COVER STORY 20 EMAIL MARKETING TIPS

into customers'inboxes every day, it can be tough

getting your email opened - let alone actually rea
BY NATHAN STATZ

Thcre nas orce a golden period ol

elcctronic connnunici!ion $here email
Nas shinv and nc\il and rcceii,ing an
'ollcr lrom a compan,r nas the grcated
thing siice sliced bread. Concepts lilte
'con!$sion rates and click ihroughs
.liln\ c\ist. and consuncrs would
happil), s'icld their credn cards through
any nunbcr ol adlcrtisements that
arrired nl lhcir inbox.
That nigh! be hos some rcmcmber
it, though thc truth is that custoneF
arc rarcly that naive, and over line thcl
have becomc lar moLc net-sarr1'and
erpect smallbusincsses to crolrc with
thcm. lhis has narurally translatcd
inlo higher crpccmlions on email
bcing sent to customers, and makes
i! all that much hrrdg to havc vour
commucially-driren mesagc opencd
Thc good ncs,s is that as customo
expecution has sen. so too has thc
undcrsLanding ol thc crpots and thc
methods tbr ha!ing rour voice heard
Thi, is particularll jmportant stcn your
emlil neNsletter is onc ot nany in thc
customcr's inbox - sandsiched benrccn
em.il toflfards s,ith links to hlrmorous
YouTubc !idcos. \omatlct shat fonn
of cmail m;rkctingyou arc prcparing
- he r hc(sl.tter a direct ofter. a
onc'oli promotirn or something a little
morc un(uc, there ls r lot ro be learneil
by asking thc experts.

16 NETT InARCH 2011

 The 20 steps to success
1 HOMEGROWN IS
I ALWAYS BETTER
Thc old adage that ifvou rant
somcthing donc riqhr, then lou hdyc
to do it youBellrerlly is truc $ien ir
concs to your crrail databasc. Ideallv
tbc list o1' cnrail addrcsses that vou scnd
!our nenslcucr ro will be -*""a t,orn
customcrc or websitc visitoB
'T|e n!nbcr onc thins to do bctbrc
anvthing clsc is dcvclop a good Iist
of email iddress.s Lh,r h,c.rh.r
inbrnition dttxchcd to lt such as
the name ofthc cusromos and their
postcodes, so you cdn sork our \h.rc
thel,arc fron, srtys Todd U/righr, d
dircctor !t l hrecsnles.
'''l hc goldcn rulc is to nevcr buy a list
ahlavs build thcnr. Its hardcr to build
thcn but \'ou should nevcr buv or rcnt
lirts unlcss you ve gor rero cusromcrs "
. USE A HOSTED
Z soturror
This may secm likc an oblious choice
to thosc alrcady on board the hosted
enuil band$.rson, but manv $nall
busin.sscs slilluse a custonrised
program to send out ncssletrcrs. Thcsc
s,crc oficn purchascd : decade ago. or
worsc, thcv rrc sending ir thcmseh,cs
through Outlook or \lac Nlail.
''I:i!c ycars dgo you nright halc
considercd sending it out trom iour
o\!n cnrail and \our o\D enail soft\lar.,
but these clays vou 100,1 nccd ro go
(ilh a hosted cmdilprodlrc!. Therc are
plcntr out thoc and some ol rhc more
popular ones can bc pay-as you go, so
lou only pay lor how many lemailsl I'ou
SigDing Dp \ith a hostcd enuil
prorider has sercral bcncfits, including
thc Iibcntion ol your intcrnalenrail
scrci from scndirg out thousancls
ol ncwslcttcrs cach sccl On top ol
this dcpcnding on ho$ much you
sant to spcnd - hosting proviclcrs sill
gne lou acccss to dcsign rcnplares as
$c]l xs rcporting rnd monrtoring tools.
Choosing the tools you nccd is rn
impoianr palt of thc proc.ss.
Z GET THE MOST OUT
J OF YOUR TEMPLATE
Whcther you arc just getting \our lict
$'ct iD the email marletihg pond oL are
s,cll-rersed in its tLcrchcrous cleptlrs,
tcmplates can bc incredibli useful.
Often thel' can be sourccd for hcc, or
$ill
be prolidcd with a hostftg package.
W|atever thc casc. it shoul,l hc
customiscd to suit your aLrd'encc and
raLed ovcr rrith a finc tooth .omh ro gcl
Oncc you bccomc a lirde morc
laniliar $ith thc process, jr cdn really
par ollto havc your cmrilnarkcting
strongh reflcct thc look and leclolyour
bDsincss. accor.ling !o \\iright.
A
4I MAKE SURE YOU
HAVE YoUR TEXT-
ONLY BASES COVERED
Yea6 ago, it ('as conrmon pradice
to prcparc an entirelv seprrate'texr,
only vcrsion
'fhis has sincc
ollnur cmail ncrvsletter
bcen replaccd by
solnlare that does it alltbrvou, and
dutomaticall\' !pits out a pufe,rcxt
vcNion ofvour nensleitcr lor customers
rvho a.e allcrgic to dre bclls and
\4rist1es of ITTIIL emails
.\Vhen
vou are shopping around lbr a
hostcd cmail svstcm, m:tkc sure tou gcr
one tha! does bodr automarically. Whal
it $ill do is scnd out the Hl,\lL lcrsion
anil pcople can pick Lheir preferenccs
and say shethcr thcy $ant rerr or
FrTNlt_, adds \vrighr.
"The number one
thing to do before
anything else is
develop a good list of
ernail addresses that 7 KNOW YOUR
/ AUD|ENCE
has other information i\lucb liirc everv picce ofmarkcting.
thc cniil {rsion is all about rhe pcrson
attached to it. " l-ou are prtching to. U/hilc nobody has )
FIND THE PERFECT
TIME TO SEND
Not allemail arrnal rimes u,ere created
cqual, so it is important !o maximise
rhe chanccs of ).our concspondence
beins doublc cljcked on. T],pjcaul
your strndard office dncller $ill have a
dozcn or morc emails \lairiDg lor rhen
each morning, and ncs'sletters ivili be
the first thing to be cullcd from thc
pre-callcindtcd brains of your dDdicncc.
Similarly, there are benefits ro scnding
it out belorc lunch or iD the carlv
aliernoon. The golden rule herc is to
tes! il out and lind whar \rorks best f<r
your particular audience.
.Wc
do a lot ol$ork wirh rourism
clicnts aDd s'e find thar Wednesday
nornings and Thursday nornings
arc the best time to send our traycl-
rclated information. Peoplc ha'e got
to Wednesday and they arc aheady
thinking about the weekcnd. They are
sick ofthe daily grind at work and that
last 48 to 72 hou6 befbrc the rveekend.
we have sccn. is the bcsr tlme ro hir
people," sars \Vright.
A
\,f
DON'T SPAM
\\ hcn yuu h (r \rjrr ulr rn emdil
marketing, ir can be tempting to send
more and nore, particularlv r.hen rhcy
start gcncratnrg sales lcads. The corrcct
path, ho$evcr is to rcsisr tcmpration
ard only send your cmail neirsleuer as
oiten as your audiencc cxpects ro ger it
'You might sce eBay send out three or
four email nervslctters a rreek rvhereas
most smallbusinesscs uouldnr be able
to get a\!ey $ith thdt. Pcoplc $ould
unsubscribe instanth rdds Wdght.
Its important to crcare a balancc
betNccn action and rej€ction, according
to Utight, bccause it you srart,nnoying
people .rnd getting unsubscribes, you
harc tiefeated thc purpose.
I1ARCH 20',]t ]\ETT t7
covER sroRy ' zo evArt
"People are always looking for exclusive
offers - they rvant to know that they are
rralued customer."
the time to go ind nleet thc hundrcds,
if not tbousands, ofpeoplc on your
enail marlrcting list. there is plcnly of
room for understanding trnits about
Wright uscs the example ola blrildc
rvLo nrav have built a hst lrom peoplc
intercstcd in homc rcnovations. It!
still a purchase pcoplc nake once or
twicc a vcar, so the audicnce may gct
turncd ofillyou start scnding them
rvcckly updates. In this sccnario, less is
delinitely nore, as a quarterlv oftir is
going to hit hone lar better.
c) STRIKE A BALANCE
C) th"nls ro rhe lolumc ol
'heer
information that everyone $ith an
la NETT MARCH 2O1]
MARKETTNG Trps.
a I I u". "t,1. t"",t,'"g,..n,,,"
intenct conncction is erposcd to on
a daily bdsis, thc all roo obvious srlcs
pitches \vill often be deleted Nirhout
evcn a cursory glancc. This is cspccidll\.
true in cmail marketing, wherc r
delicatc balance must be creatcd
bet\leen your selland your contcnt. Il
the copy screams buy, bul buy thcn
the battlc has already bccn lost and
vour targct audience has no" norcd
on to a lors,arded picturc ola domcstic
rnimrl u,lth a hrrmororrs hca.llinr:.
''Pcople arc ahravs looking for
crclusr'e ollcrs they want to Lno$
thar thcy are a valued custorncr - buL
at thc samc timc, you need to b.rhncc
that Ihe busncss needs to makc surc
r!'s notjust a sclljob,'\larns Wrigh!.
AVOID SPAM FILTERS
Iis blrtrnth obvious that harine
rour emrl trgged as spam and
rutonrticalh movcd to thc junli
rnul lolrh is to ho avoirlcd and thc
sin4lest mcthod ol doing so is to dloid
conmon yan kcni.ords. T|is can bc
ob\ious mbjccr-linc |cadings such as
adicrtistmcnt', frcc and slmbols
srrchrs s rnrl I As:n rhsolute mrsL.
the cmailhoslou go with sLould hare
a span c|cc[. If not, usc thejunk
loldcL scttings in Oudool or Nlac \lail
1 N PERSONALISE
I V t",,,,,", "-.*" r"r,.
r
rurn arrund il someone calls your
nrmc in thc stfcci than if thcy sal, |cv
lou. $ too is the p$sonalised email
going to dras far morc nttcntbn thrn a
''Tflou doni pcsonallsc thc cmail,
you grcatlv rcducc thc likclihood ofit
bcing opcncd.r! all,' cxplains S.r!h
trlcll1ryrc, .t dircctor.tt Ton1 Tom
''\bu\,e got
b get the thing opcncd
betore lou can actually communicatc
the message rc the audience By
pcrsonalising. vou increase the
lilclihood ofit being opcned by about
11 DON'T BE A ROBOT
subconsciously glances at s,her an
cmrillands in their lap is rho it is
fron. Therc is a far grcatcr chance
thrt it Nillmalc an imp.cssion on your
ludicn.e il its t.onr a rcal pcrson, or
oen a company namc, as opposed to
the namc of the cnrlilrobot sending out
lliou havc a pcrsonal rclatbnship
$ith mc al m! compaDt,' thcn _you
sill probably opcn that cmail, sars
\l.lntvrc.
1 TEST, TEST, TEST
I Z.
AND THEN TEST
'
SOME MORE
Onc olrhc grcat levellers in email
nirrLcting is the lact th.rt you can
lccp crpoincnting and reGnrrg until
rou lind cractly u'hat is going to worli
lbr rour busnress. This can bc donc
L! 5ctting up tesi lists, \!ith a snull :
 "lf you have a personal relationship with me
at my company, then you will probably open IN A NUTSHELL
that email." . Permission - You absolutel) need
to get pernission irom whoeveryou

scgrrent ol lour database, and sendnrg way to set up a quality confol slstcm . Relerant, tageted copy - Think
rhcn a slightly dilfcrenr cmail, or at This means haling a tcst'cnail list about your custoner N,lake it easy
a slightly dilferenr rime, or sith anv olyour emplovees, yoursclf and other for them to respond and also make it
number ofnreaks that you uant to people nho vou think are rclerant easy for them to unsulxcrihe.
sorl lnro !o,,r mireri,l such as marqDec cuslomcls. husiness . Measu.e Nleasure your opens
'l he bedtv oi this is that it $ ill gne prrlners, ad!isors, etc. and clicl's and then nveak based on
you a reasonably accurate gauge ofhos Bisicallri anyonc $,ho can spare
yolrr changes are going to be recentd, live minutcs to manuallv eycball r Subject line l)onl spend
sithout sending them to vour entirc list. vnr nenslctto and lrnh lor ohvious hours making beautifulemails, but
mistakes. The point ofthis is thc tact fbrget the subiect linc. Ilit is not
1 7 CONTROL YOUR that ifvou $rite thc s'ords, you are compelling, it won't be opcncd.
lJ oualrrv not able to proolread them as sell
\{hcther r
you arc sole tradcr or as somcone rho is seeing them lor Saurce: Snrah Mcln4te, .lirectat at
running jn oper.ubn !rith a doublc the first timc. This might not sound Ton Tan Comnunication.
digit headcount, the.c Nill always b€ a ljke a big deal, but its quitc easy )

Tp #ll Use email marketing to build relationships with

If customers instead of iust promoting pnoducts
Email marketing is a powerful tool to build customer relationships. Via email, you can provide your
customers with useful information and start a tlvo-way communication. Build email campaigns from
stan to finish with lhe help of Netregistry.

B ;i::,:'"',"'ff 'i:l"i#;'l;:*""1
"" @:"*::,'.*y;
COVER STORY
"Don't rvait until the
encl of thc cmail to
communicate r'r'hat
it is cxactlv that you
n'ant them to do."
l;r r m,ssnc spciling injstal. to
tlrough \our osn oncc-o!.r lnd lool
slil
cmb!r!ssing in ll(nlt ofyour cntiic
14,?31.1":fi,y,f*lI
mlcaslr r our r ocrbu[Ll rnd gnc thc
O\turd Djcrur!n gNrhcring dust on tht
shcll a good \orl<rt. bcing con.isc jr
rhc oxlcr ol thc clar in onxil mul.c!lng.
l)rlc, nrnrtging
r\ccotullng n) alhris
d rcck, rt Nllrketi.g lJQ, this incdns
.lllng surc thc cop! ii sjmplc.uld
argon F.c. Hc rdliscs h.rljrg surc rhc
nrcss.gc is gctting through rcn quicllr
dnd to hil thcnr $ith thc ollcL c h
1 E CLARIFY YOUR
I !' CALL-TO-ACTION
It s ro good hrling shaL rou \lnt )our
customcLs to do thcl erc unlilct! to
tut rhc .llirt nrto lin.ling it ll\' thc
s.rnrc lolcn. it:s going to bc disxsbous
yoLrr Lerdtrs haic to sooll rhrclgh krng.
irtn,rnr, olls-tn-rcti,r,
'l)on t slit uniil thc cfd o1 thc crnril
to communicltc cucth $hat it is \ou
vnt thcm to do llc \q\'clcrir silh
rhat iou arc acturlh' ollirlng thcn ancl
Frrlr it cl.dr hon tor r.rf! thcn to
cont.rct iou, adds l)rlc.
1 A BRANDING
I \J lp rrr.,nce is.crirh shcn r
n^
comcs to lru shoplront or rclxitc, and
lour cn il Durlcll.s s no dillercnt.
Its comnmn scnsc thrt lou rrant rour
20 NETT |'.4ARC| 2011
20 EMAIL MARKETING TIPS
customcs to Lnor (h. mnt.rirlco.rcs
trorn rou and loL u Lo bc branderl
\ou nccclto malc suLc rhat rhc lool
!nd t(lis.onsistcil \nh lour rcbr[
dcsjgn, so rhJI pcoJ)lc crn sc.
corning hrm rhc brrsintss, sls l)rL.
1 7 SEGMENT YOUR LIST
I / r..^
\o!rlist ol cdr.tllrddr.ss.s is () b.!rg
ir inro onc big d!trbrsc .Ircl thcn bl.rst
ln rcrlir! Lhls is.i r.ru.rlh
prrcticc, as thcLc is lar rur
gaincd bi splitrinq rour lsr rp irro
gurfs and tailoinq thc rrr*.rsr
slishd\ turcrch onc
llr.scgncntrng iour rl,rt.Ll,,s in .rL
r s.u rou rLr rblc to 'cril ., J,,:|LlL
ahocd losirn ol rorr ncr.lLt.: r,,
ofto io diltirrDr d.n,,,!i.,1,1,i., I1,,
b. bl locrtjor. iq!. ,f ,,f. 11,,
'night
customcLs rncl rnoLh* li,, p.rrtn.L.
ii
18P,:I"T.:::,?,:-S"
scrsc ncm blt ur olion br.r r.,"
m!r! busirc$cs lll I!ll nr
sh,rll
,\! lcmt)ljng l! it i! ro crpr!r! ff_.,:
acldrcsscs through lour rcbsrtc
r.rr possiblc, its h rour bcst rnr.a'r
tu onl\ scld in,or.r!tioD to dros. iir..:
Thc ffrin r.rlrr bchiftl Lhis
proplc si11 rcscnl\ou, birnilcd m,*: .
and rour busi,rtss in gcncLrl - rl th..
stirl rccci\ ing un!)licrtcd inhrm.rrnrl
Iiom rou on r rcgulr brsis
1O
I r.,
MAKE A PROMTSE
tr...rrr 'rr.',:hrl,, r.rrJ I uL ris
onc ol thc mo+ orcLlooLtd clcncnts
ol rn cm,jl nlflcring crnrpdjgn
thrt iLs t ht pronlsc rou grc r hcn somconc
.hr.ls rh! lirk,Lo\ ni $ rhd tr,nr n,
rc.cr. lour cnril rcrslLtro or orhcr
nr.rk.liirg ndtefal is !n irnporrinr onc.
\l!i\ snull bus,n.sscs m.,kc thc
mi\trlc 01 Dot mrliing l prrnisc !I thc
opt in. lhci lust srl hoc, rcgisr$ lir
our updatcs. sai s Drlc.
bcsr
ro Lc Z) N USE CLEAN
Z \-,f lruo PUNCHY
HEADLINES
Tlris s alnrost rn crtcnsion ol nor
1, l,clrq rorclr, bur hcrdllncs tc so
in]trtrDt thcv descN. c\trl i.ttcnti{)n.
Il,. lii.rcncc bch!ccn \ohconc
,)1,!nirg !our cmril. ntfling it .rs ic.]d.
.Lfl Do|ng on crn bc x.o!t,l(. ot
rords fhc lcss trrc th,u is rc{luircd
l,,r
'rmtonc
ro icaclrour hcldl nc.
:rr. norc lilch rhc\ arc ro bccomc
rno(sLcd rnd op.n j! sirhin rcr!n
\.,r r.,llv rhis.loc$i ncr I \orL
.h,,rLtl sfu* i,N'ing onc roLcl subjccL
f ... l)dt il \olr crn !i! sonrcrhinq irl
.. r. ,!.ds. oltcn \ou crn ir\ it llr
rn . ".
' .. r,lr.rnch'u l.uror(i\c E
b rh.,:
--:
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