Constant Contact, a leading email marketing company, recently acquired NutShell Mail and is making a major investment in integrating email and social media. They’ve recently added several interesting features:

• Social media icons that can be added directly to your email with a link to your social media sites
• Easy sign up for your email list from your Facebook page
• Automatic “tweeting” of your email once it’s sent
• Social media “share” icons can be placed at the top of your email

Here are a couple of examples of email newsletters that I recently did which include these features:

La Estancia Vacations (Luxury condo rentals in Cabo San Lucas)

Old First Concerts (San Francisco classical music concerts)

This short video is a good summary of the new social media/email integration that is happening today.

You can check out the new features on Constant Contact by taking advantage of their 60 day free trial. And watch for Constant Contact and other email marketing services to continue to enhance their integration of email marketing and social media.

Once you have 25 followers, you can assign a specific username to your page. Here’s how:

Go to http://www.facebook.com/username/.

If you don’t have a username for your personal page, it will ask you if you want to set up one.

If you have a business page, there will be a section that tells you that you can assign a username for the page. If you have more than one page, you will select the page.

Pick out a short, descriptive name and “Check Availability.” If it’s not available, try a variation.

Your page will now have a nice name, rather than a string of alphanumeric characters! For example, mine is facebook.com/letlesliedoit

Now, use that new name in your email signatures and business cards to drive more people to your Facebook page.

Click here for a great article on naming your business page.

I am trying out Digg to understand how it works. I’ve not used it before, but did add my name to get an invitation for the latest version of the service. If you’re not a Digg user, click here and put yourself on the list to get an invitation. As I learn more about it, I’ll post updates.

One limitation that has frustrated those of us who use email marketing is not being able to send an attachment with the email. Now Constant Contact has solved that issue and you can now send documents that you may want contacts to have in paper form for their files or distribution. Those could include:

• event announcements (posters)
• schedules
• price lists
• product brochures
• etc., etc.

With a basic account, you can upload up to 5 PDF files into your Library. For an additional monthly fee (currently $5), you can have 50 MB of PDF and image storage.

To include a PDF file, you simply insert the Document into the appropriate area of your email and name the link. When the reader clicks the link, the document is displayed as a PDF which can be saved or printed.

Email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with clients and prospects. Now Constant Contact has made it even more powerful.

Want to try out email marketing. Click here to start a 60 day free trial.

Nutshell Mail sends a regular summary of social media activity to your email in-box. Right now it supports LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. After you register your free account, you are taken to a screen where you can customize your email digest, including:

• days that you want to receive an email
• times during the day that you want updates
• what information from each account you would like to receive

That’s it. You’re ready to go. You’ll get an email with the information you’ve asked for. The email will include links for you to interact directly with your social media accounts. So relax, let Nutshell Mail “mind your business.” You can even save the emails and read them later – no worries about missing something if you can’t log into your accounts regularly!

Nutshell Mail Register Screen

Nutshell Mail Account Settings Screen

Nutshell Mail Typical Email

Email marketing is often overlooked in the focus on social media. However, email marketing is still the best way to get your message directly to consumers, clients and prospects.

Thanks to Vicki Barit of La Estancia Vacations for forwarding this informative article from AdWeek that cites a study done in the the US and Europe about the impact of email marketing on a consumer’s buying decisions. The study found that 57% of the people surveyed would be more likely to buy a product in a store after receiving an email about the product (54% for the US only).

Read more about email marketing.

There are many excellent services for setting up and managing your email marketing campaigns. I personally use Constant Contact. Other popular services are Vertical Response, Aweber, and iContact. All offer free trial accounts.

Once you’ve set up your Twitter profile, now you need to start “following” some people. You can, of course, use the Twitter “search” box to put in keywords and search for people who are “tweeting” about your interests. Another good way is to look for a Twitter icon on websites and blogs; just click on the icon and it will take you to Twitter and you can “follow” the person/business.

LinkedIn and Twitter accounts can be easily linked making it easy to share posts between the two sites. Now, you can easily “follow” your LinkedIn contacts that have Twitter profiles. Here’s how:

Be sure that your LinkedIn and Twitter accounts are linked

Go to your Twitter account

Click Find People

Click the Find Friends Tab

Click the LinkedIn option

Click Go to LinkedIn

This will bring up a list of your LinkedIn contacts that have Twitter accounts. You can see the ones that you are following and not following.

Click Follow for each of your LinkedIn contacts

If you have a blog or website with routinely changing content, you will want to be sure that it has RSS feed capability. It is also good to provide multiple places where someone can subscribe. For example, on this blog, there are four different locations:

Very Top of the Blog

Toward the right of the navigation bar, there is an orange icon “peeking” above the bar. When you hover over it, the full RSS icon shows and you can then click on it.

Sidebar

Here there is an option to sign up for either an RSS feed or you can sign up to receive an email whenever I post something new in the blog. I sign up for email alerts on some blogs as well as the RSS feed.

Bottom of the Blog

At the very bottom of my blog, there is another place to access the RSS feed.

In Every Post

At the end of each of my blog posts, there is a text reminder to subscribe to my blog.

Facebook is now requiring the developers of Applications to state specifically which information they will access when you connect with the Application. See this post on the Mashable blog for a good explanation of this change.

Now is also a good time to review your Facebook privacy settings.

There has been a lot of press (negative) about how Facebook is compromising our privacy. But, with a little bit of preparation (and also being sensible about what you post), we can all take advantage of what is really a great communication tool both for personal and business use.

• free, dedicated phone number (you select the area code)
• incoming calls can be directed to all of your other numbers (e.g., home, office, cell)
• incoming calls can be screened and you can customize by contact which numbers to ring
• voicemail is converted to text and emailed to you
• personalized voicemail greetings
• conference calling
• inexpensive International calls

They have applications for the BlackBerry, iPhone and Android phones. I haven’t tried it yet for my iPhone, but that’s on my list to do.

More info and some good videos.

Ha! The Power of Laughter (Leslie Hull)

Some of my favorites:

• Laughter pushes shadows from a room. It fills those spaces with light.
• Laughter can make the traffic less jammed.
• Laughter can disarm even the angriest person. The two feelings cannot exist together.
• Laughter makes an embarrassing situation bearable.

So, take a break, read those jokes that your friends have sent you and just laugh!!

]]> http://letlesliedoit.com/the-power-of-laughter/feed/ 0 http://letlesliedoit.com/taking-off-with-twitter/ http://letlesliedoit.com/taking-off-with-twitter/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:28:11 +0000 Leslie http://blog.letlesliedoit.com/?p=276 Twitter is perhaps the most difficult of the “big three” social media platforms to understand, but it has become a valuable business tool for many people. The best way to “get” Twitter is to jump in and participate. I am still reading more “tweets” than I “tweet,” but I’ve picked up a lot of good links to resources and also made some new connections on LinkedIn from people that I “met” on Twitter. Just dive in and you’ll be “tweeting” soon.

Step 1: Set up your Twitter profile

Step 2: Start to “follow” some people. You’ll find that as you do this, people will start to “follow” you.

• Use the “Find People” search function. You can type in a key word like “San Francisco” and see the people who are tweeting about San Francisco.
• Follow me at twitter.com/letlesliedoit
• Click on “following” to see who someone is following and “followers” to see who’s following a person. Follow some of them. Click on their “following” and “followers” to find more people that you might like to follow.
• Check out your Connections on LinkedIn. If they “tweet” they will have their Twitter “handle” in their LinkedIn profile. Just click on it and you will be taken to Twitter and can follow them. Check out some of their followers and who they’re following while you’re there.
• Look for the Twitter logo on websites and blogs that you read. You will be taken to Twitter and can “follow” people.

Step 3: Try some “tweets.” Post an update, a link to an interesting article, notice of an upcoming event, ask questions etc. Don’t post hard sell messages, though. Think of it as a cocktail party or networking event where you are trying to make connections. Personally, I also avoid potentially controversial subjects that I wouldn’t discuss with people that I meet casually (but not everyone does this).

Step 4: Retweet and Reply. If you hold your cursor over any “tweet” there will be the option to Reply or Retweet. I “retweet” often. Remember that a “reply” here will be visible to everyone. There is an option to send a Direct Message to someone which is private.

Step 5: Check in on Twitter at least once a day and follow the conversation.

You’re on your way with Twitter!

Make your username (“handle”) either your real name or your business name. If neither is available, choose something relevant.  After your account is created, click on “Settings” in the top bar.

Uncheck “Protect my tweets” unless you are super concerned about privacy. If you leave it checked, Twitter will send you an email every time that someone wants to “follow” you and you have to approve them. Also, your “tweets” will not show up in searches of tweets. I believe that I have gotten most of my followers because they are searching for terms that I “tweet” about (mostly social media). You will still be notified when someone starts to follow you (and you may want to follow them back) and you have the option to block anyone who follows you.

From the Settings screen, select “Design” to customize the look of your Twitter. You can Change the Background Image and Change Design colors. You can create a more custom background with TwitBacks. There are free options (like mine) or you can pay to customize it even more. But, for now, the standard Twitter background is really OK.

Finally, click on Profile. Fill in your website and a very brief statement about your business.

Now you’re all set to become part of the growing Twitter community.

Taking Off with Twitter

Here’s how to get started with Groups:

From the Search box at the top right, set the dropdown to Groups. Enter a category that you think would be of interest to you and search for groups. If the search gives you too large a number, you can narrow it with the dropdown boxes to the left.

When you find a Group that interests you, click “Join this Group.” Some Groups will immediately accept you, but most have a moderator that will approve you first (you’ll get an email saying that you’ve been added to the Group). On the Join page, there are several options for how you want to communicate with the Group.

If you select to receive a digest of the Group’s activity, you will get an email (either daily or weekly):

You can more actively follow your Group updates from your LinkedIn Home page:

Another way to find Groups of interest is to look at the Groups that your Connections are members of – often these may be Groups that interest you. When a Connection joins a Group, there will be an update on your Home page under Groups Activity.

Once you’ve joined some Groups, follow the Discussions for a while. You are likely to find some interesting articles, blog postings and/or resources. Join in the conversation when you’re ready, but this is not the place to overtly “sell” (though you will see people doing it). It’s more about creating a community and developing links to people of similar interests.

1. Add a sign-up box/link to your website.
2. Include a link to your sign-up in your email signature block:
3. Add a “Join My List” tab to your Facebook Business Page
4. Include a link to your email sign-up on your LinkedIn profile
5. Have a “Forward” option prominently displayed on every e-mail newsletter that you send
6. Most email marketing services have a “view on the web” option which is active for some period of time after you send an email (Constant Contact offers an archive service that makes them permanently available). You can use this link to post updates to your LinkedIn profile, Facebook page and/or Twitter
7. Manually add names when you meet people and exchange business cards (it’s usually a good idea to ask them if they would like to be added – most people say “yes”
8. If you sell on-line, have an “add me to your email list” as a checkout option
9. When you make a presentation, offer to send a follow-up to people who give you their email addresses (and tell them that you would like to add them to your email newsletter list as well)
10. Offer something of value (e.g., e-book. white paper) on your website and include those that respond to your email list (indicate in your posting that this will happen)

Finally, be sure that you are following good practices for email marketing and have a clear “opt-out” for people who no longer wish to receive your newsletter.

Do Your Still Love Me? Valuing Customer Relationships

What Will I Say? Overcoming E-mail Newsletter Writer’s Block

Do I Really Need to Pay for an Email Service

]]> http://letlesliedoit.com/10-tips-for-growing-your-email-list/feed/ 0 http://letlesliedoit.com/check-that-spamjunk-folder-you-might-be-surprised/ http://letlesliedoit.com/check-that-spamjunk-folder-you-might-be-surprised/#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:59:24 +0000 Leslie http://blog.letlesliedoit.com/?p=280 Did you get my email? What email? The one that I sent yesterday. No, I didn’t. Send it again, please.

Does this exchange sound familiar? I recently started using a beta version of Microsoft Outlook 2010. I soon noticed that an usually high number of emails were going to my “Junk” folder. None of them, in fact, were Junk. Many were from people with whom I had previously corresponded. Most were newsletters or some type of auto-response, though I did send one from my personal AOL account to myself and it went to “Junk.”

I get very little, if any, spam in my business email because I am vigilant to be sure that the email address doesn’t show up on the web in a public manner. On the other hand, my AOL account gets 2 – 10 spam messages in a week that are not caught by the AOL filters.

I recently read that there were 90 trillion (yes with a “t”) email messages sent in 2009 and that from from 80 – 99% of them are Spam (Source: Return Path). With that kind of a challenge, there are numerous systems that work at many levels to block these unwanted messages. And, perhaps too often, the good can be caught with the bad.

So, my advice

• at least occasionally check that Junk or Spam folder and scan the messages to be sure that there isn’t something that is important (or at least legitimate)
• don’t set your email system to just automatically delete everything that goes to spam
• if you don’t receive a response from someone to whom you’ve sent an email (especially for the first time), don’t assume that they received it!

Select Account/Privacy Settings

Basic Directory Information (click View Settings):

Applications and Websites

Note: There are options to either remove Applications that you are no longer using or to turn them off (keeps them active but prevents your information from being shared).

Some Final Thoughts

Identity theft is a potentially serious issue, so don’t show your birth year in your profile. Under Profile/Edit My Profile, there is a setting that says “show only month & day in my profile.” I recently also removed the years of graduation from my education. I also don’t have my home or mobile phone numbers in my profile nor my address. My business website is there and, of course, someone can reach me by email or through my business phone.

I believe that Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, though I use it primarily for business through my business page. I also use it to follow other businesses. Definitely get into the social media game, just pay attention to what information you share.

]]> http://letlesliedoit.com/check-your-facebook-privacy-settings/feed/ 0 http://letlesliedoit.com/do-you-need-to-fire-a-client/ http://letlesliedoit.com/do-you-need-to-fire-a-client/#comments Tue, 11 May 2010 22:26:41 +0000 Leslie http://blog.letlesliedoit.com/?p=256 Sometimes, the answer is yes. We often have that “in the gut” feeling that says that this is not a good situation, but it’s often hard to say “no.” Earlier this year I helped a client go through this tough process, but fortunately it worked out fine and the relationship was preserved. I also heard a presentation recently that was focused on how to get clients to pay their bills. One of the major points that the speaker made was to have expectations clearly understood and to document the agreement in some way.

I recently read an excellent blog post entitled The Power of NO to Attract More Clients by Biba Pedron, The Connection Queen. Her advice is to “choose the clients that you will enjoy working with.” Here’s a summary of her key points:

1. Determine your niche
2. Price your services according to your value
3. Charge your services up front
4. Learn to say NO to a client if he/she doesn’t fit your requirement
5. Stop worrying, or complaining about the situation

Read the full post. It includes valuable insights and some good advice for all of us.

]]> http://letlesliedoit.com/add-your-linkedin-profile-to-your-facebook-business-page/feed/ 0 http://letlesliedoit.com/get-in-the-game-5-easy-ways-to-start-social-networking/ http://letlesliedoit.com/get-in-the-game-5-easy-ways-to-start-social-networking/#comments Tue, 11 May 2010 15:40:21 +0000 Leslie http://blog.letlesliedoit.com/?p=213 Recently I met with an associate who’s about my age (let’s say “mature”). We were discussing some of the features of LinkedIn and Facebook. We both agreed that although it is still difficult to quantify the impact on a business of social media, it is something that we cannot ignore. The world is clearly changing and we do ourselves a serious disservice if we don’t at least understand the basics of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

I am not a power user of any of the social media, but I continue to participate, learn and share my knowledge with others. Below are my 5 tips for getting started:

1. Set up a personal Facebook page (profile): Just go to www.facebook.com and follow the instructions. Pay attention to the Privacy settings. Find some friends if you wish; they will probably find you. Connect if you want to and get a feel for how it works for personal use.
2. “Like” some businesses on Facebook: Do a search for businesses/services you use. Visit their business pages and “like” them (a small icon next to the name of the page). They will be posting updates which will appear on your News Feed. You can start with the LetLeslieDoIt Facebook page. When you’re ready, set up your own Business page for your business. Note that Facebook recently changed the term “fan page” to “business page.” They are the same thing.
3. Set up a Linkedin account: Go to www.linkedin.com and set up your account. Add your basic information and some work history. This will help other people to find you. You can search for people you know under Contacts/Add Contacts. Just follow the action for a while to get a sense of how it works. Complete your profile as you have time.
4. Sign up for Twitter: Go to www.twitter.com and just sign up. Use your real name or your business name as your username (Twitter “handle’). Even if you never think you will use Twitter, sign up so that you can reserve your name (assuming that it’s still available). Start to “follow” some people. You can start with me: www.twitter.com/letlesliedoit. When you go to my Twitter profile, you can see who I’m following. Pick a few of them and follow. Look for the Twitter logo on websites, email newsletters, blogs, etc. for people/businesses you find interesting and “follow” them. Just watch what’s happening for a while.
5. The most important! Make a commitment to yourself to spend one hour a week (total) visiting each of your three accounts.
   

That’s enough for now. I will keep posting updates to this blog and my social media pages with hints and tips about how to better use these important resources.