Great job Julia.

Best regards,
Tomesia Ingram

Originally Posted by equipbiz

I have given the whole ‘e-campaign’ area some serious thought over the last few days as I pondered on whether or not it was something I would consider for my company. My conclusion is that I myself would prefer not to use this method as a marketing strategy. I thought it might be useful – to you and others – to put down my thoughts in a post as 'food for thought' for others who might be considering something similar. I don't want to put a dampner on your campaign - far from it - but I thought another perspective on it might be worth a look. Direct mail campaigns – usually ‘snail mail’ are one of the first marketing strategies most new businesses think of. And those in business a while often consider it as a new way to attract business contacts. As anyone here (who has tried direct mail campaign by post) will know, they are not always the most efficient or cost effective means of advertising, especially when you are new in business. The objective of a direct mail campaign is to get hundreds of people’s attention for a few minutes to advertise your business or service – right? How many of your postcards, brochures, etc. end up in the bin? The response rate is approximately a 1% return. It may be a little higher perhaps if you follow up directly by phone afterward – assuming that’s an option of course. With direct mail campaigns you are a complete stranger and there is no trust between you. Also it is often an intrusion and can be seen as very impersonal. There are also Data Protection Act compliance issues (for example you must not mail or call anyone who has opted out of being contacted under the Mail Preference Service or Telephone Preference Service). With an email campaign I would worry about the whole area of “spam” and certainly in Ireland and the UK there have been prosecutions against those sending unsolicited mail. The area of law that covers this is a fairly grey area but it is one that legislation is changing on all the time. Obviously there are *some* ways around it – like opt-in etc. Spam is something that can anger a lot of people too so I would worry that it ‘may’ mean your first impression is not the one you might like it to be. In addition, it has to be said that a half decent spam programme will ensure your email goes straight to the “Junk Mail” box and is never seen so that is another potential pitfall that I can think of. My own view is that networking at events or through other mediums – for example your local Chamber of Commerce perhaps - is much more effective. You can verbalise in person what it is you are doing and how you can help their businesses. My own opinion is that direct mail campaigns (by post or email) pale in comparison. Personal networking and recommendations from current or past clients have been by far the best methods of generating business, at least in my own experience. I think nothing wins the business like the personal touch. If you do go ahead with the campaign, the only advice I would give you is to get the most up to date contact lists possible and send mail-outs that are well targeted and sent only to a strong client list. And definitely use an opt-in/out somewhere in it for self-protection. Good luck with it!

In a lot of ways I would agree with this, but since we are trying to market virtually to get customers globally, is there another way of marketing? Local networking isn't necessarily going to work if you are wanting a more global market. Of course, I'm still new to a lot of this virtual stuff and am still trying to figure it all out myself. I have a lot of questions on the quickest and cheapest ways of marketing globally or at least nationally. I've gotten pretty good at the local networking stuff, though.

Leanna Kalka
Lee's Office Assistance n' Stuff

Julia have you had any responses with this yet?

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Dawn Riley
A Virtual Assistant in Paradise
Our business is about making yours better

no, i haven't I am hoping to to another mailmerge in the first wk of the new year as now it's a bit too late to do one right before christmas. I am hoping to get a plug on the radio too, which may get some more publicity, even though the radio station is about 150 miles away from where I'm based (and I'm not bothered about that!!!) Will give you another update in the new year!

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Julia Neal ...because we ♥ admin!
http://julianeal.wordpress.com

Originally Posted by Leanna Kalka

In a lot of ways I would agree with this, but since we are trying to market virtually to get customers globally, is there another way of marketing? Local networking isn't necessarily going to work if you are wanting a more global market. Of course, I'm still new to a lot of this virtual stuff and am still trying to figure it all out myself. I have a lot of questions on the quickest and cheapest ways of marketing globally or at least nationally. I've gotten pretty good at the local networking stuff, though. Leanna Kalka Lee's Office Assistance n' Stuff

Personally, I think forgetting about the whole concept of 'global marketing' and focusing on where your ideal clients are socializing, networking, or just plain present (both online and off) is the best use of your resources/time. That's not to say that what Julia is doing is off-base at all - she's basically sending her cards out to local areas and getting your name out there in creative ways is always a great thing.

But the idea that you need to find clients 'worldwide' neglects the fact that you likely have a niche or specialty and would do very well to focus on those potential clients rather than casting such a far and wide net.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter where your clients are located - you're virtual.

With all that said - if you still really want (or need) to find clients who reside 'abroad' the best way to do that is to find the same kind of networking groups (online) but focused by region. For instance, if you want to find clients in Ireland, then start looking for small business owner and entrepreneur networking groups in Ireland. Those that have newsletters with ad space to sell, websites with banner space to share, etc. will be good bets.

Or, if you want to target the medical field, but want clients in France, then look for the same but local to the French medical market. Etc. etc.

Does anyone else have any other suggestions to add on this topic?

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Dawn Riley
A Virtual Assistant in Paradise
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thank you. I will try again next week, as I'm launching in two weeks.

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Julia Neal ...because we ♥ admin!
http://julianeal.wordpress.com

Many companies these days use direct email but, personally, it is something i would not do. I get email ads constantly and I delete without reading. Somehow it is an unsolicited intrusion. The worst thing in my experience is broadcast fax. These things wake me, running from dead sleep, dog bouncing off the walls and cats scattering to hide at 3 a.m and I cannot get back to sleep. You have no idea what I would like to do to those companies

I stumbled upon this post under similar threads and although it's old, it's still relevant to what I'm trying to do now. I'm now actively marketing and have tried mass emailing but that didn't work out too well. So far the clients I've had are through networking, recommendations from previous clients etc.

Julia, I'm curious to know how you created the flyer or does anyone know? It looks good! And did you get any leads from this exercise eventually?

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Suze
http://www.globalvirtualsupport.com