Rock Your Holidays Grow Your Business
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Just in time for your holiday planning. Reach out to your customers, bring in new prospects, and boost repeat and referral business! Whether you're a B2C, B2B, or nonprofit, this presentation provides simple practical tips for closing out the year on a high note. See this presentation as a webinar on demand at: http://www.theurldr.com/rock-your-holidays-on-demand-signup
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Rock Your Holidays Grow Your Business
- 1. Rock Your Holidays & Grow Your Business Give yourself the gift of new customers © Constant Contact 2014
- 2. KimButler@TheURLdr.com facebook.com/theurldr @theurldr Kim Merritt Butler #theurldrwebinar
- 3. The Constant Contact Toolkit All your online campaigns in one place. . Offers & Promotions Events & Registrations Newsletters & Announcements Feedback & Surveys
- 4. Are you ready? Online holiday sales will increase by 9% Source: Volusion Holiday spending to increase by 3.5% Source: Retail TouchPoints
- 5. Are you ready? Seize the moment! 20%- 40% of yearly sales NOV DEC JAN Source: National Retail Federation
- 6. 1. Have A Plan 2. What’s Your Offer? 3. Set-up A Campaign 4. Next Steps © Constant Contact 2014 What we’re doing today.
- 7. WHERE ARE YOU TODAY? Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Pinterest Instagram Youtube
- 8. Have A Plan
- 9. Are you ready? Know your marketing goal Reach new customers Drive repeat business/ loyalty Motivate donors and advocates Increase membership/ subscriptions
- 10. What’s your offer? How will you engage with customers? Coupon/discount Free shipping Deals Gift cards GIFT Gift with purchase
- 11. Create a holiday marketing strategy Know what they want Segmentation Seasonal customers or supporters VIPs New! Regular customers or donors Divide people into groups based on information like interests and demographics
- 12. Create a holiday marketing strategy Coupon/discount Free shipping Featured products Website traffic Donate Increase awareness Increase membership Reach with Email
- 13. What’s your offer? Be clear. 14
- 14. 15
- 15. Create a holiday marketing strategy Share your email newsletters Post offers Share product photos Provide shopping advice Ask questions to spark conversation Be Social
- 17. Examples of offers Downloads What’s your offer? Event invites & updates Discounts B2B services Hints & tips Support a cause
- 18. Examples of offers 20% off through Thursday Buy Downloads one, get two 1+1= Fun (one for you, one for a friend What’s your offer? Event invites & updates Discounts B2B services Hints & tips Support a cause
- 19. Examples of offers Discounts What’s your offer? Event invites & updates Downloads 5 Tips for Better Gardens Quickstart Guide 7 Mistakes to avoid in your tax preparation B2B services Hints & tips Support a cause
- 20. Examples of offers Register now, save 20% 2-for-1 tix: register yourself, bring a friend for free! 10 VIP seats left at standard price! Discounts Downloads What’s your offer? Event invites & updates B2B services Hints & tips Support a cause
- 21. Examples of offers Dad’s night to shop with kids Discounts Downloads Ladies night with wine & food Customer or donor appreciation What’s your offer? Event invites & updates B2B services Hints & tips Support a cause
- 22. What’s your offer? Newsletter review with every consult Save 30% on initial consultation 3 coaching sessions for the price of 2 Event invites Examples of offers Discounts Downloads & updates Hints & tips Support a cause B2B services
- 23. B2B services What’s your offer? Event invites Discounts Downloads & updates Support a cause Examples of offers Mobile-friendly in 8 simple steps Top Trends in Kitchen Remodels DIY Precision Instrument Maintenance Hints & tips
- 24. Examples of offers Help today and receive exclusive access! Donate today for a chance to join us! Join today and receive our Friends + Family discount B2B services Hints & tips What’s your offer? Event invites Discounts Downloads & updates Support a cause
- 25. Set-up A Great Campaign
- 26. Pull response Types of events What are campaigns? Push content
- 27. Make a great promotion 28 Make it timely 1 Leverage key dates Black Friday – Nov 28 Small Biz Sat – Nov 29 Cyber Monday – Dec 1 Shipping Dates Time to Act
- 28. Make a great promotion Make it easy 2 Help them find the right gift Communicate through pictures Use design wisely (and limit choices!)
- 29. Make a great promotion Make it engaging with video 3 Spotlight your products, services and customers Promote your video *Source: Forrester Research Videos increase click-through rates by 300%* Put “video” in the subject line
- 30. Make a great promotion Make it engaging with reviews 3 88% read reviews before purchasing* Don’t be afraid to ask! Include relevant reviews, feedback, ratings and quotes *Source: BrightLocal“ Local Consumer Review Survey,” 2014
- 31. Make a great promotion Make it shareable 4 Share bar Simple Share Ask people to like, share, retweet, pin
- 32. Make a great promotion 5 Make it mobile Avoid using too much text
- 33. Make a great promotion Avoid multiple columns 5 Make it mobile
- 34. Make a great promotion 5 Make it mobile Clear and easy calls to action BJEusSt OTK!! Better
- 35. Make a great promotion 9-point font, headlines don’t stand out Avoid tiny fonts Minimum: 22-point headlines, 11-point body text, improved contrast 5 Make it mobile
- 36. Make a great promotion Avoid tiny fonts Better: 22-point headlines, 16-point body text 5 Make it mobile
- 37. Make a great promotion 5 Make it mobile Use images carefully
- 38. Keep It Simple
- 39. Next steps
- 40. Next steps
- 41. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Time: Time: Time: Time: Time: Exercise: One week of Facebook posts
- 42. Friday Time: noon Fun fact! Monday Time: morning Monday motivation quote Tuesday Time: noon Did you know? OR Check out these tips Wednesday Time: morning Fill in the blank Thursday Time: afternoon Having a sale this weekend! Exercise: One week of Facebook posts
- 43. Sample Playbook M T W Th F Sat Sun 1 Here’s our Cyber Monday deals! 2 3 4 5 6 Monthly Newsletter: Gift ideas 7 8 Email promotion: free stocking stuffer w/purchase 9 10 Facebook: Link to Pinterest board of gift ideas 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Facebook question: Who in your family is hardest to shop for? 19 20 Email: last chance for free shipping 21 22 Link to Pinterest board of stocking stuffers 23 Email promotion: stocking stuffer offer ends today 24 Christmas Eve 25 Christmas 26 27 28 29 30 31 New Year’s Eve regular communication social media promotional communication holiday/event affecting business deadline-driven communication
- 44. Automate What You Can • Set up “Welcome” & “Update” Messages • You can pre-schedule Campaigns • Create a Series using an Autoresponder • Use A Scheduling Tool for social engagement Make sure you listen and respond!
- 45. If you’re not measuring, You are not marketing.
- 46. Next Steps
- 47. Are you ready? Quick Review Know your goal Know your offer Make it timely
- 48. 49
- 49. Value Package for Constant Contact Today’s Webinar Special Online Learning System $199 Custom Email Template $ 99 Email Audit $199 Package Value $499 $499 Package FREE www.TheURLdr.com/offer Plans start at $20/month | No Contract | 100% Money Back Guarantee
Notas do Editor
- Welcome everyone!! I’m Kim Butler, The URL Dr., and I thank you for joining me for today’s webinar “Rock Your Holidays and Grow Your Business. Give yourself the gift of new customers.” It’s hard to believe that the Holiday season is just around the corner. But now is the time to plan our promotions and I’ve got some great ideas for you as we head into the season.
- I’ll take a second to introduce myself. My name is Julie Niehoff, I’m the Director of Education & Development at Constant Contact. I have been with Constant Contact since 2006, I am based in Austin, Texas and here is my contact information if you want to reach out following this session. Send me an email, find me on facebook or reach out on Twitter.
- Our webinar today is provided by Constant Contact but the information presented is based on best practices and can be utilized by any small business or nonprofit, regardless of whether or not you are using Constant Contact. I am a Platinum Level Solution Provider and a Constant Contact All Star Award Winner. Here is all my contact information. As Jenn said we’ll have a Q&A session at the end of the webinar, but you can also connect with me after the presentation at any one of these addresses.
- Before we get into our presentation, I am going to take just a minute to do a quick commercial for Constant Contact. [click to build] Many of you might be familiar with Constant Contact as an email marketing tool, but in reality this is a complete online marketing system for business and non-profits. Not only can you create and easily send newsletters, announcements and updates through email, [click to build] you can also run promotions with online coupons, local deals, and social promotions with Facebook. [click to build] Constant Contact also has a feedback and online survey tool. [click to build] As well as an event management tool that allows online registration of paid and free events that take place online or offline. All this starting at just $20 a month. [click to build] I use this in my business and highly recommend it to my clients. Now let’s talk about the holidays.
- Are you ready? Here’s what to expect for the 2014, season: [click to build] Holiday spending will go up as it usually does. According to Retail TouchPoints, consumers will spend 3.5% more over last year. [click to build] And online spending will go up too – ecommerce company Volusion predicts that online shoppers will spend 9% more in 2014. So now you know – it’s going to be busier this year. People are willing to spend more, so now is a good time to plan your marketing to get them in the door.
- This is an important time of year for you. [CLICK TO BUILD] The National Retail Federation estimates that the holiday season brings in 20-40% of yearly sales for small and mid-sized retailers, so now through the end of the year – these are huge months for all kinds of retailers. But the holidays are important for B2B companies and non-profits as well, and we are not going to exclude talking about non-retail promotions during this presentation.
- Here’s what we will be talking about today: We’re going to start by making sure you are ready for the holiday season – what should you expect? Next, we’ll talk about how you can create a holiday marketing strategy for your business or organization Then, we’ll help you think through the best way to create a great holiday offer Our last section is about 5 tips you can use to make your promotion great
- [click to build] You may be using Facebook to reach your audience or maybe a combination of several social media networks. [click to build] But don’t forget that email and social media work hand-in-hand to help you reach and engage your customers and prospective customers.
- Now let’s start off by talking about what you want to accomplish – you need to know that if you’re going to get anything out of your holiday promotion. And, this will help guide your holiday planning.
- What do you hope to achieve? Is it: [click to build] Reaching new customers [click to build] Driving repeat business from current customers/increasing customer loyalty [click to build] Motivating donors and advocates to take that next step by giving or spreading word of mouth about your cause [click to build] Or are you hoping to grow your member numbers? Now that you know your marketing goal, you can focus your holiday planning on achieving that goal. Regardless of whether you’re a B2C, B2B, or nonprofit, you may have one or a combination of these marketing goals that you want to achieve this holiday season.
- Think about how you will engage with your customers. Be creative! You can try traditional incentives like [click to build] Coupons Free shipping Deals Gift cards Gift with purchase You can also experiment and try new ways to offer incentives. [click to build] Boloco, a chain of burrito restaurants in New England : Offered a gift with purchase with a twist In their “Feeling Naughty or Nice?” promotion, When customers bought a $25 gift card, they had the choice of “being naughty” and keeping a $5 bonus equal to a free burrito for themselves or “being nice” and giving the burrito to a friend.
- How will you give your audience what they really want?… How can you provide relevant content to select groups of people? You might try segmenting your audience into different lists. If you haven’t heard of segmentation, [click to build] it means dividing people into groups. You can segment based on when they buy [click to build] how often a customer purchases from you or the amount they spend, [click to build] whether they are a new customer or [click to build] whether they’ve been dealing with you for years. You can also segment people into like interests, geographic location, or demographics. Whatever makes sense for your business. You might already be segmenting by categorizing or grouping your contacts. It's important because some emails are not one-size-fits all. For example, if you're a pet store, you’re selling products for different types of pets. Some people might be dog owners, cat owners, fish owners, etc. You might want to segment your contacts into lists based on what kinds of pets they buy for. Why would you want to segment? Because you wouldn’t want to send a special promotion for dog toys to your cat owners. It’s not relevant to them and you have the chance that this group will get frustrated with messages that are not directed toward them and they’ll unsubscribe from your list. Instead, if you segment your list, you can send promotions and messages specifically targeted to different groups and interests. This works especially well with email.
- One decision you’ll need to make in your holiday promotional planning is where are you going to reach your customers? What channels should you be using to communicate with them? If you’re sending emails already, and you have an audience who have been getting email communications from you, email should be part of your holiday promotion plan [CLICK TO BUILD] Consider sending separate emails about the promotion, [CLICK TO BUILD] but also make sure you’re including your offers in your regular newsletter to drive sales and put you at the top of mind of your readers. [CLICK TO BUILD] What kinds of promotions are best to include in your emails? Coupon or discount Free shipping Suggest products or services Encourage customers to buy directly from your website If you’re a nonprofit and are running an end-of-the-year donation drive, make your email readers aware Promotions that increase awareness of your business or organization And you can use email to increase membership for a nonprofit or if you’re a retail organization and have a loyalty program, you can build it through email. This example of a holiday promotion email is from Tee Fury, an online T-shirt store. This email is a promotion for featured products, so they suggest T-shirt designs to purchase – wear a different one on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, day after Christmas. They are an online business, and this email also acts as a way to drive their audience to their website to make a purchase. They also increase awareness of what’s happening at their business, including announcements about new designs and new products being introduced during the holiday season.
- When you create your promotions, make sure they are answering this question WHY DOES THIS MESSAGE or OFFER MATTER RIGHT NOW? That’s what your audience is thinking every time they receive any message in their inbox. You need to tell them what’s in it for them and get their attention. [click to build] Think about your subject line. Use a strong subject line that compels them to want to open your email. Peak their curiosity. Use wording that gives the appearance of a limited time offer. You should also make it clear to your readers what your offer is. When they know there’s something in this email that benefits them, that answers the question, Why should I care?, then they’ll be more likely to act on your offer. Talk about this in the subject line and in the top of the email so they’ll see it right away. You can see in this email example from Syncline Wine Cellars that they have a strong subject line: Last Chance for Free Shipping. The offer is positioned at the top of the email, so a reader doesn’t have to scroll to find it or read through paragraphs of text. [click to build] Here’s an email from Cotton Clouds, [click to build] they have multiple offers – sales and free shipping. It’s at the top of the email and it’s bold. It’s drawing the readers’ attention. [click to build] This email from Wise Snacks [click to build] includes a coupon that allows a reader to print it and take advantage of the promotion right away.
- But, It doesn’t have to be about Christmas – here is an example for Thanksgiving! It’s a great example of repurposing and reusing information as well. If you’re offering relevant content to your audience throughout the year, they will know to connect with you during the holiday season. Art Impressions has done a great job with this – They are a rubber stamp/craft retailer in Salem, OR. They regularly check in with their customers – what products, themes do they want? Where are they engaging online? They pay attention to their customers’ needs – they know that their customers plan ahead for their holiday projects. Art Impressions offer discounts and promotions for those themes, and they communicate about it on their blog, on Pinterest and on Facebook [click to build] In October, they offered a free Thanksgiving turkey stamp with orders over $30. This is an example of an email they sent to their lists. [click to build] They also shared the promotion with their Pinterest followers [click to build] And reminded their Facebook fans about the offer.
- Email promotions aren’t just about email anymore. [click to build] Email is part of social media and any campaign you send via email should also be shared on your social media profiles/pages. Make sure that social media is part of your holiday marketing strategy. One of the advantages of social media is your fans’ interactions with your content can be seen by their networks. They can easily share your content, giving you a greater chance to reach more people. This is the snowball effect of social media and it doesn’t cost you a dime. [click to build] Post your email newsletters and email promotions on your social media sites [click to build] Make your images work for you – post product photos – social media users interact more with images than just text or text with a link [click to build] Engage with your audience and interact with them, by giving them shopping advice for the holiday season. Taza Chocolate does a great job using social media to connect with customers around the holidays. They created a holiday board on Pinterest that has gift ideas and holiday recipes you can make with their products. [click to build] They use Facebook to ask their fans what they need help with or what they think about the holidays through Facebook questions. They also update their Facebook fans on what products are currently available, share links to hot chocolate tasting events, and offer special Facebook only promotions like special free shipping codes.
- Now let’s talk about your offer. What is your offer?
- Think about what you can provide to your customers this year. Some ideas include: [click to build] discounts or coupons [click to build] downloadable content [click to build] event invitations [click to build] If you’re a B2B with a service, think about special service offers for the holidays. [click to build] helpful content like hints or tips [click to build] Or information about supporting a cause. Let’s look at some ideas for each of these offers.
- With discounts you can provide a percentage or dollar off through a limited time period, a buy-one-get-one-free promotion, or get a gift for yourself when you purchase one for a friend.
- Giving away a free guide or e-book is a great way to build your audience by collecting likes in your social media and email addresses for your contact list. Use your expertise to provide a benefit for your customers. Try a “List-i-cal.” A numbered article or tip guide, like “5 Tips for Better Gardens” or “7 Mistakes to Avoid in your Tax Preparation.” Numbered lists are hugely popular and can help to establish you as an expert in your field.
- With events, consider offering an early bird registration discount, buy one get one tickets, or limited time offers for an upgrade like special VIP seats.
- But a holiday event doesn’t have to be the standard seminar or learning event, they can fun events too. Hold a tasting party. A Dad’s night to come shopping for mom with their kids. A ladies night to shop for their men with wine and hor d’oeuvres. Maybe a customer or donor appreciation night that has nothing to do with selling anything, but is strictly meant to say thank you and strengthen your relationships with your customers. Regardless of whether you are a retailer, a B2B business, or a non-profit, you can use a holiday event to promote yourself in your community and set yourself apart from the competition.
- If your business is a B2B and you sell to other businesses, consider giving away your expertise. If you’re a marketer, that might be giving them a free service like a review of the client’s email newsletters when they purchase a consultation at full price. You could offer a regular discount on services. Or bundle an offer – provide something extra for a lower rate.
- Keep in mind the general public loves to know the tips & tricks or tools that the pros use. You’re the pro in your respective field, so give your audience some insider information on how to solve a problem or do something that is related to your product or service, even insights on the latest trends in your industry. How-to information and advising them on what not to do when using a product or searching for a service is another angle you can take. Or provide your expertise or best practices for how to use or maintain your products or services.
- Nonprofits often reach out to their supporters during the holiday season. They could give away exclusive access to an event in exchange for volunteer hours or donations. Think about using limited time offers – donate today to get involved and join our cause. And you could consider providing a membership discount to those who join during this time of the year. But supporting a cause, isn’t just for the non-profits out there. B2C’s and B2B’s can team up with a non-profit for the holidays and do a co-sponsored promotion with a percentage of sales being donated to a non-profit. Have the non-profit advertise the offer to their supporter and donor base. It gives the B2C or B2B an opportunity to not only do good and help a worthwhile charity, but it gives you the opportunity to reach a group of people that may not have known about you before. And the same goes for the charity. Through the company’s advertising there may be more people who take notice of your cause. This is a great win-win / feel good activity for everyone during the holiday season.
- Now that we’ve looked at what to expect for the holidays and why it’s important to get ready now, let’s talk about how to create a campaign that will drive some real results for you.
- Quickly let’s just go over specifically what a campaign is – it doesn’t have to be expensive, or elaborate. Simple is great. To run a campaign you [click to build] push content out, like an offer, a free download, a promotion, whatever and then you [click to build] pull a response. A physical, measurable response. You get them to react. And a campaign can be sent by email or shared on social media or both. Let’s talk about how to make a holiday promotion work.
- Timing is important during the holidays. [click to build] Leverage those key dates – but not just the national holidays. Think about the retail events that have become popular over the last few years. [click to build] Black Friday – day after Thanksgiving – Nov. 28 [click to build] Small Business Saturday – weekend of Thanksgiving – Nov. 29 [click to build] Cyber Monday – Monday after Thanksgiving – Dec. 1 Some people make up their own holidays like Christmakwanzakah and use them to promote sales [click to build] Think about shipping dates in your promotions – alert your customers when you have free shipping or what date do you need to ship by to be delivered in time. [click to build] Plan for exclusive offers and sales – give your customers enough time to take advantage of discounts
- Make it easy for customers to take advantage of your promotions. [click to build] Your content should help them find the gift they are looking for. This email from Russell’s Garden Center definitely does that – look at the top of the email – Tired of fighting mall traffic or online shopping delivery deadlines? They’re a small business that can help. They have a list of gifts right there; at the bottom of the email, they list their store hours. Russell’s Garden center also helps their customers with visuals – they have photos of the products they’re selling [click to build] This email from Creations Abound also has great visuals – and it’s well organized. It has photos of the products, titles that show price range, description, and links on the bottom that enable you to click and purchase directly from the website. The same layout used in e-commerce sites, can be used in moderation in an email. [click to build] Use your design wisely – the template used for Creations Abound’s email is one that’s built for product promotions. It spotlights 3 products and has room for a description and buttons that are linked to the product’s page on the store’s website. But, try to avoid giving too many choices in your campaign. These are supposed to be quick decisions to act (clicking to shop in your online store or selecting an item and clicking to buy) Too many choices will reduce the number of decisions and actions a person can take. It’s a time limit thing. Think of your campaign as window shopping. You want to entice someone to come in right then and buy because of whatever got their attention.
- Video is a powerful way to engage with your audience. People prefer watching a video to reading long web pages full of text. You can make video work for your business. [click to build] A study by Forrester Research shows video content increases click-through rates by 300% [click to build] Make sure you mention the video in your subject line so your readers know about it right away [click to build] what should you feature in a video? product demos customer testimonials promotional events user-generated video Boloco – a chain of burrito restaurants in New England – created a pumpkin shake and did a video about it. [click to build] Want people to watch your video? Promote it on all of your marketing channels. That’s exactly what Boloco did. They got the word out by promoting it using many of their marketing channels. They promoted it in this email newsletter – [click to build] and on their Facebook page
- Ratings and reviews are another way for you to engage your audience, and they are very important for the holiday season. [click to build] 88% of online shoppers use them to decide on purchases [click to build] Encourage your audience to write reviews for you – ask them to do it, include links to relevant places on your website to create those reviews [click to build] Then, include them in your content – quote those reviews, link to them in your emails, post them on social media An example of a customer that does this well is BottleWise, a retailer that sells accessories for wine lovers. They provided a discount to encourage reviews. As an added bonus, if you added a review on the BottleWise web store for any of the products you have purchased through them in the past, BottleWise emails you a $5 Gift Certificate to use on your next purchase – or to pass along to a friend. They did it in advance before the holiday rush and had reviews in place by the time they started promoting their products for holidays.
- Encourage your audience to share your promotions by using social media tools. [click to build] If you are using Constant Contact, add the Share Bar to the top of your emails. It allows your readers to post a link to your email on their social media profiles [click to build] Use Simple Share and post a link to your emails on your social media profiles – you can create posts for multiple profiles in the Simple Share editor and publish all at once [click to build] Remind your audience to share your promotions – ask them to Like it on Facebook, retweet on Twitter or pin on Pinterest Your audience has a lot of influence via word of mouth, and you can get your promotions in front of more people – their friends and family – if they help spread the word for you
- We talked earlier about how mobile has become prevalent in the world around us, …now we want to show you 5 tips for what you can do today to start taking advantage of mobile for the holiday season. Tip #1: avoid using too much text Think about it – do you want to read long and complex messages on your phone? When you’re on the go? No. Which means neither do your customers or supporters. Do you want to read a message like the one here? [click to build] Probably not… What you want is to see is something more like [click to build] this…the result of some basic considerations as you build your message: Start to re-think your content. Long-form content, like newsletters that have more than a couple of short, to-the-point paragraphs, don’t work for mobile readers. So look at the content you’re building and start to re-think it: could it be condensed? Can a picture tell the story better? Can you turn one newsletter into a series by cutting it into pieces? If you have longer, or more complex content or assets you want to share (like a product guide, or new regulations for your clients or a research report that supporters of your non-profit would be interested in), send an email with a clear call-to-action that directs people to where that asset lives (on your website, blog, or in your social media
- Tip #2: avoid using multiple columns Prior to the rise of mobile and mobile communication, emails had started to take on an almost website-like feel – with multiple columns and navigation elements similar to what you find on websites. But with mobile communications driving content to be more focused, and also just to fit a more physically condensed space, multiple columns cause problems. Here are two examples of what can happen: [click to build] In this first one, you can see how the mobile email client has tried to figure out what to do with the multiple columns…and it has [click to build] squished them together in a less than optimal way. [click to build] in this example, the email has been forced into a single column [click to build], but clearly that process has also created an ungainly single column that will make the email practically unreadable.
- Tip #3: clear and easy calls to action You want to make it easy for your readers to take an action, to do something that keeps them connected to you – come to your website or event registration page, click through to a white paper you wrote, learn more about your services. You can increase the odds of them taking that action by carefully thinking through the design of your emails. Let’s look at two examples of how not to do it, and one way to make it easier. [click to build] in this example, there are calls to action, but they’re [click to build] hard to see, and would be even harder to get a finger or thumb to hit them easily. [click to build] in this one, the calls to action are probably easier to get clicked on, but because they’re [click to build] bunched together, the likelihood that the reader will be able to click on the one they want is lower. [click to build] here’s one that works…notice how the call to action is [click to build] a button that is clearly separated from the rest of the content, both visually and spatially? This will make it easier for the reader to click on it. You should also consider making your images clickable…they’re ready-made buttons waiting to be clicked! A note here on buttons versus text links. What you really want to do is make it easy for your readers to take the action you suggest. Whether you give them large text links (with clear separation from surrounding text) or easy to tap buttons, make sure that there is no confusion about what action you want your reader to take: learn more? Register for an event? Make a donation? Make it incredibly easy… You should also be thinking about where that button or link takes them – will they be dumped into a screen that is hard to see on a mobile device? That could derail the entire experience for them…
- Tip #4: avoid using tiny fonts This one would seem to be pretty self-explanatory…but is no less important. [click to build] here’s a sample with 9-point font. Yes, a lot of text fits on the screen, but who can read it? People will need to pinch-to-zoom the text, and then have to scroll around. They’re more likely to delete the message, as well as unsubscribe from future small-fonted emails. [click to build] this one is a bit better, as the font starts to reach a minimum size that we’d recommend (11 points for body text and 22 points for headlines), and starts to bring greater contrast between the text and the background. But it’s still hard to read.
- this third one gets better still…the font is now at a size that works better on a mobile device, but on a desktop it won’t be overly large. So, at a minimum, use 11 point font for body text (and go larger for headlines – 22 points is good) and strong color contrast (dark text on a light background) – but also be sure to test the content on yourself…send the email to yourself and view it on your phone or tablet…or borrow one from a friend…
- Tip #5: use images carefully Images are a great way to convey a message, tell a story…create a connection. But if you don’t carefully consider how you’re going to use images, you may end up with some unintended consequences that lead, at best, to someone not reading your email. At worst they’ll unsubscribe from your list and you won’t be able to communicate with them at all. Here are some common challenges to consider: [click to build] notice the red “X” here? That’s there because some mobile email clients may not display images by default…so be sure that you’re using what is called “Alt Text,” or text that appears if the image doesn’t, to at least let people know what’s there. [click to build] in this example, there’s a great picture – the promotional poster used for a fundraiser, and when viewed on a desktop email client it may look great…but the problem is that on a mobile device, in order to see it, or the rest of the message, [click to build] the reader will have to scroll the message. Notice also that the image has pushed the call to action all the way to the bottom of the message, making it less likely that the reader will actually click through. [click to build] finally, be aware of where or how an image may appear. You may need to resize images as you build your email (a lot of email marketing tools have simple, built in image-editing capabilities). Before you send any message out to your customers or supporters, again, TEST THE EMAIL BY SENDING IT TO YOURSELF!! And then view it with your readers in mind…and make changes accordingly. A few extra minutes of testing can save a lot of headache later.
- You have a lot on your plate. The weeks leading up to the holidays is an extremely busy and hectic time of the year. You do not need a complicated strategy to end the year on a high note! Think about some simple ways to engage people – look at this …
- I love this example. It couldn’t be simpler to engage people online and draw not only attention but real business in during the holidays. This is Donna’s Gourmet Cookies. Donna got several phone calls asking if she had holiday cookies, she snapped a photo and posted it on Facebook. Notice the comment she posted along with the picture – “Yep, we have them.” No complex marketing message, no convoluted marketing speak here…just a simple statement. [click to build] And look at this engagement. 10 people “Liked” the post…and 1 person shared the picture! These were people choosing to like the image and one even deciding that she wanted to share it with her network. But so what?
- So what? …. Well, here’s the post as it showed up on one person’s Facebook feed: this is a Fan who shared the picture with her network, adding her own endorsement of Donna’s and her cookies!! What were the results? 5 more people liked the post/picture, 4 people wrote comments, including this one… [click to enlarge the comment] …where she wants to know where Donna’s is located…SO THAT SHE CAN GO BUY SOME COOKIES!!! This is someone who wasn’t aware of Donna’s, didn’t know they made cookies she’d like, and now, thanks to the engagement between Donna’s and its customers is going to go there and become a customer herself. But again – so what? Can you just post a picture of your products or your team providing services during the holidays and go home knowing new business is pouring in? No. No you can’t. You need a plan, on paper or on your computer. A playbook, actually. You have hopefully gotten some ideas – but let’s take those to another place. Let’s talk about creating your holiday playbook. THAT’S the power of engagement and what happens when it leads to social visibility!!
- You can make yourself a simple calendar of posts that you plan to share on social media that help promote your offer. You could take a look at a week at a time or one channel at a time. Let’s try it with Facebook. This format will help you plan your week of social media. What’s one thing you could post each day about your organization? What type of content are you sharing? Is it a text update, link to something on your website, link to someone else’s content, a photo or a video? Now, decide when you will share this content on each day. Is it in the morning, afternoon or evening. You can fill out this worksheet for each of the 5 days, but you don’t have to post every day. The key is to be in touch with your audience a couple of times a week so you’re top of mind with them. You’re engaging with them. Each post is a thoughtful post, and will help you grow your relationship with your current followers, and help you to gain new ones.
- Here’s a quick example of how you could fill this out: [click to build] On Monday, I could post a Monday motivation quote – find an image online about your industry or a related topic – if you go to BrainyQuote.com, you can find quotes about different topics or search by famous authors. This is a post that will stir conversation – the content is focused on getting likes, shares or comments. [click to build] The next day, I’m going to link to some tips I wrote about on my blog – this is helpful information for my fans, and is a post that should be useful and informative. [click to build] On Wednesday, I’m going to do a fill in the blank post. That’s another post that I can use to get likes, shares or comments. [click to build] Thursday’s post is content about my business – we’re having a sale this weekend, so I want to let my fans know in advance and link to a coupon on my website. [click to build] Everyone’s winding down on Friday. It’s the end of the week so I want to share something that’s interesting and useful to my fans – I’ll give them a fun fact. I did it! There is one week of social media ready to go.
- If you’re a little more advanced and want to plan several campaigns to help drive action to your promotion, maybe an email, an event invitation and a happy new year “it’s not too late” announcement along with social posts throughout the last weeks of the year – you can do something like this. This doesn’t have to be high tech. It can be written out on a paper calendar. The important part is planning it, writing it down, and posting it somewhere that you and your team can see it everyday, so everyone is on the same page and working toward the same goals.
- stock images will be purchased once approved
- stock images will be purchased once approved
- So we’re getting ready for the holiday season. We’re thinking about our holiday marketing strategies and we have an offer or promotion in mind. Here’s the next step: 5 ways to make your promotion great
- If you had to leave this webinar right now, here are 3 important tips to walk away with for holiday promotion success: [click to build] 1. Know your goal – choose one objective for your holiday promotion – too many will confuse you and your customers. [click to build] 2. What’s the offer? You have a lot you could choose from – coupons, discounts, gift with purchase – make it a clear and compelling offer for your customers. [click to build] 3. Make it timely – remember that the shopping cycle for the holidays should take into account shipping time, prodding last-minute shoppers, and last minute special deals.
- All of the holiday promotional activities I discussed today can be done with [click to build] Constant Contact’s Essential Toolkit Product. Starting at $45 a month, Essential comes with email, email and social media integration, social promotions with Facebook, online surveys, and online event management. [click to build] If you are interested in getting started with just email, Basic is available starting at $20 a month.
- As our special today for all our webinar attendees, The URL Dr. is giving any business or non-profit that signs up for a new Constant Contact Toolkit Basic or Essential package, free access to our: Learn in 45 – online learning system. [click to build] 11.5 hours of online video instruction on how to get the most out of your online marketing with Constant Contact. We charge $199 for this class on Udemy. You’re going to get free, unlimited access, for as long as you want to use it. [click to build] Your’re going to get a custom email template to match your website, valued at $99 [click to build] And an email audit, where we’ll examine your Constant Contact account and give you suggestions on how to improve your results, valued at $199 [click to build] If you order or upgrade before our webinar is over, you’re going to get this $499 package free with your sign up. [click to build] You can get this offer by going to TheURLdr.com/offer and clicking on the “Sign Me Up for Constant Contact” button. This is going to take you into Constant Contact’s website where you can choose your level of service. You don’t pay any more for Constant Contact when you go through our link. It’s the same low price. But you must purchase through our link or you won’t get the value package for free. For our attendees that already have Constant Contact, you’ll get this great package for free when you upgrade your current account to Toolkit Basic or Essential. You want to go to the same url address: TheURLDr.com/offer and click on the “Upgrade My Constant Contact” button. Fill out the form and we’ll take care of getting your account upgraded and you’ll get all the free goodies you see here. [click to build] Remember Constant Contact plans start at $20 a month. There is no long term contract, you can cancel at any time, and Constant Contact comes with a 100% money back guarantee. If you’re not happy with the service in the first 30 days, you just say so, and you get your money back. So I’m going to leave this screen up as we go into our Question and Answer session. But remember this offer is only good until the end of the webinar.