Category Archives: Email Marketing

Email marketing posts show you how to build your email list, and starting email marketing campaigns without your own list. There are details on some common errors, what you can do to avoid them, and how to fix mistakes you’ve already made.

There are also posts on how to measure your email marketing results, and what metrics really matter. You may think the list size is the most important thing (but it isn’t). Getting a high rate of unsubscribes, bounces, and spam reports? Find out what to do about it.

Find out what your response rate should be and how yours compares to your industry counterparts.

Plus, posts on easy ways to improve your email design to improve readability and increase your click through rates (a metric that does matter). There are also posts with tips on how to write subject lines that sell. Since the subject line is the first thing your readers will see, it’s important to get that right!

Carts, Horses, and Building an Email Marketing List

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Image by emilio labrador via Flickr

Anthony on LinkedIn needed some email marketing tips.

He wanted to use email lists to figure out his target market. Anthony figured that whoever responded would be a good prospect for his product. Once he got some those answers, he could then see some patterns (get demographics) and figure out how to market to this audience.

Is this the right way to build an email list?

Anthony has some good ideas. He’s right that demographics are important. However, he has his email marketing plan in the wrong order.

He wants to figure out demographics and build a strategy based on who responds to his offer. That’s backwards. He’s putting the cart first. The first thing he needs to do isn’t to start marketing.

Audience comes first

The first step in building an email list is to choose your audience. The audience comes first. Then the marketing strategy.

For instance, if your target market is Spanish-speaking adults who like music, then you know to make deals, buy advertising, etc. with Sabado Gigante (a Spanish-language music and variety show) and similar outlets.

If English-speaking teens are also showing interest, then research the teenage market. Figure out where they hang out, what they like, and go after them. If you get signups, it’s right. If not, it’s no good and you adjust.

Strategy is second

Once you’ve chosen your audience, you then have to figure out where to reach them.

If your market is on Facebook, hang out on Facebook. If they are on Tumblr, post there.

Interact, ask questions and follow other people too.

Try posting a survey and asking questions about what people want from the sort of product you sell. Find out what’s lacking in your competitors’ offerings. Is there something there you can take advantage of? Or, try running a contest (make sure the prize is something they want). Use the contest or the survey to get signups for your your own email list.

Once you have enough signups, you can get more demographic data and adjust your marketing accordingly.

Horse. Then cart. Then driver.

You can’t talk to your audience if you don’t know who it is. Heck, if you’re marketing in Spanish to people who only speak English, you’re literally not speaking the right language!

Email Marketing Mistakes: Signs Your Newsletter Has Lost Its Way

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Image thanks to svilen001

Even the most experienced email marketers can make mistakes (it’s OK).

If you do, the best thing to do is to admit it and correct it.

For example, I got an email yesterday from a top-notch internet marketer and copywriter. He said that he’d gotten a complaint that he was pitching too much, and offering too little content in return. He wanted to know (and I applaud him for this) if he’d lost his way. If so, he wanted to fix it.

Here’s how to tell if your email newsletter marketing has gone wrong and some tips for fixing it.

Selling too much

People don’t sign up for pitches – they sign up for information. They want solutions to their problems: whether that’s how to set up a twitter account, how to build an app, or tips for growing an organic vegetable garden.

Newsletter signups are giving you permission to talk (you did get permission, right?), but not to sell, sell, sell.

The internet marketer’s newsletters were helpful. However, there was a problem. He sent one monthly newsletter, and then six or seven promotional emails. And, you couldn’t tell which was which.

Selling in newsletters, or along with newsletters, is fine. Just mix it up. As a general rule, send three or four informational, helpful emails for every promotional one.

Not interacting with your subscribers

Do you answer your emails? I realize this can be tough if you get hundreds of them, but if your inbox is not that full, send out answers to reader questions. Heck, they could become topics (with permission, of course) for another newsletter or a blog post (a win-win for everyone).

No reader exclusives

If you want to sell more, give readers a reason to want to hear from you. Why not an incentive in the newsletter itself? Make subscribing special by offering something non-subscribers don’t get. Get raving fans.

Special offers available only to subscribers
First look at new products
Sign up for separate advance notice discount list
Offers that are fun: the Leave the Office Early Day sale!
First crack at entering a contest

No product tips/success stories

Show your readers proof your product works, or share tips on better ways to use it

regular updates (in the newsletter) on success other customers have had
send cheat sheets or point out hidden “easter eggs”
point out new ways your other customers have used your product

Essentially, make sure you engage with your readers. Bring them in to the conversation (and make it a conversation, rather than a speech), encourage their feedback, and respond to their questions or concerns.

If there is a problem, address it quickly, particularly if it’s a bug or a public failure (your site is down for an extended period, you’ve been hacked, etc).

Share your thoughts

What do you think? How do you handle your email newsletters? How often do you send newsletters? Marketing messages?

Essential Email Marketing Tips: The Right Way to Use Email Marketing

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

A responsive (that means they buy stuff) email list is, of course, critical to making money with your newsletter.

But nobody wants to be pushy and obnoxious. And, if you are, the chances anyone will buy from you get smaller.

Here are some ways to build trust with your email marketing campaign, create a bond, and build a relationship that leads to purchases.

Grow your own qualified email marketing list

It will be your best source of income. You’ll need to nurture it and grow it. Here are some tips on how to build your own qualified email list. RSS subscribers are good, but it turns out that email is better (ha! the direct marketers were right all along – the money is in the list).

Set up outposts on social media

Put up free books or reports on your site, on Facebook, Google Plus, or scribd. Include links back to your site and an invitation to sign up for your newsletter (and get your big bribe report).

Measure it

Check how you’re doing. Track open rates and click throughs (how many people click on your link). If your list is big enough (over 2,500 names), “split test” it (break it in two and see which half gets better results), Try different subject lines or different calls to action. Only change one thing at a time.

Be relevant

Different groups may be buying different things from you. Segment the email list (break it up by type of purchase, or profession, or location or whatever is most appropriate) and send them offers that are the most relevant.

Be friendly

Talk to your subscribers (not at them). Invite them to contact you if they have questions or feedback. Send a welcome message when they sign up.

The same tip goes for social media. Don’t just post and leave, and don’t focus solely on selling.

Use those social media outposts to be helpful. If your followers ask questions, answer them. Post answers to questions you see elsewhere, or from your own customers. Don’t be pushy! Nobody is on Facebook to see your marketing offers (there are enough ads there already). Then, invite people to sign up for your list to get more answers, and more information they need.

Share your thoughts

Got questions about email marketing? Wonder what the difference is between a email newsletter and an auto-responder? Ask here.

Five Simple Tips for Better Email Marketing

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Image thanks to nickobec

Want better email marketing? Email can be a disaster (spam), or it can be a great marketing tool.

Use it correctly, and you can get great results, at a relatively low cost.

Use it poorly, and your name is mud. Here are five tips to improve your email marketing campaigns.

None of them are hard and none of them take a lot of time to set up. You can start using them today.

Include a forward to a friend link

Encourage the subscribers you have to pass your newsletter on to their friends and colleagues. Since it comes from a friend, the email is more likely to be opened. Links are OK, but avoid forms, as there’s a potential for spamming.

Add a personal touch to your newsletters

For instance, John Jantsch always includes a book and an album (is that still the right word when everything is digital?) he likes.

Multiple subscription options

If you have more than one newsletter, offer readers the option of selecting which newsletters they get. Have a separate list for special discounts (and first notice of new products).

Don’t overdo the promotion

Your readers signed up to get information. Keep everything in balance. If your newsletter is about photography, have two or three articles about photography, and then a link to your new “better portrait photography” ebook.

Link to articles or posts on your blog

Your email newsletter readers may not see your blog. Send them a link to a relevant post. Or, offer the option to get a weekly blog digest by email.

4 Quick Email Marketing Tips

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Improving your email newsletter doesn’t have to require a major overhaul.

Sometimes, tweaking a few small things can make a big difference in the results you get.

The important thing is to make your newsletter easier to read, more interesting, and less overwhelming.

Keep it simple

Cut the content and the clutter. Many email newsletters try to cover every single thing the company has done since the last newsletter (up to an entire month’s worth!).

The trouble is that five or six articles can be overwhelming and intimidating. Rather than throw in everything you can think of, reduce the newsletter to one featured article and two smaller, shorter ones.

Break up the content

Big blocks of text are hard to read online. They’re even harder to read on cell phones, and since more and more traffic is mobile these days you need to keep that in mind when you create your newsletters.

Check to see how many people are reading your newsletter on mobile. If it’s a large percentage, make sure your newsletter is formatted in a why that’s easy to read on phones.

Break up your paragraphs into bite-sized pieces. In a text-only message, highlight headlines or breaks with asterisks or dashes.

Test the subject lines

If your list is big enough, try testing subject lines. Send out a small sample with two different headlines and see which has a higher open rate (how many people opened your email) and click through rate ((how many people clicked on one of the links in your message).

Check your stats

Turn on link tracking in AWeber (or whatever email service you use) to see which emails are the most popular. Track the open rate , click through rate, and click rates for each link.

Which links convert the best? The first one? The last? And which wording did best?

Image thanks to ilco