There’s a synergy between email and print. Email opens the door. Print clinches the deal. When you add marketing automation to the mix, you amplify your results even more.
As a printer, you can use the same automation tools that email marketers do. You can use automation to guide a prospect through a series of steps to becoming a customer.
If you have thousands of prospects and one product or related set of products, email plus marketing automation can work just fine.
If you’re courting a smaller group of prospects with a custom solution, look at adding print to the mix make the prospect’s experience more personal and memorable.
Here’s how:
- Start with the major places you draw online traffic: your company website, guest blogging, your own LinkedIn posts, social media posts, or a directory listing with links.
- Set up a landing page, either on your website or on a site that specializes in that service.
- On the landing page, ask for the visitor’s email address. Invite people to sign up for your e-newsletter or ask them to subscribe to your monthly e-blast of specials.
- To sweeten the deal, offer something free if they sign up. It could be an e-book, case study, special report, a customizable template, a mini email course, or a PDF of helpful tips. The free thing you are advertising will be delivered by email.
- Ask ONLY for a first name and email address. Anything more than that and the prospect will balk.
- Create a link in your primary content that points to the landing site.
The link text might say “Sign up for our newsletter” or “Get instant access to our free e-book on How to Choose Paper for Your Next Project.”
When the person enters an email address and first name, the automation software sends a thank you, greets him or her by name, and emails the item requested.
Pointers:
- DO use marketing automation to reply to those requests. The program will do it promptly and correctly. It will capture the address and keep it secure from hackers.
- After you’ve automatically sent the free item, wait 24 hours and then send a REAL email from a REAL person in your company. Sign it with a real person’s contact info and send it from a real company email account.
Say something like this:
“We’re glad you ordered our free e-book “How to Choose Paper for Your Next Project.” If you’re interested, we’d love to mail you a swatch book of our most popular paper options, in this year’s hottest design colors.”
Who wouldn’t jump at an offer like that?
If the prospect says yes, let them know when they can expect the packet in the mail and how you will follow up after that.
Congratulations — You’ve just moved to the head of the line in your prospect’s attention! AND you’ve made it more effective by combining, email, print and marketing automation.
If you’re combining print with email automation, let me know how it’s going in the comments below. Feel free to share tips on how to get the best results. Thanks!
Sandy Hubbard is a marketing consultant and strategist. She specializes in printing companies that are in transition or extreme growth mode. She knows how to help printers build marketing programs that can be sustained over the long haul…without stress. Find Sandy on Twitter every Wednesday at 4 pm Eastern time, assisting #PrintChat host Deborah Corn (@PrintMediaCentr) with the most lively and entertaining printing chat on social media.
One Response
I feel like this is something we’ve discussed a lot in #PrintChat as well. If you want your e-mail marketing and your print marketing to be successful, you need to intertwine the two. This is a must-share – thank you, Sandy!