ChaosScenario

Like it or not, email still number one

In terms of internet marketing, email  gets treated with disdain and suspicion. Marketers don't want to be accused of being a "spammer" and email is seen as one of those marketing techniques where you don't get the accolades for outstanding creative. Like it or not, however, according to a recent survey, email is still the most effective tool for Internet marketing. Take a look at these stats from a Marketing Vox article:

"40 percent say email earns the highest ROI, followed by search (28 percent) and direct mail (18 percent)."

The best (or worse) part of this:

"Some 35 percent do not set clear success metrics."

(Stats via Marketing Profs, premium article)

Why would you run any type of marketing campaign without measuring results? Like any marketing program, you have to understand the program purpose and then determine how to measure, test and improve it. Email is as or more measurable as any online advertising campaigns, and, better yet, you know the metrics down to the individual allowing you to segment, present offers and even customize creative all based on their profile and behavior. Don't want to go to all that work? Then why not just test different types of subject lines? To just run an email campaign without any type of measurement let alone testing, that's just plain lazy. - Paul Herring

Branding is important in email

Again and again I listen to people talk about email only in terms of bounce rates, deliverability and other technical metrics. I blogged earlier about the success of email during the last holiday shopping season but even the article I referenced only focused on these hard metrics. Although they are important, we should understand that email is a way to communicate to what could be your most important customers, those that have opted into interaction from your brand on a continuing basis. Arguably, these are your most valuable customers.

Take a look at these numbers from a recent Return Path blog entry:

Looks and charm matter:
42.9 percent open based on subject line
22.9 percent open based on preview window contents

When people decide they don't like your email:
33.6 percent report senders as spammers to their ISPs
30.5 percent unsubscribe

The first statement is worth noting. Those that report your email as spam could get you blacklisted with ISPs, thus blocking other email from getting to others who may have been interested.

Think about this the next time you blast an email to your customers "just to get it out".

- Paul Herring

Post holiday emails

A recent article in Media Post on post holiday email campaigns highlights how effective email can be in generating traffic to sites and based on my experience, ultimately sales.  Many people feel email marketing is dead or dying but it continues to be one of the most cost effective ways to reach the most valuable customers. One key is that the most effective emails contain an offer, such as 75% off.