Internet Innovations

Intellicontact - ConstantContact Alternative at a Great Price

kyarmosh — 2006-11-30T09:16:57-06:00

Intellicontact is a great e-mail marketing tool I recently came across during my vast explorations of the web. Filled with many of the same features as ConstantContact - the defacto winner in this space - it is offered at a lower pricing point and even easier to use.

The user interface is broken down into four high-level categories, including "My Contacts", "Create", "Send", and "Track". Again, it doesn't require a degree in brain surgery to understand what each of those will help you do. Simplicity is definitely a strength of Intellicontact.

Under "My Contacts", you can import subscriber names in a variety of ways, segment users, add new lists, and even create RSS feeds. That is one feature that I've not seen offered by an e-mail marketing tool to this point.

Intellicontact beats ConstantContact on price ($14/month for 1k subscribers versus $15/month for up to 500 in ConstantContact) - and that's because it's a primary way to entice folks to try them out over a very established tool.

I expect good things from Intellicontact so give them a chance if you are looking to try out a new e-mail marketing tool.

Blogwild! - Small Business Blogging Made Simple

kyarmosh — 2006-11-14T22:28:52-06:00

My fellow DTM contributor Andy Wibbels has a relatively new book out called Blogwild! I consider it a must have resource for anyone that wants to start blogging. Yes, anyone.

The good news for folks here at DTM is that Blogwild! is specifically geared to Small Businesses. I will note that I find most of the principles applicable across the board though - which is good for Andy in being able to reach a larger audience.

I've read through similar books out on the market. That's why I'm happy to write that Andy has one of the only books on blogging I've seen that actually provides a step-by-step 'how to' on creating and managing a blog.

I purchased a significant number of copies of his book and have been making them available to potential bloggers I encounter during speaking events and other outings. I still have some left and am happy to offer them at $17 including shipping (in the continental U.S.).

If you want to take advantage of this offer, just drop me a line and I'll be in touch.

Taglocity - Tag Outlook E-mail

kyarmosh — 2006-11-08T06:12:25-06:00

Taglocity is an interesting Outlook plugin that brings tagging to your Outlook inbox. Taglocity builds on top of the native flags but changes them to be more powerful.

The functionality of Taglocity is presented by the Tag Bar, which provides you access to a handful of your tags, as well as some other more advanced features (like Auto Tagging, Filter, and TagCloud).

Over time, Taglocity actually offers the option to auto tag e-mails based on previous activity. That is accomplished by clicking the 'Auto Tag' button.

One of the nicer features Taglocity provides is the Filter. Users can filter e-mail based on one or a number of tags (and can also use boolean operators like 'and' and 'or').

There is a free and professional edition of Taglocity, with the difference being Pro offering more tags and e-mail support. The paid (pro) version is $39.

Go ahead and give Taglocity a try or watch their demo to learn more.

BlueTie - Low Cost Alternative to Hosted Exchange

kyarmosh — 2006-10-31T07:25:02-06:00

It's difficult to justify spending the money and maintaining an Exchange server when you are a Small Business. But Microsoft's Exchange server is pretty much the defacto standard when it comes to e-mail, calendaring, and contact management in today's workplace.

Many SMBs turn to Hosted Exchange servers to solve this problem. The main cost avoided with Hosted Exchange is maintenance. Essentially, a Small Business is paying for an outsourced vendor to maintain their Exchange environment.

But even Hosted Exchange is still a relatively costly investment. Hosted Exchange can range from $4.95/user to $575/month (on the 50+ user end).

One of the new players on the block is a company called BlueTie. They aren't offering Exchange but their product looks very slick at first glance.

BlueTie's service includes what you would normally expect in Exchange and more: e-mail, collaborative calendaring (and tasks), and shared contact management. Their BlueTie Pro edition also provides IM. The major difference, however, between BlueTie and Hosted Exchange is the AJAX interface - check out their demo (available on the homepage) to see it in action.

The free service is actually pretty comprehensive (and generous in my opinion), providing up to 20 users per account and 5GB of storage per user. The free service does not include toll-free phone or e-mail support and lacks what I consider a killer feature: BlueTie's DirectConnect.

DirectConnect provides Outlook synchronization, POP3/IMAP, and WAP 2.0 mobile support. Synchronization can occur two-ways, Outlook to BlueTie, or BlueTie to Outlook. BlueTie was smart to play nice with Outlook and mobile devices.

BlueTie Pro pricing is very competitive at $4.99/user per month. Of course, you can use the free version too (and in that case, a similar offering is Google Apps for your Domain). If you are looking for a low cost Exchange alternative, you may want to give BlueTie a serious look.

Metrics - BlogTracker from IceRocket

kyarmosh — 2006-10-13T08:22:46-05:00

As mentioned previously, metrics are the lifeblood of your web presence. There are a number of blog specific metrics tools available. If you are running a blog only, you'll want to experiment with at least one blog specific stat program.

A blog is a particular type of a website, with specific elements associated with it. Some of those include comments, the fact that each post typically gets its own page, etc. Having a stats package that takes these things into account will paint a better picture for what's occurring on your blog.

BlogTracker is one of the newest blog stat tools on the market. It's provided free through IceRocket - which is a blog search engine.

It's definitely not as comprehensive as some of the other tools (e.g., it doesn't give you information on popular posts). But one of the interesting aspects is that it will give you a rank, based on your stats versus the other bloggers using the tool.

If you haven't used any web stats programs to this point, especially not one for blogs, give BlogTracker a try. It should provide a gentle introduction for you.

Coffee Shop vs. The Office

kyarmosh — 2006-09-29T10:53:03-05:00

I just finished writing a piece entitled Your Blog is (or should be) a Coffee Shop. I think challenging the way many businesses are coming to think about blogs is important, so I'd encourage you to come read it in its entirety:

Visiting a Coffee Shop is a low pressure outing...it's a way to get know someone better and have meaningful conversation. And that's exactly what your blog should be. Your blog is (or should be) a Coffee Shop. It should be a low pressure way for someone to get to know you, your interests, or passions better. It's not your Office. Other parts of your site or perhaps a different site all together should be considered the place where people can learn more about your business.

Wrap-up of The New New Internet

kyarmosh — 2006-09-21T07:11:09-05:00

I spent yesterday doing some live text and video blogging of The New New Internet Conference.

Here are some highlights:

Andrew McAfee on Enterprise 2.0

Web 2.0 is successful because technologists figured out what users wanted:

1. To interact w/each other
2. As little structure as possible during interaction and use of technology
…and the result was that
3. The outcome of getting out of the way does not mean chaos

Rajen Sheth of Google - Web 2.0’s Impacts on Business
One of the nuggets that I think folks will take away from his talk was that software-as-a-service - SaaS - allows companies to focus on business and not on infrastructure. Instead of having to focus on the technology - installing, maintaining, etc. - they can use hosted services that just work.
Jason Goldberg on Web 2.0 and its Influence
According to Jason, Web 2.0 goes beyond being online…it solves business problems. He asks, “How many people have gone to the public library in the last month?” A smattering of hands raised….”how many people have searched Google?”. Everyone raised their hands. People turn to the web first.

Metrics - The Lifeblood of Your Web Presence

kyarmosh — 2006-09-13T08:09:52-05:00

I'm always surprised when clients indicate they have no web analytics in place on their blogs and websites. Metrics are the lifeblood of your web presence. They help baseline success, as well as provide a way to set new goals.

They also give you a better picture of your visitors, including what content they find interesting and how long they are spending on your site. Implementing web analytics is a no brainer.

There are a number of great tools that exist...many are free. Probably one of the most compressive is Google Analytics. But there are others that have recently caught my eye, including HitTail and Crazy Egg. Some more basic tried and true analytics tools include Stat Counter and Site Meter.

"Installing" analytic tools is often as simple as copying javascript code into the HTML of your web properties. For sites that have a CMS installed, it's much easier to roll-out site wide analytics because the code can be placed into the header or footer.

I'll soon be covering a subset of these tools in greater detail.

GaGa Over Google - Part 3

kyarmosh — 2006-08-30T10:47:42-05:00

Check out Part 1 and Part 2

John wrote-up Google's latest news on Google Apps for your Domain. I previously pointed to the hosted Gmail solution I've been using in Part 1 of this series. Essentially, Google is now providing their email, calendar, and a couple of other tools for businesses.

One of the things not mentioned there is Google Notebook. Google Notebook is a great way to capture and synthesize your thoughts from the comfort of the web browser.

Some people consider Google Notebook a competitor to other social bookmarking tools like Delicious. But it really can be much more than that if you think about it as a "notebook".

I've been using it to collect my thoughts, store what Web services and products I want to review, and even preparing for phone calls.

Google Notebook works through a Firefox extension - an IE extension was also recently released. Give it a try and get more organized.

Cold E-mailing, SalesGenius, and Start With A Lead eBook

kyarmosh — 2006-08-23T09:18:31-05:00

I reviewed Brian Carroll's book back in June and as such, turned to him about a question regarding prospecting tools somewhat recently. My question, does "cold e-mailing" work?

Brian pointed me to this thought by Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies (and fellow DTM Contributor):

So does e-mail cold calling work? Yes. If done correctly it can be a highly effective tool in today's market. Here are some guidelines to follow to do it right:

1. Personalize every message.
Decisions makers must know immediately that the e-mail was written just for them. Mention your research. Highlight a triggering event. Reference a referral.
2. Tie your message to their business needs.
Don't talk about your company, products, services or solutions. Nada! Not one word about this. Instead, focus on their issues, concerns, problems and challenges.
3. Keep it short and sweet.
You have less than 20 seconds to capture the decision-maker's attention. After the first couple sentences, they decide if they'll delete it, forward it or respond.

4. Make it readable from the preview window.
Most people do a quick scan of their messages in the preview window before opening them. If your message is longer than this, make it shorter.

5. Start a conversation.
Your goal is to engage decision makers in an online discussion. In order to do this, they have to give them something they can respond to. Ask a question, invite them to a webinar, see if they'd be interested in an information resource on your website. Focus on creating the dialogue.

Cold e-mailing can be more effective if you have additional tools in place. One that recently caught my eye was SalesGenius. SalesGenius provides a way to track e-mail to see who has and who has not opened it. They include a nifty Outlook plugin too.

If you are looking for ways to generate leads, Brian's book is full of great tips. He's also made an eBook freely available for those interested.