Effective Email Newsletters
October 20, 2011 By Dave Koehler

If you want your email newsletter to get read, it needs to be worth the readers attention. People get A LOT of emails. Even worse, you are not just competing with other email messages for attention. You are competing with TV, smart phones, radio, newspapers (well, maybe not), and everything on the Internet. Attention is a scarce resource in this information age. While that may seem a bit overwhelming, if you are writing on a topic that interests the reader, you can cut through the clutter.

Effective email campaigns start with a good subject line. Something that provokes curiousity, and is an honest reflection of the contents of the email message is the way to go. The first goal is getting a person to open the message. However, if your subject line is misleading, then you will fail at the second goal - getting people to read the email.

Once your email is opened (thanks to a snappy subject line), what does the reader see? If your email is composed of images, they see nothing. While it is easy to send images from person to person in a single email, it is difficult in bulk emails. Almost all email programs block images from loading in email newsletters. If the recipient wants to see the images, they will need to click a button or link within the email window that says something like "Load Images." Software makers do this to project users from Spam messages. That's good for them, but bad for email marketers. Fortunately, email newsletters can be made to look quite good using just text and code. Consult a Web design professional if you need help with that.

The message itself should be simple and to the point. As I mentioned earlier, people have a limited amount of time. Even if your email interests them, they may ignore it if the message is too long or boring. Adding links for more information or to get people to visit your Website is also a good idea. Certainly, having basic contact information is a must. And, don't forget an option to unsubscribe.

A quick search of Google will lead you to plenty of detailed advise on this topic. As always, Princeton Online can also help.

Keyword Advertising and Google AdWords
October 12, 2011 By Dave Koehler

Advertising that uses specific words or phrases to link to your content is called keyword advertising, and the leader in this field is Google. Their program, known as Google AdWords, allows businesses to "buy" certain keywords related to their business. When someone searches for those terms in Google's search engine, an ad with those terms can be displayed next to the regular (or organic) search results.

Advertisers use Google AdWords to bid for specific keywords which indicates the maximum amount they are willing to pay each time someone clicks their ad. The system has gotten quite sophisticated over the years, and it can be a bit intimitating for new users. They allow you to choose negative keywords for things you do not want associated with your account (i.e. restaurants, but not take-out). They also feature IP exclusion, and frequency capping for more advanced users.

Google has added automatic bidding to help people get used to the system, and offers an extensive set of instructions which starts with their Beginners Guide.

Of course if you are interested in effective online advertising, then you should also give Princeton Online a try.

Do you need a mobile version of your Website?
October 07, 2011 By Dave Koehler

The simple answer for most small and medium sized businesses is no. While more and more people are viewing the Web on cell phones, many of these phones are "smart" phones which can display a full Web page on their screens. In addition, unless you have a Website that is generating a great deal of new information, or your site is used as a reference site, people are not going to your site that regularily. Creating a mobile version of your Website, is not too complicated, but it is still an unnecessary expense for most.

If your site is used more regularily (like Princeton Online), you can even go a step further, and have an App developed. See Princeton Online's On the Go iPhone and Android App as an example.