Ways To Get Noticed Online

Email Marketing Advice for Small Business

Remove Inactive Subscribers from Your Email Lists

Commercial servers manage to achieve an average delivery rate just under 90%, with less than 10% rejected and less than 1% filtered. Permission-based email newsletters are only reaching their destination 75% of the time. Only 40% of email marketers are getting their messages to the people on their opt in email lists 90-100% of the time.

When email marketers face challenges with email delivery, experts suggest the isolation of subscribers who are active from those who are not and only sending email marketing newsletters to those subscribers.

This sounds like decent enough advice, however, the majority of email marketers fail to embrace the idea of taking even one valid email address off their subscriber lists. Some refuse to remove subscribers who have not click a single ad in over five years.

The first thing you need to do is identify your target audience. It is important to have a well-defined system for identifying subscribers on your email lists that are no longer active. This will allow you to remove only those who are truly inactive and not just in stealth mode.

Take the time to measure purchase activity and interactions like review posting, commenting on blogs and frequently browsing the categories. Defining an inactive subscriber ultimately depends on your idea of email success. Perhaps you require a full path from opening the message to order conversion or satisfied with just the click. You have the final say in who is and is not considered active on your lists.

If you would like to find out more about how to make you email lists more effective, read these other great articles from Ways To Get Noticed.

Advertise More than Just a Sale, Offer an Experience

Imagine it is the first week in December, it is cold outside and the spirit of Christmas has begun to fill the air. You set down at your computer, armed with a hot mug of pumpkin-spiced coffee, and begin to open your email. You skim through a couple of forwarded jokes and a reminder to pick up your daughter at ballet. Finally, you open a holiday email marketing campaign for the local department store. The advertisement is offering a warm and cozy shopping experience.

Sales vs Email Marketing

The department store is inviting you to come in, bring your whole family, enjoy holiday music and treats as you stroll through the store fondling the latest designs from your favorite labels. Oh, yes, you must not forget to use the 25% off coupon that is included in the email marketing advertisement.

This place is doing more than giving holiday discounts, they are providing an entire holiday experience. With a little warmth and excitement, they are taking some of the stress and hostility from the usual holiday shopping experience and making shoppers what to get out to enjoy it.

The holiday season is so busy, you have a chance to attract people who are already in the mood to spend some money. However, the best thing about this great email marketing idea is that these targeting email campaigns do not have to be reserved for the holiday season. As a matter of fact, you can use this method throughout the year.

In addition, this email marketing strategy is not only a great idea for retailers. Caterers can hold a dessert-tasting event, artists can host an exhibit, designers can put on a fashion show and the list continues. Creating an experience is a perfect way to meet potential customers, get to know your existing customers and establish a presence in your community or on the Internet.

Learn more great ideas to make your marketing emails more effective by reading another great article from Ways To Get Noticed.

Gift Ideas for Last Minute Shoppers

Most online vendors have all received an email newsletter at one point or another about email marketing and shopping for last minute gift ideas. The authors of these email marketing newsletters are hoping that the vendors from which they buy their products will come up with some great ideas over the next week or so that they can pass on to their customers. Last minute shoppers need help finding the ideal present at a rapid pace. Online retailers should be prepared to take full advantage of such an opportunity.

Although, this is a technique used most often by marketers who are able to conduct advanced targeting email campaigns, the idea is also relevant to small business owners as well. This is a marketing idea that will work no matter who you are as long as you have something valuable to offer your customers.

The average rate of click-through email is somewhere around 11% and the average order conversion rate is at least 6%. The majority of marketers send some type of email to their customers at least once every week, this is especially important during the holiday seasons when customers are doing a lot of online shopping.

When you are creating an email marketing newsletter that is aimed at last minute shoppers, it is important to become as familiar with your target customers. Email newsletters that are customized to suit customer behavior, such as last minute shoppers or purchase data such as holiday gift ideas is utilized by less than 30% of online retailers.

It is never too late to create an effective targeting email campaign. Take advantage of the holiday season this year by helping your customers find great ideas for those last minute gifts.

For more ideas on email marketing during the holidays, read this great article.