Happy New Year!
Welcome
to another issue of Communications
Matter! In every issue, we will review topics that will help you
grow your business faster with cutting-edge communication skills.
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We send this publication only to those who have requested it.
We do not sell, rent or give out our mailing lists. If you find
this newsletter to be of value, we invite and encourage you to
forward it to your friends.
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In
this issue:
Is
a Blog in your 2006 Marketing Plan?
Building Your E-Mail List
Creativity
Corner: Creating Podcasts
Is
a Blog in your 2006 Marketing Plan?
| Are
you ready to add a blog to your internet communication plan?
We just did- our address is: http://masonworks.blogspot.com/
Please get in on the valuable discussion! |
 |
Do
you know what a blog is? According to Wikipedia, "A blog
is a website in which journal entries are posted on a regular
basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. The term blog
is a shortened form of weblog or web log. Authoring a blog, maintaining
a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called "blogging".
Individual articles on a blog are called "blog posts,"
"posts" or "entries". A person who posts these
entries is called a "blogger". A blog comprises hypertext,
images, and links (to other webpages and to video, audio and other
files). Blogs use a conversational style of documentation."
A
successful corporate blog contains the following elements:
- Meets
business objectives
- Meshes
with other corporate communication efforts
- Builds
a relationship with the audience
- Return
visits
- Comments
- Trackbacks
- Listens
and responds
- Has
a distinct voice that shares a passion, a point of view
- Uses
transparency to develop trust. This is where you let your customer
know and relate to you.
There
are many types of blogs. Some of them are used to coordinate team
efforts when team members are virtual. Product support, Issues
or thought leadership discussions, and "executive" blogs
are other current uses.
We
recommend that you look at adding a Blog to your communication
plan for 2006. For a informative guide to Blogging, we recommend
Debbie
Weil's Guide. Debbie knows how to explain blogging in a non-technical
way so you can understand. Don't get left behind! Blogs and RSS
are the hot new (cost-effective) marketing tools for savvy companies.
For
a list of Blog sites (some of them are free), go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Weblog_sites
If
you need help with setting up your company's blog, please give
us a call (303-527-2978). Our team is well trained to help you
in this and other methods of web communications.
Building
Your Email List
The
Mason Works team believes strongly in building email communications
into your marketing mix. The cost and ease of use are a relief!
But sometimes the method to build a list seems too labor intensive,
or only possible by the SEO masters. Building your own ezine or
customer list is of extreme strategic importance. Consider trying
the following:
- Place
a sign up form on every page
- Give
your targeted readers a GREAT reason to sign up
for your newsletter- offer a White Paper, training course,
up-to-date industry information, archives of data, etc.
- Link
to your privacy policy so your customer won't be afraid
to give you their information.
- Use
a Pop-up or Pop-under box to remind them to sign up.
- Register
your ezine with ezine directories.
- Place
an ad promoting your ezine on complementary ezines.
- Ask
your readers to forward your newsletter to their friends
and associates.
 |
There
are wonderful resources to guide you when building
your list to get more traffic to your site. One
of our favorite ebooks is The
E-Mail Marketing Handbook by Dr. Ralph Wilson.
His site is full of straight forward information
to help you grow your business affordably. |
Creativity
Corner: Creating Podcasts
| Podcast
are the new way to communicate digitally. They
make listening to seminars, music or books portable
and convenient. Are you ready to create your own?
Its a wonderful addition to your marketing mix.
Audio and video are here to stay! |
 |
Making
a podcast (it's really just making an MP3 file) couldn’t
be simpler. Here are the steps:
- Plug
a microphone into your computer;
-
Record your podcast using a program like Audacity at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
(it's free);
-
Create an RSS feed more information on that here http://www.ipodder.org/whatIsPodcasting
(RSS Feed is a reference enclosure that lets listeners know
when you've put a new podcast online);
- Upload
the podcast to your Web site, and then upload the podcast's
RSS Feed to a destination like Podcast Alley at http://www.podcastalley.com/
so that you can start getting a mass of happy subscribers.
We
are working on podcast projects, so please call us if
you have any questions. Our team is happy to help you!
* * * * * * * * *
We
hope that you have enjoyed our January 2006 newsletter
and will gain many useful ideas from our experience
to accelerate your business! Please contact us if you
do not want to receive future mailings. For more information,
email kathy@mason-works.com
or go to our website, www.mason-works.com
The Mason Works Acceleration team looks forward to helping
you grow your business faster than you can do on your
own.
