The quarterly consumer surveys sponsored by the Garden Writers Association are always enlightening, and the 2011 Early Spring Gardening Trends Research Report is no exception. One trend that stood out for me… (Click on the headline for more…)
Little-Known Resources For Facebook Marketers
For all of the interest in Facebook marketing, the social media giant doesn’t seem to do a particularly good job of marketing itself. Not only does Facebook offer more marketing opportunities than most people realize, but they provide quite a few helpful resources are available – if you know where to look. One good place to start… (Click on the headline for more…)
A Systematic Process For Writing Effective Advertising
Whether you’re developing your own advertising, or reviewing ads someone else has created for you, it helps to understand the building blocks of a compelling ad. The following systematic approach has always served me well, no matter what type of advertising I’m writing: (Click on the headline for more…)
Good Advice For Marketing To New and Non-Gardeners
I love the way garden industry retail sales consultant Ian Baldwin always makes important concepts so simple to grasp, and his column in the April 2011 issue of Garden Center magazine is no exception. Titled A Cry For Help: Show reluctant shoppers the benefits of gardening, the article provides a blueprint for winning more non-avid gardeners as customers. Baldwin offers suggestions for addressing the 7 main factors that, according to a National Gardening Association survey, “reluctant gardeners” say would encourage them to do more gardening:
(Click on the headline for more…)
Promoting Your Business With LinkedIn
At one time, LinkedIn was largely populated by job-hunters looking for an efficient way to network. Over time, it’s evolved to serve more wide-ranging needs of the business community. If you’re selling to businesses, one way to reach your target audience is with LinkedIn Groups.
Among the larger Groups that reach garden industry professionals are:
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How the Benefits of Social Media Marketing Are Changing
Social Media Examiner’s third annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report has just been published, and shows some interesting trends. The comprehensive survey of a cross-section of marketers reveals how they’re using social media today, and what they intend to focus on over the coming year.
When respondents were questioned about the benefits of social media marketing, here’s how their answers stacked up: (Click on the headline for more…)
Strategies Niche Marketers Use To Compete With Mass Merchants
One article in particular caught my eye in this month’s Internet Retailer magazine: By expertly tending their narrow online niches, specialty retailers fend off the mass merchants. Sound like a familiar concern?
It’s always interesting to see what our industry can learn from merchants in non-gardening categories. The Internet Retailer article offered a couple informative examples. (Click on the headline for more…)
How to Provide Feedback on Copy and Design
When you have to give feedback on copy and design, what approach gets the best results? A fairly common, and not terribly helpful method, (Click on the headline for more…)
What Your Art Director Needs To Know
Our last blog post discussed how to give good direction to your copywriter. In the same vein, here’s the information you need to share with your art director in order to get the best work from them: 1. Your Goals. It’s fairly common for graphic artists to present designs that look colorful and eye-catching, but […]
Online Strategies For Selling to the 55+ Market
An excellent article in a recent issue of Internet Retailer, titled Generation Buy, made some interesting observations on selling online to consumers in the 56-to-64-year-old age range. What caught my attention were two key differences in this age group: (Click on the headline for more…)
