Email Newsletter Design's Archives

posted in 8 Jul, 2010 by Alejandro Catalan

The ‘2204355 ‘ Google search: Dancing chicken man is latest internet viral (but what does it mean?)

It’s headache-inducing, slightly disturbing and has no apparent meaning.

But the latest bizarre internet viral is taking the web by storm - even though no one knows what it means.

By typing the numbers 2204355 and pressing Google’s ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ button for searching the user is treated to a man dancing with chicken drumsticks.

The man is believed to have appeared in a KFC advert in the 90s - but no one knows why this number leads to the viral

Popularity: 5%

posted in 17 Jun, 2009 by Alejandro Catalan

5 ways to engage recession battered customers…

So what approaches can help you attract recession-battered customers?

5 Ways to Engage Customers In Recession

1. Remove your customers fears. Right now your customers are watching way too many recession news stories filled with doom. They’re hearing about giants of industry going under, or coming close, they’re afraid they may be next…. How do you encourage them to lift their head and help them understand that change is a constant in life—and this economic melt-down will pass.

2. Confirm their suspicions. Your customers see danger everywhere they look, and they wonder who is really there to watch over and protect their best interests, and who is there to fleece them of their shrinking income. Don’t deny the reality your customers perceive…. Recognise that the quickest way to bond and, most importantly, become an advocate on behalf of your customers is to first accept and validate (within reasonable limits) their viewpoint.

3. Justify their failures. Don’t make your customers feel like losers. If they’ve yet to reach their goals, pat them on the back and then show them why. Show them that many factors, often beyond their control, contributed to their failure. Show them how you can decrease the number of failures they will face, and how you will increase their odds of success.

4. Throw rocks at their obstacles. Identify the immediate threat or obstacle confronting your customer’s well-being, happiness and success. Join them in a justifiable hate fest. Heap scorn, ridicule and bad intentions on the perceived roadblock. And then quickly move on. Don’t wallow in that shallow pool, but splash there just long enough to gain your customer’s attention and confidence.

5. Encourage their dreams. The product or service you sell are not made of metal, wood, plastic, bits and bytes or some intangible service, they are dream-makers. Do not deceive your customer into believing they can accomplish the impossible, or that the impossible is achievable. But if your product or service can indeed make your customer’s intentions come true, do not hide the truth.

Popularity: 19%

posted in 5 Jun, 2009 by Alejandro Catalan

Google Wave – Future of Email and Instant Messenger

Google have just made public a new project Google Wave which has been developed in the Google Sydney office over the past 2 years. Google Wave isn’t due for release until later this year, but they have given the public and eager developers an overview of the product through a 1.5 hour presentation and demo.

Popularity: 13%

posted in 2 May, 2009 by Alejandro Catalan

Subject Lines and Tips That Will Get Emails Opened and Clicked On

I wanted to share with you my article or questions I answered for Marketing Profs last month which they only published a few of my answers. Since it was truncated I thought you might want to see my full answers to their questions.

A) What makes a good subject line?

Are length, brevity and personalization the keys to good subject lines? I have found that it’s not this magic combination, but the constant testing and versioning of your subject lines. Good subject lines are not simply conjured by a copywriter and often can’t be repurposed time and time again. Good subject lines are ones that are in constant state of flux and improvement.

The Elements of a good subject line are:

1. Clear

2. Actionable

3. Relevant

4. Short

If you can follow these above four items you are on the right path.

B) Tactics for improving email open rates with subject lines:

1. Timing - look at what times your subscriber base not only opens once but when they come back again. These subsequent opens will help you to chart your course.

2. When do they buy/convert or hit a goal page? By tracking web behavior and combining those metrics with email behavior, specifically opens and clicks, you will start to identify patterns which will help determine hot spots to drive the open.

3. Subject line testing. Are you testing dynamic subject lines driven by profile data or by past behavioral data? The secret is not always in using the name but using what’s important to them. What relevant brands or benefits tied to your campaign? Not shoes, but Nike. Not batteries included, but ready to use. Using specific and relevant brands you might sell, and a benefit-focused offer will give relevance and credibility, setting you apart in the inbox.

C) What you believe should be avoided in subject lines for best results.

1. Avoid being “salesy.” Always pushing your sales agenda will reduce the open rate and conversion rate.

2. Avoid ALL CAPS in subject lines. They feel like you are shouting for attention and not being respectful of your subscribers’ time.

3. Don’t be overly creative with your subject lines. Now this might sound odd, but if it is not simple, understood and gives a clear action or value then it will be passed over.

Tip:

Look at the check out line newsstand on your next visit to the grocery store. Notice all of the tabloids that are meant to be quickly scanned, understood and drive you to want to open and buy them to read more. They work.

Step 1: Keep it simple and informative

Step 2: Write to audience, not at the audience

Step 3: Keep the customer lifecycle in mind – think long term

Step 3: Personalize messages based on profile or behavioral data

Step 4: Inject a sense of action - Use a verb

Step 5. Never stop testing

Popularity: 11%

posted in 26 Apr, 2009 by Alejandro Catalan

Personalization Fail - Was it Needed?

I don’t normally use an email marketing competitiors emails to show failures, but this one is a good one to have a discussion with you. When is personalization needed and not just something that gets thrown in. As you can see when you personalize and you do not have the data point in the CRM, it is simply a FAIL.

Now personalization can be a powerful medium, but when used as simply as “FIRSTNAME” it is weak sauce in my opinion. Would it really lift this newsletter by using my first name in a “Dear Dylan” (oops they did not have my firat name) scenario? Not likely from tests that I have tried before.

What would have been better was if they knew a releavant article or subject line to engage me with instead of JV personaliztion. This is a good example of why you can get into trouble with using it. When you have a small list it is easy to check and see, and even more relevant is that you need a back up plan for any data point that could possibly not exist in just one record. We often use a tactic of coming up with a generic word that would be inserted into any field or rule set that would populate data/elements if none exists.

Do you think that simple personalization works in a scenario like this? It is a newsletter. Something that you send to everyone, so why would my name make it better opened, read and clicked on?

Something to think about before you engage in your next campaign with data elements.

Popularity: 9%