Thank you, Houzz, for a look at a rarely discussed type of communication – follow up emails to prospects. The author gives some very good ideas of how to contact prospects and maintain their interest in your products and services while turning them into a client. Click here to read the worksheet.
Announcement emails are an overlooked opportunity. They build excitement about your event, your new product, your new personnel. This article talks about the best way to write announcements. Like all of our marketing efforts, we need to make the announcement from our clients point of view, not our own. Why should they be excited with us? Click here to read the full article.
I am a HUGE believer in drip aka automated email campaigns. They are such a powerful way to introduce your company to new prospects. Or to solidify a new relationship with a client. Or even to re-introduce yourself to a client you haven’t heard from in awhile. Here’s a thorough article explaining the benefits and some how-to’s for a successful campaign.
As part of my “48 Hour Traffic Reports” after every email I send, I include a list of the Unsubscribes. I always tell clients, “Don’t take this personally! There are lots of reasons for someone to unsubscribe.” But it does hurt when someone declines to receive your well-written, beautifully designed emails. This article looks at some reasons for people unsubscribing and looks at what you can do to minimize the unsubscribes. Compare your emails to these examples!
“Have you heard of the email design-shop analogy? If your webpage is your store, and your email is your shop window, then your call-to-action (CTA) button is your amazing window display that draws people in. Needless to say, your CTA is one of the most important parts of your email, and if it’s hard to find, hard to use, or broken in any way, your subscribers aren’t going to click! “
Here is a great example of how to waste your email time and money. The From is “service.” Who the heck is that? Looks like spam so I’m not opening it. The Subject line is “dry cleaning coupon.” I don’t need a coupon today and it’s Monday morning. Delete!! The opening line (which I can see in my preview) is “Dear Valued Customer.” Yeah. I’m so valued that I’m anonymous. And let’s go one more. I have never done business with this dry cleaner; I have no clue how they got my email address so I am not happy about that. They probably bought an email list somewhere. But I have no interest in their product so the email is a total waste. They’ve only irritated me. If I should need a dry cleaner soon, do you think I’ll go to them?
Building your business on social media is like renting a house—you’ve decorated it beautifully, but the landlord can change the rules anytime. Your email list, however, is property you own outright. This distinction can make or break a small business when platforms change algorithms or face potential bans.
You strive to deliver the perfect email experience to your subscribers. But if you’re glossing over email accessibility, you could be alienating those with visual, physical, cognitive, and neurological disabilities.
Read on to learn how to make your emails more accessible for all of your subscribers.
Email Permission
The CAN-SPAM law for sending emails allows for implied or explicit permission.
Implied covers anyone whoasks for a quote or sample, does business with you, etc. It can also coverprofessional colleagues after a one-on-one meeting. People who give you a card at your trade showbooth are included.
Implied does not cover: membership lists, lists from a strategic partner, emails for all attendees at atrade show or emails copied on an email you receive.
SMS (Text) Permission
SMS law for sending textmessages requires explicit permission. You also have to document thatpermission.
Yes, I know there are companies who break this law every day. They show up in my Inbox too. However, you want to aim for the highest level of professionalism and follow the laws carefully.
The Opt In Form Above
This form accomplishestwo goals:
It doesn’t say you are doing text messaging right now. So this is a way to start gathering SMS permissions so that when you have a sufficient list and a need for SMS messaging, you are prepared. You’re gathering now in preparation for the day you want to send a message. People are much more hesitant to give SMS permission so building your list is a slower process than building an email list.
Offering a Gift for Opting In
You can offer a gift or discount or special of some sort to encourage people to opt in. You can have 1 offer for email permission and 1 offer for SMS permission. I saw this alot when I did my holiday shopping in December. I might get free shipping for an email address and a 20% discount for my cell phone number.
If you are adding prospects and new clients to your email list, you have potential to grow with them.
Purpose of Email Marketing
Every email needs to educate your client base. They will forget that you offer ABC because they think of you as XYZ. Tell them. Tell them again. And tell them again! YCL has been in business for 29 years. We’ve been sending emails for probably 25 of those years. Occasionally I still will hear “Oh, I didn’t know you did that!”
It’s a busy world. A new client, in particular, can simply forget about you. They go for the new shiny thing unless you work hard to build trust and reputation.
Review every process in your company. Look for opportunities to ask for permission to add people to your email list. Does the person answering the phone keep an ongoing list of caller emails? Does your order desk ask everyone for their email? After a shipment or a project, do you confirm that you have emails for the proper people at the company?
Keep that email list growing and expanding! The effort will pay for itself many times over.
Example from Staying Alive
I used a QR code for the YCL opt in.
Offering a gift increases the number of opt ins you will receive. Otherwise, the forms have light response (Think of when and where you opt in!). Even with light response, the forms are worthwhile. You’re taking every opportunity you can to gather emails and cell numbers.
“At Litmus, we personalize our emails with purpose: to create tailored inbox experiences that go the extra mile—the kind that surprises and delights our subscribers (and goes beyond “Hello %%first_name%%”). It’s our way of making a more human connection with our subscribers, and is something we think is especially important during a time dominated by artificial intelligence (AI).
It’s a new era with personalized emails, and we’re here for it! Today, we’re sharing one of our favorite ways to add a human-touch to our email marketing campaigns—and that’s with Litmus Personalize Live Polls.”