Tips for more effective email marketing – part one

No matter how savvy you feel you are when it comes to the subject of email marketing, the landscape is constantly shifting. To stay ahead of the crowd, then, it has become vital to regularly review your strategies and to adapt according to the latest trends.

If it’s time for you to take a look at your email practices, then we have put together a two-part summary on the latest techniques to better maximise your marketing channels and increase conversions.

It’s good to talk

Whilst auto-responders and do-not-reply mail addresses have their place, as a marketing tool they are extremely ineffective. Communication is a two-way street after all, and if your clients feel you are uninterested in what they have to say (or even in receiving a response), they are likely to be uninterested in what you have to say.

Foster a sound relationship from the outset by engaging your audience. Encourage them to respond with thoughts and feedback – you never know, they might just have something useful to say.

Set your own targets

Generic benchmarks often bear little relevance to a particular product, service or demographic. Rather than worrying about broad terms such as average open rates and click-throughs, instead consider defining your own set of parameters based on more relevant data such as demographic and past successes or failures. This will give you a much better idea of how effective your own particular strategies are.

Social media

Nowadays it’s rare to receive an email or marketing letter without an RSS feed, Twitter or Facebook link. Social Media has changed the way we do business forever – ushering in a new age in marketing. The opportunities are limitless, with the power to reach more people than ever before.

Think beyond providing a simple link however – give your readers a reason to spread the word by providing compelling, engaging content (video content is a fantastic tool for this). Experiment with different types of content and placement, and include regular offers as an incentive for your readers to engage.  

Less is more

Consider the last marketing email you opened (if you even opened it). How much time did you spend reading it? How much text was included on the page? Did anything in particular grab your attention? The accepted rule of thumb is 7 seconds – that’s 7 second to grab their attention before they either click delete or decide to carry on reading.

Draw the recipient in by making your headline engaging, succinct and brief. If you’re sending a promotional email, make your point in no more than a few lines. Not only are they far more likely to read the email, but this represents a great opportunity to leave them wanting more. For marketing letters, arrange your content in the most visually engaging way possible, and test different approaches to find the ideal layout.

Keep it relevant

Lazy marketers may rely on the draw of multimedia and social platforms alone, but unless there is substance beneath the flashy exterior, the audience is likely to lose interest and fast.

Sending the right message to push the right buttons at the right time – it may all sound like a game of chance, but there’s no luck involved. From direct marketing, email and B2B campaigns down to your company website, it’s all about the words. No matter how aesthetically pleasing your approach may be, pretty pictures alone are unlikely to reach out to your audience. Understand what they need, why they need it and when.

www.inscribewriting.co.uk

Taking your press release to the next level…

The days of standard, market-spin press release are pretty much over. Whilst words still certainly have their part to play, the landscape has most certainly shifted to the point where simple marketing rhetoric won’t cut it any longer. Online marketing is changing the way we think and like it or not SEO (search engine optimisation) is playing a bigger role than ever. The traditional press release now has to work that little bit harder to keep up. 

Keywords are key!

The importance of keywords must not be underestimated. In simplest terms, a keyword (or key term) is a specific word or term used commonly in search engines to find a particular subject, service or product. As such, before you even start writing your press release, you should have a good idea of the key words or terms you’re going to be using. Sites such as Word Tracker (www.wordtracker.com) are extremely handy in getting a basic idea of the words you need to be targeting. Of course these days its uses go beyond mere keyword analysis, but as a starting point you can’t go wrong.

Spread the word

There are numerous conflicting arguments when it comes to ‘keyword spread’ or how many times a particular search word or term appears within the body of text on the page. Ask a range of so-called experts and you’re likely to end up with a range of answers. The general rule of thumb is that each chosen keyword or term should not exceed around 2% of the overall word count – thus avoiding saturation and rejection by search bots. How to calculate this? Follow this simple formula: divide the keyword count by the overall word count and multiply this figure by 100.

Layout

As important as knowing which keywords to use is understanding where to place them. Below you’ll find a handy layout guide to help you construct your press release and make the most of your chosen words:

• Title Include a keyword or phrase here – try to keep it concise and attention-grabbing. Ideally the title should balance keywords with an irresistibly clickable quality!
• Summary During the first few sentences try to give an overview as an introduction, using one or two secondary keywords or phrases.
• Body Write subjectively and in third person. This is the main body of text and should contain the bulk of your keywords or phrases.
• About the Company A short synopsis of your company’s services, including a link.
• Press Contact Provide contact details of one person who will act as point of contact for all enquiries. Include name, email and contact number.
• References Don’t forget to reference your quotes and statistics. This lends the work an air of credibility.

Content

Try to choose a compelling subject with broad appeal. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes – would you take time out to read the release? Of course, this is where an attention-grabbing title comes in, but just as important is the content. If there is nothing current of note happening within the company, choose something you have done and make it fit – easily done with a little spin. Remember, the principal aim of any press release is to draw attention to the company. Company quotes can be as self aggrandising as you want them to be, it’s your press release after all! Don’t be afraid to sell yourselves.

Designed for people, not just search engines

Never, ever sacrifice content for the sake of SEO. This is an all-too common mistake and can be at the detriment of a company’s overall image. Think of it this way – the release will be worth nothing if, having found its way onto the screen, it doesn’t hold the reader’s attention long enough to drive the message home. 

www.inscribewriting.co.uk

Make upturn the new downturn this New Year

Forget the downturn – this Christmas and New Year, all you should be concerned with is the upturn. In your sales that is. Yes folks, the press have finally lost interest in the nation’s economy and found a new toy to play with – for the moment anyway. This apparent respite has given UK businesses a little breathing room to concentrate on selling their products and services over Christmas and into the New Year.

Did you put together a festive strategy this year? No? You should have. According to UK publication Marketing Week, online sales over Christmas and New Year will reach £8.9bn representing 20% of total UK sales. That’s a pretty big chunk of the pie. Time’s running out - so what can you do to get a piece?

A website paints a thousand words

Websites make or break online businesses. Consider this salient fact: Government statistics estimate that a whopping 70% of UK households now (2009) have access to the internet. This means the internet represents a portal to a potential 40+ million customers in the UK alone (discounting businesses and users outside the home) - that’s some kind of marketing power. Get the message right, and the rest will follow. If your website doesn’t grab a users attention within the first 5 seconds then you may as well not bother – it’s that simple. A good website speaks volumes about you and how you do business - let’s face it, if you can’t be bothered with your website, why should a potential client bother with you? 

Pen (not Zen) – the art of marketing warfare
 
Sending the right message to push the right buttons at the right time – it may all sound like a game of chance, but there’s no luck involved. From direct marketing, email and B2B campaigns down to your company website, it’s all about the words. No matter how aesthetically pleasing (read: pretty) your website or template may be, images alone are unlikely to reach out to your audience. Understand what they need, why they need it and when. Then find someone who can translate this into a message they simply can’t ignore – and there you have the art of Pen. You’re ready to do battle.

Be smart, start simple

So, as the New Year looms consider what you’re able to tackle within a reasonable timescale. No one in their right mind would suggest embarking on a full-scale re-branding exercise at this time of year. Whether it’s a simple pre-Christmas direct marketing letter campaign or finally getting round to giving your website that much needed lease of life, don’t put it off – email or give us a call today and we’ll be happy to help you make the most of Christmas and the New Year.

See what words can do for your business. 
www.inscribewriting.co.uk

The festive season looms……

As usual, the festive season brings with it a flurry of last-minute marketing and promotional activity. For most businesses, Christmas is a once-yearly opportunity to capitalise on the nation’s willingness to spend more than they can afford. Hey, it’s business after all.

This inevitably translates to increased demand on the creative sector with designers, copywriters and marketers all experiencing a huge upturn in enquiries. Here at Inscribe HQ we’re pleased to report that this year is even busier than usual. Last week alone I received on average 2-3 enquiries a day in my inbox – ranging from direct mail promotion to a little website spit and polish in the lead up to the silly season.

The moral of the story? Get your enquiries in without delay to paul@inscribewriting.co.uk, otherwise you may miss out on a great opportunity to maximise on pre-christmas conversions. You have been warned…….now, to split myself in two

www.inscribewriting.co.uk