And the Winner Is…
Posted on | May 9, 2013 | No Comments
Your online sweepstakes is ready to roll. It’s well thought out, creatively planned and meticulously crafted. You are excited about the data you will capture and of course announcing who the winners are. But before you hit the send button you should take a few minutes to review “Is Your Contest Illegal? 33 Important Legal Considerations for Contests and Sweepstakes” published by Target Marketing. The article offers guidelines and insight into the compliance and legalese of administering online promotions. You should always be sure that the online marketing software you use is compliant with current industry promotional standards.
Creativity Soars! – Vote for The Ventura County Ninety-Nines!
Posted on | April 17, 2013 | No Comments
When we created the Ennect online marketing software, we had no idea all of the creative and impressive ways our clients would decide to use these products. We are always excited to see what our clients will come up with next.
One client in particular, The Ventura County Ninety-Nines, a local Southern California area chapter of The Ninety-Nines, Inc., a nonprofit organization of nearly 5,000 women pilots stands out for how they have used Ennect.
The Ninety-Nines have been creatively using Ennect Event for years to register their members for pilot proficiency classes, education seminars and special events. We are also honored that they trust Ennect in creating and hosting their member memorials, tributes and scholarship donation events. This organization is an integral part of their local community and selflessly give back by hosting an annual Girl Scouts in Aviation Day, providing speaker programs for the local aviation community and organizing a host of other aviation-related activities.
Ennect would like to recognize their efforts and encourage people to vote for them in the 2013 annual Lightspeed Aviation Foundation Pilot Choice Awards. As a finalist, The Ventura County Ninety-Nines have a chance at winning a $10,000 grant.
Vote for The Ventura County Ninety-Nines here – www.vote99s.com!
And, if you have an interesting way you’ve used Ennect, share what you have done so others can get ideas they can implement for their own promotions.
How Long Should an Online Survey Be?
Posted on | March 21, 2013 | No Comments
The name of the online survey game is information gathering. The vehicle used to gather that information is the well-written question and the trick to getting respondents to complete surveys is driving directly to the point. Survey creators walk a fine line; they need to gather as much complete and valuable data as possible without scaring off the respondent with miles of questions. Respondents shouldn’t feel as they have to go through something as complex as the U.S. Tax code to answer a simple question on whether or not they enjoyed a recent purchase.
Industry standards demonstrate that an increase in survey questions will result in less time spent thinking about and answering each question and will produce a higher abandonment rate. Ennect online marketing software recommends that a survey be on average about 10-questions. A good 10-question survey should take a respondent no longer than 5 minutes to properly complete.
So here are a few ideas on how to keep respondents interested and from abandoning ship:
- Honesty: Let them know how many questions and approximate completion time
- Simplify: Keep your questions brief and to the point
- Focus: Stay on survey topic and do not include any “curve-ball” questioning
- Don’t Get Greedy: Ask for only what you need and nothing extra
- Incentives: Possibly include an incentive for finishing the survey
Ennect Survey is a web-based marketing software that empowers you to create online surveys quickly and analyze results even faster!
Is Managing your List Really That Important?
Posted on | February 6, 2013 | 1 Comment
If you are like most people, list management ranks right up there with flossing your teeth; you know you should but you never have the time. A recent article published by B2B online might convince you that list management is vital to your success. This article offers up seven simple but effective tips to improve your marketing email lists that could result in rewarding prospects. A marketing email list that is up-to-date, free of inactive contacts, bouncebacks and other speed bumps can improve overall prospect and client communications, enhance a company’s business reputation and best of all – increase lead generation and sales conversions. On top of B2B’s seven tips, utilizing a turnkey online marketing software program like Ennect Mail to manage your marketing email list can automate many of the key processes such as removing opt-outs and corralling bounce backs that are needed to needed to maintain a healthy and productive email roster.
Click here to read more about B2B’s seven simple steps to email list management.
Creating a Holiday Message that Stands Out
Posted on | December 21, 2012 | No Comments
Exactly how many holiday greetings did you receive this year? Probably more than you can count, since thousands of companies use email to send holiday wishes to their clients and customers. Here’s a more insightful question; how often did you take the time to respond to those holiday greetings?
This year, our parent company sent the following card.
We were very surprised by the number of people who responded to the card. One person wrote, “I always enjoy you holiday greetings! Some of the most meaningful things come from our children’s hearts!” Another person wrote, “Those are great words to live by EVERY DAY. ”
It’s short, sweet and written from the heart. Here are two lessons you can take from this and apply to your own email campaigns:
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| Dear Friend,
I asked my children for ten short words that they love. Here is the list of eleven they shared. Live · Life
Very best wishes for the Holiday Season and the New Year. Abu and everyone on the Elliance team.
A little artwork from my 10 year old son. Enjoy!
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With so many people reading emails on mobile phones and tablets, how do I make sure my blast looks good everywhere?
Posted on | December 6, 2012 | No Comments
A recent study shows over 50 percent of people use smart phones and tablets are becoming much more common, as well. Since the user expects an email to look good no matter what the device they use, it’s a waste of your time and effort if you do not take this into consideration. Here are a few tips to make sure your message looks good across all devices.
Keep it Simple
Make the layout in one column with large fonts and use big buttons for links. Also, consider narrowing the width overall. When it comes to copy, use a short and concise writing style. The same advice goes for the HTML code, the best results come from uncomplicated code.
Pay Attention to Images
Remember to write a short description of the picture. Otherwise, the person might not bother to click on the ‘display image’ button. Your email should be built in HTML, not as an image. If it’s all image, the person will simply see a blank screen, which means a greater chance that it will be deleted.
Make Call to Action Obvious
If the call to action button is buried at the bottom, or far to one side, the person might not scroll that far. The screen on a phone and a tablet are much smaller so use the space wisely!
Check out this article that was published on iMedia Connection for more tips on making mobile-friendly emails.
Digital Marketing Best Practices
Posted on | November 15, 2012 | No Comments
This past summer, Lyris sponsored an online survey for digital marketers. Here’s the infographic they put together showing the best practices for email, social media and mobile. Great insights!
Are You Ready for the Holidays?
Posted on | September 6, 2012 | No Comments
I’ve always felt the year just flies after Labor Day. Blink and kids in funny costumes are knocking on your door asking for Halloween candy. Blink again and it’s 
New Year’s Eve and you’re making a list of resolutions for the coming year.
Why not make a resolution right now? Before the mad dash to the end of the year starts, make a resolution to thank your clients and customers!
If you use Ennect to send an eGreeting to all of your clients, customers and business associates, you can create your message and build your list now, then when you are too busy to think, hit the send button and feel a smile wash over your face.
You’ll smile because letting your customers and clients know you are grateful for their support is good for your soul (and perhaps your bottom line).
Figuring out which online survey software is the most cost-effective
Posted on | August 9, 2012 | 1 Comment
If saving money is your goal, make sure your read all the fine print so you know exactly what you are getting. Some of the survey software products sound enticing by talking about a low monthly fee. However, make sure you read the terms of service. Two of popular survey software companies have their monthly and yearly cost featured predominately on their websites. At first glance, they look extremely cost-effective. It’s only when you click around to find the terms of service page (which are not so easy to find) you discover that your credit card is billed that monthly fee until you cancel!
In other words, you could end up paying for something you are not using. Think about it. One employee signs up for the survey tool, uses it, then leaves the company, goes on maternity leave, gets assigned to a different department or simply gets too busy to remember to cancel. It happens. And, then an initial inexpensive survey ends up costing more in the long run.
Our advice? Spend the time to think about how you will use the product. Don’t just do a little research—really dig deep to make sure you are comparing apples to apples—and hopefully you’ll then realize the benefits of using Ennect!
Obama & Romney Reach Agreement!
Posted on | August 3, 2012 | 1 Comment
Back in 2008, the New York Times ran a piece titled, How Obama’s Internet Campaign Changed Politics.
Fast forward to the present, and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney will be announcing his vice president pick via a smart phone app. To download the free app, users are asked their name, email, address, zip code and smart phone number. That’s downright brilliant from a marketing perspective!
These two political opponents have completely different views on healthcare, the economy, taxes, well…everything, but they agree on the importance of collecting data on their constituents.
Creating an app might not be cost-effective for your business. But, there are numerous ways you can stay engaged with your current and potential clients (and collect their ever important contact information):
- Use your social media to drive your customers to an electronic sweepstakes
- Send a survey to learn what your customers’ love/hate and make product tweaks if possible
- Use email to provide breaking news and maintain top-of-mind awareness with your followers
- Having an event? Announce it on Twitter and include a link to your Ennect Events landing page
Ennect software makes it easy to target your message to specific customers and track who clicks thru. So, gather the troops and start brainstorming. Then, coordinate your marketing efforts everywhere–print, electronic, mobile, social–etc. and enjoy the results.