibility of hosting your own blog, and that’s when the fun starts.
WordPress designers and experts are everywhere! And for a low price you can create an extremely good looking, powerful and informative website that will attract your ideal customers. Start with your top 10 article.
- Use your logo package as design inspiration. You can easily integrate your logo into existing WordPress templates.
- Get a landing page plugin. I’ve recently purchased Copybloggers Premise landing page plugin for WordPress and absolutely love it. It integrates perfectly with my blog design and lets me convert my existing sales copy into an effective landing page.
- Re-purpose articles and marketing materials. Use your top 10 article and your marketing materials as foundations for new blog articles. Interview customers, and write about problems you’ve solved or new products and services you are exploring.
- Create product pages as landing pages. If you are selling products or services, create a landing page that features groups of products and then link out to articles or more information.
E-mail marketing account
Today’s e-mail marketing services such as Constant Contact, Mail Chimp or aWeber integrate with just about anything you throw at them. You can use them independently or you can integrate them inside a blog.
- Newsletters: Use your logo package to inspire the design. Use your WordPress blog articles to send out as newsletters. You can also create an original newsletter each month or just set the system to aggregate your blog posts and send them out in a newsletter format.
- Customer relationships: Group your customer lists and keep them informed about things that are important to them. You can pull relevant items from your top 10 list and be sure to feature messages and specials to those customers that care about that the most.
- Surveys: These e-mail marketing systems also have simple survey features that you can take advantage of to ask your customers questions and tweak that top 10 list.
I could go on and on with ideas on what to do with a top 10 article, WordPress blog, logo package and e-mail marketing service, but I think you get the idea. It doesn’t take a lot of time, money or content to create powerful marketing. Use these few simple power tools and you will generate new leads and customers in no time.