| Greetings,
Well, spring finally did come to the Berkshires. Special thanks to Laura Grunfeld of Everyone's Invited for taking the photo of me that proves it.
The "yes" you're getting in the first article is a sign-up for your newsletter at an event. Now, at last, you can make use of all those business networking sessions. We also tout a piece of technology that makes light work of entering data from business cards.
The computer article is a sequel to last month's piece about my new computer. I have some recommendations for you. Let me know what you decide to do.
And if you're close to I-91, please attend our Introduction to E-mail Marketing on June 4.
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Getting to "Yes"
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An e-zine gives you a mission in life. Your mission is to grow your subscriber list. Every event is an opportunity--the family wedding, the community picnic and, of course, the business networking event. Gone are the days of asking yourself, "Why am I going to this chamber breakfast?" You are going to get business cards of new subscribers.
The Good News
Obviously, you don't want to be obnoxious about the process, but it's so easy in conversation with a new contact to explain that you publish a newsletter. Tell them the benefits to them of receiving your e-zine, and ask if you can add them to your mailing list. In my experience, almost everyone will say "yes." Then take their business card and note on the back that they opted in. That will remind you later not to add anyone who didn't say "yes."
But there is a flaw in this scenario. What if they don't have a business card? It shocks me when people show up at business networking events without cards. "I ran out yesterday," "They're in my other bag," "They're in the car." My, my.
Of course, you never do this. You have a stash of business cards everywhere--in pocketbooks and briefcases, wallets and card carriers and, of course, in your car. I have learned the hard way: never go anywhere without a business card. I even tuck a few in my pocket when I ski.
But some folks aren't so helpful. They don't have a business card. My solution is to carry a few leftover cards in my card carrier. These are usually outdated cards from others, blanks that showed up with my last business card order or even card-sized pieces of paper. Oh yes, and don't forget the pen.
A cautionary note. While most people will say "yes" when you ask them to subscribe to your newsletter, left to their own devices, they usually won't. Don't expect the ones who say, "I have your card. I'll sign up for your newsletter on your Web site" to be reading your next issue.
Technology to the Rescue
The event is over and now you have a bunch of cards. How do you get them into your computer? This is why you need a card scanner. Mine comes from CardScan and this tiny piece of equipment does a lot of heavy lifting.
When I get ready to send my next issue of Web Words, or when I want a nice, mindless task, I scan my cards in. It's amazing what this workhorse can read. But you'll still need to double check everything. Then I add notes about where I met the person and follow-up information, if appropriate. I also add them to a subscriber category in Outlook so that I can upload new subscribers to Constant Contact before my next mailing. CardScan makes light work of a tedious process that used to take a lot of time.
Beefing up your subscriber list requires you to be proactive without being pushy. There's a reward. You'll find it very satisfying to see your list grow and watch a chance meeting turn into a regular subscriber.
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New Computer for You?
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I think I can make this very simple. You're in one of three categories.
- You have a Mac. Go to the next article.
- You have an older computer and are on the fence about getting a new one and upgrading to Vista. Do it.
- You have a relatively new computer. Forget about Vista and just upgrade to Microsoft Office 2007.
OK, so I've oversimplified a little, maybe a lot. But here's the good news. If you're in that last category, you can get an enormous productivity boost with relatively little effort. "It's a snap to upgrade," says husband Will Ryan, who did it a few weeks ago without incident.
What to Expect
We're both getting the hang of the new user interface. In Word, there are tabs across the top that you click on for more detail. There is "Home" with the basic information you're used to about font sizes, alignment etc., "Insert" where you can add all sorts of cool things I haven't tried yet like links and charts. "Page Layout" comes next followed by "References." This tab will help you with your Ph.D. thesis, if you're working on one of those. "Mailings" is next, followed by "Review." Here you will find one of my personal favorites--word count. I don't want to exceed my limit. But mostly this is about tracking changes and other review options. "View" is the caboose.
The real winner is the search function. It's saved my life several times already by finding documents that were in the wrong place. Granted they got there because I didn't understand what I was doing when I started using the new system. But still, the search is breathtakingly fast.
The search in Outlook is truly amazing. If your mail box looks like mine--and I pray for your sake that it does not--finding anything has tinges of nightmare in it. Here's a neat feature: click on Activities for a Contact and it will find all the e-mails--both incoming and outgoing--addressed to that contact. Talk about a productivity boost.
One warning--your computer will need to go through a one-time tortuous indexing process in order to be able to do all this. And it will bring your machine to its knees while this is going on.
Survival Mode
If you are going the new computer route and you're not an expert, I recommend getting help. Will and I work with Cody Anderson of Evernerable Group; he's the best techie either of us has worked with in our aggregated 75 years of computer experience.
My new computer waited almost a week until the appointed day to make the switch. My luck, it was the day we got two feet of snow! But the job got done. By the way, be sure you have a thumb drive on hand. You'll need that to move files from the old computer to the new one. Don't ask me more. It's out of my area of expertise.
So now all I need is a little portable computer for the road--to take notes on and check e-mail and the Internet when I'm far from home. But in the meantime, you'll find me right here with my two screens, (see April issue) banging out words on my ergonomic keyboard.
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| Web Tips |
 TMI--too much information. It's what we say when our kids give us more detail than we want about a socially inappropriate topic, and it's what we often wish we could say at meetings. But when it comes to including information about Web links, there's no such thing as too much information.
If you want someone to go to a specific page on your Web site, send them directly to the page, not to the home page with a set of instructions on how to navigate to the proper place. Include the entire link so your recipient is just one click away from their destination. When in doubt, test to be sure it works. If you make it difficult, they won't bother.
Likewise, when you suggest an online discussion group or an interactive Web site, let your reader know exactly what they need to do to access the space you're recommending. And warn them if there's something they need to join first.
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And Finally . . .
Shawenon Communications collaborates with small businesses, solopreneurs, professionals and not-for-profits to get their message across in the written word.
We specialize in electronic communications including e-zines and other forms of e-mail marketing and Web site content. We also ghostwrite articles and other business communications. As a business partner, we offer Constant Contact's e-mail marketing service.
Thanks for reading. If you liked this issue, please click on the Forward email button below to share this newsletter with others.
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www.shawenon.com
Sincerely,
Susanna Opper
Shawenon Communications
413-528-6494
Copyright © 2007 Shawenon Communications.
All rights reserved. |
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Pioneer Valley Intro
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We've long promised to do one of our informative, enjoyable intros closer to
I-91. It will be Monday, June 4 at 10 AM. Location to be determined, but will likely be in Easthampton.
Reservations are essential.
If you'd like a session closer to you, just drop us a line.
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