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Obama Administration Reaches Out To
Young Internet Entrepreneurs By James Martell In part one of this two-part series, I talked about Ryan P. Allis, the co-founder and CEO of iContact, the company I use to send out The Martell Newsletter. To put it lightly, Ryan is one ambitious young man who clearly knows his stuff.
I don’t know about you, but I was ready to learn how it happened. During the interview (see video excerpts from part one), Ryan taught us that one of the major keys to success is taking a personal approach to communications and customer service. While he supports the use of email as a customer conversion and retention tool, he also warned of the dangers of using email as a way to attract new clients. Ryan believes many email marketing campaigns are just an unsuspecting way to send spam. To keep your emails effective, Ryan suggests throwing a little bit of life into the message. You don’t need a reason to send an e-mail to customers. It’s enough to send out a quick note to thank them for their patronage, which they’re sure to appreciate. This way, clients are much more likely to think of you before they think of the competition. Ryan gave us invaluable advice that we would have had a hard time finding elsewhere. Best of all, he’s not the only one pushing great ideas. Last month, a group of our country’s top entrepreneurs gathered at the White House to talk about the economy with members of the Obama administration.
Young Entrepreneurs Gather at White House to Discuss Economy The 30 business leaders came from a long list of industries, with one common goal: to help pull the United States out of the recession. This group of dynamic professionals included Twitter co-founder and CEO Evan Williams, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, Blackboard founder and CEO Michael Chasen, Kiva co-founder Jessica Jackley, DailyCandy COO Catherine Levene, Ecko Enterprises founder Mark Ecko, Tishman Speyer co-CEO Rob Speyer, Trump SVP Ivanka Trump, Mint.com founder and CEO Aaron Patzer, and College Humor co-founder Josh Abramson, along with a list of others. Also present was TheU.net founder and CEO Doug Imbruce, who felt that the meeting was a great leap forward for the country. Of course, Ryan Allis was invited to attend the event. He spoke about the experience on his website (www.ryanallis.com), providing some insight into The Summit Series, the organization responsible for spearheading the gathering. The Summit Series is a community of young business leaders and innovators. These individuals work together to develop their own potential, strike with new ideas and achieve goals. With a mix of brains and talent, there’s no doubt that these masterminds will be the wave of the future (lucky for us). Ryan noted that The Summit Series provides a platform for members to join forces and make the world a better place. They’re like superheroes for the economically challenged. And they couldn’t have arrived at a better time. The entrepreneurs played the role of fresh, new blood - a group of individuals called in to develop new ideas for the Obama administration to form a unique path. The meeting also supported Obama’s plans to invest more in our country’s youth. Obama has taken a unique approach, indeed.
Although Obama rejected donations from large companies and lobbyists, he still managed to execute the most profitable presidential campaigns to date. How? Apparently, even The President knows how to make the most of the Internet. Much like the advice Ryan gave us about the importance of personal contact, Obama seemed to be following a similar model. No question, your website and marketing plan can make or break your business. In Obama’s case, it made his campaign a reality. There are several reasons why Obama’s approach is so successful.
Pretty smart, isn’t it? If you choose to oblige, the site asks for your telephone number. You’re then taken to a thank you page that seems genuine, not forced or overdone. Once you entered your details, your information was housed in a database. The President and his staff gained access to your inbox, where they can distribute news and important information. You have no doubt noticed that many sites ask you to enter your email address, often in connection with a free report or other inviting offer. If you’ve yet to make this a part of your own website, you’re definitely missing out. Creating and managing a list of emails is fairly simple thanks to companies such as iContact.com who provide the tools for you. Once you’ve compiled a list of addresses, you can distribute newsletters, offers, and updates with relative ease.
When you land on the thank you page, you are presented with three new paths. You can register to vote, move on to the home page, or make a donation. In fact, you can find a link to donate on every page. To catch even more attention, the site makes use of a call-to-action approach. It’s also incredibly easy to follow. As web surfers, we’re all the same. If we have to search for information on a website, we lose interest pretty fast. Your website should be tailored to your visitors. Information overload and too many flashy graphics give off huge red flags.
Finally, Obama has made exceptional use of the most popular social networking tools. At the bottom of his site, visitors can connect to the administration through Facebook, Glee, Faithbase, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, and Flickr, among others. This is an incredibly effective way to reach young supporters and create a series of Obama-inspired groups and communities. All in all, Ryan Allis was right (not that we didn’t believe him). The personal approach is a surefire way to increase clientele and build support. As with any business, there is strength in numbers… and yours is no exception. All the best,
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The
20-something entrepreneur has
already made his mark in the
business world, with
The
latest leader of the White House
raised all of his campaign funds
through online contributions,
unveiling the true power of
Internet marketing.
First,
The President had seized a major
opportunity to collect email
addresses. If you would have visited his
website during his campaign, you would
have noticed that
the opening page asked you to
enter your email address before
continuing.
Obama’s
site takes this opportunity to
an impressive level.
Obama’s
site keeps the personal touch
going through a blog. The blog
is updated several times per day
and acts as a great tool for
supporters who receive their
daily dose of news via RSS
feeds.
