Prezi

Prezi is a very different presentation software... I love it! http://www.prezi.com/

 Check out this one I made to illustrate the newsletter set-up process: http://prezi.com/b0u1bxp8iywu/newsletter-campaign-creation-process/

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This Simple Tip Will Improve Your Writing... and Your Confidence

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Sometimes it's hard to heed my own advice. Even when I know this particular piece of advice is perhaps the most important when it comes to creating content. I can give you a number of tips to help you write better articles. But there is one simple thing you can do that can really improve the quality of your work, to make your content more useful and interesting. This tip is particularly ingenious - are you ready for it? Prepare your content over two separate sittings , preferably on two different days. It's a simple concept but often not so easy to implement with deadlines looming . First sitting: do an outline research if necessary write a draft Second sitting: review and edit your draft add appropriate links to past articles run spell-check and proof (read aloud if you don't have a proofer) Coming back to your writing with fresh eyes will almost always result in improvement. Because you are taking extra care to craft your messages, you'll feel mo...
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How to Write the Introduction to Your First Newsletter

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You want to start strong and the way to do that is to make a personal connection with your readers . While there are many ways to make that connection in each issue, your first issue is where you set up expectations about the value you'll provide. It's often the point at which subscribers choose to stay or go. Here are some things you might want to include: Write your introduction to your ideal client . Acknowledge that this is your first issue and that you appreciate your readers' attention. Tell readers what they'll be getting and how often. Outline the benefits of staying subscribed. If you have added your customers and business contacts to your subscriber list without their express permission, acknowledge that you have done so and why you have. (For example, you might say that they have bought something from your store, or you met at a networking event.) Tell readers that it's easy to unsubscribe via the footer in this and every email. A...
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Can Iceland's Volcano Drive Blog Traffic?

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There are so many things to consider and details to look after when it comes to email marketing that the big picture can easily be lost. Here is what small business owners like us always need to keep in mind: #1. You want your subscribers to be from your target market , or have influence with your target market. #2. To get and keep those subscribers, your content - whether it's articles or advertisements - needs to be interesting or useful to your target market. Let me repeat that: your content is for your target market. Which means it's not about you - and doesn't even have to be about what you do . If you are starting out, before you think about what you want to include, first think about what your subscribers would want. If you can find an answer to this question, you've got it made: What can you give your target market that they can't get anywhere else? Click to Tweet this Article
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The Myth of Double Opt-in

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One day, not so many years ago, an email marketer with big glasses and a funky haircut decided to add a bunch of people he didn't know to his email list. When he got complaints, instead of owning up and politely offering to remove them, he said, “I didn't do that. Someone else must have signed you up.” This geeky guy was the first of many. And so, the myth of the mysterious newsletter signer-upper was born. The email marketing industry somehow had to address this strange phenomenon. How could they keep these signer-uppers from signing other people up? And so, the double opt-in process was born. Of course, this made it really difficult for the signer-uppers to cause mayhem. No longer did signer-uppers gather on Friday nights over beer to wreak havoc on the email marketing world. Now the experts, who not so many years ago were preaching that having a double opt-in process was a must, are saying that maybe it’s not so necessary anymore. I have ye...
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Let's Play like Adults

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Yesterday I politely wrote asking to be removed from a mailing list after receiving a promotional email that was ugly, far from CASL-compliant, and for products I’m not interested in. I even included links to CASL info in an effort to help. I received this response a few moments later: “Please do the same for me.” This childish reaction came from an older man who had attended a free email marketing training I put on last spring at the request of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. He sells products to my target market. Do you think I’m ever likely to recommend him to anyone now? Email marketing isn't a game, it’s a business strategy. I firmly believe we should unsubscribe from mailings that aren't of interest to us. I read many newsletters from people who don’t read mine. It’s not a “tit for tat” thing. Email marketing costs money. Why would we want to waste our efforts sending messages to people who don’t want them ? Go ahead, unsubscribe from the things you don’t w...
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What were you doing on Boxing Day?

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Were you reading my blog on December 26, 2013? Maybe not but someone was because I had over 800 pageviews that day. Up to that point, it was the most pageviews I'd ever had in one day. In fact, it was 10% of the monthly total - significant for one day. graph of blog pageviews by month Those of you who take time off from online marketing on the holidays are leaving ripe pickings for those of us who don't. You might think there aren't as many business people online on days such as New Year's or Easter, and you'd be right. But those who are online are there to browse;  they read more deeply . That means they might read your whole blog post instead of scanning it. They might click on embedded links and read several blog posts.  They might tweet about it.  They might even respond to one of  your calls to action . Thanksgiving is coming soon. Go ahead, disappear. I'll be quite happy to pick up the slack. Click to Tweet this Article
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No Bricks Between Friends

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Sometimes it's hard to give honest feedback, especially if it's negative. After all, the other person worked hard to create something and their feelings might be hurt. But the work is just not 'right', and may even be horribly wrong. What do you do? Be honest , and give good direction about what you don't like and what you'd like to see instead. And what if you don't exactly know what you'd like instead? Be honest about that, too. When discussing this with a new client recently, she said, "No bricks between friends." That saying came from her Irish grandmother, Annie, and the wisdom can certainly be applied to our business relationships, too. Communication, by any of the many options available, takes time and costs money. But we are not saving time by withholding critical feedback. Here are two scenarios that might happen if we do: Later in the project, for example, a website, it becomes evident that the work is not pleasing. And l...
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