We are huge believers in creating integrated marketing programs, simply because they work. A very important component of almost every one of these programs is email marketing. The reason is simple: email marketing is cost effective, is extremely targeted and delivers trackable results.
Before you embark on your next email marketing program, take a look at the list below to avoid making any of these common mistakes.
Mistake #1: Cramming in too much
Your readers want information that is direct and to the point. Keep your emails short, concise and relevant to their needs. Readers will only give you a few seconds of their valuable time, so you need to get your point across fast. Remember: less is more.
Mistake #2: Irrelevant content
Readers don’t care about you. They only care about what you can do to improve their lives or help them solve a problem. Provide them with information that is relevant, timely and valuable, and always avoid the temptation to talk about yourself. Instead, talk about how your product or services provide real solutions in their lives. You want your reader to say “that was worth my time” after they read your email message.
Mistake #3: Not proofing or testing
You would be surprised at how many emails we see that have misspelled words, poor grammar, bad punctuation and non-working links. Since email marketing is so easy and fast to send, many marketers fall into the trap of not thoroughly proofing or testing. Nothing says “you don’t deserve to have my business” like sending out email messages with mistakes.
Email marketing campaigns require as much planning, effort and expertise as any other marketing initiative. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking they are easy to write and send. Make sure that you put in the extra effort to develop relevant content for your readers, and thoroughly test and proof everything. If you avoid these mistakes, your email marketing efforts should deliver greater results.
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Newsletters are a very effective marketing tactic. Whether you distribute them electronically, traditionally, or both, done right they can be extremely effective. Unfortunately, most companies don’t understand how to create powerful newsletter content that gets read versus content that ends up in the circular file.
Consider the following five recommendations:
1. Have a plan—Your newsletter needs to have a true vision and a target; otherwise it’s just a bunch of articles without continuity. To build reader loyalty, you must identify your key audience – and it can’t be “industry people.” It should be more specific, such as “CFOs who need to cut costs.”
2. Don’t sell too hard—Sure, your newsletter is a sales tool, but be careful not to sell too hard or you will lose readers. Try to be subtle by using customer case studies, testimonials, industry stats, government projections or other less obvious sales techniques.
3. Provide value—We live in a “what’s in it for me” world. Your newsletter is fighting for your audience’s most precious asset: their time. So be sure to make it worth their time by providing new information, resources, or other valuable information or insights. The more valuable your content is to them, the more they will look forward to reading your next issue.
4. Be consistent—If you promise a monthly newsletter, be sure you deliver one on time, every time.
5. Make it interactive—Give your readers the opportunity to ask questions, make comments or interact with other readers through your company’s blog. Your goal should be to turn your newsletter from a monologue into a conversation.
Newsletters are a lot of work to produce. Make sure all of the effort pays off by developing content that gets read, and you will have loyal readers for life.
Be sure to check out our new website at www.gumas.com and be sure to follow Gumas on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn for additional marketing insight.
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Marketing your company during good times is hard enough. But marketing your company during times like these is downright unfair. So what’s a marketer with one hand tied behind their back to do?
One powerful and cost-effective strategy that has been generating consistent results for our clients recently is strategic email marketing. Email marketing should be a part of all marketing campaigns. When done right, it can generate huge ROI percentages within a reasonable budget. The following are just some of the strategies we implement when developing email campaigns for our clients:
1. Get to the point—You only have 2–3 seconds to catch their attention. Always provide relevant information that your target wants and avoid the “fluff.”
2. Keep it short—We recommend no more than 15–20 percent of the copy you would include in a traditional printed direct mail letter.
3. Be conversational—Your email should be an extension of your brand. If your brand is formal, write in a formal style. If your brand is casual, make it casual.
4. Use bullets and lists—Emails are unique in that the reader wants the info fast. Instead of long sentences, try bullets or lists to convey your points. This is a vehicle of “sound bytes.”
5. Choose your topics carefully—Always make the information timely and culturally relevant to your target.
6. Use proven layout strategies—Typically, email readers like to scan first and then go back and read. So make sure that you break up your copy with bullet points, illustrations, photos, or graphs. And make sure to have plenty of “white” space.
7. It’s not about you—Be sure to spend less time selling your products/services and more time providing useful information to your readers. We have found that the more useful your information, the more response you will generate.
If you haven’t done so already, consider adding a strategic email campaign to your arsenal of marketing weapons. It can be a very powerful and cost-efficient strategy that generates impressive returns.
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As more companies begin to explore the value of interactive websites, blogs, web-based loyalty programs, and other similar online programs, many of them are discovering something they weren’t expecting.
Resistance from their own customers.
A recent study showed that customers are becoming more leery of giving their email addresses for legitimate programs, like loyalty programs, because they are afraid it will trigger a new wave of spam.
So how do you get around that reluctance and get your customer to give you their email address? Here are some strategies we suggest to earn your customer’s trust—and to encourage them to provide you with their precious email address:
1. Tell them what you will do with their email address. Let them know up front that you will not share or sell their name.
2. Give them added incentive to receive information from you via email.
3. If they don’t want to provide their email address, give them an option to receive the same information via snail-mail.
4. Be creative and try to get their home email address. Many businesses have sophisticated filtering systems that make it difficult for legitimate emails to make it through.
5. If they want to opt out, make it easy for them to do so.
6. Scrutinize your subject line for any words or phrases that filters might block or “red flag.”
We believe a tactical online program should be part of every marketer’s marketing arsenal. They typically cost less, are immediate and flexible, and have a sense of familiarity that works to your advantage. Unfortunately, spammers have made legitimate email marketing a bit more challenging. But if you incorporate the above suggestions, your online campaigns should be able to cut through the sea of spam and successfully land in your customer’s mailbox.
Until next month…
You can learn a lot from spam. We all get those emails selling us everything from investment opportunities in Nigeria to enhancements of every kind. No matter how we beef up our Internet filters, these emails always seem to sneak their way through into our inboxes.
So how do they get past our protection? Well, it doesn’t happen by accident. There is some very sophisticated e-marketing happening here. And one thing is for sure: they wouldn’t keep sending them if they didn’t work.
So how can you learn from their tactics to make your opt-in email programs even stronger? Here are just a few ideas:
1. Your subject line is vital. If it isn’t compelling, you’ll get no further. Tell them why they can’t afford to stop reading.
2. Brevity works. You don’t need to pack every fact into each email. One key message per email should be your rule of thumb.
3. The proper frequency is critical. Sending just one piece usually doesn’t work. But sending too often can backfire. A campaign that has a consistent, branded theme is always a great way to keep your message flowing.
4. Know your audience. Before you start, create a fictional profile of your typical buyer and try to speak directly to that person.
5. It’s not about you, so cut straight to the benefits. No one cares about your history or how beautiful your offices are. They just want to know what you can do for them.
Naturally, we are not endorsing that you start sending spam. But there’s no reason why you can’t borrow from their proven e-marketing techniques. Just remember, use your new knowledge for good, not evil!
Until next month…
There are no formal rules when it comes to email marketing etiquette. The one trend that we are seeing more is that good email marketing etiquette can make a big difference in how your customers respond to you and how they perceive your brand.
Email marketing etiquette can be critical to building a healthy, legitimate and reciprocal relationship with your customers and prospects. So how do you implement some of these tactics into your email programs? The following are some of the basic rules that we have found to be effective when it comes to email marketing etiquette:
1. Ask for Permission—Permission is powerful. When a prospect or customer tells you that it is okay to send them something, then they will take your email more seriously than if you do not get their permission. So try to work into your general marketing programs a strategy that allows you to get permission (or an opt in) from your customers or prospects.
2. Confidentiality—Be sure that you clearly post your confidentiality policy. Most email subscribers are concerned about their email address getting into the wrong hands or being bombarded with unwanted emails. Let them know what they can expect from you and what you will be doing with their email address. The greatest results come when you are honest with them. We recommend that you post your confidentiality policy, or a link to it, near your opt-in request box.
3. Give Them a Way Out—Just as you should make it easy for them to opt in, make it easy for them to opt out. Having a clear and functional unsubscribe option puts your reader at ease, and lets them know that you are professional and value their time.
4. Provide a Confirmation—Each time someone opts in or out, be sure that you send them a prompt confirmation. This should be a simple, automated response, ideally within a few minutes of their request. We always suggest that your messages include a brief note, such as “Thanks for subscribing to Gumas’ Marketing Smart. We look forward to providing you with valuable marketing knowledge each month.”
5. Monitor Activity Closely—Be sure that you or your advertising agency manages your database closely and responds to all inquiries or complaints promptly. We too often see companies not utilizing email for its real benefit—the ability to speak one-to-one to your prospects and customers.
And, as with all proper etiquette, “please” don’t forget to say please and thank you!! “Thank you.”
Until next month…
Email marketing is a very powerful tool. It not only allows you to speak to your customers and prospects one-to-one, but it is very cost effective as well.
One of the major challenges now facing online marketing comes from spam filters and your ability to create email messages that make it through to your target. ISPs, such as Yahoo, MSN, AOL and others, block millions of email messages every day based on the content of the message. These spam filters look closely at the specific words you use in your subject lines as well as the body of the messages themselves.
In an effort to help you get more of your messages past these sophisticated filters and into the email boxes of your customers and prospects, the following is a list of commonly used words and phrases that most of these filters typically flag as spam.
Words to avoid:
- As seen on
- Buy direct
- Get paid
- Order now
- Please read
- Don’t delete
- Time limited
- While supplies last
- Why pay more
- Special promotion
- Save up to
- All natural
- You’ve been selected
- Free
- Act now
- All new
- __% off
- Call now
- Subscribe now
- Earn money
- Discount
- Double your income
- You’re a winner
- Information you requested
- Stop
- No cost
- No fees
- Opportunity
- Million dollars
- Compare
- Removes
- Collect
- Amazing
- Promise You
- Credit- Loans
- Satisfaction guaranteed
- Search engine listings
- Join millions
If you try to avoid the words and phrases outlined above, you will find that your online delivery rates will increase.
Until next month…
When you open up your email, what do you typically see? If you’re like most of us, you see way too many unwanted emails.
Outbound email campaigns can be powerful and cost-effective marketing tools. But how can your campaign break through the unwanted clutter and rise to the top? Here are some of the secrets we use to create successful outbound email campaigns.
First, mail either on Monday or Friday. We have found that mailing early in the week works best. Typically, Monday delivers the best results. Tuesday is second best but in both cases an early morning delivery ensures an even better receptivity. According to a recent study, both reading of email and click-through rates are the highest on Monday and decline as the week goes on. However, the study also found that sometimes an upward trend exists on Fridays.
The explanation: on Monday, people are fresh and haven’t gotten buried under a pile of work yet, so they’re more willing to read and follow through with email offers. By Friday, people are upbeat, thinking about the weekend so they get a bit more responsive. Our experience with successful email programs supports this study.
But, as you may guess, there’s much more to conducting a successful email campaign. Here are a few more tips we strongly recommend:
1. Lead with a clear subject line. Your reader won’t open the email if they don’t know what the subject is. Don’t be cleaver—just clear.
2. Make sure you make your offer quickly. No matter what day of the week, people want you to get to the point quickly.
3. Repeat your offer. Don’t just mention it once. We know people are skimming email, so repeat your offer in slightly different words at least twice in your email.
4. Include multiple opportunities for readers to click through for more information. Have just one click-through landing page, but provide the link to it more than once.
5. Use bullet points, boxes and stand-alone sentences to guide your reader quickly through your info from most important to least important. If there is an expiration, quantity limit or other critical fact, don’t bury it at the end.
When used properly, outbound email can add a significant boost to your marketing programs. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us.
Until next month…
We’ve all been victims of spam. And it’s very annoying. The good news is that there are new laws designed to slow some of that annoying, unsolicited email that clogs our inboxes every morning.
But even with the proliferation of spam, outbound email is still an extremely effective marketing tool. Don’t shy away from using it if it makes sense. You just need to know how to use it wisely and how to comply with the new laws.
To comply with the new laws, all of your email marketing messages should include the following:
1. Your name in the “From” field
Studies show people look first to the “From” or “Sender” to decide whether or not to delete the message. If your name or the firm’s name is familiar, your recipients will then go ahead and read the subject line.
If you are marketing to a list that doesn’t know who you are, consider partnering with a publication or other partner whose name would be recognized by the target list.
2. Write truthful, accurate subject lines
This may make it challenging to be catchy or provocative, but it lets the recipients know exactly what they will find when they open your message.
3. Include your contact information
We strongly believe that your contact information (including your postal address and phone numbers) should be in the signature file of all your outbound emails. It’s like sending a letter on your letterhead instead of a blank piece of paper.
4. Make it easy to unsubscribe
You must include a link or another easy way for recipients to opt out of receiving future emails.
Don’t let the new spam laws keep you from including email marketing as part of your marketing programs. As long as you know the laws, and employ proper strategies of effective email marketing, this valuable tool can help you turn good marketing programs into great ones.
Everyone here at Gumas would like to wish you and yours a happy holiday season and all the best in 2005.
Until next month…
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