Showing that you care by providing a personalized experience will encourage current and future clients to choose your brand over others. Nobody wants a brand that treats them like everyone else. Show your customers that they matter! – Catherine McHale Marketing

Kelley Matthews did some research on Pinterest for us and gave a very informative talk about the great benefits of Pinterest for our businesses.  – click the on the information for a pdf and the full document.

The Niwot Cougars Football Team is holding their annual fundraising Golf Tournament on 8/8.  They would love any donation for the raffle, or if you would like to sponsor a hole, you would get your sign posted at the hole. Any promo materials you would like to include would be added to the gift bags handed out to each player. Click the image to get a copy of the registration form.

Take a Chair Ladies is proud to support Cameras for Kibera.

Kibera is East Africa’s largest slum, housing around 1,000,000 residents in appalling conditions.  Kenya has a very male dominated society and there are very few training or creative outlets for women.  A TACL Member visited Kenya recently and saw first hand the great work that was being done by the charity Carolina for Kibera.  www.carolinaforkibera.org.    Take a Chair Ladies’s mission is to promote and support female run businesses.    It was only natural for the group to support a program designed to empower young women, especially ones that face such enormous challenges.  It is amazing what happens when these girls are given a voice and a creative outlet.  Here is some of the powerful work done already: http://cfk.unc.edu/2016/04/cheryl-photo-essay/

Carolina for Kibera needs digital cameras (with charger and memory card if possible) to expand their program.  They are being collected at Niwot Market, May 11-18.   A venue with  Longmont Chamber will be confirmed shortly.  For more information please call Lucy Tuck Photography: 303 506 0657 or email lucytuck@mac.com – she is happy to arrange additional  or further afield collections.   If you don’t have a camera, please consider donating here:  https://cfk.unc.edu/action/donate-new/

Here is a recent article that has some good information about pay per click marketing and how it works.  Kelley Matthews from KelleyMatthewsDesigns.com shared this article at our meeting today.  Take a Chair Ladies is a Professional Women’s group devoted to expanding our businesses through referrals, mutual support and education.

Please click here for the article on pay-per-click marketing by Portent.com

This excerpt is from Constant Contact –

Collect email addresses in-store

1. Paper sign-up sheet

Keep it simple. Sometimes a paper sign-up sheet is the best way to go.

2. Ask face-to-face

Just having a sign-up form available won’t always be enough. Train yourself and your employees to always ask prospective contacts to sign up.

3. Look at your database

Don’t overlook the obvious. You probably already have a database of contacts who would love to join your list. Ask them to sign up.

4. Ask family and friends

Look to your personal network to help kick-start your list growth.

5. Use a fish bowl

Put a fishbowl on your counter and give customers an incentive to drop in their business cards to join your list.

Note: Be sure to let people know they’ll be receiving future emails from you as well.

6. Ask over the phone

Having a great phone conversation with a customer or supporter? Keep the conversation going by asking them to join your email list.

7. Use signs & sandwich boards

Using a sidewalk sign or sandwich board to bring in foot traffic? Tell passersby about all the great info, discounts, and news they’ll find by signing up for your emails.

8. Use your in-store WiFi

Using a tool like SocialSign.in, which integrates with your Constant Contact account, lets you expose your email list to customers when they access your WiFi network.
Cover your online touch points

9. Add a sign-up form to your website

Constant Contact customers can embed an email sign-up form on their website and collect emails from people who visit your site. Give your sign-up form plenty of visibility by putting it on every page.

10. Create a “reasons to sign-up page”

Ask your current contacts why they enjoy your emails and then create a page on your website highlighting the biggest benefits of signing up.

11. Add it to your blog

If someone enjoys what you have to say on your blog, there’s a good chance they’d want to see your updates in their inbox.

12. Experiment with pop-ups

There are a number of non-intrusive tools you can use to promote your email list on your website or blog with a popup message. Tools like Privy integrate with your Constant Contact account, making it quick and easy to grow your list.

13. Guest blog

Writing for other blogs is a great way to get in front of a new audience. Include a link to your sign-up form in your author bio. If people like your post, they’ll want to get more information from you.

14. Use online payment forms

Collect email addresses when people are making a purchase. Be sure to indicate they’re opting-in to receive future emails from you.

15. Add it to your online listings

Keep your listings on sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google up-to-date and provide a link to join your email list.

16. Host a podcast

Start a podcast and encourage listeners to subscribe to your email list to find out about upcoming episodes.

17. Try an online survey

Add a sign-up link to your next online survey. Let people share their feedback and join your email list.

18. Book appointments online

Are you giving clients the ability to schedule and book appointments online? Offer a convenient way for people to join your email list when signing up.

Constant Contact offers integrations with tools like MINDBODY, which allows you to grow your list and keep your database organized.

19. Invest in digital advertising

If you’re already using ads to drive people back to your website, make sure that you’re sending people to a page where they can easily opt-in to join your email list.

20. Collect donations and email addresses online

If your organization collects donations online, ask donors and volunteers to join your list to stay up-to-date with your latest news and announcements.
Use social media

21. Add a sign-up form to your Facebook Page

Make it easy for fans to join your list by adding a sign-up form to your Facebook Page.

22. Tweet it

Twitter is a high volume social network, which means you can tweet about your email list on a regular basis without overwhelming your audience. You should also post about your email list on your other social networks, but less frequently than you would on Twitter.

23. Update your Facebook Cover Photo

You can now include a call to action on the Cover Photo of your Facebook Page. Have some fun with it and ask people to join your list.

24. Use the Facebook CTA Button

Facebook’s call-to-action feature lets you add a button to the top of your Facebook Page, which can link to a page on your website or to your online sign-up form.

25. Run a Facebook Ad

Supercharge your Facebook list growth with a Facebook Ad. Add new fans and new subscribers by driving people to your Facebook sign-up form.

26. Use your YouTube channel

Talk about your emails in a video and tell people where to sign up.

27. Participate in LinkedIn Groups

When appropriate, let members of the same LinkedIn Groups know about your email list.

28. Join a Google+ Community

Like LinkedIn Groups, Google+ Communities are the place Google+ users go to find information relevant to them. Share your latest email and ask members to join your list.

29. Use Twitter Lead Generation Cards

With Twitter Lead Generation Cards, you can pay to promote your content to a wider audience and let people share their information right within their Twitter stream.

30. Add a link to your social bios

Allow social connections to easily find your email sign-up form by linking to it in your profiles. Try it on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Google+.

31. Sample content on Pinterest

Create a board on Pinterest and “pin” your email newsletter right when it comes out! Use an image from your email or take a screenshot of your entire newsletter to give readers a preview of your content.

32. Try it on Instagram

You can add a link to your bio on Instagram and can also add a shortened link to your photo captions and encourage people to copy and paste the link into their web browser.
Use your existing emails

33. Add a sign-up link to your regular emails

You never know how people are going to find your emails. When new readers find them, make sure they have a way to sign up.

34. Make it easy to share emails

Sometimes, the best way to grow your list is to extend the reach of your emails. Add social share buttons to make it easy for people to share your emails on their social networks.

35. Encourage people to forward

Add a “forward to a friend” button to your emails to help you reach your next subscribers.

36. Add a sign-up link to your email signature

Get more exposure for your email list by including a link in your regular emails.

37. Share your emails on your own

Show your fans and followers what they’re missing by sharing your latest newsletters and announcements on social media. Remember to include a link to sign up in the emails that you share.
Go mobile

38. Collect new contacts from your phone

Use the Constant Contact mobile app to collect email addresses right from your smartphone or tablet.

39. Collect emails via text

To simplify the process, consider trying a tool like Constant Contact’s Text-to-Join feature, which lets people subscribe via text message from their mobile device.

40. Use a QR code

Add a QR code to a flyer, poster, or brochure and make it easy for people to scan-to-join your email list.

41. Use a tablet

Setup a tablet in your store or at events to make it convenient for people to join your list.
Don’t forget about print

42. Include with your receipts

Many restaurants will include a sign-up card along with the bill for people to fill out to join their email list. Look for ways to include information about your email list on, or with, the receipts that you provide customers.

43. Use your business card

Work with your business card supplier to add a QR code with a call-to-action to join your email list.

44. Use a print ad

Get the most out of your print advertising investment. Tell people to visit your website and join your list.

45. Use a brochure

Giving out flyers, brochures, or pamphlets at your store or office? Let people know your emails are the best source for up-to date information.

46. Use your menu

Own a restaurant? Add a QR code on your menu and let people join your email list at the table.

47. Use a postcard

Boston-area restaurant In a Pickle puts postcards on tables in their dining room and invites customers to “join the club.”
Plan and attend events

48. Collect registrations online

Stay in touch before, during, and after your event by collecting email addresses when people register for your event.

49. Collect email addresses at your event

Collect email addresses at your event with a paper sign-up sheet, QR code, or even via text-message.

50. Book a speaking engagement

If people are interested in what you have to say, there’s a good chance they’ll be interested in what you write in your emails. Let people know you have a resource they can sign up to receive.

51. Sponsor an event

Work with other businesses and organizations in your community to host an event. It’s a great way to introduce your business (and your email list) to a whole new audience.

52. Host a webinar

Take your events online and offer training or free education with an online webinar. Many webinar hosting platforms will let you add an optional field to your registration form to collect addresses for your email list.
Create a compelling offer

53. Start a loyalty program

Look for ways to reward your customers and grow your email list in the process!

54. Start a birthday club

Create a club to celebrate your customers’ birthdays and grow your email list. Use can store customer birthdays in your Constant Contact account and send a special offer to customers during their birthday month.

55. Offer a coupon

Offer a coupon to new subscribers that can be redeemed in-store. This is a great way to capture new email addresses and generate repeat business.

56. Use a piece of content

Offer up a great piece of content — like a whitepaper, eBook, or guide — to entice people to join your list.

57. Offer an incentive to employees

Get your employees excited about growing your email list. Offer a prize to the employee who collects the most email addresses.

58. Offer free training

Use the great education you already have available to generate new leads for your business. With a tool like Autoresponder from Constant Contact, you can setup a series of automated emails to automatically deliver your education to people who sign up. This is a simple way to setup a training course that current and potential customers can benefit from.

See how Tallega Software uses Autoresponder to build relationships with new email subscribers.

59. Run an in-store raffle

Raffle off a prize your customers will love and collect email addresses in the process.

Note: Always let people know they’ll also be joining your email list and receiving follow-up emails from you.

60. Host a Facebook sweepstakes

With a tool like Constant Contact’s Facebook Fan Promotion campaign, you can run a contest on Facebook and collect email addresses in the process.

61. Partner with a non-competing business

Come up with a free resource or piece of education that you could provide other, non-competing businesses, to offer their clients on your behalf. By providing value to their audience, you’ll be able to develop new partnerships and reach new audienc