Business Websites should not use a slider carousel

6 March, 2015/0 Comments/in B2B, B2C, Lead Generation, Marketing ideas /by Rebecca Caroe

We’ve been researching sliders on website home pages for a client. His designer has come up with two website layouts and one includes a slider.

Image credit graphicsfuel.com

My instincts say “don’t do it” but I need justification. My search shows up four great articles – note most of them recommend alternatives and all of them say that sliders are OK in some circumstances. Many of the alternatives still have motion and some incorporate sliders in different positions on the page.

Make your own mind up.

Homepage sliders are bad for SEO usability Searchengineland
Alternatives to using a slider for better home page conversions Manage WP blog
Sliders suck Brian Krogsgard
Why your website shouldn’t have sliders and alternatives OptimWise
Our Themes don’t have sliders…because sliders suck Yoast
Are sliders bad for SEO? Haden Interactive

Call us if you’d like a chat and how to make your website work harder to achieve your business marketing goals.

Email text for freelancer pitching a brand

3 February, 2015/0 Comments/in B2B, Copywriting, Email /by Rebecca Caroe

I am working with a newly freelance graphic designer and am introducing her to possible clients.

This is the email she sent to follow up on one introduction and I just had to edit the text.

An introduction is the MOST favourable way of getting a new business face to face meeting. These folks won’t turn you down, generally. So what was wrong with this message?

Hi

I hope this finds you well and the new year has got off to a good start for you!

I wanted to get in touch with you following Rebecca’s introduction in December last year, as I am now in a position where I am able to provide brand packaging design on a freelance/contract basis.

I’ve attached my CV and portfolio of work with this email. If it suits you, I’d love the opportunity to come in and introduce myself and have a chat. There would be no commitment required, just an opportunity to see if there is a fit between my skills and experience and your company.

Kind regards,

Elements of email to improve

So what was wrong with that message? The first paragraph is fine. The second leads off with the right information in the right order but it uses too many words to make the point. Making it two sentences is punchier.

The mention of the portfolio being very short is deliberate – don’t show everything until you have a commitment to meet. You are more impressive face to face than showing finished work. So just send a taster. Select products that align with the recipient’s likely needs.

Then move onto a focus on them – talk masculine words like ‘investment’ and ‘role of design’ – philosophise a bit – you learn a lot about their attitude to good design if you can find these things out in a meeting. And that will inform your likely future work more than just showing a portfolio – discuss how design can help them achieve their business objectives.

Email introductions that get meetings

Here’s my suggestion of a re-draft of the email which may get better result outcomes.

I hope this finds you well and the new year has got off to a good start for you!

We were introduced by Rebecca in December last year, and you said I should “get in touch in the new year”.

I am now providing brand packaging design on a freelance/contract basis.

I’ve attached my CV and a very short portfolio of work with this email

Understanding XYZ’s business is very important if you are to consider working with me. And so I would like to invest my time learning more about your products, markets and the role of design.

Can we meet during the week of 15th February?

I will call you on (name date) to discuss fixing a date and time to suit you.

Kind regards,

So, can you see what I’ve done with the text? I removed all the “maybe” and “if it suits you” and “no obligation” words. These are very cautious.

You are good at your job, you will not be wasting their time meeting you. Sound and communicate your confidence that you are the best thing that’s happened to them and that you will help them achieve their business objectives.

Let me know if you try both which comes out best!

Financial advisors – give me your contact details

28 January, 2015/0 Comments/in B2B, Sales /by Rebecca Caroe

Here in New Zealand giving a personal referral introduction for new clients is common. And recently I

Not a mug

asked for help with some financial advice. I was given three names.

Then I hit a wall.

None of the firms had the personal contact details of their team on the website.

Two people had Linked In profiles I could connect with – but of course, until they connect back to you it’s not possible to see their contact details.

I was left with the website telephone number as the only way to get in touch.

Make it easy for me

Please would you all make it plain and easy for me to get in touch with the named person?

Why is this hard?

Surely each person wants to get in direct contact so they can start a discussion with minimal delay?

Cluetrain has New Clues – time for newbies to read the original!

27 January, 2015/0 Comments/in Advertising, B2B, B2C, Blogging, Branding, Content Marketing, Digital media, Direct Marketing, Email, Marketing ideas, Metrics, Sales, Social Media, Strategy /by Rebecca Caroe

I listened to the FIR podcast #790 and found that Cluetrain has been updated!

Cluetrain Original

New Clues published in January and numbers 52-67 apply to our marketing communications world in particular. [see below]

Oh, and also pay attention to number 100

You want to know what to buy? The business that makes an object of desire is now the worst source of information about it. The best source is all of us.

It will be hard to adhere to them – because marketers are busy fouling their own nest, much as we did with banner adverts, SEO and oh-so-many other internet tools which we over-exploited so the makers ended up changing the rules to exclude our actions.

Seems to me ever more of a message about the quality of content, ease of discovery and honesty of presentation.

Your marketing strategy for 2015

If your marketing strategy for this year even remotely resembles what you did for the past 5 years tear it up. Forget it. The businesses who will thrive understand Cluetrain, they present their wares at least in part in a Cluetrain-format and will reap the $$ rewards accordingly.

Just call us if you think you want to change and don’t know how.

Rant over.

Now, what do you think?

I’m going to get my whole team to read Cluetrain original next week as their homework!

New Clues for Marketers

The New Clues that directly relate to the practice of marketing. Numbered from the original. Read more

Writing a cold email that gets response

23 January, 2015/1 Comment/in B2B, B2C, Copywriting, Marketing /by Rebecca Caroe

It’s difficult – I know what I want from you when I send a cold email, but it is very hard to get you to respond.

Here’s a great tip – don’t ask for what you want.

Yes, seriously, don’t. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but trust me, I’m going to show you an insider’s trick.

So what do I ask for in a cold email?

Start with offering something for the recipient.

Take a read of this example from Chris Hines.

Cold Email text example

Do you see how Chris leaves you in no doubt about what he wants (it’s in the P.S.) but because he starts by offering me something I would value, when I get to reading the last lines my frame of mind is set to take up his offer.

The Principle of Reciprocity is a fundamental human value found in most societies, Chris uses this because he offers me a service (introducing me to his contacts) first knowing that when I get to reading the PS I will interpret it as a reciprocal requirement to complement his offer of service.

Cleverly written.

Now, can you use this in your business?

Buy a Workshop on how to use email for your business marketing.

How to market handcrafts from Myanmar

9 January, 2015/0 Comments/in B2B, Case Studies, Marketing ideas /by Rebecca Caroe

A new startup business in Myanmar (Burma) contacted us asking

Myanmar Handicrafts

How to promote small business for women who live in villages doing sewing

They sell to both tourists and local Burmese customers.

Marketing to the sales channel

The main challenge here for the women is that they are a disparate group and so clubbing together to make a single selling organisation who can take on the marketing and promotion to a range of distribution channels (web and retail shops mainly) is probably the best use of their time.

I did a search result for the words “Myanmar Handicrafts” and it’s clear there are plenty of existing online shops selling in this category as well as Facebook pages – which is good for international sales in the English language.

Steps to introduce their work to the channel

Get samples of their sewing work. Take photographs of each lady who made the product.
Contact each of these websites and send them two photos of the women and their sewing. Ask if they would like to sell your products in their shop.
After 1 week if they do not reply by email, telephone them.
If you can, ask to visit each shop owner with a bigger selection of sewing for them to look at and then face to face discuss if they will buy from you.

The basic method is to bring awareness of your product set to people who already have an audience of customers – this B2B route to market is faster than trying to build up your own audience of prospects.

Key issues will be

Quality control
Having sufficient stock to deliver in volume
Getting good payment terms
Scaling for growth – Kiva.org may be a good way to raise money

But by getting face to face with retailers I think this group of village women will stand a good chance of finding outlets for their work.

Downstream it may be worthwhile finding charities like Oxfam, Unicef and Save the Children to see if they’ll buy product for their online and catalogue business.

Email marketing subject line recommendations

8 January, 2015/0 Comments/in B2B, B2C, Case Studies, Direct Marketing, Email /by Rebecca Caroe

This week has been spent writing direct response emails for client campaigns.

And so it was delightful to receive one which has a really awesome subject line. You may want to emulate it.

Direct mail subject line text

What a timely question! This week I am doing the business planning for Creative Agency secrets during 2015. And so yes, the beginnings of my 2015 lead generation is now in place.

But it may not be for you!

Here are three more subject lines I’ve used this week

Subject: Ride the escalator to business success; don’t climb the stairs
Subject: You can run your business the way you always have….
Subject: Closing the loop

The last one is particularly effective for getting decisions from prospects and pushing them into buying.

Ask me about it….

Do you need help writing direct response emails?

Download our e-book on Writing direct response emails. It covers a range of scenarios from cold emails to driving sales and includes samples which you can use and adapt.

The blue icons opposite are part of our 8-Step New Business Development Methodology.

Click each icon to find more blog articles on the topic – educate yourself in modern marketing

Below you’ll find the full text of Mark’s email and the event he and David Baker are promoting.

FREE eBook: Cold Emails – Doing it right and netting yourself leads

12 November, 2014/0 Comments/in B2B, B2C, Content Marketing, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Email, Marketing, Sales /by Creative Agency Secrets Team

Email is a vital tool to growing your business. It’s non-invasive, interactive, and most of all – integral to business communications, so often get noticed.

One way to use email is through cold emailing, which is emailing to people you don’t know. It can come across as underhanded, but when done correctly it’s a marketing practice that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Find out about cold emails and how to write them in our free eBook…

Cold Emails – Doing it right and netting yourself leads

In this eBook, we’ll go through how to:

Write cold emails that encourage a response.
Tailor your cold emails to the right clients.
Personalise cold emails.

Looking for more insight on how to build great email campaigns, and sell directly to your audience? Contact Us!

Marketing a tree care surgery business

11 October, 2014/0 Comments/in Advertising, B2B, B2C, Case Studies, Marketing ideas /by Rebecca Caroe

I am looking to launch a tree care (trimming, removal) business and was looking for ideas on creative

Tree Surgery, Omagh All the smaller bits get mulched. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

advertising etc that can be done cheap.

You’ve come to the right place! You don’t say which town you are in but here are our best suggestions:

Join a BNI group. Business Networking International meetings are weekly and members refer new business to each other.
Get a business card and fridge magnet printed (use something like vistaprint.com) Hand these out to people you meet, clients. Give them 2 each and ask them to pass one to a friend.
Approach the local schools and ask them if they’d like to do a fund raiser. They promote your services to parents and you give back 10% of all revenues to the school for their own use. You will have to give them a poster or flier with all the details designed on it (the person who designs your business cards can do this at the same time).
Use Yellow pages to find all the property rental agencies in the town. Make an appointment to visit each one and ask to talk to the Property Managers. Tell them about your service and ask how you can get onto their approved suppliers list. These people regularly use services like yours for managed rental houses and apartments.

How do these sound? I picked them because you can do them all yourself as the business owner without specialist marketing skill – you just need to be able to explain your service and your prices.

If we can help you with other marketing things e.g. writing a website, running a newsletter, creating a customer database, online advertising, blogging, using social media – please ask.