Thursday, October 28, 2010

Profit Practices Should Replace “Best Practices”

If the term “best practices” was replaced with “profit practices,” would you be more inclined to conform to them? We have a feeling that you would – Cash is King. KobeMail has seen the gamut of email marketing campaigns and through extensive analysis and case studies; we understand what works and what doesn’t.

When implementing email marketing into your overall marketing strategy, it should be viewed as an investment rather than just part of the budget. The ROI of email is widely touted as being the highest among any other marketing channel. When it comes to hiring a team to oversee your email marketing campaigns, a service provided to all KobeMail clients at no additional cost, you want a company that not only has the necessary technology, but one that can also offer the right strategy and back it up with the highest level of customer service.

Developing a marketing strategy is usually a complex process, but a necessity for a successful email marketing campaign. There are a few overarching ideas about email marketing that can’t be overseen. Firstly, you must respect established subscribers. If a subscriber has already established him or herself as a trusted client, you don’t need to overwhelm them with deals via email. Those established users have been long-time subscribers and often buy your products. Instead, take a more lax approach and target those deals to specifically what users are interested in. Soft-sell, Up-sell and Cross-sell but don’t be aggressive in the approach.

Another concept to follow has to do with transactional emails. These are emails that are sent immediately following the acquisition of an email address. Whether it is someone who signed up for the newsletter or someone who left an abandoned shopping cart, there is no reason to wait to contact them. Take initiative and send a welcome email right away. We suggest this because transactional emails usually generate more revenue than bulk mailings.

Frequency and content should be the two major points to address when deciding on an email marketing strategy. You should make sure not to send emails too often as it will likely cause your subscribers to opt-out of future messages. Nobody likes seeing the same message five days in a row. The content within those emails should be relevant to the specific list of subscribers. Compelling content that provides value to your subscribers is the best way to keep them engaged. However, some campaigns are sent daily, and those subscribers are expecting constant emails.

I cannot stress enough the importance of strategy. We offer our clients statistical analysis from current and former campaigns via campaign comparison. You should pay attention and learn from your metrics - what are your subscribers clicking on? Which subject lines have worked well in the past and what was the call to action? You should review that data and try to understand you subscribers behavior and what they want. If identified and executed in the proper manner the ROI is bound to increase.

Instead of referring to best practices, you should start implementing “profit practices.” When speaking of email marketing, the first step to improving these profit practices is choosing an Email Service Provider (ESP) that you can trust. We are always glad to address any email marketing questions you may have. Feel free to contact us or email us at inquiry@kobemail.com

Happy mailing!

Author: Peter Schirripa
Editor: Courtney Dillsworth