Words That Work

One of the most critical aspects of any marketing material is the words.

Unfortunately, advertising copy is all to often an annoying afterthought that gets cranked out at the 11^th hour.

Below I give a few tips on ensuring your ads, websites, flyers, etc. have effective copy. But first, a bit of background...

As website designers, one of the most frustrating things is when we work together with the client to come up with a brilliant site, only to see the site get filled with ineffective text. (This, of course, was the genesis of our website copywriting products).

A recent example of text we wrote for a customer is "Toowoomba's best kept dining secret."

We were designing new signage for a Toowoomba restaurant and convinced the business owner to allow us to stray from the traditional "Business Name, Phone Number, Opening Hours" sign to having "Toowoomba's best kept dining secret" in big maroon letters.

The response has been beyond imaginable. By chance, my partner and I were having dinner there the first weekend after the signs were put up and it was packed. We wrote this off to it being a long weekend, but asked the business owner to quizz people "where did you hear of our restaurant" when they came in.

The increased volume at the restaurant has been sustained, and the impromptu survey confirms that the signage is the source.

Out of curiosity, if you have seen these signs, put a comment on this article. Did you know of the restaurant beforehand? Have you gone there since seeing the signs?

Tips for effective copy

1. Keep it short and sweet -- less is more.
2. Include a benefit of one of your points of difference and a call to action -- why are you better, and what do you want me to do about it?
3. Focus on one point per marketing piece.
4. Use color, font,     spacing    , bold, italics, etc. to control the reader's focus.
5. Choose synonyms wisely -- which do you support, the proposed "huge mining profits tax" or the proposed "resource tax restructuring?" Two different news publications referred to the same taxation changes in these two ways.
6. Always triple-check spelling, grammar, and make sure web links work.

A great book on the subject is Dr. Frank Luntz's book titled Words That Work: It's Not What You Say That Matters, It's What People Hear.

Of course if you want really great copy, you should contact 1300 Web Pro where we have a university trained copywriter on staff to help.

James Deck
1300 Web Pro
Web: www.1300webpro.com.au
Facebook: facebook.com/1300webpro

See how easily video can "punch up" a website

1300 Web Pro recently had the opportunity to work with Toowoomba Financial Centre to redesign their site.

At our initial consultation, we suggested integrating video into their site to help make the website a bit more interactive. Chris and Dennis from TFC agreed, and we got the opportunity to work with our friends at Evolution Studios to produced a really great website.

This week I thought I would do a quick "video blog" to share our experience with Toowoomba Financial Centre with you.

Please click here to have a look at Toowoomba Financial Centre's new website and leave a comment below with your thoughts!

James Deck
1300 Web Pro
Web: www.1300webpro.com.au
Twitter: @1300WebPro

How to be told when your business is mentioned on the Web

Once per week, Google sends me two e-mails. The first lets me know what people are saying about "1300 Web Pro" and the other tells me what "toowoomba web design" websites have popped up lately.

Google sends these two e-mails free of charge. This service is called "Google Alerts."

From the horse's mouth, "Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic." In other words, they are e-mails that contain the new search results for a given phrase you would type into Google.

When I get the Google Alert for "1300 Web Pro" each week, it does not send me the roughly 70,000 results you get when searching for "1300 Web Pro." I usually get two or three listings, perhaps our updated blog or Facebook page, or where a customer has mentioned us.

Google.com.au Search Results for "1300 Web Pro":

Example of Google Alert for "1300 Web Pro":

One single relevant result for the week!

Several uses for Google Alerts include:

1. Making sure no one is using a trademark you own
2. Keeping an eye out for new competition
3. Identifying when people have said nice things about your business, so you can respond and say "thank you"
4. Identifying when people have complained about your business, so you can hopefully resolve the issue and get rid of the bad word of mouth
5. Spotting when your business, industry, or competition are mentioned in the media.
6. Finding relevant news and blog articles to forward to your customers and prospects.

Needless to say, #3 and #4 can really make your business look like customer-service superstars!

On a personal front, you may find Google Alerts handy to keep an eye on your favorite sports team, celebrity, or musicians.

Setting up Google Alerts takes literally less than five minutes. Simple go to:

http://www.google.com.au/alerts

And fill out the form:

You can elect to receive updates daily, weekly, or "as-it-happens." If you enclose your search term in quotation marks (""), Google will look for an exact match of the multiple words which is handy when you are looking for your own business name.

If you have any outside-the-box uses for Google Alerts, please consider sharing them in the comments section of this blog post. Likewise, if you try and set them up and run into problems, leave a comment and one of us at 1300 Web Pro will try and give you a quick hand.

James Deck
1300 Web Pro
Web: www.1300webpro.com.au
Facebook: facebook.com/1300WebPro

Nothing sells like a Slogan.

Logo design and branding are lesser-known parts of what we do at 1300 Web Pro. We regularly design logos, and help form brands for both startups and established businesses. One part of the process that clients often treat as an afterthought, much to my chagrin, is the slogan.

This is potentially a great loss, because the slogan (or tagline, or memory hook, or motto, or catchphrase, or whatever) is generally a brand’s time to shine.

A business’ name and logo are often simply ways for clients and prospects to identify the business. This is certainly important to the business, in the same way that the word “James” is important to differentiate me from most other humans.

However, the word “James” doesn’t tell you anything about who I am or what makes me unique. Likewise, a logo or business name often doesn’t tell a consumer much about what makes the business special and unique.

Even in the best case scenario, a name will generally still only give a trivial piece of information, like “James is a boy” or “Great Wall Motor’s sells Chinese cars.”

A slogan, on the other hand, is a business’ opportunity to sum up their all-important "Unique Selling Proposition" or "Point of Difference" right off the bat.

The starting point to a creating a great slogan can simply be the answer to the question… “Why should I deal with you?”


A few examples… 
Dick Smith Electronics – Okay so you’re like Harvey Norman or The Good Guys?
Talk to the Techxperts – Ohhh! Your staff are experts in technology, not just regular old electronics salespeople.

Qantas – Um, isn’t there supposed to be a “u” after the “q”?
Spirit of Australia – Ohhh! If I fly on you I’ll be with a bunch of fellow Aussie’s, the pilot will speak English, you’ll serve Bundy, and I won’t have a 3AM stop over in Tai Pei.

Chartered Accountants – A band of accountants.
Number 1 in Numbers. – Ohhh! So a chartered accountant is better with numbers than a regular accountant. That sounds beneficial…

Federal Express – I think they move stuff around the country.
When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight. – Ohhh! You mean they do overnight deliveries that actually get there the next day?

US Army – Why would I want to get shot at?
Be all you can be. – Ohhh! I’m not really reaching my full potential until I’ve risked life and limb to defend my country.

1300 Web Pro – You’re phone number is 1300 932 776, and you do websites.
Websites that mean business. – Ohhh! A website from you guys will sell more widgets, make my phone ring, find me staff, and show up at the top of Google.

Last but not least, I give top honors to this bus advertisement I recently saw in Auckland:

Monthly Meter Reads – You read monthly, my electricity company averages… it’ll all come out in the wash.
We charge you for what you actually use. Precisely. – Shock! Horror! I am paying for more electricity that I actually use? All because my electricity company is lazy? The mongrels!


Summary

Every business should have a slogan. That slogan must drive home the business’ unique point of difference. The slogan must define that single most important benefit a customer will get from picking you.

Does your business have a slogan? If not, slot in half an hour with the team and start batting ideas around. As long as you stay focused on that all-important unique point of difference you can’t go wrong.


Want more? Check out this article, "Slogans That Are the Real Thing," at BusinessWeek.

What are some of your favorite slogans? What slogans leave you wondering: “Huh?” Join me in the comments section and share your slogan thoughts.

James Deck
1300 Web Pro
Web: www.1300webpro.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/1300WebPro
Twitter: @1300WebPro

7-Step 2010 Business Kickstart

Welcome to the start of another calendar year. At 1300 Web Pro we’ve psyched ourselves up for another big year. Hopefully you and your team have also come back refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to power through this post-recession year.

In today’s article we’re going to settle back in with a quick list of seven things you can do to give your business a kickstart for 2010.

These are all things that real life 1300 Web Pro clients are doing right now and should each take no more than a few hours (in some cases only a few minutes).

1. Do a mail out
2. Clear excess stock
3. Create a 1-page Internet marketing plan
4. Review your signage
5. Get an IT health check
6. Chase old accounts receivables
7. Review your loyalty program

Do a mail out

Old-fashioned snail mail remains one of the most effective marketing tools out there. It is targeted, affordable, and the results come quickly.

Direct mail campaigns are one of the many non-web things that 1300 Web Pro offers our clients. We can design flyers, arrange printing, arrange mailing lists, and even get the letters stuffed and sent. We did a flyer and magnet campaign to 2500 local businesses last year for a new business, and their phone has literally been ringing off the hook.

Stay tuned next week for a detailed article on running an effective direct mail campaign…

Clear excess stock

If your business has obsolete models, scratch and dents, or simply too many of something, get rid of it!

Clearing excess stock will free up cash that can be used for marketing campaigns or buying new stock.

Create a 1-page Internet marketing plan

Like it or not, the Internet is going to continue to play a bigger role in business and consumer purchasing decisions in 2010. It’s no longer enough just to create a static website and leave it to gather dust for several years.

Sit down with your team, and create a simple, 1-page Internet marketing plan. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just make sure you’re covering all your bases.

Here are a few headings to get you started. If you don’t know what some of the headings are all about, call us on 1300 932 776 and we’ll give you a quick heads up.

• Company website
• Company blog
• Facebook Fan page
• Twitter updates
• E-mail broadcasting

Review your signage

Is the signage outside your building and on your company vehicles exciting, engaging, and informative? Do you have blank spaces that would be better used with a bit of additional signage?

Particularly if there is a bit of traffic outside your business, or if your vehicles spend a bit of time on the road, this is always an easy way to make your brand more noticeable.

1300 Web Pro can help design signage for your business. If you’ve driven past our premises on Mylne St and noticed our signage, you’ve seen what we do.

There are many great signwriters in Toowoomba, and with digital printing, one-off signs are more affordable than ever.

Get an IT health check

Slow, grumpy computers make for slow, grumpy staff.

If you don’t have a proactive arrangement with your IT provider, your business is likely suffering from unnecessary overheads.

Now is also a good time to review your backup arrangements, and make sure that business data is safe. With prices dropping in hard disks, backup software, and offsite backup systems, you may be able to get greater piece of mind without spending too much money.

Chase old accounts receivables

Just like clearing excess stock, debtor lists can be a source of extra cash. It’s time to get on the phone and get outstanding accounts sorted out.

Advance Debt Recovery is a new Toowoomba business, and a 1300 Web Pro customer. For those tricky customers who simply won’t pay, it might be worth giving them a ring. They are professional, courteous, and fully licensed.

Review your loyalty program

Customers and friends of 1300 Web Pro are familiar with our Birthday and Anniversary Club. We send out Intersection Restaurant gift vouchers to club members on their birthdays, their partners’ birthdays, and their anniversaries.

Make sure you have some sort of program in place to say “thanks” to your loyal customers, and to keep in touch with them so they remember to stop by.

As always, I welcome and appreciate your feedback. Please visit our 1300 Web Pro blog and share your 2010 Kickstart ideas!

James Deck
1300 Web Pro
Web: www.1300webpro.com.au
Twitter: @1300WebPro

Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/stefantell

8 SEO Danger Signs

Attention all business owners:
Keep a link to this site and always refer back to it before employing an SEO consultant or web developer.

An entire industry of scam artists has cropped up and is preying on small business site owners: SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, “experts.”

I’m writing this article as one of our customers has recently fallen victim to one of these SEO “experts.” When he told me of this, I realized I did not fulfill my role of educating my valued clients and friends on the many myths and dangers of Search Engine Optimisation.

For that, I apologise. My penance shall be to share with all of you 8 SEO Danger Signs…


#1 - Guaranteed results
Any company that guarantees results is trying to trick you. Typical methods of this trickery include:

Setting up an AdWords campaign, where you -- not they -- pay Google to appear in the "Sponsored Links" that appear on a page.

Or they have some sort of criteria that they will meet but will not be of value to you. For example, I can guarantee that we will be #1 for www.1300webpro.com.au -- because Google will always put a URL (address) as an exact match first. Click here to see my example, or Google your own website URL.

So if someone says they guarantee results, ask them how while slowly backing away.

I may sound a bit forward on this point, but I feel safe doing so since Google themselves tell "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google."


#2 - We only do SEO
If the company only does SEO, and doesn't actually create websites, they are probably shady operators. Not definitely, but probabaly.

The reverse does not, however, apply. There are plenty of web development companies who employ shady, or "black hat", SEO techniques which will result in Google delisting sites.

In fact, I know of at least two Toowoomba web development companies that use "black hat" techniques. It is happening in your backyard!


#3 - Not answering the question "How do you do it?"
There are no "trade secrets" or "proprietary methods" in SEO. If a company chooses not to tell you how they intend to improve your site, then they are probably using methods that will result in your site getting delisted by Google in the long run.


#4 - Using any "tricks" to make Google see something different
Sadly, this is an example of what one of our customers was told to do, by an SEO "expert":

"He suggested that in the blank area on the sides of our site that we have our keywords listed in white so they wont be seen by visitors but Google will still pick up on them."

Google's job is to find sites that are relevant for a human being, so they take a very dim view of techniques like this which are aimed at providing different content to the search engine than a human would see.

And by "take a dim view" I mean they will go as far as removing sites all together from their indexes.


#5 - Not requiring access to edit the website's content
An SEO "expert" who does not intend on modifying your website's content is like a mechanic who says they don't need to physically have your car to fix it.


All legitimate SEO techniques require access to your site. The main one is "look at each page on your site and make sure you actually use the words that describe who you are, what you sell, and where you are." Also known as keywords. And don't overdo it so that it sounds like gibberish to humans!

To make sure that no underhanded content, methods, or links are employed, ask the SEO "expert" to give you the content to update and do it yourself. If you don't understand why you are doing something, walk away or seek a second opinion.


#6 - You'll get results in 24 hours
Going back to my mechanic example, I would not be satisfied if my mechanics, The Motor Shoppe (who are fantastic by the way), told me "Your car will run really well tomorrow."

It is easy, using underhanded "black hat" techniques (the ones Google hates and will penalise you for), to get a site bumped up for a short time.

What a site owner should really be interested in is long term results.


#7 - How is AdWords involved?
Often times, SEO "experts" are setting up Google AdWords campaigns on behalf of site owners. AdWords are the "Sponsored Links" that appear above and to the right of Google search results.

If an SEO "expert" is using AdWords as part of an SEO campaign, he or she should make it very clear that they are recommending AdWords, give you a choice as to whether or not to use it, discuss maximum budgets per click and per month, and implement tracking to see if it is worthwhile.

AdWords is the source of 95% of Google's $24 billion revenue, so there are certainly people that see value in it. However, it is something that your SEO "expert" should be educating about and guiding you with, rather than hiding from you.

On a similar note, if you have an AdWords campaign as part of an SEO campaign, be sure you are paying Google directly rather then the SEO "expert" who will simply be adding markup for doing nothing. Pay for the time they are helping and advising you.


#8 - What "linking" is involved?
If you are expected to link to random people, then walk -- nay -- run away.

Linking between websites is an important factor in Google's PageRank technology. Because of this, we should all link, but do it only to companies we know and trust. Remember, you are potentially losing traffic to a site when you link to it, and are effectively giving a word of mouth referral.

Link, but link carefully. 



Summing Up
Hopefully this list of SEO danger signs will prevent a few of our valued customers and friends from getting involved with shady SEO "experts" or web developers.


If anyone has any other experiences or danger signs to share, please share in the comments section. Please also share this article as you hear your clients, suppliers, and associates pondering the use of an SEO "expert."


Further Reading

• Google's warnings on SEO consultants
  
• 8 scams peddled by SEO consultants (not all the same as this article)
  

James Deck
1300 Web Pro
Web: www.1300webpro.com.au
Twitter: @1300WebPro

Quick introduction to Salesforce.com

A customer wanted to know a bit about Salesforce.com CRM, which we use at 1300 Web Pro. I wrote the following reply to him, and thought I would post it on our blog in case it is of use to anyone else...

Salesforce.com is an American, publically listed company and is part of the S&P 500. In other words, it isn’t going anywhere. Their flagstone product is the Software as a Service (meaning hosted by them and charged by the month) CRM product.

A few qualifying points before deciding to use Salesforce.com CRM:

• If you already have a CRM system in place, consider carefully switching. A lot of historical data cannot be transferred (or can be difficult and time-consuming to do). 
• If you have more than 5 users, the price goes up substantially. I am looking at switching to an Open Source web-based system (either vTiger or SugarCRM) as we are going to hit that 5 user point soon. The main downside of these other systems being you have to host and support them yourself. I'm not saying it is not worth the money after 5 users... just putting all the cards on the table.
• Being web-based, you need a fairly reliable and quick Internet connection. We have ADSL2+ at the office which is sufficient.

Access to Salesforce CRM is entirely web based, with the exception of an Outlook Sync plugin and a Microsoft Word mail merge template plugin.

Using it is fairly self explanatory. The main types of records are:

• Leads — People you are hoping to win business from. Our website consultants enter people they meet at networking events, people who ring in, etc. as leads. Any forms submitted through our website also go directly into Salesforce as a lead. 
• Accounts — A business that you have a relationship (ie. Supplier or customer). When you sell something to a “lead” you convert the business to an account. 
• Contacts — People associated with an account. Each contact must have one (and only one) account. For example, you might have 1300 Web Pro as an account with two associated contacts, Nury and Monita.

The Outlook sync plugin allows you to push the contacts to Outlook (and in our case this in turns pushes them to our iPhones). I find this useful, especially since it pushes the entire company’s contacts, not just yours (optionally). This way, if Monita adds “Brad Ison” from Instyle Homes and Loans it will appear in my iPhone next time I sync Outlook!

There is a fairly powerful reporting engine. There are a number of built in reports, or you can build your own. I generally build my own. The process of building a report is straightforward. You select the type of record you want to report on (eg. Leads), the columns you want in the report, and limiting criteria (eg. Created in Dec. 2009) and away you go. You can view the report online or export to Excel.

There is also a very good mail merging system for both Microsoft Word and e-mail. To use the Word system, you install the Salesforce.com Word plugin which will provide you with access to mail merge fields (note: these are not the same as the Microsoft Word merge fields). You then save the Word document and upload it to Salesforce. From there you can run the merge from any record. E-mail merging words similarly, except you just build the template within Salesforce. Because e-mails are sent directly from Salesforce, they don’t appear in your Outlook sent items.

There is a calendar and to do list for each user, cross-referenced with leads, accounts, and contacts. We don’t use this as extensively as we could. I believe this integrates to Outlook using the sync plugin.

My suggestion would be to create an account using the 30 day free trial link that Salesforce always seem to have.

I have a copy of Salesforce.com for Dummies, 3rd Edition. It gives a good overview of things.

James Deck
1300 Web Pro
Web: www.1300webpro.com.au
Twitter: @1300WebPro

Cooperative marketing will increase sales, instantly!

Cooperative marketing is a surefire way to drum up additional business. Simply put, cooperative marketing is when businesses with a common theme cooperate to market each other’s goods and services.

For example, an electrical contractor may join forces with a plumbing contractor and produce fridge magnets bearing both business names and contact details, and leave one of these co-branded magnets at each job either business goes to.

Another example is when you visit a hotel to find menus and advertisements of local restaurants in the compendium.

The Trust Factor

One of the key reasons that cooperative marketing works is due to the “trust factor.” Each business is putting its reputation in the hands of the other businesses within the marketing cooperative, at least to some extent.

If you had the electricians from the above example come and fix a fault, and they were on time, courteous, and cleaned up, you would naturally assume the plumbers on the shared magnet would demonstrate the same behaviors.

Another example of the trust factor playing a role is in direct mail campaigns. A cold postal mail out, perhaps without even the recipient’s name, will have a much lower success rate then a mail out to a cooperator’s database bearing their logo and a personal introduction.

Everybody Play Nice

Naturally, the flip side of the trust equation is that if a cooperator does the wrong thing, it can reflect poorly on all the members of the marketing cooperative. Be sure to pick your friends wisely, and more importantly, clearly define the relationship and agree on ground rules.

These ground rules may include determinations on:

1. Cases where members offer a common product or service
2. What to do when a dispute or complaint arises
3. How hard a sell should be
4. How costs associated with any printing, postage, promotional items, etc. will be split
5. Who is responsible for content, artwork, etc. and what the approval process is before distributing

A Match Made in Heaven

For obvious reasons, businesses whose products and services overlap may not make the best bedfellows. Where products and services do overlap, ideally the businesses should be targeting different markets, for example geographically, price-wise, or business sized in a B2B situation.

The best outcomes however, occur when business owners start to think laterally about whom they could partner up with.

Here are a number of potential common denominators that could yield a good marketing cooperative, with examples:

1. Physical location – the La Porcetta in Cairns is next door to the cinema, so they offer a “Dinner and a Movie” package deal.
2. Income bracket – a luxury car dealership could partner with a high-end jeweller.
3. Point of difference – an after hours medical centre and late night pharmacy can direct patients to one another.
4. Complimentary services – at 1300 Web Pro, we work with Shayne and the guys from Evolution Studios to get high quality video on customers’ websites.
5. Age bracket – a day care might share their database with a children’s clothing store.
6. Unique type of customer – a vet surgery might partner with a pet food store, or a gym might partner with a health food store.

Another way to think laterally about potential matching cooperators is to think about your typical customer and their buying habits.

In the end, you need to find a business that doesn’t necessarily sell the same thing as you, but does sell to the same group of people!

Ok, Now What?

After finding a good partner, or group of partners, to launch a cooperative marketing campaign, you simply need to come up with the campaign itself. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking in the right direction:

1. Shared mail piece to the collective database (flyer, magnet, whatever)
2. Common loyalty program (how many ways can you collect Qantas points or Woolworth’s discount vouchers these days?)
3. Invoice footers or bag stuffers (include a plug for your partner business on the bottom of your invoice, or as a flyer in the customer’s shopping bag, and vice versa)
4. Running a joint fundraiser for a community group
5. Offering discounts to one another’s customers
6. Offering first dibs on hard to get items (luxury brands frequently arrange early access to theatre tickets and sporting events)

Wrap Up

Only a few weeks left before Christmas, which happen to be some of the highest grossing weeks for retail businesses annually. Have a quick brainstorming session in the office and think of two or three businesses that could participate in a cooperative marketing campaign to ensure you are maximising those holiday sales.

Has cooperative marketing worked for your business in the past? Please comment and share your experiences.

We had great feedback last week; thanks to John Gray from John Gray Marketing, Chris Thomas from Dream Machine, and Dave Granfield from Star Gardentown Café for your input. Click here to see what they had to say.

James Deck
1300 Web Pro
Web: www.1300webpro.com.au
Twitter: @1300WebPro

Image credit: lumaxart at flickr

What's your opinion on Virgin Blue's mass e-mail stuff up?

As more and more businesses use mass e-mail as a marketing tool, we are seeing more and more stuff ups which put a serious dent in the sender’s credibility.

For example, about one year ago, a local law firm sent me a bulk e-mail with every one of their contacts visible in the “cc” field. To make matters worse, the recipients were identified by their relationship to the law firm, as in “Client – James Deck.”

Virgin Blue committed a major snafu last Friday. They sent an e-mail to a large number of their customers saying that because they were so close to reaching the airlines “Gold” status, they have been given a complimentary upgrade to “Gold.”

Hours later, Virgin Blue sent a second e-mail retracting the original e-mail, blaming Friday the 13th. While the e-mail offered the apologies of Virgin Blue, there was no further compensation.

All weekend, writers for new sites, blog sites, and Twitter have been afire with posts ranging from humorous to downright angry.

Yesterday at technology news site Gizmodo, Nick Broughall admits he is “unsure whether or not [to] be bemused or outraged at the mixup,” and asks readers “to suggest an emotion” for him to take towards the incident.


This week I would like to know:

What's your opinion on how Virgin Blue should have handled their huge mass e-mail stuff up?

Do you think they should have honored the offer? Do you think that customers should forgive them, because “everyone makes mistakes?”

Please visit the comments section on this blog post to share your opinion, and read what others have to say.


How do we prevent embarrassing mass email sins in our business?

Every week I receive e-mail newsletters that clearly originated in Microsoft Outlook. Indeed, the law firm mentioned at the beginning of this article used Outlook.

Using Outlook has several major drawbacks. The two biggest are:

1) The likelihood that you or your staff will eventually inadvertently cc: your mailing list instead of bcc:
2) In Australia there is anti-spam law that legally requires things like “double opt-in” and easy methods of unsubscribing. Outlook may not satisfy the anti-spam regulations.


The solution is very simple, and in many cases, free for small businesses!

There are a number of mass email providers that allow you to lodge your emails via a website, providing features like list management (covering all the anti-spam requirements), detailed statistics, sign up forms for your website, and send scheduling.

At 1300 Web Pro, we use Mailchimp. Mailchimp is free for databases of up to 500 subscribers. It is a very powerful platform and very easy to use. We have recommended it to other businesses, such as Star Gardentown Café, who also have great things to say about it now.


Wrap Up

I look forward to reading the responses to my question – what would you do if you were the Virgin Blue CEO? Remember to visit the comment section and share your opinion.

If you send mass e-mail to your customers, please consider using a tool like Mailchimp.

If you don’t send mass e-mail to your customers, it might be a good thing to start thinking about…

James Deck
1300 Web Pro
Web: http://www.1300webpro.com.au/
Twitter: @1300WebPro

Image credit: Nick Broughall's article at Gizmodo

Here’s a quick way to protect your organisation’s name online

“Cybersquatting” is a term that is used in the Internet world to describe one party registering another party’s name without permission, specifically to prevent the rightful owner from registering it.

There are several different types of cybersquatting. One of the most popular is domain squatting. This deals specifically with domain names (web addresses) ending in .com, .com.au, etc.

In the last few years, as sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, (collectively referred to as “Social Networking” sites) have gained notoriety, cybersquatting has spread to these mediums.

Companies such as Telstra, Jetstar, Dominos, and iiNet are actively engaging with their customers through Twitter. While we won’t be able to determine the true long term traction or adoption for at least another 12 months, it is very important to register a business or organisation’s name now to avoid being cybersquatted.

Below are the places every business owner, school principal, and non-profit coordinator needs to visit to register their names, along with the cost of doing so. Note, it is not necessarily to start using the names immediately, so don’t let the technology scare you. For those who are interested in actually using these tools, stay tuned to future posts on the issue.

.com Domain Names
Cost: $20 per year
To check availability: Visit our parent company, NGE
To register: Ring us on 1300 932 776 or e-mail me

.com.au Domain Names
Cost: $60 per 2 years
To check availability: Visit our parent company, NGE
To register: Ring us on 1300 932 776 or e-mail me

Twitter
Cost: FREE
To check availability and register: http://twitter.com/signup

Facebook “Fan” Page
Cost: FREE
To check availability and register: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

Google Local Business Centre
Cost: FREE
To claim your listing: http://www.google.com/local/add

YouTube
Cost: FREE
To check availability and register: http://www.youtube.com/create_account

With .com and .com.au domain names, at 1300 Web Pro we always recommend purchasing both where possible. If you only own one or the other, please be sure to check and see if the other is available and register it before your competition does.

If any of my Internet savvy readers have other registrations they see critical to protect oneself from cybersquatting, please post a comment with your suggestion.

But it all sounds so hard!

The above links are mostly free, and the signup processes are very straight forward, but if you still don’t have the time, inclination, or are a wee bit scared of the Internet, give us a ring at 1300 Web Pro on 1300 932 776 and ask us about giving you a hand.

For more information on cybersquatting, visit Wikipedia.

James Deck
1300 Web Pro
Web: www.1300webpro.com.au
Twitter: @1300WebPro