Boxer: The Latest Email App Contender

The social-enabled email app Boxer comes with a must-have feature for nearly every office environment—Exchange support. Also: Create content because it’s good for business and useful for your readers.

Like other association pros, maybe you wish your emails could do a bit more. You probably feel a little overwhelmed by the number of emails you get every day. And it would be helpful if they could plug in to other apps you use.

There have been a lot of efforts to “fix” email over the years, and we don’t claim any one of them is the bee’s knees. But we’ve just spotted one interesting entrant and figured we’d tell you about it in today’s Lunchtime Links:

Boxer squares off in the ring: Earlier this year, we pinpointed one of the biggest problems with newfangled email clients that promise to slice and dice and organize your numerous messages: Very few of them—including Mailbox for the iPhone—support the market standard for enterprise email, Microsoft Exchange. Fortunately, there’s an app with a little of Mailbox’s flair that also meets your work system’s needs: the iOS-based Boxer  (opens in a new tab). The app, which comes off as a more mature take on the concept of Mailbox with a few extra bells and whistles (tap a button, send the message to Evernote), could be an option for tech users who want a lot less Apple Mail in their lives. Boxer was just updated with a fresh iPad version last week  (opens in a new tab). If you’re curious, the app is currently on sale for 99 cents  (opens in a new tab).

Don’t go through the motions: Creating content may be important, but don’t make it “just because,” business expert Chris Brogan writes  (opens in a new tab). There has to be a compelling reason for content to exist for both the writer and the reader. “If you’re going to make content, check both these boxes: Does this serve my business? (pursuits, etc.) Does this serve the community? You have to say yes to both, or don’t bother,” he writes. “If you’re just ‘writing to be heard,’ stop it. It’s done. Game over. No one has time for that. You’re wasting your time, and also your audience’s time. Stop it.” How are you balancing business needs with relevance in your writing?

The art of the hand-off: OK, chambers of commerce, this one is for you: You have an event that’s a drag on your organization’s resources, but you can’t get rid of it. What do you do? Chamber marketing expert Frank J. Kenny suggests bringing in someone else to run the event for you  (opens in a new tab), especially if there’s potential for a long-term turnaround. He offers one caveat: “[H]ire somebody to do it knowing that there’s a good chance that the first year, or first couple of years, the new fee to pay for their services might eat into the profits. If the event has huge opportunities to grow, a true professional will find a lot more sponsorships and bring in a lot more revenue. If this is the case, it could turn out to be a win for everybody.”

Have you ever handed off an event your organization couldn’t lift anymore? Tell us how it went in the comments.

Boxer’s new iPad app, launched last week.