E-mail is fast, direct, and inexpensive. Whether youre an e-mail marketing novice or veteran, this document by Jack Burke will give you tips for making your e-mail campaigns stronger.
I recently received an e-mail from an insurance producer asking, 'How is e-mail being used as a marketing tool? Is it successful?'
Now there's a short question with a potentially long answer that got me thinking. In fact, I began writing about cost and result comparisons between regular mail marketing versus e-mail. However, the reality is you can implement either successfully in its own right with its unique cost and return variables. What are some of the ways you can utilize it and what might you expect in return?
Let's start with the basics. I recently had access to a database of agencies that were members of a singular group. Approximately 20% didnt list an e-mail address. Due to the unique nature of this group, I dont believe the lack of addresses was a failure to collect and input the data they just didn't have e-mail addresses.
So the first step is to have e-mail. Then begin collecting e-mail addresses. If you dont have them, you can't contact them. Turn every contact into an opportunity to ask for their e-mail. This is critical, because it's the only true, direct line of communication you have. Telephones have gatekeepers, as does voice mail. E-mail goes to the source directly.
One fact that surprises me is the number of businesses that have a Web site, yet use AOL or other portals for their e-mail address.
Ideally you should have a Web site that's based on your name. Ours is www.soundmarketing.com the same name as the company. Why would I want to send and receive e-mail under the name of AOL or Earthlink? Why would I want to advertise them, rather my own company? As subliminal as it might be, every e-mail correspondence that you manage through your own Web site becomes direct advertising for your company and provides the directions to your Web site. For instance, I manage my personal e-mail accounts through the Sound Marketing site under several different names. Each is its own advertisement, as well as a contact address.
If you travel a lot, it might pay to have a worldwide access address like AOL where you can dial into an 800 number. But use it only for access. Program the mail manager to use AOL, for example, to check your regular e-mail accounts that might not have toll-free access to the ISP.
Set up 'signatures' for your e-mail. This is a perfect and automatic opportunity to mention other services and provide complete contact information. I use about half a dozen and set them up to be added to my e-mails randomly. Each concentrates on a different facet of our business and keeps reminding clients and prospects about the variety of products and services we offer. They also provide phone and fax numbers and snail mail addresses for contact by any means possible.
The next step, as with direct mail, is to look at your actual correspondence. Do you reply only to messages received by sending business-related questions? In other words, do you operate under the old Dragnet motto, 'Just the facts, Maam'?
At least once a month, I like to browse through my e-mail address book. When I see someone I haven't corresponded with in a while, I send them a cheery little note: 'Hi, just wanted to let you know that I was thinking about you today. Hope all goes well with both your business and personal lives. I thought it was time to let you know how much we appreciate your friendship and your business. If you need anything, give me a call.' It's amazing how much extra business these simple and thoughtful notes generate. So use your e-mail to send an occasional love letter to your clients.
As you become more advanced, think in terms of regularly scheduled newsletters to your clients, friends, and prospects. They can be as fancy, or as simple, as you choose. Many major entities present their newsletters in plain text. Others use HTML format and make them as fancy as a Web site.
The format is far less critical than the content. If you send a newsletter, make sure the information is valuable and appreciated. The best example I can cite of newsletter effectiveness is ProgramBusiness.com. In its first six months the ProgramBusiness site is already approaching a million hits per month, driven entirely by its newsletter. Newsletters work, they really do!
Broadcast e-mail can provide a powerful marketing tool for your agency. To boost your revenues and profits Id suggest these guidelines:
Provide up-front value. Give to get! Readers are far more likely to trash junk e-mail than a message that offers them interesting and valuable information from the get-go for example, free advice on a 'hot button' risk management or business issue.
Use 'permission marketing.' As a salesperson, you know youre far more successful selling by appointment, rather than cold calling. The same principle applies to cybermarketing: You'll garner a much better rate of return with e-mails to readers whove asked to receive your message, rather than to a 'cold list.'
Avoid attachments. Fear of contracting computer viruses leads many people to trash attachments automatically. What's more, many corporate e-mail management systems wont process message with attachments. Tell your story in a text message.
Use hyperlinks. It's easy to insert hyperlinks to your site or even a particular page on the site. Most e-mail software automatically converts such addresses to hyperlinks. Keep the text message concise, then direct readers to your site for specific actions. Hyperlinks also offer an excellent way to add value. For example, you might include a brief excerpt from an article, with a hyperlink to the full article.
Keep your message personal. Remember this is an electronic letter. The more personal the writing, the greater the likelihood that people will read it. E-mails go straight to the recipient without interference from secretaries and receptionists.
Make it look good. Take advantage of e-mail software's flexibility to boost the readability of your message by selecting fonts and sizes, underlining, bolding, and italicizing. You can even get into background and type colors, pasting pictures, and animation. But bear in mind that many of your recipients are still using dial-up modems. Don't go overboard by creating a document so large that its slow for readers to load.
Set reasonable expectations. Expect a far lower return from broadcast e-mail than the traditional 2% to 3% response rate from traditional 'cold' direct mail campaigns. Although e-mail is far less expensive than snail mail, it just doesn't carry the intrinsic value associated with real paper. In my experience, 0.03 to 0.05% is a fair return from an e-mail marketing campaign. You might get lucky and do far better particularly with a 'warm,' permission-based list or a broadcast to your clients.
Take time to get acquainted with the potential of this new technology. Start slow and get up to speed as you gain knowledge and experience. Dot-coms might be having their problems today, but the Internet is here to stay. Make it your friend!