Karlyn Morissette

I’m a huge fan of MediaPost’s Email Insider, and yesterday David Baker wrote a great piece to illustrate why, by outlining some of the ways in which a company can mess up their email program. He outlines the following mistakes places make:

1. Continue to rotate through email vendors
2. Benchmarking from the industry
3. Mismanaging acquisition
4. Not understanding social media theory
5. Continuing to churn the resource pool

You can read his commentary for each over on MediaPost’s blog, but let me try to give each a higher education spin:

Continue to rotate through email vendors

When I first started doing email marketing way back in the day, I had no idea how different all of the email providers out there were and signed up with the first one that came along.  Big mistake.  The company didn’t really have a scalable product and way overcharged for it.  Within a year, I moved the school I was working at over to Fire Engine Red and never looked back.  Had I taken a more proactive approach to finding the right email service provider the first time around, I would not have had that problem.

Every time you switch email service providers, this costs you money.  You have to spend time demoing, evaluating and then training. Here’s a post I did about selecting an email service provider, so that you can avoid problems like this with your program.

Benchmarking from the industry

I’ve mentioned this several times in various posts but don’t ask what other schools are getting for core metrics like open and click rates!  There are too many unknowns to really make it a solid apples to apples comparison.  Instead of using outside benchmarks, start your own internal benchmarking program and use that to assess whether or not your email strategy is working.

Mismanaging acquisition

For higher ed, this usually isn’t as much of an issue because we have house lists, but simply put, don’t add people to your list unless they have requested to be, and if they ask to be unsubscribed, take them off. It’ll save you money from not having to pay for emails to communicate with people who don’t want to talk to you!

Not understanding social media theory

Email is not a magic bullet to dissemination of information, and adding “forward to a friend” in your message does not make you social media savvy.  Find your institution’s networks online and really make an effort to understand why (or why not!) your constituents are building relationships with you and each other on them.

Continuing to churn the resource pool

You don’t become an email marketing expert overnight, but a lot of places have people in these positions that have never done it before.  It’s just email, right? How hard could it be?  It’s a faulty assumption to think that anyone can walk right into it and understand the medium.

Then there are places at the other end of the spectrum - I’ve seen places who have established email marketing experts on staff, and treat them like dirt to the point where they quit!  Then the program gets handed off to the next person, who probably has little to no experience.  If you have internal people that are really good at this and have been doing it for a while, show them the respect and consideration that  you would want yourself.  You don’t want to lose them.

Bottom Line

For me, it really all comes down to discipline.  Don’t make snap decisions about things and really do your homework. Treat good employees well so they don’t leave you high and dry.  It’s not rocket science folks!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like what you read here? Subscribe to this blog through RSS or sign up to receive email updates when new content is posted.

Hire Karlyn: Karlyn is the President & Principal Consultant of DoJo Web Strategy, a consultancy dedicated to helping colleges and universities to utilize the web in their marketing efforts. Find out how she can help your institution by requesting a proposal today »

Every once in a while, you get the chance to be a part of a really cool project.  Over the past month or so, I’ve had that opportunity by being a member of the Communications/Web team in the Development Office at Dartmouth during the creation and production of this video, which takes a transparent and real approach to describing the business model of the College:

Those who read me know that I don’t blog about the work I do there very often, but this video was just too cool to pass up. I love the way it turned out. Though the script and art direction happened in house by people far more talented than I, the animation animation part was outsourced to Brady Baltezore.  Check out his website to see more of his amazing work.

What do you think? Would something like this motivate you to give to your alma mater? Leave a comment!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like what you read here? Subscribe to this blog through RSS or sign up to receive email updates when new content is posted.

You would have to be living under a rock to have avoided the Facebook vanity URL madness that occurred this past weekend, with over 3 million users registering their URLs within 24 hours of the option becoming available (sidenote: I scored facebook.com/karlyn!)  As I sat awake waiting to register my URL, I was pondering the buzz the event created and possible offshoots of it.  I have to wonder if the whole thing is going to motivate people/institutions/companies to create a Facebook page that they hadn’t been planning and may or may not need in order to claim their URL.  And if so, is that really the right reason to register that page?  I think not. 

If you didn’t need a Facebook page before vanity URLs came into existence, do you need one now?  I understand claiming one’s territory, and support it in most cases, but only if it’s a strategic decision rather than a territorial one!  I have to wonder how much a Facebook page can add to your brand if it’s registration was not thought out beyond “everyone else is doing it, so we have to too!” (although only pages with 1,000+ fans were eligible to register their URL this past weekend, that restriction is only temporary).  

Think of it this way: What’s worse? Not scoring the Facebook vanity URL of your dreams or having a Facebook presence that is not executed well due to lack of planning and resources? I would argue that having a piss poor page is far worse than no page at all.  Think about the following points: 

• Do you have the resources to be able to build and grow a Facebook presence? Does it fit into your overall strategic plan? 
• If you’re working within a school that is largely decentralized, is there another institutional page that you can piggyback off of, instead of creating your own individual presence?  Do your users really differentiate between your individual office and the greater university? 
• Most importantly, was a Facebook page in the works BEFORE the URL madness? If not, be disciplined and pragmatic. If you didn’t need one before, why do you need it now?  

Facebook pages are great, and there are schools out there that have had tremendous success with them…but at the end of the day, they are nothing more than a tool.  Before running out to register a page, think about why you haven’t registered one already, and what additional value it’s going to add to your institution.  If you didn’t have the resources or need to build and maintain one before, this little bit of additional branding will not make the resources/need magically appear. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like what you read here? Subscribe to this blog through RSS or sign up to receive email updates when new content is posted.

Hire Karlyn: Karlyn is the President & Principal Consultant of DoJo Web Strategy, a consultancy dedicated to helping colleges and universities to utilize the web in their marketing efforts. Find out how she can help your institution by requesting a proposal today »

Yesterday, I was interviewed on Twitter in my first ever “twitterview” about next month’s eduWeb Conference.  If you didn’t catch the interview, or found it a bit hard to follow, here it is! 

@eduwebconf: Hi Karlyn, great to have you hear today to participate in our series of Twitterviews with key conference participants

@KarlynM: Thanks! I’m glad to be taking part in it

@eduwebconf: first, tell us a bit about yourself, experience in higher ed, etc …

@KarlynM: I’ve been in higher ed since 2003, first in admissions as an online recruiter…now i split my time between working in a college fundraising office and doing consulting through my own company…my specialty is in web marketing

@eduwebconf: Tell us about your connection with eduWeb this year

@KarlynM: well after last year’s conference, I wrote a blog post about what I thought was missing from the event… and the next day got a phone call telling me to put my money where my mouth was and participate this year! so…I joined up with @mherzber to create the new track for this year’s event

@eduwebconf: yes, I met Matt thru @ehodgso from Iowa, both cool guys…I remember that phone call n you’ve had a blast so far this year working on your track?

@KarlynM: it’s definitely been a unique experience and i give you a lot of credit for taking the risk and giving it to me 

@eduwebconf: what are you doing in the fundraising office? how do u help them at Dartmouth?

@KarlynM: i assist internal clients like the Dartmouth College Fund (@SupportStudents) in creating their web/email/SM strategy

@eduwebconf: Explain your guest author track, Get It Done, and what you want to accomplish with it?

@KarlynM: what i find lacking from a lot of conferences is advice on practical implementation. that’s what people who are going to these things are looking for! i want the track to give people steps they can take immediately…really applicable advice instead of just high level theory

@eduwebconf: Give us a tidbit on some of the speakers and what they’ll be presenting, n why you’re excited by their content.

@KarlynM: so many great speakers for this track Christopher Schmitt (@teleject) will be talking about javascript for noncoders…@bradjward will be talking about all the great things you can do with google…@nikkimk and @robin2go will be talking about twitter, as will @aaronrester…@mherzber will talk about social media…and I’ll be doing email marketing…and more….just a strong track overall

@eduwebconf: who else is bringing practical ideas to your track? Who would u recommend n why?

@KarlynM: one of the requirements for the track was that they had to submit practical takeaways, so everyone has them…i can honestly say that i will be attending every session in the track and can’t wait to learn from these speakers

@eduwebconf: so like a list of what you can actually do or your office back at campus? great! any buy-in problems?

@KarlynM: well there’s always buy-in problems…my hope is that people will return home not feeling as overwhelmed about next steps…like when you leave a conference saying “great ideas! but how do I DO it?”

@eduwebconf: Always true, buy-ins are not always easy. Your blog is well read n you appear to becoming an expert in online mktg, what insights can u share with our audience?

@KarlynM: i think the biggest thing is a marketing mix that includes web, email and social media, all complimenting each other…doing just one really well won’t get you half as far as doing all three….many places just focus on one, maybe two…and that email is anything but dead…still the highest ROI of any medium out there, despite the rumors of its demise. finally, don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things…some will work, some won’t…but you’ll never know without trying things and testing them out! use the 70/20/10 rule

@eduwebconf: what you’ve been talking about is what I like to call - n others - integrated mktg communications …

@KarlynM: exactly! FWIW, your online initiatives should also compliment print…it all works together

@eduwebconf: how much time a day do you spend on socially engaging with others? for yourself n/or the fundraising office?

@KarlynM: it varies by day….i joke on facebook that “i have no life because of this social media nonsense”…maybe an hour or two? not counting blogging, which takes longer if i’m really working at it

@eduwebconf: I wonder how people find the time to keep up with all the “socializing?” Blogs do take more time, I agree. What key social media apps do you use? Are they the critical ones u think higher ed should use?

@KarlynM: i’m actually kind of a slacker…Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are my primary ones…I don’t know that I think any one tool is critical for ALL colleges…it depends on goals and resources. though I think everyone should have, at minimum, a facebook page

@eduwebconf: what do u think Admissions should use more so than say Alumni? or Athletics?

@KarlynM: one thing I would say admissions should NOT spend a lot of time on right now is twitter…demographics aren’t there…other than that, there aren’t really huge differences….SM tools work for all audiences when done right

@eduwebconf: I agree w/you on no Twitter w/Admissions; I took my 16 yo niece 2 a campus visit n she was texting all the time, but had no clue what Twitter is and it went right over her head

@KarlynM: i think the youngin will come around eventually to the awesomeness that is twitter 

@eduwebconf: where should someone in higher ed look for demographics for SM?

@KarlynM: Pew Internet and American Life Project - http://www.pewinternet.org/ it’s the best resource!

@eduwebconf: What is your “big thing” in online marketing?

@KarlynM: MEASUREMENT! everything on the web can be tracked…while not 100% exact, it can be done accurately…also, you should always try to relate your data directly back to business goals of your institution…like increases in online applications, increases in fund raising dollars, etc…things that matter to the higher ups

@eduwebconf: using Google Analytics, Web Trends? your email app? what else?

@KarlynM: Google Analytics is a MUST…it can be integrated with email so that you can see more data, like conversion

@eduwebconf: don’t forget though, higher ed doesn’t consider itself a biz

@KarlynM: but it SHOULD consider itself a business…without enough dollars coming in the door, then institutions will cease to exist…its not about profit, but about being able to execute your mission of educating students

@eduwebconf: I TOTALLY AGREE, but very few higher ed institutions ever see themselves like that; it’s part of their personality

@KarlynM: well i’m sure they’ll see it that way when they’re looking for jobs

@eduwebconf: Thank you Karlyn n can’t wait 2 see you at this year’s conf., July 20-22 in Chicago; register at eduwebconference.com

@KarlynM: Thank you! It’ll be a great conference!

I think eduWeb is shaping up to be a really great event.  There’s still time to register!  Visit the conference website for more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like what you read here? Subscribe to this blog through RSS or sign up to receive email updates when new content is posted.

Hire Karlyn: Karlyn is the President & Principal Consultant of DoJo Web Strategy, a consultancy dedicated to helping colleges and universities to utilize the web in their marketing efforts. Find out how she can help your institution by requesting a proposal today »

A few years back, I was pulled into my boss’s office.  Sitting there was my boss, her boss and a representative from human resources.  I was told in no uncertain terms that the only way I was going to be “allowed” to continue the blog I had at the time was if they saw and edited every post before it was published. That blog was not much different from this one, except for the fact that it focused mostly on admissions. Originally, I was going to let them do it…I loved blogging about this subject matter and wanted to keep doing it.  Upon further reflection, however, I just got pissed off at the notion. That night, I had a few cocktails and deleted the blog entirely, rather than let them edit my words. It wasn’t too much longer before I quit that job, because of this and so many other reasons.

And that’s why I feel so much for Tony Dunn.  A blog is a labor of love, and yesterday Tony was forced to shut down Tales From Redesignland because a few people he works with didn’t get it.  There’s no other way to say it - it sucks. Not just for Tony, but for all of us who looked forward to each and every TFRL post with giddy anticipation. Not only was it one of the best higher ed blogs out there, but I would go so far as to say it was one of the best blogs I’ve ever read on any subject matter.  It was smart, witty, and presented in such a way that you just couldn’t help but smile when you read it.  When I was lucky enough to have a cameo in one of the cartoons, I printed it out and it hangs on the door of my office to this day.

Unfortunately, what both Tony and I have gone through are anything but isolated incidents.  I’ve heard of far more incidents than I’ll share in this post, but it always makes me sad.  If you write a blog and work at an institution, brace yourself because I would bet all the money in my pockets that you will go through this at some point. Some people would argue that the bloggers bring it on themselves by writing things that touch a nerve…but isn’t that the point of all of this? To provoke conversation? Typically, I find people who make this argument are biased in the sense that they have a really narrow view, and fail to understand that there is a larger context to all of this than what goes on at any one institution. Tony wrote about things he had experienced, but they were things that every higher ed web professional who read his blog could relate to - that’s why it was successful.

Stuff like this will only happen when your blog gets popular.  Why? Because that’s when people start to get jealous of you. People start to talk, and maybe something you write gets emailed around the office (when people may or may not realize that you were the one who wrote it), and all of a sudden people start to realize how respected you are in your community.  Not only is it unexpected, but it’s threatening.  To me, it’s the silliest thing in the world - I sit at home on my couch with a computer most of the time.  What’s there to be jealous of?  It’s certainly anything but glamorous.

So, if you’re going to do this, be prepared for that day where you get pulled into your bosses office.  Do your best to insulate yourself.  Don’t associate yourself with your institution publicly.  Don’t blog at work. Put a disclaimer on your blog.  It may seem paranoid but these are things that will protect you in the long run.

And to all you supervisors out there, if you have an employee doing this, sit back and think for a minute before reacting.  You could piss your employee off and completely demotivate them…or you could embrace and utilize the insights they have and write about.  Whenever I go to conferences, I talk to person after person that are just overwhelmed by all this web stuff…and they don’t know where to start….and they don’t have someone in their office they can turn to.  But if you have someone writing about this stuff publicly, then you have one of those people.  Do you realize how lucky that makes you? People who do this sort of thing do it because they love writing about what they do, or wish they were given the freedom to implement.  Instead of discouraging it, utilize it.

Thank you Tony, for all of the work you put into Tales From Redesignland.  It was the only blog that I would read every single post…and it would be spot on every single time.  You’re a real class act and your nuggets of wisdom and humor will be sorely missed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like what you read here? Subscribe to this blog through RSS or sign up to receive email updates when new content is posted.

Hire Karlyn: Karlyn is the President & Principal Consultant of DoJo Web Strategy, a consultancy dedicated to helping colleges and universities to utilize the web in their marketing efforts. Find out how she can help your institution by requesting a proposal today »