So, the postal strikes go ahead, and it looks as if the two sides are not going to be able to agree on anything. According to the CWU an agreement was reached on Tuesday night, but then vetoed by the top managers who have not attended any of the negotiation. If that is true, the outlook is bleak indeed.

The alternatives are emails and blogs – but although both look simpler than the post the reverse is true.

Just sending out emails using lists that can be bought off the shelf, often makes no odds. Likewise, writing the occasional blog without much sense of continuity and without much attempt to encourage a readership, does not do much good.

With emails the most effective list is the list of people who have, made a purchase, expressed an interest or made an enquiry. This list takes a while to make, and quite often I find myself talking with people who say, “I don’t have such a list,” and then go back to using off-the-shelf lists which they claim don’t work.

The fact is if you don’t have an email list of past customers etc then today is the day to start building it, either by recording addresses of enquirers now, or getting on the phone and going back over past enquirers and building the list that way. You’ll also need some software to handle the list if it over 100 addresses long.

Then there is the issue of what you send out. Repeated adverts will just bring a lot of requests to be taken off your list, so you need to communicate properly, to talk about issues of interest, and to keep their attention. As I said it is more complex than direct mail.

Finally there are the blogs. Blogs, carefully nurtured, can reach large numbers of people. The one I started two years ago now reaches 100,000 readers a month and has become a useful advertising tool.

If you would like to talk about any of these topics, do drop me an email Tony@hamilton-house.com or give me a call on 01536 399 013. Always happy to have a chat.

Tony Attwood