I wrote too soon. It would be lovely to have a service that integrates blog and newsletter publishing and reliable metrics (to measure your efforts). However, it seems to elude us still.
The blogs on iContact appear within a frame that displays all the iContact Community information (view sample). This is designed to publicize iContact, as well as the other members of the iContact Community. The problem is, it tends to clutter the look of a blog. So if you're not interested in co-branding with them, stick to wordpress.com or blogger.com. You can still use their Archive feature to keep a record of all your past newsletters. THAT is definitely useful for when your clients' email programs don't display your message properly (and over which you have no control). That's the link above every email newsletter that reads, "Having difficulty reading this email? Click here to view it in a browser."
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Integrating a blog and an email newsletter
Why would you want/need both a blog and an email newsletter list? Because some fans prefer email, some prefer reading a web page. And you gotta give people what they want. At least, in business.
Okay, so how do you kill two birds with one stone? Sign up with an inexpensive email marketing service like iContact (for $10/mth) and publish both at the same time, by simply checking off the right boxes. They will also manage your surveys, and automate the Subscribe/Unsubscribe process. More importantly, they will track how many people read what you're writing, in both your blog and your emails.
Okay, so how do you kill two birds with one stone? Sign up with an inexpensive email marketing service like iContact (for $10/mth) and publish both at the same time, by simply checking off the right boxes. They will also manage your surveys, and automate the Subscribe/Unsubscribe process. More importantly, they will track how many people read what you're writing, in both your blog and your emails.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Goodreads.com: Calling all book worms
If you love books, check out goodreads.com
Why would you bother signing up and spending time telling the world what's on your nightstand? Well, because if your friends sign up, you can see what they're reading and whether they recommend a book. Okay, that's nice, but how is this truly helpful? How is it any different from checking out Amazon.com reviews?
In a word: trust.
You're more likely to trust your friend's recommendation over a stranger's. You will know for sure that the rating or review you read is from them, rather than the clandestine marketing efforts of a PR expert or the authors themselves, who tend to rave about the work to boost sales and counter bad reviews.
You can also see other readers' reviews, so if you see someone whose tastes mirror yours, you will begin to trust their recommendations as well. But only if they consistently mirror yours over time, which is labor intensive for a marketing agency to maintain, and thus unlikely to happen.
I give it less than 6 months until they're bought by Amazon or similar.
Why would you bother signing up and spending time telling the world what's on your nightstand? Well, because if your friends sign up, you can see what they're reading and whether they recommend a book. Okay, that's nice, but how is this truly helpful? How is it any different from checking out Amazon.com reviews?
In a word: trust.
You're more likely to trust your friend's recommendation over a stranger's. You will know for sure that the rating or review you read is from them, rather than the clandestine marketing efforts of a PR expert or the authors themselves, who tend to rave about the work to boost sales and counter bad reviews.
You can also see other readers' reviews, so if you see someone whose tastes mirror yours, you will begin to trust their recommendations as well. But only if they consistently mirror yours over time, which is labor intensive for a marketing agency to maintain, and thus unlikely to happen.
I give it less than 6 months until they're bought by Amazon or similar.
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