Articles & Reports

Column by Janine Popick, Inc.com "Women in Business"
August 2008

There you are, one of two women in a meeting room full of men, or perhaps in a loud bar one woman among four other men -- trying, trying hard to get a word in edgewise.

You try to speak, but Mike won’t stop talking. He’s got to get to the end of his sentence because he started one. He’s got a goal, and it’s to put the period at the end of the entire paragraph. You’ve got no chance.

In a perfect world, you’d know exactly what your customers want and could serve it right up to them without hesitation. Unfortunately, things don’t quite work this way, so you’ve got to use the tools you have available to find out more about your customers. And there’s no better tool for this purpose than a survey.

A well-written and formatted survey will generate high response rates and provide you with quality information that can be used to improve just about any aspect of your business. In this White Paper, we’ll examine some best practices you can use to build a great survey

It's that time of year again when we all list our New Years resolutions. Lose 10 lbs, get to work early, call your Mom every week. We know, we all have them. Sometimes they seem too hard, even though we know we should. Here is a list of 10 achievable resolutions all businesses should focus on in the New Year, if you're not already ahead of the game. If you are, consider yourself a pro and do everything 20% better!

Use a Calendar

Google has a great one where you can use alerts to remind you to write copy and send communications. Bonus? You can also share it with others so that they know exactly when you're planning to launch a campaign.

Column by Janine Popick, Inc.com "Women in Business"
January 2008

Here's how you can make new employees feel like part of the family the first day they walk in.

It's never been harder to attract great employees than it is now, but in my opinion it's never been easy either. Getting a job is not as hard as it used to be, and potential employees have a ton of options. So when you finally hire someone, it's important to make him/her feel part of the family fast — with a capital F.

Tips for Successful Email Marketing Campaigns

If you are a retailer then you know how hectic and competitive direct marketing campaigns and offers to consumers can be during the holiday season. According to analyst firm Forrester, US Consumers will spend $33 billion during the 2007 holiday season and online spending will increase 21% over 2006. To help you prepare for the busiest time of the year, we’ve compiled some ideas to get you thinking and acting now so you can start building more mindshare (and wallet share) with shoppers. Although most of these tips are aimed at driving traffic for retailers, either online or in stores, the concepts can be adapted to just about any industry.

Column by Janine Popick, Inc.com "Women in Business"
November 2007

Put up boundaries before your friends get too cozy being the boss's buddy.

Have you ever hired a friend? Someone you may have worked with in the past? We all do it, and for good reason: We trust them and we think they'll do a good job. Otherwise we wouldn't do it, right?

Then a great thing happens. Your company grows and you find yourself working with new people you don't have a previous relationship with... a sign of good times! But what happens when your relationship with your "Friend from the Past" (FFTP) changes from business to personal, and they don't follow?

Delivering email seems pretty straightforward, right? You upload a mailing list, create an email, hit send, and then mighty wizards transport that email to your recipients through the use of ancient, handcrafted cables and powerful laser beams. What more could you possibly need to know about this process? As it turns out, loads more.

There are a number of factors that determine whether an email, especially a bulk email, gets a response from its recipients. What are those factors? I’m glad you asked!

Getting permission to send someone an email is probably the toughest, yet one of the most important, things you can do. Why is it so tough? Because you have to gain your potential recipient’s trust, that’s why. They need to feel comfortable that you won’t abuse their valuable and personal information.

Testing can be an important part of your email marketing strategy. A simple tweak in your email campaign could squeeze in some additional clicks, opens or even added revenue! Here are some ideas for each part of this rule that can hopefully help you garner better results.

Generally speaking, it’s good to have options. But occasionally, having too many alternatives can be a curse, not a blessing. When searching for an Email Service Provider (ESP), there’s no shortage of choices, but selecting the right ESP from a staggering array of candidates can be a daunting task. Here is a list of criteria you may want to start with when deciding who to choose an online Email Service Provider.