Email Marketing News: May 2015

Friday, May 29, 2015

Internet Retailer: How Mood Fabrics drives a 7% conversion rate on email campaigns

Internet Retailer reports on how Listrak client Mood Fabrics saves time and boosts revenues with...

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10 Terrible, Awful, No Good Email Habits

If you’re one of those people who feels they’re not every effective with email communication, consider that it could be because of your emailing habits.Related Articles

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Video Marketing 101: Tips and Tricks from the Pros at WistiaFest

We don’t need to sell you on the power of using video in your digital marketing strategy. The proof is in the numbers:

⅓ of all online activity is spent watching videos
75% of people visit a marketer’s website after watching a video
Website visitors are 64% more likely to buy a product online after watching a video
Click-thru rates increase 2-3 times when video is included in an email

(Thanks, Digital Sherpa!)

So when we caught wind that our friends at Wistia were hosting their 2nd annual video marketing conference (the aptly named WistiaFest), we sent a few team members to Boston to scope out the latest in video marketing tips, tricks and trends. Aspiring video marketers, this is for you.

Ch-check it out:

More Actionable Tips

Take a “platform-first” approach: Where is your content going to live? Be shared? These key questions can determine the best route for your video content.
Embrace your limitations: Concepting is the fun part of the creative process, but you need to be honest with yourself, your time and your resources. (Do you really have the budget for laser beams and the rights to that Beyoncé song?) But hey, oftentimes the most creative ideas are sparked from roadblocks.
Avoid feature FOMO: Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to include every product feature in your video. Keep it simple or risk overwhelming your audience.

Ready To Launch Your New Video?

Before you hit ‘Upload’, ask yourself these 7 questions* (c/o Phil Nottingham, Video Strategist at Distilled):

Simple – Do I get it at first glance?
Unexpected – Was I surprised and intrigued?
Concrete – Is it “real”?
Credible – Does it align with your brand effectively?
Emotional – Does it make you feel something?
Story – Is there a clear, beginning, middle and end?
Shareable – Would I look good sharing this?

*Bonus points if you caught the acronym.

What’s Next

Hungry for more video tips? Check out our guide to shooting a great video and be sure to share with us your finished products. We love to see what our readers are doing!

If you have questions on integrating video into your marketing strategy, drop us a line in the comments or send us a Tweet. AWeber’s video team is standing by.

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15 Hygiene Tips to Keep Your Email List Clean as a Whistle

A healthy email list is vital to any business. Thanks to bounces, unsubscribes and address changes, you can lose upwards of one-third of your list each year. If you’re not replacing churned email addresses with new active ones, your business can feel the impact.

Here are 15 tips to help you clean, maintain and grow your email list.

Remove or win back inactive contacts

Many email list guidelines recommend waiting for a full year of inactivity before removing a subscriber from your mailing list, but many providers now advise removing inactive email addresses after just six months of inactivity.

That said, it’s important that you try to engage a subscriber before removing him or her from your list. There’s a variety of ways you can win subscribers back or at least learn from their behavior before they go.

Tip No. 1: Send a “we miss you” email with a special offer or discount code to see if you can incentivize the customer to make a purchase.

Tip No. 2: Send a polite “fish or cut bait” email asking if they’d like to confirm they want to stay on your email list before you remove them.

Tip No. 3: Find out why they’re inactive. When you give your contacts a way to unsubscribe after a long period of inactivity, give them a one-click survey on your unsubscribe page to find out why they’re leaving. Too many emails? Irrelevant content? Not enough discounts? Use the information to keep the next contact from leaving. You can also include a similar survey on your unsubscribe confirmation page.

Maintain the working parts of your list

Tip No. 4: Mail your list at least once a month. It will keep your readers engaged, increase the likelihood that they’ll make a purchase or donation, and let you know (via bouncebacks) which accounts are no longer active.

Tip No. 5: There are some great tools to help you maintain a healthy email list. Kickbox helps eliminates bounces before you launch your email campaign by “scrubbing” your list and replacing it with a squeaky-clean version. Kickbox uses a real-time API to verify email addresses before it adds a subscriber to your list. It also detects disposable email domains, role-based email addresses (e.g., webmaster@, info@, support@) and low-quality addresses. All Kickbox users get 100 free verifications every day. What’s more, VerticalResponse users get a 10 percent discount for additional verifications.

Tip No. 6: You’ll also want to take a cue from your open rates. If 99 percent of your list isn’t opening your email, you’ll need to do some work on your subject lines and the timing of your emails (day of the week and time of day). Dasheroo allows you to instantly view key stats from your VerticalResponse emails alongside your other apps like Facebook, Twitter, Google Analytics and many more, all in one easy-to-understand business dashboard! And it’s free.

Tip No. 7: If you’re not already doing it, consider segmenting your emails based on purchases or links clicked. If you sell clothing and certain customers only purchase men’s clothing, they may not want to receive your emails promoting sales on children’s apparel. Likewise, if you sell pet supplies, you can divide your list into categories based on the animal(s) they buy for or are interested in.

Grow your list

Tip No. 8: One of the simplest ways to collect email addresses is with a sign up form on your website or blog. It’s easy to set up, and you don’t have to think about it once you created it. VerticalResponse offers sign up forms for free with every account.

Tip No. 9: You can also collect emails at expos or brick-and-mortar locations. Encourage visitors to drop their card into a fishbowl for a chance to win something. People understand that by doing so, you will include them on your email list.

Tip No. 10: Some retail stores have great success obtaining emails at the register when customers pay. You can offer incentives, such as discounts and promotions, for signing up.

Tip No. 11: Tatango allows new contacts to add their email address to your list with a simple text. Customers text your business’s unique word to 33733, and they’ll be asked to reply with their email address. You can add up to 250 contacts each month to your VerticalResponse email list.

Tip No. 12: Run a contest on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest requiring participants to supply their email address to enter. Remember to follow contest guidelines for each social network.

Tip No. 13: Justuno is a tool that allows you to build email lists with incentive-based promotions. Using an instant offer widget, you can offer site visitors a coupon code or free download if they join your email list.

Tip No. 14: Include a link to your sign up form in your personal email signature.

Tip No. 15: Collect contact information with Twitter Lead Generation Cards, which requires the reader to do nothing more than click on the call to action and then hit submit. The beauty of these cards is that the person’s name, Twitter handle and email address is automatically filled in for them. You can see how to set up a Twitter Lead Generation Card in this short video.

For more marketing tips for your business, subscribe to the weekly VR Buzz Newsletter.

Wendy Burt-Thomas is a full-time freelance writer with four books and thousands of published articles to her credit. Contact Wendy at WendyBurt@aol.com.

© 2015, VerticalResponse Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Thursday, May 28, 2015

5 Ways to Grow Your List with Facebook

Have a healthy fanbase on Facebook? High-five! But how many of those followers are real, paying customers? If you want to start converting customers, you’ve got to get them engaged. And one of the most effective ways to do that is with email marketing.

Facebook can help turn casual followers into loyal subscribers, and eventually paying customers. Use these tips to boost your email list while taking your relationship with your followers to the next level.

Host a Contest

Want to grow your email list crazy fast? Hosting a contest or giveaway is one of the most effective ways to create buzz around your business. To get the best results, host a contest with a short entry period and valuable prize. You have to give away something your followers will actually want!

Ask your followers to enter their email address when they sign up for your contest. Be sure to disclose that they’ll receive your newsletter when they enter, so they’re not surprised when they start getting emails from you.

Tools like Heyo and Contest Domination make creating contests on Facebook a snap. Once your contest is ready, promote it on social media and your blog. More traffic means more sign ups!

Use Facebook’s Call-to-Action Button

It seems like every day there are fewer and fewer ways for businesses to keep their followers engaged with Facebook, so you’ll want to take advantage of every possible opportunity.

One of those opportunities is Facebook’s new call-to-action button, which you can use to link to your hosted sign up form. The button displays on both desktop and mobile at the top of your page, so it’s easy for people to find. You can even publish a form with AWeber using Facebook’s CTA button. The more you know!

Share Your Hosted Sign Up Form

If you don’t already have a hosted sign up form, you’ll want to stop everything you’re doing and create one ASAP. Why?

If your website is under construction, you don’t have a website yet, or if you just need a super easy way to share your form on Facebook, the hosted sign up form is the answer you’ve been looking for. All you have to do is create your form and hit save, and your form will be accessible on its own web page. Share it on Facebook to turn your followers into subscribers! Seriously, it’s that easy. Here’s how to create a hosted sign up form.

Promote Premium Content

Got great content? Sharing it on Facebook can help boost your list – here’s how.

Let’s say you just wrote an awesome blog post on meditation tips. Share one of your strongest tips on Facebook, but don’t give away too much. Tell your followers that if they want more tips like this, they can sign up for your email list (be sure to include a link to your hosted form). That way, they’ll never miss one of your posts.

Webinars and events are perfect for gaining subscribers on Facebook, too. If you’re hosting an upcoming webinar, ask your followers to share their email address if they want to participate.

Finally, if you have an ebook or a PDF guide, tell your Facebook followers about it and – you guessed it – ask them for their email address in exchange for a free download. Learn more about the power of incentives here.

Add a Sign Up Form to Facebook

Yep, there is yet another way to get your sign up form noticed on Facebook. Take advantage of the tabs bar and dedicate a section to your email sign up form. All people need to do is click the icon and they are sent to your sign up form or landing page.

Use images here that will capture attention and are relevant to your brand. Tell people what they can expect when they sign up, and make your call-to-action stand out. Here’s how to add your sign up form to Facebook.

Facebook and email marketing are the perfect pair for creating lasting relationships with your customers. To learn more about growing your email list with social media, check out our Quick Tips Video.

How are you using Facebook to promote your business? Tell us in the comments!

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5 Ways to Get More People to Read Your Emails

Wouldn’t it be nice if your customers or clients read every email you sent? It would be amazing, right? Well, we’re here to help.

There are dozens of reasons for emails to go unread. Your customers are busy, and their inboxes may be inundated with messages. From company memos to promotional emails, we all know how emails can pile up.

So, how do you get your customers to read your emails? We’ve created a list of five easy-to-do tips to increase your “email readability.” While we can’t promise every email will get read, these tips are designed to up the ante and increase your open and conversion rates.

1. Hook your readers with an intriguing subject line

First thing’s first. You need people to open your email before they can read it. That means you need to spend some time finessing your subject line. It’s a good policy to craft your subject line before you write the body of the email. It will help you focus your content. Plus, if you write the subject line last you might be tired of writing and produce a sub-par message.

So, how do you create a 50-character sentence that results in high open rates? Consider writing a subject line that falls into one of these six categories:

Pop culture. Keep an eye on what’s going on in pop culture and consider connecting it to your business or product. For example, an online baby retailer can create a subject line that includes the arrival of the Royal Baby.

Movie line or a song title. Draw on your film and music knowledge to create unique subject lines. A sporting goods store could use the song “We Are the Champions” in its subject lines during playoff season.

Humor. Who doesn’t like a good laugh? Make your recipients chuckle and they’ll open your email, guaranteed.

Curiosity. You want a subject line that makes a recipient say, “That’s interesting. I want to know more.” Curiosity improves open rates.

Outstanding deal. If you’re offering a great promotion, coupon, gift or deal you should declare it right in your subject line. It’s the same principal as “SALE” signs in brick-and-mortar establishments.

Take action. Use your subject line to tell readers what action you’d like them to take. Maybe you want your audience to enter a contest or read a how-to article. If so, mention the action from the outset.

Pro-tip: If you’re having trouble coming up with the perfect subject line, turn to the Conversation Starter. It’s a Mad Libs-style tool that will generate some ideas for you.

2. Don’t underestimate the power of a good format

In one glance, your audience should be able to tell what your email is all about. To do that requires organization. Your email shouldn’t look like a high school English paper; it should look more like a visual postcard. Here are some formatting tips to make sure your emails get read:

Create a title. Give your email a title. Take a look at the example below. The text at the top of the email instantly tells the reader about the contents of the email. Plus, the font is bold and larger than the rest of the text, so it stands out.

5 Ways to Get More People to Read Your Emails

Use subheadings or bullet points. That same example has a subheading, “Getting started.” Subheadings are an excellent way to break up content. It makes the email easy to digest. If you plan to write anything longer than four sentences in your email, use subheadings to chunk the content out. The subheadings should be in bold and slightly smaller than your title text.

If subheadings aren’t the right fit, you can also use bullet points to keep your email neat and tidy. Likewise, if you’re creating a list of any kind, go for bullet points. For example, in your welcome email you can highlight the benefits of your product in a bulleted list.

Generate a call to action button. The green call to action button is eye-catching. You should create similar CTAs for your email. Sure, you can use a hyperlink as a call to action, but a clickable button is better.

Pro-tip: Not sure how to make a call to action button? No problem. Check out our handy button maker.

Pick vibrant colors. In the example, the sender makes great use of the color green. It sets the call to action apart from the rest of the content. If there’s something you want to stand out, make it a vibrant color. Of course, you’ll want to use this color sparingly otherwise it will lose its effect.

3. Create an email buffet

Think of your email arsenal like a buffet, with all sorts of options that appeal to a broad audience. Your email strategy should be similar. You want to serve your audience a variety of different messages.

In other words, don’t send a promotional email for the same product every Friday afternoon. Instead, send a variety of emails. Here’s a quick list of emails you can send to keep the smorgasbord full.

Welcome email. When you get a new contact, send an email greeting within the first 48 hours. In a brief message, welcome them and explain what they can expect from your emails.

Announcement email. Have a new product? Launching a new service? Make it known to your contacts via email.

Newsletters. Keep your crew in the know with newsletters. These informational emails are a great way to keep your customers engaged. If you need a little help coming up with topics to include, check out this list of newsletter ideas.

Customer appreciation email. Give your customers a digital high five. Consider offering a special promotion or a giveaway to show how much you value your audience.

Promotional email. Entice your clients to make a purchase or book an appointment through promotional offers. Promotional emails are an excellent way to attract new customers and retain current ones, but you don’t want to send too many offers. Promotional emails are just another part of your buffet.

Invitation email. Whether you’re hosting an event or attending a trade show, you can always invite your customers via email.

4. Segment your list

One of the best ways to increase your open and conversion rates is to segment your list. By breaking your email list into specific groups, you can send targeted messages to your audience. A targeted message that lands in the right inbox is like an email slam-dunk. Not sure how to slice and dice your list? Here are a few ideas:

Demographics. Split your list by demographics like age, gender, or geographic location.

Survey results. Email a survey to your customers and use the results to categorize the names. For example, an online clothing retailer could group customers into pools like “winter apparel group” and “accessories group.”

Past purchases. If you track what customers buy, you can send emails based on their purchasing histories.

Email response rates. You’ll have a spectrum of active to not-so-active customers on your list. You can use this information to create groups. For example, you can put your active, loyal customers on one list and the once-in-awhile customers on another. Knowing this information, you can gear email campaigns accordingly.

5. Use online tools to improve your email success rate

As a small business owner, we know you don’t have a team of people to craft, check and send every email. Not to worry, though. There are several online tools that can help you create effective emails. Try some of these services and apps to improve your emails and save time:

Email sign up form: VerticalResponse opt-in form

The secret to email success is to constantly collect contact information from prospective customers and clients. To do so, you should set up an email sign up form on your website. It’s a hassle-free way for your business to collect email addresses from interested folks.

Proofreading tool: Grammarly

It’s always best to have a second set of eyes read your email, but sometimes in a one-person shop that’s not an option. To get around this, pop your content into Grammarly. This website will spot errors like misspellings and punctuation mistakes.

Content checking tool: The Hemingway App

When you put your content into the Hemingway App it will highlight sentences that can be improved. For example, it will highlight long, convoluted sentences. Using this information you can clean up your content and create a streamlined message.

Free image sites: Picjumbo and Unsplash

You’ll want to spice up your email with an image or two. If you don’t have any on hand, or don’t want to pay for them through stock sites, you can use Picjumbo or Unsplash. Both of these sites offer images for free.

Photo editing tool: PicMonkey

When you need to edit an image, turn to PicMonkey. This handy website allows you resize, crop and edit pictures quickly.

Link tracking tool: URL Builder for Google Analytics

If you’re a Google Analytics user, this link-building tool will help you track which links people click on the most inside your email. It’s a more advanced tool, but one worth checking out for measuring purposes.

Survey creation tool: SurveyMonkey

Ready to create a survey? Check out SurveyMonkey. This easy-to-use site helps you create questions and deliver the survey to your email list. (As an added bonus, SurveyMonkey is integrated with VerticalResponse. Learn more about it on our website.)

Now that you’re armed with these five tips your readers won’t be able to resist your emails. As you work to improve your email strategy, monitor your metrics so you know what’s working.

For regular tips on email marketing delivered to your inbox, sign up for our weekly award-winning newsletter.

The post 5 Ways to Get More People to Read Your Emails appeared first on VerticalResponse Blog.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

5 Essential Design Tips for the Non-Designer

As a writer, I can’t believe I’m saying this: Visuals are the foundation of your business. Consistent, empowering branding helps to draw in prospects and keep customers coming back for more. It’s your first opportunity to make an impression.

It’s your brand identity.

When Bad Design Happens to Good People

But how often do we stumble upon a website or blog that suffers from a poor visual aesthetic? …What if it’s our own blog?

An unattractive design can be overwhelming, pulling attention from the content and, ultimately, your value proposition. You could be penning Pulitzer-prize winning material, but if the design is distracting, eyes won’t be on your content.

Building Your Brand Identity

Fear not, design newbies! I come bearing good news. There’s a five-step process that even the most Photoshop-challenged among us can adhere to.

Ready to create a brand you’re proud of?

Identify your brand and its mission

Pull images, words, visuals that represent your business and where you want it to go.
Collect them in a folder or create a Pinterest board (PSA: this can get highly addicting).
Keep tweaking your inspiration board, by adding and culling Pins or images, until you come to what most closely fits your brand at this point. Remember that your brand may change over time and that’s okay! Aim to achieve the most accurate semblance of your current state of brand.

(After careful curation, this is what I came up with for my personal blog.)

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but nobody likes a knockoff. Don’t aspire to be the next Apple, Target or Diet Coke. These brands are so successful because they do their own thing. While you can certainly “borrow” elements, find a way to make them uniquely your own.

Type, type, type

Clean, minimalist fonts translate well on websites and blogs. They lend well to images and don’t detract from your message.
Think of fun, ornate fonts like candy: They can be part of a balanced “diet”, but should be used sparingly!
Need a (free) starter kit? Try Google Fonts.

Add in your design elements

Sites like Stocksy and Creative Market are great resources for pulling images and other graphic elements. While there are definitely a number of sites that offer free content, purchasing your graphics may be the smarter route – there’s a slimmer chance that the market is saturated with the patterns and images you’ve selected.

stocksy

(A preview of the high-quality images you’ll find on Stocksy.)

More is not necessarily better. The simpler the design, the easier it will be for people to navigate things like your email sign up form or your ecommerce page.

Host your content

If you’re just starting out, SquareSpace and WordPress are great for beginners. Blog hosting can get tricky, so it’s best to start simple.

squarespace

(I love SquareSpace for it’s clean, minimalist templates.)

Already have a blog? No problem! Start implementing small changes until your website encompasses your brand identity.

Consistency is key

Your brand identity should be consistent across all channels. Have a Twitter? Instagram? Facebook? Your branding should be fluid throughout.
Don’t forget the little things: newsletters, printed materials, blog posts… they should all reflect your brand.

Don’t let the design process hinder you from launching a website or blog that you’re proud of. Take your time and remember to have fun!

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Segmenting to Succeed: Marketing to Gen Z

Layla Thomas, our summer marketing intern, shares her views on what retailers should be doing to...

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Using the Rules of Social to Increase Email Campaign Shares

Emails marketing tends to intimidate many business owners, but email marketing isn’t that far off from blogging and social media.Related Articles

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Press Release: Olapic Partners With Listrak to Bring Consumer-Generated Visual Content to Retail-Specific Email Campaigns

Consumer-Generated Visual Content Helps Elevate Email—the Most Effective Marketing Channel...

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4 Uncommon Ways to Help New Customers Discover Your Business

A growing customer base is critical to any thriving business. Industry research points out multiple elements to include in your overall marketing strategy to reach these gains. By doing so, you increase your ability to not only attract your target market but also encourage new customers to convert, and ensure you retain them.

In a challenging and oversaturated marketplace, this presents businesses of any size willing to take a risk and think unconventionally with a prime opportunity to draw in new customers.

Here are four uncommon ways to help new customers discover your business:

1. Create unique content that truly adds value

By now you’ve heard the phrase so often it’s become cliché, but yes: Content is King. Though everyone is creating it, not all businesses are producing content with significant added value. And that is the difference in success.

Always remember, project the voice of the customer with your words. When creating content for your website or blog, ask yourself ‘Does this help the reader learn something?’. If the answer is no, start over until you strike the right balance between your brand identity and what your potential customers are looking for.

Launching a new product line soon? Post a short Slideshare presentation that outlines it for your target market in greater detail.

Write e-books for each subject area featured in your business then allow people to download it in exchange for providing their email address. You’ll be offering great content while building your list. It’s a win-win.

2. Share your expertise on info swap forums

Question-and-answer hubs like Quora and Ask.com have transitioned from being platforms for novice conversations to valued forums where knowledgeable participants can make a name for themselves offering thorough, in-depth (free!) advice.

To get started, log in and complete a search of the topics being discussed within your industry. From there, try commenting on any that have few or no responses. You’ll be able to gain more visibility, and it’ll show you can tackle a range of questions, further proving your expertise.

Sites like these are typically supportive of inter-business promotion so definitely add links to your social media handles and website details in your post signature.

3. Give your brand a major overhaul

You’ve built it, but they’re still not coming? It may be time to undergo a brand refresh.

But before you call your graphic designer to get started on that new logo and website template, consider that this process often goes much deeper. You will likely need to tackle a variety of issues and resolve them to improve overall communications for your business.

On the positive side, this process will afford you the opportunity to re-evaluate your brand identity and decide whether you should reposition your business entirely within the market to capture an unforeseen key customer market.

Incorporate useful marketing theory tools such as SWOT Analysis and The Brand Wheel in your initial analysis to gain a stronger understanding of where the essence of your brand is now and where it should go.

4. Actively seek referrals from current customers

Before tweets and news feeds, there was word-of-mouth marketing, and it played a significant role in business growth. Even though it usually now takes the form of online reviews and rankings, simply put: Consumers are easily influenced by the opinions of others.

One benefit of referrals is that it eases the vetting process for a business. It offers a built-in ‘middle man’ who can advocate for your brand on a personalized, non-sales pitch level.

Begin this part of your journey by reaching out to 5-10 loyal customers with a referral incentive such as a unique promotional gift or discount off a new product. In exchange, ask if they can send you at least one hot lead from their network.

To make the process run a bit smoother, be sure also to create a simple resource that includes some basic information about your business that your advocates can easily pass along to any new prospective customers.

For more marketing tips like these, sign up for the weekly VR Buzz Newsletter.

The post 4 Uncommon Ways to Help New Customers Discover Your Business appeared first on VerticalResponse Blog.

Email: This Summer's Action-Packed Blockbuster

Just as superheroes need to know the villains' powers, marketers need data, which can be combined with things like video, and location-based and live content to create dynamic emails.

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Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Multichannel Merchant: Olapic Announces Strategic Partnership with Listrak

Today Multichannel Merchant broke the news of Listrak’s partnership with Olapic that, for the first...

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Email Titles that Get Clicked On

You can have the best email marketing design and content, but if your title suffers then so will your click-through rate.Related Articles

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Quick Tips Video: How to Provide Great Customer Support

In a world where consumers have the upper hand when deciding what businesses they purchase from, providing stellar customer support is kind of a big deal.

But how big of a deal is it, really?

A majority of consumers – 89 percent – have stopped doing business with a company altogether after experiencing poor customer service. Additionally, 70 percent of purchases are based on how the customer feels they’re being treated.

And those hefty numbers can’t be ignored.

Customer happiness is essential to not only keeping up a positive brand image – it’s vital to the success of your company.

So how can you easily create a remarkable customer experience for your customers?

Watch the latest episode of quick tips to find out:

You can also read the transcript here:

Olivia (O): Hi, I’m Olivia.

Monica (M): And I’m Monica. Welcome to another episode of AWeber Quick Tips.

O: It’s no secret that customers are the lifeblood of your business. In fact, the happier your customers are, the more likely they are to be in it for the long haul.

M: So how does a business turn every customer experience into a remarkable one?

O: Well, for starters, you should get familiar with your customers.

M: Ask yourself this: Who uses your service the most? What are they looking to gain? What tools do you provide to help them reach their goals?

O: Putting yourself in your customers shoes can help you determine the best way to support them.

M: Once you figure out who you’re talking to, you can begin to look at the different support tools available for connecting with your customers.

O: Everyone is different. It’s super important to provide avenues of support that will help all of your customers meet their needs.

M: Luckily, there are four customer solutions options that should be on your radar.

O: Solution 1: An FAQ or Educational Resource Center

M: This is great for your customers that want to learn more about your products and services.

O: It’s basically a one-stop shop for customers that want to do a quick search on a topic or a common question.

M: Be sure to include a contact form or support information. If your company offers email, phone or chat support, let your customers know!

O: Solution 2: Email

M: If you’re a solopreneur, email is an excellent way to stay in touch with your customers and prospects.

O: In this case, filters are your best friend. Setting up a separate folder or inbox for questions and support inquiries will free up your inbox and make things easier to manage.

M: Some other ways to manage an influx of emails include preparing a document with pre-made responses to common questions and organizing your inbox by date, so you can reply to inquiries by when they came in.

O: Providing a timely response goes a long way to make a customer happy. If you find managing your inbox a little too daunting, there are numerous productivity tools to help you along the way.

M: Solution 3: Online Chat

O: If you have a built-out team dedicated to helping customers, an online support platform is the perfect route for quickly assisting them with their needs.

M: Online chats not only save time, but make it easier to multitask and help multiple customers at once.

O: Solution 4: Phone Support

M: While people may be texting more than ever, don’t give up on phone support just yet. This is another super quick and easy way to address customer concerns.

O: But remember, your team members are brand ambassadors for your business, so some degree of training should be in place to ensure your customers are getting the most accurate information.

M: And that’s it for today! To quickly recap, here are the four customer solutions options you should consider: An education resource center, email, online chat and phone support.

O: Want more AWeber Quick Tips? Sign up for our blog newsletter to get the latest videos straight to your inbox and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more digital marketing tips and trends.

M: Thanks for watching!

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Use Pinterest Analytics to Increase Visits to Your Retail Website

Pinterest is a social networking site in which users post and share – or pin – pictures. The site’s visual format and user base have unique value for retailers. Though Pinterest has historically been dominated by women, that’s slowly changing as a third of new signups come from men. Twice as many pinners have household incomes over $75K, as opposed to those who make less than $30K. Understanding your Pinterest followers and using that information to grow your business is a huge opportunity with an estimated reach this year of over 47 million users.

Like any social networking site, though, success depends on speaking to your customers and posting things they are interested in sharing. That’s where Pinterest analytics come in. By understanding the analytics on your Pinterest business account you can maximize your website visits and sales. To help you do that, we’ve created a simple list of Pinterest metrics to monitor.

Top Pins in the Last 30 Days

Many Pinterest users come to the site seeking inspiration. The simplest way to understand what those users are interested in at a certain time is to look at the Top Pins in the Last 30 Days. Use these topics to inspire pins which will reach more people. These pins may highlight your products, or they may be general interest pins – some of which should link to your website – which encourage more people to follow you and drives more visits to your website.

Interests

You can also examine your followers’ most popular interests. By learning what your followers like – be it home décor or travel – you can pin more images which fit in those categories. Again, these pins can be general interest pins, repins and images of your products. By connecting your brand with your audience’s interests, you can drive increases in engagement as well as website visits and sales.

West Elm does an excellent job of curating boards to reflect user interests. Take a look at this example.