Lazzaro Designs has been creating a series of appeal letters for North Shore-LIJ’s philanthropic arm, the North Shore-LIJ Health System Foundation. Each direct mail piece has been followed up with an e-blast within the month that is similar in tone both visually and editorially, ensuring a second chance for donors and potential donors to give to this worthy nonprofit health system. As shown here, a recently released appeal letter and e-blast for The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, the research arm of the health system.
> If you need help with direct appeals or e-blasts, give Lazzaro Designs a call or shoot us an email.
It’s a delicate thing asking for money. A direct appeal letter needs to quickly capture the readers’ attention, answer why they should support this institution, ask just the right amount of times, and ask clearly in a call to action, all the while being engaging, warm and straightforward.
Recently, we created a direct appeal letter for Cohen Children’s Medical Center, a renowned stand-alone pediatric hospital on Long Island, New York. What was unusual about the letter was that it was highly designed, as well as carefully written. Through content and visuals, the letter accomplishes a lot—it alerts the reader to the national standing of the hospital and features an innovative neurodevelopmental division. It also provides some history to this extraordinary facility and provides an attached reply device. Design-wise, it further echoes a larger advertising campaign, featuring some of the tag lines and photos from that marketing campaign without merely mimicking the ads themselves.
> If you need help creating a direct appeal, give Lazzaro Designs a call or shoot us an email.
We are big fans of the e-blast! This marketing email is delivered to a large list of subscribers using software such as iContact or MailChimp (to mention just two of many options). The service is typically free or low-cost and is very easy to navigate and manage. Using engaging copy and eye-catching images, Lazzaro Designs has sent out monthly e-blasts (such as the one shown here, top) to highlight a service or a particular characteristic of our work.
A hybrid of a postcard and an advertisement, the e-blast is a cost-effective way to keep your name in front of clients and potential clients, as well as provide easy hyperlinks to drive traffic to your website and your blog. Lazzaro Designs has helped several clients create their own effective e-blast campaigns, as was the case for Consulting For A Cause (see bottom image).
> If you need help creating an e-blast, give Lazzaro Designs a call or shoot us an email.
Many of our clients, especially those who are sole proprietors, want to use LinkedIn as a powerful tool to raise their visibility, market their brand and get more clients. But sometimes they don’t know where to begin. We can help. Lazzaro Designs has in the past six months gotten several new clients from the love and attention we’ve paid our individual LinkedIn pages. We’ve shared our learned lessons with several clients, including Mary Lee, president of Innovative Microsystems Consulting, Inc. IMC provides tech network and software solutions to companies. Here’s some of what we did for Mary Lee and what we can additionally do for you:
1. As you can see here, Maryellen provided Mary with a customized LinkedIn profile background with her IMC logo, as well as iconic images picked up from her website. This enlivens her page and promotes her brand across different platforms.
2. We can help you upload portfolio samples to show a real peek at your work and/or services.
3. We can advise you on picking your best professional head shot and help you find a good photographer.
4. Editorially, our writers can clean up your summary and experience sections.
5. We can consult with you about what groups and companies to follow, as well as what skills to display.
6. We have specific tips to share on getting more recommendations and connections.
7. We can also give you advice on sharing updates and posts.
8. We can help you link in (pun intended) your LinkedIn to your company’s website.
In our experience—and Mary Lee’s—using Lazzaro Designs to polish your LinkedIn presence can really be a big-bang-for-a-little-buck effort.
> If you need help optimizing your social media presence, give Lazzaro Designs a call or shoot us an email.
