Dear Reader,
Hurricane Henri blew into New York City this weekend.
Henri is like the relative no one wants to invite over to your house since he’s a nuisance and nobody likes him.
While some still refuse to acknowledge global warming, Henri’s mid-August visit to the northeastern US wearing his stormy anger proves that the world is changing.
What does this mean for your marketing?
Convey the urgency of preparing for this type of emergency to your customers and community.
My cable company sent me this email last week to alert me to Hurricane Henri’s arrival and what I should do to prepare for his visit.
While the intent was good, the email wasn’t as effective as it could have been for the following reasons:
- It was ‘from’ the billing department so it appeared to be related to my bill. Translation: If my account is up-to-date, I’ll ignore it.
- It referenced Hurricane Henri in general, not my specific location in the ‘Subject’ line. My cable company obviously knows where I live.
- It consisted of bland text. So nothing attracted my attention if I looked at more than the “From” and “Subject” lines. Color text and images catch and keep readers involved.
- It was signed by Customer Service. By contrast, have a member of your c-suite sign these communication to convey a sense of concern and urgency.
Note: Poor personalization causes people to unsubscribe from your list.
Actionable Marketing Tip:
- Add a P.S. to your email with a call-to-action. Make it stand out to attract attention.
Recommended Reading:
Actionable Marketing Lesson of the Week
It’s back-to-school season (aka: BTS) and the stores in my neighborhood are packed as if Santa showed up early this year.
After a year or more of being shuttered, schools are welcoming students to in-person classes. As a result, there’s a BTS shopping frenzy. When children show up to classes, they can’t wear their PJs.
According to the National Retail Federation, families with children in grades K to 12 plan to spend an average $848.90 per family in 2021. This is projected to total $37.1 billion, up $3.2 billion from 2020.
Concerned about their ability to find the necessary school supplies, parents and students are shopping earlier this year than they did last year.
Why?
To ensure they get the supplies they need before shelves are empty.
Recommended Reading:
From a retail perspective, examine the shift in how parents are shopping this year. About half of parents are shopping online and another quarter are purchasing at office supply stores.
And the big surprise is:
Another quarter of BTS customers are shopping at electronics stores.
When you look inside the average school backpack, according to Deloitte this purchasing makes sense. Since technology products account for almost 40% of school purchases, which are more expensive products than pencils and pens.
Recommended Reading:
Actionable Marketing Tip:
- Pay attention to market changes related to purchase timing and where customers choose to buy. This means monitoring what your customers and the greater market are doing. This year’s changes are motivated by a lack of supplies in 2020.
Recommended Reading:
Voice Notes
Across Apple, Spotify and YouTube, the podcast audience of US adults 12+ increased 17% to 80 million people from 2020 to 2021.
Edison Research released its Top 50 Podcasts for the year ending 2Q2021. Below are the Top 25 podcasts with their hosts based on listeners.
Tom Webster pointed out an important and interesting shift in podcast listening behavior. Many listeners have migrated from Apple’s iTunes to Spotify and YouTube. So, it may appear that your podcast listener base has declined.
<p<Why?
Because Spotify and YouTube don’t measure podcast downloads. Instead these platforms track streams when a visitor plays a podcast.
As a result, just looking at podcast downloads may understate your listenership.
Actionable Marketing Tips:
- Change your call-to-action in your podcast from “Listen to our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts” to your owned media. To do this, have a website or blog where you publish your podcast. Further, include the relevant artwork, a summary and related links.
- Create targeted messages based on where your listeners’ preferred podcast consumption platform. Translation: Create a set of messages tailored to Apple, Spotify and YouTube. This includes different artwork which will require additional time.
Recommended Reading:
Marketing Reads
► AMG Articles
-
Voice Marketing Challenges: What You Need To Know Now To Get HeardVoice marketing presents business challenges. Read this article to learn how you can overcome them and improve your overall marketing results.
Recommended Reading:
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10+ Guest Blogging Tips To Land Posts (Almost) Every TimeThis article will improve your ability to get quality Guest Blog Posts.
(BTW, AMG does NOT accept guest posts!)Recommended Reading:
NYC Marketing Minute
Last week a friend and I attended “Drink and Draw” at the Brooklyn Museum. In the Museum’s Biergarten, one of their resident artists curated drawing by attendees. (Note the branded handout with tips.)
Attendees received a black branded goodie bag filled with drawing materials and a drink ticket. On the tables were drawing boards with a variety of different types of drawing paper.
As the attendees drew one of 6 models, a DJ mixed tunes in the background. Don’t laugh—here’s the best of my drawings. I had a great time and am considering looking into courses near my home.
Recommended Reading:
Also make your goodie bags look cool like The Brooklyn Museum. So people will continue to use them and promote your business.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Plan Ahead: Mark Your Calendar
Join me at these marketing events:
► August 25, 2021 – Open Voice Network Privacy Guidelines and Capabilities Unique for Voice at 12:00pm ET.
► August 25, 2021 – Voice Den, Session 16 at 8:00pm ET
Voice Den, hosted by Dr. Teri FIsher, is the monthly happy hour of the voice community. Lot’s of fun for everyone.
P.S. Stay for the VR afterparty to network.
► September 8, 2021 – B2B Influencer Marketing Summit 3:30AM to 10:00AM ET (Note: It’s being presented in the UK hence the strange timing). BTW, I’m presenting on one of the panels with Gordon Glenister, author of Influencer Marketing Strategy.
Recommended Reading:
► September 13-15, 2021 – Digital Book WorldIn Nashville, Tennessee (BTW—I’m speaking here!)
► September 13 – 14, 2021 – Marketing AI Conference (Virtual Event) Use code COHEN20 for 20% off any pass. (This is not an affiliatead.)
Welcome new members: Sidney, Cecilia, Steve, Jon, Robert, Thi, Руслан, Joy, Kostuk, Mark, Eduardo, Me and Рома.
Happy Marketing,
Heidi
P.S.: If you like the content in this newsletter, would you please share it with a friend or colleague.
P.P.S: Did you miss last week’s AMG Newsletter?
Previous newsletters can be found in the AMG Newsletter Archive.
