Understanding Email Campaigns in Internet Marketing
Email campaigns have transformed communication by allowing easy distribution of messages and documents worldwide within seconds. They can take various forms like direct emails, newsletters, and press releases. This chapter explores different types of email campaigns, including direct mail vs. direct email, spam email, opt-out email, and opt-in email, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between solicited and non-solicited emails.
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E-MARKETING (INTERNET MARKETING) Chapter 4 Email Campaigns BY: Dr. ShowkatHussainGani
Email Campaigns About Email Campaigns Email or electronic mail has revolutionised communication. Anyone with access to the internet and an email program can send a written message - along with attached documents - anywhere in the world within seconds via the internet. Email campaigns are targeted emails that work much like conventional direct mail campaigns. They come in various forms such as direct email, newsletters, newsgroups, and press releases.
Email Campaigns Types of Email Direct Mail vs. Direct Email Direct mail is very expensive compared to direct email. Most of us have received multiple versions of the AOL CD via direct mail, which in most cases makes a great drink coaster at best. Most of us can not afford to make a billion pieces of direct mail like AOL, but, fortunately, there is direct email. The creation cost for both are about the same but the publication and distribution costs for direct email is much less. This gives you the opportunity to use direct email on the Internet on a much smaller budget.
Email Campaigns Spam Email A sharp line divides email marketing from spam. Basically email marketing is solicited email (requested), and spam is non-solicited email (not requested). The gray area begins to form when you start arguing over how a recipient asks. Understanding this division is the key to ensuring you do not come across as spamming.
Email Campaigns Opt-out Email Opt-out email is email sent to target groups who have shown an interest in a specific topic. Once the email is received, the recipient has the option to "unsubscribe" from receiving further email from you. Opt-out email is considered solicited email because at some point the recipient filled out a form somewhere that landed them on a list of people who have agreed to receive email. Opt-out list may start as a legit email list, but those lists are often bought, sold, shared, rented or exchanged by others with similar lists. This results in your email address being vulnerable to anyone, including spammers. Opt-out email is often mistaken for spam since you don't specifically ask for opt-out email.
Email Campaigns Opt-in Email Opt-in email is email that has been specifically requested. This email approach will be well received by your target audience since they ask you to send it to them. The recipient must explicitly request to be placed on your opt-in list, or you run the risk of looking like a spammer. Most Opt-in sign ups are single opt-in, meaning you enter your email address then you click a submit button and you are subscribed. Double opt-in requires you to reply to an email confirmation before you are added to the list. This helps ensure someone else can not add you to an opt-in list without your permission.
Email Campaigns Purchased vs Rented Email Lists Every time you turn around, someone is trying to sell you a list of 1,000,000 email addresses. At best you are purchasing a static list of opt-out email addresses that are not targeted towards any particular demographics. At worst you are buying a near dead opt-out list of emails, and those you do reach will view your company negatively because they have already received too much spam email from the same list. Rented email lists are living opt-in lists where people subscribe and unsubscribe daily. In most cases, you never actually see the list, but instead the company submits your email to their list for you. Rented lists are more easily targeted because you can choose a company or companies whose audience matches your target audience.
Email Campaigns Renting a List When you rent a list, your email is distributed for you to individuals all over the world who sign up and receive email messages on specific topics. You can visit Web sites that have similar demographics as yours and see if you can rent their list. For example, would likely rent from www.searchenginewatch.com because of similar demographics.
Email Campaigns Building A Better Email In direct mail marketing, the envelope has two primary purposes: branding and to encourage the recipient open it. In email marketing, the envelope is the email's From: line, Subject: line, and To: line. Following a few simple rules can increase the success of an email campaign dramatically. You should start the email off with a headline at the top which is set apart from the rest of the email by single dashed line on the top and bottom of the header. The header should be two lines at most and summarize exactly what you have to offer. The signature is the section at the bottom of your email that allows you to identify yourself and offer contact information. Using a signature at the bottom of your emails ensures that the recipient knows who originally sent the email, even if it is forwarded.
Email Campaigns Test Your Email Before sending any email campaign to the rest of the world, be sure to send a copy to yourself to make sure everything looks exactly the way you expect it to. Check your links in the received version to see that they all work, check the contact information for correctness, and check to see that the email meets all the length and formatting rules.
Email Campaigns Avoid Email Attachments Some companies have found email attachments containing postcards, slide shows, or even commercials. Though this method can have some effective results, it should be avoided as many users assume any attachment from a third party is a possible virus. Next, if the attachment contains the bulk of your payload and is not opened, then your message will never get seen. By simply supplying a link to a Web address containing more information, you can grab the prospect's attention without the fear of a potential virus.
Email Campaigns When to Send Email Conventional wisdom suggests that everything should be waiting for you first thing Monday since you are fresh and ready for a new week. However, reality will show you that your email box is bulging at the seams on Monday and you just want to get through it at any cost. Instead, email early Friday afternoon. Most people are winding down for the weekend at that time and putting off tasks till the next week. This allows for more light reading of the few emails trickling in on a Friday afternoon.
Email Campaigns The Unsubscribe Option Even if you are using your own opt-in email list, you must offer a way to unsubscribe from the list in every email. This applies to direct email, newsletters, and all other email promotions. This shows your respect for their time when they decide to no longer receive direct email. The option to unsubscribe can be placed near the bottom of the email with easy-to-follow instructions. Probably the simplest unsubscribe method tells the recipient to reply to the received email and place the word "Unsubscribe" on the subject line. This is quick and easy, thus the recipient does not feel trapped.
Email Campaigns Response Tracking Response tracking from email marketing can be handled easily by two methods. First, the campaign can include a Web page address that is unique to the campaign, and you can track the visitors to that page. Next, you can associate a promocode with the campaign and track how often it is used. A combination of both methods would allow you to compare how many people responded relative to how many people acted on their response.
Email Campaigns Response Staff There are many methods for automating this process, and it is fine to send an automated response so long as it is followed with a real person responding soon after. Many prospects rely on the human element to close the deal, therefore it is essential you supply it for them. How quickly you can respond makes all the difference in the world. A 24-hour to 48- hour window of response time is preferred and anything faster than 8 hours is viewed as an unreal response time. By responding quickly you demonstrate to your visitors that you are very serious about customer support. One of the most annoying things on the Internet are those sites that do not offer any phone support options. DirectNIC for example, one of the leading domain name resellers, offers some of the best rates at $15 per year and provides more free features than you know what to do with. The problem is, they only offer support via email. This in itself could cost them millions in lost business. It is very common for visitors to ask the same questions. To help speed up the response process, your response staff is encouraged to have form emails already prepared that address the most common questions.
Email Campaigns Newsletters Newsletters, in this case, are email messages distributed by a company or organization to an opt-in list on a set schedule. Newsletters typically announce sales, specials, schedules, events, product releases, as well as a payload of useful information that makes the newsletters newsworthy. There are two types of marketing opportunities with newsletters. You can either offer your own newsletter or you can advertise in someone else's newsletter. Setting Tone: To create an effective newsletter that people want to read on a regular basis requires choosing a topic that you can be the authority on and that the readers will look forward to reading. Setting the Frequency: You must determine how often the newsletter should be mailed out. Too often and readers feel overloaded and will likely unsubscribe. Too infrequently and readers may forget who you are and think you are spamming them. Archive Your Newsletters: If you do offer both ASCII and HTML versions, then archiving your newsletters on your Web site will be very easy. Each month you simply add a link to your monthly newsletter within the archive section and add the new newsletter with a new name.
Email Campaigns Newsletters (Getting Subscribers ) First, a link to receive the newsletter should be available on your main page and maybe on all pages. Next, the sign up process needs to be very easy, with just enough questions to understand who your readers are, but not so many that they may hold them back from signing up. Finally, you need to clearly explain your privacy policy so your readers feel secure. You should never give your list to anyone, never email your list for anyone, and let your users know that is your policy. Word of Mouth: Another way to increase readers is through your current reader base. You can encourage your readers to pass your newsletter on to friends by adding wording at the bottom of each newsletter letting them know you need their help to spread the word.
Email Campaigns Newsletter Advertising Selling Ads In Your Newsletter There are two reasons you might sell ads in your newsletter. First, the whole purpose of your newsletter might be to sell ad space. In this case, you build your revenue model around making money off advertising sales in the newsletter. Second, if your newsletter is good, you will be contacted by those wanting to advertise in your newsletter. Unless your company is in the advertising business, you should not consider putting ads from other companies in your newsletter. Your newsletter is a great place for you to educate your readers, sell them on your products, and solve technical problems for them. It is for you and you alone. Newsletter Special Announcements Though you do not want to put ads from other people in your newsletter, you might want to make a special announcement about a partner company who is willing to do the same for you. If you choose to do this, be sure that both companies are in a position to benefit from the partnership, both are in a position to give a strong recommendation about the other, and neither are competing directly with each other. Advertising in Other Newsletters There is no shortage of newsletters out there looking to sell ad space. Your goal is to find newsletters that match your client demographics, have a strong reader following, and the content seems worthwhile. The list below is a good place to start, but you are encouraged to sample the newsletters of your final choices to ensure they will benefit your ad campaign.
Email Campaigns E-Promotions An E-promotion is an email sent to your own opt-in email list about your specials, discounts, contests, or giveaways. E-promotions must be well-planned and well-timed. They should have something very worthwhile for the readers such that they merit having their own email instead of being part of the newsletter. For example, WebYoda wanted to build new prospects' awareness about the success that past students had enjoyed. WebYoda ran an E-promotion asking for readers to submit success stories. In return, WebYoda picked a submission at random, and gave away a Palm VII to that lucky person.
Email Campaigns Newsgroups A newsgroup is a kind of electronic bulletin board where people who are interested in like subjects can post and respond to conversational "threads" or topics. There are literally thousands of newsgroups hosted all over the world, and covering every conceivable topic about which humans converse. Each newsgroup has a following of readers along with self-proclaimed gurus who police each group for unwanted traffic. This means you will need to gain the acceptance of the group gurus in order to build a reputation within each group. Newsgroups are where spam originated and thus is least tolerated. Before you begin posting to newsgroups other than the test groups, you need to understand how they work. Newsgroups are like real communities. All members have real personalities, and you must be accepted by the group before your messages will be respected.
Email Campaigns Newsgroups Because of the spam problems associated with newsgroups, blatant advertising is usually banned, but you're welcome to give advice, answer questions, and pass on information. Be sure to include your signature block at the bottom of all messages just as you would for an email. Pick no more than three groups in which to participate and try to post messages at least twice per week. Don't let the newsgroup gurus for these groups discourage you. In fact, if they give you a hard time, this may draw attention to you and thereby bring you more traffic.
Press Releases An Internet press release is the same as a traditional press release except it is internet based. As with any press release the idea is to send a document to a news provider with the hope they find your document newsworthy enough to publish. With an internet press release you send an email with your newsworthy document attached. A great way to generate a lot of traffic to your web site is to get yourself mentioned by the press. In fact, a press release is one of the world's and Web's most effective marketing tools. As such, announcing your web site via a press release is a great way to create the initial promotional momentum a new web site requires.
Email Campaigns Press Releases Though press releases are generally considered conventional marketing and not E-marketing, it is important to discuss their importance. For example, every press release which www.BusinessWire.com distributes in the U.S. is transmitted to a myriad of Internet sites, online services and databases. In total, they reach over 16,000 points online, more than any other commercial wire service. They make news available in every major content syndicating service. The other significant press release company to consider is www.prnewswire.com.
Email Campaigns Press Releases Setting the Tone The goal of a press release is to be informative of current and future events within your company. It should not be written to sound like a marketing campaign. Instead, it should be worded more like a headline news story. Setting the Time As with newsletters, it would be a good idea to publish your press release on a day other than Monday to miss the rush. For press releases, Thursday afternoon is a good target since it won't hit most presses or online services until the next day anyway. Next if it is picked up by any newspapers, they might even run it as a weekend story, which would yield even more readers. Press Release Tracking Response tracking from a press release can be handled easily by two methods. First, the press release should contain a Web page address that is unique to the press release. Next you can include a special offer within the press release using a promocode to track sales. Using both methods would allow you to compare how many people visited from the press release relative to how many people purchased because of it.
