Have You Heard of the Electronic Business Card?

An electronic business card is free and you can make one yourself. Many businesses and individuals use them. So you're probably wondering what it is and how you can create one.

Promote your website everytime you send an email and you will see your website traffic increase.

It's simple, free, and essential - it's the humble email signature.

A basic email signature for your business emails could include the details from your business card, such as:
Your name
Your position
Business name
Business address
Business phone numbers, fax numbers and your mobile number
Web address and email address

Your signature is attached to the bottom of your email so all your essential details are readily available for your clients in your email.

Think of how many times you send your email out to people every day. Do you pass out your business cards as much as that in a day? Not likely.

Sure, some of your emails you send are to people you already know but people tend to forward informative or relevant emails onto colleagues and friends. Their friends may not have heard of you and your business before.

So if you have your email signature on that email you have effectively passed your business card to more people than you would have expected.

You can create really flashy email signatures that have images, music, fancy font and colours.

Flashy signatures with your actual signature at the bottom of your email are also available.

Every email client, such as MS Outlook and web-based email, give you the option to add a signature to your emails. All you need to do is type up a simple email signature with the details presented above and turn on the signature option. This can usually be performed under the

Options menu of your email client.

Not hard at all is it? Your email signature acts as an electronic form of your business card by getting your details out to potential clients and it doesn't cost a cent.

Why your customers won't buy from your website

Why your customers won't buy from your website

In a previous newsletter, we've discussed how important it is for your website to be Informative, Well Organised and Entertaining. Studies have found that these are the three main criteria customers will often use to form their opinion about any type of website.

These three factors are also important in influencing a customer's decision to buy your product or service online. However, they are not the only major influences.

There are 2 other key factors that influence whether or not your customers will buy online.

These factors (supported by recent academic studies) are:

1. Perceived Security of your site
Browsers have significant concerns about the risks associated with providing their credit card details and personal information online. If you want to dramatically increase the level of purchases made online at your site, it may be necessary to target a significant portion of your online campaign at alleviating your customers' security fears. Clearly, reassurances about security and privacy provided by online retailers to date appear to have been largely ineffective.

A risk-free security policy (e.g. automatic refund for queried transactions) from the perspective of the consumer may mean your company as the service provider bears greater risk. But weigh this up against the alternative, which is lower or no online sales at all.

2. Previous online purchasing experience
Research has shown that browsers who have purchased online previously are more likely to purchase again. The implication for your business is that it may be more logical to focus communication and marketing strategies on targeting those who have purchased online previously - e.g., advertise on other online vendor sites, gain databases of people who have purchased from websites. By targeting these people, you are increasing your chances of reaching buyers who are already accustomed to online purchasing.

It may also be easier and more cost effective for you to focus on generating repeat business from your own previous online customers.

Some interesting findings to arise from recent internet studies have been the things which do NOT influence the online purchasing intentions of consumers. Factors which buyers find insignificant when deciding whether to purchase online or offline include price, seller reliability and convenience.

To find out how Freestylemedia can extend your online marketing strategy to maximise this knowledge about consumer online purchasing habits, email: fred@freestylemedia.com.au

10 secrets to great email marketing - Part 2

10 secrets to great email marketing - Part 2:

Following our last e-newsletter on email marketing, here are the next 5 secrets to building a great email campaign. To receive the first five, email info@freestylemedia.com.au

6. Give me a reason to refer
At the bottom of your email put a small blurb. "If you know of anyone else who would be interested in this offer please forward them this email." It is very logical for someone to do this, although it is surprising the difference this small blurb makes. Give your customers a reason to refer a friend and you will see an even better response rate.

7. Layout of the email
Understand how your audience is going to read their email. People who use Outlook Express will generally view your email in this small box. What that means for your email is that it needs to convey its message in that little box and give them a reason to scroll down.
It's the same with hotmail browsers, you only have a small window to display your message. Ensure that your offer can be quickly seen otherwise the buyer will browse to the next email.

8. Tune into WIIFM
The WIIFM (What's in it for me?) station is a favourite station when it comes to accepting special sales offers. Ensure that your buyer has a clear and simple way of accepting your offer. Click here to receive a free case study.., Reply to this email to receive a free copy .., Place your name in the form to begin your registration process.

9. Flashy images vs Text
There must be a balance between images and text in email marketing. Preferably more text than images. Images are slow to load and people tend to just read what they are looking at. One image plus a single link with the call to action in actual text is ideal .

10. Clean Subjects
Ensure that you have a subject line that is catchy enough for your email to be opened and relevant enough for the email to be read all the way through. Some possible subject lines are:
Questions, "Are you struggling to find clients?"Great Adjectives "Exclusive unveiling of the new product"

For more information on email marketing campaigns, contact Fred Schebestafred@freestylemedia.com.au

10 secrets to great email marketing - Part 1

10 secrets to great email marketing

The debate about snailmail versus email rages on between the old timer marketers and the new age digital marketers. This article is going to give you the inside word from a digital marketer's perspective on how to increase your response rates and generate a multitude of leads.

1. No mistakes!

Broken links and broken images are an instant detraction from what you are offering. Not only does it damage the image of the company but it also disables the customer from accepting the offer. For example, I once received an email with an offer in it for a conference, but the link to sign up to the offer did not work. Instantly this reflected very poorly on the company and a valuable customer was lost.

2. Make it a quick message for a quick medium

You have 3 seconds to grab your customer's attention otherwise they can just press delete or move onto the next email. When you play tennis and someone hits the ball hard to you, usually your instant reaction is to hit the ball hard back. This is the same with emails. The message is transferred quickly and people tend to read and discard them quickly. You'll find that potential buyers rarely reread a newsletter they have received over email.

3. Send more than one email in the campaign

After you have sent your initial email with its offer send another one a week later saying that the offer has almost expired. You need to weigh up the number of times you do this with how annoyed the receiver will get. Keep doing this until you feel there is nothing more to be gained. This creates urgency for the reader and anyone who does not want to receive the email will just remove himself or herself from the mailing list.

4. Email link to websites

Your call to action is crucial. Direct buyers to a website or to reply to the email. Ensure that your offer is clearly displayed and it is clearly understood how to accept the offer. You will receive much faster response rates if you link to a website instead of asking the buyer to pick up a telephone and call you.

5. Reply to your responses

A quick response to your emails is going to ensure that your hot lead turns into a sale. Unlike with other mediums the time between when your offer is delivered and when it can be acted upon is very short. After receiving an email you can effectively purchase, book, apply or register for anything on the internet in a matter of clicks. This speed is required in returning to your leads as they will expect you to receive their email in your inbox as soon as they send it. As a rule, your response time should not be longer than 12 hours.

6. Give me a reason to refer

At the bottom of your email put a small blurb. "If you know of anyone else who would be interested in this offer please forward them this email." It is very logical for someone to do this, although it is surprising the difference this small blurb makes. Give your customers a reason to refer a friend and you will see an even better response rate.

7. Layout of the email

Understand how your audience is going to read their email. People who use Outlook Express will generally view your email in this small box. What that means for your email is that it needs to convey its message in that little box and give them a reason to scroll down.
It's the same with hotmail browsers, you only have a small window to display your message. Ensure that your offer can be quickly seen otherwise the buyer will browse to the next email.

8. Tune into WIIFM

The WIIFM (What's in it for me?) station is a favourite station when it comes to accepting special sales offers. Ensure that your buyer has a clear and simple way of accepting your offer. Click here to receive a free case study.., Reply to this email to receive a free copy .., Place your name in the form to begin your registration process.

9. Flashy images vs Text

There must be a balance between images and text in email marketing. Preferably more text than images. Images are slow to load and people tend to just read what they are looking at. One image plus a single link with the call to action in actual text is ideal .

10. Clean Subjects

Ensure that you have a subject line that is catchy enough for your email to be opened and relevant enough for the email to be read all the way through. Some possible subject lines are:
Questions, "Are you struggling to find clients?"Great Adjectives "Exclusive unveiling of the new product"

For more information on email marketing campaigns, contact Fred Schebestafred@freestylemedia.com.au

What the new Spam Act means for your business

On 11 April 2004, new legislation will come into effect that will make spam illegal under Australian law.

Businesses who breach the Spam Act and continue to send out spam could find themselves subject to penalties of up $1.1million for each day of infringement.

Generally, the Act means that you are prohibited from sending unsolicited commercial electronic messages that have an Australian link. This can be interpreted as any message that is sent from, or received within, Australia.

More specifically, your business's commercial electronic messages must:

1. Contain accurate sender information
2. Not be sent without the recipient's express or implied consent
3. Offer the facility for the recipient to opt-out or unsubscribe from future correspondence.

An important point for marketers to note is that the new law also prohibits the acquisition or use of email address lists.

Businesses should be aware that the new legislation is not limited to just emails. 'Electronic messages' also includes SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) and IM (Instant Messaging) communications. But at the moment, it does not appear to include standard phone or fax messaging.