Tips for fax Broadcasting

• Use large, clear fonts to ensure proper message delivery.

  Fax machines offer a convenient and relatively inexpensive medium through which business owners and marketers can deliver a plethora of marketing materials, promotional messages and sales advertisements. Though fax marketing has a number of benefits for users, a few tips---and some advice from federal regulators---can help ensure an effective marketing campaign.

Do Not Spam

• Though the term "Spam" is commonly associated with email marketing, any type of unsolicited, unwanted marketing communication can now fall into the spam category. To ensure fax messages do not become spam and annoy recipients, be certain to understand and comply with all regulations regarding this type of marketing. The Federal Communication Commission emphasizes that fax marketers must obtain target fax numbers directly from the recipient for the purpose of marketing, and that marketers must take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient's consent to receiving marketing material via fax. In addition, the fax marketing page of the WS Promotions website notes that all marketing faxes must contain a way for recipients to opt out of receiving further messages.

Keep it Concise

• Some fax marketers attempt to pack as much information as possible into a single page of marketing material. When recipients read the fax, though, they may quickly lose interest and discard the material without seeing the intended message. To help ensure recipients get the message, the fax marketing organization Fax Leads Today recommends using a large font and limited amounts of information that readers can see and absorb at a glance. To help drive home a sales pitch, include a website address or toll free number that the recipient can call or visit for additional information.

Make Ordering Easy

• Just as fax marketing should direct recipients to a website or phone number with clear instructions, marketers designing faxes should make ordering information as visible, accessible and memorable as possible. An effective sales pitch can become useless if, for example, the material directs a recipient to call but does not include a telephone number. To maximize returns, according to Fax Leads Today, use larger or bold fonts to highlight contact information or ordering instructions. Fax Leads Today also advises some marketers to include a small order form, complete with return fax number or mailing address, on the marketing material itself.

Make it Readable

• Modern word processing software can feature hundreds or even thousands of fonts, and type faces can range from clear and readable to nearly illegible. While scripted, handwriting or comical fonts can give marketing material a personalized look, some of these fonts do not copy or fax very well and may produce garbled output that recipients cannot read. To keep messages easily legible, according to Fax Leads Today, use a common typeface like Courier, Arial, Times New Roman or Tahoma. Be sure to set font sizes to at least 12 points, too, as some fax machines can not properly reproduce smaller print.