I spend a lot of time talking about why davemail is a great alternative to online, do-it-yourself email marketing services. Lost in my enthusiasm, however, is the simple truth that there may be one or two of you out there who are not yet sold on the value of an email newsletter in the first place.

So I am putting away the sales hat and speaking from the heart. Whether you do it yourself, assign it to a competent staff member or outsource it to a highly trained, experienced, creative, dependable writing and design team (let’s call them davemail for purposes of illustration), email newsletters are worth a look.

Here are my top nine reasons why:

9. Let’s start strong. Email newsletters can save you tons of money over traditional printing and mailing. Tons.

8. Speaking on tonnage, sending 100,000 emails instead of printing traditional newsletters saves more than 2 tons of paper (and a lot gas and postage-stamp glue).

7. It is more important than ever to strengthen relationships with existing clients, customers or members, and regular communication is the key to building those bonds.

6. Legitimate email newsletters are a form of permission-based marketing, which means you send only to people who want to receive them. Spam is always a no-no.

5. Email newsletters are timely and interactive, allowing instant feedback and action.

4. Well-written email newsletters provide a good balance of useful, reader-centric content (80%) and appropriate sales-based information (20%).

3. Professionally designed email newsletters provide seamless branding and cohesive elements that drive readers to action.

2. Senders can track results, with access to detailed reports on cool stuff such as open rates and click-throughs.

1. With davemail, you don’t have to worry about any of it. We can do it all for you. Seriously.

Ever notice how many things seem like they should be fun until you actually do them? What is really sad is that we have done most of those things before – and we should know better.

For me, many of those misguided notions of fun involve shopping of some kind. Going to the mall sounds appealing every six months or so, and even yard sales have a certain pull until the reality of sifting through piles of outdated electronics and battered sports equipment while sweating through your shirt sets in.

For me, though, it is the call of the mega-bookstore that snags me most often. Now, I like bookstores, and I like browsing through “my” sections and the magazines. And since I generally only go into bookstores when I am with my wife, I like that part of it, too.

The problem lies in the innocent-looking but soul-sucking rows of bargain tables offering $2 and $3 books on every subject imaginable. Books-A-Million, in particular, has more linear feet of bargain books than anyplace I have ever seen.

It is not the bargains that bother me, but rather the overwhelming pull they possess to attract my wife to start at one end and shuffle ever so slowly down the line — combing through the piles with great intensity and expectation.

She loves it. Me? Not so much. But I dutifully follow for a while until my repeated sighing causes her to insist that I check out the business magazines.

It really does amaze me how patient and determined she is to find just one or two deals that will save us money and serve a significant purpose. Unless you own a bookstore, however, it is highly unlikely that your customers are going to be that patient.

We need to do a better job of communicating the benefit of what we offer right up front. Make it obvious from the first few seconds they enter your store, visit your Web site or encounter you at the coffee shop. Our 30-second elevator speech should not just be about what we do, but rather focus on how we can help.

Most potential customers are not going to spend an hour inching their way through your business looking for the thing they can’t live without. It is our job to point it out to them right away.

What role can SMS messaging play in a marketing campaign? 

SMS (short message service) messages are text messages delivered to mobile phones much in the same way email newsletters are delivered to inboxes.

Each text can be up to 160 characters and is sent to a list of mobile phone numbers.

They are especially effective for urgent communications such as breaking legislative news (the committee is voting in an hour, call your rep right now) or a large conference (the keynote speaker starts in 15 minutes - don’t miss it).  

They are much more intrusive than email, because in some cases, they can cost the recipient money. So BE SURE you have permission to send SMS before you do it. Otherwise, you could be fined, or even worse, lose a potential client and create some very bad buzz about your business.  

They also are a little more expensive to send than newsletters, so use them wisely. Saved for the right moments, and sent to the right people,  SMS messages can move a lot of people in a very short amount of time, producing big results.

I was a little nervous as I walked through the doors of my Bank of America branch this morning. I was sure they could tell why I was there. I needed to close my two business accounts, and my downward-cast eyes were a tell-tale sign that I was hoping for a quick and impersonal transaction.

I quickly realized that would not be the case when I got to the teller, and he informed me that I would have to sign in over at the white clipboard and someone would be with me in a moment.

When I told the nice young associate of my intentions, she made a pouty, sad face and asked me why – and if something was wrong. I told her that I didn’t keep huge balances and was tired of paying monthly fees. (The other reason, which I did not share with her, was that I was very excited about using a community bank, with local ownership keeping my money churning in the local economy. I also like that they bring me cookies.)

She then told me that with minor adjustments to how I use the account, the fees could have been waived. Again, that is not the only reason I moved, but it sure could have saved me some money over the years.

Why didn’t I know that? They should have done a better job telling me about ways to use my accounts more efficiently. Are there ways for your customers to save money by making minor adjustments to how they interact with you?

I realize that you may lose a little income at first, but what a tiny investment that will prove to be when they stay with you for years and tell others about how well you treat them. We should always be more interested in relationships than squeezing a few extra cents from each customer.

And that you can bank on.

Dave Fiore is the founder and CEO of davemail.

While hanging out with my younger three children last night, I heard my 9-year-old son say something I have thought a million times but never had the courage to say out loud.

He was busy putting the final touches on a new Lego ship with his little brother, when his 7-year-old sister started telling him something apparently unrelated to the project at hand. Without even looking up or interrupting the process of snapping small plastic pieces together, he replied very matter-of-factly, “I have no idea what you are talking about, but I am going to act like I know exactly what you are talking about.”

Undeterred, she kept talking, he kept building and I chuckled inside.

While that is the kind of advice that should be standard in pre-marital counseling (the concept – not actually saying it), it is not great advice for business. Like not quite hearing what someone has said and replying with a smile and nod (a la Seinfeld’s low talker and agreeing to wear the puffy shirt), only pretending to understand your clients’ needs can be deadly.

It is much better and far less embarrassing to ask a client to clarify or even repeat their request than to grab the highlights of your conversation and run with it. This is especially true if you have performed a similar task for them before. Our clients care about the details – and so should we. Everyone understands an honest mistake, but it is much harder to explain the fact that you were simply not paying attention.

So don’t fake it. Make sure you know what your clients need and then go above and beyond – be proactive, suggest new ideas and do your best to blow them away with how well you understand their needs.

Oh, and that advice goes for personal relationships as well. You think clients get mad if you are not paying attention?

Dave Fiore is the founder and CEO of davemail.

Your email newsletters can be cool, flashy and colorful – with lots of links and social media gadgets – but none of that matters if we are not giving them something useful to read. With apologies to Elvis and LeBron James, content is king – at least in the world of effective communications.

While the davemail writing team is here to help (a lot), the ideas for your newsletter articles are generally going to come from you. So where are the best places to find good, usable content that will compel your readers and help build stronger relationships? Here are five places to start looking:

1. Stuff you already have. Your Web site, brochure or other materials that tell your story will provide great nuggets for short newsletter articles.
2. Web sites that serve as resources for good info on subjects of interest to your readers. (Note: You can link to online content only when you grab a snippet and link to the original source. You can not use someone else’s work without permission.)
3. Online news stories on subjects related to your industry. You can sign up for Google Alerts on any subject and you will receive relevant news links in your inbox every day.
4. Blogs written by industry experts or people who care about the same things your readers do.
5. Your brain. Write something original, or jot down some bullet points and let the davemail team polish it up a bit.

Always put yourself in your readers’ shoes.  Would you want to read what you are sending out? If the answer is not yes, then we have some work to do!

Have other ideas? Please share.

Why can’t I send my email newsletter to anyone I want – like I can with direct-mail cards?

Like it or not, we in the legitimate email marketing business are forced by law to play by different rules. Again, it comes back to permission. As marketing icon Seth Godin says, almost all forms of traditional advertising and marketing are based on interrupting our daily lives with messages we didn’t ask for. Television, radio, newspapers and magazines - and even Web sites - are trying to get our attention away from what we came to get and attract us to what their advertisers want us to see and/or hear. Those forms of communication are important, but legitimate email marketing is different - and so are the laws.

We must get permission to deliver a message into an inbox, which opens the door to build real relationships - and the obvious benefits that result from earning and keeping our recipients’ trust.  Instead of a liability, think of it as an opportunity to reach your audience in a new and powerful way.

So, resist the temptation to buy or rent a list, we don’t need spam (or the fines that go along with getting caught) to be successful. We’re better than that.

At about 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, I tweeted that I was about to head home and was looking forward to being greeted by my youngest three children (ages 9, 7 and 3) because they still run to me with open arms and big smiles when I get home.

After a few minutes of light traffic and sports-talk radio, I was ready for my hugs and “I love yous.” What I got was something far more nefarious. Sending their mother to the front yard to distract me, my three little angels did indeed run to greet me – dressed in swimsuits and armed with an array of water weapons firing at will. With little regard for my sharp, business-casual attire and leatherette portfolio, they proceeded to drench me, much to their delight (as well as their mom’s, based on her snickers).

Running a small business can put us in similar situations at times. We walk in the office door with high expectations only to be attacked with email, voicemail, tweets and updates that can quickly throw our expectations for a loop.

 So what do we do about it?

 I am a little embarrassed to admit that there was a time that I would have gotten a little put out by the water attack incident. I was tired, my clothes were getting wet and I probably was not looking too cool in front of the neighbors.

 Thankfully, I have grown to understand that water dries, clothes get washed and my neighbors already know I’m not cool. Plus, I certainly didn’t want to disappoint my little army (that had been waiting to ambush me for a while I later learned) with anything but feigned fear and indignation and lots of slow running. OK, that part was real.

 I am grateful for all my clients, even if what they need at the moment is a little inconvenient or makes me shift my day around a little.

 I would hate to imagine what life would be like without them.

A client emailed me last week to ask how I decide the right questions to ask when interviewing a subject for a profile piece. She was concerned about focusing too much on his accomplishments at the expense of exploring the more revealing aspects of his life. She rightfully wants her readers to really know the person, not just be familiar with his resume.

People profiles, whether for an email newsletter or academic journal, often are the most difficult stories to write. That’s because an experienced writer is always looking for a good hook that will make the reader care enough to finish the story (or at least read past the headline), and they are not always easy to find. Sometimes, it takes a little digging.

First, get the basic info with a Google search and by simply asking an assistant for a current bio – that way you can skip the questions about their hometown, college and the boards on which they sit. You may want to break the ice with an easy question – maybe about what they are doing now and why they enjoy it. Then, once you have them talking, you can start working on what you are really after.

The goal is to gain insight into what makes the subject tick. In this case, the person is being honored for his leadership activities, so start by asking why he is so committed to his chosen organizations and what he has gained from serving as their leader. Ask what makes a good leader. Ask what he learned from serving others and why he encourages others to do so. Ask what advice he would give younger leaders. Ask how being a leader has changed him over the years. Ask him why he kept saying “yes.”

Of course, you may not need to ask all those questions, but you get the idea. Get them talking about their passions, and the story should write itself. People who love to lead usually love to talk – so let them.

Dave Fiore is founder and CEO of davemail.

When a client presents a task that challenges your ability to deliver, you can politely decline and refer them to a competitor, hurriedly add a staff member or seek help from a trusted independent contractor.

Clever copy, creative logos (and really cool email newsletters) often are the work of talented individuals or companies hired by managers of companies in need of a specific skill set. While these stealth specialists often remain anonymous to the client, they play a vital role in more local projects than you might expect.

So how do you decide if outsourcing is your best option and then choose the right provider?

• Determine exactly what you need. This may seem obvious, but understanding the details of your project will help ensure that you find the best outsourcing option. Then communicate those details clearly.
• Establish a realistic budget. Everything sounds easy around the conference table, but take a hard look at the how long it will really take and what may be needed to complete the project.
• Choose between a per-hour project and retainer relationship. A project-based assignment is clearly defined and may be better for the short-term, while a monthly retainer allows greater flexibility.
• Set clear financial parameters. The contractor should never spring extra charges on a client, and the client should resist the temptation to add to a job already agreed upon – without expecting to pay for it.
• Allow time for a learning curve. Even your employees need some time to learn the ins and outs of your operation and your business culture. Build this into your schedule.
• Provide a reliable contact person. Even if you are the one doing the hiring, give your contractor the “best” person to reach when they have questions or need information.
• Know who you are hiring. Check references, see samples and ask around. Make sure they know what they’re doing, people like working with them and that they deliver on time.
• Look beyond the hourly rate. Don’t be scared off by a contractor’s hourly fee. Remember that there are no payroll benefits or taxes, and in most cases, you are getting a level of experience and expertise you could never afford in a full-time employee. A bargain for sure.