September 26, 2022 I might have the wrong date. But, I mean, it’s sometime this year, right?  But, seriously, how much do you enjoy getting birthday gifts, celebrations … and cards. The real true blue, actual paper kind, that goes in this thing called mail?  My wife Kathy’s birthday is this Friday, my wife of 15 years and the love of my life, my partner in life, love and success, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to show her how special she is. One way is to write it down. Today, we’re going to talk about the power of birthday marketing. Admit it. You love it when you can saunter up to Starbucks, Dutch Bros. or Dunkin’ Donuts and declare your day of birth for a free cup of joe. How about receiving a real card in your mailbox? Even more exciting! And in today’s world, shocking, I know. 😂 But you have the power to do the same for your customers. And today, you’re about to learn how. So grab that morning coffee and let’s go!  So, Kathy’s birthday is coming up Friday (she turns 29), and as I was planning her birthday, I remembered how powerful “Birthday Marketing” is! How many birthday cards do you get in the mail? Not a lot, right? But you love opening each one, right? What if the birthday cards your clients get came from you? Let’s explore how this can work, and I’ll show you the tools we use to automate this, in a system called Mailbox Power. You may be cynical, thinking direct mail isn’t worth the time and money. But statistics disagree. Some sources suggest the ROI on direct mail is over 110%, even beating our text and email marketing. With birthday marketing, you have the opportunity to: 1. Personalize your marketing. Sending a birthday message connects you directly to your client and demonstrates thoughtfulness. 2. Reestablish brand recognition. Keep them remembering you for when they need your services or product. 3. Promote your product. Because the birthday message includes an offer, it will renew their interest in your brand. Now, what if you combined the power of birthday marketing through direct mail, with a tool that personalizes AND sends cards out automatically?  No, it’s not complicated. It’s easy. You can: Generate new customers Stay top of mind Earn referrals Get 100% open rate Target qualified leads Automate your follow up. This is the system called Mailbox Power, our affordable direct mail partner that we use with Agent CRM to reduce chargebacks, generate referrals, policy renewals and more. It comes with professionally crafted campaigns with unlimited free postcards so you don’t have to be overwhelmed with tech, setting up automated mailers or get confused by how to create a card that captures attention. So, look at what we’ve done. We’ve combined direct mail ROI + birthday marketing + automation = A Guaranteed Win. If you want to know more, just click on this link. You can do this! It’s easy!  This week, for our content prompt, we’re trying something a little different. In the spirit of giving, I want you to try posting about a charity or cause that means something to you. Perhaps it is one that you will give 10% of proceeds from a particular service or promotion. Let’s combine this idea with a “fill in the blank” post. These are powerful in building connection and increasing engagement. The prompt this week is: “My favorite charity / cause is _________” Here’s how you can use it: Create a written post within IG/FB or Canva. Just type directly into the post and choose your background. Use the prompt above as the text. In the caption, talk about what is your favorite charity and why, then add the promotion you’re doing for a week, or month, that will give a percentage to this cause. Close with a CTA that invites your audience to list and tag their favorite causes as well. Let’s spread some love! Plus, you will humanize your brand as one that cares within your community and is happy to give to a charitable cause. Remember, keep it light, engaging and in the spirit of community! It will be a gift to all!  52 Digital Marketing Tips – Marketers Guide – I love good overviews of marketing tips. Skim this one for 52 ideas and see which one makes a lightbulb go off in your mind for your business. Read More NYT subway ads unlock Spelling Bee in purpose-driven campaign | Marketing Dive – This is so cool. I’ve seen it on the subway recently. This trend is here to stay: marketing using a cause to cross-promote both their brand AND a cause / charity they care about. How can you do the same? Read More You could soon receive even more emails after shopping on Amazon | CNN Business – Remember how we’ve mentioned how you can crush your goals with email marketing? Well, Amazon seems to have noticed too. They are actually providing email marketing to sellers! Now that’s capitalizing on that 40:1 ROI. Have you started more email marketing yet? Read More In closing, let’s make someone’s day this week. Birthday or no birthday, we can do something nice – an easy gesture of an extra errand for our loved one, a surprise coffee for our workmates, or a gift for a parent. I’m going to be focusing on the day I said something like this to the woman who is forever a gift to me, Kathy:  Happy birthday, Kathy! You are my dream come true. And here’s to your marketing success! See you next week! Alex Branning Branning Group alex@branninggroup.com |