Email and Web 2.0 Marketing, part 4

I've talked about the means I used to promote the speaker series and now I want to talk about the content that was created by the series.

As soon as I agreed to produce this speaker series geared towards micro and small business owners, as well as business students, I knew that I wanted to create something lasting as a part of it. I knew that there was a possibility that many people would hear the speakers live, but that many more people might watch videos of the events. So I looked to ensure that there would be something for people to see after the events were over.

First, I acquired a domain name for the series and had that domain point to http://enitiative.syr.edu/talkingbusiness/. I felt that it would be easier for people to remember SyracuseTalkingBusiness.com while I was promoting the series, than something less memorable. (All of the collateral material included that easy to remember URL.) It was the Enitiative Program that gave me a grant for the series and that was willing to host the videos, etc.

If you look at the Enitiative web site, you will see information on all of the events. Prior to the event, this was promotional material. After the event, this became a repository for the materials that were created for the long-term. The materials created include text, video recording and photographs.

Text -- I was fortunate to have access to a student who was able to write notes for several of the sessions. For the other sessions, I wrote notes during or after the event which are admittedly at varying quality levels. All of the notes give the reader an idea of what the session entailed and hopefully entice the person to watch the video.

Video -- I contracted with a video service to video record all of the events and to make them Internet-ready. Having a videographer is not necessarily cheap, but it allows you to create a wonderful resource that is available at any time for someone to use. The videos are linked to the event pages on the Enitiative web site.

Photographs -- I also hired a photographer for the series. The photos were used in several ways:

• I used the photographs in some of the email promotions. I thought it would be helpful for people to see what the series looked like.
  
• Every speaker received photographs from his or her session as a speaker gift. I was amazed at how appreciative the speakers were when they got photos from their events. If you are considering a different speaker gift, consider giving photos after the fact.
  
• A few of the photos from each session were placed on the Enitiative web site.
• At least one of the photos was used in the Enitiative annual report.
• Several of the photos were uploaded to Flickr where people often trip over interesting content. All of the photos have links back to the Enitiative web site.
  

I should note that one of the effects of having a videographer and a photographer at the sessions is that people took the sessions more seriously. It was clear that these sessions weren't "throw away" events. Everything that was done to promote the series and to ensure that quality content was left behind made people feel that these sessions were meant to have an impact.

I will admit that this was all a lot of work. I produced on event per month, which gave me little downtime between events. Once one event was done, I needed to begin work on the next one. In hindsight, I should have done few events. Maybe I should have done them every other month. For sure, I should not have done sessions in the summer (July and August) or in December. Those are times when weather -- both good and bad -- becomes a factor.

All of the work was worthwhile when people learned something new, made new connections, or found a new resource. I kept hearing that I was doing good work and the smiles I saw on the faces of speakers and participants tell me that was true.

If coordinating an event or speaker series is in your future, I encourage you to try some of the things that I did. Yes, it will take time, but I guarantee that it will be worthwhile.

Thanks to Enitiative, Syracuse Technology Garden, South Side Innovation Center, WISE Center, Franciscan Collaborative Ministries, and Women Business Owners Connection for being partners, funders and sponsors. Thanks also to all of the speakers because without you this series would not have been possible.

Previous Posts:

• Email and Web 2.0 Marketing, Part 1
• Email and Web 2.0 Marketing, Part 2
• Email and Web 2.0 Marketing, Part 3
  

---

Technorati tags: Email, Marketing

Email and Web 2.0 Marketing, part 3

I've talked thus far about the email marketing I did using Constant Contact. Now let me talk about the other ways I promoted the series, which were a combination of "old school" and "new school" techniques.

Press releases -- A month before the next event, I would write and distribute a press release promoting it. The press release was send via email to the local media and to many local groups that I thought should know about the event. Several media outlets added the sessions to their calendar of events because of the press releases. Many people learned about the series because of the press releases.

A press release does have a specific format and so the first one can take time to write well. After that, however, you can quickly modify the original press release for the next announcement. PRweb has tips for writing a good press release.

Newspaper calendar items -- Being in the business calendar published by the local newspaper and business journal was a good move. Many people scan the calendar in order to learn about upcoming events. Be aware that most news media require calendar items 2-4 weeks in advance.

Media interviews -- People often groan that they send out a press release and that the media never use it. You should never consider a press release to be a waste. Yes, there are times when a press release generates no interest and no mention in the media. Remember, though, that someone at the news outlet has seen the release and read it. That means that you have built awareness with someone in the media and that awareness may pay-off when you least expect it. For me, one of the pay-offs was being asked to do a live radio interview about one of the sessions entitled "The Ugly Truth About Small Business."

While I didn't contact the media specifically to offer myself or any of the speakers for interviews, that is something that you may want to consider. Some media outlets are starved for content and may be very receptive to a telephone interview.

In-person Announcements -- At any meeting or event that you attend, ask if you can make brief (or maybe long) announcement about your event. Yes, it can be time-consuming to attend many events for this purpose, but it will help to build awareness and it will allow people to connect you (a real person) with the event.

Giveaways -- You could spend a fortune on cute giveaways to promote your event. I decided to use postcards and flyers. It is very easy to create and order a great looking postcard online. If you want other promotional items, it would do you well to check what's available online in addition to checking local suppliers.

I did order many postcards and handed them out at sessions, events where I announced about the series, etc. The real trick to to give out as many as possible, which can be hard to do it you're shy. Art Zimmer, owner of the Syracuse New Times and one of my speakers, said that he gives out 500 business cards per month or 16 cards per day. Imagine if you handed out 16 notices per day about an event you were hosting? Zimmer doesn't worry about handing his cards to qualified people. In his mind, the more people that know about him, the better. For you, the more people that know about your event, the better.

Twitter -- In an effort to spread the word even further, I began tweeting about the sessions. And yes, I did have someone attend that specifically said he had heard about it through Twitter.

In 140 characters, you may be able to give the title and URL for an event. Consider mentioning the event in advance and then the day of. Try to be provocative (without being misleading), so that people will open the URL and read about the event.

Flickr -- Photos of events in Flickr do get noticed if they are given good descriptions and tags. You don't need to put many photos online, but they should be photos that will help people understand the event. And be sure to point people at the photos and use the photos in any web promotions that you might do.

If your event is not a series, you may think that placing photos -- or even video -- online will not help, but understand that some people will want to know what the event or venue looks like, so try to find or create photos that will promote the event or help people understand what the event will be.

Likely your amazed at the amount of "old school" promotion that I did. My promotion techniques matched the audience in this region that I wanted to attract. I was after small and micro business owners, and that group locally is not necessarily web 2.0 savvy.

I also struggled against a history in this region of people saying that they were interested in a topic and then not showing up. My thought was that getting info in front of people in multiple ways might counteract that. Sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't.

I do think that it is important to understand your audience and what marketing methods they will respect and value. Not every method works for every audience. Sometimes you may have to do a bit of trial and error in order to find out what works.

Of course, what we really want is to create buzz about our events. Buzz happens when other people are excited about what you're doing. Everything listed above will help you create buzz, but the most important factor is to have an exciting and worthwhile event.

Next week, I'll talk about the materials that were created by this series and what they have to do with marketing. Yes, the series does live on!

Previous Posts:

• Email and Web 2.0 Marketing, Part 1
• Email and Web 2.0 Marketing, Part 2

---

Technorati tags: Email, Marketing

Email and Web 2.0 Marketing, Part 2

Last time, I talked about creating the list that I used for distributing the email message about the speaker series I was producing. As I mentioned, I used a variety of ways to get email addresses to use, always keeping in mind that I needed to have permission to use those addresses. (Permission helps to ensure that the messages are not seen as spam.) Now let's talk about the medium for the message.

While it is possible to do email blasts using any email program, you want to create emails that:

• are appealing
• will not be seen as spam
• include easy ways to subscribe and unsubscribe
• can be personalized
  

Can you create in your email program (e.g., MS Outlook) an appealing email message? Yes, but there are companies that provide high qualify email templates that will make your messages look better. While it is the message that matters, we all know that "the look" can influence how people perceive the message and whether it is read. Templates can include those that look like newsletters, postcards, sales announcements, etc.

If you're emailing hundreds of similar messages from your email program (e.g., MS Outlook), routers on the Internet may see that as being spam. Instead of messages being delivered into people's inboxes, messages will be rejected or placed in junk mail folders.

Users need to be able to easily unsubscribe from your emails. They should not feel as if they need to contact you personally for that (and perhaps be questioned about why). In addition, new users need to be to easily subscribe to your emails. This also means that the email distribution list is easy to maintain.

Finally, I know that personalized emails are read more frequently. Personalizing each manually would be too much work, so using a service that would do this automatically was very important.

I decided to invest in Constant Contact for my email marketing. While I did look at a few other services, Constant Contact's selling point was its 60-day free trial.¹ I was able to build my email distribution list, customize my template, upload images for use with my emails, and actually send out messages for free during the trial period.

Things I considered and learned:

• I decided to limit the number of announcements I would send per month. I did 2-3 per month with the hope that the frequency would not be seen as annoying. I sent the first message soon after the previous month's event, then sent a follow-up about a week before the next event. If I felt that something had not been communicated correctly (yes, that can happen), I did a third email.
  
• I continually worked on my subject lines in an effort to increase the number of emails that were opened and read. Yup, Constant Contact and other email marketing services will tell you who has opened the messages and give you statistics. This can be both encouraging and depressing when you realize that not everyone sees your emails as being as vital as you!
• I structured my emails so that key information was easy for the reader to find. I know the frustration with emails that obscure what they are about.
• I listened to questions and feedback received (via email and in person) in order to improve the messages.
• I knew that I would never know everything about email marketing! Every month, I learned something about what I was (or was not) doing. Every month, my emails improved.
  

Continuing on the thought that there is always more to learn, additional (and useful) information can be found at:

• The 7.5 rules of e-mail marketing
• Sending relevant, targeted marketing emails
• MarketingProfs
• Email campaign case studies (one good, one bad)

I know that cost is an issue for you and it was for me, too. I decided, however, that the features and flexibility of using an email marketing service would be worth the cost. I built that cost into the cost of producing the series (and it was a minor cost).

Finally, I should mention that I received complements about the emails that were sent for the series. People liked the simple template that I used and the information that I included. Once I started using truly eye-catching subject lines, I got positive feedback on those too. Utilitarian subject lines are fine, but subject lines that peak someone's curiosity are even better!

Next week, I'll talk about the other ways I promoted the series including using online social tools, and the last email in this series will talk about the digital assets created for prosperity (and their real purpose).

---

¹ For distribution lists under 100 recipients. Once the list surpassed 100 people, the monthly fee kicked in.

---

Technorati tags: Email, Marketing

Email and Web 2.0 Marketing, Part 1

Beginning in April 2008, I started doing email and web 2.0 marketing of a speaker series that I was producing. The series ended in April 2009 and I thought it might be good to talk about what I learned about email marketing during that year and how I employed web 2.0 for the series.

First, let me tackle email marketing. Yes, email is still important because of the amount of information that can be transmitted. As "old school" as it may seem, it worked for me!

Creating the Email List

It is easy to jump ahead and think about what software you're going to use and how pretty you want those email messages to be, but the first thing you really need to do is create the email list.

As I approached the start of my series and the desire to do email marketing, I realized that I didn't have a list of people who had given me permission to email them about this series. Having permission is important so that your messages are not considered spam. So my first task was to find ways of creating the list.

1. There were a number of people whom I knew who would tolerate an "out of the blue" email on the series, so I added them to my list. I was careful about who I selected, knowing that I was walking a fine line between permission and spam. The software I used for the email messages did allow people to unsubscribe on their own, which meant that anyone who didn't want the messages could stop receiving them. (By the way, very, very few people ever unsubscribed.)
2. I exhibited at a local event so I could pass out postcards about the series and collect business cards. Anyone who gave me a business card was added to the list.
3. Once the series started, I used a sign-in sheet not only to keep track of attendance (important for my statistics since the series received grant funds), but also so I could collect email addresses. Those people where added to my list.
4. I had one organization that gave me their email list so I could market specific sessions to them. Since they would not allow me to use those email addresses on an ongoing basis, that only gave me a temporary bump in the number of people I could email (and that was okay).
5. Anyone who expressed an interest in the series also got added to my list.

While my list continued to grow throughout the life of the series, I didn't do anything to grow it into a mammoth list. For example, I could have:

• Used ads to attract people to the series and to get them to sign up for the announcements.
• Asked other people/organizations for their lists.
• Purchased a list.
  

A mammoth list would have needed more grooming than what I was prepared to do. Instead, I used other techniques to spread the word about the series. I'll talk about those later.

For now, if you are considering email marketing, start making a list of people that you would like to include in that marketing campaign. If possible, collect those names and email addresses in a way so that it is clear that you have permission to contact them.

Also recognize that your list is always a work in progress. It will never be finished!

---

Technorati tags: Email, Marketing

My email inbox

Back in March, I wrote about Inbox Zero, which is a "movement" or technique of having nothing in your email inbox. The idea is that you handle every message once and either file it, act on it or delete it. If an email requires action at a later date, then you create a to-do and eliminate the email message. I was inspired and tried to put some of the ideas to use immediately.

First, I took my inbox and moved all of the pre-2008 messages to their own folder. Honestly, I could probably delete the entire folder, but I fear that's when I'll need something from it! (I'll continue that excuse for a little while longer, then sort and delete.)

Second, I went through the remaining messages and tried to delete as many as possible. That didn't get me to zero at all, but it made things more manageable.

Third, I began to better handle my incoming email. It is still not natural, but I've gotten better at handling most messages once. And I'm learning to delete more messages that truly have no lasting value.

But the real change occurred in June when I moved to using Google Apps for my business mail. Yup, it may not look like it, but I'm using the business version of Gmail. The move meant that I acquired a new -- empty -- inbox and I've worked to try to keep it very manageable (under 45 messages). That means that I delete, file, answer, etc. rather than saving lots of messages to handle later. When my inbox gets "more full" (and it does about once a week), then I spend a little time going through it and cleaning it out. The good news, it that I am more efficient when there are less messages in my inbox!

Since I use Microsoft Outlook -- even with Google Apps -- it took me a long, long time to discover a positive and a negative about the business version of Gmail. What is it? Actually, there is an "All Mail" folder on the Google server that contains everything that I've received. While this means that I can retrieve something that I've accidentally deleted from Outlook, it also means that there is a huge bundle of email that I really should delete. I mean...I don't need it...but...okay...I'll admit, realizing that it is there had made me feel good! And I'll delete it...one day...

So...yes...I have made progress. I'm more in the mode of inbox zero, although I'm not totally there yet.

And you? How are you doing with your inbox?

---

Technorati tag: Email

Gmail address aliases

I learned about this yesterday morning in a casual "post-church" conversation. Gmail allows email aliases. They explain:

Gmail doesn't offer traditional aliases, but you can receive messages sent to your.username+any.alias@gmail.com. For example, messages sent to jane.doe+notes@gmail.com are delivered to jane.doe@gmail.com.

You can set up filters to automatically direct these messages to Trash, apply a label or star, skip the inbox, or forward to another email account.

One more reason to like Gmail!

---

Technorati tag: Email

Use EOM and NTR

"Old time" computer programmers know the acronyms EOL and EOF -- or -- end of line and end of file. Those who saw the movie Tron may remember a reference to EOF near the end of the movie. Both acronyms were used in computer programming and then crossed over to be used by programmers in other communications.

Now a new acronym is emerging -- EOM or end of message. This is being used in email when the only text being sent is in the subject line. For example:

SUBJECT: Yes, mtg. @ 12n, will bring docs EOM

The EOM would tell the recipient that there is no text in the message, so the person can read the subject and feel comfortable deleted (or filing) the message without opening it.

NTR means no thanks required. For example, if you send a message where a person may consider sending a "thank you," consider telling the person that no thanks is required. You can do that as text or use the acronym.

Of course, there are other terms or phrases you might use such as no response required or no reply required. Both of these would free the person from sending an unnecessary response and from you having to read the reply.

Of course, the person could reply with the thanks in the subject line and with EOM!

If you try these ideas, be sure to tell your colleagues what you are doing so they will understand your messages. If you decide that your staff should try this, talk about it at a staff meeting and get people to at least try the idea.

---

Technorati tag: Email