Swiftpage’s New Template Editor – BETA

We know many of you have been waiting a long time, which makes us excited to release a BETA version of our New Template Editor!

The first group of customers is already using the New Template Editor BETA, and many more that have requested it will be “turned on” over the coming weeks.

The New Template Editor contains some great new features driven directly by customer feedback.  They include:

• Full WYSIWYG HTML editing capability
• Image and Document Library – so you can easily store and re-use your images and documents in multiple templates
• Additional Document Types can now be uploaded !  Including Powerpoint, Excel and Word files (current customers are currently limited to only PDF documents!)
• Landing Pages – a real UI for landing pages now exists!  Upload an HTML file, or create one in the WYSIWYG editor, then have Swiftpage Host it as a publicly accessed Landing Page!
• And many more…!

If you have not yet requested to be entered into the BETA program, you can enter by filling out this survey.

As with any BETA product, we need your help making it a great!  If you have questions, comments, feature requests or have found a problem, please fill out this survey.

FAQ Friday: inserting images into templates best practices

Swiftpage Support has put together a list of the top Frequently Asked Questions that our staff receives. We plan on posting one FAQ on our blog from time to time to provide our customers with another resource for their questions. Kassi Johnson, our Customer Service Manager, has put this list together. Her Email address is posted on Kassi Johnson’s about page if you would like to contact her with any further questions.

Why do my images lose their quality in the templates and how do I fix that?

Upon uploading an image, Swiftpage will compress your image — possibly resulting in quality loss — if it is over any of Swiftpage’s three levels for images: all images imported into Swiftpage must be no larger than 50kb in file size, no higher than 72 dpi in resolution, and no wider than 580 pixels (or 600 pixels for a header image). Images within these levels will not be compressed.

If your image is coming into your template with poor quality, you will need to reduce the image you are uploading so it is within the parameters listed above — you can do this in a program like Photoshop or Paint, or you can use a free service called Sumo Paint. Once the image is resized, you can reupload it to your Swiftpage template.

Once you reduce the size of your image the image will be much clearer in your template.

The only other thing to keep in mind is how the images appear in different Email Clients. All Email Clients interpret HTML differently and thus can sometimes distort or change the formatting of your email template, including the images. Make sure you test your email template with as many different domains (Yahoo, Gmail, Outlook, etc) as possible.

Social Media and Small Business – Part 1of 3

Over the course of the next two weeks I want to dig deep into the world of social media and how small businesses should be approaching it. I also want to take a step further in developing concrete ideas on how social media, email marketing and automated marketing can work together in the best interest of small businesses.

Let’s start with Twitter.

Twitter is a fast paced mode of communication. With only 140 characters to use, content is quickly picked up by followers and then quickly transitioned to the next fragment of information. According to Ed Henrich of Clickz, businesses use twitter for community, brand and business.

Community
Education through content is a powerful way to create a community. The people that are going to follow you want to know about your products and services, but don’t want to necessarily be the other end of a sales pitch. Teach your community about who you are through education rather than promotion. You want to provide content that people will want to explore and retweet. Webinars, cases studies, live demos, articles, press release, events, giveaways, blog posts and white papers are all valuable content to be shared. Actively engage your community by lending this content their way.

Brand
Your brand is what sets you apart from your competitors. What is unique to your company that you can relay to your community and the greater public? Small businesses especially have their own personalities in how they go about building their business. The challenge of using Twitter is how you can share your personality in 140 characters or less. Embrace the personality you know true to your company. Choose the most passionate people in your company to be the spokespersons of your social media efforts.

Business
Through applications such as TweetDeck, twitter.search.com, twellow and much more, you have the ability of listening and reacting to your industry at large. You can find people looking for products/services similar to yours. Since twitter is a public space you can reach out to them and start a friendly conversation about your business. You can also pay attention to your followers’ excitements, concerns and questions about your business and products/services and react to them appropriately. And remember, when someone shares negative feedback about your company the best way to deal with it is to react to it with professional grace as soon as possible.

Final thought: Community, brand and business are established when you can effectively and creatively drive people back to your content hub, whether that is your website, blog or something else. By this, you are able to ultimately control the content and messaging of your company that is relayed to your community and the public which in turn provides people with the opportunity to seek out your products and services.

We also want to hear from you! Do you have any questions to ask about the use of Twitter? What is your experience with social media thus far?

 

A Recap of Sage Summit 2009

Sage Summit 2009 was a successful show for Swiftpage.  We featured three products:  Swiftpage for SageCRM, Swiftpage for the new SalesLogix web version 7.5 and for the first time our new stand alone Swiftpage that includes Drip Marketing.

We were thrilled to debut our standalone version of Swiftpage to the particular Sage customers that do not use a CRM.  Swiftpage standalone has an easy to use list manager that allows the user to load their contact list and segment them into groups to ensure an efficient email marketing process.

Sage Summit had over 2,000 Sage product customers in one location. One of the most appealing aspects to the show is its laid back atmosphere. This gave my team and I the opportunity to have long, purposeful conversations with our customers and channel partners.  We learned that we have a dedicated existing audience in SageCRM and SalesLogix that continues to grow and prosper.  We were excited to see new customers bring others within their organization by to participate in our demos.

Our very own Director of CRM Sales, Chris Taylor gave a presentation to the CRM group on how to market effectively in a down economy. He touched on how email marketing is the most cost effective method for driving new business. He also discussed marketing best practices with the audience.

We are excited for SalesLogix hot new item coming up; a move to the Web interface of 7.5. In conjunction to that, we are shooting for a release of Swiftpage for SalesLogix Web shortly after the first of the year.

Mari Smith: Relationships first, business second

Mari Smith graced over 450 attendees with her Facebook and Twitter expertise as she headed up the Thought Leader Series with Bob Ogdon, CEO of Swiftpage yesterday afternoon.

Why social media?
Social media, to Mari Smith, meets the fundamental need of wanting to belong that everyone craves and allows that need to enter into the business world. Tools for building a loyal tribe if you will. Now commerce is being produced through more efficient avenues and the ability to reach key decision makers has dramatically increased due to this surge.

Mari mentions the term “brandividual” and urges small businesses to appoint someone in their company to adopt this title. She sites Frank Eliason of Comcast saying that the number one common denominator in successful social media users is PASSION, not just about the brand they are representing but the people they interact with.  A brandividual is someone who knows their products and services inside out and can naturally and passionately relay that information to the public. Another title to add to the position is the Chief Listening Officer. The CLO has the ability to watch and listen to the conversation and trends of the industry and then engage and react to them.

Another important point brought up during the webinar was the balancing act between being a member of the social media community and a marketer of it. Mari strongly sticks to the motto, “Relationships first, business second” She urged the attendees to concentrate on becoming members of the Twitter and Facebook communities rather than solely marketers trying to sell their company’s services. When you approach social media in an organic fashion, more relationships are built and you will ultimately end up with more dedicated followers. Mari used the example of meeting someone at a bar. You wouldn’t walk right up and ask if they will marry you. You have a conversation first and if everything feels right then you move forward from there, starting a friendship/relationship. The same social graces apply to social media and shouldn’t be overlooked.

Why Twitter?
Twitter is a place where content is continually flowing in and out of people’s minds. One tweet that goes through is picked up by followers and then quickly transitions to the next. It is a constant flow of information. This is why it is far more important to concentrate on writing strong, quality content that will more likely get remembered rather than an abundance of mediocre tweets.

Mari describes two creative ways to engage followers in Twitter. Curiosity marketing is writing engaging content that will simultaneously lead people to want to click on the link provided. Provide your followers with content based material and use colorful language to catch their eye. Anticipation marketing is when you create a build up to a product launch, event, giveaway, you name it. By letting out little tidbits about your launch you create an anticipation that leaves followers wanting more and automatically following your tweets.

Why Facebook?
Facebook provides a perfect layout for you to continually provide a call to action to
your fan base. There are many different applications that allow you to do this that
include, staticfbml and networked blogs are just two examples. Such applications allow you to add an email opt-in to your page or the ability to automatically post your blogs to your wall as soon as they are posted from your blog site. Facebook  provides you with an avenue to blend many initiatives like the ones above as well as posting events and discussion boards.

What else?
Mari reminds us of the emerging trend of the business world turning content based. Every company and business professional can now create their own content and share it with the world. Case studies, white papers, webinars, articles, forums, press releases, blog are just a few. This gives us the ability to share new ideas and connect with people in all different ways.

The key to all social media ventures is to continually drive people back to your content hub, whether that is your blog or your web site. Driving people to your central hub allows you to be in control of the content and message that is relayed to the public. Commerce is being done at an unbelievable rate today because of social media and the ability to reach key decisions makers. Take some time to listen and develop strategic relationships and as the relationships evolve your services will come into play naturally and effectively. Creating a lead generation funnel boils down to creating relationships and trust that naturally bring new contacts your way. If you force it you’ve lost the battle.

Here are other social media resources Mari mentioned:
-    Tweetbeep
-    Techrigy
-    Scoutlabs
*The full list will be included in the follow up email to the webinar and will also be available on the Thought Leader webpage as well.

Thought Leader Series: Mari Smith

Swiftpage is debuting the Thought Leader Series next Tuesday, November 10 at 1:00 p.m. EST. Over the next six months our CEO, Bob Ogdon will be interviewing a variety of experts in the fields of social media, cloud computing and automated marketing. Each interview will examine how small to medium sized businesses can take advantage of these emerging technologies to make a difference in their industries and the greater business world.

Mari Smith will head up the series next week with her expertise in the social media arena specifically dealing with Facebook and Twitter.

So let’s take a moment to get to know her.

Relationships, internet technology and Mari Smith go hand in hand. As a Relationship Marketing Specialist and Social Media Business Coach , she has dedicated her career to showing professionals how to develop profitable relationships using social media. She ventured into the social media arena in 2007 when she discovered the powerful platforms of Twitter and Facebook.

Smith believes that “social media requires a whole different approach to be successful in generating more revenue. You have to know the right approach. My motto is, ‘Relationships first, business second.’”

Wendy Marx of Fast Company named Smith the “Pied Piper of the online world.”  I think you can see why as she has gained over 10,000 friends and fans on Facebook and over 45,000 loyal followers on Twitter.  Not to mention, she is an international traveler, delivering key note speeches and training on social media strategies.

Smith’s interview next week will show you ways to increase your site traffic, find legitimate subscribers and new clients, establish lucrative strategic alliances, attract targeted media attention and much more.

If you haven’t signed up yet, now is the time. Click here>>

FAQ Friday: How can I access my own Suppression (Opt-out) file?

Swiftpage Support has put together a list of the top Frequently Asked Questions that our staff receives. We plan on posting one FAQ on our blog from time to time to provide our customers with another resource for their questions. Kassi Johnson, our Customer Service Manager, has put this list together. Her Email address is posted on Kassi Johnson’s about page if you would like to contact her with any further questions.

How can I access my own Suppression (Opt-out) file?

You can access your suppression file by logging into My Swiftpage at http://www.swiftpage.com/logineditor.htm.  Then click on the Reports button.  Once you have clicked on the Reports button, click on the “Suppression Data” button at the top of the screen.  Enter your account password and click Email List to have the list send to the email address associated with your account, or click View List to view the list online. 

You cannot add or remove people to your opt-out file manually – you will have to contact Swiftpage in order to do so.  You can call  877-228-8377  or email us at support@swiftpage.com with your account name and the email address of the person you want opted-out or removed from the opt-out list.

Making a list and checking it twice.

The holiday season is underway and we are officially past the pre-holiday push. You have set up the groundwork and are ready to go full throttle into the holidays.

It’s now time to take a few minutes and review this season’s checklist:
 
Look back to what you did last season. 
What worked, what didn’t, what could you try different this year.
Things to consider:
- Were certain subject lines more catchy then others?
- Did you maintain the same frequency of emails?
- Were certain products or promotions bigger hits? 
- What days were most effective?

What else could you consider?
 
Clean your email lists.
You want to hit the most inboxes possible this season so you want to make sure the deliverability of your list is at its all time best. This doesn’t necessarily mean to try to increase your list by the hundreds, but it does mean to reorganize and clean you current list. Also, think of creative ways to give your list a little boost this year. Use outlets such as Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin to gain more followers.

Add seasonal flare.
Make your emails noticeable by changing the design/layout of your normal emails. Add a little bit of seasonal spirit to it. Send out a holiday greeting to make it personal. Then follow up with your seasonal specials or an invite to your holiday bash.

We recently added over 30 new holiday templates in our editor. If you don’t see what you like, Bright Peak, a division of Swiftpage, is happy to design something special for you.

Offer a special discount.
If you haven’t already done this, the holiday season is the perfect time to give your customers a great deal on your services. Whether it is a giveaway or a price reduction or good old quality time, your customers will appreciate the gift and stick with you through the New Year.

Set up a Drip Marketing campaign.
A drip marketing campaign is a perfect way to reach each customer at their level. Start out with your first email or newsletter. From the actions that are reported you can set up filters to what the customer will receive next. The people who didn’t open your email may just need a direct mail greeting. Some may need a phone call to grab their attention. Those who interacted with the initial email can receive new emails that align with their actions. 

Keep track of your results.
Analyze your results while your actions are still fresh in your mind. You shouldn’t wait until the middle of next year to examine your holiday marketing results. Explore and record your results while they are happening.

What’s on your check list?

Holiday Marketing Giveaway!

Swiftpage and Bright Peak are working together to give Drip Marketing users the chance to build three email templates as a part of a Drip Campaign sequence, free, through Bright Peak.

All we want to know is: how would you use a 3-custom email Drip Marketing campaign pack for the holidays, and do you have any personal tips or past experiences with holiday marketing?

Here is how to enter to win:

1. You must: comment on this blog post with your holiday tips, experiences and/or how you would use the custom campaign pack.
2. 1 additional entry: Become a follower on Twitter (current followers automatically get 1 Entry)
3. 2 additional entries: Tweet about this giveaway:
   RT @Swiftpage is giving away a 3-custom email drip marketing campaign pack! Details here: http://bit.ly/4abkH2
   (Logged into Twitter? Click here to Retweet now!)
4. 3 additional entries: Blog about this giveaway (if you link to this post, we’ll see it as a trackback link in the comments)

Bonus: Extra two days to add your insights! Giveaway now ends on November 18, 2009 at 12am MST. Winner will be announced at 2pm MST on November 18. Good luck!

Our holiday templates have arrived!

The holiday season is in full throttle. Halloween is now in the past as we realize it is already November! How does time fly this fast? Two months left in 2009 allow the perfect time to push your holiday marketing to the forefront. We have created 30 holiday email templates just for you. The templates are fun and spirited ready to hit inboxes with a boom.

You can use them for your promotions, holiday sales, season greetings, holiday events and more. Just login to your Swiftpage account to check out our new Holiday Templates following zzz_Holiday.

Don’t see what you need? Commission Bright Peak to create some for you!