Approaching your marketing messages from this perspective will deliver memorable and highly effective campaigns that are amazingly easy to write. I’ll liken it to gift-giving at the holidays; you want to pick the perfect present to make the recipient happy and that takes perspective. After all no one wants to get a vacuum cleaner when they REALLY wanted a diamond necklace – anyone ever had this pleasant experience? I can vouch for the fact that it’s not fun and certainly doesn’t deliver the results you want.

Want the secret? Voila, I give you the step-by-step plan for crafting marketing messages that grab attention and get results.

Crafting Marketing Messages that Grab Attention & Get Results

WHO

Know your audience. I mean really know them. Who is your audience? What do they look like? What’s important to them? What kind of business are they in and what are their goals? Why would they be looking for your product/service? What do they do in their spare time? You get it, do your homework. You can’t write WIIFM messages without knowing who you’re talking to.

WHAT

What does your service/product do for the audience? Will it make their life easier? Make them stand out against their competition? Make them more money? Get customers talking about them? Pick the top three reasons that, based on knowing your audience, will be the most important to them. Those are the main topics to focus your messaging around.

WHY

Why is your product/service different from others? Do NOT write this from your perspective, but rather based on reasons that are important to your audience. Listing off a bunch of general sales jargon here will pretty much kill your message. This step should incorporate why what your company does will meet the audience’s needs/desires/goals/etc.

Now walk away from your list for a few minutes or even sleep on it overnight. The final step is to consolidate your Who, What, Why statements into one sentence of only 5-7 words. That’s it just 5-7 words and shorter is better. This will be your company’s main marketing message to build all other campaign content around. I’m not saying this is an easy plan, but it definitely gets easier the more you do it. Not only can this technique be used for marketing messaging, but also to collect feedback from your clients via surveys. If you can get your audience to tell you more about themselves imagine how much easier (and better) your marketing messages will become!

Once you work your creative magic, let Three Dog Logistics get it into your target mailboxes. Remember, we take the bite out of postage and freight. Visit www.threedoglogistics.com or call 410-284-5494 extension 340 to schedule a complimentary consultation today.

The post The Secret to Great Marketing Messages: WIIFM first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.

Get Creative

Before you begin a campaign or fund drive, it is best to plan out what you are going to do – and how you will achieve your goals. Brainstorming is an excellent way to tap into everyone’s imagination and experience – the goal is to gather as many different ideas as possible, then sort through them to determine which one works best.

Another step that some groups skip is deciding on a theme – a unifying message that appears in every stage of your fund raiser. Remember that creativity can definitely be a useful tool in this process, but the theme has to be relatable to your audience. If you have to take too much time explaining the theme and its meanings, then it is probably not the right fit.

Hit the Streets

Now that you have decided what your campaign is going to say – you have to decide how you are going to reach your audience. Today’s technology provides plenty of low cost, and in some cases, free ways for nonprofits to push their message out to their audience. Even better, you can track how well the campaign is going.

Here are a few methods to consider:
• Letters and postcards are reliable and time tested – everyone has a mailbox, not everyone has an email address! Today’s technology, combined with the expertise of the team at Three Dog, can help you pinpoint specific zip codes and neighborhoods. In addition, you can receive notification of when the letter or postcard will reach a specific audience. This allows you to follow up with other forms of communication.

• You can send out an email to your audience, alerting them to be on the lookout for your physical mailing – and include additional information and requests for support.

• Social media – from Twitter to Facebook to Instagram – is also free and impactful. You can integrate these services into your overall campaign, and use them as a way to let your audience know that a giving campaign is under way.

• Surveys are a great way to engage your audience while spreading the word about your nonprofit. After the letters and postcards have been delivered, you can send out a survey to determine the success of your campaign, and learn how to alter the next campaign so it has even more impact! There are plenty of free tools – Survey Monkey is one of the more well-known – that are easy to use.

Wrap It Up

Raising funds for your nonprofit requires a significant amount of time, coordination, and dedication. Remember to draw on the imagination, creativity, and experience of your team, great ideas can come from the most unexpected places. Planning out your campaign, and matching your message to the right forms of communication, takes more time but in the long run the results are worth it.

If you are looking for help with postcard and letter campaigns – or do not know where to start – get in touch with Three Dog, we will be happy to help! Call us at (410) 284-5494 or email info@threedoglogistics.com.

The post Raising Funds, Raising Awareness first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.

Marketing Matters

The beauty of social media and the internet is the almost instantaneous tracking that it provides users and marketers.

A post on Facebook immediately gathers information, and you can get an excellent idea of its popularity based on shares and likes. Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest feature similar types of tracking – and so does the United States Post Office!

Barcodes and Business

The barcodes used on mailings contain a wealth of information, all of which can be easily transmitted back to the operation at Three Dog Logistics.

Thanks to our custom created software and OBBAgistics, we are able to provide data to customers that includes:

• The time mail left the local post office
• The day the mail will reach an address
• Any delays in delivery
This type of information allows our customers to pinpoint crucial dates in their own marketing campaigns, and make excellent use of social media.

Imagine this scenario: postcards advertising your latest product or service are sent out nationwide to your customers. OBBAgistics tracks the campaign, and you get accurate information as to when those postcards will arrive.

Your social media guru posts information, alerting your customers to a special sale or promotion that is tied directly to the postcard. Not only is your target audience alerted to this information via print and electronic media, they are more likely to act on your offer!

Terrific Tools

Coordinating a marketing campaign requires a certain degree of effort and know how, but when you receive information and data quickly, reaching out to customers is infinitely easier. And while social media is definitely a great way to push out information, email and phone calls are other viable tools.

With all of these tools at your disposal, creating a multi-faceted marketing campaign becomes easier, and you know that the marketing dollars you are committing are going to be well spent. And remember, after the campaign is complete, you can analyze and review the information that was gathered, so your next effort will be even more successful.

If you want to learn more about OBBAgistics and the other services we provide at Three Dog Logistics, contact us today at 410 284 5494 or visit our site!

The post Creating a Complete Campaign first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.