• Get the tone right
Your target audience should determine the tone of voice used in your emails. For younger audiences, a more informal tone may be more relevant, whereas for the over 50’s a slightly more formal communication may be more appropriate. However, don’t forget that the online environment tends to be more informal anyway, so if in doubt, be informal but not over-familar.
• Make it obvious and repeat calls to action
Make it obvious what you want the reader to do very clear and repeat the call to action throughout the email. It is also advisable to make the calls to action links back to your website (a specific landing page is even better)
• Keep it short
Consumers get a lot of emails in their accounts every day and so wont waste time reading long emails. The content of your emails should be concise with key words/calls to action picked out as links or in bold/colour. You can also use bullet points to pick out key points/features clearly and simply.
• Personalise your email
Personalised content in communications makes the reader feel that the email has been written for them and makes the message more targeted. Information already held in the database or from previous email campaigns about the user can be utilised here to deliver a personalised message.
• Make it topical
Make your emails topical and pick up on relevant events/trends etc to bring your campaigns out of a vacuum and into the real world.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Social Networking - General ideas of topics to discuss on Social Networking sites
The below points give a general idea of the kind of things that could be discussed on social networks:
• Thank satisfied customers
• Engage with dissatisfied customers to resolve problems and create positive outcomes
• Manage website/company situations with up to the minute communications
• Initiate conversations on key issues such as special offers
• Share insights into the company
• Talk about topics that matter to the customers
• Share new product information
• Ask a question (giving you immediate customer insight)
• Give exclusive offers & competitions
• Tips, tricks and advice
• News about upcoming issues
These are only a guide. Social networking pages should have personality and engage the interest of followers. It should broach subjects that are important to its followers and resolve customer issues and questions. Overall, it is a way to reach out and communicate with the customer in an informal environment.
• Thank satisfied customers
• Engage with dissatisfied customers to resolve problems and create positive outcomes
• Manage website/company situations with up to the minute communications
• Initiate conversations on key issues such as special offers
• Share insights into the company
• Talk about topics that matter to the customers
• Share new product information
• Ask a question (giving you immediate customer insight)
• Give exclusive offers & competitions
• Tips, tricks and advice
• News about upcoming issues
These are only a guide. Social networking pages should have personality and engage the interest of followers. It should broach subjects that are important to its followers and resolve customer issues and questions. Overall, it is a way to reach out and communicate with the customer in an informal environment.
Email Marketing - a brief overview of MY take on UK Email Marketing Legals
Data is highly regulated in the UK, with provisions under a variety of Acts of Parliament, Regulations and Codes of Practice. These provisions are designed to protect the rights of individuals when they surrender personal information about themselves to companies for marketing purposes.
Privacy in Electronic Communications (Directive) Regulations 2003
On 11th December 2003, the Privacy in Electronic Communications (Directive) Regulations 2003 came into force in the UK. They have significant implications for everyone involved in email marketing in the UK.
In essence, the 2003 Regulations are encapsulated in two main rules:
RULE 1 – Applies to all marketing emails:
• The sender must not conceal their identity
• The sender must provide a valid address for opt-out requests
RULE 2 – Applies to unsolicited marketing emails sent to individual subscribers:
• The sender cannot send marketing emails unless they have the recipient’s prior consent to do so.
It is the second rule that is most key for marketers; it puts the onus onto the marketer to obtain consumer’s specific permission to send them marketing emails.
There must be specific consent at the point at which the email address is given, to receive marketing emails from the company and, if the company specifies it, from its partners. This consent must come in the form of a positive opt in (opt in box NOT pre-ticked), or an extremely explicit opt-out, where it is made absolutely clear to the consumer that by not ticking the box to opt-out, they are giving their consent to receive marketing emails.
It gets a little confusing here as the 2nd rule comes with a caveat which states that the opt-in rule is relaxed in the following circumstances:
• The recipients email address was collected “in the course of a sale or negotiation for a sale”
• The sender only broadcasts promotional messages relating to “similar products and services”
• When the address was collected, the recipient was given the opportunity to opt-out (free of charge) which they did not take. The opportunity to opt-out must be given with every subsequent message
NOTES
• All three criteria must be fulfilled in order for the exemption to be effective.
• The UK Information Commissioner is responsible for enforcing the Regulations.
Other Regulations
While much attention is focused on the Privacy in Electronic Communications (Directive) Regulations 2003, there are several other existing pieces of Legislation and Code of Practice which need to be know about/adhered to….
• The Data Protection Act 1998
This Legislation confers rights on individuals in respect of others’ use of their data, and places obligations on data controllers when they are processing personal data.
The Act sets out 8 data protection principles, covering data collection, use, disclosure, maintenance, security, international data transfer and the outsourcing of data processing.
• Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000
These Regulations apply to any “direct response” email message to which a consumer can respond by ordering a product or service and require the supplier to disclose their identity, the characteristics of what is being offered and the price; fulfilment requirements; and a cancellation right got most products.
• Committee of Advertising Practice Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (aka the CAP Code)
The Privacy in Electronic Communications (Directive) Regulations 2003 exempt “corporate subscribers”, including limited companies from the rules, meaning that they can be sent unsolicited commercial emails relating to goods and services which they might be interested in either in a personal or business capacity.
The CAP Code however makes it clear that companies may only send unsolicited marketing emails to corporate subscribers about goods/services in which they would be interested in their business capacity.
• The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Email Code of Practice
The DMA’s Code of Practice sets out in detail for DMA members the standards to which they should adhere and the rules they should follow when conducting direct marketing, including email marketing campaigns. In addition, in July 2004, the DMA Email Marketing Council launched its Best Practice Guidelines for Email marketing; this explains in detail how to conduct email campaigns responsibly and legally, covering data collection, list rental, measurement and reporting metrics and international issues.
Privacy in Electronic Communications (Directive) Regulations 2003
On 11th December 2003, the Privacy in Electronic Communications (Directive) Regulations 2003 came into force in the UK. They have significant implications for everyone involved in email marketing in the UK.
In essence, the 2003 Regulations are encapsulated in two main rules:
RULE 1 – Applies to all marketing emails:
• The sender must not conceal their identity
• The sender must provide a valid address for opt-out requests
RULE 2 – Applies to unsolicited marketing emails sent to individual subscribers:
• The sender cannot send marketing emails unless they have the recipient’s prior consent to do so.
It is the second rule that is most key for marketers; it puts the onus onto the marketer to obtain consumer’s specific permission to send them marketing emails.
There must be specific consent at the point at which the email address is given, to receive marketing emails from the company and, if the company specifies it, from its partners. This consent must come in the form of a positive opt in (opt in box NOT pre-ticked), or an extremely explicit opt-out, where it is made absolutely clear to the consumer that by not ticking the box to opt-out, they are giving their consent to receive marketing emails.
It gets a little confusing here as the 2nd rule comes with a caveat which states that the opt-in rule is relaxed in the following circumstances:
• The recipients email address was collected “in the course of a sale or negotiation for a sale”
• The sender only broadcasts promotional messages relating to “similar products and services”
• When the address was collected, the recipient was given the opportunity to opt-out (free of charge) which they did not take. The opportunity to opt-out must be given with every subsequent message
NOTES
• All three criteria must be fulfilled in order for the exemption to be effective.
• The UK Information Commissioner is responsible for enforcing the Regulations.
Other Regulations
While much attention is focused on the Privacy in Electronic Communications (Directive) Regulations 2003, there are several other existing pieces of Legislation and Code of Practice which need to be know about/adhered to….
• The Data Protection Act 1998
This Legislation confers rights on individuals in respect of others’ use of their data, and places obligations on data controllers when they are processing personal data.
The Act sets out 8 data protection principles, covering data collection, use, disclosure, maintenance, security, international data transfer and the outsourcing of data processing.
• Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000
These Regulations apply to any “direct response” email message to which a consumer can respond by ordering a product or service and require the supplier to disclose their identity, the characteristics of what is being offered and the price; fulfilment requirements; and a cancellation right got most products.
• Committee of Advertising Practice Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (aka the CAP Code)
The Privacy in Electronic Communications (Directive) Regulations 2003 exempt “corporate subscribers”, including limited companies from the rules, meaning that they can be sent unsolicited commercial emails relating to goods and services which they might be interested in either in a personal or business capacity.
The CAP Code however makes it clear that companies may only send unsolicited marketing emails to corporate subscribers about goods/services in which they would be interested in their business capacity.
• The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Email Code of Practice
The DMA’s Code of Practice sets out in detail for DMA members the standards to which they should adhere and the rules they should follow when conducting direct marketing, including email marketing campaigns. In addition, in July 2004, the DMA Email Marketing Council launched its Best Practice Guidelines for Email marketing; this explains in detail how to conduct email campaigns responsibly and legally, covering data collection, list rental, measurement and reporting metrics and international issues.
NOTE: I am not a solicitor and this is not legal advice. Professional legal advice should always be sought.
Email Marketing - Top 5 Subject Line Tips
The subject line is what motivates people to actually open the email, and subsequently affects deliverability. In a survey conducted by Opt-in News, 35% cited the subject line as the main factor determining whether they would open the email. Other than the from line, the subject line is often the only thing people see in their inbox.
1. Subject lines should not be misleading in any way as to the content of the email. They should tell the recipient what is inside, not try to sell it here - Readers will distrust you (and reach for the report-spam button) if your subject line doesn't reflect the email content.
2. Having the Company name and personalisation in the subject line greatly increase the chances the mailing will be opened.
3. Write about the benefits that matter to the recipient. Try to ask yourself the following questions; Will they benefit from taking the time to read your e-mail? What will they learn? Is your product/service going to save them time? Is it going to save them money? Is it going to improve their lives in some way?
4. Avoid spam words like "limited time" and "free" etc. You can use a minimal number of spam words such as “free” in a subject line, just don't make them the first word, use them in conjunction with an exclamation point or spell them in all caps (could get your email filtered). We would suggest that a maximum of 2 spam words should be used here as this is the first port of call for the spam filters.
5. Keep your subject lines to around 8 words and make sure that the most important details are mentioned first so it doesn't get cut off. Don’t forget that anyone receiving the mailing on a mobile phone may be able to see as few as 10 characters.
Shown below is the approximate number of characters supported in the subject line by various email providers:
Client/Device---Subject line length---Example
AOLDesktop Client---93---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. now is the time for all...
AOL Webmail---80---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. now is the...
Gmail---87---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Now is the time f...
Hotmail---40---Now is the time for all good men to come...
Yahoo---80---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. now is the...
Outlook (bottom preview pane)---124---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of...
Outlook (side preview pane)---54---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of...
1. Subject lines should not be misleading in any way as to the content of the email. They should tell the recipient what is inside, not try to sell it here - Readers will distrust you (and reach for the report-spam button) if your subject line doesn't reflect the email content.
2. Having the Company name and personalisation in the subject line greatly increase the chances the mailing will be opened.
3. Write about the benefits that matter to the recipient. Try to ask yourself the following questions; Will they benefit from taking the time to read your e-mail? What will they learn? Is your product/service going to save them time? Is it going to save them money? Is it going to improve their lives in some way?
4. Avoid spam words like "limited time" and "free" etc. You can use a minimal number of spam words such as “free” in a subject line, just don't make them the first word, use them in conjunction with an exclamation point or spell them in all caps (could get your email filtered). We would suggest that a maximum of 2 spam words should be used here as this is the first port of call for the spam filters.
5. Keep your subject lines to around 8 words and make sure that the most important details are mentioned first so it doesn't get cut off. Don’t forget that anyone receiving the mailing on a mobile phone may be able to see as few as 10 characters.
Shown below is the approximate number of characters supported in the subject line by various email providers:
Client/Device---Subject line length---Example
AOLDesktop Client---93---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. now is the time for all...
AOL Webmail---80---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. now is the...
Gmail---87---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Now is the time f...
Hotmail---40---Now is the time for all good men to come...
Yahoo---80---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. now is the...
Outlook (bottom preview pane)---124---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of...
Outlook (side preview pane)---54---Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of...
Email Marketing - Top 5 Tips For Improving Click Through Rates
1. Personalisation
Personalising emails is important because it helps build familiarity and trust between you and your readers. Including the recipient's name in the following places is a good idea; the subject line (immediately reassuring recipients the email isn't spam), the greeting and in questions and statements in the body of the email.
2. Make your emails easy to read
Making emails easy to read and can be done by limiting email lines to around 40 characters wide (improves readability as the eye can scan down the email without moving from side to side) and splitting up blocks of text using a double return after every six to eight lines. Adding more white space to your copy gives it a neat, clean look that is very inviting, and breaks the text up into chunks that the eye can scan more easily. Images should be used to accentuate key issues but should always be outweighed by copy.
3. Call to Action?
What do you want your readers to do after they have read the email? It should be easy to understand and tell the reader exactly how they can take the action. This should be included at least twice in the creative and can be picked out easily as the recipient scans the email. Links should be made obvious in the creative, with blue and underlined text generally being seen as the symbol of a link - it’s also good practice to link all images by default. URLs included in the creative should take the recipient straight to the relevant page on the website – the recipient should not have to work to find what they are looking for.
4. Don't Use Spam Language, Do use persuasive words
Using symbols such as $$$!!% and words such as Free, Money and Live, makes your emails look like spam, both to readers and to spam filters. Adding this type of language will also reduce the delivery rate.
Using a spam checker program will help to make sure you're not including any trigger words or symbols in your emails. Use persuasive words to gain attention, ask questions, sell the benefits, break down the cost and use excitement, fear, uncertainty or doubt to encourage click throughs.
5. A Good Offer
Including a good offer that is appealing to the target recipient on your email, will encourage them to click through to your website and take advantage of the offer, or just to find out more information.
Personalising emails is important because it helps build familiarity and trust between you and your readers. Including the recipient's name in the following places is a good idea; the subject line (immediately reassuring recipients the email isn't spam), the greeting and in questions and statements in the body of the email.
2. Make your emails easy to read
Making emails easy to read and can be done by limiting email lines to around 40 characters wide (improves readability as the eye can scan down the email without moving from side to side) and splitting up blocks of text using a double return after every six to eight lines. Adding more white space to your copy gives it a neat, clean look that is very inviting, and breaks the text up into chunks that the eye can scan more easily. Images should be used to accentuate key issues but should always be outweighed by copy.
3. Call to Action?
What do you want your readers to do after they have read the email? It should be easy to understand and tell the reader exactly how they can take the action. This should be included at least twice in the creative and can be picked out easily as the recipient scans the email. Links should be made obvious in the creative, with blue and underlined text generally being seen as the symbol of a link - it’s also good practice to link all images by default. URLs included in the creative should take the recipient straight to the relevant page on the website – the recipient should not have to work to find what they are looking for.
4. Don't Use Spam Language, Do use persuasive words
Using symbols such as $$$!!% and words such as Free, Money and Live, makes your emails look like spam, both to readers and to spam filters. Adding this type of language will also reduce the delivery rate.
Using a spam checker program will help to make sure you're not including any trigger words or symbols in your emails. Use persuasive words to gain attention, ask questions, sell the benefits, break down the cost and use excitement, fear, uncertainty or doubt to encourage click throughs.
5. A Good Offer
Including a good offer that is appealing to the target recipient on your email, will encourage them to click through to your website and take advantage of the offer, or just to find out more information.
Most importantly, test, test and test again. Without testing your creatives and approaches, you will not know what works best for your target audience, brand, offer and product.
Email Marketing - Test, Test and Test again
Almost every element of an email campaign can be put to the test, and every email that is sent is a testing opportunity. If you break a campaign down into its core components, you are dealing with 2 elements:
The List
The Email
By testing both of these elements, open, click and conversion rates can be analysed to figure out the best combination for your base and therefore increase ROI.
By testing both of these elements, open, click and conversion rates can be analysed to figure out the best combination for your base and therefore increase ROI.
Testing your list
If you have a larger list, there is the opportunity to segment it by factors such as age, gender, interests or previous purchased products. With segmentation, you have the ability to take just a section of the list that you believe the offer will be of most interest to and sent the mailing exclusively to them.
The only way to be sure that the right segmentations have been made is to test different segments of the list with the same offer and email. If all the other factors are the same, any difference in open, click and conversion rates can only be down to the segmentations made.
Testing your Email
The email itself can be broken down into the following elements which can all be tested:
The email itself can be broken down into the following elements which can all be tested:
- From Address
- Subject Line
A good subject line can mean the difference between a successful campaign and a failure. Test several versions of a subject line to see what works best for your base and earns the highest open rate.
Legally, a subject line must not be misleading.
- Body Copy
Golden Rule – Write copy for email to be scanned and not read; don’t have paragraphs that are too long and space the email appropriately.
- Creative design
Once you have found a style that works, you should not stray too far away from this without good reason for doing so.
- The Offer
Every audience is different; some people are driven by money-off or free offers whereas others respond better to loyalty points or other incentives. Test different offers to find out which works the best for your base.
- Broadcast Time and Day of the week
Email Marketing Summary
Email marketing appeals to many marketers due to its low-cost, ease, speed of delivery, accountability and the opportunities it offers for personalised communications. However, being such a powerful tool, it is also abused; according to Symantec, in Feb 2010 the amount of spam being sent increased 5.5% to 89.4% of all emails. They also found that the number of phishing emails accounts for more than half of all email-borne threats.
Achieving strong inbox placement remains a challenge for both B2B and B2C communications. According to Return Path (2010) in Europe, 85% of email arrives as expected with 3.6% ending up in the “junk” or “bulk” folder and 11% not delivered to the recipients at all. In the US and Canada only 80% is arriving in the inbox with 3% going to the “junk” folder and another 16% going missing.
The email marketing landscape has changed over the last few years, with content becoming less of a deciding factor by the ISP’s as to whether to block or allow a message. Nowadays, reputation is key. A good deliverability ratio is the first step in a successful email campaign; if your emails aren’t delivered, this will impact on open and click rates as well as conversions. But don't forget, your delivered rate in your email stats does NOT tell you how many emails have actually reached the inbox and not the junk/bulk folder.
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