Essential Email Marketing Tips For Today – Part 2

No matter how savvy you feel you are when it comes to the subject of email marketing, the landscape is constantly shifting. To stay ahead of the crowd, then, it has become vital to regularly review your strategies and to adapt according to the latest trends.

Even with increased competition, email newsletter marketing continues to be one of the best ways to cut marketing costs while reaching more customers than ever before. With the popularity of social media engagement and cross platform marketing, your newsletter can still play a key role in coordinating your online promotions.

Taking your Email Marketing to the Next Level
As with all forms of marketing, your company's email newsletter shouldn't stand still. In the second part of this two part series we look at the latest techniques to maximise your email marketing.

Perception of Value
Okay, they may have given you their email address at some point in the past, but don't be fooled into assuming your current subscribers (a) remember who you are or (b) even care. Whether you send out weekly, monthly or quarterly newsletters – find a subtle way of reminding the reader of your unique value proposition that prompted them to sign up in the first place.

Consider the Bigger Picture
When it comes to marketing a service or product, an email is rarely just an email. It forms part of the overall customer experience (as opposed to just subscribers). Avoid slipping those blinkers on and thinking of email marketing as a sterile environment.

Consider how your marketing efforts align with your overall brand and image, and ensure your message is consistent.

Use your resources
Only by using data correctly will you ensure your subscribers' experience is a fulfilling one. Data holds the key to any successful marketing campaign. However, as you collect data be careful not to discard or dismiss vital information such as user preferences (how information is used, frequency of messages etc.) – this information is arguably as important as your creative marketing efforts.

Listen to what they have asked for, and deliver on your promise.

Carrot and Stick
Whilst blindly firing out emails and asking for subscribers may result in an initially high success rate, the subsequent drop-off may prove less desirable. Remember, you want people to want your email.

Consider including a sample with your initial mail-out or promotional offer – this will ultimately result in an engaged, receptive readership as opposed to an indifferent one.

Bite-Sized Chunks
You can't please all of the people all of the time, and expecting your content to be absolutely relevant to every one of your subscribers is – in short - unrealistic. With this in mind, the email 'mini-series' has become a popular vehicle for many email marketers.

Pick a topic that engages the reader and bears some relevance to current events – for example the 12 days of Christmas, New Year's resolutions, 7 deadly sins and so on. Placing your message in some kind of social context provides fresh and stimulating ways to engage your readership.

So, when you sit down to write your next marketing email – consider some of the points above. Don't be afraid however to experiment and learn from the results – the rest is up to you!

If you would like assistance in evaluating the effectiveness of your email marketing activities, or wish to create your own email marketing strategy, call 01454 261111.

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5 Tips for Improving the e-Commerce Experience

In the world of e-commerce, design is paramount. In this age of digital marketing, your site is your shop front to the world – speaking volumes about your brand, how you do business and your professionalism. No matter how good your product is, a poorly designed and inferior looking website can translate to a poorly designed, inferior product in the mind of the visitor.

An aesthetic appeal and an intuitive user interface are key for a positive e-commerce experience – it should be easy for people to buy your products. If they have to figure it out or work at it, chances are they won't.

Winning More e-Commerce Customers
Understandably, consumers are tightening their belts and looking for great deals and a rewarding shopping experience on the web - which provides a great opportunity for online shops. With this in mind, here are 5 tips for improving your customers' experience – and your sales.

Keep It Clean
Take half an hour out of your day to visit a range of e-commerce websites – those you like, and those you don't like – note what works and what doesn't. What you will notice is that a clean, tidy and visually concise front-end is top of the list for any site selling a product. Yet the amount of broken, cluttered and ugly pages there are out there beggars belief. Ask yourself this: if shopping on your website is a chore, why should anyone bother? Chances are they won't.

Love Those Colours
Research has long told us that colour is inextricably linked to mood and emotion, and it has long played an important role in the arsenal of the modern marketing strategy. Supermarkets and advertisers spend millions each year researching package design and the use of colour – and internet marketers should never underestimate the use of this vital facet of web design.

It's All in The Up/Cross-Sell
Amazon is probably the best example here "customers who viewed this item also viewed..." or "like these? You may also want to try…". How many times has your mouse cursor been drawn to one of these links placed strategically on the page? A simple, but extremely effective method of promoting related items or more expensive alternatives.

Again, it's all in the power of suggestion, rather than forcing pages of alternatives – let the user feel they're in control. It's also worth mentioning the humble Wish List here – a tried and tested way of building a shopping list for return shoppers.

User Interface
A slick user interface is a vital component of any successful e-commerce website. People shop online for convenience, so presenting visitors with a cluttered, slow site encumbered with broken links will harm sales and discourage return visitors.

Ensure your hosting is up to speed and streamline the checkout process to keep them coming back for more.

Do One Thing, and Do It Well
Unless you're Amazon (let's not forget they started off as a book retailer predominantly), you're unlikely to be able to get away with selling anything and everything. There's a lot to be said for finding a niche – something you know well – and sticking to it. Remember the saying 'jack of all trades, master of none'? Well, the same applies to e-commerce.

The best way to ensure customer retention is to address a specific need or service and do it well. If you would like help improving your ecommerce site, call call 01454 261111.

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Creative Blogging for Business

There are virtually no rules in the world of blogging – from political commentary to personal diaries – the scope is literally endless. Recent years have seen an explosion in the use of blogs as an effective internet marketing tool, but for many the most challenging aspect of business blogging remains knowing what to use as content.

In this article we'll examine some simple ideas to come up with fresh, engaging content designed to drive traffic to your site and keep them coming back for more.

Blogging Your Way to New Business
The goal for any blogger is to publish unique and compelling content. With this in mind, it's probably worth noting here that the following ideas are designed as a general guide, so feel free to take the ideas presented somewhere new and get your creative juices flowing!

How to...
How many times have you asked Google to come up with the answer to a particular question? How to? guides present a fantastic way to engage the reader and encourage interaction through working examples and so on. They are also a great way of demonstrating your expertise and credibility within your chosen niche. Support well-written, informed content with great visuals and downloadable content for extra bonus points.

Common Problems – Great Solutions
Just as the internet is a great resource for finding out how to do things, it also provides a valuable opportunity to find new ways around general or specific problems. It therefore follows that presenting a structured, concise entry dedicated to a particular issue is a surefire way of both attracting traffic and presenting yourself as a knowledgeable expert in your field.

Proven Methodology
One drawback with the internet age is that anyone can present themselves as an expert in anything. A great way of building credibility and attracting traffic is through the use of referenced case studies. Back up your advice with hard evidence, demonstrating how a methodology has been applied to assist a particular client and the subsequent results. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

The Latest News
A great case in point for regular updated content – positioning yourself as a valuable resource for the latest industry news is a great way of attracting and retaining traffic. Becoming your clients' 'go to' resource for the latest news via a simple RSS feed is a great way of staying connected to your audience.

Book Worm
Don't assume that everything your audience reads is online. In fact, the majority of internet users are only interested in snippets of information. Providing references to offline material is a great way of demonstrating both empathy for your readers' needs as well as your own knowledge on a particular subject.

Feedback
Requesting feedback is by far the most simple method of both gauging your success and encouraging user interaction. Don't assume you know it all, open up your blog and invite your readers in – you never know what valuable ideas and suggestions could come out of it.

As you can see, blogging provides you with a versatile online publishing tool – which can also be used as a hub to coordinate your social media activities.. If you need some help and advice to get your business blog up and running, call 01454 261111.

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Better Business Marketing – Facebook Style

The benefits of successfully engaging customers through social media marketing has prompted much to be written on the subject. In fact, you might be forgiven for thinking everyone has an opinion on how best to market your business using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter – the list of do's and don'ts is literally endless.

Despite this apparent prevalence of opinion, there are certain hard and fast rules when it comes to the subject of social media. In this month's article, we'll look at some of the key pointers for the ever-popular Facebook.

Your Business on Facebook
Social media brings with it a whole new level of customer interaction. Spark discussion; invite feedback; share experiences – and so on. With this in mind, the following tips are designed to focus your Facebook marketing efforts.

Keep Up With The Times
Facebook presents a unique opportunity to connect with your audience – more so in fact than you could ever hope to achieve through your blog or website alone. If you're in business for yourself, you're more than likely to be keeping up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in your chosen field. You may even run regular webinars and talks, alongside consulting with clients and prospects on their business needs.

You can channel all this valuable content into an interactive playground like your Facebook page, where an interested audience seeks out fresh new content to digest.

From industry tips and insider knowledge to the latest trends, your Facebook page is a dynamic environment that promotes discussion and interactivity. By passing on the benefit of your knowledge for free you'll also be raising your stock.

Keep 'Em Coming Back For More!
Whether you choose to reward great ideas with discounts, or simply want to conduct a little market research, Facebook represents an invaluable platform from which to reach out.

Keep your readership engaged by adopting a varied approach, and don't be afraid to experiment. Judge how well you're doing by the level of interaction occurring on the page itself.

Broaden Your Horizons
It's no longer just about the wall. Facebook's meteoric rise in popularity is matched only by the host of plugins and applications flooding the market on a weekly basis. From shopping tabs to hosted support pages, there is a veritable treasure trove of useful material you can use to heighten the customer experience.

Oh, and more importantly, to drive traffic to your site! Check out 'Get Satisfaction' and 'Fan Appz' to get yourself started.

And Now For Something Completely Different...
Facebook is generally acknowledged as a place for light-hearted social interaction. Even if your company has a reasonably serious image, Facebook provides a valuable opportunity to show some personality by injecting humour into proceedings.

For those of you who want to keep it 'strictly business' – Facebook is still a useful tool for promoting your brand and breathing a little life into the business. Use the page to highlight significant events and milestones on the company calendar – supported by high quality corporate images to add a little variety and credibility.

However you choose to use Facebook, there is no doubting its value as a unique and dynamic marketing platform – don't be afraid to experiment and, most importantly, listen to feedback. If you would like to review the effectiveness of your social media marketing activities, call 01454 261111.

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