1. Get permission. Always ask people to opt in. Make it easy to sign up — and easy to opt out, with an opt out link at the end of every email. After 12 months, ask subscribers if they want to continue.

2. Keep the frequency reasonable. Once a week is probably about right. If you have a great idea for a daily email, great. Just let recipients know up front that you’ll be sending them something every day, then let them opt in. And once you decide on a schedule, stick to it. Experts say you should reach out to your readers at least twice a month.

3. Respect people’s privacy. Put a short, simple email privacy statement on your opt-in form and link it to a full privacy statement on your web site.

4. Design for deliverability. Put your company name in the “from” line. Make the “subject” line a real grabber — 50 characters or less. Use attention-getting text and colors, rather than images, so the reader can get a good idea of your email even if images are disabled. Put the offer, call to action, newsletter contents — the important information — at the top of the email.

5. Check to see that it’s all getting through. Send a sample email to an account on each of the major email providers — AOL, Earthlink, Gmail, and Yahoo! Check out how your format looks in Outlook. Again, avoid images in the header and make sure all the response links work.

6. Test. Refine your efforts for better results by testing different subject lines, offers, deployment dates and times, and different segments of your list. Testing is also a great way to come up with new ideas.

7. Define your value proposition. Give your subscribers a good reason to open your emails. Focus on your unique value proposition. Concentrate on how your information or offer will directly benefit the recipient.

8. Segment your list. If you can come up with targeted messages for different parts of your list, you’ll usually get better response and conversion rates.

9. Personalize if you can. This isn’t just putting their name at the top. It’s about creating content that addresses the recipient’s specific interests, needs, and behaviors. You don’t always have this information and it takes more work to personalize the content, but it can be very effective to deliver a very targeted message that hits all of the prospect’s hot buttons.

10. Get mobile, get social. In today’s wireless environment, emails are frequently viewed on mobile devices. So check to see how your emails appear on the popular smart phones. And don’t forget to leverage your social media presence by using it to invite opt-ins to your email offerings.

11. Survey your readers. To make sure you continue to deliver value, survey recipients every so often to find out their needs and interests. Then make adjustments to stay in touch with what your subscribers are looking for.

12. Stand out from the crowd. People will look forward to hearing from you if you always have something valuable to say. Keep the information concise and useful. Send “alerts” with news that engages the recipient. The “secret” to exceptional email campaigns is always great content!

For a new way to jump start your business, try good old email marketing. Follow these simple rules, stick with it, and you may very well get exceptional results…. Have a great month!

Summer’s over, so it’s back to school for the kids and back to business for the rest of us. As you take a look at what lies ahead, it’s easy to come to the conclusion there simply isn’t enough time to get everything you want accomplished. You can’t squeeze one more day out of the week or one more week out of the year, but you can find an extra hour each day without much trouble at all.

How to find that extra hour.

The truth is, people spend much more time than they realize watching TV, entertaining themselves on the web, and sleeping more than they really need to. If you just try to cut down on the amount of time you spend on the couch or in bed, you can easily find yourself with an hour of time a day available to grow your business.

All it takes is for you to rethink your schedule a little, making simple changes to your usual patterns. Instead of hitting the snooze button, try getting up earlier. This lets you get a pile of work done before the phone starts ringing and the emails begin piling up. Early rising also lets you work with clients and contacts in time zones to the east of you, while it’s still early in the day for them. Instead of watching TV, use that time to answer emails, rather than letting emails take up valuable work time during the day.

An extra hour a day for your business gives you an extra 20 hours of work each month, which adds up to 240 hours per year. That’s 10 whole days, or two full work weeks. Just think of the value of that in dollars per hour!

What to do with that extra hour.

Read and learn how to do your job better and how to market yourself better. Dive into relevant information from trade associations. Take a look at what types of marketing your competition is doing. Find out more about how to use all the online and off-line ways to deliver your message. Look at your own marketing efforts, discard what isn’t working, and try something you haven’t done before.

Do the kind of serious strategic planning that will set up your growth for the future. Where is your business going? What kind of services should you add? Who else should you be targeting? Can you expand geographically? Where do you want to be in your business — and in your life 5 years from now? — 10 years from now?

Then start executing. Write an article to submit to local newspapers and industry websites. Update the content on your own website and add a new feature, such as a blog. Submit comments to other people’s blogs that talk to your audience. Put together an email campaign that links to your blog or website. Come up with a tag line and put it on new business cards. Develop a direct mail list and think of a compelling offer you can send out on an inexpensive post card.

You’ll be surprised at how much more you can get accomplished with just a few changes to your work habits and just a touch more discipline. Jump ahead of your competitors while they’re still asleep…and make a lot more money with a lot less stress. Try it. And have a great month!

Here are some tips for using direct mail to drive Web traffic:

Make a great offer. Don’t just ask someone to visit your site–give them a good reason. Offer a free trial, seminar, white paper, coupons, or a sample of what you do. Make it something they want, not just something you want to talk about.

Create a special landing page. You may not want to send someone to your homepage with all the choices they’ll find there. Instead, drive them to a unique landing page where you can target the message, track response, and get user data for follow-up efforts.

Get their contact information. Make sure your landing page asks for the visitor’s email address. With a good enough offer, you might also get them to give you their full name, mailing address, and other info you want for your database.

Give them an easy-to-enter URL. Direct mail doesn’t let you give users a clickable link, just a URL they have to type into a browser. So make it short and easy to spell. If you give the promotion its own domain, the URL could be really short. If you still want the landing page on your site, you can redirect the unique URL to go there.

Try pURLs. These are personalized URLs that grab attention by using the person’s name, for example: JaneDoe.yoursite.com. This makes tracking the direct mail piece easy.

Personalize the copy. Like the pURL, teasers, headlines, or copy with the person’s name will get their attention. The trick is to use this approach sparingly, so you don’t wind up sounding like a sweepstakes.

End with a clear call to action. Be specific. Say something like “Go toJohnDoe.yoursite.com and register to download this valuable information.”

Don’t forget the deadline. Deadlines push people to respond immediately. That’s why direct marketers use them.

You may need help from a Web expert to set up a special landing page, new URLs, and pURLs. But once you marry your off-line communications to your online presence, you may be surprised at what an integrated marketing approach will do for you…. Have a great month!

If your press release is an announcement, ask yourself why people should care about what you have to say. If you can’t come up with an answer, do some research, try a different story angle and rewrite the announcement. Ask others to read it — a client, a prospect, co-workers, friends, or family. Find out if they think the info is interesting and useful.

You can also make your own news. Here are five directions to take:

1. Participate in an event that benefits the community, or create one yourself. You’ll be giving something back, inspiring others to do likewise, and providing help to people who need it. That’s good news for all.

2. Come up with a Top 10 List, or a brief topical report. Think about the latest trends in your industry. Use these as subject matter for a Top 10 List or a brief report that demonstrates your expertise. Then let the media know what you’ve come up with.

3. Write an opinion piece for the editorial page. Write down your opinion about a news story or current issue and submit it to the local newspaper. Present your ideas in a positive and respectful manner and you’ll gain credibility, as well as awareness.

4. Make a speech or give a presentation. Look for forums your target audience attends, sponsored by business associations, organizations, and community colleges in your area. These groups need speakers with fresh ideas. Don’t make your talk a sales pitch. Offer up insightful information your audience can use. Invite reporters. Even if the event isn’t covered, you can add it to your resume, further establishing you as an expert in the field.

5. Promote your successes. The things your clients accomplish with your help can make great news stories. Ask if you can share their story with the media, then get their thoughts on how you’ve helped them reach a goal or attain a dream. “Before-and-after” stories are popular and all these efforts can be re-purposed as testimonials and case studies on your web site.

Think like a reporter and you’ll see ways to make your story more newsworthy. The information should be timely and have a benefit.Remember, good media coverage can get great buzz going for you…. Have a great month!

1. Add a lead-generating offer. You can boost leads with a rewards-based offer. Write a quick one-page report such as “The Top 10 Ways to Sell Your House Faster and For More Money.” Make it easy to read (and write!) with some bullets and a few great insights. You can also try a fear-based report, such as “Top 10 Biggest Homebuyer Mistakes.” Post new reports every few weeks as ideas come to you. Ask visitors for a valid email address to download the reports. Then follow up by emailing them another offer — a free consultation or another service, coupons from local businesses — to further the relationship.

2. Replace stale content. Don’t delete old content that may be indexed in search engines, but direct old content to newer articles. Tired old info sends people away. At least twice a month (say, the 1st and the 15th) add news items, info related to your business, local events, and links to your latest e-newsletter and blog. Keep copy brief.

3. Take a good look at your home page. This is the first thing people see. Make sure your contact information is EVERYWHERE. Don’t make visitors dig to find your phone number. Keep the home page to 6 to 8 major points above the scroll. Use headlines and bullet points that link to more detailed info.

4. Check that your site loads quickly. Slow loads make visitors go elsewhere. Music and flash applications take time, so you might want to get rid of them. Not only are they annoying, but search engines cannot read Flash unless you have a website developer who has done a lot of additional work. Avoid it and stick with search engine-friendly HTML and Javascript.

5. Make sure your site is easy to navigate. Confusing navigation drives visitors away. Ask people who have never seen your site to try it while you look on. Notice where they get tripped up, but don’t help them out. Then have them tell you what would have made things easier. Better yet, add Google Analytics tracking code to your website. You can see what content is your “top content” and where you lose visitors. Google Analytics is a top-of-the-line, free tool from Google.

To have a great website, you  need to get your hands dirty with your website. Get involved, and ask your web developer for the changes you need. A great site can do a lot for your business, but you have to stay on top of it…. Have a great month!

Reviews of 4 Hosting Companies – Pros and Cons

#1 HostGator. This website hosting company, in my experience, is the absolute best. Especially considering their great pricing. Setting up basic PHP contact forms for your website is easy. They truly support basic PHP contact forms, rather than just saying it. You’d think supporting basic contact.php forms would be something every hosting company should provide without any headaches. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case; wait until you hear me complain about GoDaddy (THE WORST).  HostGator makes it easy to set up hundreds of re-directs, which is important as your website goes through changes. You will need to direct old links indexed by search engines to their new URLs. HostGator is also easy to set up a blog. Password-protecting a folder is also very simple. What I like best is their LiveChat support. I don’t have to sit on hold with my phone if I encounter an issue. I can open a chat window, wait usually no more than 5 minutes, then chat live with a real person who actually knows what they are talking about. I’ve used them for ecommerce sites and have had an issue with SSL certificates. They did not handle the issue very quickly and were quite obnoxious about it. Still, everything got worked out in the end.  Their webmail is not excellent, but most people run their email through GMAIL or through Microsoft Outlook, so it should be a non-issue for most people. If your site is running slow due to a resource hog on your shared server, I’ve been able to get a hold of someone at HostGator and they’ve resolved the problem usually in less than 30 minutes. www.hostgator.com

I do not recommend ANY of the following companies.  There is no best to worst. They are all the worst, with the exception of GoDaddy who is THE DEVIL.

#2 Network Solutions. I am inspired to write about this company because I am currently sitting on hold for the last 20 minutes waiting for someone to help. I’ve used the same FTP account for a site for a few months. Every once in a while, it is fidgety and will not connect. Today is one of those days. I also notice that I have to disconnect and reconnect constantly to upload or download files to a site. Time-waster! You can password protect a folder hosted by Network Solutions, however, the way they’ve set it up is an odd, illogical interface. For some people, maybe it’s no problem. To me, it was again a time waster when I had to go through their process 10 times trying to set up a username and password to the correct folder. This should be easy! Contact PHP forms are supported. There is no LiveChat support which I can find. So, get ready to sit on hold when you have an issue. I’ve heard they are “top of the line” but in my experience they have wasted a lot of my time. www.networksolutions.com

UPDATE: Total wait time for support with Network Solutions = 51 minutes. If you remember, my issue was that my FTP account no longer worked. Turns out, they automatically changed my FTP password, unbeknownst to myself or my client. I’ve never experienced a hosting company automatically resetting passwords without being requested to do so. Did not even occur to me to login and get the new password they created without being requested to do so. If they had LiveChat support, that would have been a 2 minute chat instead of a 51 minute hold time and 4 minute phone call.

UPDATE #2 – Working on the site, FTP access completely goes out again. Did they change my password again without asking? I’vew wasted so much time with this awful hosting company. To get this resolved, I’m sure I can anticipate another 51 minute hold time. Infuriating.

UPDATE #3 – Perhaps Network Solutions learned the hard way WHY you don’t automatically update all of your customers’ FTP passwords without permission. Their entire FTP network has been down for a few hours because they are having problems caused by their decision to change all the passwords. As a result, no one can connect to their sites with FTP.  It’s not necessary to update everyone’s FTP passwords, especially without permission. The support person scoffed at me yesterday when I asked WHY they felt it necessary to do that. He said “Security purposes, of course.” I don’t understand why FTP passwords are so insecure that you need to change them without permission from your clients. And frankly, I’ll take an insecure password over one that DOESN’T WORK. This company has wasted hours of my time. Frustrating.

#3 Host Depot. They do support contact.php forms. Setting up mail is easy. Interface is ugly, but again, you can use GMAIL or Outlook to solve that problem. I had a permissions issue with this hosting company. When I tried to upload a file, it would not let me overwrite any files. Called support, waited on hold FOREVER, explained to them exactly what the issue was and they told me I must be doing something wrong. I had to get another developer involved who had to be extremely confrontational in getting the issue resolved. It was a basic permission problem on their end and it required hours on hold to get them to finally fix the problem. What a headache. www.hostdepot.com

#4 GoDaddy (Don’t do it!!). Danica Patrick is a great spokeswoman because this is the worst hosting company on the face of the earth, yet I have to constantly deal with them.  Clients always seem to have an existing contract with this terrible company. For most clients, it’s much cheaper and easier in the long run to get them moved to a different host as soon as possible. Clients pay more money every step of the way when anyone has to work with GoDaddy. It’s time and it’s money. GoDaddy does NOT support basic contact.php forms. You have to use their special contact form called “gdform.” It’s tedious and a waste of time. If you ever leave this host, you have to change all of your contact forms back to contact.php forms since no one else on the planet uses “gdform.” Support at GoDaddy is awful. Not informed and ready to help. Long hold times. Another HUGE problem with GoDaddy is that they do not support a large number of re-directs. I once did a large update for a client. We needed to redirect about 30 URLs to new pages on the site. After hours of wasted time, GoDaddy finally admitted they don’t support a large number of redirects. The redirects kept sending visitors into a huge redirect loop – never landing on a page. I don’t consider 30 to be a large number of redirects, but to GoDaddy it is. We had to let visitors go to broken links if they found the old site links in search engines. It should be easy and simple to send visitors from old pages to new. Not the case with GoDaddy. Another issue that costs clients money: SLOW upload/download. Just like Network Solutions, I found that the FTP connection constantly disconnected and I had to spend time reconnecting constantly. It’s only 10-15 seconds each time, but if you’re actively working on a site and have to reconnect constantly, that time adds up. www.godaddy.com

I am not a hosting expert, but I can tell you it’s a relief to everyone when you host with HostGator and the problems never stop when you choose a host such as GoDaddy. Save yourself and your developer time and money. Just go with HostGator now. I do not get any money from HostGator to say this – it’s just my experience.

The big question for home buyers and sellers today is: “Where are Austin home prices headed?” People want to know if now is a good time to buy or sell, or if they should wait. We all need to stay on top of trends in Austin, TX real estate values — so what’s a good way to analyze the situation?

Yale economist Robert Shiller states it bluntly:

“If you look at the trend in rents to see where housing prices are headed, you’re looking at the right measure.”

Shiller is the co-developer of the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Indices that monthly track residential real estate values nationally and in 20 metro areas.

Traditionally, people have been willing to pay a modest premium to own a home rather than rent it. Recent studies report that in 1999 rents averaged 87% of the after-tax mortgage payment for houses and condos of similar size in the same neighborhood.

When home prices took off, this percentage changed. By mid-2006, rents had fallen to less than 60% of after-tax mortgage payments. In some markets, owners were paying twice as much as renters for a similar property in the same neighborhood. In a few places, owner monthly payments were three times average rents.

The 87% ratio of rent to ownership cost for 1999 is a good benchmark because it stayed around that level throughout the 1990′s and the steep rise in home prices hadn’t really begun.

With that as our guide, we can conclude that home prices at last appear to be stabilizing. By the end of October 2009, rents on average were up to 83% of ownership costs!

Conditions vary from market to market, so give me a call to discuss the Austin area. But with historically low Austin mortgage rates, plus the homebuyer tax credit, this could be a great time to be buying or selling….

Finding information through Google can sometimes take longer than you’d like. Here are some time-saving tips to get you just what you’re looking for.

1. Use a minus to narrow things down. If you’re looking for info on cubs — the young animals — use a minus sign (hyphen on the keyboard) to eliminate links to Cub scouts and the Chicago team. Enter in Search: cubs -scouts -baseball

2. Find only the file type you’re looking for. You often know the info you want is in a PDF, PowerPoint or Excel file Just add filetype:pdf, filetype:ppt or filetype:xls to your search request. For example, enter in Search: IBM annual report filetype:pdf

3. Relocate something you’ve seen. If you saw a product, service or topic online and you’d like to find it again, put it in quotes preceded by intitle:. For example, enter in Search: intitle:”Gregory packs”

4. Find a name or an exact phrase. If you’re looking for a person or a precise set of words, use quotation marks. For example, enter in Search: “John Doe” or “homebuyer tax credit”

And here are some more Google Search capabilities…

Address Finder. Enter someone’s home phone number and click Search. If it’s a listed number, you’ll get their mailing address.

Conversions. Convert measurements and even currency. Just enter “50 kilometers in miles” or “200 dollars in British pounds” and click Search.

Calculator. You see a $189 item at 30% off. Want to find out what you’ll save? Enter 189 x .30, and click Search.

Track a package. Just enter “track” plus the tracking number and click Search. You’ll get a link to the status page.

Track a flight. Enter the airline and flight number and click Search. You’ll see the latest info on departure and arrival times.

Check out a song. Enter the song title and artist and click Search. You’ll get a link to a playable file at Google partner lala.com.

Get movie show times. Want to see what’s playing nearby? Enter “movies” plus your city or Zip code and click Search.

I hope these tips make you more productive than ever.…