We all know that building, grooming and maintaining mailing lists takes an investment of time and creativity.  I found this article on Email Open Rates from Campaign Monitor valuable to set expectations with our clients.

A couple of tips:

1) Start by figuring out what you are trying to accomplish i.e. Create brand awareness, improve annuity revenues

2) Decide on the vehicle for communication - blog, Twitter, discussion group, email

3) Build a communication model and a project plan to execute the model for the desired outcome

While it seems fairly straight forward, it can be a challenge to cut through #1 and #2. #3 is much easier and we’ll cover modeling in more detail in future posts.

What is SEM, SEO, PPC and why do I care? 

What is it?

To start with the above are acronyms for the various ways you promote your website.  SEM or Search Engine Marketing is the general term that includes organic and paid search.

SEO is Search Engine Optimization and is generally what we do to improve organic search.  Paid search is exactly that - paying for placement on the various search engine.  PPC stands for Pay Per Click which is the most prominment form of paid search.  For paid search we’ll be looking at the 3 major players - Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.

Why should you care?

Simple. Good search equals more eyeballs and sales closing.  $$$

PART 1 coming up this week will include Organic Search with a focus on Google.

• Configuring Alex King’s Twitter Tools for the blog #

Configuring Alex King’s Twitter Tools for the blog

For many entrepreneurs, non-profits, and businesses, having an online presence has become a “must-do” in order to compete in today’s highly interconnected world. Many have created websites that describe their business offerings and to attract potential customers who are increasingly looking online to either shop - or to find out where to shop - to purchase the items they want.

Most websites suffer from a “flat” user experience - that is, dry or static content on a website that merely attempts to describe a set of products or services. Without enriching the user experience, the potential customer is easily bored and will move on to other sites, especially when they are more impressed through a richer user experience.

This assumes that a potential customer has even found your site in the first instance! Unless referred directly to your site from a trusted source, things like “blast email marketing” tend to get filtered through “spam blockers” and never reach the attention of those they target. Left alone, search results from the top search engines used by consumers today (such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, AskIt.com, etc.) return millions of results of which only a few are ever viewed.

Successful online marketing strategies often include search engine optimization - or SEO - to increase the volume and quality of traffic from search engine results to a web site. No argument will be presented here to diminish the value of any strategy that increases the quality of visitors to a web site! However only as a means to an end - and if the end game is to create sustainable new customer connections, then SEO on its own is not enough. A flat user experience is still a turn off to potential customers.

For business development and to derive more value from your customer - such as repeat business, word-of-mouth referrals, and new product ideas - consider drawing potential customers who reach your web-site into a rich, interactive environment that really impresses. Consider adding social media tools such as blogs, comment sections, testimonial submissions, discussion threads, RSS aggregation engines, and even direct interaction through instant messaging. And by extending the interactions to include invites to a social network (or social networks) of people who share similar interests and values, businesses are able to pursue a strategy that builds lasting, values-based, life-long relationships with customers. Make this a primary objective and many new opportunities will present themselves.

- Steve Benton

Partner & Founder -- New Vine Media

As you probably know, LinkedIn is the premier social network for business professionals. We are happy to announce that East End Networkers can now connect on LinkedIn. Go to this link to join the discussion http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1750507

Please join us for the first East End Business Strategy and Networking Meetup. The objectives of this Meetup are to share experiences on effective (and cost effective) marketing and business development strategies and tactics. We will likely focus on Social Media, Online Marketing, Blogging, Search Engine Marketing. Of course, good old fashioned networking will be included at the end of the Meetup.

1) We’ll use this time to share our thoughts on what this Meetup will be going forward. Your input will be critical to our shared success.

2) 5 Business Pitches - Tell us what you are about. What challenges are you encountering? How do you use the Internet to market and expand your business?

Bring a PowerPoint (we’ll supply laptop and projector). 5 minutes per pitch.

We’ll meet at Duckwalk (either conference room or tasting room depending on size of group). There is a $20 charge for this Meetup.

Thanks,
Craig and Nicole

Please sign up using this link

The interactive age is constantly evolving and putting pressures on all types of businesses to move into a new era of public relations, connect with clients and customers in innovative ways, and to tap into the social networking arenas that may be unfamiliar territory. Sure, kids are using facebook and myspace as means to connect with their peers and establish a ‘brand’ for themselves, but what does that mean for businesses, small and large?

If you’re looking for advice on how to enter into the new world of networking, you’ve come to the right place. New Vine Media is a small but focused interactive company that seeks to help companies and invidividuals identify their audience and tap into channels that will allow them to better expose their brand and find new ways of connecting with customers.

No longer is a one way dialog with consumers appropriate. The movement from dialog to monolog can happen easily, but you have to know where to look, what to build, what technology to leverage (most of it free), and how to brand your interactive assets.

For more information, please peruse our blog or contact us directly.

Nicole Damianos

Founder and CEO, New Vine Media