Helpful info for small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to learn more about the best practices of email marketing. Presented at PodCampAZ 2011 in Tempe, Arizona.
2. About Me
• Worked in AOL Postmaster team
• Manages Infusionsoft’s online community
• Helps people with their email marketing
• Tweets a lot as @JoeManna
3. Why
Use
Email
Marke:ng
• Informative Newsletters
• Product/Service Announcements
• Customer Follow-up
• Lead Generation
• Lead Nurturing
• Sales
• Events
• Brand Awareness
4. Email
Marke:ng
is
NOT:
• Unsolicited (spam)
• Only to push products and services
• A way to make tons of money overnight
• A license to market to people indefinitely
• (Permission is never) assumed
8. Email Stats
82% of Smartphone Users Check &
Send Email from their Devices
iPhone remains the dominant mobile
email client for opening emails
Sources:
Google,
Litmus/eROI
12. What can we make of this?
• Email is continually evolving
• People get messaged a lot
• You’re up against a lot of spammers
• Personal inbox filters are problematic to
some
• Mobile (email) is a big deal
14. 1. Always Get Permission
• It’s never assumed
• A business card is not permission
• Permission is solicited
• Aside from CAN-SPAM compliance,
actually increases campaign performance
15. 2. Go Confirmed Opt-In
• Email reputation will be cleaner
• Emails more likely to hit the inbox
• Truly confirms someone’s interest
• Insurance in the event of accidental spam
complaints
• More engaged, interactive list
16. 3. Never Bury the Unsubscribe
• Aside from promoting distrust, it has
damaging effects
• Unsubscribes are great feedback
• It’s never personal – it’s a part of the email
lifecycle
• Asking for the unsubscribe begets fewer
unsubscribes (!)
17. 4. Keep the Email Message Short
• No one wants to scroll endlessly for the
good stuff
• Mobile users have very limited real-estate
• Everyone is strapped for time
• Brevity is bliss.
18. 5. Be You, Not Your Business
• People connect with people on a list, not the
list sponsor
• Sign your emails with a personalized email
signature
• Include your photo, phone number and email
address
• Don’t send from an unmonitored “noreply”
account
19. 6. Don’t Send So Damn Much
• Be strategic in how frequent you email
your subscribers
• Consider their perception
• Stay in contact enough so they expect to
hear from you (Monthly/Bi-Monthly)
20. 7. Ditch the Newsletter
• Newsletters are rarely useful to people
• But if you do, make it exclusive and useful
• Automated email campaigns
(autoresponders) are great way to provide
valuable content
• Let people join your list with intent.
21. 8. Use Social Media for Content & Action
• Social media is a great place to acquire
and share content
• Use your emails to promote a social call to
action
• Highlight the best content you produced
recently
• Solicit responses from your list
22. 9. Segment Your Email List
• The most effective way to increase
engagement
• Divide your list into different groups.
(Example: All Customers, Product A,
Service B, Event C, etc…)
• Narrow email segments give you more
liberty to presume circumstances
23. 10. Use Professional Email Tools
• Let email service providers manage the
tech stuff. You should focus on marketing
• More professional appearance
• Affordable – sized right to everyone’s needs
• Recommended: Constant Contact,
MailChimp, AWeber, VerticalResponse,
Infusionsoft
25. 1. Spam Complaints
• ISPs tolerate up to 0.1% (1/1000)
• Affects your email reputation (fingerprinting)
• Assumption is the #1 mistake we see
• Reconfirm permission every 6-10 months
26. 2. Wrong Message at the Wrong Time
• Always get comfortable with your email
marketing software before going all-in
• Realize that emails with attachments take
awhile to arrive in the inbox
• Not everyone is checking their email every
minute
27. Recap
• Email
marke:ng
is
a
great
method
to
engage
with
customers
• Email
marke:ng
requires
good
planning
and
discipline
• Social
media
complements
email
marke:ng