REMINDER: COUPON UPDATES DUE 6.21.2010

REMINDER: COUPON UPDATES DUE 6.21.2010

Greetings!

Happy June to all of our valued clients!

This message is going out to all our eMail Marketing and Boxnet clients.

Please let us know if you are needing eClub sign up forms or return envelopes.

eMail Marketing!

This month we have already sent out over 7200 eMails for you! I have never counted before, but even I am amazed (you think I wouldn’t be since I manage this project)! Wow!

I think that is wonderful. I am excited to say, clients that haven’t sent any new contacts before, have done so in the last month, combine that with the contacts that sign up on your web sites and we have some pretty good communicating happening!

There is a chance we can even do better. When was the last time you checked the eMail accounts in your eMail address book? There may be new contacts in there that have not been added to our managing system. If you have never exported your address book, or if it has been so long that you don’t remember, I want to steer you to our knowledge base at omOriginals.com. For directions to export your address books from Apple Mail, Gmail, Outlook, Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo! please Click Here.

I will look forward to a few new .csv files with new contacts coming to my eMail box soon!

Later in the month we will be sending The First Day of Summer eMails…that is right…summer is on the way (although when I am around…Summer is always here)!

I would love input toward the Independence Day eMails we will send on July 1st! Please include suggestions with your coupon/info updates due June 21st.

Web Sites!

If you have ever seen an eMail from me, you have seen my signature:

Have a Refreshingly Different Day!

Summer Clemenson
Web Site & eMail Marketing Specialist
omOriginals Marketing!
360.575.9839 | 877.378.4345
705 Vandercook Way | Longview, WA 98632

offering refreshingly different web + marketing solutions for over 11 years
see our latest creations @ http://www.omOriginals.com/blog

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

There are several key ingredients in my signature.

• My salutation includes words that go with our slogan: refreshingly different.
  
• My name and title tells you what I do.
  
• My company name tells you where I work.
  
• My phone numbers and address make it very easy to reach me.
  
• The link to my web site advertises my web site to everyone I send a message to and whoever the receiver forwards the message to. THIS IS FREE ADVERTISING
• Of course you can tell that I live in a digital world…I will save the paper for other projects…
  

Now, I don’t expect that everyone needs to say as much I choose to with my signature, but I wanted to point out to you that there are a lot of ways to advertise yourself and this is just another way to get people to know about your web site…to have a better chance of getting more traffic to your site. Of connecting with more people.

If you have any questions we are hear to answer them. Remember, we are here to help! ~:-)

Have a Refreshingly Different Day!

Domain Owners Be Educated & Beware!

This month I wish to warn you about an ongoing domain name scam and to educate you on the different types of domains. If you have a website then you surely own a domain. A domain is the address of your website. An example of a domain name is ValleyBugler.COM. The major domain extensions .com, .org, & .net can be registered for one or more years at a time. For maximum search engine ranking it is now suggested to register your domain for 5 years or more. This “tells” the search engines that your company is committed to developing your website.

Don’t lose your domain.
It is important to keep your domain registered or else you can loose it. There are lots of companies that wait for domains to expire and then register them up for their own gain. I recommend having a reminder on your calendar for the due date of your domain.

That being said, when a bill comes for you to renew your domain read it VERY carefully.
Every year I hear of businesses getting an “official looking invoice” from the Domain Registry of America, Liberty Domain names or Domain Renewal Group. Both of these companies (and others) send eMails and snail mail letters to registrants (the people that own domains) that look like invoices, but they are just solicitations. If you look closely it says that it is not a bill, but many people pay. ~:-) This is the same tactic that is known as slamming in the phone industry.

The result: Your domain is then transferred to their company for about $30 year! Most domains should cost about $15/year. This can be a mess. If you have any question where your domain is registered I suggest that you call your web site developer before paying any domain bills. If they don’t know, you can call my office and we can give that info to you. ~:-)

I’m often asked, “What is the difference between domain extensions?”

.com represents the word “commercial,” and is the most widely used extension in the world. Most businesses prefer a .com domain name because it is a highly recognized symbol for having a business presence on the Internet.

.net represents the word “network,” and was created for use by Internet service providers. In reality I see most businesses attempt to get a .com and they use the .net as a second choice. omOrginals Marketing! could technically be a .net, but we’ve embraced the .com.

.org represents the word “organization,” and is primarily used by non-profits groups or trade associations.

.biz is used for small business Web sites.

.gov is used for government Web sites.

.info is for credible resource Web sites and signifies a “resource” web site. It’s the most popular extension beyond .com, .net and .org.

.mobi (short for “mobile”) is reserved for Web sites built for easy viewing on mobile devices. There was a lot of hype with .mobi, but all sites should go mobile. I don’t see a reason for this extension.

.us is for American Web sites and is the newest extension. It has the largest amount of available names in inventory.

.cc was originally the country code for Coco’s Keeling Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.

.bz was originally designated as the country code for Belize, but is now commonly used by small business who can’t get the name they want using the .biz extension. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.

.tv is for rich content/multi-media Web sites, commonly used within the entertainment or media industry.

.ws was originally designated as the country code for Western Samoa, but is now commonly used as an acronym for “Web sites.” It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.

.name is the only domain extension specifically designed for personal use. It is commonly used for easy to remember e-mail addresses and personal web sites that display photos or personal information about an individual.

.pro is a new extension. is open to all professionals and licensed business owners in any country, Business license owners are also eligible.

Be the master of your domain.
Be sure to review your domain registration bills and consider registering for 5 years. If you have any questions about domains and/or need help with registration we’d be glad to help. ~:-)

REMINDER: COUPON UPDATES DUE 5.20.2010

REMINDER: COUPON UPDATES DUE 5.20.2010

Greetings!

To all of our valued clients, regardless of the services we provide to you…Happy May!

Please let us know if you are needing eClub sign up forms or return envelopes.

eMail Marketing!
You may look forward to a Memorial Day eMail coming out on the 27th of this month. Next month we will be sending out First Day of Summer eMails on June 21st. If you have any suggestions of what you would like to see, I would love to hear them! Please eMail us.

I have two things I would like to talk about this month: Content and Customers. Both are relevant and connected.

Content
It is true that some businesses may have it easier than others in coming up with a coupon to entice people to come back…everyone likes to eat out and everyone has to get their car fixed, but what about companies that offer a very valuable service that is not so easy to make a coupon for? Like insurance or kitchen remodeling or legal representation…how about web design?

Customers want value and we need to create value for them. How much value are we creating by offering free air duct removal to a client that just had a new heating system installed? It is true that that coupon will benefit the person that is still shopping, but once it is done, if we always offer that same deal or something like it, how much significance have we produced? Yes they may forward it to a friend or family member that also needs that service, but what did we give our customer?

What if instead of always offering the same deal, we sent them a newsletter that included a tip on how to better care for the system they spent their hard-earned dollars on? It would only need to have a couple paragraphs, but giving them care tips or teaching them about a related topic would be of greater value to them than a coupon for something they already have. I am sure that your distributors already have promotional articles written up that you could use and maybe even personalize.

If you have a web site we could create value for you by archiving those articles on your web site.  This will give the search engines something new to look at and make your web site look cooler to those same search engines.  It will also show people have not joined your eClub what they will be getting and why they should sign up.

Customers
In case you didn’t know there are 2 reasons that a customer that has signed up for your eClub is not getting the eMails we send out.

If your customer typed in the wrong eMail address when they signed up online, they will not get any eMails…but the person that owns the incorrect email address will. The chance of this happening increases drastically if they fill out the sign up cards with sloppy handwriting…we can’t fix the first by accusing the customer of typing it incorrectly (that is how they will hear it) but if you are able, doing it for them while they stand there will show them that you really care about them.

On the same token, if someone has given you a card you can’t read and later complains about not getting any emails from you, suggesting signing up online or doing it for them would help the situation. (Those of you that have received new sign up forms may have noticed that your contact information and web address are on them so you can let them take it home and sign up there if they want to.)

Another reason your customers are not getting ALL of their emails is that they want eMails sent to 2 people at the same eMail address. The system we use can only acknowledge 1 contact. They may be able to get an eMail to Dear Ed and Sue because we put Ed and Sue in as their first name but they will only get one birthday eMail because they can only enter one birthday per eMail address into the system. Please educate your customers that if you update the eMail address with a new name, it only kicks out the first contact person and replaces it with the second. Suggesting that they enter the second person with a different eMail address is the only way to ensure that each person gets a birthday offer on their birthday.

Web Sites!
Many of you have helped us keep your web site fresh and new…or at least bring it up to date…AWESOME!

I know there are several web sites that I haven’t even tackled yet. You might want to take a moment and look at it. Are the prices up to date? Are you offering new services that are not on your site? Are your bio’s or About Us pages still current? Are there some pictures we could add to make the site more interesting to your clients? If you have a testimonials page or a place to list articles, when was the last time we added anything?

The internet is like a popularity contest. The more people visit your site, or the more sites link to you – or you link to them, the cooler the search engines think you are. You get more people to your site by eMail Marketing or just advertising your web address but also by giving them content that is valuable…like tips to care for your custom granite countertops or how being a safe driver benefits your insurance coverage.

If you have any questions we are hear to answer them. Remember, we are here to help! ~:-)

Have a Refreshingly Different Day!