Chris Baggott's Email Marketing Best Practices

Compendium Blogware slides on Slideshare

I just wanted to share this link to our archive of Compendium Blogware slides. 

Chris Baggott's Guide to Blogging - Blog Action Day 2008 End Poverty

Chris Baggott's Guide to Blogging - Blog Action Day 2008 End Poverty

Posted using ShareThis

Chris Baggott's Guide to Blogging - In tough times, you better be easy to find

Chris Baggott's Guide to Blogging - In tough times, you better be easy to find

Posted using ShareThis

Corporate blogging software - Where do you turn when everyone is inboxed-out?

Corporate blogging software - Where do you turn when everyone is inboxed-out?

Posted using ShareThis

Posted using ShareThis

Chris Baggott's Guide to Blogging

Chris Baggott's Guide to Blogging

Posted using ShareThis

Compendium Blogware Update

I just wanted to update everyone on what's happening with Compendium Blogware (www.compendiumblogware.com)

Obviously, if things were lousy then I'd keep my mouth shut about it, but the fact is things are going great.  We are now up to about 22 employees and are looking for 7 more if you know anyone...

Our client list has grown to about 150 and our bookings are basically doubling every quarter. The product works really well and our clients are getting some very tangible results.   Check out one of my favorites:  http://blog.wilderness-voyageurs.com/blog.php/wilderness-voyageurs

Compendium Is looking for a director of Marketing

Compendium is looking for a Director of Marketing

The Director of Marketing owns all marketing-related activities and is responsible for identifying, implementing, managing, and analyzing all marketing initiatives for Compendium Blogware. The primary function of this position is generation of qualified sales leads.

This is a fast-moving, high visibility role. The ideal candidate is both creative and analytical, and welcomes the opportunity to continually set goals, measure against those goals, and adjust.  As a company, Compendium has set aggressive lead generation goals for 2008. This individual must roll up his or her sleeves and and help drive the business.

Corporate Blogging Webinar

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to give this group a heads up that I've come up with a "Top 10 Trends in Corporate Blogs" for 2008.

I'll presenting this in a webinar on January 31st 2008.  If you are remotely interested in Corporate Blogging strategy for the coming year (as least as I see it), please register for the webinar on the Compendium Blogware site.

Thanks,

Chris Baggott

Inbox 2.0 - Long Live Email

I just read Scott Dorsey's debate with Robert Scoble in the Business Week Debate Room.   The title of the debate was:

E-mail Faces Deletion: Web 2.0 applications such as Twitter will unseat simple electronic mail as the No. 1 business communications tool. Pro or con?

I thought Scoble made a great case in favor of some of the Web 2.0 technologies that do in fact help overcome some of the weaknesses in email.  Obviously, since I'm now in the Corporate Blogging Software business, I feel strongly that technologies like Blogging have a strong place in any Corporate Marketing Mix.  The debate continues in both Scoblizer and in the blogs of folks such as Lisa Barone over at BruceClay.com. 

In full disclosure, I was a co-founder of ExactTarget and as such have a vested interest in the success of email.

My point goes to support Scott's comment on "Inbox 2.0" and is driven from relevance and data.

The problem with email through out it's history is the abuse by organizations who looked at the medium as "Cheap Paper".

In that light, these people replicated an broken Reach & Frequency advertising model by applying those same Mass Marketing tactics to Email.

This is changing quickly.  The beauty of email as a marketing tool is the ability to leverage data and deliver the right message to the right people at the right time.   

I may be brand-loyal to Goodyear Tires, but their product isn’t the type for which I would subscribe to their RSS feed or visit their site very often.  If they want my business they have to recognize who I am and the best time to send me any communications.  To be successful they have to pay attention to me. Know how I buy.  Know when WINTER COMES where I live.  Or how many miles I’m likely to drive so they can send me the right product reminders...the sort of thing that can be done brilliantly with the right combination of strategy, creativity, email & data.

Beyond face-to-face or the telephone, email is the only way to have a dialog, an actual one-to-one conversation in a medium that is almost universal.

It's been abused for sure...but the profits from email abuse are diminishing....and market forces are driving email marketers to become much more timely and relevant.