Email Marketing Tips Blog

The ROI of any email marketing campaign is determined by the size, quality, and responsiveness of your list.

But what if you don’t have a list? Or your list is nothing to brag about?

If you aren’t a prolific writer, a blank sheet of digital paper is a scary thought. If you are creating well-thought-out, original content, word will spread. Your blog, forum post, or article posted at a directory will catch the eye of people looking for answers and they will want to learn more.

The traffic increases. Your opt-in list builds.

Life is good.

The downside is that it takes a lot of time to research, outline, and write good content. That’s where repurposing content comes into play. Repurposing allows you to make slight modifications so you can re-use your content in another form or directed to another group.

Here are a few examples of where and how you can repurpose content:

Develop a PowerPoint presentation. Take your article and expand it into some slides with bullet points and graphics. Add audio and you have a completely new item.

Yahoo Answers allows you to search keywords for specific questions people have asked about your area of expertise. By reworking your content, you can not only answer a question or two, but direct them to your website for even more on the subject!

Similarly, forums are a great place to show off your expertise. Pull a few items from your content to answer questions, generally followed by your signature file.

Expand your content by interviewing an expert. Have the interview transcribed, thereby creating another product.

Post the audio on iTunes and an entirely different demographic will find you.

Create a video (many videos are no more than the PowerPoint and audio mentioned above) and post to video sites like YouTube.

Choose a few Social Networks and be available to answer questions and post information, directing people to your site for more in-depth information.

Post on your blog or add it to your website.

Expand your FAQ’s. If you are answering questions that others may ask as well, add them to this section of your website.

Rewrite your content into short, easy-to-digest nuggets, and build an email marketing campaign.

Look at your work as a reporter and turn it into a Press Release which can be distributed to the PR services as well as added to your website’s Media Center. For even more attention, tie it into an upcoming holiday, current event, or news item. Make the connection with the current buzz and you’ll get noticed!

Rework your working and paragraphs so it’s  not a duplicate, then submit it to Article Directories.

Break it up. For instance, you could break this blog post into many separate subject to expand upon, creating entirely new content.

Pull it together. Find 10 articles that synergistically work together and – voila! – You have a Free Report!

Rewrite your content for different target markets. For instance, I could write a base document about email marketing and then sub-niche it by gearing it towards doctors, dentists, house painters, etc.

By using your creativity (and having a thesaurus handy!) you can repurpose the same content multiple times.

Debbi Bressler
Email Marketing Specialist
GetResponse

Email marketers are finding that an unanticipated side effect of job layoffs is increased email bounce rates, due to people using a work address for email correspondence. In the chaos, the last thing on their minds is downloading a copy of their email and subscription lists or redirecting their incoming personal email.

Once you’ve lost a subscriber, even unintentionally, it’s difficult to regain them.

Here are some ideas you can implement starting today:

1. Ask for a backup email address. People are used to providing a daytime and evening phone number for emergencies. Yahoo Mail is just one of the sites that request this information. If you’ve ever set up an email account with them, they ask you to list another email address that can be used for notifications if you cannot access your Yahoo account.
2. Ask for and maintain a physical address. If your subscribers purchase physical products for delivery by you, this information is already in your database. But info product producers that make their wares available by digital download can also request a home address.

   If your customer’s email bounces, you have the opportunity to send a notice to them through the mail, directing them to your opt-in box, and, perhaps, enticing them to do so with a special offer.

3. Ask for a phone number. You should always request a phone number on your order form because there are many circumstances that may require a quick phone call to verify shipping information or credit card issues. Even if you are not selling physical products, you should include a space on your opt-in form for a phone number.

If you sell digital products, an easy way to gather this information is to offer an at-cost (or very low cost) upsell to a physical CD which can be mailed in addition to their digital download. Services such as Kunaki can do this for $1.75 each + shipping, including the case, CD printing, bar codes and all the trappings of a professional CD.

If you would like to gather physical addresses from everyone who subscribes to your list, include an optional physical bonus report on your opt-in form. The only way your reader can receive your bonus is by mail. Your report doesn’t have to  be long or fancy and should be kept to a minimum number of pages to keep your costs down.

While it’s great to have this information on everyone, it’s critical to have it on your customers because they are proven buyers and will likely purchase from you again. A buyer is much more likely to be an engaged customer and we could ALL use more of them!

As marketers, we must polish our marketing efforts even more. Job losses will probably not slow down for the foreseeable future. It’s imperative that you stay one step ahead by protecting that database you’ve worked so hard to build.

Debbi Bressler
Email Marketing Specialist
GetResponse

MediaPost recently published six trends that you can’t afford to ignore.  Knowing how to adapt to these trends will ensure that your readers continue to grow and respond to your email marketing efforts.

1. Subscribers want to feel in control.

Your subscribers want to digest your material on their terms, not yours. How many of the following do you incorporate in your email marketing?

• Do you force your web visitors to opt in before accessing your web site content?
• Can your customers choose the format and frequency of your messages?
• Is it easy for your readers to comment on your mailings?
• Are opt-out instructions quick and easy?

2. Don’t Ignore Other Communication Channels.

My kids are both in college and primarily communicate with their friends via text messaging on their cell phone. Social networking channels, like Facebook and Twitter, are another method. They don’t access email on a daily basis, like I do.

Smart marketers will brainstorm how to best utilize a dual-pronged approach in communicating with their readers. Your customers may prefer you to text message them for time-sensitive announcements like a 24–hour sale, while continuing to use email for other communications.

3. Most of your subscribers are prospects, not customers. 

MediaPost states that “In the B-to-B world, 70% of your leads are long-term opportunities”. Given those statistics, email marketing is one of the best ways to increase your ROI, because it allows you to nurture those prospects until they become customers. You have plenty of opportunity to provide additional information, case studies, and testimonials which eventually convert many to the customer side of your ledger.

No other vehicle can provide this ongoing – forever or until they opt out! – marketing at almost no cost.

4. Up to 50% of your email list is inactive.

In addition to your list churn (bounces and unsubscribes), 25–50% of your list have received your email, but haven’t opened it, read it, or clicked on your links.

Review your email marketing process and parameters for areas of improvement. Do you have a Welcome program that spells out what your new reader/customer can expect and how to change their preferences? Do you make bonuses available only to your email readers? What types of interactivity have you built into your email that carries on to other forms of marketing, such as your blog or social networking sites?

5. Subscribers are accessing emails differently.

Your readers are not limited to accessing your messages through their computer desktop. These days, many are receiving your information through mobile devices like the iPhone or Blackberry, as well. Keep this in mind when designing your messages and test them in various email clients, including mobile devices.

6. Viral marketing is still alive and well.

For years, businesses have encouraged their subscribers to “forward to a friend”. While that continues to prove profitable, don’t ignore social networks, like MySpace, Facebook, Linkedin and Digg.

You’ll notice how many blogs gather these links together, to make it easy for their readers to use in recommending an article. You should do the same in your email, as well as letting your readers know how it works. (You’d be surprised at how many fans would like to pass your information along, but don’t know how to do it!)

One thing that hasn’t changed: Content is still King. Your subscribers will forgive some things, but poor content is not one of them.

Debbi Bressler
Email Marketing Specialist
GetResponse

When economic times are tough, many business owners perform across-the-board promotion cuts, rather than taking a laser approach to determine ROI on individual techniques.

If you are the decision maker, or need to influence that person, the chart below should be of interest. These statistics come from Marketing Sherpa’s “Email Marketing Benchmark Guide”.

Those companies who embrace email as an investment tend to be the ones reaping the rewards from their email marketing efforts. They have higher click, open and conversion rates, probably based on their higher use of metrics to track conversion throughout the email marketing process.

In a down economy, many business owners look to increase, rather than reduce, their email marketing efforts. Be sure your testing methods are in place, email relevant content, and provide uncompromised value to existing customers, as well as those you wish to add to your customer base.

Debbi Bressler
Email Marketing Specialist
GetResponse

There is an interesting article at City News regarding what scientists discovered about how spammers make a profit.

It seems that everyone complains about spam - from business opportunities to the latest prescription drug – that clogs our email in-boxes. So, if everyone is deleting these messages, why are we still getting spam?

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and UC, San Diego, decided to find out.

It turns out that only one response was needed for every 12.5 MILLION (!) spam emails sent, in order for spammers to make a profit.

With those odds, you might think that spam is here to say. But you may be surprised! 

Read the whole Spamalytics report here.

Debbi Bressler
Email Marketing Specialist
GetResponse

I recently talked to a friend of mine who is involved in affiliate marketing and recently started promoting a weight-loss product. One of the ways he was building his list was by calling or instant messaging friends, co-workers and acquaintances asked if they would help him be accountable to his workout schedule by receiving an update email from him. He told them that he felt he would stick to his plan if he knew he had to email them a few times a week with an update on his workouts and weight loss.

Many agreed. They are now getting updates, as well as consistent, low-key ads for his products. His emails are very personal and newsy and remind me a lot of blog posts.

You can do the same. People love to look over the shoulders of others. Pick an interesting topic related to your niche and offer visitors the opportunity to be in on your frequent updates. Keep them involved in your successes, failures, and what you have learned along the way.

Just keep in mind that any promotion should be very low key. Do not pepper your email with links; you want this to look like a personal (by-invitation-only) email exchange.

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