Back in 1999 e-mail marketing was all the rage. It seems as today, it is getting a lot of attention again but for much different reasons.
Ten years ago, the subject line was the key qualifier to determine which messages would get your attention. Today, a decent open rate can boil down to whether your audience perceives value or credibility in your From/Sender line. With inboxes full of mass e-mails, spam and downright invasive and irrelevant communications, the general public has lost faith in what’s being sent and from whom. Thanks to the delete key, we can manage our overflowing inboxes with a simple, quick glance at the From: and Subject: lines, without a second thought.
One piece of advice that stands the test of time is Quality wins over Quantity, every time.
More, More, More!
All too common is an e-mailer’s sentiment that “E-mail is cheap! We can touch our customers and prospects many more times at a much cheaper cost than direct mail, social media, public relations or advertising. With budgets so tight, we’d be crazy not to put it all into e-mail!”
Wrong, wrong and wrong! E-mail can be a very expensive proposition when done wrong. You can lose customers, prospects, credibility, not to mention that you can easily get blacklisted by major ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and corporate networks. E-mailing irrelevant, inferior and inappropriate messages over and over again to compete for your audiences’ attention can cause permanent damage to your company’s brand reputation. The road to recovery will be long and arduous, guaranteed, and you may never earn the attention of your original audiences again.
At the turn of the century, I wrote extensively on the topic of e-mail marketing. And even with the social media explosion these past few years, I can confidently give one piece of advice: For your e-mail marketing efforts to be effective – successful from a business, marketing and sales perspective – your communications must entertain, inform, educate and then, sell.
As Ken Magill, editor of this newsletter and e-mail expert, points out: “The biggest problem with the e-mail-is-cheap-let’s-mail-more marketing philosophy, though, is people will opt out and hit the ‘report spam’ button, resulting in a shrinking, less-responsive file and possibly resulting in delivery troubles if enough people complain and the ISP starts delivering the mailer’s messages to recipients spam folders, or worse, blocking the messages altogether.”
And what good is your e-mail marketing initiative if it causes a mass exodus by your target audiences?
Entertain, Educate, Inform and then Sell
The e-mail method to entertain, educate, inform and then sell can take a variety of formats and frequencies, like quarterly e-newsletters, monthly e-promotions, and weekly e-alerts. The key to the effectiveness (success) of any e-mail communication can be boiled down to three criteria:
1. Relevancy
2. Right Timing
3. Response
Relevancy: A non-existent or overly-complex offer can depress response. The reason isn’t that the prospect has read and rejected the e-mail, rather it is that the message never passed his/her split-second screening process. Direct marketing response–including e-mail marketing–happens more on impulse than on contemplation.
Right Timing: When possible, your e-mails should incorporate a test of messages/offers and message/offer positioning. For example, one version of the e-mail would build on known winning approaches. A test offer then would be pitted against that approach, with a goal of increasing response. Testing several offers also can demonstrate trends related to seasonality, an expiration date or other time-based factors.
Response: Your message/offer cannot succeed fully if you don’t create a foolproof way for your target audience to respond. In fact, you may need to consider providing more than one way to respond. There are two critical points to remember when strategizing how your audiences will respond. First, make it absolutely clear what you want your prospect to do. Make it easy for him to respond. Second, be ready to fulfill!
After responding to an e-mail message/offer, your audience expects prompt action on your part. Be careful to acknowledge when and how requests will be fulfilled, to prioritize the responses and, most importantly, to outline how your service/sales team will move the inquiry from lead to sale.
Today we have unprecedented access to information thanks to the Web. What we are seeking is knowledge. To get there you need to have a process, plan and goals that will allow for testing – both of subject and from lines, as well as content. Make the e-mails you send valuable to the recipients.
Strategy and Planning
No matter what form of e-mail marketing you choose, every campaign should start with a strategy to:
Set Clear Objectives
Just as a direct response program requires strategic planning, an e-mail campaign does too. The plan should identify what you want to accomplish and how to implement your program to meet your objectives. Unlike traditional direct response, however, an e-mail program can be executed very quickly, usually within 24 to 48 hours or less. This offers a huge advantage over traditional mail methods, allowing a marketer to react quickly to events, situations and circumstances…nearly instantly.
Plan for Constant Improvement
E-mail marketing allows you to test your programs continually, hourly or more often, offering a huge advantage over traditional direct response testing. The components of an e-mail campaign that are testable include the subject line/teaser copy, headline, body copy, call-to-action, creative style, format, offer, your list and the timing of your program. The nature of electronic marketing allows you to put the results of your tests into action immediately.
Create an Effective Subscription Page
Getting people to subscribe to your e-alert or e-newsletter isn’t easy, but it is critical. If you request too much information on the subscription page or the e-alert/e-newsletter description is weak, you’ll lose potential subscribers. Too many Web sites solicit a visitor’s e-mail address without providing a description of what the e-alert/e-newsletter will offer. Remember to include a brief, benefit-oriented description of your e-mail communication and how often you’ll send it.
Produce Appropriate Editorial Content
E-mail alerts and newsletters alike should always include a valuable offer. An e-promo or e-alert can promote a special price for a particular product or category of products, for example. Or, a free value-add – free shipping or two-for-one offer. E-newsletters will offer valuable information, tips, guidelines, advice, etc. Finding good quality offers and content that is highly targeted to your audience(s) is often difficult. That’s where working with a direct marketing expert will become invaluable to the success of your e-mail marketing efforts.
To generate a higher quality e-mail campaign, be organized and plan each e-mail, with enough time to develop your offers and prepare the content.
Other things to plan for:
CAN-SPAM Compliance: Handling opt-in e-mail marketing correctly is a necessity.
E-mail Template Design: Strive for professional-looking HTML e-mail templates that are customized specifically for your marketing initiatives. That means, your brand identity come across, including campaign-related graphics to coordinate with related marketing efforts such as direct mail, microsite marketing, advertising, etc.
E-mail Tracking and Reporting: Measure the success of your e-mail campaign with real-time e-mail tracking and easy monitoring of key campaign success metrics including open rates, forward-to-a-friend, bounces, click-throughs, and detailed message level user actions.
Database Management: Focus on ongoing e-mail communications that build on one another, rather than one-off blasts. Take advantage of the technologies available to enhance your lists, maintain contact information and enable your subscribers to update their own contact profile.
As with direct mail, the majority of your e-mail success lies within the quality and accuracy of your e-mail list.
Remember it’s not about the marketer, it’s about the recipient. Your target audience is in control, and they have the power today to determine how they receive e-mails, from whom and whether they want to open the messages they receive. Quality, not quantity, is paramount to the success of an e-mail marketer.
Grant A. Johnson is CEO of Johnson Direct, [email protected]
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