Valentines day is already behind us, although our lovely offer is still good for a few more days (view our newsletter for more details). So be good to your business and take advantage of the savings while giving your email campaigns a fresh and professional look.
Also, included in this months newsletter is our email marketing recap for 2010. As always, let us know if you have any questions or suggestions, we are always happy to hear them!
We’re constantly asked by our clients “what’s the best time to send my email campaign”. Our friends from across the pond, Pure360 have identified patterns in consumers’ responses and below you will find an infographic depicting their findings and recommendations.
Choosing the right day/ time to send your email campaigns can have a huge effect on the overall results. This being said, we recently published a blog article on this exact topic. To read our recommendation on the best time to send your email campaign click here.
Is your email marketing program in need of a redesign? If you haven’t evaluated your marketing practices since last year, then it’s time to ask some pertinent questions about your marketing objectives and strategy. Consider these best practices and start your new year off on the right foot.
1. Craft Your Welcome Letter as a Marketing Email
Don’t settle for a run-of-the-mill boring welcome letter. Instead, use it as an opportunity to start building a solid relationship with your subscribers. Invite your subscribers to connect with you via social media and include links to additional content about your products/ services. Need help? We’d be happy to give you some pointers or help you craft and design an effective welcome email.
2. Use Emails to Follow Up on Cart Abandonment
Cart abandonment rates are astonishingly high, but you can draw some of that lost business back by using emails to follow-up with customers who bailed out before buying. Remind them of their selections and use the email to cross-sell or up-sell. You can also give them the opportunity to leave feedback or offer an incentive for them to come back and complete the purchase.
3. Use Split Tests to Achieve Higher Open and Click Rates
If you don’t test various options, then you’re essentially guessing what will entice readers. Split Testing allows you to choose the most effective subject line, call to action, images, and copy for every email campaign.
4. Give your Subscribers Options
Give your readers the chance to unsubscribe, modify details, or change email preferences without jumping through hoops. Making this process easy leaves a sweet taste in their mouth even if they choose not to remain on your mailing list. With eConnect Email’s list management options, you can stay on top of subscriber information and make sure your emails reach their intended destinations.
5. Integrate Social Media with Your Email Campaign
With the rise of social media you’ll want to make sure you adapt your email campaign to the new landscape. You can increase your overall reach by giving your subscribers the opportunity to share your campaign on the various social networking websites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).
As you rethink your email marketing initiative, take advantage of the tools and solutions available with eConnect Email in order to further engage and interact with your subscribers. If you have any questions or there is ever anything we can do to help you out let us know!
The explosion of social media and mobile devices has proved to be a game-changer for email marketing. While email marketing is alive and thriving, strategies must change to capitalize on consumer behavior in order for companies to leverage their email marketing campaigns most effectively. As we look back over 2010, we can note the shifts in online behavior and use those to project the coming trends for email marketing in 2011.
1. Consumers want real-time value.
The ability to post instant updates, tweets, and comments have trained consumers to expect those things from marketing campaigns as well. You can begin incorporating real-time value into your email marketing by tracking customer behavior on social networks and using that data to create automated campaigns that deliver relevant messages based on triggers and auto-responders created with eConnect Email.
2. Mobile versions increase in popularity.
Some experts predict that 2011 will see mobile device sales outperforming PC sales for the first time in history. Because people check email on mobile devices more frequently than ever before, you’ll need to make sure your email templates/ campaigns are designed to accommodate these users. Curious how your email campaign will display within a specific email system or mobile devices? We’ve got you covered, check out Inbox & Mobile Previews, a premium feature available within eConnect Email.
3. Social media takes center stage.
2010 was the year social media came into its own, and 2011 will be the year that it takes center stage in a wide variety of marketing efforts, including email marketing. You can incorporate you social media efforts into your email marketing campaign by including links to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites within your email campaigns. You can also include eConnect Email’s built in social sharing tools which will allow your subscribers to share your email campaigns via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Buzz (talk about expanding your reach). Now also available is a feature that allows you to integrate a Facebook “Like” option into your email campaign, the whole process takes less than 10 seconds!
4. Social media gives back.
Not only can you use email to help promote your social media efforts, but you can also begin using social media to increase email opt-ins. By placing opt-in opportunities on your Facebook fanpage and in your Twitter posts, you can increase the number of overall subscribers.
5. Dynamic content becomes the norm.
As people share their opinions and product review information, they’ll become more likely to expect businesses to incorporate this data into their marketing campaigns. Using eConnect Email’s Dynamic Content tools will allow you to create a one-to-one email marketing experience which will keep your subscribers engaged!
As email marketing sets sail in 2011, businesses will need to embrace social media and look for tools that will enhance and engage your subscribers like never before. eConnect Email can help you stay on course by giving you the tools you need to meet and exceed user expectations every time.
The year 2010 brought huge changes in the way consumers interact with companies online. As social media opened the door for increased interaction between businesses and their customers, marketing efforts were often left scrambling to keep up with the changing demands of the new marketing landscape. As we head into 2011, the lessons we learned in 2010 can point us in the right direction and keep us on the right track.
Because customers can now interact in real time with businesses, they expect faster responses to their concerns and requests. For your email marketing campaigns, this means staying on top of customer interests and providing real-time value. eConnect Email can help you achieve these goals through email automation by the implementation of email triggers and auto-responders.
While no one knows what the next big “thing” in social media will be, we do know that social media as a technology is not going anywhere anytime soon. While that idea can be intimidating to some businesses, social media actually provides excellent opportunities to grow both your email marketing list and also engage your social media followers online. This being said, we have embraced social media and have actually integrated with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Buzz. Click here for information about the integration of social media with eConnect Email.
While customer service has always been a top priority for successful businesses, customers now expect even greater attention to be paid to their needs due to increased interaction online. This means staying on top of subscriber’s preferences and making sure each email arrives at its intended destination. eConnect Email ensures that your mailing lists stay up to date by using list cleansing, suppression lists, list segmentation as well as giving your subscribers the ability to manage their mailing list subscriptions through the online preference center.
It’s easy to put together a list of best practices and slap them up on a website for others to emulate, but building a truly successful email marketing program takes a little more planning and insight. The truth is that what works for one company may not work for another, so it’s vital that you incorporate testing into your email marketing strategy. That’s why I would recommend that you A/B Split Test each and every email campaign. Split Testing will help ensure that you deliver only the most effective messages to your audience.
With 2010 in the past, businesses will need to take the lessons learned over the past twelve months and build on them to create a strategy that will effectively meet the challenges of 2011. eConnect Email stands ready to help you accomplish this goal with a vast array of tools and features that will help keep your email marketing strategy on the cutting edge. If you have any questions about the capabilities of our application we’d love to hear from you!
Holidays are a great excuse for a fun email campaign. You may be thinking “the holidays are over”, ha, I thought that too until I looked at the calendar and was reminded of all sorts of holidays, worthy of a little email so that you can stay connected with your subscribers.
So, a new year begins with plenty of opportunities to get creative with email marketing campaigns. Here is a little list to get you prepared
Remember the Dress for Success books that flooded bookshelves in the 70s? Bookstores today offer updated versions of those books that reflect fashion shifts over the intervening decades, but the concept remains the same. If people can learn to dress well, they’ll be more likely to get the jobs they want and to command respect in the jobs they have. When you’re dressing for an interview, first impressions can make or break your chances of landing the job, meaning you’ve got to dress the part right from the beginning.
As you’re designing emails for your marketing campaign, a lot of those same principles apply. Viewers typically spend about 20 seconds tops deciding whether to keep your email, delete it, or mark it as spam. eConnect Email can help you dress your emails for success with our design tools and templates, making the most of your first impression by following these user-tested guidelines.
Emails that start with spammy sounding questions such as “Want to win a free t-shirt?” will often be directed into the spam folder, even if it’s a legitimate offer. Instead, start off by identifying yourself with a well-placed company logo or name. Also, make sure your email address is recognizable at first glance.
Use eConnect Email’s image manager to upload, sort, and edit photos that you would like to use when building your campaign. If you want to use colored text, pick a color and stick with it rather than changing colors throughout the message. In addition, avoid fire engine red and hyperlink blue for your primary text colors since these can send spammy vibes.
Any designer will tell you that the details will make or break your entire look. Pay attention to font choice, color, white space, and image placement. Viewers will be more likely to read emails that look as though someone actually cares about what they are sending out.
Always have someone else review your email before you send it. A second set of eyes might catch things you didn’t, and they also might be able to give you some insight on what impression your email will immediately make on your viewers. As a general rule of thumb we always suggest that you send out a test email before deploying it to all of your subscribers. This way you can ensure that any merge tags you may be using are working properly and you have one final chance to catch any changes before it’s to late.
Make a great first impression and improve subscribe response rates by dressing every email for success.
Choosing the right day to launch and send your email campaigns can have a huge effect overall results. Much of the process of deciding on a day will initially rely on intuition (Will people be packing up for the weekend on Friday and therefore be less likely to open emails? Will they be stuck in the doldrums on Wednesday and therefore be more likely to open?). Your decision will also depend on your list specifics and the idiosyncrasies of your target audience, meaning that best practices will be relative. However, there are some concrete steps you can take to determine what day your subscribers will be most likely to engage with the content you send them.
You know your customers better than anyone and you’ve had the chance to observe their habits over time. Take advantage of eConnect Email’s analytics tools to monitor open rates and click rates and then make an educated guess as to which day will be best for your email campaign based on what you learn.
Don’t rely strictly on guesswork, however. Test your theories by sending emails on various days and observing how customers interact with them (again spend some time reviewing campaign stats from previously sent emails).
Aggregated benchmarks often point to weekends as good days to send email. If you engage primarily in business-to-business marketing, however, weekends probably won’t perform well for you. On the other hand, many people can now check email from the comfort of their easy chairs via smartphones, making weekend email checking easier than ever before. Again, we recommend testing, reviewing results and testing again.
Does your email discuss a weekend sale? Is it a newsletter that talks about best practices for business? How about a weekend gardening project? The day you send each email will be affected by what the email contains, so be willing to alter the content within your campaign if you’re sending a time-specific message.
Even if you’ve found the perfect day to send, it’s still important to remain flexible. You might usually send on Mondays, but you’ll want to alter your strategy for Labor Day weekend, for example.
The bottom line is that there is no perfect day to send email that will work for every business. The analytics and stats tools available from eConnect Email can help you determine what the best practice will be for your company in order to maximize the actions (opens, clicks, purchases) taken by your subscribers.
In the aftermath of Black Friday and with Christmas just a couple days away, most businesses are operating on full-throttle holiday adrenaline. Promotional emails and advertising messages flood customer inboxes, but if businesses could step inside the mind of the reader as they’re faced with all these emails, what would they find?
During the week of Black Friday (and also, incidentally, Thanksgiving) I received nearly 70 promotional messages from dozens of retailers between my two email accounts. One of those retailers sent me six messages during that week—seven, if you count the email I received on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Of those 70 emails, only two acknowledged the holiday that supposedly enjoyed the limelight that week. Call me sentimental, but I enjoyed being wished a Happy Thanksgiving, even by a company with whom I rarely shop.
What’s the point? It’s that customers like to be appreciated and treated as people. Not every email you send has to say thanks, and there is
definitely a time for promotional emails that advertise special sales events. But there’s also a time and place for letting your customers know you appreciate them—and not just after they’ve made a purchase. Here are some tips for crafting a thank you message that will keep you on your customers’ nice list this holiday season.
Include the customer’s name and other relevant info such as the last product they purchased. Use eConnect Email’s custom fields/ mail merge features to further personalize email for every customer you contact.
Ask your customers how their purchases worked for them and whether they have any comments about the service they received. Make it easy for them to reply and communicate your desire to hear from them.
If you’re thanking a customer for his or her purchase, make sure they receive your email within 24-48 hours of the transaction. You can use eConnect Email’s personalized autoresponder/ email trigger capabilities to make sure emails arrive in a timely fashion.
If you really want people to know you appreciate them, give them a little something extra. An additional 10% discount or a free gift with purchase can go a long way toward cementing your relationship with your customers.
Whether you’re responding to a purchase or just checking in with a subscriber you haven’t heard from in a while, a thank you email can boost your company image significantly in the eyes of your customers. Use the personalization and list management tools available from eConnect Email to design a thank you note that will fill your readers with holiday cheer.
The team at eConnect Email would like to wish you a wonderful Holiday Season and best wishes for a prosperous 2011! We have put together some tips and tricks to making your email marketing a success in the new year. As always we welcome your feedback and if you have any questions about our software, we are hear to help.
Have a merry little email and a happy new marketing campaign…