People are busy! They receive a lot of spam and their attention to an email that isn’t instantly recognisable is next to non-existent. So, how many people actually read that marketing email you sent out last week? Most people don’t know that either and some are still looking to start using email marketing.
We do wonder why many businesses write boring text only marketing emails to an email list that has taken years to build up. Then not be able to tell whether that email; which was probably very well written, was a success or not.
Nuttifox can help take your emails to the next level! We can design you a HTML newsletter, configure an opt-in form on your new or current website and link it all together with a professional email marketing suite. Nuttifox recommends MailChimp.
Here are some of our Email Marketing recommendations:
Use good data – Only rent email addresses that have a verifiable opt-in status. Response rates are generally 10 times greater using good opt-in data.
Keep the message simple – Email message broadcasting should be seen as a means to an end – the end being a contact with your prospect or a visit to your website. Long messages raise the threshold to response. Keep the reason for emailing at the forefront of the message.
Keep the creative simple – Try to ensure the whole message can be seen on one screen, including response mechanisms. Don’t use lots of different font sizes and typefaces – it confuses and detracts from the message. Make sure that graphics are hosted so that the file size is kept to a minimum – preferably less than 25kb.
Create a good subject line – Give the recipient a reason to open your message. Poorly considered subject lines will negate any good creative or offer, as the recipient may not even see it. Subject lines should be intriguing and not a direct sell.
Make it easy to respond – After all, that is the point of the exercise. Always have a clear, concise call to action. Allow them immediate access to your website and contact by email – they are online so use the media. You should also enable them to contact you offline.
Be prepared to broadcast on multiple occasions – You should not think of email marketing as a one off hit – an all or nothing approach. Research shows that response rates increase with frequency as the recognition factor increases.
Make use of HTML – Whilst keeping the message simple, you should, where possible use html to create the message – it looks far better on screen, and allows the URL’s of links to be hidden behind visually pleasing images. You should always produce a text version of the html to be broadcast simultaneously to the html, to ensure that recipients unable to accept html will be able to receive your message.
Track everything – Open rates, unsubscribes, clickable-links, emails received, telephone and faxes received. Simply tracking the clicks is only half the story. You should monitor what happened when the click-through occurred on the website, as well as your sales call centre.
Get the timing right – Don’t broadcast over night to B2B databases as the first thing that will happen the following morning is that the message will be deleted. Tuesdays through Thursdays have proved to be the most responsive for B2B broadcasts. Sending a message on a Friday afternoon to consumers has proved very successful.
