The new email marketing: ask the right questions
Latest posts | Feed | By Mark Brownlow on June 06, 2008
Part 6 of an ongoing series:(We're looking at the strategies and tactics that distinguish a smart email marketer from a bulk email marketer. See the New Email Marketing index page to access the rest of the series.)
Voltaire, the French writer and philosopher, had more to do with the Enlightenment than email. But he has an important message for us:
Many typical questions asked by email marketers encourage the wrong kind of thinking and the wrong kind of response.
Instead of blithely repeating questions of the past, the new email marketing reformulates those questions to encourage better thinking and the right response.
So...
Is email dying?
How do I adapt my email marketing strategy to new user habits?Should I switch resources to social media/SMS/blogs etc?Where is my target audience and what is the best combination of channels to use to influence them?What's a good open rate?What am I trying to achieve with my emails? How do I measure that? What is my current position? And how do I improve that?How do I stay off blacklists?How do I ensure my emails are recognized and valued by recipients?What is the best day/time to send email?Given what I know about my audience and my emails, what days/times are likely to pull the best response and how do these compare in my tests?How can I boost my email responses?How can I boost my email responses while at the same time delivering more value to recipients?Who can I send my emails to?How can I get more people to proactively opt-in to my email communications?How do I stop people unsubscribing?What alternatives and choices can I give people so they are more likely to stay in my email program?How long should the subject line be?What do my subject line tests with my list tell me about optimum lengths?What ESPs get highest delivery rates?What changes can I make on my side to improve delivery rates?How do I get as big a list as possible?How do I ensure my list has as many active, engaged subscribers as possible and as few dead or unresponsive addresses as possible?How can I cope without more resources?Have I done everything within my power to optimize my program with the resources I do have available (welcome messages, alt-tags etc.)?...and so on. As Voltaire also said, "No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking."
Tags: email marketing
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2 Comments:
Oh... I like these.
Especially "How do I ensure my list has as many active, engaged subscribers as possible and as few dead or unresponsive addresses as possible?"
Completely turns the focus of the discussion away from acquisition and towards more useful concepts like relevance and engagement.
By 
Justin Premick, on
06 June, 2008
Being smart and following directions is the easiest way to stay on top of your email marketing. Don't try and get sneaky or use some new idea that your cousin Rose came up with to help. Use quality data and send clean email creatives that your database wants to see.
By Jan, on
06 June, 2008
