Email Relevancy

Here is an interesting statistic around increasing the relevance of  email initiatives.   Forty-eight percent of marketers surveyed indicated that they are attempting to make their email communications more relevant.  They believe that increasing relevancy will drive conversions and revenues.  I hope you are part of the 48% who are looking to improve your email results.

Best Time to send emails

I am often asked, when is the best time to send email campaigns?  I might suggest that you focus on relevance in your emails so that they are anticipated and the recipients are eager to open them.  That aside, the best chance of getting your recipients to open and respond is during the first few hours after the email is delivered.   It might be best to avoid Mondays or Friday since they are the beginning and end of the work week.  So,  emails that go out Tuesdays through Thursdays tend to enjoy a higher open/conversion rates.   The idea is to know your subscribers and send them targeted and relevant messages that adhere to the principles of permission marketing.

2010 Email Trends

Here are a few trends you should take into account as we enter 2010. You will notice that they are pretty much the same as last year. Maybe because we were too busy trying to downsize and not spending enough time expanding our online marketing horizons.

1. Small/Medium Business will embrace email marketing as we emerge from recession. – There are multiple ESP’s that enable the small business to take advantage of their easy to use email solution.  If you need a little help, there are dozens of agencies who can help.
2. Integration with social media – leveraging your best customers ability to talk about your company.   Give your current subscribers the ability to share your content with their “networks” and watch your list grow.
3. Relevancy is still King – Ensure that your emails are talking to the individual and not the list. 

If you keep these three ideas in mind, you can’t help but have a successful 2010.

Email list growth

Here are few tips to help to build your email list this fall/winter.

Every web page should have a sign up form. – People who visit your site are interested in what you have to say.  Make sure you are offering an email sign-up form on every page and make it simple for them to respond.

Trade Shows.  The attendees at your booth are your most engaged prospects.  Leverage your face-to-face opportunity to ask the prospect if they would opt-in to your mailing list.  Just because they gave you a business card doesn’t mean they are giving you permission to contact them.

Referrals via Social Network.  Ask your subscribers if they find the content valuable to publish the content to their social network such as Facebook and Linkedin.

Remember to treat every customer/prospect interaction as an opportunity to promote your company and to build your list.

Social Marketing

Social Marketing is HOT,  yet many people have yet to find a way to monetize this exciting new communication arena. Many of us are using Facebook, or one of the many other social networks on the web. Can social networks like Facebook help you with your email marketing? Yes. If a large portion of your subscriber list is already on Facebook, you can provide tools in your email campaigns to allow your readers to help share your content. This will give you the power to leverage your growing audience and gain much more visibility for your content or message.  It is a great way to build your list too.

 

Email Delivery

When looking for an ESP, delivery of your emails should be your #1 criteria.  If is not, then you are probably missing out on revenues.  Take a look at this scenario, XYZ company is using a low-end ESP and is getting an “inbox” delivery rate of 80% . Their average conversion rate is 3%. They have 500,000 names on their in-house email list. With a delivery rate of 80%, only 400,000 subscribers get the emails. That means 100,000 people do not get promotional emails from XYZ. At a conversion rate of 3%, that’s 3,000 people not having the chance to make the purchase. If an average sale is $60, that’s $180,000 in revenue XYZ misses out on due to poor email deliverability due to the wrong ESP.  Consider your ESP wisely.

The customer is boss

The world of online marketing is very competitive and your customers can cast their votes this holiday season with their pocket-books.  By taking care of your customers today, ensures that they will be your customers tomorrow.  Sam Walton couldn’t have said it better:  “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”  Please keep this in mind when you are engaging with your customers and prospects.  If the customer doesn’t see value in your product or service, they will look elsewhere.

Holiday Season Email

If you haven’t thought about it already, you should be planning for your holiday email markeiting deployments. The peak season for retailers is between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Plan your deployment now so that when mid-November arrives, you are not scrambling to get those Thanksgiving offers out the door.  If you need help, there are dozens of email marketing agencies who have partnered with the leading ESP’s that can help.

Your Client Experience Determines Pricing – How Much are Your Bananas?

Your Client Experience Determines Pricing – How Much are Your Bananas?

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The Technology Issue | September 2009

The Technology Issue | September 2009

Posted using ShareThis