One-Minute Marketing Clinic: I have been a proponent of newsletters for years and have published several. In my first public seminar in January, 1991, I used both the Cullinet Federal Newsletter and the Bohdan TechLetter as excellent examples of customer communication. Somewhere in the vast recesses of my office-library (and much to the dismay of my wife and partner) I have examples of B2G newsletters going back 15 years. I have approximately 3 tons of crap, I mean, research material. Newsletters allow you to do several things. First, deliver targeted messages to a selected audience – your customers and prospects. You can send the press releases that will not get picked up by the trade press; you can discuss contract mods, tech refresh and new products; you can highlight partners, your personnel or skills; and you can share success stories. Does anyone out there listen to country music? Toby Keith had a hit last year entitled “I Wanna Talk About Me”. This is where you can do it, albeit in a more modest tone. You can still offer a snail mail newsletter, too. The advantage here is length. A hardcopy newsletter should be 4-to-12 pages. An email newsletter should not run more than three pages. Keep the items short. Bite size chunks go down fast, can be remembered, and more of them will be read. Longer, more obtuse articles will lead to birdcage lining, or trashcan basketball. Have several people review the newsletter for clarity and brevity before it goes out. Be advised that once you start, you shouldn't stop. And you can't be irregular about when it comes out. Monthly or biweekly is good enough for most. Weekly involves real work and the ability to get new, interesting stuff. EVENTS: October 14, 2003 Amtower Presents: LEADS, SALES AND CUSTOMER RETENTION: Profitable Strategies for Business-To-Business and Government Marketers. This 3-hour session will feature my friends, business telemarketing guru Michael Brown and lead generation/management maestro Mac McIntosh, and me. Call me at 301-924-0058 for details or visit: http://www.federaldirect.net/oct14.html THIS WILL BE A GREAT EVENT, AND IN THE AMTOWER “THREE HOUR WITH LOTS OF STUFF” TRADITION, WITH LESS AMTOWER AND MORE FROM SANE GUYS! October 21, 2003 in Vienna, VA & October 23, 2003 in Newton, MA. GOVERNMENT MARKETING BEST PRACTICES, the NEW version (4.0) is scheduled For Oct 21 at the Tower Club, in Vienna, Virginia, from 12:30 – 4:00 PM and Oct 23 at the Marriott in Newton (Boston), Massachusetts, from 8:00-11:30 AM. Call 301-854-9493 for details. Over 600 people have attended this since the first session in March 2002, and the information has been updated 7 times. Attend and find out why this has become the most popular seminar for companies selling to the government. Full information at http://www.federaldirect.net/bestpracticesregistration.html THIS IS ALREADY A GREAT SEMINAR AND PROMISES TO BE BETTER. THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY AMTOWER - UNLEASHED! November 10-11, 2003 in Chicago, IL The Second Annual B2G CATALOG/DM2G SUMMIT will be in Chicago, November 10-11, 2003 at the DoubleTree O'Hare. Seats are already selling for this – don't wait to reserve yours! And attendance will be limited to 100. Go to http://www.federaldirect.net/b2gsummit.html . THIS IS THE ONLY EVENT EXCLUSIVELY FOR DIRECT MARKETERS TARGETING GOVERNMENT, AND WILL HAVE SEVERAL GREAT PRESENTERS. IT IS NOT A DAY-AND-A HALF OF MARK
Your News On Your Terms
by Mark Amtower