February 2008
In This issue:
:: Putting the Power in Your Hands
:: My friend gave me this massive list of email addresses to blast to and...
Welcome to 2008! We hope that this year is going to be your best yet. We want to be a big part of your online success, and have many new and exciting products and services coming this year.
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Putting the Power in Your Hands
The first exciting service we want to introduce is SiteMechanic. This is a feature-rich content management system (CMS) for your website. If you’re new to the terminology, this is an online tool that will allow you to make changes, add images, add pages, and create links with a easy-to-use interface. In fact, if you can use Microsoft Word, you can use SiteMechanic. You don’t need to know any code! [Read More]
Create Emails with ease
Use SiteMechanic to update your email templates, then copy and paste the code into your email interface. You’ll be ready to send your own email newsletters as often as you want.
Any website, any time
The power is in your hands to manage your website 24 hours a day whether or not we developed your website.
Save money
Quickly change copy on your site, and add or remove images without having to rely on a programmer.
Make money
With the ability to create your own web pages, you can add landing pages specifically for your pay-per-click campaigns or special offers.
Professional-strength control
You’d expect nothing less from future-ink than the best. That’s why we made sure to pack our CMS with all the tools and features you need to maintain your site with ease. Features include: Time-saving "on-demand" context menus, User-friendly interface, (just 'Point and Click'), Ability to upload images directly into your content, Manage your own meta tags for search engine optimization, and more. View a complete list of features here.
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My friend gave me this massive list of email addresses to blast to and...
- Christianna Connell
For marketers email is one of the least expensive, easiest, and quickest ways to get the word out about their business or product. With all these great attributes, the temptation to purchase an email list or “borrow” one from your various associates can be high. However, you must be aware of the possibly damaging repercussions if the people you email to aren’t expecting to hear from you.
You can be 86’ed from your email service. Constant Contact doesn’t play around and will pull the plug on your account if you receive too many spam complaints. The way around this would be to send the emails yourself. But this approach can be even worse for you! ISPs are bulldogs about protect their clients’ inboxes. It is possible your domain name could end up on a blacklist preventing you from sending even the most mundane email to your most important client.
Having your email ability come to a screeching halt might not have an impact anyway. After all, one of the damaging side-effects of being labeled a “spammer” is that your company loses all credibility and clients will stay as far away as they can. No email. No clients. No problem.
So, what can the well-meaning marketer do to bolster their email list?
Read the fine print. Some email lists for purchase actually have legitimately collected addresses. This means the people on the list have agreed to receive mail from third parties, so will be less surprised by your email.
Give something away. Free information is always a good trade for an email address especially if that means they will get the free information instantly. Always ask if they can be added to your email list, or make sure they understand that being added to your email list is part of the terms for getting the information.
Ask. A friend once told me, if you don’t A.S.K. you won’t G.E.T. Sage wisdom then and now. Networking groups and social functions are great ways to collect business cards. But it’s not exactly a great time to ask for permission to add those people to your email list. However, if they do want more information, you can include the link to your email along with that information and let them know what they can expect in future mailings. Also, let them know that they can opt out any time. If you just have a pile of cards from people that didn’t ask for more information, you can send a follow-up letter and ask them for exclusive permission to add them to your list. Remind them about the event where you met, asking if they would like to subscribe to your emailing list. Tell them how subscribing will benefit them.
Every point of customer contact is an opportunity. Take advantage of all the places you have contact with your clients or customers (invoices, online forms, tradeshow events, networking functions and your website) to tell them about your newsletter and ask them to sign up.
It’s never too early to start. Even if you don’t have a newsletter yet. Start asking your clients for permission to send them information now. Then through Outlook you can send them quick notes once a month to touch base. When you are ready to unveil your email campaign you already have a list of valid email addresses. Voila!
Mouse Your Way to Good Health
Losing weight and getting in shape is the most popular resolution year after year. If you are one of the millions of people that have made this vow, we have stumbled upon a fun application in the fight against bulge. Desktop Counters is a free application from Freelabs that keeps track of your mouse clicks and calculates the calories burned when using your mouse. We don’t make this stuff up!
It’s a mouse! Wait, it’s a remote!
Actually believe it or not the Air MX from Logitech, is both a cordless mouse and a remote. This ingenious little gadget works like a mouse on the desk, but the moment you raise lift it off the desk it magically transforms into a remote. Not just any remote, a sort of Wii type remote that you control with wrist movements instead of buttons. Use this remote to control your computer media center from across the room. With a flick of the wrist you can move through tracks and control the volume. If you use your computer as a main source of entertainment, this just might be your favorite gadget of the year. The specifications don’t say whether or not it will serve as a light saber anytime soon, but for now it tackles two space-hogging gadgets on your desk freeing you to have more room for the popcorn bowl. Check it out.
I wonder how many more calories Air MX can burn than your run-of-the-mill mouse?
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