This is a MarketingThingy guest post by Mark Kolier, president of CGSM in Wilton, CT.

The Internet may well be the most powerful and effective direct marketing medium in history. This is hardly a secret to marketers: It offers very granular targeting and segmentation, is highly measurable, and offers lightning-fast response.

Far too often, however, a disconnect exists between the use of “traditional” direct marketing tactics (like direct mail and direct response television), and their online counterparts. Far too many marketers neglect to consider how prospects and customers search for more information related to a marketing effort.

Here’s some advice on how to successfully bridge this gap:

1. Give them a good landing. Every promotion should be tied to a campaign landing page. It should have a unique identifier relevant to the particular offer.

2. Make me an offer. Make your offer again on the landing page, and sweeten it further via a premium or bonus for visiting.

3. Get their info. Use the landing page to collect the e-mail address of the visitor. If you are running a sweepstakes or offering a special premium or prize, you are much more likely to get the landing page visitor to enter this information.

4. Look the same online as offline. The look and feel of the landing page should mimic the campaign, so the prospect has a sense of familiarity and continuity with the original promotion.

5. Show them you know them. Collect the data, and be sure to acknowledge the site visitor by name the next time they log in. It’s amazing how many companies miss this one. People love to see their names.

6. Give them a soft landing. Allow the visitor to easily enter the Website from the landing page. Keep it simple.

7. Ask them for feedback. Consider adding a small comments and suggestions box to more deeply engage the visitor. You might be very surprised by the feedback you receive. 

Landing pages are easy to set up within your site structure, and needn’t necessarily be hosted by your site. Third parties can host, track, and forward all data back in real time. Once the campaign is over, the landing page can be taken down.

Running campaign landing pages offers immediate, measurable feedback on your promotions and is one of the best investments available. Put this technique in your marketing toolbox, and start using it as soon as possible.