Tag Archives: email

Want Customers to Open Your Emails? Read This.

Posted on February 28, 2014 by globaltechnj

In a rush to acquire customers through Twitter and Facebook, email marketing is often dismissed as outdated and out fashioned. Why craft an email when you can engage on social media?

But don’t dismiss the ancient act of sending emails so quickly; Tweeting and “liking” may be flashier, but a recent McKinsey & Co. survey states that email is vastly more effective way to acquire customers. How much more effective? Nearly 40 times more than Facebook and Twitter combined.

All marketing emails, of course, aren’t created equal. It’s all in the subject line – whether or not a customer decides to open your email or trash it rests entirely on its clickability. Luckily, a new study uncovers the attributes needed to create an effective subject line. Retention Science analyzed 267 million emails sent across 543 campaigns over the past six months. If you want to reach customers through email, consider these tips when crafting your next subject line.

Keep it between six to 10 words. Subject lines with six to 10 words perform best, generating a 21 percent open rate, well above industry standard. Those with subject lines containing five or fewer words ranked second with a 16 percent open rate, and those with 11–15 words returned a minimal 14 percent open rate. Despite this, the majority of emails sent (52 percent) had subject lines in the 11-15 word range.

Consider the device it will be read on. Thirty-five percent of emails are opened on mobile devices. Given that most smart phones only display five or six words of a subject line, being brief and concise is even more critical for mobile marketing.

Take a personalized approach. It’s shown to help re-engage and retain customers. Of the email campaigns studied, those with the recipient’s first name in the subject line delivered a 2.6 percent increase in open rates compared to those without a name.

Consider referencing a movie or a song. A separate Retention Science study analyzed 3.7 million emails and 22 campaigns where movie names or song lyrics were referenced in the subject line and found they were opened 26 percent of the time, while emails with more traditional subject lines were opened 16 percent of the time. Again, this allows you to take a more personal approach, and target certain customer segments.

Reconsider flash sale campaign. Nearly 80 percent of flash-sale email campaigns had subject lines in excess of 20 words; unsurprisingly, they consistently underperformed compared to campaigns with shorter subject lines. Their bad performance record may also be blamed on the frequency at which they’re sent — flash sale brands tend to email customers four to eight times a week compared to the industry standard of two to four times a week.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/231863

Posted in Online Marketing | Tagged , , , ,

Email Is 40 Times More Effective Than Facebook and Twitter

Posted on January 31, 2014 by globaltechnj

survey-email-40-times-more-effective-than-facebook

What? You’ve opened up that thing called “Outlook Express,” and you’re writing an email?

Surely you know that this form of marketing and communications is as pass? as floppy disks and cell phones the size of Shaquille O’Neal’s shoe.

Or is it? Now comes a McKinsey & Co. survey stating that email is a far more effective way to acquire customers than all that tweeting and posting and “liking” you’re doing on social media–nearly 40 times more than Facebook and Twitter combined.

“If you’re wondering why marketers seem intent on e-mailing you more and more,” McKinsey states, “there’s a simple explanation: it works.”

That explains our inbox.

We learned of the McKinsey survey through a post by Technorati writer Kaleel Sakakeeny, who adds that email’s advantage holds “if your goal is to acquire customers, and not just share the latest family news or travel experience.”

Depending on your perspective, McKinsey’s report may be earthshaking or simply what you’ve been telling everybody for years.

Dawn of the social media age

Since the dawn of the social media age, back when wooly mammoths roamed the plains and fur-clad hunter/gatherers crouched around the campfire tweeting selfies, contrarians have touted the necessity of email.

Ancient seer Jeremiah Owyang argued in 2009 that email was “the first–and largest–social network.” And cave scratchings in the form of a HostPapa infographic indicate that the bloody clash between email and social media was a matter of discussion way back in 2012.

More recently, Hospitality Net in December awarded three of a five-round match to email in an article titled “Email vs. Social Media–Which One Deserves Your Marketing Dollar?

“While there is a lot of hype around social media when it comes to usage, email wins hands down,” author Madigan Pratt asserts in a piece for the hotel industry.

Still, McKinsey’s research chops make its contribution to the debate significant. In its post, authors Nora Aufreiter, Julien Boudet, and Vivian Weng offer three tips for those marketing or communicating through emails. Among them: “Focus on the journey, not the click.”

“Customized landing pages–which send the user directly to the item or offer featured in the e-mail–can increase conversion rates by more than 25 percent,” the authors write. “And don’t forget mobile. Nearly 45 percent of all marketing e-mails today are opened on a mobile device.”

Tough luck for those smartphone users can’t be bothered to sit at a computer, right? They irritate everybody playing Annoying Orange’s Splatter Up during memorial services and symphony performances, anyway. Who needs them?

Well, shrug them off at your own risk, McKinsey says.

“Google says 61 percent of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing,” the article states. “And, even worse, 40 percent visit a competitor’s site instead.”

Sounds like its time not only to rethink your social media vs. email practices, but to your mobile strategy and landing pages as well.

Read the rest here.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230949

Posted in Online Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , ,