4 Easy Tips for Mobile-Friendly Emails

Smartphone usage is sky-rocketing, and with it, so is the number of people that are reading email on a mobile device. According to Litmus, 43% of email is now opened on a mobile device. That number is up 138% from 2010. This means that your email marketing need to be mobile friendly, so that it displays optimally between a desktop/laptop and a mobile device, and looks great regardless of where your customers and prospects read it.

The good news is that there are some really simple things you can do now to ensure that your emails are mobile-friendly:

1. Be as concise, and have a clear call to action
Make sure to include a clear call to action, and put it near the top of your email, Tell your readers what you want them to do, and make it really easy for them to do so. Your messdage should be clear and concise message -- a staple of any email, but it’s even more important when designing for mobile. Screen real estate is very valuable on mobile so keep the design very clean and simple and focus on the essentials.

2. Use a single column template
Because of the limited real estate you get with a mobile device, it’s generally better to use simple layouts. Often times with multi-column layouts (2 columns and more) your readers will have to zoom or scroll on their smartphone to see everything. This can make it difficult for them to navigate the content of your email and the call to action. Using a single column template will make your content much more flexible for all screen sizes.

3. Avoid tiny fonts
Make sure your text can be read easily. Use a minimum of size 11pt font for body text and 22pt for headlines. I’d also recommend using a strong contrast of colors, like dark text on a light background. Many people turn down the brightness level on the mobile device to help conserve battery—and they are often reading on the go outside in the sunlight—so a strong contrast of colors will be easier to read.

4. Take it easy on images
Only use the images that are essential to your email. Here’s why: Apple’s iOS automatically enables images to display by default, but many other mobile device platforms—like Android—turn images off by default. You can’t assume your images will be displayed. If your email has a bunch of images in it, they might just look like chunks of white space. Because of this, you should also include image descriptions (also known as alt text) to let people know what the image is even when it’s not being displayed. A

A little work on your email design can go a long way to make sure emails look great no matter where people are reading them. So what are you waiting for? Now’s the time to give your email a re-design and make sure that it’s mobile-friendly!

Gina Watkins is a leading expert on e-marketing for small business – and has a real passion for helping businesses to succeed. Her ongoing series of dynamic lectures are filled with real-world examples, humor and results-driven wisdom garnered from more than two decades of sales, business development and marketing experience. In addition to owning her own business, she is an award-winning direct marketer, has been featured on WUSA Channel 9's Mind Over Money show, Dr. Gayle Carson’s Women In Business radio show, Morgan State’s Briefcase Radio program, and in numerous other media. In her role as Constant Contact Regional Development Director, she’s presented to more than ten thousand seminar attendees about the keys to success with easy, affordable, highly effective technology tools that grow trusted business relationships.

Gift Card Consumers Love Gift Cards… Should You?

Gift cards continue to grow in popularity, with huge potential for merchants who understand how to promote and manage strong gift card programs.

Consider the following…

· Over $27.8 billion was spent by consumers last year on gift cards during the holiday season alone2.

· Over 93% of consumers purchase or receive gift cards every year.1

· Over 71% of consumers report spending more than the value of their gift cards.

· And 31% of gift card recipients say they are more likely to buy a full-price item than an item on sale3.

The Benefits of a Well-Run Gift Card Program

· Revenue increases. Vendors experienced uplift, or amounts spent over the value of the gift card, in 72% of gift card redeemers. Also, gift cards attract new customers, with 11% of recipients indicating that they never or rarely visit the issuing merchant’s locations1.

· Higher margin sales. 31% of gift card receivers say they are more likely to buy a full-price item rather than an item on sale when using a gift card3.

· Decreases in returned merchandise. According to the National Retail Federation, 8.8% of holiday gifts will be returned. Because gift card recipients choose their own gifts, gift cards may reduce returned merchandise and the high costs associated with handling returns2.

· Increased security and better reporting. Gift cards are more secure than gift certificates and they enable you to use many of the same reporting tools and practices as your credit card program.

Gift Card Market Trends

We all know there are many factors that impact consumer purchases of gift cards. Key insights into recent gift card trends include4:

· The economic outlook for gift cards is good. During the last six months of 2011, the average gift card dollar volume increased 10%. Further, financially stable consumers shopped earlier in the holiday season for prepaid cards and added more value to their purchases than in 2010.

· Reloads and redemptions grow rapidly as fuel rewards programs catch fire. In 2011, the typical U.S. household spent a record $4,155 on gasoline—about $1,300 more than the 10-year average. By leveraging prepaid reloadable cards in new and existing fuel rewards programs, retailers gained a greater share of consumer spending, more repeat visits, and improved customer loyalty. While fuel rewards programs may be a unique opportunity for some merchants, gift card issuers in all industries can take a page from this playbook and consider alternatives on how to align their prepaid strategies to respond to customer needs.

· An evolution of gift card strategy links payments and loyalty in a unified retail experience. The dramatic impact of the omni-channel shopper (i.e., a shopper who uses mobile, eCommerce, social media, and physical stores) requires retailers to reevaluate their gift card strategy. A new generation of gift cards that act as spending cards link payments and loyalty in a unified retail experience. Merchants offering gift cards as the cornerstone of their retail experience generate the highest gift card activations, redemptions, and reloads.

Seven Tips for Building a Great Gift Card Program

Like any product you sell, gift cards require a thoughtful, consistent marketing effort. Here are a few tips for building a great gift card program:

1. Use in-store merchandising to promote your gift card program including neat, organized displays and signage.

2. Align your card design(s) with your brand and consider designs for occasions that have significant importance to your business (i.e., Christmas/Hanukkah, birthdays, etc.).

3. Stay on top of card inventory levels.

4. Get your employees involved in gift card promotions including assigning a “gift card champion” who will ensure that the displays are stocked, signs are posted and employees are trained in selling gift cards.

5. Make sure to put special effort into holiday campaigns. Many merchants report that they sell approximately 40% of their cards during the holiday period and during other popular gift giving occasions, such as graduation, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

6. Cross-promote your gift cards and offer customer incentives. “Buy this item and receive a free gift card!”

7. Promote and sell gift cards on your website.

Having an understanding of your payment acceptance options certainly helps in the decision-making process. Keep gift cards in mind as one of the ways you may be able to positively impact your business.

With a little effort, gift cards can reap short-and long-term rewards for your business.


12010 First Data Gift Card Consumer Insights Study

2National Retail Federation (NRF) - Consumer Intentions & Actions® Survey, Nov ‘11

32011 First Data Prepaid Consumer Insights Study

42011 Year-End Prepaid Gift Card Market Analysis

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Make Your Events Memorable, From Start to Finish

What was the best event you’ve ever been to? Was it a dinner party? A fundraiser? An industry conference? A sporting event? Think about the experience you had at that event. What made it so memorable? Why was it so unique?

Just like any event you attend in your personal life, the events you decide to host for your business or organization will be defined by the type of experience you offer to those who attend.

That experience will have a lot to do with the type of event you hold and the expectations your customers, members, and supporters have going into it, but it is that experience that they will remember the most.

Are you offering the type of experience your customers, members, and supporters will want to remember?

Create a memorable event, from start to finish

A memorable event experience doesn’t begin and end when people show up and leave your event.

The experience begins when someone first hears about the event and decides to visit your website, store, or office to learn more.

If you take the right steps to promote your event and get the right information in front of your target audience, you’ll be much more likely to get the right people to attend your event.

So you create flyers, send out invitations, post about the event on social media. People are excited and want to make sure they don’t miss the chance to attend your event!

Are you making it easy for them to do so? For a lot of small businesses and nonprofit organizations, the answer is no.

The importance of providing a memorable registration experience
If you’re still relying on “old-school” event registration methods, you could be missing a huge opportunity to make your event a memorable one from start to finish.

A recent survey from the Direct Marketing Association, which focused on the expectations of event attendees, found that 50% of people who receive event invitations want the capability to register online.

For businesses and organizations that are giving their target audience the opportunity to do so, this is a huge advantage. For those who are not, this could put the success of your event at risk.

Your registration experience should be an extension of your event experience
Using an online registration tool enables you to collect valuable information from event registrants without having to do any extra work or without it taking up any more of time. This makes it a lot easier for your attendees as well. They won’t have to worry about dropping off registration forms or have to call to sign up for your event at a particular time. Event registration will be available 24/7—whether you’re open or not.

With the right tools, you’ll not only be able to improve your registration experience, you’ll also be able to make that experience an extension of your event.By adding your logo, branding, and event information you can make your form easily recognizable and offer a consistent look and feel across all of your event material.

You’ll look more professional before, during, and after your event which can go a long way toward making your event experience one that attendees will remember.

Gina Watkins is a leading expert on e-marketing for small business – and has a real passion for helping businesses to succeed. Her ongoing series of dynamic lectures are filled with real-world examples, humor and results-driven wisdom garnered from more than two decades of sales, business development and marketing experience. In addition to owning her own business, she is an award-winning direct marketer, has been featured on WUSA Channel 9's Mind Over Money show, Dr. Gayle Carson’s Women In Business radio show, Morgan State’s Briefcase Radio program, and in numerous other media. In her role as Constant Contact Regional Development Director, she’s presented to more than ten thousand seminar attendees about the keys to success with easy, affordable, highly effective technology tools that grow trusted business relationships.

How to Turn Facebook Likes into Customers

Eric Spellmann continues to be one of the highest rated speakers at our national ASBDC conferences. His unique view that small business websites should “do” something pushes against the standard “online pamphlet” view of most web design companies. He believes your customer’s websites should be driving qualified leads and sales on a weekly basis. Eric speaks at a number of other national and state conferences nationwide, but enjoys running one of the most successful web designcompanies in the country. He truly believes in the SBDC mission as it helped him start his own company many years ago. To contact him, visit his website at EricSpellmann.com.

Battling Behemoths

Imagine it is the busiest time of the year for your company. There are two weeks left before New Years Eve, and you are negotiating deals and closing transactions at lightning speed to meet year-end deadlines.

With a lot of hard work and a bit of luck, all the pieces will fit precisely into place. You'll get everything done and make your clients very happy. But then, a few minutes after 9 a.m., you get a call on your cell phone. A client tells you he can't reach you on your business telephone lines. In fact, all of your incoming phone lines are down and a recorded message says that your phones have been disconnected. You pay your bills, so that's not the problem. Something has gone horribly wrong. Not only is it difficult for your clients to reach you, but you fear what they must be thinking.

Your outgoing phone lines are working, so you call the phone company and get a recorded message. Finally, after an excruciating wait on hold, a live person answers. But she can't help and transfers you to another person. You are put on hold again. I can't help you, but let me transfer you to someone who can. Transfer. Hold. Can't help, but... Transfer. Hold. Again and again the agony goes on. All of this happened to me and my law firm at the end of 2012.

We were battling a behemoth. And plenty of business people do every day. You could be a restaurant that loses power on a sunny day without the slightest of breezes and then watch the food in your freezer rotting away with no relief or response from your power company. You could 
be flying to a critical business meeting only to find your flight cancelled and the airline does not tell you until all of the competing airlines flights have left. You could be audited by the IRS and, even though you have paid all of your taxes, 
the examination drags on for months and you must respond to repeated requests for vast amounts of documentation. Or you may simply be seeking to renew a business license or file a document with a government agency, and the time for processing your request is so long it prevents you from getting your work done. It is as if the motto of these mammoth enterprises is "We're not happy til you're not happy!"

But you can do something about it.

Escalate, Baby Escalate 

If you're not getting the help you need, go to the top of the organization. In one situation, I had a client with a problem with the Motor Vehicle Administration. The MVA erroneously believed his car was not registered. We spoke to half a dozen employees, none of whom could or would fix the problem. So I said I was calling about an important legal matter. Read more…

Jack Garson is the founder and a principal of the law firm Garson Claxton LLC in Bethesda, MD, and is also the author of " How to Build a Business and Sell It for Millions ." Contact us at editorial@smartceo.com

Should I Worry About Signing A Contract With A Non-Compete Clause?

Whether you’re an employee of a company or a business owner finalizing a partnership deal with another company, the non-compete clause is often included in the final contract. Should you be very worried and hesitant in signing a contract with a non-complete clause in it?

The non-compete clause
The textbook definition of a non-compete clause is that it is a form of restrictive covenant that adds limitations to the employment or sale contract. These agreements protect the business by restricting the other party from performing similar work for a specific period of time within a certain geographical area. It’s important to note that the courts do not always uphold them. In fact, the courts evaluate non-compete clause for their reasonableness to determine whether they constitute an unfair restraint on trade.

Is the non-compete clause reasonable?
You need to evaluate the non-compete clause very carefully as many of them have a lot of “bark without much bite” language in them. In other words, it’s used as a deterrent in some cases and isn’t actually enforceable because it’s too unreasonable. Most courts will evaluate a non-compete clause based on the time prohibition, the geographic scope and the description of what constitutes a competitor. Typically, the broader the restrictions, the less enforceable the clause will be if evaluated in a court of law. Therefore, if a business contract states that you shall pay x amount of dollars if you fail to meet the conditions of a non-compete clause, you shouldn’t worry so much about that particular penalty as it may not be enforceable.

Always protect yourself
Even though the non-compete clause may not be entirely enforceable, you’ll want to be very proactive in protecting yourself and/or your business. Make sure you negotiate the terms of the contract so that it is at least mutually beneficial for both parties.

About BIDaWIZ

BIDaWIZ is an online marketplace where small businesses can obtain professional tax, accounting and financial advice and services from a network of over 750 online CPAs, EAs, CFPs & Tax JDs.  BIDaWIZ suite of services include the ability to ask professionals finance and tax questions for free, find an accountant online and work with them, and to subscribe to the premium tax and financial newsletter and knowledge ba

How Much Should Business Owners Take As A Salary?

Business owners are compensated with equity in the company, but they still need a salary to live on. Setting a salary can be tricky as you'll want to be compensated for your work, while also not taking away from the future growth of the company. How should you set your salary?

Setting your salary
There are a few different ways to determine the appropriate salary for the business owner. The first and most important method is based on company specific financials. If you're boot-strapping your business, then you'll need to determine how much net income is available or cash on the balance sheet. Then, you'll need to identify the amount of your personal monthly expenses. If the cash flow on your balance sheet and expected monthly cash flow exceed your monthly personal expenses, then you can at least pay yourself some sort of a salary. Still, how much should you be paid in salary?

How much will the market pay you?
If you were not working for yourself and were employed by another company, you need to determine how much you would be compensated given your skills and experience. If your company has enough cash flow to meet this comparable salary, then you can certainly justify paying yourself this type of salary. The caveat to this approach is that another employer likely has a significantly larger balance sheet, in which the risk to paying you this salary is a lot lower than if you paid yourself this same amount.

Another approach is to perform comparable analysis. For instance, you can try to obtain salary figures for other business owners in your industry and locations to compare to your pay. The problem with this approach is that every company is in a different financial situation.

What's the best approach to setting a salary?
We believe it's best to consider all of the above factors: company cash flow, individual market value, and competitor salaries in determining the appropriate salary. However, company specific performance should play the greatest role in calculating a final salary. For instance, you could pay a salary that covers your personal monthly expenses plus two additional months of expenses and then pay the rest in bonuses based on company performance. This methodology will reduce the risk that you pigeon hole yourself by paying too large of a salary, while also holding yourself accountable.

About BIDaWIZ

BIDaWIZ is an online marketplace where small businesses can obtain professional tax, accounting and financial advice and services from a network of over 750 online CPAs, EAs, CFPs & Tax JDs. BIDaWIZ suite of services include the ability to ask professionals finance and tax questions for free, find an accountant online and work with them, and to subscribe to the premium tax and financial newsletter and knowledge base.