Eckert AgriMarketing Newsletter- July 2007

(click here for directory of past newsletters)

We all know its a new world out there--ipods, cell phones, video games, satellite dish

and satellite television. Some of your customers will tell you that's why they come to the farm--to get away from all that technology.

But ask them how they found your farm, where they got their directions, and how they found out when you open, and 82% will likely tell you they found it on the Internet. Even your best customers will check your website for your hours and a current coupon.

We write and design websites exclusively for agritourism businesses--farms, ranches, farmers markets, and farm specialty products. As marketing specialists, we help you target your message exactly to your customers, putting the fun in farm visits--resulting in more visitors, more often.

Please call us today to discuss your new websites, or how to revive your old one. We design websites one at a time, to meet your exact needs.

Call: 314-862-6288

Email: info@farmwebdesign.com

February 2008

It's time to talk about one of my favorite topics: keeping your best customers informed through e-newsletters.

Jane Eckert You might think that your customers really don't want more mail in their inbox. Or more likely, you get too busy doing other things.

I'm as guilty as the next person. During my presentations in December and January, several people told me, "We must have gotten dropped from your email list somehow. We haven't heard from you lately."

Well, the truth is, I haven't sent an e-newsletter out since October. It is just too easy for all of us to get busy, and forget one of the most important aspects of marketing - communicating frequently with our best customers.

So, if you already have email addresses, commit now to a written e-newsletter schedule. Determine how often you want to contact your customers, and what the important topics are that you want to cover. You can even write out your message now, and then fill in the dates when they are about to go out.

Here are just a few simple steps for successful e-newsletters:

Keep them short and simple, such as "strawberries are ripe for picking."
Pay attention to the subject line. Make sure your farm name appears in the line. This will reduce the amount of emails that go the trash bin unopened.
Provide lots of opportunities for customers to sign up at the farm, on your website and anytime you go off the farm for events and shows.

If you don't have an e-newsletter program in place, start collecting customer email addresses. E-newsletter are inexpensive, and very effective.

If you are going to the North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association Conference (NAFDMA), please do come by our booth and say "Hi." We'd love to see you.

We also will be making a very special announcement about a new resource website we've been working on, called RuralBounty.com.

Rural Bounty seeks to become the premier listing for all farms, ranches, wineries, CSA's, farmers' markets and other businesses with rural roots.

This will be a single website where you can quickly and easily search for a farm or a ranch, an activity such as a hayride or a pumpkin patch, or a special event, such as a winefest or a spring strawberry festival. Site visitors will be able to choose a state, a city, a zip code, a product, or a special activity, and our dynamic search engines will help them locate exactly what they are looking for in just a matter of seconds.

The program launch will be accepting members from throughout the United States, but in the future we hope to expand to allow all farms and ranches in North America to become members.

Please come by the booth for more information and our special offer for early memberships.