Archive for the 'Tips & tricks' Category

Email Marketing Tactics for Doctors and Dentists

Published on January 31, 2012 in Best Practices and Tips & tricks. 1 Comment Tags: dentists, doctors, email strategies, health professionals.

Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to keep in touch with customers – and patients as well. More health professionals like doctors and dentists are using email as a way to reach patients and educate them about their health. Email is also a great way for health professionals to build patient rapport. Doctors and dentists are a busy group and rarely have the time to spend with patients that they’d like to have. Email offers an opportunity to “fill in the gaps” that exist due to time constraints. What are some email strategies that doctors and dentists can use?

Email Marketing Offers an Opportunity to Educate and Inform

Doctors and dentists can use email to offer patients health and lifestyle tips they can apply in their daily lives. A weekly email newsletter is an effective way to share tips for losing weight, avoiding colds and flu, keeping a smile white, preventing cavities to eating a healthy diet. Not only do patients appreciate health tips, they help to inspire patient confidence and create a stronger physician-patient or dentist-patient relationship. Dentists and doctors can also use email to let patients know about new treatments and developments in the health care and dental field. This can bring in new business.

A regular health newsletter can attract new patients too when health doctors and dentists use email marketing as a viral tool. Simply give patients the opportunity to forward the newsletter to family and friends. If they newsletter contains useful information, many will do it.

Continue reading ‘Email Marketing Tactics for Doctors and Dentists’

What Social Media Can Do For Your Email Marketing

Published on January 27, 2012 in Best Practices, Internet marketing and Tips & tricks. 0 Comments Tags: email marketing campaigns, newsletter, social media.

Before the rise of social media, email marketing was the only way to reach people who had shown enough of an interest in a business to visit the website but weren’t yet interested enough to make a purchase. Persuade those people to leave behind an email address and the company could return to them with a special offer or news of a product release and pull them back through the door.
Since social media?
Well, all of those things are still true.

Social media’s strength is that it allows marketers to access prospects all the time. It lets them respond to their comments and posts, entering into the kind of dialogue that email marketing just can’t replicate. Lists (on Twitter and Facebook) and Circles (on Google+) let them target their messages, and social media has a much greater potential to send a brand viral than email marketing.

But those messages are often overlooked. While an email sits in an inbox until it’s opened, a tweet quickly disappears down a stream.
And while a Facebook page can generate lots of likes, the number of fans they collect is often smaller (and harder to convert) than the number of email addresses the company is able to collect.

Continue reading ‘What Social Media Can Do For Your Email Marketing’

5 Email Marketing Tips for Valentine’s Day

Published on January 24, 2012 in Tips & tricks. 0 Comments Tags: email marketing, valentine's day.

What could be sweeter than Valentine’s hearts? How about bigger profits for your online business? Valentine’s Day is a time to show customers how much you appreciate them – and to make sales. It’s also an opportunity to show customers that you have gifts that will bring a smile to their sweetheart’s face. Now’s the time to remind them of what you have to offer. Here are some tips for getting the online cash registers ringing this Valentine’s Day.

Get Them in a Buying Mood
A Valentine’s Day header gets the message across with few words. Spice up your emails with banners depicting cupids, hearts, roses and any other sweet theme that reminds your customers that the big day is coming. Come up with a fitting slogan like “The Savings Have Never Been Sweeter.” Get them in the Valentine’s Day buying spirit early, and motivate them with a special discount before they spend their money elsewhere. Entertain them with a list of list of ten ways to tell someone you love them using products you sell.

Inspire Them with Gift-Giving Ideas
Make it easy for your customers to buy by offering creative gift-giving suggestions focused around your products. Show them how your selections can make Valentine’s Day even sweeter for their sweetheart, and include a link to each product you mention. Men are especially appreciative of gift ideas and suggestions for how to impress their sweetheart without spending a fortune. Make it easy for them to buy from you.
Continue reading ’5 Email Marketing Tips for Valentine’s Day’

Email Marketing Tips for Fitness Clubs and Health Centers

Published on January 9, 2012 in General and Tips & tricks. 1 Comment Tags: email marketing, fitness clubs, health centers.

The fitness and health club business is a competitive one. Local advertising has its place, but these days more people are turning to the internet to get health and fitness information. That’s where email marketing comes in. Email is one of the most effective ways to form a relationship with health conscious people who may be interested in your services. If you’re not using email marketing for fitness and health, you’re missing out on an invaluable opportunity to “connect” with potential clients.

Why is email marketing so effective for health clubs and fitness centers? Once you develop a list, you can send readers useful health and nutrition information on a regular basis. This helps to brand your business and remind readers of what your facilities have to offer. Over time, you will gain customers using this technique, and you’ll be doing it without a hard sell. What kind of fitness information can you offer through email?

Continue reading ‘Email Marketing Tips for Fitness Clubs and Health Centers’

7 Effective Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy

Published on January 5, 2012 in Best Practices, General and Tips & tricks. 3 Comments Tags: online privacy.

There’s nothing more convenient than doing personal and business transactions online but that convenience carries risks. Every day unsuspecting internet users have their personal information recorded and their online activities tracked without their knowledge. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to keep your personal information private and protect yourself against unscrupulous companies who want your private information. Here are seven simple ways to protect your online privacy when you’re surfing the internet.

Make Sure Your Computer is Protected
To protect your online privacy, make sure your computer is well armed. Install a reliable anti-virus software, and make sure your computer is also protected by a firewall and software that blocks malware and spyware. You can buy these products from companies that offer them as a bundle. Anti-virus software protects your computer against viruses and Trojans, while a firewall filters out and blocks suspicious traffic to your computer. For maximum security, you need both.

Update Your Operating System
When operating systems like Microsoft Windows issue an update, it usually has changes that address a particular security issue. If you don’t do regular updates, you won’t be protected. Make it a habit to check for updates and download them immediately for maximal online privacy protection.

Choose Your Password Carefully
When you choose a password, select one that’s a combination of numbers and letters, both upper and lower case, and don’t reveal it to anyone. Avoid using personal information in your password such as your birthdate or the name of a pet. Use a different password for every online account you have. If you have problems remembering so many passwords, use a reputable passwords site to store them securely. Once you’ve chosen your password, don’t save it on your web browser, and don’t forget to change your passwords frequently.

Continue reading ’7 Effective Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy’

Are You Sure Your Passwords Are Safe Enough?

Published on December 22, 2011 in Internet marketing and Tips & tricks. 0 Comments Tags: email accounts, passwords, safety.

What’s so special about “dragon” and “football?” Both of these words made the 2011 list of worst passwords of the year. People like to relate their password to something about themselves such as their favorite animal, sport or mythical character to make it easier to remember. That’s not a good thing when it comes to protecting yourself against hackers who want to steal your money and your identity.

Hackers are savvy at “guessing” passwords. One way they do it is to keep trying common passwords until they find one that works. Would you believe some people even use the “password” as their password? Let’s just say that most hackers are on to that one. The best way to keep hackers out of your private accounts is to put a little thought into choosing the passwords you use online. Here are some tips for becoming more password savvy.

Continue reading ‘Are You Sure Your Passwords Are Safe Enough?’

This post is part of a series of guest posts authored by popular bloggers and internet business consultants. Today's guest post is written by Nancy Parker.

10 Guidelines For Writing Effective Subject Lines

Published on December 21, 2011 in Guest Post and Tips & tricks. 1 Comment Tags: Guest Post, subject lines.

First impressions are the most important and that applies to emails as well. Whether you are trying to get a reader to join your organization or to shop at your store, you need a good subject line. It takes a reader less than one second to decide whether or not your email will be opened or deleted. Here are 10 subject line guide lines to grab your reader’s attention.

Discount
Everyone likes saving money. Offering them a good deal will have the reader intrigued. Be sure that the money saver is something worth opening. “50% off Next Purchase” or “Save Big”
Deadline
Giving your reader a deadline gives the reader a sense of urgency. Telling them that something won’t last long will have them acting fast. “Don’t wait until it’s too late!” or “Last chance to join”
Humor
This can be difficult but examine your email content and think of a pun or a statement that will have the reader smiling. Like a cooking email “Recipe for disaster” or an automotive business “Why did the chicken cross the road”.
Personable
Think about your audience and find a common denominator and then personalize. If they are single young adults, mothers or seniors, address them personally. “Ladies choice” or “Every golferswish list”.
Benefits
Whether it’s a discount on an item, or news about some new product, we want to know why and how it will benefit us. We are naturally selfish humans. “Clear skin is near” or “You have money saving options”. Continue reading ’10 Guidelines For Writing Effective Subject Lines’