7 Habits Of Highly Effective Email Marketers (And Programmers)

David Baker, VP of Email Solutions at Avenue A/Razorfish, applies Stephen Covey’s core principles of the “7 Habits” to create more effective email marketing – and YOU should too!

Habit 1: Be Proactive.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First.
Habit 4: Think Win-Win.
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood.
Habit 6: Synergize.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw.

Read the entire article here.

Geometric Insight: Is your content highly effective? Not only can Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits” core principles be applied to email marketing, as David Baker demonstrates here, but the”7 Habits” principles and process can be readily applied to content creation and delivery on-air, online, on-site and on-device.

Bonus: For more email insights, click here to view PromoSuite’s Listener Email Study.

The Theory Of Branding (And Building A Successful Radio Station)

KLM’s theory of branding is based on the same principles that apply to building a successful radio station that will stand out from the competition. If you want to win, you must:

1. Create an identity that stands for a set of values. (What does your station stand for?)
2. Emblazon your product(s) or service(s) (read: shows, bits and features) with it.
3. Communicate it consistently. (Remember, frequency sells.)
4. Grow and change with the marketplace and the consumer (user/listener).
5. Become a way of life for a loyal franchise of customers (clients) and consumers (users/listeners).
6. Attract new users (cume) and grow unendingly.

Engaging Emotions Through Effective Radio Ads (+ Content)

Engaging Emotions Through Effective Radio Ads is the second part of a Radio Ad Lab project originally conducted by Gallup & Robinson (G&R) in 2007 and designed to assess how well Radio ads generate emotional responses and engage with consumers, compared to television ads.

Findings from the study reveal that in effective Radio ads:

• Strong beginnings make a difference. An involving point of entry distinguishes some of the most successful Radio ads.

  Word selection matters. Words that are sensory-laden, emotional, or empowering have a demonstrable impact on the emotional reactions of consumers.

  Audio can be powerful. Audio can generate stronger emotions than visuals, especially when the tonality in the ad is used effectively.

  Brand mentions have an impact. The best Radio ads mention the advertiser’s brand multiple times, strategically placed to correlate with moments of high consumer engagement.

The highest scoring and best performing ad in the study exhibited all of the above, a strong indication that Radio commercials are highly engaging to consumers when the creative process follows these patterns.


Download the Full Study
Download the Executive Summary


Geometric Insight: The very elements that help make effective radio ads - strong beginnings, careful and contextual word selection, powerful audio and impactful brand mentions - should be applied to content breaks and imaging as well. Engaging emotions enables you to strengthen the connection and increase the level of interaction consumers (read: users/listeners) have with your brand.

[RAB.com]

Geometric Interactive Insight: How To Use Video To Generate Revenue For Radio

Did you know that VIDEO is the key to you making money EVERYWHERE on your website?

How?

Existing Web sites that incorporate video see lower bounce rates, higher levels of engagement, and more repeat traffic. This increases the value of the non-video portion of the site, driving up eCPMs for more traditional display advertising.

And that's important because the IDC forecasts that the real market for online ads is emerging and will grow sevenfold by 2012, hitting $3.8 billion domestically. As I’ve stated many times before in articles, blog posts, presentations and meetings: The digital dollars are there. The question is…Are you getting your share? Increasingly, video will contribute to online content generation, but more importantly, REVENUE generation.

Twistage CEO David Wadler shares his insights in a good how-to article outlining points to generate dollars from video on your website at AdAge.com. Not only does he highlight the fact that the inclusive of video on your website helps to lift the revenue you can generate from other display pages, but there are more great tips to help you generate revenue with video too, summarized as follows:

• Sponsorship: Offering sponsorships of the player, a series of videos, or perhaps even of the entire video experience can be a compelling option for a brand advertiser.
• Focus on the audiences your brand can pinpoint
• Balance your zeal for monetization with the quality of the user experience
• Create great content. The better your content and the more engaged your audience, the higher eCPMs will be for your videos.

Thanks to Mark Ramsey for sharing this article and his summary with me. Click here to see David’s full article.

13-Point News Checklist

My friend and fellow consultant Mike McVay shares his suggestions for news. Use this checklist to critique your news department.

1. The call letters or station slogan should be showcased at the front of the news and mentioned again at the end of the news.

2. Timechecks should appear at the beginning of the news, at the spot breaks, and prior to the final outro of the cast.

3. You should promote upcoming news items the same way the you promote ahead with upcoming music; i.e., “traffic and weather are next,” etc. Give the audience a reason to continue listening.

4. Keep the story count HIGH.

5. Use audio ONLY where it makes sense.

6. Do not use the network’s outro on wired actualities

7. Does the content of the news pass the “Who Cares” test?

8. Are stories written in the language of the audience?

9. Does the content include stories from the following interest categories?

• Heart
• Purse
• Health
• Relaxation
• Local
• National

10. The delivery of the newscaster should be natural and believable.


11. Weather forecasts should be prepromoted. Are the forecasts compact and easy to deliver? Do not give more information than the audience cares to know regarding weather; i.e., Monday through Thursday mornings tell today’s weather. Monday through Thursday afternoon, give tonight’s and tomorrow’s weather, Friday and Saturday should contain the forecast for the complete weekend. Sunday should be today, tonight and tomorrow.

12. Does the newscast include current temperatures?

13. Does the position of the news within the format hour compete with your primary rival or is the news hidden?