Despite the ability to segment and A/B test to death, many simply have a “set it up and let it run” approach.
While not the most glamorous medium, email marketers need to be like the rest of the digital marketing world – continually evolving, testing and changing their approach.
But get an email marketer and social media marketer in a room together, they inevitably end up having a geek throwdown – tearing off their plaid shirts, tying their hands together and circling each other in a sudden death knife fight.
I’ve seen it with my own eyes – this happens every single day in offices around the world. Everytime I click my fingers, an email marketer dies…
But email can learn from social – and learn they shall, through the informative writings of TSJ.
Email Edgerank
Any semi-decent social media guru/evangelist/[insert made up job title here] knows that the frequency of your Facebook posts directly affects how often your followers are likely to see them.
Post loads of updates with minimal engagement, and your chances of being edgeranked out of your followers newsfeed grows substantially. Low frequency and high engagement = big wins.
Email has it’s own edgerank system – although it’s not employed algorithmically. If you continually spam people who useless sales emails, you’re quickly going to develop the level of brand blindness usually reserved for men in the tampon aisle of Tescos, or a swift unsubscribe.
Be smart with emails – ensure everything that enters your customers inbox has something to offer. Don’t stick to a schedule if you can’t guarantee quality emails on everyday you need to.
Which leads nicely onto….
React
One of the joys of social media is the ability to react instantly to events and new stories around the world. But if you think about it, doesn’t the same principle apply to email? What is stopping you reacting to relevant events – perhaps informing your email list how recent events have affected them, your companies response to a particular news story or simply informing them of a news story that is likely to affect them.
Shareable Headlines
Learn from marcandangel.com – this post has had 574,000 Facebook likes as of today and it’s likely the title – “30 Things To Stop Doing To Yourself” – had a big part to play in that. Are your subject lines making your subscriber instantly switch off?
When it comes to writing headlines that get clicked, bloggers seem to have the run on just about everyone. Next time you see a headline you just have to click on, take note – could you apply these principles to your campaign? Think funny, think emotive and think big.
Behind the Scenes Access
Millions and millions of people subscribe to the Facebook pages, or Twitter feeds of their favourite TV shows, actors, movies. Often, these people want to feel like they’re on the “inside track”.
How does this apply to email marketing? Simple – Making your subscribers feel like they are part of club, or inner circle increases open rates and reduces unsubscribes.
Again, it’s all about adding value – this is another way of providing additional value to your email list.
