Avoid the Top 10 Mistakes in PURL / Cross Media Campaigns

Cross media campaigns and PURL (personalized URL) technology are becoming more common, but having any old purl doesn’t mean you will drive ROI…. With experience in hundreds of campaigns we’ve developed a great sense of the mistakes made and what attributes you’ll need for a successful campaign!

Mistake #1 - Don’t start with the business result in mind. Before you start any campaign details define the outcomes. Is it lead generation, cross selling, customer loyalty? Put specific metrics to what a successful campaign would be.

Mistake #2 – Don’t segment your audience. With the power of variable data printing and personalized URL’s you can easily deliver a different message to each client segment. Use the power of the technology to drive results.

Mistake #3 – Don’t clearly identify your call to action? With every customer communication that you send put yourself in the recipient’s shoes and ask yourself “what do you want me to do?” Make sure that you clearly state your call to action. Log on now. Click Here to Register. Download Here

Mistake #4 – Using cheap data. If you use bad data you will get poor results. Be sure your internal lists are clean, or use a data complier that consistently updates their information. If you purchase cheap list you will pay to print, mail, and email prospects that will never get the message.

Mistake #5 – Ineffective print media. Many cross media campaigns start with an outbound direct mail piece. If the recipient never looks at the piece the whole campaign breaks down. Have your direct mail professionally designed and copy written to ensure success.

Mistake #6 – Ineffective outbound email. Make sure that your outbound email is optimized for the most common email systems. Avoid designs that can’t be seen without “downloading Images”. Also, be sure that your message will not get caught in spam filters.

Mistake #7 – Overly complex personalized URL’s (pURL’s). Remember that the goal of a pURL is to engage customers, gather information, and measure results. By putting long flash intros, or an excessive number of links the respondent will not know what action to take. Keep it simple!

Mistake #8 – Asking too many survey questions. If you want to keep respondents engaged keep your survey to less than five questions. We recommend keeping it to three questions. Ask only the most important pieces of information. If you are respectful of the respondent’s time you will be allowed to ask more questions in the future.

Mistake #9– Don’t engage your sales team. The most common result of cross media purl campaigns is that it generates interest in your product or service. Once the recipient has logged on it is essential that the leads are sent to your sales team. Studies show that conversion rates are significantly higher when a lead is contacted within 4 hours.

Mistake #10 – Expecting results with a single touch. The most effective campaigns are those campaigns that use multiple channels to communicate, and they have a series of touches. We recommend a minimum of three direct mail touches and two email contacts.

Learn more about direct marketing and personalized URL's by visiting Allegra Arizona at http://www.allegraaz.com/

Search Engine Optimization 101

What is Search Engine Optimization

or SEO?

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a process marketers and web developers use to create or upgrade websites, making them attractive to popular search engines like Google, Yahoo! and MSN. The goal of search engine optimization is to produce a high-ranking site in the “organic” (also called “natural” or “algorithmic”) search results produced by search engines. For example, when you type in a search term in Google, the organic results are those that occur below the sponsored links and local business results in the main body of the search results page (SERP).

How Do Search Engines Rank Websites?
Search engines use website crawlers (also called robots or spiders) to find and rank pages that match their unique set of algorithmic values. These values are defined by each individual search engine and can change at any time.

When search engines crawl your website, it should contain all of the key algorithmic values for which they are searching. What are search engines looking for? Well, search engine algorithms are one of the best-kept secrets in the industry - no one knows with absolute certainty what is contained in the algorithms. We do, however, know that search engines rank websites based on two main categories: on-page factors and off-page factors.

What are On-page Factors?
On-page factors include anything on a web page that can be manipulated to include keywords, such as the title, meta description, meta keywords, H1 heading tags, image file names and ‘alt’ tags, body copy, anchor link text, and multimedia file attributes. Optimizing on-page factors starts with researching and identifying the keywords that will attract your target market. By including those keywords (also called optimization) in the on-page factors of your website, you will increase your chances of appearing high above your competitors in the search engine results pages, or SERPs. These days, we tend to optimize for one to two keywords per page given how competitive it is to rank for a given term.

What are Off-page Factors?
Off-page factors are those such the number and quality of incoming links, overall ‘buzz’ on the web, and overall web footprint. These are external factors that you have less control over, but still play a large role in your website’s ranking. The quality of incoming links to your website is probably one of the most important criterion used to determine your site’s ranking. Inbound links using anchor text that contain your target keywords are considered high quality links, along with incoming links that come from long-established, authoritative sites that cover a similar topic and have a high Page Rank.

Which Are More Important? On-page or Off-page Factors?
On-page factors used to be the most important values used to determine rankings. Many websites who built and optimized their sites a few years ago using only on-page factors are now finding that they do not rank as highly as they once did. This is because of the frequent changes search engines make to their algorithms. In recent months, the importance of off-page factors has taken a significant lead over on-page factors, particularly with Google, which has more than 72% of the online market share of searches worldwide.
When optimizing your site, however, you must keep in mind that both on-page and off-page factors are critical – you won’t have a high-ranking site for long if you don’t do both well!

About Sheila Kloefkorn
Sheila Kloefkorn is President of KEO Marketing a Tempe, AZ based agency. As President, Sheila is responsible for developing comprehensive online solutions for businesses of all sizes across the United States, and more than 100 countries around the world. Some of the companies that Sheila has provided online strategy for include: General Motors, FedEx, Profiles International, Esselte Corporation, i/o Data Centers and many more. Prior to founding KEO Marketing, she was Vice President of New York based YouthStream Media Networks, which helped Fortune 1000 clients, including brands like L'Oreal, Helene Curtis, Motorola, Best Buy, and Disney, and others, reach 18-25 year olds through innovative traditional and online programs. She also held a senior position with iCrossing, a leading search and digital marketing agency, served as President of the Phoenix Chapter of the American Marketing Association and was the founding Co-Chair of SEMPO AZ (Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization AZ).
About KEO Marketing

KEO Marketing specializes in search engine marketing and optimization, online advertising, social networking, and affiliate marketing. KEO Marketing is dedicated to building an effective online strategy that is both search informed and built around your existing and future offline marketing initiatives.

KEO Marketing delivers innovative marketing solutions designed to help your business achieve tangible results. Specializing in online marketing strategy and solutions, KEO Marketing has helped Fortune 1000 companies as well as small and medium sized businesses achieve their marketing and sales goals.

We start by understanding your business and your marketing plans. We build on that with research to identify how your customers find your products and services. Then we tailor a strategy for you based on proven experience and a thorough understanding of the online marketplace. We believe it's more than having a beautiful website. It's about making that website work for you.

It's our business to make heads or tails of new media, Web 2.0, social networking, search engine optimization, search marketing, email marketing, demand generation, blogging, podcasting, and more.

We take that knowledge and put it to work for your unique business situation and environment.

Manage Soft Cost to Save Money

The most common corporate mantra today is "Fiscal Responsibility". Managing expenses is more important than it has ever been. One key area that companies are examining is how to drive cost out of the print marketing budget.

One challenge that many companies have is that they do not know what their true cost is. Often print buyers and marketers only look at the cost of printing. This mentality can often lead to ordering larger quantities than you need so that the "price per piece is low." Does it really matter if the price per piece is low if you have to throw out half the print run due to obsolescence?


Consider moving to a supply chain system that allows for on demand printing of marketing materials. It is also important to consider the soft cost involved in managing printed material. According to industry studies the soft cost of projects represent six to seven times as much cost as the printing itself.


When looking at a supply chain system to manage marketing collateral consider each step of the document lifecycle. Be sure to address those items that fall "below the water line". Consider soft costs like creation, distribution, fulfillment, and waste. By addressing these items you will see the greatest reduction in expense.

Many printers and marketing service providers now have robust tools to support these needs. Often, these tools are web based document management systems that allow you to manage the creation, production, and distribution of key marketing materials. In addition, this process is often tied together with an on demand production model.

For a look behind the scenes of how an online document management system works you can visit the Allegra Print & Imaging Online Order Center and log in as a guest.

URL: http://www.allegraaz.com/ (click client log in)
User Name: demo@TheOnlinePrintCenter.com
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