Reader Feedback
on Hawthorne's 50 Tips for Using E-mail and Web Marketing
Last
month we published a brief paper entitled "50
Great Tips For Using E-Mail And Web Marketing Effectively".
Dale Leatherwood of Global Knowledge wrote to us with some very
insightful additions and revisions to the tips pertaining to e-mail
marketing. Below are the 17 tips Hawthorne published about email
marketing. Mr. Leatherwood's comments and revisions (italicized)
follow each tip:
1.
Include your URL in all e-mail correspondence coming from your company.
DL
-- Include the URL at least twice in your email, one of which within
the first 2 paragraphs. If the recipients are interested in your
offer from the very beginning don't make them wait until the end
to act.
[Hawthorne:
This is an excellent suggestion to follow in creating an effective
direct marketing email message.]
2.
Avoid Spam. Do not send e-mail to people who have not chosen to
join your e-mail list. Buying other's lists or using a partner's
e-mail list should also be done with the utmost care since the recipients
have not elected to join your list.
DL
-- Read the source of each rented or partner's list. If the list
is from a Partner, visit their site and review their Privacy guideline.
If rented, it will typically state that the particular list is opt-in.
Some web sites have an email list and then a more expensive opt-in
version. Always be sure to provide easy opt-out in the copy.
3.
Use HTML mail. Offer your users the option to receive HTML-based
e-mails, which can offer more attractive graphics and layout, resulting
in a more effective impression.
DL
-- Use HTML wisely and simply. HTML is more effective, but note
that complex HTML can be rendered useless depending on the email
software. For example AOL version 6.0 or less, or online readers
such as Earthlink's SpringMail system can garble HTML email. If
you want complexity in the HTML, provide an additional option in
a text line (e.g.- "Having trouble viewing this message? Click
here for view online")
4.
Avoid the hard sell in e-mail copy. When writing e-mail copy, don't
use aggressive marketing language users will be reminded of
spammers and ignore your message. Instead, be concise, clear, and
assertive in delivering a message that they are interested in. Focus
on the key benefits and your offer.
DL
-- First and foremost avoid the hard message in the subject line.
The most effective emails are those that have direct but not "sales-y"
subject lines and then get to the point in the body of the message.
You're not fooling anyone into thinking you're in this for charity,
but don't be crass about it. Be honest and to the point.
5.
Target your e-mails as much as possible. Sending e-mail is cheap,
so you should not be limited to just one standard letter to prospects
and customers. If your services can be broken into several categories,
create a newsletter for each.
DL
-- Be sure to target based on your CUSTOMER'S perspective, not on
yours. Provide customers the option to choose the specific categories
of interest in a newsletter or opt-in emails. Those categories should
reflect the customer's methods of segmenting your products and services,
but also be generic enough that you'll always have something to
talk about in their category. If one of your products is training
for the health care industry, then the category should be "Health
Care Training and Certification" as opposed to "Security
Training for HIPAA compliance."
6.
Resist the temptation to send too much e-mail. Flooding customers'
in-boxes is a big no-no. Mail once a month, at most.
DL
-- If possible, let your customer decide how often to receive your
emails based on the type of message, and give them a reason to choose
frequency. For example:
- Send me your monthly newsletter only
- Send me any specials that are available before they are available
to the public
7.
Include an option to unsubscribe in every e-mail you send out. Do
not put this option at the top of your message. Don't make it too
easy for customers to leave your list.
DL
-- You don't want it at the top, but make sure that it's at the
SAME place in each email.
8.
Test your e-mails. Take advantage of the nominal costs and quick
turn-around time of email to fine-tune your message by testing different
messages on small subsets of your list.
DL
-- Make sure you test using controls and consistency. For example
you don't want to test a new subject line and body copy in the same
message. Also make sure that each test has an adequate sample size
for meaningful results.
9.
Suggest that recipients 'forward this email to a friend'. The sweet
spot of viral marketing is in communications-based services (e-mail,
invitations, etc.). These are some of the most contagious viral
mechanisms because they are designed to spread a message among different
users.
DL
-- Again, make sure that this is in a consistent place in your message
and is a prominent feature illustrated with a common graphic/icon.
10.
Personalize on both ends. When communicating with a customer via
e-mail, say who it is from, and send it from a personal-looking
e-mail address.
DL
-- Define the content by the From: line. The most important thing
is for your recipients to know that this is your message so that
they can skip your email when deleting the 50 or so SPAM messages
in their inbox. An email from "ABC Company Training Tips"
is much better than from "Jim Wilson"
11. Writing
personal e-mails instead of form letters generates sales and referrals.
DL
-- This is true, but effective use of database fields and merge
can turn any form letter into a personal email.
12.
Create multiple direct e-mail campaigns and gauge each response
rate. This is a low-cost way to research effective e-mail.
DL
-- Keep a spreadsheet that provides campaign description, date(s)
delivered, list source, list cost, cost per name, tracking info,
clicks for each tracker/list, clicks for each format (text vs. html),
costs per click, extended results (orders, demos, appointments,
etc.)
13.
Keep the first paragraph short and grab your readers' attention
right off the bat.
DL
-- Keep each paragraph short. If an email looks difficult to read
at first glance, it won't be read. 3 sentences maximum per paragraph.
The detail can be found on the web page you link to.
14.
Use a testimonial that showcases your services
DL
-- Testimonials without a name, title and company look fake. When
possible, get a full name and show their role and who they work
for.
15. Use snappy titles in the subject line. Press release on XYZ
will certainly be deleted.
Common approaches include: asking a question to pique interest;
stress benefits; or link
offer to current events or trends.
DL
-- Snappy subject lines should avoid words like FREE, WOW, exclamation
points, Offer, and any other words that are obviously SPAM and will
get filtered out. Remember to test your email subject lines against
your company's own SPAM filters before you end up wasting too much
time.
16.
Allow newsletter-type e-mails to be easily sent to friends. Click
here to send this to a
friend buttons are common and effective. Word-of-mouth advertising
is free, easy, and
effective.
DL
-- Same as #9. Something that is helpful is the ability to record
the name of the sender and receiver to analyze. But NEVER add the
recipient to your opt-in list. If you do use a form to record the
sender and receiver, then use a modified version of the email to
allow the receiver to easily sign up.
17.
Time your e-mails. Either send them in the middle of the night,
so they will be read first
thing in the morning, or around noon, so people will get them right
after lunch.
DL
-- Test your emails to determine the best time. Sending them around
noon if you live on the West coast and your market includes an East
Coast audience (or vice versa) doesn't make any sense. What you
can do is look at your web logs. What time of day is the peak time
for your site? That will tell you when to send. Also, don't send
in the middle of the night on a Thursday or Weekend as Friday's
and Mondays just aren't good days for email.
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