John Hesch

I have a mailing list of about 6,000 records. I maintain this list using a MySQL database and on occasion I use the list to update members with new information. I wrote my own email program to send emails to my list. One of the problems is that I now have hundreds of bad email addresses. I haven't taken the time to clean the list in some time and with the list dating back to 2004 you can imagine the level of bounces I get after each mailing.

The other day I received an email from DHL that said the following:

Your DHL WebShip/CorporateShip User ID XXXXXX is set to expire on 7/19/2006, due to inactivity over the past 180 days.

To keep your registration active, please log in with the User ID at https://sso.dhl-usa.com/sso/ and highlight the 'Ship' menu in the top navigation and then click on 'Prepare a Shipment' prior to this expiration date.

This message is the only notification you will receive before your User ID expires. If you do not log in prior to 7/19/2006, your User ID will no longer be valid. All shipment history and address book entries will be removed. At that point you will need to re-register with DHL WebShip/CorporateShip to process any future shipments.

If you have forgotten your password please go to www.dhl-usa.com and click on 'Forgot Password' or click the link below.
https://sso.dhl-usa.com/sso/forgot.asp

If you need technical assistance, please contact Technical Support at 1-800-527-7298 or email easy.help@dhl.com.

This is a system generated email, please do not reply.

That gave me an idea.

I wrote a script that searched through my list and selected the records where the user has not logged in for over 180 days. An email was sent out informing the user that they needed to log in by July 20 or their membership would be deleted.

This accomplished three things. It eliminated bad email addresses from my list, it trimmed my list of users who have no intention of ever coming back, and it reminded inactive members about my services.

The next step is to set up a cron job to run the script once each week and then delete those records that expired. Hands free, no hassle solution to managing a large email list.

Another cool thing I learned while building the script was a neat little snippet that can be used in a MySQL query to select records that are older than 180 days.

Where lastlogin is the column holding the timestamp of the users last visit.

If you're thinking of starting a small Internet business here's a good starting point. On March 11 the Starting Small seminar featured a panel of experts examining what it takes to get a web business up and running from scratch. Here you'll find the podcast, slides, and notes from the panel.

Nowhere to Go But Up For Internet Marketing

Describing the Internet as "the most underutilized advertising medium that's out there," Morgan Stanley managing director Mary Meeker said broadband adoption, mobile device usage and international growth are opening up a variety of opportunities for marketers, entrepreneurs and investors.

From Brand Autopsy:

Wal*Mart registers nearly $20,000 profit every minute of every day. Last fiscal year, Wal*Mart recorded profits of $10.3 billion.

$20,000 profit per minute!!!

For comparison, Target’s profit per minute is $6,084 and Costco’s profit per minute is $1,711.

Great news, online ad spending topped $9.6 billion, a 32 percent increase over 2003. That figure could double for 2005.

Internet ad spending reached nearly $2.7 billion during the fourth quarter of 2004, the highest quarter yet since the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers began tracking the marketplace. The fourth quarter of 2004 saw a nearly 24 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2004.

Thanks AdJab.

At the recent Seattle Business Blogging Summit there were two common themes discussed.

1. Blog feeds are rapidly replacing email as a form of proactive marketing communications
2. Marketers wishing to post their own blogs should not approach the form as another one-way communications medium, but should plan for their blogs to offer two-way dialog.

I replaced email lists with RSS feeds several years ago because of the difficulty in getting my message out to my subscribers. Even with a sophisticated opt-in subscription system I still had people angry that I was emailing them. So many people are using email spam filters, but yet don't understand how to use them. This alone prevented my message from getting to about 25% of my subscribers.

The biggest obstacle to using RSS to replace email is teaching people to use RSS readers. I think most of the top email applications support RSS but most people are still unsure what it all means and how to use it.

It's fun to be on the cutting edge of technology but frustrating to have to wait for the masses to catch up.

From Radiant Marketing Group:

I want to make one point abundantly clear: Blogs are not so much about marketing as they are about conversation. Keep in mind the Cluetrain Mantra: Markets are conversations.

This is a clear take-home message for me. By nature I have a very matter-of-fact conversation style and it's clearly displayed in my writing. When I'm giving a presentation or teaching a class I'm more personable and open because I'm acting. My wife is the opposite. She is warm, friendly and open by nature but when she's presenting or teaching she stiffens up.

Here's how I visualize the perfect small business blog. You have this friend who is a customer (or client as the case may be). You're getting to know this person on a personal level, and you decide one day to invite them to lunch. You find out you like this person, and a friendship ensues.

Pretty soon you're talking to them on a regular basis. You're telling them things about your business they might never know otherwise. Sometimes it's just chit-chat. At other times its bearing your soul.

The end result is, not only do you have a loyal customer, you now have a friend who will be there for you in bad times as well as good. Someone who will look out for your best interests. Why? Because they know you. A relationship has been forged.

This makes perfect sense to me. Sales is more about trust than anything else. Back when I was in professional sales I was extremely effective because I portrayed an easy going, friendly personality that prospects would be drawn to. That is me but it is apart of me that has to be consciously turned on because as I said, by nature I'm matter-of-fact. I need to change that about me. It's a weakness because it can get in the way of being successful.

From Communication Revolutions:

Ad Age reports a projection by TNS Media Intelligence that ad spending will grow 5.1% in 2005 to $150.5 Billion. The internet will post the fastest growth up 11.2%.

That's good news as I introduce KZION to the business world.

It's good to be reminded once in awhile that small business owners sometimes spend too much time with busy-work and not enough time on strategic planning and "high-leverage marketing".

Significant business growth is more about purposefully allocating resources than doing more, better, faster.

Mikel brings up a good point and that is if you build a great brand or product traditional advertising becomes less important. The Google piece on 60 Minutes last week said that Google does not advertise. They don't need to. They created a terrific brand and product and everyone talks about it. Their success has come through word of mouth advertising.

Amazon doesn't need to buy advertising space in Wired Magazine. They spent time making a great product and so Wired gives them free space in their magazine (and in the form of an article instead of an ad which more people will read).

So few companies understand the concept of viral marketing and that by providing a great customer experience they're leading their company to the forefront.

Many Internet companies feel that they are exempt from providing quality customer experiences. I'm dealing with a problem with my Paypal account right now that is four months old. The bottom line is Paypal does not provide quality customer service. If the subject of Paypal comes up in any of my conversations I bash 'em. I've been a customer of Paypal for over six years, which is almost a lifetime in Internet years, and my problem could of been resolved in days instead of months if Paypal valued me as a customer.

With the blogosphere growing exponentially, word of mouth advertising is going to become even more critical to businesses offline and online alike.