Best Business Resources #2 - Constant...

When I  requested that our clients share their favorite business resources with me, I really didn’t have a sense of what I would discover. The first response I received was from a client who shared his tools for combating order fraud, which I reported on in the Best Business Resources #1 post.

Stephanie at BlackberryQuilts.com shared that her favorite business resource is Constant Contact. I’ve written about Constant Contact a few times (MightyMerchant’s Constant Contact partnership, seasonal email templates), but this was an opportunity to get a personal perspective on the power of email marketing.

BlackberryQuilts.com sells kits for beginner and experienced quilters. Kits come with step by step instructions and pre-cut and  pre-measured fabric, so you’re ready to sew when the kit arrives. Stephanie’s been using Constant Contact for almost three years to keep in touch with her customers. She says that her favorite thing about Constant Contact is that it’s “so easy to use, and I can design a custom product without being a computer geek.” That is one of the nice features of the service, that their templates are easily customizable for the color and layout you want, and they can be modified to match your website, including your own logo so your customers instantly recognize that the email came from you.

Stephanie keeps BlackberryQuilts.com’s monthly newsletters interesting by including announcements of new products, a coupon, or other special offers that tempt her customers to keep opening her emails. “I try to include a quilting tip or an idea for a handmade gift in each newsletter-a bonus for my customers,” she says.

Stephanie doesn’t spend too much time looking at the analytics that are included with Constant Contact, but she says, “If you want to analyze your data, the results are very easy to follow.”

Using Constant Contact to send out a survey is still on Stephanie’s to do list, but she does take advantage of the service’s promotional and seasonal templates. There’s no doubt that email marketing is a proven successful method of growing a loyal customer base. For just a fraction of a cent per email you can reach customers who voluntarily give you thei email address and are already interested in what you are offering. Just give them something of value, and they’ll keep tuning in, month after month, and return to your website when they’re ready to buy.

Thanks Stephanie! What’s your best business resource? Let me know,  and I’ll write it up in a future post.

Tags: Constant, Contact, Best, Business, Resources, Email, Marketing, Tools