Archive for July, 2013

Use Video to Increase Email Open Rates

By On July 29, 2013 In Explain This With No Comments Permanent Link to Use Video to Increase Email Open RatesPermalink

Do you use email as a tool to promote your product, service, or idea?

Here’s some helpful statistics we found about including video in your email marketing:

  • According to a recent study from Experian Marketing Services, using the word “video” in your subject line increases open rates 7% – 13%, and increases conversion by 21%.
  • And Internet Retailer reported in 2010 that product videos increase the likelihood of a purchase by 85%.

    • RetailUniverse-email

    There are two ways to use video in your emails:

    1. Embed the video directly into the body of your email (but not all embedded formats work in all email clients).
    2. Use a static image that links to a video on your site or YouTube page (like the example above).

    These days video is everywhere, like ants at a picnic, so don’t overlook its effectiveness in your email send-outs.

Small Words Are Mightier

By On July 24, 2013 In Explain This With 1 Comment Permanent Link to Small Words Are MightierPermalink

The other day I was talking to a Very Technical Person about things that were way over my head. I was trying to understand the relationship between a “class” and an “instance” as they relate to an “object” and he kept saying things like, “there can be many instantiations of a class.”

Finally I had to ask, “Do coders really sit around and use the word ‘instantiate’ in every day conversation?”

Surprisingly, the answer was yes.

Explaining concepts that are second nature to us is tricky because we can’t un-know what we already know. So how can you be sure you’re explaining your Big Idea in a way everyone will understand?

Ignite Seattle speaker, Sally James, says, “The most complicated big things are best explained using ordinary words.”

She goes on to suggest that it gets us out of a jargon rut to “stretch our brain” and figure out new, simpler ways to communicate the most important part of what we want to tell other people.

You might think big words are mightier, but using common, everyday words may be the best way to get your message across.

—

If you can’t see the video above, click here to watch it on YouTube.