text: As someone who currently runs and maintains multiple websites, both for myself as well as for my clients, I am always looking for ways to better streamline my work and to take it out of my queue for the most part. Email marketing is something that I have struggled with in the past, as I normally attempted to build everything myself and fall relatively short on features to make an impact. Which is why I am always keeping en eye open for 3rd party solutions to help me accomplish just that.
  So this week I'm testing out Campaign Monitor to see if it meets the required needs for my projects, mainly newsletter signups and campaign notifications that I run occasionally. A few things I look for when working with 3rd party software is mainly ease of use and the actual features provided and whether they line up with my work and if they are useful as well. Probably the most important aspect that I look for as well is pricing, which I will discuss down below after I run through the many features of Campaign Monitor. I'm not against paying for a service that I see value in and that will help take my business to the next phase.
  Signing up is relatively straight-forward. There are no pay-walls or trickery in the process in order to get my email. Although I'm sure once I signed up, my email went to some sort of sales funnel, but that's alright. That's sort of their job, so I would expect them too. After you sign up, verify your email of course, and you are good to start creating a test campaign. There is quick 2 minute video in the beginning that explains the difference features, which is actually surprisingly helpful.
  To test out the platform I created a test newsletter for this blog and sent out a quick test batch. Something that I commonly do regardless of the email platform. At this stage, I wasn't too certain about the pricing structure or just how much I could test out. And really, the platform didn't bother me about such things just yet. It felt like they wanted me to first test out the features before they brought up the cost. Not a bad approach I would say as it is less intrusive and allowed me to check things out before I made any snap decisions.
  This is something that other email marketing providers fall short in. Usually, they require heavy HTML or have very limited drag-drop functionality in order to get something that kind of resembles what you had in mind. Campaign Monitor offers a fair number of templates that you can start out with, and you can select from various categories such as Deals & Offers and Newsletters, which again is what I will be using it for.
  Editing the templates also seems pretty straight-forward. The editor is relatively intuitive and didn't really give me a hard time. Something that I've yet to find easy with other platforms. It took maybe 5 minutes to piece together a sample newsletter that I was happy with.
  After I was done creating a basic newsletter layout with my own logo and content, I get a nice preview of the desktop and mobile versions. Again, very straightforward and I didn't have to go looking for it, which I appreciate. After QA'ing both versions and giving it the greenlight I can now send a test campaign to see how it looks on the receiving end.
  Importing a list of my subscribers from another platform took a whole of 30 seconds. Campaign Monitor also offers the ability to integrate with 3rd parties in order to sync subscriber data as well. However, I found it much easier to simply import a plain old CSV file and to map the columns appropriately to the right fields.
  Because this only a trial-run however, I am only able to send out a campaign to 5 users. I can import the entire list, but I won't be able to send to the entire list.
  You can schedule your campaigns for either instant delivery or a determined date and time. Other platforms offer this as well, however always nice to see implemented. I did a quick email blast to my list to test it out and we are done.
  A confirmation email was sent to me after completion of the delivery and then I was given the option to view activity in the world view, which is actually something that I have not seen before. The map lets you view what I assume to be real-time activity on your email campaigns. You can see your visitors opening and clicking on links from wherever they are located. Very useful if you have subscribers spread across the globe and wish to test out which times are more effective for you. For example, I have a fair amount of traffic from oversees usually, so being able to send targeted content at a time that is more beneficial to them would greatly improve visibility.
  While the world-view feature was definitely something unique to me and that I can see having huge benefit, it didn't quite give me enough detail during this first test-run. While it did track the number of opens, the location data for a fair number was set to 'unknown'. Based on my own testing, this seems to have something to do with the email provider. For example, when I opened up the emails from Google, the location was unknown. However, opening the newsletter through Yahoo came through just fine.
  Having said, with a large enough subscriber list, this is definitely a useful feature that I'm sure many companies can leverage.
  The world-view is just one reporting tool available. You can also view reports based on the number of links that were clicked in your campaigns. And even reports on the number of social media clicks that were received as well. Reporting wise, Campaign Monitor pretty much covers my personal needs for my work. I don't necessarily work with subscriber lists of millions of emails, however a few hundred to a few thousand are common, so knowing the overall open and bounce rate are relevant.
  Journey's definitely caught my eye in Campaign Monitor. Essentially, they allow you to create a roadmap for how and when your users will receive email notifications from you. An example being, perhaps you are going to be releasing a book in a month, and you want to engage your most interested audience and keep them updated. You can create a journey for them from initial email to the last one in your campaign.
  While I didn't get to go too in depth with this aspect of Campaign Monitor, I did test out the Journey creation tool, and within a few clicks and a couple of rulesets, I was able to have something on the screen fully functional that normally I would sketch in a notepad and manually have to implement. Definitely a powerful feature for sure.
  And last on my list is the most unpopular topic usually. Pricing. Campaign Monitor is not a free to use product, unlike other 3rd party email marketing platforms which have free-tiers. Base pricing begins at 9$ per month and allows you to send 2500 emails across your campaigns and automations. The second tier, which many may find more beneficial comes in at $29 a month however offers unlimited emails across campaigns.
  Signing up initially, sets you up for the free-trial and it does give you access to a fair number of the features to try out and allows you to send campaigns to up to 5 recipient, which is perfectly fine for testing out their products and features. Whenever you are ready, you can simply your upgrade your account to the appropriate pricing tier.
  Just spending a few days with the free-tier I can say that Campaign Monitor is definitely a solid product with a strong toolset. It's super easy to use and very intuitive. I didn't feel lost once when creating campaigns and viewing reporting, which again, is what I mainly need it for. It is a product that I would definitely use however once my subscriber list has grown steadily to something larger. It can take a fair amount of time to build up your own personal lists, from a few months to maybe even a year. So if you are barely starting out with your email marketing needs and maybe have no real subscriber list just yet, then maybe you'd be better off staring off with a free platform until you have grown to something more moderate. And if you already have a stable user list, then I would recommend you at least take Campaign Monitor for a spin and see for yourself.
  Infant Sleep? or Mimfant Shmeep? No, the concept of infants sleeping isn't some cruel joke older parents play on newer ones.
  Your baby will start sleeping through the night. Eventually. And this guide is to help that happen as soon as possible.
  Seriously, you hardly slept in those last seemingly-endless weeks of pregnancy. Even the gy-normous body pillow didn't seem to help. And now your newborn is 8 weeks old and enjoying those new lungs of his.
  You're experiencing all the so-called signs of withdrawl: severe grumpiness, preoccupation (with pillows), weight loss (hopefully...), speech problems (slurring), even occasional drooling.
  It's time to take a stand and start reading. It's time to get that baby, and everyone else in the house, sleeping again. The subject of infant sleep doesn't have to be shrowded with thunderclaps, fog, and scary zombies.
  In fact, there will come a time when the birds outside your window will chirp you awake, and you won't want to kill them.
  So let's get started and discuss different strategies to gain that blissful condition of unconsciousness. Below are various articles that discuss in depth the issue of infant sleep. Please feel to browse through them.
  However, if you're a book-in-hand kind of gal, you may benefit more by purchasing an entire book. To help you wade through the flood of baby sleep books out there, I've compiled a list of the most popular baby sleep aids and will be reviewing each one.
  My children have all been amazing sleepers. It is not uncommon to find them still sleeping at 9:30 in the morning. In fact, since I homeschool my 1st grader, I get her up at 8:00 and we usually get through 2 solid hours of school before the others wake up.
  And, in case you're wondering, Bella (11 months) goes to bed at 7:30 pm and will also take an afternoon nap from 1:00 - 3:00pm. The older girls go to bed at 8:30.
  Am I just lucky? Perhaps. But we've always done "sleep" a little differently than many other families. Here's a list of some of the things we've made routine over the years.
  Firstly, we sleep train our children. You will have to decide which method works best for your family. We have chosen the Queen Mother approach and it has worked well for us. (See the articles below for a description of this method.)
  We make their rooms as black as possible. A brightly sun-lit room at 6:00 encourages children to wake and start the day, when really their bodies are craving a few more hours on the pillow. In both their rooms I use a black out screen AND dark sheets hanging from the window. Is it pretty? Not really, but who cares when they're sleeping? When we have guests, I quickly store them under the bed.
  We use sound machines. These machines produce constant white noise that helps absorb the noises around the rest of the home, keeping them in "sleep mode" a little longer.
  We use soothers with our infants that give happy-endorphins and promote healthy sleep. Click here to see the soothers we use.
  Occasionally, I'll notice Bella (11 mos.) is rising a little earlier because she's hungry. If she's been waking at 6:30, I will make her a bottle and quietly go in her room at 6:00. I don't change her diaper, I don't sing, I don't turn on any lights. I quietly, without speaking, pick her up and feed her in the dark room. When she's finished, I set her back into her crib, give her the mimi and leave without making any noise. She goes to sleep, eventually sleeping straight through from 7 pm until 10 am.
  (Of course, this will depend on the age of your baby. Younger babies will HAVE to have an early morning bottle, since their tummies are too small to last that long without eating. However, if you feed them without any stimulation and avoiding a diaper change, if you can, they should go back to sleep for you. )
  One of the best first-steps you can take in regards to increasing the infant sleep barometer, is to establish a schedule.
  There are countless reasons why this works, but instead of trying to list them all here, I've split the subject into categories that will be easier to digest and put into practice.
  The baby sleep schedule is one of the best kept secrets of the parenting world. From the moment the baby schedule is explained (Ahhhh!) to the moment it's implemented (Zzzzz...), it remains a wonder-tool in the box of parents everywhere...
  Scheduling is a time-tested way to get your baby sleeping through the night. But don't be frightened off by the "how". Answer these two questions and you'll be swiftly rafting down the river of slumber into the dunes of dreamland...
  There is no magic "Getting Baby to Sleep" switch. Some babies do it on their own. Chances are, yours doesn't. (Otherwise, why are you searching online? Shouldn't you be writing an ebook or something?)
  If your baby has been sleeping through the night for a while, you've got something to share! For every mom who is getting a good night's rest, there are two others who are up in tears for hours, rocking, gritting their teeth, exhausted.
  Does your baby show signs or give hints when he's tired or hungry? Share these clues with other moms.
  You may be surprised, but "setting the scene for sleep" is important. In my house, I keep the baby's room as dark and distraction-free as possible. (How dark? Try 3 layers of fabric on the window. That room is as dark as I can make it without running into things.) I even use a noise-maker to drown out the sounds of my older children.
  Does it work? Well, last night we put my 11-month old Bella to bed at 7:00 and she slept straight through until 10:00 in the morning. Yes, it's possible.
  So take a good look at your baby's nursery. Is it "sleep friendly"? Visit Creative-Baby-Nursery-Rooms.com for baby nursery design ideas, themes, pictures and advice. My friend Helen will help you create a nursery that will lull your baby to sleep the moment you walk through the door. (Well...almost.)
  Besides looking at your nursery, sometimes it helps to take a look at yourself. Sometimes we can contribute to our baby's sleeping problems without even realizing it. Famed author, speaker, and baby sleep expert Kim West has written an exclusive article for the EiR about this very subject.
  Double check your methods by reading these 12 common mistakes many parents make in getting their baby to sleep.
  Randy Alcorn in his book “Heaven” includes the following story: “In 1952, young Florence Chadwick stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, determined to swim to shore of mainland California. She’d already been the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways. The weather was foggy and hilly; she could hardly see the boats accompanying her. Still, she swam for fifteen hours. When she begged to be taken out of the water along the way,…
  The past week or so I have been thinking a bit about Psalm 119 and was struck by the apparent connections between Hope and the promises of God. So for example the Psalmist writes 49 “Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. 50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” Then repeatedly through the Psalm the Psalmist looks to God in hope to deliver him “according to His promise”; 58 I have sought your face with all…
  “ ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ So I [Jeremiah] went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ‘Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?’…
  Back to our story and we wanted to share something that Debbie wrote a few weeks into her stay at the Mother & Baby Unit last September. Its a poem (and Debbie has never written a poem even to me during the time that I have known her) and is based on the following verses: 2 Samuel 22:17-20 (also Psalm 118:5, Job 36:16) 17 ‘He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. 18 He rescued…
  The title I have given to this blog is “Hope Rediscovered” because for me that is the journey that I have been on this past 9 months in particular. Its been a journey (and one which we are still walking) that has been motivated by the notion of hope. When you start thinking about something like hope you soon start to see hope everywhere but what really is hope? In today’s secularised world defining the nature of hope has not…
  Welcome to my new blog! If you want to read more about me click on the link above. I’ve been studying the subject of Hope and as part of phase two of my project I am wanting to share some of what God has been teaching me. The past two years have been particularly challenging for my family. This dark period began for us in Spring 2013 when I found myself feeling weary and lacking the kind of balance of…
  The Gazmen were formed around the charismatic personnality of Gary “Gaz” Day, known for his collaboration with many influential bands, notably The Frantic Flintstones, The Sharks, The Nitros, The Caravans without forgetting his stint with popstar (and rockabilly afficionado) Morrissey.. The rest of the band was basically The Sharks with the addition of ex-Born Bad and Morrissey’s guitarist, Alain Whyte. They played a traditionnal psychobilly close to the Sharks (not very surprising) and the early Meteors, Day’s voice reminding the great Nigel Lewis, but with a fuller sound.
  The Gazmen released one four-track ep on Vinyl Japan in 1996, later reissued in cd due to Day’s popularity in Morrissey’s band. The songs were Rigormortis Rock (previously recorded by Alan Wilson under the moniker of the Space Cadets for a Nervous compilation), Teenage Operation, Kid from Mars and Ace of Hearts (that has a strong Morrissey feel). Some of these songs were part of the Sharks set when Gary was in the band (see the compilation album Rare Psychobilly from the Vault of X-Ray Studio). More songs were recorded but never saw the light of day. The line-up later evolved, including Pug from the Frantic Flintstones and Stuart from the Guana Batz.
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