ideas and tips for busy business owners… like you!
GOALS + VALUE = SUCCESS Simple, right? As small business owners, our email marketing goals can be quite different and varied. Whatever your GOALS are, you won’t reach them if you don’t seriously consider the other side of the equation: giving VALUE to your subscribers. … Keep reading…
Many organizations are engaging in email marketing these days – informational newsletters, promotional emails, or both. Some of these organizations have even done a great job of integrating email marketing with their social media efforts as part of a comprehensive online marketing strategy. But few … Keep reading…
Let’s face it: some businesses are in a better position to provide valuable information through newsletters (blogs, social media) than others. Take our own newsletter as an example. We could easily publish a newsletter about publishing newsletters. (Stay with me here.) It would have lots of tips … Keep reading…
We tell our new clients that the newsletters we design for them will be completely unique. Part of being unique is making a personal connection with your reader. Here’s our best advice about how to make your newsletter more personal and distinct. 1. Write a … Keep reading…
Mistakes stand out and they can be fodder for others’ discussions. Aside from obvious spelling, grammatical and hyperlink errors, formatting and design can also be a big turn-off. You can have awesome content that delivers value to your readers – but it’s no good if … Keep reading…
Update – Find a newer version of this topic here: How to Write the Introduction to Your First Newsletter. When writing the introduction for your first newsletter issue, here are some things you might want to include: Acknowledge that this is your first issue and that you appreciate … Keep reading…
Most of us would agree that feedback is generally a desirable thing and necessary for continuous improvement. Yet there seems to be a whole area of performance that gets ignored due to little or no feedback: internet marketing. If you are ignoring your feedback (in … Keep reading…
Do you really need any more information than what you’re already getting? Do your readers? How do you compete with ALL that content that’s readily available? You give them something they can’t get anywhere else! A list is easy – here’s one way to think … Keep reading…
“Sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date with us.” “Sign up to get company news and other info.” Does that make you want to invite yet another email into your inbox? I think not. what NOT to do I did a search … Keep reading…
“What is the one best thing that you want a reader to do?” That’s one question I ask new clients. Research has shown that offering too many choices creates indecision. To be effective, a call-to-action must motivate your reader to, well, take action. It’s not as easy … Keep reading…
Many of the people connecting with you online are arriving at one of your redirect pages at some point. A redirect page is the ‘thank you for signing up’ page you send them to when they sign up for your newsletter, or the event registration … Keep reading…
“Write when you’re inspired,” I always suggest. But sometimes deadlines loom, we need content, and inspiration is nowhere to be found. Here is a checklist you can use to come up with quick content when you’re out of bright ideas: Fix a problem. You solve … Keep reading…
If you’re considering starting a newsletter, there are a whole lot of little details that will be important to its success. Our clients are often surprised… and glad that they don’t have to figure it all out themselves. Here are just a few of the things … Keep reading…
Most people have email boxes that are overflowing and not enough time to read it all. If you are like me, a day out of the office can bring dread when I finally get back to my desk… and my inbox! Your subject line needs to prompt … Keep reading…
A newsletter is not one of those ‘build it and they will come’ things. It takes work to both maintain and build on each relationship that you (re-)start with each issue. Maintain: Give your readers what they want, not what you want to give them. Deliver … Keep reading…
What you want are fans. Let’s dispel a newsletter myth. The myth is that you want to keep as many subscribers as you can. That’s simply not true. You pay for subscribers. If someone is not reading or forwarding your newsletter, why do you want to send it to … Keep reading…
Equally important, how much is too little? Too much and too little can both be bad when it comes to email marketing. People ask me how often they should send out their newsletter and I always answer the same thing – as often as you can bring value … Keep reading…
I came across this excellent example of how to promote your newsletter sign-up on your website: It’s not visually appealing, but it says all the right things. It tells me what I can expect by signing up and teases me with what’s coming up next. The only thing … Keep reading…
Your website is about what you do and your blog is about why you love what you do. I wish I could say I made that up but I read it somewhere. It has really stuck with me though. What an easy rule to follow! … Keep reading…
Sometimes things are easier if someone else will just tell me what to do. That way of thinking especially applies to our websites and newsletters. Your call-to-action is critical – it’s the reason for people to contact you. Use your website and newsletter to convert … Keep reading…