Bretts Marketing Bytes

Archive for the ‘Email Marketing’ Category

A lot of people ask me if email marketing still works. The answer is without hesitation… YES!. Email marketing is one of the best methods to reach customers if done properly, However, it  has evolved into something more complicated than it ever was. This is due to more sophisticated email software and savvier consumers.

So why are some people saying that email marketing is dead?

One of the most common reasons why email marketing doesn’t work for a lot of companies is because they run into something called list exhaustion.

List exhaustion is when your emails have no perceived value to your recipients anymore. This occurs when:
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If you use email marketing as a form of reaching out to your customers you must read this post. Find out if your Email marketing sucks by reading below

If your emails are:

• Longer than 2 paragraphs. (You have 8 seconds max to catch someone’s attention. Don’t blow it)
• Not formatted in an easy to read format. (I mean all bunched up together with no header text.)
• Plain text with no images.
• Boring and do not provide anything worth reading. (Of course you won’t know this, so ask someone.)
• Sent with a subject line that is not descriptive of the body of the email.
• Being sent to people who did not opt-in.
• Not segmented into different interests.
• Sent without  links back to specific articles or pages of your site.
• Sent without the ability to track and analyze results.
• Not getting above a 25% open rate.
• Not going out on a consistent basis.

If your emails meet any of the above criteria

YOUR EMAIL MARKETING SUCKS!

Change it

Email Marketing is like dieting. Everyone knows what they are supposed to do but no one does it.

People spend hundreds of dollars per year on lose weight quick diet programs only to find that they didn’t get the results that they were hoping for, when the answer is right there in front of them. EAT WELL, and EXERCISE. It’s actually pretty simple, right?

So what does this have to do with email marketing? Email marketing is similar in the respect of how people treat their email lists. Companies have a hard time resisting the temptation of sending their messages out to everyone on the list, or as I will call it in this post, stuffing their face.  They will even continue to buy and rent lists just to try and make a buck.  Just like the lose weight quick ideas; they are disappointed when the results come back.

So if you are not going to send your email out to your entire list, what should you do? Here are a couple rules to follow.

• Don’t blast your message out to everyone on your list. Send it to people who you know want to hear about your message.

• Get personal with your list. Do surveys. Have a calling campaign to ensure that you have the right people receiving the right emails.

• Before adding someone you met at a networking event to your mailer. Call or email them and ask if they want to be a part of your list and what topics they would be interested in receiving. This creates a soft touch to that person and also gets you a more targeted email address.

• Remind people occasionally why they are receiving your email. People forget quickly and sometimes don’t remember giving you their information, so a quick reminder is often useful and it builds trust.
• Don’t be afraid of people opting-out of your list. This is good because it is making your list more targeted. If they don’t want your emails, who needs them?

So in summary, eat well (segment your list) don’t just stuff everything in your face, Exercise (manager your list) and you will both lose weight and have very successful email marketing campaigns.

People spend too much time worrying about the look and feel of their email marketing campaigns, when in fact, the true results come from a simple formula that has nothing to do with design or layout. Watch this video to find out how this funny acronym will take your email marketing to the next level.

For more help with email marketing please take one of our online seminars by clicking here or reading email marketing tips.