I have said before that I think the Q&A facility of LinkedIn is one of its greatest strengths. Here’s a recent question asking how to build a better e-zine that is an example of what I mean.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Interesting form email product
I had a very positive experience using Ultimate Form Mail for a client. Take a look at it, particularly if you need forms with file upload added quickly to a website; it’s reasonably priced and straightforward to use.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Canned Responses in GMail
The Googlers are at it again – if you receive common questions again and again in email, you can save a canned response and use it at the click of a mouse. See the Mashable review for more information, or just go to Google Labs by clicking the green beaker on the top right side of your GMail browser window, and enable Canned Responses. You’ll see it right below the subject line next time you compose an email.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Tackling the pile of stars
I use GMail’s “star” feature 
as a giant honking todo list, and I’m pleased to say that this weekend, I’m down to 54 starred items. “Inbox Zero” should be “Starred Zero” for me. 
I enjoy using Remember the Milk (in fact, I just downloaded the BlackBerry client, which is called MilkSync), but for email that takes time to process, starring can’t be beat.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Warning signs your client may be spamming
Accidental spamming is an easier to make mistake than you might think. MailChimp offers some do’s and don’ts for a successful email campaign along with tips for talking to stubborn clients.
New to email campaigns? This is a great primer on email campaigns, also from MailChimp.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
MailChimp shows off That Software Guy’s integrations
Always nice to get a bit of buzz from my fellow monkey-lovers at MailChimp. I’m a big fan of their service; if you need an email service provider, check them out.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Three words from Seth Godin about email
Seth Godin speaks to Google – a wonderful talk that’s well worth an hour of your time. Most interesting story: creation of Hallmark collectible ornaments (about halfway through), with followup marketing by email. Takeaway: the most effective email campaigns are
- Anticipated
- Personal
- Relevant
The “email blast” approach has never worked, will never work, and will likely land you in hot water. Take the time to do it right.
That Software Guy works with MailChimp on email promotions. Check out their resource library to see the depth of their expertise. Reasonable prices for small businesses too.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Are you an accidental spammer?
My friend Jeremy over at Being a Starving Graphic Artist Sucks asks, Do You Assume that Everyone Wants to Regularly Hear about Your Creative Freelancing Business?
Delete the words “Creative Freelancing,” and you’ll find it’s an effective question that every small businessperson should be asking themselves. The rules are:
- Just because they bought from you doesn’t mean they want your marketing material.
- Just because they met you at an event doesn’t mean they want your marketing material.
- Just because they emailed you doesn’t mean they want your marketing material.
The best practice here is to use a double-opt-in newsletter provider and allow clients to sign themselves up. I use MailChimp (see examples here) and wrote software to allow Zen Cart users to use MailChimp too. There are many offerings in this space, but I think MailChimp is the best one for SMEs.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
MarketingSherpa’s Email Awards
MarketingSherpa’s 2008 Email Awards Gallery provides a glimpse into the stylish emails top companies are sending as part of their promotions. I was surprised by some of them, such as the Dell followup-up after cart abandonment email.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Building your mailing list
The folks over at Internet Wonders E-Zine have some good suggestions about building your email list. I like all the suggestions but my favorite is the second (set up a promotion or freebie) – if you offer a value proposition rather than just another stream of marketing material, people will be more keen to give you their email addresses.
