My Favorite eMail Address is “donotreply”

I understand that some email addresses are not monitored by companies. Most of these companies use the email handle or “donotreply@XYZCOMPANY.COM”. I guess the idea is that you will definitely see the words donotreply before you even open the email and therefore are less likely to reply to them. However this email handle is used by companies customer support and does not seem to be the most appropriate email handle.

Translation to In Person Customer Service
customer service donotreplyLet’s assume you were at a brick and mortar store in person as opposed to an online store. Here is a conversation with a store associate that is similar to the online donotreply customer service. You – “Hi, I was wondering, do these pants also come in waist size 35, or just 34 and 36?”. DoNotReply Customer Service – “These pants only come in blue, do not ask me another question (DoNotReply), have a great day and thanks for shopping with us.” as they walk away. That does not seem to make a lot of sense, maybe online should think more about real world correspondence.

Better Solution
Why not use something like heretohelp or friendlyservice as the email handle. If someone does reply the company can always have an auto-responder which lets the individual know how to get in touch with customer service again. At least this way the majority does not have an instant negative feeling when they see DoNotReply as opposed to an instant happy feeling when they see HereToHelp as a handle, just a thought.

Online Advertising to Reach $50 Billion

Online advertising has been predicted by eMarketer to reach $50 Billion in 2015. By contrast the total spend in 2010 was $26 Billion. Comscore had shown that in the last two months of 2010 alone there was over $32 Billion spent online. Therefore it would be no surprise that over the course of an entire year $50 Billion may be spent 4 years from now.

online advertisingSales online have been increasing consistently every year as has advertising online. Take a look at eMarketer for more online research.

WordPress Plugin for Ads in Email

wp mail adsIf you have your WordPress site setup to send out emails you can monetize them now. Andy Bailey, the creator of ComLUV (CommentLuv) has also created a new WordPress plugin to add messages to the bottom of every message sent. This is a great plugin to assure you add value to each and every message being sent. Use it for cross promotion of your own site, other sites you may have, to remind people of your Facebook page or Twitter account, and many other ideas.

Video of WP Mail Ads

You can learn more about the WP Mail Ads plugin here and purchase it if you like: http://ql2.me/1/wpmailads/

No More Google Labs?

Have you ever taken a look at Google Labs? Well you better now before it’s gone. Google announced they are going to wind down Google Labs. It is as if their R&D department has put all of their projects out in the open. In fact they have put their projects out in the open, we will never know if it was all of them but it they are incredible.

Over 50 Projects
google labsThey have over 50 projects. No two are alike and each one is unique. From 3D models of the human body to Art projects allowing you to view and enjoy art as if you are in the museum. There are too many to list but many very helpful in a variety of ways such as tools to help you speed up your website delivery. As you can see, no two are alike. Google did state that some of the various lab projects will continue their development however it will be within each product area as opposed to individual projects.

Netflix and LinkedIn Valuations

Determining the value of a company can be very interesting. You may want to determine the worth of your company or competitors, for potential sale, acquisition or otherwise. Valuations of private companies are obviously more difficult than public companies and there are algorithms to follow for private. I wanted to look at two public companies that I find very interesting. The formula for a public companies valuation is quite easy, you simply multiply the total number of outstanding shares by the current share price. Therefore the valuation varies constantly.

LinkeIn vs. Netflix
netflix linkedin valuationHere are two companies that are in the news now and both have online presences, LinkedIn is entirely online and Netflix which began as solely a ‘by-mail’ movie rental company to also have a significant online presence. Now compare their current public valuations based on their market cap. This figure is found by taking the stock price and multiplying it by the total number of shares outstanding.

  • LinkedIn : $10 Billion
  • Netflix : $14 Billion

Both of those valuations are quite large. That is based on their market capitalization, which is based on share price. Share price is based on what individuals believe it is worth, either now or their speculation on what it will be worth in the future.

Valuations High or Low?
What is most interesting is the price to earnings of each company. In other words how much money are these companies actually making. The price to earnings is their P/E.

  • LinkedIn P/E : 1,264
  • Netflix P/E : 82

For the quarter ending March 31st, LinedIn made $5.38 per share. Netflix on the other hand made $45.48 per share. As you can see there is a huge difference between the amount or earnings per share Netflix makes and LinkedIn makes. You have to wonder how the market is valuing LinkedIn as opposed to Netflix. Only time will tell.

* the above information is based on intraday values on 7/18/11


Summer Sweepstakes

Coupon Swapper has a Summer Sweepstakes starting today July 11, 2011 and ending September 4, 2011. For 8 weeks there is a weekly drawing for two Amazon $50 gift cards every week, see the Bloggers and Users Sweepstakes information below. At the conclusion of the contest one User will win a brand new iPad2 and one Blogger will win a brand new Macbook Pro.

Start: July 11, 2011
End: September 4, 2011
Prizes: 16 Amazon $50 gift cards, iPad2, Macbook Pro

Bloggers and Website Owner Sweepstakes

blogger sweepstakesIf you have a website such as a blog, or any other type of site, you can join the Bloggers Sweepstakes. Each of the 8 weeks there will be a $50 Amazon gift card given away and at the conclusion of the Sweepstakes (after 9/4/11) one Blogger will win a brand new Macbook Air.

Here is what you do to enter the Sweepstakes as a blogger:
(1) Sign up Here
(2) place a link on your site to http://CouponSwapper.com (text “coupons” “coupon” or “coupon swapper”)
(3) use this link to refer new users http://couponswapper.com/accounts/register/?user=USER_NAME replacing USER_NAME with your user name you obtained when you signed up

User Sweepstakes

user sweepstakesYou can register as a user and join the User Sweepstakes. Each of the 8 weeks there will be a $50 Amazon gift card given away and at the conclusion of the Sweepstakes (after 9/4/11) one User will win a brand new iPad2.

Here is what you do to enter the Sweepstakes as a user:
(1) Sign up Here
(2) fill out your Coupon Swapper profile
(3) like Coupon Swapper page on Facebook here

About Coupon Swapper

Coupon Swapper allows you to find the latest deals at online stores. Users can post deals and coupons for everyone to use. Deals can be voted up or down depending on whether they work or not. Comments may also be left so others can learn more about the deal. Save money online and help others to save as well.





Facebook Ads Optimization

I read that Facebook will bring in over $4 Billion in advertising revenue this year. They stated that 60% of that revenue is from their self service ads. That information was in the July 11th to July 17th edition of the Economist. I thought a post with information to explain how Facebook advertising works, how to optimize the advertising, and how to get started would be helpful. Instead of trying to explain all of that here is a reference post with links to the information.

All of these links are official Facebook resources for understanding, optimizing, and starting a Facebook advertising campaign.

facebook advertisingJoin their advertising newsletter to learn about the latest webinars and information. For example here is an upcoming webinar about “best practices for generating stories, as well as how Sponsored Stories can help you achieve your marketing goals on Facebook.”, you can learn move about it and RSVP here. Hopefully you will find this list helpful.

J. P. Morgan Guide to the Markets

Each quarter J.P. Morgan puts out their Guide to the Markets as slides and as a downloadable PDF. You can obtain the latest here. If you want a clear, quick and informative look at the markets each quarter created by professionals, here is a good way to get it. They provide easy to understand charts and it is exceptionally well done.

jp morgan guide to the marketsYou can either download the pdf or take a look at the slides online. Slides for Equities, the Economy, Fixed Income, International and Asset class. They also provide the quarterly review as a video.