Did you miss our Email Marketing Best Practices Webinar?
Don't despair! We recorded our recent webinar for your viewing pleasure. Whether you are watching it for the first time or as a refresher, The Web Marketing Therapist Lorrie Thomas offers up fantastic tips to supercharge your email marketing strategy!
Zoomerang Webinar: Email Marketing Best Practices with Lorrie Thomas from Zoomerang on Vimeo.
You can view and download the slides here.
We had an overwhelming number of questions after the webinar in which Lorrie Thomas was kind enough to answer. We have included those below as an added bonus!
Q. What format of graphics should you use? Some graphics when sent via email do not come through. Where should the graphics be placed?
A. The images are usually .gifs or .jpegs and are uploaded to the email management software. Images should be placed where they best support the text. If there is text about a new employee, then their picture should go next to that!
Q. What does the acronym ""CTA"" stands for?
A. CTA stands for Call To Action. You want your email messages to have actions (usually as simple as text like “Learn more” or “Read More” or “Buy Now”) to help guide your readers into doing something.
Q. When sending a newsletter, do you send the article or a link to the newsletter?
A. When you send an email newsletter, most email programs have a built in “cannot read this email? Click here” that is a link to the whole newsletter (web based). If you are asking about linking to an article from your email newsletter, I say great! This is a best practice to share helpful articles (but not the whole article in the email, web surfers scan vs. read!)
Q. How can you effectively avoid graphics or images from being suppressed by email clients? Do you have to write everything in HTML code or will people click to enable images as a course of action?
A. ISPs (Internet Service Providers) are smarter about images now then they were 2-5 years ago, so I suggest focusing on designing your emails for your end user and if images are helpful, include them. With smart third party email management technology, the images are uploaded to the email program and housed there.
Q. Can you explain the use of a spam filter before distributing the marketing e-mail.
A. Third party email management companies often have built-in spam checkers that you can run your email message through before you hit send. It scans for spam flags.
Q. What about Save-the-Dates? Sometimes less is more.
A. I like this tactic to help communicate events in advance then doing email messages to lead up to events.
Q. What is the standard to evaluate a return on investment for a newsletter or web marketing?
A. The answer to this depends on the goal you set (which was best practice #1). For some it’s traffic to a website, some it is to sell product. Once the goal is clear, the success criteria will follow and you will know what to measure.
Q. What are the best ways to create opt-in list? How to encourage your potential clients to sign-up?
A. The best way is to have an email signup on your website, blog and social media. See www.webmarketingtherapy.com For how we have the form set up as an example. Include other ways to invite people (ask on phone calls or get sign ups at your retail outlets). Be sure to communicate the VALUE of signing up. “Join my email newsletter list” has no value to the prospective signer-upper!
Q. I have a presentation on August 11. How many email reminders, call for registrations would you recommend I send?
A. I suggest a messaging calendar with ALL the web marketing ways you can communicate this then work backward from 8-11 to now and have an integrated event presentation communication plan!
Q. In general, do you feel subject lines using a question are more effective? **For example instead of saying - save 30% on the widget, saying "Do you want to save 30% on the widget?"
A. Honestly, I see this used more by spammers than real people so I am not a fan of this. However, if the question is something that is really compelling, then test it!
Q. What about videos as content?
A. Yes, video is content and can absolutely move messaging mountains! Worth testing!
Q. The CTA could be the same several times into the same email?
A. I think you are asking if the same CTA (call to action) can be used several times in the same email and the answer is yes – IF there is value to the reader.
Q. What frequency are recommended?
A. Depends on the message, goal and sense of urgency.
Q. I don't understand the why 2 day ...
A. I suggested the 2-2-2 email rule (see webinar for more on this) to remind us that we have 2 seconds to capture attention. The last “2” for 2day (like “today” reminds us to make that message relevant NOW (aka today)
Q. What about using personalization in the content/body of the email. Does that help, or is it considered a no-no like subject line personalization?
A. I think the more relevant a message can be in the body the better. This does not get the spam flags like a subject line does!
Q. I tried having links in my email to bring them to website but it is going to spam.. Any suggestion on this?
A. Ew, not good that the links came up as spam – how was this reported? From your email management company? If so, they can advise you on how to get past this or even review your account to make sure you aren’t flagged. Links like Read more and Learn more are not flags….may be worth trying those but do communicate with your email company.
Don't forget to register for the second webinar in our four part series; Limited Resource Web Marketing. As the name suggests, this webinar will show you ways to do more with less for those who need to make every dollar count. It will be held live on June 8th at 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern. You can register to attend this webinar for FREE by clicking here.
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