_____________________________________ Email Marketing - What Works and Why _____________________________________ Note: If this shows in your browser, simply click "File" in your browser and select "Save As" and make sure that file type is text (.txt) Links in this article do not show as active because this is a text file. Why text (.txt) format? Text files are much easier to download, don't require much disk space, and easier to print. ======================================================== THE CENTER FOR INTERNET MARKETING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION http://bizinfo.manila.ph ======================================================== Hi, This is Ave Ramel, the Coach of the Center for Internet Marketing Research and Education, exponent of internet marketing since 1999. This article was evaluated by your Coach and made available for The Center's archive for new subscribers. After mastering this article, proceed to our Internet Marketing Knowledge Base at http://bizinfo.manila.ph/knowledge-base As a favor, please forward this article to all your friends you want to help and who would like to earn income from the Net. Cheers, Ave Ramel, Coach P.S. Start your home business online with this global opportunity - the world's first instant powdered green iced tea P.P.S. You can do your business in 32 countries using the internet. Proceed now to http://freeonlineschool.manila.ph/resensa ================ YOUR NEXT STEPS: ================ Internet Marketing Services: 1. Get Coached - personalized coaching, at your most convenient time and place Proceed now to http://bizinfo.manila.ph/coaching 2. Hire A Retainer-Consultant for your corporation or marketing campaigns Proceed now to http://bizinfo.manila.ph/consultancy 3. Add one profit center to your company minus the overhead costs - your own internet marketing arm. 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Proceed to your Coach's Weblog located at http://aredconsult.blogspot.com and discover secrets, tips, and tricks _____________________________________ Email Marketing - What Works and Why _____________________________________ Email marketing has faced a road of twists and turns recently: the 2004 CAN- SPAM Act, spam-filtering ISPs and consumers' increasing ability to spot and tune out unwanted messages. Simply "playing the numbers" - sending out as many emails as possible, however and to whomever - no longer guarantees conversions. Understandably, publishers like you might worry that the era of profitable email marketing is over, but we have good news. As CAN-SPAM frees inboxes of unsolicited junk, publishers are seeing the rewards of delivering quality, trustworthy content and following CAN-SPAM guidelines. In fact, Commission Junction publishers are making email marketing work for them like never before as they learn what works and why. So, would you like better conversions, fewer spam-blocks, better pass-along rates, and fewer opt-outs? If you would, keep reading, as we dish top strategies for creating the sticky content that will keep your readers' eyes glued! ====== Target ====== Make it match. Begin by matching your campaign to your target audience. Offer your audience something they'll immediately recognize as valuable. Your opt-in emails and newsletters should have the type of content your readers expected at sign-up. For example, if your site attracted customers by offering a trial product or service, offer free trials in follow up emails. This matching of expectations to content creates trust and receptivity, making it easier to sell to readers now and later. Customize further by using a first name greeting, up-selling a product of unique interest, or dividing your newsletter into multiple titles with narrow topics for different audiences. Get specific. Email content should cover one advertiser vertical - avoid too many links, cluttered text and multiple categories. Also, use specific, to-the-point copy; tell readers what they need to know and nothing more, or you risk distracting them from the desired action. Be appealing. Successful campaigns have unique and attractive offers: coupons, discounts, bonus gifts, trendy or hard-to-come-by fads, and free trials. Events are also great excuses for a mailing. For example, "Summer is coming, get bikini buff in six weeks with our..." Notice the link between product and timing here? And entertaining or educational copy is powerful as well, so shake a dash of it in to spice things up. Lastly, the hook (phrase that pulls the reader into the email) should be clearly stated in the first one or two sentences of the email. Bonus tip: high cost products tend to be less appealing in email marketing. Though not true in all cases, it's best to promote lower-risk purchases. ====== Create ====== Offer new stuff. Make sure your email offers something new: fresh advice, a new sale, a new product, an updated event calendar, or the latest news. Incite action. Often, emails offer good content, but fail to convert because the call-to-action area is not clearly displayed. Make sure your call-to-action is "above the fold" (seen without scrolling at a normal resolution). Also, use explicit phrases that appeal to a reader's sense of urgency like "Act Now," "Free Trial," "Limited Time Offer," or "Register Now." Generate curiosity. With approximately 45 characters to convince a reader your email is worth opening, subject lines are extremely important. Make the subject line an honest reflection of the content inside, and use consistent subject and from line formats to help readers better recognize your emails and to build your brand. Use active instead of passive voice in your subject copy. An example of passive is "Many new deals have arrived this spring." Active would be "Shop this spring's hottest deals!" Mix the elements. After you've determined your offer and collected content, format that content (in text and HTML versions). Consider the following elements: subject line, headline, call-to-action, copy, descriptions, products, images, links, buttons, and form fields. Play around with these elements until you find the optimal design. Experiment with different quantities, words, lengths, images, colors, and positions. Bonus tip: The most successful campaigns are laid out vertically (eyes are drawn up and down instead of back and forth). ======== Evaluate ======== Test layouts. Evaluate all of the layouts you just created with sample groups before releasing the campaign to your entire list. Many marketers use the A/B testing method to do this, creating two versions of the same email with a different element in each (for example, two phrasings of the call-to-action or different subjects). Next, make two sample groups and send Format A to one group and Format B to the other. See which version converts better, repeat the process for multiple Elements, and send the test-proven email to your whole list. Marketing Sherpa reported one company's amazing results using this create/test process. This company, Citrix Online, followed tips like those above to create content, and then evaluated it using the A/B process. In one test alone, Citrix learned that removing product pricing information yielded a 50% higher conversion on its free- trial offer. We know it's early to mention, but the high volume holiday shopping season will be here in a jiffy, and it's a great time to implement these strategies in your next email campaign. As you plan your holiday promotions, target readers by tying in a theme or event, like a special offer on holiday gifts. Create content with festive copy and images. Then A/B test to find out which email is most appealing to your readers. All this will lead to improved conversions - numbers you can count on. =========== Disclaimer: =========== We gather our articles for review from public sources. However, we sometimes lost valuable data to acknowledge a source. Simply contact us and tell us the name of the author and the URL address that we will post as link back. E-mail: aredconsult@yahoo.com ============================== Let Me Help You Get Customers: ============================== AREDCONSULT SERVICES AND SOLUTIONS I. EXECUTIVE COACHING - for busy entrepreneurs, decision-makers and marketing executives who can't spare much time away from their office operations but must immediately grasp and harness internet marketing to contribute to the company's profitability. 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