At night, I hear laughter coming from her bedroom as she cracks up over an episode of Friends. At night, I hear the pages of her textbook turning as she pours over her notes for tomorrow’s test. At night, I hear the rustle of the paper she tears out of her notebook that disturbs an otherwise quiet house. At night, I hear her Face Timing with her friends. At night, I hear her yell for me when she needs a form signed or wants to borrow my hair dryer. In less than a year, I won’t hear any of this because she will be away at college and I’ll hear none of the above coming from her bedroom.

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For the last two years, we have visited several college campuses looking for the right fit for our daughter as she moves into the next stage of her life. We toured large universities and smaller colleges. Some of them in or near major cities and others out in the sticks. We’ve spoken to guidance counselors, admissions counselors, and yes, even my own counselor (a.k.a. my therapist). Just like any other phase of parenthood, you will receive a lot of advice about this journey. While advice was always appreciated, there will be times when we just wanted to figure it out on our own. And I think that is the best tip I can give to those just starting on this adventure—listen to what others tell you but follow your child’s lead. Although you didn’t realize it, over the last 18 years you have raised them for this moment. Know that you brought them up right with a good head on their shoulders and a set of values that you have given them. Trust that your child knows what they want and what they don’t want. Let them lead. My favorite part of this whole process has been visiting campuses and discussing them on the car ride home. I loved listening to her weigh the pros and cons of each place, considering the location, the community, the academic and social life and the overall “feel” each place offers. And all this time, I’ve admired the maturity she has shown in her decision-making. All along, the only piece of advice I bestowed upon her was what I have told her all her life—go with your gut. I find this is a wonderful mantra for any decision one makes in life. Her gut will tell her what is right and what is wrong for her. If she isn’t happy and confident in her choices, then problems will surely follow. The moment she stepped on Towson’s campus; she knew it was the right place for her. She made a point of meeting the local admissions representative every time she came to our area to learn as much as possible about the community. When the admissions staff called her up to the stage this past fall to tell her in person that she was accepted, the open house became a welcome home. And when she told us that when she thinks of herself at college, she saw herself at Towson, we knew it was the right place for her. So, my unsolicited, but well-meaning, advice to you as you go through this amazing time in your lives as parents is to let your child take the lead. Whether they want to live in a big city or out in the sticks, small college, large university, community college, military, trade school, or whatever, let them go with their gut and they will wind up exactly where they were always supposed to be.

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I’ve decided for this UBC stint, I will dedicate Fridays to talking about marketing ourselves better. In real life, I write for a childhood cancer research non-profit and e-mail marketing is a huge part of my job. As writers, we have to put our best selves out there not just as content creators, but as savvy marketing professionals. Before I write a word of content, a lot of my work includes thinking about an email strategy. So, here are 4 things to think about before sending your next email.

1. First Impressions are Everything –You work so hard on an email and the last thing you want is for it to be ignored or worse—deleted. You want it to stand out among all the other emails, so your subject line needs to shine through loud and clear. Personally, I think the more creative the subject line is the better the open rate. Recently, I wrote an email promoting a culinary event and fundraiser in the heart of Chicago. I wanted to come up with something that would resonate with the readers and excite them about a great event in their city. My subject line was “For One Night Only – Eat Something Else besides Deep Dish Pizza.” The high open rate proved to be worth the extra time to think of an enticing subject line.First impressions make all the difference when it comes to email marketing. And you don’t want your email to send the wrong message.
2. Have a Call to Action– All emails should have some kind of call to action or as we say in the biz – a CTA. Do you want your reader to take a survey, sign up for a course, make a donation? Also, make sure your CTA is visible to the reader. Don’t just create a link in the body of the email and expect people to find it. Create a brightly-colored button that they cannot miss. Make it as easy as possible for your readers to engage with you and take that next step.
3. Respect Your Contact List – Your contact list is a valuable commodity and you will want to treat it as such. Are you managing your list by removing bounced email addresses? Did you add the new people who asked to receive your emails? Are your existing emails up to date? Also, take into consideration how often you are emailing people. There is a fine line between keeping readers engaged while not inundating them with too many emails.
4. Timing is everything– Oftentimes, when you send an email is just as important as what is in the email itself. What is the sweet spot where people have time to open your email, read it and respond? Don’t be afraid to test out different times of the day and different days of the week. Lots of people read personal emails at night and on the weekend. Also, be considerate of time zones. When I email people on the west coast, I try not to send anything they would receive at 3 in the morning. 🙂

If you take these things into consideration, you will likely see an increase in open rates and hopefully grab a few more loyal fans along the way.What email marketing tips do you have? I’d love to hear them!

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