http://www.globalemergencycare.org

Having worked overseas in a developing country ourselves, we understand how sharing what is happening on the field can truly impact the growth of an organization. Global Emergency Care Collaborative trains groups of Ugandan Emergency Practitioners who then serve and care for their own communities and train future generations of Emergency Practitioners. They asked us to redesign their existing website to allow donors and grantmakers to better understand the life-change their organization creates in Uganda, while at the same time giving recognition to their partners on the ground. Their website prominently features bios for the many organizations who work in tandem with GECC, GECC’s key projects, and the ability to make a donation directly on the site. It also includes online applications for volunteers and employees, and a document management system for staff.

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Video in an email marketing campaign will increase your open rates, click through rates, and conversions. It’s that simple. So when a local development corporation asked us to help create a buzz around an upcoming meeting of the minds for a new project, we knew we would use video to share the vision of the project instead of simply broadcasting text in an email. Read more about the success of the entire campaign, which included email marketing campaigns and a landing page.

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http://www.seed.godmanguild.org

Tucked away between the Ohio State University campus and the Short North in Columbus, Ohio is a small neighborhood called Weinland Park which is undergoing a massive revitalization. One of the key projects in the area is the development of an experimental incubator of organic gardening, food businesses and community at the site of a former factory that has been torn down. The neighborhood is often considered a food desert, and this project hopes to sow seeds of health and life through… literally sowing seeds!

The company developing the project asked us to help them create a buzz around an upcoming community charette. That’s the word they used. We had to look it up. A  meeting of the minds, basically, to brainstorm how to make the dreams for the site a reality. They had a list of influencers to invite to the meeting, but less than a week to create and launch their invitation before the event. Their plans were to simply send an email to over 50 people at once in Outlook, with a Word document attachment of over 5 pages of text describing the project and why the invitee should attend the charette. We immediately went to work creating a video to the project itself, a landing page to capture RSVP’s for the charette and provide further details, and a multi-staged email campaign using MailChimp and a small social media campaign.

We sent to a total of 64 unique email addresses, of which 45 total opened the email (70% open rate). We had a total of 21 RSVP’s through the website (46% conversion). The video was seen over 100 times in less than four days, and is still available for viewing today. We are very happy with the results of this campaign and hope to have continued involved in this project in the days to come.

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http://www.columbusduiattorneys.com/

When Jim Owen, a criminal defense attorney and owner of The Owen Firm, LLC in Columbus, Ohio asked us to redesign one of their websites dedicated solely to DUI/OVI in Ohio, we didn’t know we would have the opportunity to do that and much more! The previous website had lots of content, but didn’t present it in an organized manner, and more importantly, hid the most important parts of the website – the calls to action like how to contact the firm. The website merely existed for the company, but didn’t accurately representing the firm’s outstanding record or strength in the criminal defense field. We redesigned the site, highlighting these areas and also repurposed some of the existing content into a free DUI Defense Guide, accessible through an email optin. We are beginning to work with the firm to optimize the existing content on the site to better compete in a very competitive search market, and to understand how to write their very educational content in a way that is engaging both to readers and search engines. Eventually, we will move them into the social arena and video marketing.

In just the month since the site has launched,  the site has seen an increase in visits of 11%, and of those visitors, they’re staying on the site 110% LONGER than did before, looking at 58% more pages, bouncing almost 8% less than they did at the previous design.

Let this be an encouragement to you – you may have everything you need already to turn things around for your website. We did not need to create new content – simply redesign how and where it was displayed. If you would like to talk about redesigning your existing website, please feel free to contact us.

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55% of business owners say referrals give them the biggest boost in the business. That’s more than the reported 17% from personal friends and family or the 11% from networking events. You can’t afford to neglect referrals as a powerful piece of your lead generation toolbox.

Use this simple template to create a case study and testimonial of a recent sale.

• Describe your customer’s demographic in as much detail as possible. This will help your readers relate to this customer.
• Paint the “before picture” for this person. What sort of problems were they experiencing before they came to you?
• What doubts did they have about whether your products/services would work for them?
• What actual, measurable products and improvements did they receive?
• What problems went away?
• How did these results alleviate the doubts they had?

Once you have completed the case study, forward a copy to your customer along with a friendly note about how you enjoyed working together. Ask your customer if s/he would consider adding a brief testimonial to the case study, and if you can share that testimonial with others. Once you have a response to add to your case study, consider adding it your Facebook page, or Manta Profile as a Recommendation.

Don’t wait for your satisfied customers to provide a glowing recommendation. Do it for them. By providing a completed case study to the customer, you provide a reminder of the problems you solved and pave the way for a positive recommendation you can then share throughout your marketing campaigns.

P.S. Want to really fill up your referral pipeline? Consider offering a discount to referrals who mention a specific testimonial or case study: “Mention Case Study Roberts for 10% off your first order.” You might even offer a referral fee or similar commission to the person offering the testimonial for any sales referred through their case study.

What recent customer success story can you tell in a case study this month? 

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There are three ways to increase value of a customer:

1. Increase the number of times they bought
2. Increase the average amount they spent
3. Set them up on a regular purchasing schedule so they’re always buying the extra value you provide

Up-Sells

You want to be sure that every purchase your customer makes comes with an opportunity to make that sale bigger. The used car lot sells a car, but offers an extended warranty. The restaurant sells burritos, but offers a side of chips and guacamole. The tax advisor sells a yearly tax return, but offers a review of last year’s taxes for errors.

Another way to offer an up-sell is to offer a volume discount at purchase. Using the tax-advisor as an example, s/he could offer a discount for the client who pre-purchases the next two years’ tax return preparations in advance.

Bundling products or services is an often used and profitable up-sell. The last time you purchased a computer, you probably purchased a monitor along with it. Why? Because the store bundled the two together at a cost lower than purchasing the two separately. The same is often done with printers and ink.

These are examples of up-sells which add value to your customer’s purchase, and create a bigger bottom line for you.

Cross-Sells

To create a quality cross-selling offer, consider the services or products your customer will need before, during and after s/he uses the product originally purchased. For example, if you sell golf coaching for beginners, your cross-sell might be a new set of golf-clubs. If you website design is your primary service, offer website hosting, too.

The real power of the cross-sell comes when you then create packages with your up-sells and cross-sells. Using the golf coach as an example, you could offer these three packages. The first is simply two hours golf coaching for $99. The second is three months of golf coaching, two hours a week for $699. The third is four months of golf coaching, two hours a week PLUS a new set of golf clubs for $2500.

Most people will look at the first package and think to themselves, “I’m not getting enough in the lower priced package, but the premium package is too much and more than I need.” They will choose the second option simply because you presented it. If you hadn’t presented this up-sell/cross-sell combo as an option, they couldn’t have purchased it.

Re-Sells and Membership Programs

Many small businesses don’t realize the profit available in offering automatic re-sells or membership programs. Setting up a recurring service and billing schedule for customers saves them the hassle of having to remember to make appointments to use your services, and ensures you receive a steady stream of income.

Here are a few examples of how small businesses might use re-sells or membership programs to increase customer spending:

• A baker can offer a monthly cookie club. Customers subscribe for three or six months, and each month receive a specialty box of cookies delivered to the address of their choice.
• A cleaning service can offer a bi-weekly cleaning for one year, with the 12^th month free. By setting up a standing appointment for cleaning, the homeowner can relax knowing they will have a sparkling clean home to enjoy, and the cleaning company can more consistently fill their schedule.
• An auto repair shop can offer a year’s worth of oil changes at a discount.

Use these tips on increasing value and customer spending to drive sales for your business. What are some ways you could use an up-sell, cross-sell or re-sell in your business this month?

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You will learn how to 

• setup your MailChimp account for FREE
• create your first list
• create a form to capture information for your list
• embed that form in your website, facebook, and link to it from Twitter
• send your blog posts to your subscribers automatically
• set up an autoresponder to drip content to subscribers
• send email newsletters
• and more!

I’ll also explain why you should use a double-opt in email program like MailChimp, and how to make sure that you’re collecting and using your email addresses in a responsible way. The cost is $49.00. You’ll get a recording of the webinar for your review, as well as step-by-step checklists to use when setting up your first email marketing campaign. You can’t afford to miss this opportunity to learn the best method for moving customers through your sales funnel! 

PS. Would you please forward this to a friend who might be interested, or share it on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter? Thanks!

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Your timeline and steps will vary, depending on your industry, type of content and calendar.

Here’s an example email marketing timeline:

DAY 1: Jot down the topics you want to include in your newsletter and some ideas for pictures to include.

DAY 2: Write out what you want to say about each topic, and pull the pictures you want to use into one folder on your computer. (Make sure you have permission to use the photos—don’t just grab something from Google images.)

DAY 3: Sign into your email marketing program and create your email campaign. Read over it a few times looking for any grammatical errors or typos. You should also send a test email of your campaign to yourself and a friend or colleague who could read over the email and check for errors and typos.

DAY 4: Send your campaign

Now you’ve outlined the steps in creating your newsletter and you know how much time you need. With that information, go back to your calendar and jot down the date you’ll send your campaign and the date you’ll start working on the campaign.

Don’t forget to take holidays into account when sketching out your newsletter deadlines. You may want to send out an exclusive offer before a holiday like Valentines Day to encourage your readers to purchase a Valentine’s gift from your site. Or you may want to avoid sending near a holiday if you’re sending industry news when businesses are likely to be closed.

Here are MMP’s and Just Bulbs’ timelines for their email-marketing plans.

MMP’S Timeline for November

Day 1:
Topics to cover in Nov. campaign:

• Industry updates
• Ignition lands Olympics campaign, Home Depot looking for new agency
• Reaching moms through Twitter and Facebook
• More moms are using social networks. Are they interacting with your brand?
• Going green
• The more companies that jump on the eco-friendly bandwagon, the more discerning customers become. If you want the benefits of “going green,” you’ve got to prove it.

Determine Images to use:

• A mom at a computer
• Green campaigns
• Ignition and Home Depot logos

DAY 2:
Write a summary for each campaign topic and include links to full stories on research sites, purchase rights to images on iStockphoto.

DAY 3:
Create campaign in email marketing program and send test to agency’s proofing department to proofread.

DAY 4:
Make corrections found by proofing department, send campaign.

Just Bulbs’ Timeline for November

DAY 1:
Determine Thanksgiving special offer, gather product reviews and product photos.

• Special offer: 25% off all Christmas light bulb products for newsletter subscribers only
• Product review: Gerson vs. Vickerman—which brand is best for your outdoor holiday light needs

Product images: request from webmaster

• Show images of each holiday light gallery
• Icicle lights
• Mini lights
• Net lights
• Novelty lights

DAY 2:
Prepare to send test email.
Receive product images from webmaster
Input all content (text and images) for Thanksgiving newsletter into email marketing program

DAY 3:
Send test email of newsletter to John and Sara for proofing.

DAY 4:
Send campaign

Learn More About Email Marketing:

• Webinar: Introduction to Email Marketing with MailChimp
• Email Marketing Series: Create a Timeline
• Email Marketing Series: Determine Your Frequency
• Email Marketing Series: Outline Your Goals
• Email Marketing Series: Define Your Purpose

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Sit down with your calendar—personal and business—and think about what frequency makes sense for your audience and your content. We recommend that you email your list at least monthly, but don’t feel the need to commit to that immediately. Feel free to skip a month if you don’t have anything truly useful to say.

Determining the Frequency of Your Email Marketing Campaign

You probably don’t want to go more than a couple months without contacting your subscribers, because they may forget that they opted-in to receive emails from you and might report you as a spammer. You don’t want to send too frequently either, or subscribers will feel overloaded with emails and may unsubscribe or, worse, report you as a spammer.

Within those guidelines, your specific product or service and the content of your email campaigns can guide frequency and timing. If you’re sending info on sales and discounts and you discount items every Sunday, you probably want to send an email every Friday giving your subscribers a sneak peek at the specials. If you are doing a more general e-newsletter that discusses news and special events, then a monthly newsletter might be a better fit. If you’re showcasing new products that come in every two weeks, your readers will want to know right away, so you should email them every two weeks.

Let’s look at our example case studies from our previous posts in this series:

MMP will begin with monthly email campaigns. They want to be sure each newsletter is full of highly useful information for their industry, so they’d rather send less frequently and have more to say.

Just Bulbs will send weekly email campaigns. They want to stay top-of-mind with their consumers, so they’ll send a weekly campaign with bulb tips, bulb specials, bulb news, bulb reviews and Just Bulbs news (like how green they are).

What do you think is the right schedule for your new campaign?

Learn More About Email Marketing:

• Webinar: Introduction to Email Marketing with MailChimp
• Email Marketing Series: Create a Timeline
• Email Marketing Series: Determine Your Frequency
• Email Marketing Series: Outline Your Goals
• Email Marketing Series: Define Your Purpose

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You probably won’t see dramatic results right away. First you need to develop a loyal subscriber base and get more and more people signing up for your newsletter. Then you’ll see the benefits start rolling in. In order to build this loyalty and demand, you have to produce a quality newsletter and promote it in all your marketing materials and social sites like Facebook, and Twitter.

Brainstorm what you hope to get out of your email marketing over the next six months or so. Then write down three things:

1. Your goal
2. How you’ll achieve your goal
3. How you’ll measure your goal

MMP’s goals:

Increase list size by 20% over the next year
Achieve goal by marketing the newsletter at all industry events and conferences and making newsletter signup form available at events and on website, social sites, etc.
Measure success by looking at increase in list size using tracking and reporting

Just Bulbs’ goals:

Increase online sales via the email newsletter by 20% over the next six months
Achieve goal by offering readers incentives for buying online, like exclusive subscriber sales and offers
Use Google Analytics and Analytics360 to measure online sales via the newsletter

Learn More About Email Marketing:

• Webinar: Introduction to Email Marketing with MailChimp
• Email Marketing Series: Create a Timeline
• Email Marketing Series: Determine Your Frequency
• Email Marketing Series: Outline Your Goals
• Email Marketing Series: Define Your Purpose

Read this original post Website Design using WordPress, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Mobile Marketing | Angie Meeker Designs | Columbus, Ohio - Website Design using WordPress In Columbus, Ohio