If I blink, I may miss something…

So far, April has been my favorite month this year.

Since I’m feeling rather optimistic, I felt it time to update the personal blog for once (even though I don’t really have time for it…).

Back in March (long, long ago ;) ) I decided to take the first few weeks of April “off” to get caught up with life. It was beginning to get too crazy here with pregnancy issues (sick, sick and more sick), a back log of honey-do’s in the house, overbooking myself with work, and then the regular life stuff. By the end of March, I was feeling like if I blinked, I would miss out on a ton of stuff – so instead I missed out on sleep, on “me time”, on “mom time”, on living… all in order to stay on top of life. Irony? Yes.

Now that my “catch up” time is in full swing, I’ve noticed that I am even busier when I don’t have a schedule then when I do. Again, that crazy irony. BUT the good news is that I have incorporated all those things I was giving up in order to stay on top into my daily routines, so that by the end of April — I will be Mrs. Got-It-Together (ha!). I can dream, right?

My husband and my daughter, camping at Hawn State Park

My husband and my daughter, camping at Hawn State Park

Here we are at day 7 of April. I’m proud of all my families accomplishments, so I’m bragging… here goes:

  • Went on our first camping trip of the year (hallelujah!). Only about 40 total hours of “roughin’ it”, but enough to get me back in touch with what’s important. Lesson Learned? Pregnant ladies cannot get a good night’s sleep on the floor of a tent.
  • Finally found a pediatrician!! It’s been 6 months since we lost our private insurance (my kiddos dad was laid off, so our great coverage went with the job) and we’ve been relying on that government stuff to get us by. Apparently there are not many kid doc’s who accept that insurance, so it’s been rough. BUT by necessity today (since my little girl is suffering from severe allergies) I finally found one that will take us — and by god, it was the BEST pediatric office I have even been to! Super nice, super fun and it seemed like they actual care about my kids. I didn’t even believe that existed! So, mark that one down as a win for this family. Lesson Learned? A good doctor is one that not only knows the doctor stuff, but knows the importance of the emotional stuff too. When you find them, don’t let them go!
  • The garage is clean, the yard is mowed, and the house is almost clean. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but it really makes life a lot easier.
  • Finally got a new phone! I found out I was eligible to upgrade, so I was able to get me a “smart phone” (Blackberry Curve) for a total of $9. Sa-weet. Now I can check email from where ever… which is a step closer to getting myself ready for working at home plus baby. The next step is to set up a workstation in the living room, so I can be mobile (at least around the house). It’s going to be hard to juggle a new baby and a full time job, but with the ability to work in any room in the house, it’s gonna be a lot easier!
  • I have almost accumulated all the baby supplies needed for this little bundle of joy and have only spent a total of $22. Through keen shopping (ebay) and getting hand-me-downs from friends, pretty much the only things we don’t have yet are diapers & wipes! I have clothes for up to 18 months, all the furniture, 2 car seats (!!)… now I just need the baby! wOOt!!

I’ll stop there…. I don’t want to jinx myself. I’m hoping the next 3 weeks of April will be just as wonderful. I have 2 more “catch up” weeks on the books before the mountain of new, big projects starts. (Cause I can’t have a good thing for TOO long, eh?)

I forgot how hard it is to be pregnant. Or maybe the older you get, the harder it is? I was 21 when I was pregnant the first time, so I have to believe that my body was in much better shape then. Now, I’m an emotional and physical wreck. I forget everything. I cry for no reason at all, all the time. I waddle. *sigh* I can’t wait for July 30th when this baby stops sucking the life out of me. ;) The hardest part of it all has been dealing with & accepting the fact that I cannot do everything I used to do. I used to get up at 7am every morning and take on life like a rockstar/ninja/superwoman. Now, I drag myself to do anything. But convincing myself that it’s okay to take it down a few notches has been the best thing I have ever done (hence the 3 week “catch up” time). The guilt has subsided, and I am taking comfort in the little accomplishments (hence the list above). I also revel in the accomplishments of my family, b/c they are rockstars at helping me. Even the kiddos… at 6 & 9 years old, they know more about family, love and support then many adults do. Go them!!

Ok — rambling done this time. :) Must go check some stuff off the list, and then sit down for a while. Cause I’m making a human here, and that’s important work.

Email Service Providers – What to Look For

This month (and next) we are concentrating on the world of email marketing. I have spent some time investigating email service providers (ESP) and reviewing them. As you shop around for an ESP (or a new one) there are a number of important things you need to consider. I’m going to touch on a few here – and give a version 1.0 recommendation (followed by my version 2.0 recommendations later on this month) based on some of these unique features.

PRICING

It seems many people base their ESP decision on pricing – and this can be the biggest mistake internet marketers make!! You should really pay attention to the restrictions the ESPs put on their pricing – depending on your list size and the amount of times you send out emails per month, the cheap $9.99 /month ESP you signed up for last year could end up costing you $99 /month when your list gets big. Steer clear of ESPs that charge per email – while you may have a small list and only send out one email a month, you need the functionality as you grow to send updates and notifications throughout the month. Look at the pricing scale with the idea that your business WILL be growing – most of the ESP’s have the same base rates for pay-by-subscriber plans, but some have little loopholes that may catch you by surprise.

BEST PRICE STRUCTURE: iContact
WORST PRICE STRUCTURE: MyEmma & Email Brain (it’s a tie)

LIST MANAGEMENT

A big thing to look for in an ESP is their ability to grow with you. Some ESP’s only allow you to set up one list of subscribers, some allow multiple lists but require you to use the same autoresponder welcome note (which can get confusing for someone signing up for a special program). Make sure your ESP has the capability to create multiple lists, multiple campaigns and custom sign up forms. Another part of list management – autoresponders. It’s worth a few extra bucks to use an ESP with this capability – even if you don’t use it now, you will probably want to in the future.

BEST LIST MANAGEMENT FEATURES: MailChimp & aWeber (another tie!)
WORST LIST MANAGEMENT FEATURES: Constant Contact

THOSE PESKY EMAIL CREATORS

This is probably the biggest complaint I get with ESPs – the method in which you have to create and send your actual email is infuriating! Some have custom templates (some are really good, some are really horrible), some have visual editors, some offer “build your own” – and some just don’t work at all. If you are looking for a fancy-pants html newsletter, choosing an ESP with a user-friendly editor and nice, clean templates to use is your best bet at success – and if you plan on having a custom template built for your business, make sure your ESP accepts copy & paste HTML code.

BEST VISUAL EDITOR / TEMPLATES: Vertical Response
WORST VISUAL EDITOR / TEMPLATES: iContact / Constant Contact (another tie!!)

WEB FORMS!

I’ve worked in the past with a few ESPs that had insane restrictions on their web forms and little to no customization on the success pages and welcome emails. While some ESPs tout their software “does it all for you”, be wary of the amount of stuff they do for you – because allowing an ESP to control your forms and follow up pages/emails takes the control away from you. As your business grows, you may want to incorporate tracking on your sign ups, require more then just a name or email in the form, or send people who sign up for a program to a page to download a freebie – and when you have no control over your form set up, you lose that something special that sets your business apart from your competitors. When shopping for an ESP, make sure they allow you to send subscribers to a URL of your choosing after sign up. Finding a program that allows you to customize your web form is key as well – I know of one ESP that houses their sign up forms in frames – which many people can’t even (or choose not to) accept in their browser – so you lose the opportunity to even get their info!!

BEST FORM FEATURES: Mail Chimp & aWeber (tie!!)
WORST FORM FEATURES: MyEmma

I’m going to leave you with those little sneaks at reviews on ESPs – as I dig deeper into the world of email marketing and test out all these programs, I will post my results  so you can see the nitty gritty of the ESP world.

Again – if your having problems with your email marketing campaign or need advice on which one to use, please send me an email to admin@lynnraedesigns.com and I will investigate your issue in my research.

Thanks – and happy marketing!!

~Victoria Potts Keale is a newbie blogger, website designer, entrepreneur extraordinaire, mom, wife, daughter, sister… well, you get the gist. She lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO in an old haunted farmhouse with her 2 kids and drummer hubby. She has 15 tattoos and wants more. She loves 80’s music. She thinks writing bios in the 3rd person is wacky. You should email her and tell her what else to put in her bio – victoria@lynnraedesigns.com – but don’t spam her, cause she’ll get angry.

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