Cause marketing has been defined as a mutually beneficial collaboration between a corporation and a nonprofit in which their respective assets are combined to:

• create shareholder and social value
• connect with a range of constituents
• communicate the shared values of both organizations

Mid-America Events & Expos has participated in cause marketing for years. It’s part of our corporate values and corporate culture to give back. Many people in our company are deeply involved with volunteer work, and it just feels right to use our expertise to help others.

Most recently our cause has been breast cancer. By first featuring Breast Cancer Awareness Association and now Hope Chest for Breast Cancer in our marketing campaigns, as well as donating 50% of ticket proceeds and booths at each event, we are hoping to call attention to these charities and to help them financially.

In return, we’ve had some fabulous speakers and entertainment at our events. And representatives from these organizations have given our attendees valuable information that could save lives.

Consider using cause marketing as a tangible demonstration of your corporate values. Choose a cause that you believe in, perhaps one that holds a personal meaning. Be care to select an organization whose quality work/service is similar to the quality you deliver to your customers.

We enjoy being socially involved,  and enabling our attendees to feel they are doing something good each time they purchase an admission ticket. Our team feels great about helping these causes while also helping our clients succeed with their businesses.

P.S. Want to see cause marketing in action? Come to our Seniors Spring Show next month to enjoy the Hope Chest Seniors Fashion Show, featuring designer fashions and accessories from the Hope Chest for Breast Cancer retail stores. Emcee will be 5 Eyewitness News anchor Leah McLean. Cause marketing can be a lot of fun!

Just because you write something doesn’t mean the recipient will have a good reason to read it. Your e-mail, letter, blog, newsletter or social media post must compete with the flood of other written communications. You have to capture the person’s attention. Involve the reader. Good writing is one-to-one communication. You’re not writing to a group, even though a group may read it. Think of your audience as one person. It will improve your style.

Today’s promotional channels are starved for information. Companies that promote themselves through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn need fresh content almost daily.

People on these channels don’t necessarily want to be sold to, even if they become a fan of your company’s page. Everything that you write for these media should be keyword-rich, and filled with useful and timely information. It should not be focused so much on your product’s features and benefits as it should be on drawing people into your sales process.

Just because you write something doesn’t mean the recipient will have a good reason to read it. Whatever you write must compete with the flood of other written communications that your customers encounter every day. You have to capture the person’s attention. Involve the reader. Good writing is one-to-one communication. You’re not writing to a group, even though a group may read it. Think of your audience as one person. It will improve your style.

A woman who exhibited at last November’s Girlfriends Expo & Getaway got in touch with us on Facebook this week. She was excited to tell us that she’d gotten two new sales reps from exhibiting at the show.  One of those sales reps has already started building a solid new customer base.

She asked if we still had booth space available at the Body Mind Life Expo, and luckily we have a few spots left. We’re glad to play a role in her 2010 marketing plan, and in helping her to build her business.

Assume that your reader is extremely busy.

He/she may skim your message,

and save it to read more thoroughly later. 

Be concise. Why use three words when one will suffice? For example: “I would like to thank you” and “thank you” communicate the same point.

·          Remove the phrase “I believe that …” from your writing. (As in, “I believe that now is the best time to move forward.”) If you didn’t believe it, you wouldn’t be writing it.

·          Instead of writing “The people who read the newspaper”, write “The newspaper readers.”

Your customers’ attention span is getting shorter. With today’s reliance on emails, texting, social networking and other forms of “quick communication”,  getting your point across quickly and effectively is essential.  

So I thought I’d start posting tips for writing clearly and “tightly”.  Here’s my first one:

Select nouns and verbs carefully. Don’t say, “dog” if you know it was a poodle. Don’t say someone “moved” when you know she sprinted. The right words can “show” as well as “tell”.

The word is out! By 2018, experts believe women entrepreneurs will have created between five and 5.5 million jobs in the U.S.

Mid-America Events & Expos, Inc. is a certfied woman-owned company, and we’re always looking for ways to other entrepreneurs succeed because for us to thrive, we need a strong economy! Some of our favorite tips include:

• Be creative: what you did before might not be enough right now. Look for new ways to create an impact including blogs, Facebook and other social media. Because they enable you to stay in front of your customers with fresh, relevant content, these promotional channels can positively impact both customer retention and set your business apart from your competition.
• Find face-to-face ways to interact with your primary audience. In-person events accelerate the selling process. They are considered best for branding, creating name recognition, and building databases. With more prospects in your sales pipeline, you’ll be able to rebound faster for post-recession profits.  
• Consider how you might want to re-position your product or service. Buyers are still making buying decisions. This is a good time to go after those people who are re-evaluating their current buying decisions. If you have a high-end product, you might want to focus your messaging on durability instead of luxury, for example.

Booth giveaways give people a reason to stop at your expo booth. Your goal is to make the most of this opportunity.

You may get a lot of foot traffic if you put out a bowl of candy, but you are not giving people anything to remember you by. Nor are you building in a way to build your database and your business.

Be creative! Is your product baby-friendly? Give a tiny plush toy or balloon with your company name and logo on it to everyone who makes a purchase, or signs up for your mailing list.

Is your product related to health and wellness? Mini bottles of hand sanitizers customized with your company name and contact information (about $1.39 each) have become one of the hottest giveaway items. Offer one to each person who gives you their contact information.

Do you do most of your business via the Internet? We found customized self-adhesive note pads in the shape of a computer monitor selling for less than 50 cents each.

Colorful customized totes can be found for less than $1.40 each.

Other inexpensive but effective promotional items include pens, bottle openers, magnets, coasters, air fresheners  and key chains.

Giveaways work and with a little thought, you can come up with items that will help people remember YOUR business when they are ready to buy.

2009 was not a great year for most companies, luckily, 2010 will be a fresh start with great opportunities around every corner.  Targeting your key demographics is crucial for drawing in new clients and customers to your business, as well as retaining them- it always has been.  Nowadays, it is not as easy as it once was.  The average consumer will not sit through an entire television commercial, changes the radio station during ads and flips the page of most newspaper and television ads.  So- how do you get your message right in front of the customers you really need?  How can you possibly make a connection with the people that will benefit most from your product or service, when they will not even take a second to look at/listen to/watch your advertisement?

That’s where we come in.  Our Body Mind Life Expo is here to help YOU make personal connections with the customers that you have been searching for.  On February 27^th and 28^th 2010 the Minneapolis Convention Center will house the Midwest’s largest health and natural products expo- putting up to 7,000 consumers within arm’s reach- all you’ll need to do is be ready to chat them up, and show them what you have to offer.

There is still space available for your business to take advantage of at the 2010 Body Mind Life Expo.  If you would like to participate, in addition to the chance to have up to 7,000 eager consumers in front of you, you will receive:

• Targeted expo marketing to attract key buying demographics
• FREE online marketing, allowing consumers to shop before the show
• FREE admission tickets for your existing customers, to promote your show participation
• FREE expert advice on maximizing sales and leads
• FREE mention in our high quality expo magazine distributed to 500+ Twin Cities locations as well as at the Expo. Unpaid Circulation: 25,000 to 30,000 each issue.
• Promotion by our professional public relations team- including TV, radio, print and Internet placements. We also include advertising through as many as 15,000 postcards, e-mail newsletters to 11,000 past attendees, 75,000+ tickets distributed throughout the market, and much more!

We would love to see you there, and help you increase your business in 2010!  Give us a call at (612) 798-7256 for more information and discounted expo participation!