I confess. When it comes to email, I'm an over-subscriber and a hoarder.
My inbox is full of newsletters that seemed interesting when I subscribed but haven't been opened since.
I'm also a sucker for ebooks and white papers with "exciting" titles like "17 Ways to Improve Your Google Ads," "5 Steps to Increase Sales," or "2024: The State of SEO." Every time I download one of those reports, I exchange my email address, and the result is more email.
Subject Lines That Are Almost Good Enough
It's no wonder my inbox is full of interesting (to me) subject lines that haven't quite convinced me to click.
To be honest, the subject line isn't usually what entices me to open an email. For me, it's about the sender. If I know you or have built a reading relationship with you, I will probably read what you wrote, no matter the subject line.
Despite all the regular newsletters I get, there are perhaps a half dozen that I am sure to open because they always inform, entertain or just make me think.
Beginning to Miss The Value
Is it all right to say I'm tired of some of them? These newsletters are written by industry leaders, people I admire and respect. I hate to write it, but I'm not feeling the value as much anymore. Is it possible for an email newsletter to "jump the shark?"
Will I miss them if I unsubscribe? Will they miss me (not likely)?
How do you handle email overload? Are you ruthless about unsubscribing or at least deleting email newsletters you no longer read? Or do you let unread emails linger in your inbox because some day you might actually read them?
Do you send email newsletters on behalf of your business? How do you stay fresh for your most loyal readers? Hit reply if you've got some thoughts.
Free Marketing Tools: Canva
Creating professional-looking images that combine text and photos is a challenge for small business owners who wear "marketing" as one of their many hats.
Canva offers a free solution to those challenges. Canva offers thousands of images and templates for social media posts, presentations, websites, brochures, and even short videos.
You'll need to register for a free account, which offers most of the benefits available with a paid account. With a free account, you'll notice there are some images you won't be able to use, and some editing tools are only available to paid subscribers.
Easy to Use
The drag-and-drop interface is easy to use. You're likely to find your favorite font for text, and there are plentiful versions of graphics such as arrows, boxes, circles, borders, etc.
Once you've crafted your perfect image, it's easy to download as a .jpg, .pdf., .png or .gif file. There are no limits to the number of files you can download.
Canva is my go-to tool for making images for social media and my website.
If you've got a go-to free tool that you use for online marketing, let me know, and I'll share it in a future email.
The next newsletter arrives Oct. 8. Will you have started your Christmas shopping by then? The Major League Baseball playoffs and the National Hockey League regular season will be underway.
If you're looking for something to celebrate during the next couple of weeks, how about National Pancake Day on Sept. 26 (also Johnny Appleseed Day) or National Do Something Nice Day on Oct. 4?
Until next time, be grateful. Be generous. Be patient. Love.
Thanks for spending some of your time with me, . I appreciate you.
Mark
P.S. - This newsletter was 100 percent created by me, a human.
P.P.S. - Some links in this email might be affiliate links, which could generate small commissions for me at no extra cost to you.
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