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Extensive Research On How To Build Wealth From The Comfort Of Your Own Home.
BrandMyMail, A New Way To Integrate Social Media & Email
Jan 25th
If you’re looking to take your email and social media activity one step further, you’ll want to check out a new startup called BrandMyMail.com which helps small- and medium-sized businesses integrate their social media presence into the emails they’re sending out to customers.
Intrigued? I was.
BrandMyMail is a new startup that helps business owners ramp up their email by allowing them to build customized templates that include hand-selected segments of their social media presence. Operating through a simple browser extension, BrandMyMail is able to pull the content sources in and include them as part of your messages. Right now that gives SMBs the ability to include Facebook statuses, Twitter feeds, video and photo content from YouTube and Flickr, blog posts from services including WordPress and Tumblr, and eBay content listing the user’s available products directly into the messaging they’re sending to customers.
I took a few minutes to set it up on my personal Gmail account and must admit the process is really easy and creates a very clean template to work from. Here’s a sample template of what the integration could look like:
You’ll notice the content above, a dynamic email signature below, and Twitter and Facebook links on the right-hand side. For a small business owner, this is an interesting application for a couple of reasons.
First, we’re always looking for relevant ways to tie our social media presence into everything else that we’re doing. If you’re spending time working on those social media resolutions, you want to make sure your customers are aware of what you’re doing. You want them to see your tweets, your Facebook updates, what’s new on your blog, what videos you just uploaded, etc. Including this type of content in your messaging gives them something else to interact with and exposes all the different elements of your brand. This is a great way to get it all done in one step.
I also like that SMBs are able to create a variety of templates. For example, if you’re responding to a customer service issues, maybe you want to make sure your YouTube videos are included in the messages so that your customers can see the tutorials you have available and you can even direct them there in your email. Or if you’re sending out an email newsletter, maybe you want to highlight your Facebook feed or make sure they see the products you just uploaded to eBay. This extension gives you the ability to target content based on the message.
Another reason I’m interested in this extension is because it makes your email more interactive. Google allows for some of what BrandMyMail does, but it only pulls in static information. BrandMyMail takes that one step further by almost making your email real-time and syncing your social media activity. And because you get to pick which activity is included, you get to craft a stronger message. I like that.
Right now BrandMyMail works with your Gmail through Chrome or FireFox extensions, as well as iPads and iPhones. Integration into other clients [Hotmail, AOL, Android] are reportedly forthcoming, so keep your eye out for that if you’re nor a Gmail user.
What do you think? Would you use a browser extension like BrandMyMail?
BrandMyMail, A New Way To Integrate Social Media & Email
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
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Jan 18th
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Jan 11th
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The Power of Permission in Using Email Marketing
Jan 2nd
Emarketer reports that:
“Interactive marketing is becoming a larger part of the marketing mix, and Forrester estimates that by 2016, online advertising spend will be equivalent to television spend today. Marketers will spend $77 billion on interactive marketing by 2016.”
According to StrongMail’s annual marketing trends survey, conducted by Zoomerang, the majority (68%) of business executives worldwide said they plan to integrate their social media marketing efforts with email in 2012.
I remember back in 2007-8, when I first launched my business, I was running several workshops dedicated to email marketing and integrating it with social media, especially Facebook. I had a cross section of attendees from lawyers, consultants, non-profits, MLN’s and blog hobbyists. They thought it was a good idea, but most looked at me like a deer in the headlights. Fast forward to 2012, the cycle has moved to a different place with regard to adoption and the effective usage of it now.
The benefits of professional email marketing have been very strong and clear from the beginning. It was the very first platform I used to build my business database. It has experienced quite a resurgence, as we all can attest to the massive email marketing we get daily, many of which we did not subscribe to. (Ugh, it’s spam people.)
Benefits of Permission
When someone voluntarily signs up to become a part of your email marketing database, they are committing to you as a professional and are giving you “permission” to send them timely, helpful and relevant resources and information. This is the greatest way to grow and build trust . It is also a very targeted and effective way to ‘ask people for their business’. There is great power and responsibility in permission based marketing, as long as you are using it appropriately and respecting your community.
Here are 5 ways to grow and build trust using email marketing:
1) Create a monthly Newsletter with specific themes and content that is thoughtful and highly targeted to what your followers need and want from you. Get to know who is on your list and why they joined it in the first place.
2) Be consistent with sending your message and campaign out monthly and find the best frequency and timing. Do not over kill your list with too many daily emails. More and more people are tuning out and unsubscribing to those that over email, regardless of how popular they are.
3) Offer content especially for this community that other people do not have access too that are NOT on the list. Let your community know how exclusive they are to you and how much you want to serve their specific needs.
4) Integrate your email marketing campaign into all your other platforms. Unify the message across your social media, blog, websites, podcasting, video and mobile. Make sure your visual logo, look and feel are consistent over all your platforms.
5) “Serving is the New Selling’ should be your approach and mantra. Giving lots of FREE WHY, then SELLING the HOW is a perfect formula. We are in it to make money right? Yes, but earning the business by building strong relationships and using the trust to sell your products and services is why they choose you and ensures more longevity in customer retention.
Make a commitment to one of the professional email marketing systems like Constant Contact, which has been mine since 2007, or several other great choices like IConnect, Aweber and Mail Chimp.
Email marketing has been one of the top platforms that I will continue to use. My list grew over 30% last year nationally and internationally. It has allowed me a more personal, direct and exclusive way to communicate to and with “my tribe” and serve them.
Email Marketing Photo via Shutterstock
The Power of Permission in Using Email Marketing
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Review: AWeber Email Marketing Service for Small Business
Dec 30th
Most email providers offer a free trial, but AWeber does not. That’s not a negative. In fact, by putting a value on their service, I believe that many people equate it with greater value. Charging for the service sends the message that AWeber is completely confident that you will love their service and will pull out your wallet to sign up.
This review is about one of the first email marketing companies on the Web: AWeber Communications. As far back (in Web years) as I can remember, AWeber has been the simple-to-use autoresponder service. If a person emailed you, you could set a sophisticated auto-reply via the service and keep the sales conversation going (or do whatever nurturing you wanted to do). They then branched out to let you send email newsletters and have sign-up forms on your website. Soon after, there were advanced analytics to analyze performance and better tools for segmenting your subscribers.
What I really like
- Unlimited emails. You are charged by subscribers, not email messages. It is a healthy approach compared to many in the industry that charge by the message (or tiers of messages).
- They’ve changed the signup forms. It used to be you could only create an ultra-simple form, but now there are many templates and styles to choose from. You can add checkboxes and radio buttons, just to name two of the flexible options.
- You can set when and how autoresponder messages are sent. You can track who opened a message and who didn’t. You can track if they clicked a link. The key is that it’s all easy to use and set up. Not all email systems are as easy to use or set up. I’m sure you’re not surprised by that statement if you’ve played around in email marketing at all.
Now, most email marketing platforms will let you do this stuff. But AWeber keeps the interface and steps to a minimum so you can get on with running your business. Marketing is important, but many of us do not have a dedicated marketing person or unlimited hours to get our messages out there.
What I think could be improved
Their pricing language is confusing to me. It is $19/mo for up to 500 subscribers. If you go to 501 subscribers, it is $10 more per month (on top of the $19). Now, I eventually figured it out, but it would have been easier to just say, “501 subscribers is $29/mo.”
Again, email marketing platforms have all evolved and have many advanced features, but AWeber has done a great job over the years of focusing on what the customer, often a small business owner, needs and wants in a customer messaging system. They are fairly prolific with sharing advice and ideas for improving your email marketing, and if you do some searching you’ll find that they have been around a long time. In Internet years, that says a lot, and their blog is worth studying no matter which platform you use.
Learn more about email marketing with AWeber.
Review: AWeber Email Marketing Service for Small Business
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
SMBs Up Email Marketing, Social Media Spend
Dec 14th
Last week StrongMail released the results of its 2012 Marketing Trends survey [PDF] and gave us all a quick glimpse into where marketers are looking to spend their marketing dollars in the upcoming year. Four areas were highlighted as the biggest points demanding more attention and dollars in 2012. What were they, you ask?
- 60 percent of respondents will raise email marketing budgets.
- 54 percent will invest more in social media.
- 37 percent will increase mobile and search budgets.
If you’re a loyal reader of Small Business Trends, seeing those four take top honors probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise. They’re four of the areas we talk about most here on the site. Glad to see we’re on to something.
Something else that didn’t come as a surprise: seeing small business marketers investing more dollars in email marketing campaigns than in social media campaigns. Because email is still easier for most SMBs to understand, track and associate ROI to, it is an investment they’re more comfortable with.
When it comes to the types of email marketing campaigns SMBs are looking to invest in, 44 percent said they would increase batch promotional programs, 39 percent will increase newsletters and 35 percent will spend more on lifestyle programs.
Interestingly, it seems SMBs are looking to combine their two favorite marketing programs, with an impressive 68 percent of respondents saying they will look to further integrate their social media marketing directly into their email programs to increase their bang for their buck. As we often refer to social media and email as marketing’s Batman and Robin (read that post for tips on how to integrate them), it’s encouraging to see SMBs looking for ways to use them together. It’s a sign that SMBs are moving attention and dollars in the right direction, combining what’s always worked with newer marketing options.
What are SMBs looking to get from their email marketing efforts? Topping SMB goals are:
- 48 percent: increasing subscriber engagement
- 44 percent: increasing segmentation and targeting
- 32 percent: increasing email opt-ins (subscribers)
Of course it won’t be all email marketing in 2012. When it comes to social media, 39 percent of small business owners will be looking to strengthen their Facebook campaigns, 25 percent will focus on going viral and social media management technology, and 24 percent will increase their Twitter marketing.
One area that won’t be getting as much attention as I would have imagined is mobile. Only 37 percent of respondents will increase their mobile spend, with 29 percent saying they’ll look to invest in apps.
Overall, StrongMail’s survey of 939 executives gives us a good look at some of the areas that will see the largest investment in 2012. It is worth noting that, according to the survey, an overwhelming 92 percent of businesses plan to increase or maintain their marketing spend in 2012. So there are no shrinking budgets here. Business owners understand that the way to increase profitability is to build awareness, be present and go after the customers they want to sell to.
What do you think of the StrongMail survey results? Does it mirror how you’ll be spending your marketing dollars or are you skeptical of their data?
Sound off in the comments.
SMBs Up Email Marketing, Social Media Spend
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Target Your Email – Make Cash With Gmail.
Dec 13th
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Dec 10th
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5 Ways To Make An Email Newsletter Your Best Sales Tool
Nov 29th
5 Ways To Make An Email Newsletter Your Best Sales Tool
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
No matter how enamored you may be with social media, email still outpunches just about every tool out there when it comes to cost effective lead conversion.
Now, done correctly, what this really means is effectively using email communication in conjunction with efforts to produce educational content, amplify content throughout social media channels and turn Twitter followers into email subscribers.
It’s integration as much as anything that makes email work, but there are a handful of things that you need to do to get the most out of the email component of the mix.
Grab Attention
It’s not enough to have an email subscribe form tucked into the sidebar of your home page. If you’ve got a great offer to put in front of your visitors you need to make it impossible to ignore, without being obnoxious.
A new breed of popups makes grabbing visitor attention and turning it into email list subscribing almost pleasing. I’ve been experimenting with a rather new WordPress plugin called Pippity.
Once installed and configured this tool will note when you have a visitor that has not been offered your email subscription and briefly take over the screen to make them an offer. The visitor still has lots of control over the screen, but this tool positions your list in a way that’s hard to ignore.
I know there are some that don’t like this tactic, but Pippity gives you so much control, including A/B testing, that you can fine tune the tool’s use to make it work for you. Like it or not, with the right offer, most people see 300-400% jumps in subscribers using this kind of approach. (One tip: Turn it off for mobile browsers, as there’s no way to make it a pleasant experience on a mobile.)
Exchange Value
Giving people a reason to subscribe is even more important than simply grabbing their attention. In order to get willing subscribers these days you must sell the value of what you have to offer and most likely exchange something like a free ebook or report that sounds too good to miss right at the point of subscription.
The act of giving an email address comes with a price these days because all of our email inboxes are jammed. Your free stuff better sound as good as most people’s paid stuff if you want to get subscribers.
Of course, this also means that you need to keep the value exchange high if you expect to keep subscribers. Turning email subscribers into paying customers is not a one-time event; it’s accomplished through a process of building trust over time.
No matter what time frame you choose to offer your email newsletter, once a week or once a month, each issue should be something that people look forward to. It’s great to have a large list, but if less than 10% actually open your emails then you won’t get much return on your efforts.
Serve Snacks
I’ve been producing a weekly email newsletter just about every week since some time in 2002 and I’ve played with different formats, different content, and different ways to present information.
A great deal of what I’ve always tried to do is evolve with overall communication trends and my best advice is that you subscribe to lots of newsletters and pay attention to how others present information and how they change their presentation over time.
Currently, my newsletter format is designed to offer several compelling article abstracts grouped into a set of topics that I believe my readers expect from me. I author about 50% of the content and then hand select a couple blog posts from blogs I read that related.
When I switched to this snack sized, scannable format, I immediately noted that my response and engagement increased dramatically.
Be Sharable
Smart marketers have always employed tools that made it easier for people to share their email newsletter with friends, but these days that means making your content easy to share in social media as well.
Most email service providers have added social media sharing options that you can embed in your content so that a reader could tweet that they just read your article.
The content itself must exist online in order to use this most effectively. Most service providers also allow you to create an online archive version of your newsletter and I recommend you use this approach to socialize your content sent via email.
Go Solo
Once your readers come to appreciate your valuable newsletter content you may earn the right to send them offers. This is something that takes a little bit of experimentation and you can certainly erode trust by sending too many offers or sending offers that just don’t make sense.
While you can mix an offer or two into your regular email newsletter format, I’ve found that sending the occasional offer for a product, program or even joint venture with a product or service you truly believe in, using what is called a solo email is the best approach.
A solo email is designed to do only one thing, deliver the story and make a case for your offer. This can be a straight out offer to buy something or even an announcement for a free online seminar where you intend to make an offer, but it must be about one thing and one thing only.
Let me repeat, sending offers is something you earn, just like earning the subscriber in the first place. You must take care that you treat this trust with respect or you will lose it. Keep the value of your offers as high as the value of your content and your readers will appreciate getting both.
My recommended list of email service providers. (Each allows you to accomplish the things mentioned in this article)
View full post on Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
The Email Rebel
Nov 5th
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The Email Rebel
