Over the years, research has continued to prove the benefits of e-mail marketing for business: low costs, high conversion rates, and detailed tracking are all recognizable features. But e-mail marketing is becoming more than just a tool for spammers and e-businesses. Consumers are increasingly aware of the difference between spam and licensed email, and many of them accept licensed email marketing as a positive alternative to direct mail. The good news is that the vast majority of people who receive an authorized e-mail are 78% open on average. Efficacious email marketing campaigns can earn nine to 18 times as much revenue as broadcast mailings, according to Jupiter Research. But creating an effective business email is an art and a science. Here is a list of things to keep in mind, potential problems, and effective solutions: 1. Spam! Unwanted Email! Unwanted Email! No one needs me! The average user receives 300 emails a week, 62% of which are spam. No wonder so much hatred is coming over the industry. But spam filters, bulk folders, and the "Report Spam" feature help users be more aware of spam threats. In 2003, 89% of users reported spam as a major concern, down from 85% in 2004, in proportion to the increase in the use of spam-fighting tools. So, as a licensed business email marketer, what can you do? One tip is to remind your customers to add them to their "Safe Senders" list. The second and most important tip is to make sure your email marketing service provider has a good relationship with the ISP. This allows your email marketing campaigns to go to your customers' inboxes and not to their junk mail folders. When choosing email marketing software, make sure the company has strict anti-spam policies and complies with spam-spam guidelines. 2. Images and Formatting: Why do my emails seem to be broken? Broken email campaigns are a growing concern among email marketers, especially as many companies and web-based email providers are now blocking graphics to combat spam. In fact, according to ClickZ, 40% of email marketing messages delivered to the inbox are "broken." This is something that came up during the beta-testing stages of EliteWeb because we have a client in the Canadian government whose recipients are mostly using highly secure email programs. The solution we found has now become one of our main competitive advantages. What EliteWeb does is publish every single email marketing campaign posted on the web in a secure place (a place that only the original recipients of the email can access, thanks to encrypted technology that automatically authenticates the user). ) Technology ensures that you can track the behavior of your users even if they are reading your email campaign in a secure web location. 3. Personalization and Related Content: In a business e-mail, one size fits all. In a recent study by DoubleClick, email users were 72% more likely to respond to a commercial email if the content was based on specified interests. This figure indicates the absolute importance of allowing users to select their interest groups and have control over the business e-mail they receive. According to the study, the most popular interest groups are coupons and home appliances. But your coupon is not valid until the user opens the email. The strongest reason for users included in the study to open a business email is the name in the "from" field. That’s why it’s a good idea to make sure your company name is clear there. Another main point is the "subject" line. Customers refer to discount offers and interesting news as the most attractive subject lines, followed by new product announcements and free shipping offers. 4. Click-throughs and conversions: Show me the money! So the user opens your email and reads the content. Great. But where is the sale? Here is the good news. One, consumers are more likely to make purchases as a direct result of a business email campaign. One-third of users in the DoubleClick study purchased anything by clicking the link in the email. Another 42% clicked on the email link for more information and then purchased the product. Second, online couponing is booming: 73% of customers have redeemed an online coupon for online purchase and 59% have redeemed an online coupon offline. Industries are at the forefront of travel, hardware/software, electronics, clothing, food, home appliances, gifts/flowers, and sporting goods. Of all the companies that sent business emails in those categories, 71% to 80% of recipients said their products were purchased because of the email campaign. No need to worry if your company does not fit into one of those industries. The whole landscape for email marketing conversions looks bright every day. The average click-to-buy rate has increased by almost 30% since 2004 and the average order-per-email-delivery rate has increased by more than 18% over the previous year. 5. Statistics Tracking: Who are my real customers? E-mail marketing is a very popular tool among effective CRMs and it is time for more businesses to recognize it. First, if your provider's email services for business do not include detailed, real-time tracking, you're getting a raw contract. Real-time tracking is now an industry standard and is highly valued because it allows you to see exactly when a user has opened your campaign, clicked on your link, and made a purchase. Studying your customers will help you improve your communication efforts so each campaign is final (many email service providers also allow you to compare the performance of their campaigns).
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