MailChimp? What is that?

You probably have at least heard of the newest kid on the block… MailChimp. Well it definitely has caught my eye and I’m looking at making the move over. The features and options and the pricing are all enticing reasons to make the move.

Plus have you checked them out at all? It is just plain fun! A monkey in a mailman suit… that just makes me smile. Even the tutorials are fun and not at all boring and that just makes the whole transition go even better. How many list services do you know have a musical sing-a-long video on Merge Codes LOL!

They recently released version 5.2 which adds many social networking features that sound intriguing. The more I see, the more I like.

I’ll update late on how the transition…move is going, but I would encourage you to check them out.

Mistakes Coaches Make When Setting Up A Website – Part 3

In the first 2 parts of this series we covered the pros & cons of the All-In-One Package for coaches and the awesome pawesome custom designed WordPress site… until it isn’t so awesome.

The missing piece, not thinking long term

Now I don’t want to target coaches only with this problem, just about every entrepreneur out there when they are getting started, have this issue. It’s also perfectly natural.

You are getting started in your coaching practice, you have a million things to consider, organize and set up. You are most likely bootstrapping your business and every dollar counts. So you look at the very short term and set up only what is absolutely essential right here, right now to get you up and running.

In many areas this will work, you do what you can then, add features plus all the bells and whistles you need, as you need them. But are you looking ahead 1, 3, 6, even 12 months down the road? Have you laid out an action plan of steps and needs as you grow your coaching practice? This is essential for your online presence: Website, Social Media, eCommerce.

When you don’t take that peek down the road a bit it is very easy to get caught in a trap of a solution that “Will work for now”. I can’t tell you how many times that has come back to haunt many entrepreneurs… and yes I’m including myself in that statement. Of course watching the $$ is vital but when you skimp in important areas such as shopping cart, list management and website it will hurt you in the end more then it helps up front.

Your website will become your home base on the internet and it needs to have a strong foundation in order for you to grow and expand, without needing to re-do the entire thing in a few months time. As mentioned before, a self hosted WordPress site is my favorite foundation to get started with.

There are many who think a WordPress site is too “bloggy” looking and I can see that point. You want your site to stand out, be noticed and not look like everyone else’s. But you also want and NEED a site that can be up and running in a short period of time, is something that you can be comfortable working with and does not cost you an arm and a leg in the process. A WordPress site can do that for you… can your current site do all this:

• Easily change the look by installing a new theme
• Let you easily update the site
• Allow you to easily add new marketing mediums, blogging, video, podcasting & social media
• Expandable and adaptable website to allow you to add to new products, programs & features as you add them
• Need a membership site? No problem WordPress can handle that with WishList Member or Digital Access Pass
• Easily integrate your shopping cart and/or list building  into the site
• Add a forum in a matter of a couple hours… at most!

So make sure to plan

Take some time to look down the road and review the goals you have in place for your business. What areas of the business will you be developing in the next few months, what role does your website need to play? Will you be venturing into new forms of marketing? What features will you be needing with the new products and/or programs coming up in the next 12 – 18 months?

Do you feel you have a strong foundation in place to get started and grow with? If not contact me today for your FREE consultation and we can see if WordPress might be a good solution for you.

What is a double optin and do I need one?

To double optin or not to double optin, that is the question. The trouble is… there are great points to both sides of the argument.

The Pros:

• Extra layer of protection against spam reports, you can show they went through the double optin process
• Keeps your list clean and removes bad email addresses
• Creates a more targeted and interested list to market to

The Cons (and it is a biggie):

• It will slow your list building rate, not every one will want to go through the extra step of the double optin

With that said, I still highly recommend that you use the double optin process to reduce spam reports and creat a higher quality, more target list.

Most of the list services out there, make this a simple process to set up, make sure you find out their double optin vs single optin options before signing up. Know this ahead of time will help you decide which service would work best for you.

I’ll post soon, steps to improve your double optin rates and steps that need to be taken to let your subscribers how it all works.

Monday Shopping Cart Tip

Automation is a wonderful thing and a shopping cart is an incredible tool that will allow you to automate steps that can be a huge pain to manage yourself… let alone the hours it can take up in your day.

My training and certification is through Practice Pay Solutions, a private label name of 1ShoppingCart.com. Through my classes and daily experience, some of the most basic tools are the tools one mus absolutely take advantage of.
List Building Tools:

• Double Optin Confirmation – protect yourself and comply with the Can Spam Act.
• List Management – manage the names and email addresses of all who sign up for your newsletter, teleclass etc.
• Send newsletters or broadcast emails – Quickly and easily send out your newsletter or special announcement to a select group of people or to everyone, you choice.

A shopping cart is a tool that can help you reclaim your time and simplify your day. If you would like help setting up or maintaining your cart, just let me know.

Making a move… to Aweber

As subscribers to my monthly newsletter and Top Free Internet Resources you probably received my email regarding switching to a new newsletter publisher and list management software. I made the decision to move to Aweber and so far so good.

I was very impressed with the immediate follow-up from Aweber with relevent, helpful tips to help you get started right away using and getting the most out of Aweber.

Which of course is a lesson to learn on how any business should market itself. Why not take advantage of an audience and give relevant content that your ideal customer can begin to use immediately. Show them your expertise and showcase the type of work you enjoy doing.

So sign up today and start receiving your list of Top FREE Internet Resources.