"Snail" Mail or Email - It's Time for Target Marketing!

Just a normal neighborhood in Madras, New Mexico. But you'd expect nothing less in an artist community!

by Skip Cohen

​Over the years, I've written a lot about the importance of reaching out to your target audience. For most of you, there's no such thing as too much contact. So, I jumped into Google and asked: How often do you need to reach your target audience for consumer recall?

Back in my Polaroid days in the 80s, that number was 2-3 times for any campaign. But ramp up the noise in our lives to today, and the number is substantially higher! Here's what Google A.I. shared:

The reality of the challenge is that most small business owners don't have the time or the resources to ramp up to 3-5 impressions a week via email or "snail" mail blasts. But those are only two of the tools you have, and there's plenty of help out there if you know where to look.

The recipe for success is a combination of direct mail, email blasts, and several components from the target on the right. This is where community involvement, editorial, advertising, publicity, and social media, just to name a few all play a role.

Marathon's "Power of Three" marketing programs: Whether your target audience is high school seniors or family portraiture, Marathon's got support for photographers down to a science.

Family Marketing: Most of you involved in family portraiture typically operate as one-person businesses. You're working hard to capture and create beautiful portraits, but you're spread too thin to complete everything. You're doing as much as you can find the time for, but getting the word out to your target audience isn't always strong enough. Well, Marathon has the answer for you - their Family Marketing program.

They give you three mailings to your target audience with an optional fourth. They'll help you design an effective marketing piece, ranging from accordion-style to gift cards to postcards. They'll work with you to set the dates for each mailing. They'll even help you fine-tune the mailing list and mail each series of marketing pieces for you.  With the 1st Mailing: Create Awareness, 2nd Mailing: Present Your Offer, 3rd Mailing: Book Now, and the optional 4th mailing: Last Chance reminder.

These 3-part promotions (with the optional fourth) are limited to only one studio per marketing area, so call (800) 228.0629 NOW to make sure your preferred ZIP Codes are available! ZIP Codes are protected on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Senior Marketing: They follow the same formula with high school seniors and their "Power of Three" program. And again, you have exclusivity within your marketing area! You've nothing to lose by making a phone call to Marathon for more information and an opportunity to expand your reach and raise the bar on your marketing efforts.

Over and over, I've seen photographers discuss how hard they're working to elevate their skill set. They've got the passion to capture and create stunning family portraits - but so often, they're missing the traffic at their door! Combine Marathon's expertise with your own ability to increase brand awareness through targeted marketing and enhanced consumer recall!

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