SEO Hosting Blog

If you’ve followed this blog for any decent period of time, you know that I’m an ardent supporter of email marketing. I believe a well-done email marketing campaign can generate an unmatchable ROI. The problem is that most email marketing campaigns aren’t well done. They take time to refine. They require constant upkeep to get them performing the way you desire.

That’s why I’ve come up with 5 simple maintenance tasks you can perform to continuously improve your email marketing campaign.

1. Customize your email template—Avoid using a generic template for your emails, because they look, well, generic. Email marketing plays an important role in branding, so doesn’t it make sense to create a custom template that incorporates your brand’s unique look? It’s the little details like this that make a big difference in branding.
2. Study your data—You should always be tracking everything related to your email marketing campaign—delivery rates, open rates, clickthroughs, etc. Pay close attention to this data, and more importantly, use this information to tweak your email campaign for improved performance.
3. Test everything—The best way to figure out what works and what doesn’t work is to test everything. Test out different subject lines, different link placements, and other variants to your emails. Then, you can clearly see which tweaks improve your results.
4. Ask for feedback from subscribers–Nobody is more qualified to tell you what they’d like to see in your emails than your actual email subscribers. Encourage them to provide feedback so you can deliver the types of messages they prefer.
5. Pay attention to other email marketing campaigns—I receive emails from probably a dozen different companies. It’s not because I particularly care what these companies are offering. I just want to study their campaigns and see what I can learn from them. I recommend you do the same.

What are some of your tips for improving an email marketing campaign? Share them by leaving a comment below.

So, today is my birthday. And this morning, while I was busy trying to decide whether or not I should work today (I decided to work), I was sifting through my emails and noticed something interesting. I had received a number of “Happy Birthday” messages from various companies whose email lists I’m subscribed to.

So far, I’ve received “Happy Birthday” messages from ING Direct, GoDaddy.com, EA Games, Flying Saucer, Gugliani’s (a Houston-based Italian restaurant), some local golf courses, and a couple of other companies that I’ve now forgotten.

Each of these emails contained a special birthday offer from the company. These ranged from coupons for a certain percentage off my next purchase to free gifts (I get a free pint the next time I go to Flying Saucer!).

All of this got me thinking. I wonder how many companies offer birthday gifts to their subscribers. The messages certainly got my attention because they stood out greatly from the regular commercial emails I’m used to receiving. And I’ve already taken advantage of a few of the special birthday offers I’ve been receiving (I can’t resist a free round of golf!).

But beyond earning my business, these companies helped to further build their relationships with me. The simple act of telling me “Happy Birthday” added a personal touch to their email marketing efforts, and it made me feel like they valued me as a customer.

If you’re interested in sending birthday emails to your subscribers, there are a few things you should do.

• Capture this info at opt-in—Encourage users to put their date of birth in the opt-in form when they sign up for your email list. Let them know they’ll receive a special birthday offer for doing so.
• Personalize your message—While the jury is still out on the effectiveness of personalized commercial emails, there’s no doubt that the birthday email is certainly the right time and place for personalization. Address the birthday recipient by name and wish them a happy birthday.
• Make them an offer they can’t refuse—A birthday offer should be better than the typical offers you send to subscribers week in and week out. It needs to feel like something truly special to the recipient, otherwise they won’t convert.

Do you send birthday offers to your email subscribers?

Testing out new things is the key to running a successful email marketing campaign. When you test certain variations side-by-side, you can identify which changes you can make to improve open rates, increase click-throughs, and run a more profitable email marketing campaign.

So, what are some of the things you can test out?

1. Personalization—The jury still seems to be out on email personalization. While some studies have found that personalizing your messages with the recipient’s name can actually cause a decline in open rates, others have shown that personalized emails are more effective. Regardless of the outcome, when personalizing your emails you have to make sure to get the recipients’ names correct. Also, don’t overdo it with the personalization. Mentioning their name too many times can make your email feel awkward and spammy. Test it out and see how it works for you.

(more…)

If you’ve ever subscribed to any email lists before, you’re probably familiar with the concept of the welcome email. This is the email that’s sent to new subscribers to welcome them to the list, confirm that they really did subscribe, share certain information/offers for new subscribers, learn their preferences, and more.

Does your company use email marketing? If so, you should already be sending welcome emails to new subscribers. If you’re not, here are some good reasons to do it.

(more…)

One of the main reasons subscribers stop opening emails and unsubscribe from lists is because the content they’re receiving isn’t matched to their preferences. You might be sending them messages on subjects that don’t interest them, or you could just be emailing them more often than they prefer.

That’s why it’s so important that you get to know the preferences of your email subscribers. When you know what they want and act upon it, you can increase open rates, boost response rates, and run a more profitable email marketing campaign.

Many savvy companies have started sending welcome messages to new subscribers with links to a subscriber preferences form. The subscriber can then indicate his or her preferences on a range of different factors, and the marketer can adjust communication accordingly.

If you’re going to implement a subscriber’s preferences tool in your campaign, make sure it includes the following:

(more…)