5 Steps To Improve The Effectiveness Of Your Direct Mail Marketing

Direct mail marketing used to mean sending out a mass-mailing to everyone and hoping someone who cared about your product would first read it, and second, care enough to keep the mailing for future reference. Today, direct mail solutions start by defining the target, continue by creating a powerful message, get into gear with the delivery and finish by evaluating the entire effort.

Step number one is understand how to aim for your ideal customers. If you can describe your typical customer in terms of age, gender, locale or any other defining characteristics, you're halfway there. Work on more detail on who your target customer is and you'll then be able to purchase a mailing list customized for those demographics.

The second step is to make use of professional services at every stage in the process. Working with direct mail is not a do-it-yourself project. We've already mentioned buying a customized mailing list -- make sure your source is dependable and ready to meet your deadlines. Check out the samples and references from printers before committing to a print run.

The next step has to do with the content of your mailed message. Besides being compelling, your direct mail item should always include an action item for the receiver to do. You should also set a deadline by which the action item must be done, even if there is no such deadline. After all, you're not going to turn away a customer if they take the time to come to your store. Also include within the mailings a way such as a numerical code to identify customers who are responding to this specific mailing. It might be on the coupon a customer uses to get their free gadget or discount.

The fourth step is all about the timing. Will there be a special event occurring at your business? Any mass mailing describing the event must then, of course, be sent out and received before the event occurs. If a sale is revolving around a seasonal or holiday theme, then you do not want the mailing to be received after the special day. Direct mail solutions do not solve anything if they're received late. Be sure the company you hire for your direct mail projects knows the dates by which the work must absolutely and totally be completed.

The final step is to track your results. You must know if your direct mail campaign brought customers into your store or inspired them to call your toll-free number or prompted them to ask for a free consultation. This is the point where you use that special code you had printed on all the mailings sent out within this effort. Again, this is a time to use the professional services of a company experienced in providing direct mail solutions. Tracking and evaluating the results is just one of the many tasks these companies do as part of their normal client services.

Direct mail marketing done the right way will be a cost-effective and time-effective means of getting your message out to those customers you know are just waiting to hear from you. The right direct mail solution will help your business to make more money, a goal with which no one can argue.

Author - This post comes from Aew, a business woman who has been experimenting with direct mail marketing tactics lately. She found this blogpost on the SEMA Group's website to be very useful. When not working on the business she is employed by, Aew enjoys travelling, and spending time with her friends and family.

Reasons To Use Online Money Transfer

Online money transfer is the use of the internet to instantaneously move money for the purpose of making payments or account transfers. This service incorporates speed, convenience and security in money transfer. It cuts on the demand to use papers or even make visits to the bank in order to send or receive money. It however requires registration of an account then activation of the account which may cost a little fee depending with the vendor. Once this is achieved, just a computer with internet access is required for this purpose.

The main reason for online money transfer services is for the ability to have fast transfer of money. For any individual looking for speed regardless of geographical distance has to make use of this service. It makes transactions instant unlike other forms that require paperwork to be filled for identification purposes from both the sender and receiver. They also happen to be cheaper. This is brought in by the high demand for this service and its ability for not incorporating too much paperwork. It only needs the availability of an internet connection.

People who work online are the ones in most need of online money transfers. The money transferred could be payments for work done, purchases of credits on websites that offer various services such as plagiarism checking and grammar correction, paying for advanced work software among others. Such money is shifted around between the owner, a transferring agency and the various recipients. The transferring agency has the capacity to hold the money in escrow and move it as requested by the owner to recipients along with instructions on what to do with the money. On their part, the recipients of the money receive it and then act according to the accompanying instructions.

Online money transfer can be integrated with bank accounts. This brings in convenience in carrying out transactions. Money can easily be moved through this service to conduct business from the comfort of your home. This means the time consumed having to visit a bank each time money is coming in and out will be eliminated. Money is directly credited and debited into your bank account just by making a few clicks. It also provides better rates in foreign exchange. This ensures you gain more by transferring the money directly to your account.

Some receiving organizations in online money transfers are banks and other institutions that can give the owner the money in form of hard currency. There are also other players in the end of the online money transfer chain who operate as individuals or small companies. These smaller players have faster remittance services but they charge significantly more than the banks and other well-established institutions. The smaller players are handy for people who want their money quickly since they do not have waiting periods that are put in place by banks to prevent money laundering.

Risk has to be eliminated when it comes to handling money matters. The use of emails in handling money has been replaced by online money transfer services. This is as a result of mail being intercepted which could lead to bank accounts being drained through the use of the routing number and account number. The money sender requires guarantee that the money will get to the recipient. Transactions made in online money transfers are recorded. They can then be used as reference point on how money is spent and gained.

However, there are limits set as to minimum and maximum amounts of funds transferable per transaction or per a certain period of time. Limits help in regulating the circulation of money in the accounts and reduce money laundering. Online money transfer has however proved it is here to stay. It has become one of the most sought out services enabled by the internet.

Author - The author of this article is a highly experienced researcher and online writer at Essay Jedi.