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Email Marketing FAQs

Warreng
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Who should I contact if I have a question or want a demo for Constant Contact?

Refer to Constant Contact’s Help Center, Knowledgebase, and check out their seminars & webinars.

Glossary of Email Marketing Terms

  • Click-Through Rate: The number of subscribers clicking on the hyperlinks in your emails.
  • Conversion Rate: How many subscribers fulfill your email’s call-to-action (for example, register for a workshop in response to your email).
  • Deliverability Rate: The percentage of emails you send that is actually reaching your recipients’ email boxes.
  • Landing Pages: The Web page that your email's hyperlinks take your readers to.
  • Open Rate: The percentage of subscribers opening your emails.
  • Unsubscribe Rate: How many subscribers request to opt out from receiving your emails.

Any tips on writing subject lines?

Keep it short. The subject line is probably the most important aspect of an email. Shorter subject lines have better open rates, especially on mobile devices Make it engaging and under 40 characters.

Various approaches you can consider when coming up with subject lines:

  • Benefits Approach: Highlight the benefits. Tell the reader what's in it for them.
  • Question Approach: Ask a question that will pique the reader's interest.
  • Teaser approach: Provide a teaser of the content to entice your audience to read more.
  • Cultural/local tie-in approach: Incorporate local or culturally relevant information that may interest your reader.
  • Personalized approach: Make the readers feel like you're speaking directly to them. Use the words "you" and "your."

Words to Avoid:

Free, $$$, Save & Discount can get your email caught in the SPAM filters.

Percent Off, Reminder and Help will also have a negative impact on your open rate.

What should my email messages include?

The messages should consist of an introduction, body and closing (call-to-action).

You should adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Embed multiple hyperlinks (6-10) throughout your message to the URLs where you want the recipient to go.
  • Avoid repetitive statements.
  • Keep the tone friendly and conversational.
  • Copy should be broken into short paragraphs and concise sentences.
  • Make sure your emails are mobile-friendly, with lots of white space around text and links that are easy to click.

What are some tips for good landing pages?

Customized landing pages on your website can help fulfill your email’s call-to-action. Landing pages should have a similar appearance to the email design and include information the reader would expect to find after clicking from your email. Don’t make them hunt for the information they want.

Example: Workshop emails should include several links to register. Make sure these links take the reader to a specific page where they can register and/or read more information about the specific workshop promoted in the email. Avoid taking them to your website homepage or other general information page, forcing them to look for the information they want.

How often should I send emails?

Receiving too many emails is the second major reason people choose to unsubscribe from emails or hit the SPAM button.

Sending consistently, without sending too much is the best approach. Send your e-newsletters and other messages at a consistent time and day. Examples:

  • Workshop Marketing Email: Bi-weekly on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
  • Email Newsletter: Monthly on 3rd Wednesday at 11 a.m.
  • Mentoring Marketing Email: Monthly on the last Thursday at 2 p.m.

What email metrics should I measure?

You should review several key email marketing metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of your emails. You should evaluate email marketing campaigns within 48 hours of sending as well as continually thereafter to evaluate ongoing campaigns.

Metric to measure:

1) Conversion rates

2) Open rates

4) Click-through rates

5) Unsubscribes/Subscribes

6) Hard/Soft Bounces

What are good email metrics?

This varies widely by industry and the type of message being sent, but an open-rate near 20% and a click-through rate of 2.5% is considered very good. Your unsubscribe rate should be at about 0.20%. 

You can also review the benchmark stats at http://bronto.com/stats/.

How can I try to improve my email metrics?

If you feel your metrics are not where they could be, there are several ways to improve them:

  • Test your subject lines. Try several different approaches with your subject line and send them to small segments of your list to determine what attracts a greater open rate. You can see how to set up A/B testing for subject lines here. 
  • How often are you sending emails? If you are sending out weekly emails and they are getting low open and click-through rates, try only sending once or twice a month.
  • Timing. What time and day of the week are you sending your emails? Try sending your e-newsletter to different segments of your list at a different time and day. Then, determine what attracts a greater open rate.
  • Content. Take another look at your message content. See if it can be improved and more targeted to the recipient’s needs and interests.

How do I increase my email subscriber list?

There are many ways you can increase your subscriber rate. Here are just a few ideas:

  • Harness your Web traffic. Place sign-up promos and links to subscription forms on your website.
  • Give details. Add specific information about your e-newsletters to your website:
    • Potential subscribers like to know what they are getting before they sign up. Provide them with a sample newsletter.
    • Subscribers also like to know how often they will receive emails. Be explicit. Let them know the frequency. For example, state whether it is a monthly e-newsletter or bi-weekly.
  • Offer incentives. Offering giveaways, such as a free PDF of a report or research paper, can encourage new subscribers.
  • Include email opt-ins with your workshop registration. If you provide online workshop registration, include a checkbox so registrants can choose to receive your emails.
  • Promote at trade shows. Have an email sign-up form at your booth.
  • Download the National Online Workshop Client Leads Report. This will provide contact information for those who have attended a recorded webinar on score.org. Send a "Welcome Email" to those who you added to your database to welcome them to your emails and allow them to unsubscribe if they would like to. 

Where can I get more information on email marketing?

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