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How to earn revenue with MembershipWorks

How to earn REVENUE with MembershipWorks to offset the cost of the membership software – a monetization opportunity

By Michelle Aspelin of Mindshare Marketing & Implementation Services LLC

View my MembershipWorks Developer Profile

If you are considering implementing MembershipWorks (MW) on your WordPress website but want to defray the costs of this amazing membership software, you will like what you read here. If you already have MW, you can still add some of these elements to your website to help offset the cost of your monthly membership with MembershipWorks (see pricing). Keep in mind, these are in addition to the customary ways that websites can defray costs like selling advertising on their website. Even if you choose just one of these, it could be all you need to essentially get MembershipWorks for free! MembershipWorks is an opportunity to monetize your website.

First, I will say that the same opportunity exists with the first three elements/features on the list below. You can charge a posting fee for these elements either to your members, nonmembers, or both. It’s easy to earn revenue with MembershipWorks.

You can include the opportunity to post in one of these elements as a benefit to your members for the amount of your current membership. Gaining you more members who value this benefit.

You can create a new Membership Level or Membership Add-on and upsell your current membership.

You can offer your members a discount on the cost of making a post on one of these first three revenue ideas.

1. Classified Ads Posts – create a community or member only marketplace. Give your members and website readers first dibs on items your members are selling. Helps generate website traffic as well as revenue for your company, organization, club, nonprofit, etc.

2. Announcement Board Posts – bring your members to your website vs relying on Facebook or other third-party sites. Your Announcement Board can be a public board anyone on the website can view or for members eyes only. Posts can be specific to your organization and offer a benefit to members and others. Helping your website be the “go to” site for news in your industry. See DEMO Announcement Board

Announcement Board screenshot

3. Job Board Posts – allowing posts like this on your website could help your site become a career hub. You could charge employers a fee to list jobs on your board that your members would be interested in. Or your members might be the ones doing the hiring for their own organization. Here’s what MW says about the Job Board feature:

“Job Boards are a powerful retention tool. Members who find a job through your website are more likely to renew their membership so that they can stay on top of career opportunities. If you make the Job Board only available to current members, prospective members are also incentivized to join.”

4. Shopping Cart – create a Shopping Cart to sell items on your website to your members only make the marketplace public and sell to everyone. Items can be physical products you mail or ship to your buyers or digital content. You can offer item options, quantities, and limits. You can sell sponsorships for your events, expos and other opportunities by using the Shopping Cart.

5. Forms – use a Form for a one-time thing like signing up for a class or workshop where you can charge a registration fee. You can also use a Form for sponsorships for a one-time opportunity.

6. Events – similar to Forms but instead you use the Events feature to create an event on your calendar and sell “tickets” to that specific event, helping not only to offset your MW software fee but the event costs as well!

7. Donations – offer a list of suggested donation amounts or allow the donor to fill in the amount they want to donate. And if you are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, be sure to let your donors know that all or part of their donation could be tax deductible and they should as their tax preparer. Donations can be for your general fund or for specific funds you choose to promote. Great for annual giving campaigns.

8. Membership Directory – let’s not overlook the obvious here. Some clubs are free to join, and that’s great if you don’t ever incur any costs for the club, group or organization. But if your club has expenses, then creating a very specific list of membership benefits and charging a Membership Fee is a great way to offset your costs. See DEMO Membership Directory

 

Membership Directory screenshot

 

9. Specialized Directory – MembershipWorks is all about the Member Directory, but did you know that you can add other Specialized Directories and charge a fee for the listing? For example, several of my clients are dog clubs and they have a Breeder Directory in addition to their Member Directory. Members pay an extra fee at the time they renew their annual membership. Members themselves can add or remove this directory listing at any time, making it easy for your administrators!

10. Credit Card Processing – Some of my clients worry about offering online payments to their members because of the extra fees that credit card processors charge. First, you need to know the laws in the area you are located. You may be able to increase the cost of the item or membership dues to cover your costs. For example, if you are charged 2.5% for credit card processing, simply add that amount to the cost of your item’s price. If your item is $35, the 2.5% fee is $0.875 so you could charge $36 to cover the fee and a little extra for your organization.

We highly recommend using Stripe for your payment processing because they don’t charge a monthly fee and if you are a nonprofit, ask them for a discount off the fee published on their website. Here’s what Stripe has to say about passing along their credit card processing fees to your clients, customers or members.

“You can pass Stripe fees on to customers by including them in the final charge amount, but it’s essential to ensure compliance with any applicable laws pertaining to your business. Calculate the gross amount, taking into consideration that increasing the final amount also increases the Stripe fee. Be aware that charging processing fees may be prohibited by law in some jurisdictions, so always act in accordance with the applicable regulations.” Read Full Suggestion by Stripe

Revenue Reporting

When I customize the ways you can earn revenue with MembershipWorks, I can indicate what type of revenue you are collecting so you can run reports and upload the revenue to QuickBooks. Revenue can be classified as membership, donations, events, cart items or other. Make sure your treasurer or bookkeeper is an Admin on your MW account so they can login and get the sales revenue on a regular basis.

Don’t let the monthly membership software fee prohibit you from using MembershipWorks to strengthen your organization.

It can add so much regarding the organization of your membership, promoting your members, reducing administrative time and increasing accuracy and transparency. Having a system like this makes it easier to pass on the tasks and responsibilities to the next volunteer or employee who does this important work.

My clients claim that the benefits MWs offers far outweigh the monthly fee.

Ask about a custom DEMO to explain all the benefits of using MembershipWorks AND how you can use it to help generate revenue! Read about the DEMO on my website and watch the 3 short introductory videos about what MW is and how it works.

Call me with your questions!

Michelle Aspelin
952-484-6015

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7 Areas to Review Your Website Quickly

Don’t worry, this won’t take long. Here are 7 areas to review on your website quickly. I’m here if you need help. Let’s take a look.

1 – Copyright
The copyright date at the very bottom of your website. Some websites update this automatically, some websites have written custom text in this section and it needs to be updated manually each year. If your website doesn’t include 2023 in your copyright section, it’s time to get that updated.

2 – Contact Form or Email Address

I don’t recommend websites display actual email address on the pages or posts. That just gives your email to the bots that crawl sites and invites spam emails into your inbox. Instead, I recommend my clients use a Contact Form. Go to your website and fill out your Contact Form as a test. Make sure it’s still going to the right person in your organization. Sometimes they can be sent to multiple people. You don’t want to miss out on potential clients or customers so make sure it’s working properly.

3 – Dates

If your website says you’ve been in business for 5 years, but 10 years have gone by, it’s time to update your website. Instead of using numbers like this, I recommend clients say something like “serving clients since 2013” so it makes your website timeless. If you have more experience than what your website shows, get that updated!

4 – Services, Products & Member Benefits

This one might take more time but it’s worth it. Review your offerings. Your products, services, member benefits, etc. Make sure that you are only promoting what you offer today. Being super specific, or in marketing terms, offering a niche product or service, is actually better because MORE people can relate to you than if you are very general in how you serve your clients or members. Be specific. Be genuine. And be excited to share this with your audience. Check to see that your offering is clear and concise and that users can easily find out exactly what you are offering without too many clicks to get there.

5 – Tagline

What does your organization stand for in one simple sentence? Do you know? If you do, is it front and center on your website? If you don’t have a tagline, it’s time to create one. Allow viewers on your website to IMMEDIATELY identify who you are and what you do. Then proceed to explain how you are different, the value you provide or the solution you have to their problem.
Here are some great examples from some of my client’s websites:
“Where Bucket Lists Come to Life” MyOutdoorJoy
“Book Direct + Save” Palmbay Getaways
“For Seniors, their caregivers and the professionals that serve them” ERA South of the River (Elder Resource Association)
“Improving the Health of the Rottweiler with your continued support” Rottweiler Health Foundation

6 – Testimonials and Recommendations

When is the last time you got a glowing testimonial or recommendation for your organization? Did you add it to your website? If not, now’s the time! Review all of the testimonials on your site. Remove ones if they aren’t active clients anymore and add new ones. You can ask for testimonials or recommendations via social media accounts like LinkedIn, Facebook, Yelp, etc. What I generally say is “Would you be willing to write a brief recommendation for me here on LinkedIn that I can also publish on my website?” That way the recommendation is on LinkedIn AND I can put it on my website with my client’s permission. Remember, what others say about you speaks louder than what you say about yourself. Third party endorsements are important to include on your website. I like to “sprinkle” them about on a website vs having them all on one page. Put the testimonial right next to the service or product on your website.

7 – Teams, Volunteers, Members and Employees

The last thing you want to do is promote an employee, member or team member that is no longer with your organization. Review that section. For my membership clients, make sure your Board of Directors and any reference to your valued volunteers are kept up-to-date. I use MembershipWorks to help nonprofits and small businesses with membership management because members can keep their own profiles updated themselves as well as the admin for the website. And if a member doesn’t renew by a certain timeline, their profile is removed from the website automatically. And if they don’t renew at all, when their profile gets deleted, it will also delete them from your member list in MailChimp if you use that for email marketing. You can learn more about Membership Websites with MembershipWorks on my website.

Now, of course these aren’t the only things to look at on your website and some you only need to review annually, but, you get the idea. Don’t forget about your website. Your prospective client, customer or member STARTS their search online and most likely your website is the first impression they get, so make it a good one that’s up-to-date as well as informative and compelling!

Call or email me with any questions. I’m always happy to help.

Thank you!

Thank you for referring me to your friends, co-workers, nonprofits, network partners and families. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn if we aren’t connected already.

Cheers!

Michelle Aspelin Mindshare Marketing

Michelle Aspelin
Mindshare Marketing & Implementation Services LLC

MembershipWorks Developer Profile

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Google Analytics 4 is replacing Universal Analytics

Did you get the email from the Google Analytics Team? Google Analytics 4 is replacing Universal Analytics. What does that mean for your website or blog?

I have been making websites for over 12 years now and when I first started, I used Universal Analytics. I set up a Google Analytics account for my client, then I got the UA code and added it to the website. The code I added allowed Google to start to track information like what websites were referring visitors to your website, what’s the most popular page on your website, how many hits are you getting from the marketing you are doing. Many clients find this information useful to target their marketing. If you run ads on Google or Facebook, this info is helpful. I like to collect the data now, even if you aren’t using it, you may want it in the future.

Fast forward to 2022, now Google Analytics 4 is replacing Universal Analytics and they won’t be supporting Universal Analytics after July 1, 2023. Your website won’t track your hit activity after this date. You won’t get any data. That gives you plenty of time to update, but don’t wait until the last minute. Google Analytics 4 is their next-generation measurement solution. There are Google experts out there that can help you maximize the information, especially for those of you with online shopping carts who rely on national and international customers.

Here’s a screenshot from one of my websites. You can see the spike in hits. I ran a Facebook ad during that time.

Google Analytics Screenshot

My recommendation is to log into your website and look at your SEO and Google Analytics now. If you have the Universal Analytics code on your site, consider upgrading it now to take advantage of Google’s most recent analytics. I have a plugin from Google that I like to add to my WordPress websites that connects your Google Analytics 4 to your website. This allows you to see some of the analytics data at a glance when you log into your website.

If you want to learn more and do the update yourself, here’s a link that explains Google Analytics 4.

If you want my help, I can log into your website, see what Google Analytics you are currently using and then log into your Google Analytics account and switch you from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4. Then, I can install the new plugin to track your results. I can’t image it would take more than 30 minutes to make the switch and do the setup. The hardest part might be finding your Google Analytics account login information, but I can probably help you with that too! I can couple this change with other website updates so your site stays current.

Let me know when you are ready to update.

Michelle Aspelin
Mindshare Marketing & Implementation Services LLC

 

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Step-by-Step Instructions for a Blog Post on WordPress

Do you want to know how to make a blog post on WordPress? Many of my clients make their own blog posts. There are several fields on the screen to fill in to make your post the most effective and search engine friendly. The point of adding blog posts are to increase your search engine results as well as offer education for your clients. When you choose the right keywords and tags, your posts can remain on the first page of Google Search Results for years! But if you forget to fill in some of the fields, your posts aren’t nearly as effective. Use the following as a guide to make sure every blog post you make is complete and as effective as possible. If you want to know why someone should blog, and how often, visit How To Make an Effective Blog Post.

Login to your website or blog, www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin

Click on Posts, Add New

Type the Title. (If you go back and change the title, make sure the permalink matches your title name).
This will appear on your website. Use your keyword in your title if possible. The keyword phrase on this post is “blog post on WordPress”

Type your content in the next box. For details about adding media and changing the headings and style, see this article: How To Make A Blog Post. If you have a page builder with your WordPress theme, you can choose that to make a more creative blog post, but I find the classic blog edits works most of the time. Keep it simple.

If at anytime you cannot complete your post, click Save as DRAFT at the top right. You want to make your blog post on WordPress the best it can be so don’t rush it if you get interrupted before you finish your post. Save it and come back to it.

categories and tagsOn the right side, choose your category for the post (bottom right of screen). You can create a new category just below the category box.

Under that, add your tags for the post, similar to your keywords. These WILL show up under your post on your blog, whereas keywords do not. Keywords help people who search for you to find you.

If your blog posts are set up to display an image on the blog page, then be sure to add a Featured Image to your post.

I always add a search engine plugin to the websites I make. For my earlier websites, I installed a plugin called All in One SEO Pack. For my more recent website, I use Yoast SEO. I install an SEO plugin to give you more power over your posts and so users can find you easier on the Internet when they type in the keywords you include on your post. All of your pages also have this functionality.

 

For those with All in One SEO Pack

Enter a Title, this will be the blue title you see in Google Search Results. A good example is “Victoria MN Chiropractor, Dr. 123 with ABC Family Chiropractic”, “Victoria MN Realtor Paul Aspelin”, or “How to write a blog post”.

Description: this is the paragraph below the title in Google Search Results. Describe your post content, persuade them to click on your post to read the whole thing.

Keywords:
Choose keywords that you think users would type into Google to find you. Keywords can be individual words or short phrases like, “massage to relieve lower back pain” or “victoria mn realtors”.

Choose keywords that have low or medium competition with a high “local search” number

For those with the Yoast SEO Plugin

It’s a little easier because Yoast gives you advice on how to improve your blog post so it goes from red, to orange to green, the best post. Fill in your Focus Keyphrase in the Yoast SEO box.

Repeat this exact Focus Keyphrase as your Title, include it in the Meta Description, add it to the tags, and repeat it several times within your post content, especially in the first sentence. Add it as the Alt Tag for your images and your Featured Image. When you think you’ve done a good job, then click on SEO Analysis and see what else you can do to make your blog post smiley face green. You may need to add some internal or external links, make your post longer, etc. Follow the advice as best you can with still keeping your post authentic and sounding natural, not forced.

Once your Content and your SEO is done, then Publish

Review your post (use spell check) and make sure it’s complete and all of the fields are filled in, then click PUBLISH at the top right.

You can go back and edit a post any time. When you are done editing, click UPDATE to Save your changes.

Want to measure your blog’s success? Consider adding Google Analytics to your website/Blog. I can help you get it set up so you can be collecting data with your first post!

Call me with questions!
Michelle Aspelin
Mindshare Marketing & Implementation Services
(952) 484-6015

Mindshare Marketing & Implementation Services, Michelle Aspelin

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How to Make an Effective WordPress Blog Post

First, What’s a blog?

In very simple terms, blogs (short for web logs) are websites where a series of messages, or posts, on particular subjects are posted in chronological order—newest to oldest. Most have an area where blog visitors can post comments as well. Blogs are intended to be updated and read often. They are no longer considered personal diaries. Some are solely informational, others are sales driven, and others are somewhere in between. This flexibility is just one of the reasons to choose a blog over a more traditional site more and more often.

Other blog advantages

  • Easy to get up and running quickly
  • Inexpensive to maintain (Example: $3.95/month hosting fee or FREE from WordPress.com)
  • Search engines—and people—like them because they’re wonderful vehicles for sharing ideas, videos, educational content, photos, etc.
  • When maintained regularly, one of the best ways to move up in the search engine results Read more

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Website Security

There are a lot of blog posts, forums and websites that talk about Website Security. It can be overwhelming and scary to think that someone might hijack your website, but it happens. Trust me. And it’s no fun fighting to get your website back or having it down completely. I’m not trying to scare anyone but I want you to think about how you can PREVENT some potential frustration, time and money. Think about it as doing what you can now to reduce your risk of having issues with your website.

Here are a few things you can check on your own website to make sure you have some of the obvious things taken care of. Most apply to WordPress websites, since the majority of the websites I make are on this platform. However, some apply to Weebly, Squarespace and other platforms too. Let me know if you have questions.

SSL Certificate

Every website should have an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate. Check with your hosting company if you don’t. For my clients who use BlueHost to host your website, it’s free. I know GoDaddy charges for it, annually I believe. An SSL certificate is code on your website’ server computer that provides security for online communications. When a web browser contacts your secured website, the SSL certificate enables an encrypted connection. It’s kind of like sealing a letter in an envelope before sending it through the mail. If you don’t have an SSL certificate, your website may still function as always, but it will be vulnerable to hackers and Google will warn visitors that your website is not secure. So, you will eventually lose your position on Google’s search results to competitors who have SSL certificates.

HTTPS://yourwebsite.com

Website Security HTTPSEvery website should be using HTTPS vs HTTP in front of your URL. Can you see the icon of a lock on the browser where your website address is? If you don’t see the lock, you need to secure your website. HTTPS is HTTP with encryption. The only difference between the two protocols is that HTTPS uses TLS (SSL) to encrypt normal HTTP requests and responses. As a result, HTTPS is far more secure than HTTP.

WordFence

For WordPress websites, I recommend adding a special FREE plugin to help secure your website from hackers. It’s called WordFence. You can install it yourself or I can install it and go over the settings. It adds firewall protection, it blocks hackers from trying to log into your website using a username they think you might be using. It does a lot more too, well worth it for a free way to help secure your site. WordFence will send you emails to alert you of any issues if finds that needs attention. I have clients forward those emails to me when they want my help.

Passwords

I’m sure you are aware, but it’s worth repeating. You should make sure your password is DIFFICULT. Yes, include capital and lower case letters and numbers and symbols. I recommend at least 8-10 characters or more.

You can Google website security and find out about a lot more tools, scans, programs and software. If you accept payments on your website or gather information on an online form, you really need to take these steps to make sure you reduce the risk of your website getting hacked.

Malware Infection

And if you do experience problems, I recommend SiteLock to help clean malware off of your website. How do you know when your website is infected with malware? You may get locked out from logging into your website at all. You notice posts on your website that you didn’t make. User accounts added to your website that you didn’t do, or sometimes the hacker will forward your domain name to another website completely, and let’s just say, you don’t want your clients seeing these types of sites, yuck!

A few More Tips

  • Make sure that the server that holds your website files has the MOST RECENT version of PHP software. You can check this by logging into your hosting account or calling your host company to verify.
  • For WordPress websites, make sure your Theme, Plugins, and WordPress version has AUTOMATIC UPDATES enabled. It’s like getting updates for your phone or Microsoft software. Updates are usually done because they fix a venerability with your website. You can now set a WordPress website to Automatically to the updates when they are available, but you have to check to make sure your site is updating automatically, because it’s a somewhat new feature and the default is set to NOT update automatically.
  • Make sure your hosting company is doing a regular backup of your website. Bluehost clients get this done automatically and for free, other hosting companies charge you for backups.
  • This last one isn’t website security focused, but it’s annoying. Ever go to a website and click on a link, and the link doesn’t work? It doesn’t take you anywhere? You might see a 404 Error? I hate that. That’s called a broken link. I have a WordPress plugin that I can add to your website to alert you when a link on your website breaks so you can fix it right away. Many of my clients are using it already and they fix the links themselves or the forward the email notice to me and I fix it for them. Whenever you add a link on your website or blog, to someone else’s website or blog, there is a chance that in the future, they remove the content, or the website goes down, and they your link breaks.

Let me know if you have any Website Security questions. I tried to hit some of the basics that should be a quick fix or are easy to do. Some do get more complex, but are well worth it. Call me with your questions. While I may not be a full-time website security expert, I can help with these basic steps and usually help you out if your website gets really messed up. Again, if you focus on reducing your risk, it could save you time and money in the future.

Michelle Aspelin
Mindshare Marketing & Implementation Services, LLC

 

 

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Need a New Website?

What Do Clients and Customers Think of Your Website?

Do clients and customers ever tell you what they think of your website? Probably not. What about prospects or potential members for your organization? They might share with you if they like it, but if they are turned-off by your website, they just go away and you never even know why you lost them.

First impressions are very important in business and for nonprofit organizations. What does your website say about you?

It doesn’t matter if you dedicate time and resources for nice business cards, brochures and other marketing materials if online users never get past your website.

Need a new website?

I work with clients to review their current websites and discover what’s working and what’s not. I make sure that their message is in alignment with their other marketing materials and that the message is clear and attracts their ideal client.

I have recently worked with several clients where we reviewed their Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, website and print materials to get them all looking and saying the same cohesive message.

I create websites and blogs primarily using WordPress because it’s search engine friendly naturally. Plus, I can customize the design to fit my client’s style. For some clients, Weebly is the best platform for a website. See my post about Weebly vs WordPress.

Clients give me an idea of what features they need like online forms, a calendar for events, videos, password protected pages, shopping cart, downloadable documents, etc. I create a proposal based on my client’s needs. We work together on design style and content until the site is launched.

Once the website is live, I teach my clients how to maintain their site. I offer tips on effective blog posts and how to stay fresh. I do as much or as little as my clients want me to do. Some clients want to take it over and run with it, others want me to make the updates. I’m fine either way. You can read my “How I work” post. I offer advice and training to empower my clients. However, many just don’t have time to work on a website, they are busy serving their customers, members and clients.

I enjoy taking on an outdated website and giving it new life. I love creating websites and blogs my clients are eager to share. If you need a new website, or want to update your current website, I’d love to hear from you.

I have more recommendations on my MembershipWorks profile if you are looking for a website for your nonprofit that includes features like Membership and Event management, online Donations and Custom Forms.

More information at WordPress Websites and Blogs

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Being Effective vs Efficient

I was reading a real estate investment book recently that discussed the difference between being EFFECTIVE vs EFFICIENT. I have always expressed to my clients that I am efficient, but now I realize, I should focus on being effective. Here’s why.

The author, Brandon Turner, described the difference in this way:

  • The difference is getting stuff done right vs. getting the right stuff done.
  • The difference is watching your business vs. watching your business grow.
  • The difference is managing your life vs. changing your life.
  • The difference is looking cool on the football field vs. scoring touchdowns and winning games.

Many people focus on being efficient. They can get a lot of stuff done, they have systems and processes in place, and they maximize their schedule. I thought to myself, that describes me. But then I read more.

“Being effective, on the other hand, is the practice of continually making the right moves and accomplishing important tasks. You can be incredibly efficient, crossing off items on your to-do list, but if those tasks aren’t getting you closer to your end result, toward the goal, you are not being effective with your time. Therefore, to work less and get more done, it’s vital that you continually zone in on being effective in all that you do.”

Here’s a tip. Consider adding a block of time to your calendar three days a week to remind yourself to evaluate your actions to make sure you are doing the most important things to move closer to your goals. To supercharge your productivity, try to eliminate dead space in your schedule.

Identify your MINS

Here’s a final suggestion. The author explains that dead space is caused by one essential thing, you don’t know what the next task really is. Therefore, “the first step in minimizing dead space is to identify what your Most Important Next Step (MINS) is on your journey. What is the smallest action you can do next to move your goal forward just a bit? You’ll likely find that, surprisingly, it’s usually something quick and easy to do.” What’s your MINS? Not sure? Ask a friend to help you, join a mastermind group, seek out a mentor. Now, block off time on your calendar to do that task. Take action. Think about being efficient vs effective.

If you’ve been thinking about updating your website or starting a blog, your first action step is to give me a call. I can explain how to get started.  We can talk about your new venture and get your questions answered. In addition to WordPress or Weebly websites and blogs, I also help with other marketing and administrative services virtually or in-person for my Victoria clients.

Learn more about how I work with my clients!

Browse my Services.

 

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Email Marketing vs Social Media to Capture Clients

What do Unilever, Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Lush have in common?

In 2020 or 2021 they have all put their social media advertising on pause to take a stand against hate speech and misinformation. More recently Facebook has been under fire for it’s business practices leading some companies to close their accounts with the social media giant or pause making any posts or buying ads.

That leads me to ask you, what would happen if you decided not to use any social media accounts? How would you communicate with your clients and customers? Every company has to review their own values and the values of the providers they choose to support and then make an educated decision.

When you use social media accounts, you really haven’t captured your audience because if the platform goes away, where’s your client list? Your database of your customers, followers and prospective customers? It’s lost.

Consider Adding or Strengthening your Email Campaign System

My recommend is to look again at email marketing vs social media. Look at your email database. I always recommend businesses and nonprofits use a third party email provider so you can comply with CAN SPAM laws and allow followers to unsubscribe at any time. I am most familiar with MailChimp and Constant Contact, but there are many email providers and lots of blog posts comparing them on the Internet.

If you don’t have an account with a third party provider, I suggest you start researching which one will fit your needs and your budget as well as integrate with your website. Many times I put a button (or link) on a client’s website so anyone on their website can subscribe to their emails (capturing your prospects). To entice people to subscribe, you can offer a free gift like a PDF with tips, educational information, fun facts, do’s and don’ts list, whatever you think would be meaningful to your audience. When they subscribe, they get your free offer automatically.

When you have captured your client’s email address, you have it. You can always download your email list and upload it to another provider. They key is, it doesn’t go away like your social media followers could. In fact, your emails stay in your client’s inbox until they read them, whereas posts may be off their radar in just a few hours as they slide down their social media feed.

Something to consider

I just wanted to share this idea with you as something to consider for your nonprofit or business. If you already have a system set up, great! Take some time to review it and make sure you are keeping your subscriber list up-to-date. If you don’t have a platform to manage your email campaigns, consider adding one in December so you can hit the ground running in 2022 and share your message with your clients, customers and prospects.

As always, if you would like some help getting this implemented and integrated with your website, let me know. We can import email addresses from a database if you have one, even if that’s just your accounting software. You have to start somewhere!

Here’s a link to the Resource page on my website. I provide a little more info about MailChimp and Constant Contact and explain how they are different, costs, etc.

https://growyourmindshare.com/resources/

Reach out to me with your email marketing vs social media questions!

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Freedom and Choice

What Does Freedom Mean to You? (written July 2021)

Happy Birthday America!

I love July! I love the warmth and sunshine. I was born in July. And we celebrate our freedom on July 4th!! Yay!

Freedom and Choice are two of my top values. I appreciate the opportunity to work with my marketing clients from my Victoria home office or remotely from anywhere in the US as a virtual assistant. We can choose a phone call, zoom meeting or, my favorite, in-person conversation.

I love brainstorming with my clients to find the right solutions to their problems. I love to research and learn new things. The more I can do for my clients, the more freedom and choice I give to them as well. I always tell my clients I will do as much or as little as they’d like me to do. I can work for you in-person or I work remotely.

I primarily work with solo entrepreneurs. They are business owners in a company of one, meaning they do ALL THE WORK themselves and often run out of time or energy to complete marketing related tasks. That’s where I come in! I help send out email campaigns, create and send newsletters to keep their followers informed, manage their advertising campaigns in print and online and fill in when then need me. I love the variety of work and my clients are thankful for my organization, efficiency, effectiveness and reliability. Plus, more freedom for them!

I also work with several nonprofit organizations. I have implemented a platform to help them manage their membership database, sell tickets for events, set up email marketing and run online campaigns for them to help raise funds for their mission.

Making and improving WordPress websites is my specialty. Clients give me an idea of what they want their website to include to meet their objectives and I get to work designing a new website or improving their existing site. There are so many tools that can connect to a WordPress website, the possibilities are endless. Again, giving my clients plenty of choice and freedom to design what they want. We keep it simple and easy to navigate and I always include search engine optimization to help get them found on the Internet.

If you are looking for some more freedom or would like to know your marketing choices, give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to meet you! Check out my services and how I work.

Michelle Aspelin
Cell: 952-484-6015
Email Me

Read what my past clients say about me on LinkedIn.

 

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