Purlem will now automatically track when a visitor clicks on an outbound link.  The only restriction is that the link must be placed within the content area using Purlem’s Landing Page Editor.

To view the external link results, you need to download the results.  Any external links that were clicked will have their own designated column.  If a contact clicked on the link, the date and time will be displayed under that links column.  Date and times of repeat clicks will also be displayed with a forward slash.

The overall cost of your PURL campaign is greatly dependent on the software you choose.  As the founder of Purlem, I’m obviously a biased to what I feel is the best & most affordable PURL software.  But I will try to give an overview of the different software options that are available, and the PURL cost associated with each.  Also, since the “other guys” hide their prices, I will only be able to give an approximate PURL Cost from research. You can see the links I used in the asterisks below.  If you have any further insight, please share!

Obviously, each of the above companies have slightly different offerings and features.  It would be up to you to research each company and decide which is the best for your you.

Other costs associated with a PURL Campaign you should be aware of…

Other than the software, you are likely going to also have to purchase a domain name and hosting account. Domain name’s typically run at $10/year and basic hosting accounts start at just $5/month.

Many of the above PURL applications provided landing page templates that are included in the fees. However, if you have a specific design in mind, there could be time and costs associated with creating the Landing Page design. I can’t speak for the other guys, but at Purlem a good ball-park for the design of a custom Landing Page is $1,000.

* http://purlem.com/packages
** http://www.printweek.com/news/800691/MindFire-LookWhosClicking
** http://www.printweek.com/Digital/article/1119897/printers-bridging-gap-cross-media/ 
*** http://easypurl.info/?p=179
**** http://www.seyboldpublications.com/v/vspfiles/downloadables/TSR0912.pdf  
***** http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/207184
******  http://www.seyboldpublications.com/v/vspfiles/downloadables/TSR0912.pdf

We just released PURL If Statements to Purlem’s landing page editor. If Statements allow you to create “rules” that display unique content based on the visitor’s profile.

For example, if you wanted to display unique content for only Chicago Bears fans you can!

You can see our forum or video tutorial for more information on how you can begin to implement If Statments in your next PURL campaign.

Support is going to be a major factor of Purlem’s success moving forward.  Personalized URLs (PURLs) can be very confusing, if not intimidating, so having a sophisticated and easy support channel for Purlem’s customers is crucial. When setting out to find the perfect support solution for Purlem,  I was quickly able to narrow my search down to 3 options:

Email
Yep.. just plain old email. Many internet startups are able to successfully handle support over email. Usually used in combination with something like Text Expander to automate some of the more repetitive tasks.  For Purlem, the largest down-side of using plain old email is that it does not provide a resource for users to visit  and get answers to their own questions.  Since having a comprehensive self-help resource was essential for Purlem, this was not an option for us. (Although free would have been very nice!)

HelpSpot (http://helpspot.com)
HelpSpot is a very good help desk used by many internet companies. I liked that I was able to  host the entire platform on my server (for SEO purposes). Installing the help desk was fairly painless.  And at only $199, the price was right.  One of the things I didn’t like about the platform was their “self service” forms feature.  It seemed like it could be a little confusing for many users.  On top of that, it did not have that web 2.0 look that I was hoping for.

Zendesk (http://zendesk.com)
After a 30 day trial of Zendesk, I decided to make it Purlem’s primary support platform.  It had everything I was looking for in a help desk – Community Forums, Support Tickets, Easy “Ask a Question” option, and Chat capabilities.  Most importantly, it is extremely easy for people to use.  Type in a question, if there is no match, have the option to chat or submit a support ticket.  The look is very slick and has the Web 2.0 look that fits well with Purlem’s site.  Good job Zendesk- I love my help desk

I’m very excited to announce today some upgrades to Purlem.

1) A new front-end design focused more on those unfamiliar with Personalized URLs.
2) A new dashboard login: .purldash.com
3) Client login access

For details on these upgrades watch the video below:

So what are PURLs and how can they help my business?

Well I’m glad you asked!

Personalized URLs or “PURLs” are simply a URL that is personalized to the recipient.


For example:
mysite.com/Sally.Anderson
or
mysite.com/Mike.Jones

(Obviously mysite would be replace with your domain name).

And when Mike goes to the internet and types in his “PURL” he will be taken to a website that is personalized to him.

At the same time, Mikes activity is tracked in Purlem’s dashboard, and you are instantly notified of his visit and any information he submits through the landing page form.

Typically, PURLs are used in conjunction with a direct mail campaign, or with email marketing.

By using PURLs in your next campaign, you’ll be able to benefit from:
- Increased response rates
- The ability to Track Responses in real time, and receive email alerts to instantly follow up with interested prospects
- Engage customers at a deeper level by collecting valuable information from your prospects, and using that information to make subsequent campaigns even more relevant.

With Purlem you can get started for Free.  Yes, absolutly free.  For no risk, and only a few minutes of time, you can test out PURLs and see how they work for your business.  You have nothing to loose and a ton of new business to gain.

I have not posted for a couple months here.  I have actually taken the opportunity (before Purlem gets to big and consumes every aspect of my life!) to do some traveling around the world.  My wife was also in between nursing assignments, so off we went… Our adventure took us to London, Greece, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Netherlands, France and Ireland!  Whew…  It was amazing and exhausting!

Now that were back, its time to really take Purlem to the next level.  Over the past couple of years Purlem has proven to be not only a profitable business model, but a product that people love.

The first thing I’m going to do is to partner with a senior level developer that can help prepare Purlem for the growth.  Were also going to focus on making Purlem more fun to use.  There are definitly some usability issues with the site that can use attention.  And if we get these ironed out, the entire experience will be much more user-friendly.

I’m going to focus more on the business side… marketing, attending trade shows, PR, and developing new business.  It’s a very exciting time and Purlem begins to grow out of it’s infancy.

Thanks to all the users who have given such valuable feedback to make Purlem what it is today.  We have a long ways to go, but we have a great foundation and a very exciting future!

Today I made an upgrade to the Password Protection Page.  Purlem now allows you to customize the password page with text and images.

To activate Password protection, click on the ‘Security’ tab in the landing page menu bar. When you turn ‘Password Protection’ to ON, you will now see a text editor that you can use to customize the page.

See how one of my clients utilized this new feature below.

Purlem Dashboard Security Settings

Password Protected Landing Page

With Purlem it is easy to place Personalized URLs (PURLs) into a Microsoft Word document. When you export your contact list from Purlem, you can use that file with Microsoft Word’s ‘Mail Merge’ feature to automatically add PURLs to your documents.  Learn more with this video: