Marketing mailings

fredjclaus

Direct Mail marketing is not the best and most effective way to advertise your business, but it has been said that a letter, followed by a phone call is a great way to get your foot in the door with the correct person, and possibly get a meeting with them. I'm trying to tweek my marketing, so please let me know what you think of this.

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Letter begins

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With the economy the way it is these days, everyone needs a little edge. You need that something extra to get the job done and help to close the deal. In hospitality, that edge is photographs. Good professional quality images of your properties can make all the difference when potential guests are looking to book a reservation.

Photographer - Fred J Claus has over 15 years of experience in commercial photography. It is this experience that makes the images created by Fred J Claus the professional quality you deserve. If you hire Fred J Claus, you will be hiring a committed photographer who is willing to go the extra mile to make the images he produces stand out.

Next time you are in the market for photographs of your hotel, keep Fred J Claus in mind. Whether it’s photographs for marketing/promotional purposes on the internet, in a brochure, or in house advertising, Fred J Claus can provide the quality images you need at rates you will appreciate. Give us a call today to discuss any opportunities you may have available. You can contact our offices at 716-550-3897 or by fax at 716-239-4217.

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Letter ends

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Wachel

Below is my stab at it...keep in mind that I did this at midnight and didn't proof any of it. Just my 2¢ for what it's worth...may be worth nothing!:D

I tried to use more "impact" words and to make it sound like they need you in order to stand out. In the final paragraph you don't want to wimp out on them and say..."next time", "keep us in mind". That sounds like an afterthought. "If you are ready" or similar makes it seem like they aren't doing all they can to be competitive but if they hire you THEN they will be.

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In the current economy, everyone needs an edge. A business must stand apart from the crowd and be noticed. In hospitality, that edge is in the form of photographs. Professional images showcasing your property will entice future guests and help you gain the advantage over the competition.

Photographer - Fred J Claus has over 15 years of experience in commercial photography. It is this extensive experience that will make your images the professional quality you deserve. When you hire Fred J Claus, you are hiring a committed photographer who will work with you to understand your needs and vision. Fred J Claus goes the extra mile to produce the highest quality images of your property. View our work at www.putwebsitehere.com

If you are ready to outshine the competition contact Fred J Claus. Whether you require images for the internet, a brochure, or in-house advertising, Fred J Claus will provide the quality images you require at competitive rates. Schedule a consultation to discuss how we can help you enhance your hotel's image.

716-550-3897 | fax: 716-239-4217 | email: abcd@efg.com
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fredjclaus

Gort, Great advise as usual. Michael, thanks for making the letter pop, I'm glad I posted it here instead of just sending them off.

Gort,

You mentioned you personally would do this as an email. How do you get them to open the email instead of just deleting it as spam? I know for me personally if the subject line sounds like a spam letter, I just delete it without even opening it. I know emails would definately be cheaper, but it the reading it factor that I'm thinking about now. I was also thinking about faxing them, but I'm pretty sure there is a law about that similar to telemarketing.

ColoradoSkier

Fred - I do email marketing for a living. Don't have time to dive into a lot right now, but if you decide to go this route, bounce your creative (completed HTML email) off me and I'll give you feedback.

fredjclaus

Thaks Glort, for your honesty in answering my questions. I do want to build my business, but it seems like the work I'm experienced in is event photography and there is not much of that around here right now. I was looking for something to help out when I don't have much work. I see your points, and I will cosider your suggestions.

Thanks again for your honesty, I can't tell you how many people I showed that letter do, and they said "it looks good. Go for it".

Snowgirl

If you end up going the email route, it might be worthwhile to subscribe to Constant Contact. If your mailing list is small, it's a free or very cheap service and it allows you to customize emails.

I do a lot of PR work - particularly newsletters - and use Constant Contact a lot. People get a letter or newsletter personally addressed

e.g. Dear Fred,
This week at .....

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etc.

And, of course, the killer subject line.

I did a media release about periodontists and oral health with the subject line" Dentists help prevent heart attacks and strokes" - think even a jaded editor would at least open it to check it out?

Good luck whichever way you decide to go. Keep us posted.

kd2

When I was researching market mailings a few years ago, I read a statistic which said that postcards have a much, much higher percentage for being read than a letter in an envelope. It was something like "postcards get read almost immediately" as opposed to letters which can sit for days. If I recall, the statistic said postcards had something like an 80% or 85% chance of being read immediately.