Archive for June, 2010

Highly Effective Email Marketing Tactics

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Following post about Email List Targeting and Segmentation, we think sharing some statistical data would very well serve as indicator how important segmentation really is.

In the chart below you can see how effective are different email marketing tactics rated by B2B and B2C marketers.

Delivering content relevant to a segment – has been rated as the highest in terms of tactical effectiveness.

Even though relevant content is rated the highest, “email campaigns to house list” is most cost effective tactic because it requires less effort and costs less to achieve high levels of effectiveness. You should definitely harvest your email list and keep it satisfied while delivering the best content to specific segments, in this way you will ensure your email marketing success.

effective email tactics

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Email List Targeting and Segmentation

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

List segmentation is nothing new for making your conversions easier and more frequent through targeted marketing. Email is relatively new, though, and now is the perfect time to use the extensive segmentation options that modern technologies provide.

You should try and target your userbase right from the start. Include additional questions in the subscription form, such as the subscriber’s location, interests, what products they’re interested in, et cetera. Furthermore, if your platform allows it, you can create an unique code for each subscriber – a code that you include in the subscription confirmation email -, and then see his browsing data neatly sorted (browsing data – what products has that single subscriber recently looked at, what pages has he seen, et cetera) in a database.

Once you have subscribers, keep track of their recent purchases. What relevant products could they be interested in? Why would they want to return to your company after they’ve made a purchase? Answer those questions, and you’ll know whether or not should you email them after they’ve made a purchase.

The choices are really endless when you segment your list. For example, you can test how well your newsletters work by sending one version of your newsletter to half of your subscribers, and sending the other version to the other half. From the interactive data you can clearly see which version got more response. With the modern technologies, you can really release your inner marketing professional!

Targeted marketing is good marketing, and everyone knows it, because it simply generates more sales than other marketing methods, but the sales are not all. You can also save bandwidth by sending email only to targeted customers, and don’t disturb clients that wouldn’t want to receive offers irrelevant to their interests or location.

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Posted in Email List Management | 4 Comments »

How to Personalize Your Emails

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Imagine that you’re receiving an email from your own company. Would you open a letter that doesn’t even mention who you, the recipient, are? The thought isn’t enthralling, and your subconscious instantly realizes that you’re merely a number in the eyes of the sender. Dismissing the recipient’s name isn’t the only mistake that marketers make. Imagine that you receive a skiing equipment offer… if you reside in Florida! Doesn’t make much sense.

Start personalizing your emails even before you start a campaign. If selling products through email marketing is what you do, a few additional questions on the email subscription form on your website won’t hurt. In fact, the more information you have about your subscribers, the better your targeting is, and thus the bigger are the chances of converting your clients. Keep the subscription form simple, but effective. Focus on obtaining more information from fewer questions.

The emails you send should be as personal as possible, not only to avoid the confusion, but also to connect with the reader. It is very powerful tactic to include the subscriber’s name in the subject field. Furthermore, if you can tell the subscribers why they should open the email, your click-through rates are likely to skyrocket.

It is especially important to mention the name in the subject field when you start a campaign and send a welcome message. The subscriber has to know that he/she can expect information that is made for them, not some random guy whose email you bought from a shady company.

Use the available email marketing system to your advantage. Numerous email marketing companies have a ton of effects that employ an if-then scheme when sending the emails. The newest software is any marketer’s dream, but only if you know how to utilize your subscribers to the fullest. You have to ask yourself what are you selling and to whom are you selling. Only when you use targeted emails you’ll start to grasp the infinite possibilities of email marketing.

Segmentation is the most overlooked part of marketing, even though many say that it’s the most important part of the process. Although initially it may seam it is harder to measure how effective targeted marketing is in comparison to standard marketing, you’ll start to see your efforts fruit in rapidly increased conversion rates.

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When And How Often To Send Emails

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

There has been a lot of debate about when and how often do marketers have to send email newsletters. Although this is all but inconclusive for companies with international clients, there are certain patterns that should interest anyone who’s sending out emails and wants to achieve the best results from an email marketing campaign.

Stick to Schedule

best time to send emailIt doesn’t really matter how often you send emails, as long as you stick to a schedule. Even if the content isn’t top-notch, the users will often suffice with what you send as long as you send it every time without fail. It is important to let the user know how often will he/she receive emails right from the start (“subscribe to our weekly newsletter”); furthermore, it is important to notify the user that you, if at all, will also send promotional offers (“and receive promotional offers that might interest you”).

Right Time

We have the how often down, but what time of the day do you have to send the mails? This is quite tough; at first you have the international subscribers, but a quick look at your analytic stats will enlighten you about the time zone you’re on. And then there are the subscribers which are with their own schedules, their own office times, and their own away from keyboard times.

If your subscribers are business people, it’s easy – email them during work hours on Tuesdays to Thursdays. Mondays are busy and the subscribers will likely have other email to work with; Friday mornings work, too, but for the most part the business people are mourning on how it is Friday and they still have a lot of work left, or, if they don’t have any, they just won’t read your email and it will be gone by Monday. If your subscribers are direct customers, email them on Fridays to Sundays, as your offers are more likely to be reviewed and thought through when the subscribers have free time.

Remember: by staying true to your schedule, you’ll stay true to the customers. And as a side note, if you feel you don’t have the time to make a weekly newsletter, opt for a bi-weekly one or even a monthly one, because if you take the time to create a truly unique and interesting newsletter, your subscribers will be full with anticipation, as opposed to boring weekly newsletters that were finished at the last second.

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