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Latest posts | Feed | ...email marketing advice by Mark Brownlow
April 27, 2009
[I'm on the road, which gives me time to catch up on some serious reading: here my thoughts on the latest email marketing book to emerge from the US...]
This new book from Arthur Middleton Hughes and Arthur Sweetser confronts you with a stark choice.
Do you want to continue doing things the "old" way, and see results fade under the weight of email fatigue and new marketing channels?
Or do you want to turn your email marketing into a highly profitable, future-proof channel that builds strong and lasting customer relationships?
The answer is obvious, but most advice out there already promises help along these lines.
So does "Successful email marketing strategies" offer anything different or better?
The answer is a resounding yes. This book offers a unique perspective that genuinely helps you take things "...to the next level."
The main premise of the book is to increase your email marketing success by building the kind of loyal customer relationships the corner store used to have. Not through force of personality, but through collecting, recording, appending, analyzing and using data.
The initial chapters set out the theoretical and financial argument for moving to a data-driven email model.
Most of the rest of the 373 pages then detail procedures and strategies that help you understand exactly how you might implement such a model.
Importantly, the authors talk about much, much more than "traditional" email data, such as open rates. Instead, they address the role of a wide range of appended data available from other sources (both inside and outside the business).
That's where the vast majority of email marketers need help.
Topics covered include measuring "campaign" and "subscriber" performance, calculating the value of an email address, transactional emails, trigger emails, detailed segmentation techniques and using web analytics.
As such, it's not a beginner's guide. Nor does it cover the basics of email marketing. Instead, it's the ideal book to buy after you've read one of those more general books.
And even if you're not familiar with database marketing, the text does a good job of persuading you why you should be looking into the wider application of customer data.
1. The book communicates very clearly the value of data and metrics. This might just be the kick you need to tackle that area in terms of day-to-day practices and long-term strategic change.
My favorite quote:
"Marketing is too important to be made subservient to the abilities of a few programmers"
2. The book is very different to existing email marketing texts and opens up many new perspectives not covered in such depth elsewhere.
For example, the authors argue that data is so valuable that it makes sense to sacrifice a few sign-ups for the sake of collecting more information: particularly the kind of info that can then be used to append consumer and business data from commercial sources.
3. While the focus is on direct sales, there is plenty of encouragement to think of email as a brand builder and driver of offline action. The authors even explore methods for measuring offline sales.
4. The benefit of focus is that the book goes into detail. Rather than vague enjoinders to "improve relevancy," for example, you actually get a step-by-step plan for measuring and improving relevancy in practice.
5. The material covered is not stuff you can pick up free on the web in 700-word articles. Much of the information will be new to those in email marketing.
6. Many case studies and sample calculations really bring home the points being made.
1. The target readership is definitely those looking to actively drive sales, with a strong focus on B2C. While many lessons are applicable to B2B and content-based publications, they receive little direct attention.
2. It's a valuable read, but not always an easy one and is a touch disjointed in places.
3. The book is strongest in those chapters dealing specifically with data-related issues, but there is coverage of other (related) areas, such as subject lines, copywriting and frequency issues.
My summary: Not the first email marketing book you should buy, but absolutely indispensable if you know your basics.
[Also, you have to love a book that contains this line: "Every marketing email should be an adventure."]
The book is available from the publisher's website.
More book reviews
This new book from Arthur Middleton Hughes and Arthur Sweetser confronts you with a stark choice.
Do you want to continue doing things the "old" way, and see results fade under the weight of email fatigue and new marketing channels?
Or do you want to turn your email marketing into a highly profitable, future-proof channel that builds strong and lasting customer relationships?
The answer is obvious, but most advice out there already promises help along these lines.
So does "Successful email marketing strategies" offer anything different or better?
The answer is a resounding yes. This book offers a unique perspective that genuinely helps you take things "...to the next level."
The main premise of the book is to increase your email marketing success by building the kind of loyal customer relationships the corner store used to have. Not through force of personality, but through collecting, recording, appending, analyzing and using data.
The initial chapters set out the theoretical and financial argument for moving to a data-driven email model.
Most of the rest of the 373 pages then detail procedures and strategies that help you understand exactly how you might implement such a model.
Importantly, the authors talk about much, much more than "traditional" email data, such as open rates. Instead, they address the role of a wide range of appended data available from other sources (both inside and outside the business).
That's where the vast majority of email marketers need help.
Topics covered include measuring "campaign" and "subscriber" performance, calculating the value of an email address, transactional emails, trigger emails, detailed segmentation techniques and using web analytics.
As such, it's not a beginner's guide. Nor does it cover the basics of email marketing. Instead, it's the ideal book to buy after you've read one of those more general books.
And even if you're not familiar with database marketing, the text does a good job of persuading you why you should be looking into the wider application of customer data.
Particular benefits
1. The book communicates very clearly the value of data and metrics. This might just be the kick you need to tackle that area in terms of day-to-day practices and long-term strategic change.
My favorite quote:
"Marketing is too important to be made subservient to the abilities of a few programmers"
2. The book is very different to existing email marketing texts and opens up many new perspectives not covered in such depth elsewhere.
For example, the authors argue that data is so valuable that it makes sense to sacrifice a few sign-ups for the sake of collecting more information: particularly the kind of info that can then be used to append consumer and business data from commercial sources.
3. While the focus is on direct sales, there is plenty of encouragement to think of email as a brand builder and driver of offline action. The authors even explore methods for measuring offline sales.
4. The benefit of focus is that the book goes into detail. Rather than vague enjoinders to "improve relevancy," for example, you actually get a step-by-step plan for measuring and improving relevancy in practice.
5. The material covered is not stuff you can pick up free on the web in 700-word articles. Much of the information will be new to those in email marketing.
6. Many case studies and sample calculations really bring home the points being made.
Provisos
1. The target readership is definitely those looking to actively drive sales, with a strong focus on B2C. While many lessons are applicable to B2B and content-based publications, they receive little direct attention.
2. It's a valuable read, but not always an easy one and is a touch disjointed in places.
3. The book is strongest in those chapters dealing specifically with data-related issues, but there is coverage of other (related) areas, such as subject lines, copywriting and frequency issues.
My summary: Not the first email marketing book you should buy, but absolutely indispensable if you know your basics.
[Also, you have to love a book that contains this line: "Every marketing email should be an adventure."]
The book is available from the publisher's website.
More book reviews
Permalink | April 27, 2009 |
4 comment(s)
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April 23, 2009
The blogtwitsphere is all-a-flutter of late with the implication that financial pressures are driving more marketers to send bulk email to those who didn't agree to get them.
We're not talking classic random spam here.
We're talking "targeted" opt-out email, where the sender has data on the email address that suggests the email might have relevance to the recipient.
So is this a legitimate tactic? After all, every email marketing book out there stresses the importance of permission as the foundation of good email marketing.
Ask those who sell business contact data, and they'll say of course it's legitimate. And they wheel out three convincing arguments to counter the objections of permission advocates...
You read a lot about relevancy and value in email marketing. The implication is that a "good" marketing email is one that is relevant and offers value to the recipient.
Which leads opt-out enthusiasts to say "hey, opt-out is fine as long as my emails to those folk are relevant and valuable."
And if my aunt had testicles, she'd be my uncle.
The problem is that targeted opt-out emails are invariably not targeted at all. Not relevant. Not valuable. Here's why...
Misplaced self-estimation
Every proponent of opt-out I've ever talked to overestimates the value and relevancy of their email. Every single one was convinced that their product or service was so good that people would be grateful to hear about it. Here's the reality:
False assumptions
However much data you may have, you cannot know enough to accurately guess what I'm interested in. Which is why opt-in works better because I self-identify my interests by signing up for that email.
Opt-out email invariably uses cues and clues that are entirely speculative in nature...
Bad data
Unless your information comes from the email's owner, errors inevitably creep into your data. Examples:
1. Stefan Pollard writes on collecting email addresses through email appends:
"...you can end up with addresses that actually belong to other people, not your customers."
2. One well-known supplier of business contacts has me listed as working for Return Path. I've never even met a Return Path employee, let alone been one.
(And my website is apparently based in New Jersey, which is only out by about 4,300 miles.)
Still think opt-out is targeted?
Here's the crux...
Most opt-in email isn't terribly relevant or valuable (check average clickthrough rates for proof). And these are sent to people who self-selected themselves as interested and made the effort to sign-up.
How can you imagine that bulk opt-out email would do a better job?
Opt-in is holding up broccoli in a room of kids and asking who wants some. Those who put their hand up get it, like it and want more.
Opt-out is picking out kids on the basis that they "eat food" and then forcing them to eat broccoli.
Who's going to be more popular?
There is nothing in the US Can-Spam legislation that says commercial email has to be opt-in. (This comes as a surprise to many people, but it's true.)
So what?
First, note that most anti-spam legislation elsewhere in the world does require an opt-in for commercial email, except in particular circumstances.
Second, both recipients and those who manage incoming email (ISPs, webmail services, corporate IT departments) are more interested in the migration patterns of the black-tailed Godwit than the legal definition of spam.
Spam is whatever they define it as and Can-spam compliance is no defence against spam complaints or blacklisting.
Opt-out practices usually exclude you from any deliverability help through whitelists, certification, feedback loops etc.
And most email marketing service providers (ESPs) won't let you use their systems to send bulk opt-out email.
For more on this, see "Legal compliance is for lawyers not marketers."
Still, the opt-out folk remain defiant. "You're wrong" they say "...because I've been doing opt-out for years and nobody's ever complained."
I won't lie to you. People send out opt-out email campaigns and get some positive responses. The problem is that the problems caused by the opt-out approach aren't immediate or obvious.
But they are very real.
People may not always complain to the sender, but they'll complain to their ISP or their colleagues. Or their social network.
I've covered this in the recent post "What's the worst that can happen." While you might be out celebrating a new sale, your brand and future deliverability is potentially disappearing down a large black hole.
The arguments about opt-out or opt-in all boil down to one of the commonest questions I get asked: "If I send this, will people think I'm spamming?"
(If you have to ask, the likely answer is yes.)
Whatever protagonists on both side of the debate may claim, there is no simple answer.
Whatever email you send and whoever you send it to, you will always get a spectrum of responses. Some will welcome your email and respond positively. Some will call you a spammer. And most will fall somewhere in between.
The further you get from the permission ideal, the more responses will fall in the "you're a spammer" end of the spectrum, with all the horrors that brings. And opt-out is a long way from the permission ideal. It's your choice, but choose wisely.
Further reading: Marketing email or spam?
We're not talking classic random spam here.
We're talking "targeted" opt-out email, where the sender has data on the email address that suggests the email might have relevance to the recipient.
So is this a legitimate tactic? After all, every email marketing book out there stresses the importance of permission as the foundation of good email marketing.
Ask those who sell business contact data, and they'll say of course it's legitimate. And they wheel out three convincing arguments to counter the objections of permission advocates...
Argument #1 As long as my emails are valuable and relevant, it's fine
You read a lot about relevancy and value in email marketing. The implication is that a "good" marketing email is one that is relevant and offers value to the recipient.
Which leads opt-out enthusiasts to say "hey, opt-out is fine as long as my emails to those folk are relevant and valuable."
And if my aunt had testicles, she'd be my uncle.
The problem is that targeted opt-out emails are invariably not targeted at all. Not relevant. Not valuable. Here's why...
Misplaced self-estimation
Every proponent of opt-out I've ever talked to overestimates the value and relevancy of their email. Every single one was convinced that their product or service was so good that people would be grateful to hear about it. Here's the reality:
False assumptions
However much data you may have, you cannot know enough to accurately guess what I'm interested in. Which is why opt-in works better because I self-identify my interests by signing up for that email.
Opt-out email invariably uses cues and clues that are entirely speculative in nature...
- He has a business, he must want accounting services.
- He has a website about email marketing, he must want to rent email lists.
- He is male, he must want a bigger...
Bad data
Unless your information comes from the email's owner, errors inevitably creep into your data. Examples:
1. Stefan Pollard writes on collecting email addresses through email appends:
"...you can end up with addresses that actually belong to other people, not your customers."
2. One well-known supplier of business contacts has me listed as working for Return Path. I've never even met a Return Path employee, let alone been one.
(And my website is apparently based in New Jersey, which is only out by about 4,300 miles.)
Still think opt-out is targeted?
Here's the crux...
Most opt-in email isn't terribly relevant or valuable (check average clickthrough rates for proof). And these are sent to people who self-selected themselves as interested and made the effort to sign-up.
How can you imagine that bulk opt-out email would do a better job?
Opt-in is holding up broccoli in a room of kids and asking who wants some. Those who put their hand up get it, like it and want more.
Opt-out is picking out kids on the basis that they "eat food" and then forcing them to eat broccoli.
Who's going to be more popular?
Argument #2 It's not spamming because it's legal
There is nothing in the US Can-Spam legislation that says commercial email has to be opt-in. (This comes as a surprise to many people, but it's true.)
So what?
First, note that most anti-spam legislation elsewhere in the world does require an opt-in for commercial email, except in particular circumstances.
Second, both recipients and those who manage incoming email (ISPs, webmail services, corporate IT departments) are more interested in the migration patterns of the black-tailed Godwit than the legal definition of spam.
Spam is whatever they define it as and Can-spam compliance is no defence against spam complaints or blacklisting.
Opt-out practices usually exclude you from any deliverability help through whitelists, certification, feedback loops etc.
And most email marketing service providers (ESPs) won't let you use their systems to send bulk opt-out email.
For more on this, see "Legal compliance is for lawyers not marketers."
Argument #3 I've done it and it works: nobody ever complains
Still, the opt-out folk remain defiant. "You're wrong" they say "...because I've been doing opt-out for years and nobody's ever complained."
I won't lie to you. People send out opt-out email campaigns and get some positive responses. The problem is that the problems caused by the opt-out approach aren't immediate or obvious.
But they are very real.
People may not always complain to the sender, but they'll complain to their ISP or their colleagues. Or their social network.
I've covered this in the recent post "What's the worst that can happen." While you might be out celebrating a new sale, your brand and future deliverability is potentially disappearing down a large black hole.
Summary
The arguments about opt-out or opt-in all boil down to one of the commonest questions I get asked: "If I send this, will people think I'm spamming?"
(If you have to ask, the likely answer is yes.)
Whatever protagonists on both side of the debate may claim, there is no simple answer.
Whatever email you send and whoever you send it to, you will always get a spectrum of responses. Some will welcome your email and respond positively. Some will call you a spammer. And most will fall somewhere in between.
The further you get from the permission ideal, the more responses will fall in the "you're a spammer" end of the spectrum, with all the horrors that brings. And opt-out is a long way from the permission ideal. It's your choice, but choose wisely.
Further reading: Marketing email or spam?
Permalink | April 23, 2009 |
15 comment(s)
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April 21, 2009
It's funny.An HTML email is at heart a combination of words and images. That's what people see.
Yet how much do you read about using those words and images to improve your email marketing success?
Can we, for example, use images for more than just product shots and space fillers?
Certainly.
Just check out this post and this one on how the direction people and dogs face in images might impact reader eye movement and response.
What about dynamic images?
The images displayed in an email are retrieved by the viewing software (email client or webmail interface) from an online source (your server or your ESP's system). The email just contains the URL of the image file.
So there's nothing to stop you changing the image served at the URL at any point after an email campaign goes out.
Why on earth would you want to do that? Here two examples...
1. Sold out notices
Linda Bustos and Chad White reveal how Tiger Direct replace a product image in a promotional email with a "sold out" image if that product is no longer available.
Both agree it teaches people to open and respond quicker to Tiger Direct's mails.
[As an aside, you might prefer people to click on sold-out items if, for example, they can then sign-up for an email alert telling them when the item is in stock again.]
2. Image optimization
If you send out different email versions, each with a different image, you might notice that one particular image drives more response than the alternatives.
You can then change the image source files to the "winning" image for those emails that haven't gone out yet (and/or those already delivered).
At least one service already offers this kind of real-time image optimization.
Other ideas...
Let's throw out more ways we might use dynamic image updates. How about...
- updating an image with the number of items left in stock to induce a sense of urgency?
- updating offers with the very latest customer reviews?
- automatically converting your stream of Tweets or blog post headlines to an image so that every email you send always contains your latest information, regardless of when people read it?
- if someone downloads the white paper or buys the product on offer, can the associated email image update to a "thank you for downloading" or "thanks for purchasing" message? Or change to a cross- or upsell offer?
- might sidebar images change according to the click behavior of the recipient? If the subscriber spent time browsing engagement rings, could the sidebar images in your past emails automatically switch to appropriate offers? If they just bought a digital camera, could they see a sidebar advertising batteries and camera bags next time they looked at an old email from you?
There are, however, four caveats:
First, both image blocking and image caching might prevent the old and/or modified images from displaying.
Second, some of the targeted images might cross privacy boundaries or come across as too "big brother."
Third, none of these ideas are widespread or proven. I'm not even sure some have ever been tried. So test.
Four, you or your email marketing service/software provider may have to do some serious IT development work to get these things going.
Any other suggestions for new things we might do with images?
Update: Here's another idea: images personalized with the recipient's name. See this 2007 (!) post or click on the OTTO email on this page to see an example in an Easter greeting. (Found via absolit.)
Permalink | April 21, 2009 |
5 comment(s)
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April 20, 2009
Come and say hi at Internet World, London, Tuesday April 28th to Thursday April 30th.
I'm not wearing my email hat there. Instead, I'm working with an old friend, dispensing general online marketing wisdom on his stand (E5009: Memorable Domains).
Anyone who comes up and says "Email marketing is the new black" gets a Mozart marzipan chocolate ball.
On May 12th/13th, I'll be attending MarketingSherpa's European Email Marketing Summit in Munich, Germany. A Mozart ball for anyone who sees me and says "You look younger in real life."
Seriously, would love to meet any readers: get in touch and we'll grab a tea/coffee/beer...look forward to hearing your stories.
I'm not wearing my email hat there. Instead, I'm working with an old friend, dispensing general online marketing wisdom on his stand (E5009: Memorable Domains).
Anyone who comes up and says "Email marketing is the new black" gets a Mozart marzipan chocolate ball.
On May 12th/13th, I'll be attending MarketingSherpa's European Email Marketing Summit in Munich, Germany. A Mozart ball for anyone who sees me and says "You look younger in real life."
Seriously, would love to meet any readers: get in touch and we'll grab a tea/coffee/beer...look forward to hearing your stories.
Permalink | April 20, 2009 |
4 comment(s)
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April 16, 2009
Last week I discussed adding evidence of social approval to sign-up forms and pages to make people feel more comfortable about subscribing to your list.Let's go further with that concept.
Any article on sign-up forms - like this one - talks about the need to communicate the value a subscriber would get from joining the email list.
Yeah, yeah, we know.
But if there's one part of email marketing that suffers from "set it and forget it" syndrome, it's the sign-up form. Many fail to communicate any kind of value to the prospective reader.
Perhaps there was a time when website visitors felt an uncontrollable urge to fill out any form field asking for an email address, squealing with delight at the prospect of getting another email.
But that time is not now.
Those that do "sell" the benefits of signing-up usually talk in vague terms about subscribers getting "useful advice" or "special offers." (I'm guilty as charged.)
In a world where almost every etailer has an email list, "special offers" really aren't that special anymore (which is why content might be making a comeback).
"Special offers" might appeal to your loyal fans, but such banalities are less attractive to the casual passer by.
So how can we make "special offers" or "useful advice" sound better?
Here's a thought: you wouldn't write a headline that said "lower prices on everything, today only" when you could say "25% off everything, today only."
Numbers have power
So might a few numbers demonstrating the value of your list be more persuasive than the usual empty phrases?
If your emails are a source of discounts and special offers, for example, might you draw on your campaign reports and tell prospective sign-ups:
"So far in 2009, email subscribers saved $2,364,081 on purchases."
What about making that number dynamic? So people can watch it rising as new orders come in.
What about putting that number in an email occasionally, to remind people of the fantastic value your messages offer?
Or how about...
"Our subscribers save an average of $235 each year on purchases."
Or maybe:
"Our last email gave away $500,000 worth of coupons"
With a little thought, extrapolation and/or reader surveys, even informational newsletters can come up with some impressive numbers:
- "Our dieting tips helped readers lose 746,733 lbs last year"
- "Our time management tips saved each reader an average 51 hours of work last quarter"
- "Our articles helped 237 readers sell their house last month"
What do you think?
More on building a list | Tags: email marketing, email acquisition
Permalink | April 16, 2009 |
3 comment(s)
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April 14, 2009
For most marketers, the unsubscribe link is like a tax number. An unpleasant administrative requirement you'd rather not need and certainly don't like having to use.Hiding or disguising unsubscribe links doesn't help of course. If your boyfriend wants to break up with you, hiding his phone won't keep him in the relationship.
On the contrary, proof is accumulating that a prominent unsubscribe link can actually lead to lower spam complaints...
- Chad White reports that LifeScript put an unsubscribe link up the top of their emails and saw "unsubscribes go up and complaints go down - almost at 1-to-1"
- ESP StreamSend recently wrote, "We have found that customers who place the unsubscribe link at the top of the email often reduce their complaints by about 75%"
An unsubscribe is a thing of beauty. It's certainly better than the alternatives.
Subscribers could just delete your emails everytime they see them (not a great brand experience) or simply hit the "report spam" button (get enough of these and you'll win a blacklist entry).
An unsubscribe deserves high praise, because of three clear benefits: proper analysis of unsubscribe patterns identifies problems with your email program, an unsubscribe helps you retain the subscriber (really) and an unsubscribe is an opportunity to impress.
Learning from unsubscribe patterns
Most systems and marketers examine unsubscribes (or spam complaints) in the context of the email that apparently triggered the negative response:
"What did we do in the last email that caused people to hit the "report spam" button or unsubscribe link?"
For example:
- Did we change the from line so people failed to recognize the sender?
- Was the subject line too spammy?
- Did we put in an opinion piece that annoyed some readers?
- Was the offer irrelevant?
Perhaps the "last email" didn't do anything different to the previous emails. It was merely "the email that broke the camel's back."
So how else might you look at unsubscribes and spam complaints? Try these examples...
Segment by domain
Are unsubscribes spread evenly across all address domains, or are certain domains disproportionally more likely to abandon your email list?
What if @gmail.com addresses are ten times more likely to unsubscribe than everyone else?
Possible explanations:
- Do you have a deliverability problem at Gmail? Are people only getting emails intermittently. If the first email to make it past Gmail's filters arrives several weeks after the sign-up, people may have forgotten they ever opted-in.
- Do you have a display problem at Gmail? If your emails simply look bad in Gmail, this might drive people to unsubscribe. Open a Gmail account and see for yourself or use a design testing tool.
- Is there a demographics issue? Is there something different about Gmail users? Check your stats and see if Gmail addresses click on different offers or articles than everyone else. Do you need to treat them as their own segment?
Segment by sign-up source
Unsubscribes happen when expectations and reality fail to meet. And the sign-up process plays a big role in setting those expectations.
So unsubscribes might be linked back to problems setting the right expectations at sign-up.
Are unsubscribes spread evenly across all sources of new subscribers, or are addresses gained from a particular source (like a sweepstakes) disproportionally more likely to abandon your email list?
What if people subscribing offline at point of sale are ten times more likely to unsubscribe than everyone else?
Possible explanations:
- Do you have a training problem? Should your staff do a better job of explaining the benefits, content and frequency of your emails?
- Do you have a permission problem? Are staff signing up people without getting proper permission? Are you incentivising POS sign-ups to favor quantity over quality? Does that matter?
- Do you have a forms problem? Have you optimized printed sign-up forms just as you would your website sign-up copy?
Segment by time since sign-up
How quickly do people tire of your emails?
If the vast majority of your unsubscribes come after the first email received by a new subscriber, then your problem is subscriber remorse.
If users gradually tire of your emails, perhaps there is a critical threshold when they tip over into the unsubscribe bucket? If you know when this occurs, you can take remedial steps to prevent it happening.
What if people tend to unsubscribe about six months after joining your list?
Possible explanations:
- Do you have a frequency problem? Once a subscriber's initial enthusiasm wanes, are your emails simply arriving too often? Should you aim to increase value, cut back on frequency after an initial welcome series, or give subscribers a clear option to move to a less frequent mailing schedule before they abandon ship?
- Do you have a value problem? Are your offers or content good enough?
- Do you have a diversity problem? Are your offers or content too repetitive? Should you look for fresh ways to add value to your emails?
People rarely switch from "highly engaged" to "wanting to unsubscribe" without passing through an intermediate phase or two.
For example, what does the pattern of opens and clicks look like over the lifetime of a typical ex-subscriber? What are the warning signals that indicate an unsubscribe is imminent?
When do opens and clicks begin to dip?
At what point should you jump in with a special offer or fresh content to renew the subscriber's interest in your emails before it's too late?
Not every unsubscribe is an unsubscribe
An unsubscribe can mean various things:
- I don't like your content or offers
- I don't like getting so many emails
- I don't want you communicating with me via email
- I just want to change my email address
If the unsubscribe link goes to a subscriber preference center, you can give subscribers the chance to select different content or types of offers, opt for fewer emails, or update their address.
...all of which can mean you've stopped them unsubscribing and answered their needs.
And if they really want out, then you can remind them of other ways of getting information from you: Facebook, Twitter, a blog or web feed, even a catalog.
It's a chance to shine
Finally, a quick, painless, gracious, positive unsubscribe experience makes a good impression on a subscriber who's leaving the list but not necessarily leaving your brand or business.
With our tendency to island thinking, we forget that email is just one point of interaction between a customer or prospect and our organization.
When someone leaves, take the trouble to thank them for their previous interest, solicit feedback (without making it compulsory to give that feedback) and let them know they'll always be welcome back.
For more articles on how to handle unsubscribes, see here.
Permalink | April 14, 2009 |
2 comment(s)
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April 08, 2009
We all like the comfort of the crowd. The knowledge that others went here before us tells us we're on the right path.You see this concept of social proof applied all the time by online retailers, who use testimonials, customer reviews, bestseller lists etc. to help drive conversions.
A new sign-up to your email list is also a conversion.
So why not apply the same approach to your sign-up forms and sign-up page copy? It makes intuitive sense, yet hardly anybody does it.
Try testing testimonials, text and display widgets:
Add testimonials to your sign-up page
Whenever you get positive feedback about your email, ask the sender if you can use their comment and name in a testimonial and post it on your sign-up page.
Unsolicited testimonials come across as more genuine and less contrived than those you get when you ask for them. (See this post for excellent advice on online testimonials.)
Add indicative text
At its simplest, using social proof just means changing a line or two of copy. Here's what I added to my sign-up page a while back:
"Over 3,000 marketers, agencies and businesses already benefit from their email subscription...join them:"
I've not done A/B tests yet, but since adding that line of text, sign-up rates have increased. Coincidence?
Add dynamic social proof indicators
I made that term up. It means any automated display that gives people the feeling that others believe signing up is worth doing.
See whether your IT folk or ESP can come up with any of the following to test out:
1. A small icon displaying real-time subscriber numbers:
Last year, AWeber published a case study showing how displaying such an icon lifted sign-up rates by over 30%.
2. A self-updating display widget stating how many people signed-up recently:
436 visitors signed up for the newsletter in the last 24 hours
3. A scrolling display widget which updates every time someone signs-up:
mark@**********.com signed up to this newsletter 5 minutes ago
jamie@*******.de signed up to this newsletter 15 minutes ago
(Obviously you'd need to disguise the actual email address as above for privacy reasons.)
4. An interactive map:
Zappos just launched a map page with a real-time display of new purchases and the location of the purchaser. It's fun.
Why not do that for email sign-ups? Let people watch new subscribers appearing in real time on a map of the world or your region.
One argument which might make the social proof tactic backfire is that of exclusivity. If your list is positioned as an exclusive club available only to the lucky few, then mentioning all those other subscribers might take some of the shine off that selling point.
And, of course, you need to have enough existing subscribers or regular new sign-ups to have the desired impact. Otherwise you might actually discourage opt-ins when your widget says you have 23 subscribers and the last one signed up in 2007.
Hence, as always, these ideas are for testing before simply implementing.
Any other thoughts on using social proof to drive opt-ins?
More on list building | Tags: email marketing, list growth
Permalink | April 08, 2009 |
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April 07, 2009
A problem for email marketing is what I call the "worst that can happen" fallacy.Email marketers often complain that their colleagues or superiors want them to do unhealthy things with their list, to squeeze yet more dollars, downloads, pageviews, or whatever out of subscribers.
Examples might be sending more and more email with the same old tired offers. Or sending email to a "borrowed" list of attendees at a trade show.
Newcomers to email marketing often make the same mistakes.
A key reason is that the perceived cost of doing anything with email marketing is low. Not the low cost of sending emails, but the perceived low cost of doing it badly.
After all, what's the worst that can happen?
If you keep on mailing mundane offers ever more often or hit up a list with no explicit permission to do so...what's the potential downside?
Maybe you lose the few dollars it cost to send the emails? Perhaps get a few more unsubscribes? A few grumbles from customers? Hey, we can live with that!
So keep bumping up frequency until the net profit curve finally starts to dip. Then we'll stop.
But this is where email marketing differs from just about every other form of marketing out there.
Profit curves in email marketing don't dip gradually when you get it wrong. They plummet.
The worst that can happen is a lot worse than most newcomers and those used to other marketing environments imagine.
And that's what you need to communicate to those people putting you under pressure to squeeze every last drop of revenue blood from your list. Here's what you can show them...
My home is my inbox
The inbox is not like a TV set or car radio or magazine or billboard or website or even your mailbox. It is a private place. We care what goes in there.
Way back in 1999, Nick Usborne wrote:
"This connection and intimacy we have with our mail is why internet marketers love email. It gets right to the heart of us, in our homes and at work."
"When you arrive in someone's mail you arrive in their personal space. Respect that or pay the price."
People skip over boring magazine ads, ignore shoddy TV spots, tune out poor radio spots, overlook irrelevant banners.
And that's largely it.
But people don't just ignore or delete "bad" emails. They resent them. A brand pays a price for not delivering value-by-email and annoying the subscriber.
Customers really are in control
This cost to the brand goes beyond some vague emotional dislike. (Which, incidentally, can be very strong: ask anyone what they think of spam.)
When you see an irrelevant magazine ad, you don't ring up the publishers and complain. Email subscribers do.
Survey after survey shows that subscribers will report email as spam if they are unwanted, come too often, are not relevant enough or come unsolicited.
Does this matter?
Yes. Spam complaints are a major factor in determining the reputation of the sender. The more complaints you get, the worse your reputation, the less likely you are to get delivered.
Return Path has a nice graph showing the strong correlation between complaint levels and delivery rates.
All the major email address providers factor complaint levels into their evaluation of incoming email. If you get a lot of complaints, your emails are blocked or diverted to junk folders.
AOL, for example, notes publicly that improving your reputation improves inbox deliverability and that this reputation...
"...takes into account a wide variety of factors including -- but not limited to -- spam complaints..."
And Yahoo states:
"Consumer reports of spam negatively impact an address's reputation data."
Nor is it just a percentages game. Too many complaints can see you added to blacklists (leading to catastrophic delivery problems), and ineligible for whitelist and certification programs.
Laura Atkins summarizes the issue nicely:
"This ability to provide feedback means that annoying 100 people in order to make 1 sale is no longer an effective marketing approach and, more often than not, results in blockage by an ISP."
And here's a real world example reported by Michelle Eichner:
"In the case of this mailer, their older, inactive users were complaining which caused all emails to be blocked by Comcast. Emailing "less" was the difference between $0 and generating a return on investment from their Comcast subscribers."
If you can't get your colleagues to grasp the nuances of all that, explain it like this:
Imagine TiVo sent a daily list to the TV networks, noting which advertiser's spots were skipped over most. And then the TV networks just showed a blank screen when a new ad from that advertiser was broadcast.
That's pretty much how email works.
Related posts:
Email frequency: can you increase it safely
The hidden costs of "lazy" email practices
Permalink | April 07, 2009 |
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April 02, 2009
When you send an email, it has three possible fates:1. It never reaches the recipient's email account
2. It reaches their account, but lands in the junk or spam folder
3. It arrives in the recipient's inbox
How can you tell what percentage of your emails actually make it to the inbox?
You can't.
Or can you?
We can certainly get a good feeling for inbox deliverability using the techniques outlined in this earlier post: intuition, domain segmentation, inbox monitoring services, proxy monitoring measures and deliverability testing tools.
But an actual number for inbox deliverability? Tricky...
Ask a different question
Let's change the question slightly: what proportion of your emails are seen by subscribers?
If someone sees your email, then it must have reached their inbox (notwithstanding those few who diligently look through their spam folder).
Theoretically, the open/render* rate tells you how many people "saw" (however fleetingly) your email. When your email appears in front of the user, it triggers a tracking pixel and records an open.
So maybe we can use the open/render rate number as a proxy for inbox deliverability?
Unfortunately, image blocking rather cripples that idea.
We can never know the real open rate, because we don't know what proportion of the email clients or webmail accounts used by subscribers block our images and stop an open from recording.
And some people will only see the text version of our email. No pixel is displayed, no open is recorded.
So we're stuck again. Almost...
Use clicks and opens to measure image blocking and text-only displays
One technique used by e-newsletter publishers in particular is to infer image blocking and text use from clickthrough statistics. That in turn lets you calculate an adjusted "real" open rate.
You need three numbers to get there:
- Unique number of opens (number of delivered emails that caused a tracking image to display at least once)
- Unique number of clicks from opens (number of delivered emails that generated at least one click and caused a tracking image to display at least once)
- Orphan clicks (number of delivered emails that generated at least one click, but no tracking image was displayed)
Let's say your unique opens was 20000, unique clicks from opens was 1000 and your orphan clicks 150.
What can we extrapolate from those three numbers?
We know that 20000 recorded opens produces 1000 clicks, a ratio of 20:1. So among those recipients for whom an open was recorded, 5% click.
Let's apply this ratio to the orphan clicks...
To get 150 clicks, our ratio tells us that 3000 recipients must have "seen" the email, either as a text version or with blocked images.
This tells us that a total of 23,000 recipients actually "saw" our email (however briefly). If our campaign report tells us 25,000 emails were delivered then this implies that 92% of our emails likely made it to an inbox.
We have a number for inbox deliverability!
But we also have another number: about 13% of our subscriber base sees text-only or blocked image versions of our emails. Another interesting metric.
Wait though. Before we get too excited, there are problems with this technique.
Problem: click rates are not the same for all email versions
The biggest issue is the assumption that people are just as likely to click on a text or blocked-image email as they are on an email showing all the images.
You can argue about text versus HTML and all that, but if images are making any kind of positive contribution to the email experience, then this assumption is false.
(If images aren't making a positive contribution, you might ask why they're in the email.)
In most cases, you'll underestimate both inbox deliverability and the extent of image blocking and text-only displays.
The better you account for image blocking in your copy and design - for example by using alt attributes - the more accurate the assumption and the resultant figures.
Problem: not every sighting is an open
If an email lands in an inbox, it won't always cause an open to trigger.
Consider webmail services, for example. Their interfaces let you mark emails to delete without opening or previewing anything: an email reached the inbox but never displayed. And our adjusted open rate calculation cannot account for such cases.
So, again, you underestimate true inbox deliverability when using open rate as a proxy.
Problem: where do you get the numbers?
Another issue is finding those three numbers.
It's not uncommon for ESPs to automatically record an open for every click, regardless of whether the tracking pixel displayed for the email in question. After all, if someone clicked, then they must have opened the email.
So it may be impossible to split your clicks between opened and non-opened emails.
So, we have some new metrics here, but they're far from perfect. Like any stats, they should be treated with caution. Don't base decisions on any individual number alone, but incorporate that number into your wider understanding of just what's happening to your emails.
*If you want to read up on open rate methodology and the arguments around names and definitions for the metric, here's an open rate overview, and here are two links on terminology and definition issues.
More on statistics and deliverability | Tags: email marketing, open rates, inbox deliverability, email deliverability, image blocking
Permalink | April 02, 2009 |
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April 01, 2009
Some of the world's largest email address providers today launched a beta test that might prove a huge new source of subscribers for email marketers.
The "subscribe to more" (STM) button sits in the webmail interface and allows email users to automatically sign-up to dozens of new commercial email programs.
Webmail providers hope the button will open a new CPA revenue stream as advertisers move away from display ads during the downturn.
Angus Young and Brian Johnson, co-chairs of the Webmail Technology Forum (WTF) that's coordinating the initiative, were kind enough to reveal some details...
Clicking the "subscribe to more" button automatically subscribes users to a number of additional commercial email programs which offer similar deals or information to the email currently displaying in the webmail interface.
Contextual scanning technology identifies the email's topic, then subscribes the user to between 12 and 20 (depending on the topic) similar commercial email programs drawn from a central database of approved business senders.
During the beta trial, services are working with selected commercial email senders by invitation only. To appear on the list, they must satisfy a rigorous set of criteria, including double opt-in sign up practices, authentication, minimum spam complaint thresholds, standards compliant email design and others.
If the trial is successful, the plan is to open the database to applications from any business.
Currently, a listing is free for businesses in the beta trial. Once the program goes public, there will be an application fee to cover the approval process and a per sign-up coregistration fee based on a sliding scale. The more people sign-up, the lower the per-address fee charged.
The actual fees haven't been decided yet.
The beta test is due to run for a year. The WTF expects to roll out to the full webmail audience around April 1st, 2010.
Related post: New "report subscriber" feature launches
The "subscribe to more" (STM) button sits in the webmail interface and allows email users to automatically sign-up to dozens of new commercial email programs.
Webmail providers hope the button will open a new CPA revenue stream as advertisers move away from display ads during the downturn.
Angus Young and Brian Johnson, co-chairs of the Webmail Technology Forum (WTF) that's coordinating the initiative, were kind enough to reveal some details...
What exactly is the STM button?
Clicking the "subscribe to more" button automatically subscribes users to a number of additional commercial email programs which offer similar deals or information to the email currently displaying in the webmail interface.
Contextual scanning technology identifies the email's topic, then subscribes the user to between 12 and 20 (depending on the topic) similar commercial email programs drawn from a central database of approved business senders.
How do you get on the approved business senders list?
During the beta trial, services are working with selected commercial email senders by invitation only. To appear on the list, they must satisfy a rigorous set of criteria, including double opt-in sign up practices, authentication, minimum spam complaint thresholds, standards compliant email design and others.
If the trial is successful, the plan is to open the database to applications from any business.
How much does a listing cost?
Currently, a listing is free for businesses in the beta trial. Once the program goes public, there will be an application fee to cover the approval process and a per sign-up coregistration fee based on a sliding scale. The more people sign-up, the lower the per-address fee charged.
The actual fees haven't been decided yet.
When can we expect the program to roll out completely?
The beta test is due to run for a year. The WTF expects to roll out to the full webmail audience around April 1st, 2010.
Related post: New "report subscriber" feature launches
Permalink | April 01, 2009 |
3 comment(s)
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