By now you've certainly read or heard about the incredible statistics that surround social networks. Social networks and blogs are the 4th most popular online activities, and 67% of global users visit member communities daily, and 10% of all time spent on the internet is on social media sites. Another interesting fact is that 80% of companies use, (or are planning to use), LinkedIn as their primary tool to find employees this year and into 2010.
Impressive stats for sure. But what about social networking's older brother, the venerable email? What are some fun statistics that you can throw around at your next cocktail party? Well, how about:
If email was a country, its 1.4 billion users would make it the largest in the world. Bigger than China, bigger than the populations of the USA and European Union combined.
247 billion emails are sent each day. That's one email every 0.00000035 seconds.
In the time it takes you to read this sentence, some 20 million emails entered cyberspace.
Every second, the world's email users produce messages equivalent in size to over 16,000 copies of the Complete Works of Shakespeare (assuming a 30KB average email size).
13.4 billion: the number of direct marketing dollars forecast to go on email in the US in 2009.
$583 billion: the return from that investment if you use standard figures on email marketing ROI. That's four times the market value of Microsoft.
181: the number of marketing emails it would take to produce enough revenue to buy one share in Microsoft.
83,689,738,832,367: the number of marketing emails it would take to produce enough revenue to pay the US National Debt.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Great Email Marketing Subject Lines
At Hat Trick Associates, we're always being asked things like, "What is the best day to send email?", "What are the real email marketing secrets?" and "What are great subject lines?". I decided to focus this post on that last one, and offer some really great and proven-to-work subject lines that you can test out for your email marketing campaigns.
First of all, I'm assuming at this point that your recipients will recognize you from your "From Label". I've written why your From Label is very important in your email marketing campaigns. If they are familiar with who the email is coming from, you'll have better luck getting your email opened with a catchy subject line.
As a retailer your email marketing campaigns are probably all about selling. If you sell your own products or products from other manufacturers, you'll be trying to announce new products, new seasons or discounts and sales. You'll want your recipients to act fast, so you may want to try expiration dates in your subject line. We even see businesses using hours in the day in their expiration time periods.
You'll see that some of these subject lines are a bit vague like "An Exclusive Offer for You", however sometimes that might get more opens than if you talk about a specific product. That's something that we often test for clients to determine what specific subject lines have the most impact.
Here are some sample offers:
Enjoy this Special Offer at Our New Location
25-40% off - Email-Only Offer – Today Only
Invitation-Only 2 Hour Event Starts 11:30 AM CT
Ends Today! 20% Off Friends & Family
Top 10 under $10
Free shipping - offer ends in 3 days
Free product with purchase of [product name]
[New Product] has arrived. Order now before we run out.
Earn double points for [insert product or action].
Last Chance: Get up to $25 now
Save 10% on your next order
Enjoy [season] with rates from $65
Service Notice: Exciting new changes at [your company]
An Exclusive Offer for You
[Your company] October Specials
Last minute deals, special offers, and new [product name]
Act Now to renew your [subscription name]
Online only: 25% off friends and family
Introducing our latest…[product/feature here]
[Product name] Promotion week. Save 25%
Extended for a day! Get Free shipping through Friday
Stock up and save 15%
Limited Supply: Limit 2 [product name] per customer
Ho-ho-ho: The [your company] holiday catalog is here!
Email subscriber exclusive: [Product name] sale is here
Ends Today: Take 20% off your entire order
Private Sale Ends Today
Your choice of amazing items $50 + under
Great gifts for [Dad, Mom, etc]
Best Sellers every [girl, boy, man, woman, dog, etc.]
Everything you need when the temperatures [rise, fall]
Free Shipping--Limited Time Offer
Catchy & Creative
Sometimes all you need is a little vase lift (retailer selling vase's)
We've got you covered from head to toe (retailer selling hats, shirts, pants and boots)
How La Perla got its name (retailer selling lingerie, telling a story inside the email)
Temperatures Fall, Style Rises (retailer selling coats)
Celebrity Favorites (selling accessories that Hollywood is wearing)
Did you remember to get a gift? It's ok, we did. (retailer wanting to get people to register for gift reminders)
10 Gift Ideas for your little ones (retailer listing top 10 suggestions for kids)
Manhattan View for a Song in the Shower (retailer selling shower curtain with Manhattan skyline on it)
Take your pick: Our 9 Favorite Dresses (retailer suggesting by popularity)
Coolest modern desk on the job...for $149 (retailer including price in the subject line)
Score Great Savings on Game-Time Gear: HDTVs, Furniture & More (retailer selling TV's with a sports slant)
Party Like it's 1999 Aged Cabernet Special (wine retailer)
In our store: Last minute Mother's Day combo ready to go (retailer getting the last minute shoppers with a catch "combo to go".)
Adorn Your Home Now & Through the Holidays (Home decor retailer)
Mind-Blowing Grenache (wine retailer)
Bring this email to a Gap store and win! (retailer trying to get store traffic)
First of all, I'm assuming at this point that your recipients will recognize you from your "From Label". I've written why your From Label is very important in your email marketing campaigns. If they are familiar with who the email is coming from, you'll have better luck getting your email opened with a catchy subject line.
As a retailer your email marketing campaigns are probably all about selling. If you sell your own products or products from other manufacturers, you'll be trying to announce new products, new seasons or discounts and sales. You'll want your recipients to act fast, so you may want to try expiration dates in your subject line. We even see businesses using hours in the day in their expiration time periods.
You'll see that some of these subject lines are a bit vague like "An Exclusive Offer for You", however sometimes that might get more opens than if you talk about a specific product. That's something that we often test for clients to determine what specific subject lines have the most impact.
Here are some sample offers:
Enjoy this Special Offer at Our New Location
25-40% off - Email-Only Offer – Today Only
Invitation-Only 2 Hour Event Starts 11:30 AM CT
Ends Today! 20% Off Friends & Family
Top 10 under $10
Free shipping - offer ends in 3 days
Free product with purchase of [product name]
[New Product] has arrived. Order now before we run out.
Earn double points for [insert product or action].
Last Chance: Get up to $25 now
Save 10% on your next order
Enjoy [season] with rates from $65
Service Notice: Exciting new changes at [your company]
An Exclusive Offer for You
[Your company] October Specials
Last minute deals, special offers, and new [product name]
Act Now to renew your [subscription name]
Online only: 25% off friends and family
Introducing our latest…[product/feature here]
[Product name] Promotion week. Save 25%
Extended for a day! Get Free shipping through Friday
Stock up and save 15%
Limited Supply: Limit 2 [product name] per customer
Ho-ho-ho: The [your company] holiday catalog is here!
Email subscriber exclusive: [Product name] sale is here
Ends Today: Take 20% off your entire order
Private Sale Ends Today
Your choice of amazing items $50 + under
Great gifts for [Dad, Mom, etc]
Best Sellers every [girl, boy, man, woman, dog, etc.]
Everything you need when the temperatures [rise, fall]
Free Shipping--Limited Time Offer
Catchy & Creative
Sometimes all you need is a little vase lift (retailer selling vase's)
We've got you covered from head to toe (retailer selling hats, shirts, pants and boots)
How La Perla got its name (retailer selling lingerie, telling a story inside the email)
Temperatures Fall, Style Rises (retailer selling coats)
Celebrity Favorites (selling accessories that Hollywood is wearing)
Did you remember to get a gift? It's ok, we did. (retailer wanting to get people to register for gift reminders)
10 Gift Ideas for your little ones (retailer listing top 10 suggestions for kids)
Manhattan View for a Song in the Shower (retailer selling shower curtain with Manhattan skyline on it)
Take your pick: Our 9 Favorite Dresses (retailer suggesting by popularity)
Coolest modern desk on the job...for $149 (retailer including price in the subject line)
Score Great Savings on Game-Time Gear: HDTVs, Furniture & More (retailer selling TV's with a sports slant)
Party Like it's 1999 Aged Cabernet Special (wine retailer)
In our store: Last minute Mother's Day combo ready to go (retailer getting the last minute shoppers with a catch "combo to go".)
Adorn Your Home Now & Through the Holidays (Home decor retailer)
Mind-Blowing Grenache (wine retailer)
Bring this email to a Gap store and win! (retailer trying to get store traffic)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Getting Responses With Email Marketing - Part Five
5) Let A Picture Tell The Story...
So we've all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. What does that mean for your E-Newsletter?
Your graphics can be the difference between someone paying enough attention to your email marketing to click a link or read an opening paragraph, or moving on. Always make sure that whatever you use is directly or obviously connected to your feature, story or promotion. Don't make people have to "work" or guess what they are viewing and how it relates to the content...unless of course this is part of a well-thought out marketing plan! And simpler is typically better.
Finding good photos or illustrations online certainly isn't hard these days. (With almost 100% broadband coverage now, video and audio are now a component of some E-Newsletters too, but more on these topics another day.) One of the top and fairly inexpensive options is iStockPhoto.com, although many other libraries exist. And don't forget the multitude of royalty-free images available on Google, Flickr or Yahoo Images.
Following our theme of trying different options until you find one that works best for you and your E-Newsletter, maybe you could try removing all images for one issue...and see if a text-only version gets better results? How 90's of you!
And that brings me to the final point...which is really the one I've tried to make with every tip. DO NOT BE AFRAID to experiment! As long as the information you are presenting is factual and relevant, every other aspect of presentation should be up for review and testing. That is really the most important take-away....Test, test and test again, and you can create the type of email newsletter that gets results for YOUR company!
So we've all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. What does that mean for your E-Newsletter?
Your graphics can be the difference between someone paying enough attention to your email marketing to click a link or read an opening paragraph, or moving on. Always make sure that whatever you use is directly or obviously connected to your feature, story or promotion. Don't make people have to "work" or guess what they are viewing and how it relates to the content...unless of course this is part of a well-thought out marketing plan! And simpler is typically better.
Finding good photos or illustrations online certainly isn't hard these days. (With almost 100% broadband coverage now, video and audio are now a component of some E-Newsletters too, but more on these topics another day.) One of the top and fairly inexpensive options is iStockPhoto.com, although many other libraries exist. And don't forget the multitude of royalty-free images available on Google, Flickr or Yahoo Images.
Following our theme of trying different options until you find one that works best for you and your E-Newsletter, maybe you could try removing all images for one issue...and see if a text-only version gets better results? How 90's of you!
And that brings me to the final point...which is really the one I've tried to make with every tip. DO NOT BE AFRAID to experiment! As long as the information you are presenting is factual and relevant, every other aspect of presentation should be up for review and testing. That is really the most important take-away....Test, test and test again, and you can create the type of email newsletter that gets results for YOUR company!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Getting Responses With Email Marketing - Part Four
4) Your Links Are Important!
So you've gotten your recipient to open and view your E-newsletter with your subject line, offer and formatting. But are they clicking your links? That's the real purpose of course!
You know by now that your E-news needs to be rich in links. It doesn't cost you anything to include links within your content, and you have much to gain. Make sure your links are relevant to what you are trying to communicate, of course, but unless the article becomes difficult to read due to an extreme overabundance of links, you should be including them.
So if your E-newsletter has 5 links to your offer, why not try including 5 more - and see if your response increases? And also be mindful of the previous tip, and make sure that many of your links are happening above the fold and not below!
You can then look and compare how many more times the links higher up in your copy are being visited as opposed to the ones that are lower on the page. Then ask yourself a question: Are these the links that matter most to your business? If not, here is another great opportunity to make adjustments to your newsletter, and swap positions for these links!
NEXT TIP: Images
So you've gotten your recipient to open and view your E-newsletter with your subject line, offer and formatting. But are they clicking your links? That's the real purpose of course!
You know by now that your E-news needs to be rich in links. It doesn't cost you anything to include links within your content, and you have much to gain. Make sure your links are relevant to what you are trying to communicate, of course, but unless the article becomes difficult to read due to an extreme overabundance of links, you should be including them.
So if your E-newsletter has 5 links to your offer, why not try including 5 more - and see if your response increases? And also be mindful of the previous tip, and make sure that many of your links are happening above the fold and not below!
You can then look and compare how many more times the links higher up in your copy are being visited as opposed to the ones that are lower on the page. Then ask yourself a question: Are these the links that matter most to your business? If not, here is another great opportunity to make adjustments to your newsletter, and swap positions for these links!
NEXT TIP: Images
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
15 Reasons that Email Isn't Going Away Anytime Soon
So we have all been talking a lot about social networks, and how they are fundamentally changing the way that we communicate. But while it is certainly true that these networks are becoming more and more vital to reaching your customers, clients and members, that doesn't mean that email marketing has lost its importance too.
In fact, the two communication strategies can co-exist nicely, and address different needs for reaching out to consumers. Here are the Top 15 Reasons Email Isn't Going Away Anytime Soon.
1. People still send hand-written letters via snail mail, even though they could instead make a phone call, send an email, text message, or status update.
2. Nearly all sites on the web that require registration still require an email address. Some are starting to integrate social media into this process (through things like Facebook Connect), but that is still a small fraction, and they typically still allow for email information as well.
3. Email notifies you of updates from all social networks you are a part of (provided your settings are set up that way).
4. Email is universal, and social networks are not, at least not yet. Nearly everybody on the web (while there are no doubt some exceptions) has an email address. Most places of employment give employees email addresses when they begin working there. Meanwhile, some of them are restricting workers from accessing social networks.
5. Email is still improving. It hasn't screeched to a halt with the rise of social media. There is still innovation going on, and integration with social media. Look at the new Yahoo Mail, and how Google is constantly adding new features to Gmail.
6. Even social networks themselves recognize the importance of email. Never mind that they update users about community-driven happenings via email. MySpace, still one of the biggest social networks, even launched its own email service recently.
7. More social media use means more email use. Look at these recent findings from Nielsen. The people consuming the largest amount of social media are also the people consuming the largest amount of email.
8. Twitter and Facebook are fantastic products and companies; but that's what they are, companies. Even though email is host to 279 million users vs. 301 million users of social media according to Nielsen, email isn't going anywhere so on with many companies offering it as a service. Twitter and Facebook are just two companies that likely make up most of the social media users.
9. Your email recipients are still going to use business email for business purposes. They'll not likely let their boss know that they've finished the spreadsheet and are ready for the meeting now by posting to Twitter. If they don't use their business email address they probably also have a personal email account that they like to receive your email-only specials.
10. You can't easily segment your friends and followers to do targeted marketing in Twitter & Facebook for the optimal response.
11. You can't tell who clicked on a link with some social media outlets so that you can follow up with them again because they might be interested in your content. That said, since you also can't tell who didn't click on the link so you can follow up with them with a different message trying to get them to take action.
12. You cannot size your graphics or use more than one in Facebook. You can't use them at all in Twitter. Graphics can help tell a story.
13. You can't track how many clicks you got on your links in Facebook unless you use a third party URL shortener.
14. You are limited to 140 characters in Twitter, leaving it impossible to put multiple messages in one Tweet.
15. You almost have to have separate social media accounts for your business and your personal life. Some customers might not care about that vacation you took where you...let's just say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
As far as online marketing is concerned, email is still a great channel of communication, as many companies continue their search to find the right social media strategy to suit their needs.
There have been a significant number of studies released in recent memory, indicating that email marketing is doing quite well. Epsilon shared some findings about how email marketing is driving offline purchases. The same firm also found that email open rates increased for the fourth quarter in a row (up 18% YoY according to the most recent study). Forrester Consulting and ExactTarget found that email marketing is the most popular channel for consumers. Earlier this year, Forrester Research reported that email marketing in the U.S. alone was expected to reach $2 billion by 2014.
Is the email landscape changing? Yes, without a doubt. Social media has become a very large part of the online lives for many Internet users. Earlier this year, social sites were even said to have surpassed email in usage. That said, Facebook has come significantly close to matching Google in terms of unique visitors, but that doesn't make Google any less important does it? The two can co-exist, and so can email and social media. They are co-existing.
So email marketers are facing new challenges with an increasingly social and mobile web, but we are meeting those challenges too, and continually finding effective ways to connect with consumers with email.
In fact, the two communication strategies can co-exist nicely, and address different needs for reaching out to consumers. Here are the Top 15 Reasons Email Isn't Going Away Anytime Soon.
1. People still send hand-written letters via snail mail, even though they could instead make a phone call, send an email, text message, or status update.
2. Nearly all sites on the web that require registration still require an email address. Some are starting to integrate social media into this process (through things like Facebook Connect), but that is still a small fraction, and they typically still allow for email information as well.
3. Email notifies you of updates from all social networks you are a part of (provided your settings are set up that way).
4. Email is universal, and social networks are not, at least not yet. Nearly everybody on the web (while there are no doubt some exceptions) has an email address. Most places of employment give employees email addresses when they begin working there. Meanwhile, some of them are restricting workers from accessing social networks.
5. Email is still improving. It hasn't screeched to a halt with the rise of social media. There is still innovation going on, and integration with social media. Look at the new Yahoo Mail, and how Google is constantly adding new features to Gmail.
6. Even social networks themselves recognize the importance of email. Never mind that they update users about community-driven happenings via email. MySpace, still one of the biggest social networks, even launched its own email service recently.
7. More social media use means more email use. Look at these recent findings from Nielsen. The people consuming the largest amount of social media are also the people consuming the largest amount of email.
8. Twitter and Facebook are fantastic products and companies; but that's what they are, companies. Even though email is host to 279 million users vs. 301 million users of social media according to Nielsen, email isn't going anywhere so on with many companies offering it as a service. Twitter and Facebook are just two companies that likely make up most of the social media users.
9. Your email recipients are still going to use business email for business purposes. They'll not likely let their boss know that they've finished the spreadsheet and are ready for the meeting now by posting to Twitter. If they don't use their business email address they probably also have a personal email account that they like to receive your email-only specials.
10. You can't easily segment your friends and followers to do targeted marketing in Twitter & Facebook for the optimal response.
11. You can't tell who clicked on a link with some social media outlets so that you can follow up with them again because they might be interested in your content. That said, since you also can't tell who didn't click on the link so you can follow up with them with a different message trying to get them to take action.
12. You cannot size your graphics or use more than one in Facebook. You can't use them at all in Twitter. Graphics can help tell a story.
13. You can't track how many clicks you got on your links in Facebook unless you use a third party URL shortener.
14. You are limited to 140 characters in Twitter, leaving it impossible to put multiple messages in one Tweet.
15. You almost have to have separate social media accounts for your business and your personal life. Some customers might not care about that vacation you took where you...let's just say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
As far as online marketing is concerned, email is still a great channel of communication, as many companies continue their search to find the right social media strategy to suit their needs.
There have been a significant number of studies released in recent memory, indicating that email marketing is doing quite well. Epsilon shared some findings about how email marketing is driving offline purchases. The same firm also found that email open rates increased for the fourth quarter in a row (up 18% YoY according to the most recent study). Forrester Consulting and ExactTarget found that email marketing is the most popular channel for consumers. Earlier this year, Forrester Research reported that email marketing in the U.S. alone was expected to reach $2 billion by 2014.
Is the email landscape changing? Yes, without a doubt. Social media has become a very large part of the online lives for many Internet users. Earlier this year, social sites were even said to have surpassed email in usage. That said, Facebook has come significantly close to matching Google in terms of unique visitors, but that doesn't make Google any less important does it? The two can co-exist, and so can email and social media. They are co-existing.
So email marketers are facing new challenges with an increasingly social and mobile web, but we are meeting those challenges too, and continually finding effective ways to connect with consumers with email.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Social Networks Are Fundamentally Changing How We Communicate
Although I quote or cite research all the time here on my blog, I don't often include direct links to other content, other than my company www.hattrickassociates.com. But I came across this on Twitter and thought I would share.
The title is 5 Ways Social Media is Changing Our Daily Lives, and I think that it speaks to both the things we are doing now at Hat Trick Associates, but also the way that individuals will be communicating for the next 20 years!
One of the things I really liked about this article is that it begins by asking you a question: How is the way you communicate with your social network, connect with business partners; get most of your news; find new employees, entertain yourself; etc. etc. different now as compared to just 5 years ago?
The differences are HUGE for myself personally, and I'm sure for most of you as well. There has been a shift in how we send and receive information. When selecting a company to do business with, I am FAR more interested in the customer service experiences or opinions of friends or colleagues that I see online than more generalized or "generic" ratings...and now I can get them from everyone, quite easily - instantaneously!
We have very quickly gone from simply knowing email or IM addresses of our friends, family and coworkers, to now being completely interconnected with them on services like Facebook or LinkedIn. And we can let the world know exactly what is on our mind the second we think it on our social networks and on microblog sites like Twitter.
So it's really no surprise that 80% of all Tweets are actually sent from mobile devices. Imagine all that is being said about YOU as your customer, client or member is walking out your door after having a GREAT customer experience.
Or, what do you think happens if they have had a BAD one??
And how can you take advantage of this new opportunity to connect and interact with the people who matter most to the success of your organization? From a business standpoint, those are certainly thoughts that your company should be pondering, and answering, right now...
Here is the article: http://mashable.com/2009/10/16/social-media-changing-lives/
And please comment if you have thoughts on this topic, or any of the other topics that I include in my blog postings.
The title is 5 Ways Social Media is Changing Our Daily Lives, and I think that it speaks to both the things we are doing now at Hat Trick Associates, but also the way that individuals will be communicating for the next 20 years!
One of the things I really liked about this article is that it begins by asking you a question: How is the way you communicate with your social network, connect with business partners; get most of your news; find new employees, entertain yourself; etc. etc. different now as compared to just 5 years ago?
The differences are HUGE for myself personally, and I'm sure for most of you as well. There has been a shift in how we send and receive information. When selecting a company to do business with, I am FAR more interested in the customer service experiences or opinions of friends or colleagues that I see online than more generalized or "generic" ratings...and now I can get them from everyone, quite easily - instantaneously!
We have very quickly gone from simply knowing email or IM addresses of our friends, family and coworkers, to now being completely interconnected with them on services like Facebook or LinkedIn. And we can let the world know exactly what is on our mind the second we think it on our social networks and on microblog sites like Twitter.
So it's really no surprise that 80% of all Tweets are actually sent from mobile devices. Imagine all that is being said about YOU as your customer, client or member is walking out your door after having a GREAT customer experience.
Or, what do you think happens if they have had a BAD one??
And how can you take advantage of this new opportunity to connect and interact with the people who matter most to the success of your organization? From a business standpoint, those are certainly thoughts that your company should be pondering, and answering, right now...
Here is the article: http://mashable.com/2009/10/16/social-media-changing-lives/
And please comment if you have thoughts on this topic, or any of the other topics that I include in my blog postings.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Getting Responses With Email Marketing - Part Two
2) Change Up Your Offer!
So, you've followed our first tip, and have gotten the reader to Open your email campaign. Good first step! But what if they don't respond to what they see and read? Try changing up your offer.
Why not send different offers along with your various subject lines we mentioned earlier? Maybe try a % off with half of your email list, and a flat dollar-amount savings with the other half? Once again, it's all about apples-to-apples COMPARISONS...finding out what your readership will respond to best.
Or maybe you run a test with free shipping vs. no free shipping, or one campaign with an expiration date vs. one without?
You can even send to smaller samplings of your list first; review your Open rates in real time; and then roll out the "winning" offer to the rest of your addresses.
The bottom line -- especially at the beginning of your journey into email marketing -- don't be afraid to try new things!
If it works, great. And if not, now you know yet "another way to NOT invent the lightbulb" with your readership, as our old friend Thomas Edison would say.
NEXT TIP: Formatting
So, you've followed our first tip, and have gotten the reader to Open your email campaign. Good first step! But what if they don't respond to what they see and read? Try changing up your offer.
Why not send different offers along with your various subject lines we mentioned earlier? Maybe try a % off with half of your email list, and a flat dollar-amount savings with the other half? Once again, it's all about apples-to-apples COMPARISONS...finding out what your readership will respond to best.
Or maybe you run a test with free shipping vs. no free shipping, or one campaign with an expiration date vs. one without?
You can even send to smaller samplings of your list first; review your Open rates in real time; and then roll out the "winning" offer to the rest of your addresses.
The bottom line -- especially at the beginning of your journey into email marketing -- don't be afraid to try new things!
If it works, great. And if not, now you know yet "another way to NOT invent the lightbulb" with your readership, as our old friend Thomas Edison would say.
NEXT TIP: Formatting
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
