Off to Book Expo, upstate NY, and Gettysburg

As it is late and I am not done packing yet (of course!), refer to Ted Savas' recent post about our upcoming trip to Book Expo America, New York, and Gettysburg. It will be a great time.

And yes . . . I have my The Maps of Gettysburg and The Complete Gettysburg Guide copies ready for personal tours. =)

More next week.

Results of Email Frequency Poll

Although taken from a small sample, the results of my recent poll are as I expected – half of the people said that they want to receive news and info from a company that they gave their email address to about once a month. This is how frequently we send out our e-newsletter. Occasionally we send out a special blast about a particular book or a time-sensitive offer, but we usually stick to the once a month model.

I understand the benefits of increasing contact with our customers though. Soon we are going to use a new program to send out our emailed newsletters. Using this program we will easily be able to track how many people clicked on which links in our newsletter to see what people are the most interested in reading. We plan to send out more tailored emails to customers based on their book preferences using this information.

Emailed updates and information – when is it too much?

I received a video link from Steve Harrison this week. He offers a lot of free phone seminars, video clips, resources, etc. Some of them are helpful, some are just pushes to sign up for their classes and programs. The 13-minute video I watched this week is posted here.

The title is “Steve Harrison reveals the most costly website mistake to avoid plus how to get his web designer to build you a better site.” If you don’t have 13 extra minutes, he says the most costly mistake is “expecting people to buy the first time they visit your site.” And then if they don’t, not having a way to follow up with them. The video goes on to explain some important website features, such as having a sign up form for a newsletter or offering an incentive (such as a list of tips or a packet of resources) to the viewer if they fill out a contact form.

Steve Harrison also explains how important it is to frequently send potential customers information. My question is, how much is too much? I know I’ve unsubscribed to newsletters, or found myself clicking delete on emails before even opening them, if I think I hear from the company too often. I’m following Ted Savas’ quiz model by posting the question on the left.