Email marketing has extensive uses for your business, and when used properly, it can drastically increase conversion rates and boost your profits at a very low cost. However, because of the fast growth in popularity of email marketing, there are many misunderstandings about it. These common mistakes can lead to low profit and conversion rates – are you making any of them?
Sending emails too infrequently.
Many marketers do not want to annoy their subscribers and so they will send infrequent emails. However, from a marketing perspective, this is a terrible move. People receive a lot of email and if they are not reminded of you regularly, they will forget who you are, what your list offers, and what you can do for them, and unsubscribe to your list. The ideal frequency of sending emails will depend on your subscribers and how they react (different audiences react differently), and you should test several different frequencies to see which they respond to best. However, you should be sending at least one email a month, and preferably 2-3 emails a month to keep your brand and offerings fresh in your subscriber’s minds.
Sending emails irregularly.
People like regularity – they like to know that twice a week on Mondays and Fridays, you will send them an email. If people do not know when to expect your next email, it will throw them off. If you send three emails one week and then one in the next two weeks, for no reason, subscribers will be confused.
Vague subject lines or “from” names.
Again, people receive a lot of email. If they cannot tell who the email is from or what it’s about with a quick glance at it, the email will likely be deleted without ever having been opened. Make sure to give your emails clear, enticing subject lines, and have the same “from” name every time.
Not making use of list subsections.
You can divide your email lists by location, age, date signed up, and interests they choose when they sign up, among other factors. Many email markets do not do this but you can use this information to send super-targeted offers to a very specific subset of your list. When you do this, it gives you a chance to write the email to such a small segment of your list that everyone who receives it will feel as though it was written for them. Targeted specific offers like this tend to have much higher conversion rates than offers sent to your entire list.
Adding old emails to a new list.
Even if someone signed up for one of your lists, to add their email to a different list without their explicit permission is a violation of the CAN-SPAM act. And after you are reported as spam a few times, which is likely to happen if you do this, your emails are much less likely to get through to the rest of your list. As a rule, do not put anyone on your list unless they have signed up through your opt-in forms or specifically request that you add them to your list.
To see some examples of CFL's Email marketing capabilities email: philm@cflmarketing.co.uk or log onto www.cflmarketing.co.uk
Friday 23 September 2011
Social media sites not trusted with personal data
Consumers do not trust social networking sites with their personal data, according to a survey by Symantec.
More than a third of consumers (38%) surveyed felt that they couldn’t trust online communities such as social networking sites and forums with their personal data at all.
The most trusted sector was financial services, with more than half (55%) of respondents saying they trust banks and building societies to keep their personal data safe.
More than 2,000 UK adults took part in the survey, which was carried out by YouGov and commissioned by Symantec. Respondents were asked to give sectors a trust score of one to seven (one being ‘don’t trust at all’ and seven ‘trust completely’).
On average, nearly 60% of respondents gave social networking sites, online publishers and the online gaming industry a trust score of three or below.
Protecting the integrity of confidential information is of course vital, but making it clear to the public that their information is safe is crucial as well. Security conscious online retailers need to differentiate themselves from bogus sites and the public are increasingly looking for visible signs that a retailer is proactive about security.
Trust seals show that an organisation is what it says it is and has passed a rigorous malware scan enabling a boost in customer confidence for businesses investing in these and displaying them clearly throughout the site.
More than a third of consumers (38%) surveyed felt that they couldn’t trust online communities such as social networking sites and forums with their personal data at all.
The most trusted sector was financial services, with more than half (55%) of respondents saying they trust banks and building societies to keep their personal data safe.
More than 2,000 UK adults took part in the survey, which was carried out by YouGov and commissioned by Symantec. Respondents were asked to give sectors a trust score of one to seven (one being ‘don’t trust at all’ and seven ‘trust completely’).
On average, nearly 60% of respondents gave social networking sites, online publishers and the online gaming industry a trust score of three or below.
Protecting the integrity of confidential information is of course vital, but making it clear to the public that their information is safe is crucial as well. Security conscious online retailers need to differentiate themselves from bogus sites and the public are increasingly looking for visible signs that a retailer is proactive about security.
Trust seals show that an organisation is what it says it is and has passed a rigorous malware scan enabling a boost in customer confidence for businesses investing in these and displaying them clearly throughout the site.
Thursday 22 September 2011
Six Keys to Doing Something Different in Email Marketing
Getting a subscriber on to your email list is a victory, but the battle is not over yet. Chances are that if your email subscriber is on your list, they are also on others’ lists in your industry. This means that they are potentially receiving several emails per week or even per day that have to do with similar products and services as the ones that you are selling. What’s a business to do? Find ways to do something different and stand out from the crowd. Here are few ideas to get you started:
1. Subscribe to your competitor’s list, and see what they are doing.
If you subscribe to several competitors’ lists, you might be surprised to see that all of them are doing exactly the same thing in every email. This gives you an opportunity to break away from the herd and do something new and different. It also lets you see what the standard is – what quality of marketing and content that’s being offered through others’ lists, so you can go a step above and do your own take on it.
2. Get your subscribers involved.
There are several ways to do this. One great idea is to do a customer of the month profile – featuring someone who purchased your products or services last month, drawn randomly. Another way to do this is to have a monthly drawing with prizes for answering trivia questions about your industry or your products and services. Getting your subscribers involved creates a feeling of community and will skyrocket the open rates and responsiveness of your list.
3. Ask for feedback.
People love to give their two cents about things. By asking your subscribers for feedback, you are not only opening the pathway for communication between the two of you, but you are also getting the chance to get valuable input on what to do and where to go with your emails, products, and services. This sets you apart from your competitors because it shows that you actually care.
4. Customize by location.
This is most useful for business’ who have both an online and offline presence, in obvious ways. You can send an email to people who live in your town and advertise an in-store sale, without emailing people who live elsewhere. But you could also run location-specific promotions – for example, say you had a large percentage of subscribers in New Orleans when the Saints won the Super Bowl. You could then send an email campaign to subscribers who lived in New Orleans with a special victory discount. This will make the subscribers feel like you pay attention to their local news and create a feeling of loyalty.
5. Keep it short.
People lead busy lives, and the longer your email is, the less likely it is that it will be read. If you keep your emails at a reasonable length, your subscribers will know that you value their time and attention, and don’t want to waste it.
6. Make it valuable.
For an email to get opened and read entirely, it needs to be more than a pitch about your latest promotion. If you really want to make sure that your emails are opened and read, then you will want to create valuable information that your subscribers actually need and want to read. Aside from this increasing the likelihood of your emails being opened and read in their entirety, it creates a feeling of reciprocity. If your subscribers are consistently receiving something of value from you, they will feel the need to repay you, often by buying your products and services further on down the line.
www.cflmarketing.co.uk
1. Subscribe to your competitor’s list, and see what they are doing.
If you subscribe to several competitors’ lists, you might be surprised to see that all of them are doing exactly the same thing in every email. This gives you an opportunity to break away from the herd and do something new and different. It also lets you see what the standard is – what quality of marketing and content that’s being offered through others’ lists, so you can go a step above and do your own take on it.
2. Get your subscribers involved.
There are several ways to do this. One great idea is to do a customer of the month profile – featuring someone who purchased your products or services last month, drawn randomly. Another way to do this is to have a monthly drawing with prizes for answering trivia questions about your industry or your products and services. Getting your subscribers involved creates a feeling of community and will skyrocket the open rates and responsiveness of your list.
3. Ask for feedback.
People love to give their two cents about things. By asking your subscribers for feedback, you are not only opening the pathway for communication between the two of you, but you are also getting the chance to get valuable input on what to do and where to go with your emails, products, and services. This sets you apart from your competitors because it shows that you actually care.
4. Customize by location.
This is most useful for business’ who have both an online and offline presence, in obvious ways. You can send an email to people who live in your town and advertise an in-store sale, without emailing people who live elsewhere. But you could also run location-specific promotions – for example, say you had a large percentage of subscribers in New Orleans when the Saints won the Super Bowl. You could then send an email campaign to subscribers who lived in New Orleans with a special victory discount. This will make the subscribers feel like you pay attention to their local news and create a feeling of loyalty.
5. Keep it short.
People lead busy lives, and the longer your email is, the less likely it is that it will be read. If you keep your emails at a reasonable length, your subscribers will know that you value their time and attention, and don’t want to waste it.
6. Make it valuable.
For an email to get opened and read entirely, it needs to be more than a pitch about your latest promotion. If you really want to make sure that your emails are opened and read, then you will want to create valuable information that your subscribers actually need and want to read. Aside from this increasing the likelihood of your emails being opened and read in their entirety, it creates a feeling of reciprocity. If your subscribers are consistently receiving something of value from you, they will feel the need to repay you, often by buying your products and services further on down the line.
www.cflmarketing.co.uk
Tuesday 20 September 2011
Direct mail makes a comeback
Nearly three-quarters (71%) of consumers are happy to receive mail from organisations they already buy from, according to an independent survey commissioned by Acxiom.
The results are a major boost for direct mail and the direct marketing industry as a whole, with some 57% of respondents also saying that postal contact was appropriate for prospective customers.
The question was part of a study conducted among both marketers and consumers on behalf of multichannel marketing services and technology company Acxiom.
The research examined consumers’ preferences for communication with client organizations. An explosion of new technology has changed people’s relationships with brands, and marketers are keen to understand how best to build conversations with individuals they are trying to target.
Murray Dudgeon, European client services director at Acxiom, commented: “The unique targeting opportunities that mail provides are clearly backed up by the number of people who think it is an appropriate form of contact.
“Clearly, if good data is used correctly to target the right people with postal campaigns, they are happy to receive marketing through their letterbox – whether or not they have an existing relationship with the sender.”
Email is similarly popular among customers, with 78% of people willingly accepting this form of contact; the figure dropped to 52% for prospects, but this was still the second most appropriate way of targeting people.
Newer forms of marketing are yet to be as wholeheartedly accepted by either customers or prospects. Only 9% of customers felt SMS marketing was appropriate.
Social media was similarly unpopular. Just 4% of customers approve of contact through Twitter and other social media.
Chris Combemale, executive director of the Direct Marketing Association UK, comments: “As Acxiom’s survey highlights, consumers are very clear about how they want to be contacted, with mail and email continuing to be their preferred channels.
“And above all they respond best when the communication is timely, relevant and targeted. This should be at the forefront of every marketer’s mind in these tough trading times, as they fight to retain customers and win new ones.”
To see how you can build a responsive direct mail activity as part of an integrated marketing campaign, please contact CFL on 01225 782669 or log onto www.cflmarketing.co.uk
The results are a major boost for direct mail and the direct marketing industry as a whole, with some 57% of respondents also saying that postal contact was appropriate for prospective customers.
The question was part of a study conducted among both marketers and consumers on behalf of multichannel marketing services and technology company Acxiom.
The research examined consumers’ preferences for communication with client organizations. An explosion of new technology has changed people’s relationships with brands, and marketers are keen to understand how best to build conversations with individuals they are trying to target.
Murray Dudgeon, European client services director at Acxiom, commented: “The unique targeting opportunities that mail provides are clearly backed up by the number of people who think it is an appropriate form of contact.
“Clearly, if good data is used correctly to target the right people with postal campaigns, they are happy to receive marketing through their letterbox – whether or not they have an existing relationship with the sender.”
Email is similarly popular among customers, with 78% of people willingly accepting this form of contact; the figure dropped to 52% for prospects, but this was still the second most appropriate way of targeting people.
Newer forms of marketing are yet to be as wholeheartedly accepted by either customers or prospects. Only 9% of customers felt SMS marketing was appropriate.
Social media was similarly unpopular. Just 4% of customers approve of contact through Twitter and other social media.
Chris Combemale, executive director of the Direct Marketing Association UK, comments: “As Acxiom’s survey highlights, consumers are very clear about how they want to be contacted, with mail and email continuing to be their preferred channels.
“And above all they respond best when the communication is timely, relevant and targeted. This should be at the forefront of every marketer’s mind in these tough trading times, as they fight to retain customers and win new ones.”
To see how you can build a responsive direct mail activity as part of an integrated marketing campaign, please contact CFL on 01225 782669 or log onto www.cflmarketing.co.uk
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