Insights from David Greiner of Campaign Monitor 06 Sep 2005
11 comments Latest by Joe
Workhappy.net recently interviewed David Greiner of Campaign Monitor, the email newsletter and list management tool built for web designers.
David on having a unified voice:
Also, the guys who designed and developed the software are also the ones who answer support emails, post to our blog and answer the phone. Having a unified voice across all of these mediums makes it a lot easier to develop more personal relationships with a lot of our customers.
On making something remarkable:
I think the task of making something ‘remarkable’ is a lot less daunting when you’re not trying to please everybody.
On building something that you yourself use:
Instead of focusing on what the competition was doing, we built something that we would want to use ourselves. We killed off loads of features that designers just don’t need and added a few unique ones that we knew would make their lives easier. Those features are useless to anyone but a web designer and I really think that’s the key.
Of course, it makes life easier if you are your own target market. By using early versions of Campaign Monitor for our own clients’ campaigns, it didn’t take long to work out what the product required to be genuinely useful.
On the importance of customer testimonials:
Customer testimonials are often the first thing I read on a site. I think it’s a great way to build a bit of confidence before deciding to give something a try.
On having a go:
I think the most important thing I’ve learnt from this experience is to have a go. Pick a niche that isn’t getting all the love it needs and build something that’s truly useful. It doesn’t have to be incredibly innovative, just plain old useful. Then while you’re not making it better, tell everyone in that market all about it. If it’s useful, they’ll listen.
Related: Product plug: Campaign Monitor
11 comments so far (Jump to latest)
Dan Wolfgang 06 Sep 05
Those are some great excerpts because they’re so true. Focusing on your own needs are often the best way to focus on others.
Eddie 06 Sep 05
regarding this blog. Why are the links to comments at the top of the posts? Do most people really click on the comments link before reading the post? I normally read the post, then at the end decide if I want to see what other people say. Seems to be the norm. Is there a 37Signals reason why it is not?
Wesley Walser 06 Sep 05
Some people seem to follow the comments quite and bit, and actually begin to have a bit of a conversation with others. If there is a lengthy post those links just let them skip to the bottome of the page.
There is also a ‘jump to latest’ at the begining of the comments area. Same use in mind I would think.
Mike 06 Sep 05
A 9rules member (workhappy.net) interviewing a 9rules advertiser and friend (David from campaignmonitor.com).
Can’t beat that ;)
Megan 06 Sep 05
Seems pretty expensive for a service like this - $5 plus 1 cent per recipient. The last time I did research on this, a quarter cent per person was getting high… And other services like Constant Contact don’t charge per email but per subscriber in the database. Is what they’re offering so much better?
mailchimp 06 Sep 05
another pretty nice email thingy
http://www.mailchimp.com
b-i-g-p-o-p-p-a 06 Sep 05
Campaing Monitor is simple to use and has some amazing features. We’ve been using it for awhile and find the service to be inexpensive for the features offered.
Steve Nelson 07 Sep 05
Campaign Monitor is a fantastic web based application. We recently moved the majority of our campaigns to them due to their professionalism, technical support, reporting and overall quality of their product.
We are more than happy to support a team where hard work has clearly paid off. It has been made with web designers in mind, so it works the way we expect it to work. With all the recent web app releases its nice to see one with a great business application which makes my life easier!