LisaMarie Dias writes this guest blog (and it’s her birthday tomorrow!) :

I don’t wear much make-up, but I do use under-eye concealer almost every day. If you use this, you know how hard it is to find a shade and texture that matches your skin. Finding one that I liked was a challenge, so I was thrilled when the woman behind the make-up counter found one for me that seemed perfect.

I brought it home only to realize that the sleek metal tube was nearly impossible to open, especially with my slightly moisturized fingers. Even after I scrubbed clean both my hands and tube, I still had great difficulty. Days later, still struggling with the tube, I realized that if I twisted it, even slightly, while attempting to open it, large quantities of the product would gush out of the cap. Although the color matched and the tube design was attractive, I’d never buy this product again.

As I thought about it more, I realized that this experience has many parallels with my work creating online marketing materials for small businesses. As great as your product or service might be, if the end user cannot open your message, opens it but can’t read it, or if it creates a mess (think viruses – even the threat of one) they will NOT come back for more.

With this in mind, I have created a list of suggestions for making sure that your message is heard:

• Do not use a regular email service, like Outlook or AOL to create and/or send your mailings. There are limits to the number of recipients you can send to at any one time without being tagged as SPAM. Even if you send them in batches, there is a chance that your address will be tagged and blocked. Regular email is designed for single-column, letter-format correspondence, not longer, more informative and multi-columned documents.

• Instead, use an online marketing tool to deliver your message. Services like Constant Contact and others provide tools to create documents that are clear, clean, and easy to read across multiple platforms. They allow you to divide your text into columns and to add photos and images to make your message both more readable and more enjoyable. These services work to ensure that your message is not considered SPAM. While no one service can promise that every message will be accepted (there are personal, private, and corporate filters that can still be a barrier), these services increase your chances of getting through.

Online marketing tools do cost money, but consider your return on investment. Look at your sales generated by your online marketing; if you’re creating good online marketing, sales should be increasing.

Remember the old-fashioned way of mailing marketing materials? Online services are far more cost-effective than regular mailing campaigns.
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LisaMarie Dias helps individuals and small businesses create customized online E-Newsletters, E-zines, Product Announcements and more, using Constant Contact and other online delivery services. If you are looking for an easy and affordable way to get your message online and into your client’s inbox or want to start an e-newsletter but just don’t know where to begin, LisaMarie Dias Designs can help!

Visit www.LisaMarieDiasDesigns.com to learn more about her services and to find links to Constant Contact where you can sign up for a FREE 60 day trial! Call 973.275.9497 or email LMD@LisaMarieDiasDesigns.com to set up a complimentary 15 minute phone consultation to see how she can help you get your message from your hands to your client’s inbox!

Sign up on her website for LisaMarie’s monthly newsletter filled with tips and suggestions on how to design and create your own custom e-newsletter for your business, your child’s sports teams or volunteer efforts!