Email marketing 101

Thinking of beginning an email marketing program? What to keep in mind when getting started Sandi Karchmer Solow I Send Your Email [email_address]

More about Sandi Solow…

I am a freelance email marketing manager for companies of all sizes – those that are either beginning an email marketing program or have an established program that needs additional resources.

Work on an hourly- or project basis to help companies answer the following questions:

Message: What do you want your emails to say?

Audience: Who do you want to receive your emails?

Format: What will your emails look like?

Measurement: How will we know the email was successful?

My company: www.ISendYourEmail.com

Getting started process flow ? Why are you going to begin an email program? Create an editorial calendar Develop message content Develop an audience list and/or decide who you’ll be emailing Potential costs determined by knowing who and how often Selecting an email service provider is a function of needs and budget

Why are you sending emails?

“Because I think I should” – not the best answer

Have a clear goal for your program

Sales

Brand awareness

Can you sustain your idea/goal?

Now that you know who you’ll be emailing, what are you going to send them?

A relationship built on trust

You’ll live up to your promise of sending relevant content

What does your audience want to receive?

Use email collection on site to ask for demographics and set information preferences

Take the time to develop your list

Market your subscription button

“ Sell” the subscribe

Promote subscribing

Empower the Front Line

Article by Kimberly Snyder published on MarketingProfs.com on June 17, 2008

Don’t use ESP to pick an ESP

ESP = Email Service Provider

Can help you avoid spam filters

Message scanners review before blasting

May know of ISP issues

Select your ESP carefully

Budget

How often you’ll be sending

How large your list size is/will be

You’ve developed an audience… now what?

There’s more to it than just hitting the send button

Refer to editorial calendar

Factor in time to create a compelling message

For each blast, carefully scan your recipient list

Afterwards, look at your message stats (opens, clicks, blocks, bounces)

Doesn’t include time for A/B testing

Workflow of a message blast Write out the content Decide email recipients Design HTML and text emails Test both versions of the emails in different formats; revise as necessary Send the email Post-blast analysis

Pitfalls of Poor Content

Unsubscribe rates increase

Run the risk of being called a Spammer

Damages your brand image

How to avoid being a spammer?

No silver bullet answer

Only takes 0.1% to blacklist you

Don’t purchase lists

Never email someone who hasn’t requested to hear from you

Develop a list that’s permission-based

How to develop a permission-based list Lose people who originally sign-up Gives you a database of very strong leads Collect address on site and confirm via follow-up email Double Opt-In Not everyone reads the pre-checked box and is later annoyed when they get your email It’s easy and legal Give visitors the chance to sign up for something else along with a pre-checked box that will subscribe them to your list. Opt-out Not guaranteed permission; anyone can sign-up Easy to sign-up Collect via form on site Opt-in Cons Pros What is this?

Contact info