Okay, so you’ve sold your first Cross-Media Campaign. Great. So now what? We know, this is new to many you. If you’re a printer, there’s a good chance you’ve never done anything like this before. Before you panic, however, here are several things to keep in mind that should make this process a breeze.
1: Domain. We know this item sounds self-explanatory, but every Cross-Media campaign needs a domain name. Moreover, failing to secure or at least to decide on a domain name early on can lead to major issues later. Who’s going to provide one, you or the client? If you need to pick one up, no worries – domains can be purchased for approximately $10 per year each. Once it’s acquired, have you pointed it correctly? Has it been tested?
2: Mailing List. This one probably sounds pretty obvious too, but every Cross-Media campaign with Personalized URLs does in fact need a mailing list. Moreover, a clean list is a requirement of every successful Cross-Media campaign. Since nothing can sink a campaign quicker then an outdated or inaccurate list, definitely take the time to make sure you’re using a good one. If your client’s providing the list, find out where the data is coming from, how old it is, has it been cleaned, is the data accurate, etc. If the list is email, make sure you or your client has permission to mail to the list, because CAN-SPAM compliance is serious business.
3: Creative. Not overly confident in your team’s creative prowess, or their ability to craft a stunning offer? Well, before you start stressing out, first determine who’s going to handle the creative. Why is this important? Because you might just discover that your client actually prefers to design the Landing Pages, and simply hand you the artwork on a silver platter, ready to go. Problem solved.
4: Workflow. Figure out the campaign’s workflow by working backwards from the objective. What do we mean? Well, if the campaign is e-commerce, it will obviously require a shopping cart form. If you’re running a survey, at least one survey page will be required, and so on. What we’re getting at here is that you need to determine the number of pages and page types that are required in order to make the campaign a success. A clear, well thought out workflow is essential to a successful project.
5: Template-based vs. custom project. Easypurl.com gives you more than 80 built-in Templates you can pick from as a starting point. Templates come in various page numbers (one-, two-, three-, and four-page workflows), organized into various color arrangements, and with different page variations. Given this wide selection, chances are pretty high that one of them will fit the bill. If not, then that’s okay. All this means is that you’ll be required to design a custom template, which brings us to the next question below…
6: Design Tools. Are you a pre-press or graphic designer with a print design background? Or are you a web-designer who loves to code? Regardless of your background or skill level, Easypurl.com has a design tool just for you. Those without HTML knowledge, or who simply prefer not to see code (this blog’s author falls into this category), should use the Canvas Designer, which is a WYSIWYG [What You See Is What You Get] and requires no HTML knowledge whatsoever to build great looking Landing Pages. On the other hand, for geeks who love to code, we suggest using the Template Designer, which plugs into both Adobe’s DreamWeaver and Microsoft’s FrontPage. Click here for more information on available design tools.
7: Data. No, we don’t mean the list – that’s covered in point #1. What we’re referring to here is the actual reporting data, or results – where the rubber meets the road in a marketing campaign. Who is going to get the data, and how? Will you provide you client with the Reporting Dashboard, or will you need to send them periodic reports? Should you set up some email alerts to send the lead information to your client’s sales team? These are all questions you should ask your client before the campaign launches.
img: ktsmpo.org
