Companies need to utilize all disciplines of marketing to get the greatest ROI. Direct mail (snail mail) vs. email and viral marketing is always the question. Both can work in concert to build your list of prospects for your permission marketing program.
Most companies get their first email campaigns out to just a small fraction of its prospect base in hopes that they pass it along to a friend or colleague and hope that they sign up for a subscription.
To jump start or build your subscriptions you can utilize Personalized URL’s, (PURL).
With a PURL you can:
Develop cross media marketing campaigns
Build you email prospect base by utilizing a direct mail list
Quantify responses with real time reporting
Gather critical demographic information with a survey
Gather cell phone numbers for a texting campaign
Set up automatic responses via email or texting
Develop 1 to 1 email and direct mail campaigns from your survey answers.
With all the spam laws, there is little information out there to purchase and develop your email marketing list. On the other hand, there is more information out there at your finger tips for direct mail campaigns then you could ever use. You can rent a list on most any demographic you are searching for.
Below are the 7 steps to Building your Email List with PURL’s
Step 1: Develop your budget. Your list rental will depend on the customers you are looking for. You also have the cost for the PURL, creative, printing, mail shop and postage and premium you might offer in the campaign. Determine you break even analysis.
Step 2: Determine what the PURL address is going to be.
Step 3: Determine the information you want to gather in your PURL. This is all up to you, it can be anything from when a customer is going to purchase, to their email address that you are looking for.
Step 4: Determine the list you are going to use. Either an in house list or are going to rent a list
Step 5: Determine the offer you are going to make in your message. What is that good qualified email address is worth to you? It is worth a white paper, or a $100.00 gift card? Or anything in between.
Step 6: Creative. Make sure your mailing piece has a great look to it. It needs to personalized and capture the attention of the customer. Remember you are asking them to type in a PURL, so it is going to take some effort on the part of the prospect. This is not like just clicking on a link.
Step 7: After you have captured the information you will have to determine the best mix of media to stay in front of that customer, email, direct mail or text messaging.
If you would like to show a sample of a PURL, but the medium it is very hard. But I can show you a sample of a GURL
General URL. Please go to:
With a GURL we have not downloaded any information. If you are interested in some of our case studies, please fill out the information and we will email it.
Michael Larkin
American Solutions for Business
mlarkin@americanbus.com
Dr. Scott's Business Blog 
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If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.
@Hailey, you seem to know what you’re talking about. Do you mind sending me your email? I would like to talk more with you.
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