“Email is shifting,” explained Andrew Barrett, the moderator for the WWPR April Professional Development breakfast, “Email Best Practices: Optimizing Your Message for Recipient Engagement.”
In a time where technology is constantly changing, the morning panel discussion focused on how best to reach your audience through email messaging as well as other mediums.
The panel members included:
Doug Broujos, CEO, Blue Sky Factory
Tommi Marsans, Senior Director, Email Marketing & Customer Communications, Sallie Mae
Jason Nelson, Group Publisher, FierceMarkets,Inc.
Kenan Pollack, Lead Consultant, Strategic Services, Convio
Jason Nelson emphasized the importance of understanding your audience and industry you are trying to reach. Not only do you need to know who they are, but you also need to be familiar with how they receive their emails and at what time. “Email is not rocket science,” said Doug Broujos, but it does require some thought and planning. Kenan Pollack supported that by contributing the fact that good emails only have a 19% success rate, so you may have more success than you realize.
Tommi Marsans clarified that you need to “look at email as one part of your overall marketing.” You should use it as one tool in support of your other tools and efforts; it does not have to be the first and only thing you utilize to reach out to people.
The panelists concluded that testing and re-testing your messages and subject lines is a helpful way to observe your open rates and overall success rate. Email is one of the easiest ways to communicate with your audience, but if you don’t use it the right way, it can also be detrimental for your marketing efforts.
For additional questions please contact our Emerging Leaders co-chairs at ela@wwpr.org.
Also, I’m pleased to share that WWPR has introduced another way for you to share your feedback. We value your membership and opinions, so we would like to invite you to take a few minutes to complete a short survey. Each question is designed to help us serve you better. To take the survey, click here.
Metro: Green/Yellow Lines: U Street/African-Amer Civil War Memorial/Cardozo
Register: Click here to register and get more information.
Is email the new snail mail? It’s not if you know the right way in. But once you are in, do you have the right strategy?
During the WWPR Email Best Practices breakfast panel you will learn specific strategies to implement immediately to improve email response, how to get into the inbox and how to engage customers once you are in! You will also learn about recent changes in the way ISPs decide whether messages get delivered to the inbox or to the spam folder and about recent legislative changes to take effect this fall that may impact email strategy. Our panel of email marketing experts will also answer questions about email deliverability and marketing strategy.
Moderator: Andrew Barrett, Senior Director, ISP Relations & Deliverability, Real Magnet
Kenan Pollack, Lead Consultant, Strategic Services, Convio
Sponsor: Busboys and Poets
Price*: $10 for WWPR and PRSA-NCC members $20 for non-members $95 for Join WWPR and Go! membership
*Your registration includes breakfast
Save the Date: Don’t miss the first Executive Communicators Brown Bag of 2011 on May 19!
“When Click-Thru Rates Are Not Enough: New Strategies in Social Media Measurements”
When: Thursday, May 19, 2011 from noon to 2 p.m. (EDT)
Where: GolinHarris, 2200 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 1100, Arlington, VA 22201
Metro: Orange Line: Courthouse
Register: Click here to register and get more information.
Everyone thinks social media will solve their marketing woes, but the secret is that social networks are just the medium. As the media continues its evolution, it’s no longer enough to simply capture eyeballs or count page views.
Thrive DC: Need for Travel Size Toiletries Thrive DC, WWPR’s pro bono client, has an urgent and ongoing need for travel size toiletries. If you have them stockpiled from your previous trips, why not bring them to a WWPR event or take them to Thrive DC at 1525 Newton Street, NW (Columbia Heights Metro). For more information, please email probono@wwpr.org.
For more information about Thrive DC, visit their website at www.thrivedc.org, “like” them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter (@thrivedc).
We are excited to announce a new partnership with the Washington, DC chapter of Association of Women in Communications (AWC-DC) to co-sponsor the “Burson Breakfast Series” from April until September. This is a two-hour workshop from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. covering social and digital media. WWPR members will receive a discounted rate to attend the breakfast series. Please RSVP to awcdcevents@gmail.com for additional details and be sure to mention that you are a member of WWPR. Thank you AWC-DC!
Looking for ways to promote your business effectively to Washington-area communicators? Be on the lookout for our official WWPR sponsorship opportunities! In the meantime, please contact partnerships@wwpr.org.
Pro Bono Committee Join the Pro Bono committee at our next meeting, at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 12. To get more details and location, email Deborah at probono@wwpr.org.
Women of The Year Join the Woman of the Year committee for meetings as we plan our signature Washington PR Woman of the Year event! Meetings will typically be held the last Wednesday of every month (this month it will be held on April 27). Please contact Emily and Laura at woy@wwpr.org with any questions.
Website Whether you’d like to contribute content, help manage existing content, or provide strategic input on website features and functionality, we’d love your help! For more information, please contact Kate at website@wwpr.org.
Professional Development Join the Professional Development team to plan and facilitate monthly speaker panels and events. For more details, please contact Stacey and Elise at professionaldevelopment@wwpr.org.
Marketing & Communications Looking for a leadership role or materials for your portfolio? Work with our team to promote WWPR through our online outlets and monthly newsletter. For more details, please contact Pheniece and Melinda at marketing@wwpr.org.
WWPR Blog Do you have a blog post idea for the WWPR blog? Please send your ideas and posts to Debbie at Debbie@wwpr.org. On the blog you can find recaps of WWPR professional development events and learn about new trends and ideas for our industry. Please visit the blog and subscribe for the latest PR, communications and WWPR news.
Member Spotlight: Joy Stevenson By Elisa O’Halloran
Joy Stevenson
Joy Stevenson, founder and CEO of Catch Them Young, Inc. (CTY), is passionate about her work. In 2003, Stevenson established CTY, a nonprofit youth advocacy program that provides mentoring, workshops, and seminars within local school systems, colleges, and community centers.
“We address the societal ills that are plaguing today’s youth and aim to instill the morals, values, and social skills that this generation lacks,” says Stevenson about her work.
Stevenson performs marketing and public relations tasks to keep CTY’s name out in the public. She has found that in the non-profit arena, companies are not successful due to the lack of exposure. In order to promote her organization, Stevenson networks avidly. “I network all the time to create opportunities to speak. One tip is to always keep in touch and follow up with the contacts that you make. You don’t want them to ever forget you. Add contacts to your mailing list, send emails or cards to say hello or to just let contacts know you’re thinking of them. I have found that those small gestures go a long way,” states Stevenson.
The Art of Storytelling Recap By Stacey Price, Professional Development Co-Chair
Donna Savarese moderated the March Professional Development Brown Bag, “The Art of Storytelling: Selling your Company, Your Product, and Yourself through Stories,” and set the tone for the luncheon with the question “What is a story, and how can it be used everyday?” Before letting the panel answer the question, she introduced the three building blocks of storytelling: challenge, struggle and resolution. “If the lion doesn’t tell his story, the hunter will,” explained Savarese. The panel used this to segue into the importance of using storytelling to support organizational messaging. Read the full post on the WWPR blog.
Having Women in the Boardroom Means More Revenue: Women in the Boardroom Recap By Kim Ash, Executive Communicators Chair
On April 4, 2011, Women in the Boardroom held their second annual Washington, D.C. meeting at the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda. For a second year, WWPR was one of the proud co-sponsors of the event, and was represented by several of its members.
After a welcoming speech from Sheila Ronning, CEO and President of Sharp UpSwing, Kelly Nakamoto, Partner at PwC, introduced the panel and acted as facilitator. The panelists were Ginna Gemmell, President and Founder of GlidePath, Inc., Dr. Ellen H. Yankellow, PharMD, President and CEO of Correct RX Pharmacy Services, Inc., Edie Fraser, Senior Consultant of Diversified Search Odgers Berndtson, and Bonnie Phipps, President and CEO of St. Agnes Hospital.
(Left to right): Kelly Nakamoto, Ginna Gemmell, Dr. Ellen H. Yankellow, Edie Fraser, and Bonnie Phipps. Photo credit: Lisa Newman
The 160 attendees heard how it is now statistically proven that organizations that have female board members earn more revenue than those organizations that do not, and while some positive change has occurred, work still needs to be done to increase the percentage of women and minorities in the board room. Serving on a board may be the most rewarding part of their careers, attendees were told, and they were also advised of the rewards and risks of serving, as well as the importance of pursuing seats only with those organizations they strongly care about.
The panelists emphasized that having operational experience, strong financial skills, and a complete understanding of the time commitment, are essential to becoming a member of any board, be it publicly-traded, private, advisory, or non-profit. Mentoring and sponsoring women really make a difference, panelists said, in assuring that search committees are looking beyond male CFOs for their board slate. For more information about Women in the Boardroom and their events, visit www.womenintheboardroom.com.
************************************************** To read more event recaps, visit the WWPR blog and also make sure to check out past event photos on our Flickr page.
March New Members – Jennifer Dunn – Maria Ibanez – Margaret McClain
April New Members – Deidre Parris – Christina Miller – Jeffrey Yates – Jennifer Lindamood
Renewals – Anna Goth – Benjamin Long – Jennifer Murphy
Membership has its benefits! Members do not pay for most WWPR monthly professional development brown bag lunches. To learn more, please contact Leslie Rutledge, Membership Chair, at membership@wwpr.org.
Job Board We’re excited to announce a new Jobs section on WWPR’s website, offering WWPR members and website visitors a central location to see who’s hiring for jobs in PR, communications and related disciplines in the D.C. metropolitan area. Job postings are submitted by hiring managers for each company or organization. Positions will remain active on the site for 30 days unless removed by the poster, ensuring that the list includes only active job openings.
If you have an open position that you’d like to post on the WWPR Job Board, please visit www.wwpr.org/jobs today and click on the “Post a Job” button. It’s easy to use this free service, which will connect you with many outstanding communications professionals in our area!
Please contact web@wwpr.org with questions or feedback on this new feature.
Shashi Bellamkonda, Director of Social Media, AKA “Social Media Swami,” at Network Solutions
In January, I had the honor of delivering the keynote at the WWPR’s Annual Meeting and Board Induction Lunch. In my keynote presentation was a PR 2.0 checklist where the 5th point there was “Launch a Personal/Corporate Blog”. A few weeks ago, I was co-presenting with Robin Ferrier the communications manager at the Johns Hopkins Montgomery County Campus at the Rockville Women’s Business Center and something that Robin made me think about this point. Robin’s advice was to find places to do guest posts is often times a good strategy even before you start your blog. Robin herself is a regular contributor to WomenGrowBusiness.com a community blog of women entrepreneurs hosted by Network Solutions (the company I work for). Here are some thoughts why you should consider guest blogging as part of your PR 2.0 check list:
Low barrier to entry: A guest post reduces the barrier to start blogging as the platform is already available and your post will have a ready audience versus building it up when you start your own blog.
SEO: The blog you are posting to may be ranking higher than your own blog so a link from there would be valuable SEO juice.
Niche: You can guest post on topics that you don’t usually blog about and create your own niche.
Exposure through syndication: The blog you are guest posting to may be syndicated in other channels so you may get an extended exposure.
Fame by association: If the blog has other rockstar bloggers you may find it rewarding to be associated with them as co-authors or guest posters.
Leads: While this is not the direct reason for you to blog, your thought leadership and quality of content may help drive more people to check out your author profile and lead to enquiries for your business.
Closer home, I met Lauren Lawson-Zilai, media relations manager/national spokesperson for Goodwill Industries International, at a dinner and we discussed guest posting the Goodwill story on the Network Solutions Blog. The goodwill story – “BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: Goodwill Industries” has found many ways to attract donations through social media – was very fascinating and caught the attention of Gene Marks who linked to it from his New York Times weekly online column. It was a win-win situation for everyone.
If you do a guest post, don’t forget to promote the post. A well read blog post could lead to an invitation to do a follow-up post. Have you done a guest post? What do you think? What are some places you know of where this community could post?
Editor’s Note : Shashi Bellamkonda is Director of Social Media, AKA “Social Media Swami,” at Network Solutions. Visit Shashi Bellamkonda’s blog. Shashi is a regular contributor to the Washington Business Journal, SmallBizTrends.com, TechCocktail and other tech blogs. The views in this article are the author’s and not necessarily reflect the views of Network Solutionsor or its clients.
It’s that time of year again, or at least the second time in what will be a long standing honor, for Washington Women in Public Relations’ (WWPR) Emerging Leaders Awards. WWPR is following up the successful launch of the 2010 award honoring rising stars in the industry (ages 21-35) for their professional accomplishments by officially accepting nominations and entries for the 2011 Emerging Leader Award. The Emerging Leader Award honors women that have left a lasting impression in the public relations landscape in their relatively young careers. Think you or someone you know fits the bill? Enter or nominate today! Full details on found here https://wwpr.org/events/emerging-leaders-awards/
WWPR has partnered with the Washington, DC chapter of the Association of Women in Communications (AWC-DC) to co-sponsor the “Burson Breakfast Series” from April until September. On the second Wednesday of every month, Burson-Marsteller will host a two-hour workshop from 8-10 a.m. on social and digital media. WWPR members will have an opportunity to network, enjoy breakfast, and participate in an interactive, hands-on workshop.
Membership presents opportunities! WWPR members will receive a special rate of $25 per workshop, or $125 to attend all six sessions. RSVP to: awcdcevents@gmail.com.
Be sure to mention that you are a member of WWPR!
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