TOOL TUESDAY: Rapportive is Like Caller ID for Gmail

December 6, 2011 by Kerri Karvetski

Tool Tuesday features digital tools I actually use and recommend to my clients. No one pays me to say these things. I like sharing.

This one’s for Gmail users only. (Sorry everyone else. Gmail’s the best!)

Rapportive is like caller ID for your Gmail contacts – on steroids. When you open an email from a contact, Rapportive replaces the Gmail ad in the right column with great info on your contact such as:

Contact’s photo and title from LinkedIn
Recent Tweets from Twitter
Facebook profile and other social networks plus your relationship with that person on those networks (are you connected, friends, following)
Notes (which are private)

Here’s what it looks like:

You can send friend requests, retweet, follow and connect right from the Rapportive side bar. It’s great for growing your network and enhancing your relationships with contacts.

Download this free add-on for your Firefox, Safari, Mailplane or Chrome browser, and open up a world of information on the people who email you.

Posted in E-Mail, Productivity | Comments

TOOL TUESDAY: Get a Smarter Signature With Wisestamp

June 14, 2011 by Kerri Karvetski

Is your email pulling its weight?

Every message you send is an opportunity to let people know what you do and what you’re up to. The email signature accomplishes this nicely.

Wisestamp puts your email signature on steroids.

Before I get into the details, I must mention that Wisestamp is available for Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail and AOL email services, and with the Firefox, Chrome and Safari browsers. It is not available for Outlook and other desktop email programs.

Back to the steroids. Wisestamp does everything your garden variety signature does – bolding, links, even logo files. What sets Wisestamp apart is this bit o’ magic called Email Apps.

Here’s their promotional video:

WiseStamp Demo from wisestamp on Vimeo.

Email Apps are smart. They pull your latest activity into the email, so it’s never stale. And by activity I mean your latest:

Blog post
Tweet
Bookmark in Delicious
Product you are selling on eBay
Digg
StumbleUpon
Cause
Music (Last.fm, Pandora and Blip.fm)

With Email Apps, you set it and forget it. Fresh stuff, in your signature, for no additional work!

You may choose more than one activity to pull in, but I recommend just one. You want to offer a taste, not the full meal.

What To Include In Your Signature

Name
Title
Company or org
Phone (office and mobile)
Website
Wicked short description of what you do (or a tagline if you’ve got a good one)
Email address (not all email programs will show this easily, so might as well include it)

What Not to Include In Your Signature

Fax
Full address
Random quotes (why promote someone else?)
Crazy mixtures of fonts
Every email address, phone number, website, social network and instant message network you’re connected with
VCard

Wisestamp is free for basic accounts and quite affordable ($24/year and up) for some extra bells and whistles. Here’s my Wisestamp. Show me yours!

Posted in E-Mail, Productivity, Tools | Comments

Don’t Fear the Weekend

April 30, 2011 by Kerri Karvetski

Do you avoid sending email, posting to your Facebook page or Tweeting on the weekends because you think no one will see it?

Fear not the weekend! It could be your secret weapon.

In his recent webinar presentation The Science of Timing: When to Post Everything, Dan Zarrella talked about contra-competitive timing - posting your content when other marketers aren’t. Instead of shouting when everyone else is shouting, speak when it’s quiet and more people can actually hear you.

I confess that I try to go off the online social grid on Saturdays. I’m online all week long and need to play and dig and garden and cook on the weekends. (I do sneak on for recipes, but only when I have to.) I didn’t give much thought to sending stuff on the weekends until I saw Dan’s webinar.

The scheduling features in Hootsuite (for Facebook and Twitter) and WordPress (this blog) mean I can have my freedom and my weekend posts, too.

Turns out that most marketers jam posts into the Monday through Friday slot, leaving the weekend a lot lighter. But weekend click-through rates either hold steady or rise, and sharing actually peaks on those days.

Check out that spike on Facebook shares on Saturday!