Website Marketing Plan News, September 8, 2003

With Labor Day behind us and schools back in session, Summer is officially (if not *technically*) over here in the U.S. In other words, “back to business”. As fourth quarter 2003 looms closer for all of us worldwide, it’s time to start thinking about marketing budget allocations.

Many businesses rely heavily on email campaigns as part of the online marketing mix. In fact, a May 2003 MarketingSherpa survey of 700+ marketers showed that 37% planned to *increase* spending on email campaigns in the last half of 2003.

Given the disconcerting trend of increasingly disruptive worms and spam - with every indication that things will get worse before they get better - it’s time to seriously consider depending less heavily on email to deliver your marketing message. It’s time to shift some spending and attention away from email and toward other promotion strategies.

In the above-mentioned MarketingSherpa survey, marketers reported “Public Relations (PR)” as the #2 most successful tactic, behind “Email Marketing Sent to a House List”.

In that vein, today’s articles on press releases and word of mouth marketing - along with other resources shared with the articles - will help you start planning a cost effective PR campaign.

(BTW, go here to learn more about MarketingSherpa and what they have to offer: Sherpa Public Relations)

The Articles…

In “Public Relations Through Work of Mouth Marketing” I’ll get your creative juices flowing with a few ideas on spreading the word through PR.

In today’s guest article, “Reporter Shares 5 Tips: ‘How to Send and Write a Press Release‘”, reporter Jeff Crilley gives examples and tips on how to send and write a press release that gets covered.

More Articles…

As you start thinking about your fourth quarter 2003 and 2004 marketing plan and budgets, you may want to have a look through some of my other articles on the subject. Read a list here:
http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/Free/FreeContent.htm