Expertise on Tap | Email & Video Marketing...made easy

How to increase click throughs for your e-newsletter using video

If you try and embed a video into your e-newsletter it won't work properly in most email programs. The email is also likely to get blocked by anti virus ssoftware. Technology is changing and this may become possible in future but for now a work round is necessary. Here's a simple technique which I use with great results in clients' newsletters. Simply pause the video and take a screen grab then add a play button onto the image. Use this image in your newsletter so that it looks like a video screen. You'll get far more clicks than just using a text link saying "Click here to watch video".

^ Examples of video ^ screen grabs used for my client The Stuart Holmes Hair & Beauty Spa

Why email marketing is not dead. It's just changing

Email marketing is dead! That's what various web articles in the past year would have you believe.  They argue that the growth of social networking will eventually mean people abandon email and start communicating using tools like Facebook messaging and Twitter. Presumably brevity will become the norm as we all attempt to converse in 140 characters or less (!). What I, and others in the email marketing industry are saying is email is not dead. It's just changing. Discover how it's changing and read my 5 point plan on how to adapt your own email newsletter.

How we used video to help Cheltenham author promote her new book

Mary Pearson is an accomplished meditation teacher based in Cheltenham. She has written her first book "Meditation - the Stress Solution" and wanted to record a meditation excercise to help promote the book. This was a bit different to our normal videos as it didn't involve any in-vision recording. We simply recorded Mary's audio and overlaid some calming still images. The result is a good example of the type of a fast turnround video which we are happy to produce for clients. We received the brief from Mary and completed the video within a few days. After watching the video, if you're interested in learning more about meditation or want to buy the book please visit Mary's website. Here's the video...

How to easily produce stunning photo montage videos

Great photography, nice music and some Animoto magic! We've produced this photo montage video for our client The Stuart Holmes Hair & Beauty Spa, Cheltenham who recently won Salon of The Year 2010. Using some excellent photographs by Bullit Photography we added some copyright free music, sequenced the photos and logos and then let Animoto work its magic! See the result below. If you'd like to know more about using the power of video in your business let's talk.

Expertise on Tap client wins major industry award

We're delighted that our client The Stuart Holmes Hair & Beauty Spa, has scooped one of the highest accolades in the British hairdressing industry. Salon of The Year 2010 The Cheltenham-based salon was named as Salon of the Year at the prestgious Hairdressers Journal Business Awards this week. The salon fought off strong competition from the industry luminaries such as Michael van Clarke and Sir Trevor Sorbie to win the title. Stuart started the business just six years ago with his wife Sara. Expertise on Tap has been working with The Stuart Holmes Hair & Beauty Spa since 2008. Since then they have worked with the salon to significantly transform all aspects of their internet marketing. This includes: • A regular email marketing programme to engage clients and attract new customers. • Stuart Holmes Tv. This includes production of promotional videos and a series of blowdry lessons. • Building and developing a social media presence including Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. • Internet consultancy including building a presence on Google Maps and YouTube and creating and managing Google Adwords campaigns. Julian Wellings of Expertise on Tap comments "Stuart Holmes is just one of those perfect clients. They're constantly innovating and aren't afraid to experiment with new ideas. Awards like this don't just happen and I congratulate Stuart, Sara and their fantastic team for their determination, vision and commitment to excellence". Stuart Holmes says "We love working with Expertise on Tap. They react positively, patiently and quickly to all our demands and they consistently add value to our business. We'd like to thank Expertise on Tap for the part they played in helping us win this fantastic award". How the Gloucestershire Echo reported the story... Click image for large version

On location at the UK's first Foursquarestival

Last weekend we were on location at the UK's very first Foursquarestival. Foursquare... what?! Watch the short video below to find out more.

Expertise on Tap now offers A/B testing for email newsletters

Here's a new feature being offered by Expertise on Tap for e-newsletter customers. It's called A/B testing. What is A/B testing? A/B testing (also called split testing) is a way of working out which of two different options will be the most effective. When used for your email campaigns, that means A/B testing can help us decide which email will the best one to send to your subscriber list from two different options which are labeled A and B. The basic idea is that we send Version A to a small number of your subscribers, and Version B to another small group. The results (opens or clicks) are measured, and a winner is chosen automatically, or manually if you prefer. Then that winning version is sent out to all the remaining subscribers.  The duration of the test can be anything from one hour upwards, but I recommend allowing at least 8-24 hours. Click here for a screen shot of a recent A/B test. Why should you use A/B testing? A/B testing offers a simple way for you to get the most opens and clicks from your campaigns. With A/B testing you could: • Test two subject lines, to see which one results in the most opens or clicks • Test two different sets of content to see which one gets the best results • Test a "Free Shipping" promotion versus a "15% Off" promotion • Test two different "from names" to see which generates the most opens Any pitfalls? It's not completely fail safe and there might be other factors which influence the test results. But it's easy to set up and worth trying it to see if the overall clicks and opens improve. Interested? Please drop me a line or call 01242 696728 to discuss how A/B testing could benefit your email campaigns.

Snow and email marketing. How we helped top Cheltenham hair salon keep clients informed

Bad weather in the UK has affected many businesses this week. It is crucial to keep customers informed and email marketing is an effective way to do this. It has a fast turnround and is immediate and cost effective. On Wednesday this week with six inches of snow having fallen in Cheltenham, we sprang into action to help our client The Stuart Holmes Hair & Beauty Spa update their clients. Within only a few hours we had agreed the content with Stuart Holmes and sent a special email update to over 2000 clients. We also added the content Twitter & Facebook. Email marketing and social networking in pefect harmony! Click here to see a larger version of the email. The benefits for The Stuart Holmes Hair & Beauty Spa were: 1. This special "snow mail" sets them apart from their competition. How many other hair and beauty businesses in Cheltenham have done this? 2. It generates potential appointments from customers who might not have bothered due to the snow. 3. The conversational and warm tone engages with customers irrespective of whether they are due for an appointment. 4. There is a positive impact on customer retention and referrals. To learn more about how email marketing could improve your customer retention please get in touch.