Karen Leonard of Innovative Global Vision, Inc. Named Accredited Solution Provider by Constant Contact

As an Accredited Solution Provider, Karen Leonard has completed a three-track education program providing training on Constant Contact online marketing tools, marketing best practices, and business development. This training is designed to help Karen Leonard provide industry-leading marketing and service acumen to her customer base, and achieve meaningful results for the clients that use her services.

According to Karen Leonard, “We know that our customers’ success depends on our ability to empower them with the most effective marketing tools. We are proud to be recognized as an accredited solution provider and look forward to seeing our 2013 plans come to fruition, as we continue to help drive success for our small business customers.”

Karen Leonard is a co-founder of Innovative Global Vision, Inc. (IGV). She is a certified programmer and electronics technician with over 15 years’ experience in the IT field. On a day to day basis she is responsible for leading, managing, and overseeing the day to day operations at IGV. She is also an Authorized Local Expert for Constant Contact with over 7 years helping small businesses build deeper and more profitable customer relationships through the use of online marketing tools.

“Online marketing has become a must-have for today’s small businesses and organizations, but they don’t always have the time or desire to create and manage the campaigns and day-to-day activities themselves,” said Chris Litster, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Constant Contact. “Our Solution Providers are fantastic resources in these situations. By becoming an Accredited Solution Provider, Karen Leonard has shown true commitment to understanding and implementing best practices in online marketing—and delivering measurable results for the clients that seek the services of Innovative Global Vision, Inc..”

About Innovative Global Vision, Inc.
Innovative Global Vision is a full service internet marketing company specializing in email marketing, ecommerce solutions, social media, website design and hosting.

About Constant Contact, Inc.
Constant Contact wrote the book on Engagement Marketing™ – the new marketing success formula that helps small organizations create and grow customer relationships in today’s socially connected world. More than half a million small businesses, nonprofits and associations worldwide use the company’s online marketing tools to generate new customers, repeat business, and referrals through email marketing, social media marketing, event marketing, local deals, digital storefronts, and online surveys. Only Constant Contact offers the proven combination of affordable tools and free KnowHow®, including local seminars, personal coaching and award-winning product support. The company further supports small organizations through its extensive network of consultants/resellers, technology providers, franchises and national associations.

Constant Contact and the Constant Contact Logo are registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All Constant Contact product names and other brand names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

Media Contact:
Karen A. Leonard
Innovative Global Vision, Inc.
(330) 425-0922
karen@igvinc.com

Originally published on blogs.constantcontact.com - Written by Kathryn Mahoney

To gear up for Small Business Saturday, Marketing Edge Consulting Group and Ribbon Videocasting Services in conjunction with Constant Contact are hosting the Small Business World Summit, Friday, November 23 through Monday, November 26.

The summit will feature nine, online training seminars—each 30 to 45 minutes in duration—presented by an expert in small business growth. The seminars will answer your questions about marketing, sales, building online customer communities, cash flow, leadership, HR, and other challenges you face every day.

To start you off on the road to success, here are five tips from some of the small business experts presenting at the event:

1. Be Observant With Your Reports – Lanelle Henderson,Constant Contact

Look at your email marketing reports! There’s a wealth of information just waiting to be discovered. Always pay attention to your unsubscribe rate to ensure your churn rate remains positive.

If you are losing more than .5% of your subscribers per month, take a look at all of the elements of your campaigns and make adjustments where you’re falling short. Opens and clickthroughs can also indicate where you might be missing the mark.

2. Be a Cash Miser – Ruth King, Ribbon Videocasting

The companies with the greatest cash reserves have the ability to survive downturns the longest. But, how much cash is enough? Do you ever have too much? You can be blindsided in business. Revenues can stop immediately. It happened to a manufacturing company when the Federal Government discontinued a program that represented 80% of their business. The owner laid off 140 people in one day and it took 10 years to pay back their vendors. Fortunately, they still managed to survive.

How? By negotiating with their creditors and hoarding what little cash they had. So, how much cash is enough? The minimum is the equivalent of two months of payroll and payroll taxes. This way you have a little time to make decisions if a disaster strikes. The easiest way to accumulate these savings? Save 1% of every dollar that comes in the door. You’ll never miss the 1% in your operations—and your savings account will grow quickly.

3. Continually Check In With Customers – Beth Goldstein,Marketing Edge Consulting Group

There are many variables that influence customers’ needs and you must be aware of current as well as future ones if you are to grow your business. Even if you’ve been in business for a significant number of years, it’s critical you constantly check in with your customers to see how their needs have changed over time.

Simply take the time to step back and look at your business objectively. Force yourself to ask your customers questions about their needs, even if you are 100% convinced you know the answers. Some of the responses might surprise you.

4. Do Not Act Impulsively When Hiring – Suzi Lemen, Dynamic Corporate Solutions

Sometimes business owners come across a great candidate for an opening in which they feel a sense of urgency to fill. Without interviewing other candidates and following a process they hire the first person. Often times this leads to disappointment.

Following a defined process, interviewing multiple candidates and doing a thorough job of checking references and backgrounds will save you from “buyer’s remorse.” A slower process on the front end will pay off in the long run!

5. Sales is About Knowing When to Push and When to Pull Back – Roger Daviston, Personal Development Coach

One of the biggest misconceptions we have about sales is that using fancy grammar helps in the communication process. However, communication does not depend on eloquence but on the prospect’s openness to receive what we are saying. If our words feel like they are being pushed upon them then they won’t be motivated to listen or make a decision.

No amount of fact throwing or logical reasoning will influence them and trying harder simply won’t help. When this happens, bury the “negative talk” going on in their head by doing the opposite of what they expect—encourage them to say “no.” The central key here is doing this without destroying the relationship you’ve built but allowing them to come to the logical conclusion and say “yes” on their own.

“It’s not the third screen or second screen­_—it’s the first screen. It’s one of the few things we walk around with all day. We sleep with it within an arm’s reach and, for most of us, it’s the first thing we check every morning.”

Speaking at Tuesday morning’s Marketing to the Digital Consumer panel at FutureM, John Caron, Vice President of Marketing for Catalina, provided a fresh perspective on the evolving relationship between humans and the screens we interact with.

With more than half of all Americans now using smartphones and nearly a quarter of all online activity now coming from mobile devices_—we have stumbled into a new age in technology and the future of mobile marketing has unexpectedly shown up at our doors.

Is your business equipped to market to the new digital consumer?

Here are eight things all small businesses need to know about the future of mobile marketing.

1. The future of mobile started yesterday

The first thing you need to know about the future of mobile marketing, is that it actually started yesterday.

Don’t worry; you’re not the only one who may be running a little late. In fact, most of the world’s biggest retailers and service providers are still playing catch up.

That’s because, no one could have fully predicted the rate at which the surge in mobile ownership would begin to influence all of our online activities.

Hits from mobile devices more than doubled from January 2011 to January 2012. By 2013, mobile web searches are expected to eclipse searches from desktop for the first time in history.

Don’t wait until next week, next month, or next year to start thinking about mobile_—get started today!

2. Mobile users are social users

If you’re already using social media to engage with your target audience, chances are you’re already involved in a conversation with the mobile majority.

Over 80% of smartphone users use their mobile devices to connect to sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. On Facebook, 600 million of its 1 billion users are logging onto the site via a mobile device, and 70% of those users return to the site on a daily basis (compared to 40% for desktops).

That means, whether it’s at home, work, or at your place of business_—mobile users are among the most engaged members of your social communities.

How can you prepare your social media marketing to speak to these members?

First, make sure to download the mobile apps for each of the networks you’re currently using to market your brand_—that way you’ll have a better understanding of what their online experience looks like.

Then, put yourself in the place of a customer on the go. Most of these users won’t have the time or patience to read long pieces of text, and in the case of Facebook, any posts longer than 160 characters are going to be cut off. Focus on photos, videos, and other types of rich media.

Track your results and see what types of post are driving the most engagement.

3. Consumers are accessing more information in more places than ever before

The influence of mobile on the life of your customers is already being seen at home, on the go, and especially at your place of business.

Consumers are ahead of the mobile curve. A recent study found that two-thirds of all smartphone users had used their mobile devices to help with making a purchase_—with more than a third of those customers using their devices for in-store research.

Last week, Google released a forecast for the upcoming holiday season projecting that four out of five smartphones will rely on mobile devices for help during the shopping season. These users are checking prices, reading reviews, and researching competing businesses.

Bottom line? The mobile consumer is an informed consumer, and it’s never been more important to have your information up-to-date and accurate across all of your online channels.

Plus, 72% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, which means, sites like Yelp, could become even more important to your business.

4. Most mobile searches are location-based

“If you’re not on mobile, you don’t exist.”

That’s what Michael Hagan, Chief Rockstar and Chief Operating Officer for LevelUp had to say about the importance of having a presence in mobile web searches at Wednesday’s Traditional Marketing is Dead! What’s your Engagement Strategy panel.

Over 40% of all mobile web searches have local intent. These are people that are currently living or visiting your area, searching for a specific product or service, and who are hoping to discover a local answer to their mobile questions.

In the case of restaurants, 64% of these mobile searches convert to real business within the hour. That’s a huge opportunity for a business looking to attract new customers and tap into the potential of mobile marketing.

Mobile web searches can either be a small business’ dream or its worst nightmare. Take the time to search your place of business for keywords related to the work you do. Make sure that what customers are finding is something that accurately represents your brand. And most importantly, make sure you have a presence on mobile maps!

Tip: The new Apple Maps tool on iPhone and iPad provides Yelp reviews for all local searches. It could be a good idea to claim your business on Yelp to help keep track of what people are finding.

5. Mobile videos have gone viral

If you’re already a smartphone or tablet user, you know that much of the activity that’s done on these devices is, well … less than active.

The fact is, these devices don’t only provide people with endless amounts of information_—they also provide an excellent tool for making less use out of free time. (Thanks again, Angry Birds.)

That’s likely why watching online video has become such a popular activity amongst smartphone and tablet users. In the last 18 months, YouTube has seen a 400% increase in mobile viewership. Today more than a fourth of all videos being watched on the video sharing site are being seen on mobile devices.

If you’ve been on the fence of about using video to market your business, now may be the time to rethink your directorial future. Video is a powerful medium for small businesses, and it doesn’t have to cost a dime to create.

6. Mobile will redefine customer service

If you haven’t been monitoring your social networks for customer comments, questions, and complaints _—you may want to add it to your list of resolutions for 2013.

Nearly three-quarters of all companies are now using social media as a channel for customer service, and no one does this better than JetBlue. In fact, during the same session that John Caron offered his perspective on the role of smartphones in our daily lives, an attendee sent a tweet and got a response from JetBlue within nine minutes.

Nine minutes. When was the last time you got a question answered by an airline in less than nine minutes?

One in five consumers is already using sites like Facebook and Twitter to have their voices heard. Expect mobile to send that number skyrocketing and for social costumer service to become the norm for businesses of all sizes.

7. The smartphone hasn’t replaced the credit card_—yet!

Rumors of the death of plastic payment methods have been greatly exaggerated.

While the mobile community has made some serious strides in reshaping the way we think of things like customer loyalty cards and in-store payment methods, smartphones are a long way away from replacing debit and credit.

Why?

According to Andy Miller, Director of Mobile Products for Constant Contact: it’s an issue of convenience.

“It’s about convenience. The consumer will use it if it makes their life easier but if it doesn’t solve a pain point or resolve a problem_—they probably won’t.”

Andy went on to say that until smartphones are able to replace the entire wallet, it’s unlikely there will be widespread acceptance of in-store mobile payments.

Moral of the story? Don’t panic if you’re not offering mobile payment options at your place of business_—you’re probably better off waiting.

8.  Content creation is going mobile

The mobile revolution isn’t only having a profound influence on the lives of consumers, it’s also changing the way business owners_—especially small business owners_—are marketing their business.

This is especially true when it comes to content creating. Coming up with content ideas for Facebook, Twitter, or an email newsletter is one of the biggest pain points facing small businesses. And while smartphones aren’t guaranteed to alleviate all your content creating anxieties, they do make it easier than ever before to capture content ideas and turn everyday work experiences into engagement posts on Facebook and active-worthy articles for an email newsletter.

Here are 5 ways small businesses can use smartphones to create fresh content.

Start small, think big, and get ready

Today, less than 1% of marketing budgets are being allocated for mobile.

That’s a huge miss for business owners and, more importantly_, a huge disappointment for their growing mobile customer base.

But preparing your business for its mobile future doesn’t have to break the bank. Start by giving the tools you’re already using to market your business another look.

Does your social media marketing strategy fit a mobile world? Does your website offer the type of experience you want on smartphones and tablets? Is your business easily discovered by online searches?

Start small, think big, and begin to plan for a bright future in mobile marketing.

How has mobile mobile impacted your marketing strategy? Tell us in the comments.

For years, businesses have looked at new fans as the holy grail of Facebook.

But what if there was something better? Another level of fandom where people who “Like” your Facebook Page don’t only see your content from time-to-time but actually request to be told everytime you post or share a photo.

It’s not as crazy as you think. In fact, Facebook has already started rolling out a new feature to let users do just that.

Also, it was a big week for halves–with half of all Yelp searches coming from mobile, half of top companies hopping on Instagram, and half of all users feeling more excited about the emails they receive.

Read about all these top stories and more in this week’s marketing new roundup.

1. Facebook rolls out new Page Notifications feature

Facebook began to roll out a new feature this week, which could help brands improve the likelihood of actually getting their content seen by fans on Facebook.

According to Facebook, the new Page Notifications feature will give users the capability to elect to receive notifications from their favorite Pages. The tool is meant to let users stay better connected with the Pages that matter most to them.

Bottom Line: Page Notifications is good news for small businesses. Let’s face it, getting the attention you want on Facebook isn’t always easy, and with Facebook’s ever changing EdgeRank  algorithm–it isn’t getting any easier.

This feature could allow businesses to get better visibility on Facebook, but only if users choose to receive notifications. And this means that building a quality fan base is more valuable than ever.

If you’re not already, you should spend some time thinking about how to improve relationships with your current fan base. These are the people who will be able to elect to receive notifications and will also help generate the type of word-of-mouth that can help you grow your business.

2. Nearly half of Yelp searches now come from mobile

According to new statistics from Yelp this week–45% of all searches on the local review site are now coming from mobile devices.

Yelp also reported that the company added nearly a million new mobile users–with 8 million people now using the site’s mobile apps on their phones and tablets.

Bottom Line: Yelp’s surge in mobile search activity should not come as a surprise to anyone. Over 40% of all local searches have local intent. These are people that are currently living or visiting your area, searching for a specific product or service, and who are hoping to discover a local answer to their questions on their mobile devices.

For many of those mobile users, Yelp is the first stop for finding those answers.

Here are 8 more things small businesses should know about the future of mobile marketing.

3. Facebook enables charitable donations through Facebook Gifts

Facebook announced a new feature this week that may change the way we think of Facebook Gifts.

Facebook Gifts, which launched in September, enables Facebook users to to buy and send physical gifts from a select group of well known retailers.

Now Facebook allows you to send a gift in the form of a charitable donation. Facebook currently partners with 11 of the nation’s top charitable organizations including the Red Cross, the Boys & Girls Club of America, and LIVESTRONG.

Bottom Line: While Facebook Gifts hasn’t opened up to small business, or in this case – smaller nonprofits, it will be interesting to see how much activity this new feature draws.

If you’re a nonprofit, it’s likely you’re already using social media to engage supporters, and while you may not have access to Facebook Gifts–you can still drive real fundraising results from your social media marketing.

4. Over half of consumers happy with volume of email marketing

New research this week is providing a positive outlook on how consumers are viewing the volume of emails in which they receive.

According to the study, which included just over 1,000 U.S. adults, 54% of consumers are happy with the volume of emails they are receiving from brands. The same study also found that over a third of respondents are “very interested” in receiving email communications from their “preferred brands.”

Find out what else the survey had to say about how consumers may be viewing your email marketing.

Bottom Line: Businesses of all sizes have learned that spamming customers with unwanted emails just doesn’t work. But when you deliver relevant content and focus on building relationships with customers, they look forward to receiving your emails each month. That’s how you become a “preferred brand” and that’s how you generate real results from email marketing.

There’s plenty to look forward to about the future of email marketing. Here’s a snapshot of what you’ll need to know.

5. 54% of top brands are now on Instagram

The popularity of Instagram amongst social users appears to be catching the attention of some of the nation’s top companies.

A new study from SimplyMeasured found that 54% of the top 100 companies are now on Instagram. Up from August when just 40% of companies were using Instagram to market their brands.

Bottom Line: Instagram’s popularity has been well documented over the last few months. For businesses, Instagram presents an opportunity to not only engage with a growing user base of over 100 million users but also a chance to create engaging visual content that can be shared across social networks.

Find out how other small businesses are already using Instagram.

What do you think of the new Facebook Notifications feature? Do you think it will help businesses like yours get better results from Facebook?  Share your thoughts with us on our Fan Page!

Have you ever noticed how much you have to read every day? The people on your email list are no different. We’re all processing information from the time we get up until the time we shut our eyes at night.

One way to give your email readers a break—and for you to take a break from all that writing—is to use images to communicate some of your messages. Let photos do the heavy lifting for a while!

But to use images to your full advantage, there are a few power moves you should be aware of. It all starts with what you’re trying to accomplish.

1. Will you tell it like it is, or like it’s going to be?

The first power move is to know what kind of image is best suited for what you’re trying to communicate.

The two main categories of images are literal images and conceptual images.

If you’re selling products, literal images work best.

Aim for nice, clean photos of your items, and use a consistent style from one photo to the next. For example, if you decide to photograph your products on a white background, use a white background for all your product photos in the future so they’re consistent over time.

If you’re selling a service, a conceptual image might work best.

Conceptual images are perfect for conveying a feeling, or demonstrating a benefit. They show how your prospect’s life will change after they do business with you. Some examples are the bright smiles on the face of the family who goes to a certain dentist, or the relaxed face on the client of a massage therapist after her appointment.

2. Point them in the right direction

Most images have “sight lines” that send your viewer’s eyes in one direction or another. For example, in the image at the top of this post, the man is looking down into the post, which leads your eyes directly into the first line of this article.

Sight lines aren’t always that obvious. See Point Out the Obvious with Images for more examples of sight lines, and how you can use them to “point” your reader where you’d like them to look.

3. We have the need for speedy images

Images come in different sizes and resolutions, and when it comes to email marketing, you want to keep them small and lean so they load quickly.

If you decide to use images from your digital camera, for example, you’ll need to reduce the size and resolution before you upload them.

PicMonkey is great for this, and you have access to it from within Constant Contact. Just go to PicMonkey’s Basic Edits and click on “Resize.”

Save the image at the exact size you plan to use it, and use the lowest quality possible for images that are speedy to load and still look great.

4. Show us something we haven’t seen before

In 2010, Jakob Nielsen did an eye tracking study which showed that web users ignore images that are purely decorative. That means those perfectly-posed, beautifully-lit stock photos you paid for and added to your email may not even be registering with your reader.

The solution? Avoid clichéd images. Offer up images that look less perfect and more “real,” and you’ll hold their interest.

5. Think about your brand’s “personality” and make sure your images express it

Your brand personality refers to where your company falls on the continuum of conservative to casual; closely-guarded to transparent, and more. For a quick worksheet that will help you nail down your company’s brand personality, download this Brand Personality Worksheet.

Once you’re clear on the kind of brand personality you want to communicate, you can choose images that reflect it, and use them consistently over time.

6. Use images that convince people to buy

If you’re selling a product or service with your emails, you can reassure nervous prospects by using “trust” images.

These include a symbol to represent your guarantee terms, and a security symbol to demonstrate that their online purchase is protected.

Using images at the crucial juncture when your prospects are deciding whether or not to buy can make the difference between an “Add to Cart” click and a click away.

Take a break from writing, and use more images

Images give you a break from writing, and give your reader an easy way to process your information. And as they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words.

How will you use images in your next email communication?

Why are you in business?

Seems like the answer is obvious—right? You’re in business to make money, or at least that should be one of your top priorities.

But successful businesses realize there needs to be something more driving their success. There needs to be a purpose for their business.

Think about the business brands you love. Don’t you have a visceral understanding of their purpose? Consider the nearly cult-like following Apple enjoys. People identify with the brand because it stands for something. It speaks to them.

What about Zappos? Zappos isn’t in the shoe business; it’s in the business of delivering happiness in a box. That’s the company’s purpose.

So, what’s your purpose?

Finding your purpose — why it’s important!

Making money shouldn’t be the sole purpose of your business. There has to be a sense that the service or product your business provides brings value to the market, and that because of that value, the company makes money. A business focused only on bringing in cash won’t ever rise to the level of being a great enterprise.

Customers don’t come to you because they want to make you rich. They come to you because they believe in the value you provide for them, whether that value is detailing their car, grooming their dog, creating their estate plan, or selling them a lawn mower. So it’s up to you to determine what that value—your purpose—is.

Two questions that will help you find your sweet spot

To define the purpose of your business, you and everyone on your team should be able to answer these simple questions without hesitation:

“Why are we doing what we do?”

“What purpose does it serve?”

You should be able to tell your company’s story—a story that motivates customers or clients to do business with you. The same is true for your employees. What motivates them to come to work each day? Loyal employees are motivated by more than just taking home a paycheck. Your team needs to understand the role each plays because they all need to feel part of the company’s purpose—its heart and soul.

When your business has a purpose, so do the people that work there

When business founders and their teams understand their purpose, they project an energy that’s exciting to everyone. I’m sure you’ve walked into businesses that feels, well, blah—flat, with no life. Such businesses go from project to project with no purpose other than making sure they make money on the deal.

Then there are businesses that have an upbeat, energetic, focused atmosphere—and it’s contagious. It makes you, the customer or client, feel excited about doing business with this group.

There’s a practical reason for this, too. For example, knowing the purpose of my business is extremely important for me personally. The business purpose drives me and gives me the courage and confidence to “sell” my company.

I’ve never liked or wanted to be in sales. In fact, I tried a couple of sales positions during my professional career, and, well, let’s just say I didn’t set the world on fire. Yet everyone tells me I’m a master sales person when it comes to selling my own business.

The reason has to be that I don’t feel as though I’m selling, that I truly believe in what I am doing and why I am doing it. Naturally my goal is to close a deal and make money, but a greater purpose motivates me. That purpose is the excitement of doing something I feel is rewarding for the customer as well as for my business.

So what’s your business’ purpose? Where’s your sweet spot? How do you reach your target message with your market promise? Share with us on Facebook!

November and December are huge months for all kinds of retailers. To phrase it in medieval terms: competition is fierce, but the rewards can be great.

To make sure your marketing promotions reach their full potential, don’t forget to go into the holiday season with a checklist that asks these questions:

1. Do you have a special holiday deal for customers?

Start planning out your holiday marketing campaign by thinking about what you’re going to do to stick out during the big shopping season.

For example, Nicole Arnold, Owner of Little Cottage Services, is helping one client run an email marketing campaign called “The 12 Weeks of Christmas,” which provides customers with a new deal every week.

“We’re also planning on running a contest on Facebook in November to give away multiple gift certificates,” she says.

This shows us things haven’t changed much at their core. Discounts, exclusive offers, and special sales are still the traditional methods for getting customers into the store.

But the way you communicate those benefits has changed.

In addition to direct mail, don’t forget to use email marketing and local deals. If you want to offer the deal to Facebook fans, try using Social Campaigns to like-gate the discount.

All three of these promotional methods can help expand your potential audience, because they allow recipients to share the deal with friends.

“The key is to know who your customer is and what they value as a good deal,” says Nicole. “You should have a plan for current customers and for new ones. The holidays are a great opportunity to do some really fun things.”

2. Are your promotions focused?

When you do send out something about your promotion, you don’t want customers to get distracted by something else. That’s why any marketing material you send out should be laser-focused.

Emails should exclusively showcase the deal. Websites should prominently display the deal to visitors as soon as they get to the page.

You may even want to consider creating a central location you can link to from your social media sites and email, to track how many people are visiting the page about the deal.

Better yet, consider using SaveLocal, which can do the tracking for you and create an easily shareable page, with built-in share incentives.

3. Have you updated everything to reflect your special deal?

Once you’ve planned out a deal for the holidays, make sure all of your channels are synced up with your promotion. You don’t want it hidden somewhere on the website, because no one will know it’s there.

Carefully check every online property your business owns and update them accordingly.

Creating special landing pages and copy to accommodate the holiday season is a good idea, too. Go through your email messages, social media posts, and company website to update accordingly.

“Use links in your emails to landing pages, so people don’t have to search for the specific offer you’re making,” Nicole advises. “Sending someone to the homepage of your site is less effective. You sold them in the email, make it easy for them to complete the purchase.”

4. Have you created a funnel? 

Having a central place for your deal will help you take the most important step: building your sales funnel.

Are you trying to attract new customers or old customers? Probably both, but that means you’ll want to consider how you market the deal.

New customers are more likely to come in from search engines for specific terms, so consider using Google Adwords and search engine optimization (SEO) to boost your place in the results.

Nicole explains that to really stick out, you need to offer something the competition can’t.

“Don’t match big retailer’s prices, offer services they can’t. You won’t beat Amazon at their own game, so think of bundles and other creative packages.”

From there, she says you’ll want to find a way to capture emails or “likes” from new customers, so you can communicate with them later.

Both social media and email marketing are great ways to follow up with leads.

When it’s all said and done…

Outline your parameters for success. This could mean the sales you receive during a certain time period, or the amount of money coming in from one specific deal.

Either way, create a system that helps you track the revenue from your holiday promotion.

Measure how effective each channel was, from email, to Facebook, to direct mail, so next holiday season you can keep making the promotion better and better.

Contact IGV today for a complementary assessment of your Social Media or Email Marketing program!

Even after you’ve cleared the hurdle of email design, the actual content of an email marketing newsletter can trip you up at the finish line.

Everything from colors, to images, to indentation all play a role in whether someone will read your email or banish it to the Junk or spam folder. A poor email can also reflect badly on your organization, because it can make you look unprofessional.

Here are 11 mistakes that will make your email newsletter absolutely unreadable:

1. Use clip art you found on the Internet

Who doesn’t like a great, colorful picture of something that has nothing to do with your organization? Nothing is more professional than grabbing the most jarring and unrelated image and using it in the header of your newsletter—except everything.

Want an easy way to create a great header? Find out how to use PicMonkey to make cool images.

2. Put space in all the wrong places

White space can help make an email feel less cluttered, but if it’s aligned incorrectly, then you can create a lopsided email that’s confusing and hard to navigate.

The key here is balance: make sure no part of your email is so full of white space that it looks incomplete, but don’t fill up every possible corner, either.

3. Don’t acknowledge the reader

If you rush right into an email without saying “hello,” then it seems like you don’t appreciate the people on your contact list. There’s also a chance they won’t remember why they’re receiving the newsletter.

Constant Contact has an option that will automatically greet a contact by name when he or she receives an email, which can help personalize each newsletter.

4. Use bright colors and fonts that cause physical discomfort

There are few things that will drive readers away faster than a splash of neon yellow against a solid, black background. Putting light text over a dark background can strain a person’s eyes until he or she gives up reading the email completely.

5. Hide the purpose of your email

Don’t make readers guess what the purpose of your email is. If you don’t highlight why you’re sending it or what to do next, chances are pretty good readers won’t do anything— except delete it.

6. Create chunks of text without indents, bullets, numbers, or blocks

In general, web content needs to be spaced out differently from print material. On our blog, we try to keep each paragraph to 1-3 sentences to reduce eye strain.

Similar rules should apply to your email. The goal is to make the content scannable, too. Readers should be able to skim the newsletter and take something away from it.

7. Use questionable, low-quality material

Images are temping to use if you’re trying to break up an otherwise text-heavy newsletter, but make sure you’re using relevant pictures.

For affordable, high-quality images, try istockphoto.com.

No room in the budget? At Compfight.com, just search for a picture under “Creative Commons” license, which allows you to use the artwork as long as you attribute it to the photographer.

8. Don’t include social share buttons, forwarding options, or contact information

If you don’t have any external resources in your newsletter, you’ve made the email a dead-end, which means it’s hard for recipients to follow-through.

All email newsletters should drive readers somewhere else, whether it’s a blog, website, or Facebook Page, so always remember to include those links in a prominent location.

9. Put your company header in a place that doesn’t make sense

Company headers that aren’t at the top of a newsletter can often get overlooked. That will leave readers wondering why the heck they’re getting an email from you in the first place, so it’s important to put your logo at the top of each newsletter.

10. Leave lots of space between blocks

In this instance, the space will force readers to scroll through an email to get to the footer of the newsletter, where the rewards and action items can frequently be found. If the space creates more barriers than benefits, you may want to carefully resize each block.

11. Don’t reward people for being on your email list

Always ask yourself why a person would sign up for your email list in the first place. If you can’t give an answer, then you may want to reconsider what kind of incentives you’re offering.

Coupons, white papers, donation updates, even interesting bits of news can all make readers eager to open an email from your organization.

Learning to be consistent

Don’t experiment with different templates every month—that can frustrate people who are used to one layout and then receive another.

And don’t forget to create a schedule for your email marketing campaigns. That way, contacts know when to expect each email and, more importantly, what to expect.

Does your newsletter need help?  IGV is happy to help!  Contact us today for a complimentary review of your newsletter.

“What’s the difference?” you ask.  ”Why does it matter?”

Facebook set Fan Pages up specifically to cater to businesses, organizations, and public figures.  Fan Pages are set up so that an individual can “Like” the page as opposed to becoming Friends.  This protects the individual’s privacy, as a Fan Page can only view certain personal information about their fans, where a Friend can see much more.  This distinction is very important to most people.  After all – who wants some company being able to see and comment on pictures of their kids or something equally as personal?  Also, personal profiles can only have up to 5,000 Friends, while Fan Pages can have an unlimited number of fans!

On the technical side of things, Fan Pages are searchable by Google, Yahoo, and the other search engines, while Personal Profiles are not.  Fan Pages have analytics built into them, giving you statistics about what posts are getting the best reactions, who sees them, and how they interact with your page.  Both of these features are very important for a business or organization that wants to expand their reach as far as possible and make informed decisions about what paths to take in future Social Media Marketing campaigns!  Even better, on Fan Pages, you can attach apps which will add functionality to your Fan Page, such as (but certainly not limited to) a custom-designed “landing page” which invites visitors to immediately like your Page, or the ability to sell your products directly from your Fan Page as well as your physical location or website.

“But I already have my business’s profile set up – it’s already got lots of friend/fans attached to it!  Can I comply with Facebook’s Terms of Use without losing all my hard work?”

Yes!  Facebook has provided a process for transitioning a personal profile to a Fan Page; just follow these simple steps:

1. Download the information on the personal profile you are going to convert to a Fan Page.  This is so you have a backup, just in case something goes wrong, and because Facebook can only convert some of your information directly.
2. Start the migration process here.  Make sure you’re logged in to the profile you want to convert!  Follow the directions as Facebook presents them.

Once the process is complete, your friends will automatically be converted to fans, and your photos will be brought over as well.  Your log-in info remains the same.  You will have some updating to do once your profile has been converted though.  This is a good time to go to the .ZIP file of your profile’s information and start adding any information to your Fan Page that didn’t get moved over from your profile.

Let’s be honest: small businesses have a lot of competition during the holiday season.

For the “big guys”, waiting for the end of November is fine. They can unleash an onslaught of commercials, billboards, radio jingles, newspaper flyers, magazine spreads, and big money sponsorships for those holiday TV movies we’ve all seen 10,000 times—and it works—every year.

But for small businesses, success around the holidays means getting customers ready early, even when they may be reluctant to do so.

You may not have a million dollar TV budget or Grammy worthy holiday jingles to do it, but you do have the power of social media and email marketing.

Small Business Saturday is November 24. Use this day to get your customers primed for the holiday season.

Here are 8 tips for using email and social media to help you stand out from the “big guys.”

1. Develop a schedule to help build holiday momentum

Momentum will be crucial in determining whether or not this year’s holiday season will be one worth celebrating for your business. But you can’t build momentum around your business unless you have a plan for how you’re going to do it.

One way to start is by creating a schedule. The schedule should map out the weeks and months leading up and through the holiday season with specific goals for each of the big days. The specific holidays you plan to target may vary based on your business and your customer base, but all business should be aware of the three biggest shopping days of the holiday season:

• Black Friday – November 23

• Cyber Monday – November 26

• Small Business Saturday – November 24

2. Pay attention to what your fans, followers, and readers really want this year

If you want your business to be part of your customers’ holiday plans this season, you’re going to need to deliver content they actually care about.

Now I know what you’re thinking, “Shouldn’t I always deliver content my fans and readers care about?”

The answer is “yes.” But this is especially important during the holidays when your customers are not only busy, but are also being bombarded by content from a number of other businesses fighting for their attention.

Consider using a survey to collect customer feedback in the fall, before the holiday craze has started. You can send it to all of your email subscribers or post it on your Facebook Page and ask your fans what they are most interested in receiving from your business this holiday season.

You can use that customer feedback to not only improve the content your sending out, but to also better target your messages by segmenting your email contact list. When segmenting your list, you should also look at other information that’s available to you like: open and clickthrough rates, purchasing behaviors, and the preferences people chose when signing up for your newsletter.

3. Be a resource, not just a sales pitch

One of the main reasons people are typically reluctant to shift their focus to the holidays is they are not always eager to start thinking about the less than celebratory work that goes into them. While the holidays are—without a doubt—a time for celebration and giving thanks, they are also a time of great stress for a lot of your customers.

Don’t add to that stress by overwhelming them with salesly content and aggressive promotion; instead provide them with something they can actually use this holiday season. It can be something as simple as advice for preparing their shopping list, tips for throwing a dinner party, or even a special coupon for subscribers only.

You can also post tips on Facebook or share articles on Twitter. If your business uses Pinterest, consider creating boards to give your followers inspiration leading up to the holiday season.

This year, start your holiday promotion by helping your customers; they’ll remember it when it comes time to buy.

Orange Cycle helps their customers find the perfect gift without overwhelming them with sell, sell, sell …

4. Don’t try to do too much, too soon

One of the biggest questions we get from small businesses (at all times of the year) is how often should they post on social media or send emails to their subscribers. This is an especially important question when we’re talking about how to get your customers ready for the holiday season.

The fact is, most of your customers aren’t going to be ready to start thinking about the holidays until it starts feeling like summer is officially over. Don’t overwhelm them by flooding their inbox and newsfeed with holiday promotions.

When creating your schedule, pay attention to how much holiday content you’re planning to post. Make sure you’re giving your customers the chance to ease into it, rather than trying to force them to get in the spirit. It can be helpful to think of things in terms of percentages—for example: in September, post 20% holiday content, in October, 30% holiday content, and in November, 50% holiday content.

(TIP: Talking about Black Friday or Small Business Saturday rather than specific holidays in September or October is a great way to start getting your customers ready without scaring them with holiday buzzwords.)

Ipswich Ale did a great job at getting their fans ready for fall without overwhelming them. They posted a picture of their fall seasonal beer, provided a link to their website, and gave readers a peek behind the scenes at their brewery. This is the same approach you should take early on in your holiday promotion.

5. Give them what they signed up for: exclusive content

Your customers didn’t become fans, followers, or readers of your email just because they love your products or services. For many of them, it was to receive exclusive content and special promotions from your business.

Telling your readers and fans about upcoming holiday promotions or giving them a sneak peak at new seasonal products is the best way to build holiday excitement and give them the exclusive content they want.

Latitude 43 uses an exclusive offer to generate holiday business from their email marketing.

You can even run a local deal and let them be the first ones to find out about it. That way, they won’t just be excited about the holiday, but they’ll actually have a big incentive to come in early and do their holiday shopping.

With Social Campaigns, you can also use that exclusive content to help grow your fanbase—like The American Distilling Institute, which got 130 plus new “Likes” for their Facebook Page by offering an exclusive video to their fans.

6. Make the holidays an event

You don’t have to wait for the big shopping days, or even the official day of the holiday, to give your customers a reason to celebrate this season. In fact, planning an event earlier in the season—before your customers schedules get filled with work parties and family gatherings—is a great way to get your customers in the holiday state-of-mind.

It’s also a great opportunity to help make a difference this holiday season, by partnering with a local nonprofit and doing some fundraising for a cause that’s important to you as a business owner. Take for example, Serenitee Restaurant Group. They partnered with The Open Door last November and donated 10% from the weekend’s brunch sales to this local food pantry.

You can also use your event as a way of collecting valuable email contacts before the holiday season by using online event registration.

7. Remember what works during the other seasons

It’s important to remember that not everything changes during the holiday season. The best practices and strategies you use in your email marketing and social media throughout the year will not only still be effective in November and December, but they will help you engage your customers in September and October and get them ready for the holiday push.

Using rich media, like photos and videos for example, is a great way to start building that excitement. Think about the types of things we’ve already talked about: providing exclusive content, being a resource, not being too promotional—photos are a great way to accomplish all of these things. Post pictures from past holidays or give a sneak peak at new products, and then ask your fans to comment, like, or share.

If you haven’t used videos in the past, or even if you have, think about shooting a short video every couple of weeks or once a month leading into the holiday season. Something as simple as a video on your smartphone can give you the chance to tell your fans what you’re working on for the fall and what you have coming up for the holidays.

Bob Marshall of Marshall’s Farm Stand took some time to say thanks last Thanksgiving and preview his plans for the holidays.

8. Be authentic

One of the biggest reasons people choose to shop with small businesses, throughout the year and during the holiday season, is the personal connection they’re able to provide.

While your bigger competitors will have to rely on fictional stories—and inauthentic holiday moments to connect with customers in the months leading up to the holidays—you have the ability to offer the real thing and can use your own experiences to make that special connection.

Take Sue Bedell of Second Bloom Design. Last November she decided to give her monthly newsletter a more personal touch by sharing an anecdote from her own family’s holiday traditions. It not only let her better connect with her customers, but resulted in one of the biggest sales of the holiday season.

Do you have personal experiences your customers will enjoy, or stories from past holiday promotions that will get them excited for what you have planned this year? Use them to create a personal connection your customers will love and to generate buzz around this year’s big season.

Put your best practices into action this holiday season

Chances are you’re probably already doing most of the things you’ll need to do when it comes time to get your customers ready for the holiday season.

Creating a schedule, being a resource, using rich media, or providing a personal connection are all things that have helped you build your social communities and drive real results from your email marketing.

Now all you need to do is … put them into action!

How are you using social media and email marketing to get your customers ready for the holiday season? Tell us on Facebook!