Last week I was just about to mail out an important reference letter I wrote for a colleague, when I caught an awful error that could have jeopardized his application.

As I placed the letter in the envelope, I noticed that the printing company had made an error in one of the letterhead batches they had printed. The colors in logo were so faded that it looked as if there was no logo at all. And I was just a few seconds away from sealing the envelope when I noticed it!

(GASP HERE)

Because that error didn’t happen to you, you probably aren’t as shocked as I was. But consider this…

What if you were mailing out an important message to several clients and after having dropped the letters into the mailbox, you realize the letterhead was so poorly printed the clients couldn’t even make out your logo?

What do you think the initial reaction of your clients would be when they open it?

• “Hmmm… No letterhead, who in the world is this letter from?”
• “This looks pretty anonymous, this must be junk mail”
• “This looks pretty unprofessional, what is this about?”

Email has evolved to a point where it has replaced regular snail mail in day to day communications with customers.

When you send plain text email or unbranded email, you are making the same mistake I almost made when I sent my colleague’s reference letter. You allow the recipient to put their guard up and question your business, you allow them to question the validity of message in your email, as well as your professionalism in the field.

Next time you send out an email, make sure it is properly branded, just as you would with your letterhead and any other marketing material.

…And how you can apply the same strategies in your business.
If you haven’t started paying attention to how Obama and Hillary are marketing their campaigns, you should start today. Especially if their results are ones you dream about.
So what was the Hillary Camp’s email marketing tactic that brought her $4M in 24 hours and $6M in 48 hours?
Branding with Bill. Some argue that Bill Clinton harms Hillary’s campaign, but you can’t deny the powerful brand that Bill Clinton carries. Hillary, knowing this, used Bill in her email marketing campaign.
Last week Bill Clinton sent out an email that said, “Can you help put Hillary in the position to win Pennsylvania with your contribution today?” (read the letter)
In a marketing e-zine called Clickz, it was reported that 45,000 individuals contributed to the campaign. Not only did Hillary reach her goal at earning $4M in 24 hours, she earned $6M in 48 hours.
Obama tried a different strategy from the traditional campaign strategies of decades of past party candidates. Not many people thought his tactic would work. The change was small, but it had a HUGE impact– $28M of contributions raised, kind of impact.
Here’s what Obama did. Instead of requesting donations of a minimum of $100, he asked for less. By lowering the possible donation amounts to $25, $50, or $75, he gave an opportunity to those who normally don’t donate, due to the large sums normally requested to donate. Once a donation is given, the Obama team continues to market to the individual them getting them contribute even more. All of this is done with a targeted direct mail and email/online marketing campaign.
What are 3 things you can do today to help you exceed your business goals, just like Hillary and Obama?

1. Strengthen your brand
   You might not have Bill Clinton under your wing to help out, but there are small things you should be doing to strengthen your brand. One of which, is to make sure your brand is visible in all your marketing material. As your face, hair, and the clothing you wear, helps people recognize “who” you are, your brand helps people recognize “who” your business is. Being recognizable and unforgettable is ¾ of the battle of winning new clients.
2. Aim for repeat business
   By lowering his donation amounts, Obama opened himself up to a whole new market, a repeat business market. If you give people the opportunity to do business with you, they will want to do MORE business with you (of course, given that their initial experience was a positive one).
3. Use branded email
   Both candidates used email branding in their online marketing campaigns.

Plain text email looks everything but Presidential.

I feel really compelled to share something personal that happened to me last week that had me doing back flips.

It has nothing to do with branding, but this is BIGGER and MORE IMPORTANT than any marketing strategy.

Here it is:
Last week, my wife gave birth to our very first child. After 29 hours of labor, my wife, who has since become my hero, brought Isaac Suarez into this world. Isaac is a whopping 6 lbs 2 oz of JOY, and I am just exploding with excitement as I share this news with you.

How is this more important than marketing? I mean, what do you care if I’m excited about my new born, right?

Even if I might be a total stranger to you, I would go out a limb and say that you do care.

Judging from all the happy wishes and congratulations I’ve received from clients, I like to think your reaction would be no different.

Why would you care? As much as customers want to know more about products and services, customers also want to know about the people in their community they do business with.

When you exchange stories and events that are important to you, you start to encourage a trust and familiarity that is pure and honest. No preconceived consumer loyalty program can match this.

And, this is all done by simply opening yourself up to customers so they can actually learn more about you. Also, this will help you learn more about them.

It’s also possible that you couldn’t care less about how excited I am about my new bouncing baby boy and that’s perfectly fine with me too. I just know that sometimes speaking with clients about other things, besides business, really helps me form a better connection and makes working all the more enjoyable.

So what’s new with you?

Success to you and everyone that touches your life,

Ron