EduCyber Blog: Internet Marketing, Web Design and Network Support » email

Office 2010 Released

Brian DeLaet — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:00:09 +0000

It’s out. It’s nice. If you’re using Office 2003 or earlier, it’s time to upgrade.

Office 2010 uses the same kind of ribbons that Office 2007 users have grown accustomed to. The new “ribbon” that you’ll find in Word 2010 is the one that 2007 should have had. It’s called file. The file ribbon gives you all the options and information about the particular file that you’re working on that you could possibly want to know.

For example, as I type this blog entry in Word 2010, when I click the file tab, I have lots of nifty choices like Open, Save, Save as, and Print but the option that is highlighted is Info. Under Info I can Set Permissions (protect the document so that only those who should see it can), Prepare for Sharing (basically let’s me easily strip hidden information that other’s shouldn’t see but that is useful to have for an in house document) and work with different Versions of the document.

I can also see useful information such as how long I’ve been editing this document, add or view the Title and any Tags, see who the creator is, and lots of other information. It is also from the file tab that I can open recent or other documents and do many of the tasks from the old File menu.

As is usually the case, the biggest change comes with Outlook. As the way people communicate continues to change, Microsoft tries to make Outlook the tool to help you do this. Outlook now has its own ribbons (for some reason Outlook 2007 didn’t get the ribbon makeover).

The newest feature here is the Quick Steps box. Basically what this box does is let you create macros or rules on what do with certain messages. Once that rule is created, you can run it by clicking the appropriate button in the Quick Steps box. I’m still experimenting with this but this feature holds potential in helping to tame the email beast.

Access has some nice new features, one that we’re taking a very close look at right now is the Project template. What is nice is that Access is now really designed from the get go to be interactive. I opened the Project template and the first thing I had to do was create a user (myself) and then log in. Then I was off to the races creating and entering information on the project.

The downside is I wanted to watch the video which required SilverLight which I had already installed which Access didn’t recognize as being installed. Still a few issues, it would appear but all in all I like this latest version and could see moving some of our folks to it even before the first service pack.

Other tools that come with the complete version of Office 2010 include OneNote (great for taking quick notes or for having a notebook on a particular task or subject) and InfoPath – the tool for forms – now comes with a Designer part and a Filler part. For business users (those with lots of computers and users), there’s also a new program called SharePoint Workspace. I’m still investigating these but they look to be pretty nifty tools for improved work flow.

The full version “Professional” retails for around $500 but as a productivity tool is well worth it.

Email Scams Proliferate

Brian DeLaet — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:49:30 +0000

Lately we've been getting bombarded with email scams. Beware and DO NOT click on these unless you communicate with network administrator (call us if you don't have a network administrator: 303 268-2245). One message has a title like this: A new settings file for the mailbox has just been released and it was a bogus link that you are supposed to click on. DO NOT click the link! The second message we've seen has this subject line: Important - System upgrade and it also has a link that you should not click under any circumstances. Beware, be aware, and be safe on the Internet.

Three Concerns about E-Newsletters

Brian DeLaet — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:25:35 +0000

OK, I just posted five reasons you SHOULD have an e-newsletter, now let's look at three things you need to take into account as you start writing your e-newsletters:

Junk Email filters. There is a lot of email out there. And a lot of that email is automatically generated junk that you don't want to read. The unfortunate point is that a good email newsletter site like AWeber.com or Constant Contact.com is also an automatically generated email that can caught in a filter. We use Aweber and we get a spam assassin score BEFORE we send so we know how likely it is to get filtered out.
Information Overload. How many emails do YOU get every day? I get over a hundred, not including the junk that gets filtered out. Even then I've got an overload of information and should probably unsubscribe from half a dozen newsletters. But they're really good when I take the time to read them. So remember that your reader is likely overloaded and that leads to the next concern:
Competition for Attention. Like I said, I get over 100 emails a day. So your e-newsletter is competing for my attention with every other item in my inbox. And of course I'm likely distracted by who's IM'ing me or what the latest tweet from Twitter is as well. One key issue to deal with here is to make sure your subject line leaps off the screen in a way the engages the reader from the start.

These concerns aren't insurmountable but you should be aware of them so that you can prepare to make your newsletter stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Five Reasons to Use an Email Newsletter

Brian DeLaet — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:50:00 +0000

Putting a newsletter into email is easy. Reaching people that want to be reached by you is so easy it feels thrilling! Really it does! Give it a try. Here are five reasons you should try it if you aren't already:

Low cost distribution: Sending out a hard copy newsletter can cost anywhere from $0.42 to $10.00 depending on how much work and postage you put into it. An email can be sent for nothing or next to nothing.
Less focus on formatting: Instead of having to make the content fit the available space, you can just focus on writing good content.
Ease of distribution: You don't have to spend time folding and stuffing envelopes nor do you have to lick stamps and take it to the post office. Simply click send when it looks right and off it goes.
Easy to post to your web site: Once you've taken the time to write good content, you should always post it on your web site so the Search Engines can index your content. In the same way you should always archive your newsletters on your site to keep that good content available.
Easy to link your newsletter to your web site. For most folks, getting people to visit their web site is their goal. If someone visits the web site, they are more likely to make a purchase so why not put the first three paragraphs of your nine paragraph article in the newsletter with a Continue Reading link that goes to your web site?

So get off your backside and start writing. And start getting permission from people to send them your newsletter.

An Email Address By Any Other Letter

Brian DeLaet — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:02:44 +0000

Shakespeare may have said that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but who would have imagined that email address starting with any other letter would get less spam? Say what? A researcher in England discovered that, for real email addresses, those beginning with less common letters receive less spam. So that means that if your name is Mike Xanowitz, you might want to have your email address as xanowitzm@mydomain.com instead of mxanowitz@mydomain.com. M's, you see, get more spam than X's. This is just one study but the results feel right to me. Think about it another way. mike@mydomain.com sounds pretty general, even if mydomain.com isn't so well known. xanowitz@mydomain.com on the otherhand is pretty specific. So if I were trying to send unsolicited commercial messages (otherwise known as spam) to this domain, I might get lucky and guess that mike@ is a valid email address. But unless I know Mike personally and know how to spell his last name, I'm unlikely to simply guess at xanowitz@ and be right. Does it mean anything to you? Perhaps not if you already have an established email. If however you're in the process of creating a new email address, consider a lesser used first letter such as x, y or z for your email address.

Make Your Site the Centerpiece

Brian DeLaet — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:41:26 +0000

One of the most unusual aspects of a company having a web site is that the site can be a great marketing tool for the business but that site needs its own marketing plan (which should dovetail with a bigger company marketing campaign). If you set your web site as the centerpiece of your marketing, there are a few simple steps you should take to make sure you get the most from it:

Print it on EVERYTHING. Every piece of printed material that your company generates should have your web address (URL) on it. This includes:
- Brochures
- Business Cards
- Letterhead

and even:

Invoices

Proposals

Contracts

Let people hear it. If a caller is sent to voicemail, make sure they know they can also contact you on the web at www.yourdomain.com. If your phone system lets you control what people hear while on hold, make sure your message comes out there and that it mentions your web site.
Another easy to take step that is too often overlooked is your email signature. Every email program lets you have an automatic email signature. Make sure you include your web site address in the signature.

These are just three easy steps you can use to help you market your web site.

Stay Organized and Stay Productive

Brian DeLaet — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:46:29 +0000

We've been giving and receiving Outlook training this week and it hit me how important it is to stay focused with productivity tools of which Outlook continues to be one of our most important. In an office environment, using Outlook as the front end to an exchange server gives lots of opportunities for sharing schedules, assigning tasks, sharing calendars, and storing emails in public folders so that others in the company can easily access the same information. Outlook 2007 is a powerful tool whether in a business environment with Exchange server or as a standalone program. The search component in particular is powerful. I have on my Outlook Favorites the search folders Unread Mail and For Followup. You can also add particular category searches that help you to stay connected and keep moving forward. The To-Do bar on the right side of the screen is a handy tool that you can expand or hide to meet your needs but when expanded shows your upcoming schedule and flagged emails. Another productivity tool that I use in conjunction with Outlook is Jott. I've written about Jott previously but it is a great time saver if you're out and about a lot. I can call Jott to send myself emails, ask for reminders that will come to my phone and email, or send an email to anyone in my address book. Yes, from my phone. So when I'm driving down the road and remember that I need to confirm an appointment via email, I can call (using my hands free bluetooth device of course) and tell Jott to send an email to Ted, letting him know that I'll be at the breakfast meeting on Friday and Ted will get the email. Between Outlook, Exchange and Jott, I manage to stay organized and on top of my schedule and keep my productivity high.

Taming the Inbox: Managing Volumes of Email

Brian DeLaet — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:42:06 +0000

I've done it! I've taken a huge step towards taming my inbox. For years it has had no fewer than 300 messages in it and when busy-ness hits, it regularly balloons to over 1500 messages. Until now. What is the secret to taming your email? you may ask. The answer is so simple (once you know the answer it always seems simple): Right now, as I write, I have 13 emails in my inbox. Each of them is something that will be dealt with within the next business day and then filed away. When there were 300+ emails in there, it was so easy to let it balloon up to 400 or 600 or more. With 0 to 20 in there, its very easy to identify what needs to be done, do it and then file it. The biggest thing that worked for me was opening a Word document so that when I started through the laborious process of whittling down 1100 emails to 5, I could jot a note about something that needed to be done. So, it worked like this: file, file, file, delete, file, delete, delete, oh, I need to call Frank about this one. Hmm should I quit working on filing which isn't fun or should I call Frank? This time I mastered the urge to bail and made a note to call Frank in the Word Document. Then back to file, delete, file, file, delete, delete, delete. It took six to eight hours to do this but I finished over the weekend and this has been one of the most productive weeks I've ever had and its only Thursday! So if you are stuck in email purgatory, set aside the time, ignore every distraction, and file, categorize and make notes until you're down to 0. Right now I've got 9 items in my inbox, the oldest of which dates back to 5:20 PM on Tuesday. Ohh, that feels good

Web Site Design

Brian DeLaet — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 22:54:22 +0000

For more than a year we have been offering the 10 essential questions to answer when you are ready to take your site to the next level. The response to this has been so good that we are going to take a deeper look at each question. The first question is "What are the goals for my web site?" While the question seems simple enough, a lot of people struggle with this one. Too frequently the complete answer we get is "Because everyone else has a site." Putting aside the parental instinct to reply "if everyone was jumping off a cliff, would you?" we sit down and talk about what reasonable goals people can set for their web site. If you are selling goods or services via your web site, you will want to set a goal some kind of sales goals. If the site already exists, perhaps your goal will be to increase sales 50% over the course of the next year with a redesigned web site. If the site is brand new, you can set a dollar goal for numbers of sales. Even if you aren't selling anything on your site, you should still set goals. We track where every new customer comes from. So we know when we get a new customer through our web site as opposed to getting it through word of mouth. If your goal is to get 5 new customers through your web site each quarter, this will help you plan out your site. I had one client who had an existing site and he stated that his goal was to educate customers. I said he must be doing a very good job because the page we were looking at had 100s of visitors but almost no conversion to customers. He looked at me for a moment and then said, "Well ultimately I'd like them to call." I gently asked him where his phone number was on the page and suddenly a great big light bulb went off inside his head. Now that he had a goal - get people to call - he could evaluate his site and make changes as needed. Tune in next time for "How do I expect people to find my site?"

Newsletter Programs

Brian DeLaet — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 00:14:01 +0000

How do you stay in touch with your clients? Using email newsletters is a great way to do that. Many of the articles in this blog end up becoming a part of our monthly newsletter. There are a wide variety of newsletter programs out there that allow you to do this kind of "touching" ofÂ your customers. EduCyber uses and hosts phpList for our business customers. We are also planning to implement another program in the coming months and will have more information as we get closer. Both allow us to customize the interface for our customers and tie them seamlessly into the web site. Some of our colleagues use the Constant Contact program and like the way you can manage your list and send out to people without a lot of hassle or need for technical knowledge. It starts out at $15 / month but when you get to over 500 people the cost goes up to $30 / month. That seems a bit pricey but if you are reaching your customers and you have 501 people on your list, that works out to $0.167 per person that you send (and that's if its just once a month that you're sending a message, do it twice a month and the cost is just over 8 cents per person which isn't bad). Another colleague just strongly recommended Aweber. If you sign up for this service for a year, the cost is only $179.40 which is $14.95 / month and you get unlimited users and messages. The reason he liked it so well is the autoresponder feature which lets him set up automatic messages to go out at set intervals after someone signs up. What other newsletter management or email marketing services or programs are out there? Let us know about whatÂ you're using.