[email protected]

Highlight of the Week - Successful at Large

It is not usually a good idea to put a large amount of content into an email. 

That said, it is always a good idea to know your audience when sending an email.

A year ago or so, the Communications Committee of the National Rural Economic Development Association (NREDA) was inclined to move their newsletter to a web page, and simply email the link to members. The committee surveyed their members and learned that most would more likely read their news if it was within the body of the email. 

So the challenge was in front of them: how to successfully present a large amount of content in an email.

The solution was a layout that was well organized and easy to navigate. [email protected] created a three-column layout with a complete table of contents at the top and ample navigation throughout. Large subheads make topics easy to find. Links to excess information make indepth stories more digestible.

If this is a familar challenge, please comment with any additional ideas for organizing large content into an email. 

For an example of the NREDA email newsletter, visit: http://bit.ly/IhpT7g 

 

Highlight of the Week - Email Trends Webinar

Presented by a true expert, Webinar: Email Marketing Trends for 2011 - tomorrow at 9am CET:

A BrightTALK Channel

Highlight of the Week - Mary Cantando's Newsletter

I LOVE Mary Cantando's email newsletter!  Today's "Weekly Growth Tip" is about worrying.  Past tips have been about organizing, staying young, surprising your customer...Mary has some simple and very effective short tips that really hit the spot every time.  Here is the list today:

5 Ways to Stop Worrying

1. Keep busy.
2. Pick a specific time of day and allow yourself to worry for 10 minutes at that time each day. If you start to worry at other times, remind yourself that you've got that 10 minutes reserved to worry, so you don't need to worry right now.
3. Don't worry about something you said or did in the past. We think others remember dumb things we said or embarrassing things we did, but these things are almost always forgotten by others and remembered only by ourselves.
4. Think back to a specific thing you worried about that turned out fine. When you start to worry, remind yourself of the hours you wasted worrying about something specific that ended up better than you expected.
5. "You can't change yesterday, but you can ruin today worrying about tomorrow." Tana Greene, as quoted in The 2010 Woman's Advantage Shared Wisdom Calendar.

The only thing Mary is missing in her email newsletter is the address of her web site!  For more of Mary's great ideas, go to www.thewomansadvantage.biz .

Highlight of the Week - Pam Schoffner

Pam Schoffner posted a rave about social media on her blog:

http://www.schoffner.com/2010/08/thank-you-social-media.html

There is nothing all that unusual about this, except that Pam is one of my friends I rely on for good old-fashined stick-to-the-basics reasoning and perspective.

What happend?  Pam found she actually enjoys social media exchanges, and is recommending it to people she knows! 

So this is telling.  Marketing fuddy duds beware, even the traditionalists are logging on to facebook these days! 

My questions...Is it working?  Does it sell your business or service? Does it bring in customers?  Do you generage measurable results?  And do you measure those results?

Highlight of the Week - Monday Marketing Builder

A new email is coming to my inbox, and I am happy to see that is uses three important must-have features of a good email campaign.  The new relationship-building campaign is sent by Chris Wood at KCCI in Des Moines. 

Here is what Chris is doing right:

1. Catchy, specific subject lines, like "Boom, Boom, POW---> Don't forget about the Boomers!"
2. Brief, easy-to-scan content, like this week's email which was one paragraph, one image, a couple bullets and a chart.
3. Relevant, new stuff!  He reports facts and research that I haven't seen yet, and provides the link for more info.

Here is what Chris could improve: Layout and presentation.  Let's see if we can get a more professional and attractive design for the next one!

Highlight of the Week - 25 Connections

Yesterday's lunch club meeting was one of those "lightbulb" events for me. 

Our VIP Club had the pleasure of listening to Adam Steen of 25 Connections speak about relationship building.  He focused our thoughts on people helping people.

Aha!  It's a matter of matching resources. 

The idea is simple, and not new - just a really focused approach at what we are all aware really does work.  Help a friend, and some day the friend will help you.  Match resources of mutually invested businesses, and some day they will come looking to make a match with you.

Highlight of the Week - PDI Committee Meeting

Ok, this may be the ONLY time I say this...the committee meeting I attended yesterday was the highlight of my day!

Here's why:

1. Our committee of 12 from around the state of Iowa met via telephone.  This cost effective, time-sensative strategy allows me to keep working until the moment we meet and get back to work as soon as we are done.  I am able to take notes and research issues on my computer as we talk.  And we do truly get straight to the "work" of the committee.

2. The first topic of discussion was social media. Our moderator, the Professional Developers of Iowa Director, asked the question, "What social media do you use and what results do you see?"  I learned that among this group of professionals, Linked-In is the most popular social media tool.  Facebook was mentioned, but was used for more personal connections.  Almost everyone had a Twitter account, but almost noone had a real strategy for results.  And YouTube got the nod for posting training and promotional videos.

So, the takeaway?  The three tools worth my time seem to be Linked-In, Twitter, and YouTube. 

The challenge? Integrating the tasks of marketing via social media with existing tools like web site content management, blog posts, email newsletters and online forums. 

So, here is my suggested organizational structure for distributing online marketing content:

1. Begin with the blog.  Jot down ideas and collect responses here.
2. Repurpose for the web.  Refine, support, detail and edit your ideas for posting to a web page. 
3. Summarize in your newsletter.  Email your target audience, explain the relevance of your idea, link to your web page.
4. Promote via Twitter. Write about ideas, link to your web page, ask for retweets.
5. Solicit feedback and create discussion on Linked-In.  Contact your groups, link to the ideas on your web page, and ask a relevant question to open discussion.
6. Go live on YouTube.  Prepare a related interview and post to YouTube.

Highlight of the Week - The Wine Lady @ Gateway

We are publishing a new newsletter for local wine lovers. 

The Wine Lady @ Gateway... makes use of one of the key elements for good email newsletter writing: personal tone.

One of the most challenging creative tasks for email newsletter writers is to produce a professional publication with a more personal tone - something that has style and is memorable yet not flashy or gauche.

With our highlight this week, Abbe writes with authority, and at the same time when you read the newsletter it sounds like she is speaking directly to you.  This is the right mix!

Another challenging creative task for email newsletter writers is to be concise.  This requires:

• touch decision-making
• well crafted sentences
• use of bulleted information
• and good grammar. 

Check around for the perfect mix in the newsletters you read in your inbox.  Who has that perfect mix of tone, professionalism, and content?

Highlight of the Week - Twitter

I have figured out Twitter.  See me wade my way into the social waters at:

http://www.twitter.com/katwired

I plan to follow local social media expert Hillary Brown of Lava Row, international email marketing consultant Tamara Gielen, and Kenneth Yu.  Click their names to learn more about each Tweet.  Sign up with a community of Tweets to begin reading their Tweeps!

If you figure out how this will benefit marketing professionals, comment here!

Highlight of the Week - Trilix Group

I love contests.  I never win, but there's no "quit" in me, and I will keep trying 'til they close the entry box.

Which is why I love the email marketing strategy that includes a well-crafted, relevant and informative contest that is also fun and entertaining.

Trilix Marketing Group developed such a contest using a combination of You-Tube video, sports statistics, their web site, and of course a daily email campaign the weeks preceeding this year's Super Bowl.

The contest comes in with a daily drawing, followed by a grand prize after the Super Bowl Game is played.  And the fun part is the video - ads from previous Super Bowl Games that bring back memories and make me laugh.  What a great idea!

What a great way to keep in front of customers and highlight the agency's strengths.  I would bet they've added a few subscribers to their email list along the way, too.