Are you ready to make the most of those business cards you have dutifully collected that are gathering dust in a shoe box? We’ve got some great suggestions for you. Email marketing is a fantastic way to reach out to people you have met.

1.  Follow up! Once you receive the card, review it and decide if this is a person you want on your list. If it is, pick up the phone! It’s rare to receive a phone call these days and it really makes a difference.

2. People love to hear their name. So make sure your email marketing is set up to  address the recipients by first name.

3.  Use white space. It’s true that you have about seven seconds to capture your reader’s attention on a webpage. Considering how much email we all receive, it’s even less in email campaigns. Write clearly and concisely, and be sure not to fill up the page with too much information. The more white space you have the better your chances are that your message will be read.

4. Be careful of certain words that catch spam filters. Just because you are offering a gift doesn’t mean you should write the word “free” in all caps at the top of your email. We’ve seen it spelled F.REE, for example.  Eventually, spam filter will catch onto this, too, so be creative.

5. Finally,  use the reports from your current campaign to get the most out of your next campaign. We partner with Constant Contact and highly recommend them for their great reports. Our clients like knowing who clicked on what articles, what percentage forwarded them to colleagues, and so on.

There is more…so much more. Stay tuned!

Online social networking can be a great way to keep in touch with old friends. Sure, we all know that. In fact, thanks to Facebook, I recently introduced my husband and children to one of my closest friends in high school whom I had lost touch with nearly 20 years ago. It was an amazing experience!

Of course, we all want our time spent to pay off professionally, as well. The trick is to keep your profile professional. Your profile will get a lot more traffic than your own website! Yes, it can be tempting to post that photo with the lampshade on your head from last Saturday night, but who’s watching? It could be a current client, an interested prospect, or even a member of the media. Here are a few things to remember:

• Use a professional head shot

• Keep the photos clean and “appropriate”

• No personal “in-jokes”

• Remember that you may be just 1 degree away from your next big client. They may be seeing every status update you make. Use your status updates wisely and let them see what you are working on.

In general, our advice is to treat your online social networking profile as you would a bio in your local Business Times. If you are just getting started, have some questions, or simply don’t have the time to manage it all, contact us. We’re happy to schedule a 30 minute free consultation.