Greetings!
When my friends at Constant Contact ship this email to you, I'll be in New York City enjoying some really exciting reunions. I'll tell you more about that in the next issue. But I paid a price. I gave up much of Columbus Day in the Berkshires--the official end-of-season holiday. Oh well.
The big news you've already seen. I finally got a new photograph. Details about that and suggestions to help you get moving on your own photo are in the second article in this issue.
The first article describes another new promotional piece--Web Words now has its own sales page. That story is in the first article along with suggestions for building one of your own.
If you're around these parts on October 28th, be sure to catch the BeCreative BarCamp at the Berkshire Museum from 6 to 9:30. I'll be presenting on Easy E-zines: How E-mail Newsletters Can Boost Your Business. As last time, it will be fun and interactive.
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Sales Page
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Wandering through my in-box some weeks back, I found Issue #226 of Michael Katz' E-Newsletter on E-Newsletters. Michael is my e-zine guru. In this issue he discussed the necessity of having a sales page for an e-newsletter.
Burning Need
Don't you love it! We give away our newsletter and now we have to sell the free thing we're giving away. I didn't have a sales page. In fact, the idea had never crept into my head. But, as life would have it, events conspired to give me a burning need to promote Web Words.
On November 10, I'm sponsoring my dear friend Lin Schreiber's Voice America radio program--also free. The idea is that my offer of a Web Words' subscription will be a lead generator for my business of developing and writing newsletters for others.
Contents
Michael made four recommendations for sales page content:
1. Explain what your newsletter covers
2. Link to your newsletter archive
3. Include testimonials
4. Provide an alternative means of signing up
5. Include your photo (I added this one)
So I was off and running, except that the only thing I had on this list was an archive. The photo fell into place (see next story), but I had to scurry for the rest. I offer a deep bow of gratitude for the wonderful testimonials provided by seven enthusiastic readers.
So last week began without a sales page and ended with this. Please pass the link on to anyone who might want to be "smart and effective online." And let me know if you have ideas for where to post my brand new sales page. I'm setting a goal of 1,500 subscribers by the New Year. That's 335 new readers between now and December 31.
And now you can scurry around and make your own sales page, in case the idea never occurred to you before either.
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Best Face Forward
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 They don't call it Facebook for nothing. How we present our visages on the Web matters.
People get a first impression from those fleeting seconds in which they view our Web sites, newsletters or Linked-In profiles. Like the impressions formed from face-to-face encounters, they take hold.
Most people are weird about pictures of themselves. I know I am. I look for myself in a crowd shot--sometimes even when I'm not sure I was there. In last month's issue, I noted that the lack of a good photo is one of the three main reasons people delay their email marketing projects.
Options
As you can see, I finally got a new photo myself. Let me know what you think.
Here are some ways to move forward if you're stuck without a good photo. They are in order of preference.
1. Hire a professional. My shots were done by Sabine Vollmer von Falken. She was the still photographer at my wedding 18 years ago, so I knew her work. We were recently reconnected by a mutual acquaintance. When I told her what I wanted, she decided to shoot on location at my house. I was delighted since I didn't want the formal quality of a studio shot.
2. Go to the mall. I was close to doing this myself. Some are better than others, but for less money than an independent professional, you can still get an expert photo.
3. Ask a friend. In spite of what I've said so far, this may be a perfectly good approach. Watch the background, the lighting and, of course, your expression. Pay attention to attire, makeup and hairstyle for the shot. Since online pictures are typically small and photos are easily enhanced these days, you might get a good result.
Switching Photos
There are two schools of thought about this. One says get a photo you love and stick with it. It's like your logo. You wouldn't change that once a month, so don't change your photo often either.
The other school says you'll get more attention if you change your photo frequently. LinkedIn lists photo switches on their weekly updates, so you automatically remind people you're out there just by changing your face.
I actually had two very different shots taken--one for fall and winter and the other for spring and summer. You'll have to wait six months to see the other one, unless you ask. Then I'll send it right away.
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| Web Tips |
 Last month I talked about taking a computer along on vacation. I did and I learned what I was most addicted to--the weather. And given the amount of rain on the vacation, it definitely needed to be watched closely.
My weather of choice is WeatherUnderground.com. Founded in Ann Arbor, MI in 1995, it's the second most popular weather site on the Web. I like it because you can watch the weather's projected path and even zoom in to see exactly what the weather is doing where you are. More than once I've looked at the site to discover that it was raining outside.
They feature weather blogs, which are really interesting (if not arcane) when there's a hurricane headed your way. They also have the
WunderMap®, which shows local weather stations and puts the local weather in map perspective.
The service is free, but it's a commercial venture. For a nominal fee you can cancel the ads.
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And Finally . . .
Shawenon Communications collaborates with small businesses, solopreneurs, professionals and not-for-profits to get their messages across in the written word.
We specialize in electronic communications, including e-zines and other forms of email marketing, and Web site content. We also ghostwrite articles and other business communications. As a business partner, we resell Constant Contact's email marketing service.
Thanks for reading. If you liked this issue, please click on the Forward email button below to share this newsletter with others.
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www.shawenon.com
Sincerely, 
Susanna Opper
Shawenon Communications
413-528-6494
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