Email Marketing is a Two Way Street

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Who ever said that email marketing must be one-way push marketing?  Sure, by the very nature of the medium, an email newsletter or email blast begins with one-way communication.  But there are several techniques that you can employ to transform that one-way communication into a dialogue, engaging readers who are interested in you, in the content of your email blast, in your services and in your company!  Here are a few:

1.  Use the word “You” in the title and body of your articles.  Talk directly to and with your reader and ask open ended questions, being sure to suggest how they can respond (a link to your Facebook wall?  A reply-to email address?)

2.  Include a clear call to action.  And include it more than once!  What are you trying to accomplish through your email blast?  Do you want readers to visit your blog to comment on a particular post?  Do you want them to check out your new video spokesperson on your website (check out ours!).  Do you want them to visit your Yelp profile or your Merchant Circle profile and to leave a review? Then ask!

3.  This one is a no-brainer these days, but still worth mentioning.  Be sure to include links to all of your social media assets and encourage people to visit them, to follow you and to contribute to the dialogue.  At a minimum, include a link to your Facebook Page, your Twitter profile and your blog.

Give those three suggestions a try.  Stop back to this post and leave us a comment with your success stories or your challenges in using these tactics to transform your email communications!

How to Report Email Scams

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

 

We are all routine inundated with email scams, and it is very likely that you are someone who is savvy enough to simply roll your eyes and delete it.  Take a moment, however, to think about what would happen if you were not.  Many people who are using email these days are not aware of the scams that can come into their email this way, and they are getting taken for a great deal of money, time and heartbreak.  As silly as these scams might appear, they can be incredibly damaging if the right person believes them, and if you run across one, you’ll find that the best thing that you can do for yourself and for the internet community at large is to report it.

When you are looking at a scam email, you’ll find that there are a number of actions that you should take.  Make sure that you do not respond to it, and remember that a certain amount skepticism can keep you safe.  Remember that you should always be wary about an email that is trying to get you to donate to a charity and keep in mind that any signs of correspondence from foreign dignitaries and officials should be regarded with care.

Before you report something as a scam, you might want to do a little bit of verification yourself.  You should not click on any links in the email; instead, use a search engine and find the organization or individual’s name.  Chances are, you’ll be able to find other people who have had experiences with the people who are involved.  If the scams seem to involve major companies, you might want to forward the email to them.

When it comes to getting more serious about reporting email scams, keep in mind the fact that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, also known as the FTC will be interested in hearing about the spam and sorting it out.  What you can do is forward the scam to “spam@uce.gov.”  This will enter the email into a database for organization and investigation, and this will give them good evidence when it comes to tracking down and prosecuting scam artists who work in this way.

Take the time to make sure that you report the scam organizations out there; remember that these people will steal hundreds or even thousands of dollars from perfectly innocent people and that the sooner they are reported, the faster prosecution will be!  This is relatively quick and simple action that anyone who is online can do, and you’ll find that this is action that can actually get results.  Make sure that you are part of the solution when it comes to this epidemic, so take some time and do your part!

More interesting email scam posts: 

Careerbuilder Target of New Work-at-Home Email Scam

UAB’s Spam Data Mine collects millions of e-mail messages used to provide investigators with spam intelligence and determine new attack methods. Researchers at the UAB Spam Data … or Money Gram. Warner calls that "a sign that money …

Beware of Citibank Credit Card Renewal Email Scam

In our constant endeavor to keep you updated about internet threats and scams, we have been telling you about different ways in which you can get scammed and how to avoid it. Here is another email scam that we want to warn you about, …

Hit Man Email Scam Returns

The IC3 continues to receive thousands of reports concerning the hit man e-mail scheme. The e-mail content has evolved since late 2006; however, the messages remain similar in nature, claiming the sender has been hired to kill the …

How to Pick a Safe Password

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

Whether you are doing work online or you are creating a work profile that you need to make sure is kept safe, you’ll find that there are plenty of reasons why you need to make sure that the passwords that you choose are difficult to guess and safe.  Even the facts that you might think are secure are often not nearly as safe as you think, so make sure that you think about what you can do to ensure that the first line of defense for your data is a good one.

Remember that a good password can deter the casual snooper quite easily, and generally, that will be all that you need to worry about.  When you think about the fact that an astonishing 80% of security breaches are caused by bad passwords, you can easily see why it is so important to make sure that you have thought about what this means to you.  Many people select simple passwords because they don’t believe that they can remember a longer, more complicated one, but the truth is, it is easy.

Read the rest of this entry »

Some of our clientele...








Contact me
regarding my Web project
Sign up for Email Updates
Email:
 Your Resource

Does this sound like you?
It's 10 p.m. Friday night, you are still in the office trying to finish off a brochure that you really have no time for and you have 5 other projects due first thing Monday a.m.? Say hello to my favorite clients! You are not alone! Call us today 813.495.7070

Email Us