Hi Everyone
When email marketing make sure you use large buttons for people to click onto.
With so many emails now being read via mobile phones it will make it easy for recipients to action the way you wish.
Cheers and Great Selling
Kurt
Email Marketing – Use Large Buttons
June 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Email Marketing – Smart Phone Users, Are They Important To Us?
June 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hi Everyone
Should we be worried about whether a person reads their emails via a Mobile (Smart) Phone or not?
You see, with the amount of mobile phones being sold (the numbers apparently outstrip sales of PC’s and Mac’s combined) many people check their emails by their phone.
Let’s take a quick look at this.
The mobile phone is small, compact and has a reduced screen size compared to a computer. The problem therefore lies in the viewing space available to the recipient.
If your message contains large pictures then their mobile phone may not be able to view them or at the very least you may be forcing a person to scroll around their screen.
In the past most mobile phones were unable to read HTML emails therefore the pictures you probably sent were useless anyway by the mobile phone email reader; but this has changed in recent times with the new breed of Smart Phone on the market able to view HTML.
Nonetheless, visibility of your message is still a problem.
So, what should we do?
Should we even care?
Well, this answer is always going to be – IT DEPENDS.
Yes, I know this sounds like a “cop out”, but actually it does depend.
Email Marketing will never be anything but…
1. Your List
2. The Relationship you have with your List; and
3. The Offer you are making.
However…
Here are seven tips you could consider if you do have people who read their emails by their mobile phone.
1. If you have a logo/header/brand then display it at the top of your message so you will be identified very early.
2. Get to the point of your message early. There is limited space available to the email marketer for their message to be viewed.
3. Don’t overlook a person may initially read your email via their mobile phone but statistics prove they also re-read important messages back at their PC.
4. Keep the size of the email below 20 kb. Mobile phone browsers have improved over recent times but they still lack the power to read large files.
5. Avoid sending any ‘Flash’ images etc. Again mobile phone browsers are not powerful enough to read them.
6. Curiosity not only killed the cat but it also works so well in email marketing. Don’t overlook sending a person to a website to view the full extent of your offer. Most Smart Phones will allow the user to view a website easily.
7. If you know your customers predominantly read their emails via a mobile phone; you could dispense with including an email header.
(I know an email header is one of my “7 Killer Tips To Get Your Emails Read” and I still believe in it. But we have limited space with mobile phone readers and it may best be served with additional copy.
8. BONUS TIP
Place your Call To Action near the top of the message – you don’t want to lose your prospect by forcing them to scroll down and around and annoy them. If you have the Relationship they may not need to read all your email marketing message.
There you go. Something to consider.
For me I am not about to make an radical changes to my email marketing just yet.
The majority of my customers are small to medium businesses and they view their emails at their PC.
What do your customers do ?
Cheers and Great Selling
Kurt
Email Marketing – Do They Check Email or Facebook First
June 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hi Everyone
Yes, it’s a question ALL email marketers should consider.
That is…
Do your customers read their emails first or do they dive into Facebook to find out the latest overnight ‘goss’?
You see people’s habits will affect the way they react during the day.
Research tells us if people open their emails before checking out Facebook then they generally are more receptive to receiving special deals and offers via email.
People who jump into Facebook are more likely to be receptive to offers sent to them by friends via Facebook. They also look for GREAT DEALS by becoming Fans of a particular Brands Facebook page.
So, what should we do as email marketers to best use this knowledge?
First, we need to understand that simply crafting an email to your email list and then placing this ‘advertisement’ onto Facebook may be unrewarding
because…
A marketing email should be targeting someone in the ‘first person’; whereby a Facebook ‘advert’ is targeting a group of people.
If this is confusing let me explain it this way…
When we send a marketing email it should be written as if the recipient is in belief it was written directly to them. It should only contain sentences structured in the ‘first person’.
This way of writing is impossible to do on Facebook unless you ‘Private Message’ everyone which is time consuming and improbable to do.
The Message you would be posting on Facebook would be ‘generic’.
Sure it would contain your own immutable style but essentially it can be seen as trying to grab many people. What I call ‘Shotgun Marketing.’
What to do
So, what should the email marketer do after they had obtained if a person views emails or Facebook first?
1. If you have an Email First client ensure you have an Offer and special deal in the email or in a link to a website. Email First customers are transactional (task orientated) and they wish to get to the offer quickly.
You could direct them to a Facebook Fan page but this would be done in the PS’s. Try to avoid sending Email First customers to a Social Media site until after they have viewed your offer.
2. For Facebook First customers rearrange your Offer on Facebook to be lively, fun, interactive for these Social people. The Offer could be the same as the Email First customer but as you are now trying to attract a group as opposed to one-person the style and balance should be alive, and social.
3. Don’t get trapped too much into the age of the person and stereotype them as young, so they are Facebook people. Behavioural styles are developed early and a person’s age will not necessarily fully explain whether they are Email First or Facebook First people.
So therefore…
4. Allow cross-promotion to occur with your messages. i.e. Facebook First people may be happy to receive emails direct from you. Give them the ability to do so. Make it easy for them to sign up to receive your marketing emails. You never know they may be an Email First customer after all.
There you have it. Not really too hard is it.
But I can hear you say…
How do I find out if my customers are Email First or Facebook First people?
The answer lies in a method all marketers should use.
That is…
ASK THEM.
Cheers and Great Selling
Kurt
Email Marketing – “What Do Your Customers Do In The Morning?”
June 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hi Everyone
Interesting question isn’t it?
A study by Exact Target in the U.S. researched this very question
and suggested if we do not know whether our customers are reaching
for smartphones to check Facebook, updating their Twitter status or
logging onto laptops to check email then it’s time we should.
Exact Target suggests whatever our customers do first in the morning
will drive their on-line behaviours during the day.
And what this then does is drive their motivators for on-line interactions.
Let me explain this a little simpler.
Research reveals:
- 58% of consumers check their emails as their first
on-line activity in the morning; - 20% will check out a website first; and
- 11% of on-line consumers go straight to Facebook.
People who begin their day by checking emails are most likely to
continue to do it during the day and are susceptible to on-line offers;
specials and deals which may land in their in-box.
People who go surfing a particular website or sites first generally look for
distinctive brands
whereas…
People who go straight to Facebook are looking for social interaction and
therefore looking for entertainment, and personal connection.
So, what does this mean to the email marketer ?
Well, everything.
If we know what our customers are doing first thing in the morning then
we can craft our messages especially for them.
For example:
Email First Customers
Email First customers don’t wish to get too personal with you.
They are happy to identify you through your brand or name and are
likely to share any information you send them via email to their friends .
They engage with you because they have opt.ed-in to a list to receive
your messages and welcome your marketing emails
but…
they are 5 times unlikely to share these email messages via Facebook.
Facebook for them is a social medium not a transactional one.
Facebook First Customers
These are our social creatures. They are most likely to identify with
a Brand via a Facebook Fan Page and are happy to share their experience
with their ‘Facebook Friends’ via Facebook.
They use email throughout the day but are highly likely to share information
they discovered on a Facebook Fan page to their friends via email.
Email to them is not a social-discovery-exchanging media.
Email is used in a more ‘corporate’ manner.
Sure, they will engage with friends via email because they are social.
They are more likely to exchange their personal buying experiences
via Facebook.
So, why should all this research matter to you, the marketer?
Until now most marketers have used the same message in their
emails as they would on Facebook in the belief as long as our message
is out there it will be OK.
But this strategy is now clearly wrong.
Clear, concise, and precise tactics are now required to the email marketer
or to the larger extent any marketer.
The tactics you need to engage with your customers are changing.
Don’t get left behind.
In my next message I am going to share with you social media tactics
you simply must employ if you don’t wish to lose your customers
attention.
Quite simply, knowing where your customers begin
their daily on-line activities will be your key to success.
Cheers and Great Selling
Kurt
Email Marketing – The Difference Between Email And Email Marketing
June 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hi Everyone
In an article by DJ Waldow in the Email Insider they posed the theory that sending an Email is NOT the same as Email Marketing.
And I wholeheartedly agree.
You see people are used to sending emails.
They do it every day at work as an internal communication or they send an email to their friends to find out ‘what’s happening. Actually, people who have a computer at their desk send out regular emails both work and pleasure because it has become the norm these days.
Sure you have Twitter and Facebook and YouTube and there are other very special Social Media sites but it is the humble email which gets used the most.
But the very essence of this communication means the intended recipient may have very little knowledge the email is coming and therefore totally taken aback by the email content. i.e. They were not expecting the email – it just arrived in their in-box.
And the very nature of this type of communication is such it is generally one-on-one or with a few people as “cc’s”.
This is what we call Emailing. It isn’t Email Marketing no matter what the content or intent of the email was.
Because…
Email Marketing is quite different.
Email Marketing is sending out a message to one or many people, written in the first person and is often an expected and welcomed interlude in the intended recipient’s day.
The message contains a subject the person expects to receive information on as it is often sent from an ‘opted-in site’ or what is known as a ‘permission based’ email.
Permission based emails are very clear to the recipient on the subject matter, what is likely to be included and often contains a message which will help them solve a problem or add value to their life.
Permission based emails are welcomed by the recipients because they have requested information to be sent to them or have shown they are willing to accept messages from someone based on the content matter.
So, there is the main difference between Email and Email Marketing.
But it really isn’t that simple.
If you wish to undertake Email Marketing it is necessary to abide to a proven formula.
It’s best to ensure you are protecting yourself against the Can Spam Act (USA) and the Spam Act 2003 (Australia).
And to make sure you are download material and follow someone who knows what they are doing.
It will save you heaps in time and energy and frustration and possible unsavoury legalities when you do.
Cheers and Great Selling
Kurt
Email Marketing – Are You Guilty Of Shotgun Marketing?
June 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hi Everyone
How is your Email Marketing going or are you guilty of “Shotgun Marketing”?
You see, whilst Email Marketing is not an exact science it is still the most cost effective means to get your marketing messages out to your crowd.
Let me explain.
I coined the phrase Shotgun Marketing many years ago because most people in businesses market like they are going duck hunting.
Duck hunters load up their shotgun with pellets. These pellets are hundreds, even thousands of tiny metal projectiles crammed down the shotgun which when fired upon blasts along the barrel at a rapid pace and spreads like a fisherman’s net over a vast area of the sky.
The idea is to have these pellets directed into a flock of low flying ducks or birds hoping one of the pellets hits a duck in a spot which will make them fall nearby where they can be retrieved.
Simple really isn’t it.
But the reality is…
Not many of the pellets hit the intended target in the correct spot to achieve this fate and most of the pellets continue their journey to land in some inconspicuous, innocuous and unknown place.
Yes, most pellets fall to the ground but a few may graze a duck, without hindering them too much, leaving them to continue to fly unabated.
And this is like many businesses marketing efforts.
Are you guilty of advertising in newspapers and on radio, in magazines and on T.V., much like a duck hunter hunts, and expects your adverts will find you a customer?
Like most duck hunters, these type of advertisements may graze the intended recipient, without hindering them too much, leaving them to continue to watch or read unabated.
If you really wish your advertising to stick then you must adopt a MISSILE MARKETING approach.
And the best way to do this is with Email Marketing.
Email marketing directs your marketing message, much like a missile, direct into a person’s in-box leaving them in no doubt about your intention to helping them solve a problem.
Email marketing is personal, it’s affordable and addresses the very fabric of relationship building by talking one-on-one with your prospect or customer.
So, before you do any marketing again ask yourself this vital question,
“Am IÂ Guilty Of Shotgun Marketing?”.
and if you are -
then…
Adopt Email Marketing into your marketing mix. Your customers will love the personalised special attention you are giving them.
Cheers and Great Selling
Kurt
Email Marketing – Piggy Back Off The Major Players
June 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hi Everyone
Welcome back from hopefully a wonderful long weekend.
Gosh; have you been watching the numerous sales promotions
happening at the moment wrapped around the End of the
Financial Year?
There are numerous promotions from all the regular big players.
The promos are in letterboxes, blaring on the radio, emblazoned
across the Tele with everything from the latest facial creams to
the latest gadget and gizmo which a household simply must have.
Some may say, there are too many promotions, some may say it’s a
annoying and they would be right; wouldn’t they?
But some people…
are taking advantage of the sales in droves and spending their hard
earned dollars on the amazing specials we are being presented with.
I don’t know about you but I have spent money updating my wardrobe
and my 18 year old came along and did the same too. (Have you ever
tried to get an 18 year old to do anything???)
Why did we both do this…WELL…
Because…
The promos and sales on offer grabbed our attention and reached us
at the right time.
Now, there isn’t really anything startling here.
Except…
With the amount of promotions going on it does create a sales frenzy.
And your customers will be no different.
All the big retail stores are advertising and this provides you with
a brilliant opportunity to piggy back off their promos.
You don’t have to jump on the T.V. or radio to get your messages out
though you do need to do something.
This is where email marketing can be used.
Email Marketing is a most cost effective way to get your marketing
messages out to your clients.
So, what could you do?
How can you use this consumer frenzy and engage your customers?
How can you accessorise your products and services to tantalise
your clients into action?
Marketing is a MUST for all businesses. Most business owners often struggle
though on how to do it.
The simplest method is to look what’s happening around you in
the market place.
Then…
ACT !
Yes, ACT.
So go on. Get a message out to your clients.
Of course you will need to massage the message to suit your
clients but DO IT all the same.
It’s ok, if you are still unsure what to do. It’s not your fault.
It can be tricky.
But…
Help is easy to get. Simply, let me know if you need it.
Cheers and Great Selling
Kurt
Email Marketing Loves The End of the Financial Year
June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hi Everyone
Email Marketing and the End of the Financial Year, in Australia, go hand in hand.
You see, many companies like Foxtel and major car manufacturers crticially understand the importance of this time of the year and embark on major marketing campaigns.
So what does this have to do with you and email marketing?
Well, everything.
Let me explain…
When major marketing campaigns are undertaken they normally engage the media of T.V. and Radio. For many small to medium businesses these media are generally not cost effective. Or in other words, too expensive for the return they may give.
But this is where email marketing can be deployed. Email Marketing is a most cost effective way to get your marketing messages out to your clients.
You can use the same themes, same styles as the major company campaigns but massage them to your market.
For instance…
Foxtel has now for two years used the End of The Financial Year to introduce a sales campaign. They call it by the acronym “EOFYS”, and sing a cheery tune about “Happy EOFYS”. The MD reported sales increased dramatically when they started the marketing campaign last year so they decided to redeploy it this year.
Major car companies market the “End Of The Financial Year” to discount current models in recognition they are about to release a newer version. Often these current models have a reduced priced plus include previously paid for accessories. This method of marketing obtains instant cashflow and reduces stock which needs to be moved.
So, what could you do.
How can you use the EOFYS to engage your customers?
How can you accessorise your products and services to tantalise your clients into action. Action to buy or to use?
Marketing is a MUST for all business. Most business owners often struggle though on how to do it.
The simplest method is to look what’s happenning around in the market place.
Then…
ACT !
Yes, ACT.
Look to see what the big players are doing and piggy back off their marketing. Of course you will need to massge the message to suit your clients but piggy back off them all the same.
Cheers and Great Selling
Kurt
Email Marketing Meets “End of the Financial Year”
June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hi Everyone
Email marketing is about resonating with your Lists to ensure they receive meaningful messages.
In Australia, we are about to enter a crucial marketing and advertising period which is known as the “End of the Financial Year.” This is where companies like to throw out specials and have end of financial year sales.
Gees, even Foxtel have jumped on board and call it “EOFYS”. It worked so well for them last year they are repeating their advertising this year. Their strategy is to offer 50% installation fees for a new customer knowing they will lock them in for at least 12 months. They even offer another upgrade free for 6 months.
So, here’s your opportuntity to jump on board and piggy back off their marketing.
What service or product do you have to offer your clients in an ‘End of Year Sale’?
It could be stock still sitting on the shelf which would be great just to receive ‘cost’ back.
It could be new product from a supplier who may be in the same position. i.e. They have stock they would love to move on.
If your a service industry, it may be offering a special deal to obtain a new client or a service you can offer former clients just to re-engage them.
What ever you sell, there must be an End Of Year Offer you can make.
So, get out there and start doing it now. There is still plenty of weeks left in June to take advantage of a three-five step email marketing campaign.
But…
You must act now !
Cheers and Great Selling
Kurt
