The Ineffective Email

The slow decline of print advertising has been accompanied by the growth of digital marketing.

Print advertising includes newspapers, magazines, phone books and junk mail.

I have seen some of my friends in the print business evolve into the digital world, but there are a few tips and "tricks" to keep in mind as outlines by MarketingProfs.com:

Five Email Design Must-Haves

The average email subscriber faces an inbox filled with clutter. Once she sorts through a variety of personal, professional and marketing messages, she won't look kindly on messy or incoherent email offers. "Without a well-crafted, clear and consistent design for your brand, your email is going nowhere in a hurry," says John Murphy in an article at MarketingProfs.

Here's how to avoid such a pitfall:

Use a good balance of text and images. Many spam filters consider an email's text-to-image ratio when deciding if it will reach a recipient's inbox. If there's too much text or too many images, it risks banishment to the spam folder.

Assume that images will be blocked. There's a good chance your subscribers will only see embedded images if they actively click on a link to display them. Because of this, the text in your message has to make sense even if its images don't show up.

Provide a back-up option for image-rich backgrounds. A number of clients—Gmail and Microsoft Outlook, for example—don't support background images. But Murphy says there's a workaround. "HTML allows both an image and a color to be coded in the same tag," he writes, "which means that if a mail client supports background images, the images will be displayed; if it doesn't, then the chosen color will appear as the email background instead."

Include a table of contents for lengthier messages. When an email has several sections, ease its navigation with a simple table of contents that links within the message to the topics a subscriber wants to read.

Remember a call to action. You've sent the message because you want your recipient to do something—so make sure he can.

The Po!nt: How it works matters as much as how it reads. Don't sabotage your strong content with weak email design.

Source: MarketingProfs.

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4 Ways to Improve Your Email Campaigns

One of the services we provide our clients at Cirrus ABS is email marketing campaigns.

Here are some tips from MaketingProfs.com:

Four Ways to Remove Attention Barriers From Email Campaigns

"People have limited attention to spare," writes Mark Brownlow at Email Marketing Reports. "They focus on those messages perceived as deserving that attention: messages that are clearly important, personal or something they want and expect." There are, however, a number of barriers that stand between your email campaigns and your subscribers' all-important attention.

To help you remove attention barriers from your email campaigns, Brownlow offers advice like this:

Create an immediate impression of value. Avoid a standard "You've been subscribed" message on your confirmation page. Instead, fuel anticipation by touting an exclusive, email-only discount that will arrive shortly. You might even include a sample screenshot of the offer so subscribers will know what to look for.

Don't allow long periods to lapse between messages. If you send less than one email per month, you risk greater problems than losing a subscriber's rapt attention. "Once the gap between emails grows to a few months, people will start forgetting they even signed up," he notes. "Your problem moves beyond one of recognition to permission issues."

Send email when your customers are most likely to read it. While there isn't a hard-and-fast rule for sending an email, notes Brownlow, there might very well be a right day and time to send your email. Continual testing will reveal when that is.

Avoid trust-destroying tricks. Misleading subject lines may boost open rates in the short term. But in the long term, you teach your subscribers to delete your messages without reading them—or even to unsubscribe.

The Po!nt: Don't defeat yourself. Holding your subscriber's interest takes more than strong content; it takes an ongoing focus on removing attention barriers from your campaigns.

Source: Email Marketing Reports.

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Insane Email Marketing

from Pat Mcgraw:

Minor League Email Lessons

Posted: 05 Aug 2011 07:05 AM PDT

About 5-years ago, I purchased two baseball caps online. Both were minor league team caps and I purchased them from the each team’s website.

Both teams are located thousands of miles from where I live. The caps costs about $25 each, plus shipping, and they represent the one and only purchase I have ever made from either team.

Within a year, one team stopped sending me emails.

But today, I received yet another email from the other team. I get about 2-4 per month, depending on the time of year. And the content is typically pushing me to buy tickets to a game or merchandise from the store.

I haven’t unsubscribed because it’s easier to just delete the emails as they come in. I only occasionally scan them because I am hoping they might be sending me something that interests me versus pushing ticket sales and merchandise.

Anyway, here’s my point. When was the last time you cleaned your email list? Do you try to engage your readers in a conversation or do you just prefer to push your message on them over and over and over again? And, finally, what’s the definition of insanity?

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Email vs Direct Mail

A few lessons from MarketingProfs.com:

What Your Email Campaign Can Learn From Direct Mail

"Though direct mail certainly isn't as popular or as effective as it once was, email marketers can apply many of the theories used for direct mail campaigns to increase the value of their email marketing campaigns," writes Ryan Morgan in an article at MarketingProfs.

For one thing, a direct mail piece and an email both need to make a strong first impression. That's because a recipient sifts through her email in the same way she sorts direct mail: making arbitrary, snap judgments about what she'll read and what goes in the trash.

A plain white envelope with an unfamiliar return address won't intrigue her—and neither will its generic email equivalent. So give her a subject line that piques her interest, a "from" address she trusts and an appealing, eye-catching mix of text and graphics, Morgan advises.

Beyond that, he offers this direct-mail-inspired advice:

• Give your subscribers something of value. This might be monetary (a discount), informational (a how-to guide) or an opportunity not available to everyone. "I want to be an insider, and I want to feel special," Morgan explains.
• Be considerate of their frequency preferences. This is where you can learn something from direct mailers who may not get it right for each recipient's preference. Morgan wryly notes that "you could probably build a small home out of '20% off' coupon postcards from Bed Bath & Beyond." But email marketers have an advantage in the frequency debate: They can simply ask subscribers how often they'd like to receive messages.

The Po!nt: Email is direct-to-consumer, too. Although direct mail might not be a part of your marketing mix, understanding its principles could help you improve your email campaigns.

Source: MarketingProfs.

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Confirm those orders with an Email

I've seen some pretty good email marketing campaigns and I've seen even more crappy campaigns.

MarketingProfs.com shares some tips keep you out of the crapper:

Five Tips for Creating Effective Transactional Emails

"Most online retailers have little insight into the performance of their transactional emails, from basic deliverability characteristics to more sophisticated behavioral data once the emails have been sent," writes Emily Keye at the Bronto blog.

That is a surprising fact when you consider transactional emails enjoy astounding open rates—up to 75% in some cases, according to Keye. So before you confirm an online order or send shipping details, consider advice like this:

First and foremost, make sure your email reaches a customer's inbox. Keye suggests sending transactional email from a unique IP address. "If an ISP, receiver or blacklist blocks your promotional messages," she notes, "your transactional messages will not be affected."

Use subject lines that accurately describe the email's purpose. Recipients might scan only the first few words, while mobile devices might cut off the last few. So don't bury critical terms like "Order Confirmation" or "Shipping Confirmation" at the end of a subject line: Put them right up front.

Provide a detailed overview of the transaction. It's not enough to thank a customer for an order and promise it'll ship soon. Put basic information—including order numbers, product descriptions, prices paid and customer service contacts—in a prominent location.

Don't overwhelm customers with additional offers. It's perfectly okay to suggest complementary products, but place these relevant offers at the bottom of the email, or off to the side. "No more than 20% of your messages should be devoted to promotional content," says Keye.

Deliver transactional email with lightning speed. Consumers are accustomed to nearly instant confirmation; if yours takes longer than usual, they might be irritated or concerned.

The Po!nt: Confirm with clarity. Impress your customers with transactional messages that tell them what they want to know, when they want to know it.

Source: Bronto.

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How to Save Money & Increase Response

With a headline like that, you might think I'm selling some mystery cure, but no this is validation to something I noticed a few years ago.

I was the V-P of communications for our local Advertising Federation.

This included keeping our website fresh and sending out the invites to our monthly events.

We did direct mail and also email.

A good email with a call to action beats direct mail hands down for both cost and response.

This is one of the services we offer at Cirrus ABS. Contact me at SHoward@CirrusABS.com for details.

In the meantime, check out this report:

Online Coupons Boast High Redemption Rate

The recession has encouraged a host of deal-seeking behavior among consumers, including searching out online and mobile coupons as well as taking advantage of daily deal offers, which have risen in popularity dramatically. And thanks to television shows like "Extreme Couponing" where shoppers save hundreds of dollars during strategically planned supermarket visits, old-fashioned coupon-clipping is back in the spotlight, too.

Though shoppers still scour the Sunday paper for coupons, those free-standing inserts have the lowest redemption rate of all formats, according to NCH Marketing Services. Instantly redeemable grocery coupons featured on the outside of a package were the most likely to be claimed, followed by coupons downloaded from the internet, at nearly 17%. Health and beauty products had a 13.6% redemption rate for the same digital format.

The high redemption rate for online coupons could be attributed to both a growing familiarity with the process as well as the increased availability of online offers. NCH also found a 15% increase in promotions distributed digitally in the first half of 2011 versus the first half of the previous year. eMarketer estimates that overall, 88.2 million US internet users will redeem an online coupon for either online or offline shopping this year, up from 83.6 million in 2010.

In addition, opt-in email lists and other targeted offers, along with the fact that many online coupons are found by searchers directly seeking out deals, mean digital offers are more likely to reach consumers who want to redeem them. Free-standing inserts, by contrast, are distributed more widely, likely depressing the redemption rate.

Home-printed coupons not only stand a better chance of being redeemed, they also attract more new buyers than traditional coupons. According to Knowledge Networks, nearly half of consumer packaged goods (CPG) coupon redeemers from 2008 to 2010 had not previously bought the promoted item compared to 34% that had used free-standing inserts.

Overall, 35% of consumers surveyed by SymphonyIRI downloaded coupons from manufacturer or retailer websites, while 31% did so from dedicated coupon sites. Coupons were popular across all incomes, though preferred sources varied. Those making less than $35k over-indexed most heavily for manufacturer sites, whose offerings in many ways resemble the same types of packaged goods deals found through free-standing inserts.

Only daily deal sites gained in popularity as incomes rose, reflecting a tendency of wealthier shoppers to embrace new digital sources first. According to a Consumer Goods Technology (CGT) study, coupons were the preferred discount among all internet users (80%), while daily deals landed closer to the bottom (16%).

Coupons show no sign of falling out of favor with shoppers, no matter the format. However, retailers should be aware of the differences between delivery channels and formats. Digital's ability to attract new buyers and provide solid redemption rates makes online coupons stand apart

(Source: eMarketer)

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The Open or Delete Test

Last weekend I posted some email hints, but today I want to cut to the chase.

My first hands on experience with running an email campaign was a few years ago as the V-P of Communications for the American Advertising Federation - Fort Wayne.

Emails were sent to announce and invite members and non-members to our monthly functions.

I had help with the graphics from a designer, but the content was all mine.

But even more important than the content inside the email, was the Headline, or Subjectline.

Maybe it was due to my radio script writing background, combined with a sly sense of humor and a solid background in getting attention by being a little outrageous at times, but I saw the open rate and the click thru rate of the emails I sent sky rocket compared to the year before I took over.

If you are going to do email marketing, make sure you work it, and work it well, don't just do it as a task on your to-do list.

Pat Mcgraw shares his thoughts:

Are You Excited by Your Inbox?

Posted: 04 Aug 2011 06:50 AM PDT

“The number one reason that consumers opted out of email lists was that the emails received were not pertinent to them (58%). The second most popular reason was that the sender sent too many emails (44%). Less than a third of those surveyed opted out over too many emails in general, because their situation changed or they are using less email in favor of other modes of communication like texting or social media.”

– MarketingSherpa. “Email Maketing Benchmark Guide.” 2008. www.marketingsherpa.com.

How often does your company ask email subscribers for input on topics of interest? What delivery options do you offer them – daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly? And do your emails provide a mix of education/information with promotional messages – or is your editorial focus leaning towards promotional offers over education/information?

Forgive me if I repeat myself, but a few months ago, I bought a new pair of Sperry Topsiders from Sperry’s website. Since then, I have been bombarded with promotional emails for the same product I just bought. After a few weeks, I just started deleting them, unread. Eventually, I unsubscribed – and that got me thinking about other emails and before you know it, I have been on an ‘unsubscribe binge’ that’s impacting a lot of companies.

So what are you doing to engage the 98% or more of your email subscribers that never open or click or buy from your emails efforts? If your readers opt-out because the content isn’t relevant, are you taking steps to eliminate this reason?

Are you reaching out on a regular basis and asking for content ideas or input on possible topics so your readers never get to the point where they want to opt-out because of the content?

If your readers opt-out because of the frequency of email, are you testing various delivery schedules? Can they get the daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly delivery option?

(And let’s be honest, if the content was worth a damn, frequency isn’t a problem. So take a look at the content needs/wants of this group too.)

Sure, it’s more work – but your job is supposed to be about engaging qualified buyers and driving life-long relationships. And that might require a little more work and creativity than banging out “Save 20% Today” emails two or three times per week. Beating the customer into submission really isn’t winning.

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This isn't the best way...

from the Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo last week:

Before I tear into the marketing folks at Ruby Tuesday, I'll show you what I received in my email yesterday:


You can click on the pic to make it bigger, if you need to.

1st off: Thumbs up to Ruby Tuesday for the clickable links that surround the coupon. They all worked seamlessly.

Next: Read the legal mumbo jumbo.

Why is this offer not available in Hawaii, Manhattan or Airports?
and Why is a Credit Card Payment required to redeem?

But what really got me going was the whole Screen Shot This Coupon On Your Mobile Device And Use All Month Long concept.

Do they mean take a picture with my phone and then show it to my server?

Because there is a much better way to incorporate mobile couponing.

You can use QR codes that I scan and then you can track my visits and the details.

You can use LBS, (Location Based Services) to check in and see if I take advantage of the 15% offer.

You can do so much more, Ruby Tuesday.

(In the name of research, I'm going to have to try this and see what happens when I visit.)


The words of Scott Howard aka ScLoHo

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3 Email Requirements

Considering an email marketing campaign?

Read this:

Three Email Message Types That Keep Subscribers Engaged

"It's easy to bore your customers to death with email," writes Karen Talavera in an article at MarketingProfs. "Just send them the same type of message repeatedly, and you'll succeed."

Many companies, for instance, fall into the easy rhythm of sending e-newsletter after e-newsletter, never adding anything else to the mix. While there's nothing wrong with an e-newsletter, your campaigns start to feel stale if you don't offer a variety of message types. Here are three that can work well for you:

Announcements, alerts and reminders. Whether you're hosting an event, launching a new product or promoting an offer, Talavera recommends a three-message series that: "(a) gives your audience a heads-up as to when your initiative will 'go live,' (b) tells them when it's official, and (c) reminds them before it's over or expires." It sounds like a lot of email, but she downplays frequency concerns by noting most marketers don't send enough messages like these.

Helpful, educational content. You'll increase customer loyalty and engagement if you intersperse sales-oriented messages with information that explicitly benefits subscribers: articles, blog posts, white papers, videos, webinars and podcasts.

Triggered up-sell and down-sell offers. Encourage existing customers to make another purchase with automated messages that suggest complementary products or services. "For those who don't convert on the up-sell offer," Talavera advises, "especially after a free trial, proceed to a down-sell offer (usually a lower-priced, lower commitment than the up-sell or original purchase)."

The Po!nt: Don't be a bore. If you want to hold subscriber interest, you'll need to create a diverse, engaging mix of email campaigns.

Source: MarketingProfs.

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Effective Email Campaigns

Back when I was the Communications V-P of my local Advertising Federation, I got some hands on experience with creating effective email campaigns.

Here's a few tips from Marketing Profs:

How to Keep Your Subscribers Engaged: A Checklist

Effective email campaigns rely on engaged subscribers—but most of the people on a typical list have gone three or six months without opening messages or clicking through. "It is truly a sad state of affairs when marketers are immune to the fact that at least 60% of email recipients ignore communications," writes Ryan Deutsch in an article at MarketingProfs.

To help you get your engagement rates up, Deutsch offers a handy checklist with questions like these:

Do you have a welcome series? These multi-email campaigns give new subscribers a crash-course in your program, telling them about the content you provide and how often it will arrive. "The more they understand and believe in the value of your program," Deutsch says, "the better their engagement with it will be."

Do you use automated triggers? Stay relevant by sending messages triggered by behavior or personal information. "Purchases, browser behavior, life events, and alerts/reminders are all examples of ways marketers can trigger email communications," he explains.

Do you have re-engagement campaigns? When subscriber interaction wanes, you can encourage re-engagement with special offers, subscription confirmations or an invitation to update preferences.

Do you use cause marketing? A growing trend in subscriber engagement, this enables subscribers to shop and support worthy charities. "The Gap recently launched a program called Give & Get, which offered consumers a 30% discount on purchases and the opportunity to donate 5% of their purchase price to a charity of their choice," Deutsch notes.

The Po!nt: Keep the magic alive. You have to be the one to occasionally engage your subscribers if they're going to stay engaged for a healthy amount of time.

Source: MarketingProfs.

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The Benefits of Unopened Email

Yes, we all want our email marketing campaigns to be successful.

But there is value in even the unopened emails according to this piece from Marketing Profs:

How to Make the 'Nudge Effect' Work for You

"You may be frustrated with unopened emails and low clickthroughs, but be reassured that even if your subscribers don't open your email, its presence in their inbox leads to a tangible impact on brand awareness and sales via online and other channels," writes Dela Quist in a classic issue of the Alchemy Worx newsletter.

The subtle impact of the unopened email's presence is called the "Nudge Effect." Quist explains how it works:

• The recipient scans her inbox much like a triage nurse—deciding what needs attention now, what can wait and what she'll delete without reading.
  
• Even if she doesn't open your email, seeing your brand name in the from line and your pitch in the subject line can influence her buying decisions.

Alchemy Worx began to investigate the phenomenon when they saw an uptick in purchases—and a surge in natural, PPC and affiliate searches—from subscribers who had left marketing messages unopened. "Your message, in other words, may have been just the prompt a subscriber needed to pick up the phone or make a purchase via another channel," he explains.

According to Quist, you can optimize for the Nudge Effect by:

• Writing subject lines that encourage recipients to take action in other channels (eg, Call our sales team for a 20% discount).
  
• Timing delivery of messages with subject lines that tell subscribers about an in-store deal the next day.

"This way people do not even need to open the email," he says. "[T]hey remember the message that relates to other channels and can follow up your offer."

The Po!nt: One-liners can work. Take advantage of the Nudge Effect by using subject lines to deliver brand messages and generate cross-channel action.

Source: Alchemy Worx.

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Improve Your Email List

Email marketing is one of the tools we give our clients at Cirrus ABS, but there are a few rules to follow.

First, don't be a spammer.

Next, follow these tips from an email I opted-in to receive from Marketing Profs:

What Does Opt-In Really Mean?

The debate between opt-in and opt-out email marketing strategies isn't simply about one choice or another. The reason? Any two marketers might have strikingly different definitions of opt-in. "[N]ot all opt-ins are created equal," writes Maria Pergolino at Marketo. "In fact, it's quite the opposite." What one marketer considers strong opt-in permission might be, from another marketer's perspective, barely up to CAN-SPAM standards.

Get on the same page by determining which opt-in category you're discussing:

Unconfirmed opt-in. This is as close to opt-out as opt-in gets because visitors don't actively subscribe to your newsletters or offers. Instead, their addresses are added to your list when they register at your website for other reasons—like downloading white papers. "You may be in keeping with the law but you're not getting high marks for credibility," Pergolino notes.

Single-confirmation opt-in. With this much better option, you add visitors' addresses to your list only when they actively subscribe by checking—or not un-checking—a box. "To make that opt-in easier," she advises, "have the permission box pre-checked and be sure to highlight all the reasons they will benefit from continuing a dialogue with you."

Double-confirmation opt-in. Pergolino considers this the best of all—a policy that removes any doubt about new subscribers' intentions. They're only added to your list after they confirm their subscription by clicking on a link in a follow-up email.

The Po!nt: It should be up to them. You won't sell anything to a list of people who can't figure out why you're sending them newsletters, so focus on building a list of engaged customers who actually want to receive your relevant information.

Source: Marketo.

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How Long?

As I transition my employment from the radio business into the internet world, I'll continue to offer articles on a variety of media and marketing subjects.

Today the topic is Email from MarketingProfs.com:

What You Need to Know About Lead-Nurturing Messages

In a post at Marketing Interactions, Ardath Albee recalls a B2B client who thought her proposed lead-nurturing messages might be too brief. Albee begged to differ.

"[I]nundating prospects with more links and choices rather than improving the personalization, value and contagiousness of your email message is not the right answer," she explained. "The purpose of a lead nurturing email is NOT to: Be everything to everyone; get any old click; ask for a lot of time; [or] make a sale."

According to Albee, your email has about 10 seconds to answer these questions:

• Do I need to know this right now?
  
• Is this subject matter relevant to my priorities?
  
• Will it be easy to get the information?
  
• What is my opinion of the sender?
  
• What do I think they want from me?

In other words, your B2B customer won't waste his time digging through your paragraphs in search of your buried hook. "The only job of your lead nurturing email is to get the prospect to take an action that shows you their interest in the subject matter of your content offer," she notes. "There's just simply not time for much else."

Albee recommends limiting such messages to 150 or—even better—100 words. And there's no need for graphics since many prospects will read your email on a mobile device. "[I]f all I see is the emptiness of graphic boxes waiting to be downloaded in a preview, I just delete," she says. "Who has the time?"

The Po!nt: Brief works. When nurturing leads, keep your message short, sweet and relevant.

Source: Marketing Interactions.

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Too Late?

Here's the latest chapter from the Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo.

A new chapter about Naming Your Business will be available at 7am Tuesday here: http://sclohonet-thebook.blogspot.com/

Lost Your Mojo?

Last week I received a very important announcement from Yahoo!

Dear Scott Howard,

Thank you for being a Yahoo! Mail user for the past 7 year(s). We look forward to bringing you an even faster, safer, easier-to-use Yahoo! Mail very soon.

In the coming months, we will ask you to upgrade to the newest version of Yahoo! Mail for your account ABC@yahoo.com. All Yahoo! Mail customers will be asked to upgrade. But in the meantime, you don't have to wait, you can have the newest Yahoo! Mail today.



When I clicked on the link in the email, it went to a page that featured this video:

After watching the video, which told me nothing except using Yahoo Mail would be messier, I clicked on the links that would actually tell me what was new and improved. I was disappointed. Yahoo Mail was trying to be like Gmail.

But they already lost their mojo with me.

About 5 years ago, I stopped using my Yahoo Mail account and switched over to Gmail from Google. The primary reason for my dumping Yahoo was the spam filtering that Gmail offered was so much further advanced from what Yahoo was doing.

I had given up on Yahoo Mail and only kept that email account alive by forwarding Yahoo emails to my Gmail account. Now it appears that it has taken 5 years for Yahoo to catch up with where Google and Gmail was 5 years ago.

In the meantime, Gmail continues to offer improvements so Yahoo will always be behind.

What about your business? Are you constantly playing catch-up or are you leap-frogging your competitors. It isn't enough to say, "You know that service or product that they (insert competitors name) offer, we have it now too."

By the time you have caught up, you've lost your Mojo.

According to the Urban Dictionary:

Mojo: The word originally means a charm or a spell. But now its more commonly said meaning sex appeal or talent.

and...

1. Self-confidence, Self-assuredness. As in basis for belief in ones self in a situation. Esp. I context of contest or display of skill such as sexual advances or going into battle.

2. Good luck fetish / charm to bolster confidence.

3. ability to bounce back from a debilitating trauma and negative attitude

In this ever changing world, you always risk being left behind. Especially if you wait 5 years.

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Email Negotiations

From Jill Konrath's blog

Winning More Deals via Email Negotiations

Posted: 17 Apr 2011 04:44 PM PDT

Crazy-busy people are forcing us to negotiate via email -- and most of us are totally unprepared to do it right. In fact, 50% of email negotiations fail to get the business. Check out the article below from sales strategist Kendra Lee.

AND, I'd suggest you check out her 3-part webinar series with attorney Jeanette Nyden on How to Conduct Successful Email Negotiations & Win More Deals. You'll discover how to:

• Identify roadblocks in your existing email negotiations
• Create solutions to tough negotiation situations
• Use tradeoffs and counteroffers to preserve your profitability
• Get the information you need to successfully close the deal

Click to learn more. This session kicks off on May 3rd.

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Are You Writing Sales Negotiation Emails Like Prospecting Emails?
By Kendra Lee

Email has become the primary communication tool for sales reps. We use email to prospect instead of cold call. We confirm meetings via email. We follow up on sales calls with an email. We answer prospects’ questions through email. We discuss proposal terms in email. Some savvy sales reps even close the sale through email!

For the last two years I’ve guided sales reps on how to write prospecting emails that get a response. I’ve shared all my secret tips and tricks and they’re working for you!

I’ve received scores of emails – and even some phone calls – from sales reps telling me how they’ve successfully broken past gatekeepers to secure meetings with reluctant top prospects and silent customers.

A simple change to the subject line, short one sentence paragraphs, focus on a business issue, an emoticon and an exclamation point to personalize your message, and suddenly your cold calling email gets you in the door.

But what happens once you’re in the sales process and using email to answer a complex solution question or discuss proposal or contract terms?

The same prospecting email approach for these emails? You shouldn’t.

Emails later in the sales process are different. Let’s examine why.

While you want to maintain your friendly demeanor, once you engage in the sales process and begin answering prospects’ questions and validating information, you’re actually entering a negotiation. Your contacts are asking specific solution or contract related questions and your answers influence their decision.

They’re reading your response and weighing it against your competitors and sharing it with the decision making team.

All you wanted to do was shoot off a quick response to keep the sale moving forward. If you aren’t careful what you’ve written and how you’ve written it, you may find that you’ve agreed to terms you never intended.

Suddenly you’ve agreed to a different payment structure or thrown in free training, which you’d never do in a face-to-face negotiation. The idea of offering a trade-off or making a counter offer didn’t even occur to you. You just thought you were answering a few questions.

You were caught unaware.

You didn’t realize you’d begun an email negotiation because you weren’t expecting it and you can’t take back what you wrote.

As more prospects and customers respond to your sales emails, you’ll find yourself negotiating through written email. Your negotiation emails will probably be saved for a long time and used as you implement your solution. Make sure what you committed to is actually what you wanted, not what you thought would keep you in the running.

It’s critical that you recognize when the switch from prospecting to negotiating is occurring, and subtly change your writing style. Take time to respond thoughtfully and completely. Then you’ll be able to successfully negotiate and close more deals even through email.

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If you find yourself frequently negotiating through email, join Jeanette Nyden & Kendra Leed for the 3-part webinar series How to Conduct Successful Email Negotiations & Win More Deals.

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Kendra Lee is a top IT Seller, Prospect Attraction Expert and author of the award-winning book Selling Against the Goal. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group works with companies to break in and exceed revenue objectives in the Small and Midmarket Business (SMB) segment. Ms. Lee is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events.

To find out more about the author, to read her latest articles, or to subscribe to her newsletter, visit www.klagroup.com or call +1 303.741.6636.

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Email Marketing 101

I serve on a few boards and committees for non-profits and this past week.

At a meeting Wednesday, someone asked why we should use an email service instead of doing it ourselves.

MarketingProfs.com has some answers to introduce you to email marketing:

Mastering the Language of Email Marketing

"Every industry has its own language," writes DJ Waldow in an article at MarketingProfs. "The email marketing community, too, has its own jargon that sets it apart. And if you are unfamiliar with it, navigating the world of email marketing can be confusing." Whether you're just starting out, or you've been doing email campaigns for a while, it never hurts to have a concise email-marketing glossary on hand.

Waldow put one together for MarketingProfs, and it includes terms like these:

• Blacklist. A blacklist contains a set of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that are suspected of sending out unsolicited email (spam). "If your sending IP has a high complaint rate, high hard-bounce rate, or a bunch of spamtrap addresses … you are more likely to be blacklisted," Waldow notes.
  
• Hard bounce. A hard bounce is an email that does not reach the intended recipient because of a permanent error. Hard bounces can occur when an alias (username) or domain does not exist.
• Spamtrap/honeypot. These are old/inactive/unused email addresses that are intentionally set up to catch spammers. If you have spamtrap/honeypot email addresses on your list, it may be time to review your process for growing your email list, Waldow advises.
  
• Whitelist. A whitelist is a list of "approved" IP addresses and senders. If an Internet service provider (ISP) has whitelisted an IP address, it is more likely to accept incoming email from that address.
  
• CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Signed into law in December 2003 by President Bush, and updated in 2008, CAN-SPAM establishes the standards for sending commercial email in the United States.

The Po!nt: Don't forget the basics. Email marketing rewards those who know what they're doing, and punishes those who do not. The first step to success is remembering what all the lingo means—and why it matters.

Source: MarketingProfs.

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What to With Those New Email Addresses?

This weekend I'll be manning a booth at the Fort Wayne Golf Show for one of my radio stations ROCK 104.

We'll be collecting names, numbers and emails for a prize giveaway.

MarketingProfs.com has tips on what to do when you collect fresh email addresses at an event:

Email Lessons From a Bridal Expo

In a post at the Lunch Pail blog, bride-to-be Casey Barto recounts a visit to a bridal expo. "On the day of the show with pen in hand, I scribbled my email address and name on the contact lists of vendors who interested me most," she says. What happened next taught her a few best-practices about following up with prospects met at tradeshows.

Here are four key tips based on her experience:

Follow up promptly. "After the show was over, I was ready to receive at least a few welcome emails," she says. "I checked my email throughout the first week after the show—nothing. Didn't they want my business?" Then, nearly two weeks later, they flooded her inbox en masse. By the time she got all the messages, she had a hard time remembering who was who.

Explain why you're making contact. Jog a recipient's memory with a quick reminder of how you met or why you're touching base. "I can't tell you how many emails I've received … that have gone in the junk folder because I didn't remember talking to someone or signing up for something," she notes.

Avoid industry clichés. In Barto's case, the sentence "You're getting married!" dominated subject lines and introductions. "Of course I'm getting married," she says. "That's why I signed up for your emails. Tell me something I don't know, like why I should do business with you, or what features may interest me."

Beware the opt-in faux pas. A vendor who was unavailable on Barto's wedding day continued to send promotional email. "Not only have you made it obvious that you don't know me as an individual," she says, "but now you've annoyed me."

The Po!nt: Take notes. Don't alienate tradeshow leads with an email campaign that treats them like they're still just a face in the crowd. Personalize your follow-ups.

Source: Lunch Pail.

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Share What You Know

7 days a week, this website is updated 3 to 4 times a day with sales, advertising, marketing and media information and tips.

This only works because others are willing to share what they know. I subscribe to lots of newsletters, blogs, and the like and pick out my favorite to share with you.

If you would like to get updates in your email or an RSS reader, there are links on the right side of this page.

And speaking of email, this piece from MarketingProfs.com tells you how you can share what you know:

How to Make Content King. Again.

"The experts have apparently decided that content marketing is back for 2011," writes Mark Brownlow at Email Marketing Reports. "The new (old) mantra is 'quality content.' And everyone should be producing it: publishers, retailers, service companies."

If you're wondering what quality content is—and how it might differ from what you've been doing all along—Brownlow offers this workable definition:

Quality content is "any element in the message that provides standout value to the recipient (aside from the inherent 'value' of any offer)." It should be useful and/or entertaining and/or capable of emotional impact, he adds.

Good news: Consistently finding material for quality content need not be an onerous task. Brownlow outlines basic rules for discovering hidden gems. Among those rules:

Look for low-hanging fruit. "If you've not thought much about content before, start small," he suggests. "See what you already have lying around the office or website that might find use in your newsletters."

Repurpose or reuse content. That series of tweets can become a blog post; or that debate in your forum might make an entertaining article at your website. And it's fine to reuse content your new subscribers might not have seen. "Nobody on your email list today remembers the article you sent out in 2002 to your first 37 subscribers," he explains.

Create new content that stays relevant over time. You can discuss a news item that may be old news by next month, or offer a how-to primer that retains relevance. "Both make good content," Brownlow notes, "but one needs constant updating to have long-term value, the other doesn't."

The Po!nt: Set a royal standard. Don't make the mistake of producing email content for content's sake. "Always bear in mind how that content contributes to your business success," Brownlow concludes.

Source: Email Marketing Reports.

Looking for great email marketing data? MarketingProfs reviewed hundreds of research sources to create our most recent Email Marketing Factbook (May 2010). With 129 pages and 90 charts, it is full of relevant email marketing stats and trends. The Email Marketing Factbook is Part 1 of the complete Digital Marketing Factbook (our 296-page full report).

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Weekend Email?

from one of my clients, Villing & Company:

Ten Email Marketing Tips You Can Implement Now

Feb. 25, 2011

Lesley Langfeldt

I recently listened to a webinar by Dan Zarrella from HubSpot. As marketers wanting to keep up with the changes going on in the industry, if you are not reading or listening to content from HubSpot, you are missing out. They have some great marketing resources on their website.

The title of his webinar was “The Science of Email Marketing.” This is one of the best webinars I have listened to because it was filled with ideas that any company could implement now. Here are some of the takeaways from the research performed:

1. Businesses are consumers.

Myth: B2B and B2C email marketing is very different. Fact: Did you know that only 12 percent of business people use separate inboxes for work and personal emails? That means 88 percent of business people are also reading personal emails throughout the day. So you are essentially emailing their consumer inboxes. Therefore, there is no reason to treat B2B email marketing any differently.

2. Saturdays and Sundays had the highest click-through-rate of any other days of the week.

They also had pretty low unsubscribe rates. Thursday’s unsubscribe rate was the lowest, while Tuesday’s was the highest. The research showed Monday and Tuesday as being the two highest days for unsubscribe rates because it is the beginning of the week and people are really busy, so they don’t have the time to read through email marketing messages. So the next time you send your email, consider sending it on the weekends and be sure to stay away from sending early in the week.

3. Most users report reading emails in the morning.

Six a.m. had by far the highest click-through-rate of the day. Try sending your next email marketing message early in the morning.

4. Over 80 percent of users reported reading email on a mobile device.

Make sure your email campaigns are optimized for the smaller screen.

5. Use several links in your emails.

The research shows that as the number of links goes up, so does the click-through-rate. The unsubscribe rate also decreases as the number of links increases.

6. To increase the chances of your email being archived and viewed again, include reference information.

Most people use their inbox as an archive. If they want information on their industry, business or something personally relevant to them, they check their inbox first. They consider it elite data because it is personalized to them. Think about how you can make your email worthy of archiving. What can you include to make people want to come back and access it later.

7. Subject line words.

Most clicked: posts, jobs, survey, week’s, e-newsletter, issue, digest, bulletin, edition

Most abuse reported: confirm, features, upgrade, magic, raffle, requested, rewards, christ, follow-up

Your subject line is an incredibly important part of your email message. This is what helps subscribers determine whether or not they will read your email. Choose your words carefully.

8. Give your subscribers exclusivity.

People want to know what’s in it for them. Make your subscribers feel special, like they are getting something no one else is. Give them special access to your company.

9. Send your email from someone subscribers have heard of.

The first thing most people check to decide whether or not they want to read your email is the Sender. If they don’t know the Sender, they more than likely are not going to open your email.

10. Don’t be afraid to send emails more than once per month.

Although sending one email per month has the highest click-through-rate at six percent, sending out three, four, eleven or even 22 or 27 still have click-through-rates of slightly more than four percent. And, as the number of emails sent per month increases, the unsubscribe rate decreases. However, this situation is going to vary from industry to industry and company to company. It might require some testing before you figure out what number is appropriate for your subscribers.

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Emailing it?

I get emails every week from businesses that are trying to make a possitive impression on me. Most are just glorified brag letters.

Here's 4 tips to improve your emails:

Four Tips for Crafting B2B Emails That Get Results

Any successful B2B marketing strategy "involves the integration of email marketing," Maria Pergolino asserts in a post at the Marketo blog. Whether designed for lead generation or nurturing leads and repeat buyers, carefully crafted email campaigns and messages can still achieve optimal results, she notes.

To help B2B marketers keep email as a vital component of their marketing mix, Pergolino offers seven best-practices that "alleviate common issues and ensure each email will not only reach the targeted recipient, but also compel the reader to open it." Among her recommendations:

Start with a clear objective. "Is it to send out an email newsletter purely for informational purposes?" she asks. "Is it for lead generation or to share information to solve a customer’s problem?" Never send an email without knowing what you want to achieve, and how the message will help you reach that goal.

Choose a "from" name the recipient will recognize. That might be the name of your company rather than a person she has never met. "Having a trusted from name encourages higher open rates," Pergolino notes.

Time delivery for optimal open rates. "Many believe sending email on Tuesday is optimal while Fridays are the worst day to send out B2B messaging," she explains. However, others argue for weekend delivery. The key is determining when your customers are most likely to open your messages.

Use analytics to improve every aspect of a campaign. Gathering strong analytics data helps marketers understand success and failure, and "iterate accordingly," Pergolino notes.

The Po!nt: Email is still a player. But terrific open rates won't happen on their own: It's up to you to apply tactics that will help make your B2B e-messages effective—and downright irresistible.

Source: Marketo.

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