How many emails do you receive every day? How many do you actually open and read? Your customers and prospects face the same inbox onslaught that you do. So what’s a marketer to do if they want their recipients to open their email messages?
1. Compile Your Own List. The success of any email marketing program depends on a good list. You can buy lists, or you can compile your own. If you buy a list, you’re going to get thousands of names, very few of whom are realistic prospects for you. If you insist on buying a list, please, please make your first mailing to them a ‘lead generation’ piece. Offer something that only your realistic prospects would want, and that would be very valuable and interesting to them such as, ‘The Truth About European River Cruises. They’re not all the same!” Promote your specialty and you’ll only hear from realistic prospects.
You can also compile your list through social media. There’s more on that in number 4. But don’t skip to there – keep reading!
2. Personalize. Unless your email is addressed by name to the individual you’re addressing, it looks like mass marketing and it won’t get opened. In today’s world, people expect you to know them and address them personally. And they expect you to know something about them, so…
2.b. Personalize Content. They don’t just expect you to know them personally, they expect you to know their personal interests and needs. If they’ve been to your site and expressed interest in a specific destination or mode of travel, your email messages should lead with related products. You can make other suggestions later in the copy. But if you want them to open the message, it had better be about their favorite subject. What’s that? Themselves.
3. Be a “Friend.” Your prospects probably visit one or two social media sites every day. They establish friendships with both individuals and brands through frequent, cogent postings. Your social media activity should actively share your expertise and preferences. The people who ‘friend’ or ‘follow’ you will also open emails from you. But let’s face it, ‘Likes’ don’t pay the rent, so…
4. Invite Response on Social Media. I speak at conventions and trade shows every month. At almost every one, there’s at least one social media ‘guru’ on the program and their session is always packed. Time and time again I hear them say that social media is like some cocktail party where you’re just trying to get to know people. If you think that’s a good use of your precious time, go for it.
If I’m going to invest a piece of my work day in social media, I want something to show for it. (By the way, my newest presentation is titled: “Likes” Don’t Pay the Rent.) It’s nice to have lots of likes, friends and followers. But it’s important to be doing something to turn them into prospects. A prospect is someone who has identified themselves to you as a likely future buyer. To get them to identify themselves to you, you have to offer things that only the type of person you want on your list would respond to. And through those responses, you can identify their specific individual interests as well (See number 2).
5. Communicate Regularly. No matter what marketing methods you choose for your business, you must communicate regularly with your prospects. Social and Email marketing are no different. A typical mistake is to dabble in a medium, then say “I tried it and it didn’t work.” Whether you’re working social, email, print, broadcast, outdoor…any medium, you have to make a commitment to be there regularly and for the long term.
If people hear from you once or twice a year, they’re not going to recognize your brand as a ‘friend.’ (If they hear from you twice a week, they’re going to ‘unfriend’ you.)
Establish a schedule of contacts, twice a month or so, and commit to being there. Just as importantly, make your messages cogent and personalized.
This sounds like a lot of work! It is. If you think online marketing is just about visiting social media sites and sending out emails when you have some ‘spare time,’ you’re not going to see nearly the results you will if you plan and execute a regular communication plan.
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By Larry Mersereau, CTC, Smart business owners, marketers and sales professionals (people just like you!) turn to Larry Mersereau, CTC, for the ideas and insights they need to bring in more business and take home more money. More at http://PromoPower.com.
