9 Tips for Building an Effective Email Marketing List
9 Tips for Building an
Effective Email Marketing
List
By Jennifer Lonof Scif
CIO | ep 11, 2014 6:00 AM PT
Jennifer Lonoff Schiff
Jennifer Lonoff Schiff is a business and technology writer and a
contributor to CIO.com. She also runs Schiff & Schiff
Communications, a marketing firm focused on helping organizations
better interact with their customers, employees and partners.
When it comes to building an email marketing list, there is no secret
formula. But there are steps you can take to increase your opt-in rates
and decrease the number of Unsubscribes. What are those steps? Dozens of email
marketing pros share their top nine tips for how to build a successful email marketing
list.
[ Related: 7 Ways to Create a Successful Integrated Marketing Campaign ]
[ Related: 8 Expert Online Marketing Tips for Small Businesses ]
1. Make it easy for people to sign up. "You'd be amazed how many companies miss out
on email signups by not adding an option for people to subscribe on every page of their
[site]," says Mike Volpe, CMO, HubSpot, which specializes in inbound marketing. If you
want to get people to give you their email address, or sign up for newsletters and
promotions, "make it easy and seamless for readers of your content to engage with
you."
"Place the subscription form on the most visited pages of your website, including the
homepage," says Deborah Hanamura, director of marketing at Metia, a global marketing
agency. Also, be sure to "include a tab on Facebook that enables fans to sign up [for
emails and promotions]."
As to where to put your email signup, "make sure [your opt-in] form occupies a
prominent part of your website, ideally above the fold within the header," says Andrew
King, senior strategy consultant at Lyris, a provider of integrated digital marketing
software and solutions. And "don't be afraid to [put] your sign-up form in the footer too."
2. Collect email the old-fashioned way, in person. "Collect contact information at
business events [conferences, trade shows, mixers]," says Lauren Witte, associate
director, marketing & client services, Jackson White, a full service law firm. "Have plenty
of your business cards on hand [as] usually if you hand your card to someone you meet,
they will give you their card in exchange."
3. Offer people an incentive. "Offer a prize, coupon or free resource [e.g., a white paper]
and require an email in order to get your prize," suggests Jim Belosic, CEO, ShortStack,
which helps businesses build contests, sweepstakes and data-collection forms on the
Web and for mobile. "If you give people something they want, they'll give you what you
want."
For example, Bob's Discount Furniture recently offered Facebook fans a chance to win
four tickets to an upcoming New York Giants football game if they signed up for their
email list.
Similarly, "if you're attending a trade show, or giving a presentation, give away a prize
as an incentive for attendees to drop their business cards in a bowl," suggests Witte.
"Prizes don't have to be huge. A gift card will do. But keep in mind, the better the prize,
the more cards you're likely to receive."
4. Let people know what to expect. "Explain the value [of signing up for your emails],"
advises Andy Shore, content & social networking manager, Benchmark Email, a
provider of email marketing services. "Let your subscribers know what they're in for.
Whether it be deals and promotions or information and education, people are more
likely to sign up when they know what to expect."
5. Deliver relevant, customized content -- with a clear, but brief, subject line. "While this
may seem obvious, it's more important than ever to deliver content that is tailored to
each customer's interests and behavior," says Alyssa Nahatis, director of Deliverability
forAdobe Campaign, a provider of marketing campaign solutions. "The digital marketing
tools out there today give marketers the ability to customize content with real-time
updates for each customer, increasing customer's confidence and trust with the
company," she says.
"Don't treat every customer as a nameless, faceless nobody," adds Len Shneyder,
director of industry relations at Message Systems, which provides email infrastructure
software. To find out what your customers are interested in, "ask them a few questions
at the point of sign up to better optimize promotions and offers."
"Sending individualized (including the person's name in the emails) and custom emails
based on an individual customer's actions on your website (which you can track by
knowing what content they downloaded and what website pages they visited) can help
you yield higher email open and click-through rates," says Leah Pope, vice president of
marketing, Synthesio, a social intelligence company. Remember, "Nobody wants to
receive information that they don't care about," she says. "If you [repeatedly] send
[people] something that isn't applicable to them, they will likely unsubscribe or never
open any of your emails again."
6. Equally important is to have a strong -- but brief -- subject line. "For subject lines, it's
best to tease the content and keep it very short," says Joe LeKostaj, email marketing
director, Sprout Social, a social media management and engagement platform.
"Depending on your audience, up to 60 percent of opens happen on mobile, and iPhone
mail [for example] only displays up to 38 characters in the subject."
Indeed, according to research conducted by market research and consulting firm
Chadwick Martin Bailey, some 64 percent of people open an email based on the subject
line alone. While according to marketing firm Convince & Convert, 69 percent of people
will mark your email as spam if the subject line looks like, well, spam.
7. Humanize your messaging. "Far too many company emails are written like a
broadcast message or press release," says Volpe. "Know who humans want to read
emails from? Other humans. To that end, write copy that is relatable, approachable and
relevant to your audience versus promotional language that sounds impersonal," he
advises. "Your audience will thank you."
8. Optimize your emails for mobile viewing. "Include responsive design into your email
content to allow for proper viewing as 61 percent of emails are now opened on mobile
devices," says Nahatis. "Case studies show that responsive design in emails can
increase open rates by 15 to 17 percent and click-through rates by 21 to 24 percent."
Moreover, "up to 80 percent of consumers will delete emails that don't render properly
when they open them, and 18 percent will actually unsubscribe."
8. Don't inundate people with emails; rather, give them options. "Inundating contacts on
your list will leave a bad taste in the recipients' mouths, causing a negative association
with your brand," says Steve Clark, vice president and director of Account
Services,Garfield Group, an integrated marketing agency. So what's considered
"inundating" customers with emails? "It [typically] means sending more than a couple of
emails per week, especially during the first two weeks after opt-in," he says. To find the
right frequency, "gather analytics to help determine which emails are garnering positive
and negative results. [Then adjust] the frequency up or down."
"Brands who email aggressively risk aggravating their subscribers," says Shawn Myers,
vice president of marketing,StrongView, a provider of a cross-channel marketing
platform used by enterprises. "Actions as simple as giving customers control over
frequency can go a long way toward preventing the dreaded unsubscribe. [So] offer the
option to opt down or even pause marketing in addition to a full opt out," he suggests.
"With these simple practices, organizations can better understand their audience's
needs and deliver emails that drive engagement and revenue."
9. Test your email delivery strategy. "Email delivery times, days and promotional
windows should all be tested," states Shneyder. "If you routinely send email on
Tuesdays, how do you know that Wednesday isn't a better day? Did you test it or just
assume it was the day to send out that 20 percent promotion because your competition
does the same thing?" If the latter, test to make sure your theory is correct -- by tracking
open rates, click-through rates and unsubscribes. And if it isn't, change your strategy.
Effective Email Marketing
List
By Jennifer Lonof Scif
CIO | ep 11, 2014 6:00 AM PT
Jennifer Lonoff Schiff
Jennifer Lonoff Schiff is a business and technology writer and a
contributor to CIO.com. She also runs Schiff & Schiff
Communications, a marketing firm focused on helping organizations
better interact with their customers, employees and partners.
When it comes to building an email marketing list, there is no secret
formula. But there are steps you can take to increase your opt-in rates
and decrease the number of Unsubscribes. What are those steps? Dozens of email
marketing pros share their top nine tips for how to build a successful email marketing
list.
[ Related: 7 Ways to Create a Successful Integrated Marketing Campaign ]
[ Related: 8 Expert Online Marketing Tips for Small Businesses ]
1. Make it easy for people to sign up. "You'd be amazed how many companies miss out
on email signups by not adding an option for people to subscribe on every page of their
[site]," says Mike Volpe, CMO, HubSpot, which specializes in inbound marketing. If you
want to get people to give you their email address, or sign up for newsletters and
promotions, "make it easy and seamless for readers of your content to engage with
you."
"Place the subscription form on the most visited pages of your website, including the
homepage," says Deborah Hanamura, director of marketing at Metia, a global marketing
agency. Also, be sure to "include a tab on Facebook that enables fans to sign up [for
emails and promotions]."
As to where to put your email signup, "make sure [your opt-in] form occupies a
prominent part of your website, ideally above the fold within the header," says Andrew
King, senior strategy consultant at Lyris, a provider of integrated digital marketing
software and solutions. And "don't be afraid to [put] your sign-up form in the footer too."
2. Collect email the old-fashioned way, in person. "Collect contact information at
business events [conferences, trade shows, mixers]," says Lauren Witte, associate
director, marketing & client services, Jackson White, a full service law firm. "Have plenty
of your business cards on hand [as] usually if you hand your card to someone you meet,
they will give you their card in exchange."
3. Offer people an incentive. "Offer a prize, coupon or free resource [e.g., a white paper]
and require an email in order to get your prize," suggests Jim Belosic, CEO, ShortStack,
which helps businesses build contests, sweepstakes and data-collection forms on the
Web and for mobile. "If you give people something they want, they'll give you what you
want."
For example, Bob's Discount Furniture recently offered Facebook fans a chance to win
four tickets to an upcoming New York Giants football game if they signed up for their
email list.
Similarly, "if you're attending a trade show, or giving a presentation, give away a prize
as an incentive for attendees to drop their business cards in a bowl," suggests Witte.
"Prizes don't have to be huge. A gift card will do. But keep in mind, the better the prize,
the more cards you're likely to receive."
4. Let people know what to expect. "Explain the value [of signing up for your emails],"
advises Andy Shore, content & social networking manager, Benchmark Email, a
provider of email marketing services. "Let your subscribers know what they're in for.
Whether it be deals and promotions or information and education, people are more
likely to sign up when they know what to expect."
5. Deliver relevant, customized content -- with a clear, but brief, subject line. "While this
may seem obvious, it's more important than ever to deliver content that is tailored to
each customer's interests and behavior," says Alyssa Nahatis, director of Deliverability
forAdobe Campaign, a provider of marketing campaign solutions. "The digital marketing
tools out there today give marketers the ability to customize content with real-time
updates for each customer, increasing customer's confidence and trust with the
company," she says.
"Don't treat every customer as a nameless, faceless nobody," adds Len Shneyder,
director of industry relations at Message Systems, which provides email infrastructure
software. To find out what your customers are interested in, "ask them a few questions
at the point of sign up to better optimize promotions and offers."
"Sending individualized (including the person's name in the emails) and custom emails
based on an individual customer's actions on your website (which you can track by
knowing what content they downloaded and what website pages they visited) can help
you yield higher email open and click-through rates," says Leah Pope, vice president of
marketing, Synthesio, a social intelligence company. Remember, "Nobody wants to
receive information that they don't care about," she says. "If you [repeatedly] send
[people] something that isn't applicable to them, they will likely unsubscribe or never
open any of your emails again."
6. Equally important is to have a strong -- but brief -- subject line. "For subject lines, it's
best to tease the content and keep it very short," says Joe LeKostaj, email marketing
director, Sprout Social, a social media management and engagement platform.
"Depending on your audience, up to 60 percent of opens happen on mobile, and iPhone
mail [for example] only displays up to 38 characters in the subject."
Indeed, according to research conducted by market research and consulting firm
Chadwick Martin Bailey, some 64 percent of people open an email based on the subject
line alone. While according to marketing firm Convince & Convert, 69 percent of people
will mark your email as spam if the subject line looks like, well, spam.
7. Humanize your messaging. "Far too many company emails are written like a
broadcast message or press release," says Volpe. "Know who humans want to read
emails from? Other humans. To that end, write copy that is relatable, approachable and
relevant to your audience versus promotional language that sounds impersonal," he
advises. "Your audience will thank you."
8. Optimize your emails for mobile viewing. "Include responsive design into your email
content to allow for proper viewing as 61 percent of emails are now opened on mobile
devices," says Nahatis. "Case studies show that responsive design in emails can
increase open rates by 15 to 17 percent and click-through rates by 21 to 24 percent."
Moreover, "up to 80 percent of consumers will delete emails that don't render properly
when they open them, and 18 percent will actually unsubscribe."
8. Don't inundate people with emails; rather, give them options. "Inundating contacts on
your list will leave a bad taste in the recipients' mouths, causing a negative association
with your brand," says Steve Clark, vice president and director of Account
Services,Garfield Group, an integrated marketing agency. So what's considered
"inundating" customers with emails? "It [typically] means sending more than a couple of
emails per week, especially during the first two weeks after opt-in," he says. To find the
right frequency, "gather analytics to help determine which emails are garnering positive
and negative results. [Then adjust] the frequency up or down."
"Brands who email aggressively risk aggravating their subscribers," says Shawn Myers,
vice president of marketing,StrongView, a provider of a cross-channel marketing
platform used by enterprises. "Actions as simple as giving customers control over
frequency can go a long way toward preventing the dreaded unsubscribe. [So] offer the
option to opt down or even pause marketing in addition to a full opt out," he suggests.
"With these simple practices, organizations can better understand their audience's
needs and deliver emails that drive engagement and revenue."
9. Test your email delivery strategy. "Email delivery times, days and promotional
windows should all be tested," states Shneyder. "If you routinely send email on
Tuesdays, how do you know that Wednesday isn't a better day? Did you test it or just
assume it was the day to send out that 20 percent promotion because your competition
does the same thing?" If the latter, test to make sure your theory is correct -- by tracking
open rates, click-through rates and unsubscribes. And if it isn't, change your strategy.