Last week a new product launched that promises to revolutionize online marketing for the nightlife and entertainment. Creating your website with PromoterSuite.com is taking the first step toward taking back control of your website. No longer will you have to rely on web developers or designers to make every little update to your website.

We’re really excited about this product, especially since our blog focuses on online marketing for nightlife professionals! We’ve done a review of the product and we have the scoop for you. Here is what you need to know:

PromoterSuite includes robust features designed to make updating your website easy. With little to no HTML skills, you can build and edit the entire content of your website. Unlike other content management systems, PromoterSuite is built for search engine optimization (SEO). In addition to all of the standard features, PromoterSuite comes equipped with several SEO features as well.

HOW IT WORKS

PromoterSuite is a content-management system. It gives you control over the content of your website without requiring any knowledge of HTML. Easily add events, manage galleries and download guest lists. It’s easy to use, and – since they use the system to run their website, they’re confident in it.

They have a number of strategically planned websites that were developed for the nightlife and entertainment industry. The websites are ready to go LIVE, they just need to be customized to fit your company’s look & feel.

They have a 3-Step Process to completing your website:

1. Work with PromoterSuite representative to plan the website that’s just right for you. And leave the rest to us.
2. Their design & coding team get to work on your project.
3. Easily add all of your events, pictures, and content to the site by logging into your content-management account.

PRICING

This is the best part about what we found. They made it really affordable for any nightclub, bar, lounge, or promoter to have a kick-butt website. In these economic times, this was a breath of fresh air!

1. Setup Investment: There is only a one-time fee to have our design and development team to have your site within 2 weeks. Prices start at $1500. (see pricing)
2. One Monthly Fee: starting at $50/mo (First month free!) Includes:

• • Unlimited access to your content-management system
  • Post as many photos as you need within your selected Monthly Plan. Change your images unlimited times without additional charge.
  • Free Upgrades to your content-management system
  • Access to our Passionate Team of Web Consultant Experts (Phone/Email)
  • Change your Monthly Plan at anytime instantly

WHO USES IT

• Nightclubs
• Bars
• Lounges
• Promoters
• Coordinators
• Pubs
• Taverns
• Beer Gardens
• Saloons
• Megaclubs
• Restaurants
• Hosts
• Sports Bars

FREE CONSULTATION

The best part about it all is that we found the account executives to be really helpful. The account executives become your pseudo in-house online marketing directors. They offer a free consultation.

Overall, we think this is great for the nightlife and entertainment. We’ve always known this industry to be behind in search and social marketing and web development. This is a great all-in-one package.

For every comment received on our Blog in December 2009, The Creative Complex will donate $1 to www.charitywater.org. Every 20 comments can give one person clean, safe drinking water for 20 years.

Almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. That’s one in eight of us. charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects.

Doesn’t that make you thirtsy to start commenting? We hope so!

As many of you know, www.nighlifemarketingresource.com offers an “inside secret” to online marketing operations and provides opportunities for you to learn, improve, and exchange ideas directly with us and other readers who know online marketing is the foundation for their company’s marketing success. To foster a meaningful and constructive discussion, we follow these guiding principles:

• We will provide unique, individual perspectives on what’s going on in the nightlife and entertainment world;
• We will post comments, except for spam and remarks that are off-topic, denigrating or offensive;
• We will reply to comments promptly, when appropriate;
• We will respect proprietary information and confidentiality; and
• We will be respectful when disagreeing with others’ opinions.

We invite you visit the site regularly to read about what’s on the minds of The Creative Complex leaders and to join in the discussion.

Whether you’re a veteran e-mail marketer or just learning the ropes, you have likely heard that segmentation tactics can deliver better results for your e-mail program because it allows you to send more targeted and relevant messages. With this more relevant messaging, you can expect to see a higher return on your e-mail investment. In fact, segmented campaigns have been shown to deliver two to five times the ROI (return on investment) of typical broadcast campaigns. The bonus ROI is reduced list churn and fewer spam complaints.

Sounds great, right? So why is it that, according to a recent survey, only 25 percent of marketers use segmentation at least once a month? I would say it’s even LESS when it comes to nightclubs, bar, and lounge marketing. Why not 100 percent of marketers? Why not more often? In this article we’ll work to break down the barriers and reveal the secrets to successful e-mail segmentation.

The Challenges of Segmentation

Marketers cite many reasons for why they haven’t yet adopted segmentation:

· Limited creative resources (70 percent)

· Lack of data (50 percent)

· Lack of time to plan (50 percent)

I’ve also heard these objections from marketers who are still in the mode of sending single-event broadcast campaigns:

· “I don’t know how to do it, and there’s no time to learn.”

· “I know I should be doing it, but I don’t have the extra money in my budget to pay for an add-on data program to integrate collected data.”

· “I’m getting decent results now with broadcast e-mail. Why should I mess with success?”

Segmentation: It Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated

Perhaps you assume that moving toward e-mail segmentation means overhauling your entire e-mail program or buying a high-priced recommendation engine so that each customer can get his or her own personalized message.

Truth is, you can begin to see positive results from segmentation with just a few changes. Start small and use incremental steps to achieve greater success.

Let’s look at the three main challenges listed above. For each one, there’s a relatively simple solution that can get you started with segmentation right away.

· Limited creative resources: You don’t have to create a completely new message for each segment. Instead, break the message down into components and use a dynamic content template that will change the components automatically according to the segment.

· Lack of data: You already have some basic data you can use to begin segmenting… your email addresses. Why not send an email to your list offering some kind of incentive in an effort for them to give you the data you need like “What’s your favorite type of music?”

· No time to plan: Set aside one day each month and call it “segmentation day.” Look at your promotional plans and events and consider how to generate a different story for one or two additional segments. In this meeting, decide how you will identify those segments. Knowing what data you will need (browsing, profile, or transactional) takes the last-minute guesswork out of segmentation planning.

Overcome these barriers, and try segmentation. I guarantee once you try it and win, you’ll keep playing. Because then you are playing with the house’s money, not your own.

Case Studies: Incorporating Profile/Behavior Data

The Opium Group: This group of nightclubs in Miami has implemented relatively simple segmentation strategies; using data most e-mail marketers have access to, in order to achieve dramatic lifts in ROI.

In the past, The Opium Group, as with most companies, experienced flat performance in its broadcast campaigns and did not have a reservoir of sophisticated data to create segments.

So, the company created segments by matching e-mail subscribers with the music preference they clicked on when they sent an email to their list asking what type of music they liked, and tailored messages to reflect that activity.

Result: They realized a 300 percent lift in conversion, using data that was native in the e-mail platform and required no external integration.

Takeaway: Create relevant segments using the information you collect from subscribers’ e-mail activity. Every e-mail marketer has easy access to this data, and it works surprisingly well for many.

If you’re segmenting, you need a great Email Service Provider

Make sure your email service provider has built-in features to segment lists. Take some time to become familiar with the how-to section on segmentation.

In the meantime, please click the “Post a Comment” link at the end of this column and pass along your questions about getting started with segmenting or your own experiences for possible use in a future column. Please let me know:

· How is segmentation working for you?

· If you aren’t doing it, why not?

· What’s your one wish to make segmentation easier?

I look forward to your input.

Follow Alex Miranda on Twitter

Communication is any process by which information is exchanged. When you say “online communication”, most automatically think e-mail. Well, that’s not the case anymore. With e-mail overload and limited time, your consumers are often more receptive to other forms of communication that can reduce e-mail use. Therefore, nightlife and entertainment marketers must think more broadly about their digital communication strategy.

Five Forms of Digital Dialogue

As online communications evolve, so have the forms of engaging with your target market:

1. E-mail - As the most mature online communications channel, e-mail can be accessed via a variety of devices. It’s most effective for providing a broad range of content. This could be promotional, behaviorally triggered emails (i.e. separate males from females), and newsletters. It can also be used as an identifier and driver for many forms of social media. While most e-mail communications move one way — from companies to individuals — it also should enable consumers to respond.

2. Mobile. Mobile offers a variety of information formats, including SMS (define), e-mail, picture messages, video messages, social networking, and, of course, voice. Further, it provides purchase choices via mobile search, maps, and widgets as well as delivery alternatives, such as scanner-friendly tickets, mobile content, and entertainment (including games). Mobile also facilitates immediate responses from consumers. It’s particularly useful for reaching a younger demographic (18-25).

3. RSS. RSS provides an alternative for content distribution, especially for time-sensitive information in a user-controlled environment. It can extend relationships and build lead generation through use of private feeds to distribute tailored, trackable information.

4. Chat. Is mainly focused on providing one-to-one cost-effective customer support.

5. Social media. Social media enables dialogue because consumer and marketer can post messages to each other. While social media gives users and brands an environment in which to connect and interact, marketers should exercise care and participate in a transparent manner. To preserve credibility, their communications shouldn’t be promotional in any obvious way.

I look forward to your comments.

Follow Alex Miranda on Twitter