Have you ever seen a college professor give a lecture? Some of them are riveting, but many others turn out to be dry and boring. The professor is probably highly qualified. They wouldn’t be lecturing otherwise. They’re probably passionate about the subject matter, too. Yet despite your best intentions, you end up tuning them out. A chance to gain knowledge from an expert in his or her field turns into an exercise in trying to stay awake. 

Why? Maybe it’s not the message, but how it’s being delivered. Business is ultimately about communication and how effectively you communicate will go a long way in determining how effective your business is. The most basic communication model looks like this:

Somewhere along the line we’ve all had the experience of being uncomfortably near someone who’s, shall we say… not so fresh. Whether that person is coming from a long day at a dirty, sweaty job or simply hasn’t bothered to invest in even the barest level of soap technology, the effect is the same. The last thing you want is for your email list to resemble these unfortunate souls. No, you want it showered and fresh and ready to face the day. 

So how do you keep your email list smelling like a rose? In practical terms, email list hygiene means making sure that every address on your list is active and deliverable. If they’re not, you’ll need to purge them in order to reduce your risk of spam traps and other digital maladies. 

Do you read ingredient labels? Polydimethylsiloxane, Propylene glycol, Azodicarbonamide, etc. The list goes on and on. You’re not sure exactly what they are, but it’s a pretty safe bet some of them shouldn't be part of a healthy diet. 

If you’re like many people who want to avoid eating things they can’t pronounce, here are 4 tips to help you live and eat better:

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A logo is an integral piece of your brand and will dictate how anaudience perceives your company, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed at the thought of choosing a design, it’s okay. This is an important decision. Your logo needs to clearly communicate the personality of your company—the best logos will actually become synonymous with your brand name—think McDonalds, Nike and Twitter.

That’s why we created the following guide to get you started and hopefully make the processof choosing your logo a little bit easier.

Contrary to popular belief, marketing involves much more than setting up a Facebook page, renting a billboard and running a few ads. Another valuable marketing tool that you can employ in your business is the sales letter. If you’re not familiar with the idea, think of it as a paper salesman. The purpose is to convince your audience to purchase a good or service.

Your email list is a bit like your house plants. Really, you ask? Well, the analogy isn’t as far off as you may think. Like house plants, your email list is pretty easy to keep up when you first get it. However, things get more challenging the longer you have it. 

With plants, you have to make sure you water and feed them and give them the proper amount of light. You get busy with the holiday or with a project and the next thing you know those house plants have seen better days. To save them from an unfortunate demise, you’ll want to give them some good plant food, water them and make sure they have to right temperature and humidity to flourish. 

You’ll want to do something similar with your email list if it’s gotten brown and wilted. It’s called list re-engagement, and it’s the next topic in our series on connecting with your customer.  

You’re pretty good at what you do, right? That’s a big reason why you went into business. No reasonable person starts an accounting firm if they struggle with math or opens a computer repair shop if they don’t know the difference between CMOS and a C prompt. 

You need to do more than just be good at something to stay in business though. You have to let people know that you’re good at what you do, and more importantly, that you’re good for them. In our series on Connecting with Your Customer, we’ll look at a number of ways you can form a strong, authentic bond with potential customers. The first step, of course, is to find said customer. And not just any customer either. You want to find your target customer.