EMAIL MARKETING TIPS

Remember the 1970's TV commercial with the woman who touts the virtues of Faberge Organics shampoo? It went something like, "...And I told two friends about it. Then they told two friends. And so on. And so on. And so on..."
Okay, maybe you weren't even born in the '70s (Ha!) but you get the idea. Someone likes your product. They'll recommend it to someone else. That person might pass it on to three people. And so on. And so on.
This is nothing new, of course - just good old-fashioned referral marketing.
The speed of the Internet has certainly simplified this method of promoting, which has been aptly named both viral and organic marketing due to its ability to multiply and "spread" at a rapid rate. Just think of bacteria in a petri dish. Or even mold on bread. You start off with just one tiny microbe and if the conditions are right, days later you've got yourself an entire little colony.
Well guess what? Email makes a worthy petri dish both because of its accessibility and the ease at which it can be passed along; hence, viral marketing within this channel can be a pretty decent way to grow a list.
Following is a trio of examples that demonstrate the types of power this strategy can wield...
The Power Of FUN. The other day, a friend sent me an email with the subject line, "You just HAVE to try this elf bowling game..." She'd also sent it to five other people. When I opened up the attachment (a fairly hefty 1MB), I was amazed at the graphics and sound. This WAS a video game (conveniently flagged with a sponsor advertisement complete with logo and URL) where my goal as Santa Bowler was to knock down the pins, which were "live" (and rude!) little elves. I was SO "bowled over" by this game that I forwarded it on to eight more friends. I know for a fact that at least three of them passed it on yet again.The genius behind this game is a company called Nstorm, which helps dot-com companies spread the word via email by taking advantage of the "fun factor" of downloadable games. End result: The companies get tons of sign-ups and/or hits to their sites because of the exponential pass-along rate. However, keep in mind that because the games have nothing to do with the offers, it's likely that a good portion of any resulting leads may not be truly qualified and open to receiving future messages.
The Power Of REWARD. One example of a company using an incentive to get folks to "pass it on" is extreme travel site GreenTravel.com. In its current newsletter, directly beneath the header, is a highly-visible call to action: "Send this to a friend and you could win an Osprey backpack!"When I signed up my friend, she received - just minutes later - a new message from... well, ME. Not from GreenTravel. Nor some impersonal server. Just her old friend Kim.I'm sure that GreenTravel does very well with this strategy: The email is welcome because it comes from a friend. Plus it's intriguing as well. (After all, who wouldn't want to receive a colorful email "postcard" that reads, "Daily Escape From...Costa Rica")? Best of all, there's a quick and easy link to the site's subscriptions page where "friends" can choose from 20+ other newsletters. Cool stuff.
The Power Of SHARING. Content sites can benefit greatly from this strategy, though the initial payoff may be smaller than from the strategies listed above. (Now let me think... where to find a good example? Hmmm...)You're lookin' at it.Notice the "email this article" link above and below this (and every other) article within ClickZ's newsletter and site? Each of these links will take you to a page where you can register your associate or friend as recipient. There are no games to enchant, no rewards to motivate...Despite the lack of any tangible incentives, however, this may be the most effective method of all. Why? Because presumably you'll pass this article along ONLY if you think your "sendee" will be interested in it. And if he IS, he may very well be interested in others like it, which makes him a viable candidate to become a ClickZ subscriber himself.
When you get right down to it, developing your list is really about taking advantage of the power of contacts. Proceed with caution, however, because that kind of power can also work against you. Sure, people will spread the word if they like you. But if they don't?
Just remember that bad news can spread as quickly as good.
Now that's worth sharing... Pass it on.
I get a lot of inquiries about email lists. How do you find the best, most potentially profitable ones? How do you get the best deals? So I figured that now is as good a time as any to get back to basics with a little "Email Lists 101."
Of course, email-list opportunities abound these days for acquiring new customers by email and/or building your own house file. First, there are more and more vendors with 100 percent opt-in lists in a variety of categories. Companies such as Netcreations, YesMail, 24/7 and TargitMail offer millions of email addresses among them. With these lists, you can send a dedicated message i.e., one not shared with other advertisers to an audience targeted by category of interest and, oftentimes, additional enhancements such as demographic information.
And, as I've mentioned before, there are also thousands of highly targeted emailed newsletters that offer advertising or sponsorship opportunities. These types of placements typically limit ad sizes to no more than five to eight lines of text with a width limit of 60 to 65 characters across, including spaces.
With so many seemingly endless email lists to choose from, how do you cut through the masses to find those most likely to respond? And how, once you find them, do you go about negotiating the best selections and pricing?
First things first. Start by reviewing your traditional marketing venues. If you've used direct mail, what publications or lists have you rented in the past? Perhaps one of your offline lists offers a newsletter online.
For instance, say you're marketing a product specifically geared toward high-level businesspeople. One of your best direct-mail lists is that offered by Forbes magazine. If you placed a search online, you'd find that Forbes offers a free emailed newsletter, as well as the sponsorship opportunities it contains. If you subscribed to it, you could find out which of your competitors are buying advertising there... and which are continuing to buy. You may also find other publications potential additional ad opportunities advertising there.
Knowing your core audience, as well as what's worked for you in the past in the offline world, will help you find similar newsletter lists. It will also help in selecting categories within the dedicated list arena as well.
Speaking of dedicated lists, if you have any type of traditional direct marketing experience, you know what the term "seeding" means. In other words, it can be extremely beneficial to plant your name (and email address) on a number of different lists within your category. That is, subscribe to all of the emailed newsletters that target your audience. Also register with several opt-in-list vendors to receive promotions and messages from advertisers within your market's top categories. You'll find you can learn tons of new things about what's out there who's marketing what, new products and announcements, special offers, etc. in addition to other advertising opportunities.
Yes, the research can be painstaking but well worth it. As you know, it's not unheard of for dedicated opt-in lists, if targeted properly, to pull click-through rates as high as 15 percent or higher. Sponsorship response rates are usually significantly less (they fall more in the 0.5 to 5 percent range, generally speaking), but they are also quite a bit less expensive. Speaking of costs, dedicated list costs typically range from $200 to $450 per thousand, while sponsorships are priced anywhere from $10 to $150 per thousand and up.
Sometimes these lists can be negotiated, sometimes not. If it's the first time you're testing a list, chances are good that the list owner or vendor won't cut you a deal especially if it's a popular list or newsletter for advertisers. Their attitude is typically, "Why should I discount if they don't have to?" (You can't blame 'em.)
However, as in the offline world, sometimes the best deals are made after a relationship has been established. So my advice: Find your best, most targeted lists, and get the best deal that you can possibly get (which may very well mean that you pay full price). If it gets to the point where you're continually rolling out to the same lists, you've probably gotten to the point where you can call in some favors.
Also, if you often order in large chunks, you'll most likely be able to get a volume discount. But don't ask for anything unless it's absolutely necessary to your bottom line. You don't want to be known as a "deal hound."
In short: Research, seed, and negotiate (if needed). And if it sounds like too daunting a task, hire a broker.
Many direct-mail-list brokers have been successfully venturing into the world of email. A good broker can handle all of the above and can often get a better list price than you could get on your own.
And, of course, the fact that your life
One of the best ways to spend your email marketing dollars right now is to place a sponsorship text ad in a targeted e-newsletter.
There is plenty of inventory, the CPM (cost per thousand) is much less than for a permission email list, and you can find some significant discounts.
For example, rates have been slashed by 35 percent for some of The Industry Standard's e-newsletters. That's quite a savings when you consider that the top insertion spot in the Daily News, which goes to more than 128,000 subscribers, is $10,500. (Rather than using CPM, some B2B publishers charge a flat insertion fee.)
At the other end of the spectrum, Dr. Ralph Wilson, publisher of the information-packed marketing site WilsonWeb, is selling a two-line ad for $150 in his e-newsletter Web Marketing Today, which goes to more than 100,000 subscribers. Rates for an eight-line text ad in the same e-newsletter start at $50 CPM for the top sponsorship position. That's a one-time insertion fee of about $5,000.
ClickZ has recently reduced rates as well. For instance, a text ad for placement in both the EmailMarketer Executive Summary and in ClickZ Weekly costs $850. This works out to about a $47 CPM.
The bottom line is that a lot of e-newsletter ad space is going begging right now. You ought to be able to negotiate. For a list of publishers offering B2B-focused e-newsletters, see my recent column on acquiring names.
Now let's get down to business. You've snagged a great deal on sponsorship ad placement. You've placed your insertion orders (top, middle, or bottom), and you're ready to go.
Before you delegate the task of writing these eight lines of copy to a junior colleague -- or set aside just a few minutes to write them yourself -- think again.
This is a challenging copywriting assignment. I put it somewhere between penning a haiku and composing a sonnet.
OK, I'm exaggerating. But Internet marketing guru Larry Chase reports that he spent three weeks writing and rewriting a text ad that he ran recently in eMarketer's eMail Marketing Weekly newsletter.
I'm going to use Larry's ad to point out some best practices and to help you meet this copywriting challenge.
Here is his eight-line ad. I have omitted special formatting, such as centering or spacing:
For Frank Feedback on Your Site - Cut to the Chase...Take the Larry Chase Check-Up by Phone.3 taped hours in two sessions with Larry Chase,publisher of popular Web Digest For Marketers newsletter& author of Essential Business Tactics f/t Net.Satisfaction GuaranteedVisit http://wdfm.com/checkup.htmlor mailto:ChaseCheckUp@wdfm.com for details.
A Headline That Grabs
Just as a successful email marketing message has a compelling subject heading, a text ad needs a headline to hook you. Chase said he chose this one -- "For Frank Feedback" -- because he is targeting a small-business audience looking for critical input on how they can improve their Web sites to close more sales, for example. (An all-caps style is not necessary.)
Context
Key to writing a click-friendly ad is understanding the mindset of both the total subscriber audience as well as your target readers within this group. You've got to craft a message whose tone and style are appropriate for both.
In this case, Larry probably figures that everyone who's reading eMarketer's newsletter is somewhat knowledgeable about email marketing. And a subset of these readers are savvy enough to know that email marketing is more successful when it resonates with the look and feel, as well as the content, of a Web site.
Specs
Most text ad specifications allow for eight lines of copy, each 60 to 65 characters wide. (Note: You get eight lines including spaces.) So there's no room for elaborate technospeak. Be straightforward and succinct. Don't worry too much about perfect grammar. With fewer lines of copy, you can also use white space effectively.
Include Specifics
Even in such a tight space, you should include enough specifics to explain your offer and establish your credibility. Larry does both by saying "3 taped hours in two sessions" and reminding us that he is a successful e-newsletter publisher as well as a book author.
It's also important, he says, to reassure your readers; hence his phrase "Satisfaction Guaranteed."
Say Just Enough
The point is that a sponsorship text ad is "an ad for an ad." You don't need to say much -- only enough to prompt a click. As you recall, the objective in most B2B email marketing is not to make a sale but to get your prospect's attention.
Larry calls his approach to ad copy a "consultative sell." For a considered purchase, he says, "I think it's an unrealistic expectation for a six- to eight-line ad to sell anybody on anything."
Note the two-word kicker at the end: "for details." It's both a teaser and a heads-up that he will tell you lots more after you click or email him. (Offering two contact methods is a good idea.)
Landing Page
You knew I'd get to this. As with all email marketing, your landing page is crucial to the success of your campaign. Your copy has to flow seamlessly from your text ad to your site. Same voice, same message, but lots more information. You need to fill in all the gaps -- and then some.
Larry has clearly spent a lot of time working on his landing page. It's more than 700 words long, which is almost the length of a ClickZ column. This is where he educates his target audience about what he can do for them -- all the while politely and gently trying to convert browsers into buyers.
Resources
Wilson includes useful information on how to write text ads on his ad-rates page. In addition, an article in MarketingSherpa's MarketingtoWebMarketers e-newsletter offers some good tips.
Well, I didn't get flamed as badly as I thought I would for last week's article, which recommended rethinking the notion of purchasing opt-in email lists. Actually, most of the feedback I received was positive and supportive. I only got flames for failing to follow through with the idea by giving some advice on building your own email list.
Email can be a powerful marketing tool, but it's up to the marketer to initiate and maintain relationships via email -- not the list broker, list aggregator, or any other entity. Currently, marketers rent, buy, and barter email lists, and some of them don't understand why a robust relationship doesn't come with an address they acquire from someone else. When you consider how the average consumer deals with his inbox, it's obvious why that isn't the case.
So, what is the best way to start and build your own email list? Read on!
First things first. You need to determine what the ultimate value proposition is for consumers. Why would they want to receive email from you and your company? What content would they expect from you? In many cases, it's a good idea to do a few focus groups to get definitive answers from your user base and from your target audience. After focus groups, you can get a better understanding of how your expectations of what you might deliver in an ongoing email communication would differ from the expectations of the people you're trying to speak to. When you get a handle on this, try to distill the value proposition into a sentence or two. For example: "The Gringo Love Show Mailing List is for fans of the rock band Gringo Love Show. On a weekly basis, the list receives a list of the band's upcoming gigs, specials on merchandise, stories from the road, and an occasional link to an MP3."
The value proposition represents your half of a transaction -- one that is made when a prospect becomes interested in what you have to offer and agrees to exchange his or her email address and trust for ongoing email from you and your company. It establishes expectations and ensures that the people who sign up for your list are interested in what you have to offer. When you settle on a value proposition for the consumer, stick to it and always deliver on it. You'll be happy with the results.
After you decide on the value proposition, it's time to take stock of all assets that might be used to acquire members for your list. Though your Web site and online ads may be primary drivers in an acquisition campaign designed to build your list, there are many other ways to acquire subscribers. Consider as well offline media, especially direct mail; onsite promotions and events; print and broadcast ads; and out-of-home media, in addition to any other communications channels your company might be making use of. A little creative brainstorming will help you decide which media can best help to build your list with subscribers who are interested in your offering.
Through these media, you deliver your value proposition to your prospects, along with privacy and acceptable use policies that reassure your subscribers that you won't abuse the trust they've placed in you and your company. Developing privacy policies and acceptable use guidelines is another article for another time.
Before you launch any ongoing email initiative, you should be sure to have appropriate technology assets in place to manage responses, opt-ins and opt-outs, mail preferences (HTML, text, or other), and bounces. These assets should consist of a database married to an email deployment solution. Several companies operate within this space. Currently, my agency uses e2 Communications to provide these functions, but there are plenty of choices out there, including DoubleClick DARTmail, Xpedite, Bigfoot Interactive, and CheetahMail, to name a few.
Of all the components needed to successfully build an effective email list, the most important component is the value proposition to the consumer. If you are forthright with regard to what you plan to give the consumer, you will build a list of interested prospects. Keep in mind that while you might want to deliver price lists to prospects each week, that's probably not what they want or expect from you. It is more likely you'll have to package sales-y content in such a way that it entertains and holds interest. In other words, you may be able to get away with disseminating a price list to an email list, as long as the email also contains something of entertainment value consistent with the value proposition -- perhaps a story about a unique application of your product or a Flash game. Boring content, or content not consistent with the value proposition, will cause people to unsubscribe. Be sure to deliver what consumers expect.
The best email lists concentrate on quality, not quantity. I'd rather have a list of 5,000 prospects who want to hear from me on a regular basis than a list of 20,000 who are only marginally committed. Good email lists deliver as much value to a subscriber as the product or servi
http://www.clickz.com/experts/media/media_buy/article.php/896621
What's stopping you from sending personalized, direct email communications to your entire universe of constituents today: prospects, customers, resellers, distributors, suppliers, investors, and employees?
Worried about hitting bumps in the road? That road may not be as bumpy as you think.
Debunking Email Marketing Misperceptions
Misperception No. 1: The people we talk to don't use email.
Reality: Virtually everyone is online using email.*
Misperception No. 2: We don't want to offend our constituents.
Reality: Then permission-based marketing is the solution.
Misperception No. 3: We can't afford to send email to everyone.
Reality: Select a high return on investment (ROI) audience.
Misperception No. 4: Email has no place in our marketing mix.
Reality: Faster, better, and cheaper should be in your marketing mix.
Misperception No. 5: We don't have opt-in email addresses.
Reality: Start correcting that problem now. Don't delay!
All the above are addressable. Credible research, statistics, and bottom-line-oriented case studies help us overcome the first four objections every day.
The real problem is number five. Despite a buyers' market for technology and professional services, inadequate opt-in email lists stand in the way of many organizations interested in, but not yet executing, direct email programs.
These organizations never made it a priority to capture basic information (full name, email address, and explicit opt-in from individuals) required to send email. In turn, they communicate either with none or only a small percentage of their addressable market.
Does your organization have open access to your universe of constituents? It boils down to a simple cost-benefit analysis. Is the investment worth the potential return? For those interested in accelerating the growth and completeness of their lists, answers are below for your timely consideration.
Strategy
The strategy is simple: Begin with the end. What data will help reduce costs and/or drive sales with your segmented audiences? For example, what data can you collect to qualify leads for faster sales cycles, higher conversion, and, therefore, more profitable sales? Reverse-engineer a plan of action that uncovers exactly what data items are necessary to fulfill your objectives. Once you have a clear picture, compose a win-win value proposition for each of your respective markets. The right offer is key to make people volunteer the information you desire.
Tip: Don't ask for too much, too fast. Start by asking only for opt-in, full name, and email address. Then, through email and other marketing efforts, provide opportunities allowing recipients to volunteer additional information. Enhanced profiles improve the timeliness, relevance, and reward of every interaction.
Implementation
Execution is never easy. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to easily and affordably accelerate the growth of your opt-in database. We often encourage our clients to capitalize on all touch points with constituents for data collection. Start by identifying all areas of exposure to your brand (on- and offline). Next, consider which of these can directly or indirectly help you obtain the requisite data to engage in a rewarding dialogue. Be aware the greatest output results from high traffic channels. These differ, depending on your business. Here are common ways to leverage channels at minimal cost:
Web sites. A Web site is a powerful tool for data capture and supplying information about your email offerings. Ask for your visitor's email address and permission on every form on your site.
TV, print ads, direct mail, brochures, and radio. Take advantage of existing marketing to drive traffic to your site. Benefit from signups for email services. Add a call to action to all copy in planned media buys and deliverables. Suggest people visit www.yourcompany.com to subscribe today for your email REWARDS program or informative E-Newsletter. Small step, big return.
Sales force/customer service representatives. Educate your staff on reasons why recipients will benefit from your email communications. With buy-in, they can best position the offer by asking people if they would like to receive account updates and specials via email.
Point of sale. Place a signup form at cash registers and other visible, high-traffic locations to gather email addresses. Let people know they can receive notices of upcoming sales by supplying their full names and email addresses.
Trade shows/conferences. Offer a giveaway (such as a digital camera) or sweepstakes entry in exchange for explicit opt-in. Display a signup sheet or laptop so people can register. Mention value-add email services in pre- and post-conference mailings.
Statements. Do you offer statement information via email? If so, add a sticker or insert in your snail-mailing to promote the convenience of email services to your customer. Reduce postal costs for your organization.
For more information, questions, comments, or any other feedback, please feel free to drop me a line. Cheers!
* I'm aware that the statement made would not apply to less-developed countries. FYI: Over 72 percent of the U.S. population is online using the Internet (IDC, 2001). Of these online users, 93 percent regularly check their email accounts from home (The Yankee Group, 2002). And 85 percent regularly check their email accounts from work (The Yankee Group, 2002). (Return)
Thinking about the relationship between the telephone and e-mail, the old Girl Scout song comes to mind: "Make new friends, but keep the old./One is silver and the other gold."
Here's why. Yes, e-mail is increasingly the preferred mode of business communication. Heck, our phones at work barely ring any more.
Yet when it comes to actually getting e-mail addresses (and permission to use them), many e-mail marketers return to the old, tried-and-true way of communicating with their clients and prospects. You got it -- they call on the phone.
Basics of Phone-Based E-Mail Address Capture
The premise behind phone-based capture is pretty simple:
Call the customer to request or confirm his e-mail address and ask for permission to send e-mail.
Give the customer a reason or incentive to provide the e-mail address and permission.
Log or record the phone call as evidence permission was obtained.
Ensure accurate capture by putting solid verification processes in place.
Results can be pretty outstanding. Phone-based data capture experts achieve as high as 90 percent success rates. Other permission-based capture methods, such as direct mail, usually yield rates of less than 1 percent.
Dun & Bradstreet Scores
Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) needed to increase business-to-business (B2B) customer e-mail coverage but found using its inside sales staff was not the most effective, accurate, or fastest method for phone-based e-mail capture. More important, the process diverted sales from higher-value activities. So, it outsourced the project to Proactive Business Solutions.
Proactive's team phoned D&B's customer database. The incentive was a complimentary D&B marketing white paper, offered by e-mail. D&B was able to obtain the customer contact's e-mail address 88.37 percent of the time when a live contact was reached.
D&B calculated the cost per customer contact (including cost of the phone capture) was 63.4 percent less than direct mail. Its estimated cost per customer contact was reduced from $1.25 to $0.46 in the first year, based on the assumption each contact will be mailed 12 times during that year, and 20 percent of the e-mail addresses will have to be updated in that same period.
Don't Try This at Home!
As Joanna can attest from her own phone capture experiences, do not attempt this with an in-house staffer with regular responsibilities. Any sort of telemarketing project only works if you dedicate time and resources to it exclusively. There's a fairly large commitment in dollars and management bandwidth to do it right in-house.
Proactive's Scott Geisinger explains the focused time, data capture expertise, and dialing and voice logging infrastructure required to do phone capture properly and inexpensively are considerable. An effort to capture e-mail addresses as part of a normal in- or outbound customer interaction is usually ineffective because a large portion of the customer database is not touched. It's terribly slow, and many salespeople fear requesting an e-mail address could create an obstacle to the sale.
"Just Send a Brochure" Excuse Now Obsolete
Once, to quickly end a telemarketing call, a prospect could get away with, "Just send me a brochure." Three weeks later, that brochure would finally arrive by mail, resulting in a total sales process disconnect.
Marketers now turn that tired excuse into an e-mail capture tool. You can ask the prospect, "May I send you a PDF of our brochure?" If the answer is yes, you've captured her e-mail address. That PDF provides immediate sales information with visuals and brand logos. It offers more credibility than a conversation with an anonymous phone rep can.
Adrian Miller, a sales training expert, takes it a step further. Miller encourages the prospect to open the PDF while still on the phone, so you can go through the brochure together. She has found this particularly effective for B2B catalog companies, where the salesperson can "shop" with a prospect to encourage immediate sales.
E-Mail and Telephone Sales Integration Obstacles
Both Miller and her colleague Jane Tabachnick, an e-marketing consultant, concur one of the biggest obstacles to integrated e-mail and phone campaigns is that traditional schism between marketing and sales.
Marketing e-mail campaigns are typically designed to contact large portions of the database. Sales creates one-off e-mails to the core customer portion of their base. The result is "strategic gridlock," says Tabachnick. Creative marketers must acknowledge and work around the problem. At a minimum, salespeople should be notified when marketing e-mails are sent, so they can capitalize on the customer contact.
Got ideas, techniques, or case studies that show how to integrate e-mail and the telephone? Send them to Karen -- we're particularly interested in what high-tech B2B companies are doing.
I don't know about you, but I get tons of email. Sure, I live and work in this space; it's what I do. But occupation aside, I'm also a Web consumer. And a business owner. And an online news aficionado, hungry for content.
As a result, I've plugged into a number of different email offers out there -- from shopping and business-to-business (B2B) sites to online publications. From the most popular to the most obscure.
And what have all of those email services gotten me? Well, some good products, ideas, and reading material, to be sure.
But also way too darned many emails.
OK, here's my resolution: I vow that one day soon I will be subscribed to only the most necessary emailed newsletters and services.
So, you ask, just what constitutes "necessary"?
In a word: RELEVANCE.
In other words, if you want to keep my name on your email file, speak to me about what's really important, with messages and offers that are truly customized and meet my own personal needs and interests.
That's the beauty of database marketing. It can do all this. And more.
Take a look at Amazon.com, for instance. Its email service, which sends book offers and discounts based on customers' selected areas of interest, is one of the first that I ever subscribed to... and will no doubt be one that I retain over the long haul.
Why? Because every time I get a message from Amazon.com, I know it's going to be worthwhile. Before I even open it. Granted, the messages may not be personalized to the point that they address me by name; nonetheless, this doesn't make or break the service for me.
In fact, Amazon.com has gotten more business from me than even I expected to give it. And it's all because of its reasonably simple email service, which often leaves me saying, "Gotta have it."
Of course, it could get a lot more complicated if Amazon.com were to slice and dice even further. (And maybe it already DOES slice and dice more than I've suggested -- I'm not privy to its database strategy!) Here's a hypothetical example to illustrate:
Say there are 50,000 subscribers who, like me, have an interest in books in the "Business and Investing" category. If Amazon.com wanted to fine-tune (and strengthen) its offers and strategy, it could split this list a hundred different ways and market differently to each segment.
It could group folks by criteria such as date of last purchase, number of purchases over the last 3/6/12 months, and whether they subscribe to other interest categories (and which ones). Other segments can include people who responded to specific offers. And which books they actually BOUGHT.
As you can see, there can be dozens, even hundreds, of potential segments, each with its own "hot button." The key, of course, lies in not only how the list is split but how each segment is marketed to. In other words, how each segment's hot buttons are targeted with multiple offers and messages.
If you're not currently using a database to enhance your relationships with your customers, consider it the foundation of your future email marketing success. Begin laying the groundwork now by planning or implementing the following:
Analyze your current customer database. What have your customers purchased? What are they interested in? Which key points or segments of your database would be the most relevant or suitable for your offers? Maybe it's just a matter of targeting emails to subscribers based on categories of interest, as Amazon.com did.Or maybe your business calls out for a service such as the AA Net SAAver Fares program offered by American Airlines, in which a traveler can register his or her home city as well as the cities he or she visits most frequently. When relevant flights go on sale, American sends off a personalized email "alert." A much more complex scenario, to be sure, but a good example of solid database marketing in action.
What assumptions can you make about your customers? If you're selling high-end baby gift items online, will your 40- to 55-year-olds be more interested in the 18-karat gold-rimmed pacifier or the DKNY infant sweatsuit?
Plan your offers according to your answers to the questions above. Don't forget to consider format decisions, such as whether to use or test HTML and/or rich media.
Build your database. Include any pertinent variables from the above analysis that can be turned into data fields. Think about your reporting functions, and prioritize your fields in terms of weight.
Of course, it can get a heck of a lot more complicated than this, and we'll explore more details next week in Part 2. But my strongest suggestion is to begin looking for outsourcers now, especially if you want to use email as a marketing tool in the future.
Mark my words: Relevance will be key.
http://www.clickz.com/experts/em_mkt/em_mkt/article.php/838351