Is it important to recognise that delegation is the sign of a good leader, not the sign of someone who cannot deal with their work load. 

Passing on tasks to others in fact highlights many positive skills. It shows that you trust your team members and highlights your ambition to achieve. There is only a finite amount you can achieve alone; whereas enabling those around you will increase your value.

Team members will enjoy the responsibility, and will work hard to show you that you have made the right choice by putting the task in their hands. It is also a massive pat on the back, as it confirms they have the necessary skills to carry out the task. If some training is required, it shows that you believe they can do the task and that belief will make your staff want to please you.

3 Steps to delegation

1, Identify tasks

The best things to delegate are common tasks that take up your time.

After initial training the repetition of the task will keep it fresh in the mind, and will free up a large amount of your time.

2, Choose the right person/people

You should know who has the right skills to take care of a task. If not, simply ask other members of the team who is good at spreadsheets, or who has a keen eye for analytics.

3, Build up gradually

Don’t just offload all your work in one fair swoop, pass things over one at a time. Ensure your colleague is comfortable with the task and requires minimal assistance, and move on to your new tasks gradually.

have introduced a new policy where they will reject emails that are sent from Yahoo addresses, but that do not originate from Yahoo servers.

Unfortunately this will affect some Nouri.sh users as the emails are sent from our server. However, this can quickly be overcome.

If you continue to use your Yahoo email address in the From Email field, you risk your email being rejected. Please edit your Campaign Basics, so that the From Email address of your eNewsletter is NOT a Yahoo address.

This change is currently being debated, and as a result we are unsure if this policy will be permanent. But, we kindly ask that you amend your email address anyway to avoid damaging your campaigns.

For further information about the changes see here:

http://yahoo.tumblr.com/post/82426971544/an-update-on-our-dmarc-policy-to-protect-our-users

To contact a member of our team, click here.

Thank you,

The Nouri.sh Team.

Here at Nouri.sh we are working hard to develop and perfect a highly dynamic eNewsletter.

You can use Nouri.sh to its full potential by creating dynamic newsletters for your business/blog. These unique campaigns allow you to combine multiple RSS feeds and produce user specific content.

The most effective newsletters are inevitably those tailored to the individual, yet this is a rather unpractical thing to implement due to time and monetary constraints. As a result most emails are sent out to the masses, reducing their relevance and in turn their CTR. By segmenting your subscribers in to groups, and tagging your content, the right information can be sent to the right group.

This type of campaign will be useful for so many different companies. For example, travel agents, recruiters, estate agents etc. Basically anyone who has more than one target demographic. We will help to segment your audience in order to maximise results.

If you would like to get involved and try out a dynamic campaign for yourself, you can get in touch here.

Our guinea pigs will have the flexibility to tailor the service to their needs, so give us a squeak!

Here at Nouri.sh we appreciate the skills involved in negotiation. If you don’t ask, you certainly don’t get.

There are some instances where negotiation is almost a prerequisite, for example a car boot sale or market. Equally there are situations when it is probably not going to happen, like in a restaurant or high-street store. This is not to say it is impossible, just less appropriate and more complicated as the person you are dealing with is not likely to be the decision maker.

Here are 5 tips to prepare you for your next negotiation.

• Be prepared

You need to understand who you are negotiating with. What drives them and what are their priorities? If you can figure out how they do business you should be able to deduce how to push their buttons.

• Be attentive

Listen very carefully to what the other person is saying and don’t get carried away talking. You will talk yourself in to a hole. Listen, and try to understand what you are up against. Ask them what they want to get out of the deal to give you a starting point for the negotiations.  This can be a tricky one as you will both want the other to make the first move, but find the right tone and you have nailed it.

• Add value

If you are selling something, your aim is to add value without lowering the cost of the item. Perhaps you know of extras you could offer which are of very low cost to you but could help you seal the deal. If you are prepared, you will already know what adds value to their business.

• Justify your offer

If you are making a lower offer you need to present your justification. Does the item/service come with additional features you don’t require, or can you source it cheaper elsewhere? Explaining the logic behind your offer ensures your credibility and it highlights that you have doubt. If you simply say, what is your best price, that shows that you are already interested and will not always yield results.

• Everyone is a winner

A deal must be win-win otherwise both parties would not agree. If the seller agrees a really low price they must have some motivation for this, desperation could be one of them! Both parties should understand what they want to achieve from the deal, then you can discuss how to best meet most of these requirements.

If you need to negotiate an email marketing solution for your business, click here to contact the Nouri.sh team.

Nouri.sh is THE best alternative to FeedBurner; it is in fact FeedBurner on steroids.

Don’t just take our word for it, have a look at some of the recommendations we found online.

1. Best FeedBurner Alternative
http://www.narga.net/

Nourish is a FREE newsletter service that allows you to convert any RSS feed into an automated email newsletter, it also allows you to manage as many campaigns as you want. Each campaign represents a different newsletter that your readers can subscribe to.

If you don’t send over 1,000 emails per month or have the need for custom templates, then it’s completely free to use. Wanting more will cost you. You can use Nourish in conjunction with another service that manages your RSS feed or you can just create an RSS feed from scratch and trust Nourish to keep subscribers notified.

2. Nouri.sh Your Readers with Content
http://www.cmswire.com/

Even though RSS feeds are a great way to subscribe to blog content, the truth is that a majority of Internet users still aren’t familiar with RSS technology. With Nourish, a free newsletter service, users can offer readers a subscribe option with which they are more familiar. With Nourish, users can convert any RSS feed into an automated email newsletter to which readers can subscribe.
The free version lets you send up to 1,000 emails per month and includes customizable newsletter templates.

3. MUST-SEE FeedBurner Alternative for Your Blog
http://ielectrify.com/

Nouri.sh – Nourish is an RSS to email service and a reliable Feedburner alternative for those sites whose visitors don’t really grasp (or don’t use) RSS much. The free version lets you send up to 1,000 emails per month. Also includes customizable newsletter templates.

4. Top Alternatives to Google’s FeedBurner for Blogs
http://www.supportivehands.net/

• Converts RSS feeds into email newsletters and distribute the content to subscribers
• Free version sends up to 1000 emails per month
• Customizable email newsletters
• Fast distribution
• Customizable subscription widgets/forms

For help migrating to Nouri.sh click here to chat to a member of our team!

As our reliance on the internet grows each day, it is important to remember that business relationships still need to be built and maintained.

People buy people, and business relationships are extremely valuable.

Here are 3 top tips to ensure you forge relationships that last.

1. Listen more than you talk

It sounds strange, but listening to others do the talking is actually more productive than talking yourself. It means the other people get to talk about themselves (which many people enjoy), and it also shows that you are a good communicator. By listening you are learning about that person and their business, it is useful to remember some of these points and use them next time you speak. You will instantly earn respect by remembering the name of their wife, children, dog etc. and you can also use this to make a conversation more personal.

2. Be helpful

Offer something first before asking for something. If you call someone and immediately ask for something I guarantee you they will think what’s in it for me. So why not offer something first. Perhaps you know how your businesses can work together, maybe you have a funny joke or email that you could send on to them, or a book they would love to read. Show that you are interested in building a relationship, something that mutually benefits both parties and you are not just out to take, take, take.

3. Be proactive

Use the contacts you have to make better business decisions. You should know where their strengths are and be able to call on them for advice. You should also know what may be of interest to your contacts. Share relevant content with relevant people to strengthen your relationship. Show that you are on the ball, and that you remembered they had booked a holiday to Florida by forwarding news articles that will interest them.

Relationships are based on trust so it is imperative that you do what you say you will. There is nothing wrong with making notes, or setting an alarm reminder on your phone, just ensure you deliver your promise if you want to be liked and respected. In return, people are likely to refer and recommend you.

If you need help sending the right content to the right people click here to discuss.

Small businesses can easily use the Nouri.sh solution to distribute a newsletter. It takes a very short time to set-up (the team can do it  for you if you ask nicely!) it has a great ROI and the online videos provide instant support throughout the process. There is a free  level of service so you can get started with no outlay. Here are just some ways in which individuals and small business owners can use  Nouri.sh to drive traffic to their site.

Distribute content

If you are writing blog content or a news page and not distributing it then you are not only missing a trick, you are also wasting your valuable blog posts! Not many people will remember to keep checking your site for new content, so delivering it to them automatically is a no-brainer. If someone lands on your site and they enjoy what they see, they will happily divulge their email address.

Blogging is now 20 years old and even though it has evolved, it is certainly here to stay. Blogging is now a key part of eMarketing so building an audience is really important, especially if you want your blog to be profitable rather than a hobby. The Nouri.sh team will help you grow your subscriber base and give you pointers about your newsletter to ensure what you send out delivers results.

Personalise communication

One of the charms of owning a small business is the relationships you can build with your customers. You get to know what they like, and most importantly what they like about your business. If you are a restaurant owner this may be remembering their favourite drink or dish, if you are a personal trainer this could be remembering their past injuries or which exercises they dislike the least! However you look at it, personalisation is perceived extremely well by customers. And there is no reason why newsletters cannot work in exactly the same way.

By obtaining a little bit more information about your customer, you can target them with a highly relevant email. By tailoring the content to the reader you are not just saying, “Hello, we exist” but “Good morning Steven, we have noticed that you have visited our shop on a few occasions and we know you regularly buy batteries, so please find a discount voucher to redeem off your next purchase”. Personalising content increases click through rate and conversions.

Send a welcome email

If a customer has subscribed to your newsletter there is a good chance they are already interested in you and your product. Target new users with tailor made content to reward them for singing up and remind them why they like you! A welcome email typically attracts a 50% open rate. Unfortunately, this will decrease over time so make the most of this opportunity.  Convert this interest in to a sale by offering a discount code, or convert their interest in to social media interaction with other incentives.

For more tips about tailoring newsletters to your business needs click here

We have given ThatsJournal.com 6 free subscriptions of the Nouri.sh Basic Package to give away

(5 x 3 month and 1 x 6 month subscription)

worth a whopping $1575

For a chance to win one of these great packages – including 10,000 emails a month. Click here

Good luck!

The key to a great eNewsletter is engaging your audience, this however is easier said than done. People on average receive 40 emails a day, so it is hard to make your email stand out from the crowd without looking spammy.

Here are 3 great tips for nailing your email marketing campaign.

1, DO split testing

You are trying to please your audience, so work out what they like. Split testing is a great way to learn what is received well, and learn from what isn’t. Instead of guesswork, you can actually measure the difference and make informed, data-backed decisions.

2, Think carefully about the subject line

The ‘preheader’ is the first 35(ish) characters that will be displayed in most email browsers. Use this valuable space wisely. Although a lot of research has been done about the length of the subject line, there really isn’t a right answer but here is how the land generally lies. Use a subject line that is under 50 characters and this will drive awareness of your brand, and is likely to get a good open rate. Using a longer subject line will probably get a lower open rate, but a higher click through rate as those who have read the whole title only click if the content genuinely interests them.

3, Distribute creative content

A well presented, attractive email works wonders but without the content to back up its good looks a reader will soon stray. Think of ways of engaging your reader, being controversial, edgy and taking a different view on an otherwise generic topic are all good ways to do this. Encouraging commenting and social media sharing are also a must.

For more great advice see our interview with email marketing expert Tim Watson