Just a note of thanks for reading this blog this past year. Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!

Companies have always, always tried to find new ways to reach their customers. It’s arguably the most important function a company performs, except for the obvious task of creating an exceptional, unique product or service.

And in the quest for a new silver bullet, it’s easy to overlook one of the most reliable, most cost-effective tactics available – the e-mail newsletter. While some companies have found a great niche with direct mail, TV, or online banners, a steady, proactive inbox campaign should be a foundation to communicate with your customers.

Numerous studies have shown that the number one reason Internet users go online is to check e-mail. And even with new anti-spam measures at every level, legitimate opt-in e-mail can still get through to the inbox, and with the right content becomes even more powerful than it was a few years ago.

So what makes a good e-mail newsletter? At FCM, we tend to focus on three parallel components: design, content, and distribution. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting on these components so you can have the foundation to build an e-newsletter program that strengthens customer relationships and ultimately builds business.

So I came across an old, un-updated blog the other day… my own. These last few months we have been absolutely buried with client projects to the point that our own communications initiatives have gone largely neglected. Not that I’m complaining mind you.

Anyway, starting today I promise to be back blogging on a regular basis. “Sure,” you say. “That’s what every amateur blogger says just before their domain expires.” Well, our domain is just fine thank you and with the prospect of a new year looming, it’s hard to make the case that we should manage someone’s communications when we’re not managing our own.

So what have we been working on? Several exciting projects, actually:

• Organized 6 events in 30 hours for a non-profit client in Washington
• Managed a dinner for 80 a week later for the same group
• Launched 3 new websites, including an nice platform for the Beauprez for Governor campaign that will be the foundation of a very aggressive online outreach/ grassroots effort
• Managed the development of an online database of federal grants for a national trade association

….among other things. So now those projects are winding down and we’re reassessing priorities. Hope you’ll check back soon, as updating The View from Flat Creek is on the short list!

Just left a very exciting conversation with one of our IT partners and a client about Windows Small Business Server. This particular client, a national trade organization on Dupont Circle, has never had a server before and always connected like many home offices do – via a peer-to-peer network. But as they grew, and travel demands increased, they need a central, accessible place to store files. They also need a way to backup and archive data, something that has been a challenge in the past. Not to mention that their POP e-mail accounts (free with their web hosting package) are unreliable at best. They wanted an integrated, easy to maintain tool that would give them security, accessibility, and reliability. And they wanted it fast.

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