Threesides Email Tips - NettMagazine March2011

8/7/2019 Threesides Email Tips - NettMagazine March2011

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COVER STORY 20 EMAIL MARKETING TIPS

into customers'inboxes every day, it can be tough

getting your email opened - let alone actually rea

BY NATHAN STATZ

Thcre nas orce a golden period ol

elcctronic connnunici!ion $here email

Nas shinv and nc\il and rcceii,ing an

'ollcrlrom

a compan,r nas the grcated

thing siice sliced bread. Concepts lilte'con!$sion rates and click ihroughs

.liln\ c\ist. and consuncrs would

happil), s'icld their credn cards through

any nunbcr ol adlcrtisements that

arrired nl lhcir inbox.

That nigh! be hos some rcmcmber

it, though thc truth is that custoneF

arc rarcly that naive, and over line thcl

have becomc lar moLc net-sarr1'and

erpect smallbusincsses to crolrc with

thcm. lhis has narurally translatcd

inlo higher crpccmlions on emailbcing sent to customers, and makes

i! all that much hrrdg to havc vour

commucially-driren mesagc opencd

Thc good ncs,s is that as customo

expecution has sen. so too has thc

undcrsLanding ol thc crpots and thc

methods tbr ha!ing rour voice heard

Thi, is particularll jmportant stcn your

emlil neNsletter is onc ot nany in thc

customcr's inbox - sandsiched benrccn

em.il toflfards s,ith links to hlrmorous

YouTubc !idcos. \o matlct shat fonn

of cmail m;rkctingyou arc prcparing- he r hc(sl.tter a direct ofter. a

onc'oli promotirn or something a little

morc un(uc, there ls r lot ro be learneil

by asking thc experts.

16 NETT InARCH 2011



The 20 steps to success

1 HOMEGROWN ISI ALWAYS BETTER

Thc old adage that ifvou rantsomcthing donc riqhr, then lou hdyc

to do it youBellrerlly is truc $ien irconcs to your crrail databasc. Ideallvtbc list o1' cnrail addrcsses that vou scnd

!our nenslcucr ro will be -*""a t,orn

customcrc or websitc visitoB'T|e n!nbcr onc thins to do bctbrcanvthing clsc is dcvclop a good Iistof email iddress.s Lh,r h,c.rh.rinbrnition dttxchcd to lt such as

the name ofthc cusromos and theirpostcodes, so you cdn sork our \h.rcthel,arc fron, srtys Todd U/righr, d

dircctor !t l hrecsnles.'''l hc goldcn rulc is to nevcr buy a listahlavs build thcnr. Its hardcr to build

thcn but \'ou should nevcr buv or rcntlirts unlcss you ve gor rero cusromcrs "

. USE A HOSTEDZ soturrorThis may secm likc an oblious choiceto thosc alrcady on board the hostedenuil band$.rson, but manv $nallbusin.sscs slilluse a custonrised

program to send out ncssletrcrs. Thcscs,crc oficn purchascd : decade ago. orworsc, thcv rrc sending ir thcmseh,cs

through Outlook or \lac Nlail.''I:i!c ycars dgo you nright halc

considercd sending it out trom iouro\!n cnrail and \our o\D enail soft\lar.,but these clays vou 100,1 nccd ro go(ilh a hosted cmdilprodlrc!. Therc are

plcntr out thoc and some ol rhc morepopular ones can bc pay-as you go, so

lou only pay lor how many lemailsl I'ou

SigDing Dp \ith a hostcd enuilprorider has sercral bcncfits, includingthc Iibcntion ol your intcrnalenrailscrci from scndirg out thousancls

ol ncwslcttcrs cach sccl On top olthis dcpcnding on ho$ much you

sant to spcnd - hosting proviclcrs sillgne lou acccss to dcsign rcnplares as

$c]l xs rcporting rnd monrtoring tools.

Choosing the tools you nccd is rnimpoianr palt of thc proc.ss.

Z GET THE MOST OUTJ OF YOUR TEMPLATEWhcther you arc just getting \our lict$'ct iD the email marletihg pond oL are

s,cll-rersed in its tLcrchcrous cleptlrs,

tcmplates can bc incredibli useful.

Often thel' can be sourccd for hcc, or$ill be prolidcd with a hostftg package.

W|atever thc casc. it shoul,l hccustomiscd to suit your aLrd'encc and

raLed ovcr rrith a finc tooth .omh ro gcl

Oncc you bccomc a lirde morclaniliar $ith thc process, jr cdn reallypar ollto havc your cmrilnarkctingstrongh reflcct thc look and leclolyourbDsincss. accor.ling !o \\iright.

A MAKE SURE YOU4I HAVE YoUR TEXT-ONLY BASES COVEREDYea6 ago, it ('as conrmon pradiceto prcparc an entirelv seprrate'texr,only vcrsion ollnur cmail ncrvsletter'fhis

has sincc bcen replaccd bysolnlare that does it alltbrvou, and

dutomaticall\' !pits out a pufe,rcxtvcNion ofvour nensleitcr lor customers

rvho a.e allcrgic to dre bclls and

\4rist1es of ITTIIL emails.\Vhen

vou are shopping around lbr a

hostcd cmail svstcm, m:tkc sure tou gcr

one tha! does bodr automarically. Whalit $ill do is scnd out the Hl,\lL lcrsion

anil pcople can pick Lheir preferenccs

and say shethcr thcy $ant rerr orFrTNlt_, adds \vrighr.

"The number onething to do before

anything else is

develop a good list ofernail addresses thathas other informationattached to it. "

FIND THE PERFECTTIME TO SEND

Not allemail arrnal rimes u,ere created

cqual, so it is important !o maximise

rhe chanccs of ).our concspondencebeins doublc cljcked on. T],pjcaulyour strndard office dncller $ill have a

dozcn or morc emails \lairiDg lor rhen

each morning, and ncs'sletters ivili bethe first thing to be cullcd from thcpre-callcindtcd brains of your dDdicncc.Similarly, there are benefits ro scndingit out belorc lunch or iD the carlv

aliernoon. The golden rule herc is totes! il out and lind whar \rorks best f<ryour particular audience.

.Wcdo a lot ol$ork wirh rourism

clicnts aDd s'e find thar Wednesday

nornings and Thursday norningsarc the best time to send our traycl-rclated information. Peoplc ha'e got

to Wednesday and they arc aheady

thinking about the weekcnd. They are

sick ofthe daily grind at work and thatlast 48 to 72 hou6 befbrc the rveekend.

we have sccn. is the bcsr tlme ro hirpeople," sars \Vright.

A DON'T SPAM\,f \\ hcn yuu h (r \rjrr ulr rn emdilmarketing, ir can be tempting to send

more and nore, particularlv r.hen rhcystart gcncratnrg sales lcads. The corrcctpath, ho$evcr is to rcsisr tcmprationard only send your cmail neirsleuer as

oiten as your audiencc cxpects ro ger it'You might sce eBay send out three or

four email nervslctters a rreek rvhereas

most smallbusinesscs uouldnr be ableto get a\!ey $ith thdt. Pcoplc $ouldunsubscribe instanth rdds Wdght.

Its important to crcare a balancc

betNccn action and rej€ction, accordingto Utight, bccause it you srart,nnoyingpeople .rnd getting unsubscribes, you

harc tiefeated thc purpose.

7 KNOW YOUR/ AUD|ENCEi\lucb liirc everv picce ofmarkcting.thc cniil {rsion is all about rhe pcrson

l-ou are prtching to. U/hilc nobody has )

I1ARCH 20',]t ]\ETT t7



covER sroRy ' zo evArt MARKETTNG Trps.

AVOID SPAM FILTERS

Iis blrtrnth obvious that harine

"People are always looking for exclusive

rour emrl trgged as spam and

rutonrticalh movcd to thc junlirnul lolrh is to ho avoirlcd and thc

sin4lest mcthod ol doing so is to dloidconmon yan kcni.ords. T|is can bc

ob\ious mbjccr-linc |cadings such as

adicrtistmcnt', frcc and slmbolssrrch rs s rnrl I As:n rhsolute mrsL.

the cmailhoslou go with sLould hare

a span c|cc[. If not, usc thejunkloldcL scttings in Oudool or Nlac \lail

1 N PERSONALISEI V t",,,,,", "-.*" r r"r,.

rurn arrund il someone calls your

nrmc in thc stfcci than if thcy sal, |cvlou. $ too is the p$sonalised emailgoing to dras far morc nttcntbn thrn a

''Tflou doni pcsonallsc thc cmail,you grcatlv rcducc thc likclihood ofitbcing opcncd.r! all,' cxplains S.r!htrlcll1ryrc, .t dircctor.tt Ton1 Tom

''\bu\,e got b get the thing opcncdbetore lou can actually communicatc

the message rc the audience By

pcrsonalising. vou increase the

lilclihood ofit being opcned by about

11 DON'T BE A ROBOTI I u". "t,1. t"",t,'"g,..n,,,"

subconsciously glances at s,her an

cmrillands in their lap is rho it is

fron. Therc is a far grcatcr chance

thrt it Nillmalc an imp.cssion on your

ludicn.e il its t.onr a rcal pcrson, oroen a company namc, as opposed to

the namc of the cnrlilrobot sending out

lliou havc a pcrsonal rclatbnship$ith mc al m! compaDt,' thcn _you

sill probably opcn that cmail, sars

\l.lntvrc.

1

'TEST, TEST, TEST

I Z. AND THEN TESTSOME MOREOnc olrhc grcat levellers in email

nirrLcting is the lact th.rt you canlccp crpoincnting and reGnrrg untilrou lind cractly u'hat is going to worlilbr rour busnress. This can bc donc

L! 5ctting up tesi lists, \!ith a snull

offers - they rvant to know that they are a

rralued customer."

the time to go ind nleet thc hundrcds,if not tbousands, ofpeoplc on your

enail marlrcting list. there is plcnly ofroom for understanding trnits about

Wright uscs the example ola blrildcrvLo nrav have built a hst lrom peoplc

intercstcd in homc rcnovations. It!still a purchase pcoplc nake once or

twicc a vcar, so the audicnce may gct

turncd ofillyou start scnding them

rvcckly updates. In this sccnario, less is

delinitely nore, as a quarterlv oftir is

going to hit hone lar better.

c) STRIKE A BALANCEC) th"nls ro rhe

'heerlolumc ol

information that everyone $ith an

la NETT MARCH 2O1]

intenct conncction is erposcd to ona daily bdsis, thc all roo obvious srlcs

pitches \vill often be deleted Nirhout

evcn a cursory glancc. This is cspccidll\.

true in cmail marketing, wherc rdelicatc balance must be creatcd

bet\leen your selland your contcnt. Ilthe copy screams buy, bul buy thcn

the battlc has already bccn lost and

vour targct audience has no" norcdon to a lors,arded picturc ola domcsticrnimrl u,lth a hrrmororrs hca.llinr:.

''Pcople arc ahravs looking for

crclusr'e ollcrs they want to Lno$thar thcy are a valued custorncr - buL

at thc samc timc, you need to b.rhncc

that Ihe busncss needs to makc surc

r!'s notjust a sclljob,'\larns Wrigh!. :



"lf you have a personal relationship with me

at my company, then you will probably open

that email."

scgrrent ol lour database, and sendnrg

rhcn a slightly dilfcrenr cmail, or at

a slightly dilferenr rime, or sith anv

number ofnreaks that you uant tosorl lnro !o,,r mireri,l

'l he bedtv oi this is that it $ ill gne

you a reasonably accurate gauge ofhos

yolrr changes are going to be recentd,sithout sending them to vour entirc list.

1 7 CONTROL YOURlJ oualrrv\{hcther you arc r sole tradcr or

running jn oper.ubn !rith a doublc

digit headcount, the.c Nill always b€ a

way to set up a quality confol slstcm

This means haling a tcst'cnail list

olyour emplovees, yoursclf and other

people nho vou think are rclerant

such as marqDec cuslomcls. husiness

prrlners, ad!isors, etc.

Bisicallri anyonc $,ho can spare

live minutcs to manuallv eycballvnr nenslctto and lrnh lor ohvious

mistakes. The point ofthis is thc tact

that ifvou $rite thc s'ords, you are

not able to proolread them as sellas somcone rho is seeing them lorthe first timc. This might not sound

ljke a big deal, but its quitc easy )

IN A NUTSHELL

. Permission - You absolutel) need

to get pernission irom whoeveryou

. Relerant, tageted copy - Thinkabout your custoner N,lake it easy

for them to respond and also make iteasy for them to unsulxcrihe.. Measu.e Nleasure your opens

and clicl's and then nveak based on

r Subject line l)onl spendhours making beautifulemails, but

fbrget the subiect linc. Ilit is not

compelling, it won't be opcncd.

Saurce: Snrah Mcln4te, .lirectat at

Ton Tan Comnunication.

Tp #ll Use email marketing to build relationships withI f customers instead of iust promoting pnoducts

Email marketing is a powerful tool to build customer relationships. Via email, you can provide your

customers with useful information and start a tlvo-way communication. Build email campaigns fromstan to finish with lhe help of Netregistry.

@:"*::,'.*y;B ;i::,:'"',"'ff 'i:l"i#;'l;:*""1 ""



COVER STORY 20 EMAIL MARKETING TIPS

"Don't rvait until theencl of thc cmail to

communicate r'r'hatit is cxactlv that you

n'ant them to do."

l;r r m,ssnc spciling injstal. to sliltlrough \our osn oncc-o!.r lnd loolcmb!r!ssing in ll(nlt ofyour cntiic

14,?31.1":fi,y,f*lImlcaslr r our r ocrbu[Ll rnd gnc thcO\turd Djcrur!n gNrhcring dust on thtshcll a good \orl<rt. bcing con.isc jr

rhc oxlcr ol thc clar in onxil mul.c!lng.r\ccotullng n) alhris l)rlc, nrnrtging

d rcck, rt Nllrketi.g lJQ, this incdns

.lllng surc thc cop! ii sjmplc.uldargon F.c. Hc rdliscs h.rljrg surc rhc

nrcss.gc is gctting through rcn quicllrdnd to hil thcnr $ith thc ollcL c h

1 E CLARIFY YOURI !' CALL-TO-ACTION

It s ro good hrling shaL rou \lnt )ourcustomcLs to do thcl erc unlilct! to

tut rhc .llirt nrto lin.ling it ll\' thc

s.rnrc lolcn. it:s going to bc disxsbous iiyoLrr Lerdtrs haic to sooll rhrclgh krng.

irtn,rnr, olls-tn-rcti,r,'l)on t slit uniil thc cfd o1 thc crnril

to communicltc cucth $hat it is \ouvnt thcm to do llc \q\'clcrir silhrhat iou arc acturlh' ollirlng thcn ancl

Frrlr it cl.dr hon tor r.rf! thcn to

cont.rct iou, adds l)rlc.

1 A BRANDINGI \J lp rrr.,nce is.crirh n^ shcn r

comcs to lru shoplront or rclxitc, and

lour cn il Durlcll.s s no dillercnt.Its comnmn scnsc thrt lou rrant rour

20 NETT |'.4ARC| 2011

customcs to Lnor (h. mnt.rirlco.rcstrorn rou and loL u Lo bc branderl

\ou nccclto malc suLc rhat rhc lool!nd t(lis.onsistcil \nh lour rcbr[dcsjgn, so rhJI pcoJ)lc crn sc. thrt iLs

corning hrm rhc brrsintss, sls l)rL.

1 7 SEGMENT YOUR LISTI / r..^

\o!rlist ol cdr.tllrddr.ss.s is () b.!rgir inro onc big d!trbrsc .Ircl thcn bl.rst

ln rcrlir! Lhls is.i r.ru.rlh bcsr

prrcticc, as thcLc is lar rur ro Lc

gaincd bi splitrinq rour lsr rp irrogurfs and tailoinq thc rrr*.rsrslishd\ turcrch onc

llr.scgncntrng iour rl,rt.Ll,,s in .rL 1,

r s.u rou rLr rblc to 'cril ., J,,:|LlL

ahocd losirn ol rorr ncr.lLt.: r,,

ofto io diltirrDr d.n,,,!i.,1,1,i., I1,,

'nightb. bl locrtjor. iq!. ,f ,,f. 11,,

customcLs rncl rnoLh* li,, p.rrtn.L.

18P,:I"T.:::,?,:-S"scrsc ncm blt ur olion br.r r.,"m!r! sh,rll busirc$cs lll I!ll nr

,\! lcmt)ljng l! it i! ro crpr!r! ff_.,:acldrcsscs through lour rcbsrtc rn . ".r.rr possiblc, its h rour bcst rnr.a'rtu onl\ scld in,or.r!tioD to dros. iir..:

Thc ffrin r.rlrr bchiftl Lhis b rh.,:

proplc si11 rcscnl\ou, birnilcd m,*: .

and rour busi,rtss in gcncLrl - rl th..stirl rccci\ ing un!)licrtcd inhrm.rrnrlIiom rou on r rcgulr brsis

1O MAKE A PROMTSEI r., tr...rrr 'rr.',:hrl,, r.rrJ I uL ris

onc ol thc mo+ orcLlooLtd clcncntsol rn cm,jl nlflcring crnrpdjgnt ht pronlsc rou grc r hcn somconc

.hr.ls rh! lirk,Lo\ ni $ rhd tr,nr n,

rc.cr. lour cnril rcrslLtro or orhcr

nr.rk.liirg ndtefal is !n irnporrinr onc.

\l!i\ snull bus,n.sscs m.,kc thcmi\trlc 01 Dot mrliing l prrnisc !I thcopt in. lhci lust srl hoc, rcgisr$ lirour updatcs. sai s Drlc.

Z) N USE CLEANZ \-,f lruo PUNCHYHEADLINESTlris s alnrost rn crtcnsion ol nor

l,clrq rorclr, bur hcrdllncs tc so

in]trtrDt thcv descN. c\trl i.ttcnti{)n.Il,. lii.rcncc bch!ccn \ohconc,)1,!nirg !our cmril. ntfling it .rs ic.]d..Lfl Do|ng on crn bc x.o!t,l(. otrords fhc lcss trrc th,u is rc{luircdl,,r

'rmtoncro icaclrour hcldl nc.

:rr. norc lilch rhc\ arc ro bccomcrno(sLcd rnd op.n j! sirhin rcr!n\.,r r.,llv rhis.loc$i ncr I \orL

.h,,rLtl sfu* i,N'ing onc roLcl subjccL

f ... l)dt il \olr crn !i! sonrcrhinq irl.. r. ,!.ds. oltcn \ou crn ir\ it llr' .. r,lr.rnch'u l.uror(i\c E

--:For a comprehensive hosted- femail marketing solution, vlslt ilnetregistry.com.aulonline- ?marketing/email-marketing/ :

Threesides Email Tips - NettMagazine March2011

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