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Newsletter - Direct Mail Marketing
 Featured Article
Direct mail marketing can be very profitable for your business if done properly. Here are some tips to get your marketing program into gear.

1. Know your client. Are you marketing B2B or B2C? You may want to do both but your marketing strategy should differentiate between the two. When marketing B2B you generally want to provide many facts and advanced information whereas B2C marketing should contain high level info and educational content.

2. Choose your contact list. There are two basic types of lists, those that are compiled (generically through phone listings, directories, etc.) and those that gathered from responses (people that have expressed an interest in a certain product). Compiled lists are harder to market to since the amount of interest in your product or service is unknown.

3. Choose your medium. Postcards work well for B2C and B2B. Make sure they are large, colorful and shiny. "Invitation style" works well for B2C and legal letter format works best for B2B. Tri-fold brochures and small calendars are other good mediums.

4. Choose your sales strategy. Are you looking for a one time sale or a long term sale? Long term sales require branding and a demonstration of reliability and credibility.

5. Track your responses. You will want to track the responses of your marketing campaign. You will want to know which campaigns worked and which didn't. You'll want to capture the name, address, email, and phone number of your responses so you can develop a long term sales relationship and continue to market to them.

The proud groundhog has a day of his own

It was this critter's good fortune to emerge from hibernation on February 2, Candlemas Day. Candles have been blessed on this day since the 11th Century. A Scottish couplet proclaimed, "If Candlemas be fair and clear/There'll be two winters in the year."

The ancient Romans, who are blamed for almost everything, are said to have kept a vigil for the hedgehog. They thought if the hedgehog could see his shadow in the moonlight, there would be six more weeks of winter.

Over time, the practice served as a folk holiday in Europe and Britain. The Germans brought the custom to the United States. Because they couldn't find a hedgehog, they made the groundhog (wood chuck) the subject of their event. They believed that if the he was frightened by his shadow on a sunny day, he would go back into hibernation and stay there for up to six weeks.

Groundhog Day itself came into being during the late 1800s, thanks to the combined efforts of Clymer H. Freas, a newspaper editor, and W. Smith, an American congressman and newspaper publisher. They organized and popularized a yearly festival in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The festival features a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil who is used to foretell how long the winter will last.

In addition to Pennsylvania, Groundhog Day events are held Nebraska, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, Arkansas, California, and other states.

It's also popular in Canada, where a groundhog named Wiarton Willy is used to predict the length of winter. Willy lives in Wiatron, Bruce County, Ontario.
Me and my shadow

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