Business Mailing List Marketing

Business Mailing List Marketing Covers news and information relating to business marketing, mailing lists, business marketing mailing, marketing mailing lists, direct mail, postal mail, and the bulk mail industry.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Small Businesses Email Archiving Requirements Helped By Norada

 
Norada Helps Small Businesses Tackle Business Email Archiving Requirements

One of the hottest technology issues facing professionals today is email and messaging compliance. Unfortunately, most of the systems and services available are complex and expensive. Some businesses operate under the misconception that by simply backing up or saving messages they’re doing enough. Unfortunately traditional data backup processes or manually archiving don't even come close to meeting email archiving policy requirements. Norada has made available a concise new micro-website at http://www.archivingemail.com that helps businesses better understand the issues and solution set surrounding email archiving compliance.

Palo Alto, CA (PRWEB) January 31, 2006 -- One of the hottest technology issues facing professionals today is email and messaging compliance. Unfortunately, most of the systems and services available are complex and expensive. Some businesses operate under the misconception that by simply backing up or saving messages they’re doing enough. Unfortunately traditional data backup processes or manually archiving don't even come close to meeting email archiving policy requirements. Norada has made available a concise new micro-website at http://www.archivingemail.com that helps businesses better understand the issues and solution set surrounding email archiving compliance.

As an absolute requirement NASD, SEC, NYSE, and many industry regulators now mandate that all incoming and outgoing email correspondence is archived and monitored. Also, by association many firms who do business with these companies may be obligated to follow the same policies. Email archiving solutions provide control, data storage, retention, and retrieval efficiencies companies desperately need to keep up with the growing role of email within their organizations.

Since the size of an organization is not a factor as to whether or not companies must adhere to the law and / or industry regulations, there is a growing concern among small and medium businesses on how they can meet the email archiving requirements.

“Some businesses operate under the misconception that by simply backing up or saving email they’re doing enough,” stated Steve Ireland, President of Norada Corporation. "Unfortunately, traditional data backup processes or manually archiving don't even come close to meeting the new email archiving policy requirements."

Norada Corporation's email archiving service makes email archive management a breeze and fits the needs and budgets of even the smallest firms. To help "get the word out" Norada has created a specific website at
http://www.archivingemail.com to draw attention to some of the issues and its inexpensive solution.

About Norada’s Service
Norada's email archive service is a simple, inexpensive, and reliable way to alleviate concerns posed by SEC & NASD rules, Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, SOA, FSA, IDA, Investment Advisors Act, Legal Discovery and other regulations and guidelines regarding electronic communication retention.

With Norada’s email archiving service all incoming and outgoing email messages are permanently preserved on a non-erasable and non-rewritable professional grade CD-R or DVD-R media. This ensures that information is correctly captured and stored in order to minimize any uncertainty over its integrity and existence so far as is possible.

- The service requires nothing to configure or install making service activation fully transparent to end users
- Ongoing archiving is fully automatic requiring no involvement from end users
- Captures a copy of both incoming and outgoing email transmissions making it equivalent to a "flight-data recorder" for email thereby meeting the demands that are often imposed by a regulatory audit or court action
- The customer can readily access indexes and message archives and copy them to another application or storage medium as required
- Archived messages can be accessed directly by authorized end-users, such as compliance officers or corporate counsel, which significantly reduces the discovery cost and workload for staff

By having Norada manage the archive process customers also benefit from a standardized, arms-length process which provides for high evidential weight in court.

About Norada Corporation (http://www.norada.com)
Norada’s flagship product, Solve360, is an immediately available web-hosted service that enables small businesses to organize, manage, and service their customers, consolidate information, distribute workload, automate activities - get things done.

Solve360 turns familiar software product categories upside down by tightly integrating the functionality of business-class email, CRM contact management, calendar, task, document management, and invoicing into a single, robust, easy-to-use, and extremely useful web-based application.

Since 1998 thousands of small businesses in over 92 countries have entrusted Norada to keep their businesses running smoothly.

For more information contact:
http://www.norada.com
+1 (800) 738-9961
+1 (650) 331-7336

###

Press Contact: Steve Ireland
Company Name: Norada Corporation
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 650-331-7336
Website:
http://www.norada.com

Monday, January 30, 2006

New Board of Directors At Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA)

Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) Announces New Board of Directors

Interactive marketing association changes leadership for 2006.

Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) January 30, 2006 -- The Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA, http://www.mima.org) welcomes 15 local interactive professionals to its board of directors.

The new board welcomes Kristina Halvorson as its new president. Halvorson has been on the MIMA board of directors since 2002 and is the founder and president of Brain Traffic (http://www.braintraffic.com). MIMA’s outgoing president is Bret Busse, the CIO of Evantage Consulting (http://www.evantageconsulting.com), who began his term in 2004.

“It’s been fantastic to watch MIMA grow and I really appreciate all the hard work the board and volunteers have put in to make these past two years a success,” Busse says. “Now I’m excited to be able to focus on developing our executive advisory board.”

Halvorson accepts her new role with a sincere appreciation of what has been accomplished while Busse was president, “During Bret’s tenure, our membership doubled. Event attendance tripled. Throughout this time of enormous change, Bret has led with a cool head, a steady hand and a killer sense of humor.”

The 2006 MIMA board of directors includes:

• Brad Borg, treasurer. (CFO, Ciceron, http://www.ciceron.com)

• Bret Busse, executive advisory board chair.

• Chris Beltmann, membership chair. (manager of e-marketing development, Carlson Hotels Worldwide, http://www.carlson.com)

• Courtney Remes, co-vice president and web & technology chair. (principal, Synthetic Kit, Inc., http://www.synthetickit.com)

• Curt Olson, member at large. (senior business development manager, ExactTarget, Inc., http://www.exacttarget.com)

• Emily Small, event planning chair. (principal, senior project manager, The Small Company, http://www.thesmallcompany.com)

• Greg McGee, sponsorship chair. (director of business strategy, b-swing, http://www.b-swing.com)

• Joe Rueckert, programming co-chair. (director, digital direct marketing, MRM Partners, http://www.mrmworldwide.com)

• Julie Vollenweider, secretary and communications chair. (communications editor, Greater Minneapolis Convention & Visitors Association, http://www.minneapolis.org)

• Kate McRoberts, programming co-chair. (senior consultant, Evantage Consulting, http://www.evantageconsulting.com)

• Kelly Burkart, co-vice president and marketing & branding chair. (principal, senior copywriter, 5th Street Communications, http://www.5thstreetcomm.com)

• Kristina Halvorson, president.

• Lee Odden, online marketing chair. (president, TopRank Online Marketing, http://www.toprankresults.com)
• Michael Kraabel, development chair. (interactive creative director, Gage, http://www.gage.com)

• Nagesh Shinde, creative studies chair. (assistant professor, University of Wisconsin – Stout, http://www.uwstout.edu)

To best serve MIMA’s 300 members, the board strives to provide quality events, like the upcoming February seminar, “The Big Picture: Putting the User Experience in Context.” For information on this and future events, visit: http://www.mima.org/events

ABOUT MIMA
Founded in 1998, the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) is a networking and professional development forum for interactive marketing professionals. Members include professionals from all disciplines of design, media, promotions, content development, product development, publishing, marketing, usability and experience design. At MIMA, we connect, educate and partner with our members and guests to elevate the quality of interactive marketing practiced here and around the country.

# # #

Press Contact: Julie Vollenweider
Company Name: MIMA Media Contact
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 612.767.8044
Website:
http://www.mima.org


Security Expert Witness

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Small Business Capital Search Engine

Business Loan Matching Service For Small Business

Press Release by: 4eStrategy LLC
Published on openPR 01-27-2006 09:12 am - CET

(openPR) - Foothill Ranch, CA - January 26, 2006 -- Finding the right sources of financing for a small business can seem like an impossible task. But it doesn't have to be that way. Now there is a business capital search engine that has categorized the lending and investing criteria of over 4,000 U.S. based funding sources.

Business owners who are seeking business loans can enter information about what type of loan they are seeking and are quickly matched to what lenders have to offer. There is no obligation to apply for the business loans and business owners are given a free list of the funding sources they have matched.

The matching is done based on information provided by the business owner such as time in business, industry, location, revenue, credit scores and other specifics. This is then matched to the lending requirements provided by the funding sources. This gives both the business owner and the lender the best chance that a match will turn into a funded transaction.

The "business capital search engine" is found at http://www.businessfinance.com.

U.S based funding sources, with capital to place, can be listed in the business capital search engine for free. Likewise businesses in search of capital can use the matching service for free.

BusinessFinance.com matches businesses in search of capital with funding sources that have capital to lend or invest. Once a business in search of capital has completed a search and received their match list, they are given tools that instruct them how best to go about getting approved and how to prepare and present their request for funding.

Contact Corey Pierce for more insights into business finance. Direct line: (949) 305-2380 Email: info@businessfinance.com Other helpful information regarding the can be found at:
http://www.businessfinance.com

Other business loan sources listed by industry served:
 

Strategic Partnership Provides Legal Validity and Enforceability for E-mail

 
Group Technologies Enters into Strategic Partnership with RPost and Provides Legal Validity and Enforceability for E-mail

GROUP Technologies, provider of E-mail Lifecycle Management (ELM) software, today announced its entry into a strategic partnership with the software firm RPost. Under the new partnership, e-mail delivery confirmation functionality provided by RPost's Registered E-Mail technology will be integrated into GROUP's iQ.Suite for Lotus Domino. The integration, which will result in a comprehensive ELM solution that provides e-mail with legal evidential value and enforceability, will be jointly sold throughout Europe

Karlsruhe, Germany (PRWEB) January 28, 2006 -- GROUP Technologies, provider of E-mail Lifecycle Management (ELM) software, today announced its entry into a strategic partnership with the software firm RPost. Under the new partnership, e-mail delivery confirmation functionality provided by RPost's Registered E-Mail technology will be integrated into GROUP's iQ.Suite for Lotus Domino. The integration, which will result in a comprehensive ELM solution that provides e-mail with legal evidential value and enforceability, will be jointly sold throughout Europe.

When e-mail is used for business purposes, legal controversy over its delivery and content can sometimes arise. The business risks associated with this ever-present legal liability can be significantly minimized by the ability to provide bulletproof, legally valid evidence of what has transpired in e-mail communication. The ability to verify the integrity and authenticity of e-mail also helps organizations adhere to regulations concerning tamper-proof e-mail archiving.

RPost's Registered E-mail technology allows an e-mail sender to receive confirmation that a message has been delivered, independent of the return receipt functionality provided by the recipient's e-mail system and without having to implement a special PKI. This electronic "receipt," which contains a digitally signed delivery confirmation including delivery time, as well as a time-stamped copy of the entire original message, constitutes legally valid evidence that an e-mail has been delivered to a recipient and precisely what that e-mail said (including attachments). Archiving such confirmations with iQ.Suite then provides an additional level of audit security. "The integration of our Registered E-mail technology with iQ.Suite will create a high-performance e-mail management solution that can incontrovertibly verify what has transpired in e-mail. This is especially critical to processes found in the public and financial sectors. Working with GROUP Technologies, we believe the combined solution will quickly become recognized as a standard solution for legally valid e-mail communication," said Zafar Khan, CEO at RPost.

"The integration of RPost's innovative technology into iQ.Suite's ELM
process allows us to offer existing 2,000 customers and new customers a compelling new feature," said Jürgen Wege, GROUP's Chairman and CEO.

About RPost
RPost is the Registered E-mail company. The Registered E-mail system provides the sender of an e-mail with legally valid proof of authorship, content, and delivery to any Internet address. The Registered E-mail system does not require the recipient to have any special software or take any compliant action to prove delivery. RPost services provide the sender with a tamper-detectable e-mail receipt that contains all the information required to prove delivery and content, but RPost does not retain a copy of the message. For more information, visit their website at http://www.rpost.com

About GROUP Technologies AG
GROUP Technologies AG is a leading provider of E-mail Lifecycle Management (ELM) solutions. The intelligent, interlocking products found under the name "iQ.Suite" work together to enable robust security and the effective organization of e-mail from encryption, virus protection and anti-spam, to content-based classification and secure archiving. The products are available for the Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange, and SMTP platforms.

Respected organizations like Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Honda, Heineken and Miele are just a few of the over 2,000 customers and more than 6 million ELM users worldwide.

GROUP Technologies is headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany and operates a subsidiary in the USA. Its products are sold worldwide, both directly and through business partners. For more information, visit their website at http://www.group-technologies.com

For further information contact:
P-Age die Presse-Agentur
Ursula Schemm
Fürstenriederstrasse 275
D-81377 Munich
Phone: 49-89-790860-0
Fax: 49-89-790860-10
http://www.p-age.de

GmbH GROUP Technologies AG
Markus Goss
Ottostrasse 4
D-76227 Karlsruhe
Phone: 49-721-4901-0
Fax: 49-721-4901-199
http://www.group-technologies.com

Contact Name: Alex Khan
Contact Phone: 1-617-532-0063
Web Address: http://www.rpost.com/

# # #

Press Contact: Alex Khan
Company Name: GROUP Technologies
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 1-617-532-0063
Website:
http://www.rpost.com/

Affordable Web Advertising From LinkSponsor

 
LinkSponsor Makes High Impact Web Advertising Easier and More Affordable

A new, more cost effective way for Small Businesses to Get noticed via click through and search engine optimised advertising space.

(PRWEB) January 27, 2006 -- With the runaway online success of ‘The Million Dollar Homepage’ fresh in people’s minds, companies are searching for the next high-profile online advertising site where brands and products can get great exposure at affordable prices.

On 23rd January http://www.LinkSponsor.co.uk site went live offering companies a chance to get their business an advertising presence on an uncluttered site. The site is already attracting hundreds of unique visitors per day thanks to search engine optimisation and marketing activity carried out by the site owners. The site is also being linked to by high profile websites such as EBAY where an auction of some of the remaining keyword driven ad spaces is taking place.

With web space for each business keyword starting from only £10.00 for one year, small businesses are snapping up spaces as they see it as a cost effective and easy to use system in order to quickly increase click through traffic to their own websites.

LinkSponsor.co.uk has been developed by Daniel Mullin of Internet start-up company Crus Ltd, who commented, “Entrepreneurial spirit is strong in this country and this means people are always looking for new and unique ways to get their business of the ground.”

LinkSponsor.co.uk is easy to use and involves only a few simple steps before your business appears on the uncluttered front page. With a range of adverts from £10 upwards there is an advert to suit every budget.

###

Press Contact: Andy Barr
Company Name: 10 YETIS
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 01452 300683
Website:
http://www.linksponsor.co.uk

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Another Student Embellishes Alex Tew Style Pixel Ad Mania With New Feature

 
Univ. of Okla. Student, Trae McNeely, Mimics Alex Tew with His MillionDollarNokia.com Site Selling Billboard Space and Pixels for $1 Dollar Each to Pay for His College

Introducing another MillionDollar website and it's not by Alex Tew; this site has a tradition feel with an innovative edge. Trae McNeely, Information Studies Junior, at the University of Oklahoma has created one of the numerous clone sites hoping to profit off pixel advertising, but his style and use of technology has set his MillionDollarNokia website a part from the others. His site is designed to make over $1 million dollars by selling billboard space and pixels for $1 each. Trae has invented a new form of advertising; Tele-ProductplacementAdvertising using his camera on his new Nokia 6682.

Norman, OK (PRWEB) January 25, 2006 -- With the wave of pixel advertising, comes a new and improved form of advertising created by University of Oklahoma Junior; Trae McNeely. Trae, like many others, is trying to make one million dollars to help pay his college expenses and he's been inspired by Alex Tew and his milliondollarhomepage website which has revolutionized the way people advertise on the Internet. Trae's answer to Alex, www.MillionDollarNokia.com.

Yes, Trae is combining the technology of his new Nokia 6682 to create cash. Instead of just selling pixel space, Trae is selling a customizable billboard for 24 hours, his specialty, and pixels for $1 each.

So, how does it work? Mr. McNeely takes a picture of your website and carries it around all day, in class, during lunch, and even at church. His sign has the website address of the advertiser or whatever text the advertiser wishes to display. McNeely, then takes multiple pictures of himself with your sign as he does his daily activities and the photo is instantaneously uploaded to the Internet where thousands or even millions of people can see it instantly. He claims there is not lag and photos are posted to his MillionDollarNokia website instantly.

Mr. McNeely says his site has several advantages over other websites because your personal or business website(s) could show up on the back of a random person, near a cute girl, or on anything that he finds interesting, thus your billboard is dynamic and constantly changing creating more buzz and publicity. He will even wear and use your product(s) if you are selling t-shirts, phones, or various other products. Your billboard is clickable and people can go to the advertiser or customers website directly.

How much does it cost? Just $100 dollars which equals only $1 dollar per pixel and you can customize your billboard by emailing him your logo as it scrolls across the screen for a full 24 hours. With your billboard you will also receive a permanent space on his website which will stay on the Internet until he graduates so, to most, it sounds like a great opportunity to get thousands of hits to one's website for only $100 dolllars plus the advertising will last for several years.

Why use this new form of Tele-ProductplacementAdvertising as Trae McNeely calls it? You get double for your money and your site is the center of attention for a full day and the billboard can be bought multiple times. If this new form of advertising will last is another story, but the determination of another college student to create money to support his education shows companies, advertisers, and corporations that college students are starting early.

Try it, it's called www.milliondollarnokia.com.

###

Press Contact: Trae Mcneely
Company Name: MILLIONDOLLARNOKIA.COM
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 4052048484
Website:
http://www.milliondollarnokia.com

Pixel Advertising Network Gets New Look, Pixel Ad Value Still Doubtful

 
Introducing a New Look of the Pixel Advertising Network

Pixel Advertising Network has received a new look: the new good look combined with the good old advertising backend.

Canada, Toronto (PRWEB), January 25, 2005 -- Pixel Advertising Network has received a new look. They have redesigned their website (http://pixeladnet.com) and it has received a completely new look.

“Please consider the efforts as an investment into our future, as an investment into our customers businesses. The new site design keeps things more organized and easier to find. This will help our network, already containing almost a hundred websites, to grow even faster, to attract more quality Publishers and, of course, Advertisers. And, what I already can tell, it really worked out! – We have got 10 new publishers signups in just first 8 hours since it has been launched!”- said Yuriy Setko, the PixelAdNet.com founder.

"We have also received some very warm press reviews: as illustrated by the eBay auction for the last 1,000 pixels on Alex Tew’s Million Dollar Homepage, pixel-based advertising can work. But while copycat pixel advertising web sites are already becoming old-hat, developer Yuriy Setko has now taken a different approach.” - wrote
http://www.adotas.com about the PixelAdNet.

Pixel Advertising Network is a Canadian company, offering a new advertising format – Small Image Ads Banners, the banners able to drive 10-50 times more visitors to your website comparing to all known online advertising models. Our banners are especially good for the websites with limited advertising room, for blogs, community forums etc.

Pixel Advertising Network has grown to almost a hundred publishers network (since our start in November 2005), joined together publishers from many countries, such as USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy, France, Norway, Sweden, Finland other European countries; we also have publishers from such countries as China, India, Vietnam.

The network is already able to provide almost two million impressions a week, which reflects 100% growth comparing to what they had a month ago. Besides the number of impressions statistics, they are also offering advertisers statistics on CPC and CPM, so they could manage their ads accordingly.

"We were the first in the Internet offering a comparable service. And, as of today, our advertising engine is still the most sophisticated, our prices are still the lowest in the industry. And - yes, we are already imitated, but not yet duplicated." - said Yuriy Setko. An advertising engine like that is not as easy to build as the old style banners exchange, or the pixel advertising sites. Their advertising engine is more complex than the pixels sites (offering targeted advertising), and able to provide higher traffic at lower price, comparing to the old style banner ads (even to the text banner ads).

Check out the new site design. And, both, the Publishers, willing to sell their website advertising space, and the Advertisers, looking for a low cost, but still effective online advertising solution, - are very welcome to the PixelAdNet.com.

# # #

Press Contact: Yuriy Setko
Company Name: PIXELADNET
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 647-294-1708
Website:
http://pixeladnet.com

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Infoworld and Dell Small Business Magazine Free Offer

 
Click here to Subscribe

We wanted to give you the chance to subscribe to InfoWorld and also to Dell Small Business E-mail Updates.

Be sure to forward this email to business associates - they may wish to apply to receive a complimentary publication in their industry as well.

Click here to Subscribe
subscribe   subscribe

InfoWorld Making the right technology buying decisions is more important to business success than ever. That's why InfoWorld is dedicated to helping IT professionals get technology right. With the latest on products, services and technologies, our "Tech Watch" section covers the story behind the story - keeping readers abreast on the nuts and bolts of enterprise technology, while our "Test Center" section puts products to the test in real-world environments. For tech subjects that deserve expanded coverage, InfoWorld's feature stories dig deep, and opinions and insights from respected columnists round out the wealth of information designed to make IT decision making easier.

Dell Small Business E-mail Updates Save on Dell products with Dell Small Business E-mail Updates! Sign up today and get great deals on systems, networking hardware and essential software and accessories delivered right to your inbox every week. Note: Dell will be contacting you via email with details - offer valid in the United States Only.

 MORE Trade Publications FREE to Qualified Professionals include:
Enterprise Open Source Journal - Is the first magazine designed solely to focus on open source strategies in the ... InfoStor - Provides storage professionals with the right decision-making information to evaluate, ... Business Solutions - Helping VARs increase profits by integrating complementary technology....
Other Professional Publications can be found at: Technical, Internet, Computers, more...

Browse the list of job functions and industries on the application form to see if you might qualify. Also note the geographic availability. Then simply complete the form and submit it.

If you have co-workers, friends or family who work in a related field, please pass this offer on to them - they'll thank you!

Cheers,

Gina Geertz
TradePub.com Manager
http://consultant-directory.tradepub.com/

16795 Lark Ave, Los Gatos, 95032

Monday, January 23, 2006

Real Estate Agents Get Postcard Marketing Tips

“Postcard Marketing Tips for Real Estate Agents”
by Brandon Cornett
 
If you've been practicing real estate for any length of time, you've encountered postcard marketing in some form or fashion.
 
Real estate agents use postcard marketing (also known as direct mail marketing) for a number of reasons. Among other things, postcards are cost-effective, versatile and targeted.
 
But the purpose of this article is not to tell you why you should use postcards to market your services. The purpose of this article is to address the “how” of postcard marketing.
 
To be exact, this article will show you how to use postcards to outperform the competition and increase your ROI. Now that I've made a huge promise to you, let me deliver the goods:
 
Step 1 — Identify Your Audience
When creating your postcard message, start by identifying your audience. This is a critical step because the rest of the process depends on it. To identify your core audience, you simply have to ask yourself a series of questions.
 
Here's an example of how your Q&A might go:
 
- What area do I want to represent? Happy Town, Vermont.
 
- Am I focusing on buyers or sellers? Buyers.
 
- Any particular type of buyer? First-time buyers.
 
- Where might I find them? Apartments. Perhaps living with relatives in the area.
 
- What's important to them? Learning about the home-buying process.
 
- What else is important to them? Finding an agent they're comfortable with.
 
Step 2 — Create Your Audience Statement
When your list is complete, you should be able to combine the answers into a paragraph. This paragraph is your audience statement, and it will help you set your postcard marketing objectives (Step 3).
 
Here's what the audience statement might look like from the example above:
 
“I want to reach people looking to buy their first home in Happy Town, Vermont. Being first-time buyers, they probably live in nearby apartments or with relatives (so I should send my postcards to homes and apartments in my farm area). These people will want to learn about the home-buying process in order to feel more comfortable with it.”
 
You're probably starting to see the value of an audience statement. In fact, you might even have ideas popping up on how to connect with such an audience. And that leads us to our next step...
 
Step 3 — Determine Your Objective
Now that you know your audience, you can set the objective for your postcard marketing campaign. Ask yourself, “What do I want to happen as a result of sending my postcards?”
 
Here's the key to this step. Don't ask your postcards to do more than they're capable of doing. For example, don't use postcards to try and convince recipients that you offer superior service. That's a common mistake, and it's too much to ask of an 8"x5" piece of card stock.
 
“Superior service” cannot be conveyed through a postcard. It can only be conveyed through a working relationship.
 
So let's scale back the objective until we find something that (A) gives the postcard a more realistic task, (B) follows a more natural sales progression, and (C) capitalizes on known consumer behavior.
 
Let's use our postcards to generate a response from recipients.
 
Now that's something a postcard can handle — especially if you create a compelling message with a strong offer. And since we know from statistics that most consumers end up choosing the first real estate agent they contact, we're capitalizing on known consumer behavior.
 
Following our first-time buyers example, maybe we will promote a free home-buying seminar to generate interest and response. After all, anyone can benefit from a home-buying seminar — but especially those who've never bought a house before.
 
Step 4 — Conduct Your Mailing
This step will vary depending on your audience and your objective. But you've done the most important parts already. You've determined your audience. You've identified what it is you want your audience to do. And you even have some ideas on how to motivate them in that direction.
 
Continuing our first-time buyers example, this step might involve sending a postcard that promotes a free home-buying seminar.
 
Step 5 — Evaluate Your Response Rates
Make sure you have some way to track the responses you get back from each mailing. This will allow you to compare one postcard message to another to see which one performs better.
 
In the first-time buyer example, this could be as simple as tracking the number of RSVPs, or asking people in the seminar how they heard about it. Record the number of people who attend the seminar as a direct result of the postcard, and you've measured your response rate.
 
Armed with this information, you can experiment with other versions of the postcard to see which one performs or “pulls” the best.
 
Conclusion
There you have it — a structured and logical approach to postcard marketing. Identify your audience. Create your audience statement. Determine your objective. Conduct your mailing. Evaluate the response. Five easy steps!
 
And here's a step that will follow automatically — succeed.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Author
Brandon Cornett is the editor of PostcardSmart.com, the Internet’s largest website dedicated entirely to direct mail marketing with postcards. For more expert articles on postcard marketing, visit
http://www.PostcardSmart.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Direct Mail Marketers Find Information At PostcardSmart.com

Introducing PostcardSmart.com: an Informational “Super Site” for Direct Mail Marketers

(2006-01-22) Brandon Cornett

New website dedicated to postcard marketing offers a wealth of tips and tactics for direct mail marketers.


Austin, TX – January 22, 2006 – Postcard marketing means so much to Brandon Cornett that he created a large, content-rich website in its honor.

Cornett is a project manager with Ginny’s Printing (an Austin, Texas-based commercial printer) and ColorDirect (a forthcoming postcard marketing service). Having worked within the direct mail / postcard marketing industry in various capacities, Cornett has developed quite a passion for the subject:

“The website started as a small project based on a passion,” Cornett said. “Just a way to share information with like-minded individuals looking to improve their postcard marketing efforts. It quickly grew from there.”

Despite humble beginnings, PostcardSmart.com has grown to include more than 50 articles (at the time of this writing) covering all aspects of marketing with postcards. Topics covered include:

* Postcard writing and design tips
* Direct mail strategies
* Tutorials on response testing
* Industry-specific articles
* A growing number of related topics

Cornett says the site will continue to expand, and that it’s starting to take on a life of its own: “At first, we spent endless hours seeking input from expert sources. But as people begin to submit articles to us, the site will basically grow itself.”

About PostcardSmart:

PostcardSmart is fast becoming the Internet’s largest website dedicated entirely to direct mail marketing with postcards. The website offers advice on a variety of postcard marketing topics and encourages article submissions from expert authors. For more information, visit
www.PostcardSmart.com.

###

Media Contact:
Brandon Cornett
512-454-6874 (ext. 229)
bcornett@ginnysprinting.com

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Florida Direct Marketing Association To Learn How 33% Response Rate Generated

Direct Marketer to Share with the FDMA How He Generated 33% Response for Land O’Lakes

“How a Direct Mail Campaign Showed a Stellar 33% Response for Land O’Lakes” is the topic for the FDMA’s monthly luncheon on Thursday, February 16th at the Westin Hotel on Cypress Creek Road and I-95 in Fort Lauderdale from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. The meeting is open to the public with registration and networking beginning at 11:30 am.

Fort Lauderdale, FL, January 21, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- Les Layton will share with the Florida Direct Marketing Association on February 16 at the Westin Hotel how his company got 33% direct mail response rate from 3,000 Land O’Lakes key prospects without giving away the farm.

Layton, president of Whitney Worldwide Inc. and Whitney Marketing, has been helping Fortune 500 and other leading companies produce exceptional response rates for 20 years. His company also acquired 3M’s Direct Response business. Clicking on Client Testimonials on his marketing division’s Web site (www.whitneymarketing.com) demonstrates the results his company has produced.

“I’ve always said that we don’t use the “J” word in our family,” Layton said, “but when I look at today’s direct mail being sent out I feel like calling it junk. I wonder if people are even measuring and tracking response rates.”

Over-sized postcards, #10 window envelopes with small fonts and no teasers and #10 closed-face envelopes with small white labels just don’t work very often in today’s hectic environment, Layton said.

“The world has changed and direct marketers need to change with it,” Layton said. “We’re all on information overload, and it’s not as easy to get our prospects’ attention as it was in years past.”

Layton said e-mail, cell phones, the Internet, more automobile gadgets and microwave ovens were supposed to make our lives easier, faster and give us more discretionary time.

“Despite these great conveniences, I don’t know many people who work shorter days and weeks,” Layton added. “People are hurried and stressed. It’s tough to get their attention. We all get more e-mails, phone calls, ads and direct mail directed to us than we would like.”

While the list is still the most-important part of direct mail, Layton says people aren’t spending enough time on the next most significant element – the offer.

Having spoken to many conventions about database marketing, customer retention and marketing measurability, Layton said he rarely has spoken to database marketing professionals who say they spend as much time on the offer and list as they do on creative.

“And the creative they are mailing out needs far more time,” Layton added.

Layton will show our Florida direct marketers how his company has used creative offers and packages to get response rates that have surprised many clients.

Advance registration for the February 16th meeting is $35- $45, including a FULL lunch. Register by contacting Laura Silverman, FDMA Executive Director at 954-724-3662 or info@fdma.org. You can also register online at www.fdma.org.

About the Florida Direct Marketing Association

The FDMA has nearly 200 members, including catalogers, Internet retailers, financial services providers, publishers, book and music clubs and retail stores. “Direct marketing” is the art and science of sending one-to-one promotional messages directly to consumers, which allows marketers to measure response rates and campaign effectiveness. The FDMA was a chapter of the national Direct Marketing Association from late 2002 until August 1, 2005, when it once again became an independent organization.

FDMA luncheon meetings are typically held on the third Thursday of each month at the Westin Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. New members get their first lunch free when they join. Special membership rates available for non-profit organizations as well.

Contact: Laura Silverman, 954.724.3662

###
Contact Information
Florida Direct Marketing Association
Keith Fletcher
954.724.3662
events@fdma.org
www.fdma.org

Direct Marketer to Share How He Generated 33% Response Rate

 

Direct Marketer to Share with the FDMA How He Generated 33% ...
PR.com (press release) - Levittown,NY,USA
"How a Direct Mail Campaign Showed a Stellar 33% Response for Land O'Lakes" is the topic for the FDMA's monthly luncheon on Thursday, February 16th at ...

Legislators deny ad tax is retaliation for bad press
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
... called Mr. Solobay to express opposition to the advertising tax, which Mr. Knotts claims will reduce his ads and drive firms such as direct mail companies out ... 

Postal worker bids farewell to job
Fremont Tribune - Fremont,NE,USA
... Five years later he took over the job of bulk mail technician; leaving the world of first-class stamps no longer mattered to him. ...  

Consolidation could slow mail
Aspen Daily News - Aspen,CO,USA
The US Postal Service is studying whether to move its mail-processing operations from Glenwood Springs to Grand Junction -- a move that could result in slower ...

Avery Print and Mail Center Provides Direct Mail Marketing Tools ...
PR Web (press release) - Ferndale,WA,USA
Avery® Print and Mail Center, the direct mail marketing group of Avery Dennison Worldwide Office Products, is providing accounting firms with direct mail ...

Going postal over junk mail
Cavalierdaily.com - Charlottesville,VA,USA
Some say that cockroaches will carry on after all other life forms have expired on earth. That is wrong; direct mail marketers will be the last ones standing. ...

New Hope Natural Media Picks Ballantine
DM News - New York,NY,USA
... Corp. for recent direct mail print projects. ... shows. Ballantine will handle the printing and mailing of all four direct mail pieces. ...

DM News' Essential Guide to Lists and Databases: Choosing an E ...
DM News - New York,NY,USA
... should be an experienced multichannel list broker because the most productive marketing programs increasingly combine e-mail, direct mail and telemarketing. ...

Saturday, January 21, 2006

New State Health Insurance Laws and Regulations Directory

Gor a Health Insurance Beef or Question? New State Health Insurance Laws and Regulations Directory Can Help

Press Release by: Benefits Boutique
Published on openPR 01-20-2006 09:03 am - CET

(openPR) - Plano, Texas USA
Directory of State Health Insurance Laws Helps Answer Health Insurance Complaints and Questions

Where can you go when you have a health insurance question or complaint? Are you overwhelmed by conflicting health insurance advice from friends, relatives, or agents?

Today, www.BenefitsBoutique.com announces the introduction of the National Directory of State Health Insurance Laws and Regulations. Benefits Boutique is a nationwide insurance agency and advisory resource offering affordable health and life insurance and sound advice to individuals, families and the self-employed.

The Directory is a new, free resource for anyone shopping for or puzzled by health insurance. The Directory refers visitors to many governmental and private resources that can give objective answers to health insurance questions and lodge complaints with government officials for their state.

Consumers are encouraged to visit the new National Directory of State Insurance Laws and Regulations at: http://www.BenefitsBoutique.com/health%20insurance%20regulations . Directory links and news items are updated regularly, and visitors are encouraged to bookmark and add the Directory to their web browser favorites folder.

According to Michael Chapman, president of www.BenefitsBoutique.com, "We developed the National Directory of State Health Insurance Regulations as a public service for consumers. We found that important and accurate health insurance official information is not readily available in yellow pages or online directories. Too often people rely on biased or inaccurate information and advice from friends and relatives. And health insurance regulations and laws are constantly changing, so we have included the latest state news items as well."

Included in the directory are many links to state and federal insurance regulating agencies, including state departments of insurance. These regulatory agencies provide valuable public information about the health insurance laws and regulations of their state, such as the complaint levels for health and life insurance companies and of licensed agents in the state.

Government-compiled complaint ratings are one important and objective measurement of quality and customer satisfaction which should be part of the consideration of individuals, families or the self-employed when shopping for affordable health insurance. Many state departments of insurance also offer a toll-free hotline service for individuals seeking sound health insurance advice, or who desire to file a complaint against their insurance company or agent.

Benefits Boutique offers nationwide, no-obligation, affordable health and life insurance quotes, sound advice and personal service. Consumers can visit the company website, www.BenefitsBoutique.com or call toll-free for answers to health and life insurance questions and no-obligation quotes. Consumers can even schedule a no-obligation consultation with a health insurance advisor from Benefits Boutique via a toll-free number, a free video web-conference or through Skype, a company owned by eBay.com that provides free online phone service around the world.

Contact Michael Chapman for more insights into this topic. Direct line: (888) 398-6246 Email: mtchapman@BenefitsBoutique.com Other helpful information regarding the can be found at: http://www.BenfitsBoutique.com.

For More Information Contact:

Michael Chapman
mtchapman@BenefitsBoutique.com
http://www.BenefitsBoutique.com
(888) 398-6246

Friday, January 20, 2006

Security Risk Uncovered With Information Recycling

Recycling Poses Information Security Risk

Press Release by: dataXile Corporation
Published on openPR 01-19-2006 11:21 am - CET

(openPR) - In an ideal world, recycling IT assets or sensitive documents would not pose a security threat. Unfortunately, as a Toronto Health Clinic recently learned, the world is far from ideal. In a widely publicized incident, the clinic’s private health records were literally blowing in the wind on a downtown Toronto street being used for a movie set. The clinic’s paper-disposal provider, which offers both shredding and recycling services, mistakenly believed these documents were to be recycled. The company subcontracted the paper to another recycling company, which in turn sold it to the film production company.

“Recycling has merit – but it does not necessarily provide security,” says dataXile principal Joseph Bozic. Mr. Bozic, whose company provides secure data disposal for IT equipment, adds, “Similar breaches could occur with electronic data stored on IT assets. While there are numerous recyclers in the market interested in recovering value from discarded computer equipment, few of these companies are concerned with the secure destruction of the information stored on that equipment.”

As the Toronto health clinic and its paper disposal provider discovered, this is bad for business in more ways than one. Upon investigation, both organizations were deemed to have violated Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA), prompting Ontario Privacy Commissioner Dr. Ann Cavoukian to issue the first order under the new law.

Mr. Bozic commented, “The incident is disappointing, but sadly it doesn’t really surprise me. It is becoming increasingly important for both firms and service providers to ensure they have done their due diligence. Whether service providers are destroying paper documents or electronic ones, questions need to be asked and answered. Issues like collection, process, and the use of any subcontractors and their practices must be addressed. If you do not feel comfortable with the answers, keep shopping until you feel confident in your provider.”

Despite being the first two companies to face an order under PHIPA, Mr. Bozic feels they were fortunate. “Neither the clinic nor the paper disposal company were publicly identified. Future violators may not be as fortunate and many organizations would find that kind of publicity especially devastating.”

About dataXile Corporation:

Toronto-based dataXile Corporation is an information security company specializing in secure electronic data disposal. The company understands the risks and challenges associated with secure electronic information destruction and is committed to eliminating them.

For more information contact:

Joseph Bozic, Principal
dataXile Corporation
416-657-8877
www.dataXile.com
information@dataXile.com

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Blogger to Offer Free Advertising for Bloggers

Jumper Bailey's Bully Pulpit to Offer Free Advertising for Bloggers

Press Release by: Jumper Bailey's Bully Pulpit
Published on openPR 01-18-2006 09:00 am - CET

(openPR) - DALLAS, TX - Jumper Bailey's Bully Pulpit ("The Little Blog with a Great Big Heart") has announced that it is offering free advertising to bloggers for a limited time.

The advertising, which is available in 125 x 125, 120 x 90, 120 x 60, and 88 x 31 pixel sizes, is available for download free of charge from the Bully Pulpit website.

"Webmasters are welcome to download these buttons and place them on their servers, or they can simply copy the HTML code and insert the buttons into their pages if they prefer," said Bailey.

The buttons, each a variation on the theme "Jumper Bailey Is Not Right," sport black backgrounds with red, white, blue lettering. The smallest button is available in blue and white lettering only.

"I left out the red on the smallest button," Bailey said. "I thought doing so might serve as an incentive for them to use the bigger buttons."

Bailey emphasized the buttons' visual appeal.

"I gave serious thought to the creation of these buttons," Bailey explained. "I really wanted to create something that would stand out and have an impact."

Bailey said that although he eventually planned to charge webmasters for the use of his buttons, he would not do so for those taking advantage of the limited-time offer.

"No," he said. "If they download and use the buttons now, I won't charge. Those buttons will be theirs to keep. No strings attached."

Bailey said that he felt the free-button offer would be attractive to webmasters.

"Prestige is very important on the Internet," he explained. "Having the right kind of advertising on your website sends a powerful message to visitors."

Bailey resisted the suggestion that he provide reciprocal advertising in exchange for the use of his buttons.

"Look," he said. "They're free. I don't know what more you want."

"Webmasters will either use them or they won't. If they don't know a good deal when they see one, that's really not my problem."

"These are nice buttons," he said, terminating the interview.

About the Bully Pulpit

Jumper Bailey's Bully Pulpit (
http://jumperbailey.com) is a blog which explores the lighter side of life. It was officially launched on January 2, 2006.

The free buttons are located at
http://jumperbailey.com/free_advertising.php and are available for a limited time.

[Editor's comments: FINALLY! A really good press release and a great offer! This one brightened my day and I thought about accepting the offer... for about a second! :-) Nice work! (hris ]

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Ten e-mail marketing trends for 2006

 

Ten e-mail marketing trends for 2006
Thewisemarketer.com (subscription) - UK
... EmailLabs estimates that 30% to 50% of a company's e-mail list may be inactive, meaning that subscribers have not opened or clicked on a link over a reasonable ...

Law now puts a spanner in the spammers' works
Business Day - Johannesburg,South Africa
... The law states that anyone who sends unsolicited commercial communications to a consumer must give the recipient the option to be removed from the mailing list ...

Scam mailers often prey on the elderly
Fredericksburg.com - Fredericksburg,VA,USA
... In fact, the terms and conditions on many of the pieces of mail John's mom received reserve the right to "make our mailing list available to companies whose ...  

Florida Attorney General Spamming?
Security Pronews - Lexington,KY,USA
... This isn't an uncommon practice. It would seem though, that Mr. Crist has utilized that same mailing list as a source of re-election campaign emails. ... 
 

Philanthropic Postcard Company: Donates Its Services to ‘Say No ...
PR Web (press release) - Ferndale,WA,USA
... PostcardMania is a full service postcard direct mail marketing company which includes graphic design, printing, mailing list acquisition and mailing services ...

(PRN) - ADVO Further Improves Nation's Most Comprehensive ...
Bolsamania.com - Madrid,Madrid,Spain
(PRN) - ArrowSpan Announces Highly Compatible, Open Solutions WiFi Mesh Networks to Public Service Equipment Solution Providers ... [+. ...

ADVO Further Improves Nation's Most Comprehensive Residential ...
Yahoo! News (press release) - USA
... Inc., (NYSE: AD - News) a leading direct mail media company and owner of the nation's most comprehensive residential and business mailing list, has become the ...

DM News' Essential Guide to Lists and Database: Lists: Purchase ...
DM News - New York,NY,USA
... Such agreements are rare. Things to know before renting a mailing list. The difference between an effective or ineffective list could be the list broker. ...  


ADVO Further Improves Nation's Most Comprehensive Residential Mailing List

First to Use Technology That Updates 145 Million U.S. Addresses Weekly - Leading to Less Waste, and Higher ROI for Nation's Advertisers

WINDSOR, Conn., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ADVO, Inc., (NYSE: AD - News) a leading direct mail media company and owner of the nation's most comprehensive residential and business mailing list, has become the first company to add weekly address updates now available from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The new process trims up to seven weeks from the current procedure, and makes ADVO's residential mailing list the nation's most deliverable address file.

"Direct mail is already the nation's leading advertising medium because of its effectiveness in targeting, and because it is so measurable. This improvement only enhances its effectiveness," said Matt Spahn, ADVO Chief Marketing Officer.

"The weekly update is an important enhancement to our print distribution platform. It will help ensure that our clients' mailed advertising is reaching the most up-to-date households, driving superior response," said Spahn.

Over the past four years, ADVO worked with the USPS to test this significant improvement to the USPS's Computerized Delivery Sequencing (CDS) service. The system organizes 145 million residential and business addresses by carrier route, in the delivery walk-sequence of the carrier. Companies like ADVO use this information to prepare their packages for USPS processing, which earns them and their advertising clients the lowest possible postal rates.

In the past, full- and partial-CDS address changes were available from the USPS in alternating months for qualified mailers.

Now, ADVO receives the USPS address changes weekly, and along with data from its extensive mailing programs, uses the information to update its proprietary mailing list. In the last year alone, ADVO made tens of millions of updates to its list covering the spectrum of new addresses, seasonal changes, street name changes, carrier route changes and more. ADVO's list includes 132 million residences and 13 million businesses -- virtually all 145 million U.S. mailing addresses.

"Going forward, we have an even stronger platform for ensuring that our list remains the gold standard of the direct mail advertising industry," added Mark Gundersen, ADVO Director of Network Services.

Address accuracy and completeness is extremely important for ADVO's clients, which include 17,000 national, regional and local advertisers. Virtually all businesses are eager to reach new households so that they can ensure 100% market penetration of their inserts in their stores' retail trade areas. If a home becomes vacant, eliminating that address will reduce waste in paper, printing and distribution costs, allowing advertisers to extend their budget to new prospects. And, with ADVO's sub-ZIP Code targeting and distribution capabilities based on carrier route data, being able to quickly reflect changes in the postal walk-sequence order enhances the company's ability to provide superior targeting to its clients.

In addition to using its proprietary mailing list to support its nationwide shared mail program, ADVO markets the list to third parties through its exclusive relationship with American List Council (ALC). Direct mailers using this list will also benefit from this latest enhancement.

ADVO's close work with the Postal Service spans 50 years. The company's mailing list was used as the base for the 1980 and 1990 censuses.

About ADVO

ADVO is the nation's leading direct mail media company, with annual revenues of nearly $1.4 billion. The company's industry-leading targeting technology, coupled with its unparalleled logistics capabilities, enable retailers seeking superior return on investment to target, version and deliver their print advertising directly to consumers most likely to respond.

ADVO's proprietary mailing list is a key enabler of its coast-to-coast media distribution platform. Serving 17,000 national, regional and local retailers, the company reaches 114 million households, more than 90% of the nation's deliverable home addresses, with its ShopWise® shared mail advertising.

Demonstrating ADVO's effectiveness as a print medium, the company's "Have You Seen Me?®" missing child card, distributed with each ShopWise® package, is the most recognized mail in America. This signature public service program has been responsible for safely recovering 140 children. The program was created in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the U.S. Postal Service in 1985.

ADVO employs 3,700 people at its 24 mail processing facilities, 33 sales offices and headquarters in Windsor, CT. The company can be visited online at http://www.ADVO.com.

 


Source: ADVO, Inc.

Popular Trade Publications: DV Magazine, eWeek, plus many more free subscriptions

 Subject: Popular Trade Publications: DV Magazine, CADBlocks, plus many more ...

Greetings!

All the publications below are available to you since you live in the United States. We hope you will find them of interest. Click on the titles below to see if you qualify, and be sure to forward this email to business associates - they may wish to apply to receive a complimentary publication in their industry as well.

Subscribe and enjoy!

 
Popular Trade Publications at TradePub.com

DV Magazine
provides objective, hard-hitting, in depth reviews of digital video ...
more info
  CADBlocks
targets architects, specifying engineers, and CAD Managers ...
more info
  eWeek
enables readers to successfully evaluate, deploy and ...
more info