Email Marketing returns $43 for every $1 spent

10 ways to convert clicks into customers using email - MiamiHerald.com

Can you really use e-mail to reel in paying customers? After all, people are inundated with e-mail messages these days — everything from spam to spyware can end up in our mailboxes daily. According to a 2009 study by the Radicati Group, a research firm based in Palo Alto, Calif., there are roughly 1.4 billion e-mail users worldwide. That’s just about one in every five people on Earth, according to the study.

So how can you, as a small-business owner, leverage the power of e-mail marketing to bring in business? That’s the question BizBytes 101 posed to three popular e-mail marketing companies — Constant Contact, iContact and VerticalResponse. They are responsible for sending millions of e-mail messages daily on behalf of their clients which include companies of all sizes.

• Build a permission-based list. “A clean, permission-based list is the foundation for successful e-mail marketing,” said Lisa Sparks, Constant Contact’s regional development director in South Florida.

“This means that every single subscriber on your list has asked to be there. If you’re emailing people who have not given you permission, you’re spamming them. That won’t do your campaign or your business any good at all. Your goal is to build strong relationships, not scare people away.

“Some things to keep in mind about permission — it is not transferable, nor is it infinite. It’s a good idea to clean your list a few times a year, weeding out subscribers who no longer open your emails, or whose addresses are no longer valid.

“A clean, permission-based list will deliver much better results than a purchased, outdated or overly broad list ever will.”

• Target your audience. “Know your e-mail subscribers, segment them, and deliver a personalized message for each of those segmented groups of subscribers based on what is more relevant for that particular audience,” said Keith Moore, chief marketing officer at iContact.

“One general e-mail message sent to everyone at once is far less effective than a targeted, personalized message sent to the right subset of your audience at the right time. It is key to use the right e-mail subject lines and making sure your e-mail looks great in each of the various e-mail clients [programs] that are available today if you want to get people to open and read your e-mails,” said Moore.

• Remember that e-mail marketing is really all about relationships. “When your customers sign up to receive your e-mail, they are choosing to enter into a relationship with your company because they like something about what you’re doing and want to hear more from you,” said Janine Popick, CEO of VerticalResponse.

“So, think of your e-mail messages as the link to that relationship. To build strong relationships with your subscribers, your recipe for success is to provide relevant information in a timely manner on a consistent basis.”

• Educate your audience. “Quality content and relevant information is more valuable to your subscribers than just basic product or service offerings even with discounts,” said Moore.

• Include a strong call to action. “A call to action will tell readers what you want them to do, why they should do it, and how to do it. First decide what you want them to do — make a reservation, fill out a survey, or visit your website or store,” Sparks said.

Then develop your call to action with the following tips in mind. “Make it visible and include it in several places in your e-mail; make it clear and concise by using simple words, short phrases, one to three sentences; and then make it compelling by injecting a sense of urgency with phrases like “act now” and “reserve your spot today.”

Sparks also recommends making your call to action rewarding. “Offer readers an incentive or reward for taking action such as receiving a free white paper or getting a free manicure when they buy a service that day.

• Keep your content relevant and interesting. This will engage your audience in the long term. “White papers and guides can be great for companies looking to promote their services to an industry,” said Popick. “Create a guide, or white paper, on a real world problem and how it’s solved by your solutions. Since you are an expert at what you do, put it on paper and tell your customers about it. Make your information short and sweet and give them only a taste in your emails since you’ll likely want to send them to your site for the rest of the information. Once they are on your website, they’re more likely to make a first purchase from you.”

• Be consistent. “Send out your e-mails on a regular basis and tell subscribers what e-mails to expect from you, what they will include, and when you will send them,” said Moore.

“At VerticalResponse we recommend mailing to your list at least twice a month to keep your business top of mind for your audience,” Popick said. “When your customer base is engaged, they open, click and purchase to a greater degree than a non-engaged audience, which is good news for your sales.”

• Create a stimulus package to attract customers. “We’ve spoken to our restaurant customers who say they are giving away half priced bottles of wine on slow days,” Popick said. “Now they are getting people in the door on what used to be their slowest nights and they’re staying longer. We’ve seen stimulus packages for tires, lingerie, jewelry, consultants, and maternity wear and more.”

• Track your e-mail efforts. “It is important to track the success of each e-mail campaign and use that data to continually improve your future open rates, click through rates, and the targeted actions you want your customers to take,” Moore said.

• Partner with other businesses. “Consider sending out an e-mail with a local business as a partnership, perhaps around a holiday-themed idea,” Popick said.

“For example you could partner with a florist to provide a discount on flowers on Mother’s Day, and use this as an incentive for your business. Could you partner with another business around the upcoming Fourth of July holiday and ask them for a special discount for your customers only?

It might be just the thing to get them over the hump of doing something with you or buying your product or service. And as a result of the discount or special offer your partner gives, you both win!”

E-mail marketing can be a strong promotional tool for your business. So what are you waiting for? Start engaging your existing customers and potential ones with e-mail today!

BY TASHA CUNNINGHAM
of Bizbytes101.com & the Miami Herald

Read more at MiamiHerald.com

How Twitter’s New Feature Could Help Small Businesses

Twitter recently announced “promoted tweets” – posts to the social media site that stay visible rather than being pushed out of view as new tweets appear. These tweets will show up in search engines and remain in view as long as users are engaging with them. Entrepreneur’s Allen Moon recently wrote about how promoted tweets work, and why they are appealing.

The difference between promoted tweets and other ads, he says, is the fact that users control how long they stay in place. In most online advertising, this is determined by algorithms. If people interact with the tweet, it will stay. Advertisers reserve a keyword and choose a tweet to promote.

There are a few good reasons to use promoted tweets, Moon writes. One of the most obvious is the fact that Twitter sees an incredible number of users every day. The strategy is also appealing to those targeting the 18- to 34-year-old demographic, and those already using Twitter effectively.

Read more at Business Fuel » 

Trusted Email Marketing for an iPhone by iContact

May 12, 2010 - iContact, an industry leader in email marketing services for small and mid-sized businesses, announced today iContact for iPhone – a new application that allows iContact users to search contacts, send messages and access iContact analytics on their iPhone or iPod Touch.

“iContact for iPhone lets users tap into our powerful email marketing system on the go,” said Keith Moore, Chief Marketing Officer at iContact. “This is just one example of what is possible with iContact’s new API v.2 environment. We are excited about the many customer-focused changes coming from iContact this year.”

Rich Features
iContact for iPhone delivers several of the powerful features found on the iContact web application, right on a user’s mobile device, including:

Search, Create, or Add New Contacts
Users can search through their contacts by first name, last name, or email address. This feature allows users to see if a contact is on a particular list, or add them to a list.

         

Sending Email Messages
Draft messages can be sent while on the go. Users can also preview a message before sending it.

         

Tracking Email Results
To see how an email marketing message is performing, users can click on the message and see the analytics for that message, including opens, clicks and bounces.  The user can also email these statistics while on the go.

    

iContact for iPhone is available for download at the iTunes App Store here. More information on the iContact API v.2 environment is available here.

About iContact
With more than 63,000 customers, iContact provides email marketing for SMBs and non-profits. iContact allows for easy creation of email newsletters, surveys, and autoresponders. Market leaders like Intuit, Vonage, Symantec, International Paper, LG Electronics and ReMax, use iContact to build stronger relationships with their customers and prospects at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing methods.

iContact, designed for the Small Business market is available at www.iContact.com; iContactPlus, a suite of custom and managed services designed for mid-sized organizations, is available at www.iContactPlus.com.

Roundabout journey brings Chapel Hill man home

MORRISVILLE, N.C. — Area travelers began returning home Thursday after being stranded in Europe for a week by the plume of volcanic ash that shut down airports across much of the continent.

American Airlines’ daily flight from London’s Heathrow Airport landed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport Thursday evening, bringing dozens of weary passengers back to the Triangle.

WATCH VIDEO
Getting home makes journey worthwhile 

“Everybody was worried and couldn’t wait for us to be back. It’s good to be home,” flight attendant Nancy Stoneman said.

Dr. Karl Smith was on Stoneman’s flight. The Raleigh dentist was stuck in London for an extra week.

“I had to call in a replacement to fill in for me for the week. So, it made it a two-week vacation instead of one,” he said.

Not all local residents had such a direct route home, however.

Ryan Allis landed at RDU just before 1 p.m. Thursday after a 96-hour journey through four countries.

“Between trains and buses and taxis and airplanes, it’s been four days of getting home,” Allis said.

The founder and chief executive officer of Durham-based e-mail marketing company iContact, he was in Oxford, England, for a forum on social entrepreneurship. When the forum ended last week, he headed to London to catch a Sunday flight home – or so he thought.

“Every 12 hours, they would update us, and every 12 hours, we would be disappointed that the airspace in much of northern Europe and the entirety of the U.K. was closed,” he said.

Allis waited in London as Sunday turned to Monday, but when Monday turned to Tuesday and flights were still grounded, he decided to find another way home.

“Get home, get home. I have to go to work. I have to see my wonderful girlfriend,” he recalls thinking.

His girlfriend, Jessica Shorland, said she would get regular text message updates from him.

“(He would) be like, ‘OK, the airport is supposed to be opening tomorrow.’ (The next day,) we’d talk, and ‘OK, the airport is supposed to be opening tomorrow,’” Shorland said.

Finally, Allis hopped on a train to Paris, where he was able to find a flight to the Dominican Republic. From there, he caught a flight to Miami and then another to RDU.

“I’m excited to be home,” he said, giving Shorland some flowers and a kiss.

“(I’m) so glad, so happy,” she said with a laugh.

Allis said he made some very good friends while stranded in London. One had already missed three days of a vacation in Cancun, Mexico, and he said he hopes the man made it to Mexico in time to enjoy some down time.

“At times there were some frustrations, but generally, it was a wonderful adventure,” Allis said.

Updated: 6:48 p.m. 04/23/2010

iContact & PRWeb Present Online Marketing Seminar

Live Event Designed to Help Businesses Build Strong Customer Relationships

Durham, NC (Vocus) April 2, 2010 — iContact and PRWeb are joining forces to present a live, in-person seminar: “Growing Your Business with Online News Releases and Email Marketing.”

To be held on Tuesday, April 13 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the seminar will show participants how to build strong relationships with their customers and drive new customer traffic to their web sites.

Chuck Hester, Communications Director at iContact and James Wong, Communications Manager, along with Harry Brooks, President of Search First Internet Marketing, will conduct the seminar and workshop.

“This event will teach small business owners how to take a holistic approach to online marketing,” said Sophie Shiatis, Vice President of ECommerce. “Methodic, sustainable campaigns rooted in the fundamentals that this event will teach, will help small business owners improve online visibility, drive website traffic and ultimately increase sales.”

Highlights of the Seminar Include:

•    How to use email marketing and online news releases to get the best results;

•    How online news releases can help you achieve high rankings in search engines;

•    How you can use your promotions to drive new traffic to your site while building relationships with your existing customers;

•    How to create engaging content for prospects, customers, even search engines;

•    How to conduct keyword research to find relevant news search terms that your target audience is likely to use;

•    The best practices used in writing effective online releases that drive results, guaranteed!

Details and registration information can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/LasVegasSeminar. Cost of registration is $119 and includes lunch.

About iContact

With more than 62,000 customers, iContact provides email marketing for SMBs and non-profits. iContact allows for easy creation of email newsletters, surveys, and autoresponders. Market leaders like Bank of America, Ford, Intuit, Vonage, Symantec, International Paper, LG Electronics, ReMax, United Colors of Benetton, and Centex Homes, use iContact to build stronger relationships with their customers and prospects at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing methods.

iContact, designed for the SMB market is available at www.iContact.com; iContactPlus, a suite of custom and managed services designed for mid-sized organizations, is available at www.iContactPlus.com.

For media inquiries, contact Chuck Hester, APR, Communications Director, Chuck(at)iContact(dot)com or (919) 459-1451.

Visit us on Twitter @iContactCorp (http://twitter.com/iContactCorp), iContact Linkedin Group (http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=910997), and our Facebook Fan Page.