Email marketing can be compared to a formula. Missing pieces of information greatly affect the outcome, making both useless. As in a formula, there are many elements that comprise a well thought out, planned and executed email marketing campaign. With the right steps, any campaign can bring in greater results. From how to write an email subject line to how to improve deliverability, every tip, and idea can lead to a clearer strategy and approach. Take the time to use all the tools and ideas available, as you build a stronger and more targeted direct mail campaign today.
1.Avoiding the Spam Filters
We work hard as we continue to build our e-mail lists the right way, making sure every recipient has opted in and given us giving permission to receive our e-mail. Yet, our legitimate permission-based e-mail can still end in the spam folder becoming collateral damage. Why? Studies show that on average, 10-20% of your e-mails get lost in cyberspace, usually because of overzealous spam filters.
In the war against spam filters, understanding how they work will give you the edge you need to have more successful e-mail campaigns land in your recipient’s inbox. Here are just a few of those spam filter tips:
- Avoid using the wrong words: Words that trigger spam filters: free, 50% off, discount, sexual terms, credit, loans, cash bonus, opportunity, call now, congratulations, and many more. Do your research. Learn all the possible spam filter trigger words.
- Test your campaign by running your e-mail through a free spam filter online such as: http://spamcheck.sitesell.com/
- Don’t send any e-mail HTML campaigns without a text alternative. Some readers only receive text format, so your HTML is automatically spammed.
2. Maximizing a Click – Through Rate (CTR)
Click-through rate or CTR is a way of measuring the success of an online e-marketing campaign. A CTR is obtained by dividing the number of users who clicked on an ad on a web page by the number of times the ad was delivered. For example, if a banner ad was delivered 100 times and only one person clicked on it (the number of clicks recorded), then the resulting CTR would be 1 percent.
Many web pages and e-mails contain so much text and graphics making it harder to get your subscribers directed to perform a certain task, such as clicking on a specific link for specials and important new information.
Solution: Many research papers tell us that most Internet users have a better response to plain, bold, blue text links -such as this- as opposed to a graphical banner or button. With this information in mind, avoid using too many graphical links and banners. Replace them with links that are in plain, bold, blue text. This will mean that more subscribers click through, resulting in more sales for you.
3. The Power of the Personal Touch
Personalization, in direct e-mail marketing campaigns used effectively, can create interest in your product or service, which eventually lead to a sale. A personalized message is one, uniquely tailored, addressed specifically to that target recipient.
One of the easiest and most basic ways to personalize any direct e-mail marketing campaign is to address a person by using their name. This begins the communication from a more personal foundation. We know how we react to generic, standard e-mails. They are immediately spammed and trashed.
That is why it is of the utmost importance to create that subtle, personal contact with your client from the beginning. A personalized direct e-mail campaign creates interest, and curiosity, with a call to action message within the content. These simple principles bring great rewards, resulting in success.
4. Always Offer One-Click to Unsubscribe
The one-click unsubscribe option is an excellent tool keeping your spam complaints low, while improving deliverability, and experience for your subscribers.
Offering the one-click unsubscribe option lessens complaints. Your recipients want to be able to unsubscribe easily without any obstacles in their way. Frustrated users turn into angry users hitting the “Report Spam” button or will complain in some other way about the e-mail they received, eventually hurting the sender’s reputation.
In this high-tech age of lightning communication, do not open any doors that lead to noncompliance – allow subscribers to opt-out as easily as they can opt-in. Keep your reputation solid among the e-mail marketing regulating communities.
5. Double Opt-In Protects Sender and Recipient
Developing a reputation as a spammer can spread throughout the internet society quickly. Offering your subscribers an opt-in is good, but offering a double opt-in is even better. Why? Many new potential subscribers are wary when giving out their true e-mail identity. In fact, they may fill in your form with a fake e-mail address.
With a double opt-in, you not only guarantee that you have a real live e-mail address, but you are assured of the subscriber’s compliance to join your list. A double opt-in protects both of you. Having a list built from a double opt-in list, creates a solid database of interested subscribers with the potential of future sales and leads.
6. Know the Best Days for an Increased Response
Online research conducted for various industries, have shown that different days produce different results. On Mondays and Fridays, people are starting their workweek or ending their workweek. Thursdays seem to be a day that most people are preparing for their weekend. Weekends are like a vacation. Receiving your e-mail, may be considered an intrusion of privacy.
Statistically, e-mail campaigns score a higher open and click-through rate on Wednesdays. Wednesday is a day that does not fall into the beginning or end of a workweek. Most people do not take time off in the middle of the week, so they are in full work mode. This means that they are more likely to read your content, clicking on your links, resulting in more sales.
While there is no formula guaranteeing a particular day will bring you specific results, these general rules apply to most types of businesses. Do your research remembering to incorporate age, job, demographics, and time zone into your stats.
7. Making Autoresponders Work for You
An autoresponder provides important and relevant information to clients, as well as, potential customers, by sending follow-up e-mail information directly to them. For businesses that require sending regular updates to their customers, in a timely basis, using an autoresponder is a great idea.
An autoresponder is a canned message scheduled to be sent to different subscribers at different intervals. Subscribers will receive automated responses from you, based on the criteria you have set for each type of email. Autoresponders are flexible and useful as they automatically communicate useful and relevant information to your subscribers. They can be used in so many creative ways, some of which are discussed below.
You can link the autoresponder with your online registration form. Then, any person who registers will receive an automatic welcome e-mail. This e-mail, containing information on how to receive a free product, such as an e-book, video, or special updates, is received on opting in to your newsletter.
If your business or organization requests you to send out a large amount of e-mails, consider the using autoresponders to help automate the process. Autoresponders help keep your brand name in the forefront of your subscriber’s mind, while building trust in both your company and your brand. Build a sure and sound foundation with autoresponders. Watch your leads turn into solid sales.
8. Uniformity and Ease are the Keys
When designing your newsletter, make your format and layout easy to navigate and scan. Having you newsletter reflect your company brand will keep that image alive and useful for future sales. Your newsletter should contain various types of articles and subjects, allowing for diversity within your entire subscriber base.
Have a table of contents letting your readers choose what interests them. Hyperlink each title so no one has to scroll to see what topics interest them. Forcing anyone scroll, causes frustration and loss of patience. Build your newsletter with simplicity and ease in mind. If an article is lengthy and relevant, create a hyperlink to the full article on your website.
9. Create Anticipation – be Consistent
When sending your e-mails to your opted-in subscribers, be consistent. Sending out your e-mails on the same day at the same time shows consistency and creates expectation from your readers. Your subscribers will your communications to arrive, creating a positive anticipation. Creating that expectancy results in a highly receptive subscriber open to any special offers or promotions that may be included in your e-mail.
10. A Relevant Subject Line Captures Attention
E-mail subject lines have a length of around 40 characters. Whether your create curiosity or share suitable information, you have seconds to create a message your readers will want to start reading.
An verage person receives and quickly scans over hundreds of e-mails daily within their inbox. As the attention span of e-mail readers gets shorter, it’s critical to make the most of your introduction and subject lines. Do not let you content go to waste; learn how to capture that coveted moment of time.
11. Offer Value in your Free Bonuses
If you desire to grow your subscriber list, a key ingredient to any marketing campaign is in the offer. Giving out a product of value to your visitors as a thank your for signing up, leaves a good impression and produces more sales. Whether you are good writer, offering a great product, you still need your e-mail campaigns to create positive responses to make sales. With the word free being overused and abused, make sure your free offer has value.
12. Work around the Preview Pane
Some e-mail clients only show a preview of an e-mail when selected in your inbox, some disabling all attachments, including graphics. Because the preview pane only allows a short glimpse of a message, make sure you use the bottom of your email for any important ad or logo. Do not forget to make your subject line strong and relevant. Here are a few workaround ideas:
- Use text ads instead of or in addition to graphical ads.
- Use horizontal banner ads instead of vertical ad formats.
- Position your selling text ads more towards the bottom instead of bunching image-based ads higher on the page.
13. Test your Click Through Rate (CTR)
After creating your marketing e-mail, use different text for both your links and your content, creating several different versions. Try different layouts and positions for your images, buttons, and logos. Send out several e-mails as test runs, using different formats and text, weighing your stat results for each e-mail. Successful campaigns are not created by luck or prayer. Creating the right mix of content, layout, and imagery is hard work, but that hard work brings in the sales results you are targeting.
14. Email-Based Learning
All of us are experts in something. Sharing valuable and relevant information in your field, adds value to your website, creates and builds trust in your visitors, and will set up credibility in your company, service, and product.
By offering a free e-learning course online, you can increase your subscriber database, collecting more subscriptions to your mailing list.
15. Don’t Forget to Include your Signature Line
Including a signature at the bottom of your e-mails is one of the easiest ways to draw more traffic to your website. This signature should include all your personal and company details, along with an unsubscribe link. Most companies use their signature as a link back to their website and products. Please see our sample below:
Regards,
John Smith.
President – Company ABC.
Visit our website at
http://www.companyxyz.com
http://www.companyxyz.com/unsubscribe
