You may recall the school, located on the bayou, was devastated by Hurriccane Katrina. Our previous donations directly assisted the school facility itself, however our current donations will target more personal needs for the children and their families. The effect that Katrina had on the economy of this community which was already at poverty level, seems endless. Basics such as shoes, socks, underwear, coats, jackets, plastic mattress covers etc are in short supply, so this is where we will direct our attention.

If you would like to add to our donations or if you would like to make direct donations, please contact Customer Service at 877-227-0611, ext 3.

Alliance of Independent Music Merchants

The Alliance of Independent Music Merchants is an alliance of leading musical instrument retailers and manufacturers whose mission is to help develop and grow the music industry. Their focus is quality products, educational programs and exceptional customer service. To find out more about them visit their web site at www.musicmerchants.com.

Prevent Inc.

The mission of Prevent Inc is to implement their trademarked safe patient handling program, "Get A Lift". Since 1996, the "Get A Lift" Program has proven its success in more that 600 healthcare organizations by reducing caregiver/patient handling injuries by more than 80%. Professional Nurses provide healthcare organizations with the resources, training and support to permanently replace the need for manual lifting, transferring and repositioning with patient/resident handling devices. To find our more visit their website at www.getalift.com.

* SubscriberMail. They're an award-winning email service provider with the  tools to help you create and send targeted email campaigns that drive results. They also provide phenomenal, inspiring customer service. We use them. They've helped us tremendously with personalized attention to our needs.

Here's the link to our earlier announcement of our partnership with SubscriberMail.

* NewHire. NewHire offers a powerful, affordable, online hiring candidate management software. You'll be able to attract the right talented candidates, get answers to your most important questions - before you interview and keep track of your candidates with their easy-to-use online solution.

We've never used their product. However, we've spoken with many of their customer references including those they sent us and those customers of theirs we contacted on our own. The reviews were all consistently stellar.

Here's the link to our earlier announcement of our partnership with NewHire.

* PeerSight Online. Peersight Online offers a peer-to-peer mentoring service for C-level executives, directors and entrepreneurs. Their plan's really simple: bring 8 ambitious entrepreneurs together regularly. Help them, help each other focus, execute and grow their businesses very fast. BTW, leaders that join a peer board grow their businesses 2x to 3x faster than their peers who don't attend such a board of their peers.

Their approach is time-efficient, cost-efficient. They use online resources, conference calls, coaches and the power of peer members to help each other grow. Disclaimer: They incorporate our conference calling solutions into their service. But that only means greater savings to you with no need to travel. And greater time to meet and learn and help each other grow.

We've used  them with great success.

Here's the link to our earlier announcement of our partnership with PeerSight Online.

* FreshBooks. FreshBooks is an online invoicing and time tracking service that saves you time and makes your professional.

Appearances are everything. But I'd add this: by making it easy to track your time and generate an invoice they help keep your cash flows in the positive. A professional looking invoice only encourages prompt payment. And an invoice that's easy to generate with accurate and current time tracked is one that's sent out regularly.

This is the perfect service for teams, freelancers, small service-providers like PR firms and Architects, IT consultants and Design Studios, Pool Cleaners and PC Techs, Journalists and Lawyers... They're doing something right. 300,000 new users have joined the company since June 2004.  It could be their devotion to their customers.

Here's the link to our earlier announcement of our partnership with FreshBooks.

These are but 4 such partners whose services we've made available for our customers. We have 3 more lined up to announce in the coming months. Please contact me if you'd like to discuss putting your service in front of our customers with special pricing.

FreshBooks is also a role-model for any company who wants to generate high net promoter scores, from generating customer evangelists. With their blog, their regular visits to customers in different cities, and the Mesh event they help organize and sponsor, these guys talk/talk and walk/walk. And now they've taken their game to a new level: they're going on the road. They're renting a RV in Florida and driving to Texas. Along the way they'll be stopping to see customers and sharing the whole story online at their ROADBURN site.

Disclaimer: They're a customer. I'm a guest author once a month on their blog writing about customer service. FreshBooks is one of our value-add partners for you with a special offer of savings for you, our customers, for their service.

The solution is SUBSCRIBERMAIL. They delivered this email to you. We've used them to deliver our newsletters for several years now. Here's why:

EASY-TO-USE TOOLS: They have the all the online tools we need to quickly and easily design newsletters to fit our needs, as well as accurately target our customers with specific messages.

USEFUL REPORTS: Their reports help us gauge which emails are of interest to you and which aren't. The reports are easy to understand and prepared in formats that are easy to use.

OUTSTANDING DELIVERY: Ever wonder if anyone is even getting your emails? Independent auditor reports show that SubscriberMail has one of the highest delivery ratings in the industry.

FANTASTIC SUPPORT: SubscriberMail's staff really sets them apart. We find them to be smart, responsive, creative, and accountable. We love them. You will, too - you'll get personalized one-on-one training and have a dedicated team to support you.

All of this means that your critical messages will be created efficiently, get delivered accurately and in a timely manner, and you'll communicate more effectively to build your brand image and strengthen customer relationships.

That's been our experience. And it's been the experience of many others - SubscriberMail was recently named to Inc. magazine's list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. Industry Experts have good things to say about SubscriberMail, as well.

Here comes the sweet part.

SUBSCRIBERMAIL has partnered with us to offer an exclusive plan that will maximize your savings. Sign up with SubscriberMail right away and they will waive fees for their standard initial setup. That's a savings of up to $900. You'll save half when you start and the other half after 12 months as a credit to your account.

As a customer with Conference Calls Unlimited, you'll save money if you act now. But more importantly, you'll have what I believe to be the best email solution available - easy to use, award-winning service and personalized training, plus dedicated account support. And all the while you'll see better open rates and response rates as well as an enhanced brand image for your company.

What's not to like? I urge you to act now and save up to $900!

Contact SubscriberMail for a personalized demo of their services, or call 866-622-2600.

Be sure to mention that you're a Conference Calls Unlimited customer to save $900!

You can start learning more about email marketing immediately, thanks to SubscriberMail's extensive library of research and recommendations on email marketing, available at no cost. Two of their most popular reports show you:

- Words to avoid in subject lines
- Guidelines for effective email creative 

United Fashion of Texas owns and manages over 80 stores in the Southwest, offering their customers quality fashion merchandise at the best possible price in a friendly, attractive atmosphere. The core customers for Melrose are fashion conscious young Hispanic women. The success of their stores is attributed to their focus on the local needs and tastes of the Hispanic customer along with the quick reaction to the changing needs and desires of their customers.

Corridor Consulting, Inc.

Corridor Consulting specializes in helping companies manage and share critical information to fundamentally improve their business. Corridor is a systems integration and consulting company focused on the implementation of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Systems. Their consultants have successfully implemented over 300 systems for clients in banking, government, healthcare, insurance, retail, and manufacturing.

These are the recipients of our monthly iPod gift for November and December.

One of the best things about being in the telecommunications business is that our clientele is extremely varied. We provide service to individuals and to huge corporations and to companies everywhere in between. Each and every company is unique in its business. There is one common denominator, however, and that is longevity.

We recently decided to send “Random Acts of Kindness” gifts to customers each month. This month we are celebrating the loyalty of customers who have been with us since 2001 and the company that was chosen is the Gottesman Company.

The Gottesman Company acts as Independent Business Transaction Intermediaries serving both Buyers and Sellers, specializing in the Mergers & Acquisitions of businesses in the mid-market arena, nationally and internationally. Business Transfers, Selling of Businesses, while acting as Finders - all fall within their province. They also work with Cooperating Intermediaries and

Investment Bankers nationwide as well as in Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Next month the recipient of the “Random Act of Kindness” could be a one person consulting company, a charitable organization or a prayer group.

Conference Calls Unlimited’s first major philanthropic project was the Points Aux Chenes school in Montegut, Louisiana. We first wrote about it over 2 years ago in the first months of the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita aftermath. (Is it possible that all of that occurred two years ago?!)

The school, located on the bayou, was devastated by those two hurricanes.

We heard about the need of this school when we checked in with one of our long time customers in the area after the hurricane, to offer assistance. He declined assistance for himself but informed us that he knew of a school that sustained a great deal of damage due to its location. Our CEO immediately spearheaded a donation program for the school.

We re-routed funds which we normally allocated to sending “thank you” flower bouquets to new customers to purchase desks, chairs and other equipment for the school. We sent word of this project out to our customers and received additional funds for the project.

Happily, the school is up and running, but lest we forget the untold and very long term damage caused by Katrina, we wanted to share some excerpts from a recent update from the school’s principal, Dawn LaFont.

“We are still open- busy with 157 children.  We have 52 children who are homeless or living with other families.  So with a third of the students living with about 20% of the remaining population so about 45% of our children are still up set!  We have more domestic issues than ever!  I think the stress of it all is getting to everyone.  Levees have been built- we haven’t had any storms so you would think people would get settled, but housing sky rocketed after Katrina and Rita.  Even middle class families are finding it difficult to pay the cost of repairs, new housing or renting.  Building codes added additional burdens on people who had begun to repair their homes and insurance companies dropped them or increased their insurance to an unaffordable price.  Road Home dollars are still not coming as they should have and so people are told to write appeals… difficult to do if you are not educated. 

Our school is beautiful- everyone tells us how wonderful it feels to be here!  I really want to make their day- everyday!  There are so many unfixable things… I am striving to hang on to this part of their world as a safe, warm, loving environment.  The magnetic boards, chairs, plastic drawers are holding up beautifully.  We have had to raise our furniture a couple of times and it was much easier than before.  In a matter of two hours with everyone working we were picked up and covered!!! “

How fortunate the children are to have such a caring principal. We are humbled by her stamina and shocked to know how unsettled the victims of Hurricane Katrina still are. It certainly is cause to count your own blessings.

- Theresa Chatelle, Customer Service Manager.

This organization provides a number of different resources for those attempting to address this growing problem of violence against women. These resources include:

Expert articles

Website links

Training and Consulting Services

Resources for Victims of Domestic Violence

Blog

This is a resource you wish didn't need support. The growing problem of violence against women is one that's only solved with greater resources, support, education, accountability, understanding, compassion. For too long, it's existed in the shadows of our community, whispered about but never acknowledged. The result is a problem more widespread than we realized and too often addressed on the basis of misunderstanding, prejudice and bias, outdated paternalistic attitudes, a blame the victim mentality and if all that isn't enough...there aren't enough resources for those willing to provide a solution.

Can you help? The Battered Women's Justice Project is  worthy group making a great difference with this problem. We'll contribute $50.00 for every referral and $50.00 for every new customer we receive during the month of December. 

We're confident you face the same challenge in your organization.

So I was pleased when Steve MacGill, CEO at Peersight Online, told us about Chuck Smith and his company, NewHire and their solutions for a cost-effective means to quickly find, screen and retain the best people for your organization.

After a few months of review and meeting with Chuck Smith, we think Steve's right. NewHire provides a solution for the number one challenge of every organization: finding and retaining talented people. 

Steve MacGill and I aren't the only ones who rave about NewHire. Here's what one of their references said:

It’s not often that a business relationship produces value beyond expectations, but I had to write you to express my appreciation for the consistently excellent results we have achieved with NewHire…

And that was just one such testimonial!

I've never found such glowing testimonials for a service-provider before. The testimonials came in personal calls promptly delivered in response to my queries. They were from C-level executives and hiring-managers who called to tell me how NewHire had solved so many hiring challenges, done it promptly, saved them money, and how willing NewHire, from their CEO to their receptionist worked with them to find a solution for THEIR needs.

NewHire's Elements program insures you can find qualified candidates faster and with less cost.  It uses their NewHire's Candidate Management Software to compile all the candidate responses into a single database you can screen, sort, filter, track...from anywhere, when it's most convenient for you. You'll be able to quickly find the most qualified candidates and THEN you schedule interviews with these candidates.

Makes sense doesn't it? ( Where was this program when we needed it? )

And with NewHire, quickly finding qualified candidates is the result of a simple, 4-step, process. It's built around their personal consultation with you to:

1) Create and Refine Your Job Description

2) Customize a Pre-Employment Questionnaire

3) Write Your Job Advertisement to Attract the Right Candidates

4) Develop & Implement a Media Placement Plan

Personal consultation to deliver a personal solution. It's what the best companies deliver. NewHire's one of the best.

And NewHire's agreed to a 10% discount for our customers who choose their NewHire Elements program.

Here's how to get started:

1) Visit NewHire's Website
(http://www.new-hire.com/newhire.html);

2) Take their tour;

3) Read their Case Studies;

4) Then sign up for NewHire Elements' (with a 10% discount for being our customer)

      a. Online at http://www.new-hire.com/nheccu.asp

      b. On the phone: 877-923-0054 (If you hate filling out forms.)

5) Be sure to tell them you're our customer!

We're glad Steve MacGill at Peersight told us about Chuck and NewHire  this summer. We think you'll be glad, too.

... different information, in different ways, at different times during their buying process. The choices they'll make will depend on their role, their exact need, and the timeframe for solving that need.

One of the reasons podcasts are important is that they engage an audience or prospective customer in a way that other offerings may not. And if you have potential customers who are already listening to podcasts, why would you want to leave that offering out of your mix?

Exactly. Why would you?

His first tip to keep in mind is:

Know what you want to say and have a point of view.

So true. Podcasts are powerful addition to your plans to share your message...IF...you have something unique and interesting to share.

And his second is:

Be ready and willing to learn by trial and error, since podcasting is a relatively nascent medium.

And if you're willing to learn this medium then you're half-way home.

We can't help with the first point.

We can help with the 2nd point using our podcast service. You provide the passion; we'll provide the podcast. We can take your unique content and quickly turn it into a podcast for you, without your ever having to learn the podcast technology itself. Besides, what's the best use of your time: learning XML coding to create a podcast or providing your unique content for the podcast? We think the latter. If you agree, and you want to start podcasting, give us a call: 877-227-0611, ext. 3.

You read, see, many websites during your day. that makes you an expert.

Would you take a minute and look at our new website's home page?  It's a draft. There are some typos we'll fix.

And if you have another minute, would you share your thoughts and ideas and questions and confusions...whatever... in the comments field?

Payroll 1

Founded in 1986, Payroll 1 provides payroll services to small and medium-sized companies. Their clients submit payroll information to their dedicated payroll specialists, receive pay statements and payroll reports either electronically or on paper. Additional services they provide are tax filing, check signing and stuffing, internet access to reports and pay statements, and internet payroll processing solutions.

Wachter Corporation

Wachter is a leading national provider of infrastructure services, communications equipment, and technical support. Wachter services the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Wachter Corporation's services include on-site wired and wireless network infrastructure, telephony and structured cabling, design, installation, and electrical services.

It’s FreshBooks (www.freshbooks.com). It’s a simple-to-use, FAST-to-use, way to track your time and invoice your clients.

And as a customer of Conference Calls Unlimited you’ll save 25% off the already low price of FreshBooks. (You can use it for free for 30 days, too!)

FreshBooks is perfect for teams, freelancers, attorneys and accountants, designers and consultants, service providers of all services. It’s perfect for those whose skills are best spent providing a service, not preparing an invoice.

And you know without an invoice…you don’t get paid.

Get paid faster with invoices you can create faster, that look sharper and that enhance your organization’s image. Collect payment faster with online credit cards, e-checks and Pay-Pal.

Oh. Did we mention it generates all the reports a good accountant could ever want? And you can import or export your data with FreshBooks.

Oh. Yes. It costs 25% less if you’re a customer of Conference Calls Unlimited.

Here’s how to enjoy this benefit:

1) Visit FreshBooks right now (www.freshbooks.com).

2) Sign up for their free trial. ( The free trial last forever for up to 3 users.)

3) Tell them you’re a customer of Conference Calls Unlimited.

And start getting paid faster, with less headaches and with less expense.

Thanks for being our customer.

And we’ll be offering more of these value-added partnerships that offer services and resources to help your organization to grow. It’s our way of saying “Thanks for being our customer”.

***********************************************************************

A short preface on open rates

Open rates have been falling in the email industry recently. This trend is not necessarily reflective of fewer people actually opening emails. The general decline is due to the fact that many of the new email clients that people are using have images turned off as the default, and also because some users prefer to have images turned off. In order for an "open" to be accurately tabulated by an email marketing service provider, an image - usually one pixel and transparent - needs to be displayed. The calling of this image from the service provider's web server indicates that the email has been opened. If the image is not downloaded from the server, it will not be counted as an "open," even though the recipient can still see and read all of the text-based content.

This being said, it is still important that email marketers take steps to optimize their open rates. Counted or not, opens are what drive your program's overall success.

Optimizing the From Name

With spam and phishing scams ever more prevalent in the inbox, making sure your recipients can clearly identify the sender of your email is increasingly important. Don't try to personalize the from name with a salesperson's name that your recipients may not recognize. Don't use a product brand name that someone outside of your company may not be familiar with. State your organization's name simply: ABC Company. Recipients should be able to clearly and quickly identify and recognize your company from your from name.

Testing subject lines

Never underestimate the importance of a compelling, well-constructed and effective subject line. If you can increase your open rate from 17 percent to 20 percent with a simple subject line test, that's an almost 18 percent improvement (not 3 percent!). If your list isn't big enough or you don't have the resources to do a true random split test (those of you using SubscriberMail can do this with our built-in split list feature), recurring A/B split tests will show patterns that will dictate what makes a subject line successful for you. (For more information on email testing, see our white paper. For help on creating winning subject lines, see our previous article.)

Maximizing the preview pane

While a passing glance through the preview pane may technically be counted as an "open" in your email reports, if your recipients never look any further, that glance isn't going to lead to a click-through. Optimize this area with text that compels readers to open the email to read more. Better yet, place your key call to action in this area to drive immediate click-throughs. As always, be aware of how your email will render in the preview pane if images are disabled, and design accordingly. (For more information on how to maximize email design, see our white paper.)

Checking content for Spam triggers

It goes without saying that if your email is delivered to a junk mail folder due to triggers that flag your message as Spam, it's much less likely to be opened than a message delivered to the inbox. While spam filters have customizable settings that are beyond an email marketer's control, making sure your message falls within the default values of popular Spam filters will be effective in the majority of instances. (For help on how to avoid being labeled "Spam," see our previous article.)

Keeping a squeaky clean list

A list in need of cleansing can not only drag your open rates down, it can also in worst-case scenarios hurt your delivery. An email sender's reputation is a critical factor in whether your email is delivered to the inbox, bulked, or bounced. Repeatedly sending to dead email addresses will negatively impact your sender reputation. SubscriberMail automatically removes these email addresses from your list and blocks them from re-import so you don't accidentally resend to them. We also closely monitor the sender reputation and overall delivery of our IP addresses.

Periodically cleansing your list of recipients who no longer take action on your messages is also a good idea. You may wish to employ a win-back strategy to first try to save these addresses or try to reach them in a different way, such as direct mail.

We are frequently asked what industry averages are but we don't like to quote these because open rates will vary among organizations. It's important not to focus on reaching "industry average" open rates, but rather to evaluate your own open rates in the context of your own email initiatives. Employing these strategies in your email marketing efforts can help drive your open rates, whatever they are currently, and more important by extension improve your other metrics as well.