When should you send email newsletters, blog posts or postcards? There are going to be some common sense tips here but my biggest tip is “when you can!”

I have been in marketing A LONG TIME and conventional wisdom gives us times that are set in stone for sending things out but I want to bust some myths and bring some sanity to the process!

When To Send Direct Mail Pieces or Postcards

I always heard that the best time to send direct mail pieces like postcards or hard copy newsletters was Thursday. The thinking was that if you went to the post office with first class mail, it would take a couple of days to get there so the person would receive it Saturday. So let’s bust this one wide open:

• They are talking about slowing down the mail service and so that could no longer be true
• Now-a-days we have mailing lists that don’t just include local peeps, we have connections with people all over the planet and they could get it Saturday, Tuesday or even the following Friday depending on where they live
• Are you sending direct with a stamp or is it going out bulk? Makes a difference you know in how long it will take to get there

So here is my take on this, send them out when you get done without worrying what day it is. If you are having an event, make sure they are in the mail at least a couple of months before for a “save the date” kind of thing with a follow up reminder no sooner than 3 weeks before the event. People are super busy and stressed and are not planning things months in advance anymore so you need to give them notice but remind them when the event is drawing near.

When To Post Blog Posts

Okay, here is a secret. I am writing this post because I have a hard and fast goal to post 3 times per week. In a perfect world, I would post on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday early in the morning to give me the best shot at getting sharing and readers. That having been said, stuff happened and this is not going to post until well after dinner time. SOOO, had I decided that posting on the “right” day was more important than getting something out there, I would have waited to send this until next Tuesday (5 days away).

In the real world, many of you will find this post on the internet by doing a search. You will not know that it posted on the right day, but the wrong time. So, my advice is (again) post em while you have them and have a plan to post on the right days for you (check your google analytics) but DO NOT wait for the perfect time if won’t work for you today!

When To Send Email Newsletters

You should send email newsletters Tuesdays for sure! The people are over the weekend and ready to read. Or Saturday, definitely! Then they are at home and have more free time. Oh, oh, oh in the morning, but not too early or they will be in shower, not too middly or they will be on the Facebook. Rats, are they B2B customers or B2C customers? Stay at home moms or small business owners?

Get my point? You should have a plan of when to send your newsletters (weekly, monthly) and a general idea when your open rates are best from your email provider BUT DO NOT NOT send them because you missed an arbitrary deadline you set for yourself. You are not behind, sending it today instead of yesterday puts you ahead of your competitors who who are waiting for the perfect time to send theirs (ps – there is never a perfect time!)

When Should You Post On Social Media?

I saw a study that said the perfect time to post on Facebook is 11am. Okay, 11am my time (Mountain) or 11am Eastern (even though lots of my peeps are out here). So I figure out the 11am thing (going with Eastern because 47 percent of the US population lives there while only 5.4 percent live in my timezone) but darn, I am going to be teaching a class then so, guess I will forget it for today and plan on doing it tomorrow when I can hit the “right” time.

Thinking that there is a hard and fast rule is a sure way to let procrastination and sloth into your life. Much like getting pregnant never comes at a good time, it is never the right time to post on social media every day. What I do is schedule it for first thing in the morning, check my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube, then go on with the rest of my day. I schedule about 20 minutes tops. If I have time later in the day I will pop back in, but better to have some solid time early before the day gets away from me.

So why this rant so late in the day? Last week I had another marketing person approach me and say that we HAD to get a press release out by Monday. Okay, but Monday was a national holiday so many people would not be at work. Sooo what about Tuesday? Well Tuesday was the day back and people would be inundated with left over messages and mail so we looked at Wednesday.

What became clear to me was that no thought what-so-ever had gone into this scheduling at all and that common sense was lost. I want common sense back! A blog post like this one will not die on the vine just because it is going out late, it is well SEO’d, pretty long and full of information. I am proud of the fact that I am accomplishing my 3X per week blogging goal and did not give myself permission to fail.

So, if you get anything out of this post at all I would hope you take heart that I teeter on the edge of failure like everyone, but fight on to the end. I keep integrity by doing what I say will. AND I would rather send out 20 okay blog posts, emails or postcards than never send one because the time is wrong, or there are misspellings or I am working on getting it “just right”. Instead of just right, just do it!

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So I have been able to talk to a BUNCH of new people lately (Hi Emily of Mind and Body Enrichment and Jacksonville Realtors!!!) lately. I have heard that small business owners are getting ready for a GREAT new year. I have heard that they are PASSIONATE about servicing their customers well AND they are ready to take care of their clients EVEN better. I have heard that they are EXCITED about growing their business and helping even more people have great lives!

Every small business owner feels that they are not doing enough for their customers. They have missed following up on a lead. They have not done every single thing that they could ever possibly do for their clients. They have missed a call or an email. They have not prospected enough, they have not done enough trade shows, open houses, seminars, emails, postcards, etc.

What they have done is BELIEVE in their businesses and their customers! They have tried very hard to do a GREAT job in a market that tells them EVERY day that the sky is falling!

If you are a small business owner you are doing a good job (I know – no one ever tells you that, so I am telling you right now!) You are doing the best that you can, with what you know how to do, with the time that you have. 

Keep it up and continue to do what you believe in! I realized lately that I believe in a lot of things that I am proud of:

• You SHOULD buy American (when possible)
• I like mom and pop stores
• I respect businesses that have customer service centers in America (I grew up in Western Pennsylvania – I buy American cars, I try not to shop at Walmart, I think we should encourage Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners)
• I AM proud that I am working with people who are excited about their small businesses

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So I got my marketing materials in yesterday – YAY! I feel like a real marketer again now!

I have a very distinctive look and feel to the items so that they “all look like my stuff” and I really like the one photo that I used as the focal point of the pieces (it is a group of realtor looking people, from diverse backgrounds, who are dressed professional casual – I know too much information BUT this is the only time I am going to make you listen so bear with me!) The color scheme is neon green and black and is very distinctive and will be easy to use in numerous pieces.

When you have your logo and marketing materials designed you should LOVE them! You should also ask other people what they think since you are trying to appeal to humans in general. I had one person (Pam, our closing coordinator) who didn’t like my realtor group, but in general everyone else either liked them or was neutral. I can live with that! While I DO care about what people think I also have to take into consideration that personal taste does come into play sometimes and what I like will not be what everyone likes.

That having been said…. I used a different picture on the front of my tri-fold brochure that has caused SEVERAL people to recoil in horror and say they don’t like how the one person looks. That is not good AT ALL. She doesn’t offend me, but my message is getting lost in general reaction (who knew!). Anyways, she has got to go!

I will be resending the file with a new picture. It will cost about $10 to change it since I ordered only 25 copies to start. That is one of my big tips, order small quantities to make sure you like how things turn out. Imagine if I had ordered 10,000 of them!!! I would be hesitant to send them out so they would last even LONGER. I would develop a reply to people who hated her, “well she isn’t that bad and I have 10,000 to use so please try to get past it”.

Public opinion will never be 100% on your side, BUT if you hear something more than a couple of times (we would have liked more communication, our flyer box is always empty, my clients liked it but there was too much wallpaper) that is something you need to fix TODAY!

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What is the one thing you can do to give yourself instant credibility? Have some FABULOUS collateral made!

When I started as a realtor the one thing that I did which helped me most was to design some really impressive marketing materials. When I went on a listing appointment I could feel confident that my materials would be a great representation of my level of committment and professionalism. That committment included providing great representation to my clients and to spending all my time learning my real estate skills, not dealing with the fact that I was a new agent.

What kinds of collateral do you need? The most basic answer is you MUST have a great business card. I am not a fan of the head shot cards, enough said. What you need to make sure you have is enough contact information that someone could reach you by whatever means they prefer (mail, phone or email). Having 3 or 4 ways to reach you via phone means that they may have to have to chase you down and that is never a good sign!

Tri-fold Brochure – Whether you are a small business owner or a realtor this one HUGE. It allows you to give a comprehensive look at your background and credentials as well as all the products and services you can offer your clients. It is great for leaving behind after a sales appointment, listing presentation or a buyer appointment. It is also good for networking events and for open houses where you might want to have something more than a sales sheet to leave behind. I prefer to have my Tri-folds act as a mailer also so that if I want to send them I do not have to put them in an envelope when mailing.

Presentation Cover – On any sales call you make you need to have a professionally designed cover that matches your marketing materials. Use it for sales proposals, RFPs, listing presentations and buyer appointment books.

Oversized Postcard – Last but certainly not least you should have a postcard that you can pop into the mail. I recommend having a BUNCH of different ones depending on the situation that you encounter, BUT to start, get one good solid postcard that covers most of your products and services. He

How much of each should you order? This is a tough one since ordering larger quantities can reduce the per piece price BUT with the new color print shops online I would not order terribly expensive or large quantities of any one item. Your services may change and if you have thousands of pieces you will have to throw them out. Also I have done jobs in the past for clients who ordered REALLY top of the line materials and then were hesitant to send them out – if you have to think for one moment whether you can afford to send a prospect a card or brochure you have spent too much!

If you can’t tell I am a HUGE fan of having professional marketing materials and think EVERYONE in business should have them also!

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