Basics for E-mail Marketing Success

Here are a few basic tips to guide you on the path to e-mail marketing success. You can expect higher returns on your email marketing investment if you adhere to these basic principles.

• Take a look at your e-mail marketing database list. Send your e-mail announcements only to people who know you. If they don't recognize your company name you are most likely to get your e-mail stuck in a spam filter. So, make sure all of the e-mail addresses you have on your database have opted in to receive your e-mail announcements.

• Think of your e-mail addresses as people not just as inanimate objects. Because, after all, there is a person and hopefully a customer attached to that e-mail address. So, treat that e-mail address with respect. Don't sell your e-mail addresses. Make sure you include a privacy statement on your Website and on each e-mail you send out. E-mail marketing is about building relationships.

• Segregate your e-mail contacts into various categories befitting of your particular industry or company requirements. This will help you to tailor your e-mail announcements to a targeted audience. One size doesn't fit all.

• Engage your audience. After all, this isn't a one-way conversation. Ask your readers to click on a link for more information. Make your newsletter layout, fonts, and graphic images look inviting. Draw the reader's attention to your announcement.

• Maximize your delivery rate by formatting your e-mail appropriately. If you use one of the e-mail service providers such as Constant Contact or iContact, for example, they can review your e-mail and offer suggestions for anti-spam formatting.

• Make it clear when your readers sign-up what they will be getting and how often. I send an e-mail newsletter on the 1st of each month. My readers will always know to look in their inbox on that date for the latest marketing information.

• Keep track of your responses and follow up with people who register for your e-mail announcements. I send registrants a free pen with a welcome letter in addition to the automated welcome e-mail they get from my e-mail provider. And analyze each e-mail so that you can tweak your content for the next edition.

• Archive your e-newsletters. It's a great way to get more exposure via the Web. Search engines can crawl your archived newsletters. People can review your archived newsletter to see if they want to sign up. Or, your existing customers know they can always go to that link to review an old issue. In other words, they won't have to store your e-newsletter in their inbox.

I hope these suggestions have been beneficial. Try a few and see if your next e-mail announcement or newsletter is successful.

E-mail Marketing in 2010: What's New!

E-mail marketing has just about peaked in terms of new technology. Almost everyone has an e-newsletter these days. But, what is the secret to leading the pack in terms of innovation in eMarketing? Here are a few tactics that will help you engage your customers.

• Use an auto-responder to set up an automated e-mail to customers who have recently purchased your product. Request that they complete a product review. This is a good way to increase brand loyalty and may also encourage these customers to provide valuable content for you.

• Use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to encourage your customers to share your e-newsletter with colleagues. Add a Share Button to your e-mails. And when a new subscribers signs up for your e-newsletter, encourage them to share your content in your Welcome e-mail message.

• If you have an e-commerce function on your Website to allow online ordering of your products, make sure you have a great Web analytics program to determine which customers may have failed to make a purchase (commonly called shopping cart abandonment). This data can then trigger an e-mail to be sent encouraging the customers to return to your site to complete their transaction.

• The age old question is when is the best time to send my e-mail? Studies have shown that customers look at their e-mails at all times of the day. Others may look when they first get up in the morning, and others may look at it later in the day. But, now there is a new technology called Send Time Optimization that can analyze recipient behavior. This will allow you to send your e-mail messages when they are most likely reviewing their e-mail.

• Mobile marketing is coming of age. Now that the technology has advanced it is an excellent way to stay in touch with your customers. Use this for timely notices especially reminders, invitations, or special notifications.

• Segment your mailing list. Don't treat all people the same regardless of their interest level. You must know where they are in the purchasing life cycle. At the very least categorize your customers into new, active, or lapsed. Through your e-mail reports you should be able determine where they are in the marketing life cycle. Find out why these people are no longer opening your e-mails.

• Your goal should be to increase the conversion rate. You want your readers to purchase product. If your conversion rates are lagging make your call to action more energetic, more appealing, or articulate it more clearly. Use landing pages wisely to focus your customers on your specific call to action.

Enhance Your Website with a Few Good Marketing Tips

Almost every company today has a Website no matter how large or small they are. I think most people understand the value of a Website in today's market. However, do you use your Website as an electronic brochure? That was okay yesteryear but in today's social media and eMarketing environment you need to upgrade your Website to include some rich media. Here are a few tips to help you upgrade the usefulness of your Website.

• Have you started sending out an e-newsletter? If so, create a sign-up box and place it prominently on your Website. Some of the e-newsletter companies now offer an e-mail archiving feature so that visitors can view past e-newsletters to determine if they want to sign up for your e-mail list.

• Do you have any Webinars that you recently hosted? Don't forget to subscribe to the Record and Playback option from your Webinar service provider. That way you can place your On-Demand Webinar on your Website which will, in turn, increase visibility.

• Have you made any podcasts or videos? You can also add these to your Website enabling your visitors to subscribe to your podcast series.

Remember ... a Website is not a static marketing tool. It should be updated often. Re-purpose your other marketing tools by adding them to your Website. You will reflect a positive corporate image by letting your visitors know more about your company's products and services.

KIWI News, a Newsletter for Marketing Professionals, Gets a Facelift

KIWI Communications, Inc., an Orange County, CA marketing and advertising firm, redesigns KIWI News, a newsletter for marketing professionals, offering creative ideas, innovative marketing and advertising solutions, tips, and hints to help companies market their products more effectively.

See the entire press release on PR Web.

Sign up for the newly redesigned KIWI News Marketing Newsletter at our Website.

Good Old-Fashioned Marketing Skills Should Still be Learned

How many of you feel your marketing efforts have become so complicated especially with social media, eMarketing, and other online advertising efforts? Well, why don't you get back to basics. Use the KISS method (or keep it simple, for short). Good marketing should be good marketing no matter what the delivery method is. So, go back to the basics.

• Know your target audience. Who are they? Can you write a one sentence description of who you are targeting? What are the demographics of your group? What is the average age? How much education have they had? Or add other demographics important to your particular product or service.

• Know your market's likes and dislikes. Do you know your target market's preferences? What do they like? What do they dislike? What problems do your products or services solve?

• Have a good marketing plan in place. Do you have a formalized marketing plan? If not, you should write one. It will help you strategize which direction you should take insofar as marketing your products.

Most marketers seems to skip putting a marketing plan together; but, it will be one of the most valuable tools of all. You can't steer a ship without a rudder. So, don't try to market your products without a plan.