Your Questions About Direct Marketing Companies

Jere answers:

Hello there,

Congratulations on starting your own business! I hope you are very successful. Nice to see you are already thinking about marketing.

I am a list broker so I know exactly what you are looking for. Yes, most list companies sell mailing lists with a minimum of 5,000 names at a time. This can be very frustrating for small business owners who do not need this many records.

We have an online service where you can sign in with your username and password and take out as few names as you need every month. It is very reasonably priced.

No matter how you get your mailing list, I strongly urge you not to get random, untargeted names. You will waste your money.

As far as postage goes, if you mail first class, you will be able to track any that get returned, then you can take them off in time for your next mailing. Make sure you have your return address on the postcard!

Also, make sure your postcard has a strong call to action, like $50 off before the end of May. You must make people want to act.

Good luck to you! Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Suzanne Doyle-Ingram
Strategic List Services

Jere answers:

Good for you that you’re so goal directed at such a young age!

There are so many disciplines within the world of marketing, however if working in advertising is your goal, consider which aspects of that industry appeal to you– the creative, dealing with clients, brainstorming with a team, working through financials. Digital or social media. This is more for your own personal edification as it will narrow down your options when forming a game plan.

Once you get in the door of a place, you may surprise yourself discovering skills and interests you didn’t even know you had.

So all this aside, probably good to get a scope on the main places you could possibly work in advertising. There are others, but I’d say these are your primary categories:

– boutique ad agency
– small idigital marketing company
– funded internet start-up
– mid-to-large Madison Avenu-type agency (Saatchi,etc) or specialized agency (sports marketing,etc)
– mid-to-large digital marketing firm
– advertising or marketing communications dept. Of a large company like AT&T
– advertising or marketing department of a not-for-profit, education or government office

What’s the best way to get in the door? That’s a big question. A few suggestions in no particular order:

– internship while you’re in HS and college with a small agency
– offer to work for free for 2 weeks at small agency to prove your worth (side note: I mention small agency/company twice because I think you learn more faster at a small place. Plus you’ll figure out what you like to do and don’t like to do faster than you would at a large company possibly saving years you’d squander at a big company )
– get on linkedin and ask people in your field to have a 20 minute phone conversation with you about their experience
– get on blogs of marketers and ask questions, start conversations. Connect, connect, connect
– volunteer to help local organizations (ie. Animal shelters, etc) with their marketing for free to build resume
– if you like social promotion, you can probably get a low paying job out of the gate with little effort. This is biggest area of growth right now.
– Pick up phone and call some small companies that have big name accounts, offer to work for dirt pay so you can get these client names on your resume.
– for preparation, buy yourname.com and build it up. I would do this now. Also pick up your name on Twitter, blogger, tumblr. You can even join Linkedin now. Why not? I know a 14-yr-old developer who’s already establishing his reputation and getting work!
-reach out to friends, parents friends, casual contacts and ask them to pass along your name.

So that I’ve shotgunned these ideas, but there are some ordered steps to take:
– build your resume up with free/almost free work
– build your online reputation by getting involved in professional social sites, interacting on blogs. Keep your Facebook page clean and make it private. 95% of hiring managers will research you online.
– start off with a smaller company to figure out what you like to do faster
– start getting connected to influencers who will put in a good word for you

And of course, go through the traditional means of submitting resumes, calling, etc…and since you want to go into a creative area, get creative. Make yourself standout without doing goofy stunt-like stuff. You can google plenty of ideas for this.

A few words of warning… Don’t work for free for long, don’t believe the old myth of starting low on non-related rung of ladder (mailroom, admin assistand,etc)– it’ll only waste your time. Employers are more than willing to take advantage of young, cheap, capable labor. Be your own advocate. Once you’ve put in your time and worked hard, ask for what you want. Your employer will respect you for it.

Hope this helps. I’ve been in marketing for 20+ years and worked my way up from a copywriter to a VP of Marketing and now run own own small agency. Feel free to contact me if you want to pick my brain. My company is www.repaz.com

Jere answers:

Hi there,

Direct marketing is when a company contacts through e-mails and telephone calls the final consumer, i.e. The person who will use the product. What you do is just personal selling. I suppose you are also involved in sales.
The reasons why companies would like to do that is mainly costs and timing issues.

Theocharis Katranis

http://theos-taekwondo.blogspot.com/

Jere answers:

Marketing and getting sponsors is not always easy. Persistence and loads of patience is needed, as you have already discovered. Some marketing tips:

1. Direct mail. Prepare a well-crafted brochure and send it to your target markets in Sunnyvale. Find a vendor in your area renting mailing lists of business establishments or take the time and go over the yellow pages and get their contact information. You can read more of how to use direct marketing strategies here http://www.powerhomebiz.com/marketing/direct.htm

2. Publicity. Publicity can oftentimes be more effective than advertising. Not only is it cost-effective (oftentimes you are paying for nothing), but also people are apt to remember an article about your business rather than advertising. People find a write-up or special feature about a business more credible and objective than a paid advertising. Publicity also reaches a wider audience: if you are lucky, the national media might even pick up your story. Contact an editor of your local newspaper and pitch your story. Read the article “Leverage the Power of Publicity for Your Small Business”
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol27/leverage.htm

3. Press releases. Send out press releases through your local newspapers about your business. Whether it is about your story or about a sale you are offering, press releases can be very good exposure for you. You can read more about how to harness press releases for your business here http://www.powerhomebiz.com/marketing/public%20relations.htm

4. Use the Internet. The Web can be your online brochure. You can use it to refer your potential clients for more information about your business; and it could also generate clients for you directly. Some of your potential clients may be looking to the Web for a floral designer, and you need to have a strong presence there as well.

5. Network. Join and be active in your local business organizations, chamber of commerce, etc. Increase your visibility in the community. You can find more information on networking here http://www.powerhomebiz.com/marketing/networking.htm

6. Word of mouth. This is the best form of advertising for your business – afterall, it is free. Read “Secrets of Word Of Mouth Marketing” http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol154/wordofmouth.htm

7. Cold calling. I think this is one of your best bet, especially if you have already been sending proposals to prospective sponsors. Here are some practical tips to increase your cold calling success http://www.powerhomebiz.com/blog/2006/05/tips-to-successful-cold-calling.html

Jere answers:

Both internet marketing and direct mail marketing are good strategies depending on the company/product/service you are promoting. It is also faulty to think you have to choose one or the other. Most successful marketing campaigns use multiple media in a coordinated strategy in order to maximize reach and frequency. For example, you may have a website that has a lot of details about your company, order forms, etc. A postcard mailer letting a targeted audience know about the website and potentially a special offer, will help to boost traffic to your site. Likewise, you could use an e-mail campaign to get people to sign up to get a catalogue of your products. The interenet is attractive because your business is an internet-based business. However, many potential customers will never find you on the internet if you don’t tell them via some non-internet means (direct mail, radio, print ads, etc.) I hope this helps! Good luck!