Bigger spotlight on e-mail marketing emphasizes better subscriber lists

Bigger spotlight on e-mail marketing emphasizes better subscriber lists

By ByJudith Nemes
Story posted: February 26, 2009 - 6:01 am EDT



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As companies cut budgets to streamline operations in these tough economic times, e-mail marketing managers are feeling the heat to deliver stronger results. In many instances, direct mail budgets are being slashed, with some of those funds diverted to e-mail as a potentially more cost-effective use of marketing dollars, said Jeanne S. Jennings, an e-mail marketing strategy consultant and owner of the eponymous JeanneJennings.com.
“The people making those budget decisions are also transferring high expectations that the e-mail channel will make up for lost sales they once expected from direct marketing,” Jennings said.

Sharpening your company’s e-mail subscriber list is a key factor in improving results of online marketing campaigns, she said, offering these tips to help make that happen:

1. Relevance is more critical than ever before. Put yourself inside the readers’ mind and make sure you really understand the people you’re sending e-mails to, Jennings said. In some cases, you may need greater segmentation of your list. “What you send a junior-level or a senior-level IT person on your list may be very different,” she said.
2. Build relationships. Spend time understanding what information is critical to readers on your e-mail list, Jennings said. It’s imperative to know what subscribers need to do their job better in their markets. “The more you can do to show them you understand their needs, the more likely they will buy from you down the road,” she said.
3. Eliminate the dead wood. It’s worthwhile to comb through your e-mail list and eliminate those who aren’t responding at all, Jennings said. If you’re sending e-mails monthly and someone hasn’t opened a single one in a year, chances are they’re not going to open any going forward, either, she said. “People don’t really unsubscribe anymore; they just ignore you,” she added. What’s more, some of those unresponsive individuals may have been laid off by their companies and the IT departments may not have gotten around to returning the bounce to let you know they’re gone, she said.
4. Test to optimize performance. If you’re getting a little more money in your e-mail budget, spend 10% to 20% of it on testing to learn more about what will trigger people on your subscriber list to respond to your e-mails, Jennings said. What you learn may result in a 1% lift in your conversion rate. “That doesn’t seem like much but, if you can do that consistently, it adds up over time,” she said. Plus, “you’ll never improve your effort if you’re not testing it,” Jennings added.

Text vs. HTML: The Great Debate!
February 2, 2008:

We’ve located an interesting study below regarding the use of HTML vs. Text in creative content. It is always important to remember that most ISPs will by default block images until the sending address has been added to the users address book. If an email’s creative content contains 100% HTML, the message will appear empty for many first time recipients.
URL: http://www.marketingexperimentsblog.com/email-format-31-07.php

HTML vs. Plain Text has long been among the most hotly debated email-oriented topics. HTML format offers a visually pleasing design that:
1) Affects readers’ ability to process and benefit from the information.
2) Provides marketers with the ability to track the effectiveness of emails.
Two of the most recent Marketing Experiment email tests provide significant insight into this debate.

How Much HTML Should Be Used:
MarketingExperiments suggests that not all HTML messages are created equal. They make a clear distinction between two types of HTML:
* “Heavy” HTML (which she defines as “Ad Style” - I take that to mean a high ratio of imagery to
text, frequent use of bold and italicized text… a design that brings to mind the emails I’m used to seeing Chad White discuss on RetailEmail.Blogspot)
* “Lite” HTML (low imagery to text ratio, less frequent use of bold/highlighted/italicized text)

Test One was Lite HTML email format Vs. Plain Text email format. Lite HTML outperformed Plain Text by 55% in click-through rate. Test 2 was Heavy HTML (Ad style) email vs. Plain Text email. Plain Text outperformed Heavy HTML by 34%.

I believe HTML format will continue to reach more readers because of its pleasing appearance and functionalities. No one likes to read boring messages, especially today’s readers who are getting more and more sophisticated with new ways to interact. The ability to tinker with fonts and font color and to do other things such as italicize appeals to many people. With that said, we also need to constantly remind ourselves to respect our readers with every marketing effort we make. With the same respectful content in both emails, a Lite HTML email looks like a nicely layed out letter and Heavy HTML email looks like advertising material. I suspect most people would prefer a nicely layed out letter. With HTML format, it might be possible to track the effectiveness of emails and provide readers with “what really works” insights of how such email campaigns perform from the beginning to end. However, if it is done wrong, HTML format can face the danger of being blocked by email services and irritate readers with such things as improperly embedded images or aggressive advertising.

The important thing to remember is to test until you become convinced about what really works best for you—and then continue to test periodically.

Yesmail Deliverability.