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Is there actually anybody out there who is unfamiliar with email marketing? If you are still questioning the benefits of email marketing in today’s constantly-changing online environment it is time to WAKE UP!
The bottom line – Email Marketing works! Businesses employ email marketing because it works well.
Why does Email Marketing work?
It allows targeting!
It is data driven!
It drives direct sales!
It builds relationships, loyalty and trust!
Consider the following — email marketing services offer database integration, as well as segmentation and additional techniques for improving the targeting of your outgoing messages. Every email campaign you send out generates actionable data you can use to refine your approach and messages. Email promotions generate sales, inquiries, registrations, and much more. Email newsletters and other email announcements build awareness, contribute to branding, and strengthen relationships.
Email Marketing will continue to progress in 2012. It will meet and exceed the expectations of business marketers and consumers alike.
Why? Here are just some of predictions the experts are discussing:
Email is perfect for following upwith interested prospects. It is fast, inexpensive, and can be personal. Marketers are becoming savvier and they understand how to use this technology the right way. Email autoresponders will be the best choice for follow-up. The marketing automation technology that has emerged during the last few years allows autoresponders to adapt the message based on the recipient’s behavior (whether they open, click, do not click, purchase, etc.). In 2012, this technology will become even more significant in the mainstream. This allows email to be more relevant for the recipient, making it more effective for the sender.
Email will become more social. Facebook has begun the crossover of email and social with the release of their messaging platform. During 2012, you will see the lines between these two mediums blurred even further. At a simple level, email will allow for social connections and social platforms will include messaging platforms (like Facebook) that are basically email with a different wrapper. You also will see marketing automation systems integrate with social platforms in order to allow autoresponders to adapt based on cues from social interactions.
Email will become more mobile. According to a report released by Experian Marketing Services this year, 52 percent of consumers access email via their smartphones. Readers will demand that email is legible on their mobile devices. There also may be a convergence of MMS (multimedia text messaging) and email in some circles. Another technology that could evolve into the email space is QR codes. In fact, Experian Marketing Services also says that search queries containing “QR” have increased 214 percent since the beginning of 2011. So you will be able to opt-in to email communications by simply scanning a QR code.
The outlook for Email Marketing in 2012 is grand, as long as marketers use it wisely. Great opportunity and reward awaits those who remain ahead of the email marketing curve.
*Did You Know– You should not use Flash for email videos. Email filters strip out anything with a script (i.e. Flash) which could be a virus or malware. GIF files (Graphics Interchange Format) do not run afoul of email filters like most video file formats would and are known for their fast download times and easier integration with server technology.
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Archive for 2011
Bottom line – Email Marketing Works
Thursday, December 15th, 2011How to Succeed in Email Marketing this Holiday Season
Saturday, November 19th, 2011There is a cornucopia of internet information available about the upcoming holidays and the marketing efforts companies will execute to try and win a piece of the pie. Below are some interesting morsels to digest as you prepare for the final weeks of 2011.
There have already been a few twists on the traditional Black Friday and Cyber Monday tactics in the market this year. Many retailers have offered Black Friday deals months in advance. The in-store shopping experience is also breaking the mold this year. Stores are opening at midnight or wrapping up turkey dinners early and opening their doors Thanksgiving evening and staying open overnight.
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You should sign up for competitors’ email programs. It is important to see how they are messaging their Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers in advance of the big day. Closely monitor their emails throughout the sales period to see if their promotions are becoming more aggressive. Here is a valid suggestion – when reviewing the email marketing blasts of competitors try to open and not click, click and not purchase, and even purchase from the emails to see if the mailing frequency or promotions change.
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Know where to get your results. You should monitor your results on the day you send. Do a trial run for your Black Friday and Cyber Monday mailing to make sure you understand the immediate trends for your mailings.
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Make sure your team understands the importance of Black Friday and Cyber Monday to your business. Discuss the expectations for availability over the Thanksgiving weekend and rest of holiday season.
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Make sure you have a back-up plan. Select additional products and price points you can offer and prepare your ecommerce platform with secondary coupon codes or discounts. This could save you hours.
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Valuable time and revenue can be lost if you need to make creative revisions during peak hours. Marketers can make quick adjustments to segments and deploy a mailing, but making creative changes can take hours to turnaround. You do not want to find yourself in a creative bottleneck, so prepare email creative alternatives in advance.
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Have a re-mailing strategy included in your plan. Customers will have a significant spike in the amount of email in their inbox so make sure you have a calculated approach to your re-mailing. This will help decrease abuse complaints and unsubscribes which in turn could help avoid some blocking issues. One method is to build segments based on engagement.
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Sending a creative variation, changes in your call-to-action, etc. is great for subscribers who have shown they are engaged but did not see anything in the email that made them interested enough to click through.
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Target your clickers who have not purchased –this is your most engaged subscriber. They were not only interested enough to open your email but also clicked. Something happened before checkout that made them abandon the purchase. This audience will be the one to go after. Make sure you use a subject line and creative that drives to purchase. In addition to featuring your promotion, reference customer service information, your return policy, and shipping options and deadlines.
‘Tis the season to Become Visible so you need to contact the professionals at Emercury TODAY, to assist you with all your email marketing holiday requirements. Always be prepared but also accept your strategies will change.
*Did You Know – it is best to choose a company that sends out mass email. Many email providers will not send out more than a dozen email messages at a time, and many email providers will block email messages that have been sent out to a large number of other recipients. Companies that send out mass email can bypass these restrictions, allowing an email blast to reach thousands of people at a time.
How to Succeed in Email Marketing
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011Consumers look at who the sender is and what the subject is before deciding whether or not to open an email message.
In other words, you need to become a trusted sender, so you can email market successfully.
Here are some rules to succeed with Email Marketing:
Give them what they want– Before you start sending emails to your database remember how or why someone opted-in to your email list. Did you promise them something? If you have not yet delivered on your promise you should do that before trying to sell them anything. Provide information along with the promotions you are offering. Send some emails which only contain information. This can assist you in increasing consumer confidence and more importantly, consumer loyalty.
Design your Email Format so it is Simple and Concise — Consumers read their emails EVERYWHERE – on their computers, phones, even televisions. You must keep this in mind when developing your email. You want your emails to be clean and easy to read. HTML emails look great but many people do not read their emails in a format that will retain the formatting. Though you can still use this format you want to make sure the email will be easy to read and follow if they do not receive it in an HTML format. Keep your emails short and remember most people scan a message. Highlight the most important aspects of your email and remember less is more.
Provide an Opt-Out Option– Give your database the option to opt-out. People will appreciate when you do not hold their email address captive. If you do, you will lose their confidence and loyalty.
Now that we have reviewed some rules, let us discuss the next steps you need to climb to move forward with your email marketing efforts:
Devote time each week– Observe a webinar about subscriptions; consumers who have unsubscribed; bounces; statistics – i.e. opens and clicks; and utilizing social media.
Decide your frequency — We suggest sending at least one message monthly or multiple newsletters if you promote more than one service. You also should send promotional messages offering a discount.
Isn’t it time to include a sign-up form on your website — You need to collect new subscribers.
Grab their attention — Design a new template for your email marketing campaigns.
Develop relevant content in your messages — Continue sending your materials, announcements, or promotions with consistent frequency. When your list grows, you will notice increased traffic which should produce increased sales.
Add a line similar to the following to the top of your emails –
Don’t Forget to ADD yourcompanyname@here TO YOUR ADDRESS BOOK to guarantee future deliveries to your inbox.
*Did You Know– Spammers can purchase lists legally and illegally. When you sign up for a website or a service make sure you read the privacy policy carefully to find out what the site plans to do with your email address.
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