Did you know that email has one of the highest ROI’s of any marketing tactic? But most people don’t have the metrics to allow them to capitalize on what’s important with email today: Metrics that go beyond the click. If you cannot get engagement, you won’t get results with email going forward – and 20% opens are not going to cut it.
In our most recent webinar, our President, Kim Albee, unveils the secrets to supercharging your ROI in email campaigns. Kim walks you through what’s possible when looking beyond the traditional metrics (opens, clicks, etc.) to guarantee relevance and results. Better yet, she shows you how to accomplish all of this with an army of 1.
We had a wonderful turnout, and plenty of great questions for everyone to consider. Thank you to everyone who participated! You can watch the video below to see the replay.
Relevance: The Essential Element of Engagement
A well-timed, relevant email that is personalized to the recipient will boost trust and build relationships. People don’t want to do business with someone they don’t know – AND – who doesn’t know them. That is why you need to find out what your leads are interested in and target those segments differently.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to make your content relevant, you should check out Digital Relevance by Ardath Albee. You can find it here.
How To Properly Segment
One of the biggest mistakes a marketer can make is treating all leads the same. If you have the data, use it! The only way to truly engage a lead is to send them something relevant to what they are interested in. (This will not happen if you keep focusing solely on opens and clicks.) So what should you focus on? The responsiveness of your leads.
You want to design your emails to help you with segmenting. Allow your emails and metrics to do the heavy lifting for you. Start by sending your broadcast email to a large lead list with a couple designed in advance for relevant segmenting. Then look at your metrics and listen to what they’re telling you. Start with how many opens you had and how many people clicked-through, but then go deeper. Where did they click? Which topics were they interested in? Once you figure out that information, send a follow-up email to everyone who opened the first one tailored to his or her response.
Focusing Your Campaigns
Once you have your lists segmented and you’re targeting their specific interests, clearly identify what you want people to do. FOCUS them in, so they don’t get distracted along the way. Show them where you want them to go by only providing one or two links in the email. More links might equal more clicks, but it does not equal more conversions. And conversions are the main reason for your campaigns.
Think of it as a breadcrumb trail from point A to point B, from the initial email to the specified response you want people to take. You’re not going to put ten breadcrumbs (or in this case, links) in ten different directions if you want someone to make it to point B, it will confuse your leads, and deter the people that are actually interested. Place your links strategically so people know exactly where to click and what to do.
Going ‘Beyond the Click’
What happens after they click? What do they do? Your standard Mail Chimp or Constant Contact won’t be able to help you here. This is where a centralized lead database is essential. To stay relevant you NEED to dive deeper into their interests and actions, and find out WHO these people really are. Look beyond the email and find out their number of site visits, and how much time they spent with different interests during each visit.
Next, trigger TARGETED follow-up emails to those leads. Remember this: automation based on activity triggers can ensure the right message at the right time. Ah-ha! RELEVANCE! If you can nurture your leads with information they are interested in, you have just increased your trust and started building a relationship. Relationships lead to conversions, not just opens and clicks. Leads can tell when you’re listening, and will reward you.
For more information about supercharging your email ROI, watch the replay at the top of this blog post.
We have more webinars scheduled! Check out what’s coming and join the exploration of marketing ideas that achieve results. If you’re interested in getting the slides to this webinar, they are posted here on SlideShare.
References:
Webinar replay: Beware Buyer Personas
The Scoop 1: The Single Biggest Reason Your Emails Don’t Get Read
The Scoop 2: Email Marketing List or List-ening
Blog Post of SPAM Words: http://bit.ly/spam-word-list
Book recommendations:
- How to Write a Good Advertisment by Victor Schwab
- Great Headlines Instantly by Robert Boduch
- Buyer Persona by Adele Revella
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are open rates and click rates not enough to measure email marketing success?
If you cannot get engagement, you won't get results with email going forward – and 20% opens are not going to cut it. Relationships lead to conversions, not just opens and clicks. Leads can tell when you're listening, and will reward you.
How should I segment my email list to improve engagement?
Start by sending your broadcast email to a large lead list with a couple designed in advance for relevant segmenting. Then look at your metrics and listen to what they're telling you. Where did they click? Which topics were they interested in? Once you figure out that information, send a follow-up email to everyone who opened the first one tailored to his or her response.
How many links should I include in a marketing email?
Clearly identify what you want people to do. FOCUS them in, so they don't get distracted along the way. Show them where you want them to go by only providing one or two links in the email. More links might equal more clicks, but it does not equal more conversions.
How can automation activity triggers improve email marketing results?
Trigger TARGETED follow-up emails to those leads. Automation based on activity triggers can ensure the right message at the right time. If you can nurture your leads with information they are interested in, you have just increased your trust and started building a relationship.