Ease, Frequency & Relevance
As quoted in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide:
It’s long been a practice to place the request for a web site visitor’s e-mail address on the home page, and most retailers who offer e-mail programs do so. Only 5% of the Top 500 companies offering e-mail programs failed to put the registration box on the home page.
Although you should always include a call to opt-in to your e-mail program on the home page, it’s not enough to leave it at that. As more consumers land on your site through search engines, chances are increasing that they’ll land on a spot inside your site. The best programs promote e-mail programs on every page, ensuring they’ll be able to offer the chance to sign up to consumers searching for products. Not only should marketers liberally sprinkle prominent email invitations throughout their websites, they should also promote their e-mail programs above the fold on the home page.
Leading retail companies clearly understand the value of e-mail marketing and are optimizing their programs for best results.
Quick Tips on Email Marketing:
Use an eye-catching call out for email sign up. It helps to “design” this call out with special copy and graphic treatment.
Provide an Incentive to sign up. Offer the viewer value for sign up…what will the user get?
Place the sign up box above the fold on the home page. This is the section of the website that you don’t have to scroll to see.
Place email sign up on every page. Most successful retail companies offer the email sign up on the home page, but a lot neglect to offer it on every page of the website.
Allow your email recipients to control the type and timing of the e-mails they receive. (Relevance is the number one reason why consumers hit the unsubscribe button.)
Determine Frequency: The number two reason why subscribers hit the unsubscribe button…they get emails from a company too often. According to eMail Labs:
Both email and postal direct marketers run the risk of alienating recipients by contacting them too frequently, leading to a condition called “list fatigue.”
Send a trigger welcome email upon sign up offering a welcome promotion.
Send the first email after the welcome within three weeks.
Test subject line (studies have found that personalized subject lines can improve open rates). Test subject lines with and without offers in them. The most accurate way to test is to conduct an A/B split test.
Test offers, formats, creative and timing…separately.
Include a sale, discount or free shipping offer in every e mail you send (e-Commerce sites).
Provide an opt-out preference-center page. Send your customers who have clicked on the unsubscribe link to a preference page which provides the option to receive email less often, or to receive different kinds of messages. Always offer the complete unsubscribe option. Test the opt-out process to see if/how it works from the users perspective.
Appoint a Human to monitor email. Monitor all email mailboxes associated with your program to watch for misdirected opt-outs, complaints and comments. Especially, the email address you use to send your messages from. Even if it specifies not to reply to the message with opt-outs or comments, or how easy your feedback or unsubscribe process is, they’re going to hit “reply” instead. Someone must monitor that mailbox to catch and route personal replies.
Clean your list: Periodically, remove the inactive addresses from your list. But first, identify the in-actives who haven’t opened or clicked through on any of your emails in X amount of time (at least 6 months). Create a special email to them inviting them to unsubscribe, receive email less frequently or to take advantage of a special promotion. After a week to two, go back in and delete addresses that did not respond.
If you are interested in starting or refining an an email marketing campaign, or simply want further information, please contact Harp Interactive at 630-691-9500: Harp Interactive is a full service online/offline marketing agency implementing savvy email marketing tactics, e-Mail design, tracking and testing for B2B and B2C clients. Give us a call at 630.691.9500 to find out more, or send an email to diane@harpinteractive.com.
Harp +
Very nice.