2011: New Email Marketing Challenges

Email marketers constantly face challenges when it comes to reaching the inbox at a proficient rate. While the existing challenges are poised to remain, we at KobeMail foresee additional challenges to come about starting this year.

Email addresses will change. As mentioned in one of our previous entries, facebook announced the roll out of its own messaging system, which could possibly engage its 500 million + users. There is a chance that we will see users changing their primary email address, thus leaving us cut off. Incentives and initiatives to keep email addresses up to date will be essential.

Increased Email Filtering. The newly introduced Gmail Priority Inbox, paired with the soon to be released Facebook Social Inbox, will result in mail ending up in folders that are rarely reviewed. This can lead to a negative effect on open rates and related performance metrics.

Social Network Integration. Most users, if they are not already, will be extremely active on social networks. Email campaigns must be equipped for instant social media integration. Sharing, liking, linking, and posting are features that are essential to successful future campaigns.

Mobile. Being that emails are increasingly being read on mobile devices, you must make sure that your creative renders well to be read on that medium. Content and images need to be tested on mobile devices and tablets prior to being sent out.

With the help of KobeMail, 2011 can be a very successful year for your email marketing strategy. Follow these tips above and keep a look out for upcoming articles!

Author: Peter Schirripa

Editor: Courtney Dillsworth

Triggered Emails- Why and How You Should be Using Them!

You can choose one of two platforms: a “broadcast email”-one sent to everyone on the list, or a “triggered email”-a message that is triggered by an event, time, or an action that is sent to a specific person for a specific reason.

While email creatives can be altered amongst varying lists for a broadcast campaign, the real option of personalization lies within trigger based emails.

What exactly is, you ask, a trigger email campaign?

a. It’s specific to a recurring need or objective. Trigger email campaigns are sent in response to a recurring action such as a new subscription, an abandoned cart, a nearing product or subscription expiration.

b. It is automated. Essentially, triggered email campaigns are meant to “set and forget.” Triggered emails are meant for those times when you need a confirmation, a follow-up, a reminder, an alert, or a prompt.

c. It is individualized. Triggered emails are sent to specific people who have taken a specific action or inaction on your website or in a previous email. The exact email only deploys when it is relevant to the person receiving it.

Triggered emails will give your sales team a better way to follow leads. Your customer base will be more targeted resulting in better sales. You can stop sending emails to non-responsive addresses which will stop wastage of marketing funds. The automation allows your sales team to concentrate on more productive jobs while this job is well taken care of too.

The strategy behind your email marketing approach is vital to your success. In order to have a high open rate, you need to target your message. There is no easier way of targeting your email than to rely on the trigger-email. Strategy is key, and KobeMail is your leader in strategic email marketing.

Author: Courtney Dillsworth

Editor: Peter Schirripa

Facebook Messages- How will they affect your Email Marketing Efforts?

By now, you should have seen at least one email address ending in @facebook.com. Being that we are still in the early phases of this incorporation, there are many things that you can do to ensure that your email marketing efforts will not be negatively affected by this new format. By following the KobeMail blog, you are off to a good start. Here are our suggestions:

1. Measure new users: You, along with your email service provider, should be keeping an eye on the volume of facebook.com email addresses added to your database.

2. Tease your readers: Subscribers who use @facebook.com email addresses will not be able to view a subject line. That being said, you need to heavily focus on the first line or so in order to gain the attention of the subscriber. By default, Facebook will show the plain text part of your email, and only the HTML version if the subscriber hits an expand link. You are going to need to “tease” the reader early on in the message in hopes to get them to read further.

3. Get out of the “other” box: Facebook clearly states that users will only be able to view email addresses in their normal inbox if they are sent from their friends, or someone who is a friend of one of their friends. All other messages will go into an “other” box. If you segment your messages, you will have a better chance of getting your email moved from the other box into the inbox.

4. Take advantage of “permission”: Within Facebook, readers only get to read messages that they have allowed permission to. In theory, this means that the reader wants to read your messages and is expecting them. Your messages sent to all users, especially @facebook.com users, should be enticing and to the point.

5. Prepare: Take the previously stated tips and build from them. Facebook messages are expected to be completely rolled out within the next few months. Being that Facebook is one of the leading social media sites, it would be no surprise if the majority of subscribers in your database made the shift. Be prepared for the change in advance and you should see positive campaigns.

Author: Peter Schirripa

Editor: Courtney Dillsworth

Expand the reach of your message through “Share Within Your Network”

When it comes to email marketing, the goal is to expand the reach of your message. Campaigns generally have the option for users to “Refer to a Friend,” which gives the reader an opportunity to forward the message along to someone they know.

This concept seems natural, but is it the most effective means of spreading your reach? The easy answer is no. With social media now leading online activity, email marketers should look to embrace “social sharing.”

With one click of a mouse, readers can share a message within their social network. According to Facebook.com, the average user has 140 friends who can potentially view your newsletter.

Tell a friend campaigns, or TAF-as we refer to them here at KobeMail, are soon to be a thing of the past. Consumer reports show that subscribers don’t normally trust marketers to behave responsibly with their own email addresses, let alone the email addresses of their friends. The main issue with TAF campaigns is that they are marketer-centric, and in order for a campaign to be truly successful, they must be customer-centric!

By inserting a tab within the email campaign that would allow the reader to share the message with their online community, the marketer can reach a much broader audience with little to no extra effort. The posted content can be tracked for reporting, as can the number of clicks that the posting generated.

The social sharing tool enables the reader to publish the email newsletter right to his or her Facebook or Twitter account. There is a lot less friction with this format compared to the normal TAF approach. The referring subscriber does not have to turn over any identifying information, whether it is their own email address or those of their friends.

Companies need to enhance their brand presence online. The audience reading the message can drastically increase simply by adding an option on the message to “Share with your network.”

Studies suggest that TAF campaigns will be overtaken by “SWYN” campaigns over the course of the next 18 months. At KobeMail, we want our partners to stay ahead of the curve, which is why we are promoting this concept. In order to best serve our client, we have to think as the client. When it comes to email marketing, the reach of the message is what drives sales. Sharing your message through social media networks is the easiest and most efficient way for your message to reach a larger audience.

Author: Courtney Dillsworth

Editor: Peter Schirripa

Holiday Strategy

With the fast approaching holiday season right around the corner, it’s time once again to start thinking about how, as an email marketer, you can increase your ROI. Consumers are predicted to cut spending this year, which is going to mean-as retailers-you need to tighten your pocket books too. Luckily, though, email continues to generate the greatest ROI over other marketing channels. Think about it – there are no postage stamps or envelopes attached to emails and the turnaround for conversions is much faster.

Businesses will benefit more greatly this holiday season by focusing on sending out well-targeted email campaigns and promotions rather than the usual holiday circulars that fill our mailboxes beginning right around Thanksgiving.

In 2010, it’s important to include links to all of your social media sites in each of your mailings. This will allow you to essentially market to a huge pool of new and un-targeted consumers for absolutely no cost. This, in turn, will likely boost your ROI because previously uninformed potential customers are now fully aware of your store’s amazing holiday promotions and gift ideas.

Remember that December is the largest shopping month, so start testing ASAP if you haven’t already. Compare your 2009 campaigns sent in November and December to see where you can improve for this year’s strategies. At KobeMail, we offer a great reporting tool called Campaign Comparison as part of our application. This allows you to take a few campaigns and see the reporting for each side by side and compare directly where each campaign performed best. With the KobeMail Campaign Comparison option, you can put together a well optimized and finely tuned campaign for your 2010 holiday mailing strategy.

Author: Peter Schirripa

Editor: Courtney Dillsworth

Last Minute Holiday Sending

Our inboxes are fuller during the holidays than any other time of the year. The digital world is filling your mailboxes with emails from every brand you have ever subscribed to. It is important to not only land in the inbox of your subscribers, but to differentiate your message from the zillions of others so it will stick out and ultimately lead to a sale of your product or service.

During this season, subscribers certainly have spending on their minds. Here are two suggestions from KobeMail on how to tweak your email campaign to bolster your chances of a sale:

1. 1 1. Keep it Social

We’ve written before about the importance of social media integration into your email campaigns, but now we have another suggestion: offer incentives. Facebook makes it very easy for readers to be “fans” of your company, so you should be taking advantage of that. Instead of just featuring redirect links to your Facebook or Twitter page, give your readers the chance to gain something out of it. Offer your subscribers an incentive for clicking your social media links. You can say something like “Become a fan and get 20% off of your first purchase.”Make your readers feel privileged to be a part of your social media campaign.

2. Dedicated Messages

Even if you are selling a product or service that is holiday oriented, there are most likely hundreds of other companies who fall under that same umbrella. A great idea to differentiate your message is to partner with a popular email digest that is known for delivering a unique voice to a loyal audience of fans. This is a useful technique when you want to expand the reach of your message. There are plenty of online newsletters out there that could be a great potential partner.

It can be difficult to attract the attention of consumers during this busy holiday season. Online shoppers go through a plethora of emails, so it is important to make your message unique and targeted. Email campaigns and sponsorships can help marketers get to the inbox while increasing sales. Use these two techniques and you’ll be sure to find success this holiday season.

Author: Peter Schirripa

Editor: Courtney Dillsworth