Like the big mail drops of yesteryear, people are being inundated with email, which gets ignored and deleted. The "wow" factor, once a signature of direct mail pieces, is sorely absent in email. Thus, we're seeing a resurgence of direct mail. However, direct mail alone can't capture what it did when there were no other alternative channels. To
harness that lost "wow" factor, one option is to try a hybrid approach: a combination of email and direct mail.
Email is inexpensive where direct mail has to account for postage costs. If the agency is exceptional at creating a mailer that begs to be torn open, that feat will most likely be a prohibitively expensive proposition. But there's a work-around.
A hybrid approach allows you to reach a receptive audience. Assuming we already have an email opt-in list, let's use email as a call-to-action, to persuade our targets to register to receive more enticing information through a nicely illustrated direct mail piece. With the short attention spans people have online, direct mail has to be that much more elaborate. The mailer must be the closer.
The art is to create an incentive through email. It should be enticing enough to cause the consumer to click for more information. With this kind of opt-in, the mailer is allowed to have more meaning. Consumers prefer the tangible, in contrast to just directing them to a website. The direct mail piece can go in-depth, make its presence known, and serve as a constant reminder. Email can't do that.
The risk is disruption in continuity. The consumer has to wait for fulfillment, unlike electronic campaigns which are instantaneous. When building the campaign, this disruption period has to be factored in.
Imagine the opposite scenario. You receive a direct mail piece and the call-to-action asks that you log in and then enter a promotional code to receive a benefit. Most likely this won't fly too well.
Email can be the driver that gets the opt-in permission for the direct mail piece. Once that's established, marketers can justify investing in the creation of more durable and memorable direct mail pieces. This produces an efficient use of the direct mail budget, allowing art to produce a more elaborate "wow" piece.
This hybrid approach ought to give a campaign better lift, better creativity and a chance that the direct mail piece will be read and acted on. Limiting the number of mailers to a selective list reduces your production and mailing costs since you'll be printing less of them. Hopefully, the direct mail piece brings prospects to the next action item and steers them to your target objective.
To see how to implement an integrated marketing approach please log on to www.cflmarketing.co.uk or email philm@cflmarketing.co.uk
Monday, 14 November 2011
4 ways to format your emails to increase readability.
When it comes to sending messages online, readability is an important issue. The ability for your recipients to read their emails and respond to your offers is critical to your email marketing success. While subject lines and delivery times are key factors in whether or not your emails get opened, the readability of your messages determines whether or not your emails get read and acted on, which is, after all, the real point to email marketing in the first place.
The formatting that you use for your emails makes a big difference in whether or not they get read. Here are four ways that formatting can help improve your readability.
1. Formatting makes emails visually attractive.
Like it or not the way that your emails look can be a lot more important that the words contained in the email. The web is a visual medium – which means that a great template can do a lot for less than stellar content. And it can make a newsletter full of great content shine even brighter.
Make sure your newsletter and email marketing messages are built on a great template that looks appealing and encourages your recipients to read. Your template should organize information into different sections so that it’s easy to read.
2. Formatting makes your content “scannable.”
It’s a proven fact that people do not really read online. At least not the way that they would read a book or a newspaper article. It’s difficult to truly read online because of the way that screens are illuminated. It’s hard for people to read through large blocks of text and stay focused when they are reading on a screen.
Instead of reading in depth and reading each word, people scan through information. They look for bullet points, bolded sections, call outs and bite sized chunks of information. You can improve the readability of your messages by doing the same. Look for opportunities to add call outs and headings and chunk information into parts.
3. Formatting helps to show what is most important in your email message.
As you create your email marketing messages, you need to think about how your end user will receive the emails. Many of them may be pressed for time and reviewing your message in a hurry.
Formatting shows the readers what is most important at a glance. For example, if your marketing message is designed to get your reader to make a purchase, you can create an HTML button to bring attention to your call to action. The reader’s eyes will typically zoom right to the HTML button and they’ll be compelled to click.
4. Formatting encourages your readers to take the next step.
When your email readability is improved, your readers know exactly what they should do next. The point is not only to get your emails read but to get your audience to take the right action. No matter whether that’s making a purchase from you, visiting your blog or clicking through to a survey – improve your readability through formatting can help.
By creating a clean and easy to read email with formatting, you can ensure that your readers are taking the next step.
For more info on CFL’s online marketing services please visit www.cflmarketing.co.uk
The formatting that you use for your emails makes a big difference in whether or not they get read. Here are four ways that formatting can help improve your readability.
1. Formatting makes emails visually attractive.
Like it or not the way that your emails look can be a lot more important that the words contained in the email. The web is a visual medium – which means that a great template can do a lot for less than stellar content. And it can make a newsletter full of great content shine even brighter.
Make sure your newsletter and email marketing messages are built on a great template that looks appealing and encourages your recipients to read. Your template should organize information into different sections so that it’s easy to read.
2. Formatting makes your content “scannable.”
It’s a proven fact that people do not really read online. At least not the way that they would read a book or a newspaper article. It’s difficult to truly read online because of the way that screens are illuminated. It’s hard for people to read through large blocks of text and stay focused when they are reading on a screen.
Instead of reading in depth and reading each word, people scan through information. They look for bullet points, bolded sections, call outs and bite sized chunks of information. You can improve the readability of your messages by doing the same. Look for opportunities to add call outs and headings and chunk information into parts.
3. Formatting helps to show what is most important in your email message.
As you create your email marketing messages, you need to think about how your end user will receive the emails. Many of them may be pressed for time and reviewing your message in a hurry.
Formatting shows the readers what is most important at a glance. For example, if your marketing message is designed to get your reader to make a purchase, you can create an HTML button to bring attention to your call to action. The reader’s eyes will typically zoom right to the HTML button and they’ll be compelled to click.
4. Formatting encourages your readers to take the next step.
When your email readability is improved, your readers know exactly what they should do next. The point is not only to get your emails read but to get your audience to take the right action. No matter whether that’s making a purchase from you, visiting your blog or clicking through to a survey – improve your readability through formatting can help.
By creating a clean and easy to read email with formatting, you can ensure that your readers are taking the next step.
For more info on CFL’s online marketing services please visit www.cflmarketing.co.uk
Monday, 7 November 2011
Email marketing hits new highs in most successful half-year
An increase in website traffic generated by email, growth in the number of email addresses under management and a rise in the number of campaigns being run have resulted in the email marketing sector recording its most successful half-year to date, research published by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has revealed.
According to the findings of the DMA’s 2010 H2 Email Benchmarking Report, click-through rates from emails leapt from 12 million in H2 2009 to 16.1 million in H2 2010 - an increase of 33 per cent in the amount of traffic email is marshalling to clients’ websites. The half year also saw a 35 per cent rise in the volume of emails being sent during H2 2010. The number of email addresses that Email Services Providers(ESPs) manage grew across the year from 90.2 million in Q1 2010 to 101.7 million in Q4 2010.
Email marketing budgets rose through the half-year, with a third of clients spending between 21 – 40 per cent more on email in Q4 2010 compared to Q4 2009.
Surveying 20 of the UK’s ESPs, the biannual Email Benchmarking Report is produced by the DMA’s Email Marketing Council. Commenting on the findings of the report, the Council’s James Bunting said:
“Email marketers in the UK are continuing to improve on their success. The DMA’s email tracking study earlier this year showed that consumers are receiving more emails of interest to them than ever before and this latest research shows that those relevant emails are working. Email is driving more traffic to websites than ever before.
The future looks to be even brighter because this success is occurring at a time that ESPs are promising advanced tactics within their product suites enabling even greater targeting and relevance.”
Dela Quist, CEO of Alchemy Worx – sponsors of the report, added:
“Our clients are sending more emails than ever before as they begin to embrace the ‘more is more’ maxim. With increases in volume and frequency, of course, comes the corresponding challenge of producing ever more innovative emails and the demand this places on internal resources.”
The H2 2010 Email Benchmarking Report also features the latest data on strategy and segmentation, as well as open rates and deliverability. To download the report click here>>
CFL are creating more and more email marketing campaigns sending over 3 million client emails in the last 12 months, which is up a million from the previous year. Phil Martin, Marketing Manager said "We are helping our clients to build their own warm databases including email and mobile numbers, these clients include Pub Chains,Breweries, Greyhound racing tracks, nightclubs, bars and other local businesses.
Emails are always targeting and timely, and we are achieving 24% open rates and 20% Click rates and up to 96% deliverability."
www.cflmarketing.co.uk
According to the findings of the DMA’s 2010 H2 Email Benchmarking Report, click-through rates from emails leapt from 12 million in H2 2009 to 16.1 million in H2 2010 - an increase of 33 per cent in the amount of traffic email is marshalling to clients’ websites. The half year also saw a 35 per cent rise in the volume of emails being sent during H2 2010. The number of email addresses that Email Services Providers(ESPs) manage grew across the year from 90.2 million in Q1 2010 to 101.7 million in Q4 2010.
Email marketing budgets rose through the half-year, with a third of clients spending between 21 – 40 per cent more on email in Q4 2010 compared to Q4 2009.
Surveying 20 of the UK’s ESPs, the biannual Email Benchmarking Report is produced by the DMA’s Email Marketing Council. Commenting on the findings of the report, the Council’s James Bunting said:
“Email marketers in the UK are continuing to improve on their success. The DMA’s email tracking study earlier this year showed that consumers are receiving more emails of interest to them than ever before and this latest research shows that those relevant emails are working. Email is driving more traffic to websites than ever before.
The future looks to be even brighter because this success is occurring at a time that ESPs are promising advanced tactics within their product suites enabling even greater targeting and relevance.”
Dela Quist, CEO of Alchemy Worx – sponsors of the report, added:
“Our clients are sending more emails than ever before as they begin to embrace the ‘more is more’ maxim. With increases in volume and frequency, of course, comes the corresponding challenge of producing ever more innovative emails and the demand this places on internal resources.”
The H2 2010 Email Benchmarking Report also features the latest data on strategy and segmentation, as well as open rates and deliverability. To download the report click here>>
CFL are creating more and more email marketing campaigns sending over 3 million client emails in the last 12 months, which is up a million from the previous year. Phil Martin, Marketing Manager said "We are helping our clients to build their own warm databases including email and mobile numbers, these clients include Pub Chains,Breweries, Greyhound racing tracks, nightclubs, bars and other local businesses.
Emails are always targeting and timely, and we are achieving 24% open rates and 20% Click rates and up to 96% deliverability."
www.cflmarketing.co.uk
Thursday, 3 November 2011
How to Create an Email Marketing Campaign Based on Your Reports
Reporting can give you valuable insight into the nature of your email marketing list and how you can improve your marketing campaigns in the future. By paying close attention to your reporting you can develop a strong strategy for email marketing. Make it a point to regularly review your email marketing performance metrics so you can plan better email marketing campaigns.
1. Look to Your Clicks to Find the Most Interesting Topics
If you are sending regular newsletters, there are plenty of opportunities for your recipients to click on a link within each message. By analyzing which topics received the most clicks, you can easily plan future email marketing content and special offers. For example, in your newsletter you feature articles on three topics and you notice that one category consistently gets more click throughs, you can create an offer related to that topic or a resource guide. Your list has shown you exactly what type of content they are interested in receiving in the future so you can act accordingly.
2. Look at Your Open Rates to Find the Most Loyal List Members
High open rates show trust. They show that your audience is engaged with what you are delivering via email and recognizes your delivery address. You can target these most loyal list members with specific marketing campaigns. Review your open rates for the last several months of messages and send a special offer to those list members only. Due to the high past open rates of those list members you can almost insure that they will open and take action on your message.
3. Compare Your Calls to Action on High Click Through Rate Reports
The call to action of your email messages need to be strong and clear in order to be effective. Your reports can give you insight into which calls to action work for your audience. Since getting your list recipients to click through to your offer page and take action is the hallmark of effective email marketing, it is important to review your reports for click through rate. Compare those calls to action and see if you can find a common thread between them. Use that as a template for all of your future email marketing messages.
4. Pay Attention to Unsubscribe Reports to Measure Relevance and Frequency
The top two reasons people unsubscribe from your email marketing list are too many emails and irrelevant emails. Make sure that you are not sending messages too often to your list. Just because they subscribe to your email marketing list does not meant that they want to hear from you frequently. Pick a delivery schedule and stick to it. Send out regular newsletters and alternate those with targeted offers to your most responsive list members. In addition, be sure that your content is relevant. You can survey your list members, look to your frequently asked questions or client feedback to find a suitable list of topics to share with your list members.
With these key reports and list metrics, you can target your future email marketing campaigns for better results.
CFL are experts in HTML email design and execution, providing full and comprehensive reporting statistics and analysis of every campaign (see below). To see some examples please email philm@cflmarketing.co.uk or call 01225 782669
www.cflmarketing.co.uk
CFL Email reporting
1. Look to Your Clicks to Find the Most Interesting Topics
If you are sending regular newsletters, there are plenty of opportunities for your recipients to click on a link within each message. By analyzing which topics received the most clicks, you can easily plan future email marketing content and special offers. For example, in your newsletter you feature articles on three topics and you notice that one category consistently gets more click throughs, you can create an offer related to that topic or a resource guide. Your list has shown you exactly what type of content they are interested in receiving in the future so you can act accordingly.
2. Look at Your Open Rates to Find the Most Loyal List Members
High open rates show trust. They show that your audience is engaged with what you are delivering via email and recognizes your delivery address. You can target these most loyal list members with specific marketing campaigns. Review your open rates for the last several months of messages and send a special offer to those list members only. Due to the high past open rates of those list members you can almost insure that they will open and take action on your message.
3. Compare Your Calls to Action on High Click Through Rate Reports
The call to action of your email messages need to be strong and clear in order to be effective. Your reports can give you insight into which calls to action work for your audience. Since getting your list recipients to click through to your offer page and take action is the hallmark of effective email marketing, it is important to review your reports for click through rate. Compare those calls to action and see if you can find a common thread between them. Use that as a template for all of your future email marketing messages.
4. Pay Attention to Unsubscribe Reports to Measure Relevance and Frequency
The top two reasons people unsubscribe from your email marketing list are too many emails and irrelevant emails. Make sure that you are not sending messages too often to your list. Just because they subscribe to your email marketing list does not meant that they want to hear from you frequently. Pick a delivery schedule and stick to it. Send out regular newsletters and alternate those with targeted offers to your most responsive list members. In addition, be sure that your content is relevant. You can survey your list members, look to your frequently asked questions or client feedback to find a suitable list of topics to share with your list members.
With these key reports and list metrics, you can target your future email marketing campaigns for better results.
CFL are experts in HTML email design and execution, providing full and comprehensive reporting statistics and analysis of every campaign (see below). To see some examples please email philm@cflmarketing.co.uk or call 01225 782669
www.cflmarketing.co.uk
CFL Email reporting
Rise in B2B marketing spend
The fifth B2B Barometer report published last month (October 2011) reveals a surprisingly healthy past 12 months in the B2B marketing sector.
Over half (57%) of client side marketers report a rise in marketing spend, with one quarter reporting increased billings.
This is a marked improvement to the first B2B Barometer in 2009, where 45% said that revenue was falling.
The survey was carried out in August 2011 and is based on the opinions of 137 B2B agencies and marketers.
A sneak preview of the results appeared in Andrew Daglish’s B2B research blog. In it he explains that the bounce back is accompanied by confidence in the future. According to the survey, two-thirds (69%) of agencies and client side marketers are confident about their organisation’s outlook for the next 12 months.
However, the blog does point to a slowdown in growth. While around half (55%) of agencies report an increase in enquiries, the level of growth has dropped since the January 2011 B2B Barometer when 67% had seen a rise.
Phil Martin, Marketing Manager at CFL Marketing said "Last year was slow due to the ecconomic environment, however we have seen a large serge in client B2B marketing activity and spend which is very pleasing"
www.cflmarketing.co.uk
Over half (57%) of client side marketers report a rise in marketing spend, with one quarter reporting increased billings.
This is a marked improvement to the first B2B Barometer in 2009, where 45% said that revenue was falling.
The survey was carried out in August 2011 and is based on the opinions of 137 B2B agencies and marketers.
A sneak preview of the results appeared in Andrew Daglish’s B2B research blog. In it he explains that the bounce back is accompanied by confidence in the future. According to the survey, two-thirds (69%) of agencies and client side marketers are confident about their organisation’s outlook for the next 12 months.
However, the blog does point to a slowdown in growth. While around half (55%) of agencies report an increase in enquiries, the level of growth has dropped since the January 2011 B2B Barometer when 67% had seen a rise.
Phil Martin, Marketing Manager at CFL Marketing said "Last year was slow due to the ecconomic environment, however we have seen a large serge in client B2B marketing activity and spend which is very pleasing"
www.cflmarketing.co.uk
Consumers like marketing emails
Consumers are responding more favourably to email marketing than ever before, new DMA research reveals.
The 2011 DMA/fast.MAP Email Tracking Study, produced in conjunction with Alchemy Worx, credits improved segmentation and better targeting for this surge.
Consumers welcome marketing emails from brands they trust.
More consumers find the marketing emails they receive are of interest.
In 2010, one in 10 of consumers said that 50% or more or emails they received were of interest. In 2011 this went up to one in three consumers.
The study also reveals that consumers are signing up to receive regular emails in ever-greater numbers.
And 50% of consumers report that they now receive 20 or more emails from brands they trust every week.
There were also some surprising findings. Only 3% of consumers normally pick up their emails on a smartphone and the majority (61%) don’t check or use email at work.
The annual Email Tracking Study surveys 1,800 UK consumers to monitor their perceptions, experiences and responses to email marketing.
The study provides insight for marketers by comparing its results gathered in preceding years to highlight new and prevailing trends within the email marketing sector.
Chris Combemale, executive director at the DMA, says:
“The massive rise over the past year in the number of emails that consumers report as being of relevance to them is a direct consequence of improved targeting and segmentation techniques, as well as a greater understanding of the kinds of content that are appealing.”
If you would like to recieve samples of some targeted HTML email campaigns CFL have produced for their clients, please email philm@cflmarketing.co.uk or call 01225 782669.
www.cflmarketing.co.uk
The 2011 DMA/fast.MAP Email Tracking Study, produced in conjunction with Alchemy Worx, credits improved segmentation and better targeting for this surge.
Consumers welcome marketing emails from brands they trust.
More consumers find the marketing emails they receive are of interest.
In 2010, one in 10 of consumers said that 50% or more or emails they received were of interest. In 2011 this went up to one in three consumers.
The study also reveals that consumers are signing up to receive regular emails in ever-greater numbers.
And 50% of consumers report that they now receive 20 or more emails from brands they trust every week.
There were also some surprising findings. Only 3% of consumers normally pick up their emails on a smartphone and the majority (61%) don’t check or use email at work.
The annual Email Tracking Study surveys 1,800 UK consumers to monitor their perceptions, experiences and responses to email marketing.
The study provides insight for marketers by comparing its results gathered in preceding years to highlight new and prevailing trends within the email marketing sector.
Chris Combemale, executive director at the DMA, says:
“The massive rise over the past year in the number of emails that consumers report as being of relevance to them is a direct consequence of improved targeting and segmentation techniques, as well as a greater understanding of the kinds of content that are appealing.”
If you would like to recieve samples of some targeted HTML email campaigns CFL have produced for their clients, please email philm@cflmarketing.co.uk or call 01225 782669.
www.cflmarketing.co.uk
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Still not too late to market your Christmas Parties???
I'm sure you’re aware it’s only 8 Weeks till Christmas......however did you know over 60% of office Christmas parties have yet to be organised!!
Now is the perfect time to market the festive period to both Businesses and Consumers
So why not contact CFL to build a targeted promotion?
Whether its Design, Posters, Flyers, Mailings, Banners, Emails, or SMS text messages, we can help!
CFL posses that rare combination of operational experience, marketing flair and industry knowledge, our dedicated client services team will custom build a solution to fit any given brief or requirement.
Take a look at some examples of our work below
Remember - you don't have long so drop us a line 01225 782669 - or email philm@cflmarketing.co.uk
Now is the perfect time to market the festive period to both Businesses and Consumers
So why not contact CFL to build a targeted promotion?
Whether its Design, Posters, Flyers, Mailings, Banners, Emails, or SMS text messages, we can help!
CFL posses that rare combination of operational experience, marketing flair and industry knowledge, our dedicated client services team will custom build a solution to fit any given brief or requirement.
Take a look at some examples of our work below
Remember - you don't have long so drop us a line 01225 782669 - or email philm@cflmarketing.co.uk
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