5 Daily Email Newsletters That Will Make You Eager to Check Your Inbox

You follow inspirational accounts and figures on Instagram and Facebook. You enjoy their posts and find yourself motivated by them. You have given them valuable placement within your newsfeed or social feeds.

Increasingly, I find myself gravitating toward content from somewhere other than my social feed -- my email inbox. Yes, email ... a place you protect dearly and are merciless with when it comes to deleting spam and excess. I'm not talking about the typical email "newsletter." Those are boring and get barely a glance from me.

I'm talking about a new generation of email. One made by creative and inspired millennials who understand that email can be cool again. Recently, I have found myself eager to check my email each morning as more content creators and influencers are creating content specifically for email but with a unique millennial flavor.

Here are my five favorite daily emails worth leaving room for in your inbox.

1. PRSUIT

PRSUIT is a daily email dedicated to self-development in a cool and relatable way. They say on their homepage that they don't want to talk about the business news, current events, The Kardashians or stock tips -- just helping their subscribers be their best selves. They send an email weekday mornings sourced from hundreds of contributors that focuses on helping you reach your potential. They're definitely bringing the "cool factor" back to email and I'm seeing their emails being forwarded everywhere these days.


2. MatterMark

Mattermark is a great email for those interested in startups and VC. It is a daily email that provides a curated digest of posts from investors and startup owners on all sorts of topics from pitch advice, scaling, investment advice and more. Definitely recommended if you're interested in startups from both the perspective of startup CEOs and VCs/investors.


3. Coinzy

Coinzy is a twice-daily newsletter for those interested in the world of cryptocurrencies. (And let's face it -- who isn't these days!) Once in the morning, and once in the afternoon, you'll get all the latest news about what's going on with Bitcoin and all the other exciting cryptos out there. The newsletter is clean and to-the-point, without the fluff.


4. The Skimm

The Skimm has been around for awhile and is well known for its daily, five-minute rundown of what's happening in the world. It's a hit particularly with millennial women who want to keep up with important events.


5. I Will Teach You To Be Rich

The I Will Teach You To Be Rich newsletter from well-known entrepreneur and marketer Ramit Sethi sends a good variety of topics ranging from financial insights, psychology topics, case studies and entrepreneurial tips. Ramit does a great job of keeping things personal and transparent, often offering insight into his own life, companies and clients.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/
Image Credit: Hero Images | Getty Images


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

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2 Little-Known Practices That Create Strong Relationships With Colleagues and Friends

When a friend lands their dream job or a colleague is promoted at work, most people show their support with a quick, "Congratulations!". Although complimenting friends and coworkers on their intelligence, hard work and achievements is important, going a little further than the standard pat on the back can have a significant impact on the quality of your relationships.

According to psychologist and author of The All-or-Nothing Marriage Dr. Eli Finkel, savoring happy times together and supporting people as they make those accomplishments is key to stronger relationships.

When someone is going through a tough phase of their life (a breakup, job loss, family passing, etc.), it's natural to give them a little extra attention and time. Yet, doing the same for when they have accomplishments, even small ones, can strengthen the relationship significantly. Here are two ways that you can show colleagues and friends support:

1. Recognize the win for somebody else.

According to a Gallup poll, recognition has a big influence on employee happiness and workplace culture. Top performers want to feel valued and recognized for their accomplishments, and not just by the CEO. When coworkers recognize each other, it fosters teamwork and engagement. Next time you see your colleague doing a good job, point it out and recognize them, even if the boss has already.

Instead of a generic, "Great job!", point out the details and show interest. Why was their accomplishment so great? If they landed a new client or formed a new partnership, you might say that you were impressed by how they conducted their outreach efforts or how they made connections to get warm introductions.

2. Match the support to the person.

Cater how you show appreciation to the individual. Think about how they would like to be recognized. In general, rather than say, "Hey, nice work," people should stop what they are doing and give a little more attention. Taking just a little bit of extra time to savor accomplishments makes a big difference. It could mean stepping away from the computer for a second to make a broader announcement, having the office break off for happy hour, or taking a colleague out for lunch.

We all experience small and big wins throughout the course of our careers and our personal lives. When someone puts in just a little extra time and effort, we notice and appreciate them more. In the office, showing support in these two ways can strengthen employee relationships, foster teamwork and create a high-morale working environment.

The next time a spouse, colleague, friend or family member has a win, take them out for a meal or drinks. Supporting them in both good and bad times will make a significant impact on the quality of relationships overall.

Source: https://www.inc.com/
Image Credit: Getty Images



ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

Making These 4 Email Marketing Mistakes Will Keep You From Success

When I started learning about Internet marketing many years ago, the first thing that I heard over and over again was “the money is in your list.” This wisdom still holds true today, despite the growing number of digital media platforms that marketers can use to reach their audience, the average ROI of email marketing is 3700 percent.

Unfortunately, too many marketers go about email marketing all wrong.

Marketers often believe that email marketing begins and ends with building a list. The value of your list isn’t correlated with the number of subscribers. You can build a list of a million subscribers, but if you don’t engage with them well, your marketing efforts will fail miserably.

Email Marketing Engagement Mistakes to Avoid

If your open rates, click-through-rates and conversion rates are very low, then you are probably not engaging with your list well. Here are some common email marketing engagement mistakes you may be making and some tips to turn things around.

Not Offering Incentives to Keep Them Interested

Are you using your list primarily to educate customers about your brand? This is one of the biggest reasons engagement is faltering.

Few of your subscribers joined your email list simply to hear you talk. Most joined because they expect you to give them something of value, which can include deals on future services, exclusive content or freebies. You need to keep offering them things to maintain their interest.

You don’t have to give them the next winning lottery ticket to keep them interested. Small incentives can work wonders. UncommonGoods has kept customers engaged by offering discounts on premium shipping. They have found that customers are thrilled to save a few dollars on shipping, which is enough to keep them subscribed.

Failing to Initiate Engagement by Making the Customer Participate in the Process

Email marketing is usually very passive. The marketer sends an email and customers read it. It is very easy to begin tuning out emails that don’t require the readers to participate in any meaningful way.

A lot of brands have started changing things up. Bonobos has one of the best email marketing strategies of any brand. One of the biggest reasons their strategy surpasses competitors is that they prompt customers to take action. They often have emails that ask customers to fill out surveys about their clothing choices or answer questions to help them come up with their dream wardrobe.

Avoid Sending Messages for the Sake of It

One of my old roommates used to have an email list to promote his video transcribing business. The problem was he used his list as a soapbox for completely unrelated things. He talked about animal rights activism, vegan recipes and political developments overseas. I stopped reading his emails after a while. Apparently, a lot of his other subscribers did as well, because he noticed his engagement rate plummeted after he started sending irrelevant messages to his readers.

This is an extreme example of a mistake most email marketers make. You need to engage with your subscribers on a regular basis. However, you should only send messages when you have something meaningful to say.

Make sure your emails are relevant to the interests of your subscribers.

Personalize, But Don’t Be Creepy

Personalization is a good thing. Email automation tools, such as Campaign Monitor, give marketers the ability to aggregate customer information. By connecting disparate systems like Salesforce CRM and Shopify eCommerce, marketers can personalize email messages based on information such as geo-location, age, gender and transactional history. For example, let’s say you’re an online jewelry retailer and want to send a discount offer to customers for a female bracelet product line. Segmenting your list by all customer who are female and have purchased a bracelet over the past 12 months, you can send more targeted offers that increase your email engagement and conversion rates.

It is a good idea to begin every email by using your subscriber’s name. You may want to use it one other time in the body of your content if it makes sense. However, many marketers have started using their subscribers’ names too much, which makes their messages seem less natural.

Source: https://smallbiztrends.com/
Image Credit: Shuttershock


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

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What Your Brand Needs To Know About Email Marketing to Generation Z, Plus 9 Brands Doing It Right

By 2020, Gen Z will make up 40 percent of consumers. Also known as the iGeneration, these teens and tweens grew up with smartphones in their hands.

Born between 1996 and 2010, these digital natives are the group after the millennials, and they have different needs, wants, and expectations. As such, brands need to adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.

Below we’ll cover email marketing to Generation Z and how it does particularly well with this demographic, as long as you do it right.

What Email Marketers Need To Know About Gen Z

Unlike their narcissistic predecessors, Gen Zers have been described as independent, realistic, and private. They grew up with pragmatic Generation X parents (instead of baby boomers constantly telling them how special they are) and, thanks to millennials, they’ve seen the dangers of oversharing. As a result, they’re fans of the disappearing, anonymous nature of Snapchat, Secret, and Whisper, versus the very public world of Facebook.

Speaking of Snapchat, Generation Z never knew a time before social media. They’ve always digested information instantly. If your brand wants to catch their attention, you need to do it as quickly as possible (this is where emojis can really come in handy).

Overall, Gen Z holds brands to higher standards. To a group who grew up with smartphones, any experience that’s less than perfect indicates a brand who doesn’t know what it’s doing. They’re also incredible multitaskers, so brands need to bend over backwards for them. Otherwise, they’ll simply leave.

Finally, it’s important to remember that Gen Zers grew up in a world with 9/11, and saw firsthand how the recession impacted their families. They want to make a difference in the world more than any previous generation, and they’re willing to work for it. Make sure they know about your brand’s humanitarian impact, and how they can contribute.

3 Rules for Marketing to Generation Z

Over half of Gen Zers prefer to shop online, and one of the best ways to invite them to shop with you is through email marketing. 

Here are three rules of thumb to follow.

#1. Be instant

Gen Zers grew up traversing the web and multitasking like there’s no tomorrow. Millennials use three screens at a time, while Gen Zers use five. This means they can tune out your ad on one screen while they look at another. How’s that for multitasking?

At 8 seconds, their attention span is a full 4 seconds shorter than the typical millennial. According to Fast Company, this is more of a filter than an attention span: you have 8 seconds to convince them not to move on from your brand.

Marketers need to prioritize immediacy in their marketing strategy for Gen Z. Don’t worry about complete sentences – it’s better to make information easily scannable. Lean into their at-a-glance digestion abilities by using emoji, abbreviations, images, and videos. Splitting up one piece of content into smaller chunks will perform better than long-form stories. Marketing workflows should react to their actions – special offers, cart abandonment, and welcome emails should all be timed accordingly.

#2. Be personal

Yes, email marketing may be way older than Snapchat, but its personalization capabilities make it a perfect fit for Generation Z. With segmentation and marketing workflows, you can cater precisely to them.

Unlike me-me-millennials, Generation Z isn’t necessarily focused on becoming rich and famous. These individualistic teens are concerned about crafting their unique personal brand, whatever that may be. They’re more discerning and less prone to flattery than their millennial counterparts. Rather than just catering to their ego, be a helpful partner to their brand creation process to gain their loyalty.

Let Gen Zer’s shopping habits inform what you send them, and also let them dictate how often you fill their inboxes. Don’t bombard them, and don’t resend the same information, just repackaged. Remember that you don’t have as much leeway with this generation: unlike older users who may have been more understanding of irrelevant or repeated information, Gen Z will view it as a fault in your system and lose trust in your brand.

Use email as a jumping off point for other social media channels, especially YouTube: this generation watches up to 2 hours of YouTube video per day.

#3. Be authentic

Many Gen Zers never had to sit through ads – they started watching TV on Netflix straight from their iPads. As a result, they know an ad when they see one, way more so than any other generation. In the same vein, they also know when you’re BSing them. The days of getting by just talking the talk are officially gone.

To connect with Gen Z, you have to genuinely talk with – instead of at – them. A great way to do this is through finding influencers their age that inherently “get” them in a way your brand may not. Gen Zers prefer real people (or YouTube and Snapchat stars) over celebrities as brand ambassadors. They like behind-the scenes content that feels real, not marketing jargon.

And your actions need to back up your words. You need to actively involved in the causes your Gen Z customers care about if you want them to take you seriously. Go global and speak to the world. Gen Z grew up in a multicultural society with a black president and believe the world can coexist peacefully.

9 Brands Doing Gen Z Email Marketing Right

Now that you know what to do, let’s take a look at some brands for inspiration.

#1. Do Well by Madewell

In their “Do Well” email series, women’s clothing brand Madewell keeps it short and sweet, just how Gen Z likes it. They use their lingo (“this new collab gives back”) with a big image that instantly creates a story. They offer choice, too: shoppers can click through to browse featured products or learn more about Madewell’s various philanthropic “do Well” efforts, such as their work with the Surfrider Foundation and their jean recycling program.

#2. Go Behind The Scenes With Sephora

With a subject line that says, “Go behind the scenes with RIHANNA  ,” beauty retailer Sephora starts things off right. Both the subject line and the pre-header use fun emojis (the company has even created their own Sephoji app to cater to younger demos) and speak to Gen Z’s desire to go behind the scenes with people they admire.

The email emphasizes the “real-life” authenticity of Rihanna’s look, and how it’s helping expand global definitions of beauty in its design “for women of all skin tones” (which are still woefully underrepresented by many of the major beauty brands). Finally, the email creates multiple jumping off points to the various screens Gen Zers use: they can watch a quick 3-step YouTube video featuring Miss RiRi herself, or virtually try on makeup using the Sephora app.

#3. Welcome to Adidas

Adidas remains a popular brand with Gen Z, and their emails explain why. They reward users for subscribing with a 15% off coupon, and their imagery focuses on young people having fun. They show everyday, smiling people enjoying their lives while wearing Adidas clothing. It’s about the customer living their best life, not Adidas making the most money.

#4. H&M: Look Good, Do Good

H&M wants Gen Z to know they believe they can make the world a better place, but still look good doing it. They even found a clever way to bring people into their stores with a clothing recycling day on Earth Day.

H&M also does a good job getting the point across with a heavy focus on imagery and minimal text. With a clever play on words (“Go Green, Wear Blue”) and callout that H&M jeans are “conscious denim,” Gen Zers can feel good about shopping at H&M.

#5. Victoria’s Secret PINK Nation

It’s easy to see from their email that Victoria’s Secret’s PINK collection targets young shoppers. Victoria’s Secret customizes the brand for Gen Z, using youthful color choices and fonts, inviting recipients to “shop your school” through their collegiate collection, and leaning into the temporary nature of their preferred social networks like Snapchat through a “pop-up blog.”

Showing that they walk the talk, the PINK experience continues once users click through to the website. They’re taken straight to the home page for the PINK sub-brand, which utilizes a different header, font, and even account logo than the standard Victoria’s Secret page (it’s a dog instead of a heart). The PINK Nation home page highlights their “campus life” content and their Instagram, which includes personalized local city accounts. All this adds up to a true lifestyle hub, a social media destination worthy of Gen Z’s time online, instead of just a place to buy new bras and underwear.

#6. Urban Outfitters Keeps Things Fresh

Urban Outfitters constantly keeps things fresh with entirely redesigned and radically different, but all equally fun, email newsletters. These funky emails stand out in Generation Z inboxes, and despite an occasionally cluttered design, the essential information is always clear. From sales to co-branded events, UO keeps their brand top of mind with Gen Z shoppers.

#7. The Chubbies Lifestyle

Chubbies became famous for their no-holds-barred content marketing and unabashedly short shorts for men. They don’t just sell shorts; they offer shoppers a carefree beer-and-shorts lifestyle. Sales emails like this one barely even mention the shorts – they let the image do the talking:

The brand’s abandoned cart emails have made the internet rounds for their hilarity. With a distinct voice that pervades all their content, they’re funny, to the point, and effective.

#8. Asos Caters to Curves

While brands are starting to offer plus-size lines, they’re often tucked away in the stores and altogether ignored in their marketing. Asos takes a decidedly different approach: their Curve Crew makes plus-size women not only feel welcomed, but part of an exclusive group. They do more than just offer a few token plus-size items. Instead, Asos offers dedicated emails, special promos for plus-size brands, and even plus-size stylists to cater to all aspects of the buying experience.

Asos maintains a clean look across all their emails, using pops of color to highlight important text callouts and relying on big images to sell the product. They do a wonderful job making sure their emails are responsive and look good, regardless of which device they’re being viewed on.

#9. Content that Sells: Warby Parker

Warby Parker has since expanded into retail stores, but the e-commerce brand has always known how to be successful online. They consistently use the same blue font for CTAs across all their marketing, training customers to know where they’re supposed to click.

Their content often uses hand drawn sketches, expressing their modern brand look and mimicking the frame of glasses at the same time. They also provide Gen Z with fun content that helps them live a better life. Instead of an email saying, “Hey, check out our latest sunglasses!” Warby Parker presents a whimsical look at how to wear sunglasses indoors, amusing customers while at the same time persuading them to buy.
Conclusion

Email marketing for Generation Z can be extremely effective, when done right. Take a cue from the brands above. Be instant. Be personal. Be authentic.

Source: http://tweakyourbiz.com/




ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

How Consciously are you Growing Your Business?

When it comes to building a business, if you wake up one morning and you realize that you don't like the business you've built, it's probably because it was built passively as opposed to consciously.

For me, life has been much more about figuring out what I don't want as opposed to being crystal clear about what I do want. I think this is normal for most of us. Once we've figured out what we don't want we can get on with the job of making the things we do want into a reality.

So what's my point? If you aren't clear about what you want in your business, you will simply get what you end up with. And that should be a concern. It all comes down to making very conscious decisions and setting clear intent.

Over the years I've learned to be better at making conscious decisions about pretty much every aspect of my business (and my life I might add) including:

• What type of customers do I want to attract and work with?
• What type of customers do I want to avoid at all costs?
• What type of projects do I want to attract?
• What type of projects do I want to avoid at all costs?
• How much money do I want to make?
• What poverty actions am I going to stop?
• What I will do and what I won't do for money - my moral compass.
• What type of people do I want in my life?
• What type of people don't I want in my life?
• What do I want people to say about me and my reputation?

I define these in absolute detail, write them down and carry them with me in a folder that I review pretty much every day, whenever I get a quiet moment or two. This is what gives them real power and what keeps me on track.

What is the end result? I have shaped a life by making conscious declarations. All of them have become reality. Am I still working on certain things? Absolutely. And I am sure I will be until the day I die but I've learned that setting clear intent helps make my goals a reality.

I use this method when I am struggling to make a decision or a call of some kind. I figure out what I don't want and what I do want - and generally, the decision-making process becomes a whole lot easier.

Going through life in a passive way generally gives us a life we don't want. Make conscious decisions about every part of your life and you might be surprised (and a little amazed) at what you get.

Source: https://www.inc.com/
Image Credit: Getty Images


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

4 Tips to Building Meaningful Personal and Professional Relationships

In a world full of people pushing their own agendas and their programs and focused on self-promotion, it is refreshing to meet someone who is giving, selfless and authentic. Have you ever met someone like this? More importantly, have you ever learned a lesson from that person that stuck with you?

As a busy 30 year old woman, making new friends outside of my niche doesn't occur all that often. If anything, I connect with like minded women who are paving the way for others in their respective fields, we bond over that aspect. I recently became friends with a neighbor of mine, and we're totally different from one another.

She's a Nurse from Uganda, she's bubbly, loud, and her laugh is contagious. We've become "Farmers Market" friends, and every weekend we explore new parts of town with each other, eating our way through the weekend with reckless abandon.

We have similar interests in food and conversation, and most importantly she doesn't want help with her own business, or to "pick my brain" or even talk about E-commerce. Did you hear that? It was just my gigantic sigh of relief.

She never picks up the phone while we're together, instead focusing on enjoying the time spent. She never complains, even when we get stuck walking in the rain, drive in circles for 30 minutes, or when the two Farmers Markets I took us too both are mysteriously nowhere to be found. She speaks her mind, there's no beating around the bush with her.

What i've learned, is that a worthwhile friendship requires work. Not the drama laden, foot dragging kind of work that may come to mind, but the kind where you actually better yourself. She's taught me valuable lessons that I can parlay into both my personal and professional life.

Here are four tips to start exploring your authentic self.

1. Recognize that being authentic is difficult but there are rewards

Authenticity is about being genuine and real. However, our society isn't used to authenticity and often questions its motives. Sounds like a pain, you might think. So why should you be yourself? Because, as the saying goes, everyone else is already taken.

Authenticity requires self-knowledge and self-awareness. Authentic people accept their strengths and weaknesses. They are accountable. They are connected to their values and desires and act deliberately in ways that are consistent with those qualities. At the end of the day, you'll be happier and more fulfilled pursuing these things than someone else's idea of success.

2. Know who you are

The first step to authenticity is to know who you are. Take as much time as you need to think about what you want to accomplish in your life and what would make you truly happy. What are your values? Brush aside any thoughts of other people's ideas of what matters.

You have one life, and you don't want to have any regrets at the end. Once you know what your values are, decisions that you have to make become easier because you are free to choose things that move you closer to your values. Your decisions should almost make themselves once you know who you really are.

3. Have an open mind

Success isn't just about money, contacts, a huge loft in the city or a house on the beach and glittery parties to attend every weekend. Of course, success could look like that for you, and if it does, by all means, go for it. But most of us want something else from life. Think about how you are able to reach your goals and help others at the same time.

4. Once you reach your goal, share your success with others
You've probably heard the expression that success is twice as sweet when shared. Once you've figured out the secret to your own happiness, don't be afraid to spread the world so that others may be able to share in your success. Don't be afraid to give away your idea -- it will be credited back to you and often bring rewards and recognition your way.

When you assert yourself as someone who is not solely out for their own benefit, you'd be amazed at how many more people actually want to work with you. You'd be a unicorn in the business world, people gravitate towards those who are enjoyable to be around.

These are my favorite kinds of people, and the ones that I want to help achieve their own goals. Take a look at your own behaviors, and make sure you're not being a parasitic friend or business contact.

Source: https://www.inc.com/
Image Credit: Getty Images




ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

3 Ways to Better Build Relationships with Customers in 2018

Let's face it; none of us are perfect with respect to building relationships with customers. How can we do a better job at this all-important task over the next year? Here are a few ways:

#1: Build a Brand That Matters

"There's no place for mediocre content on the Internet," advises Neil Vogel, CEO of Dotdash, and one of the experts I was able to interview for Firebrand Group's current ebook, Big Ideas for 2018. "If your brand doesn't mean something to people, you are not going to thrive (or survive) on the Internet today. You are seeing that in publishing right now - brands are all over the place because they don't mean anything to anyone or have any real value to users." Vogel's one who knows from experience, having famously split About.com into a number of different high-value properties over the last two years, culminating in About.com's rebrand as Dotdash.

"People want expertise," advises Vogel. "If your brand can communicate that, then you have a much better chance of succeeding today."

Going out on a limb to build a brand that resonates isn't risky; playing it safe is probably the riskier move, Vogel argues. "If you disappear from the Internet today, and no one is upset, you probably didn't build a brand that mattered to enough people, or you tried to build a brand on top of a flawed model."

To build a brand that truly serves a purpose, you need to stand for something, Vogel stresses. "Once you determine what you stand for, that will dictate everything after that. You need to identify the true value of what you are doing, and focus solely on delivering on that value." Case in point: Dotdash's home and food-focused brand, The Spruce, is now one of the strongest properties of its kind on the internet, simply because Dotdash set out to do something that it didn't believe was well-served in the marketplace.

#2 Obsess Over Understanding your Users

Although it is quite difficult to truly understand your customers, it is also one of the best ways to foster innovation. "You can gain an entirely different perspective by speaking with people directly and better relating with your users," explains Jamie Albers, head of product for Jigsaw, a tech incubator started by Google, and now operated as a subsidiary of Alphabet. "This can help you create lasting and meaningful connections between your organization and your users, which can in turn help you create better products that reflect what people actually want. It aligns your company around a specific shared goal while also communicating your values to your customers."

"It can be easy for a few users to skew your understanding, so it's critical to consult other sources," advises Albers, who looks at resources like AppAnnie for basic app metrics to understand user engagement and demand. She also analyzes user comments on app store pages, social media sites, and blogs to identify unique user sentiments and use cases for different products. Unsurprisingly, she cites Google Consumer Surveys; they're an insightful, inexpensive way to engage with users at scale and help validate findings."

It is also incredibly helpful to review specific metrics to look at how users are engaging with your products and services. On this front, Albers recommends, Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Heap, Looker, Tableau and Periscope Data.

#3: Crystallize your Brand Voice

Another way to build better relationships with customers is to work on your brand voice, especially for emerging brands. "Voice is part of the fabric of digital-first brands and in many respects how they differentiate and challenge the more conventional incumbents," argues Brendán Murphy, a Senior Partner at global creative consultancy Lippincott. "Looking at industries from insurance to healthcare to financial services, brand voice is the megaphone they use to frame their differentiated purpose and experience."

Murphy, another participant in the Big Ideas for 2018 project, shares that "to build emotional bonds, [brands] are realizing that they need to dig deep into their origin story and recommit to their purpose to engage employees, recruits, and customers."

"As more and more of the service components of brands leverage bots and AI, the verbal experience is an integral part of how customers experience, relate and define brands.

While brands like Oscar get high marks for expression, the best brands walk the talk by using their voice to deliver on their promise.Southwest Airlines does an excellent job of keeping the voice real and engaging across all channels, from flight attendants to social media. Patagonia and Everlane are others brands Murphy cites for being very clear and transparent with their customers about their value proposition, leading with clear and purposeful actions which their customers appreciate.

"The first and most important thing brands need to do is define their purpose," advises Murphy. Character, he explains, is an expression of purpose, values and offering as a company, and shouldn't be something disconnected from who your company is at its core. Figure that out, and you'll be well on your way towards acing the year ahead.

Source: https://www.inc.com/
Image Credit: Getty Images


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

3 Ways to Get More Business from Your Next Networking Event

The following excerpt is from Ivan Misner, Ph.D. and Brian Hilliard’s book Networking Like a Pro. 

Let’s take a look at some specific steps you can take toward improving your networking tactics and getting more business from your very next event.

1. Limit the Number of Contacts per Event

The most important thing is the quality of the contacts you get, which means the type of contact, the relevance to your business and interests, how good a connection you’re making, and the individual involved. At a typical event, five to 10 contacts might be all you can handle. This may not seem like a lot of contacts, but it’s really more than enough when you’re talking to the right people. If you attend two events per week, that’s eight (or more) events a month, or 40 to 80 new contacts every 30 days. Continue to do that over the next couple of months—while following up with the people that you’ve met—and you’ll soon have more than enough high-quality contacts to keep you busy.

2. Spend Five to 10 Minutes Talking and Listening to Each Person

Just because you’re not handing out your business card to 1,001 people doesn’t mean you should spend 20 minutes talking to just one individual. Invest a few minutes in getting to know each person. Make sure to ask for their business card. Then follow up with them after the event; this is where the heavy lifting takes place. Remember, all we’re doing now is setting the stage for future business.

Many people ask us how to end a conversation. Don’t overthink this. It’s pretty easy to end a conversation in a friendly and polite way. Here are two things that we do:

1. Based on something the person you’re talking to says, think of someone in the room that might be interested in talking to them. Let them know about the person in the room, walk them over, and make an intro­duction. Then say that you’ll leave them to get to know one another. It’s a great way to end a conversation and, at the same time, be a connector.

2. If there’s no one to introduce the person to, then thank them for the conversation, let them know that you hope your paths cross again and ask for a card. Conversation over.

On the second approach, it’s important to be genuine. If you hope to never meet that person again, don’t remark, “I hope our paths cross again.” Instead, say something polite and professional and ask for their card. Asking for a card and offering thanks has almost always worked for us. Again, don’t overthink this and don’t apologize for ending the conversation. Whatever you do—don’t say you have someone else to meet. That puts people off.

3. Write Notes on the Backs of People’s Cards

Not only will writing notes help you remember what the other person said at an event, but it will also slow you down a bit so you won’t be running around trying to meet the next person. On the front of the card you can write the date and name of the event where you met the person; on the back, a few quick notes about the conversation or anything else of note. When you contact the person later, this will give you something to refer to.

To reiterate two key ideas when it comes to meeting new people:

You’re not interested in selling anything to the person you’re just meeting; you want to find some way you can help them. You understand, of course, that what goes around comes around, usually in the form of referrals for your business.

You want to create a visible identity with everyone you meet. A visible identity is the answer to this question: “How can I differentiate myself, in the mind of this other person, from the other five people they’ve already met?”

Keeping those two ideas in mind will give you a leg up when meeting new contacts. Using this simple “Givers Gain” approach, you’ll see an uptick in the amount of new business and referrals you get while networking.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/
Image Credit: Caiaimage | Martin Barraud | Getty Images


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

3 Ways to Master the Art of Networking Networking

It's my humble opinion that in order to be a successful CEO or leader, you must first learn and master the art of networking. But understand that networking and "showing up" is only half the battle. In addition to networking, you need to learn how to meaningfully and authentically connect with people. Otherwise, your networking efforts will be wasted.

I know that it can be intimidating and sometimes seem impossible, but it's an absolute must-have skill for growing a business. I happen to enjoy the networking part of my job. It allows me to meet new people, gain important partnerships as well as grow awareness for my business. If you want to be a strong leader you have to put your fears behind you and put yourself out there. Read on for some of my best networking tips.

Build rapport.

This is the golden rule for any and all types of communication. Do you not like talking about yourself? Great! Make the conversation about them. Ask questions in order to learn who they are and what they do. Use that to build rapport. People like to feel like they are important (and they are). Leaving them with that feeling will leave you with a new relationship. Building rapport also means creating memories or remembering the person. Don't talk with someone and forget everything they said. There is nothing worse than having to admit you weren't paying attention. Remembering small details will go a long way when it comes to creating lasting relationships.

Don't do it alone.

Do you have friends or previously-made connections who are great networkers? Bring them with you and follow their lead. There is a lot to be learned by doing. Having someone with you who almost forces you to get out there will do just that. This tactic also helps with those of you who may have some anxiety when it comes to networking or being social. It's not easy putting yourself out there, so having a support system or lifeline can do wonders for your confidence -- which also will do wonders for your networking skills.

Pick the right event.

There are so many opportunities and ways to get your name out there. Some of my favorites are conferences and shows related to my industry. They are more approachable as everyone there is in attendance for the same reason and it's easier to start a conversation. Start with local startup events. They are usually shorter in duration and are more organized, which makes things much easier and less stressful. My awesome home state, Arizona, has a community rooted in startup culture and there are events every week.

Networking and making connections is perhaps one of the most difficult things to master when it comes to being a good leader. But starting small, not doing it alone and practicing will get you to where you want to be.

Source: https://www.inc.com/
Image Credit: Getty Images




ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

How Targeted Email Marketing Can Help Your Business Convert Better

Email marketing is one of the best ways to grow your online business. B2B marketers believe that email is their most effective channel for generating revenue. On B2C’s side, ⅘ of retail professionals trust email as their best method of retaining customers.

When done correctly, email marketing can help take your business to the next level. However, doing it correctly is the best “if” among most marketers.

Setting up opt-in forms to acquire subscribers and send all of them the same content is no longer enough. You need to develop a highly-focused strategy that will turn your email subscribers into customers.

Therefore, a targeted email marketing campaign is in order.

What is targeted email marketing?

By definition, this approach to email marketing lets you group subscribers that share the same characteristics into different segments.

At the very core of targeted email marketing is personalization, especially for e-commerce businesses. Instead of sending all your subscribers the same email, segmentation lets you identify what makes a specific group in your email list tick. As a result, you can create content that connects with each segment of your email list to increase the chances of conversion.

An example of a successful targeted email marketing campaign is from eCommerce enterprise Nykka. With the goal of engaging subscribers through personalized emails, it was able to send 29 million emails with an average opt-in rate of 13% and a click-through rate of 8%.

One of the most effective tactics Nykka used for their email marketing is by targeting highly engaged users and sending out emails of similar products from the ones they’ve recently purchased.

Image source: Boomtrain


By sending similar products to engaged customers who bought a particular brand and with an order value of $50, Nykka was able to convert more customers and increased its revenue.

Benefits of targeted email marketing

Targeted email marketing is a powerful way to communicate with your leads and customers and get them to purchase again. Below are some of the benefits as to why this is the case.

Higher conversion rate

As mentioned, you shouldn’t do email marketing without committing to it wholeheartedly. Merely sending email blasts to your subscribers is one of the best ways to get them to unsubscribe.

To make the most out of your email marketing campaign, make sure to understand who your subscribers and customers are. Getting as much information about your customers allows you to humanize them and lets you create emails that they’d likely click on and read than ignore.

By identifying and catering to “high-value segments” in your email list, you can increase conversion rate by 208%.

Higher customer engagement rate

Customers are the lifeblood of your business. Without them, your business will crumble. However, it is not enough that you acquire as many customers as you can. You need to get the same customers to buy from you as many times as possible. In fact, it costs five times more to acquire new customers than to keep your currents one. Also, the success rate of selling to previous customers is 60-70% while the chances of making a sale with new clients is at 5%.

These statistics prove that you need to keep your customers engaged with your brand as much as you can. And what better way to grab their attention than through targeted email marketing.

Sending a personalized email increases customer engagement by 74% according to marketers in this study. By segmenting your audience based on their habits and preferences, you can send more meaningful emails to them, which in turn compel them to interact with your brand.

Increase in customer retention

Part of grouping customers for targeted email marketing involves knowing their calculated lifetime value (CLV). It computes how many customers you have, the average dollar for every sale, and other factors. By coming up with your CLV, you can predict the average value of your customers should you keep them around.

Retaining these customers can be done through targeted email marketing. The fact that 80% of businesses look up to email marketing as the way to keep customers means you’re not the only one who shares this belief. Sending customers emails that “speak” to them will generate better reception from them. As a result, it increases the chances of them staying with you as long as you provide them with excellent service.

Personalization and creating hyper-targeted segments for targeted email marketing

For your email marketing strategy to work, you must group subscribers and customers accordingly. However, finding the common denominators among them is easier said than done. Nonetheless, below are steps to make the process much easier for you.

Generate your segments

When slicing your email list, you need to group them accordingly using different segments. Whenever somebody purchases from your site, you need to gain access to their age, gender, buying patterns and more. This personally identifiable information (PII) give you an idea of the kind of customer or subscriber each is so you can send them emails tailor-made to their desires and needs.

Choose your focus segments

Since your goal is to profit from your email list, you must determine which of the segments you should dedicate your attention to the most. Not all segments are created equally. Some contribute to your bottom line much more efficiently than others. Your goal now is to determine which segment will have the greatest effect on your profitability.

Segments that you need need to look into are the following:

Past purchases– Find out the products customers in your email list purchased from your website. You can then upsell related products they might want to buy from your site.

Buying frequency– The more people buy from your site, the more chances that you can make them purchase again. Also, you can reward customers by offering them your loyalty program. If you don’t have one yet, learn how to plan and implement your loyalty program in this HelpScout post.

Seasonal sales– Some of your customers only buy from your site during particular seasons. If you’re selling products with a high demand in the period, i.e., Christmas decorations during the holidays, then you need to segment customers who bought only at that time.

Create content for each

Once you’ve figured out which segments to focus on, it’ll be easier for you to craft emails written specifically for that group of subscribers. When done correctly, you can expect your conversion rates to skyrocket and potentially hike up your sales.

When drafting your email message to each segment, you need to keep these things in mind:

Image Source: Shopify

Maintain consistent tone– You need to stick to your voice when delivering a message to your segments. The tone should embody your brand – it is one of the reasons why they buy from your shop in the first place. Whether you revel in humor like Chubbies as seen in this Black Friday email example or take a more formal approach in your emails like Idealist in another example, it is crucial to use your tone to full effect.

Communicate message – Make sure that your email message is clear and leaves no room for misinterpretation. It doesn’t matter if you draft a long, persuasive copy or write a short one. What’s more important is whether the message gets through to your subscribers.

Provide value– Even if you’re not selling anything online, targeted email marketing is an excellent way to share useful content to your subscribers. You can use email marketing so send exclusive resource guides, curated content, and surveys. For example, SuperOffice regularly sends out white papers to its subscribers to provide them with content that resonates with their needs. While white papers and other resource guides can be used to supply your email list with information simply, these can help B2B companies bring their subscribers down their sales funnel.

There are other more factors that you need to consider when crafting emails for your segments. The approach to every email is different for each group on your list. Nonetheless, the three above should help build the foundation on how you should approach writing your emails.

Testing ideas to further optimize your targeted email campaign

You need to find a way to optimize all your targeted email marketing efforts to produce the best results. You can’t keep doing the same thing for every campaign and expect a different outcome. If you want to improve your campaign, you need to make the necessary changes. And to find out what you need to tweak on your future campaign, you need to scale your progress.

One of the most common ways to measure your email marketing is through A/B testing. By deploying different versions of the same campaign, you can determine the iteration that converted the most. You need to diligently test all your campaign so you can unearth breakthroughs in your email marketing that will increase your conversion rate further.

Assuming that you’re already doing A/B testing, below are other ways on how you can scale your targeted email marketing:

Send time optimization

Instead of sending all the emails to recipients at the same time, you can set the time when they will receive them. Factors such as time zone differences and email habits prevent you from launching a successful campaign without considering the factors.

By customizing the time when your emails will be sent, you can engage more subscribers and maximize the results of your campaign.

You can assign different times for each segment when its recipients will receive the emails. Once you’ve sent the emails, compare the open rate of your current campaign with the old ones. Measure the effectiveness of this approach and see and makes the changes whether the results are positive or not.

Experimental design

As valuable as A/B testing is when it comes to optimizing your targeted email marketing, larger businesses will find it limiting. The process of isolating a single variable for testing may not be enough for companies who want to put multiple variables to the test.

Image source: Bain & Company

The experimental design does exactly that. By increasing the variants being tested in a targeted email campaign, you can expedite the increase of your email campaign’s conversion rate. Experimental design is only effective if you have segmented your list accordingly. From here, you can determine the variants that appeal to a segment and will be controlled throughout the email campaign.

Surveys and micro-surveys

There is information that the data provided by your email platform isn’t showing you. You can gain access to the number of people who opened your emails, clicked on the link, and subscribed to your list, among others. What it doesn’t share with you is why they did.

You may have done something right that caused them to perform such actions. However, some of those answers aren’t as evident as it seems. Most importantly, you need to explain why people didn’t open your emails and unsubscribe from your list.

Therefore, you need to reach out to different segments in your email list. Instead of waiting for them to tell you what’s wrong or what you need to do, take the initiative by sending them a survey form. It should ask questions relevant to their behavior towards your email campaigns or a particular subject. The answers provided here can determine what you need to do with your email strategy and tweak it for the better.

As an example, Mailjet surveyed international differences when it comes to email marketing. The survey provided valuable insights on how people from all walks of the globe approach email marketing.

Conclusion

If you want to succeed with targeted email marketing, then you need to value what email marketing brings to the table. It’s one thing to acknowledge its benefits to your business. It’s another to take action on your email list by segmenting each one of them correctly. Doing the latter helps optimize your email marketing so you can send optimized messages to the right people, which will lead to higher conversions.

Source: http://tweakyourbiz.com/




ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

8 Reasons Your Email Marketing is Not Working

According to HubSpot, 86 percent of businesses prefer to use the email format for communication purposes. But not all of them achieve positive results. That’s because there’s more to email marketing than meets the eye. Incorrect email marketing techniques do more harm than good to your business. You need to figure out what you’re doing wrong, and you need to fix the problem immediately. Check out this list of eight common email marketing mistakes you should avoid.

Always Send the Right Number of Emails

Do you send marketing messages to your subscriber every other day? Well, unless you want them to unsubscribe, you might want to stop! Customers do not enjoy the idea of being poked and prodded, just as they hate the idea of being neglected or forgotten. So, you need to toe the line between sending too many emails and too few. Also, pay attention to the frequency of your messages.

A study by Campaign Monitor found that:

Email frequency affects customer unsubscribe and open rates 

Initial email campaigns enjoy the highest open rates 

Subsequent campaigns have higher unsubscribe rates 

Six campaigns later, nearly 50 percent of subscribers open at least one mail and 13 percent click

So, after a while, it all boils down to comparing subsequent email costs with the value of the incremental unique clicks your messages receive. And ideally, marketers should send emails once a week if they want to increase the number of unique clicks without anybody unsubscribing. That’s because 61 percent of buyers enjoy getting promotional emails on a weekly basis. Do not be like other marketers who send emails two or three times in a week.

Keep It Short and Sweet

Most subscribers view emails on their cellphones, which means you have two seconds or less to grab the viewers’ attention immediately. Your subscribers also lose interest if you include too many messages in one mail, use a lot of words in one message, or your email lacks a clear action point. Rather, keep your message short and crisp. Your goal should be to get your message across in the least number of words.

Recognize Your Audience

Figure out what kind of messages your target audience appreciates. Align your message with your readers using the tips below:

Segmentation: After the first few campaigns, begin a survey to separate your audience into groups based on the information they wish to receive, like promotional offers, new products, and more. Use tools like QuestionProand SurveyMonkey to create great surveys. When you send targeted emails, you not only build trust but get more clicks and conversions.

Develop Buyers Personas: Maximize conversion for your email marketing campaigns using comprehensive buyer personas. You can use buyer persona templates for this purpose.

Personalization: According to a Litmus Software report, email personalization is one of the hottest new trends in email marketing. So customize your emails using customer personas, intelligent timing, and behavior triggered messages.

Tip – 64% Americans own a smartphone; look to blend together different channels for more traction on email marketing. Consider integrating your email marketing efforts with SMS. People are available 24X7 on mobile and this is a great way to gain more subscribers. SMS is a great channel to get more leads, so start sending SMS to potential customers, with tiny URLs leading to regular email subscription forms or landing pages. In this way, you will be able to gain lots of new subscribers by way of SMS marketing

Avoid Sending Emails to the Spam Folder

Email spam filters are becoming more advanced. According to Return Path, five percent of emails get stuck in spam folders, while 16 percent get blocked by email providers. So, you need to tweak your emails to avoid pitfalls. 

Follow the tips given below:

Never stuff words like “hurry”, “offer”, “buy”, “free”, and “promo” in your emails 

Reduce the size of bulky emails 

Avoid being labeled as a spammer by testing your email list using a list cleaning service such as NeverBounce 

Never buy email lists 

Try using an email verifying tool like ViolaNorbert 

Balance the text to image ratio 

Avoid adding attachments 

Include only reliable links 

Avoid using exclamation marks and all caps in the subject line

Improve the Subject Lines of Your Email

A study by Experian found that personalized email subject lines increased open rates by 37 percent. Also,according to HubSpot, subject lines that had less than 30 characters enjoyed the highest email open rates. Keep in mind that your messages will not reach your audience if the subject line fails to capture their attention. To ensure your emails perform better, use a subject line analysis tool like Subject Line to figure out what works best for you.

Measure Your Email Marketing Results

Always measure the performance of your email marketing campaign. Keep an eye on stats like:

Total clicks for your email campaign 

Number of unique opens 

Unsubscribe rates 

Conversion percentage 

Number of clicks from unique email formats and content styles 

Every campaign will bring you one step closer to understands which aspects of your email marketing you should improve.

Make Sure Your Emails are Mobile-Friendly

Your emails should load perfectly on different screen sizes. Otherwise, you will never find the success you wish to achieve. You can use a simulator like Previewmyemail or EmailOnAcid to see how your messages appear on various screens. This will help you avoid any mistakes. Also, try to balance the visuals to text ratio for your emails. Keep in mind that 88 percent of smartphone users use their devices to check emails, and that number is only going to increase with time.

Avoid Sending Boring Emails

A dry wall of text is never a good idea! Add personality to your emails or your subscribers will not stay around for long. There’s nothing worse than a bland email. Not only does it make your brand look bad, but it also causes your customers to lose interest in your products or services. So, try to liven up the proceedings by adding some interesting media and content. Adopt some great ideas for improved email copywriting so your campaign finds the success it requires.

Final Thoughts

Like SMS lead generation, a successful email marketing campaign can go a long way in helping your business experience growth. Follow the steps shared in this guide to speed the process of improving email marketing ROIs and conversion rates.

Source: http://tweakyourbiz.com/

Image Credit: Tweak Your Biz


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!