Emails your subscribers will actually click on – and read

  

 The “less is more” rule applies to many elements of online marketing, including email marketing.

Did you know that the average office worker receives 121 emails per day? When you send out a newsletter or a special offer you are competing for your reader’s attention, which now sits at an average of about eight seconds.

While there is no magic formula for how long your email subject line and body should be, there are some simple things you can do to increase your email’s readability.

Here are some tips:

·      Keep it simple. Don’t use complex words where simple ones will do. For example, instead of “utilize” try “use.”

·      Don’t use too many filler words. You’re not writing a novel, no need to get too descriptive and flowery.

·      Break up blocks of text into sections.

·      Organize information into bulleted lists.

·      Keep the subject line to six or seven words – anything longer won’t display on mobile.

·      Don’t use images that will interrupt the flow of the text.

Of course the design of the email makes a difference too. If you can, send a test of the email to yourself and check it on your mobile device. How does it look?  

Want to test your message before you send it? Try this FreeReadability Test Tool. You can simply copy and paste your text, then it will give you a readability score and tell you what that score means. For example, this message scores at an 8^th grade reading level.

If you want to get really technical the tool will also give you statistics such as how many complex words and average number of syllables are in your text.

So how readable is your content?

Announcing Facebook Business Manager

If your company’s Facebook page is like ours, you probably have one employee’s email that you all use to sign in and update your feed, create ads, etc. That’s because Facebook has required that every business page be linked to a personal Facebook account — until now.

The folks at Facebook have recently introduced Business Manager, a way that multiple people can be administrators of the same Facebook page and/or ad account without necessarily being linked to their personal Facebook page.

Here’s how it works:

An administrator for your Facebook page will go to https://business.facebook.com and create a business account. The page you administer should automatically link up. The administrator will then need to add all of the other Facebook pages your business manages.

Use audience extension to reach your target audience online

Audience extension advertising campaigns, also known as retargeting, are advertisements that are placed online on sites other than the client’s own.  These ads can be targeting specifically to the client’s target audience and show up on top web sites such as CNN and Auto Trader.

Website browsers such as Google Chrome use cookies to track user data including demographics such as age and location, as well as interests, purchases and more.  When an audience extension campaign is set up, digital marketers can assign certain parameters to the ads, such as show to people in zip codes A, B and C, display to people ages 18-40, etc.

Audience extension campaigns ensure that only people in the client’s target audience are being exposed to their message, which is cost and time efficient. And, because the campaign is charged only when the ad is served, no advertising dollars are wasted on people who would most likely not be interested or being charged regardless of if the ad is actually displayed or not.

And the client picks the budget, so they are guaranteed not to spend more than they want.

Free lunch every month at our Lunch n' Learns

Hello and good afternoon fellow marketers!

There is such a thing as a FREE LUNCH! Read on . . .

Here at ISJ Media we spend a lot of time doing a lot of research on the latest and greatest digital marketing tools and trends. It's what WE do.

"But how does that affect me and my business?" Glad you asked.

We do the research so you don't have to. But how do we pass that valuable information on to you, the business owner? With our free monthly Lunch and Learns! Did I mention it was free? Oh, and we've got your lunch covered too.

The next Lunch and Learn will be held on Tuesday, March 14. We offer a session at 7:45 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. to accommodate different schedules.

Previous topics have included:

• Getting your page to rank higher on Google search results
• The importance of having a responsive website
• Why Facebook is NOT the same as having a website
• Advertising on Facebook: Is it effective and tips for getting the most bang for your buck
• How to capitalize on "micro moments," those spur of the moment things that cue an online search for a product or service. 

This is NOT a sales pitch. Really. No-one will pressure you to buy anything. We want you, the local business owner, to succeed. Interested? Want more information? Contact Jenny Hopkins at jhopkins@journalnet.com or 208-239-3532. RSVP by March 9. 

See you there! 

Free basic website design and setup through February

Hello fellow marketers!

If your small business is like most others in Southeast Idaho it does not have a website. But the thing is, you don’t want to be like all the other businesses in Southeast Idaho. You want to stand out! You want to be noticed! You want people to think of you as the local leader in your industry!

With more and more consumers turning to online for advice, product reviews and shopping the business with a strong online presence are much more likely to grow than those that do not.

Starting a website sounds like a lot of work, and frankly you don’t have time to build one yourself because, well you have a business to run of course! We get it. And we want to help you out by waiving the startup fee for our basic web design through February. That’s right, we’ll build and setup your website for free. That’s a $295 savings!

These websites include:

• Connecting social media profiles

• Photo selection

• Customized, professionally designed web site with your choice of layout, back ground, fonts, header image etc.

• Search Engine Optimization

• Built-in analytics

• Google map integration

• Email address

• Address

• Phone number

• List of payments accepted

• Mobile website

• Email and phone support

• Built-in analytics

• Manage your own updates


Design options include:
• Photo galleries

• Slideshow

• Menu

• Blog

• Audio

• Coupons

• PDF file upload

• Contact form

• Company logo

• Wufoo e-commerce can be added for additional charge.

• If you already own your own domain we can transfer it over to your new site. Or we can purchase a domain name for your new site at an additional charge.


Once the site is set-up and running the monthly cost is $50. You, the client has full editing access to the site so that you can make updates whenever you’d like.

Want to learn more or get started? Call Jenny Hopkins at 208-239-3532 or email jhopkins@journalnet.com

You can also visit www.isjmedia.net for more details on web design and the many other digital services we offer.

Business blogging tips

Blogging on your business website is a great way to show that you are a leader in your industry by providing free advice and tips pertaining to your customers’ interests. It also keeps your website fresh with new content which will help to boost rankings on search engines.

So how do you get started? How often should you blog? How long should blog posts be?

Here are some tips from the experts:

• First find a blogging platform. There are countless to choose from, including WordPress, Medium, Blogger and Wix. Check out the article “How to Choose theBest Blogging Platform in 2016 (Compared)” by webbeginner.com to help chose a platform. Your current website service may already have a blogging interface built in also.

• Update it at least a couple times a month, once a week if you can. Google “bots” constantly skim the Internet for fresh content to update search engine results. If your website content is stale, the bots have no reason to check it out and your site will fall in search rankings.

• Stay on topic. Remember what your audience is interested in and focus on that. Don’t lose their interest.

Wondering how long your posts and titles should be? Check out the article “The MostShared Brand Blog Posts: Length, Language, and Title Trends” by MarketingProfs for additional tips.

Make sure digital is in your holiday marketing plan

Newsletter

November 9, 2016

We’re barely recovering from the Halloween chocolate hangover and we haven’t even carved the Thanksgiving turkey, but if you’re a small business owner or marketer you’ve already started thinking about holiday shopping.

For years Black Friday has been the most well known shopping day of the year, but with the ever increasing popularity of mobile shopping we now also have Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year.

Data collected from Signal.com, holiday retail sales on smartphones jumped 96% in 2015, and are forecast to grow 50% in 2016. Here are some additional statistics generated by signal.com:

• 43% of people say that digital ads on a website or mobile app influence their holiday gift buying.
• 47% of consumers started thinking about gift ideas before November.
• One-third of consumers say ads help them get discounts or deals.
• 52% of holiday shoppers are likely to take advantage of tailored product recommendations received through email, and 42% through a mobile ad.

Not surprisingly Amazon.com is king when it comes to online shopping and buying. No small business is going to compete with them, however, you can take notes on and implement some of the things people love about Amazon into your own marketing.

Why do people love Amazon? Consumers report that ease of use, product reviews and easy returns as some perks.

Site retargeting is another thing in which Amazon excels. When a consumer views a product on Amazon.com and then leaves the site to continue surfing the Internet, an ad for that product shows up on the sites the consumer is currently viewing. It seems like magic, or maybe legalized stalking, but either way you look at it this tactic has been proven to increase conversions.

But more people shopping online does not necessarily equate to more purchases online. Most online shoppers are looking for deals and doing product research before they go to the physical brick and mortar store to make the purchase. Added conveniences such as buy online and pick up in store increases a consumer’s likelihood to buy. Stores are crowded, being able to order online, go in, pick up the goods and get out is a huge selling-point.

Some takeaways from this research:

• Start planning for the holiday shopping now if you have not already.
• Consider adding digital into your marketing strategy. You can bet your competitors are, don’t miss out!
• Make sure now more than ever that your website is easy to navigate and is mobile optimized.
• Your physical business location is just as important as it’s ever been. People will most likely come to your store to make the purchase, but first they have to have a good reason for picking you over competition. Special deals advertised online will bring them in.

Do you want to implement some of these tools but you aren’t sure where to start?  Call or email us here at ISJ Media and we can help put together a customized digital marketing plan based on your business needs and goals.

At ISJ Media we offer:

Site retargeting

Contextual retargeting

Audience retargeting

Hyperlocal targeting

Mobile and app advertising

Website advertising

Web design

Email marketing

Text marketing

And much more . . . .