Greetings!
Subject lines continue to baffle me. It's clear that something makes a difference in opens rates, and I assume the subject line plays a major role. There was a four percentage point increase between October with "Live Better Online" and November with "Find What's Missing." That's 50 more opens in raw numbers. So I started brainstorming subject lines. I liked the confused one and it's true, I am still confused about subject lines. But, unlike most Web Words subject lines, this doesn't have anything to do with this issue. I couldn't think of a good subject line for this issue.I don't want you to go away empty handed, so you can read more about subject lines in the March 2010 and October 2011 issues. Now that I have your attention, here's what is in this issue. The first article is a reminder that incremental improvements often go unnoticed. I'm appreciative of the enhancements Constant Contact has made. The second article is a rant about dysfunctional Web sites. It includes some action steps that might not change the world, but will save you time. And Web Tips is especially interesting this month. Then there's a coupon for a free-30 minute consult. If you want to do something nice for someone else, you can pass the coupon on to them and still use it yourself. I'm on Facebook and Twitter. Follow me.
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Getting Better
|  They say if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, the frog will jump out fast. Smart frog. But if you put a frog in cool water and turn on the heat, it won't jump out because the water is only getting hotter incrementally. This article isn't about cooking frogs. But it is about noticing gradual changes--in this case, improvements. Over the weekend, I created a Constant Contact email promotion for the Joyful Diabetic--my husband Will Ryan. I started from scratch. I typically don't do that for Web Words since I rework the previous month's mailing. I discovered that a lot of things have changed about creating an email in Constant Contact. In aggregate, they make the process a lot easier. For Openers"It's easier to start with something than nothing." That's always been my theory about projects in general and writing in particular. All email marketing starts with a template. There are a great many to choose from, but now the most popular are right up front. I didn't even scroll down to find the template I was looking for. I took the first one and ran with it. Templates are now segmented by "industry" and "type," making it much easier to make a selection. Managing photos in emails is much easier, too. Some months back, Constant Contact improved the way images are presented for selection. And they changed the edit function so that you can resize photos with handles and add captions. But my favorite is "padding." This adjusts the distance between the photo and the copy. Coming from print media, I have standards about the relationship between graphics and text, and I used to compromise those standards in my emails. But no more. This change makes for a much cleaner looking email.Video PlusWhen I first created the Joyful Diabetic mailing, I put in links to YouTube. Then, in the middle of the night, it dawned on me that I could link direct to the video. The system creates an image of the movie. Check it out here.For several years, Constant Contact has been focusing on social media, culminating in a new product announcement in January. This is more than a gradual change. It's a biggie. More about that next month. In the meantime, it's worth noting the gradual changes that make things better. And, from time to time, it's nice to offer the creators a tip of the hat. |
User Unfriendly
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 In the glory days when I was an industry expert in the emerging field of groupware, I was often asked to comment on products in development. My job was to be "uber user" and figure out what the customer really wanted.
I also had an amazing talent for breaking software by asking it to do things that were logical to me but not to the developers who wrote the code. I still have some of that instinct left, though no one pays me for it anymore. And now I've got a strategy for dealing with dumb Web site errors. I don't put up with them anymore.
Cases in Point
I'm very fond of iStock and have touted them in these pages before. But they aren't perfect. The other day I was working with a lightbox (a part of their system where you can store photos for possible future use). I had collected some pictures I no longer wanted. I couldn't figure out how to delete them even after I searched the FAQ. So I called. To their credit, iStock, which is based in Canada, has good, English-speaking phone support. The solution was simple, but then the clincher: "We get that question a lot," he said. OK, so if you get that question a lot, why don't you fix it???
Or take this one. I found an interesting article online written by a lawyer. I decided to send him an email with a follow up question. I got a message that said unless I was an existing client (I'm not), I should read their Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. So I clicked on the link and got, ta da "Requested page not found."
Take Action
What do I do? If I really care (as in the iStock case), I call or email. But, if it doesn't matter to me, I walk away--fast. I was recently asked to vote on one of those "our charity will get a prize" Web sites. But the voting was laborious. Sorry folks, you don't get my vote.
If there are mistakes or--as often happens--typos on sites, I send an email. After all, I'd want someone to do that for me if--horrors--I made such an error.
But don't let the Internet suck up your time because someone else was lazy or incompetent. Users of the world, UNITE.
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Web Tips
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 When I say social media, I'm sure you don't think of PowerPoint presentations. That's because you don't know about SlideShare. Neither did I until I read Erik Bunaes' post.
SlideShare contains searchable presentations on every topic imaginable. You can learn from them, use them or upload your own slide shows. Slideshows are shareable on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You can even imbed YouTube videos in SlideShare presentations.
But there's a hitch. To be effective in this medium, you need to create a totally different type of presentation--one that works without you. That, of course, goes against all the rules of visual presentations, which are designed to support your talk, not be your message. So in a way, SlideShare is a whole new communications channel. Check it out and let me know what you think.
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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, Web sites and social media. We also ghostwrite articles and other business communications. As a solution provider, 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.
You're also welcome to reprint material in this newsletter as long as it is unaltered and credited to the author. Be sure to send us a copy, too. If being reproduced electronically, the following link must also be included:
www.shawenon.com
Sincerely, 
Susanna Opper
Shawenon Communications413-528-6494
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| Offer Expiring |  |
You've only got until the end of this month, including the extra leap day, to cash in the coupon at the end of this newsletter.
You can get a free audit of your existing email communications. Or, if you don't already regularly communicate with your customers or constituents, you can develop a plan to get started.
If this offer isn't for you, please pass it on to a colleague in need. The coupon is transferable.
If you have been thinking about email marketing, now is the time.
Be in touch to talk about how you can use Constant Contact to boost your business with very little effort.
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