A standard bearer award-winning school district, Orange City Schools recently upgraded their web site to reflect the mission of their schools and serve as an informative and useful tool for the community which they serve. The new and improved website includes a fresh, new design interface, a multimedia section full of slideshows and videos, and a more powerful Content Manager that enables Orange administrators to update the entire site. 

A combination of the WRIS Content Manager and Macromedia Contribute make the entire website updateable by Orange Schools faculty and staff. This means important information and announcements can be posted on a timely basis. In addition, correspondence and schedules originally distributed via regular mail can now be sent via the WRIS Email Engine, allowing Orange to easily expand their audience, increase the frequency of communication and reduce postage expenses.

Many of our clients are brand new to the concept of email marketing or “email blasts.”  Once we get them set up on our email marketing tool their next question is “What Next?” 

Here are a few simple tips to get you started on your first email marketing campaign:

•  Timing is everything.  The best days to send blasts are Tuesday thru Thursday.
• Polka dots and stripes don’t match.  Your blast should reflect your website’s design.  
•  Blasts are best enjoyed over morning coffee.  Send between 9 and 10AM.
• Don’t be that guy.  Include an opt-out option.
• Tell them what to do.  Include a call to action like “Visit now for 20% off widgets”.
• Don’t be a slacker.  Send your blast consistently on the same day and time. 
•  Do they really love you?  Check the stats to see your open rate and popular links. 
•  Don’t send them to Siberia.  Make links point to relevant portions of your website.
• Plagiarize.  Sort of.  You should include interesting (ATTRIBUTED) articles written by others.
• Don’t be sloppy.  Make sure your links work and there are no typos in your text.