Email is Personal... Be Polite! 5 Do's and Don'ts when sending email

I hate marking messages as junk, I really do. As an email marketer there is nothing more brutal than to tell someone their messages are the worst. It's like missing the spectacular vision behind the raindrops on your window pain. Sometimes we are so blinded by our message we miss the opportunity to give someone what they want! I call this self focus.
But what happens when you get on a list from someone who constantly sends you advertisements on viagra, or they market to you in another language? What do you do when you are suddenly receiving messages from someone you don't know, about something you don't care about, so much so you can hardly keep your inbox clear?  YOU take NOTE! That's what you do.  Here are five do's and don'ts when engaging in email marketing!

1. ALWAYS use a SUBSCRIBED LIST!  Under the federal CAN SPAM laws, you can be fined if you email someone with out the explicit permission. Make sure you get the A-OK to proceed.
2. Segment your list ~ Here are some really good questions to ask yourself: Who is this? How do I know them? What do they want from me? What do they do? How can I help them? How do they desire to be helped? What is the purpose of my relationship with them? How can we help each other?
3. Be creative: Don't send the same email to everyone, it's not appropriate.  Get those creative juices flowing and design an email campaign that is target toward the segmented lists you just created.
4. Don't over email! People want to see you, but not everyday! Use your click through rates to determine how often they want to see you.  Send them good info, but don't just send them any info.
5. ALWAYS reply to RESPONSES! Engagement, just like in Social Media, is key. They want to hear back from you. If you can't do this in a timely fashion, set up auto-responders. But make those responders targeted, too.  This creates a comfortable situation for your audience.

Email is personal. People want to feel like each message they receive is specifically for them, and that it addresses their needs and interests. They don't want you to waste their time. They don't want you to waste yours.
If your opt out rates are high, it's time to design a new campaign.  You are more likely to win by counting your losses and revamping your efforts! There's no sure fire way that works, just get in the game. I pays to be personal, and personality pays...

5 Tools for Posting on Social Networks

When I first began the great big dive into Social Media, I was scared to dealth... Literally shivering in my shoes... It can be very overwhelming tweeting, posting, retweeting, favoriting, direct messaging, and so on and so forth. As I began to get more adventurous and brave, I discovered some great tools to better manage my time and help me be the most effective.  I have listed the ones I use below. Each of the tools I use helps me solve a certain struggle I had with new media marketing. I hope you can find these solutions helpful in your efforts as well!

1. Content Aggregation:  When you begin any marketing strategy, it is paramount that you begin with a content blueprint.  This is an outline of what you are posting when, where, and why. It is important to really listen to your audience, and study your industry to filter through only the best stuff to pass along to your audience.  My two favorite tools for this are

Google Alerts and Feedly. Use them everyday and they make researching my content an absolute breeze!

2. Time Management: We all start this social media thing doing the same thing over and over again. We spend hours on end trying to figure out how to listen and share, share and listen. Before long we are speaking in hashtags and dm's. This is where Bundlepost has proven to be invaluable!  I can spend half the time scheduling posts after my content is gathered, and more time listening.  I would much rather listen than speak, that's just who I am!

3. Frequency of Posts: Hootsuite is an absolute must have in the social media arena.  I never knew how awesome scheduling my posts could feel until I realized how normal my life looked after Hootsuite!  Using Hootsuite in conjunction with Bundlepost is a breeze and a true answer to Social Media overload!

4. Analytics: While Hootsuite does a terrific job with analytics, I truly enjoy SproutSocial for my account analysis. The presentation is seamless, simple to read and interpret, and just the most comfortable Social Media Portal I have experienced.

5. Twitter Conversations: TweetDeck is my go to desktop application for twitter conversations. The real live feed and alerts makes following and engaging in any discussion and event simplified and profitable.

And what would be a good social media strategy without a CRM component!  NOTHING! That's why I use NimbeCRM which has a direct integration with Hootsuite! This way I can easily qualify my social leads by importing them into my CRM for more analysis, opportunity tracking, and historical reference across all my platforms, including email!

Without a strategy and a well thought out plan, these tools are not fully utilized and effective. You can waste time and effort figuring out just what to do next with what platform. STOP!  Get some help from an expert.  They can lead you the right way and save you more time for your business. They can even manage your strategy for you!  Don't dive in without your life vest!  Be a smart marketer and invest in the right gear to keep your boat afloat and get you where you intend to go!  You can do it!  Don't wait!

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Tried & True...

We've all heard it said that if something's not broke, don't fix it.  This works fine, I suppose, if you are a repairman. If you are the creative type, you realize that this could be quite boring and ritualistic to your marketing, and before long you will get lost in monotony.  So what's the solution?  A little bit of new and a little bit of familiar married together!  By this, I am referring to Card Marketing!

Who doesn't love to get a card! WE all enjoy this from time to time. We send cards for occasions to the people we care most about.  Why not incorporate this into your marketing blueprint!  Reach out and touch someone!  By integrating commonly accepted and classic marketing methods that work into new media marketing and Social Media Marketing, you have a well diversified marketing plan, and you certainly won't saturate your audience with the same old thing...

Hyrum W. Smith, a world class public speaker talks about four basics needs that feed all of our activities in life. They are to love or be loved, to live, to feel important, and last but not least: Variety!  Variety, being a need and all, should be a motivator for a balanced approach to reaching your audience! Let them be touched in a familiar way... Incorporate something old, something new, something borrowed, and something tried and true to make your marketing consistent, effective, and steadfast for years to come...

Here are my TOP 3 favorite tools that let you use card marketing in a new media environment...
1. My first and favorite is: Send Out Cards!  This program even let's you record your own signature and handwriting font! You can upload pictures, create QR codes, and they stamp and mail it for you! You can even send gift cards and home baked goods like brownies! Amazing and Personal
2. Bluebird Cards - Very similar to Send Out Cards, but less features! Same idea as above, but the personalized touches are limited.  The real draw here is the pricing is very reasonable compared to other options.
3. Snapfish - If you don't mind mailing and stamping, Snapfish is a great way to send a personalized greeting card.  A little bit goes a long way!

Cards can be a powerful tool in your marketing.  Don't neglect the power they have to increase revenue and favorability.  This can be the difference between being a cut above your competition!

To Drip or Not to Drip... That is the Question

In my previous post about the power of perpetual touch we talked about what is a drip marketing technique and why it is an important part of cultivating relationships for business.  To expand on the idea that perpetual touch is important, I wanted to cultivate and explain the difference between a good drip, and a bad drip.  As I explained in that article, it is not enough to simply touch someone, they have to desire your attention.  So what are some good ways to drip, and some not so good methods you ask? Here are my top five:

Top 5 good drip marketing tips:

1. Always ask them first!  This is especially important with email marketing, and does not relate as much to Social Media touching and direct mail!  Permission is key, email is private and personal to many of your recipients. The very first bad way to ruin your impression is to send them something they don't want!
2. Be authentic! If you think about business all the time, it is OK to post about business, however, you will tire your audience! They want to know that you are well rounded! Keep your posts centered around who you are. Get a little personal by sharing your values and your humor! They will connect with it.
3. Show up for every meal you are invited to! If you know what they want and need, give it to them and show up on time. There is nothing worst than getting someone to give you access to their trust, and under delivering what they expect you to know and offer them. 
4. Send cards! People love them and they go a long way, especially if they are hand written!
5. Be spontaneous!  As much as you can try to stick with a blueprint of how you want to touch your audience based on information you have gathered about them, but don't hold tight and fast to this.  Spontaneous and unprompted reach can be very compelling. Follow your promptings! If you think of them, send them a note!  This always translates into a language they receive!

Top 5 bad drip marketing tips:

1. Don't: Send them everything you got! If they don't care about this service, product, or event, don't bully them with information about it.
2. Don't: Forget their interests, important occasions, and technical aptitude! If they give you a birthday, remember it! If they don't tweet, don't invite them to connect on twitter! If they want to learn about email marketing, don't teach them about widgets!  You know longer look like a person who wants to help, but like a person who wants to sell!
3. Don't: Send them a letter you send to everyone else. Be careful of form letters! They look very impersonal and usually get trashed.
4. Don't: Show up for every meal! Don't overstate & over saturate them with your presence! People like seeing you, but if they see you too much, they will certainly get bored with your content. Listen better than you talk. You will be received much better.
5. Don't: Get too personal! People care about your kid and the cute things they do, but they easily get tired of your opinions on all hot topics!  Have opinions, just respect the opinions of others more! Stay close to places where we all see eye to eye, relate, and understand with common ground.

Drip Marketing is not rocket science, but it is an art!  Be creative, courageous, and meaningful so all will value what you have to say, and how it affects them... beyond business, into every day life.