The Do's and Dont's of Email Marketing

So you're a small business and you want to start an email marketing campaign. You know little about this topic except for you probably open very few of them yourself. So you're asking, how can I run a successful email marketing campaign for my business?

A good place to start is a solid list of Email Marketing Dos:

• Do: Make sure your message is clear and makes sense
• Do: Provide value to the reader through interesting, relevant, and current information
• Do: Update your contact list frequently and correct addresses that come back as undeliverable
• Do: Design your email newsletter with mobile platforms in mind
• Do: Mail consistently--most suggest at least one email newsletter every 90 days
• Do: Use short paragraphs and use things like bullet points or dashes to organize your content
• Do: Create a solid subject line
• Do: Let readers know about upcoming events
• Do: Spell check and proof read for confusing content
• Do: Provide contact information and links to your social media accounts
• Do: Include links that direct people to your website
• Do: Provide readers will an "unsubscribe" link
• Do: Pick an email marketing platform that best suites your business needs

And another great place to start that pairs well with the first list is a list of Email Marketing Don'ts:

• Do not: Write subject lines or content in all captial letters
• Do not: Use hard to read fonts or colors or use a distrtacting background
• Do not: Mail too frequently
• Do not: Hide your unsubscribe link
• Do not: Only talk about your company, your sales, and how awesome you are

Overall, the best way to answer your questions about social media is to try things out and adjust from there depending on what works and doesn't work. Just like social media, there isn't an official list of rules when it comes to email marketing; the rules need to be adjusted to fit the needs and interests of a company and its customers.

Until next time!
~Melissa

“I believe if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions, they will be moved to act.” 
                                                                                                                          ~ Bill Gates

I'd like to thank the following two websites for helping me out with this content!

http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/410/423/77010.html

http://themainstreetanalyst.com/2013/03/29/dos-and-donts-of-email-marketing-infographic/

Are users taking a break from Facebook? What does that mean for my business?

With the coming of the new year, many companies are asking "are people taking a break from Facebook?". It has been a recent trend in articles and news sites all over, but this is not a very new concept. For years users have come and go from using Facebook regularly. Most return, some do not.

According to a research study by the Pew Research Center, about 61% of Facebook users have taken a Facebook "break" in the past few months. The reasons vary: New Year's resolutions, the coming of Lent, sick of politics or gossip, and just plain don't have any time. According to an article on abc.com, it breaks down as follows:

• 21% said they were too busy
• 10% said it is a waste of time
• 9% said there was too much drama, gossip, and/or negativity
• 4% left due to security or privacy concerns
• 20% quit and never turned back

So what does this mean for you and your business? Honestly, not a whole lot. You will never be able to predict when people are going to leave or why. You cannot control their friends and family and what they post. You cannot control what other businesses post either.

You can control what you post and focus on keeping the users and likes you have though! The main way to maintain regular users is to keep posts relevant, helpful, and informational, time and time again. You have to give the user value or they will not have any reason to keep on "liking" your page. Your goal is to have your page stick out above others; if a user is limiting their time on Facebook you want to make sure they are seeing as much of your content as possible!

To encourage engagement use questions, funny pictures, and useful tips to help people want to stay with your page. You of course want to push your product or service as well, but make sure you have a good balance between interesting and selling.

There is no promise that a user will stay on your page just because they love it that much, but you can always try!

'Till next time!
~Melissa