8 Tips that get you more Results from Email Marketing
1. 8 Tips That Get You More Results
from Email Marketing
LulisaBlog.com
2. Executive summary
Every company’s marketing strategy includes initiatives created with the sole goal to generate warm leads (a customer who
has heard or recollects something about you company). A warm lead is easier for the sales team to convert into a customer – it takes
less time to convert and less energy.
Therefore the number 1 on your marketing team’s list is: generate a large number of warm leads that would later generate the
necessary income. One of the most important things I have learnt as an online marketing specialist is that the largest number of warm
leads is B2B businesses is generated by email marketing. In fact, email has been the most popular online activities online in the US
since 2002, according to a recent report by Pew Research. According to the Pew Research report, among online adults, 92% use
email, with 61% using it on an average day.
Source: pewinternet.org
LulisaBlog.com
3. And if that is not enough to persuade you how important email marketing is, well let me tell you just this: 27% of Email
subscribers are more likely to purchase from a brand. If you have struggled for years to find out what channel has a great impact on
purchase behavior, well you found your answer.
A study conducted by ExactTarget shows exactly what marketing channel, among Email campaigns, Facebook and Twitter,
has a greater impact on purchase behavior. The study reveals that Twitter followers are more likely to purchase from a brand and that
Email campaigns are the second to influence the purchase behavior of a brand’s subscribers.
37% Twitter followers are more likely to purchase from that brand.
27% of Email subscribers are more likely to purchase from a brand.
17% of Facebook fans are more likely to purchase from a brand.
Email Facebook Twitter
Source: www.exacttarget.com
LulisaBlog.com
4. That being “said” there is no need for other reasons email marketing should be placed at the top of your marketing strategy. But it is
not so easy to create emails that have great results. In fact, you need to follow an entire recipe of how to “cook” those HOT emails that return
a great number of warm leads. That recipe contains elements like: target, design, content, results. All of these elements are revealed in
the next pages.
Contents
1. What programs to use in order to have your emails reach the inbox? ........................................................................................ 5
2. How should you build your subscribers database? ..................................................................................................................... 8
3. 4+1 Tips for designing your emails to appeal recipients ........................................................................................................... 10
4. Why should your email format be compatible with mobile devices? ......................................................................................... 12
5. You should read this before sending your first email................................................................................................................. 13
6. What are the best and worst words in subject lines? ................................................................................................................ 15
7. How to create valuable content for your subscribers?............................................................................................................... 17
8. Why are trigger emails a great asset for an email marketing strategy?..................................................................................... 19
9. Dictionary: ................................................................................................................................................................................. 21
Enjoy the reading and good luck in using the recipe to create attractive email campaigns.
LulisaBlog.com
5. 1. What programs to use in order to have your emails reach the inbox?
Before you even start write the content of your next email or even building the database you have to make sure you will use the
email program that suits your needs perfectly. In case you haven’t already used an email program, let me tell you there are programs
that help you create and send not only one email campaign but a whole strategic emailing plan for you target audience.
Why do I start with emailing program? Because the mean through which your message gets to your target audience is as
important as the content.
Being a good copywriter is in vain if your message doesn’t reach the inbox of your target. I learned that in my first year
as a marketing specialist. Along the years I have tested some emailing programs, which I will detail below. Remember, the choice is
yours and according to your needs (number of emailing address, costs, staff, etc.).
I want to stress that by using the right emailing program, you will get some great benefits from your email marketing
campaigns, such as:
1. Your emails will reach the inbox of your subscribers
2. As most of these programs offer sign-up forms
available for website/blog, you will be able to add more
subscribers to your list automatically
3. They help you track and measure the results of your
email campaign
LulisaBlog.com
6. Atomic mail sender – it’s a program you download and get a license key for about 80 USD, after
which you don’t pay a dime to send other thousands of emails. Still, for email tracking (it helps
you track who opened your emails, what link was clicked, etc.) you have to pay a monthly fee of
13 USD. The advantage is the price for email sending – only 80 USD but I suggest you use
tracking as it will help you take strategic decisions.
Aweber – is one of the most used programs for email marketing. The monthly fee depends on the
number of emails in your database, ranging from 1 USD to more than 130 USD. It allows you to
post a sing-up form on your website, but the disadvantage is that if you already have a database of subscribers and you start emailing
them with Aweber, the program sends them an email requesting permission.
Constant contact – the most used emailing program. It allows you to send emails, create online surveys, event invitations, etc. The trial
version is 60 days, which I consider a rather long period for free trial. The same disadvantage as for Aweber but if you are at the
beginning it’s a good option. Prices range from 15 USD to more than 150 USD, so it is a bit more expensive than Aweber.
Read below to find out
more email programs
that I have tested
LulisaBlog.com
7. MailChimp is one of the friendliest online programs for email marketing I have ever seen. Moreover, their free program is great: you can
send up to 12.000 emails a month to a database of 2.000 email address for FREE, I think it’s great and the only disadvantage in
their case is that they don’t allow you to send emails with attachments. In exchange, they offer some space where you can upload your
documents and a link to them.
Innovo Mail – is a great email program I used to work with. Using it, you will have tracking service, auto-responders but most of all you
will have the ability to integrate it with Google Analytics, therefore measuring the exact number of visitors on your website due to
your newsletters. As for prices, I don’t exactly remember their fees but I can tell you it’s cheaper than Aweber and Constant Contact.
Google Reader – I could not complete this post without mentioning Google’s service of emailing marketing. As all of Google’s services,
this one is easy to use and most of all it is FREE. The only disadvantage I can notice here is that being free; Google’s logo will appear
on the upper left site of your email. It’s still a “cost” we have to pay if we use free stuff.
Read further to find out ways of building and increasing your list of subscribers!
LulisaBlog.com
8. 2. How should you build your subscribers database?
Now that we clarified the emailing program issue, it’s high time we figured out who your subscribers are.
If you already have a business or you are a freelancer, I am sure you have already built a database with customers or
prospects that might need your services/products.
There are more ways to build a database of companies but I want to stress from the beginning on the fact that taking a
company’s contact information and sending it your emails is SPAM. And you know what happens if you spam repetitively – your
server will be listed on the blacklist and your emails will be sent directly to the trash folder.
As a matter of fact, there are emailing programs that send your emails
through their servers and won’t allow you to send emails to non-subscribers.
If you still want to build your database in this way, I suggest you to send Average
them the first -mail asking request to send them other emails or show them why SPAM:
it’s good for them to subscribe to your newsletters.
21.1
messages
per second
LulisaBlog.com
9. So, how do you correctly build a database of subscribers who are interested in your services?
- First of all, it’s a must that you have a subscription form on your website or blog. And don’t forget to ask them to fill such information
like: full name, company, job position, maybe even birthday (for some businesses that works very well), phone number, etc.
- Secondly, you should post the possibility to subscribe to your newsletter, which should always be accompanied by benefits, such as:
free e-books, white-papers, free goodies and so on. So, on your Facebook, Linked In or Twitter page you can very well attract
subscribers.
But what do you do after attracting your
subscribers?
You must organize them into a CRM
detailing all their information and most of all, they
should be segmented. For example if you have
more types of clients (bronze, silver, gold) you must
send different offers or promotions. If your
services/products address a wider range of
prospects you should divide them into segments as
well. For example if you commercialize furniture for
hotels, restaurants, cafes or bars you should divide
them in terms of that.
I consider segmentation is really important,
you will see better results if you send segmented
newsletters to your subscribers, for the simple
reason your message will be more relevant to them.
Just let me know about your results.
LulisaBlog.com
10. 3. 4+1 Tips for designing your emails to appeal recipients
On a daily basis I get about 50 emails and newsletters. I even receive newsletters even though I unsubscribed to. What I think
it’s necessary for all of us to be aware of is that recipients are in the position of choosing every day what email they want to read and
what goes straight to the trash. So here are a few tips for you to design your emails in such a way that they will be read and that your
CTR will record a significant growth rate.
1. Use HTML template by integrating images and text in the same proportion. Don’t use too many images
CONTENT
or too much text! Still, copywriting guru, Bob Bly’s emails contain only text, with no graphic design
whatsoever. I personally like his style too, but I consider HTML emails to be the best in transmitting your
message. Still, your HTML email should be backed by a text version as there are email providers that do
not allow image emails.
2. Always offer the recipient the possibility to view the email in a dedicated page on your website, or your
email campaigns provider page. Why? Well because there is the possibility that your recipient is not able to
view your email correctly even as a text format. Therefore, by clicking that link the recipient is able to view
your message as you intended to send it. Email services providers like ConstantContact or Aweber allow
you to link your email content to their dedicated website, so that the recipient can view the message
correctly.
LulisaBlog.com
11. 3. Do not attach files to your emails, even if they are small or big. Instead upload them to a dedicated server or page and then link the
content in your message body. Recipients will no appreciate you charging their inbox.
4. Always pay attention to your anchor text (the hyperlink text). Never use shortened links as they are proved to be less clicked that
the normal links. Instead of leaving the links as they are, you should replace them with a call to action text (like: click here to download
the e-book).
5. Bonus tip: every message you send to your recipients should contain a call to action. Normally, that call to action is put at the end of
the email. But I suggest you putting your call to action after the first paragraph, at the middle of the body text and at the end too. There
are people who don’t want to read the email to the bottom so by adding your call to action after the first paragraph, you make sure the
recipient gets to click on it!
LulisaBlog.com
12. 4. Why should your email format be compatible with mobile devices?
If you are not yet persuaded by the importance of having all your online materials compatible with mobile devices, here is a
recent research conducted by MediaMind and presented in a great article on eMarketer.com, showing that the clickthrough rate on
mobile banners was 8 times greater that the CTR for standard online banners.
Source: eMarketer.com
Moreover, a study by comScore reveals that email remains one of the most popular activities on
the web, reaching more than 70 percent of the U.S online population each month. Daily usage of
email showed an even greater increase growing 40 percent as 43.5 million users turned to their
mobile devices on a nearly daily basis for their email communication needs. (Source: comScore.com)
LulisaBlog.com
13. 5. You should read this before sending your first email
1. In the first email always introduce yourself and the company to the reader and let them know
how your service/product will help them.
2. Also in the first email let them know how often they will receive your emails and how the emails
are organized.
3. Always segment your emailing list according to criteria like – location, interests, preference for
email recurrence, industry etc. (be careful in deciding the best criteria that segments your
emailing list that best suits your company)
4.
To find out more information about your subscribers in order to segment the database. Just address
them a questionnaire containing the questions you would like them to answer. There are several
survey programs you can use for free like Survey Monkey or Kwik Surveys. Make sure to address
10 questions maximum or a survey that doesn’t engage your recipient more than 8 to 10 minutes.
5. After segmenting your subscribers database, always send emails with relevant content for that
particular segment, or you might end up with many unsubscribes.
6. Make your email content 3 to 5 paragraphs long and not more as you don’t want a bored
prospect. Also make sure to include links to the original and longer announcement for the
interested ones.
LulisaBlog.com
14. The first thing that your receiver sees is the subject line. The subject line is what makes the recipient read the email
or throw it directly in the trash. And your goal is for the email to be read. So let’s see what words you should use
and what not in order to have your emails read.
LulisaBlog.com
15. 6. What are the best and worst words in subject lines?
Studies show that the words “posts,” “jobs,” “survey,” “week’s” and “eNewsletter” receive higher clickthrough rates than
“monthly,” “headlines,” “latest,” and “updates.”
MailChimp, one of the best email services companies in the world, mentioned in the first chapter of this e-book, conducted an
experiment on how to write good subject lines when creating your email campaign. They have come up with a great series of data
regarding this subject.
How was this study realized? Well, they analyzed over 40 million emails sent from customers through MailChimp, and found
the ones with the highest open rates and the ones with the lowest open rates. Then they pulled 20 from each pile and put their subject
lines in a side-by-side comparison. The "highest" open rates were in the range of 60%-87%, while the "lowest" performers fell in the
dismal 1%-14% range.
To see what subject lines were most successful and what were at the other bottom of the line, take a look at the table below.
LulisaBlog.com
17. 7. How to create valuable content for your subscribers?
I have probably sent half a thousand emails in the last 3 years. It might not be
a huge number but I certainly learned what goes well and what doesn’t.
There are several types of emailing content, according to every industry, but I
am going to write about 3 main types of content that you should use in your emailing
campaigns. Note that I am going to write only about campaigns sent to your
prospects lists and not emails sent to existing customers.
1. Launch of a new product or service. This type of email content should be short
and have a clear call to action. Usually the call to action sends your prospects to a
certain landing page or website where they could find out more about the new product.
Moreover this kind of emails should contain a discount if the product is tested or
bought in a short period of time from the launch date. Prior to this, make sure to prepare documents that explain very well why this
certain product helps your prospects and also, documents on how to use it.
2. Informative emails or newsletters. This is the most frequent type of emailing campaigns, which should be sent on regular basis,
depending on how you accustomed your prospects. Also, this type of email content should contain useful tips, information or news that
set the sender as expert in their industry. This kind of emails contains calls to action but don’t usually contain a sales pitch. Its main
purpose is to create awareness and gain trust from your prospects. I recommend to insert in these Newsletters success stories of your
customers, interviews with customers or employees and even some figures resulted from customer surveys (of course if they are
positive towards your business)
LulisaBlog.com
18. 3. Product or service offers. This type of email content is mainly used to boost sales on a certain product or service. The content
should talk about some benefits that are highly desired but the accent of the email should be on the offer (discount pricing or bonuses).
Be careful with this kind of emails; if the timing isn’t right (these should be sent long time after the first customers bought it with full price)
or the frequency is high (weekly offer emails are sent) you could not only diminish your clickthrough rates but also increase your
unsubscribe rates.
The segments of email content I present above are only some of a large number of other segments, but I consider these 3 the
main segments content emailing is divided between. If you consider these segments before you start writing the content I assure you
that the results of your emailing campaigns will be higher.
On the other hand copywriter and marketing guru Bob Bly divides emailing campaigns into other 3 segments. These are:
stories, content, and teaser.
1. A “story” email is just that: an email that tells an amusing story or anecdote.
2. Content – An email marketing message that actually presents an idea, tip, advice, or other content can often work better than one
that is merely a sales pitch for a product.
3. The third type of email is the ultra-short teaser email. The lead talks about a benefit, a solution to a problem, or something else
highly desired by the reader. And the next paragraph promises to deliver this benefit or solution when the reader clicks on the
hyperlink to the landing page.
I chose to share with you Bob Bly’s examples too so that you can see there are several ways of segmenting your emailing
campaigns, and that’s according to your industry and business.
LulisaBlog.com
19. 8. Why are trigger emails a great asset for an email marketing strategy?
I could not end this e-book about email marketing without mentioning the trigger emails. The majority of the email programs have
trigger features that allow you to create the entire email strategy in just a few hours. But let’s take a look at some of the numbers that
support the idea that trigger emails help companies
Bank of America report that event-based trigger emails are 250% more effective than broadcast promotional emails
VIE at home get £250 in revenue for every £1 invested on abandoned shopping basket emails
75% of registrations for Roku’s referral program are driven by triggered emails to new customers
People who purchase after getting cart abandonment emails spend 55% more than those who buy straightaway
“Happy Birthday” emails from Epson produce 840% more revenue per email than the overall email program
Gaylord Brothers convert half of their cart abandoners using multiple message remarketing emails
Trigger emails sent after relevant on-site searches got 200% higher open rates and 50% higher CTR than LowFares.com’s standard
newsletter
One study found abandoned cart mails getting 20 times the transaction rates and revenue of standard email campaigns
Tafford Uniforms earn 20% higher revenue per email from post-purchase survey emails than through standard broadcast messages
S&S Worldwide drive 40% of email revenue through trigger/transactional emails that account for just 4% of email volume
For the overall email program of S&S Worldwide, 40 percent of all email-generated revenue comes from triggered and
transactional-based emails that account for only 4 percent of the total email volume
LulisaBlog.com
20. Now that we’ve seen what trigger emails can do for your company, let’s take a look at the kinds of trigger email you can use when
building your email strategy.
order confirmation
shipping confirmation
request for feedback on a purchase
post-purchase email featuring upsells and cross-sells
request for a product/service review
welcome message series post sign-up
birthday email
“time to repurchase” (replenishment) email
Order confirmation
promotional email featuring products the
Shipping confirmation
recipient recently browsed on the website
Request for feedback
thank you emails
Source: www.email-marketing-reports.com
LulisaBlog.com
21. 9. Dictionary:
Warm lead = an individual who has expressed some initial interest in your product, service, or opportunity. Typically, this interest is
displayed in the form of a request for more information; i.e. filling out an opt-in form to receive a more detailed explanation of what you
can offer via email.
Open rate = is a measure primarily used by marketers as an indication of how many people "view" or "open" the commercial electronic
mail they send out. The open rate for an email sent to multiple recipients is then most often calculated as the total number of "opened"
emails, expressed as a percentage of the total number of emails sent or -- more usually -- delivered.
Clickthrough rate = Clickthrough rate or CTR is a way of measuring the success of an email campaign. The CTR for an email can be
calculated in 2 ways: CTR = (clicks on links in the email / delivered emails) % (preferred method) or CTR = (clicks on links in the email
/ total emails) %
Trigger email = A real-time message, or triggered message, is one that is generated based on a meaningful change or event in a
customer behavior or profile.
Learn more
If you are interested in learning more about email marketing you can read more on my blog: http://www.lulisablog.com/
If you want to contact me and comment on email marketing or this e-book, you can email me at: react@lulisablog.com
LulisaBlog.com