Archive for Writing Effective Copy

October 5, 2011   Posted by: cgalbornetti

Five Reasons Why Websites Still Matter

Just back from DMA2011: The Direct Marketing Association’s Annual Trade Show Event and I’m fresh with ideas for marketing for both the email and social arenas…and then I stumble upon this article (which I thought was a given industry law) that…WEBSITES STILL MATTER!! Don’t overlook the core selling feature of your entire business, the website.  All the email, social, online, print, etc. dollars your companies are spending mean nothing if your website is not up to snuff. Here’s why…

Original post by Mikal E. Belicove, (excerpt taken from entrepreneur.com)

You know you must leverage Facebook, Twitter and word-of-mouth marketing to increase awareness of your brand. But the fact is, websites remain infinitely more popular with consumers than all of the business pages on social media sites combined.

Only 22 percent of those of us online in the U.S. visit a branded social networking page such as those found on Facebook, while 62 percent of us regularly visit branded websites, according to the latest Global Web Index report. If you were starting to let your site become outdated or haggard, consider a refresh. After all, as these figures note, websites still matter.

Here are five reasons why you shouldn’t ignore yours:

1. Branding: Since it’s your site, you set the design, which affords you the flexibility to optimize the user experience in ways that directly support your business model and brand-related goals. There’s no competition on your website, just a branded experience that you direct yourself.

2. IT and Engineering Jurisdiction: When you control your own site, you have complete jurisdiction over its code, hosting environment, page count, content, plug-ins and more. Just as I mentioned above with regard to branding — here too you have the elasticity required to make small or sweeping adjustments at will, an advantage you don’t get with third-party websites. With sites like Facebook, you can change minor graphics and some content but not code, navigation scheme, server speed or the graphic user interface.

3. Content: Speaking of content, more of it can be found on your own website than on a third-party utility or platform, and none of it competes side-by-side for your visitor’s attention. Create compelling and useful content that speaks to why someone is visiting your site and you stand a higher chance of that visitor taking action with respect to your products or services. And since inventory (i.e., web pages) is virtually unlimited on a site under your control, you have ample opportunity to add additional content and calls-to-action in the format you deem most appropriate.

4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): If garnering multiple, relevant and highly positioned placements in the SERPs (search engine result pages) is part of your sales and marketing strategy, a website is a must. When properly coded and managed, your site delivers natural and sustaining search results that drive qualified traffic to the exact pages on your site where you want visitors to be.

5. Analytics: While many social utilities, platforms and networks provide access to data related to demographics associated with who accesses your profile and how often they do so, website analytic tools go much deeper. They can provide you with the type of business intelligence you need to determine in real-time how your online marketing performs and stacks up against the competition.

Don’t think for a moment that I’m suggesting you drop social in favor of your own website. What I’m advocating is that you lead first with your website, followed by leveraging social, email marketing, point of purchase, mobile, apps and other forms of marketing and outreach to drive traffic to your website where you can generate qualified leads who convert to paying customers.

Image credit: Idea go

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August 25, 2011   Posted by: cgalbornetti

Before You Launch Your Next Marketing Campaign: The 7 Deadliest Marketing Mistakes

Source: Jessica Swanson, Manta via www.sosemarketing.com

Before you launch your next marketing campaign, whether online or offline, make sure to avoid some of the most common marketing mistakes.

1. Failure to write a powerful headline.

Whether you’re writing a newspaper ad, email message or press release, you must create a powerful headline. Research suggests that your headline is the most important part of your ad. It is absolutely essential that you draw your prospective customer or client into your ad and keep them interested in what you have to offer.

2. Absence of an irresistible offer. continue reading »

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June 21, 2011   Posted by: cgalbornetti

Long Copy VS Short…Which One Sells Better?

Another post to support that no matter what the content, relevance is king and that copy length is not a determining factor to success. That said, for prospect email marketing, the image to text ratio is a paramount factor in overcoming spam filters so aim for 60/40 text to image ratio…just to be on the safe side. The Landing Page is a much better place to offer the more hard core sell copy that reinforces your email promotion. Ideally, set up a test matrix to determine what length works best for your product/service and brand.

Source: Susan Greene for Melissa Data

If long copy leads to poor results, it isn’t because of the length. Rather, it has to do with the copy’s content. If the copy is boring or doesn’t contain some kernel that the reader can instantly relate to, then he’ll stop reading. However, if the copy, lengthy though it may be, engages, entices, educates or entertains, then you’ll have no problem keeping the reader’s interest.

They say, “The Internet is a fast medium. People don’t want to read long blocks of text. They’ll click away.”

The reality is that prospects who are genuinely interested in the product you offer always want more information about it, not less. If they are not interested in the product or not qualified, no matter how long or short the copy is, they will just never buy. They won’t read 15 words, much less 1,500.

If long copy leads to poor results, it isn’t because of the length. Rather, it has to do with the copy’s content. If the copy is boring or doesn’t contain some kernel that the reader can instantly relate to, then he’ll stop reading. However, if the copy, lengthy though it may be, engages, entices, educates or entertains, then you’ll have no problem keeping the reader’s interest.

When it is well written, long copy can significantly outperform short copy and lead to a much greater level of response. Prospects want more product information, particularly when buying on the Internet where they can’t see in person, touch or test-drive the product. Detailed feature and benefit statements are the golden nuggets that tempt prospects and cause conversions.

Shorter copy can lead to several potential outcomes: a lower response rate due to lack of compelling information; a barrage of information requests because the copy didn’t successfully answer the prospect’s questions; or a higher number of cancellations or refund requests because the product or service was not what the customer anticipated based on the limited information he read.

So, if you’re writing for the Web, just how many words should a page contain? The optimum size is 250 words for maximum effectiveness. While it may seem like a lot, a 250-word count for each page balances search engine and reader needs. Search engine spiders crave content, especially keyword-rich content. You may see “a lot of words,” but the search engines see “a document with lots of important data to extract.”

As long as you follow usability principles, you can write tons of text without overwhelming your reader. Besides if the search engines see a lot of key phrases combined with a low-word count, they may flag your site for spamming. A longer word count makes it easier to include your key phrases without sacrificing your marketing message.

Do you lose customers with scrolling copy? No, according to a study by User Interface Engineering (UEI). “One of the most significant findings of our research on web site usability is that users are perfectly willing to scroll. However, they’ll only do it if the pages gives them strong clues that scrolling will help them find what they’re looking for,” reports the article As the Page Scrolls from UEI. “In the trade-off between hiding content below the fold or spreading it across several pages, readership increases when the content is on a single page.”

no comments posted in: Creative   |   HTML Creative Best Practices   |   Testing   |   Writing Effective Copy
June 14, 2011   Posted by: cgalbornetti

Fatherly Wisdom for Email Marketers

Source: John Murphy, President ReachMail

With Father’s day almost upon us, here’s 13 ways you can apply traditional “dad advice” to improve your email marketing practices.

  1. Always introduce yourself with a firm handshake – send out a ‘Welcome Email’ to all new subscribers fully introducing the concept, product, company or campaign.
  2. First impressions are important – Most unsubscribes happen after the first email, so make sure you’re putting your best self forward.
  3. Always Be Polite – Address your subscriber with a personal greeting at the beginning of each email
  4. Never tell a lie; it will come back to bite you – Avoid using misleading subject lines; even though they may get the email opened, you won’t like the repercussions.
  5. Think before you act – Proofread, proofread, proofread. Once the email is sent, you can’t take it back.
  6. Treat others as you would want to be treated – Avoid blasting irrelevant content/too many messages.
  7. Don’t be a pest (or don’t overstay your welcome) – provide a visible opt-out function.
  8. In order to get, you first need to give – Present offers of value to your subscribers if you want them to reciprocate with purchases down the road.
  9. Respect others’ wishes – Don’t reject people just because they want to communicate differently (i.e. via Facebook, Twitter or other social channels) instead of just email. Instead, find a way to work with them and accommodate their communication preferences.
  10. Don’t be afraid to admit your mistakes – If you make a mistake in an email (e.g. wrong sales price or date, offensive content), follow up with an apology or other appropriate response.
  11. You can’t impress everyone – People will opt out of your emails, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Instead of trying to target everyone, focus on your most important audience(s).
  12. Don’t forget your manners/Say thank you – Don’t underestimate the importance of telling your customers you appreciate their support/business and doing so in a genuine way.
  13. Learn to listen – Customer feedback is important. Consider sending a short survey to gauge feedback on issues that are key to your business so you can better understand what your customers want.

This post borrowed from: http://emailcritic.com/2011/05/fathers-day-email-marketing-advise/

 

no comments posted in: HTML Creative Best Practices   |   Targeting & Planning   |   Writing Effective Copy
May 10, 2011   Posted by: cgalbornetti

Call to Action Advice

“Click here” is a common spam trigger phrase in acquisition email so we advise clients to avoid the term altogether and use “press here” instead. This white paper dives deeper into the strategic reasoning behind developing better call to actions with some great advice.

Source: White Paper by Extravision.com

The Importance of Your Call to Action

For email to succeed as a form of communication, your recipient quickly needs to know exactly why you are sending them an email and this reason why should take them to a clear call to action.

Sounds obvious, but surprisingly enough, many email marketers pay least attention to their call to action, as they are so busy concentrating on their design template and in creating engaging content that their call to action can very easily become an afterthought, which usually ends up as “Click Here”.

Moving beyond Click Here

“Click here” is something we all understand. It’s clear, concise, universally understood and easy for the reader to visualise the physical action you want them to take, because it’s far easier than saying “Please click your mouse button on this link so that you will jump from this email to the specially designed landing page we have created for you at our website.”

The click is also the basic unit for measuring the click-through rate (CTR) a common measure of success for an email marketing campaign.

However, this “one size fits all” command doesn’t always serve the needs of the call to action, which really needs a custom fit to suit the sender, the recipient and the end result. Sometimes “click here” might appear to demand a greater commitment than your customer is willing to make at an early stage in the conversation. For example: “Learn more” might actually more closely reflect what’s going on in their head.You should try to vary your call to action wording to reflect where in the sales cycle your customers are likely to be.

Another big problem with continually using “click here” as your main call to action is simply that it’s repetitive and boring! Plus, it falls short as a call to action, because it doesn’t tell the subscriber “why” they would want to “Click Here”.

Nor does it answer that universal question all readers have that drives so many actions: “What’s in it for me?”

Writing your Call to Action

Never forget that your recipient is only interested in “what’s in it for me”. Ignore this at your peril!

Good sales copy should always focus on the benefits to your recipient to keep them engaged in your mailing. Once you have them interested in how you are going to make their life better, then it becomes your job to give them an opportunity to act on their need.
If you just describe a bunch of features, without relating why someone would want those features then you leave people wondering why they should care.   So, if you do not make it clear in your email, exactly what you are trying to get your recipient to do after you have got them to read your message, then you are walking away from the conversation, without letting them know what you want from them, which is a wasted opportunity.

Have you ever listened to someone talk about themselves for hours and wondered what they want from you?   In the end, you tune them out and do your best to look interested (if you are polite) or you look for the easiest escape route.   There may be compelling things that they have to offer you, but you’ve already tuned them out as being arrogant or self absorbed.

In a standard email message, you don’t have a lot of space to tell people “why” they should click a link and so your call to action phrase will need to compel the reader to click the link to find out “what’s in it for me”.

Minimise any distractions or non-essential content from your email, stay concise and to the point.  You have a limited amount of space and if you have a lot to say in your email, it’s better to display a link to a web site that contains the full content of your message.  For example, use a snippet of text with a link to “read more”.

The subject line and headlines that you use need to provide your recipient with more clues about the purpose of your email.   As many people simply skim through emails without actually reading them, you need to keep your message clear by using short blocks of texts, bullet points, a subject line that relates to the purpose of your email, and headlines that form complete sentences.    Content that is heavy and long in copy often backfires because the call to action/purpose of the email gets buried.

In addition don’t be afraid to introduce a sense of urgency to your call to action if it’s applicable.  You can encourage your subscribers to respond immediately by letting them know if there are any limitations or restrictions or by using action phrases.  For example if you had limited spaces available on an event you were running you could use, “Spaces are limited, to avoid disappointment book your place now”.  This call to action is clear and shows the recipient exactly what they need to do and why.

Designing your Call to Action

You should only promote one call to action. Don’t try to offer both a whitepaper and a webinar in the same email, because the result will be disappointing response rates for both.

A simple layout makes it easy for recipients to respond to your call to action.   Be realistic and clear about the actions that you want your email message to inspire, as this will help direct you to design an effective call to action. Do not limit yourself to text alone.  A call to action can also include images, brand names, and logos.

If you do use images, then add supporting text under the image and in the “alt” tag so that your reader will know what to do if images are disabled.   A lot of email clients have images disabled by default so using “alt” tag will give the subscriber a place to go even if they do not download images on their email client.

When using text for your call to action, a simple way of catching your subscriber’s attention is to use a larger font or use boldface action words, key phrases and anything else that can drive the reader’s eye down to the official call to action. Boldface does make scanning much easier, but use in moderation and also avoid using massive font, capitalisation or punctuation excessively, as this can get you caught in spam filters!

Use white space to offset or highlight the call to action and if the action at the end of an article is simply to read the full story; use a hard return, indent to make it easy to see exactly where the call to action is.

Spreading your Call to Action Around

Obviously, the call to action must be a clickable link, but that cannot be the only path to your landing page. Giving your customers more options will increase your total click through rate. You should never hesitate to move your call to action up in the mailing or use multiple calls to action throughout your email.

The most obvious place to place your call to action is at the end of the email after the conversation you are having with your recipient; in much the same way as you might give out a business card at the close of a conversation.   However, that is not the only way of being clear and direct with your recipient.  Why not have a call to action at the top, the middle, and the end.  It could be the header of your email, the images they see inside the mailing, headlines, or text within the body of the email.   Make headlines informative and action-oriented, so that they can perform this double duty.

Matching the Call to Action to your Landing Page

A landing page gives you the opportunity to present additional information that you couldn’t fit in your email. Writing email and landing pages together ensures that you have a consistent message, which is driven by the call to action. Marketers whose email message generates a product or service should match the call to action to the landing page where the email link will send clickers.

For example: a retailer’s call to action email message may tell the customer, “Buy now!” However, the buying process may not start immediately when the reader clicks through to the landing page. Instead, the link you provide takes the customer to a product page for more information: product descriptions, pricing, image shots, discounts etc.

For example: if you have a page of images showing different varieties of the same product, the call could invite people this way: “See all 20 colours here.” Or, if you simply must include the word “click” “Click to see all 20 vibrant colours.”

Summary

Following best practice can help you to create a stronger call to action, but it is always important to remember the golden rule in email marketing: test, test and test again!  Different areas of your database may respond better to a certain style of call to action.  By doing both, you can set yourself on the to more successful email marketing.

Image credit: Danilo Rizzuti

no comments posted in: Creative   |   HTML Creative Best Practices   |   Landing Pages   |   Resources   |   Testing   |   Writing Effective Copy
April 12, 2011   Posted by: cgalbornetti

Building email subject lines to increase revenue

Subject lines may be the most crucial factor to the success of your email marketing campaigns…they are also easy to change, test and analyze.  Building an effective subject line takes effort, patience and creativity.  Many marketers spend the bulk of time building the actual look and feel of an email first and then throw together a Subject Line. We suggest you spend the majority of your time building a compelling and RELEVANT subject line first and then design your creative from there. This post outlines the topic of Subject Lines and how to best optimize them for better revenue.  You can also download 2 reports below from Epsilon with more detailed information on Subject Lines.

Source: Jim Sinor, Net Imperative

Top tips: Optimising email subject lines to increase revenue

Most commentators will tell you that the subject line of an e-mail is the only part which will be read by the recipient without actually opening the message. But the logical next step is to test, analyse and ultimately optimise this crucial element to improve the performance of e-mail marketing campaigns.

If the recipient doesn’t use a preview pane, the from and subject line are the only elements of your lovingly crafted message that will grab a readers attention and compel them to open the message. Therefore, the subject line has a huge impact on opening rates and campaign performance metrics.

Subject lines should be evocative and compelling, while clearly conveying the content and purpose of the e-mail. Analysis and optimisation of the subject line can lead to better open rates and ultimately higher conversion rates. Simply put, getting the subject line right means more revenue.

So what makes a good subject line?

It is considered best practice to include a unique offer in the main body of any marketing e-mail. Mentioning it in the subject line communicates the value of the message to the recipient and will encourage them to open it. Consumers like getting more than they bargained for.

Try and avoid using words or phrases commonly found in spam such as ‘save now’, ‘special offer’ and ‘free’. This will help ensure your marketing materials, bypass filters, land in inboxes and maximise the chances of catching the consumer’s attention.

It is very important to future deployments that your subject line is not seen as misleading. This could lead to a high opt-out rate among recipients and cause issues with ISPs who may prohibit future mailings.

Try and keep it short. There is still debate over the ideal length for subject lines, but it is acknowledged there is a correlation between low open rates and long subject lines. 55 characters is generally seen as the very top end of the scale, but analysis has shown that anything over 40 characters will see a drop in the open rate.

Turn off caps lock. Most filters will capture and bounce subject lines using excessive capital lettering, and even if this type of e-mail does land in an inbox, research has shown consumers react badly and quickly delete them.

Use numbers. Newspapers and magazines use numbers in headlines to boost sales and this also applies to subject lines. Consumers love lists, such as the ‘Top 10 Bars’ in their city, and this can be used to encourage e-mail recipients to open the message.

Try and personalise the subject line of an e-mail by using data unique to the recipient, the most common example being their name. This practice could backfire if the cleanliness of your customer data is not what it should be. But when done well, it creates an instant connection with the reader and makes a compelling reason to open the message.

Be prepared with fallback entries for fields without complete data. The terms ‘customer’ and ‘member’ are decent fallback entries and should seamlessly fill the gap.

This list is by no means exhaustive and every organisation is different, so none of the guidelines discussed here are set in stone. What works for a retailer won’t necessarily have the same effect for a not-for-profit charity.

How can you identify what works best for you?

Testing, testing and more testing. Testing various options on a segmented database simultaneously is traditionally thought to be the best way to optimise your subject lines. First segment your data; it’s important to do this randomly so that the only variables are the subject lines you’re going to test.

Then apply a subject line to each part of the data, with each subject line utilising a different factor in the tips outlined above. You then deploy, at the same time on the same day, and after 24 hours have a look at your open rates; this will give you an insight into what works best. Perform this exercise regularly, and always try and do things in the testing phase; this way you can keep your initial engagement fresh and your response metrics high.

Read Epsilon’s Published documents on Email Subject Lines here:

Download Part 1: 11 Steps to Subject Line Testing here

Download Part 2: Avoiding 11 Common Pitfalls here

Image Source: jscreationzs

no comments posted in: Creative   |   News & Articles   |   Subject Lines   |   Testing   |   Writing Effective Copy
April 6, 2011   Posted by: cgalbornetti

6 Copywriting Tips for Customer Conversion

Before my gig here at V12 Group, my previous employer had spent his lifetime writing copy for hugely successful direct marketing campaigns ranging from print ads, mail and DRTV and he always used to say, “Where were you when the page was blank?”

This was his reply after a client ripped apart a copy deck that needed major revisions which he didn’t necessarily agree with. That phrase sticks out in my head every time I work with a client who is adamant on adding copy that doesn’t belong in a prospecting email. I suggest clients reserve long ‘selling’ copy on a landing page (within the client website) and then use the tips in this post to create a killer page–and make it as long as you’d like.

Good copywriting is your website’s secret weapon for customer conversion

Source: Scott Fox

Attracting and converting website visitors is the key to your success online. Writing effective copy for your web site and marketing materials is an under-appreciated way to do this.

When building a website business most people make the mistake of focusing only on the technology. There are so many decisions to be made about servers, hosting providers, shopping carts, ad systems, content management, etc. that many people mistakenly de-prioritize copywriting.

But it’s not enough to put the appropriate search engine keywords on your webpage and string them together into quasi-English sentences. If that’s all that you do, you are missing a major opportunity.

Instead, you should look at the text on your website as a principal weapon in the war to attract and convert customers. This includes the text that displays on your homepage, on your interior pages (landing pages), in your navigational menu entries, in your newsletters, and even in your ads. Each of these uses of text is an additional opportunity for you to communicate your marketing messages.

Copywriting is also important because it has two audiences: human website visitors AND search engine crawlers. It’s your job to make your website copy as attractive as possible to both audiences. Humans will reward you with sales and search engine robots will reward you with better search engine ranking.

Six Copywriting Success Strategies

While the technical issues and design of your site are clearly important, I’d suggest that you also be sure to devote copywriting resources as follows:

  1. Sell Don’t Tell: Customers are not interested in your point of view on your product. They don’t care about all the fascinating features that your team worked so hard to include. What they are interested in is how the product can help improve their lives. This means that your copy should focus on the benefits to them, not on the features which you or your team might be most impressed with yourselves for creating.
  2. Appeal to Emotion?!: The most successful copy touches the potential customer personally or emotionally. You want to catch their attention by appealing to their own self-interest and in as dramatic a fashion as is appropriate for the context. In other words, people are self-interested — so your copy needs to answer how your product or service will make them feel better about themselves. How does this product make my life easier, help me make more money, look better, lose weight, etc.
  3. Headlines are Important: Spend extra time boiling your message down to its key components. Eye-catching headlines are your best chance to catch the eyes of passersby. While colors, font size and placement can all help attract the eye, too, it is the few critical words contained in the headline that ultimately attract clicks. (This is especially true in the plain text “subject” lines of email marketing pieces.)
  4. Call to Action: Even the best writing will fail to help you reach your conversion goals if it does not include a call to action. Determine what action you want the visitor to take before you even start writing. Then be sure to finish your copy by posting a link or offering another specific next step for them to pursue the goal you have driven them toward.
  5. Add Testimonials: Nobody likes to be alone. Especially in the anonymous online world customers appreciate companionship and validation. Collect and post testimonials from other customers to help provide them with the reassurance that they crave. This simple tool will help them to help you reach your conversion goals quicker.
  6. Make It Lively: Save the boring, clinical, lawyer-speak for your next deposition. In a world of a million channels, you need to think like an entertainer. There are many ways to do this – you can use humor, sarcasm, controversy, drama, or photos and video to make your site feel alive — even if you only update it occasionally. Even the most formal or boring topics can be presented in an engaging manner. Your copy is a key ingredient in that mix. Additionally, because search engine rankings increasingly depend on other site’s linking back to you, it’s important to offer content that others will take note of and link back to.

If all of this attention to prose sounds like more verbal gymnastics than you’d like, the Internet can help. Copywriting duties can be easily outsourced online. You can find copywriters on a contract basis using online professional services web sites or project marketplaces such as Elance.com, GetaFreelancer.com, or even by posting on Craigslist.com. Figure on paying anywhere from $20 to $200/hour for most copywriters, depending on their expertise level. (V12′s Creative Division also offers copywriting services for email marketing so call us)

The goal of your website (or landing page) is to attract and convert customers. Following these guidelines will help you create compelling copy that builds your business, too. It’s easy and often fun to get caught up in the technical or design details of your e-commerce web site, but remember, there are many simple and even ugly web sites that make plenty of money online. That’s because their message (as presented in the copy) successfully attracts and converts customers.

If your copy presents your products in an interesting way with the customers’ needs first in your mind, you will make more money online, too.

Image credit: healingdream

no comments posted in: Creative   |   Subject Lines   |   Writing Effective Copy
March 31, 2011   Posted by: cgalbornetti

Email Marketing as Relationship Marketing

The idea that the start of every good relationship begins with one single step–and that one step being acquisition email where marketers are making the first initial contact trying to build recognition, improve clicks/opens and drive conversion. Perhaps the goal is (and should be) paving the way to the start of a long-lasting relationship and this post highlights ways to take your acquisition campaigns to the next level and focus on building a strong foundation for success. This ERC site focuses on acquisition email, but it never hurts to think ahead and plan your next move, so read on…

 

Source: Mark Brownlow, Email Marketing Reports

Today’s online marketing world is full of lovely words like engagement and empowerment, communication and conversation, interaction and integration, friends, fans and followers. Many of these keywords go back to the age-old idea of building a strong relationship between your organization and the members of your audience.

Little of this is truly new: email was one of the first digital relationship builders…a regular touchpoint that strengthened the bond between sender and subscriber. However, this idea of email marketing as relationship marketing has become an all-pervading truism worthy of little comment or analysis.

Shame.

Because if we gave real thought to this relationship idea, we wouldn’t make half the mistakes we do. Relationship neglect sees many marketers led astray by their assumptions or failing to make appropriate adjustments to how they use email.

Here are four examples…

[This post was inspired by Sharon Long of the We Know Words group of freelance copywriters, who kindly asked me to muse briefly on these issues for a book she's writing.]

Problem 1: Showing a lack of interest in starting a relationship

If email relationships are important, we need to make the effort to start them.

The first step in the relationship is simply to inform a potential subscriber of the very existence of the email list. Yet many organizations still insist on, for example, inviting website visitors to play “where’s the list?”

Any contact point with customers and prospects is an opportunity to pitch for a sign-up. But at the very least, a sign-up form or link needs to be on every page of your website, in as prominent position as you can give it.

If other website pressures prevent this, then at least provide a sign-up opportunity at key website points, such as:

  • Typical exit pages (identified through your web analytics)
  • During or after purchase/download processes
  • At the conclusion of other interactions indicating strong interest, such as a sign-up form at the bottom of a long article
  • Paid search landing pages (you paid to get them there: if they don’t take the desired action, an email address at least gives you a chance to keep the communication going)

But it’s not just about making people aware of your email list. Potential subscribers need encouragement to…um…subscribe, and thus begin the email relationship. Sign-up forms and pages need to demonstrate the benefits of doing so. And they need to set expectations to avoid later remorse and disappointment.

Problem 2: Not all relationships are equal

Our personal relationships have different strengths. I don’t talk to the postman like I do to my wife (I sincerely hope she feels the same way). And I don’t talk to the postman now like I talked to him five years ago. So it is with email subscribers.

Yet we tend to use the same voice, content, style and design for everyone.

It seems an obvious argument for segmenting subscribers by relationship. Which brings the problem of definition: segment how? (Not to mention costs.)

Possibilities might be:

  • length of time on list (a topic touched on in this article on template changes)
  • purchase history
  • open/click history
  • website browsing history
  • propensity to share

If the data challenge seems daunting (it does to me), the segmentation by relationship approach begins simply with the welcome message.

New subscribers tend to be thrown into the same stream of email messages that long-time subscribers are getting. It’s like conducting a first date as if it was the twentieth. Instead, new subscribers first need to get one or more welcome emails which, for example:

  • thank them for joining the list (possibly with an unexpected gift, like a free download or coupon)
  • remind them of the benefits of joining
  • inform them of any important administrative functions (like a subscriber preference center)
  • introduce them to the kind of content or offers they’re likely to get in future

Other examples of segmentation by relationship include lifting email frequency to your “best” subscribers, or specific emails designed to re-enthuse subscribers as they approach the threshold “time on list” when response fatigue sets in significantly.

Problem 3: If it’s not mutually beneficial, it’s not going to work

The strength of any relationship largely depends on the benefits received by each side: you can’t expect selfless love from your subscribers. Email marketing is a value exchange.

The subscriber gives you an email address and attention and, in return, you deliver value to them. Either through useful, timely and/or entertaining content or with relevant offers and promotions.

If subscribers don’t get enough value out of this relationship, they leave (unsubscribe) or ignore you. Nothing revolutionary there. However…

Many of us play lip service to this concept, but our obsession with technology and numbers leads us to lose sight of the fact that subscribers are people, with human needs and wants.

And we’re often hitting a targeting glass ceiling. We look to squeeze a few percentage point increases to opens, clicks and/or conversions by fiddling with subject lines, or refining the offer or topic content in our standard broadcast emails.

But if the email relationship is to really blossom, we perhaps should look to additional new ways of delivering value and increasing relevancy, for example by:

Problem 4: It’s not actually a relationship

I’ve had a brand’s beer but not a beer with a brand.

One of my favorite topics is overestimating the strength of an email relationship: for most subscribers it’s an extremely tenuous commitment. Marketers who forget this often assume unconditional love, meaning subscribers will always forgive the occasional (or regular) transgression.

Some may, but all subscribers have their limits. Particular traps here are:

  • Abusing permission by assuming implied permission: sending the kind of email that subscribers aren’t expecting.
  • Abusing the privacy needs of those subscribers. As Rick Buck wrote recently:

“Getting permission from your customers means more than getting an opt-in to receive your e-mail and texts. Conditionally, it is about presenting them with a value proposition that instills confidence that you will respect and protect the data they choose to provide…”

  • Coasting: assuming that loyalty, response and the sender’s image remain unaffected by a long break between emails, thin content, irrelevant offers, sloppy writing, etc.. Unfortunately, the typical subscriber is not a forgiving partner. Delivering value is important, delivering consistent value also.

Image credit: Salvatore Vuono

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