Tuesday, March 31, 2015

MAMA for the Mommas Across the Globe

Stephanie Bowen is the Senior Communcations Manager at Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), an alliance that sets out to communicate with new and expectant mothers in developing countries via cell phones.Related Articles

  1. Introducing the Heart of Business

  2. Weekly Wrap: Heart of Business Has Arrived!

  3. Heart of Business: Bantering with the Beer Expert






via Benchmarkemail Blog http://ift.tt/1NAOrFl

What to Write in Your Broadcast Emails

Have you ever been so excited about your latest project that you just wanted to scream about it from the rooftops? Well, consider broadcast emails your business’s megaphone.


Broadcasts are perfect for delivering your company’s news, whether you’re announcing a new product, promoting a limited-time sale, or keeping readers in-the-know with your latest email newsletter.


That’s the big difference between broadcast and follow up emails. A follow up email series contains evergreen content that you send to people at any time of the year, but broadcasts are for time-sensitive information that you want to get out the door today.


The content possibilities for broadcast emails are nearly endless, but we’ve narrowed down three types of emails along with some useful tips for writing each.


Newsletters


Many businesses send weekly, bi-weekly or monthly newsletters to their subscribers to update them on company-wide news and events. These are among the most commonly used broadcasts, probably because they’re so versatile. Sometimes it’s tough to come up with new content for your subscribers on a regular basis, so here are a few ideas for your upcoming email newsletters.


Company culture


Is your business active in the local community? Give your readers a glimpse into your company’s latest community outreach to help humanize your brand.


Customer of the month


Have a rockstar customer? Show them off in a short case study that explains how they use your service or product to help solve their biggest challenges.


Team member of the month


This is an opportunity to show your team’s passion for what you do. Why did you start your business? What makes your team special? Putting a face (or faces) to your brand can help create a deeper connection with your customers.


Industry news


You’re already tuned into your industry, so why not give your readers a personalized news feed full of useful, relevant articles?


New ways to use your product or service


Is there a way your customers can stretch their budget by using your services? Can your product help simplify their lives? Is there a way of using your product that your customers may not know about? Give your readers useful tips to keep them coming back for more.


Upcoming events


Use your newsletter to promote and remind your subscribers about upcoming special events, whether it’s an in-store only sale, an open mic night or a special menu at your restaurant.



When it comes to the timing and frequency of your newsletter broadcasts, you should experiment with your own audience to find what works best for you. For example, if you’re a music venue with multiple events each week, it might make sense to send a weekly newsletter to your subscribers.


New Product Releases and Updates


Any time you launch something new or make updates to a product or service, it provides an opportunity for you to reach out to your subscribers. Create a release plan in the months leading up to your big announcement to get on your subscribers’ radar early. This will also help you put together the bigger picture of your release and identify other areas where you can promote it, like on social media and your blog.


Your email’s message should create buzz. You’re excited about your new offerings, so you want your readers to get excited, too. What’s so great about it? What problems does it solve? How can people make a purchase? When is it available? If it’s an update, what kinds of improvements can people expect to see? You message should clearly communicate the value of your new products or services.


If your product is visual (think clothing, crafts, etc.), you can simply show it off in your email, like in the example below.



As always, make your call to action prominent so your readers can easily find more information or purchase your latest offering.


Limited-Time Sales and Promotions


Create a sense of urgency in your emails, and you could see a surge in open and click-through rates. Sales and promotions with an expiration date are perfect for this because they prompt your subscribers to open your email now. If you’re looking to get results fast, limited-time sales are the way to go.


Here’s your content checklist for promotional emails:



  • A clear timeframe and/or expiration date in your subject and email message

  • Exactly what they’ll get if they act now

  • A call to action that helps them place an order


When it comes to promotions, timing is the name of the game. The message itself doesn’t have to be long – your subscribers should be able to scan your email and find what they need quickly. Nutrisystem does a good job of this in the example below.




Broadcast emails are a great opportunity to connect with your customers by showing off your business’s latest offerings. Put some of these tips to work in your next broadcast and see what your audience responds to best.


Which types of broadcasts do you send? Tell us in the comments!







via Email Marketing Tips http://ift.tt/1Ex9lpv

Monday, March 30, 2015

Creating the Perfect Email/Digital Marketing Program for Your Organization Part 2

In part two of this look at how to create the ideal program for your brand, it's time to prioritize your wish list.





via Email - ClickZ http://ift.tt/1G83ztf

Friday, March 27, 2015

Check-in by Benchmark Events

For both iPhone (and iPad in 2x mode) and Android, Benchmark Events offers an app to check your guests in with ease ... right at your fingertips.Related Articles

  1. Lessons in Successful App Design: Glitches in the Jawbone UP

  2. Benchmark Email iPhone App Now Available in Apple App Store!

  3. The Most Interesting Benchmark Mobile App User in the World: Part 2






via Benchmarkemail Blog http://ift.tt/1xE5Zi5

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Benchmark Email Highrise Integration

Highrise offers extras and add-ons that will boost your business, such as the Benchmark Email Highrise integration. With this, you can add your contacts from your Highrise account into your email list, with no setup required!Related Articles

  1. Benchmark Email Zapier Integration: CRMs

  2. New Benchmark Feature: Integrate Your Highrise CRM Contacts

  3. The Weekly Wrap Abides: New Highrise Integration & Easy List App






via Benchmarkemail Blog http://ift.tt/1FLMMNW

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

5 Reasons You Should Outsource Your Content

One of the smartest things I’m seeing more and more companies do is to outsource their content.Related Articles

  1. 5 Types of Content for Your New Email Subscribers

  2. Benchmark Email New Feature: Add Personal Greetings

  3. Avoiding the Inadvertent Email Insult






via Benchmarkemail Blog http://ift.tt/1CYlROC

Building Customer Loyalty: 3 Tips To Get Customers To Stay

building-customer-loyalty-blog


Imagine for a second that the check engine light in your car comes on. It’s time for a tune-up. After a brief Google search, you discover a service station nearby that’s offering a deal for first-time customers — and they have free coffee. Score! You’ve landed on what seems to be a gold mine.


Consumers these days know how to find exactly what they’re looking for online. And why shouldn’t they? With a world of information at your fingertips, hunting down the perfect pizza joint, hair salon or coffee shop is easier than ever.


Now that consumers have so many options, it can be difficult for business owners to maintain the loyalty of their customers.


What’s a brand to do?


Since customers are the lifeblood of your business, keeping them around is critical for growth. So how do you build a steady customer base when consumers aren’t always willing to commit?


You build customer loyalty, of course!


Let’s take a look at some of the ways your small business can enlist its own army of enthusiasts:


infographic-buildcustomerloyal


Takeaway


Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, one thing holds true: success is driven by your customers. These tips offer a simple, albeit powerful, solution for growing and retaining a loyal fanbase.


What brands are you loyal to? Share with us in the comments section below!






via Email Marketing Tips http://ift.tt/1y6GX5R

Are You Smart Enough to Test Your Own Subject Lines?

Although the email industry has been resistant to automation, machine learning may be better at testing subject lines than a human marketer could ever be.





via Email - ClickZ http://ift.tt/1bsH32Z

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Radha Muthia: Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves

Radha Muthiah is the CEO of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. Working with the UN Foundation, they strive to save lives, better livelihoods, empower women and to protect the environment by putting clean and efficient cooking solutions in households across the globe.Related Articles

  1. Introducing the Heart of Business

  2. Weekly Wrap: Heart of Business Has Arrived!

  3. Heart of Business: Bantering with the Beer Expert






via Benchmarkemail Blog http://ift.tt/1Cnco1c

The ASCEND 2015 Lineup Is Here


We built ASCEND around the modern marketer. The jack-of-all-trades, so to speak. You’ve got your hands in everything from content to SEO, email to social. And you need a conference that can keep up.


As self-proclaimed conference junkies, we’ve been there (and have the badges to prove it). We made note of what works and what doesn’t to create that once-in-a-lifetime experience that we would want to attend. We learned a lot hosting our inaugural event last year, and now we’re back to bring you even more of the content you loved.


It’s ASCEND 2015.


The Lineup


What happens when you put 15 of the hottest names in digital marketing together in the same room? Two action-packed days of education, four inspiring keynotes and 11 fresh talks from some of the biggest influencers in the digital marketing world.


Here’s a sneak peek of who you’ll see, and what you’ll hear, this year at ASCEND:




  • Chris Ducker, Owner of ChrisDucker.com – Could you be guilty of committing online business sins and not even realize it? Join Chris, entrepreneur and author of the best-selling book Virtual Freedom, as he investigates the “bad stuff” people are doing online and learn how to do things right.




  • Jason Falls, Sr. Vice President, Digital Strategy at ElasticityHow do you drive more engagement? Measure your ROI? How do you get more likes? Who should manage all this? How can you check this box and move on to the next item on your list? You’ve got questions; he’s got answers. With his trademark, no b.s. style, industry pundit Jason will help you understand the six core competencies and activities you need to be successful at marketing your business (or yourself) online.




  • Ardath Albee, CEO and B2B Marketing Strategist at Marketing Interactions Inc. – Modern day marketing requires marketers to create awesome content, yet they were never provided the tools to execute content programs strategically. Content alone won’t move the needle. But with the right framework and strategy, content will become valued as a strategic corporate asset. In this session, you’ll learn the threefold approach to doing so, including how to develop a continuum approach that leaves traditional campaigns in the dust.




  • Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder and Strategic Director at Orbit Media – Lots of marketers blog, but only a tiny percentage of bloggers create hubs of interrelated content. But it’s exactly that kind of structure and persistence that separates the good from the great. Join Andy as he breaks down how to create and promote lead-generating content – because winning the content game means going beyond the competition.




  • Justine Jordan, Marketing Director at Litmus – Raise your hand if you’ve opened an email on your smartphone today. Chances are, you have, seeing as the number of emails opened on mobile devices has grown 512 percent in the past four years. Tons of copy, tiny text and static layouts no longer cut it – subscribers have high expectations for emails. Justine will guide you through the mobile email landscape, covering everything from the basics of responsive email design to a to-do list of optimization ideas for your next campaign.




  • Jason Miller, Sr. Content Marketing Manager at LinkedIn – Building trust and driving revenue – that’s the one-two punch of social media and content marketing. If you aren’t pairing these two together, you’re missing out on opportunities to grow your business. Let Jason show you how to create a world-class strategy for combining content and social to deliver real, measurable results. You’ll walk away with actionable takeaways you can implement now.




  • Brian Meece, CEO of Rockethub – Crowdfunding has become a hot topic as of late. As founder of one of the world’s top crowdfunding platforms, Brian will explore in-depth just how new media marketers can leverage crowdfunding to launch new endeavors.



… plus fresh talks from Peter Shankman, Gene Marks, Oli Gardner, Noah Kagan, Jerod Morris, Andrea Vahl and more to be announced!


With such an all-star speaker roster, why pick and choose? To limit the conference FOMO (a.k.a. fear of missing out), we made it single track so you won’t miss any of the action.


The City


Philadelphia is a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship (not to mention birthplace of the cheesesteak). What better place to bring together the smartest and most innovative players in the digital marketing game?


(Pssst… Check out our Non-Local’s Guide to Doing Philly Like A Local.)


Get Your Ticket Now


Early Bird tickets are going fast. Save $200 on the general admission price when you reserve your seat now. Early bird pricing ends July 31, 2015.


See you in October!






via Email Marketing Tips http://ift.tt/1C7wP0L

Email Tales From the Trenches

Two savvy email marketers share some of the tips, tricks, and war stories that come with the territory.





via Email - ClickZ http://ift.tt/1bpXQUs

Mar 23 - New 'Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets' feed email from feed2email.net

Google Testing Extra Reminder Button In Inbox
Mar 22, 10:17PM

A few days ago, we noticed a new sight in Inbox by Gmail - another FAB. The new floating action button is blue, and exists only to create reminders. Since then, we've received numerous reports of the FAB popping up for more users. Personally, only one of my two accounts has the new FAB, suggesting that this might be a slow rollout or even an A/B test for the new feature.
Read More
Google Testing Extra Reminder Button In Inbox was written by the awesome team at Android Police.






[Weekend Poll] When's The Last Time You Bought A Paid App Or Game On The Play Store?

Mar 22, 5:46PM

DSC07410
This weekend's poll is about your money - and how you spend it. Specifically, on the Play Store. Now, when I ask if you've bough an app or game on the Play Store, I mean an app or game, not music, movies, books, or TV shows - nor any kind of subscription. For the purpose of this poll, purchases of "unlock" IAPs (in-app purchases) that unlock a full, ad-free, or "pro" version of an app or game will count.
Read More
[Weekend Poll] When's The Last Time You Bought A Paid App Or Game On The Play Store? was written by the awesome team at Android Police.






[Bonus Round] To Be Or Not To Be, 16bit Trader, Space Chicks, And Doodle Army 2

Mar 21, 9:08PM

nexusae0_bonusicon_thumbWelcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a new take on Shakespeare, an updated "pirate math" game, an interestingly diverse endless runner, and long-overdue MOBA.
Read More
[Bonus Round] To Be Or Not To Be, 16bit Trader, Space Chicks, And Doodle Army 2 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.






Some Users Are Seeing Calendar Agenda Cards And Combined Travel Cards In Google Now

Mar 21, 8:20PM

unnamed (12)Have you noticed anything new when you open the primary Google Now interface? Probably - Google seems to be adding more stuff all the time, including support for integration with third-party apps. Over the last few weeks we've been getting tips about a new Calendar card, an agenda view for upcoming busy days, from a variety of Android Police readers. The rollout on this one seems particularly slow - don't be surprised if you don't see it for several weeks more.
Read More
Some Users Are Seeing Calendar Agenda Cards And Combined Travel Cards In Google Now was written by the awesome team at Android Police.






Material Power Menu Replaces Lollipop's Standard Power Menu With A Prettier And More Useful Alternative

Mar 21, 6:46PM

unnamed (11)Before Android 5.0, the Android power menu (reached by pressing and holding the physical power button) included options for an airplane mode and setting the ringer to on, vibrate, or silent. And that was just the AOSP implementation: some manufacturer skins, custom ROMs, and root tools added extras like a screenshot button, a reboot menu, and other goodies. But with Android 5.0, we get... this.


lollipop-power-off
Screenshot source: Geek.com
The Airplane Mode and notification options have been moved to the Quick Settings menu and the volume rocker pop-up, respectively, but there's really no reason aside from aesthetics that the power menu should be so bare.
Read More
Material Power Menu Replaces Lollipop's Standard Power Menu With A Prettier And More Useful Alternative was written by the awesome team at Android Police.






The ICC And Reliance Big Entertainment Release An Official Fantasy Cricket App For The World Cup

Mar 21, 5:26PM

unnamed (5)Cricket. Cricket. That's the one like baseball, but with the flat bats and a circular field and a ton of players and black tea afterwards, right? I apologize - as an American it's hard for me to concentrate on sports that don't involve constant concussions and commercial breaks every two minutes. But I am reliably informed that Cricket is enjoyed in Britain and all the places that used to be Britain (except this one).
Read More
The ICC And Reliance Big Entertainment Release An Official Fantasy Cricket App For The World Cup was written by the awesome team at Android Police.






Frozen Synapse Prime Brings Deep Tactical Gameplay From The PS Vita To Android

Mar 21, 4:45PM

unnamedTactical military strategy and RPGs make a natural fit for mobile platforms, especially tablets, thanks to a top-down battlefield and gameplay that's helped along by precision movement. Android already has a small but impressive collection of tactical strategy options, including notable PC/console games like XCOM and more niche options like Ambition of the Slimes. Now Android strategy fans can play Frozen Synapse Prime, a well-received remake of the original Frozen Synapse, for $5.
Read More
Frozen Synapse Prime Brings Deep Tactical Gameplay From The PS Vita To Android was written by the awesome team at Android Police.






[Update: LMY47M for Nexus 6] [Flash All The Things] Android 5.1 OTA Roundup For Nexus Devices

Mar 21, 1:24AM

lollipop
Of our many jobs here at Android Police, one is to make our readers' lives easier when we can. With that in mind, here's a roundup of every known Android 5.1 OTA for every Nexus device that will be receiving it. As new ones become available, this post will be updated accordingly. Android 5.1 will be released to Nexus 4, 5, 6, 7 (2012 and 2013), 9, and 10. As I'm sure you've guessed, there will be plenty of files to be had.
Read More
[Update: LMY47M for Nexus 6] [Flash All The Things] Android 5.1 OTA Roundup For Nexus Devices was written by the awesome team at Android Police.






The New 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' Game Stays True To The Comic Book Universe

Mar 20, 11:55PM

unnamedYou may remember an X-Men film from last year with the same name as this game, and they do tell the same basic story. The difference, however, is the game is true to the 1981 comic book story line and the movie is... well, not. X-Men: Days of Future Past is also a regular paid game with no in-app purchases.

This is a side-scrolling action title that gives you the chance to play as characters like Wolverine, Storm, Shadowcat, Colossus, Cyclops, and Scarlet Witch.
Read More
The New 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' Game Stays True To The Comic Book Universe was written by the awesome team at Android Police.






Motorola Is Already Testing Android 5.1 For The 2014 Moto X, And Here's The Changelog

Mar 20, 11:34PM

wm_mx11Motorola got Android 5.0 out the door to the 2014 Moto X Pure Edition within a few weeks of Nexus devices, and now the company is already testing Android 5.1. This is just a soak test, but the changelog has been posted on Motorola's customer support portal. They might take it down, but we've got all the details.
MX

Here's what Motorola says is coming in the Android 5.1 update (version 23.1.38).
Read More
Motorola Is Already Testing Android 5.1 For The 2014 Moto X, And Here's The Changelog was written by the awesome team at Android Police.







If at any time you'd like to stop receiving these messages, just send an email to feeds_feedburner_com_androidpolice+unsubscribe-ata2931977.emn123=blogger.com@mail.feed2email.net.
To stop all future emails from feed2email.net you can reply to this email with STOP in the subject line. Thanks