Email Marketing Blog

Ever had a reader write you back with an inappropriate response?

“Take me off your list or I am going to turn this in as spam.”

Or worse.

The other day I saw an email reply from a marketer who got a nasty email from someone who joined their affiliate program. Apparently, the new affiliate could not access a free download, and automatically assumed they were getting ripped off. (Not sure how you can get ripped off if no money is involved, but that’s not the point!)

The new affiliate wrote this marketer complaining that they couldn’t download the material, they must be rip-off artists, and if the person received one single email, they would sue!

The marketer replied as follows:

“Buddy, are you four years old?

You signed up to my list, so it is YOUR responsibility to get yourself off it. If you sue me, I will sue you because you are the one who is wrong. So nanny nanny boo boo.

Grow up already.”

Now, I’m sure the marketer felt relieved for sending that email off, but I’m not sure that was the best policy!

My suggestion (if you have to write a letter like that) is:

1. Write it in Word (so you don’t inadvertently send it).
2. Keep it overnight.
3. Read it in the morning, have a laugh, and delete it.
4. Immediately remove the person from your list.

Believe me, there are people out there in the cyberworld who will make it their life’s mission to make YOUR life miserable. Don’t give them a reason!

Debbi Bressler
Email Marketing Specialist
GetResponse

I was recently reading a case study which was available through MarketingSherpa, regarding a financial management company targeting retirement-focused baby boomers. As you can imagine, this is a very competitive market.

The results of the study showed a 44% email open rate, which is pretty amazing.

I’ll review the steps below. Be thinking about how you can apply them to your target market.

Step 1: Conduct niche research. Who makes up your market? What do they read? Where do they live? What forums or websites do they frequent online? Do they participate in social networking sites?

Step 2: Create a visual experience. In the case study, the company had a contest with participants answering questions about how they envisioned their retirement. The winner was chosen by a random drawing.

This same concept can be used whether dreaming of firing your boss or dreaming of the perfect kitchen (or husband!) Whatever you choose, create it so that people will use their visualization skills.

Let me point out that in the case study I read, the first prize was $25,000 and a free session with an investment expert. My guess is that your winner won’t be awarded as much.

It doesn’t matter. Through your research, find out what your target market value or would like to own, but do not have the time or money to possess.

Step 3: Promote the contest. Marketing consisted of online ads with a link to a landing page with an online entry form. If you’ve done your homework in #1, you’ll have a good idea of where your market hangs out and thus, where to advertise through pay-per-click advertising, blog posts, or even forum posting signature files (if allowed). Also include the link in all emails you send.

Step 4: Qualify the leads. In addition to name, phone, and email and physical addresses, add any additional qualifying questions that are relevant to your product or service. For instance, your target customer may be a homeowner, so you would ask if they owned or rented.

Step 5: Offer a bonus for opting in. Your entry should offer a promotional offer or a free report, newsletter or consultation.

Step 6: Don’t require a purchase in order to participate in the contest.

Step 7: We’ve talked before about segmenting lists. By completing Step 4, you’ve built the foundation for doing just that. For example, if a travel agent ran a contest asking people to describe their dream vacation, they could segment a list by type of travel (cruise / all inclusive resort), location (Florida vs. Maine), activity (skiing vs. scuba diving), etc. Then they can send the reader information tailored to those specific interests.

Step 8: Provide relevant content. Now that you know people’s interests and dreams, you can address those items in your newsletter. If a contest about anti-aging finds people dreaming of an eyebrow lift but not another procedure, you know what to cover in your newsletter.

Step 9: Your content should include a call to action. In addition, each newsletter should include your email, support desk, and phone number. Determine your goal for everything you send and tie that to your intended call to action.

Step 10: Include links to other information. Not everyone likes to read. If possible, provide podcasts, videos, blogs and other ways for your reader to get more information.

If you’ve found this useful, please be sure to share this link with others!

Debbi Bressler
Email Marketing Specialist
GetResponse

In the past, I’ve mentioned how I have unsubscribed from numerous email lists because marketers send me unrequested information too often. (Yes, I added my email to your list for technical updates of the product I purchased but NOT to be blasted every day with the latest “deal” you are promoting.

JupiterResearch’s survey found that frequency was the #2 reason for unsubscribing. Seems that 37% of those surveyed unsubscribed from a sender when they sent too many emails and 33% unsubscribed from offers because they get “too much” email in general.

Some additional statistics show that 39% of those surveyed felt that signing up for permission-based email leads to getting more spam (see Paragraph #1 above!). And over 25% said they unsubscribe by using the spam button.

Why go through all the trouble of building a list only to aggravate subscribers? (That is especially true if you have a list of product owners who would likely purchase upgrades and new products you develop.)  The research concludes, time and time again, that the marketers who can deliver relevant, targeted messages on a schedule that respects their reader will be read for the long term.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently released a statement that contains updates to the CAN-SPAM Act. Please take a moment to find out how these new rules may affect you.

What You Need To Do….

1.  Please review the “From” address in your campaigns. At all times, it needs to be clearly recognizable as belonging to you or your organization.

Remember: this change affects you especially if you co-operate with affiliates or third party email marketers. In such cases, you must also provide only one opt-out mechanism for a message.

What Else You Need to Know…

2.  Each commercial email you send needs to have a valid physical postal address. Update: You may now use a post office box or private mailbox instead of your personal physical address.

What GetResponse did….

3.  GetResponse has made sure the unsubscribe mechanism is very simple. CAN-SPAM specifies that if any subscriber wants to opt out, s(he) cannot be required to provide information other than his or her email address, opt-out preferences and definitely cannot be made to pay a fee. Any steps other than sending a reply email message or visiting a single page on an Internet website are illegal.

This is only a short summary of the most important updates and cannot be treated as legal advice. If you wish to know more about the update, you can familiarize yourself with the full text of the update. If you need legal advice, please contact your attorney.

My mom just bought a new computer last week and called me the other day in a panic.

“My email program won’t let me read any of my emails. All I get are little boxes with red x’s in them.  What am I going to do?”

The reason? Her new computer used Vista (that’s another story!), which does not show email images unless you click that option allowing them. It says that right above the email message.

If you are sending images (espcially if your entire message is embedded in images), do not assume that your reader will understand what has happened and how to correct it so they can read your messages.

I’ve talked about this before but, given this most recent example, it bears repeating. If your message comes through as a blank slate, not only will your prospect / customer be unable to read it, but is is more likely to be flagged as spam.  People are automatically suspicious if you don’t deliver what is expected.

Don’t confuse your readers. Above your images, include some text that reminds them who you are, what they have received, and how to read it. It doesn’t matter if this repeats what is written in their email client. Many people, like my mom, never notice that message because they are immediately drawn to the email itself.

A beautifully designed colorful email will never put a dollar in your pocket if your viewer can’t see it.

Debbi Bressler
Email Marketing Specialist
GetResponse