The biggest challenge for email marketers is to build a cost effective list. This is because at least thirty percent of the email addresses change on most lists. Therefore, marketers have to go for a more aggressive approach in order to expand the list and to get more significant investment returns.
Taking permission is the basic key to maintaining a almost constant email list, along with other steps. Permission is certainly not the optional thing. If permission is not taken it means direct landing up as a spam complaint or even greater, breaking the U.S Law for spamming. The sign up form should be featured on every web page. No opportunity should be missed for turning the visitor into a subscriber. Subscription value can be enhanced by adding sample emails, screenshot of an email, testimonials and good copy on the sign up and registration page. To attract more number of subscribers, incentives can be offered upon signing up. The incentives can be as small as white papers and as big as special discounts. Incentives increase the conversion rates to great extent.
Today everything is becoming search engine optimized. Therefore it is the need of the hour to optimize the website in order for the website to land in first hundred search result. The current and archived web pages and newsletters must be optimized for increasing the traffic rate of the website and subscription rate. Search services such as Google AdWords can be made use of, for including subscription link on the landing page and for promotion of the website. Opt-in check boxes must be added on the demo requests, registration forms and white papers. This increases the conversion rates by at least fifty percent.
Very simple method to increase new subscription is by including the ‘Send-to-a-friend’ option. If the current subscribers find an email interesting, there are greater chances that the email be liked by their friends too. And if they like the emails, there is an even greater chance that they will subscribe to receive future emails. Email subscription can also be encouraged by print ads, catalogs, direct mails, radio and television. Employees can be directed to include the ‘Subscribe to the company’s newsletter’ link in their signature lines. The sales employees and customer support can ask customers whether they would like to receive promotional email, in appropriate situations. Sign up forms can be distributed at seminars and public speaking engagements and presentation on newsletters can be given at such locations. Permission can be taken to include opt-in forms in trade show lead generation forms so that booth visitors can subscribe.
If the postal information of the customers is in the database, post cards can be sent to them which ask them to subscribe to newsletters. Sign-ups can be promoted in transactional and confirmation emails. It is optional to include opt in link on receipts of credit card, product registration cards, invoices and warranty. The company’s email and newsletters can be promoted in other company’s publications. Sites and industry directories can also be used for promotion. Product shipping boxes are the next important place to include the opt-in form. Many catalogers and retailers even include promotional offers of non-competing companies. Newsletters which have topical articles can be used for press release, along with information such as how to subscribe and content being offered. This option is useful to smaller companies.
The biggest boost to email deliverability is the growth of transparency since the internet bubble burst in the millennium. It took away much uncertainity associated with email marketing. Address spoofing was absent then and spam undermined the recipient’s confidence in email marketing. In transparency means the person at the other side goes according to the claims he make. Now the identity has to be proved through out the delivery chain. Authentication systems used by ISPs have been developed to check the validity of the authorized sender and then either pass along the email or block it.
Few authorization systems work invisibly while others display a visible notice in a message form. Authentication, though, hasn’t solved the phishing and spam problem, but transparency fostered by it makes the legitimate senders more vivid. Previously there were closed systems which have become open now to email senders because of introduction of transparency by reputed vendors. The IP address of the sender can be known instantly and there are websites which can show how the email pattern of a particular sender is reflected to the world.
Things are easier for the email sender too, as they can check whether their email has been delivered or not with the help of email broadcasting solutions which have incorporated delivery monitors in their systems. Emailers who follow the best practices policies being offered by vendors, ISPs, and email industry trade groups have greatest rate of email message delivery. These policies include delivery volume, email bounces, opt-in practices, address management, IP address integrity and content trigger. According to these policies, transparency is also meant for the emailer’s personal program. The subscription process of the sender explains why the sender is is signing up, type of emails he will receive and how the unsubscription process is carried out. Depending upon the trustworthy atmosphere created by these policies, the ISP separates emails which have to be delivered, blocked and filtered.
If messages are being send to major ISPs, the sender must watch and study spam complaints, reply to emails, and bounced emails more carefully. Permission emailers who are willing to work within the requirements of the ISP, showed how content filters which were simple and server settings which were restrictive blocked requested emails which were both transactional messages and commercial messages.
In 2003, email receiver and senders gathered to share their concerns and air their grievances. From there aroused industry working groups who tackle fraud issues and email spam. Now ISPs are also identifying and trusting emails which are sent by clients of systems of third party authentication, email certification agencies and reputed vendors which take the guarantee of the email sender’s legitimacy. The regular server lever filters now let’s go the guaranteed email which is being delivered to the desired inbox, as requested. In both email delivery and sending, transparency has helped in dealing with the uncertainty and mysteries which prevented the marketers from effectively utilizing the email and the marketing associated with it.
Now it is very easy to come out the darkness and know whether your email has been delivered or not, with the help of transparency. If it is not delivered, the notification message can be checked for details and the mistake can be taken care of so that the message gets delivered in the future.
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