Be Direct (Applies both in Marketing and Frisbee)

As you all know from my Esteemed Colleague’s recent post on our PPC Blog, our afternoon activities include throwing our Frisbee, catching our Frisbee, and (if there is a mishap in the execution of either of the last two processes) running down the steep hill to retrieve our Frisbee. This is our little way of relieving stress and breaking up the day to have some fun.

While playing Frisbee is a fun activity, and a fun subject to write about, many of you out there may ask what it has to do with Internet Marketing. Well boys and girls, gather round while I regale you with metaphors and comparisons that will make your head spin faster than a record (or, ya know, a flying Frisbee).

Let’s say it’s a nice day and you want to start a game of Frisbee (email promotions) with a couple friends (your contact list). Now you’ve played games with these guys before – basketball (PPC), golf (SEO), and cards (Affiliate) – you know they are more than likely up for a fun, outdoor activity (your products).

Frisbee isn’t a hard game to play and it doesn’t take a lot of skill to catch the disc (receive an email), so anyone can get into it. Since you have a group of people who already regularly play sports (do business) with you, it’s very easy to invite these people into the circle. All you have to do is toss them the Frisbee (send them an email promotion) and if they feel like playing they will catch it and throw it back (go to your site and potentially purchase a product). It’s a very quick way to stir up some activity!

This game is fun, and people can play it for as long as they like. Eventually they may tire and choose to opt-out of tossing the Frisbee with you for that day (bounce from your email) or decide that Frisbee isn’t their thing (unsubscribe to your email promotions list). Don’t let this get you down! While some people leave your circle (contact list), others will join either through playing other games with you (purchasing from your site) or taking a passing interest (signing-up through a newsletter subscription link on your site).

To make a game of Frisbee worthwhile, you have to know the people you’re playing with (be familiar with their level of athleticism). You wouldn’t want to give people the expectation that they’re playing Frisbee and then throw them a football – they might not be into it. Staying true to what your intentions are is always the best way to engage people. If you trick someone into playing Frisbee when they were expecting to play something else, it could damage the relationship you have with them and you may never see them again (Tricking people into opening your email promotions can almost certainly make them shy away from your business, unsubscribe from your list, and report you as a spammer).

So, next time your want to reach out to your friends (customer base/contacts), it’s good to use the direct approach. Toss them a Frisbee (email promotion) and see if they’ll toss it right back. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how often they’re ready for a round!