admin – Page 17

April 16, 2011 by admin

Why Constant Contact works for me? – A Constant Contact Review

: Joe D’Eramo, freelance copywriter, says “Constant content is another reason to use Constant Contact.”

Over the course of the next several weeks, HiRoad Communications will be interviewing Constant Contact users to get their take on why Constant Contact remains their product of choice for e-mail marketing, event marketing and surveys.

First up, yours truly, HiRoad Communications, a Constant Contact user and reseller since 2002.

How long have you been using Constant Contact?

JD: We started using Constant Contact back in 2002.

What Constant Contact products do you use?

JD: About 99 percent of the time I use the e-mail marketing tool. Occasionally, we’ll dabble with the survey tool.

What do you use it for?

JD: I put out a monthly e-newsletter, Changing Lanes. It’s nothing that fancy. Just a newsletter that features some type of business writing tip. Usually, it’s just about sharing some product or tactic that’s worked for me in the past. Sometimes it’s anecdotal. In the past, I’ve even used testimonials from clients. It’s really just my way of demonstrating my expertise and knowledge on this subject.

What do you like about it?

JD: There are people on my e-mail list whom I’ve never met. There are people who I met several years ago and haven’t seen in person in more than five years. Yet every month, it feels like they hear from me on a frequent basis. Now I know part of that is my writing style because my writing has the feel of a conversation on the computer screen. But another part is they get used to seeing an e-mail from me, so I’m never completely out of mind.

What’s been your biggest challenge in using Constant Contact?

Biggest challenge might be a bit of an oxymoron when it comes to Constant Contact because it is so easy to use. I’m not a graphic designer by trade so I would have to say knowing where to put images so that it looks nice. Calling that a challenge is a bit unfair. It is so easy to use the templates that if you just follow what’s already set up, you can’t go wrong.

How successful has Constant Contact been in helping you grow your business?

It varies. I probably pick up an additional 5-10 percent in revenues because of my monthly newsletter. That’s either from work from previous clients or referrals from somebody on my mailing list.

If you could cite one reason why companies, small business owners and organizations should use Constant Contact, what would it be?

Just did. Keeping in regular touch with your existing customers and network is the main reason. One the main complaints you hear from small business owners is when one of their regular customers goes to a competitor for a service they offer. Now, there could be a number of other reasons why the regular customer went somewhere else. The most likely it was because they didn’t know the small business owner offered that service as well. With Constant Contact and a regular monthly or quarterly e-newsletter, you can easily prevent that from occurring.

March 30, 2011 by admin

Listen up, small business owners

Perhaps it’s the very description of our lot in life–the small business owner– that gives us a bit of a chip on our shoulder and the need to get in every last syllable. You know what I’m talking about if you have ever been to a BNI meeting or some other networking event. For whatever the reason, small business owners are, in Seinfeld terms, interrupters.

In other words, we are guilty of not always letting the other person in the conversation finish their thought before interjecting ours. Kind of like the business version of the former Big Show on WEEI.

Of course, yours truly is guilty as charged as a serial abuser. No more. Starting now, whether it’s a phone call or face-to-face, you will no longer hear my thoughts or opinions until the other person’s verbal thought has finished of its own volition, a sort of imaginary talking stick. When the person is done, I can imagine them passing it on to me and then it’s my turn.

There, I’m feeling better already. And you can join me on this mission to incorporate a critical element to all small business communication: listening. We’ll call it a Listener’s Club. Here are the rules.

Rule 1: Before you speak, make sure the other person in your conversation has stopped speaking for more than a count of three. Up until that point, LISTEN.

Rule 2: Learn Rule 1.

Rule 3: Be really sure you learn Rule 1.

Being a small business owner is not an easy task these days and, in many cases, it is dog-eat-dog out there. Yet our best hope in building our own business rests more on our ability to listen than it does blurting out our elevator speech. If we all listen, we can all win.

Sounds simple, but it sure makes a lot more sense when nobody interrupts.

March 24, 2011 by admin

“Under Construction”

Does anything change your opinion of a company more than when you are surfing through a Web site and come across a page that says “Under Construction”? Probably not. Yet it’s something you see all the time.

Why? Good question. Perhaps they think you will check back at a later date to see if the construction is finished. And if you believe that one, perhaps you should start drafting your annual missive for Santa Claus.

Unless you’re a contractor or construction worker, people generally don’t like construction, real or online. Making an “Under Construction” sign part of your Web site–the 24/7 sales rep for your company–sends any number of negative messages to current and potential customers-from not being ready to not appreciating the time and effort it took for them to visit your site.

The advice here is never have the words “Under Construction” on your site. If a page isn’t ready to go, leave it off the site. Or, at worst, have a message that says “more information on _________is coming soon”. If it’s truly noteworthy, you can announce the new content as part of your next e-newsletter or, if really noteworthy, as a press release.

When it comes to people visiting your Web site, you really may only get one chance to make an impression. An “Under Construction” sign is the surest way to get them to take an alternate route the next time.