“Boring!”  It’s the nemesis of all content writers and it threatens to creep into your newsletters.  As soon as boring content shows its face, you can kiss the inbox goodbye and start staking out real estate in the recycle bin.  What to do?  Follow these eleven tips to keep your subscribers engaged from the headline all the way to the fine print.

1.     Tantalize with a fabulous headline.
Ask a question, promise a list of tips, or offer free industry-related advice. If your headline is a lemon, your readers won’t take the time to read further.

2.     Write about what you know.
Fill your newsletter content with the things you consider yourself to be an expert on rather than falling back on someone else’s content.

3.     Choose current hot topics from your industry.
Follow blogs and stay up to date on new product releases, industry changes, and questions people are currently asking. Position yourself as an expert on current topics through your newsletter.

4.     Let your personality shine through.
Be conversational, humorous, witty, and even sarcastic if it comes naturally to you, all with the goal of building a relationship with your readers.

5.     Include lifestyle content that relates to what you do.
Show your subscribers how to apply your information to their daily lives. For instance, if you sell dog training videos, write a newsletter with tips on house training a new puppy.

6.     Narrow your focus.
Choose a goal for your newsletter and stick with it. Are you promoting your blog, sending industry updates, or offering tips? Let your subscribers know what to expect up front.

7.     Match your writing style to the personality of your company.
Is your company trendy and upbeat or do you present a more reserved, professional face to your audience? A law firm newsletter should sound different from a newsletter for a trendy salon and spa.

8.     Encourage subscribers to respond.
Include a feedback form or email address in each newsletter and make a point of replying to any feedback you receive.

9.     Include relevant images and graphics.
Well-chosen images and graphics can pique interest before the subscriber has started reading. Images should relate in a substantive way to your content rather than being generic stock photos.

10.  Break content into manageable chunks.
Bullet points, subheadings, numbers, and space between paragraphs can all make your content look less intimidating by making it easier to skim. Lengthy paragraphs tend to turn people away.

11.  Include customer feedback in your content.
Testimonials, customer Q&As, and stories are all great ways to bring your subscribers into the conversation.

By incorporating these 11 tips as you write newsletter content, you can banish droopy eyelids from your subscribers. Keep your content concise, informative, and interesting, and you’ll guarantee an engaged audience.

HMG is pleased to announce Colorado native, John Wagner, is now a part of the HMG Austin team!  John’s background encompasses sales with a focus in consumer sales call centers and consultative business to business sales.  He has become an expert in the industry through his time at Dish Network and Silicon Valley start-up, RingCentral.  Along with this profession, John holds a strong passion for career coaching which has inspired him to offer as a side practice.  John will be bringing his competence in sales to the Business Development Department here at HMG.

In April 2012, John said so long to the cold and headed south to Texas, but his travels don’t stop there.  Outside of work, you can probably find him on the road visiting anywhere he can drive to (as long as he’s back for work on Monday, of course).  Oh, and did we mention he’s a baseball fanatic?  If you’d like to talk business or even baseball send John a “hello” at [email protected].

You sit in your car for a thirty minute commute. You hoof it into the office where you sit for another eight or nine hours. Then it’s back in the car and home where you plonk down on the couch for the evening. In fact, many Americans spend an astonishing fifteen hours a day sitting—and it’s showing up in our waistlines. Studies have linked sitting for more than six hours a day to numerous health problems including obesity, cancer, heart disease, and shorter life spans as the study on http://newplantarfasciitistreatment.wordpress.com/ says. But the good news is that even if you spend all day at the office, you can incorporate these five healthy tips into your routine for better health.

1.     Stand Up
Stand up whenever you can, but at least once an hour. Sound impossible? Try standing when you’re on the phone, when you’re waiting for a printout, and when you’re flipping through a file. Walk to a co-workers desk instead of sending an email. Take a trip to the water cooler. Take every opportunity to stand up and get your blood flowing.

2.     Challenge Your Exercise Expectations
Exercise oxiracetam doesn’t have to mean an hour at the gym see best fat burner for women . It can mean a brisk walk around the building on your break, 10 wall-pushups, or a quick jog in place at your desk. It can mean taking the stairs instead of the elevator and parking farther away from the building. Build exercise opportunities into your day in order to increase your overall activity level.

3.     Get Double Benefits During Lunch
If your typical lunch consists of a sandwich from the deli eaten at your desk, it’s time to change it up. Pack a healthy lunch the night before and include some fruit and veggies. Double up on the health benefits by taking twenty minutes to walk around your building or go for a brisk jog when possible.

4.     Switch Out Your Snacks
Wave good-bye to the vending machine and reach into your drawer for a banana or an apple with peanut butter instead. Choosing snacks that consist of fruit, vegetables, and protein can help you feel more awake during the afternoon and can also keep you full longer, helping you say no to the Jelly Belly jar on your co-workers desk.

5.     Pick a Partner
Ask a co-worker to jump into your new healthy routine with you. You’ll feel a lot less conspicuous doing squats at your desk and noshing on celery if you have a friend doing it with you.

If you feel chained to your desk, remember that it’s possible to create active routines even within the confines of the office. Creating healthy routines means making good choices every day, one small step at a time.

HMG Creative is thrilled to introduce Jenn Buch as the newest member of our Creative Team. This proud alum from West Virginia University graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design and a dual degree in Multidisciplinary Studies in Advertising, Art History, and Foreign Literature.

If you couldn’t tell, this girl loves design and, trust me, she can talk about typography all day long.  Oh, and she secretly loves to learn a new shorthand in the Adobe Creative Suite. Lucky for us, Jenn will be bringing her love of all things design to HMG Creative.

Although Jenn is new to Austin, she’s exploring the city and taking full advantage of the “keep it weird” vibe.  Hiking trails and artist markets?  Jenn already feels right at home!  So give her a warm welcome at [email protected].

For those of you who don’t know, WordPress is an open source blogging tool and a dynamic content management system (CMS).  Actually, WordPress is currently the most popular blogging platform in use on the Internet.  And what do you know, WordPress is what we currently operate on here at HMG Creative.  For those of you not so familiar with the application, I will provide you with a quick tutorial that will explore and teach you about the ins and outs of WordPress.

Getting Started
The first step, just like any other online management system, is to login.  To do so, add the extension /wp-admin to the end of your website URL.

For example: http://www.hmgcreative.com/blog/wp-admin

Now that you are entered as an administrator, your options are endless.  Well—maybe not endless, but there are a lot of functions to choose from.  So let’s start with a blog.

Creating a New Blog Post
You will see the Dashboard on the left side of the page.  To create a new entry, click “Posts” and choose “Add New.”

Once you have your new workspace you are free to do the following:

• Title It:  What’s a story without a title anyhow?
• Add Content:  This is just like working with Word or any other similar software.  Just type away!
• Pictures & Media:  If you would like to add something to spice up your post, click on the “Upload/Insert” media icon.
  
• Insert a Hyperlink:  Always helpful when you are making references.  If you’d like this link to open in a new window, be sure to check that box!
• Categories:  Choose or add a custom category based on the topic of the post.
• Add Tags:  This will allow readers to track the key words found in your post.

You also have the ability to:

• View it in HTML by choosing that tab which is located at the upper-right corner of the text box.  If you don’t understand HTML coding stay away from this feature.
• Add a title and description in the All-in-One SEO Pack.

Publishing Your Post
The time has come and your masterpiece is now ready for other eyes to see.  So now you must choose, should I publish now and be done with it, should I save it as a draft and have a co-worker proof my work OR should I schedule a time to publish it in the future?  Although this is completely your decision, there are many online studies of the prime times to publish articles, post blogs, tweet, send emails, etc. so be sure to check those out!

Approving Comments
The whole point of a blog is for people around the Web space to learn and interact with one another.  In order to interact, most users will post their comments on other blogs.  However, WordPress does not allow a comment to be seen unless it is approved by you.  In order to decide if this comment is worthy for your blog, go back to the Dashboard panel and click on “Comments.”

Here you will be able to see who and what has been posted.  You are then able to approve or ignore the comment.  You will see these options when you hover over the text.

Editing a Web Page
To do this, head back over to the Dashboard panel.  Choose “Pages,” and then click “All Pages.”

You will see the option to edit the page when you hover over a row.  Once you choose to edit, you are presented with the same options as you were earlier with a blog post.  However, it is different in the fact that it will stay in the same place and will show up in your site navigation (in most cases).

From here, you’ll do the same as you did when you created your new blog post:

• Add a page title
• Edit the body content
• Add images and other media
• View in HTML format
• Edit title and the description of the All-in-One SEO Pack
• Publish, save as a draft or schedule your publishing date

Adding Pages to the Navigation
To begin, select “Appearance” on the Dashboard menu, then choose “Menus.”

You will then select the page that you would like to add in the “Pages” section and press the “Add to Menu” button.  You are able to rearrange the order of the navigation by dragging and dropping the buttons in the general navigation area.  Once you are finished, save your changes by pressing the “Save Menu” option.

Adding a New User
On the Dashboard bar, under “Users,” select “Add New.”

• Fill out the new user form fields.
• You will then be given the following options to assign a role to the new user:
  1.  Subscriber:  Can read comments/comment/receive newsletters, etc. BUT cannot create regular site content
  2.  Administrator:  Has access to all the administration features.
  3.  Editor:  Can publish posts, manage posts, as well as manage other people’s posts, etc.
  4.  Author:  Can publish and manage their own posts and are able to upload files.
  5.  Contributor:  Can write and manage their posts but cannot publish posts or upload media files.
• Once you have done the above, save your changes by pressing the “Add New User” option.

Before no time, you will be an expert at using WordPress.  All it takes is a little practice and all of the functions will become second nature.  Feel free to leave a comment or send us a tweet @hmgcreative with any questions, concerns or maybe even a few of your own tips to share!

HMG Creative is thrilled to announce the launch of Quick Fix Stock Charts, a financial site that educates members on the market about pay day loans and stocks by providing daily stock charts, complete with analysis and comparisons.

Continue…

A quick trip to the mall this morning revealed that stores are already gearing up for Thanksgiving and—yikes!—Christmas shopping. 10 percent of retailers have already sent a Christmas email to their subscriber list, but don’t feel bad if you haven’t yet. There’s still plenty of time to get your jingle on. Check out what worked and what didn’t during the 2011 holiday season:

What Worked: Sending Emails During the Week of Black Friday

While email opens were average on Black Friday itself, the week leading up to it was a good week for email marketers. Nearly 16 percent of email subscribers made a purchase in response to an email that was sent during the week of Black Friday.

What Didn’t: Relying on Gimmicks to Earn Better Open Rates (like certain words in the subject line)

Popular subject line word choices for 2011 included “free,” “sale,” and “shipping.” Surprisingly, these words did not result in higher open rates. However, the word “coupon” did entice more people to open an email, although it wasn’t used as often.

Take away: Tried and true subject line methods of stating clearly what your email contains, piquing interest, and promising value earn more opens than gimmicks.

What Worked: Sending Emails to Subscribers on Christmas Day

Surprisingly, 6 percent of the emails sent on Christmas Day were opened, despite the many festivities of Christmas morning and dinner with the in-laws. That’s just 3 percent less than average. Also, people spent over 170 percent more on their mobile devices this year than they did on Christmas Day 2010.

What Didn’t: Expecting Better Response Leading Up to Christmas But Ignoring Christmas Day

Actual customer behavior showed that click-throughs increased on Christmas Day, meaning that the savvy marketers who sent a Christmas Day email were rewarded for their efforts with a spike in sales.

Takeaway: People are already looking for sales and after-Christmas deals even before the wrapping paper has made it into the trash can, so give them plenty of shopping options.

What Worked: Using Social Media to Promote Specials and Sales

Promoting sales and specials on Facebook and Twitter creates buzz as your fans share with their friends, giving you a much broader reach than just your subscriber list.

What Didn’t: Failing to Link Social Media Campaigns With Other Marketing Efforts

Of course, Facebook and Twitter can be limiting in their own way, so don’t expect them to do all your marketing for you. People need commonality across marketing venues to keep them oriented.

Takeaway: Coordinate your social media marketing plans with other marketing campaigns to create a unified strategy that reaches as many people as possible.

The 2012 holiday season is upon us. By reflecting on what did and did not drive sales last year, you can create an effective marketing strategy that will keep shoppers merrily clicking away, even when the weather outside is frightful.

Statistics Source: Epsilon 2012 Holiday Trend Report

Certain businesses have become overnight starlets in the world of social media. Somehow, things just clicked right from the start, and they “get it.” As it turns out, these social media divas all have some essential practices in common. With just a little effort, you too can enter the social media stratosphere.

• Don’t be afraid to ask for fans.
  Let your email subscribers know about your social media efforts by including “Follow Us” buttons in each message you send, including customer service messages. You can also create a special campaign to request followers. Templates are free and easy to integrate into your newsletter format.

• Incentivize subscriptions.
  One-time incentives such as a coupon or discount for liking a Facebook page can be excellent tools to acquire likes. You can also tempt would-be followers with promises of regular Twitter-only specials, sale previews, or VIP access to sales events.

• Integrate your promotion efforts.
  Email marketing is a great way to spread the word about your social media efforts, but don’t ignore other promotion opportunities. Include a link on your website, solicit followers in your print advertisements, and pin your emails to your Pinterest board with keyword-enriched descriptions so your business shows up in a search.

• Encourage your fans to interact.
  Engagement is one of the keys to succeeding with Facebook’s Edgerank algorithm. In order to show up in a fan’s newsfeed, you need to establish a pattern of interaction. Think outside the box and make it fun with ideas like:
  • Post photos of recent community events you’ve worked with.
  • Run a video contest.
  • Ask questions.
  • Invite fans to post their pictures to your page.
  • Link your blog posts to your Facebook page.

• Tailor content to the strengths of each venue.
  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube—each social media venue you choose interact with will exhibit various strengths and weaknesses. Don’t try to shove all of your content into one mold. Create conversations on Facebook, provide how-to ideas and inspirations for Pinterest, and tweet about your online sales. While it’s important to integrate your marketing efforts, it is also important to recognize that your fans have different expectations from each venue.

Proactively building your fan list, providing great content and incentives, encouraging interaction, and capitalizing on the strengths of your various social media endeavors will give you all the know-how, popularity, and success you need to catapult you to rock star status.

Today HMG Creative adds yet another talent to the Austin team, Daniel Alvarez.  Daniel’s background encompasses management, marketing and sales with a focus in the retail and technology sectors. His experience is also entrepreneurial-spirited, recently being involved in developing a nightlife and entertainment blog, MyBarHeaven, which generates tens of thousands of hits monthly. Not too shabby. Prior to being a man of the night, Daniel served as an Assistant Manager for Nordstrom where he was in charge of revamping several struggling departments in the South Florida area. Daniel brings his relationship building and leadership skills to HMG Creative via his new role as a Business Development Consultant.

An Austin native, Daniel enjoys live music, BBQ and a good, strong beer. He is also an avid pro basketball and UT Longhorn football fan. During his spare time, Daniel can be found piecing together melodies on his Akai keyboard, creating electronic and hip-hop music in his home studio. For the music junkies, Daniel is also a 2011-2012 MTV alum and can be seen weekly Tuesday nights at 9pm. You heard it, first from HMG Creative.