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Expression Web Developer Review

For years one of the staples in any web designer/developers arsenal has been Dreamweaver. I have been using Dreamweaver since version 4 and nothing else, especially Front Page, would compare to it. As a matter of fact the last version of Front Page that I used was Front Page 97. Microsoft just did not have a product that would compete on the market with Dreamweaver. So imagine my surprise when I downloaded the beta of Expression Web Developer a month ago. Read More...

ASP.NET 2.0 Design Challenges - ITracker Theme Creation

When I started working with ASP.NET 2.0 a few months back I also started in parallel changing my design methods for UI to CSS based table-less designs. I have scoured the web getting information on techniques using CSS along with ASP.NET to find a good way to build sites that are easy to change and maintain. Read More...

Newsletters

Newsletters are a great way for a business to remind its customers that they are around. Most newsletters only focus on what a company can offer its clients or customers and in many cases this is a fine reason to offer a newsletter. But think about the times that you really enjoy getting a newsletter or from whom you really enjoy getting a newsletter. Is it that newegg.com specials that they send out from time to time or is it Macromedia's newsletter that gives web professionals tips and tricks to help them in their career? I very much enjoy getting a newsletter but it better have some real value to me and not just the company sending it. Why would I buy from a company or use their services when they only seek to serve their own needs and seem to brush aside mine?

Let's take newegg.com for an example. I signed up for their newsletter because I wanted to know about specials that ran from time to time. New Egg sends me the occasional newsletter with some products that are displayed based on my buying habits. These products are things that I am interested in because I have purchased them in the past. If I purchase mostly computer hardware such as LCD monitors, hard drives and video cards and New Egg starts sending me newsletters about home theater systems, I am very likely to cancel my subscription to their newsletter because I have no interest in home theater products and I get enough e-mail coming in to my mail on a daily basis anyway.

Another newsletter that I look forward to is from Macromedia. Macromedia is a software company that sells one of my favorite programs for web design. Macromedia's newsletter informs be about new articles that have been written by other web professionals, new features that have been added to their site and new products that I am interested in. I am a certified geek when it comes to new software. I watch each week for developments on the newest version and I want updates whenever they are available. This is what the Macromedia newsletter does for me. All people like getting e-mail that they enjoy reading and want to use productively.

So how does all of this help a business bring in more customers? Give me information that I can use and benefit from and I will be apt to use your products or services. It is as simple as that. When a newsletter comes around that company is in my mind and I may visit the web site to find out more. The next time you write a newsletter for your clients or customers keep this in mind. What am I giving my clients in this letter? You will get better response if you are offering them some real information that they can use and not just a sales pitch for your products or services.

Brian Simmons

Links:
www.newegg.com
www.macromedia.com

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