Email Interaction: Tell It Like It Is

One-click emails are an efficient way for consumers to share personal preferences with brands and provides email marketers actionable data that can be used to enhance the customer experience.

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Happy National Customer Service Week! Meet the Team + Watch Our Customer Service Skills in Action

Here at AWeber, customer service is a big deal. Actually, the biggest deal. Since the very beginning, our customers have shaped the way we run our business – from product updates to the content you see on this blog.

That’s why our Customer Solutions Team is the heart and soul of AWeber. Not to gush, but they’re really the best.

If you’ve had a great experience with our Customer Solutions Team and you’d like to share, spread the love with hashtag #AWeberCS on Twitter.

In honor of Customer Service Week, we’d like to introduce you to just a few of our many Customer Solutions rockstars. Check out their tips for creating AWesome customer service experiences.

(And keep reading to see what happens when our team leaders hit the phones and chats!)

Jeni H.

Jeni’s adorable Shiba Inu puppy has his own Instagram page: follow him @yuki_koinu. When it comes to customer service, Jeni recommends holding off on your reaction to give yourself time to process customer feedback. Once you have a good understanding of that feedback, you can use it to grow your business and delight your customers.

Tim D.

Tim did the Polar Bear Plunge this year in Wildwood (brrr!). To deliver great customer service, Tim says it’s super important to not only listen to feedback, but to pass it along to ensure your products or services are the best they can be.

Andy K.

Andy once got lost in Park Guell, Barcelona, but not to worry: he’s safe and sound and ready to answer your burning questions about email marketing. To enhance your own customer service, Andy believes in being an active listener to your customer’s concerns and being your customer’s voice.

Laura H.

Laura went to Kenya for three weeks as a volunteer and she’s been in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. When it comes to great customer service, she says the best thing you can do is show your team you genuinely care about them as team members and as people. Happy team members = happy customers. Trust your team!

Ian R.

Before finding a home on the AWeber Customer Solutions Team, Ian did everything from furniture restoration to research laboratory work to slicing cold cuts in a deli. Ian’s best tip is to avoid treating customer service like a chess game – stop thinking five steps ahead! Instead, ask probing questions when necessary.

Now watch our customer service skills in action.

Everyone on the AWeber team has learned something valuable from our customers, including our CEO Tom Kulzer and COO Sean Cohen. In fact, these guys have been in close contact with AWeber customers since day one.

In honor of National Customer Service Week, we shot some behind-the-scenes footage of Tom and Sean working one-on-one with customers, inviting feedback and creating remarkable experiences, because that’s how we roll at AWeber.

Check it out and hear what they have to say about the importance of our customer solutions team.

Don’t forget to share the love! Use hashtag #AWeberCS on Twitter to share your AWesome AWeber customer service experiences with us!

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6 Tips to Get a Logo Design That Gets Customers Talking

Is your business in need of a logo? Whether you’re planning to give it a refresh or creating a new one from scratch, a logo that catches the attention of your customers is essential for building brand presence. 

 Wondering how you’ll begin? Here are six steps to follow to get you started: 

1. Define your brand visually

When you think of your brand, what do you imagine? Take out a piece of paper and make notes. Write down the words and images that you believe represent your brand. It might also be useful to ask other employees or a close friend for their help with this exercise as they’ll likely see the brand differently than you.

Once you’ve created personas for your brand, you’ll be able to think about the kind of logo that would fit the company and attract those types of customers. 

2. Research, don’t copy

During the process of creating your logo, you’ll probably study a ton of them online for inspiration. You should look at logos that you like and save them on your laptop. Make a list of things you like about these logos. Do you like the font? The use of white space? Pick out a few defining characteristics that are appealing to you.

Next, look at logos from other businesses in your industry. It’s important to know what your competitors offer so you can stand out.

However, while you can draw inspiration from others, it’s important to remember that your logo is your own. It should be unique. You should certainly do research before you create a logo, but you don’t want to be a copycat. You are your own brand. 

3. Colors matter

What color should your logo be? Just because your favorite color is green, this does not mean it’s the best choice for your logo. Colors have meaning. There’s an entire psychology behind the use of colors and the emotions they evoke for shoppers.

When you’re thinking about your logo’s color scheme, consider the message each color sends:

Red: bold, loud, sexy, edgy
Orange: creative, cheery, fun, youthful
Yellow: cheery, sunny, optimism
Green: growth, organic, instructional, environmental, health
Blue: professional, calming, trustworthy, dependable
Purple: wise, blissful, spiritual
Black: powerful, strong, masculine
White: pure, innocent, clean, simple, crisp
Pink: flirty, youthful
Brown: rural, historic
Grey: neutral, calm

4. Pick the right font

In the same way that colors send a message, so do fonts. If you plan to include your business name in your logo, which most companies choose to do, you’ll want to pick the right font. Here’s a quick breakdown of fonts and their implied meaning. For more information, check out this infographic.

Script fonts: elegant, affectionate, creative
Serif fonts: traditional, reliable
Sans serif: stability, clean
Modern: strong, stylish
Display: friendly, unique

See a font online that you like? Use an online tool like WhatTheFont to identify it. Just upload an image and you’ll find out the fonts that are used. Plus, you’ll see a list of fonts that are similar to it.

When it comes to fonts, there are more to choose from than what Microsoft Word offers. Don’t be fooled into thinking you have to pick a common font like Times New Roman. You can even download new fonts right to your laptop. Check out 1001 Free Fonts to find a typography you like.

5. Keep it simple

A logo should be clean, crisp and not leave your customers puzzled about what it means. Don’t use more than two fonts or two colors. Keep the imagery basic. That’s not to say you can’t be creative, but if you want to appeal to customers, a logo can’t be overwhelming. You aren’t creating a work of art for a gallery; you’re creating an easy-to-identify logo.

6. Use a professional to design your logo

Once you have some solid direction, take your ideas to a professional. While there are numerous crowdsourcing options, be cautious of this route. The number of samples and pricing may be enticing, but these sites may not offer access to expert designers with the years of branding experience necessary to create a logo that’s right for you. Deluxe offers top-of-game in-house designers and economical logo packages starting at $245. They’ve designed for more than 75,000 clients worldwide. You can check out some samples here.

Conclusion:  The most important part of deciding on a logo is to make sure that you feel it represents what you want to convey about your brand to customers. Remember, there will be many times when your logo will be the voice of your business before people even consider your products – make it work in your favor. 

© 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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4 Easy Tips for Turning Your Sign Up Form Into a Subscriber Magnet

Last week, we announced that Atom mobile app users can now customize their mobile sign up form with their logo, background color, text and more. The possibilities are nearly endless, and customizing your sign up form is just plain fun. But did you know that a great-looking sign up form can do big things for growing your business too?

Why bother customizing your sign up form?

People love visuals – 90 percent of the information transmitted to our brains is visual. A great-looking, branded sign up form will do a better job communicating the value of your business and help you get more email subscribers. That’s why creating a sign up form is such an important first step in getting started with email marketing!

Whether you’re creating your first or your fiftieth form, there are a few best practices you should keep in mind if you want to attract more subscribers. Here are four tips for creating a brilliant- looking sign up form that gets real results.

Show off your brand.

It sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s worth saying: every business communication you make, from your website to your email signature to your sign up form, should reflect your brand.

Consistent branding looks professional and builds trust with people who don’t know very much about you. If you’re just getting started, choose elements in your form that best reflect who you are. If you have an established look and feel, stick with it.

Check out this pop-up form from Tiny Designer.

Sometimes, pop-up forms can be intrusive if they’re not done correctly, but this one doesn’t feel intrusive at all. So what is Tiny Designer doing right? For starters, all of the colors, styles and fonts you see on this form also appear on their website, so the form feels like a natural part of the user’s experience. They even include the cartoon characters that appear on the website, making the form feel fun and friendly.

Learn more about building your brand.

Give social proof.

In the wise words of Peep Laja at Conversion XL, “No one wants to be the only idiot filling [out] your stupid sign up form.” So if you have the social proof, use it! Social proof makes people feel good about signing up for your list. It gives them confidence that you’re not a spammer and that they’re making the right choice.

This sign up form from LeadPages sits on top of their blog and is visible no matter which blog post a visitor clicks.

They have plenty of social proof – 140,000 subscribers is a lot of people! If you don’t have an impressive subscriber list already, skip the social proof until you have it. In the meantime, you can include details about what subscribers can expect to see in their inbox from you.

Tell people what they’ll get.

… and how often they’ll get it! ContentVerve tested two forms – one with no description of what subscribers would receive and one that did included a description. The form that told subscribers what they’d get saw 83.75 percent more sign ups than the form with no description.

Use your headline and description to tell people exactly what they can expect in their inbox. To really rake in those sign ups, include an incentive offer. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy – an exclusive discount like Gypsy Warrior offers will do just fine.

Want some extra credit? Create a dedicated subscribe page that goes into even more detail about why people should sign up for your list. You can share this page across social whenever you want to give your list a boost. Check out how The Expert Vagabond does it.

Seven reasons to subscribe, blatant flattery (“Subscribers are smart & hot”) and a free ebook? I’m sold!

Change your call-to-action text.

A call-to-action button that simply says “Sign Up” isn’t just boring; it can be a total lost opportunity for attracting more subscribers. First, the text on your CTA button should relate to the action your new subscriber is taking. For example, if you’re offering a free guide, your button could say, “Send me my free guide!”

In one case study, using possessive language on a CTA button increased clicks by 90 percent. Phrases like “Send me updates!” or “Start my free trial” or “Download my free templates” help your soon-to-be subscribers connect with you.

Here’s an example of how Nerd Fitness uses possessive language on their CTA button.

You can also use your button text to remind people of what they’re getting. Social Triggers uses the button on their sign up form to remind people what they’re signing up for and reinforces that it’s free.

When it comes to your CTA text, you have very few characters to work with – make them count!

What Now?

Try out one of these tips in a sign up form split test – here’s how to run quick and easy tests. The outcome will depend entirely on you and your audience, so don’t get discouraged if you’re not seeing the results you were looking for. Keep testing until you find a sign up form that works for you. Then test some more!

How do you customize your sign up form for better results? Share with us in the comments!

Not an AWeber customer yet? Sign up for a 30-day free trial today!

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Taking Risks to Grow Your List

Fledgling businesses eager to spread brand awareness as rapidly as possible may want to invest in preset email mailing lists, but they should consider the long-term impact first.

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Tips on Crafting Your Email Marketing Message

Messaging is key when it comes to your email marketing campaigns.Related Articles

1. Integrate Email Marketing with Facebook Messages and Communication
2. Email Marketing Content: Trawling the Customer Service Files
3. Email marketing delivery: reviving an old email list

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3 Autoresponder Ideas From Real Businesses

Wouldn’t it be cool if you had a small army of clones to help with the day-to-day tasks of running your business? Ok, maybe that’s a little weird. But who would argue with the extra help?

Autoresponder emails won’t sign off on invoices for you, but they can help build connections with your followers.

Get 100% Higher Engagement

Yep, that’s right. Autoresponders get 100% higher engagement than email newsletters. How do they work?

An autoresponder series (sometimes called a follow up series) consists of automated emails that you create ahead of time that automatically get delivered to your new subscribers. You can create an autoresponder series with as many or as few emails as you want.

The best part? Once you set up your series, your work is done. Your autoresponder emails will keep your subscribers engaged over time while you’re busy doing other things – like working on that next big project or grabbing some coffee with a friend.

You can use autoresponders to teach your subscribers about the value of your products or services and help them get to know you better. Here are some ideas for what to write in your autoresponder series.

So how are real people like you using an autoresponder series? Let’s take a look at three different autoresponder strategies from three different businesses.

Strategy #1: Autoresponders for Promoting Your Blog

Nomadic Matt is a travel blogger dedicated to teaching people how to travel smarter and for less money. His blog has a ton of content already, so Matt uses a lot of it in his autoresponder series.

Email #1: Welcome and Getting Started Email

Every new subscriber to Matt’s list receives a welcome email with everything they need to get started, including four guides and links to his FAQ page and forum. He asks people to reply directly to his email to let him know how he can help them plan their next trip. Matt even includes his P.O. Box asking subscribers to send him a postcard from their trip – an awesome personal touch!

Email #2: Top Blog Posts

After his welcome email, Matt sends his subscribers a message with his top blog posts. The curated message helps his new subscribers catch up on all the content they may not have time to seek out on their own.

Email #3: Useful Resources

Just about everyone gets stressed out about traveling, so Matt tells his subscribers exactly how to plan their next trip to help save them time and anxiety. He even provides his own detailed itinerary that he used when he traveled to Europe for the first time.

Email #4: Popular Industry Topic

Just about everyone gets stressed out about traveling, so Matt tells his subscribers exactly how to plan their next trip to help save them time and anxiety. He even provides his own detailed itinerary that he used when he traveled to Europe for the first time.

Email #5: Promotional

Have you noticed that Matt provides a lot of free stuff up front without asking his subscribers to buy anything? He waits until his fifth autoresponder to promote his travel guide. At this point in the series, Matt’s subscribers have become fans – and people who are your fans are a lot more likely to buy something from you.

The Takeaway

If you’re a blogger, you already have the content you need for your autoresponder series. Using your autoresponders to tease your best blog posts and share your most valuable resources will build trust and turn your subscribers into your biggest fans.

Strategy #2: Autoresponders for Scheduling Consultations

LearnVest is a financial planning company that provides coaching, custom finance plans and loads of resources to its members. They use their autoresponder series to show off the value of their services and convince subscribers to become paying members.

Email #1: Welcome/Consultation

The first step toward getting subscribers to become members is prompting them to schedule a consultative call. The goal of LearnVest’s welcome email is to show people how easy it is to get started.

Email #2: Value of Services

Subscribers who haven’t scheduled their consultative call might be wondering what they get when they become a member, so LearnVest shows them a detailed sample plan in their next email. This type of message shows the value of LearnVest’s services.

Email #3: Schedule a Consultation

For the people who aren’t fully convinced they need to become members, LearnVest shows them a variety of different financial goals. Chances are, subscribers will relate to at least one of these goals and feel encouraged to join.

Email #4: Value of Services

This message breaks down the mystique of financial planning into a single, digestible idea. To find their flex spending number, subscribers must click “I want my number” and schedule a consultative call.

The Takeaway

Even if there is just one action you want your readers to take (like scheduling a consultative call), an autoresponder series gives you a multitude of ways to stay on your audience’s minds. When LearnVest’s subscribers are ready to get serious about financial planning, guess who they’ll call?

Strategy #3: Autoresponders for E-Courses

Tiny Designer is a resource created by designer Jarrod Drysdale that helps designers and non-designers work better together. Jarod uses autoresponders to give his readers a free, five-part email course to teach people about effective design. Subscribers can choose which course bests suits them: there’s one for designers and one for non-designers.

Each lesson in the course focuses on a new topic each week for five weeks. The lessons are detailed (around 1,200 words), conversational and answer subscribers’ biggest questions about design. Jarrod ends every lesson asking for feedback from his subscribers. Here’s what the full course looks like:

Once Jarrod’s subscribers have finished his e-course, he sends them PDF downloads of the course for designers and the course for non-designers, and encourages subscribers to share them. After that, Jarrod continues to send his subscribers articles from his blog, but not before letting them know what they’re about to get.

The Takeaway

E-courses make it easy for your subscribers to digest your big ideas. Consider using autoresponders to spin your existing content into an e-course to show off your expertise and educate your subscribers.

Now It’s Your Turn

Now that you’ve seen how a few other businesses are using autoresponders, we’d love to hear your ideas. How do you use your autoresponder series? Do you have one in the works? Tell us in the comments!

Not an AWeber customer yet? Sign up for your 30-day free trial today!

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