How to Run a Successful Marketing Campaign and Establish Your Brand Without Spending a Penny

Marketing is hard work. From networking to creating the best marketing collateral possible to always thinking ahead of the best ways to present your company to your potential clients. Most of that costs a lot of money. Even those occasional lunches with prospects can add up to a serious expense.

And as much as those costs are unavoidable some forms of marketing can be done at practically zero cost but often with greater results. And they can help you build a position within your industry and establish your brand in the eyes of your clients and prospects.

One of those forms is email marketing.

But before we go any further, let me ask you if you notice and read any of those newsletters that you receive every week? Or do you just glance at them while you hit delete key at the same time?

And have you ever considered why those newsletters never gained your attention? Why you do not anticipate them, wait for the next edition to arrive?

The answer lies in a single most important rule of email marketing:

Offer value to your recipients. Instead of writing about you and your company, how great and busy you were recently and how great price reductions you offer at the moment, send something useful to your readers.

It could be a tip, a suggestion how they can improve their lives or businesses in the area your company works. Or maybe a list of useful links, a listing of events, courses, workshops or video tutorials that might help your recipients in the area you specialize. In short, you have to try to help your readers.

And why this marketing strategy is so successful?
It is simply based on one of the strongest principles of business, givers gain. Share your knowledge with others, help them continuously and they will want to help you back.

But before you begin, remember those few key rules to a successful campaign:

1. Send your emails regularly. If you set that it’s going to be a weekly tip, make sure that it goes out on the same day every week. Create a situation where your recipients anticipate the newsletter to arrive.

2. Never send any emails to a prospect without asking for permission first. If you do so you may be considered a spammer and you know yourself what most people think of them.

3. Do not spend too much time on the design. Even a plain text email will work if it’s content offers value to your readers. Although if you can there is nothing wrong with having a nicely designed newsletter of course. Just remember to put value first.

4. Be absolutely sure that you really offer top value information to your readers. Do not send 3 useful tips and then just an info on you again. Once you embark on this journey make sure that you deliver the promise with every issue of your newsletter.

5. In spite of the fact that you shouldn’t write about yourself always include your contact details and a short note on what your company does. Remember that people who receive it might have coma across your newsletter by chance and may not remember you and your business straight away.

The other reason is that if the email contains a value to the prospect he is most likely to keep it and remember about it. So the next time he will be in need of the services you offer he may simply dig out your newsletter and contact you through it.

5+. Remember that every person you encounter is a potential recipient of the newsletter.
Just like you should consider everyone you meet a potential client. What I do is asking any business person I get in touch with if they would like to receive a copy of our newsletter. Once I explain what I write about in there most of them say yes. They see the value of it for themselves and their businesses.

It does take time to see results from an email campaign. You shouldn’t expect any after first few emails sent out but slowly you will build your brand and establish your position in the eyes of your prospects.

And when they are ready to buy they may think of you as you have been offering them a lot already.