It’s As Simple As Saying Thanks

Are you thanking your customers for signing up for your email newsletter?  There’s no better time to let a customer know that your organization cares about them than when they sign up for a newsletter.  Consider these steps:

1. Put it on the landing page.  After someone has submitted their information, tell them to expect a confirmation email shortly.  Ask them to add your from address to their address book (to effectively whitelist your organization).
2. Set up a triggered email response.  This is one area of your digital marketing that will definitely be best automated.  Subscribers will receive the triggered email within minutes of signing up while your organization is still fresh in their minds.
3. Target the content in the email.  You’ve just gotten express permission to land in a customer’s inbox!  Use the opportunity to get key action points in front of your customer.  Want them to donate?  Sign up for an event?  Visit a landing page with sale items?  Let them know how they can get involved immediately.

One of our clients created an example of a great thank you page.  They included four distinct calls to action that correlate to organizational goals.

Do you use thank you emails currently?  What are the messages you’re conveying?  If you want to chat about the possibilities for your thank you emails or any other digital marketing efforts, give us a call at 503-528-9500 x105 or contact us!

List building with that new fangled cell phone machine

“Texting in marketing?  Isn’t that just for American Idol?”

Many of our clients are skeptical when we bring up the idea of text opt-ins for email correspondence.  They worry that the process may not resonate with their customers or that we’re going to start sending all their email communications via text message.  And can we blame them?  A Google search for “SMS text email opt in” shows all sorts of companies out to use SMS along with ”email blasts” to promote data acquisition and push event promotion, not opt ins, and renting phone lists for outbound mass SMS sends. 

Here at the LB, we like to think we’re using SMS text not only the right way, but the fun way.  It’s not fun to receive an unsolicited text from a brand a customer never interacts with.  It’s not fun for clients to look at order forms for “bulk text sends”.  It IS fun to watch an email list grow exponentially after initiating a text opt-in campaign.

Take Pier One Imports, for example.  The company implemented an SMS opt-in campaign that gave people who opted in the chance to win a signature Pier One item, the Papasan chair (you can read about their entire campaign over at Mobile Marketer).  The contest ran at 100 Barnes and Noble stores, which reach over 6 million college students in prime shopping mode.  The campaign met customers (college students buying books who might enjoy a comfy chair for their dorm room) on their turf, in their medium. 

The best thing about using SMS text as a piece of your campaign is that…it’s only one piece!  There are many ways to build a quality opt-in list.  We’ll be exploring more of these ways in coming posts, so be on the lookout.

Looking back to shape the future of email marketing

You, the new age marketer, don’t need anyone to tell you twice about the changing landscape of email marketing.  The obvious progression – aided by all sorts of automated technical wonders – has been from simply deploying emails (batch and blast) to targeting communications in savvy, consumer driven ways.

Looking forward on the horizon of email marketing as a piece of any digital communications plan can be daunting.  The possibilities are wide open, and “experts” pop up every day ready to pioneer the next big idea.  But in looking where the industry has come from, we can  keep a few key points in mind to keep poor marketers’ multi-channel brains from exploding.

NOTE: These points are broad and by no means all-inclusive.  For more detailed thoughts on this theme, please check out the related resources at the end of the post.

Strategy is still #1

Should you or one of your clients be using email marketing?  The answer is never an absolute “yes.”  Is email marketing something you or your clients should consider, and maybe even dedicate a trial period to?  Absolutely.  A common answer to the question of “Do we need this?” should be “It depends.”  The most powerful marketing tool will always be the marketers themselves, and no one technology is the be all end all for the bottom line.

Test, test, test…within reason

Email is a medium that’s as flexible as it is powerful.  The old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” translates to “If it don’t look broke, do some A/B testing to make sure.”  Everything from layout to frequency to calls to action can be optimized in the fullest definition of the word.  However, it’s also important to find a balance between metrics and our #1 friend, strategy.  Check out some of the points made by Andrew Chen on this important balancing act.

It’s still an email, people

MarketingSherpa reported back in 2005 that the average open time for an email is 15-20 seconds.  This is one fact that hasn’t changed: your communication is still just one of the gajillion things vying for your customers’ tiny attention spans.  Keeping this simple fact at top of mind can streamline thinking and save a lot of headaches.  Put your best foot forward on a solid strategy and make sure your emails get to the right inboxes at the right time – at the end of the day, it’s just one of many small moments with your customer.

Related resources:

“The Future of Email Marketing” ClickZ

“Pros offer timely tips to empty your inbox” The Boston Globe

“Email Nirvana Q&A” Email Experience

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