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Email Style & Etiquette - Best Dressed Emails

JAN 2022: Once/year I like to post this reminder...

"Oops." 

That's something you do not want to hear just after clicking "SEND." Are your emails wearing their finest attire? 

Like any motivational seminar or session on  personal finance, lessons on email etiquette are worth repeating at least once each year. Polish up your email etiquette with online lessons or at-work sessions.

To reinforce your email etiquette right now Read This >>

View this resource for writing at work! Watch This >>

Also here's one additional good read on Email Etiquett3 >> 

Analyzing email data today to build a better program tomorrow.

Turning the corner to 4th quarter, it's time to review, regroup, and rebuild.

Your marketing might need a fresh face, even and especially after surviving 2020.

It's well known that analyzing email data today to build a better program tomorrow. One possible improvement, for example, would be to begin to segment your audience if this has not already been done.

Here are 3 ideas to segment your small business email subscriber list:

1. Create a high-impact segment based on your subscribers who have clicked 2 or more times on links in your emails. Then craft a different type of message for these "most active" fans.
   
   
2. Create a new list just for new subscribers, for example those who have signed up within the past month. Focus a new series of messages for people who are still developing their trust in you.
   
   
3. Create multiple segments based on the type of clicks. Create categories, and build segments based on this behavior.

#emailmarketing

How can I improve the open rate of our email campaign?

Many factors impact the open rate of an email campaign.

Open rate is the result of dividing percentage of emails opened by the percentage of emails successfully delivered. Uncertain how your campaign compares? Here is one vendor's collection of average open rates by industry >>

There is more to the story, of course, and a clear understanding of open rate is important when it is used as a measure of success. Here is a great explanation of Open Rate >>

Looking for ways to improve a campaign's open rate? Although there are many factors impacting open rates that we cannot control, there are several that we can control.

Factors we cannot control include:

• Subscriber's inbox settings
• Subscriber email host's filter settings
• Subscriber's behavior

Factors that we can control include:

• Sender reputation
• Relevance
• Timing

Sender reputation has the greatest impact on whether or not your email gets delivered. Consequently, it also affects whether or not it gets opened. ISPs look at how often your emails are sent, how many are sent, how many bounce, how many are opened, and how many complaints are made against your sending domain name and IP address. This string of reputation data adjusts every time you send an email campaign, and attaches itself to every email you send going forward. If you develop a bad sender reputation your email is less likely to get delivered and thus less likely to get opened. Use email marketing best practices to avoid a negative sender reputation. Here is a great article about email marketing best practices >>

Relevance requires some amount of marketing research. Determine the behaviors and preferences of existing customers to assist in building a more targeted message. Create unique segments within your list of subscribers. Even if you send just two targeted versions of the same marketing message, the campaign will likely draw better results.

Timing is one factor that is a moving target. Best time to send this summer may shift this fall. Timing is directly related to relevance.  Timing is also a two-part equation: there is the time an email is sent, and then there is time the email is opened. Testing is key to timing, and resending is always an option. Here is a good article about the benefits of resending an email >>

If you are searching for ways to improve open rates for your email campaign, it may be time for a program audit - spend an hour with a pro from WinCommunications. Take-aways include an action plan for improvements. Click to learn more >>

Best Practices: Steps to Inbox Success

Be the email message that stands out.

It's a battle for attention in the inbox almost every day as email is the most reliable and most used digital communication tool available. 

Any highly successful email marketing campaign demonstrates use of a powerful subject area. Make it clear that your subscriber knows you and can trust you. Give a reason your email message needs to be opened. Try the following steps to Inbox Success:

1. From Line - Sender: the sender should be whatever or whoever is most likely to be recognized. If this is your business name, then send from Business Name. If this is a person at the business, then send from John Person. 
   
   
2. From Line - Email Address: the email address you send from needs to be familiar, and also to display professionalism and trust. It is best to include your business name in your email identity, and it's more professional to have that business name as the sending domain. Example - Choose to send from [email protected] (NOT [email protected]). 
   
   
3. Subject Line: Depending on your target audience, there's actually a better chance your subscriber will be seeing your email for the first time on a mobile phone than on a desktop computer. A great subject line is short, honest, enticing and relevant - all within just one line of text. Consider adding one or two very specific details toward the end of the subject line. If the front end of the subject line is short, honest, enticing and relevant, then your reader is more likely to scroll or tap to read the remainder of the subject line. And remember your subject line is NOT trying to convert a new client or get a sale. The entire goal of the subject line is to move your reader to open the email message. 
   
   
4. Preheader: This is the sentence that appears below the subject line on a mobile device. This is the second chance you have to entice readers to open the message. Make sure your preheader is not a string of HTML code prescribing a link to a web page. A preheader needs to be deliberate, and it can accomplish many things, such as more details, personalization, even a call to action. 
   
   
5. Test: Test your subject line for maximum success. Try an A/B split at the exact same time to two different groups. Try running an online subject line test at one of many resources such as SubjectLine.com.

Related Resources:
Improving email open rates 
Email Best Practices: Subject Lines 
9 ways smart email marketers are using preheader text 
WinCommunications Email Marketing

What use is email tracking data?

Photo Credit: Largemouth Frog Productions

Mired in tracking data? It is not data that builds a business. It is real results.

So what makes an email campaign successful? Real results and measurement methods should be reviewed often within the cycle of a campaign.

Because pouring over numbers, it is entirely possible to get mired in data analytics, stuck so deep that real results are almost lost in the conversation. A small business owner struggles to keep priorities straight, and a poor interpretation of data can set that business in the wrong direction completely, or perhaps just waste everyone's time.

Email tracking data in its simplest form can be used to measure trends. Trial and error, testing, and reading data over time is a practical and worthy strategy. Set internal benchmarks, perhaps compare them to industry average benchmarks, and adjust variables accordingly.

Look at open rates - compare these to each other and see what variables are trending toward success. If open rates are higher at 4 PM than they are at 7 AM, stick with afternoons.

Consider the scenario where open rates are not the best measure of real results, and the more important statistic is click-through rates. A case may occur where afternoons result in better open rates, but mornings provide much higher click-through rates. In this case, stick with sending email campaigns in the morning.

Clicks are one thing, but do the clicks actually result in the final call-to-action? For many, this means either a purchase or a phone call. Your landing page can make or break real results. Compare email click-through rates with real results. If CTR goes up, but real results are unaffected, the landing page likely needs some work.

An email marketing strategy is as durable as the daily weather forecast. Review and revise often to maintain maximum real results.

Discuss your strategy with the email marketing experts at WinCommunications >>

Mix a little social into your email!

Small businesses often cannot afford big spends on marketing. So it comes down to choices. 

Will we get a better return on an email campaign, or should we create a social media campaign? Where do you spend your time and money?

Keys to this discussion are target audience and actual tracking data. If you know your audience spends time on social media, that seems the perfect choice. But statistics show you that email marketing has the best return on investment. 

So the best option? Do both. Integrate social media with your email campaign. This is a simple and solid solution to extend the reach of your campaign and reinforce your message.

Three simple steps to integrate include:

1. Use social links within the body of your email.
2. Add social buttons to the landing page of your email campaign.
3. Post your email campaign to your social media sites. 

Once an efficient and reasonable process is developed for your business, the marketing campaign is more likely to be accomplished. For more on a good process for small business internet marketing read:

Creative Strategies - Web and Social Media >

Read more about integrating social media and email marketing here:

• Integrate Email and Social Media Marketing to Combine the Benefits of Both
• 7 Creative Ways to Integrate Social Media and Email Marketing

 An hour of marketing advice can go a long way. Get in touch soon with the Email Marketing Pro at WinCommunications.com.

Got Social in Your Email?

3 Ways to Integrate Social Media into Your Email Marketing

We are grateful for that monumental moment that Reese's brought together the two favorite flavors peanut butter and chocolate. Two great tastes that taste great together.

Similarly, mix social media with email to create a richer, zestier marketing campaign. Integrate social media with email marketing to better reach your target audience and reinforce your message.

Here are 3 ways to integrate social media into your email campaign:

1. Add social icons to your email template - take subscribers to your Facebook or Twitter page with one click.
2. Post email campaigns to your social media sites - subscribers may be more likely to read your message on Facebook that day if their Inbox was too full.
3. Convert social followers to email subscribers with a sign-up form - followers can choose to subscribe, make sure to provide a benefit. For example, "To download our free white paper, become an email subscriber!"

Find additional ideas on how to integrate social media with email marketing here at PracticalEcommerce and here at MovableInk. 

Get assistance with your campaign by connecting with WinCommunications

Best Practices - Email Call-to-Action

I've opened your email, now what do I do?

Too often an email grabs my attention then veers off message, leaving behind my 3 wasted seconds and a deleted email with no clear call-to-action. You know the ones - where finding the BUY button is a virtual game of hide-and-seek. Or searching for the REGISTRATION link is like an online Word Search Puzzle.

Even more frustrating are landing pages which have nothing to do with the email's main message. If your email event invitation says "Click to Register" but takes me to a Home Page with a two-year-ago video and nothing about the upcoming event, well, "ba-bye." 

So make the most of your email by developing a landing page that follows through with the promise you are making in your email campaign. Call-to-Action is a process that begins in the email and does not stop until action is complete. The landing page should look and feel similar to the email. It should offer all the details that didn't fit into the email. It should display a clear and final call-to-action.

Useful article on at Clickz.com on Landing Pages:
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2380783/3-steps-to-improving-your-lead-generation-landing-pages 

Build a Landing Page with WinCommunications! Visit WinCommunications today.

Ask a Question - Can I Be Sure the Pictures Will Display?

Worried about how your email will render once it lands in the recipient's inbox?

You can subscribe to the most reputable email service provider out there, and it is still a 3rd party sender. In other words, they are not you.

Your email appears to be sent from [email protected]. However, with an online subscription service in use, be aware that your email is routed through servers outside your company's domain. In most cases, as long as you are following best practices in email marketing, this is not a problem.

We also know that on the receiving end, all email systems do not render emails the same. This is the most challenging element of email marketing design. So plan for missing images and avoid complicated programming techniques.

IMAGES:
For example, some email systems ask users to approve images prior to displaying them, some do not. And in fact there are some systems, although far fewer, that are actually incapable of image display.

A few well-selected images can improve response when displayed properly in the inbox. Note, however, that too many images might not be a good idea. A recent study by Constant Contact revealed there may be an adverse effect related to more than 3 images in an email. There are plenty of studies and lots of data on how images affect email response.

Your email should be programmed with "alt" tags for those who do not see images. This means that if an image does not show up, there are words available to display as substitute.

FILTERING:
Email systems have predefined filters that dictate whether or not an image is displayed. Filters also determine whether or not a link is active. There may be cases where a recipient opens the email but cannot click the links. This is often the result of a recipient-side setting that disallows active links from 3rd party senders. One way to manage links would be to include the actual URL typed out on the page so the recipient can copy/paste into a web browser.

We are never sure of anything on the web or in email. So the best strategy is to incorporate email marketing best practices to reduce the chance for variation and increase the odds of success. And hire help if you need it! WinCommunications.com.

Can a flash sale work for your business?

 

Looking for that spike or seasonal boost for your business?

Let's break down what that might mean.

A boost is any increase or improvement.  It's that sudden bright spot during an otherwise dull time frame. Beyond increasing this month's profit, your email marketing strategy can focus on increasing either the number of customers in your database or the number of leads in your pipeline. Maybe the boost you're looking for is more focused on developing brand advocates or improving the quality of your leads.

In retail, an email flash sale is a technique where a discount or promotion is offered for a short period of time. This technique can also be effective for service-based businesses.

A well planned email flash campaign can do three things.

1. Reconnect. Contact your brand advocates with a value-added offer for instant revenue boost.
2. Reinforce. Reestablish your reputation among connections with expert tips offering extreme value to encourage forwarding and sharing for viral impact.
3. Refine. By carefully crafting an email campaign that progressively targets only those who show interest, your list of prospects will become more refined as the quality of the list improves.

Create your 4-step email flash campaign with a link to rock solid landing page

Email #1: Communicate your enthusiasm for your business with a high energy, personalized email, and representative of your brand or image. Include a link to a landing page offering a discount or deal on your product or service. Friends and fans will click because they know and love you.

Email #2: Establish your reputation as the expert in your field. Refer to a statistic, case study or publication that supports your expertise. Include a link to a landing page with sign-up form to receive an exclusive informative document (white paper). Readers will click because they are interested in this topic.

Email #3: Describe a problem you will solve and how it will benefit your targeted recipient. Include a link to that landing page offering a discount or deal on your product or service. Readers will click because they are curious about your offer to solve their problem.

Email #4: From within your email marketing system, extract all email addresses of contacts who opened any of the first 3 emails. Send one more email to that subgroup. Include your most compelling argument for reader to purchase your product or sign up for your service, and include your best offer yet. IMPORTANT: Make sure there is a deadline to create that sense of urgency.

Remember this is a flash campaign. These four emails should be scheduled all within days or within one week to have the most impact.

Looking for ways to grow your email subscriber list?
Read this >>

Looking for help with your email marketing strategy?
Read this >>

 

 

Best Practices - List Cleaning

Looking for better results when you open your email marketing tracking data? For improved delivery rates, more significant open rates, and higher performing click-through rates, it is important to sweep away the clutter in your database.

1. A clean list starts with a review of subscriber acquisition processes. How are you acquiring subscribers? Are online sign-up forms clearly labeled to get permission for your next email? Do you get permission before you enter a new subscriber or upload files full of new subscribers? Is your data complete, accurate and without typos? Do you have a process for acquiring user preferences?
   
   
2. Export your existing list into an Excel file for a Subscriber Review. Do you really need each of these subscribers on your list in order to reach your goal? Have you assigned subscriber attributes that are actually helpful in segmenting your subscribers for targeted campaigns. Are you still sending to bounced email addresses? If so, remove these to improve delivery rates. Also, check for typos. 
   
   
3. Separate active and inactive subscribers. Using data from previous campaigns, segment your most active subscribers. Send occasional thank you notes to this group. Send occasional confirmation emails to the inactive group asking them to confirm their email address and their subscription. Those who reply move to your high-priority active list. The rest stay on the low-priority inactive list. Send emails accordingly, understanding that the active list will show much better results.

List cleaning services are available, for example at EmailAnswers.com or TowerData.com. Related articles include this one by Martin Corbin, 4 Ways to Clean Up your Email Marketing List.

Best Practices - Building Your Email Marketing Campaign

It's like warm-ups before stepping on the track, or packing before getting on the plane. Great email marketing begins before your fingers hit the keys. Take time to ask questions first.

Two questions to ask yourself before beginning the process of building your email marketing campaign:

1. Do I have the skills and knowledge that I need to succeed?
2. What will success look like once the campaign is completed?

If you decide you're short on email marketing skills, go online and learn - there are resources out there for learning these skills (Try this one for beginners at UDEMY.com). Once you are sure you know what you are doing and what you are trying to achieve, then ask more detailed questions. 

Questions to ask as you begin designing your email marketing program:

• What is the strategic goal of this campaign?
• Who is my target audience, what do they need most, where are they when they read my email?
• Do I have permission to email them, if not how do I get permission?
• What email system will I use, does it have limitations?
• What is my budget for this campaign?
• What email design will work best for my audience?
• What action am I asking them to take?
• How many and how often will I email in order to achieve my goal?
• Can I integrate social media to make a difference?
• What day/time should I email in order to achieve my goal?
• How will I measure success?

One more resource on creating an email marketing plan from tutsplus.com >>

Hire help if you need it, any step in the process: WinCommunications.com

Creative Strategies - Making Use of Email Marketing Statistics

3 Stunning Statistics to Shape Your Email Marketing Strategy

The boss likes statistics. Here are a few stats to support your email marketing program. It's no secret that email marketing is the most effective marketing solution per dollar spent. Small and big businesses alike can take advantage of the affordable one-to-one targeted marketing tools and add revenue as a result.

1. For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is  $44.25. (ExactTarget) [OutboundEngine.com]
   
   In other words, spend $5000, expect $220,000 ROI. Consider increasing email marketing budget.
   
   
2. 45% of email opens occured on mobile, 36% on desktop and 19% in a webmail client. – Adestra “Top 10 email clients” (March 2015) [EmailMonday.com]
   
   Know the audience. Redesign email templates so they are display across platforms.
   
   
3. Removing subscribers who have not engaged in over a year instantly increases your deliverability rate by 3 to 5%. - WhoIsHostingThis "Email Deliverablilty 101" (2014) [EmailStatCenter.com]
   
   Bounce rates should stay below 10%, ideally below 3% to avoid possible blacklisting. Make sure lists are not cluttered with outdated or unengaged email accounts.

Visit WinCommunications.com and click "Email Marketing" to get help with your Email Marketing Strategy.

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aidanmorgan/

Best Practices - Email in Email Signature?

Inc. recently reposted Kevin Zawacki's Slate article titled, "Stop Putting Your Email Address in Your Email Signature." Of all things that would be bothersome about email signatures, this one really does not deserve the rant.

In fact, I prefer the at-a-glance professional identity to be complete and to include the email signature. It simplifies a few of our daily tasks, for those in sales, customer service, business ownership, networking professionals... 

For example, I will look to a saved email to for details to refer someone to another client, or to add to my prospect database (STEP 1). If the email address is missing in the signature, I need to scroll up and look to to the sender bar (STEP 2). In Gmail, senders appear as their full names - in the sender area the email address often is not displayed. So then I must hit reply or the more-info-arrow in order to grab the email address in order to include in my referral or to add to my own CRM database (STEP 3).

In Outlook (second most widely used email client), the email is displayed in the sender bar. However, when I try to copy the email address (ALTERNATIVE STEP 3), the system also copies the full name and the [] characters. So the next step, once pasted into my database, is to remove the full name and special characters from that field (STEP 4).
 
It would be  so much easier to just see that email address in the email signature where the rest of the professional identity appears. 

What do you think?

Creative Strategies - Preparing Your New Email Marketing Campaign

More and more small businesses seem to be signing up to use various email marketing software applications. There are two questions to ask yourself if you are in the process of building your own email marketing campaign:

1. Do I have the skills and knowledge that I need to succeed?
2. What tools do I need to help me successfully reach my target audience and my intended results?

Other questions to ask as you begin designing your email marketing program:

1. Who is(are) my target audience(s)?
2. Do I have permission to email them, how do I get permission?
3. What are the goals of this marketing strategy?
4. How often should I email in order to achieve my goal?
5. When should I email in order to achieve my goal?
6. What action is my email asking the subscriber to take?
7. Is my message written as concisely and effectively as possible?
8. Is the design of my email going to work in their inboxes? 

Successful email marketing requires hard work. This takes preparation, creativity, talent, research, and a well developed strategy.

Ask a Question - How can we improve email response?

Begin by looking at barriers to success. 

1. One common barrier: Missing Call-to-Action. If the "ask" is hard to find, so is success. If your email is too full of information, the reader is overwhelmed. Remember, an average of 3 seconds is what you have to convey your message in an email. 
2. A second barrier: Complicated. Make sure the process from click to web site through purchase of product is as simple as possible. And TEST the process before sending the email!
3. A third possible barrier: Relevance. Know what's relevant to your audience. Stick to the message with the most meaning. 

More effective email messages focus on reactions. Take a few minutes to write down reasons that your product or service is significant to your audience. Then create a message directed more at the reason than at the product.

Email Style & Etiquette - Anatomy of an Email

Has your best friend emailed you from work a hilarious summary of the late-night antics at the neighborhood pub? 

Or did your department chair recently email you at work about his attraction to your co-worker with a plea for your help to hook them up?

Maybe you are a manager at the office and a staff member emailed you a personal situation they need help with that could result in a conflict.

It is time for a mandatory email etiquette lesson! 

Like any motivational seminar or session on  personal finance, lessons on email etiquette bear repeating at least once each year.

And good email etiquette begins by understanding how email works.

Now is the time, call now or email me to schedule your 45-minute session on:

Email Etiquette:
The Anatomy of an Email

Call 866-Win-Mail

Visit this resource for writing at work! www.WriteBetterAtWork.com.

Highlight of the Week - Successful at Large

It is not usually a good idea to put a large amount of content into an email. 

That said, it is always a good idea to know your audience when sending an email.

A year ago or so, the Communications Committee of the National Rural Economic Development Association (NREDA) was inclined to move their newsletter to a web page, and simply email the link to members. The committee surveyed their members and learned that most would more likely read their news if it was within the body of the email. 

So the challenge was in front of them: how to successfully present a large amount of content in an email.

The solution was a layout that was well organized and easy to navigate. WinM@il created a three-column layout with a complete table of contents at the top and ample navigation throughout. Large subheads make topics easy to find. Links to excess information make indepth stories more digestible.

If this is a familar challenge, please comment with any additional ideas for organizing large content into an email. 

For an example of the NREDA email newsletter, visit: http://bit.ly/IhpT7g 

 

Creative Strategies - Avoiding the Where's Waldo factor

As part of the proof reading process, put to test your email marketing campaign's call to action.

Open your email. After 3 seconds, decide if you know what to do next based on what you saw. 

For example, often an email will include product information, image, and contact info in the top few inches of the email. Once the reader scrolls to the bottom, only then does the reader see the call to action, something like, "click here for more info."

Revision strategy: Move the call to action to the top portion of the email. Change the language to be more specific, "Click to view sizes and colors of our entire collection."

Remember, people do not want to open an email and have to hunt for the message. Your call to action is not an entry in a Where's Waldo contest. Write clearly, place promently.

A good article on this subject appears on the Email Critic's blog at http://emailcritic.com/2011/03/email-marketing-calls-to-action-cta/

 

Best Practices - Replace Text Links with Buttons

I received a follow-up email from Backcounty.com after purchasing a few Christmas gifts. The email was clean, well organized, and full of image buttons that were almost irresistible! 

There were three buttons per item purchased, all asking for feedback of some sort. They are like candy! 

         

Ah ha! Did you try to click one of these?! 

It's true that image buttons draw more action than text links. The reality is, for the staff in charge of building the email campaign at many smaller businesses, there just is no time for these types of design modifications. But tweek your email design just a bit and you might see more success. 

For example, download an image to link to any social media site using ButtonsHut.com. And be sure to put some space (padding) around the button. An article at Clickz.com recently reminded us to design for mobile phones 100% of the time as smart phone usage continues to grow. 

"The padding around links and buttons needs to increase so larger fingers can click accurately."

Read the Clickz article here:
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2128674/b2b-email-trends-watch-2012

Bottom line, try using buttons instead of text links. 

Tweet

Ask A Question - Why The Low Open Rate?

• What does "opened" mean in email tracking?     
  The system for tracking opens is called "pixel tracking" - where a tiny 1x1 pixel blank image must appear on the reader;s screen in order for the "open" to be recoreded. So, what this means is that if viewers are receiving and opening their email in a no-image context, either on their phone or in their inbox with the images turned off, we will not be recording that as opened. More and more email clients read emails without pictures turned on, so unless the images are truly key to the message, they may never be viewed. Email open rates are best used as a measure over time, compare rates of fall emails vs spring emails, etc.
• What do industry experts suggest for a better tracking system?   
  Methods to get more "opens" actually recorded include: 1) Add motivators for viewers to open their images; 2) Add must-click links within the email, because a clicked link also triggers an "open" to be recorded; 3) Put of-interest data in a picture format within the email; include a "More Details Click Here >>" link to a flier or registration form. 
• What if our list of subscribers has too many uninterested people?     
  Email marketing is a trial-and-error system and over time, our list of active and interested subscribers will organically shrink due to bounced and unaccessed email addresses and unsubscribes.  So as the list of active/interested subscribers shrinks in total number, the percentage of opens will go up.  
• What can we do to make our emails more relevant and enticing so people will open and read them?     
  THIS is the most written-about topic in the discipline of email marketing!  Some factors to consider include: 1) The FROM line - this is the #1 factor determining if a reader will open an email.  So do your subscribers know who [email protected] is?  Do they trust this email?  2) The SUBJECT line - this is the #2 factor.  So what is it about the subject line that could be more preventing people from opening the email?  Maybe it needs to be more specific, more tied to the timing of the email or specific to an issue. 3) Is email the right way to reach your     target audience?  Ultimately, a good effort of 6 email attempts, measured over time to compare the open rates, will tell you if you are on the right track.  Ask around, send an email asking for      feedback or actually ask,"Click if you read this and want to continue receiving our emails." 

Best Practices - Email Etiquette

Found at Voddie.com  http://bit.ly/eDDhJg 

What is so powerful that it could spoil your customer relationships, blemish your reputation, entangle you in a legal battle, or even put you out of work?

Email is that powerful tool. To maintain control over it, you must know the rules of email etiquette.

Email, although a form of written communication, behaves much like verbal communication. Email can be expressed quickly, and a response returned within seconds.

Kathryn Towner has written a very good article at Marketing Profs, showing you how using the correct etiquette when sending emails will always provide a greater response.

 

Highlight of the Week - Email Trends Webinar

Presented by a true expert, Webinar: Email Marketing Trends for 2011 - tomorrow at 9am CET:

A BrightTALK Channel

Creative Strategies - Web and Social Media

Apply the "BEEPD" Strategy...

Struggling to figure out how to manage your various social media efforts?

Avoid spreading too thin, shouting in all different directions, and quit wasting time in the wrong lane of internet traffic.

Here's a simple process that will work. The world of social media can be very enticing. With a good plan and an organized process, the circle of web marketing will fall more easily in line:

"Get BEEPD!"

1. Brainstorm at your Blog.
2. Elaborate at your Web site.
3. Entice via Email.
4. Point from Twitter.
5. Discuss on LinkedIn.

Stick to the plan, stay in the right lane!

© Kathryn Towner, WinCommunications

Best Practices - Blogging vs Email Marketing

When it comes to measuring time spent, analyzing dollars budgeted, and calculating successful marketing strategies, it seems that their impact, value and effectiveness are often up for debate, regardless of the method or medium.

For example, email marketing came along a decade ago or so with a whirlwind of activity and applause, and the percieved value depended on numbers sent, numbers clicked and easy-to-measure statistics newly available. As email marketing matured, the lines were drawn regarding privacy, overload and qualified senders. And measure of success these days is often put in terms of how it compares.

Email marketing is beyond comparison, however, as the most targeted, widely used one-to-one "push" marketing strategy with results that are measurable. Professionals agree, email marketing is the backbone of most cross-marketing and social media strategies.

Recently the web site Mashable.com posted an article comparing blogging with email marketing. Read their article here:
http://mashable.com/2010/12/16/generations-internet-infographic/# and read the whole thing, it's great stuff.

Blogs are useful, but more in the same way web sites are, as storage areas for resources and information – they are the libraries, service centers and storefronts.

Blogs are NOT push medium, and they don't pull very well either, but they are handy if you have advice to give and don't want to repeat yourself each time a question is asked. That's how I use my blog, anyway. Every time I answer a question via email, I save post the explanation to my blog. That way next time I can just send a link!

Great email marketers send the right message to the right people at the right time. That is an art form, and it is appreciated by those who have asked to be sent those permission-based emails. No other marketing medium is based on being asked, what a fantasticly welcome idea!

Great bloggers write when they have something worthwhile to say. They integrate the blog information into their next Tweet or Facebook post and point fans to their blog for details. They understand how all these content areas are used for search marketing. For tips on optimizing your blog post for web search, visit Typepad's reference area and read:
http://www.typepad.com/tips/blog-seo-tips.html.

For best practices in email marketing, visit WinBlogger.com.

Best Practices - Blogging vs Email Marketing

When it comes to measuring time spent, analyzing dollars budgeted, and calculating successful marketing strategies, it seems that their impact, value and effectiveness are often up for debate, regardless of the method or medium.

For example, email marketing came along a decade ago or so with a whirlwind of activity and applause, and the percieved value depended on numbers sent, numbers clicked and easy-to-measure statistics newly available. As email marketing matured, the lines were drawn regarding privacy, overload and qualified senders. And measure of success these days is often put in terms of how it compares.

Email marketing is beyond comparison, however, as the most targeted, widely used one-to-one "push" marketing strategy with results that are measurable. Professionals agree, email marketing is the backbone of most cross-marketing and social media strategies.

Recently the web site Mashable.com posted an article comparing blogging with email marketing. Read their article here:
http://mashable.com/2010/12/16/generations-internet-infographic/# and read the whole thing, it's great stuff.

Blogs are useful, but more in the same way web sites are, as storage areas for resources and information – they are the libraries, service centers and storefronts.

Blogs are NOT push medium, and they don't pull very well either, but they are handy if you have advice to give and don't want to repeat yourself each time a question is asked. That's how I use my blog, anyway. Every time I answer a question via email, I save post the explanation to my blog. That way next time I can just send a link!

Great email marketers send the right message to the right people at the right time. That is an art form, and it is appreciated by those who have asked to be sent those permission-based emails. No other marketing medium is based on being asked, what a fantasticly welcome idea!

Great bloggers write when they have something worthwhile to say. They integrate the blog information into their next Tweet or Facebook post and point fans to their blog for details. They understand how all these content areas are used for search marketing. For tips on optimizing your blog post for web search, visit Typepad's reference area and read:
http://www.typepad.com/tips/blog-seo-tips.html.

For best practices in email marketing, visit WinBlogger.com.

Highlight of the Week - Mary Cantando's Newsletter

I LOVE Mary Cantando's email newsletter!  Today's "Weekly Growth Tip" is about worrying.  Past tips have been about organizing, staying young, surprising your customer...Mary has some simple and very effective short tips that really hit the spot every time.  Here is the list today:

5 Ways to Stop Worrying

1. Keep busy.
2. Pick a specific time of day and allow yourself to worry for 10 minutes at that time each day. If you start to worry at other times, remind yourself that you've got that 10 minutes reserved to worry, so you don't need to worry right now.
3. Don't worry about something you said or did in the past. We think others remember dumb things we said or embarrassing things we did, but these things are almost always forgotten by others and remembered only by ourselves.
4. Think back to a specific thing you worried about that turned out fine. When you start to worry, remind yourself of the hours you wasted worrying about something specific that ended up better than you expected.
5. "You can't change yesterday, but you can ruin today worrying about tomorrow." Tana Greene, as quoted in The 2010 Woman's Advantage Shared Wisdom Calendar.

The only thing Mary is missing in her email newsletter is the address of her web site!  For more of Mary's great ideas, go to www.thewomansadvantage.biz .

Cool Marketing Resource - LinkedIn Group Suggests Email Marketing Providers

A member of the eMarketing Association Network LinkedIn Group asked "Can anyone recommend an Email Service Provider (ESP) to send out email campaigns?"  Here are the suggestions so far over the past month. (Listed in no particular order, other than the first one is my favorite)  NOTE: add .com to any of these to get to their web sites!

• ExactTarget
• Boomerang
• MailerMailer
• Eloqua
• MailChimp
• Responsys
• Silverpop
• EmailLabs
• VerticalResponse
• CampaignMonitor
• MyNewsletterBuilder
• Bronto
• CheetahMail
• ConstantContact
• InxMail
• ThinkDigit
• LiftMySales
• SendIt
• Publicaster
• Peer360
• DotMailer
• SimplyCast
• Emarket360
• eDialogue
• iContact
• Zumie
• ZetaInteractive
• eConnect
• MadMimi
• SendPepper
• Emma
• AceOfSales
• SubscriberMail
• Campaigner
• RatePoint
• EmailBrain
• AWeber
• Media1llc

Highlight of the Week - Pam Schoffner

Pam Schoffner posted a rave about social media on her blog:

http://www.schoffner.com/2010/08/thank-you-social-media.html

There is nothing all that unusual about this, except that Pam is one of my friends I rely on for good old-fashined stick-to-the-basics reasoning and perspective.

What happend?  Pam found she actually enjoys social media exchanges, and is recommending it to people she knows! 

So this is telling.  Marketing fuddy duds beware, even the traditionalists are logging on to facebook these days! 

My questions...Is it working?  Does it sell your business or service? Does it bring in customers?  Do you generage measurable results?  And do you measure those results?

Highlight of the Week - Monday Marketing Builder

A new email is coming to my inbox, and I am happy to see that is uses three important must-have features of a good email campaign.  The new relationship-building campaign is sent by Chris Wood at KCCI in Des Moines. 

Here is what Chris is doing right:

1. Catchy, specific subject lines, like "Boom, Boom, POW---> Don't forget about the Boomers!"
2. Brief, easy-to-scan content, like this week's email which was one paragraph, one image, a couple bullets and a chart.
3. Relevant, new stuff!  He reports facts and research that I haven't seen yet, and provides the link for more info.

Here is what Chris could improve: Layout and presentation.  Let's see if we can get a more professional and attractive design for the next one!

Creative Strategies - Include Loyal Customers in Your Email Newsletter

Add this to the email strategy toolbox:

Introduce good customers to other good customers by including fans in the your actual email copy. Often a good customer is willing to comment or give testimony, and creating this kind of exchange via your email newsletter can reinforce loyalty and repeat business. Add facebook and Twitter icons to further encourage customer inteaction.  (READ PREVIOUS POST!)

Cool Marketing Resource - DIGIDAY:DAILY

Nick Godfrey writes succinctly and pointedly about the importance of strategy.  Read his article here >>
digiday:DAILY - Improving Email: Crafting an Effective Communications Strategy.

Creative Strategies - Building a facebook Page for Your Brand

Did you know that Google results can improve if your brand has an active facebook page?  Add this idea to your list of ways to improve your web site's search engine results!  Create a brand page, and post your brand "badge" on your blog and in your next email marketing campaign.  Here's a new WinM@il badge:

WinM@il

Promote Your Page Too

Creative Strategies - Ask for Referrals

One of the simplest and most effective ways to grow your email list and likewise your target list is to ask your biggest fans for their help!  If they appreciate your email newsletter or email campaign, for whatever reasons, then these are the best people to ask for a referral.

And email marketing tools make this process simple.  Highlight your forward-to-a-friend button in your next email campaign.  Encourage sharing and be willing to share.  Using an integrated sign-up request once the email is forwarded, someone you never would have reached otherwise is now able to sign up for your newsletter!

Those who do participate (and you know who they are through your email marketing tool) should be rewarded.  A week later send a thank you note, better yet send a special offer or a valuable "How-To" document that has not yet been posted anywhere.

Email works well for new customer acquisition, it just needs to be executed properly and tactfully.

Email Style & Etiquette - Presentation to ISAE

Kathy Towner and Mike Sansone present a session on Email Etiquette to members and guests of the Iowa  Society of Association Executives on April 26, 2010:

Etiquette, Efficiency, and Effectiveness in Electronic Messaging

This session will focus on communications etiquette within the online environment. Learn strategies for producing and responding to electronic media and messages. Learn to recognize which types of messages are appropriate for the various channels of communiqué, as well as tips and time-savers for managing the daily deluge of incoming messages.

Best Practices - Preparing Your New Email Marketing Campaign

More and more small businesses seem to be signing up to use various email marketing software applications. There are two questions to ask yourself if you are in the process of building your own email marketing campaign:

1. Do I have the skills and knowledge that I need to succeed?
2. What tool is the best to help me successfully reach and affect my target audience?

Other questions to ask as you begin designing your email marketing program:

1. Who is(are) my target audience(s)?
2. Do I have permission to email them, how do I get permission?
3. What are the goals of this marketing strategy?
4. How often should I email in order to achieve my goal?
5. When should I email in order to achieve my goal?
6. What action is my email asking the subscriber to take?
7. Is my message written as concisely and effectively as possible?
8. Is the design of my email going to work in their inboxes?

Like any fully functional web site design or effective and attractive ad design, email marketing requires a trained professional and a well developed strategy in order to succeed.

My favorite tool is ExactTarget.  As an alternative, iContact has a nice platform.

Read more about email marketing tools:

http://www.email-marketing-options.com/providers

http://webmarketcentral.blogspot.com/2008/05/hosted-email-service-price-comparison.html

Best Practices - College Students Use facebook, Not myspace

Of the 100-or-so college students attending our session on "Internet Etiquette," only one was using myspace. Almost all use facebook. The question on the minds of these future employees was this: What do employers look for when they include facebook in their background checks?

See the Iowa State Daily's summary of our session HERE >>

Ask a Question...

If you have been working with email marketing and have a question, or if you are considering adding email to your marketing strategy, use the comment feature below to ask a question! 

It's free, it's my advice based on my own experiences in email marketing, sales and management for 22 years now! 

Go ahead, ask...

If you have been working with email marketing and have a question, or if you are considering adding email to your marketing strategy, use the comment feature below to ask a question! 

It's free, it's my advice based on my own experiences in email marketing, sales and management for 22 years now! 

Go ahead, ask...

Cool Marketing Resource - Survey Gizmo

Planning an online survey but don't know where to begin? 

Build a simple survey using your email marketing application.  This will deliver the results you need if you are creating a survey with a basic Q&A format. Using ExactTarget's survey tool, I have collected some fantastic marketing information for customers of mine, and the results are automatically tallied and graphically presented. 

In a more sophisotcated environment, where you might want to add page jumping, question piping, question/answer tables, or triggered questions based on prior responses, Survey Gizmo is an easy to use and inexpensive tool that really works.  Survey Gizmo also integrates with ExactTarget so that individual survey responses become relevant email marketing content.

I recommend ExactTarget for email marketing, and Survey Gizmo for online surveys.  WinCommunications will jumpstart you into either of these programs, just email [email protected] for more info.

Highlight of the Week - 25 Connections

Yesterday's lunch club meeting was one of those "lightbulb" events for me. 

Our VIP Club had the pleasure of listening to Adam Steen of 25 Connections speak about relationship building.  He focused our thoughts on people helping people.

Aha!  It's a matter of matching resources. 

The idea is simple, and not new - just a really focused approach at what we are all aware really does work.  Help a friend, and some day the friend will help you.  Match resources of mutually invested businesses, and some day they will come looking to make a match with you.

Best Practices - Call to Action

Read through your email that you are about to send out to your target audience.

How clear is your call to action?  What are you asking your reader to do?

I am amazed at how often this obvious feature of a good email campaign is missing.   Even if you are sending a news item or a transactional email, a clear and well placed call to action will elevate the response of your email. 

Examples include:

• Order by Monday to receive the 10% discount.
• Download the report for more information
• Try our new recipe using Mesquite Marinade.

I enjoy the emails sent by Blue Moon Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant.  The call to action is obvious in the right top corner, where it says, "$1 Margarita Click Here" and that takes me to a printable coupon.  (However, the same email requires me  to scroll down to find information about the promotional event, which I may never see because I have clicked to print the coupon.) 

Preview emails for the call to action and see what you find. 

Cool Marketing Resource - article2video.com

Wow, here is a bright idea!  I am not sure if the concept of putting an article into video format is a good idea, but if it seems to be worth a test. 

One trial is allowed for free.  www.article2video.com

Check it out, comment here!

Best Practices - Apply the "BEEPD" Strategy...

Struggling to figure out how to manage your social media marketing? 

Struggling to find the right route through the web of social media?

Stop straying in all different directions, quit wasting time in the wrong traffic.

Get BEEPD!

Here's a simple process that will work.  Keep it handy, the world of social media can be very enticing.   And so far, there are a few spots that have proven to be worthwhile for business marketing:

1. Brainstorm at your blog.
2. Elaborate at your web site.
3. Email to announce.
4. Promote at Twitter.
5. Discuss on LinkedIn.

© Kathryn Towner, WinCommunications

Highlight of the Week - PDI Committee Meeting

Ok, this may be the ONLY time I say this...the committee meeting I attended yesterday was the highlight of my day!

Here's why:

1. Our committee of 12 from around the state of Iowa met via telephone.  This cost effective, time-sensative strategy allows me to keep working until the moment we meet and get back to work as soon as we are done.  I am able to take notes and research issues on my computer as we talk.  And we do truly get straight to the "work" of the committee.

2. The first topic of discussion was social media. Our moderator, the Professional Developers of Iowa Director, asked the question, "What social media do you use and what results do you see?"  I learned that among this group of professionals, Linked-In is the most popular social media tool.  Facebook was mentioned, but was used for more personal connections.  Almost everyone had a Twitter account, but almost noone had a real strategy for results.  And YouTube got the nod for posting training and promotional videos.

So, the takeaway?  The three tools worth my time seem to be Linked-In, Twitter, and YouTube. 

The challenge? Integrating the tasks of marketing via social media with existing tools like web site content management, blog posts, email newsletters and online forums. 

So, here is my suggested organizational structure for distributing online marketing content:

1. Begin with the blog.  Jot down ideas and collect responses here.
2. Repurpose for the web.  Refine, support, detail and edit your ideas for posting to a web page. 
3. Summarize in your newsletter.  Email your target audience, explain the relevance of your idea, link to your web page.
4. Promote via Twitter. Write about ideas, link to your web page, ask for retweets.
5. Solicit feedback and create discussion on Linked-In.  Contact your groups, link to the ideas on your web page, and ask a relevant question to open discussion.
6. Go live on YouTube.  Prepare a related interview and post to YouTube.

Cool Marketing Resource - Sherpa Stats on Social Media

Here's something, MarketingSherpa has a chart concluding that marketers believe social media to be effective, although unmeasuarable.

I wonder how they know these strategies are effective?

MarketingSherpa Chart >>
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=31043

Best Practices - Managing Email Bounces

Small or big business, non-profit or otherwise, it is important to understand the nature of email bounce management.  The success of your targeted permission-based email program may hinge on how well you maintain your list, and here's why:

1. Bounced emails are unreceived, and if ignored, these subscribers will forget they ever subscribed.  It is up to you, the sender, to investigate best strategies for insuring delviery to this segment of your audience.

2. A high and continuous rate of bounced emails will tarnish your email reputation with the receiving internet service providers, and that bad reputation can cause further disruptions in your email deliveries.

For more on this topic today, read J. Jennings's article at Clickz:
http://www.clickz.com/3632719/print

Email Style & Etiquette - Editing

Just when you thought you were finished, THAT's the time to get out the red pen.

Your business email writing process should conclude with a check for:

spelling, grammar and punctuation errors

sentence structure errors and unnecessary run-ons 

proper language and word choice

natural and professional tone of voice

See this useful list of tips for email writing by Dennis Jerz at Seton Hill Univeristy
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/e-mail.htm

Cool Marketing Resource - @deliverability

A Twitter account allows you to follow the thoughts and daily interactions of another individual who is also using Twitter.

For email marketing pros, I recommend following @deliverability.

You can also read the blog at www.Deliverability.com  

And here is a useful article about email deliverability:
http://www.demandgenreport.com/articles_print.php?codearti=1243

Highlight of the Week - The Wine Lady @ Gateway

We are publishing a new newsletter for local wine lovers. 

The Wine Lady @ Gateway... makes use of one of the key elements for good email newsletter writing: personal tone.

One of the most challenging creative tasks for email newsletter writers is to produce a professional publication with a more personal tone - something that has style and is memorable yet not flashy or gauche.

With our highlight this week, Abbe writes with authority, and at the same time when you read the newsletter it sounds like she is speaking directly to you.  This is the right mix!

Another challenging creative task for email newsletter writers is to be concise.  This requires:

• touch decision-making
• well crafted sentences
• use of bulleted information
• and good grammar. 

Check around for the perfect mix in the newsletters you read in your inbox.  Who has that perfect mix of tone, professionalism, and content?

Creative Strategies - Internet Branding at No Added Cost

It is so fantastic to see your name or your brand meander from source to source, leaving a searchable trail as it travels, logging trackable records good for measuring and reporting.

I searched my name and specialty at Google recently and found myself all over the place! 

Today I'd like to report my name appears at Voddie.com - I never heard of Voddie.com, but it is really cool. It is an internet & marketing company managed out of England.  The reason I am there is an article I wrote on Email Etiquette.  Read my article here >> http://www.voddie.com/blog/2008/03/11/email-etiquette%E2%80%94use-it-or-lose-business/

I am referenced at TCEWorld as a source for a similar article - read their article and find me at the bottom >> 
http://www.tceworld.co.in/index_files/tmm/new/kma/mkt/mc/mc_020408.htm

Today I got busy and updated "what I am doing" at LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter and my 3sixty account. 

None of these appearances on the Internet stage cost me a dime, and all of them are trackable, searchable, and focused on my area of expertise. 

Now why wouldn't someone dive in and begin building a social network, an internet persona. 

Search me!

Best Practices - Writing for Email

Emails are unique.  A well-structured business email will:

• Contain more content than a social media message like those posted at Twitter or LinkedIn
• Use correct grammer and spelling
• Present less information than a business document, often sent instead as attachments
• Present the most important idea at the top (See this nice demonstration from Yale >> )
• Use bullets

Make your emails more effective - write effectively, efficiently and correctly.