Bullet points have their place in most PPT presentations.  They are great to help drive home the important parts of your topic of discussion.  But make sure that they are just bullet points…quick and to the point.  They should not be paragraphs, or even multiple sentences.  Short, quick, to the point.  That is it.  When creating a PPT, you are not writing a document, essay or even an email.  It is a Presentation, and should be treated appropriately.  So before you give your next presentation.  Take a couple of hours, over a two or three day period, and use the bullet points the right way, and watch your audience retain more of the information that you are presenting.

I find that more often times than not, when faced with a choice of actions—to be bold or to play it safe, we choose safe (after all, safe is safe…almost a guarantee that we’ll avoid pain). Safe is good, safe won’t get us fired, safe is always popular and useful…kinda like vanilla ice cream, a good white shirt and a clean pair or khakis. Safe is functional.

There’s nothing wrong with functional and everyone cherishes a good white shirt and comfortable khakis.

The only issue is that safe is stasis. It’s staying the same. It’s finding neutral. It isn’t reverse, but it certainly isn’t kicking it into Drive.

The issue is that most of us haven’t been taught how to put it into Drive.

And Drive—if not Overdrive—is what most of us now need. We need to grow. We need to get back our hustle. We need to punch it.

So, maybe what we need to ask is “what do we need to put it in Drive”? That would be a great question to open up with our next staff, department, chapter or board meeting. What we’ll find is that you can only drop that pedal to the metal if you have the right security measures in place to take calculated risks. You need to make sure that you’ve got the right equipment, you’ve mitigated environmental risks and that you are as prepared as possible. In short, you need confidence in yourself, your surroundings and your crew.

You can’t take risks unless you feel a certain level of safety. Oxymoron? Perhaps, but it’s true. Just watch a kid try to learn something new. The ones that have what’s called “secure attachment” have the latitude and attitude to put themselves out there because they have confidence in their safety net. The ones that don’t will not engage, they will not only try to extend themselves, they will curl back inwards and revert to survival mode. (Side note: perhaps this gives some insight into why it’s so hard to develop social networks?)

We often call this “shut down”.

Are you shut down or are you secure enough to put it in Drive?

You know a great way to test? Hold an event and talk about changing the format, the session length, the food choices, lack of Powerpoint….anything that probably puts in an element of “looseness” and allows the attendee to drive the event.

Events are a great instrument for measuring fear.

One of the great things I’ve been able to see so far with my time at HighRoad is their commitment to innovation…that’s a great marketing spin for saying that they don’t operate from fear. This week we’re holding our inaugural conference and it is packed full of “atypical” stuff. From the variety of session lengths, to styles, to room set-up to the amount of technology that we’re packing in without weeks of testing on an unsuspecting attendee population while broadcasting and tweeting live…there’s a lot that could go wrong. The probability is that something will go wrong.

Imagine that. We know that something could go wrong and we’re still taking the risk.

“Feel the fear and push on through” is what I’ve said throughout my career. Go big or go home. Leave it all on the field. You only live once (Dave Caruso said this to me today).  Any of these phrases tell you the same thing…Be Real. Give it a Shot. You may not win every game, but the kid that plays with heart gains the respect despite the score.  ( And, if you play each game just for the W, you aren’t a true athlete who plays for the love of the game. True athletes take a very long perspective—they  know that the real score can only be calculated at the end of your life.)

If there’s one thing I’ve learned through crafting an event that would best exemplify the character of HighRoad Solution it’s that they’re the organization that is willing to hunker down shoulder-to-shoulder with you and get dirty pushing forward.

In a world where growth means forward progress whether by inches or feet, there’s no room for safe. Safe means zero movement. Safe is equivalent to being a sitting duck. HighRoad is definitely different, we’re putting it out there. We’re playing for the love of the game.

I’m proud of the event that we’re about to hold this Thursday. Probability is it won’t be perfect. Probability is that some element will fail, but I have total confidence in the sum total: there is no way that with the team we have, with the partners that have chosen to support us, with the environment we’ve put together, that we won’t leave feeling that we’ve accomplished the biggest goal:

Moving forward together.

Instead of creating a View Online for Mobile version in the creation stage of the message creation process inside your HighRoad Campaign eMail account, consult with HighRoad to either turn your existing templates into Responsive Templates or give your eNewsletter templates a “best practices” facelift with mobile friendly Responsive Design.

Once the Responsive template is loaded into your HighRoad account, you can pull it into the message creation process and update content as usual. The Responsive code is in the background.

It’s easy to take advantage of these new filters to locate the segments needed most for various message types. Click the Choose Recipients button on the Create step for a Standard or Recurring Message.  Filter Static or Dynamic segments based on when they were last used in a send or last created/edited.

Use the Last Created/Edited filter to display segments created or edited within the past 24 hours, past 30 days, between 3 to 6 months ago and more.  

Use the Last Used in a Send filter to display segments included or excluded in a standard test message or standard live message.

 
You can improve workflow efficiency by saving commonly used filter criteria as the default.

 
FAQs:
Q – Can I use the “Last Used in a Send” filter for Recurring Messages?
A – No, this filter is only available for Standard Messages.

Q – Can I use these filters on manage segment screens, such as Manage Static Segments?”
A – No, these filters are only available on the Choose Recipients overlay.

Ashburn, Virginia, May 13, 2013 – HighRoad Solution is proud to announce that Aptify has committed to supporting its inaugural user group conference as a gold sponsor. The first-time event will be held on June 6, 2013 in Washington, DC at the American Society of Association Executives’ (ASAE) headquarters location.

With a formal technology partnership in place for more than five years, HighRoad Solution and Aptify have integrated their eMail marketing and association management platforms for dozens of top associations including the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). The partnership and resulting integrated platforms has been such a success that ASAE chose HighRoad Solution’s Campaign eMail solution as its sole endorsed business solution for email communications.

“HighRoad not only offers a leading technology solution, but brings deep domain experience to their work with member-based organizations. Together, our solutions deliver significant incremental value to customers looking to unlock the full potential of their association with advanced membership management solutions,” explained Matt Van Cleave, Senior Vice President of Aptify as to their successfully partnership.

“We’re grateful for Aptify’s support and guidance as we found our user group,” stated David Caruso, CEO and founder of HighRoad Solution. “We’ve attended many of Aptify’s user conferences and have seen firsthand the value that their users get out of sharing best practices together. We designed our upcoming conference from this same peer-directed learning viewpoint and we’re thrilled that Aptify will join us for the event.”

About Aptify
Founded in 1993, Aptify provides powerful, flexible and comprehensive association and membership management software solutions to a global clientele. With a focus on delivering a complete solution for association business needs, Aptify offers the most flexible technology platform in the world—helping clients unlock their full business potential, without constraints.

Aptify has been named to the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing privately held companies in America and has received recognition from Software magazine as one of the top 500 software companies in the world. Headquartered in Tysons Corner, Va., Aptify maintains offices in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Pune, India. Aptify has a broad partner presence internationally, with local support in countries ranging from Australia to the United Kingdom.

About HighRoad Solution
Founded in 2005 by technology industry veterans, HighRoad Solution provides integrated messaging solutions to associations, non-profits and educational institutions. Offering expertise and pre-packaged integrations to the leading association, engagement and content management systems used by premier organizations, HighRoad provides solutions for eMail/eNewsletters, Virtual Events, eSurveys, Fax, Text, Voice & Mobile Broadcasting.

Contact:

Suzanne Carawan
571.423.6387
scarawan@highroadsolution.com

Ashburn, Virginia, May 2, 2013 – HighRoad Solution, the preferred provider of integrated eMail marketing solutions by top association and non-profit organizations, proudly announces that TMA Resources, the leader in member-centric software,  as a Gold Sponsor of its inaugural user group conference. The first-time event will be held on June 6, 2013 in Washington, DC at the American Society of Association Executives’ (ASAE) headquarters location.
 
HighRoad Solution was the first eMail and digital marketing technology solution company to join TMA Resources’ Partner Program. The two companies have worked together since 2007 to provide top associations and non-profit organizations with electronic communication solutions including eMail marketing, webinars and voice messaging. HighRoad’s Campaign eMail is its most popular product due to the deep integration available with TMA Resources’ Personify platform.

“Over the past six years working as a partner with TMA Resources, we have developed a deep appreciation for the Personify platform,” explained David Caruso, cofounder and CEO of HighRoad Solution. “We have been able to work together to provide associations and non-profits with eMessaging solutions that are a win-win. Integrating eMail with Personify eliminates redundant tasks for the marketing department and use of Personify’s rich member data allows for targeted messages to specific member groups which drives higher conversion to membership, event registration and participation.”

“HighRoad Solution was not only the first organization to join our Partner Advantage Program, but they were also the first email marketing solution partner to receive our Gold Star Integration designation for their integration with Personify”, said TMA Resources Partnership Manager, Rob Kaighn.  “This not only shows the quality of their integration, but also shows HighRoad Solution’s commitment to the success of their Personify clients.”

About HighRoad Solution
Founded in 2005 by technology industry veterans, HighRoad Solution provides integrated messaging solutions to associations, non-profits and educational institutions. Offering expertise and pre-packaged integrations to the leading association, engagement and content management systems used by premier organizations, HighRoad provides solutions for eMail/eNewsletters, Virtual Events, eSurveys, Fax, Text, Voice & Mobile Broadcasting.

About TMA Resources
Headquartered in Vienna, Va., TMA Resources and its team of highly skilled professionals produce Personify software.  Personify  combines a powerful technology platform with advanced e-business and BI functionality to provide the Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) and Association Management Software (AMS) solution of choice for some of the world’s most advanced professional societies and trade associations.

Contact:
Suzanne Carawan
571.423.6387
scarawan@highroadsolution.com

Ashburn, Virginia, May 1, 2013 – HighRoad Solution, the preferred provider of integrated eMail marketing solutions by top association and non-profit organizations, proudly announces Avectra, a leading global provider of software and services for associations and nonprofits, as a Gold Sponsor of its inaugural user group conference. The first-time event will be held on June 6, 2013 in Washington, DC at the American Society of Association Executives’ (ASAE) headquarters location.

Associations and non-profit organizations that use Avectra’s social constituent relationship management (CRM) product suite to power their organization choose HighRoad Solution for their eMail marketing due to the deep integration between the two systems.
“We are very proud of our partnership with Avectra,” stated David Caruso, cofounder and CEO of HighRoad Solution. “Pairing our eMail marketing system with Avectra’s Social CRM suite  allows organizations to better target messages to specific members and track behavior in the members’ database record. The combination results in increased response to the organization’s campaign.”

“Our partnership with HighRoad Solution continues to grow,” said Chief Customer Office, Craig Dellorso. “When they use HighRoad’s integrated emarketing solutions, our customers get the best of both worlds: a superior social CRM database to reach and engage all their constituents, and an email platform that allows them to target mission-critical messages.”

HighRoad Solution has been a long-time supporter of Avectra’s annual Users and Developers Conference (AUDC) and was a sponsor at the popular 9th annual AUDC event held this past March. Additionally, the two companies often co-sponsor and co-speak at industry events with customers. Caruso stated, “What we value about our partnership with Avectra is that both companies are committed to providing the latest technology to associations and non-profits. We see our efforts as helping organizations increase their marketing power through more personalized communication.”

About Avectra
For two decades, Avectra has translated its customers’ needs into market leading software and services. Using Avectra’s membership management, donor management and crowd-contributing solutions, associations and not-for-profits can connect with constituents, partners and prospects in entirely new ways, create more meaningful engagements and drive bottom-line results.

Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Avectra also has regional offices in Chicago and Orlando. For more information on Avectra’s membership management, fundraising or donor management solutions, visit www.avectra.com or call 855-AVECTRA (855-283-2872).

About HighRoad Solution
Founded in 2005 by technology industry veterans, HighRoad Solution provides integrated messaging solutions to associations, non-profits and educational institutions. Offering expertise and pre-packaged integrations to the leading association, engagement and content management systems used by premier organizations, HighRoad provides solutions for eMail/eNewsletters, Virtual Events, eSurveys, Fax, Text, Voice & Mobile Broadcasting.

Contacts

Suzanne Carawan
571.423.6387
scarawan@highroadsolution.com

Matt McCarthy
PAN Communications
617.502.4358
avectra@pancomm.com

Once they transitioned off of the static title slide, they gave a ‘quick‘ overview of the participant viewing console, other housekeeping items and a ‘short’ commercial.  Way too much unnecessary information, and the actual content didn’t start until 7 minutes past the hour (but it felt a lot longer than that.)  Now back to the real problem, no slides moving.  I thought they were just staying on the title slide while discussing all of the previous ‘intros’.  However, in this case I was wrong, there were other slides, and I just never saw them.  This became evident to me when they asked me to respond to a poll.  Side note – polls are great, especially to gauge your audience at the start of a program.  But when I never saw the poll, I typed in a question in the Q&A panel to make them aware that I cannot see anything but the first slide.

No response.  Poll is done, and they are moving on.  After a couple more minutes, I decided to try and figure it out myself.  So I went to the help section.  Here I viewed a number of questions and answers, in seemingly no order, listed on the help page.  I scroll through to one that looks like it may help me.  It is a browser test link.  Being a regular attendee, host, and/or moderator of webinars, across a number of different platforms, I always perform a browser test before I join a webinar.  So I knew that would not help me here as I had already passed all of their tests.  I scroll through some more questions, and find one that tells me to hit F5, to refresh my browser.  Again, a great idea, and a lot of times that fixes the issue.  I had already tried that once, and it took me to the current slide.  So I thought it was fixed, but then it never took me to any of the following slides, so that won’t help me, unless I hit F5 after each slide (or when I think they are going to the next slide.)

At this point, I am already well over 15 minutes into this process, I have sent three ‘questions’ into the Q&A box, and still have not heard a response.  So I put in one last message, that I am forced to leave because I can’t keep hitting refresh (and losing audio for that time) every time I think there is a slide change, so I am going to sign off.  I wait 2 or 3 more minutes for a reply to any of my submitted questions, then I close out without a single response.

So there are a few lessons here that I see that we can all learn from when hosting a webinar:  Use a technology that is easy to use for the participants.  While I am not a ‘techie,’ I know enough to be dangerous, and if I can’t figure out how to get your webinar platform to work on my computer, good luck with the ‘normal’ participants that have not been immersed in this webinar world for over 10 years.  Polls are great, but make sure they work first.  Lastly, if someone asks a question, or even makes a statement in your Q&A pod…acknowledge it and try to help them, or if you can’t help them, tell them that, just don’t leave your participant hanging.  I guess I’ll just have to wait and see if I can view the archive. 

I’ve used all sorts of email marketing systems over the years. I’ve marketed dozens of different products and services across multiple industries and in different regions throughout the world. What I’ve found is that regardless of the product, location, service or email platform, the difference (assuming that you have an email platform that is truly an expert in deliverability) comes down to understanding the biggest X factor: the human who is receiving the email.

Humans are tricky. They aren’t always motivated by discounts or deadlines. They don’t always do as told when shown the carrot or the stick. They are stubborn in their desire to do what they want to do and are prone to boredom, attention loss and forgetfulness. Simply put, humans make marketing difficult because they are always changing given their immediate environment and information inputs.

For the formulaic marketer that wants to set it and forget it, this is a big problem. This type of email marketer wants to send the early bird rate email 12 weeks before the conference, 8 weeks, 6 weeks and then weekly. This type of marketer wants everything pre-written, to copy from last year and just change graphics and more importantly, to just have the recipient open the email.

I’ve tried to follow the formulaic approach and it’s never worked for me long-term because numbers become flat and fall. Messages become focused on what I’m pushing and not designed from the recipient’s viewpoint. Before you know it, I’ve hit a dangerous slippery slope in marketing—I’ve become super stale, super commoditized and super ignored.
How do you break through this email ennui? How do you break through stasis? How do you get people’s attention long enough to deliver a message that (hopefully) is compelling enough that they keep asking more questions?

Emotion.

The best marketing comes from hitting on an emotion that is important, timely and shared by the target group of email recipients. The subject line hits the emotion front and center and wakes up the recipient. The emotion needs to disturb and disrupt the recipient to the point that they focus their attention. I think this is the point of the subject line that is trying to compel people to take action. Use the subject line to emotionally disrupt the recipient and then use the content body to explain the solution that your organization, product or service provides. This method of “cause a pain-deliver a solution” is what has successfully worked for me over countless marketing campaigns.

What kinds of emotional cues get people’s attention? Cues that either instill a fear or deliver joy. “You’re Missing…”, “Your Colleages Are…”, “Be the Best…”, “Get the Edge…” These examples trigger something deep in the recipient that typically gets them to stop for just a few nanoseconds longer, just a beat longer than normal skimming, but long enough to incite enough curiosity to get the next click or tap to open the email.

Examine your own behavior. Start noticing what cuts through the noise, what gets your attention and analyzing your response. You may find that there are specific word cues used in subject lines to which you respond. When (if?) doing A/B testing, try changing the emotional response (fear v. joy) instead of just changing the offer. In the battle between deceptive v. creative, I would contend that knowing which emotion to elicit in a target population is at the heart of creativity.