Welcome to the October 2008 Edition of the ChamberExpress News to Use. Our goal: to provide ideas, information and news to help chambers of commerce succeed online.

Email Done Right

Ask any professional how often you should utilize your email contact list and chances are you will receive a myriad of responses ranging from “it depends” to “once a week.” The truth is this—there is no “one-size-fits-all” answer because no e-mail program is exactly like another. Weekly e-mail may work for one company, but that may be too often for another or not enough for a third. How do you decide how often is right for your organization?

1) Make sure you are sending information your customers wants to hear.

It’s a good goal to establish an optimum frequency for your business, but it is more important to establish yourself as a trustworthy sender. If you are sending something your customer would truly want to know, great. Otherwise, it becomes yet another piece of mailbox-clogging spam.

2) Establish expectations.

From the beginning, explain your e-mail program to potential subscribers before they opt in. Make sure you highlight the frequency and state it in raw numbers, for example, "two to four times a week" instead of "several times a week.” Also make sure that the content sticks closely to the topic of each email. If content become vague or rambling, it loses its value and begins to look like spam.

3) Keep your promises.

No matter what you promise during the opt-in process, you must honor it throughout the life cycle of your e-mail relationship with your customers. Resist the temptation to ramp up e-mail messages during certain periods—or to lose your communication continuum by not regularly sending information.

Excerpted from a web article by Stefan Pollard

Connect Using "About Us"

 An "About Us" page is a tremendous opportunity to connect with, and forge a relationship with, prospective customers. It can put a human face on an otherwise dry and impersonal website or company. Remember, humans want to connect with other humans and an About Us page, when properly used, can provide this personal link.

So how do you make this connection? Avoid these common "About Us" page mistakes:

The text tells what you do instead of who you are. Tell customers about your company—who started it, why they started it, what are its values. Don’t make the page another sales pitch. When visitors click on "About Us," they want to know about you.

The content is thoughtless. Many "About Us" pages seem like a copy-and-paste job of your company’s mission statement. Put some thought into it.

The page lacks humans. Humans are attracted to humans, so include photos of company employees.

The text lacks personality. The vast majority of "About Us" pages are boring and stiff. Instead, your "About Us" page should:

• Let customers see a more human side of your company and display some human personality.
• Tell your company's story. A company history timeline is a great way to highlight achievements without bragging.
• Reflect your company's passion. A great example of this is Nike.com.
• Reflect your company's personality. If you're a fun company, your "About Us" page should be fun.
• Let the customer inside your company. Bungie (makers of the popular video game Halo) go so far as to have webcams online that show offices and other areas of the company.

If you're struggling to find customer-centric content to put on this page, here are some examples of visitor questions you can answer on it:

• Why do you do what you do?
• Who are the people behind the company?
• What does your company stand for?
• What does your company stand against?

If you need to know more about what customers are asking about your company, ask the people in your company who interact with customers the most.

Excerpted from a web article by Bryan Eisenberg

Nothing was Finer Than the Carolinas; But Kentucky was Great, Too!

The ChamberExpress team was on the road recently to spend time at the Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives' conference. Not only was it a great chance to have an exhibit and share plenty of new ideas about how to deliver more value and services to chamber members, but it was fun catching up with our “family friends” from the Greater Smithfield-Selma Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce.

Next stop: Our team was found amidst the fine folks at the Kentucky and Indiana Chamber Of Commerce Executives Association's Regional Fall Conference and Expo in Louisville. Folks not only benefited from a great product but they were also helping others throughout their states thanks to ChamberExpress’ new community service program:  for every new contract signed from now through Christmas, ChamberExpress will donate $500 to the states’ food banks.

Welcome!

ChamberExpress™ continues its strong growth as more chambers come to appreciate its insights and expertise. In the last several months the Brentwood (California) Chamber of Commerce, Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (Tucson, AZ), Van Wert Chamber of Commerce (Van Wert, OH), Oconee County Chamber of Commerce (Oconee, GA), Sun Prairie Chamber of Commerce (Sun Prairie, WI) and Azle Chamber of Commerce (Azle, TX) have started to tap into the smart business thinking of ChamberExpress™ and are looking forward to improving their online operations in new ways. Thank you for joining the ChamberExpress™ family!