How newsletters are fueling startup growth 🚀📰

Welcome to May! 

How was May the 4th? 👀

We’re totally feeling the force with this edition of Tech Creator, so let’s get right to it!

^{A special note from our sponsor Camunda} 

Do your business processes include disparate endpoints and complex logic? 

Automating tedious, recurring processes is a must for any organization looking to stay competitive and keep their customers (and employees!) happy. However, these processes often include a variety of endpoints — from legacy systems to APIs — which introduce challenges around visibility, scalability, and flexibility.

Learn how process orchestration coordinates even the most complex tasks, no matter the people, systems, and devices involved.

Get the Process Orchestration Handbook

^GROWTH

Your startup needs a newsletter— HERE’S WHY

With social media marketing on the rise, you'd think emails would be obsolete. But the reality is... emails are far from over.

According to FinancesOnline, over 4 billion people worldwide still use email, and that number is steadily growing. Why? Because emails remain a trusted source of information. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Here are three compelling reasons why newsletters are crucial for your startup:

Affordable Engagement 🤳

Creating a newsletter for your startup is simple and cost-effective. It's an excellent way to keep clients and potential partners engaged, showing them that you're consistently in touch. Plus, you don't always have to talk about your product or service—discussing relevant topics can be equally engaging. Use surveys to gather valuable data or include internal links to drive traffic to your website.

Easy Eyeballs 👀

Newsletters offer an easy avenue to promote products, announce updates, or launch new services. Unlike social media, emails can be personalized for each subscriber, increasing the likelihood of them reading your content and giving your startup the exposure it needs.

Boost Conversion Rates 📈

If brand awareness is your goal, amplify your social media efforts. But for conversions, email marketing is key. Newsletters help keep current customers engaged while turning new customers into loyal ones—a crucial factor for any startup.

Mastering the Newsletter Game ✅…

To maximize the benefits of your email newsletter, you need to do it right. Here are four tips to get you started:

1. Keep It Engaging ✨

   • Use creative titles and engaging content to boost open rates.

2. Include Call-To-Actions 🖱️

   • Prompt your readers toward your desired outcome to promote conversions.

3. Avoid Over-Reliance on AI 🤖

   • Personalization is key, so avoid generating content with AI tools like ChatGPT.

4. Keep It Simple 📨

   • Avoid long, bulky emails. Use clear headers, sections, and relevant images to make your newsletter easy to read.

By following these tips, your startup can harness the power of newsletters to drive growth and engagement.

^PEOPLE

Elevate your onboarding process with these key strategies

Onboarding is a vital process for integrating new employees into your company, introducing them to the business, its culture, values, vision, and expectations. Here are four ways to enhance your organization’s onboarding experience:

Personalize the Experience

Onboarding can be overwhelming for new hires. Make their first day memorable by ensuring they feel welcomed and part of the team. Use what you know about the new employee to tailor the onboarding experience to their position, interests, and background.

Communicate Clearly

Clear communication is essential. Develop a detailed plan and checklist for the onboarding process, understanding that it extends beyond just the first few days. Utilize digital tools like charts, lists, chatbots, and virtual assistants to streamline information delivery and enhance clarity.

Assign a Mentor

Onboarding is an ongoing process. Assigning a mentor can significantly help new hires adjust and learn more effectively. Choose a mentor who is approachable, friendly, knowledgeable about the company, and willing to provide support and answer questions, fostering a positive work environment.

Encourage Feedback

Solicit feedback from new hires after their onboarding session. Ask them what they enjoyed and what could be improved. Use their feedback to continuously enhance your onboarding process.

Effective onboarding can improve employee retention, boost productivity, and foster engagement, setting the stage for your new hires to thrive.

^SALES

Chatbots to the rescue: Transforming lead management

Sales is all about leads. But finding and managing leads can be challenging. Thankfully, new technologies are here to help. Enter the chatbot, your new sales hero.

Lead Generation

Chatbots are excellent for generating leads. By adding a chatbot to your website, you can handle inquiries 24/7. Whether answering questions or resolving issues, each interaction can convert into sales or leads, as chatbots typically collect names and contact information.

Filtering Leads

Filtering through potential leads can be time-consuming, with some leads ultimately wasting precious time. Automated chatbots can filter leads early on by asking structured questions and resolving issues on the spot, saving you time and identifying quality leads.

Promoting Products

A well-configured chatbot can effortlessly explain or suggest products to customers. Chatbots are not limited by language barriers and excel at handling objections and answering endless questions, making them ideal for product promotion.

Reducing Cost

Chatbots save valuable time, generate leads, and qualify them. Traditional lead management methods consume time, money, and manpower. A chatbot streamlines this process, reducing costs significantly.

How to Use a Chatbot Effectively

Introducing a chatbot can bring numerous benefits, but you need to implement it correctly. Here are some tips:

✅ Choose the Right Tone: Adjust the chatbot's tone for different scenarios to ensure it resonates with users.

✅ Break Down Topics: Provide clear and concise answers for each topic to avoid confusion.

✅ Give It a Personality: Name your chatbot and give it a personality to make interactions more engaging.

✅ Use Simple Language: Ensure users can easily understand and connect with your chatbot.

Lastly, take the time to construct and plan your chatbot. Equip it with comprehensive knowledge and continually improve it as you progress. With these strategies, your chatbot can become an invaluable tool in your lead management arsenal.

Latest tech news

• Apple’s new iPad Pro is going to be rolling into stores soon and it’s said to be a “laptop replacement.”

• The Linux gaming world is rejoicing over receiving a new boost: the Proton 9.0 launch. 

• The UK government introduces a new law that requires all smartphones to meet minimum security standards to protect consumers from cyber-attacks and hackers.

• The Arc browser that has been making waves since its release is now Windows. 

• Microsoft talks about their responsible AI achievements in their latest report.

Tech throwback: May 6, 1854

Have you heard of IBM?

We bet you have. 

On May 6, 1854, George Winthrop Fairchild was born. 

He was first the president of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company and later became the chairman of the company when it was renamed to IBM. 

He remained as IBM’s chairman until he passed away on December 31, 1924.

See you next week!