Chris Brogan Review – Part 2

Yesterday, I wrote about the Chris Brogan speech I heard at the Social Media Camp in Victoria. There was so much information crammed into an hour, I had to make two posts about it.

This one focuses on Chris’s latest passion, email marketing.

“The best social media app is your inbox.” – Chris Brogan

I’ve learned a lot about this lately, so Chris is certainly not having an epiphany, but what he does do well, is put things into simple, common sense terms.

Essentially, we have been led to believe that social networks are the best way to share information and reach our customers. Think again. Email is still much more targeted.

 

Chris Brogan Explains Power of The Inbox

When you forward email from your inbox, you forward it to people that matter to you, to people that you think will benefit from the information. In Facebook, or Google+, who sees your post is totally random.

• Email should come from a real address, not a ‘do not reply’ address.
• Do not have a link to “click here to view in browser”
• Always use an email service, don’t rely on Gmail or something similar
  (try Aweber, Constant Contact, MailChimp, or similar)
  includes metrics, list management, and they typically have good relationships with the spam police

Chris Brogan – Writing That Email

When you create an email, write it like you are writing to “one person”. Reach out and connect.
Act like a person, and not a company.

Echo – people need to hear a bit about their own story and they’ll relate.

Brevity – don’t ramble, and put the most important part at the top.

Trust – make yourself available

People’s time is precious, so make your email stand out, and make it count.

“Our Inbox is our most trusted asset.” – Chris Brogan

 

Snappy Subject Lines and Branding

Someone may not open your emails all the time, especially if they subscribe to your newsletter,
or other regularly scheduled blasts. But, they will continue to see your name, and your
subject line as they browse through their inbox.

This repetition, keeps your brand in your audiences presence. Just don’t spam people.
Be respectful.

Chris Brogan Suggests Simplifying

I’m sure you are familiar with those email signatures that have about 20 lines of text and links
and numbers, and you don’t even know what to look at. To give these people credit, they are typically
trying to make it easier for you to get a hold of them, sort of a customer service mentality.

But this is what really happens.

When you create the massive signature, you totally take away from your message. It’s like having
an anchor that drags your message into oblivion. People get lost, forget what they read, and move on.

It’s a well known fact that if you give people two choices, they have difficulty making a decision.

When you end your email, have just one call to action, or just ask a question. Just one thing.
Keep it simple and inviting.

If they want to find you on all your social networks, they will seek you out, or click on your
social badges on your website.

Thank You Chris Brogan

These posts are really just snippets of what Chris spoke about, but I can only take so many notes ;).

I’d like to thank Chris Brogan for continuing to serve the blogging and internet community. His commitment to helping others in their online quests is admirable, and so very much appreciated.

I look forward to checking out his new book scheduled to come out in October. You can reserve The Impact Equation on Amazon.

Read Part I of this Chris Brogan Story.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Chomica