love unsubs

Why Email Marketing Doesn’t End at “Unsubscribe”

       Lisa Wiese argues

"The most valuable tool in your email marketing campaign is the unsubscribe button."

     "...In fact, feedback from your unsubscribes can lead to a refined and more effective email strategy. It’s very difficult to improve on anything without constructive criticism.

     ...A 'two click' unsubscribe process that asks subscribers why they’re unsubscribing is a valuable way to find out if the issues discussed above are reasons they want out. In an Unsubscribe Email Strategies Report, only 56% of the responders required recipients to fill out this type of evaluation as part of their unsubscribe process. If you’re not learning why people are opting out, you’re missing an opportunity that’s knocking at your door. The solutions to fixing or bettering your email campaign are found in your readers; make sure you’re listening."

     She highlights the important reasons people unsubscribe and articulates what we can learn from each, fore example: buying cycle/sales funnel, mobile optimization, content issues, and frequency. 

                              Read her original Bus2Communitiy piece in its entirety.

prioritizing your marketing budget

Frank Reed's piece in Marketing Pilgrim has some great points:

• Adoption rates of email and SEM are high.
• Response rates of SEM & email are great.
• Don't let the pressure of social media redistribute your budget irrationally.

Remember what people are doing on FB and Twitter: socializing, communicating, sharing photos. On search engines and in email, they are shopping and solving problems.

in the words of The Week... boring but important

My first impression was, "Is this really the best you can do, Consumer Reports?"  Upon reflection, it's not too bad.  I know exactly what they want me to do: re-activate.  And I know what to press: Go.  And when I look at the Go button, I see my discount.

Now for the weaker points:

1. I don't give a darn about the letter.
2. Seriously, a photo of a laptop with your website is my inspiration?
3. I have no idea what the right nav area says.
4. Who's signing the letter? Don't pretend you've personalized it for me, because I know you didn't.

Rating: 4 out of 5

awesomeness

Matthew Johnson tells us
Why Email Marketing is (Still) Awesome

•  It prompts direct sales

•  It builds relationships through engagement

•  It supports other sales channels

•  It is driven by data

check out his Bus2Comm blog here

time of day matters

eBags determined receipt time - not just day of the week - can improve response rates.
simple idea: email the person the same time of day they had time to opt in to hear from you.

check out this eConsultancy writeup

marketers investing more in email during 2013

The 2013 eConsultancy marketing budget report indicates that marketers are now using email for a variety of reasons, other than straightforward monetary objectives; such as engagement, brand awareness and acquirement. Online channels are being integrated with email to build relationships with customers as well as increase ROI.

One quarter of respondents report that email contributes more than half of its digital revenue.

Also see a bizcommunity article about this.

iPad dominating email space

iPads are becoming the preferred place to read and send emails.  And there are 67.5million iPad users in the U.S., 65% of whom check those iPads for email at least 3 times a day.  This will affect the format and delivery of marketing messages, prioritizing usability.

read complete eMarketer article