Public Speaking

September 8, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Public Speaking @ the PABA Chamber in Portland 9.9.15

PABA

I’m excited to being speaking on how to get started with email marketing on September 9th before the PABA (Portland Area Business Association) Chamber in Portland, Oregon’s September Luncheon. It’s at the Hotel Rose. I’ve been using on-line marketing tools for 8 years now, and the longer I do, the more I’m convinced that email marketing, using Constant Contact, is a good place to put one’s resources.  When I first started teaching Facebook classes out of my living room, social media was all the rage. People were excited to use the free tool to invite one another to like pages – and there was a fair bit of usefulness to the process.

As Facebook has gone public the usefulness of having a fan page/business page has plummeted. I talk about this in a recent report I wrote in June tracking these trends. Since then, nothing has changed. If you’re not willing to invest time and money into advertising on social media I wouldn’t bother spending a lot of repeated time on it.  Sure, post pictures or videos now and then – some of your fans will see them. But, when you’re looking to actually reach your audience, you’d better be thinking about your email list – building it and using it effectively. And that’s where my topic for tomorrow comes in.

At 43% ROI (Return on Investment), there is nothing like putting your resources into email marketing. Nothing. Not now, not 6 months ago, and my guess is not for a long time to come. So – if you’d like to make a real impact, contact me and let me help you get started down the right path. Put away your Instagram and your Pinterest – unless you’re an ace with these. Pocket the Twitter and Facebook for now – and get behind your email marketing plan. Learn how to build your lists, segment them and reach out to your clients/customers on a regular basis. If you don’t see a change in your bottom line, I’ll be very surprised.  And, if I can help you in any way, please let me know! Have a great end of Summer, beginning of Fall!

Sincerely,

Albert Kaufman
Constant Contact Authorized Local Expert and Certified Solution Provider
Portland, Oregon
Try Constant Contact Free for 60 Days

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Online Marketing Checklist

July 21, 2015 by Leave a Comment

email marketing works

Marketing Checklist = Social Media & Email Marketing for Small Businesses

  • Email Marketing – 43% ROI – most valuable tool out there

  • Use Constant Contact – https://albertkaufman.constantcontact.com
  • Consistent Branding
    • Stick with 2-4 colors
    • 1-2 fonts
  • Relevant Message – short and Sweet
    • Welcome Email: What to expect, how often you send and a special offer
    • Newsletters: Blog posts, press releases, events, announcements
    • Promotions: New and compelling offers, clear call to action
  • Consistent “from” name
  • For mobile-friendly emails (which should be all you do at this point) stick to one column and keep logo left-justified or centered
  • Contact information in the body of the email
  • Add in social media links
  • Clear call to action
  • Quality photos
    • Link your logo/photos back to your website
  • Links, Links, Links
    • Give a short description or teaser line and link the rest of the info.
  • Join My List button (always!)
  • Social Share Bar (in header options)
  • Web page version option (in header options)
  • White space is your friend!
  • Use the “Share this email with your friends” option
  • Be yourself… use conversational text!
  • Don’t forget the Humor!

Social Media Suggestions

  • Learn about Hootsuite, Buffer and Sendible (pick one and use it)
    • Buffer has a great daily newsletter
  • Make sure all accounts are filled in
  • Think about a different voice for each type of account
  • Double-check your spelling
  • Think ahead – editorial calendars are great!
  • Are there holidays, other events coming up, tomorrow, a year from today!
  • Follow your competitors – what are they posting?
  • Err on the side of over-posting – with the new algorithms, it’s likely followers won’t see much of what you post (see why Email Marketing is a preferred way to spend your time/$$$)
  • Try things – make mistakes
  • Everyone is learning social media together – no one is an expert – try something clever and your post may go viral
  • Upload native video to Facebook and elsewhere.
  • Be prepared in case anything ever does go viral (have all accounts filled in with website URLs – landing pages where you would like people to get to
  • Think about the what, why, who, kinds of questions often – who am I trying to reach with what message?
  • What would success look like?
  • Consider trying FB advertising – boosting posts vs. advertising

Feel free to keep in touch. I love fielding questions about social media and email marketing. Don’t get discouraged – this is a new field and it’s a constant learning curve! Good luck, Albert Kaufman

Filed Under: marketing, Online Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What’s happening in the world of email marketing

June 4, 2015 by Leave a Comment

email marketing report June 4th 2015 (updated 6.8.23)

As I prepare for my next live class on email marketing, I thought I’d share some of what I’m seeing these days in the field. I’ve been using Constant Contact for the past 15 years to send out a monthly e-letter called The Eleven. Originally, this went out to friends and family, and then, eventually, as I got more involved in teaching email marketing, I developed a few lists of people who came to my classes who have shown interest in learning more about marketing practices.  Along the way, I became a Constant Contact authorized local expert – offering regular classes on email marketing, event marketing, and social media in the Pacific Northwest. By now I’ve probably spoken to about 1,000 people and my list has grown.  Here are some of the changes I’ve seen recently in the marketing world.

First of all, email is not dead, far from it. The more media attention I see social media getting, the more I’m convinced that if you actually want to succeed in reaching people in an easy and affordable manner – you want to be building an email list of interested people.  I hear people constantly talking about building a Twitter following; an Instagram following; or getting more “likes” on their Facebook fan pages. If you’re able to pay for advertising on one or more of these platforms – then, great – you may have a chance to build up your email list.  But, honestly? Unless you either have some amazing content (beautiful photos; fantastic articles; or you’re suddenly in the media limelight for some reason and something you do is going viral) I wouldn’t put that much energy into social media. I tend to think of a fan page as a good Yellow Pages ad. There it sits – if someone searches for your business they can find you. Fantastic! And then they can come to your website, join your email list or call you. Great!  But when you post something on social media these days and you get 0.01% reach to the people who are your fans or followers – it just doesn’t seem worth it to me.

A peer asked me yesterday whether one of my fan pages, Email Marketing Guru – actually led to any new business.  I said that it used to, but even with some targeted advertising, I don’t think it’s doing me much good.  It looks good – yes, it gives me some sort of credibility that I have over 1,500 fans on a couple of fan pages.  That and $1 will buy me a cup of coffee.  If one searches on “Email Marketing Portland” my fan page comes up 3rd on Google. OK, that’s probably worth something.  But honestly, I think being able to send an email out to people who have expressed interest in what I do is so much more powerful that I really shouldn’t be spending as much time on social media as I do.

In terms of email marketing, things are shifting, too. Emails are going to mobile-friendly formats. If you’re doing email marketing and you haven’t moved to a mobile-friendly template, that’s the #1 thing I’d recommend doing. Now.  Word has it that 65% of people are reading their emails (your emails!) on their mobile devices.  So, learn about mobile-friendly templates and move to one ASAP. Second, the formats for newsletters are shrinking.  I’m seeing more and more newsletters that are a banner, a couple of sentences, a call to action, and that’s it.  Because these do well on phones. Because people’s attention spans are shrinking. So, if you haven’t tried doing a very short newsletter yet, give it a try and see what happens with your open rates and click-through rates (which are way more important, because responses to your call to action are what really counts, right?).

Thanks for reading, I think that’s a good start.  My recommendation? Stop worrying about social media and put more time into getting a robust email marketing program up and running, or strengthening what you’re already doing. If your website doesn’t have an email list sign-up form, get one. And, if you need any assistance with this, let me know. This is what I love to do – check out my Managed Care Program for an idea of the service and encouragement I offer.

Here to help.

Sincerely,

Albert Kaufman

PS – if you’d like a 2-month risk-free Constant Contact trial – click here. That’s what I use. It’s easy and worth every penny.

Try Constant Contact Free for 60 Days

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All You Wanted to Know about Facebook But Were Afraid To Ask

February 5, 2015 by Leave a Comment

The Eleven

Hi there,

Yes, it’s The Eleven, a little early, but I have something exciting that I want you to know about. Besides my new effort to Do Something Today to Right the World!

Facebook. Huh. What is it good for? Absolutely … many things 🙂  Do you wonder what to do while you’re there, perhaps? You might have questions about how to use your fan/business page to your best advantage. You might be wondering what the best ways are to stay connected to those to who you are closest. In general, it would be great to know how to navigate Facebook so that you waste less time and get more out of the time you do spend there. Right?

Enter Albert Kaufman, also known as the Facebook Guru. Yes, I’ve spent more time than your average human both teaching about and using Facebook. And I have tips and tricks to share that will make your experience more streamlined and interesting. I’m offering a low-cost webinar on Monday 2.9.15 at 11 am PST. Come join me online and learn a few of my moves.  I also have a free in-person class on 2.12 – featuring my friend, Tshombe Brown. We’re both huge fans of the Portland Fruit Tree Project and I’m sure this class will be scintillating! Forward this to a friend you know who could use a hand with their online marketing, please.

Red

In other news – I’ve been having fun learning about terrariums from a new friend down the street, Gregg Harris of Roosevelt’s Terrariums. I’ve started making my own.

I’ve been noticing the new public art along Division Street and elsewhere around Portland. It seems like there’s been a slew of new sculptures and murals in my neighborhood, recently. I’m also working to remove billboards.
And then there’s the ongoing – ecstatic dancing – oh, I got to sing and play guitar outside around a campfire during the full moon the other night, that was incredible! And, I’m continuing my love affair with NextDoor.com – a great way to get connected to your neighbors :)Pictured on the right is Marcia Wiley – the maker of Wileyware on a recent visit to Stumptownlandia!

That’s all for today. I hope life is treating you well and that it’s full of love, hope, visions, friends, dreams, good health, great food, and happiness!

All you need is love,

Albert

join my ml

Filed Under: Facebook Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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