Ever heard of…….

a Contact Management List Server (CMLS)? If not, you are not alone!  Years ago, people carried daily planners (Remember Day Timers?) to keep up with names and addresses, appointments, and important dates.  Many organizations sent monthly newsletters to keep those they served informed.  These newsletters were expensive to produce and distribute (printing and mailing costs).  Then, along came the computer to change forever how we communicate.  So what’s the point you ask?

 The point is…….

that you may not be taking advantage of the technology that is available to make your community safer and your citizens better informed.  Whether you are a church, a fire department, a school, or a utility; you have a need to communicate with those you serve.  There are two levels of communications – administrative and emergency.  The question is how do you get a message to the greatest number of people, as quickly as possible, at the least cost?  There are two devices that are in the hands of over 50% of the general population RIGHT NOW!  These devices are readily accessible at minimal cost.  Can you guess what they might be?

Almost everyone…….

has either a cell phone, a PC, or both!  Forget the broadcast media with a penetration rate of less than 21%.  Phones and fax communications require multiple phone lines to broadcast simultaneous messages.  Hardly anyone uses pagers any more.  Public safety users have relied on sirens which were very effective in the 1940’s but not too efficient today.  So, the fastest way to reach the most people SIMULTANEOUSLY would be by contacting them by cell phone, PC, or maybe a pager.  So what is it that these three devices have in common?

The common interface…….

for instant message notification is called Email!  PC’s can receive Email.  Virtually all text message capable pagers can receive Email, and almost all digital cell phones can receive Email.  The conclusion is that if you want to get a message to the largest number of people at the greatest possible speed, the preferred transmission system is Email!

CMLS is the key…….

to an effective message delivery system whether for administrative or emergency use.  CMLS, you will recall, is a Contact Management List Server.  There are three types of CMLS systems.  An example of an emergency CMLS system would be a severe weather alert service such as the rebroadcasting of severe weather alerts http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/ewarnmain.hrb, a free service of ABC 33/40 for Alabama residents. 

This is a one-way message delivery system for a specific purpose (in this case, making the public aware of severe weather).  There is another system used for generating messages.  This is known as the eLert system.

eLert…….

is a service offered by Falcon Direct to churches, educational users, emergency management agencies, fire departments, and utilities.  Constant Contact provides two essential functions.

The primary function of eLert is to maintain a database of email addresses and distribute messages with maximum efficiency.  Unlike Email programs such as Eudora, Outlook, etc., eLert has verifiable Opt-In capability to minimize the possibility of undeliverable mail by Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) who mistakenly identify legitimate mail as spam.

More importantly, you don’t have to be an IT professional to manage your contact list.  Additionally, eLert can generate professional high quality mailing content using a wide variety of templates.  No knowledge of HTML or other programming language is necessary.

Cost effectiveness…….

is a major consideration of any contact management program.  Many organizations have spent thousands of dollars for hardware/software based systems such as those offered by Dialogic and Phone Tree only to find out they did not have adequate phone lines to provide prompt message delivery to large groups of people. eLert, sponsored by Falcon Direct and Constant Contact,  provides an affordable alternative with cost based on the number of people served.  Here are the monthly rates for our most popular plans.

Try eLert® by sponsored by Falcon Direct and Constant Contact FREE for 60 days!
Send as often as you like to your list of up to 50 email addresses!

A church with under 250 families could enjoy the benefits of eLert for only $10 per month.  Actually, the cost would be even less since non-profit organizations (501c3) are entitled to special discounts when payment is made on an annual or semi-annual basis.

A school with up to 2500 families could use eLert for notifying family members of delayed school openings, unscheduled school closings, special events and other common interest information such as registration dates for only $30 per month.  That works out to be less than ten cents per contact per month. That’s less than a third the cost of a single postage stamp!

eLert pays for itself by reducing or eliminating the cost of newsletters or other mailings and it does it when you want it done, with no delays!  To sign up visit our web page by clicking here.

So why…….

are we going to the trouble of making this program available to you?  The answer is simple.  We believe that by combining the free weather notification service of ABC 33/40 and the list management capabilities of eLert that YOU can provide a needed service to those you serve while simultaneously maximizing your efficiency.  That’s a win-win deal for everyone concerned!

So what…….

do we get out of this?  NOTHING!  We will teach the person responsible for administering the program how to quickly get up and running, or if you wish, we offer a personal tutorial program for $500.  We have some sample cards that can be used to help you capture Email information and be up and running quickly.  We’ll even throw in a unique scheduling program called MemoToMe that can be used to alert you by Email when you have an appointment, need to remember a special event, or just keep up with important dates.  To sign up, just go to www.memotome.com.  You’ll be glad you did!

What else…….

if you participate in our Quick-Assist program, you can get eLert FREE!   Additional information is available at www.falcondirect.com/quickassist.pdf. 

                             36 - 20th Avenue NW- Birmingham, AL 35215 - Phone 205.854.2611 - Toll Free 800.489.2611

Copyright 2006 - Falcon Direct, Inc.
This page was last updated on 01/25/2007