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Meet Us at MarketingSherpa’s Email Workshop

March 31, 2010 By

sherpa-email-workshopAre you looking to overhaul your email campaign, optimize what you’re doing well now, or learn how other companies are succeeding with email?

Throughout 2010, MarketingSherpa is putting on a series of one-day intensive email marketing workshops.

I’ve been to a couple of their Email Summits and have gotten a lot out of the case studies and advice given at those events.

So I’m excited to get to check out one of these workshops, where attendees will get hands-on help optimizing their email campaigns in an interactive, small-group setting. (I’m going to the one in Philly, but there are others around the country, too – see here for a full listing.)

Plus, the folks at MarketingSherpa have generously offered AWeber customers a discount. :)

What You’ll Learn in The Workshop

I asked MarketingSherpa to give me an idea of what attendees will get out of the workshop.

Among other things, you’ll learn to:

  • Grow a high-quality list
  • Incorporate social media into your email marketing
  • Develop effective email content
  • Design email for mobile devices
  • Write subject lines and copy to maximize response
  • Increase conversion rates
  • Improve your email testing
  • Make segmentation work for you
  • Utilize measurement and reporting to improve results

Plus, all attendees will leave with a copy of MarketingSherpa’s “Best Practices in Email Marketing” handbook, which they normally sell for about $500.

I’ve been reading over a copy (it’s 580 pages, so it’s taking me a while ;) ) and like all the other “Sherpa” books we’ve purchased over the years, this one is brimming with case studies, survey responses and ideas on how to improve your campaigns. Nice bonus, no?

If this all sounds like what your email program needs, register for your local session here. Going through that link also gives you access to the $200 discount they’re extending to AWeber customers.

Meet AWeber in Philly

On Tuesday, April 6th 2010, the workshop comes to Philadelphia – AWeber’s backyard.

So a couple of our Education Team members – Amanda Gagnon and I – are attending. We’re looking to learn from the content and apply it to what we do, but we’re also going to meet the other businesses and marketers who come to the workshop.

So if you’re in the Philadelphia area, come on out and join us there!

Filed Under: Seminars

Website Services

March 26, 2010 By

Website Services

  • Marketing website creation and automation
  • Drip marketing campaigns
  • Social Networking setup / campaigns
  • Search engine optimization
  • Blog set-up
  • Contact management
  • Customer service
  • Domain/Hosting account set-up
  • eCommerce consulting / implementation
  • Email services
  • Forum/Message board set-up
  • Mailing list administration
  • PPC account management
  • Technical support

Base rate is $60 per hour.  Monthly packages available.

Filed Under: Business Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Email Spring Cleaning: 4 Easy Ways

March 25, 2010 By

Just a few months ago, New Year’s resolutions were the highlight of many email marketing conversations.

With the best intentions, businesses set out to grow their lists by the thousands and send more targeted, relevant messages. They made lists and reviewed last year’s figures, invigorated by the new year and certain that they could increase click through rates and ROI by leaps and bounds.

Perhaps you even set lofty goals for your own campaign, only to be sidetracked by more pressing issues. If you’ve temporarily put your resolutions on the back burner, refocus your efforts with these spring cleaning techniques.

Dust Off Your Messages

Dust Off Your Messages

You should treat old emails like attic treasures. Just like you stash your belongings away, only to rediscover them in a flurry of excitement later on, take a close look at your existing messages and examine the available reports for your account.

The Verified Subscribers report shows exactly how many people have confirmed their subscription in the past 30 days. If you aren’t satisfied with your current results, re-purpose your old confirmation email to make it sparkle.

The Follow Up Totals report displays the total number of clicks and opens for each message. If necessary, change up your content to make it more conversational and engaging and fine tune your follow up messages to reflect questions that you frequently receive from subscribers. Examine your subject lines and determine if they are compelling and consistent enough to click through.

Using templates? Make sure your messages look good in all email clients – test them.

Polish Your Web Forms

Polish Your Web Forms

If you haven’t tried the new Web Form Generator yet, now is the time.

Make your forms shine without any HTML knowledge whatsoever. You can create visually appealing forms that give your website a more polished and professional look in only 5 minutes.

Because you don’t need to edit the HTML for your page each time you work on your form, you can make changes whenever you want without a hassle – you could even try seasonal templates if you’re feeling festive.

Campaign Overhaul: Renovating Emails and Forms

Campaign Overhaul: Renovating Emails and Forms

When you’re pouring over various reports and rewriting entire message sequences, how can you be sure that the changes you’re making are the best for your email marketing efforts? By split testing, of course.

Split testing lets you conduct a controlled experiment with your sign up forms and messages to help to see which factors make them perform better for your campaigns.

Web Forms

Split testing web forms lets you evaluate:

Which type of form works best for you (e.g.pop-over vs. inline)

How many fields you should use

Which field labels work best

Whether or not your headline copy is compelling enough

Email Messages

Split test your new messages against your old ones to learn…

Does sending in the morning work better than sending in the afternoon?

Does using a button instead of a text link get me more clicks?

Does subject line personalization get you more, or fewer, opens?

For accurate results, split test broadcasts can only be created for lists that have at least 100 active subscribers.

Revive Your List With Some Careful Pruning

Revive Your List With Some Careful Pruning

Yard work goes hand in hand with spring cleaning, and it’s common landscaping knowledge that most plants benefit from regular maintenance. Take a cue from mother nature – with careful pruning, your list can flourish.

This is not to say that you should immediately unsubscribe anyone who hasn’t opened recent emails.

Consider the number of disengaged subscribers on your list. To start, search for subscribers that haven’t opened a message in 3-6 months. Are there a lot of them?

Resist the urge to channel your inner Edward Scissorhands; don’t delete them them – try to reengage them first!

Think about what you offer in your emails. If your product is seasonal, are those subscribers really inactive? Perhaps they are simply not opening your messages because they are familiar with your brand and assume that they will still receive emails when they are ready to purchase.

What are Your Housekeeping Plans?

Are you clearing out your unsubscribes anyway, despite our advice to think it over? Rewriting messages?

We’d love to hear what you’re doing next with your lists! Share your thoughts on the blog.

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Filed Under: content ideas, Email Marketing, email newsletters, split testing, web forms

Now Supporting Google Chrome, Safari

March 22, 2010 By

We’re happy to announce that we’ve added support for two more browsers.

You can now access and manage your AWeber account using Google Chrome or Safari for both Windows and Mac.

You can also manage your AWeber account using a variety of other browser and operating system combinations:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: New Features, usability

Wokulira Development Group, Mukono : Uganda

March 21, 2010 By


photo

$2,025 of $2,200 raised.

Started raising funds on Mar 21, 2010




Nakibuule Annet, shown at the top left as well as in the group photo, is a very hardworking lady with a restaurant business. She is a single mother of three children who are all in school and this is the best reason why she works so hard.

Annet prepares breakfast, lunch and supper for her customers in Nabuti. She is able to make 75,000/= as weekly income and she says that this would be more except that at times the food prices are hiked due to external factors.

Annet needs to expand her business further by being able to prepare a variety of foodstuffs as well as building a comfortable home. She needs a loan to be able to buy more foodstuffs for her restaurant.


Filed Under: Kiva.org Tagged With: , ,

Beginning Group : Liberia

March 20, 2010 By


photo

$275 of $425 raised.

Started raising funds on Mar 20, 2010




Elizabeth Sonkarley is the leader of the group of five borrowers called Beginning Group. She is 45 years old, widowed, and has six children who range from 5 to 24 years old. Elizabeth was able to attend school through 11th grade.

For 6 years, Elizabeth has been selling charcoal at the Parker Point Market in Paynesville, which is near Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. She says that she provides her customers with good quality charcoal, which keeps them coming to her for business. One of her challenges is that there are many competitors in the market.

Elizabeth plans to use her 6,000 Liberian dollar portion of this 30,000 Liberian dollar group loan to buy more charcoal.

In the photo that accompanies this profile, Elizabeth is the one holding the sign. Oretha Gblah is inset at lower left.

About LEAP:

The Local Enterprise Assistance Program (LEAP) is Liberia’s largest and oldest continuously operating microfinance institution with 13 branches across the country. Founded in 1994, the non-profit organization has survived periods of civil war and severe socio-economic hardship. LEAP seeks to help rebuild post-conflict Liberia through its group and individual loans to micro- and small-scale entrepreneurs, and puts emphasis on lending to women.


Filed Under: Kiva.org Tagged With: , ,

Yanet : Peru

March 20, 2010 By


photo

$75 of $750 raised.

Started raising funds on Mar 20, 2010




Yanet is a member of the Manantial Community Bank. She lives with her partner and is 27 years old with two children. Yanet sells a variety of fruit on foot in the market. Additionally, on Sundays, she travels to fairs where she sells her fruit. Yanet needs a loan of 2,100 soles which will be invested in the purchase of a mototaxi so that her husband can work. Yanet’s dream is to improve her business and provide a good education.

Translated from Spanish by Kate Divjak, Kiva Volunteer


Filed Under: Kiva.org Tagged With: , ,

Yalama-yalama Group : Mali

March 20, 2010 By


photo

$50 of $425 raised.

Started raising funds on Mar 20, 2010




The members of the group Yalama-Yalama are essentially married women averaging 40 years of age and five children each living in monogamous families in Noumousso, a district of Kadiolo City (3rd administrative region of the Republic of Mali).  The group members are collaborating with the micro-finance institution Soro Yiriwaso in order to satisfy the needs of their customers.  They are now on their fifth solidarity loan.  All the preceding loans have been repaid.

The group members sell oil, wax pagnes (colorful West African cloth), and cosmetic ointments, and they work in food catering.  With their new loan, they intend to buy four 20-liter containers of oil, six bolts of pagnes, a 100-kg sack of rice, three packets of condiments, and a 75-kg sack of beans.  Supplies are gotten at the big market of Kadiolo City and from neighboring villages. Sales are made at the market, out of the home, and by going door-to-door.  Cash and often credit is accepted from customers composed of men and women. 

The group members each envision making a monthly profit of 30,500 francs CFA.  A portion of the profits will be put into savings and used for family needs.  The other part will be invested in the businesses. 

Translated from French by Dan Kuey, Kiva Volunteer


Filed Under: Kiva.org Tagged With: , ,

Yawa Telou : Togo

March 20, 2010 By


photo

$75 of $125 raised.

Started raising funds on Mar 20, 2010




Yawa Telou is a 38-year old woman who is married and has two children. She lives in Kpalimé, a town which lies 120 kilometers from Lomé. She is a retailer of bananas, kola nuts and avocados, and she gets her stocks in Agou, a village not far from Kpalimé. With the loan from Kiva, Yawa would like to buy these fruits in order to resell them. With the profits she makes, she would like to save some money so that she can in the future buy a motorbike.

Translated from French by Alison Le Bras, Kiva Volunteer


Filed Under: Kiva.org Tagged With: , ,
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