Creating a Favorable First Impression...

Creating a Favorable First Impression I know, you've been saying to yourself all month, "when is Tom publishing his June Newsletter?" It's been very hectic all month with lots of good stuff going on. But don't think I will ever forget my 'monthly' newsletter being published. This month I want to write about leaving good first impressions. Often times web sites will be the first impression someone receives from your business. How do others perceive your business by visiting your web site? I cringe when I hear people say that they purposely do not tell others their web address because they're embarrassed about their web site. If they really feel that way, they should take it down altogether. It's worse having a bad web site than not having one at all. Let me share with you a very positive experience I had this month, even though it was not through a web site. Central Ohio Golf Outing Held On June 19th I was in charge of organizing a golf outing for other business people that I network with regularly. I'd had a bit of experience helping on committees before, but was never the person in charge. I chose Chapel Hill golf course in Mount Vernon, Ohio for this year's outing. I've always liked the course and they offer some nice outing packages. Brian and Anthony at Chapel Hill could not have been any more helpful in organizing the outing for us. Everything from registration to food to planning assignments to scoring and waiting out a rain delay went extremely well. They were flexible to meet our needs and made the whole experience fun for everyone. The point is this. When building a brand for your business, your web site can create an experience for your visitors. Do they find it enjoyable to use or frustrating to find information? You can also create a positive experience for your customers by being customer-focused just like Brian and Anthony are at Chapel Hill Golf Course. A bad web site can hurt you, but so can not being accommodating to your customers. Imagine how successful you could be if your customer service and your web site both left positive first impressions? Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

June 2009 Tom Anderson President/CEO Excelleweb Quote of the Month: "Change before you have to." -- Jack Welch If this email does not display properly, please visit my blog to view the text version. Invest in your own personal development, visit the AmSpirit Development Forum on Mondays (7:30am) at Scrambler's Restaurant at Cleveland Avenue and I-270. Learn more at www.amspiritdevforum.com... Tom Anderson profile on Follow me on Twitter

What's Your Story? Everyone has a story to tell. At least they should. When you meet someone at a networking event and they ask, 'What do you do?', how do you respond? Storytelling is about the absolute best thing you can do to connect with your target audiences. Your web site should be no different. How often have you visited a web site filled with jargon and 'industry-speak' that talks of 'leveraging opportunities' and creating 'win-win situations' and 'going to the next level'? Wouldn't it be more effective to reference a few success stories you've had with other clients and speak in layman's terms? Web site visitors need to know that you can offer them help to solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity. If they see themselves in the context of others you have helped, they will feel compelled to interact with you. If they're lost in trying to translate all your technical terms, they'll most likely leave your site not knowing whether you could help them or not. Keep your stories brief and highlight the results. That will be the magic formula to bring more prospects to your doorstep asking you to help them. Elmer's Products Releases Earth Day Newsletter Excelleweb works with Elmer's Products to create and execute their email newsletters on an ongoing basis. They have developed a program to help teachers and students learn the importance of recycling products called the 'Glue Crew'. You can learn more about this program by going to the Glue Crew web site. To view the Earth Day Newsletter, click here. Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

April 2009 Tom Anderson President/CEO Excelleweb Quote of the Month: "It is better to fall short of a high mark than to reach a low one." -- H.C. Payne If this email does not display properly, please visit my blog to view the text version. Invest in your own personal development, visit the AmSpirit Development Forum on Mondays (7:30am) at Scrambler's Restaurant at Cleveland Avenue and I-270. Learn more at www.amspiritdevforum.com... Tom Anderson profile on Follow me on Twitter

Getting Permission

Do You Really Have Permission? I'll do my best this month to not sound like I am ranting and offer my best advice. Several events over the past month have fired me up about the whole concept of getting permission to market to others. With the explosion of social media outlets like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. people are becoming more connected than any time in history. That's a good thing and potentially a very bad thing. Just because I accepted your link to 'connect' or 'become friends' it does not necessarily mean that you now have permission to inundate me with dozens of emails a month. But that is exactly what is happening. Here's an idea. Ask me first. Be direct. I may want to get your company newsletter or related information from your industry. Just don't assume without asking. The social media connection is not enough permission to send me email offers continuously. I've disconnected to several people abusing this already. Not only were they assuming permission, they were sending 5 or more emails a week. The frequency alone was a big turn off beyond the incorrect assumption of consent. Consent Is Most Important Recently, a person 'harvested' the entire membership database of an organization that I belong to in the Columbus, Ohio area. He solicited members by offering them an incentive to give him business referrals. Many members thought he must already be a member and was offering the incentive to fellow members. But he was not a member and no one had provided consent to receive his solicitation. He defended himself by stating that because he did not send in 'bulk' and offers were delivered to individual email addresses one at a time, he was technically innocent. Absolutely wrong. Any time you send email with an identical (or nearly identical) offer without consent being given you are violating the can-spam laws. It is still considered 'bulk' email. Here's the definition provided by Spamhaus, one of the reporting agencies fighting against junk email and protecting consumers. (http://www.spamhaus.org/definition.html) Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

March 2009 Tom Anderson President/CEO Excelleweb Quote of the Month: "Integrity... it means doing what is right. Not necessarily what is correct -- no one is correct all the time. But doing what is right." -- Robert Goizueta, former CEO of Coca-Cola If this email does not display properly, please visit my blog to view the text version. Invest in your own personal development, visit the AmSpirit Development Forum on Mondays (7:30am) at Scrambler's Restaurant at Cleveland Avenue and I-270. Learn more at www.amspiritdevforum.com... Tom Anderson profile on Follow me on Twitter

Waterproofing Your Web Site...

As the snow melts and Winter turns to Spring, it's that time of year when people experience leaky roofs and/or basements. How about your web site? Does it leak too? Let me explain. How do you know if you have a web site that leaks? Every time you have an anonymous web site visitor come to your web site and do nothing, you have a leaky web site. If they're not reaching out to you or taking some sort of action you have a bit of a problem. Granted, not every single visitor is going to call you right away and jump at the chance to buy your products and/or services. But your conversion rate should be monitored so you know if you're getting a fair amount of people interacting with you. Your bounce rate is a great indicator of conversions. A bounce occurs when someone visits, but leaves immediately without doing anything on the web page. If your bounce rate is under 25% you should be glad. Anything over 40% and you should consider changes to the web site. Your web site statistics with give you this type of information. If you want to read a really great article on this topic, please visit this link. You'll also learn about other factors that can help you 'waterproof' your web site. Webinars Being Planned I made an announcement recently about a series of webinars I plan to offer to the public. I've found additional content to add to the webinars to make them even better, so please bear with me as I put the finishing touches on some of these events. Many of you have already expressed an interest in attending and have asked that I provide the specific details. I promise that I will have the info ready to distribute very soon. I want to keep the costs affordable for everyone, but also ensure I provide great value so attendees will be pleased with the knowledge gained from their participation in the webinars. Other Blogs By Tom Anderson AmSpirit Business Connections Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

February 2009 Tom Anderson, President/CEO of Excelleweb Quote of the Month: "There are three constants in life... Change, Choice and Principles." -- Stephen R. Covey Invest in your own personal development, visit the AmSpirit Development Forum on Mondays (7:30am) at Scrambler's Restaurant at Cleveland Avenue and I-270. Learn more at www.amspiritdevforum.com... Tom Anderson profile on Follow me on Twitter

Missing the Point with Social Media

Social Media is one of the hottest topics on the planet right now. The funny thing is, some think they know everything about it, while others have no idea what that term even means. As Wikipedia defines it, Social Media is the collection of "primarily Internet and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings." That's a good start. Using mediums like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and many others allows you to create profiles. There you can post commentary, video, audio, links, etc. But what about business? Many see these web sites as a purely social network to upload their child's birthday party pictures and share witty comments about American Idol or whatever ballgame they watched last night. They're wrong. It's much more than that. I was fascinated to read an article this week where results of a survey stated that a large percentage of CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers) had little or no interest in employing Social Media as part of their overall marketing strategy. What!!?? Read the article here. How should this be interpreted? I believe it's one of two things. Either traditional marketers are threatened by change in how marketing gets done or they're uninformed about how to really implement a correct strategy. I'm launching a series of webinars including how to apply social media to business sometime in February. If you're interested in attending any of these events, please send me an email at webinar@excelleweb.com. I'll be sure to notify you of exact dates/times of the events. Performance Dynamics Systems Launches New Web Site Excelleweb is pleased to announce the launch of Performance Dynamic Systems new web site. Dave Smith, Owner of PDS, works in the Columbus, Ohio area. Dave helps clients get past many challenges in their business or assists them in getting even better results than they're alreading getting. He has many programs designed to help build profits, help organizations find the right employees, and build cohesive teams. Dave asked for Excelleweb's help in building his company brand through the web site. He wanted a fresh design, yet simple and easy to find information. While there are still a few areas to be edited with new content, the new site better portrays Dave Smith as the professional business coach that he truly is. Visit the new site here. Tom Anderson to Speak in Wooster, Ohio on Feb. 11th I have the pleasure of speaking to the Wayne-Holmes County Marketing network at noon on Feb. 11th at the Wooster Public Library. If you find yourself in Wooster that day, stop by to learn all about "Email Marketing in 2009". Here is a link to the newspaper announcement. Other Blogs By Tom Anderson AmSpirit Business Connections Westerville Woods Civic Association Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

January 2009 Happy New Year From Tom Anderson, President/CEO of Excelleweb Quote of the Month: "We must take change by the hand or rest assuredly, change will take us by the throat." -- Winston Churchill Invest in your own personal development, visit the AmSpirit Development Forum on Mondays (7:30am) at Scrambler's Restaurant at Cleveland Avenue and I-270. Learn more at www.amspiritdevforum.com... Tom Anderson profile on Follow me on Twitter

Final Thought for 2008 At this time of year, I always reflect on what I was able to accomplish and what I could have done differently to get even better results; both professionally and personally. What could you have done in your business this year to get better results? I think my greatest lesson learned this year was that making a decision, any decision, was far better than no decision at all. At least if I made a bad decision, I could learn and grow as a result of it. Each experience I have helps me to grow and learn along the way. I'm not advocating anyone recklessly says 'yes' to everything, but taking action means you're moving in a direction somewhere. Most business leaders know that there is no such thing as 'staying the same'. You're either getting better or getting worse. Which direction will you and your business be going in 2009? Perry Ryno Launches New Web Site Excelleweb is pleased to announce the launch of Perry Ryno's new web site. Perry is a well-respected and successful Realtor in the Columbus, Ohio area. Perry wanted an updated design that represented his brand more accurately. He wanted a simple, yet easy-to-navigate design that helped his clients find listings and information quickly. Another huge benefit to Perry is that he has complete control over the editing of his listings through a custom-built administration tool. Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

December 2008 Wishing You a Joyous Holiday Season from Excelleweb Quote of the Month: "My new favorite word is 'awkward.'...The reason we need to be in search of awkward is that awkward is the barrier between us and excellence, between where we are and the remarkable. If it were easy, everyone would have done it already, and it wouldn't be worth the effort." -- Seth Godin, author and marketing guru If this email does not display properly, please visit my blog to view the text version. Invest in your own personal development, visit the AmSpirit Development Forum on Mondays (7:30am) at Scrambler's Restaurant at Cleveland Avenue and I-270. Learn more at www.amspiritdevforum.com...

Tips For Your Next Email Newsletter

I receive a lot of email every day, as we all do. I also subscribe to quite a few email newsletters. I see a lot of mistakes being made that are easily fixed. I thought I'd spend a few minutes addressing some of these mistakes this month.

1. Frequency is too much.
   
   Some people send out too many newsletters in too short a time. You'll find that if you keep to a strict schedule more subscribers will open your email newsletters and you'll have less people 'unsubscribe' to your newsletter. How do you know if you're sending too frequently? Look at your 'open' rates in your admin area. If less people are opening messages, there is a strong possibility you need to send less. Maybe that weekly email should be monthly?
   
   
2. Have some consistency with formatting text and use of colors.
   
   Too often I'll see an email newsletter that uses fonts that are too big, or they'll have several colors highlighting text. It looks a tad unprofessional. More importantly, many email filters will label multi-colored fonts and larger fonts as unsolicited bulk email (commonly referred to as sp*m). I didn't spell it because even using that word in my newsletter can trigger filters!
   
   
3. Say something meaningful in the subject line.
   
   I actually received a newsletter awhile ago that had the subject line of 'Newsletter 1'. It didn't do much to pique my curiosity. You can use a catchy tag-line or just inform what your newsletter will be about that month.
   
   
4. Compress any photos/images so that they load quickly.
   
   If you regularly send email newsletters and plan to use photos/images in them, do yourself a big favor and purchase a copy of PhotoShop Elements. This software enables you to re-size photos easily and compress them so that they display properly on the web and in your emails. Too often I'll see someone add a nice picture to their message, yet it takes 5-10 seconds for the image to load on my screen so that I may view it. Sometimes you'll get a big red X on your screen meaning that it will not load at all.
   
   PhotoShop Elements is not too expensive (less than $100) and it'll save you headaches when trying to get your photos to display properly.
   
   

I'm sure I could think of more tips, but just remembering these few suggestions will portray you and your company in a more professional manner. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and I'll see you next month for the December edition of my newsletter!

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Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

November 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

from
Excelleweb

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Quote of the Month:

" If you put off everything until you're sure of it, you'll get nothing done.."
-- Norman Vincent Peale

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Invest in your own personal development, visit the AmSpirit Development Forum on Mondays (7:30am) at Scrambler's Restaurant at Cleveland Avenue and I-270. Learn more at www.amspiritdevforum.com...