So, you want to create e-Newsletters for your paying clients that
will be sent to your readers? Here are 10 aspects to consider for
maximum results.
1. Subject lines are king, use the person's name that is receiving
the email if you can. Always think, what is in it for me/them? What
makes me want to open this when I get it.
2. Most email is read in the preview pane, so be aware of that when
designing the email layout. Also, be aware of that when looking at
results of the push. Open rates are often off by 12% due to reads in the
preview pane.
3. Due to picture download issues in email programs do not rely on
images to sell the product/service. Text is often better. Use images to
reinforce text. Most advertisers want to just place a modified print ad
in their email. NO! Keep it simple.
4. I do not advise sending an email on Monday or Friday. Monday is "delete day" and Friday is "do not pay attention day".
5. I like to send emails at 10am or 2pm in the target time zone.
6. Use an ESP with a great deliverability percentage like Contactology or iContact.
7. Test and re-test. Send several tests and look at them on Mac and PC and on mobile.
8. Make sure it is clear that you are sending this to them as a
valued member/reader of your publication. Like this sample line,
perhaps: "This special offer presented exclusively to valued readers of
..."
9. Approving the creative is so important. Make sure that is in your contract.
10. Think about your spam rating in advance. You do not want to have
a spam rating at all. So, will the cash from this advertiser ePush
create a ton of spam reports. If so, think twice. Does the ad really
work for all your readers. Is it dumb? Is it a gimmick? Use your best
judgment.
There is a ton to consider, but consider it you must. Advertiser
driven stand alone e-mail can drive revenue for your publication.
I wrote more about eNewsletters in general and making money from eNewsletters at this link: http://tinyurl.com/3cnf2bs.
Click here Part 2 of this article for tips on how to minimize "unsubscribes" from advertiser email blasts...
Monday, June 13, 2011
Ways to Minimize Unsubscribes From Advertiser E-blasts
(Part 2 of "Best Practices For Advertiser Driven Email Blasts")
First, I would advise that when you acquire an email address, you add them to 2 lists, one for editorial and one for sales. You can do this by stating this clearly when the user signs up. For example, "By subscribing to the above e-Newsletter, the publisher may periodically send you offers that are related to the topics covered in our magazine. Your email will be protected by our observance of a dual list sending system allowing you to remove yourself from sales offers at any time and still receive our editorial e-Newsletter."
There have been several things I have observed from my publishing clients that have caused subscriber revolt from advertising driven e-Newsletters.
1. The offer being sent is not in line with the topic of your publication. Many times the sales team will make a leap from what is acceptable to a reader. For example, I had a B2B client that was in the business news space. The ad based email sent was for personal medial insurance. While this does "apply" to business owners, it is too far from the core topic of the publication so the removal rate was almost 7%.
2. The subject line states the offer and looks like spam. As I said earlier in this thread be careful to be clever, but do not include words like "special offer" or "free".
3. Charge more for stand-alone emails knowing you will lose people.
4. Use your ESP technology to offer the e-News readers the ability to be removed from sales email and not editorial.
5. Keep all offers to text. Graphical emails have a higher unsubscribe in almost all offers I have seen. Try a logo and text or a picture and text rather than a large image.
6. Start off the email with a clear statement that declares why they are getting the offer and state how often you will or will not send these types of offers. Also state, that by unsubscribing they are unsubscribing from your main list. You can also see if your ESP has a re-direct page that says: "Are you sure you want to unsub? If you do, you will be removed form our main eNews...(etc.)" BUT, be aware of CAN-SPAM laws at this point.
BIG POINT...if the offer is in line with the core topics you deliver in editorial, you will be ok. You will get un-subs, but I think you can minimize the effect on your total list.
First, I would advise that when you acquire an email address, you add them to 2 lists, one for editorial and one for sales. You can do this by stating this clearly when the user signs up. For example, "By subscribing to the above e-Newsletter, the publisher may periodically send you offers that are related to the topics covered in our magazine. Your email will be protected by our observance of a dual list sending system allowing you to remove yourself from sales offers at any time and still receive our editorial e-Newsletter."
There have been several things I have observed from my publishing clients that have caused subscriber revolt from advertising driven e-Newsletters.
1. The offer being sent is not in line with the topic of your publication. Many times the sales team will make a leap from what is acceptable to a reader. For example, I had a B2B client that was in the business news space. The ad based email sent was for personal medial insurance. While this does "apply" to business owners, it is too far from the core topic of the publication so the removal rate was almost 7%.
2. The subject line states the offer and looks like spam. As I said earlier in this thread be careful to be clever, but do not include words like "special offer" or "free".
3. Charge more for stand-alone emails knowing you will lose people.
4. Use your ESP technology to offer the e-News readers the ability to be removed from sales email and not editorial.
5. Keep all offers to text. Graphical emails have a higher unsubscribe in almost all offers I have seen. Try a logo and text or a picture and text rather than a large image.
6. Start off the email with a clear statement that declares why they are getting the offer and state how often you will or will not send these types of offers. Also state, that by unsubscribing they are unsubscribing from your main list. You can also see if your ESP has a re-direct page that says: "Are you sure you want to unsub? If you do, you will be removed form our main eNews...(etc.)" BUT, be aware of CAN-SPAM laws at this point.
BIG POINT...if the offer is in line with the core topics you deliver in editorial, you will be ok. You will get un-subs, but I think you can minimize the effect on your total list.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Banner Rotation, Simple Explanation For Advertisers
I am often asked by my clients how to explain to an advertiser about banner ad rotation. In the most common scenario, an advertiser will call and will say that they have refreshed your web page and do not see their ad running. Or, they have to refresh every 20 times to see their ad and their competitor is getting more ad views.
In a nutshell, the advertiser just does not understand how basic banner ad rotation works. I have created a very simple video to explain this to advertisers. Please note that this video is non-technical and is designed to be shown to advertisers. So, feel free to share this video as a tool when this question arises.
In a nutshell, the advertiser just does not understand how basic banner ad rotation works. I have created a very simple video to explain this to advertisers. Please note that this video is non-technical and is designed to be shown to advertisers. So, feel free to share this video as a tool when this question arises.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)