April 2008 Meeting: Email Newsletters: What the F**K?

Join us at 6:30pm on Thursday April 17, 2008 at Raincity Studios for the Vancouver League of Drupalers April meeting. This month's feature presentation: Email Newsletters: What the F**K? with Monique Trottier from Boxcar Marketing (formerly Work Industries). Learn how email can complement your web strategy. Email, it's not dead yet!

We still have a slot available for a mini-case study if someone wants to volunteer.

Date: Thursday April 17th, 6:30pm
Location: Raincity Studios, 1 Alexander Street, Suite 400 in Gastown. [Map]
Cost: There is no charge and all are welcome

For those who don't need to leave right away there's typically a more social discussion at a local pub afterwards.

Agenda

Email Newsletters: What the F**K

So everything is running smoothly with your Drupal install. Multiple blogs, no problem. RSS, done. Tagging, check . . . Then the client nonchalantly mentions their newsletter. Email newsletters, WTF? Email? Who uses email?

Email newsletters may be off your radar but email is the most used of the online marketing tools and opt-in emails often have the highest ROI. Email's effectiveness though, including subscription-based or opt-in email, is hampered by subscribers' perceptions of Spam and inbox overload. Monique Trottier, author of the newsletter Underwire: Full Support for Non-Techies, gives us the secrets of writing a newsletter that not only stays out of the spam folder but is enjoyed by your audience!

• Learn how a well crafted newsletter gives you an advantage over your email shunning competition by reaching non-Web 2.0 audiences, creating word-of-mouth, and bringing people back to your website.
• Learn how your customers' perception of Spam may affect your email open rates. Know what a good open rate is and why it's important.
• Understand what eyetracking studies tell us about how people view content in newsletters, whether they are b2b, b2c, marketing-oriented or information-based, and how to create effective email layouts.
• Know what metrics you should track and what they mean.

Regardless of whether you are using email as a marketing tool, information tool or sales tool, there are best practices that work across industries. Monique's talk about adding email newsletters to the mix will give you information to effectively build and sustain your online audience.

The presentation will also include a demonstration of Drupal's Simplenews module.

Monique Trottier is a partner with Boxcar Marketing (formerly Work Industries--we're in stealth mode at the moment, official launch April 7). Boxcar Marketing is an online marketing company with expertise in web strategy, online marketing, content development and online communities. And yes, we email. Monique writes a regular newsletter called Underwire: Full Support for Non-Techies.

Real World Mini-Case Study: This could your website!

We still have a slot available for a mini-case study if someone wants to come forward. Please contact Dale if you'd like to present.

Drupal Q&A

Bring your questions on anything related to Drupal from how to do something technical in PHP to what modules are needed to implement a feature you want.

Location Details

Raincity Studios

Raincity Studios are located at 1 Alexander Street, Suite 400 in Gastown. [Map]
There's a security intercom at the door, so you'll need to buzz to get in. Take the elevator to the top floor, then take the flight of stairs to the floor above that.

Wireless Access

There is a Free the Net wireless access point accessible from the Raincity offices.

Kid's Room

In recognition of people with families the Raincity conference room is available as a kids room. It is next to the presentation area and has glass walls so your kids will always be in sight. We can't provide child-minding or babysitting services - we just provide the room and leave it to you to entertain your kids. We suggest you bring appropriate toys/books/other entertainment.

Drupal Association

We encourage everyone receiving value from Drupal and the Vancouver League of Drupalers to join the Drupal Association: http://association.drupal.org/membership

Not only does this directly support Drupal, it supports the groups.drupal.org website where our group's web presence is based.