Book Review: The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

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Book Review: The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

I’ve heard of the classic struggle between straight couples: she wants to talk, to spend time together, to communicate. And he tends to do things, like gas up the car, mow the lawn or manage the family finances. Both fail to understand why they don’t feel loved or why their tokens of love aren’t fully received by the other partner.

Not every couple who complains has this particular dichotomy, but several who have bent my ear do and a few have mentioned one eye-opening book in particular. Gary Chapman’s The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts intrigued me because I could easily identify two love languages, or so I thought. I wanted to know what the other three were as well.

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Re-Engagement Campaigns to Clean Your E-Newsletter List

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Re-Engagement Campaigns to Clean Your E-Newsletter List

It can feel incredibly good to see your e-news subscriber list grow, from the first time you hit the triple digits to the 1,000th subscriber. You’re on a roll when you get to 5,000, 10,000 or more. But at some point, your open or click-thru rates start to stagnate. You can’t get them above some goal or an industry average.

The fact is, on any e-newsletter list there will be people who lose interest or don’t have the time to open and read your messages. Worse yet, your message may be landing in the Gmail promotions tab (a no-man’s land no one wants to be in) or Junk Mail.

What to do?

Time to clean up your e-news subscriber list through a re-engagement campaign.

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A Week in Atlanta: A Four-Dimensional Experience

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A Week in Atlanta: A Four-Dimensional Experience

My last visit to Atlanta was 16 years ago. I loved it then, as a wide-eyed, scared 19-year-old on a budget, spring break road trip via Greyhound. This spring, as a woman in her mid-30s, I was glad to return to Atlanta’s warm embrace.

The first time I was in Atlanta, I rode in to the questionable Greyound station and stayed in a sketchy hostel. I was also dazzled by the clean, open spaces the Summer Olympics had recently created, along with cops on bicycles, and the World of Coca-Cola.

This time, I came by my own vehicle, stayed in a nice place on the northside through AirBnB, found a wonderfully flourishing coffee scene and was once again dazzled by the World of Coca Cola. Some things don’t change.

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Recommendation from John Sayles, CEO at Vermont Foodbank

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Recommendation from John Sayles, CEO at Vermont Foodbank

“Michelle was a fabulous contributor to the Vermont Foodbank. She came aboard in a newly-created position of digital media specialist where the tasks and goals were co-created with her team. Michelle was able to quickly learn our mission and culture, and help the Foodbank reflect that in the digital world. She created a vibrant digital presence that interacts with our supporters in a way that is nurturing, mission-oriented and always respectful. She truly brought this organization to a new level in the digital world, and created the base for the organization to continue on a path as a nonprofit innovator in the digital space.

“A short story: I took Michelle with me to a talk by a digital marketing consultant who presented on ways to maximize the value of a website. It was very exciting! The next day Michelle was implementing the tools she learned about and making changes to our website. What resulted was a new way of continual testing and improvement that results in more conversions of website hits to donations. Continuous improvement seems to be in her DNA.

“Michelle is smart, mission-driven, inquisitive and innovative. She is driven and self-motivated. I recommend her highly based on my experience working directly with her, and seeing the results of her work for the Vermont Foodbank.”

John Sayles

CEO

Vermont Foodbank

Learn more about the marketing I do for nonprofits and universities.

Recommendation from John Sayles

Google Places and Maps for Small Businesses and Non-Profits

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Google Places and Maps for Small Businesses and Non-Profits

If I asked where your non-profit or small business needs to be, online, what might your answer be? You might say you need a website or a Facebook page, right? That’s what everyone’s telling you – your web-savvy niece, your professional association, the workshops you attend, and more.

But a significant number of small businesses and non-profits already have a website or a Facebook page and they’re not getting found by the right clients or customers. What gives?

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Review: Clearer Thinking Time-Money Calculator

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Review: Clearer Thinking Time-Money Calculator

How much do you value your time? Answers may vary. Some may say “very valuable,” while another person may get very specific with “$15/hour.” Another person, if asked to give up time doing something they love, might say they’d need $100/hour, which directly contradicts the $15/hour previously. So how much do you really value your time?

I took a survey from ClearerThinking.org and found that I am full of contradictions when it comes to my time AND money. (Although, as you’ll see below, I’m also fairly consistent.)

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