Budgets are lean and time is short for start-ups and small businesses. In this phase, your marketing tools need to be intuitive, effective, and inexpensive. TREW Marketing has uncovered two marketing tools that meet this criteria.
MailChimp offers low cost direct e-marketing and list management in an intuitive, web-based tool. According to MailChimp’s website, they “make marketing easy and fun” and I completely agree, having used this tool for a recent TREW Marketing project.
List set-up was a breeze, with import and direct entry options. The HTML email design wizard offered flexible templates, quick uploads for my graphics, and interesting color palette selections. All of the metrics I sought were already offered up to me in a clean, graphical format. A plug-in for Google Analytics was also included.
I was able to conduct several email campaigns on my free introductory credits, and who does not like free stuff? But best of all is the MailChimp who offers quirky messages to the user throughout the process, from compliments of my attire to funny monkey jokes. Can’t beat an easy, cheap tool with a sense of humor!
PitchEngine provides a way to group your various assets, such as video, word documents, photos, and more. This one-stop provides the media with the resources they need to tell your story.
Better yet, the page you create on PitchEngine serves as your social media release. With this tool you can easily share your news through social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and FriendFeed. TREW Marketing recently used PitchEngine in our We Are One project and found it to be quick, easy, and helpful. Did not hurt that the whole thing is free for the first thirty days.
Best of luck with your marketing endeavors, and keep reading Spotlight for smart, practical advice you can use for your start-ups and small businesses.
