Effective Email Marketing
Using an effective email marketing campaign is a cost effective way to introduce new products, a sale on overstocks, to remind old customers that the business still exists and to mine the depths and shake the trees for new customers. This method of advertising uses what now is fast becoming the most accepted way of communication, even overtaking the traditional snail mail. The advantages of Internet mail are quite striking: the cost, the speed and the ability to know if the mail has been read. A business wanting to mount an effective email marketing campaign can take advantage of all three of those Internet mail strengths. One of the most pleasing prayers anyone can ever speak to God is the words of David when he said, "Search me, O God and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23, 24)
Imagine a company that has just created a new line of copiers that need to be publicized. A direct mail campaign is already in the works as well as some key business magazine exposure. The company has a limited marketing budget and is seeking as much information about an effective email marketing campaign as possible. The strategy is the actually alert potential customers about the direct mail and the magazine ads through Internet mail. The question then becomes how to best put a campaign together that will be effective and profitable.
In order to avoid having the campaign end up as spam for a security program to block, the company understood that the plan had to rest on an already compiled invitation list. The company had been sending a monthly email newsletter to willing customers for three years. The newsletter covered such things as trends in office technology, tips for cutting office supply costs and articles of interest for small businesses. The mailing list for the newsletter was built slowly, asking for permission to send the monthly offering by obtaining names and Internet mail addresses. This allowed the hope for an effective email marketing campaign to have credibility and not be blocked or filtered.
The company had to decide whether to use marketing software to keep track of the results of the campaign or use an Internet mail marketing service. The initial cost of the software was based on the size of the mailing list and enabled the company's marketing department to design the entire presentation without outside help. This enabled the company to choose a software package that could be used again and again in future campaigns. The question now was whether it would be an effective email marketing campaign. Research into the quirks and oddities of Internet mailing would help mitigate a high failure rate.
Effective email marketing research showed that the best days to send out a campaign were all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning. This underscored the thought that by the time Wednesday rolled around, many customers were already thinking about the weekend and the chances of mail being opened after two pm on Wednesday were slimmer than before that time. Two pm seemed to represent eastern coast customers getting back from lunch and taking a look at Internet mail arrivals and west coast customers opening emails before lunch. The decision was made to send out the campaign on a Tuesday morning by nine am Eastern Time and then the attention was turned the content. Research was again used to find out that text emails were more closely read than HTML marketing messages. Additionally, emails that have a person's name in the recipient box are also a huge deciding factor in whether an email is opened up. For this copier company's campaign, the first name was chosen with a greeting.
Further research revealed to the company's marketers that a dull and uninspiring subject will risk a delete three out of four times. The subject box heading was created to grab the attention and raise the curiosity of the readers. In this case was the subject: "World's smartest copier just unveiled." But just as important is the preview pane which most email viewers have turned on. Effective email marketing study told the company's marketers that the first portion of the email message must be a grabber. The copy must grab the attention and hold it, so a description of the copier's unique features filled the first five lines of the email.
Perhaps the most unique factor in an effective email marketing campaign may be the follow up tracking of the campaign's effectiveness. This is, by far, the biggest strength of the Internet driven marketing campaign. Having the resources to follow and observe every action taken on one's email campaign from opening, to every click to every delete to every recycle action can be eye-opening for the company initiating the campaign. If a company hires an outside agency to run its Internet mail campaign, then that agency will record all of the results and be able to interpret all the findings in a way that the company can use for later marketing efforts. If a company desires to do the entire process in house, than especially designed software that will track these same results is available for purchase from online developers. Making sense of every trend, every action or non-action will certainly dictate how the next Internet mail campaign is conducted. If the results are not favorable, then a new strategy may have to be developed, such as strengthening the online relationship the company has with existing customers. An examination of the strength of the newsletter email list may also have to be completed.
Imagine a company that has just created a new line of copiers that need to be publicized. A direct mail campaign is already in the works as well as some key business magazine exposure. The company has a limited marketing budget and is seeking as much information about an effective email marketing campaign as possible. The strategy is the actually alert potential customers about the direct mail and the magazine ads through Internet mail. The question then becomes how to best put a campaign together that will be effective and profitable.
In order to avoid having the campaign end up as spam for a security program to block, the company understood that the plan had to rest on an already compiled invitation list. The company had been sending a monthly email newsletter to willing customers for three years. The newsletter covered such things as trends in office technology, tips for cutting office supply costs and articles of interest for small businesses. The mailing list for the newsletter was built slowly, asking for permission to send the monthly offering by obtaining names and Internet mail addresses. This allowed the hope for an effective email marketing campaign to have credibility and not be blocked or filtered.
The company had to decide whether to use marketing software to keep track of the results of the campaign or use an Internet mail marketing service. The initial cost of the software was based on the size of the mailing list and enabled the company's marketing department to design the entire presentation without outside help. This enabled the company to choose a software package that could be used again and again in future campaigns. The question now was whether it would be an effective email marketing campaign. Research into the quirks and oddities of Internet mailing would help mitigate a high failure rate.
Effective email marketing research showed that the best days to send out a campaign were all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning. This underscored the thought that by the time Wednesday rolled around, many customers were already thinking about the weekend and the chances of mail being opened after two pm on Wednesday were slimmer than before that time. Two pm seemed to represent eastern coast customers getting back from lunch and taking a look at Internet mail arrivals and west coast customers opening emails before lunch. The decision was made to send out the campaign on a Tuesday morning by nine am Eastern Time and then the attention was turned the content. Research was again used to find out that text emails were more closely read than HTML marketing messages. Additionally, emails that have a person's name in the recipient box are also a huge deciding factor in whether an email is opened up. For this copier company's campaign, the first name was chosen with a greeting.
Further research revealed to the company's marketers that a dull and uninspiring subject will risk a delete three out of four times. The subject box heading was created to grab the attention and raise the curiosity of the readers. In this case was the subject: "World's smartest copier just unveiled." But just as important is the preview pane which most email viewers have turned on. Effective email marketing study told the company's marketers that the first portion of the email message must be a grabber. The copy must grab the attention and hold it, so a description of the copier's unique features filled the first five lines of the email.
Perhaps the most unique factor in an effective email marketing campaign may be the follow up tracking of the campaign's effectiveness. This is, by far, the biggest strength of the Internet driven marketing campaign. Having the resources to follow and observe every action taken on one's email campaign from opening, to every click to every delete to every recycle action can be eye-opening for the company initiating the campaign. If a company hires an outside agency to run its Internet mail campaign, then that agency will record all of the results and be able to interpret all the findings in a way that the company can use for later marketing efforts. If a company desires to do the entire process in house, than especially designed software that will track these same results is available for purchase from online developers. Making sense of every trend, every action or non-action will certainly dictate how the next Internet mail campaign is conducted. If the results are not favorable, then a new strategy may have to be developed, such as strengthening the online relationship the company has with existing customers. An examination of the strength of the newsletter email list may also have to be completed.
Effective Email Marketing
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