Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ Category

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Email list rental vs buying third party lists

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Have you ever thought about how good it would be if you could simply buy a list of client e-mail addresses in a click?

I hope you haven’t, because it is not worth it.
Unless you meant renting the list – email list rental is a pretty common practice.

The difference between the two (list rental and list buying) is huge. When it comes to email marketing and renting an e-mail list, you don’t get a copy of the list. In short, you never get to see the addresses – the owner does the sending for you. By renting a list you could be a featured business or sponsor of the renters next newsletter to their clients.

When buying an e-mail list, you get the addresses, and that is utterly bad. Not to mention the bad PR you will get if you send to people you don’t know. Not to mention the hundred reasons, among which legal trouble could or could not be the most serious. The worst part of bought e-mail lists is that they don’t work, especially if your business doesn’t sell penis pills… or something like that.

Although a buy third party list sounds like a great idea – you often only invest up to $500 for an e-mail list with millions of e-mail addresses -, sending spam spells a death sentence for business. Out of the millions of addresses which the seller acquired somehow, there will surely be spam complaints which can mean legal trouble. Furthermore, your brand will get severely damaged if you send unsolicited e-mail. Just don’t do it.

These lists do not work because they are overused; they don’t have a permission (how on earth would a 1m large list have permission from all the users?); they don’t have quality; and lastly, in case if you still have doubt about it, sending to third party lists is ogre-ish email marketing.

It is different with e-mail list rentals, though.
The price is the first indicator that they are more likely to work; depending on the nature of your emails, an email list rental costs an average of about $130 for 1,000 impressions according to LPI. Business is business, and the price is fair if you know how to make the most out of email list rental. You know how difficult is to acquire those 1,000 subscribers, but do you also want to be part of another brand who you are simply sponsoring.

Should you consider buying lists? – NO, just avoid buying any e-mail lists, doesn’t matter how good the offer sounds.

Build your own reliable and highly profitable lists by adding Web SignUp form to your website, run a promotional campaign in the store or ask for feedback and capture their email addresses this way best.

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Posted in Email Deliverability, Email List Management, Tips & Tricks | 2 Comments »

Effectively use email autoresponders and follow-up emails: autoresponder tips

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Autoresponders are underestimated. An email autoresponder can be used to set up follow-up email which you can employ in a million ways.

Here are a few email autoresponder tips — really, a few of them.

  • email autorespondersEducate the users by sending courses about your service/product – or simply courses that are likely to be relevant to the receiver;
  • Gather online surveys to gain information from new subscribers;
  • Thank the new user for joining your service;
  • Wish the user a happy birthday;
  • Give the user advice in case of inactivity; etc.

There are, however, even more creative ways in which you can employ follow up letters.

Imagine you are selling e-books about dogs, and are giving away a free e-book for new subscribers, titled “How to take care of your dog”. After the clients have received it, you don’t simply dwell on the huge success, but send relevant, regular follow-up emails that both remind the client to actually read the book, and give additional dog care advice that involves dog training.

At the, for example, third of your five follow-up emails, you introduce the client to your new eBook, the best-selling “How to train your dog”. Voila, you have now sold a product using follow-up emails.

There are hundreds of email autoresponder tips, these few are just a fraction of them. Most of the best autoresponder uses simply involve a little creative use of the stuff you already have.

For example, do you send a welcome message to your subscribers when they sign up? Good, because most businesses do. What most businesses don’t do is load the actual welcome message with links that should interest the new subscriber. If a subscriber is new, it may be one of his first visits; why not link him to this month’s most popular posts, among them to a post where you sell something the subscriber might like?

Email autoresponders are indeed underestimated, but that’s mostly because they aren’t used to doing creative things with them. The same old same old is boring; keep that in mind and do something new.

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Posted in Email Autoresponders, Tips & Tricks | 1 Comment »

The importance of the unsubscribe link

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Never underestimate the unsubscribe link.

Although it is what it is – in many cases a lost client – you can reinforce your way of thinking and make the most out of your unsubscribes. There are many different ways to try avoiding opt-outs, but they sometimes are the only feedback you’ll ever get. And remember – no clever way of placing (or omitting for that matter) of the unsubscribe link can save against a client who has lost interest in your services or products.

email unsubscribe
You need an unsubscribe link because:

  • You want to be polite to your customers.
  • You want to comply with the CAN-SPAM act.
  • You want to remain in good terms with your clients even after they’ve left you.
  • You want to gain useful information whenever a client unsubscribes.
  • You want to keep your list clean.
  • You don’t want more bad feedback from clients who would’ve left anyway.

…and the list goes on.

Simply put, you need an unsubscribe link, and to make the most of it, you should also include a simple textbox at the opt-out link where the user can write his reasons for leaving your list. While many users will leave the text box blank, you will gain enough information from those few who fill it.

Furthermore, think about the placement of the opt-out link. The latest studies indicate that a counter-intuitive unsubscribe link at the top of your e-mails reduces the number of spam complaints. As spam complaints usually come from inactive subscribers, you could simply join them in a segment and place the link in the top of the e-mails they receive.

You can gain valuable information from unsubscribing trends. An example of this would be an opt-out rise after you’ve sent too many e-mails during a week (4-5+). If there’s a such rise in unsubscribes, it’s time to decrease the e-mail volume. Maybe you aren’t using segments when sending the information and you need to send more targeted information when you see people unsubscribing after an apparently normal campaign?

And lastly, remember that nothing is really black and white when someone unsubscribes. The client may simply have chosen a different medium (Twitter?) to communicate with you; maybe the client has too many lists he/she has subscribed to. An opt-out doesn’t mean that you list is bad. A hundred opt-outs a day could indicate something, though.

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Posted in Email Deliverability, Tips & Tricks | 1 Comment »

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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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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Posted in Tips & Tricks | 2 Comments »

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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Posted in Tips & Tricks | 2 Comments »

Composing Email From Names and Subject Lines

Monday, May 24th, 2010

You can send valuable newsletters that interest your subscribers, but you have to compose an e-mail that the readers will actually read. That’s why there are certain guidelines to follow when you’re sending out email to your customers, and the “from” and “subject” lines are the most important; you have to make them as effective as possible – it often lies on those two lines whether or not the email will be opened at all.

The ‘from’ field is the field that the recipient looks at first.

As a rule, it has to be either one of the following:

  • A person the recipient knows from your company;
  • A customer group he/she belongs to;
  • Your company name that the client knows well.

Of course, the “from” field isn’t limited to these three options. Basically everything that is somewhat personal will work, for example, if the recipients are from Texas, the ‘from’ field can be ‘<your company> Texas’, or any local place or city.

The subject line is secondary, but by no means should you disregard it.

The email subject line has to be catchy, short, and should focus on the benefit to the person receiving it. It should also suggest the nature of the email; for example, if the email is a promotion, include relevant terms like “save on <product name>”, “this week’s xxx”, etc, in the subject line, as they urge the buyer to take action. It is, of course, necessary to include personal details like the name of the recipient in the subject line. The subject line should also be shorter than 50 characters or seven words, but again, this varies depending on the name of the recipient.

Never underestimate these basic details, as mistakes in those two fields can wreck your campaign. However, don’t go too far in cropping or personalizing these fields; the customer still has to know that you have something to offer, which means that you have to state your case. Also, be aware that the subject field needs to sound somewhat natural, not like it was written by a robot. Keep it simple, don’t stress it too much, and good things will happen.

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Posted in Email Marketing Campaign, Tips & Tricks | No Comments »

Words NOT to Use and Avoid in Emails

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

There are words that are boring for the subscriber, and interesting for the spam filter. To insure interesting emails that are more likely to be opened and received, not only you must write good headlines and interesting copy. You must also avoid words that are likely to be dismissed by the client, or make your email spammy–which means that many clients won’t receive it at all.

email-spam-words

To make your email attractive to the client, as a rule, use the active tense in your writing; in short, write sentences that have power. Active sentences look better than passive sentences. It may not be so evident, but ‘Cats love salmon’ sounds better than ‘Salmon is loved by cats’. Using the active voice eliminates many other problems, too. Rambling is a good example (rambling can be said to be present in this sentence). Use of active voice for email marketing is key, as it calls to action.

To make your emails slip through the spam filters, avoid using bad words. Not only are these words disliked by the spam filter, they also suck up the value of your content in the eyes of the subscriber.

Keep in mind:

  • Avoid words like “Free; Discount; Act Now; 50% off; You’ve been selected; All Natural”.
  • Also avoid words that relate to the particular email. Phrases like “Don’t Delete; Read This; Urgent; See What’s Inside; etc” are bad marketing practice and can severely damage your brand.
  • And, of course, unless you plan to gather a mailing list for selling Viagra (what?) or other drugs, avoid such brand names entirely. Also, avoid extensive use of !!/$$/&&/** or other symbols. They look unprofessional and spammy.

The problem behind these words is simple. They are disliked for their misleading and overused ways. If you can’t avoid using such words, limit them to one occasion per email. Using synonyms is a lot better.

Overall, there aren’t that many words you shouldn’t say, there are more bad emailing practices that you should avoid. Remember that attractive content is a good start, avoid the passive voice and bad words, and you’ll see that your emails have a better clickthrough rate.

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Posted in Email Deliverability, Tips & Tricks | 4 Comments »

4 Deadliest Mistakes Email Marketers Make When Gathering Subscribers

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

If you have decided to start driving traffic to your web to try and get email subscribers, you must first sort out your web to actually have visitors become interested in your newsletter. There are some particular patterns (or traps, so to say) that email marketing beginners often follow, only to see their efforts fail and the future campaigns bring weak results. In this article, we’ll try to list the five deadliest mistakes that email marketers can make when starting their campaign. We’ll, of course, give some tips on how to avoid them, too.

1. No content on the page that gathers subscribers.
As a rule, if you have a website that has an e-mail newsletter, before you attempt driving traffic to your website, you should have at least some good five pages of relevant content that the visitor can see. No content on the page will scare the visitor away — and if you paid for the visit, it makes the matters even worse.

2. The visitor has no idea how regularly the emails will be sent.

The visitor has become interested in your web page. Be proud, because it takes a quite impressive website (meaning it has either good looks or exceptional content or both) for attracting subscribers. Now, if there isn’t even a slight mention of how often they’ll receive your emails after subscribing? For example, mention that they are subscribing to a “biweekly” or “weekly” newsletter. Of course, this doesn’t limit you from sending special offers on occasion.

3. The subscription form is invisible.

Marketing eventually comes down to whether or not you yourself believe that the customer should be interested in your services. If you want a solid userbase that has trust in your services, you must first have some trust in the value of your content, too (“first, love yourself…”), so make the form easily accessible. Even if you don’t believe that your potential customers are receiving value from you, it’s a good idea to have the subscription form in a clearly visible region of you web–albeit don’t make it too blatant.

4. Make a sound statement that you will only deliver relevant information.

To eventually convert your emails to sales (or more visits, or whatever your aim for the mailing list is), you must have trust, and what could be better than having it right off the bat? Of course, if you promise them that the emails will contain only relevant content, it’s still just a promise, but what if you deliver some exclusive relevant content after the subscription? It is hard to build trust, but trust is what you want from every single subscriber; relevant content builds trust, irrelevant content diminishes it.

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Posted in Email List Management, Tips & Tricks | No Comments »

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