Archive for the ‘list-broker’ Category
How to Choose an Email Service Provider Whether you are just launching your list-building efforts or have had a mailing-list for a while, the choice of Email Service Providers is critical to the success of your email marketing efforts. But what to look for in an ESP can be complex -– yet it shouldn’t keep you from making the best decision for your company’s current stage of list development. Below are 10 considerations for evaluating an ESP. 1. Deliverability Deliverability stats are easy to document if the ESP is a good one. A few signs — will the ESP allow a third-party deliverability audit by a company such as PivotalVeracity or Return Path before requiring a contract? Do they consistently monitor deliverability? What about data hygiene services? Does the ESP scrub against known spam traps, active complainers, and undeliverable addresses? Can you have your own dedicated IP mail server address, or can you elect to be in a shared or distributed IP mail server pool? And really important, I’ve found — does the ESP have a team of postmasters to interact with ISPs? This is an area that takes babysitting and diligence. 2. Training Some ESP platforms are very intuitive, but many are not. Are there costs for initial or follow-up training? Is training available both online and live? Is training mandatory before being allowed to call customer support? Do new software releases include training? You want an ESP that offers easy access to resources to ensure your ramp-up time is minimal. Spend a bit of time exploring their online training options (videos, tutorials) and see how comfortable you are. 3. Both broadcast and autoresponder options Broadcast is when you set up a message to be sent out immediately or at a certain day/time. A broadcast is going to go out to your full email list. Autoresponders, both drip and triggered, are emails that are set up to be delivered automatically at certain intervals after someone signs up to your list. As someone who uses email marketing, you want both options as they’ll be useful to you in many ways while you work to reach your market. 4. Customer service With over 100 ESPs to choose from, much of email service is being viewed as commodity-based. Therefore, level and quality of service is a prime differentiator. Consider the overall account servicing. Check their website or sales people to find out if you will have online or email access to immediate customer support, or will it be next day with a ticketing system? Ask for references from current clients –- this will be most telling. 5. Personalization capabilities Adding personalization to your emails is a great way to increase interest and conversions. You can personalize emails with first names but you can also use functions like where they live, what hobbies they have, or other categories to call out your prospects. 5. Multiple email lists hosting Some programs only allow you to host one email list. You will likely want to keep separate email lists for different websites, topics or even to separate current customers from potential customers. 6. HTML and Text email creation Some people prefer to send plain-text emails while others like to add images and html code through an HTML email. Be sure your ESP can do both. HTML with a text backup will always get a higher open and read rate, and presumably click-through rate as well. 7 Easy and flexible sign-up form creation You will want to have the option of creating multiple sign-up forms that will create multiple lists. This is crucial for better targeting as your marketing becomes more complex. Check on the ESP’s form-creation opyions and capability -– if they even have one. 8. Reporting and analysis If you’re sending out emails without knowing the results, then it’s very difficult to be successful. Make sure you’re clear on the metrics that matter for your business, and review how well the reporting capabilities of the ESP match those needs. Standard metrics should include sends, deliveries, opens, click-throughs and forwards. What level of detailed reporting is available for bounce messages (i.e. why did a message bounce)? Take a look at the standard reports -– this should give you a good overview. 9. Templates and design assistance If your design skills are limited or non-existent, templates can be very helpful. Some companies make it easy to get a professional email campaign going by providing templates. If this would be helpful to your organization, this feature is a must. 10. Pricing You don’t want to choose your ESP based solely on price, but you do want to know exactly what you’re getting. Some ESPs require a 12-month usage/revenue commitment, while others have a pay-as-you-go model scaled for volume. Which optional features have costs? Ask for contracts from potential ESPs and have them reviewed for any red flags before final vendor selection. If you are in a larger enterprise, get a copy of the agreement from ESPs that are finalists so that your legal department can review indemnity and liability language. The inability of either side to be flexible can be signs of difficulties to come. All that work you put into finding your favorite ESPs can be wasted if you can’t come to terms. The best way to figure out if a program is the right one for you is to do your research first, then explore the option of taking a trial of the program. Your email list is without a doubt one of the biggest assets you will ever have in your online business. Take some time to do your homework and set it up correctly, and that initial investment of time and effort will pay off in multiples for years to come.
Lest you think that Social Media has completely swallowed us up, we are still very much in the traditional media business as well. We have sourced a few new services that have me very excited.
E-mail is enjoying a resurgence in these difficult times. Many bloggers are adding email to their mix of content distribution, and many companies are rediscovering the importance of an ongoing email strategy to enhance their brand, re-connect with customers, and drive leads or sales. Whether you are using email to prospect for new leads or customers, or as a vehicle to communicate with (and gain incremental revenue from) your current customer base, it would be wise to be sure they are as productive as possible. Here are a few tricks of the trade: • Prospecting • - Be sure you are using outside email lists that are reputable — opted-in, double opted-in. If the price for a list seems too good to be true, it is…. Don’t use it. - Clearly identify your target — the sweet spot may not be achievable in the data world but start the search there, and then tweak “selects” based on availability. - Explore pricing models — can you find CPC or CPL deals? More and more email list providers are willing to move to a CPL basis. • Creative • - Use a strong subject line — short and addressing a “pain point” will get the best open rates. - Put a personal note above your banner or header to get recipients reading immediately — either in their mail-reader preview pane or when they open the e-mail. - Personalize the message (IF your email database is reliable enough and you’re sure that most records have a first or first-and-last name) - Include a sidebar. Highlight your call to action there with a photo, headline, caption, and action button. - Pace your copy. Opening paragraph should be the most engaging, but short, 2 or 3 lines at most. The rest of the paragraphs should be no more than three sentences each. Intersperse longer paragraphs with short, snappy one-sentence paragraphs for emphasis. Use bold type and underlining (for links) to guide the eye to your most important points. Use bullets to break up the copy and move the reader along. Every third paragraph should have an action link to your desired call to action. Most click-thrus happen at the very end of the copy, Be sure you end with a link AND include a “P.S.” — that old standard from Direct Marketing 101. • Landing Page • - Whole books are written about landing pages, but at the very least include a very strong call to action — hopefully only one. - Keep it clean and crisp. The creative design should have the same look and feel (and company logo etc) as the email so the reader doesn’t think they have gone to a different website or offer. • Video? • - If it’s in the body of the email itself, it may have delivery problems, or be blocked as potential spam attachment. If the video is on the landing page, it will probably get good viewership — but will it distract from the main call to action? Put some brief text and a call-to-action link above the video, or maybe the video can include a constantly visible and even clickable Web-address URL. • Got Strategy? • - If you are using email to contact your customer base, it’s best to have a schedule and stick to it. - Decide on an email frequency — once a week, or once a month may be fine for some companies, too frequent or not enough for others. If you have a large enough mail-list file to test and measure response rates for different frequencies, do so. The last thing you want to do is irritate your own customer. They should perceive your emails as value-added, not intrusive. - Segment your own email database if it makes sense. For leads, use different offers depending upon how far down the sales funnel the prospect is. For current clients, segment by product category, for example. - Think BIG. A large-scale email campaign may not always be as efficient per dollar as a timid campaign, but well-crafted email can quickly build up your in-house customer list for further testing or offers. It’s an investment. - Tracking is critical. Be sure you can measure open rates, click-thru rates, and conversions at least for each blast. And maintain historical reports over time to see both successes and weaknesses in your campaigns. Need help? Want the best list broker? Thought you’d never ask. Call us. |
