by Suellen | Email Marketing, Online Success
You want people to sign up for your email list, so you have a sign up box (or opt-in) on your website. You might also provide a chance for them to sign up when they make a purchase, on social media, or in ads.
Not everyone who sees your sign up offer will take the opportunity. Yet there are some proven techniques which will cause more people to do so.
One of your primary business aims is to increase the number of email sign ups. Just remember, those sign ups are new customers. And that’s the major way your business grows.
A savvy business person knows that their success is in watching the percentages. Not everyone who has the opportunity will sign up for your emails. And not everyone on your list will purchase from you. But a certain percentage will do each of these things.
So how can we increase the percentage of people signing up?
Let’s look at five tips for increasing the percentages on our opt-in rate.
- Be Sure to Provide Something of Value in Exchange for their Email Address.
Spend some time thinking about your customers’ needs and desires. What would really benefit them? Then start planning a response to those needs and desires. Your lead magnet.
You could send out a questionnaire asking for your customers’ wishes. Or you could check out the magazines in your niche. A lot of marketing savvy goes into magazine articles, so you can trust that the subject matter displayed on the covers is what the customers want.
For instance, every January many magazines feature articles on weight loss and organization. Why? Everybody’s New Years Resolution is to lose weight and get organized. This is the year!
So find what your people need or want and meet that need. It can be an E-book, a Tip Sheet, a One-on-One Call, or a Webinar.
Just make sure that you are offering them targeted value, and they will want to sign up for your offer.
2. Use Pop-Ups
For many years, I avoided pop-up opt-ins. It annoyed me when I was trying to read a page and these boxes kept popping up, so I didn’t want to use them.
However, many marketers insist that the opt-in rate is greater with pop-ups, so I installed a couple of them to see for myself. Now I have to agree that pop-ups can be a great reminder for your viewers as they are leaving or browsing your website.
However, I still say, don’t overuse them, as they can quickly become annoying. Most readers expect a few, but if they pop-up too frequently or make it too difficult to browse the site, the readers will simply get discouraged and leave.
3 .Make the Opt-In Process Obvious and Easy
Be sure to optimize the signup process for the devices your readers use the most. It’s a good idea to always plan for smartphone use, since many are using them for emails.
If the opt-ins or lead magnets are not optimized for their cell phones, they won’t be able to complete the process. Many readers will abandon a brand or business altogether if the business hasn’t adapted to their audience.
Then, keep the opt-ins organized and straight to the point. Don’t overload the reader with too much information. For the most part, the opt-in should be scannable and understood in a few seconds.
4. Add Prominent Testimonials
This is a great idea I heard just recently.
Even when you are attempting to sign up people for email, testimonials from other customers can validate your business.
If you do this, make these testimonials obvious and near the signup button to show your readers that you are trustworthy. If others are seeing the benefit you promised they will want to participate.
5. Use the Fear of Missing Out
Urgency is a useful tactic to get your readers to act now. Discounts with deadlines or early bird tickets for hands-on classes are great examples of these.
Most people can’t pass up a good deal, nor do they want to miss out.
Creating this sense of urgency can make the difference in someone signing up -or not.
6. One More Thing…
Humans love to feel like they are important or part of a community. Whether you are inviting them to a short one-on-one call, a free webinar, or offering a Tip Sheet, be sure to make them feel valued. And that there is a real person who cares on the other side.
It shows that you are there for more than just monetary gain. Increasing their trust and loyalty to the business.
Overall, providing value is key to increasing your opt-in rate and achieving your email marketing goals. So spend time planning and developing what your customers will receive in exchange for their email address. Then try these techniques for increasing their response.
You’ll find that your results will be worth the extra effort.
by Suellen | Email Marketing, Online Success
Okay, you are sending out an impressive offer with your emails.
Did you know that, even with a terrific offer, only about two percent of sales are made on the first initial contact?
This means those who use email marketing successfully see most of their profits through their follow-up strategies. If you don’t follow up with your subscribers after the initial contact, you are not using email marketing correctly or to its fullest potential.
Every great sales person knows that you have to reach out and communicate with a person more than once to grab their attention and hook their interest.
Here is an interesting statistic: research shows that nearly eighty percent of sales come from the fifth contact, which jumps significantly compared to the two to ten percent of sales you see from the first to the fourth follow-up.
Meaning you shouldn’t be the one to opt-out or give up; leave that up to the readers and implement these four follow-up strategies to improve your email marketing sales:
Say Thank You and Ask for Feedback (more…)
by Suellen | Email Marketing, Online Success
I know. You don’t want to be pushy. Neither do I.
But if you don’t give them a nudge to click on your links or buy your stuff, they won’t get the benefit of what you are offering.
So that’s where Calls-to-action come in. They are vital to your email marketing campaigns.
Your call-to-action is the instruction you give your audience to do something in order to get their benefit. Click here. Go to this page. And so forth.
With good calls-to-action, your customers receive the benefits and you grow and build a sustainable business. If you don’t tell or show your audience what you need them to do, you are unlikely to succeed.
A call-to-action is like a guide that instructs your readers on where to go and what to do. In fact, you can increase your click-through rates by over 300% just by adding one single call-to-action, according to a WordStream report. This highlights the importance of adding them to your email copy if you want to run a successful email marketing campaign.
Here are four tips to enhance your email calls-to-action to increase your conversions and run a more profitable email marketing campaign. (Remember: your customers receive the benefits offered. It’s a win/win)
Use a Button and Colorful Graphics
Buttons are easy to see and obvious to most readers. They are eye-catching, clear, straight to the point, and easy to understand and use.
Buttons also can improve your results by nearly 28% more than calls-to-action without them. A big red “buy now” button or “read more” is more obvious and easier for your subscribers to understand. Making it more likely for them to follow through if your products and services are what they need.
Use Action-Oriented Words
“Get the discount here” or “Try your free trial today” are perfect examples of action-oriented words that should be used in your calls-to-action. These words inspire your readers to do something and grab their attention.
Keep it Short and Urgent
Too much information or crowded images only persuade your audience to click away instead of click-through.
Your readers prefer quick and easy – not confusing and overwhelming. Don’t make your readers second guess instead of making a quick decision.
Using a sense of urgency and clear and direct information increases your click-through rate because people fear missing out. However, be sure to use this appropriately and not take advantage or misuse your readers. Urgency should be to inspire, not to take advantage of your readers.
Highlight the Value They’ll Receive
When deciding on what copy to use, be quick and to the point by highlighting the most valuable part.
What are your readers getting out of doing the action you ask of them? Do they receive a discount, more education, a chance to participate with others, and a bigger community?
If you lead with such benefits, it will be easy to get your readers to take action.
You can see why call-to-action statements are so important.
Make sure your CTAs align with your goals and objectives, and include them in each and every email copy or campaign you create.
Keep it simple, direct, and obvious, and remember the power of call-to-action buttons.
More benefit for your customers! More success for you!
by Suellen | Email Marketing, Online Success
Are they looking at your stuff? When you have a great offer, are they wanting to see it?
In other words, are they clicking on the links in your emails and going to your site to buy your products? Or at least taking a look at your products?
This is called a click-through rate, and it needs to be monitored. Your click-through rate describes the percentage of subscribers who see the links and click the links within your email after they have opened them. This rate allows you to determine how effective your email content is.
Many email providers determine this rate for you, but it’s good to know what it means. And how to figure it for yourself.
To determine your click-through rate, you need to take the number of links clicked and divide it by the number of emails delivered. Then times it by one hundred to get the correct percentage. For example, say you sent four hundred emails and noticed around twenty of them have opened and clicked the link inside.
The formula would break down as follows:
(Link Clicks / Number of Emails Sent) x 100 = Click-Through Rate
(20/400) x 100 =
0.05 x 100 = 5%
The higher the click-through rate, the higher your effectiveness
Let’s talk about five proven ways to increase your email click-through rate:
Keep Email’s Organized, Clear, and Direct
Your emails should be short and direct but with enough information to get your point across and provide value to your subscribers. For example, instead of providing your full blog in the email, provide a link for them to read the rest.
Emails should be used as a summary or overview. The longer they are, the more likely your readers will get disinterested and click off the email. Make sure each email you send has one main objective. This way, your readers don’t get distracted or confused on what direction they need to take next.
Use List Segmentation
We’ve talked about this earlier.
Personalized and targeted content is key to increasing your open and click-through rates. This is because list segmentation helps you organize and divide your customers in a way that makes it easier to communicate with them.
Segmentation involves dividing your list according to characteristics or interests. Demographics, worldviews, and professions are some areas you might want to consider when you are dividing your list.
The idea is to make sure only those truly interested will receive the content, improving your conversions and not wasting their time.
Make it Smart Phone Friendly
Nearly eighty-four percent of those who use a smartphone have reported it as being their primary tool for checking email. This means if your email is not mobile-friendly, you are likely missing out on many opportunities for your subscribers to opt-in and click-through.
If the process is frustrating, they won’t want to participate.
Add Social Sharing
You can increase your click-through rate by as much as thirty percent, according to an Econsultancy report, by adding three or more social sharing options.
Every email you send may not be useful to your readers, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know a friend, loved one, or coworker who could use the information instead.
Enhance your Call-To-Action
Use one obvious call-to-action through your email sequence. Some people make it the first and last thing they see so customers find it easy to click through.
All of us have received emails which were all over the place with info and ideas. Sometimes they have been very informative, but there would be no clear direction about what we would find if we clicked a link. So we haven’t clicked the link.
So be clear and direct. That’s when you’ll find greater participation in your projects.
There you have it. Five ways to improve your click-through rates.
Remember: Monitoring this aspect of your email projects will definitely improve your effectiveness. And improve your bottom line.
We can do this!!
by Suellen | Email Marketing, Online Success
Are your subscribers opening your emails?
Take a look at your open rates. If your emails aren’t being opened, they aren’t being read, of course. So you can see why that piece of your email puzzle is a corner piece. And needs to be in place.
As we approach this subject, think about your own habits. Why do you open some emails and ignore others? As you take a look at the following ideas. See if these apply to you. Why or why not?
There are two major things to look at when you have low open rates. Your subject lines and the time your emails are being sent.
And following you will find a few more as well. Whatever it may be, it is important to figure it out and improve so that your email campaigns will be successful.
Here are six easy ways to help improve your email open-rates:
*Let Your Subject Line Be A Question
Intrigue your audience with an interesting question. Spike the curiosity, but be sure it is relevant to your overall goal and message as a business. Then have your email follow up with answers or suggestions which address the question.
This is one way of making your readers feel involved.
*Use Short, but Detailed, Subject Lines
Your subject line, like a title, is the first thing your subscribers get to see. So, make it count. Spend time crafting one that makes them want to click on it and discover what’s next.
When crafting your subject lines, there are certain words and phrases which provoke interest more than others. These are often called Power Words or Words that Sell. They arouse interest and make people want to take action.
Interestingly enough, some of these words are negative. Like the word “mistakes.” (People often want to avoid mistakes). You can find a list of useful words at Sumo.com
The art of using thought provoking words is an art you’ll want to pursue. You can learn from others and apply new ideas for your subject lines.
Discover Optimum Delivery and Frequency Time
Even if you have great emails and great subject lines, sending them at the wrong time can be a problem. Sending poorly timed emails can destroy your open rates. In addition, email boxes can get crowded, and people fail to see their emails.
Remember, people don’t usually hang out at their email box like they do on social media. Often your subscribers will check their email once, twice, or a few times a day.
It’s not likely for them to scroll through for hours, especially if they just receive hundreds of emails.
So for better effectiveness, find the time your audience is active by testing different times throughout the day for the email campaign you create. Be sure to set a short deadline to track your results to compare which time is best to get your emails synced to their schedule.
Be Conversational and Personable
Write all your content, including emails, as if you are talking to a friend. Yet use a branded tone and style that your audience understands and knows is you. A message that is coming from another human or friend is more likely to get attention and results.
Provide Value Every time
Even if you are doing a sales pitch, always find an opportunity to provide value.
You can always start your emails with something of interest. Some instruction or even some humor. One of the most successful email marketers I know always starts by something interesting that is happening in her life – or around her community. You begin to feel like you know her. Then when she asks for the sale, you trust her.
It’s a terrific way of establishing rapport with your subscribers.
Remember: if you are the only one who gets any value from the email, your success will be short-lived.
Review and Refresh Your List
Be sure the email lists you have are new and updated. Old email lists are likely to have poor open rates.
Maybe people change email accounts or interests over time.Thus, no matter how hard you try, some of your lists will go stale, and it will be up to you to get them off your list. (This is called list hygiene)
List hygiene ensures that you get a better understanding of your real open rate.
Now I know at least one marketer who never takes anyone off her list. She is sure that sometimes people will lose interest for awhile – and then suddenly regain their interest. Over time, these people have been some of her best customers.
So you can see that there are different ways of looking at this hygiene issue. You can decide for yourself. Just know that your open rates will be lower if you always keep everyone – even when they are inactive.
There you have it. Six tips for improving your email open rates. As you approach each idea and put these into practice, you will see better metrics.
More people will read your emails – and more people will buy your products.
by Suellen | Email Marketing, Online Success
Compare your emails – one with another – and you’ll find what works best and improve your bottom line. That’s what testing is all about. And it’s easier than it sounds.
A/B testing, often called split testing, compares the results of two or more similar email campaigns or other materials sent to different audiences.
For instance, you can send one group (Group A) the subject line: Best Tips for Marketing. Then send the other group (Group B) the subject line: Professional Marketing Made Easy. To test, you would need to leave everything else the same. Send the same email at the same time with that that one difference. Then check your open rates and click rates. Which one did the best?
That’s A/B or Split testing in a nutshell. And you can – and should test for titles, time of day you send them, subject matter, and anything else you might think of.
After testing, you can use this information to determine which material converts the best. Thus, allowing you to perfect your email marketing campaigns and funnels more efficiently.
There are several reasons that A/B testing is essential to your email marketing process.
Split testing helps you increase your Open and Click-Through Rates
Improving your overall conversions is the main idea behind split testing. When you test and track these conversions, you can easily see how successful your emails are by how high or low the open and click-through rates are – and which ones are better performers.
Split testing helps you better understand your audience.
A/B testing allows you to watch the behavior of your audience, and see them interact with your content. If certain titles or graphics work better, then you can update your material to this effect. Thus, allowing you to communicate better and increase your overall email marketing conversions.
Split testing increases engagement and content quality
Through split testing, you discover the right ways to communicate with your target audience to improve the quality of your content. An email funnel without quality content suitable for your audience won’t be successful.
Split testing helps you perfect and send the right content to your subscribers. This will help you maintain and increase your effectiveness with your clients.
And now for a few testing tips:
Test One Thing at A Time
Find one area of the email funnel process to test at a time. Only change your titles, then update the email copy after you are done establishing your title. Changing too much information at once can easily cloud the results and make it difficult to understand which change really increased the conversions.
Keep Timing and Schedule Consistent When Checking Content
Be sure email is sent during the same times and day of the week, even though the content is slightly different. This way, you can be sure the metrics you analyze later directly result from the content quality rather than other factors.
Be Sure You Test Against Your Normal Content. (This is called the Control)
This means you always test your normal content versus the new idea to get accurate results. The only way to know if your test content is better is to compare it to your normal content.
Though it sounds like a lot of work, it is worth it. And testing is easier to do when you find a good routine to implement it.
A/B testing gives you the data you need to make better content and email copy for your subscribers. It allows you to perfect your titles, calls-to-action, and more. Thus improving your communication and getting your readers involved and engaged.
You can do this!
And, by the way, most really good email providers have good split testing tools. Check those out with your provider.
