Archive for the ‘Opinions on Email Marketing’ Category
Posted by Dave McCue on August 25th, 2009
In my quest to max out the storage space of my Hotmail account, I have hundreds of targeted email marketing messages saved from a variety of different sources. With so much email coming in all the time, I thought it might make for a fun exercise to look back over the last few days’ worth of email and point out some highs and lows…
Witty vs Effective:
Nike probably doesn’t need my help when it comes to marketing themselves, but a recent email had the following subject line: “Actually, It Is Rocket Science.”
When it comes to writing subject lines, the temptation to be fun or witty can lead to trouble. In this case, Nike was promoting a new running shoe called the LunarGlide+, but I would have never known it based on the subject line. As always, when it comes to subject lines, remember that you are writing for the recipients, not yourself or others within your company. Of course you’d open that email; doesn’t mean your subscribers would.
Timely:
On a Thursday, Sirius | XM emailed me to let me know there would be a special, three-day channel dedicated to Woodstock over that weekend. Why is this timely? Because it was close enough to the weekend that it will still be fresh in recipients’ minds when they hit the road over the weekend. In November, this wouldn’t be nearly as effective, but during summer weekend road trip season, I really like the timing on this one.
You shouldn’t have:
My wife and I bought furniture from The RoomPlace last year, and for some reason they personalize messages by recipients’ last names rather than first names. My friends and my old football coach can call me by my last name, but it seems odd coming from a marketing message. Oh yeah, the last name they use is my wife’s maiden name—just to make it clear that I’m a valued subscriber.
Localized:
Apple sent me an email promoting a Grand Opening of a new Apple Store in my area. Complete with directions and a t-shirt giveaway, this was a great example of targeting subscribers based on geography to ensure relevance as well as sparing non-local subscribers news that wouldn’t hold much value for them.
Questionable relevance:
If Barnes & Noble has a preference center, there is no way to get there from their emails. This would really come in handy, as just this week I was sent a promotion about lower prices on text books and 10% off their selection of children’s books. Considering I’m neither a student nor a father, I wish there was a way I could choose which promotions I would like to receive.
Notice that I didn’t entirely discount the merits of any of these messages? Even those with flaws contained elements that the consumer in me could appreciate (i.e. Nike’s emails just look cool). In fact, it’s not often I come across a message that doesn’t have any redeeming qualities. The challenge email marketers face is typically not a full-scale overhaul of their messages, but the more difficult fine-tuning that will address deficiencies. As they say, the devil is in the details.
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Posted by Drew Miller on April 8th, 2009
This past Sunday, a gorgeous spring day with not a cloud in the sky, I did what most South Texans do in early spring – fertilized my lawn. Armed with a bag of Scott’s Bonus S and a new spreader, I was ready to bring my winter lawn out of hibernation. After carefully reading the instructions on the bag, I ran into a bit of a problem – What setting do I use on the spreader so I don’t over or under fertilize?
Thankfully, Scott’s provides a toll-free number on each of their bags if you have any questions about fertilizing. Anticipating disappointment that they wouldn’t be open on weekends, I was surprised to wait literally only seconds before a friendly Scott’s associate answered the phone. After quickly diagnosing where I was, the type of fertilizer I was using, and the spreader make and model, I was told that 3 ½ was the desired setting for my grass.
Happy that I got what I needed, I was ready to disconnect my call until the Scott’s associate asked me one more question: “Would you like to get monthly email updates from us and get tips on how to keep your lawn in top shape year-round?” Being in the email marketing industry, I had to pause for a moment and reflect on what was just asked of me….
Not only did the Scott’s associate ask for my permission to receive email updates from their company, she also clearly defined the frequency and benefits of their email marketing program. After happily giving her my email address, she also informed me that I would be receiving an email message in the next few days to confirm my interest.
This is just one of the many ways to successfully capture email addresses offline and grow your list. Not only did Scott’s leave me satisfied and confident that I was on my way to a greener lawn, they gave me an added bonus with their monthly email program.
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Posted by Jordan Ayan on December 24th, 2008
T’was the night before Christmas when all through the land,
A few marketers were stirring still promoting their brand.
The stock market had fallen quite far without care,
But retailers hoped sales would still happen there.
The children were texting and neglecting their beds,
While visions of Wii danced in their heads.
Mamma at her PC and I at my Mac
Had just settled down for a long IM Chat.
When all of a sudden I logged onto Twitter,
What sprang from my Mac was a Motrin-like flitter.
I’d given up on Windows, and downloaded Flash
Filtered out Nigerian Spam and watched a YouTube of The Clash.
But there on the net from my Peeps in the know
Were dozens of warnings, how the messages would flow.
Then what to my tired eyes should appear
But an inbox packed full of late holiday cheer.
But I lacked a print driver to print them out quick,
And I thought for a minute, it might be a phishing trick.
More rapid than eagles, the messages came,
And all were so personalized, they named me by name.
From Macy’s, from J. Crew, from Proflowers too,
From Williams-Sonoma, Apple, even the Lincoln Park Zoo.
In one, at the top of the frame, at the top of it all
Was a giant image (that with images off) I couldn’t see at all.
So into the house these messages flew,
So many came in I didn’t know what to do.
And then in a twinkling, I heard an alert;
An SMS message from DQ about a frozen dessert.
As I reached out my hand to hit the delete,
In came a couple more marketing tweets.
As I drew back my hand and was turning around,
From my computer I heard a great sound.
The screen had gone black and it would not re-boot;
I knew in a moment, a replacement would cost some big loot.
A bundle of software I’d have to buy back,
To say nothing of the passwords I’d forgotten to track.
My eyes how they teared up, my wife was not merry;
My data was toast and I had a back up of which I was really quite wary.
My droll little computer had crashed with a blow,
All because of this big message flow.
So despite a big data pipe and my clenched teeth,
Christmas messages had smoked my Mac from beneath.
I gave up all hope and just went to the deli
To smother my sorrows in a peanut butter and jelly.
But when I got there I saw a small elf
And I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself.
With a wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
He let me know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but texted me his work.
He said “ he who Spams is truly a jerk.
But you who are prudent get permission from those
So you can send messages and none will oppose.”
He sprang from his table and Twittered a note:
Your Mac is now working and this you may quote.
For email messages he said, just have to be right
Then he smiled and he said, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore. Originally submitted as my Christmas 2008 MediaPost Email Insider Column.
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Posted by George Palatine on December 24th, 2008
Jordan Ayan coined a phrase the other day called “RAM” which made reference to Retail SPAM. I have another one to add to the list. “YAM”, standing for Yard SPAM. (Seems fitting for the holidays)
Yesterday in the Chicago area we experienced a fairly significant snowfall of around 7 inches. After a grueling commute I had the pleasure of clearing the driveway. Having purchased a snow blower last season the task did not seem too daunting. One pass down, one pass up then suddenly “BAM”, or should I say “YAM”, the snow blower locked up. Upon review I discovered I sucked up a newspaper! This was a free publication that I did not request and have never read in all the years I have lived here. This particular piece of “YAM” lodged itself squarely in the snow blower’s impeller and locked it in place.
After a utility knife, chisel, hacksaw blade, pliers, WD40, a propane torch, multiple jokes from my neighbors and 2.5 hours of additional character building (remember the commute) I was finally able to free the “YAM”.
Being an internet marketing professional I could not help but reflect on the fact that we are so careful to ask for permission before sending an email. Yet in the real world advertisers have little problem littering my front yard with anything they feel like throwing out of a moving car. Where is the opt-out or unsubscribe for that?
It made me think just how easy it would have been to simply click delete had this been SPAM and not “YAM”.
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