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Email marketing results (big $$$)

This news just in:  The HTML emails we're sending for www.exhibitservices1.com are working.  I could give you conversion data about the open-rate and click-through rates, but instead I thought I'd simply say that after the campaign their email box started filling-up and the phone started ringing.  They have orders that are 8-times greater than the cost of the campaign.  Now THAT's some serious ROI.

There's no secret here, just the basic elements of successful email marketing:

• A good list of names
• A great subject line
• A clear, simple, cleanly designed HTML email
• Links that work
• A great website that will inspire web visitors to make contact

Oh, and don't forget to send it from a third-party server and comply with the SPAM laws.

Next step:  Hit Google and find yourself an email list that targets your customer.  Before you buy, make sure you tell them no Spam trap' addresses and no 'global unsubscribes.'  They can't guarantee every email address, but if they know you're a smart shopper they won't sell you a spam list.

Happy hunting!

New Research on Email Marketing (Hint: Add a link or three)

Oh, and add a few pictures while you're at it.

Research released today from the Email Experience Council revealed that 28% of marketing emails don't have links that take the reader back to the advertisers website.

And many are missing images.

Oops.

If you're going to send email marketing, send it in HTML and include interesting, relevant images and 2-3 links back to specific products/services on your website.  There are a number of other super-important details, including sending from an independent server (not MS Outlook from your desktop) to protect against accusations of being a SPAMMER.  This is key.  The research also shows that the creative-- the design and the content-- are critical to the results, starting with a great subject-line.

The fact that emails are going out without images and without links suggests that small businesses have a great opportunity here:  Do email marketing right and you'll leave the competition in the dust.

• More info on email marketing is here.
• Talk to these guys if you're curious if email marketing will pay off.
• Full article is here.

Email lists: Be careful

A quick tip for anyone considering an email marketing campaign:  Do your homework on the list you're considering.

I'll back-up.  There are two types of opt-in email marketing lists:  addresses you gather on your website and those that you buy from a vendor.

An example of a Wheel Media client website with the former is www.pcpipe.com.  This is a very reliable way to gather a list of customers and prospects.  The list will grow slowly, but the quality of the list is high because people have pro-actively taken action.  An excellent strategy.

Buying a list is a bit more tricky.  You'll need to confirm that the names are opt-in, that you aren't paying for duplicate email addresses, and that if there is a problem with the list they will work with you.  The most reliable way to conduct a mail campaign is to use an agency for the content, design and coding, and a dedicated service for the mailing.  This ensures you comply with spam laws.

This mailing service also will also do a cursory review of the list to ensure it's clean.  This review checks for fake email addresses (i.e., fdsfsdf@sfsdf.com) or a high percentage of globally-unsubscribed email addresses.  If it does, you won't be able to send to it, period.  (And you wouldn't want to, because emailing people that don't want to hear from you does more harm than good.)

More info here.

When will your customer call you a spammer?

Email marketing continues to get a bad rap.

Small business executives get so much spam in their own in-box that they figure an email marketing campaign will be a waste of time-- or worse-- their company will develop a reputation as a spammer.  Being cautious is wise, but I feel avoiding email marketing completely is a mistake.

In today's Email Insider newsletter Eric Sass mentions the three most common types of consumer complaints about email marketing.  They make sense to me:

1. The subject matter isn't relevant.
2. The company sends too many emails.
3. The email links to shady websites (spyware, for example.)

The bottom-line?  Build an email list yourself, with real clients and prospects, and respect their time.  Follow these guidelines and you can leave the SPAM on the dinner-table...or on the shelf at the supermarket.

Email marketing works

I came across some data from the marketing and research firm DoubleClick and I was inspired to share: Email works.

...E-mail continues to be a viable direct marketing tactic. Seventy-eight percent said they made a purchase as a result of an e-mail, 59 percent redeemed an e-mail coupon in a store and almost one-third have clicked on an e-mail and made an immediate purchase. Another third reported clicking on e-mails for information and returning later to make purchases...  [December 2005]

Email Marketing: Where to Start

Email marketing is a big topic and my 'Getting Started' posts aim to be brief, so let me offer some quick, simple ideas on how to begin and save the fine-points for another day.  Note that I'm a fan of permission-based email marketing, AKA, 'opt-in.'

1.  Decide what you want to say

• Provide information to your readers
• Develop a voice, a message, and a mission

2.  Build your own list

• Start collecting names on your website
• Add your current and past clients to your list (ask permission.)

3.  Send in HTML

• Look smart, sophisticated and professional to your client
• Provide links back to your site

4.  Obey the SPAM laws

• Unsubscribe link
• Physical address
• Etc.

5.  Be consistent

• Send a monthly newsletter out MONTHLY, no less, no more.
• Always have an extra month's worth of content, so you're not scrambling around at the last minute if things get busy at publishing time.

Email marketing is a great way to turn a friend into a customer, and a customer into a salesperson. (For more on this see this post.)