Reality television has swept the nation, in case you haven't
noticed. Everyone's talking about who should be kicked off this
or that show next and why somebody or another can't last for
long. People seem to enjoy talking about the "baddies" and
"goodies," and apparently some primal need is filled when
dealing with the "realities" of different situations.
I'd like to sweep some reality into email marketing as well.
Here are a few issues that are being taken more seriously and
starting to become best practices. Don't get kicked off your
island, and take notice.
Make unsubscribing easy. The systems to handle subscriptions and
unsubscriptions are starting to actually work and make my life
easier. Many opt-in emails I get these days have very
easy-to-use systems to handle my subscription. They range from
one-click subscriptions and unsubscriptions all the way to the
online email subscription and preference center, where you can
select what you do and don't want to receive and in what format
-- all on one screen.
These systems are a must. The reality is that email-based
subscription and unsubscription systems that force you to email
a message with a specific body or subject line are error prone
and not user friendly. I vote that technique off the island.
Make messages relevant. The emails I get contain more relevant
information. The well-designed emails that work usually come
from the big three product categories of e-tailing: books,
music, and computer/electronics. These emails are the best
because they demonstrate how the products are used and always
show the price prominently.
These emails mirror traditional direct marketing (which we know
works well). Some special approaches work as well, such as tying
in geographically relevant information (e.g., closest bookstore
to your zip code), but usually when the email becomes too
complex, my interest is lost.
Make messages interactive. Your audience needs to be listened
to. I know this has been driven into the ground, but the
curmudgeon really hates it when people don't listen. Most times
when I reply to a marketing email with a request and await a
response, I get nothing. Thankfully, some of the emails have
phone numbers to call, and that works 99 percent of the time and
much more effectively than the email method.
The basic idea is that when you send out email, you should
expect to get something back. (Usually about 1 percent of your
outbound email will come back as actual requests from your
customers.) People like to share ideas, concerns, questions, and
rants. If you ignore them, don't expect them to remain customers
for long.
Pay attention to demographics. The spam-meisters must have
known something everyone else didn't. The increase in
Spanish-language spam that I have been getting is possibly
linked to the most recent Census 2000 findings. The Hispanic and
Latino population increased to over 12 percent of the U.S.
population, a 58 percent increase since the last census, taken
in 1990.
This is a newsworthy event, not something to brush off. The
demographic makeup of your customers is changing, and notions
such as language, format, and the people featured in your
marketing message cannot be taken for granted and may need to be
reviewed. You may be surprised what you find and how many new
customers you attract.
So there you have it -- a few ideas that can help you stay on
the island that is email marketing.
Copyright 2003 LeadsandTraffic.com
About the author:
Talbert Williams offers debt consolidation, debt reduction,
credit card debt referrals and advice. For more information,
articles, news, tools and valuable resources on debt solutions,
visit this site:
http://www.1debtfreedom.com
