On Friday, one of the funeral home website provider’s servers went down and clients were stuck without their website being live, but more importantly their email had stopped – and going into the weekend without email was not a great way to end your Friday.  Anyway, we were able to get both clients set up using Google Applications where you can use your domain name email accounts like “info@yourfuneralchapel.com” and operate them through the power of GMail.

Here is a short video on why I like and recommend Gmail over any other email solution.

Sign up for your Free Gmail Account

Sign up for your Google Apps (Standard)

(as usual, make sure that you are comfortable with the Terms of Service – I use both of these services)

If you need help to set up all of the Google Applications for your domains, please send me an email at robin@funeralfuturist.com – you’ll be surprised how reasonable it is to get set up and get running in just a few hours.

Questions about GMail, Google Apps, or email? Please leave them below.

…Hepp

This is a bonus section from the Funeral Blogging 101 Teleseminar.  It starts with how I beef up each blog / website that I launch and then gets into the the hard core Internet Marketing! Follow along with the notes below.

Download MP3: Funeral Homes Internet Marketing Tips

Advance Blog Promotion Tips:

Ask Your Questions on the Funeral Futurist Forum!

If you have other questions about Funeral Home Internet Marketing, visit the Funeral Futurist Forum under Internet Technologies section and under the topic, Funeral Industry Internet Marketing and I post all of the questions, answers, and related resources there.

• $1 – 90 day trial, to get you blogging by next week – after the 90 days, it is only $19 / month – but what you will also get is a 10 week course on funeral blogging – sign up here
• But, if you are serious, you can pay only $97 for a year’s hosting and including the 10 week course as well – sign up here
• Note: you will need a domain name for your blog, and if you don’t have one, visit www.FuneralFuturistDomains.com ($9.99 / year)

Remember, please leave a comment below and let me know how you liked the teleseminar – thanks!

…Hepp

This is a question that is posed to me often – and not only by funeral directors and cemeterians, but even by friends and family. My poor parents – they get the same question but they can’t really give a definitive answer.

I believe the answer is simple, I am a consultant that helps funeral homes and cemeteries in the areas of applying proactive & competitive strategies and using funeral-related technologies. This may still sound vague, so to help clarify this it may be better to pose the question, “How can Hepp help?”

If you are concerned with price shoppers, discount providers, rising cremation and low funeral averages – I can help! I have practical experience in a highly competitive, high cremation (now 90%) memorial society infested stricken market that is coupled with my formal business education in entrepreneurial management. With this background, I can help you avoid some of the pitfalls as consumers in your community change become less traditional and become more competitive and more profitable.

For those of you who want advice on how to achieve a greater Internet presence or to get more out of your website but are unsure whose best interests your web developer has in mind – I can help! I can provide you with an unbiased analysis and strategy to take your online presence to the next level. This expertise comes from 10 years of initially developing and latterly strategically planning many funeral home and cemetery websites plus continually monitoring statistics and implementing the latest “new media” strategies such as Blogs, Podcasts, and You Tube. All with the ultimate goal of having the greatest web presence and highest search rankings in your market as well as harnessing the greatest supply of preneed leads of the future.

“I hear your name in many different circles; you must do more than consulting.” I also see myself as an educator – I guess I get that from my dad, Tom, a retired elementary school teacher and still- practicing educator of life. Through my FuneralFuturist.com website and my FromtheHep.com blog, I try to pass on information to funeral professionals in one way or another to assist them in providing the most meaningful services possible. Realizing that I don’t have all of the information, I created TheFuneralGurus.com website. This is a site where Funeral Directors can offer their insight to their peers as well as to the public. For the longest time we as funeral professionals, have allowed outsiders to tell our story. Now it is time that we publish the authorized edition of Funeral Service in the 21^st century because we wrote it!

My other teaching efforts come in the form of public speaking engagements and instructing licensure students. This allows me to stay connected with others in funeral service, from varying stages in their careers and from all areas of North America. In these educational settings, it is my hope that my message is the mirror of my deep-rooted belief in the funeral service soul. In return, I receive insights that I may never have thought of or had experienced. These insights allow me to continue to be a student of funeral service.

“What is your relationship with McCall Bros. Funeral Homes in Victoria, BC?” Officially, I have been contracted to be their “Director of Marketing and Public Relations.” Unofficially, it is my University of Funeral Service where I have been enrolled for over 20 years and still with no completion date in place. “Dean” David A. McCall has been very patient with his radical pupil, putting up with challenging questions and crazy ideas. I am grateful to Dave for the slack leash and for providing an establishment to still practice my chosen profession. My current role at McCall’s allows me to be available for other consulting assignments throughout North America.

I hope this explanation of my passion for, commitment to, and legacy in funeral service provides you with the answer of “What does Hepp do?” My wish is that you ask the question, “How can Hepp help me?” and I will guarantee that together we can take your funeral home to the next level. Thank you for taking the time to listen to my story and thank you for your passion for funeral service. I look forward to seeing you in our travels or through the Internet! Serve well!

Sincerely, Hepp!

PS: Please feel free to forward this on to anyone who has wondered what I do and how I can help.

PPS: Also, please give me suggestions on what future tutorials you would like to see or issues that you would like to address.

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