Chances are—like many of us—you’ve spent some time looking back on the past year.
You’ve been reflecting on what worked and what didn’t when it comes marketing and growing your business or organization.
At this point you’re probably putting the final touches on your plans for at least the first few months of 2013.
With your goals in hand you’ll start to chart the course
You’ll know where you’re heading so you can measure your overall success and be able to celebrate the mini-victories along each step of the journey.
It’s my hope that we here at Constant Contact can help you achieve those goals you’ve set for 2013. You can bet that email marketing and social media marketing are going to be a huge part of the equation.
And even though you may be dreading another year of new social networks, seemingly endless and many times frustrating changes, and feeling like you haven’t enough time to do what really needs to be done—here’s the thing…
You don’t need to go through it alone
Whether you’re new to marketing and are in the early stages of collecting email addresses, attracting new fans, and building a presence for your business online. Or if you’ve been frustrated with your marketing results in the past and are coming into 2013 with a fresh perspective on how you want to grow your business in the New Year—we’re here to help.
The important thing to remember in all of this is that the relationships you build are going to be the driving force behind any of the tools you decide to use. The more engaged you can keep your contacts across all your networks the more likely you are to see the results you want.
With that in mind we’re going to start the year by getting back to basics—ideas, strategies, and tactics—that will set you up for success regardless of the tools you use. Keep an eye on this blog in the coming days.
Our mission is to help you better market your business or organization so you can get to where you want to be.
So—how can we help you most?
I hope you’ll share what would make 2013 a successful year for you in the comments below. And I hope you’ll tell us how we can make this blog a more valuable resource for you.
We’re here to help make 2013 the year you achieve your goals and exceed all expectations!
What’s frustrating you most as you start 2013? Are you unsure how to implement what you’ve been learning? Are you stuck on a particular concept and want to move forward? Was your progress in 2012 less than you expected but you’re determined to get better results in 2013? Let us know in the comments below!
My goal is for VRI to have an effective presence on all social media platforms. The Facebook webinars have been fantastic and after implementing what I learned my posts have reached and attracted a lot more ‘fans’. I need assistance with blogging and implementing an approach to effectively use the other social media platforms, especially Twitter. Thank you so much for this blog it is fantastic!!
Thanks for the comment Marcia. So glad the Facebook Webinars have been helpful.
We’ll be planning some more posts to cover those areas you mention. Are there any specific questions you have around either of those topics?
D.
Marcia, here’s some Twitter info for you: http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/social-media-marketing/effectively-use-twitter/
Let us know if it’s helpful.
D.
Can’t wait to start my goals!
Entering the new forntier of Social Business. Need some assistance from you guys getting started.
Congrats Tim. You’re in for a wild ride. But it’ll all be worth it.
Anything specific you’re looking for to get started with?
Would be great if CC’s ‘Simple Share’ for Social Media would expand to enable posting to our company’s page on LinkedIn. We’re B2B, so that’s where our followers find us. Thanks!
I second Gina Haines’ request for Simple Share to include LinkedIn.
Thanks for the feedback. I’ll pass this along to the appropriate team.
We want to reach out to people on the go. We are trying the Join My List QR code in our next print ad and will put it on package stuffers also. Any other ideas as to how an internet business can make use of it? Thanks for the code…
Barb, would love to hear how it goes. Be sure to let us know. In the meantime we’ll work on putting together some tips for you.
I really want to start a monthly email letter but am having a hard time getting starting and knowing what kind of content to use. Once started I should be fine but its just getting started. I ‘ve looking forward to doing this for almost a year now and keep putting it off, but it’s a new year and I want a new start.
I agree with Bonnie. I have been wanting to do a newsletter or blog but am having a hard time just getting started. I know once I do my first one I should be fine but the starting is the difficult part. I started a “consulting business-medical-legal consulting business” I am an RN and I know there is so much about healthcare I can talk about but how do I get the right thing and how long should it be? I know probably stupid question but never hurts to ask. Thanks
Hi both,
Content is always the hardest part to come up with when you’re making an email newsletter – try taking a look at some of these posts, they can help:
http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/email-marketing/create-engaging-email-content/
http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/social-media-marketing/how-to-curate-content-in-30-seconds-or-less/
http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/email-marketing/how-to-build-content-email/
Hope that helps!
You both may also be interested in our free Email Marketing: Getting to Send webinar. Details here: http://www.constantcontact.com/learning-center/webinars/live/details/Email-Marketing-Getting-To-Send.jsp
I love getting organized at the start of each year (although as a part of an educational institution, my year starts in September!). I appreciate how much easier it is to organize my emails with your new “filing system”. Could you now take it one or two steps further and give us a filing system for photos that we’ve uploaded and another for the documents we’ve uploaded?
Thanks for the feedback Cynthia. I’ll forward that along to the prodcut team.
I’m interested in learning how to be effective on Twitter. With such a short character post how do you grab their attention? I’d also like some specific campaign ideas to try, with step by step instructions. Such as contests or other motivating marketing ideas.
Great Dohna, you may want to check out out Twitter for Small Business webinar. Details here: http://www.constantcontact.com/learning-center/webinars/recorded/details/twitter-for-small-business.jsp
Also you may find this post helpful: http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/social-media-marketing/the-first-10-things-to-do-when-getting-started-on-twitter/
We’ll be working on some other Twitter resources soon as well.
My goal this year is to gain a better understanding of the days and time to send out emails for the best open and click-through rate.
Hi Cherissa,
Great goal! We’ve covered some of those topics here:
http://blogs.constantcontact.com/fresh-insights/best-time-to-send-emails/
Our business is seasonal. I was added last January to assist with organization, marketing and expansion. However, this company was already expanding. It could not go any farther with the current structure and personnel. You know, there are only so many bricks a brick layer can lay.
I did some marketing using Constant Contact only in the first half of the year and it did help. We had our best year yet in 2012.
For 2012, we need to add some key personnel, open up a few more markets and I am looking at some social networking with LinkedIn. I have some familiarity with this, but will look for some additional training in this area. We are still in the process of laying out plans and programs for 2013, so this SN avenue with LinkedIn is not fully confirmed at this point.
LinkedIn may even be the place you end up finding the personal you’re looking for. Here’s a quick guide for LinkedIn: http://img.constantcontact.com/docs/pdf/11-212-LinkedIn-Guide-Newbies.pdf
Let us know if you specific questions.
What can we do to increase the rate of opens on our e-mail marketing. Right now it is 20%.
Janet, 20% is what we’d classify as good. I know, you want great.
One simple way to increase is by segmenting your contact list. Do you do this already?
Some other resources re: open-rates: http://www.constantcontact.com/learning-center/hints-tips/em/open/rates.jsp
Getting ready to start Constant Contact and signed up for the E-mail marketing class. I am looking at starting the trial to be ready for the class and wonder if the survey and the polling features are part of the subscription or separate..
Thanks David. Hope you enjoy the email marketing class. Online survey and polling feature are a separate service. You can find out more here: http://www.constantcontact.com/online-surveys/pricing/index.jsp
I work on a mac, and love it(was a graphic designer in the past) I joined constant contact over a year ago and absolutely dread doing email newsletters. I can never get the templates to do what they are supposed to. Even called for tech support and been told that it was a bug in the template pick something else – this was after working 2 hours to get to this point. I am not technically stupid, but I read the comments of how wonderful this is and I must be missing something. I am getting ready to put more money towards it for the new year, but it is not something I enjoy doing and feel I must. What am I missing?
Hi Meri,
We have a bunch of new templates you may want to check out to see if any suit your needs better. You may also think about something really simple so you don’t have to spend a lot of time on it. The image of the art and crafts on your website look fantastic. Perhaps doing something similar to this photographer may work well for you: http://www.engagementmarketing.com/success-stories/email-design-tips/
So is this something we need to call and get individual help on? Is it included with membership or additional charge to talk one on one with somebody about our business plan for this year? I didn’t think CC offered a service like this but if you do we’d love to take advantage of it!
Hi Maril,
We have a bunch of free marketing resources and the blog is just one of them. If you have specific questions ask away, we’ll do our best to get answers to help you.
The Facebook webinar sounds helpful! How often do you do those? A Twitter webinar would be great, too. Something else I need to learn is how to build a following on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve got the pages and I post, but how do I get people to look for us?
Thanks Jennifer. We’ll definitely put together some info re: building a following on Facebook and Twitter. First steps would be to send a message to your email contact list letting them know they can connect with you in those places.
Here are some basic tips for you as well:
Twitter: http://www.socialquickstarter.com/content/51-increase_your_twitter_following
Facebook: http://www.socialquickstarter.com/content/45-six_ways_to_promote_your_page
Hi I tried to sign up last year for free trial and picked more than 100 friends right off the bat. Would love to try, try again, since my business is growing and I am ready to branch out from Facebook!
That’s great Kristin. Which product did you trial? Email Marketing?
Email is huge since it’s a list of contacts that you own and control. You’ll find yourself using to promote your social channels and other campaigns as well. It’s also nice to know that since you own your email contacts you won’t be beholden to the constant changes that limit your reach on social networks.
I have been trying for three years to get the nonprofit to afford me the time needed to segment my market and send targeted emails. I just to the board that until they do that, I will be stuck at the industry average open rate for nonprofits. I think I could grow our list AND increase revenue in the coming year if I could send targeted emails, but my time simply won’t allow it. Any ideas to help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank Carole. You’re right. Segmenting your list can really help. We’ll work on creating some quick ideas for you. In the meantime, you can take a look at these resources: http://www.constantcontact.com/learning-center/hints-tips/em/segmenting.jsp
I had the opportunity to utilize Constant Contact in 2008-2010 in the Orlando area with a gentleman business and I was his assistant and it was helpful for him.
I am now in a different city starting my own little business venture and I am in the “collecting contact information, email addresses,phone numbers,etc.” stage. I will be using Constant Contact in the near future as I think it will benefit me greatly. Thank You
Thanks Tammy. Please keep up informed on your success and if you have questions along the way.
I also was able to print out a user friendly handbook. Tells you how to do what you need to do. I don’t recall how I obtained it but it is definitly coming out of my file cabinet after posting this. Thank You
I wish there was a simplier way to understand all that Constant Contact has to offer. It is overwhelming for someone not very tech savvy. I have been using Constant Contact for 3 years and taken a class. I spend too much time trying to figure things out and end up quitting because I get frustrated.
Fair enough Rebecca. if you have specific questions we can point you in the right direction. And don’t forget you can always call to a coach to walk you through whatever you’re trying to accomplish.
I need to have fresh templates to use when sending newsletters and email out through CC.
I noticed the email that you sent us that drove us to this comment page is usuing a tpyical CC template. It is really easy to see a CC template now from a glance, and as you know you have tons of clients using these same templates.
We really need clever and unique templates that allow us to stand above the rest of the e-mail marketing programs, please?
Thanks Kris. You can find a bunch of new templates in the template picker. You can also see some examples here in this Facebook album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151243932000977.511387.24860070976&type=3
My wife and I are Missionaries in Costa Rica and have been using CC for a couple
of years now. We need to increase our open rate and increase our exposure.
Hi John,
Here are some tips to get you started: http://www.constantcontact.com/learning-center/hints-tips/ht-2009-06b.jsp
We just started sending enewsletters (on a quarterly basis) to our database of clients and prospects who are trial lawyers and very busy and not at all tech savy. We got a 9% open rate – this with people who know us. I was looking for a 15% rate. I’ve gone over the stats but feel I’m missing information that could help me boost open and click through numbers. Any ideas on how to get the most out of my stats so as to improve stats on the next one?
Great question Christine! Here’s an on-demnad webinar you may find useful: http://www.constantcontact.com/learning-center/webinars/recorded/details/Using-Your-Constant-Contact-Reports.jsp
Also, you may want to think about a more frequent sending schedule. With a quarterly send it’s possible your subscribers could forget about why they’re recieving the email and not bother to open it.
In business for over fifteen years but have hit a roadblock trying to obtain local government
contracts. Would like to get up to date on computer tech ways to contact new business. HELP!
I wish you guys also had sales tracking. Now I export my CC lists and then upload into another program to track leads. I’d much rather do it all in one place and coordinate with my event and email marketing!
Would love it if you guys helped us work with Groupon by being the way to determine if clients in our contact lists are used to reference to if people are eligible for New People Only deals.
We don’t send marketing email to customers every month. How can I pause my ConstantContact account for a few months, rather than being charged every month no matter we use ConstantContact service or not? I think it’s not fair if customers are charged monthly no matter they use your service or not, once they sign up. I tried to email you guys everyday, but I haven’t heard any feedback. As I’m in Australia (different time zone), I’m not able to call you during your working time.
Hi Lyn,
I’ll have someone contact you directly about this.
Thanks!