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Category: Direct Marketing

Marketing via Auto-Responders, RSS | Email System Management Recommendation

Posted on September 21, 2007

Unlimited<br> Autoresponders by AWeber 

A string of questions about email systems recently caught my attention. Because I find myself wanting to answer every one, I’m consolidating my thoughts into this reference post.

For awhile now, I’ve been wanting to share the benefits of using AWeber. As a customer for over a year and an affiliate [yes, this post contains affiliate links], I decided the time was right after a comment came up in my marketing execution class this week.

When one of my students told me her programmer said an email service is extremely costly, I asked her. “How does $30 a month sound?” That’s all it takes to send out 150,000 emails to 20,000 subscribers every month. I only hope her list is 1% of that size. You pay less if you send less.

Although I use two email delivery systems, I prefer Aweber. Besides the fact the company’s blog is a great email marketing resource – see the latest posts at the end of this post – I find their personalized service refreshing.

When was the last time an email service provider sent you a personalized, signed letter thanking your for your service? Never? Thought so.

Customer service is incredibly responsive, When I called asking how to integrate Aweber with my landing page software, they were ready for me. As soon I described my request, the customer service rep asked for my email so he could send me instructions. They arrived in under five minutes. An online chat service allows you to get instant answers.

With Aweber you can . . .

- Schedule delivery timed to the minute way in advance; set it and forget it email

- Stagger messages for personalized auto-delivery for effortless ongoing contact 

- Check in on daily reporting that monitors new additions and lets you know the number of clicks on your links

- Arrange for double opt-in to insure your list is populated with people who confirm twice that they want to receive your messages

- Toggle back and forth between lists and see stats at a glance on your control panel

- Send emails in text, html or one of over 50 templates

- Include broadcasts in a web based archive by linking to the Web archive or RSS feed, both links go to MTN News archives.

- Test out Aweber’s email marketing service with a free trial

- Watch Aweber’s blog updates email marketing innovations – check out the latest headlines

Have an email service you recommend? Let us know with a comment below.

3 Comments - Posted in Direct Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing Tagged with: , , ,

Internet Marketing for Business Owners | Ken McCarthy’s System Intensive 2007

Posted on August 29, 2007

“How many people here are comfortable with chaos?”

That’s how Ken McCarthy kicked off his System Intensive 2007 tour.

Creator of The System, Ken presented the first Internet marketing seminar ever in 1993.

I was lucky enough to be in the intimate audience for Ken’s first tour stop in Chicago on Saturday.

System Intensive 2007 is one of those mind-shifting events you hope for, but rarely encounter in marketing circles.

Conducted in a guru-free zone, Ken’s master class in marketing is an interactive research lab that compels you to: focus on your mission, perfect your sales process, test new techniques and deliver value.

Beginning marketers learned how to start and market a web-based business. Intermediate to experienced marketers offered to share their successes and failures [or should I say test results?] with other students. Even the most advanced marketers benefited from Ken’s conversations about conversion.

How do I condense my 23 pages of notes into one post? I can’t, but you can sign up to see Ken McCarthy on tour and read more about what he covers at System Intensive 2007.

In about 8 hours, you’ll walk out with fresh perspectives, new contacts and an action plan to take your business to the place where you really need to be: one that delivers value for your clients.

And, get comfortable with chaos. In fact, welcome it into your life. If you can’t stir up some dust, you’ll never get going.

2 Comments - Posted in Branding, Direct Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Seminars Tagged with: ,

The System Seminar | Ultimate Internet Marketing Education & Networking

Posted on May 7, 2007

In the inner Internet circles, The System Seminar [affiliate link] has a reputation for providing pure content, a professional environment and bleeding edge techniques.

All that’s true, but the approachability and friendliness of every one I met, including the speakers, surprised me. Ego was absent – the only time people talked about how well they were doing was to encourage and motivate me personally.

It worked. I spent most of last week applying ideas, testing tactics and making new connections.

Here’s a link to a post from the first night of The System Seminar. Although I planned to blog live every day, I got so caught up in meeting people, interacting and learning that my laptop didn’t get the same workout my brain did. For 28/48 hours I was totally engaged and deeply immersed.

One of the most memorable sessions of the entire event, for me, was the last hour or so of open mic testimonials and reflections. Listening to these individuals brought the experience alive in a way that only personal stories can – some of their words were my most profound takeaways.

If you’re wondering what really goes on at one of these events, all I can say is you’ll be surprised at how amazing it can be. This time I never expected to meet up with someone who’s words impressed me 15 years ago or my partner on two teleseminars, Christine Langermann.

Going as Marc Harty’s guest was an honor and a privilege. Answering questions at his trade show booth about his best-selling product, PR Traffic, put me in touch with dozens of people in a variety of conversations on a really cool mix of topics with people from around the world. I hope in some small way my answers to their questions helped make their businesses more successful.

As a speaker, I always learn from other presentations. I’m never offended when speakers sell from the platform – even when their over-hyped pitch draws small crowds out in the hallway. Although there was no overt pitching at The System Seminar, it’s tough to cover a topic in 90 minutes. So, it was good to see that many speakers offered continuing education programs at reasonable price points.

After going to several Internet marketing related seminars, I’d rank this one as the best for serious students that plan to take massive action. Experience level isn’t important, but a willingness to move is. You’ll get the tools, the connections and the know-how. It’s up to you to make it work. See you next year in Chicago?

Find out more about The System Seminar.

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3 Comments - Posted in Blogging, Direct Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Networking, Seminars, SEO, Social Media, Speaking Tagged with: , , , , ,

Ezine Article | Contest-ing PR | 8 Ways to Winning Giveaways using Publicity and Viral Marketing

Posted on April 25, 2007

Update:  Thanks to Andrew Peters, an MTN ezine reader, uber cool blogger and virtual PR expert based in Singapore, for his permission to share his email with you in response to this ezine article:

Hi Barbara

Thanks for your latest email, we are currently putting together a
contest and your Words of Wisdom are very timely

Thank you…
–
Andrew Peters | COO | The Pacific West Communications

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Here’s a clip from this week’s ezine article, “Contest-ing PR: 8 Winning Ways to Giveaways”

Step One: Start Out with What’s In It For Them

Choose a prize that makes people say, “I want to win that!” This may seem like the last decision you need to make, but having an enticing prize makes the incentive to enter that much more powerful. And, you can build your creative campaign around it. Also, the better the prize, the more viral your contest becomes.

Step Two: Figure Out What’s In It For You

Determine your contest’s purpose – is it to generate leads, qualify prospects, come up with a new design, position your company as a resource, contribute to your community or something else? It may be all of these or just one.

Step Three: Write Winning Rules

For more formal contests, write your rules carefully and take your time. Check with a legal resource to make sure your fine print covers any liabilities. And, be sure to ask for all the customer information you want to capture beyond the basics and into buying preferences, industry or even lifestyle questions that give you clues into buying behaviors.

Read this article online and get 5 more PR tips

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Claim your free “How to Transform Your Company into a Customer Magnet” guide, a $97 value.

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0 Comments - Posted in Book Publicity, Direct Marketing, Internet Marketing, Press Releases, Publicity, Speaking Tagged with: , , ,

Ezine Article | Portable PR | Business Marketing To Go | Featured on Fast Pitch! Blogs

Posted on April 19, 2007

fastpitchemail1.jpg

4.26.07 Update: Thanks to Fast Pitch! for posting this article. Click the image to see the email message.

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Here’s a clip from this week’s ezine article, “Portable PR: Business Marketing To Go“

  1. Make your card into a coupon with a discount for services or a free introductory consultation when redeemed within two weeks – keep the timeline short
  1. Promote a special offer just for people you meet at the event that meet a target profile – ask “Is this you?” on wallet-sized photo paper with an image of your choice
  1. Give out a flyer that details your services with pricing and an order form on the back

Read the article online and get 7 more PR tips

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grab Fast Front Page Attention with Panoramic PR

Claim your free mp3 “How to Transform Your Company into a Customer Magnet,” a $97 value.

Subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed

Turn on your own Internet TV station

Attract Attention. Get Noticed. Close Sales.

1 Comment - Posted in Direct Marketing, Internet Marketing, Speaking Tagged with: