Posted by joe in List Management on August 15, 2010
The temptation for many businesses eager to launch an email marketing campaign is to buy a list of email addresses. And that’s understandable…why take the time to build your own list when you can click a button and automatically have 1,000, 5,000 or even 10,000 names in your database in a matter of minutes?
But buying a list of email addresses might be the WORST way to start your email marketing campaign. Here’s why.
Successful email marketing is built on permission and trust. By subscribing to your e-newsletter or agreeing to receive promotional emails, people are giving you permission to market to them. You’ve already established a relationship of sorts…it’s up to you to cement that relationship by providing content that is useful and relevant to your subscribers.
How can you possibly establish a relationship built on permission and trust with someone who has likely never heard of you, your products or the service your offer? Consider the way you treat email from someone you don’t know. Yeah, I thought so.
As tempting as it might be, NEVER buy or rent an email list. The negative consequences of using a rented or purchased email list can be far-reaching:
- Poor Response. Chances are your email will get deleted. You will be marketing your product or service to people who have no interest in what you have to offer.
- Blacklisting. Worse than having your email ignored is having it listed as spam. To many spam reports, and your email service provider might shut you down so that you can’t even send legitimate email.
- Fines. Violations of the CAN-SPAM laws can results in fines reaching into the tens of thousands of dollars.
- Accuracy. Email addresses change all the time. The addresses your purchase could be years old. In the eyes of your ESP, hard bounces – ones due to inaccurate addresses – are almost as bad as bad as getting marked as spam.
- Damage to Your Reputation. If you’re perceived as a spammer, future campaigns will be jeopardized.
There are many legitimate ways to build your email list with proven techniques. Don’t be tricked into thinking buying a list is best way to build your database.
Posted by joe in Email Marketing on July 25, 2010
Keeping your current subscribers happy while also acquiring new readers are the biggest challenges for most email marketers. It’s hard work building your list, and even harder to maintain it.
Here are three common problems with list-building and retention, and along with suggestions about how to overcome them:
- Problem #1: Attrition. The churn rate has remained at about 30 percent for the past decade, according to industry experts, which means that nearly a third of your list is in flux at any one time. It can happen for any number of reasons: people change email their address, lose interest in what you have to offer, or perceive your email as spam.
- Solution #1: Be Flexible. Make changing a subscriber’s email address easy – include the option on every email and on your website. Give readers the option to stay on your list by giving them greater control over the content their receive.
- Problem #2: Disengagement. Surveys say that open rates for subscribers on a list for more than two years goes down by 40 percent. That can be a problem for ISPs, many of who don’t like over-mailing, which could hurt your online reputation. It’s also expensive and a wasted opportunity to deploy mail to unresponsive addresses.
- Solution#2. Be Accommodating. Identify subscribers who seem to have become dormant and develop a campaign specifically for them, asking what information they would like to receive. You might ask them to re-opt in, or steer them to your social media sites, if that’s what they prefer.
- Problem # 3. Being Too Shy. The marketplace is crowded out there. With so many opportunities — social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, mobile apps, and other new media competing for consumers’ attention with speed and immediacy, you can’t sit back and wait for people to find your opt-in form.
- Solution #3. Be Everywhere. Make sure your opt-in form appears front and center in every marketing channel that reaches your audience.
There is no magic formula for keeping your email list fresh, but paying attention to these three areas will go a long way to keeping subscribers happy and engaged.
Posted by joe in Content, Email Marketing on July 25, 2010
Subscribers aren’t expecting “War and Peace” in your emails. Rather, they want relevant, useful information presented in an easy-to-read format.
One of the easiest ways to write copy for your next email is to follow a time-tested formula. It might take some of the intimidation associated with writing out of the equation.
Here are a couple of formulas you might adopt:
AIDA. It’s one of the oldest formula’s in the history of writing. Most often associated with print advertising, AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. Your writing should attract Attention with an interesting headline and opening paragraph, create Interest in what you have to offer, arouse Desire to own it, and include a strong call to Action.
SCH. This is the Star, Chain, Hook formula. The Star captures attention, the Chain pulls the reader along, and the Hook holds them until it’s time to take action.
CCCC. Your writing should be Clear, Concise, Compelling and Credible. Clarity comes from eliminating fluff and fuzzy things. Your writing is Concise when it is free from unnecessary words, long paragraphs, and jargon. It is Compelling when you appeal to the reader’s needs, wants, and fears. Credibility comes from third-party endorsements and case studies – the readers has to believe you can deliver what you promise.
The next time you are staring at a blank screen, wondering where to start, pull out one of these formulas and get to work!
Posted by joe in Email Marketing on July 25, 2010
Email marketing can be powerful tool in driving traffic to your website, so readers can get a broader picture of what you have to offer.
Here are a couple of ways to use email marketing to increase web traffic:
- Video. make video a consist element of your email marketing. Readers will be compelled to visit your website to see the whole video.
- User Generated Content. Have your readers submit stories, or videos as part of a contest. Aggregate all the responses on your website so everyone can see them.
- Polls and Surveys. Readers just love to offer their opinions. Compile the results, post them on your site, and let readers know where they can be found.
- Customer Reviews. Let readers tell the world what they think of your product or service. Don’t be thin-skinned – address the critics as well as the fans.
- Create Community. Allow your email readers to ask questions, which are then posted on your website. You can have your experts provide answers, and encourage others to offer their solutions as well.
