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Personalize Your Brand Awareness with E-mail Marketing

Posted by SMstudy® on May 14, 2019 | Digital Marketing (DM)

Keywords: Internet Marketing, Online Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing

Personalize Your Brand Awareness with E-mail Marketing

E-mail Marketing, the action of sending commercial messages to a list of potential clients, is gaining a lot of traction in the advertising industry. However, tapping into the interest of these clients is not the only purpose which this effective tool serves. Solicitation of sales, donation and creating a stellar brand awareness  are easily attainable through E-mail marketing.

This strategy can not only be a swift andeffective but also a sustainable way of reaching out to potential customers and retain existing ones. Room to maneuver in e-mail marketing is high as you have the luxury to send personalized texts to specific people. This would help augment the ongoing relationship with your customers. Receiving irrelevant, continuous, and unwanted e-mails can irritate potential clientsalong with causing disgrace to the firm Marketing e-mails are typically sent to people who have consciously chosen to subscribe to a particular newsletter. This  acts like an advantage as customers who are interested in the product are more likely to engage with commercial e-mails. Response rates to one’s marketing campaign can get an immediate boost through E-mail marketing. However, word of caution here is to avoid overdoing it as a part of the marketing strategy.

The single biggest advantage of e-mail marketing strategy is the  variety of options available as mediums of marketing. One can send videos, animations, GIFs and plain text among others as attachments. These tools provide a lot of scope to enhance one’s business branding. Evaluation of these campaigns  can be done easily through the use of web analytics software. One can also set a benchmark by comparing results with other firms that use email marketing.

An added bonus of this strategy is its cost-effectiveness whereas other forms of marketing can be very costly. No media space, printing or advertising fees is incurred through e-mail marketing. Indulging in commercial e-mails also play a significant role in preserving the environment.. This segment of Internet marketing is not only easy to set up but also readily accessible for small businesses.

There are certain niggling issues  that can hamper this marketing strategy though! File sizes, problems with the designs, undelivered e-mails and spams are some of the limitations to this digital tactic. Overcoming these impediments can be key to a successful marketing campaign as ultimately  it is about adding and improving strategies for the development of the brand.

In this digital age where social media is increasingly used for advertising, e-mail marketing still cracks the whip!

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Various Forms of E-mail Marketing

Posted by SMstudy® on September 19, 2017 | Digital Marketing (DM)

Keywords: Email Marketing, Digital Marketing, Blog, E-Mail Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing

Various Forms of E-mail Marketing

E-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing that uses e-mail as the delivery medium for communicating a marketing message to a group of people. E-mail marketing is used to communicate with existing customer contacts as well as to market to potential customers in prospect lists purchased from external sources. E-mail marketing can be used to help enhance the relationship of a business with its existing customers as well as to reach out to acquire new customers. Specifically e-mail marketing can be used to support customer loyalty and encourage repeat business with existing customers, as well as to deliver information and offer promotions to both existing customers and prospects via newsletters and other forms of communication.

Here are the various forms of Email Marketing which are being practiced in the present day scenario:

Promotional E-mails

The main focus of promotional e-mails is to deliver offers or invitations or to promote products or services that are relevant to a subscriber’s preference settings to result in a sale or some other predetermined action. E-mails that are promotional in nature are the most marketing focused. It is important to make sure the e-mail is relevant to recipients and well-crafted to ensure that they will want to continue to receive and pay attention to such e-mails.

Confirmation E-mails

Confirmation e-mails are sent to customers confirming the receipt of a customer request. Some common types of confirmation e-mails may include subscription confirmations, e-mail address verification, login details, auto-responses to customer e-mails, updates to subscription preferences, unsubscribe requests, and so on.

Informational E-mails

Informational e-mails are sent to educate subscribers on topics relative to their preference settings with the provider. This type of e-mail is often in the form of a newsletter. For example, a travel guide publisher may send an e-mail about the latest events in a particular place or interesting places around the globe.

Lifecycle E-mails

Lifecycle e-mails are sent to customers to support acquisition, conversion, growth, retention, and reactivation of subscribers. When an online retail company sends e-mails to customers about pending orders in the cart, it supports the earliest stage of the customer lifecycle, which is the conversion of prospects to buyers. E-mails that are greeting customers on their birthdays, for example, support the retention stage of the customer lifecycle.

Transactional E-mails

Transactional e-mails are usually trigger-based e-mails that are sent based on a customer’s action with a company, often to acknowledge that a business deal has been completed. Purchase receipts are the most common type of transactional message. As these e-mails are usually opened and read by the customer, transactional e-mails provide an opportunity to cross-sell or up-sell by including promotional messages within the body of transactional e-mails.

E-mail marketing can have many different styles or levels of personalization, but any e-mail sent to existing or prospective customers can be regarded as e-mail marketing. E-mail marketing has proven to be one of the most effective digital marketing channels. When well executed, e-mail marketing can benefit many types of businesses for many different purposes.


For more interesting articles log on to www.smstudy.com/articles

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The Big Benefits of E-mail Marketing

Posted by SMstudy® on September 08, 2017 | Digital Marketing (DM)

Keywords: E-mail Marketing, Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Internet Marketing, SEO, Online Marketing

The Big Benefits of E-mail Marketing

E-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing that uses e-mail as the delivery medium for communicating a marketing message to a group of people. E-mail marketing can have many different styles or levels of personalization, but any e-mail sent to existing or prospective customers can be regarded as e-mail marketing.

Specifically e-mail marketing is used to support customer loyalty and encourage repeat business with existing customers, as well as to deliver information and offer promotions to both customers and prospects via newsletters and other forms of communication

Good e-mail marketing software is a key component of a successful e-mail marketing system. The software should enable the company to manage its e-mail subscription lists, allowing recipients to easily subscribe and unsubscribe; send e-mails to subscribers or to recipients on a purchased list successfully with minimal delivery issues; provide predefined templates to enable streamlined e-mail creation; and, provide an auto-responder to manage recipient replies.

The software should also track the effectiveness of e-mail marketing campaigns and provide regular reporting to measure various performance criteria including messages delivered, click rates, and bounce rates.

Companies that have the in-house technical expertise and resources may prefer to develop their own system rather than rely on a third-party provider for this service.

If a company chooses a hosted service provider, it should perform due diligence to ensure the provider has the right expertise and a good track record with its customers.

When choosing a service provider, it is important to consider many factors: a successful deliverability rate, features and tracking capabilities, available support, and the overall cost of service.

Reputable e-mail marketing service providers try to ensure that customers’ e-mails are not blocked by major ISPs. However, it is sometimes difficult to control whether or not the e-mails arrive in the recipient’s inbox or the spam box.

Although most e-mail marketing service providers designate a quality score to help indicate the likelihood of the e-mail being delivered, getting whitelisted is the most effective way to ensure that e-mails get delivered properly.

Whitelisting specifically allows e-mails from a certain source or sender to be delivered into an e-mail inbox. Adding trusted e-mail addresses to a personal whitelist lets the e-mails from that source pass spam and junk mail filters. Different e-mail client and Internet security platforms have a variety of methods that allow users to create whitelists.

A company needs to collect the e-mail addresses of its customers to enable the company to run e-mail campaigns. A list developed in this way is commonly referred to as a “house list” and is derived from the company’s own database of current customers, previous customers, inquirers, responders, contest entrants, and so on.

One of the most effective ways of collecting prospective customers’ e-mail addresses is by having an opt-in subscription form on a landing page on the company website. Visitors to the site provide their e-mail addresses and agree to accept offers or information. Most e-mail marketing services provide functionality to integrate subscription forms on a website.

Growing the size of an e-mail list is important, but it is only valuable if there are engaged customers on the list. Companies need to build strong, trusted relationships with their subscribers. Repeated e-mail messaging that does not engage customers will be ignored and customers will eventually unsubscribe from the list. Sending high quality, relevant content is extremely important.

If a company always sends advertisements or promotional e-mails, subscribers may feel like they are being too “marketed to” and tune out the messages or unsubscribe.

When designing e-mail content, it is important to identify the key messages that the e-mail should communicate and the specific information that will move the recipient from his or her current perception to the desired perception, overcoming any barriers to conversion.

E-mail marketing has proven to be one of the most effective digital marketing channels. When well executed, e-mail marketing can benefit many types of businesses for many different purposes. Through e-mail marketing, a company is able to keep in touch with customers and prospective customers easily and efficiently. It is a cost-effective way to transmit valuable information relevant to a customer’s interests.


For more interesting articles log on to www.smstudy.com/articles

 

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Important Metrics of E-mail Marketing

Posted by SMstudy® on June 22, 2017 | Digital Marketing (DM)

Keywords: Digital Marketing, Customer Engagement, Content, Social Media, Email Marketing, Metrics

Important Metrics of E-mail Marketing

E-mail marketers use a number of metrics to help determine the success of campaigns and provide guidance on how to improve e-mail marketing efforts. Among the most common metrics are the following:

  • Open Rate—This metric refers to the percentage of e-mails in an e-mail campaign that is opened. A high open rate is an indication of high engagement. Oftentimes, high engagement is the result of a strong and appealing subject line.
  • Hard Bounce/Soft Bounce—A hard bounce occurs when an e-mail fails to be delivered as a result of a permanent issue, such as a non-existent address. A soft bounce occurs when an e-mail fails to be delivered as a result of a temporary issue, such as a full mailbox or an unavailable server. This metric provides an indication of list quality.
  • Click-through Rate (CTR)—This metric represents the number of unique clicks on a given URL divided by the number of times the e-mail is opened. An even better indicator of engagement than open rate, a high CTR indicates that the content was compelling to the reader.
  • Conversion Rate—This metric indicates the number or percentage of recipients who respond to the call to action in an e-mail marketing campaign or promotion. A measure of an e-mail campaign’s success, conversions can be measured in sales, phone calls, appointments, and more.
  • Cost per Thousand (CPM)—This metric refers to the cost per 1000 e-mail addresses on a purchased or rented list. A rental list priced at $100 CPM indicates that the list owner is charging $0.10 per individual e-mail address.
  • Opt-in Rate or Subscribe Rate—This metric measures the growth of the e-mail list. Opting-in or subscribing to an e-mail list requires an individual to choose to receive e-mail communications by supplying an e-mail address to a particular company, website, or individual. Customers who opt-in or subscribe accept inclusion on the list and grant permission to the company to send them e-mails. Subscribers can often indicate areas of personal interest and/or indicate which types of e-mails they wish to receive from the sender. A growing opt-in rate is an indication of expanded reach.
  • Opt-out Rate or Unsubscribe Rate—Opting-out or unsubscribing from an e-mail list is the result of someone choosing not to receive communications from the sender by requesting the removal of his or her e-mail address from the mailing list. Regulations regarding the use of e-mail lists vary from region to region. It is generally not acceptable to send list-generated e-mails to receivers without their permission. Unsubscribe options are often mandatory on subscription e-mails.

Here is an example of E-mail Marketing Metrics:

  • Customers who register for program loyalty cards usually have the option to join an e-mail list. They can be given further options to receive e-mail offers and information from associated companies. A customer agreeing to participate in all e-mail lists after registering for a department store loyalty card can anticipate follow-up e-mails from the department store and other consumer product distributors. The department store will want to track its opt-in rate to measure the consumer’s perceived value of receiving ongoing correspondence from the store. The opt-out rate will help to quantify the actual quality of the correspondence being sent. Regularly sent e-mails that do not provide value to the customer will have a high opt-out rate.
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A Planned E-Mail Marketing Strategy Can Do Wonders!

Posted by SMstudy® on January 09, 2017 | Digital Marketing (DM)

Keywords: email marketing, internet marketing, digital marketing

A Planned E-Mail Marketing Strategy Can Do Wonders!

E-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing that uses e-mail as the delivery medium for communicating a marketing message to a group of people. E-mail marketing can have many different styles or levels of personalization, but any e-mail sent to existing or prospective customers can be regarded as e-mail marketing.

Specifically e-mail marketing is used to support customer loyalty and encourage repeat business with existing customers, as well as to deliver information and offer promotions to both customers and prospects via newsletters and other forms of communication

Good e-mail marketing software is a key component of a successful e-mail marketing system. The software should enable the company to manage its e-mail subscription lists, allowing recipients to easily subscribe and unsubscribe; send e-mails to subscribers or to recipients on a purchased list successfully with minimal delivery issues; provide predefined templates to enable streamlined e-mail creation; and, provide an auto-responder to manage recipient replies.

The software should also track the effectiveness of e-mail marketing campaigns and provide regular reporting to measure various performance criteria including messages delivered, click rates, and bounce rates.

Companies that have the in-house technical expertise and resources may prefer to develop their own system rather than rely on a third-party provider for this service.

If a company chooses a hosted service provider, it should perform due diligence to ensure the provider has the right expertise and a good track record with its customers.

When choosing a service provider, it is important to consider many factors: a successful deliverability rate, features and tracking capabilities, available support, and the overall cost of service.

Reputable e-mail marketing service providers try to ensure that customers’ e-mails are not blocked by major ISPs. However, it is sometimes difficult to control whether or not the e-mails arrive in the recipient’s inbox or the spam box.

Although most e-mail marketing service providers designate a quality score to help indicate the likelihood of the e-mail being delivered, getting whitelisted is the most effective way to ensure that e-mails get delivered properly.

Whitelisting specifically allows e-mails from a certain source or sender to be delivered into an e-mail inbox. Adding trusted e-mail addresses to a personal whitelist lets the e-mails from that source pass spam and junk mail filters. Different e-mail client and Internet security platforms have a variety of methods that allow users to create whitelists.

A company needs to collect the e-mail addresses of its customers to enable the company to run e-mail campaigns. A list developed in this way is commonly referred to as a “house list” and is derived from the company’s own database of current customers, previous customers, inquirers, responders, contest entrants, and so on.

One of the most effective ways of collecting prospective customers’ e-mail addresses is by having an opt-in subscription form on a landing page on the company website. Visitors to the site provide their e-mail addresses and agree to accept offers or information. Most e-mail marketing services provide functionality to integrate subscription forms on a website.

Growing the size of an e-mail list is important, but it is only valuable if there are engaged customers on the list. Companies need to build strong, trusted relationships with their subscribers. Repeated e-mail messaging that does not engage customers will be ignored and customers will eventually unsubscribe from the list. Sending high quality, relevant content is extremely important.

If a company always sends advertisements or promotional e-mails, subscribers may feel like they are being too “marketed to” and tune out the messages or unsubscribe.

When designing e-mail content, it is important to identify the key messages that the e-mail should communicate and the specific information that will move the recipient from his or her current perception to the desired perception, overcoming any barriers to conversion.

E-mail marketing has proven to be one of the most effective digital marketing channels. When well executed, e-mail marketing can benefit many types of businesses for many different purposes. Through e-mail marketing, a company is able to keep in touch with customers and prospective customers easily and efficiently. It is a cost-effective way to transmit valuable information relevant to a customer’s interests.

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Benefits of E-mail Marketing

Posted by SMstudy® on December 27, 2016 | Digital Marketing (DM)

Keywords: Digital Marketing, E-Mail Marketing, Advantages of E-Mail marketing

Benefits of E-mail Marketing

E-mail marketing has proven to be one of the most effective digital marketing channels. When well executed, e-mail marketing can benefit many types of businesses for many different purposes. Through e-mail marketing, a company is able to keep in touch with customers and prospective customers easily and efficiently. It is a cost-effective way to transmit valuable information relevant to a customer’s interests.

The major benefits of e-mail marketing are as follows:

Low Cost

E-mail is a relatively inexpensive direct marketing channel compared to direct mail or telemarketing, which typically involves a great deal of resources in terms of both money and time. With direct mail or telemarketing, there is a cost for every contact. While e-mail marketing generally has set-up costs, the cost of sending each e-mail is very low, making it a desirable way to communicate to a large audience.

Speed of Execution and Fast, Robust Tracking

Organizations may need to distribute critical information to customers in response to an event or a company crisis. There may not be time to produce and send something through regular postal services, nor would direct mail necessarily be appropriate for the situation.

Ease of Creation

E-mail marketing campaigns can be relatively easy to create. Effective e-mail campaigns have engaging content presented in a short and digestible manner with visually appealing, strategically chosen graphics or photos.

Call to Action Responsiveness 

One of the greatest advantages of e-mail marketing is that it allows customers to respond to a call to action immediately. Offline marketing channels do not enable customers to transition from seeing an offer to purchasing the item with little more than a couple clicks of a button. By linking a persuasive call to action to the right landing page for the product, e-mail marketing can drive engagement and sales like no other channel.

Ease of Tracking

E-mail marketing can provide critical insights and enables easy tracking of performance metrics. E-mail marketing software enables a business to track open and click-through rates on both e-mails and links within them. As a result, companies can quickly and easily analyze the effectiveness of the messages and campaigns, and immediately identify opportunities for improvements, including adjustments to mailing lists, changes in the timing or frequency of messages, and revisions to copy or graphics.

Segmentation, Personalization, and Testing of Offers 

E-mail marketing allows a company to send personalized messages to its customers. If a company can gather information about its customers or subscribers, it can easily segment the e-mail list based on any number of factors, including demographics, interests, past history, and more. It can then send targeted personalized messages and offers based on this information.

Ease of Sharing         

When subscribers like deals and offers, they can easily forward them to their friends; oftentimes, this takes little more than a click of a button. Few other types of marketing can be shared this easily. Attractive offers can encourage subscribers to become brand ambassadors, helping a business expand its reach into potentially new markets.   

Return on Investment

E-mail marketing can provide a very good return on investment—in many cases better than that of other channels. While the ROI can be high for e-mail marketing, marketers must still consider their targets and ensure e-mail marketing campaigns are delivering the right results and revenue to justify the costs.

E-mail’s speed gives a company the ability to respond to issues in a matter of hours or even minutees. In other direct marketing channels, there can be a response lag time of several weeks, or even months. Businesses often wait weeks before seeing changes in sales revenue as a result of print or broadcast campaigns. Because e-mail is so rapid, a business can see results within minutes of e-mails being sent, and it is an effective way to inform customers about limited-time offers. These campaigns can create a sense of urgency, prompting subscribers to act immediately. Due to the short average response time, the effectiveness of these campaigns can be accurately measured. 

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E-mail Marketing-Part II

Posted by SMstudy® on September 10, 2016 | Digital Marketing (DM)

Keywords: Digital Marketing, E-mail Marketing, Online channels

E-mail Marketing-Part II

E-mail marketing, a form of direct marketing that uses e-mail as the delivery medium for communicating a marketing message to a group of people, is an important component of any marketing campaign. In the previous blog we briefly discussed the definition and types of e-mail marketing. Now we will discuss two critical aspects of e-mail marketing— content and frequency.

When designing e-mail content, it is important to identify the key messages that the e-mail should communicate and the specific information that will move the recipient from his or her current perception to the desired perception, overcoming any barriers to conversion. In particular, marketers should highlight the benefits of the product or service as they relate to key messages; focus on specific proof points; and provide details, facts, and features that support the selling premise.

E-mails must have a clear call to action (CTA). Marketers must be clear on what they want the recipient to do and why the offer is of value to the recipient, providing incentives for the recipient to respond immediately. Incentives can include a deadline for ordering; a pending price increase; an introductory period, during which recipients are entitled to a special deal, extra service, or lower price; a free gift or premium; a “no risk” trial; or something that is not available in stores.

Once the recipient completes the requested action (e.g., click to visit a landing page or download a coupon), it is important to decide what will happen next (e.g., what the recipient will see on the landing page) and what will follow to accelerate the marketing process. Additionally, marketers must consider whether a confirmation or transactional e-mail should follow.

Marketers should also ensure that offers in e-mails allow adequate response time. Offers that provide too little time to respond may not allow the recipient enough time to make a purchase decision. Conversely, offers that provide too much time to respond will likely create inertia. Marketers should also ensure that offers are specific. For example, an offer advertising a savings of $100 on installation will not be meaningful to recipients if it is not clear how much the company charges for installation. Additionally, offers that imitate the competition and do not differentiate the company, offers that are too good to be true, and over-complicated offers are less likely to elicit responses from recipients.

Even when sending valuable content, the frequency of the delivery must be carefully monitored. While there is no rule that works for all companies and audiences, weekly sends tend to be an observed industry standard. If a company has a high number of messages it needs to deliver to its customers (e.g., servicing, informational, and marketing messages) it should have a coordinated release schedule to avoid over sending e-mails. This can be aided by establishing frequency guidelines for each department.

Please visit www.smstudy.com for more details.

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E-mail Marketing

Posted by SMstudy® on August 12, 2016 | Digital Marketing (DM)

Keywords: Digital Marketing, E-mail Marketing, Online channels

E-mail Marketing

E-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing that uses e-mail as the delivery medium for communicating a marketing message to a group of people. Any e-mail sent to existing or prospective customers can be regarded as e-mail marketing. E-mail marketing is used for both internal customer contacts or customer prospect lists purchased from external sources. E-mail marketing can be used to help enhance the relationship of a business with its customers as well as to reach out to acquire new customers. Specifically e-mail marketing is used to support customer loyalty and encourage repeat business with existing customers, as well as to deliver information and offer promotions to both customers and prospects via newsletters and other forms of communication. Different types of e-mails, used by businesses to achieve these objectives, are as follows:

Promotional E-mails—The main focus of promotional e-mails is to deliver offers or invitations that are relevant to a subscriber’s preference settings, resulting in either a sale or another predetermined action. It is important to make sure the e-mail is relevant to the recipient and well written to ensure the customer will want to continue receiving and paying attention to such e-mails.

Confirmation E-mails—Confirmation e-mails are sent to customers to confirm receipt of a customer request. Some common types of confirmation e-mails include subscription confirmations, e-mail address verifications, login details, auto-responses to customer e-mails, updates to subscription preferences, unsubscribe requests, and more.

Informational E-mails—Informational e-mails are sent to educate subscribers on topics relevant to their preference settings with the provider. This type of e-mail is often in the form of a newsletter. For example, an agency specializing in corporate travel may send an e-mail about special rates on business class flights and discounted hotel rates for business travelers.

Lifecycle E-mails—Lifecycle e-mails are sent to customers to support acquisition, conversion, growth, retention, and reactivation of subscribers. When a marketing automation software company sends an e-mail about an upcoming webinar on strategies for lead generation to prospects who previously downloaded an e-book on the same topic, it supports the earliest stage of the customer lifecycle—raising awareness of the company.  

Transactional E-mails—Transactional e-mails are usually trigger-based e-mails based on a customer’s action with a company, often to acknowledge that a business transaction has been completed. Purchase receipts are the most common type of transactional message. As these e-mails are usually opened and read by the customer, transactional e-mails provide an opportunity to cross-sell or up-sell by including promotional messages within the body of the transactional e-mail.

Please visit www.smstudy.com for more details.

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