I’m cheating this week by passing on tips that one of my customers is passing on to their patrons:
Here’s a quick take on the article on handling email:
1. Lower the volume.
2. Don’t ask to be kept “in the loop.”
3. Return email in batches.
4. Be clear.
5. Spell correctly.
6. Leave the iPhone or Blackberry at your desk sometimes.
7. Remember, email is not your job.
Here’s where I got it: http://www.lqpeda.com/2011/07/26/the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-emailers/ Because I am in Ireland I’ve been learning to live some of these tips already. Essentially I quite look at email at 5 pm (MN time). Then when I go back to it (at 2 am MN time) I find I can get through it much quicker than if I were answering messages as they came in.
Also I wanted to share another fun thing a different client is doing: http://melaniescorner.com/ You can follow their little Garden Hero toys around the world on their blog or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/learningzonexpress (My 7 year old has grown to love these little fruit and veg dolls!)
This week I met with nonprofit executive directors in Grand Rapids, MN. We started talking about Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com) – and while I don’t usually promote tools you have to pay for here I thought I’d recap the conversation a bit for anyone else who has been thinking about starting or moving an email list. (The service starts at $15 per month – for lists of up to 500 people, I think.)
Why Sent Email?
First email is a great way to reach people. If I had to choose one tool to use online, email would be it. (Unless my target market was young – then I might go with Twitter or another tool to reach folks via text messaging.) It’s one of the few tools you can use to reach out to people rather than creating a message they find.
What is an email tool?
It will save the email addresses of all of your email subscribers. Then you can send emails through their online tool that will go to everyone on your list.
Why use an Email Tool?
Sending individual emails works if you only have a handful of customers. Sending email to too many recipients at a time (more than 10) will get your message caught in a recipient’s spam filter. (Here’s more info on that: http://byteoftheweek.wordpress.com/2006/11/01/email-tips/).
An email tool maintains the list of addresses for you. If an email quits working, it deletes it. You will need to manually update the list if someone changes their address – but you only need to do it in one place
You can segment your list into categories. So if you’re a nonprofit, you might have one list for volunteers, one for people you serve, one for media and one for funders.
You can get statistics on success of email campaigns. You can find out how many people received the message, opened the message, click on a linked, forwarded it to a friend and more.
With many tools (such as Constant Contact) you can create an email it html if you want or if you don’t know html, you can use their wizards and templates to create an attractive message including images and links. (They even have a bunch of stock images you can use.)
It seems as if I have email filters on the brain this summer. Although for a change of pace I’m going to talk today about how to make sure that your email reaches your recipient and isn’t caught in a spam filter. Here are 5 quick tips:
- Don’t use spam-type words in the subject. You know them when you see them (free, urgent, you may have already won); your spam filter knows them too. For a list of specific words not to use check out the following site.
- Minimize use of colors and capitalization. Both will send a red flag to the filter.
- Use a signature file (contact info at the bottom of your email). This will actually gain you respect in the eyes of the filter and it provides ready contact info to the recipient.
- If or when you cite a web site in email use the full address (include the http://) or the spam filters will put you on alert. Also using the full address ensures that users of all email clients should be able to link to the site.
- For 16 more tips, check out the following article: 20 Ways Opt-in E-Mailers Can Outsmart Spam Filters.)
The following is a suggestion from Denise in Minneapolis – top tips for sending email (or email newsletters).
1) Do not send one email message to more than 10 people at a time. Many email filters will throw that into the junk bin because it is going to too many people and often that is a sign that it’s junk. If you need an informal list, you might check out Bravenet (http://www.bravenet.com/webtools/elist/). They offer free lists; their pro version is pretty good too. If you’re going to pay for a list, I’d consider Constant Contact (http://www.constantcontact.com).
2) If you send one message to multiple people, be sure to put their addresses in BCC (blind carbon copy) field. That way you don’t share the addresses with everyone and it makes it easier to forward the message. (With Outlook you can get to the BCC field by double clicking on the TO box of an open message.
3) Be wise with subject lines. Clever can be fun if it’s still meaningful but we’re all busy. We all judge an email by the subject – so make it easier for the recipient and your messages will get read more often.
4) Include contact info on your email. The easiest way to do this is by adding a SIG (or signature) file. Get info on setting up a sign file here (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/help/email-signatures.htm).
5) Keep it short. Again, we’re all busy; a concise note is a gift to the reader.
6) If you’re replying to a message, be sure to leave enough of the original message in tact so as to give context. Some of us get more than 100 messages a day and a little context is always helpful.
Today’s Byte is for readers who work with an office of folks … I’ll start by saying that I don’t know much about this firsthand as I don’t have an office of folks – but this looks interesting. Google is beta testing a program that would bring Gmail to every user in your domain. Since Gmail for your domain is hosted by Google, there’s no hardware or software for you to install or maintain. The Gmail accounts would include the following:
Gmail – 2 gigabytes of storage and search tools that help your users find information fast.
Google Talk – Users can call or send instant messages to their contacts for free * anytime, anywhere in the world.
Google Calendar – Users can organize their schedules and share events and calendars with others.
Control Panel – Easily manage user accounts, aliases, mailing lists, and chat settings.
Google is looking for beta-testers now: https://www.google.com/hosted
I am at a wonderful conference (Symposium on Small Towns and Rural Summit) today and head out to vacation to a wonderful resort tomorrow. So, today’s Byte is brief.
Below are instructions for setting your email to the automated out of office reply when you go on vacation (although I’ll actually be checking email in the next week):
For Microsoft Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290846
Microsoft Outlook 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255509/
Microsoft Outlook 98
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/271709/
Last week I talked about how email addresses (IP addresses actually) get blacklisted. Rosemary, from St Paul, wrote in to tell me that addresses can also be blacklisted when there is a poorly constructed email-based form on their web site. It’s a good reminder to check your web forms too. You can learn more here (http://rickconner.net/spamweb/spam_formmail.html) if you are interested.
Looking for a quick description of the web form problem led me to find Popular Spammer Tricks (http://rickconner.net/spamweb/tricks.html). I think this site does a great job of describing how spammers get their job done (how they spam) and how you can avoid receiving spam and/or avoid making the spammer’s job easy.
On a completely unrelated note – I have to put in a big plug for the new downtown Minneapolis public library (http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/newcentrallib.asp). For those from outside MN – the library has been completely rebuilt and it’s amazing. You can get some great shots of it on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=minneapolis+library). The best picture, however, can be found on the Minneapolis Star Tribune (http://www.startribune.com/10001/gallery/445640.html) just click on #3. Some of you may recognize these smart looking girls are my youngest two! (I have to add that this actually made the paper version of the news too!)
I spoke with someone today whose email is not reaching his intended recipients. He works for a small company. They handle their email on their own server. They noticed a while ago that their messages were bouncing back to them – rejected. They had been blacklisted.
So what does that mean?
There are organizations on the Internet who track spammers and potential spammers on blacklists. Internet service providers subscribe to these lists and refuse to carry messages from people on the list (tracked by the IP address used by their mail server). This is one way ISPs try to thwart spam and viruses.
One problem is that potential spammers are unaware of their status – because they aren’t really spammers; they are often small organizations who handle their own email and have left open a back door to their server. A spammer can sneak through this backdoor and send email out through the server without the company knowing. (This might happen to your ISP too – though they should know better.) Once this error has been detected they may be added to the blacklist.
What can you do?
If you suspect that you have been blacklisted or want more information – you can check out MAPS at http://www.mail-abuse.com/enduserinfo.html. Their web site walks you through the process of checking to see if you have been blacklisted, gives advice to remedy the situation, and instructs you on how to request that your IP address be removed from the blacklist once you have repaired your server.
Thankfully I have not had to deal with being blacklisted. I have heard that the folks to maintain these lists are very helpful if you are in earnest about clearing your good name. I do keep the blacklist in mind when I’m selecting an email provider – some cheap ones taint their name by selling accounts to spammers and that’s how they get on the list. I might research a provider by doing a search for their name + blacklist. If an ISP has made this mistake you can bet someone has mentioned it in a newsgroup.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I said I found a web email list tool that I loved. You might not remember because that message may have never reached you, which leads me to report that I no longer love simplelists.com.
Having lunch with some Byte subscribers I learned that they hadn’t heard from me in weeks. If you have been missing me too – I apologize.
I’m trying a new list and I thank Rick & Mike from Minneapolis for setting me up with it. (Unfortunately they don’t really offer lists commercially or I’d tell you all about it.) For this week’s Byte I have a quick Valentine’s tip:
Poems for Free: http://www.poemsforfree.com
It’s just what it sounds like. There’s a special section for Valentine’s Day: http://www.poemsforfree.com/valpo.html
For those who have missed me, you can see most recent Bytes on my blog, which I’m trying to be better about updating: http://byteoftheweek.blogspot.com/
You can see older posts on my web site: http://www.treacyinfo.com/byte.htm which I’m trying to migrate to the blog. I’m doing this in my free time so it’s a little slow.
I have a new favorite service on the Internet – Simplelists.
They provide email list services – like the old listservs, which used to be easy to get. Well, I have looked high and low for a low-cost service to use for email newsletters or ongoing conversations among groups. These guys are the best I could find. (Here is more info on email lists.)
I like them so much that I have moved the Byte of the Week over to their service. For less than $100 per year I can maintain this list. (I used to just send messages to all of you through my email client, which was OK when the list was smaller but time consuming now.) The people at Simplelists have been helpful. The cost is right. They are sensitive to misuse of email but flexible enough in their rules to be practical for commercial use. As I said, they’re my faves!
On an unrelated note – today is the Winter Solstice. Here’s a fun site on the solstice.
