Category: Professional Credentials

When Email Marketing Efforts are Ineffective…


Help with email marketing

Most savvy business owners understand the importance of email marketing even if they lack the know-how to run an effective email marketing campaign. Simply put, these business owners realize the imperative to run email marketing campaigns to help them meet the needs and expectations of their target audiences, but they might not possess the skills, or have the time required to orchestrate an email marketing campaign that could yield truly effective results.

Fortunately for these business owners, they don’t have to know a great deal about email marketing because there are many Internet-based marketing consultants who can assist them in planning and running an effective email marketing campaign. So in this article, we will provide a few tips for locating a capable consultant to assist business owners and companies of all sizes – including your business, if you lack the time or required skills – in the creation, administration and completion of an email marketing campaign.

One of the most important criteria in any consultant you seek out and hire to assist you with your email marketing campaigns is experience, which must specifically pertain to results and degree of past success s/he can demonstrate (or document). This is important because one of the best indicators of how well a consultant will perform for you is how well s/he has performed in the past; meaning that if a consultant was able to help multiple past clients to attain their company goals through email marketing, that consultant will likely be able to assist you in achieving similar results.

EMC hiring criteria

Another important criterion which should be taken into consideration when hiring a consultant to assist you in your email marketing efforts is the opinions of that consultant’s past clients; so before making a commitment to work with a particular consultant you should request references from past clients, with the understanding and intent to contact each of the past clients provided and question them about their experiences with the consultant. Follow through at this stage is vital in order to to obtain accurate feedback, so you should not just site on these references, you must contact them and get their opinions about the consultant’s work.

An important point to keep in mind is the fact that most consultants will likely only provide references whom s/he is confident will offer positive opinions of services s/he provided. That having been said, you can still learn a great deal about the consultant’s style, personality and techniques through the references you obtain. This is important because the consultant’s personality, as well as his/her skills and abilities are also as important as any other aspect of the of the Email Marketing Consultant (EMC) hiring process.

 

Keep in mind that – like anything else in life, or any other relationship – there is the possibility that you do not get along with the consultant, or you may have difficulty communicating with him/her, a situation which could make it difficult to work with him/her altogether. On the other hand, if you are not providing the consultant with enough information, or offering feedback which could help him/her to adjust proven email marketing strategies to better meet your expectations it might be hard for you to meet your stated business goals. So a good working relationship (chemistry) with your chosen consultant will also be very important.

Qualified, objective reviews

While it is true that skills, knowledge and experience are all important characteristics of a good email marketing consultant, sometimes none of these factors matter if personality conflicts prevent you and the consultant from communicating adequately. Therefore your personal opinion of the consultant should always be carefully considered before making a hiring decision; and one way to influence your personal opinion is to contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to get objective independent reviews of the email marketing consultant you are considering hiring.

The BBB can provide you with a great deal of information regarding the past performance of most email marketing consultants who have been in business for a number of years and does not have any unresolved complaints with the BBB. This additional research will be a good indication the consultant performs adequately and treats clients fairly. Conversely a consultant with a number of unresolved complaints against him/her is not likely to be a good choice.

Drawing conclusions

Similarly a consultant who has a number of independent reviews raving about the quality of services s/he has provided to past clients will likely be a good choice to assist you in your email marketing efforts, while a consultant who has a number of poor reviews on the Internet is not really a good candidate for the job. Obviousdly you can draw your own conclusions based on reviews of the consultant’s historic profile; but if past clients were not happy with the services s/he provided, you will likely also not be happy with these services.

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Use Goal-Setting to Achieve Email Marketing Success

Goal-setting parameters

As has always been a widely accepted truism about goal-setting, the task of setting clearly defined short-term and some long-term goals, often enables the goal setter to measure his/her progress, achieve personal satisfaction and, after successfully meeting the goals set, establish parameters for future goals and objectives. Charting one’s progress will also enable him/her to actually see the stages of completion leading to actual realization of goals, thereby eliminating that sense which always seems to sneak into a goal setter’s thinking, that the journey towards achieving such goal is a pointless grind.

The act of charting the progress of a particular goal or objective also instills within the goal setter, a sense of self-confidence and a level of competence which will go a long way to improve goal-setting skills and refine the process, while heightening awareness of the goal setter’s capabilities as s/he complete or achieve the set goals. Keep in mind that the basics of goal-setting is an open secret known and adhered to by top-caliber athletes, successful business people and numerous other high achievers in all different fields.

Breaking down goals

In other words, the basics of goal-setting provide you – if you are the goal setter – short-term and long-term motivation and focus. Goals help you to focus, and maintain that focus, on the acquisition of critically important knowledge needed to help you plan and organize your resources, as well as your time, so that you will be able to get the best out of both your personal and professional life. Goal-setting basics often involve decisions pertaining to what you really want to do with your personal life, and what short-term and long-term goals you need to achieve in order to get it.

Of course, you always have to reduce goals into smaller, more manageable targets which you must complete on your way to achieving your lifetime targets; and once your list is complete, you should waste no time in tackling the overall goals you’ve set. One effective manner in which you can have a manageable list is to create daily and weekly sets of goals; and by doing this you will always be in a position of going towards you life plan goals. Everyday will give you the opportunity to fulfill a certain goal, thereby creating within yourself, the feeling of accomplishment.

Following are a few tips that should help in the goal-setting/process.

Attitude • Time • Education •

Attitude – This controllable characteristic plays a very big role in setting and achieving your goals and, as such, you must ask yourself if any part of you or your mind could be impeding the progress in completing your simplest goals. And if you can identify any part of your behavior that is a hindrance to your plans or throws them into disarray, it is important that you immediately address this problem. Some solutions may include a visit to your doctor or psychiatrist in an effort to control your emotions.

Time Management – Many a career have been made as a result of good time management practices, while failing in a career have often been attributed to bad time management. Most successful business people will attest to the fact that a career requires a lot from the individual; and the kind of commitment an individual must make in order to achieve a successful career can become a consuming force in the life of that individual. To avoid this destructive side of “commitment to your craft,” make sure to plan how far you want to go into your career and stick to your plan.

Education – This is key to achieving your goals, especially if those goals require you to have a certain kind of degree, require a certain specialization or demand a certain skill to be developed; so make the necessary plans to get the appropriate education where and when applicable.

Family! Finances! Physicality!

Family – Your family should never be left out of any plans you make pertaining to your career choices. If you are just starting out then you have to decide if you want to be a parent, or when you want to be a parent. You should also considerable thought to whether or not you would really be a good parent, and how well you would relate to extended family members.

Personal Finances – An individual’s personal financial situation will probably always play a major role in achieving his/her goals, since almost everything s/he does, or is able to do, is predicated upon affordability. That having been said, if you are that individual it is important that you have realistic goal on how much you really want to earn. You also must be able to create plans or stages by which you will be able to reach your earning potential.

Although it is not something most of us can control, physical ability is another characteristic that can be categorized when setting goals; meaning that physically gifted individuals are also able to achieve sports-related goals, whether they compete in the NBA (National Basketball Association), NFL (National Football League) or MLB (Major League Baseball; so determining your physical capabilities should be one of your priorities, since physical limitations could sometimes be conquered with proper planning.

Plan good and work hard

While it is important to plan good and work hard, it is just as important to rest and have a little fun along the way. According to the old adage, which you’re probably familiar with, ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’, or something to that effect; and which this saying is probably true down to the last the letter, giving yourself a little pleasure (rewarding yourself for accomplishing your goals?) should be included in all your plans.

A good way to start achieving your lifetime goals might be to set a quarter of a century plan, then break it down to 5 year plans, then break it down again to 1 year plans, then 6 month plans then monthly plans, then weekly, then daily. After that, create a things-to-do list for the day; but always review your plans and prepare for contingencies, and the basics of goal-setting should really not be as difficult as some folks make them out to be, once you become familiar with the process.