Posted by Mitch Tarr on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 @ 09:42 AM
In my humble opinion most people spend too much time fretting about the color and layout of their email template and way too little time focusing on the copy that makes up their email.
Here's how we write email copy here and why it produces such good results.
These tips are so powerful, I"m reluctant to share them here but I could show you how to swing a 7-iron exactly like Tiger and it would take you some practice to get it right so here goes:
There are five components to making any email marketing copy work and they all have to work together. You can't just do one of them and expect to hit it out of the park every time.
The Offer
Before you write one word of your email you have to be clear on your offer. What exactly are you trying to do? What do you want your reader to do? Why is this good for them?
Time spent here is important because you'll need it to explore options. What we do is spend time exploring options with our clients so we know exactly what the best possible offer is.
It's really hard to make a lame offer exciting.
It's really easy to make an exciting offer sell.
The Subject Line
Nothing happens until someone opens your email. All the great copy in the world is lost if only 3% of your audience reads your message.
On the other hand if you trick people into reading your email still nothing is going to happen.
The best subject lines appeal to your readers self interest. They have a strong benefit in them. THEY ARE NOT BORING! They aren't clever.
We sit down and write out 10 to 20 different subject lines for one email. We show them to someone and see what they think. One usually rises above the others.
The Body Copy
Then we lay out the copy. The single most important step here is to make it clear. Clarity trumps everything else.
If you have a simple offer then this step is easy. If your offer is complicated or a bit confusing, then your copy with be that way too.
We respect that our clients readers are busy. They don't have time to figure it out.
Make it clear for them.
The Call to Action
It always amazes us when we receive emails from the various lists we follow and there isn't a clear call to action.
Ok, I read your email, now what do you want me to do?
"Read more about how to save 22% on your next order" is a pretty good call to action. Better than "Click here" because it reminds you about the reason you should click.
And in case you're wondering, don't load up an email with too many places to click. Keep it simple.
The Landing Page
The final piece of the puzzle is a matching landing page. I say matching because one of the most common errors I see in email marketing is to do all of the above steps well and then send a reader to the home page on your website and rely on them to sort through your navigation to find the relevant, matching page.
We make sure the link in the email matches up to the landing page very clearly.
You can link to a product page, an event signup page, an offer page, a category page but just make sure that the page you direct your traffic to is exactly what your visitor is expecting.
So now you have it. Spend time on good copy or tinker with the layout.
Posted by Mitch Tarr on Wed, Jan 25, 2012 @ 04:52 PM
If you’re thinking of renting an email list, you want to understand what you’re getting yourself into, so you can decide if it’s really something that’s going to benefit you.
Step One is to understand the difference between buying an email list and renting an email list.
Buying an email list means that you pay money, someone sends you a list of names and then you send an email to each person on the list. The problem is, that you can get in trouble.
Even if this is an opt-in list and people gave permission to send them email, they didn’t give you permission to send them emails. They gave it to someone else.
When you rent an email list, you don’t get the actual list. You only pay for the right to have the list owner send your message to the list they own. They are sending the message, not you and they have permission to send emails to everyone on that list.
If the list owner is well respected, this can be a very effective way to get your message out there to a receptive audience. The key is to know who that audience is and to be sure that they are the people you want to reach.
You want to know how the list owner compiled the list and why people actually read the emails.
It is not cheap to rent a good email list and so you want to target your message to a specific market and then find a list that targets people in that market and commands their attention.
For example, if you are trying to sell garden equipment, then obviously you want to rent a list geared to gardening enthusiasts, but not all lists are equal.
If you rent a list from someone who gets people to opt-in just by offering them free gifts, you may be wasting money.
Those people have agreed to receive emails, but that doesn’t mean that they have any interest in reading those emails, or even opening them.
But if the list belongs to a respected gardening expert who gives advice, then those emails will probably be opened, read and paid attention to.
That's the difference between an investment that is wasted and one that should pay off handsomely.
If you are really to take advantage of email list rental, you can’t just make it a one-shot deal. You will have to send several messages, not just one, if you want to get their attention.
You have to know your target audience and know what kind of information they are interested in.
Then you have to give it to them in a way that will eventually convince them to try your product or service, because they feel that they know you and trust you.
That way your investment in renting email lists will generate a decent ROI.
Posted by Mitch Tarr on Wed, Jan 18, 2012 @ 07:09 PM
You know your marketing is a bit weak when the local coffee shop is using QR codes to build their list, and you're not!
This strategy is pretty simple...
...but that doesn't make it any less effective.
In fact I'd say this is one reason it is so effective.
So I'm in the coffee shop, enjoying a nice latte and I notice the QR code on the cup.
I'm not doing anything important, and my phone is in my hand so I do what many geeks would do--I scanned the QR code.
Voila! A simple way to do list building.
How to improve on this simple way to do list building.
1. You see on the cup there is only a QR code. In the biz, this is called a 'call-to-action' except I have to rely on curiosity as the reason to click (or scan) this image. How about if you put a simple offer above the code: "Scan this code to get our Newsletter and a free coffee!"
Anyone want to bet that my way doesn't get more people to scan the QR code?
2. The QR code needs to go to a dedicated MOBILE FRIENDLY landing page which makes it easy for you to sign up for the Newsletter and get a free coffee.
You won't believe how many people forget the 'make-it-easy' part.
Let's recap.
1. Use the QR code to make a simple offer and say why someone should scan.
2. Make it easy to do what you ask them to do on the offer.
Take a look at your use of QR codes and see if you are making it easy...
...or not?
Posted by Mitch Tarr on Thu, Jan 05, 2012 @ 02:58 PM
This article is being written on New Year's Eve 2011. In past years this is about the time when the "Email is Dead!" bandwagon starts. They haven't been right in the past and this year they are more wrong than ever!
Email marketing is about to EXPLODE!
Here's why.
The Success of Groupon.
You can stand on the street corner and yell Social Media as loud as you want, meanwhile companies like Groupon and LivingSocial and about 100 copy cats have been having HUGE success building big lists and making valuable offers to these lists.
What's new about this strategy? Nothing at all. Email lists are old news and Discount Coupons are older news. Combine the two with a geographic emphasis and voila, billion-dollar valuation.
The reason that these business models have worked is that the inbox is still a place where relevant emails are desired!
Now that Groupon has shown the way, others are keen to follow this seemingly simple business model. All I can say is it's simple...but NOT easy.
Thanks Groupon!
Facebook optin fan pages.
If you have a fan page on Facebook you're ahead of the curve in your use of the world's biggest social media platform.
If you are using your Facebook fan page to collect email addresses directly into your email list, you are part of a group of marketers that have discovered that 'Likes' are cool, but a big list of engaged followers is even cooler.
I'm seeing more and more companies using Facebook as a list building tool with no end in sight. The big winners will be those that use all aspects of Facebook (including paid ads) to build their lists.
Thanks Facebook!
Google adwords to collect email optin directly from Adwords ads.
I've seen this only in blog posts from industry experts who have discovered a new Adwords feature. By digging further, they have discovered this is a beta feature of Adwords and might become generally available.
The feature is this. You will have the ability to click on a link in a Google ad and have the email address of the visitor added to your newsletter list. Presto!
Can you imagine the power of a feature like this for companies that are interested in building a list of qualified buyers?
Thanks Google!
Bonus arguement. Email still top of the heap for marketing ROI.
Every year the Direct Marketing Association publishes a list of the top online marketing channels from the top ROI to the lowest ROI.
Every year email tops that list.
You can't argue with that.
Posted by Mitch Tarr on Wed, Jan 04, 2012 @ 04:23 PM
Advanced email marketing covers so much ground it can be hard to break it down into something useful in 400 words or less, so here goes.
If you're searching for advanced email marketing pointers you're either doing the basics well and want to move to the next level OR you're an accomplished email marketer and want to ensure you aren't missing out on a advanced tactic.
Either way, these three advanced email marketing tips are for you.
Enjoy!
1. Run split tests continuously. I don't actually talk with many email marketers that do split tests and even less that run split tests on an ongoing basis. Your natural tendency to run split tests is to start out strong, run a few A/B tests and basically stop.
Try to keep on testing.
Even though after a while you'll find your creativity is challenged to find more things to test. My advice only split test one smaller element at a time. Try different "Buy" buttons. Try competing subject lines. Try layout tests. Try offer tests. Show or don't show product prices.
Over time you will slowly learn what your audience responds to. These incremental tests give you real data to work with.
Resist the temptation to swing for the fence a few times and then stop!
2. Use Google tracking links. I was talking with a skilled online marketer a few weeks back and we were talking about tracking email as a source of conversions when I discovered he wasn't tracking sales converstions from email campaigns.
What?
Here's a link to the Google URL builder tool where you can see how to set up a tracking link that will feed your Google Analytics account.
3. Remove your template. This is the ultimate advanced skill because it asks you to try running your email campaigns without the aid of your html template. (Of course I'd suggest you do this as part of tip #1 and run a split test)
The real skill here is to see if your words and copy can pull their weight.
Dare you to try it. If your copy is strong you'll see a lift in results. I am a big beleiver that the words do the work. If you can't capture someone's interest with your copy, no design in the world will help you.
Posted by Mitch Tarr on Fri, Dec 16, 2011 @ 08:35 PM
These three mistakes are made too often and since a picture is worth a thousand words, these three pictures are worth 3 thousand words, give or take.
Email Marketing Mistake #1: Personalize your message properly.
This is one of the mistakes I worry about making the most. You send a message intending to make it personal and you scream out "This is a form letter!"
It's an easy one to catch if you send a test message first. ALWAYS send a test message. Because you know, the only time you don't is the one time you'll make this mistake.
That's exactly how the message looked in my inbox.
Email Marketing Mistake #2: Broken Links.
This mistake is also preventable by checking links in a test message. Simply send yourself the message and click on ALL the links in the message. Make sure you do this even if you make one tiny change to your message.
That's the time something will go wrong with your html code and 23,000 people will see this:
Email Marketing Mistake #3: Read Your Message Before You Send It.
This mistake could be caught just as easily when you are doing you link check. I read this message and at the end I was interested enough to click on the link...
...and guess what? I couldn't find it!
The final sentence says I can learn more by 'clicking here.' 'Clicking here' should be a link. Somehow this got past the proofing process and if they reviewed the results they should have noticed their click through rate was zero!
We don't mean to be critical, people make mistakes. But when you're sending an email campaign to thousands of people the impact of making a mistake can be amplified.
So...send your test message, check it twice, and then, and only then, send your message.
Posted by Mitch Tarr on Wed, Dec 14, 2011 @ 05:39 PM
List segmentation is a pretty important marketing skill. You never, ever have just one list of anything.
You have a customer list, a previous customer list, a blue chip customer list. You might have an A-B-C list of prospects. You might have a newsletter list. You might have a mailing list, Christmas Card list, prospect list, and so on and so on.
Yet it amazes me to see companies who do email marketing and not do any list segmentation at all.
Just a Constant Contact account and one list of email addresses.
The Benefits of List Segmentation.
Keeping people in different lists is an effective way to be able to target each list with different information. More relevant information or more targeted information.
Follow These Guidelines.
Here are four simple segments to split your lists into.
1. Blue Chip Customers.
2. Past Customers.
3. All Other Customers.
4. Prospects.
I'm not going to describe each segment because they seem pretty self explanitory to me, but here's what you do with these lists.
Take extra time with your Blue Chip Customers. They should have special treatment. They should be on the inside. You should listen to them. Keep them safe from your competition. Don't hammer away at them with price discount after price discount.
Your past customers should also have special treatment. You need to send them different messages from your Blue Chips. Win them back. Give them good reasons to re-engage you. I'm often surprised by the number of calls I get from previous customers wanting to use our services again. Make sure you keep in touch so this is easy for them to do.
Keep doing what you're doing with all your other customers. Newsletters, offers, events, updates, etc.
Finally prospects are a special group. They have to be courted. If they have a problem and you can solve it, that's what the emails should be about. Plan to earn their trust, earn their respect, earn their business...
...see the pattern. You can earn it. Using email.
We'll show you how.
Posted by Mitch Tarr on Sat, Dec 10, 2011 @ 10:57 AM
I won a new client recently. I love them. They are a perfect fit for our email marketing strategies and I thought I would take a look at how B2B email marketing did the selling for me...
...because I just took the phone call and signed the deal. No convincing, no selling, no price discounting. It all happened without effort, like breathing.
The B2B email marking system we built makes this work.
Here's how we won this client and how you can do the same in your business.
First, we keep a blog (like this one) and publish helpful information that our prospects can read and get and sense for what we believe in and demonstrate that we are email marketing experts.
This new client read 12 pages on our site...and did so 6 months ago.
6 months ago he was thinking about getting email marketing help for his business and came accross our site. He read 12 pages and then...
...he did the most important thing he could. He filled out a form requesting more information.
But it didn't stop there.
Over the next 40 days our autoresponder series kicked in and sent him 5 personal emails offering tips and insight into effective email marketing strategies.
That means he didn't forget about us and in fact even became more familiar with us.
Make sure you are using autoresponders to build trust.
I noticed also that in the past 3 months he had received our newsletter and a few promotional offers.
I saw he had opened a few of those and then clicked on a link in the last one to read more information and that put him back on our website.
The timing was right!
Then our phone rang. He called to confirm we could help and what his rate would be. Who made the sale? The client himself. We simply provided enough information to demonstrate we could solve his problem.
This method works for B2B marketing (we just use email to execute it)
1. Make sure there is a good reason for a website visitor to sign up using an email address.
2. Create an effective autoresponder series to build a relationship over time.
3. Send ongoing emails balanced with helpful news and promotional offers.
4. Be prepared when the phone rings! (your phone number is all over your site right?)
I thought I would relate this story because it's what works for us...
...perhaps it would work for you too.
Call us. 707 320-2507 and we'll see.
Posted by Mitch Tarr on Tue, Nov 29, 2011 @ 10:41 AM
One thing I know for sure, after sending millions of emails and watching the results, if you don't think about your reader first and above all else, you will lose their interest.
I attended an email marketing conference recently and one presenter who was supposed to be talking about email deliverability issues couldn't help but talk about his company.
It went on and on. Actually it was only for 10 minutes but for the whole 10 minutes I could only think of one thing. Why does this matter to me? It doesn't really. I want to hear about the topic I came to hear about.
And guess what? That is exactly what your reader thinks about when they are reading your email.
Here are three guidelines to help you write email people want to read and most importantly act on.
1. Think like a magazine. What is the key to selling magazines? Well, one of them is writing good headline copy on the cover. Read any magazine cover to see what I mean. In email the subject line is exactly that. It is the headline copy which tells your reader why they should open up your email.
Pretend your audience has a list of 20 emails to choose from when they open their email. Why would they open yours? What's in it for them? What reason should they read it? Split testing shows that a great subject line can improve open rates by 100%.
The more people that read it the more people can act on it.
2. Make it short. People are pressed for time. You got them to open up the email. Now get to the point. Long stories are wasted. And to be honest people just don't want to hear about your company BBQ. Tell them what you want them to know. Use bullet points.
The faster you can get the information out the better chance readers will take the action you ask of them.
3. Give it a personality. Your readers want to feel special. They want to feel like you are talking to them. Write in a style that sounds just like you would say it in person. The kiss of death for a customer email is for it to sound like a textbook especially when the email address is info@example.com, dry, uninteresting, impersonal. Give it a voice, your voice. Sign your name. Use a picture.
Take a look at the last few emails you sent to your customers? Could they improve by applying these three steps? And if they improve, could you get better results?
What would a 50% improvement in sales be worth to you?
Posted by Mitch Tarr on Wed, Oct 26, 2011 @ 03:47 PM
I'm a big fan of PRWEB.com and have used them over the years to release online news releases.
They're also pretty good marketers. I noticed this ad earlier today when I was on Facebook (during my break of course!)
What I liked about this ad is that it is clearly designed to build their list.
You can tell because the "Download Writing Great Online News Releases" offer is a powerful offer.
The kind of offer that you might be interested in if you wanted to "learn the secrets of building your business with news." The benefit statement in the ad makes it even stronger.
I wasn't disappointed when I arrived on the PRWEB page. I was presented with a pretty good quality landing page designed to move me to give up my email address.
A classic and proper offer.
This is a very good example of a list building strategy that works like a charm.
Make a good offer in an ad targeted to your audience.
It doesn't matter if your ad is displayed in Google or Facebook as long as you are reaching your audience.
It does matter that you have a good offer and your landing page gives your visitors a good reason to signup and take your offer.
We always recommend that you track your conversion numbers all along the way. You'll know how many saw the ad, how many clicked on it, how many visited the landing page, how many signed up, and how many became customers.
It doesn't get any better than this!