The BusinessVoice Blog

I love analogies, especially ones that draw on the visual senses to drive the point home. Here’s one of my new favorites, courtesy of Louis Chatoff in a recent MarketingProfs.Com article entitled, In Email, Emphasize Quality, Not Quantity.

Chatoff says you should think of an email marketing piece like an ad on a bus:

Design the content like it is going to be displayed on the side of a city bus and people are going to see it as it quickly passes by. Much like an ad on a passing bus, your message may have the recipient’s attention only for a second or two. Make sure the message is well-branded, and the offer and the call-to-action are easy to identify and act upon.

He has more good advice (that you’ve also heard here before) like keeping your email marketing list paired down to only those who truly appreciate your content, lest you incur the wrath of recipients who might decide to hit the “spam” button on your unwanted pitch.

Chatoff is among the huge chorus that preaches the “slow and steady” method of building your email marketing list, adding one name at a time with an opt-in subscription form. On the other hand:

Adding addresses by the bushel from some poorly managed or a purchased list will rarely lead to favorable results. ISPs now use sophisticated mail filters that can easily identify senders who are going for the quick buck and are not interested in building a long-term marketing relationship with a selective audience.

Bushels and buses. Two great visuals  that give you lots to think about before your next email marketing campaign.

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An email newsletter is a great tool to add to your marketing arsenal. If you’re new to this, here are some answers to the most common questions about getting started.

Why send an email newsletter?

Easy answer here:  email is the most cost-effective marketing medium with the highest Return On Investment .  And if you’re trying to grow your customer share — and you should be — it’s a great way to market to your existing clientele.

What should I put in an email newsletter?

Think about what you would want to read in a trade magazine about your business. Is it article after article that tries to sell you something?  Probably not. Instead, give your readers how-to information, tips, advice and success stories without the sales pitch. Build a relationship as a helpful expert and they’ll become interested in doing more business with you.

How often should I send an email newsletter?

Strike the right balance and deliver your newsletter often enough so you’re not forgotten by your subscribers, but not so often that you wear out your welcome in their in-box.  A monthly newsletter is typical, but every other month — or every other week — is also fine. Whatever you choose, be consistent in your delivery.

When should I send an email  newsletter?

Consider how most of us handle our email. Monday brings a flood of waiting messages. Friday is a getaway day for many people — the day we like to get away from email that can sit unread until Monday. That leaves Tuesday through Thursday, and late morning on any of these days is the best time to avoid the email rush hours.

Where do I get email addresses from?

It’s NOT a good idea to buy a list, for two reasons: first, it’s expensive, and second, you can run afoul of laws that require you to have a business relationship with recipients or get their prior permission to send emails. Better to build your list from existing clients and anyone who you contact. Create a sign-up page on your web site (here’s where you can find the code you need to create a web sign-up form) and link to it from every other page. You can also add a link to this page in your email signature, so every email you send includes a sign-up offer.  Be proactive and make calls to your clients or customers and ask permission to sign them up.

If you have more questions or want some expert assistance, there are plenty of companies that offer email newsletter design, content creation and delivery services. Whether you do it yourself  or get some help, consider using an email newsletter to market your expertise and grow your business.

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So, I got your attention with a compelling subject line, eh?

That’s what some people are getting right, as documented by email marketing specialist Josh Nason in Man Bites Giraffe: Some Awesome (and Awful) Email Subject Lines on MarketingProfs.Com. Nason offers some examples of great emails, and some that are truly cringe-worthy. Among his Do’s and Dont’s:

Don’t discount the importance of the From name. Keep it your company name and not an individual’s name or drawn-out term. In addition, keep your company name out of the subject line: It’s redundant-a waste of valuable real estate.

And this nugget of wisdom on subject lines:

Write a compelling subject line that won’t deceive people. If people aren’t opening it, that’s OK, as you’ll have many more campaigns to intrigue them. If you break the receiver’s trust early, you’ll have to work twice as hard to get it back. Never forget the Golden Rule.

You laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll learn from this two-part examination of what works — and what doesn’t — when you have just a few seconds to catch someone’s attention with your email marketing campaign.

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More on the game show analogy later. But first, some opening credits.  Jonathan Kranz is one of the best voices in marketing and a favorite of copywriters everywhere. That’s why I’m always happy to pass along his wisdom, like this from a recent Kranz On Copy newsletter article regarding Web trends. By now, we all know that a web site is a vital tool in your marketing arsenal. But Kranz says rather than a “tool,”  you should think of your web site as the “hub” at the center of your wheel of marketing activities:

…a kind of way-station where communications flow both in and out. Your site is simultaneously a potential first point of contact with prospects (via search), a warehouse of information and content, and a switching station that directs visitors to other communications vehicles, such as your blogs and social media communities. It’s no longer a static presence, but an active manager of ever-shifting relationships.

You need to think about how people come into your site, i.e., through paid or organic search, from links on other web sites or via your web address that’s part of other print, email or mass media marketing materials. How do you want visitors to move through your web site? Do you take a linear approach from page A to B to C, or more like a flow chart, with paths dependent on their interests and needs?

And what should your web visitors do as they’re leaving?  Here’s where the game show analogy comes in. Imagine they were contestants on the original “Wheel Of Fortune.” Remember the “parting gift” that every player received? Often it was a home version of the game.  Now that’s brilliant self-promotion. What can you give your web visitors to keep them engaged with your message after they leave?  How about an e-newsletter subscription, or a free demo of a product or service?  Consider anything that can mesh with your other marketing, communications and business efforts.

A strong hub makes for a solid wheel, and your web site can be the hub of your marketing plan, always in motion and reaching out to all points along the wheel of communications.  Think of your web site not as a destination, but a central station that keeps the conversation flowing as you tell your story.

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A study conducted by the Direct Marketing Association showed that, in 2008, email marketing returned $45.06 for every dollar spent on it.

And a February 2008 survey of retailers by shop.org found that email marketing has the second-lowest cost per order ($6.85) of any online marketing method. The CPO of paid Web search was $19.33. These stats appeared in a January 13th article on MarketingProfs.com.

Author Neil Anuskiewicz points out that ”those already doing email marketing for a relatively low cost could increase the amount of time and energy they put into their email marketing to increase ROI” by improving content and offers.

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If you do any email marketing and want to avoid being blocked, be sure to check out Jordan Ayan’s list of words and phrases you should never use in an email subject line on MarketingProfs.Com (free registration required).

Besides the obvious references to sex, home financing and pharmaceuticals — separately or together — she says there are a number of normal words that can set off the spam filters. Here are a few examples:

• only
• get
• opportunity
• avoid
• compare
• offer
• lose

This looks like a great list to print and post next to the computer. Just be sure to check it every time you’re creating a subject line in an email marketing piece.

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