7 Epic Email Marketing Failures

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Jodi Kaplan

Image by griffithchris via Flickr

Email gone wrong can get really ugly. There’s spamming people, there’s lack of permission, there’s confusing messages, and sometimes there’s just plain stupidity.

Here are several truly awful email marketing failures.

Read these and spare yourself the horror and embarrassment of these awful mistakes!

Me, me me! (an email marketing disaster)

So, a salesman really wants to win a company sales prize. He sends out an email – telling his clients if they act soon they get a $25 certificate. Not bad, but the prize he would get for winning the contest was much, much better. If you want to encourage people to do something, it should solve their problem, not yours.

Oops, no permission

I signed up for an event at a restaurant. The place kept my name and started filling my inbox with coupons. Event signup (particularly through a third party) doesn’t equal marketing permission.

Irrelevant offers

Attention marketers, sending ads for diapers to someone who just bought razors makes no sense. How about a coupon for shaving cream instead?

BCC to everyone!

(Bangs head on desk). I’ve seen people calling themselves experts say this, people on Linkedin, it’s everywhere. Do not use bcc to send marketing emails with Outlook or Mail or any other email software. Use a proper ESP.

Oops, no content

An email newsletter recently arrived in my inbox, with only the words “message here.” Um, nope, not opening that. It went straight to the trash folder.

Data failure (x3)

I got an email from an affiliate company warning me that their records showed I was using a tool that was being discontinued. Actually, I wasn’t using it at all.

Then last week LinkedIn emailed me suggesting I join 4 groups – 3 of which I already belong to.

Here’s another one; US Airways sent a reward email to the wrong list. Then, didn’t make it up to them in any way.

It’s electronic!

A car dealer sent out an email that was just one big image. It looked blank if you had images turned off. If you went to the trouble to download the image (which was very large), it was just a reproduction of a handout flier.

If you’ve been marketing offline, adapt your offline marketing to the web. Don’t make, well, a “meatball sundae.”

What’s the biggest, worst email marketing failure you’ve seen? Or received?

10 Virtually Instant Ways to Improve E-Newsletters

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Jodi Kaplan

Image via Wikipedia

Your e-newsletter is your link to your prospects and your clients. So, it’s important to make it useful, relevant, and helpful.

Here are 10 quick ways to improve your e-mail newsletter marketing and get better results.

1. Limit the number of steps to sign up

The more questions you ask, the lower the opt-in rate will be. Make it as simple and easy as possible. Name and email are best (or even just email). Don’t ask anything else unless you have to (for example if you’re sending fashion tips, you’ll need to know gender.

2. Review your sign up process

Spell out what they’ll get when they sign up (a book, a video, an e-course), how often they’ll get it (monthly, weekly, daily), and the kind of information they’ll receive (graphic design tips, reviews of the latest camping gear,

3. Check your confirmation page

Does it spell out exactly what will happen next? Are the instructions clear? If yours is confusing, change it. Sometimes, people see “subscribe” and think they need to pay, others see it as a reminder that they’ll be getting regular information and emails. Experiment with the wording and see what performs best for your readers. Make sure you ask them to whitelist you too (add your email to their address books), so the message doesn’t fall into the spam folder by mistake.

4. Include links back to your blog

This gets more clicks and traffic back to your site. Add links to posts that expand or complement the topic of that particular issue. Or, highlight the best posts of the past month/week (depending on your frequency). Include posts by other people too (as long as it’s useful and relevant to your audience – no sneaking in tips about hiking gear to a newsletter about decorating with stained glass.

5. Tweak the design

If you’re using HTML (graphics) for your newsletter, take a look at the design. Is it easy to follow? Or, are you trying to cover 5 or 6 different topics at once? Add more white space, to make it easier to read.

6. Cut down the content

Sometimes too much information can be overwhelming. Try three articles instead of six. If there’s one primary article or topic, make it bigger than the other two (but not too big, or it will drown them out). Edit ruthlessly.

7. Add more calls to action

If you want people to do something (like watch your how-to videos), ask more than once. Make it clear that’s what you want (“watch the how-to video”). If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

8. Test your subject lines

Which gets more opens and clicks? Subject lines with questions (Is HTML better than text?); subject lines with numbers (4 Things Your Website Must Have)? Or a subject line that promises something (Turn Your Trash into Cash)? Remember, what works for me, or for your friend, or for a famous blogger may (or may not) work for you. Each audience is different.

9. Be consistent

Send it around the same time, on the same day each week/month/day. You can schedule this easily in AWeber.

10. Ask for feedback and encourage replies

You can put up a survey in Google docs (or use survey monkey) if you like. Or, just make it clear that your virtual door is open. I include a note saying that if you have a question or comment you can just hit reply. It goes straight to my personal inbox.

7 Secrets of Email Subject Lines That Sell

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Jodi Kaplan

Image by smemon87 via Flickr

The right email subject line can make a big difference in the number of people who open your email. A great email subject line that sells will drive more opens and more clicks.

So, it’s important to make sure you write email subject lines your audience won’t be able to resist clicking.

These copywriting secrets aren’t new. Claude Hopkins used them and David Ogilvy used them, even though neither one of them ever sent an email.

1. Borrow some tips from newspaper headlines

“How”, “What” and “Why” are all compelling ways to start your subject line. We all want to know ‘How a $200 Investment Became a Multi-Million Dollar Company” or “Why Eating More Can Help You Lose Weight.” If there’s an apparent contradiction, or it makes us curious, that’s even better. Yes, it’s old and hokey. Still works though. Just ask Buzzfeed.

2. Use the “secret” words

They’re not really secret, they’re just words that get people to stop and take notice. Words such as “free”, “secrets”, “quick” and “easy.” Everyone likes free stuff, and wants simple, quick solutions to their problems.

3. Use numbers

You can use numbers in two different ways. First, as a list (5 Email Newsletter Essentials). Second, as an indication of progress or improvement (How I Increased Clicks by 2300%.)

4. Comparisons

Make a comparison to something. This is especially effective if you compare something less known to something well-known or something that seems “wrong”. For example, “7 Reasons Why Target Jewelry is Better Than Tiffany’s” or “Why the Blair Witch Project is Scarier Than Nightmare on Elm Street. ”

5. Commands and challenges

Tell readers to do something, such as “take this test” or “test your skills” Encourage them to find out how good/smart they are in comparison to everyone else. Or, challenge them to do something, such as “Can your floor wax stand up to a troop of stampeding cub scouts?”

6. Make a promise

Make a promise that your readers can get something done (especially something that they’ve been struggling with). Offer to show them how they can “Start a Profitable Business in Just 30 Days” or “Finally, Get Rid of Stubborn Bathroom Mold.”

7. Offer something exclusive or limited

Limited offers and exclusive special deals can be very powerful (that’s why Groupon and w00t work so well). If there are only a few books, coupons, deals, gadgets available, or they’re only on sale for a limited time, they become much more appealing.

The Best Email Newsletter Design Tips

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Jodi Kaplan

Email Icon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Which email newsletter design is the best? Should you use text or HTML? And what kind of design gets more clicks?

Before you design anything, of course, you need to have interesting (and relevant) messages.

Constant sales messages, or messages sent too frequently, will annoy your readers. Keep it mostly helpful, with a dollop of promotion, maybe 60/40.

Choose the best email format

There are, essentially, two options: text or HTML. Text is well, text. It looks more like an email you’d send personally. It doesn’t get stuck in filters or image blockers either.

HTML lets you use colors, graphics, and all sorts of designs. Much more slick. And, your ESP can only track opens on HTML emails.

Consider your audience

A study done by email marketing company Silverpop several years ago found that text emails worked better for business to business, while postcard formatted emails worked better for email marketing aimed at consumers.

Think about your own audience, and the purpose of your emails. Are you showcasing products (you’ll probably need HTML), sending a digest of information/links from multiple sources (that’s probably a job for text), or are you trying to make a sale?

Reduce the friction

Make it easy to sign up and use as few fields in the process as possible. The more information people need to enter, the lower the subscription rate. Try subscribing to your own newsletter. Check to see how hard it is.

Optimize your newsletter design

Whether you use text or HTML, keep the format consistent, so that your readers can find what they want.

Make a header

Whether you choose text or HTML, create a header that announces what the newsletter is about, who it’s from, and the title. Think of it as an electronic masthead (like a newspaper or a magazine would have).

create sections

Divide the content into sections to separate different topics or subcategories (for example weekly tips and weekly sales). You can use color (if it’s HTML) or just a simple line of asterisks.

Format for online reading

Keep the paragraphs short (4 or 5 lines), so they’re easier to read. Consider whether your readers are more likely to read on a phone or a desktop, and adjust your template accordingly. If you use text, keep the lines under 50-60 characters long so that the sentences don’t run off the screen.

If there’s a call to action, make it stand out. In text, use special characters (such as number signs or asterisks) to make the call to action more noticeable. If you use HTML, create a button (and make that button a different color than the rest of the newsletter).

Offer a “read on the web” option. That gets around the blocked images problem. In any case, make sure you add alt text to any images so that the message still makes sense.

Create a visual hierarchy

Headings should be larger than subheadings and both should be different than paragraph text.

If you use HTML you can change fonts and sizes. If you stick to text, try bold or italic.

Bonus tip: If you offer a freebie (ebook, product, coupon) in return for a signup, make it relevant. Don’t offer a blusher in return for signing up for a printer ink/computer supplies newsletter (yes, that’s a real example).

How to Safely Send Bulk Emails Without Spamming

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Jodi Kaplan

Image via Wikipedia

Have you got an ESP? I don’t mean Men Who Stare at Goats or Uri Geller.

An ESP, in this case, is an email service provider. There are quite a few of them, but how do you determine which is the best for your needs? And why do you need one in order to send emails?

Why you need an ESP

When you first start building your email list, it’s tempting to either try to send from Outlook (or Mail) or to use a free email address like Gmail or Yahoo! The trouble with this is that if you send too many emails from your home (or office), your internet provider is likely to think you’re a spammer.

Yahoo! limits you to sending 100 emails per hour. For Hotmail, it’s 100 per day. Google allows 500 if you send directly from Gmail, only 100 if you send from your desktop.

If you’re going to be sending lots of emails, and don’t want to be branded a spammer, you’ll need to get yourself a dedicated email service provider to do it.

Better delivery

ESPs work hard to make sure that emails sent from their systems get delivered (no matter how many you send at once). And, they’ve got built-in content filters and spam checkers that look at your email (before you send it) and alert you if there’s anything that might cause it to get stuck.

There’s also technical backup in the form of DomainKeys (basically an authentication system that makes sure your message isn’t being sent from a spammer).

Save time and effort on list maintenance

An ESP will:

automagically add/remove people as they signup or unsubscribe
offer you well-designed templates for your signup forms and newsletters (or, often, allow you to upload your own)
help you if you get stuck (videos, tutorials, and even real, live humans
track and graph everything for you – the number of signups, your click rate, bounce rate, and who opened your email

Try it out for yourself. I use (and strongly recommend) AWeber (affiliate link) It’s one of the top email service providers (used by Copyblogger, Darren Rowse, and yours truly). And, it’s only $1 for the first month. Pretty low risk (practically free). And a much better deal than the other kind of ESP.