If you’re like me, it can be tricky locating useful information you’ve read in the past when you need it at a later date. And if we’ve been doing our job with Let’s Grow, (click on the headline for more…)
Coming Soon: A Major Attitude Shift in Homeowners’ Attitudes Towards Gardening
I just happened upon a year-old Nursery Retailer article by Kip Creel, garden industry analyst extraordinaire of Standpoint, about marketing to Gen X and Gen Y. One sentence in particular stayed with me: (Click on the headline for more…)
When’s The Best Time to Advertise?
I’m staggered by the number of catalogs I’m receiving this week: more than a dozen every single day. Where were they when I was planning my Christmas shopping between Labor Day and Thanksgiving? Yes, I’m still placing orders now, but my decisions have long since been made.
All too often, marketers forget that planning and buying don’t always take place simultaneously. This is especially true (click on the headline for more…)
Not Every Sale Is Meant To Be Made
I chuckled at a story I read recently about Tony Avent, the irreverent marketer of highly unusual perennials. If you’re not familiar with his highly entertaining Plant Delights catalog (click on the headline for more…)
Great Lineup for the Winter Mailorder Gardening Association Conference
If you’ve been thinking about signing up for the Mailorder Gardening Association conference coming up in Baltimore Jan. 4 – 6, you can save yourself a few bucks by doing so this week. The early bird deadline for discounted registrations runs through December 4.
As Program Chair this year, I can tell you that in my own completely unbiased opinion, we have a great program lined up. Two programs that I’ve written about before are return speakers back by popular demand – garden industry consultant Kip Creel and email marketing guru Sundeep Kapur.
In addition: (Click on the headline for more…)
Surprising Results From An Email Subject Line Test
The September issue of our Let’s Grow enewsletter discussed Best and Worst Subject Lines Compared. In it, I cited a somewhat counterintuitive study of open rates by email service provider MailChimp. Their survey suggested that non-descript email subject lines might actually be more powerful than traditional “teaser” or other sales copy. I decided to see for myself, and tested it on our own enewsletter, with a promise to report the results in this blog. (Click on the headline for more…)
Creating Positive PR in Online Communities
Our last enewsletter addressed the subject of How to Handle Online Customer Complaints. It included suggestions on what not to do, as well as best practices to follow. In the course of researching that issue, I came across a superb example of using customer comments to your advantage. To have a look, (click on the headline for more…)
The Growing Audience for Gardening Blogs
According to a recent survey by the Garden Writers Association, one third of gardening consumers read blogs. Of that third, 29% say they read garden-related blogs either (Click on the headline for more…)
Welcome, Anamese Garden and Home!
We’re pleased to welcome Anamese Garden & Home as a new client. Anamese wholesales extraordinarily beautiful glazed and unglazed pots to garden centers, landscapers, and commercial establishments. They excel at both quick shipping and knowledgeable customer service. We’re looking forward to helping them grow!
Tips for Increasing Typeface Readability
After I published my last blog post on readability issues with certain typefaces, a client emailed to remind me that there are many other ways to render type unreadable. Among the things to watch out for are: (Click on the headline for more…)
