Aviation Marketing Consulting's Tips for Growing Your Email Lists

Thinking about buying an email list? Wait. Before you pay anyone for a “list” of potential newsletter subscribers, you should absolutely attempt to capture these names directly. Why? Because it’s free, and it’s been my experience that purchasing an email list does not provide good value or results.

If you build it, they will come.

This doesn’t apply just to “Fields Of Dreams,” but also to building subscriber lists with names and emails that are interested in the products or services your business provides.

The most effective way obtain a good list is to build it yourself. And it all starts with good content. If you build it, they will come. Here’s how:

1. Write practical, useful content. You will never collect email addresses just because you provide a newsletter “free of charge.” You must first provide content that the reader deems worthy to click, stay, and subscribe. Providing unique and valuable information first and foremost is the most important way in growing your email list.
2. Make it easy. Add a subscription form to multiple pages of your website where it is appropriate to do so, place it in a prominent position on the page and identified clearly.
   

   Here is an example of a squeeze page. Notice the prominent sign-up form and video testimonial.

3. Ask for just the basics. Request minimal information – for most newsletters, a first name and email address will suffice. The more information you request, the less likely your web visitor will subscribe to your newsletter.
4. Provide a sample newsletter. Offer subscribers the ability to view your newsletter before they sign up. Those that like what they read will sign-up. Those that don’t would most likely unsubscribe from your email list anyway.
5. Give away an opt-in bonuses. Create an opt-in bonus in return for subscribing. An ebook or PDF report, webinar, podcast, or downloadable or web-based software are great ways to entice new subscribers, and builds credibility as well.
6. Include “Sign Up” button. Use a button or link within your newsletter providing a text link to your subscription page. If readers forward newsletters to others, or share online, the “sign-up” button or link will give others an immediate manner to opt-in.
7. Testimonials. Put testimonials on your squeeze page and/or your email sign-up forms in your website. Video is very compelling medium for testimonials. If possible testimonials should include full names, locations and/or links to establish credibility.
8. Have a Privacy Policy. Let readers know without a doubt you will never share their contact information. Have a Privacy Policy page on your web page, and provide a link to it below every opt-in form.
9. Create a squeeze page. A squeeze page is a simple page on your website designed solely to capture opt-in emails addresses. Unlike other pages on your website with content and navigation, when a person arrives at your squeeze page, they have only two options: either sign-up or leave.
10. Set Expectations. Let subscribers know what they will be receiving: useful information, discounts, offers from third parties, or some combination? How often will they receive emails: daily, weekly, monthly? If possible, let subscribers adjust their own preferences. Letting people know what to expect will increase your opt-in rate.
11. Use Social Media. Post links to published newsletters on your Facebook and Twitter pages. Mention upcoming topics for future newsletters to generate additional interest.
12. Archive past newsletters. Make it easy for subscribers to access past newsletters and provide the capability to search past newsletters by keywords and topics. A library of newsletters also builds your credibility and positions you as an authority in your particular field.
13. Network with publishers. Publishers of other newsletters and/or print articles can provide valuable links, content, and subscribers to your own publication. This is a win-win for both, and will help to build your lists faster.
14. Ask readers to share. Word of mouth is viral. If a subscriber finds your newsletter to be informative, ask them to share it with friends and colleagues. This is a great way of get new subscribers.
15. Blog consistently. Blogging creates great dialogue with potential customers, and creates nice synergy with email marketing. Be sure to include a newsletter sign-up form on your blog page.
16. Comment. Post valuable comments on related blogs. In most cases, comments are posted with a link back to your site. This is an easy way to generate new traffic and subscribers.
17. Allow reprints. Websites and publishers actively look for high-quality content. Allow them to reprint yours as long as it’s not modified. With each reprint, your audience and exposure grows leading to new subscribers, traffic and links.

It doesn't take long for a significant amount of ice to accumulate on aircraft wings creating a potentially dangerous and fatal situation

It appears that icing played a major role in the Dec. 20th. crash of a TBM 700, a single-engine turboprop, 14 minutes after taking off from Teterboro, New Jersey for Atlanta. It was reported that moderate to severe icing was in the departure area. Four members of one family were were killed, along with their dog and a business associate. The aircraft crashed onto center medium of Interstate287. Luckily, no one on the ground was hurt.

Now is the worst time of the year for icing related accidents

It appeared that the pilot, a 1200-hour, instrument rated private pilot, reported he was picking up ice at 17,000 feet and requested 20,000 feet from ATC to climb to out of it.  Unfortunately, the attempt failed and the plane began losing altitude very quickly soon after.

This accident is an fateful reminder that we are coming into the worst time of year for icing. The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) reports late December, January and late March are the most likely periods for icing related accidents to occur. These accidents occur at altitude during the cruise phase of flight when aircraft are flying through visible moisture at, or close to, freezing temperatures. It only take a short period of time in these conditions for significant amounts of ice to accumulate on the leading edges of an aircraft, which disrupts airflow, resulting in the lose of lift – a dangerous scenario, especially in instrument conditions.

View this video of Kevin Hawley, head of business development for
CAV Ice Protection, as he discusses icing in greater depth and explains some of the systems available to combat icing in aircraft.

Below is the preliminary accident report from the NTSB involving this accident.

And remember ice is not only dangerous for aircraft. Be careful while driving and walking during these winter months.

NTSB Identification: ERA12FA115
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, December 20, 2011 in Morristown, NJ
Aircraft: SOCATA TBM 700, registration: N731CA
Injuries: 5 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors.

On December 20, 2011, about 1005 eastern standard time, a Socata TBM 700, N731CA, collided with terrain following an in-flight loss of aircraft control near Morristown, New Jersey. The airplane was registered to Cool Stream LLC and was operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight from Teterboro, New Jersey (TEB) to Atlanta, Georgia (PDK). The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The certificated private pilot and four passengers were fatally injured. The flight originated from TEB at 0950.

A preliminary review of recorded radar and voice communications revealed that the pilot was in communication with the Federal Aviation Administration, New York Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). While flying at 17,000 feet mean sea level (MSL) the pilot reported that he was in icing conditions. The pilot requested a climb, and the flight was subsequently cleared to flight level (FL) 200. The aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 17,900 feet and then began to descend. Radar and radio contact with N731CA was lost about 1005.

The airplane impacted a wooded median on Interstate Highway 287, about 1 mile south of Morristown. Several sections of the airplane, including the propeller assembly, came to rest in a wooded area on the east side of the northbound lanes. A post-crash fire was evident in the highway median, where the fuselage came to rest. The outboard section of the right wing and several sections of the empennage were found about 0.25 miles southwest of the fuselage, in a residential area.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. He reported a total flight experience of 1,400 hours on his latest second-class medical certificate application, dated July 14, 2011.

The airplane was manufactured in 2005 and equipped with a Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-64 turbo-prop engine. The most recent annual inspection was performed on July 27, 2011. At that time, the airplane had accumulated approximately 702.0 total flight hours. The last logbook entry was recorded on November 18, 2011, at an aircraft total time of 724.6 hours.

The wreckage was recovered to a storage facility, where a detailed examination will be performed NTSB.

Constant Contact has done a brilliant job promoting their email service using TV and radio commercials to expand marketshare within the industry. But the single greatest marketing device that has had the most impact on their phenomenal growth is the Constant Contact icon that appears at the bottom of every email that goes out via Constant Contact. This simple device has enabled Constant Contact to become the 800 lb. gorilla in email marketing – allowing the company to go public in October 2007 and reaching a market cap of over a $1 billion earlier this year.

One of the most brilliant marketing ideas I ever seen is the Constant Contact icon that appears at the bottom of every email that goes out through Constant Contact.

When email marketing was relatively new, I was a Constant Contact customer.

Why?

Well even though there were numerous email marketing companies, I had little experience with this new medium and found it difficult to determine which features I needed and what differentiated one email provider from the rest. So I went ahead and did what many people do when trying something new – I went with the company I had heard about and was most comfortable with. (FYI, that’s part of what branding is all about.)

However, I was annoyed that the Constant Contact icon with its “Try It Free” sales message appeared in the footer of my eNewletters. Here I was providing free advertising for Constant Contact, yet had to pay them for the privilege.

Who’s got it better than that?!
It’s like how the IRS requires employers to collect payroll taxes from their employees, yet doesn’t give them a dime for the bookkeeping, overhead and administrative costs incurred.
Why couldn’t I put my own company logo at the bottom of the emails I send out?

“Can’t be done!” was their reply.

Well it turns out it can be done, by iContact, a competitor to Constant Contact. I immediately moved my email account over to the very accommodating people at iContact.

And since I am a marketing agency, they set me up a program in which I can provide email marketing services for my clients at a price less than what clients could receive direct. This allows me to offer my clients professional oversight of their email marketing, while they do as much of the direct interaction with their account as they feel comfortable with:  updating their database, tracking email responses, creating new emails newsletters and promotions – ALL with templates branded with their own logo, and not anyone else’s.

I’m happy. Clients are happy. It’s a win-win!

SEO lets your business get found!

Building or revamping a website can be an arduous task, as there are many aspects to address: finding a designer, choosing designs, colors, functionality, hosting options, creating content, hiring someone to write content, program, etc. Often search engine optimization is last on the list, if on that must-do list at all.

Make Search Engine Optimization a Priority

While you’re focused on getting your website up and running, don’t let SEO become a rainy-day task to be put off until later. Later may never come, and you will soon wonder why people are not visiting your new and improved site.

If an objective of your website is to drive traffic from search engines, meaning a search on Google, Yahoo, Ask or Bing culminates with your website high on the list of results, then SEO must be a mandatory part of your initial planning.

It is easy to spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours developing a decent website, but what will it matter if no one can find you? Regardless of how fabulous and functional your new site is, the effort will be futile if search engines cannot index your website.

What is Indexing?

Search engines develop automated programs, called robots or spiders that crawl the web searching for content. These automated programs follow links from one web page or website to another, continuously seeking new content. When new material is discovered, the programs index, or save, all information found. Then, when a prospective customer types words or phrases into a search engine, the matching information saved is reported in the results page.

Your overriding goal should be to have your website appear first and foremost in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) the person sees on their browser.

How high your website appears in the search results depends on how relevant your website’s information is to algorithms and programming factors used to rank the comparable importance of your website within the web universe. That rank is impacted by as many as a hundred factors that search engines keep top-secret. It’d be easier obtaining the Coke recipe than cracking the search engine algorithms and programming.

7 Pitfalls to Avoid When Optimizing Your Website:

1. Hiring a writer who doesn’t understand SEO. Content is king. If your content doesn’t support the search terms that drive traffic to your site, you’ll end up having to rewrite the text later, costing more time and money.
2. Hiring a web designer who only works in Flash. Search engines cannot index content of Flash sites, regardless of how fancy, flashy and innovative they appear. This is a major disadvantage, and will probably result in your complete site being recoded in search engine friendly HTML.
3. Hiring a programmer who uses Ajax or other code language that search engines can’t read and don’t recognize.
4. Not including basic page titles, descriptions and keywords in your websites meta-tags. This is SEO 101, but you’d be amazed how many websites don’t incorporate this key information.
5. Going the do-it-yourself route and using free templates offered by your hosting service to build your website. Many times these use frame architecture, which again search engines can’t read.
6. If you’re hiring a SEO firm, check them out.  Get someone reputable with proven results.
7. As mentioned in a previous SEO blog tip, stay away from SEO firms that promise results that seem too good to be true. They may be using use “Black Hat” SEO methods that may deliver short-term results, but cost you more in the long-run.

Jeppesen Hudson River Approach Plate

While we celebrate in awe and inspiration the second anniversary of the January 15, 2009 magnificent US Airways Flight 1549, let’s take a moment to reflect on Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III’s miracle on the Hudson. How he, together with his seasoned, professional, diligent and calm crew, managed to pull off a feat no short of – dare I say – miraculous.

With all due respect, honor and, in fact, awe of the talented pilots and crew of Flight 1549, I present this flight plan which has been forwarded around the blogosphere for you to enjoy. With diligent research, it seems to have origininated at Jeppesen.com, but any readers out there who can source the genius who came up with it, please comment below!

Click her for a full-sized PDF of the Hudson River Approach Plate

Happy New Year to all, and may all your flight plans be closed upon arrival of your destination.