Email Marketing

What are the key differences between marketing by email and mail?

  • Email is easy.
  • E-mail is one of the main reasons that people are using the internet.
  • Email costs a lot less than mail.
  • Email is instantaneous.
  • Email campaigns result in a much faster and higher response.
  • Email campaigns are interactive, allowing ongoing dialogue between the marketer and recipient.
  • Email campaigns are easy to measure. Performance can be tracked continuously, even as they are being delivered.
  • Email is one-to-one, and therefore offers a unique opportunity to target a customers specific needs and preferences.
  • Email marketing communications are requested by the recipient, and are therefore less intrusive.
  • Email is persistent - it's available even when offline.
  • Email is just as customisable as a web site.
  • Opt-in has always been more effective, regardless of the medium.

How can you maximise the content of email?

  • Make it interesting.
  • Give the recipient a reason to keep coming back.
  • Develop a tone that is appropriate to your customers.
  • Personalise your message wherever possible.
  • Continue to develop your communication - like all marketing the standard keeps getting higher.
  • Allow users to specify their preferences - this will allow you to target them more effectively.
  • Make it easy for them to give you more information about themselves.
  • Add value in every message.
  • Always use the customers name or an appropriate title in the message.
  • Do not use abbreviations or "Netjargon".

What's the best way to build your customer email list?

By providing opt-in details in all marketing communications, on stationery, your web site - everywhere. Most importantly start now!  Provide opt-in details on the following:

  • Web forms or "click through's" on your site
  • Point of purchase fliers
  • Direct mail postcards (gasp!)
  • Billing statements and fulfillment
  • Collateral, such as white papers
  • "On hold" voiceovers
  • Call to action in online ads
  • Call to action in print ads

How do you gain trust in e-marketing?

Always request permission from your customers to send them email prior to delivering it.

Do not overwhelm your customers with continuous emails (let them decide how often they would be willing to receive email).

Always give them the option to unsubscribe from your lists.

Provide your customers with material that is representative of what they believe they have opted-in to receive, don't try and trick them or you will lose them.

Only send them information that is relevant and provides value - based on their interests and preferences.

Include a privacy clause in your emails informing your recipients that you will not be exchanging their details with any other parties.

What do you need to know about customers to start e-marketing?

All that you need to start e-marketing communications is an email address, and of course their permission.

A first name and surname are also beneficial, as they will allow you to start personalising your messages, but are not necessary at the beginning stages of communication.

The more you know the better. Personalised details will determine the relevance of each message delivered to your customers.

Think about what you want to achieve from your communication, and then decide which way of collecting information will best meet those objectives. Sometimes you need to build up customer trust before they will provide you will detailed information about themselves. Similarly, a high perceived value from your communication may be a key driver

Article:  PDF-10 Valuable eMail Lessons by DerekScruggs


What's permission marketing?

Permission marketing is based on the belief that if you have permission from your customers to send them marketing material, they will respond more favourably. No one should ever receive email from companies that was not requested.

Marketers everywhere are embracing opt-in email marketing. Though similar in many ways to traditional direct marketing, opt-in email operates under very different rules. Those who violate the rules are often deluged with complaints and find that response rates suffer. The following guidelines will help you avoid the problems and focus on success.

Ten rules for permission marketing:

  • Send email only to those who have "opted-in" to receive it.
  • Always honour user requests to opt-out.
  • Confirm everything by email: The initial opt-in, orders, shipping notification and changes in the customer profile.
  • Allow users to specify their preferences.
  • Give and you shall receive.
  • Your list is an asset that only you can use; do not sell or rent it.
  • Develop and post a privacy policy for your web site.
  • Respond to customer email inquiries promptly.
  • Do not use rented lists.
  • Always remember the network effect - bad news travels much faster than good on the internet


Key permission concepts:

Permission is selfish & so add value with every message
Permission is non-transferable & but friends can introduce you to other friends
Permission is a process, not a moment & so create a learning relationship, not a quick hit
Permission can be cancelled at any time & get used to it or be prepared for grief

Article:  When is permission not permission?

When is it O.K. to use viral e-marketing?

When it is opt-in!!

It is acceptable for a friend or colleague to introduce your communication to another friend or colleague if they believe it is of value. Remember though, that this is only an introduction, and once you are introduced you must still get permission to send ongoing information.

This can be a very successful way to increase your list, particularly with niche markets, as long as you continue to adhere to the permission marketing rules


How can you stop customers unsubscribing from your email list?

You will never be able to stop people from unsubscribing from your lists, but you can reduce the likeliness of this happening. Give your customers a reason to continue subscribing - offer them value.

  • Offer your subscribers an incentive for their attention i.e. special offers.
  • Find out why those that have unsubscribed have done so.
  • Give your customers the opportunity to provide feedback on the material that you send them.
  • Learn as much about your customers as possible, and deliver them information and offers that are relevant and will appeal to their personal interests.
  • Give your subscribers the opportunity to down-sell their commitment. For example if you are providing information daily, you may reduce the number of unsubscribers by giving them the option to receive this information weekly instead


What is the value of permission marketing?

Cultivating and nourishing customer relationships is now recognised as being essential for future success, with both existing customers and new prospects alike. Statistics show that the cost of acquiring a new customer is five times more expensive than retaining an existing customer. Investing in existing customers to provide increased satisfaction has a direct impact on customer loyalty and therefore bottom line. By developing trust and credibility with your customers through:

  • Providing them with material that they have given permission to receive is relevant and personalised, and adds value & you will have a much greater chance of retaining customers, and achieving much higher levels of customer support on a long-term basis.
  • Permission-based email campaigns are more effective, achieving on average response rates of 11.5%, compared to banner ads (.55%) and direct mail (1-1.5%).
  • Permission-based email marketing lets people have some control over their in-boxes.
  • By requesting your customers' permission to engage in dialogue, they are more likely to trust you and therefore expose valuable information about themselves.
  • Eventually people's in-boxes will be inundated with emails from different companies, and only those that request permission to communicate are likely to be acknowledged.
  • Everybody wins with permission-based marketing

What should you never leave off email to customers?

You must always give recipients the option to unsubscibe.

It is also important to offer the recipient an explanation as to why they are receiving emails from you. You need to remember that the member is receiving information from many different sources, and may have forgotten that they have subscribed to your communication.

Is it O.K. to use a rented email list to gain customers?

It is recommended that you use your own lists whenever possible. The quality of relationships, and your degree of relevance to the customer will ensure much higher responses to your communications, as well as on-going opportunities to communicate with your customers.

If you are going to use someone else's list ask them which method they used to collect subscribers, and make sure that it adheres to the permission rules. Also, rather than applying your own brand to the message, apply the list source providers brand, with your message embedded in the content. This way the recipient will acknowledge that your message is connected to something they have truly opted-in to receive.

What's the difference between opt-in, opt-out and spam?

Opt-in: The recipient is given the option of choosing to be on a mailing list. Recipients have to take a specific action to be added to the list (tick a box, offer an email address and submit their details).

Opt-out: The person developing the list assumes that the recipient wants to receive emails, but provides them with the option to remove their address from the list.

Spam:When consumers receive email without knowing how or why their details were on the list it is spam.

Opt-in is the only acceptable form of permission-based email marketing

** Most of the content in this section has been kindly provided by MessageMedia.  Regular updates on best-practice email marketing are available monthly by subscribing to MessageMedia's own e-newsletter:
http://www.smartmarketer.co.nz

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