On March 5th, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued a $1.1-million penalty to a Canadian company for violating Canada’s anti-spam law (CASL). The reason for the penalty: the company had been sending commercial emails without receiving consent as well as emails in which the unsubscribe mechanisms did not function properly. This represents the largest CASL-related penalty to date. It also serves as a reminder that all of us need to understand CASL to ensure our email marketing campaigns meet the standards. What is CASL? [Disclaimer: I am not a legal expert. Please seek legal advice for more information on CASL.] For those of us who are unfamiliar, CASL saves people like you and I from receiving needless commercial electronic messages (such as emails, SMS text messages and instant messaging) that we do not wish to receive. CASL empowers consumers and promotes confidence in the market. Let’s face it: […]
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7 Tips to Help You Write the Perfect Blog Post
Blogging can be an effective component of any content marketing strategy. A well crafted blog will help your organization connect with its audience and, in the longer run, improve your organization’s search engine visibility. But how does one write the perfect blog post? Obviously, a successful blog post should be well written and contain relevant content. But successful blog posts should also make use of the following web writing styles and techniques: 1. Be informal This is an important blogging rule! Good blog posts should be casual and conversational in tone. (This means you can discard some formal grammar conventions if you believe it will help you better convey your message to the reader.) 2. Use headings, subheadings and bold font Text that stands out—via headings, subheadings and bold font—will help your viewers scan for important keywords, themes and solutions. 3. Short sentences and short paragraphs Get to the point and give your […]
Read moreBecome a Social Media Superstar with These 5 Steps
In this digital economy, virtually every organization wants to be a social media superstar. And why not? According to the “Norton Online Living Report” back in 2009, 49% of worldwide web users (i.e. customers) had at least one social network profile. But being a social media superstar requires more than a few random tweets here and there. It requires time, commitment and a great content strategy. Read my five steps below to develop a social media strategy that will help you engage your audience and rise above the competition. 1. Know thy goals! What are your goals? Do you want to build your personal brand, raise public awareness about a sensitive issue, or sell more products? Do you have multiple goals? Determine your goals and write them down! 2. Who’s your audience? Knowing your audience is crucial to your social media success. After all, if you don’t understand your audience […]
Read moreHow to Increase Your Email Open Rate
For many organizations, an email is the first step of an online marketing and sales process that looks like this: Customer receives email > Customer opens email > Customer clicks on email link taking them to website > Customer reads/views website content > Customer purchases, donates, downloads, etc. > But how do you get your customers to open your emails in the first place? The answer is simple. WRITE A GREAT EMAIL SUBJECT LINE! This is not an understatement. The email subject line is the most visible copy your customers will see before they open your email. The subject line helps your customers decide whether your email is worth opening. To improve your email subject line, try using the following techniques: Use an action word at the beginning of your subject line. Example: “Download our new whitepaper” Use aspirational language. Example: “Advance your career with a University of Toronto MBA” […]
Read moreImprove Your Business Writing With These Tips
Clear and direct writing is very important in business communications. Whether it’s an annual report, article or email, quality writing will help you connect with your target audience and gain respect amongst your colleagues.
Read my editing tips to improve your writing today.
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