Is email marketing dead in the water and how is the internet affecting journalism?
Newsletter Add commentsIf you only want to pay professionals who other people rave about, then you’re in the right place. CertainShops – professionals online. The certain way of doing business.
SUZY’S DIARY
Having won a week in Corfu I was not about to leave my laptop behind, but with no internet connection to hand and a business plan to complete, being stuck on a Greek island could have been a problem. Especially when trudging up the hill in search of broadband in the blazing sun, I noticed that the locals started to take on the qualities of characters from the John Fowles novel The Magus.
Thank goodness for CertainShops. When I finally staggered into a bar with a wireless connection I was able to contact a business consultant, contract lawyer and a website designer to get the advice and the quotes I needed. After the obligatory several Greek brandies the journey back down the hill was easy, though strangely it took even longer to get back to the villa than it had done to climb the hill.
With the business plan underway, I could finish reading The Magus the next morning. If only I could focus on the words. Sunstroke I guess.
THE CERTAIN WAY OF LIVING LIFE
“What’s the latest news?”
I had to to take my three young children into London last Saturday for a photo shoot with Eve Magazine.
A women’s glossy magazine with a readership of 318,000, average age of reader at 37 years and 85% ABC1 profile, it was worth dragging the kids out of bed at 6.30am and having the photographer bribing them with sweets and e-numbers by the score.
We should be featured in the issue that comes out at the end of August.
“How do we get some free tickets to SOS and create some useful statistics?”
Thank you to all of you who have contributed by doing a really quick survey.
There has been a great response and the data from it will make interesting reading, which I shall of course share via the newsletter. But a few more responses would make the statistics even more useful so If you could spare three minutes to help me get some answers to some serious questions (well, most of them are serious) I will say thank you by offering some free tickets (you may have a friend you would like to give them to) for the UK’s first ever divorce fair – the Starting Over Show in Brighton on 11 October 2008.
Or paste this link into your browser: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ZyY6t_2bG1A9MsCkfYJGvx8g_3d_3d
It really is quick and simple – and your answers to these very few questions will be valuable. I will of course share the results of the survey and you are welcome to make use of the information as long as it is credited appropriately.
Get some free tickets to this unique event now! (PS check out the exhibitors signed up so far – you don’t need to be breaking up to want to start over, so everyone is welcome!)
“Can I win something without contributing anything useful at all?”
Want to win a free photo portrait session with no hidden catches?
Win a portrait photography session with Scott Collier
There is still time to enter as the competition doesn’t close until the 20 July 2008.
If you need some smart but unstuffy photos to boost your professional image, or you want some spontaneous and eternal memories of your family recorded, Scott will make that happen. AND you can have the digital negatives too, which is not something every photographer gives up lightly, especially not for free.
Treasure Hunt clue:
Which personally referred professional on CertainShops can help you prevent the “loss of the family home to pay for Long Term Care Fees, a large Inheritance Tax bill or the possibility of financial hardship for a spouse”? Oh, and she’s a girl.
A clue: click on Legal Services Area to find the right ’shop’ where this professional resides.
“How did the winner of the Venice accommodation feel about their trip?”
The winner of three nights in Venice was Kathryn Colas of Simply Hormones. This is what she told us:
“Venice was great, accommodation especially so, as far from the madding crowd (but not too far!). Prices in local bars and restaurants reflected what the locals would pay rather than the inflated tourist prices in centre of Venice. I actually passed the prize onto my eldest daughter, Sara, who’s 30. She went with a girlfriend and hasn’t stopped raving about it. They were given lots of local information on sightseeing sans crowds. Would recommend it to everyone, fallen in love with Venice! I couldn’t go in the end as crossed with a last minute flight my husband booked to Spain.
My husband and I are going to Italy mid-July, booking through Jeanie Travel, also passing through Venice, so thoroughly looking forward to going there armed with my daughter’s experience of avoiding the usual crowds. Annarosa and I have communicated through emails on a few occasions and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her facility to others.”
“Any interesting articles/blogs?”
Just read a really interesting article by Brad King about how journalism is being utterly transformed because of the internet, and felt the need to turn my comments on the article into a short posting.
My first real foray into PR has been an exciting one – on the one hand, I shall be featured in women’s magazines and the national press as the producer of the Starting Over Show, shamelessly bearing my own personal story to the world. On the other hand, I am enjoying writing press releases for the event to highlight issues that it brings to light, and really feeling that there is a gulf between creating and writing copy for even respectable broadsheets, and the more thoughtful, less homogonised writing for blogs.
One experience that Brad King relates rang true, and is very significant since many other recipients of ‘news’ will have the same experience – and that experience will affect the future of journalism.
“Until the 1980s, media outlets were the sole provider of information. If you wanted to find out what was happening, you turned on the TV, listened to the radio or read the newspaper.
Last night, I found out George Carlin had passed away through a Twitter post, logged on to MySpace to see what my friends had said and then watched his old routines on YouTube while I was reading Wikipedia about his life.
I still haven’t visited a newspaper site because I have no desire to read some reported story.
I don’t need to.”
My comments to the article went as follows: “Excellent article. I am currently involved in the media in different capacities. I rely on Twitter for news and hardly ever read the newspapers, but ironically I am currently being interviewed for features in womens’ magazines with story twists and ‘angles’ that make good copy, but may end up trivialising the real story underneath.
I create my own surveys to get data for my own press articles, writing about the real issues behind ‘my story’, relying on social networking hubs and the web for stats and real opinions. But I fear these will be given a ‘truer’ reflection in the blog versions I post than in the final press release draft, as the traditional press audience appears to prefer a dumbed down version of the news – or the news editors think they do.
In other words, ‘real news’ now comes from and is created by the activists online, whereas the paper news speaks to a generation brought up on comic book papers discussing issues devoid of complexity. The real mass media is what people are talking about on Twitter and Facebook, but for me it has increasingly more substance and relevance than even the broadsheets can muster. Online articles like this, for example.”
For more general blogs and articles on business related topics
check out Suzy Says
PROFESSIONAL SPOTLIGHTS
David Van Sertima, e-alph1 – Internet Marketing and Web Design
Is email dead in the water as a marketing tool?
With so much spam and so little time to even read emails let alone respond to them, it easy easy to dismiss email as anything more than a way to `keep in touch’ and share information – assuming it actually makes it through into the recipients email box. But internet markateer David Van Sertima reckons email is still a valuable tool.
Why email marketing is good for you.
While a slow down in the economy is certainly not good for anybody, it may have a positive beneficial effect on email marketing. Or at the very least, email marketing should be less affected by the dreaded “R word” than other marketing channels.
Because of email’s low cost, high Return On Investment (ROI) value and the fact that it is a proven medium, marketers might see themselves directing more marketing pounds to this channel as a sure thing. It’s a safe port in troubling times.
Why Choose an Autoresponder for email marketing?
Experts state it often takes 7 or more messages before prospective customers make a purchase.
Unlimited eMail marketing campaigns, lists, follow up messages, and newsletters.
Reliable, >99% + email deliverability, very fast.
Variety of different styles of Templates for newsletter and follow up design.
We can create and add opt-in web forms to your website.
Access to Free training guides and videos.
Expert free customer support.
Is email marketing cost effective for customer building?
Your target market will need to see your message at least seven times or more before considering a purchase. Daily, weekly, or even monthly emails are the cost-effective way to gives your brand an edge in a tough market.
The facts are -
53% of business users check their email six or more times during the working day.
34% of internet users check their email continuously throughout the day.
Email marketing works because :
It captures info – send autoresponders to gain further chances of making contact after they’ve left your site
It allows targeting – send a series of offers or follow-up info on related topics, products and services
It builds relationships, loyalty and trust – keep customers coming back
It keeps you in touch with existing and potential clients – interact, get their feedback, know what they think
It drives sales – increase your frequency of repeat business, up-sell and cross-sell
The benefits are clear:
Email marketing is cost effective, measurable, trackable, profitable and easy to do.
David Van Sertima at e-Alpha1 specialises as a leading London internet marketing service provider of search engine optimisation, website design, blog design, email marketing, article marketing, blogging, online press releases, Google Ad word management and link building for all business using the Internet throughout the world.
