It's not always easy to grow your email list naturally and so, at some point, you may look to purchase some email addresses. However, there are some companies that provide non-legit email addresses that could deem you as a potential spammer and cause harmful damage to your brand. A few checks and questions to the supplier of the email addresses can help you to select a quality email list and protect your brand, therefore, eShoutz have provided a few hints & tips to help you.
1. Ask for references from the supplier's existing clients and check the supplier's website for client testimonials
2. Ask for a sample of the data you are going buy and check for generic email addresses, such as info@, sales@. Good quality lists will include few generic email addresses
3. Consider the age of the list; the older the list the less likely that the contacts will respond positively to your marketing messages but also if this list is too young this may point to a non-legit company as their websites only tend to operate for a short period
4. Check that the contacts have opted-in to receive third party email marketing
5. Check the list provider's company name online for complaints; this is likely to highlight non-legit companies and the names they have operated under
6. Ask the seller who will undertake the delivery of your email campaign; most reputable companies prefer to do this themselves in order to protect their list
7. Ask what other information was collected alongside the email addresses; this may help you to target your email campaign so that you can receive a better response from the list
8. If the price seems to good to be true then it probably is; this is one area where it is worth spending a little bit more to get good quality email addresses
For more tips on email marketing visit the eShoutz website.
Friday, 3 October 2008
Thursday, 2 October 2008
10 ways to improve your sign-up process
An important part of email marketing is building quality address books. To do this, you must create a data capture form which entices people to sign up to your newsletters who are likely to open and read your email campaigns. Here are 10 ways which eShoutz believe will improve your sign-up process and ultimately build quality address books for your email marketing campaigns.
1. Ensure that the sign-up / data capture form is all over your website. You must give all visitors the opportunity to sign-up to your email newsletters. Remember that not all visitors to your website will visit the homepage, and therefore newsletter sign-ups should feature within the side navigation or footer of every page of your website.
2. Ensure that the newsletter sign-up form is easy to complete. A complicated form to fill in will put people off signing up. Explain any fields that you think people may not understand.
3. Use simple language on the sign-up form.
4. Gather as much information about the subscriber as possible, without making the sign-up form too long and messy. Think about what information will prove valuable to your email marketing. For example, if you are a travel company and want to send cruise offers to those who have an interest in cruising and ski deals to those who enjoy snow holidays, make sure you ask on the sign-up form the type of holidays people prefer. You can then use the dynamic content tool in eShoutz to tailor your email newsletters to subscribers' tastes.
5. Make all of the fields on the sign-up form mandatory. Don't give people the option to omit information.
6. Be honest about how you will use the information you are collecting. Inform the subscriber that they will receive regular newsletters if this is the case.
7. Make the benefits of subscribing to your newsletter clear. Include information on your website stating that subscribers will receive the best offers first, or offers that are tailored to their needs.
8. Promotions are an effective way of encouraging people to sign-up to your email newsletters. Prize draws for new subscribers are great for building up your address books.
9. Make any third party opt in or opt out boxes clear. This can instill confidence in subscribers.
10. If you send a confirmation page to subscribers, use it as a selling opportunity. Include offers on the page that they have just expressed an interest in on the data capture form.
For more information on building quality address books, visit http://www.eshoutz.com/building-quality-address-books.
For more information about eShoutz email marketing visit the eShoutz.com website.
1. Ensure that the sign-up / data capture form is all over your website. You must give all visitors the opportunity to sign-up to your email newsletters. Remember that not all visitors to your website will visit the homepage, and therefore newsletter sign-ups should feature within the side navigation or footer of every page of your website.
2. Ensure that the newsletter sign-up form is easy to complete. A complicated form to fill in will put people off signing up. Explain any fields that you think people may not understand.
3. Use simple language on the sign-up form.
4. Gather as much information about the subscriber as possible, without making the sign-up form too long and messy. Think about what information will prove valuable to your email marketing. For example, if you are a travel company and want to send cruise offers to those who have an interest in cruising and ski deals to those who enjoy snow holidays, make sure you ask on the sign-up form the type of holidays people prefer. You can then use the dynamic content tool in eShoutz to tailor your email newsletters to subscribers' tastes.
5. Make all of the fields on the sign-up form mandatory. Don't give people the option to omit information.
6. Be honest about how you will use the information you are collecting. Inform the subscriber that they will receive regular newsletters if this is the case.
7. Make the benefits of subscribing to your newsletter clear. Include information on your website stating that subscribers will receive the best offers first, or offers that are tailored to their needs.
8. Promotions are an effective way of encouraging people to sign-up to your email newsletters. Prize draws for new subscribers are great for building up your address books.
9. Make any third party opt in or opt out boxes clear. This can instill confidence in subscribers.
10. If you send a confirmation page to subscribers, use it as a selling opportunity. Include offers on the page that they have just expressed an interest in on the data capture form.
For more information on building quality address books, visit http://www.eshoutz.com/building-quality-address-books.
For more information about eShoutz email marketing visit the eShoutz.com website.
Friday, 26 September 2008
Help with Image Blocking
Many email campaigns begin with a large image, designed to engage and entice the reader with the preview pane of their email inbox. However, many email providers, such as Hotmail, now have image blockers, which obviously reduce the effect of your marketing message. So how do you tackle this issue? You could try:
Using Alt Text - there will be plenty of space so you can be quite creative in writing something that encourages your readers to activate their images, click, scroll down etc.
Use a Preheader - This will allow readers who don't see the image to see something in their preview pane, whilst the impact of the large image will not be effected by a preheader for those that can see the image. You should try to be inventive with this text so that it encourages your readers.
Visit eShoutz.com for all your email marketing needs.
Using Alt Text - there will be plenty of space so you can be quite creative in writing something that encourages your readers to activate their images, click, scroll down etc.
Use a Preheader - This will allow readers who don't see the image to see something in their preview pane, whilst the impact of the large image will not be effected by a preheader for those that can see the image. You should try to be inventive with this text so that it encourages your readers.
Visit eShoutz.com for all your email marketing needs.
10 must have features for email marketing
At eShoutz we feel that there are 10 features every email marketer requires from their email marketing provider.
1. Automated bounce and unsubscribe management
If your email campaigns are not delivered because they are being sent to an invalid email address, the address is removed automatically from your address books by eShoutz. This will prevent you from sending to the address again.
2. Open and click-through tracking
eShoutz provides open and click-through information about all of your sent email campaigns, and you can even print off boardroom-ready reports on the success of your campaign.
3. Spam checker
You need to able to check that your email campaign is likely to get past spam filters. The eShoutz spam checker points out any aspects of your html and text emails which may be classed as spam before you attempt to send the email newsletter.
4. Inbox preview
You should be able to check what your email campaign will look like in different inboxes. Check the layout in Yahoo, Gmail etc.
5. Email address de-duplication
You don't want to annoy recipients by sending them an email campaign more than once because their address is duplicated within an address book. eShoutz takes out any duplicates on your behalf.
6. Template library
You should be able to store all email campaigns within a library so that you can use them as editable templates again and again. eShoutz has an extensive range of editable templates in the library free for you to use, or alternatively you can add your own designs.
7. Unique domain option
Using a unique domain and URL reduces your chance of becoming blacklisted by an email provider's other clients. You should buy a unique domain if your provider gives you the option.
8. Testing facility
It is important that all email marketing campaigns are tested before they are sent to full address books. eShoutz allows you to send as many tests of your html and text email campaigns as you wish.
9. Dynamic content and personalisation options
Sending email campaigns that are tailored to your recipients' tastes results in better click-through rates. As does personalising your email campaigns. eShoutz allows you to dynamically create your email campaigns so that recipients receive offers and news which they have expressed an interest in or have asked for.
10. ROI and conversion tracking
All email marketers will want to measure the success of email campaigns, and by tracking direct conversions from a campaign allows them to calculate the return on investment. eShoutz offers extensive ROI tracking and provides a breakdown of orders, bookings or enquiries, the value of those leads and also the products that have been purchased or enquiried about on your website.
For more information about eShoutz email marketing and its range of features visit eShoutz.com.
1. Automated bounce and unsubscribe management
If your email campaigns are not delivered because they are being sent to an invalid email address, the address is removed automatically from your address books by eShoutz. This will prevent you from sending to the address again.
2. Open and click-through tracking
eShoutz provides open and click-through information about all of your sent email campaigns, and you can even print off boardroom-ready reports on the success of your campaign.
3. Spam checker
You need to able to check that your email campaign is likely to get past spam filters. The eShoutz spam checker points out any aspects of your html and text emails which may be classed as spam before you attempt to send the email newsletter.
4. Inbox preview
You should be able to check what your email campaign will look like in different inboxes. Check the layout in Yahoo, Gmail etc.
5. Email address de-duplication
You don't want to annoy recipients by sending them an email campaign more than once because their address is duplicated within an address book. eShoutz takes out any duplicates on your behalf.
6. Template library
You should be able to store all email campaigns within a library so that you can use them as editable templates again and again. eShoutz has an extensive range of editable templates in the library free for you to use, or alternatively you can add your own designs.
7. Unique domain option
Using a unique domain and URL reduces your chance of becoming blacklisted by an email provider's other clients. You should buy a unique domain if your provider gives you the option.
8. Testing facility
It is important that all email marketing campaigns are tested before they are sent to full address books. eShoutz allows you to send as many tests of your html and text email campaigns as you wish.
9. Dynamic content and personalisation options
Sending email campaigns that are tailored to your recipients' tastes results in better click-through rates. As does personalising your email campaigns. eShoutz allows you to dynamically create your email campaigns so that recipients receive offers and news which they have expressed an interest in or have asked for.
10. ROI and conversion tracking
All email marketers will want to measure the success of email campaigns, and by tracking direct conversions from a campaign allows them to calculate the return on investment. eShoutz offers extensive ROI tracking and provides a breakdown of orders, bookings or enquiries, the value of those leads and also the products that have been purchased or enquiried about on your website.
For more information about eShoutz email marketing and its range of features visit eShoutz.com.
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Email Bounce Backs
Having trouble with email bounce backs? Not sure what the difference is between a soft bounce back and a hard bounce back? Don't worry eShoutz can help you to understand bounce backs and give you tips on how to manage and reduce them.
Soft Bounce Back
An email is classed as a soft bounce back when it reaches the subscriber's mail server and the email adress is recognised but the email is bounced back undelivered before it reaches the intended subscriber. A soft bounce back usually occurs when:
1. the subscriber's mailbox is full,
2. the server is down or downloading lots of emails,
3. the email is too large, or
4. the subscriber has abandoned their mailbox.
If your email is a soft bounce, most email providers will attempt to redeliver the email over the next few days.
Hard Bounce Back
An email is defined as a hard bounce back when it is returned to its sender and cannot be redelivered. Common causes for a hard bounce back include:
1. invalid email addresses i.e. the domain name doesn't exist, typing errors etc
2. the subscriber's mail server has blocked your server
Quick Tips
Actively managing your bounce backs can help to reduce your email delivery costs and help to increase conversions. Here are some quick tips on how to manage & reduce your bounce backs:
1. Clean your Lists - check for incorrect email addresses, invalid domain names and typing errors
2. Confirm email addresses - You could try an auto-reply confirmation so when an email address is captured if the auto-reply bounces you can attempt to correct it at the start, which will be less cost to yourself. Alternatively, you could use a second email address line in your online forms etc, this will help to prevent typos.
3. Include subscription links in your email - By including a link for subscribers within your email it will make it easier for subscribers to update their details.
4. Use an unique URL and 'From' address - This means that if any other email marketers using the same software as you get blacklisted they will not have any affect on your campaigns.
5. Test your email campaign - Prior to sending your email campaign send a test to yourself and others. Be sure to include Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and Outlook.
6. Suppress or delete recurring bounce backs - If all else fails you should remove the subscriber from your address book.
Visit eShoutz.com for further email marketing tips and advice.
Soft Bounce Back
An email is classed as a soft bounce back when it reaches the subscriber's mail server and the email adress is recognised but the email is bounced back undelivered before it reaches the intended subscriber. A soft bounce back usually occurs when:
1. the subscriber's mailbox is full,
2. the server is down or downloading lots of emails,
3. the email is too large, or
4. the subscriber has abandoned their mailbox.
If your email is a soft bounce, most email providers will attempt to redeliver the email over the next few days.
Hard Bounce Back
An email is defined as a hard bounce back when it is returned to its sender and cannot be redelivered. Common causes for a hard bounce back include:
1. invalid email addresses i.e. the domain name doesn't exist, typing errors etc
2. the subscriber's mail server has blocked your server
Quick Tips
Actively managing your bounce backs can help to reduce your email delivery costs and help to increase conversions. Here are some quick tips on how to manage & reduce your bounce backs:
1. Clean your Lists - check for incorrect email addresses, invalid domain names and typing errors
2. Confirm email addresses - You could try an auto-reply confirmation so when an email address is captured if the auto-reply bounces you can attempt to correct it at the start, which will be less cost to yourself. Alternatively, you could use a second email address line in your online forms etc, this will help to prevent typos.
3. Include subscription links in your email - By including a link for subscribers within your email it will make it easier for subscribers to update their details.
4. Use an unique URL and 'From' address - This means that if any other email marketers using the same software as you get blacklisted they will not have any affect on your campaigns.
5. Test your email campaign - Prior to sending your email campaign send a test to yourself and others. Be sure to include Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and Outlook.
6. Suppress or delete recurring bounce backs - If all else fails you should remove the subscriber from your address book.
Visit eShoutz.com for further email marketing tips and advice.
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Commonly Asked Email Marketing Questions
Here are some commonly asked questions answered by eShoutz.com.
1. What is a good open or click-through rate?
Open and click-through rates vary for all email marketers, and results depend on the subject line, the relevancy of the content and the offers included in the newsletter. Industry average for open rates is between 15% and 20%.
2. How do I get my email newsletter past spam filters?
Avoid using lots of exclamation marks in both the subject line and within the content of your email. Also, avoid spam words such as 'free!', 'click here', 'discount' and 'satisfaction guaranteed'.
Also, check your email campaign with the eShoutz spam checker tool. The spam checker will highlight any issues you have with your newsletter so that you can correct them before sending to your address books.
3. Do I really need to send a text version of my email campaign?
Including a text version when sending your email campaigns can help reduce spam scores. There may also be recipients within your address books that cannot open html emails. It does not usually take long to create a text version of your email so it is advised that you do it each time you create your html version.
4. Why do I need a web-based version of the html email?
Including a link in your html email to a web-based version means that if recipients cannot view the newsletter correctly they can simply click on the link and see the content in full. Some recipients may have the images disabled and not actually know how to switch them back on again. A link makes it easy for them to view the html.
When you create a html email campaign in eShoutz, a copy is automatically stored as a web-based version. One click of a button enters a 'view html' link into your email so there's no need for uploading your newsletter onto servers, all the hard work is done for you!
5. What day of the week is best to send email marketing campaigns, and at what time?
This depends on the types of recipients you are sending to. If you are sending to business email addresses of people who work in offices, you are not likely to get a good open rate if you send on a Friday evening or weekend. Office staff clear out their inboxes on a monday morning when they have accumulated a number of emails. This may include yours.
Try sending campaigns on different days and at different times of the day. You may see consistent results, you may also find that it doesn't actually matter when you send your email newsletters.
6. How do I make sure that I don't get blacklisted?
Don't send email campaigns which may be mistaken as spam. It is also advisable to have a unique URL and 'from address'. This means that if any other email marketers using the same software as you get blacklisted they will not have any affect on your campaigns.
eShoutz provides a unique URL and 'from address' service which means that you can reduce the risk of being blacklisted by any other users of eShoutz. You can also build brand awareness by having a branded 'from address'.
Another way of preventing being blacklisted is ensuring that all of your email addresses within your address books are opted in. Only use email addresses of people who have expressed that they wish to receive email newsletter from you.
7. Most importantly, what is the most important thing for me to remember to achieve a successful email marketing campaign?
We suggest that you make your email newsletters relevant to your recipients. Just because email marketing is a cheap way of communicating with potential and existing customers, it doesn't mean that you should bombard them with emails that they wouldn't want to recieve. Tailor your emails to what they want using the eShoutz dynamic content tool and ensure that the offers you are sending are competitive or appealing.
For more information about eShoutz email marketing, visit the website at eShoutz.com.
1. What is a good open or click-through rate?
Open and click-through rates vary for all email marketers, and results depend on the subject line, the relevancy of the content and the offers included in the newsletter. Industry average for open rates is between 15% and 20%.
2. How do I get my email newsletter past spam filters?
Avoid using lots of exclamation marks in both the subject line and within the content of your email. Also, avoid spam words such as 'free!', 'click here', 'discount' and 'satisfaction guaranteed'.
Also, check your email campaign with the eShoutz spam checker tool. The spam checker will highlight any issues you have with your newsletter so that you can correct them before sending to your address books.
3. Do I really need to send a text version of my email campaign?
Including a text version when sending your email campaigns can help reduce spam scores. There may also be recipients within your address books that cannot open html emails. It does not usually take long to create a text version of your email so it is advised that you do it each time you create your html version.
4. Why do I need a web-based version of the html email?
Including a link in your html email to a web-based version means that if recipients cannot view the newsletter correctly they can simply click on the link and see the content in full. Some recipients may have the images disabled and not actually know how to switch them back on again. A link makes it easy for them to view the html.
When you create a html email campaign in eShoutz, a copy is automatically stored as a web-based version. One click of a button enters a 'view html' link into your email so there's no need for uploading your newsletter onto servers, all the hard work is done for you!
5. What day of the week is best to send email marketing campaigns, and at what time?
This depends on the types of recipients you are sending to. If you are sending to business email addresses of people who work in offices, you are not likely to get a good open rate if you send on a Friday evening or weekend. Office staff clear out their inboxes on a monday morning when they have accumulated a number of emails. This may include yours.
Try sending campaigns on different days and at different times of the day. You may see consistent results, you may also find that it doesn't actually matter when you send your email newsletters.
6. How do I make sure that I don't get blacklisted?
Don't send email campaigns which may be mistaken as spam. It is also advisable to have a unique URL and 'from address'. This means that if any other email marketers using the same software as you get blacklisted they will not have any affect on your campaigns.
eShoutz provides a unique URL and 'from address' service which means that you can reduce the risk of being blacklisted by any other users of eShoutz. You can also build brand awareness by having a branded 'from address'.
Another way of preventing being blacklisted is ensuring that all of your email addresses within your address books are opted in. Only use email addresses of people who have expressed that they wish to receive email newsletter from you.
7. Most importantly, what is the most important thing for me to remember to achieve a successful email marketing campaign?
We suggest that you make your email newsletters relevant to your recipients. Just because email marketing is a cheap way of communicating with potential and existing customers, it doesn't mean that you should bombard them with emails that they wouldn't want to recieve. Tailor your emails to what they want using the eShoutz dynamic content tool and ensure that the offers you are sending are competitive or appealing.
For more information about eShoutz email marketing, visit the website at eShoutz.com.
Monday, 15 September 2008
Top tips for creating an effective html email campaign
Take a look at the eShoutz top tips for creating effective email newsletters and improve your email marketing return on investment.
1. Place your most competitive offers in the top part of the email so that they are viewable in a preview pane of a recipient's inbox. If a recipient sees an enticing offer straight away they are likely to open the email fully to see what more you have to offer in the newsletter.
2. Have your call to action both at the top and at the bottom of the email so that a recipient can always see a telephone number or web address. Recipients will only contact you if they are reminded how to do so.
3. Always include an unsubscribe link. Remember that placing the unsubscribe link at the bottom of an email may encourage recipients to click the ‘junk’ button rather than scrolling down and clicking ‘unsubscribe’, which can result in your domain being registered as spam.
4. Always test your email campaigns in a number of inboxes, including Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo mail and Outlook. Your email template may look completely different in a number of inboxes depending on how it has been created. eShoutz has an 'inbox preview tool' which allows you to check your campaign quickly and easily before sending to your entire address book(s).
5. Always add a ‘forward to a friend’ link so that if a recipient wishes to share the offers with someone the email that they receive is in the correct format. By adding the link you can also increase your brand awareness if your recipients send the campaign to their friends.
6. Include ALT tags for all images, as many recipients will have images disabled in their email account settings. If they can read the Alt tags and understand what the email is about they are more likely to enable the images to view the html fully.
7. Make all images clickable. Many recipients will automatically assume that the images are links that will take them through to your website.
8. Remember that it is a legal requirement to include your business name, registered address and company on all email marketing campaigns that you send.
For more email marketing tips visit http://www.eshoutz.com/email-marketing-tips
For more information about eShoutz, visit eShoutz.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
