Learn One Thing from Mary Gillen

Learn One Thing from Mary Gillen: On-hold messages in English and Spanish

Frank Pival believes customers shouldn't be left "alone on hold"...in any language. His Kingston, WA-based company, Never Alone on Hold (or NAOH, for short) provides affordable professional voice-over production and licensed music for all media which includes telephone on-hold, custom voice-mail and call center or auto attendant prompts. Another important service Frank provides is voice-overs in Spanish as well as English. Good thing. According to U.S. Census statistics, the American Hispanic population stands at approximately 40 million today and is projected to grow to nearly 50 million within the next 5 to 6 years.

Visit Frank's Never On Hold Alone site to hear samples of his work in English and Spanish.

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Learn One Thing from Mary Gillen: 78-point call-to-action checklist for Web site or blog

When a client asks me to design/develop a Web site or blog, my first question is:

What are the ten actions you want your users to be able to do when they visit your site?

If you are not sure what you want them to do, then they are probably not doing anything, and leaving your site. Perhaps it is time to conduct an action inventory to determine the kinds of services you already offer your clients and prospects on your Web site or blog, and what you might be missing. What can they accomplish when visiting you online right now?

Print out the What Can They Do? Checklist, available here. Use your pencil or pen to shade in the box in the Yes column for each action your prospects/clients can already achieve when visiting your Web site or blog. When you're done, look at all the empty boxes in the Yes column. These represent additional services your current customers and prospects may be looking for on your Web site or blog.

Get the checklist now.

Checkmark Image: www.law.columbia.edu/it/

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Learn One Thing from Mary Gillen: Customer service communication tip for the front lines

Way back in the cave days when I was young and foolish (now I'm just middle-aged and foolish) I worked for a large corporation. My job was to handle customer inquiries via the phone. Irate customer inquiries. It had to do with insurance and unpaid claims and the blinking red lights on your phone meant a buncha angry people were lined up, just waiting for their turn to yell at you.

I learned a trick that got every single furious person on the other end of the line to calm down.

I talked very softly.

Try it. It works. The madder-n-holy-hades person has to stop yelling 'cause he or she can't hear a word you are saying because THEY are too loud.

Quiet can be powerful.

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Learn One Thing from Mary Gillen: It Just Takes a Call

A dentist we know has built his successful practice one simple way... the follow-up phone call. He spends one hour of his busy day personally calling patients who were treated the day before to ask how they are feeling. This consistent calling campaign has brought him more referrals than any other marketing method.

Uncle Sam Image: sonofthesouth.net

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Learn One Thing from Mary Gillen: $10-a-month Virtual Receptionist

Need a receptionist?

Think virtual. Check out my1voice.com, an Internet voicemail system that allows you to never miss a call, thanks to an auto-attendant that acts as your virtual receptionist. Messages can be accessed by phone, email, or the Web, and other features include multiple virtual mailboxes, voicemail call forwarding, call transfers, call routing, voicemail notifications, and much more. $10 a month.

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Learn One Thing from Mary Gillen: Tips for Writing Microcopy

Joshua Porter shares some good writing tips on his blog post Tips for Writing Microcopy:

"I remember the first time I realized how much even the smallest copy can matter in an interface. It was on an e-commerce project at UIE for which I had created a checkout form that asked for billing information. I had coded up a system to notify me when an error occurred (even if people can overcome the error it was very helpful to know when one occurred). I kept getting notifications of billing address errors...it turns out that transactions were failing because the address people were entering didn't match the one on their credit card.

So I ended up adding the copy "Be sure to enter the billing address associated with your credit card" at the top of the form. And just like that, the errors went away. It was clear the right copy meant I didn't have to worry about that problem anymore, thus saving support time and increasing revenue on the improved conversion.

Ironically, the smallest bits of copy, microcopy, can have the biggest impact."

Read about it: http://bokardo.com/archives/writing-microcopy

Thanks to Christina Gillen for telling us about Joshua's blog

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Learn One Thing from Mary Gillen: Marketing with License Plates

Many state motor vehicle departments in the US offer customers the option to purchase personalized license plates. Linda Hall Gillen, a math teacher and tutor in Herndon, VA, bought personalized tags that read "MATH TUTR". No matter where she goes, she receives countless inquiries about her tutoring services from folks who read her license plates. Her "license plate marketing program" sends her a steady supply of students.

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Learn One Thing from Mary Gillen: GovTwit Directory Lists Government Agencies Using Social Media

Looking for government agencies using Twitter or other social media? Visit Steve Lunceford's Pro Reporter Tips blog to access The GovTwit Directory. The list includes all facets of government on Twitter: state and local, federal, contractors, reporters, academics, judicial branch and more. Steve calls it a "living list," and hopes to keep it updated via his own research, as well as your submissions.

See it now.

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Learn One Thing from Mary Gillen: How to hold a giveaway-contest on Twitter

Gary Arndt, blogger and photographer, has been traveling the world since 2007, and has already visited over 60 countries and territories. He uses his blog's comments box as a contest entry form to attract more people to read about his adventures.

Process: He posts a Tweet on Twitter with the following message:

"I'm giving away 5 copies of 'Lost on Planet China' this week. Just leave a blog comment to enter: http://bit.ly/1htb9"

Check out his call-to-action page.

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Learn One Thing from Mary Gillen: Listening to Mr. Porkchop

It takes a real man to drive a pink bus. Paul Bernhard, known as "Mr. Pork Chop", lives in Bancroft, Iowa, and has an unforgettable way of promoting his grilled pork chops to many of the 15,000 participants in the Iowa Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa every July. His "Pork Chop Call", screamed by Mr. Bernhart from the side of the road, causes many to take notice, resulting in brisk sales of the delicious chops he sells from grills parked beside his pig pink "Pork Chop Bus".

Visit http://www.mrporkchop.com. Check out the Photos page and click the link to listen to the famous Pork Chop Call.