Tried and True Email Marketing Strategies That Build Success

If you do not fully understand the principles involved, one of the best ways to design a truly effective email marketing campaign is to hire someone with a proven track record in promoting business through email marketing.

Publishing and distributing e-newsletters is another example of an email marketing strategy that can be highly effective. The bulk of an e-newsletter should be quality content such as featured articles, short articles containing helpful tips, or product reviews and features. Graphic elements may be graphics can direct traffic to your website or other websites.

Your e-newsletters should contain a soft-sell sales approach. It is essential not to make the sales pitch blatant or pushy as this may result in the e-newsletter being considered spam.

Your e-newsletter should contain a Call to Action urging the readers to purchase or visit your website for more information.

Regardless of the email marketing method you decide on, one of the most important strategies is to evaluate the effectiveness of your email marketing regularly. This is critical because elements of your email marketing campaign that are not working should be weeded out. Likewise, aspects of your marketing campaign that are showing a high degree of success should be utilized more often.

For example, if you notice a spike in sales or website traffic each time you issue an e-newsletter, it might be worthwhile to begin issuing e-newsletters more often.

If you’d like to learn more about creating and implementing a highly-successful email marketin campaign, we are here to help. Just call us at 928.486.5185 or send us an email.

Here are a few other article I’ve written about email marketing that I think will be helpful to you.

• Email Marketing Blunders That Sabotage Your Success
• Create the Perfect Email Marketing Campaign
• Top Ten Email Marketing Challenges and How to Overcome Them
• 3 Content Creation Tips You Can Utilize With AI

The post Current Email Marketing Plan Not Working for You? appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.

What is Double Opt-In?

When you get an autoresponder, you will gain access to a large number of different features and options. Autoresponders can be used to handle subscriptions, track data like open rates and much more.

One of the most important features you should be using with your autoresponder is the ‘double opt-in’. This is a two-stage sign-up process for your mailing list that will invite the user to first enter their details and hit send. They will then respond to a confirmation email by clicking the link.

This is opposed to a more old-fashioned immediate form of sign-up that accepts the new member as soon as they hit send.

Why Does it Matter?

At first glance, double opt-ins can be confusing. After all, why would we want our users to have to take more steps to sign up? Surely the easier it is for them to get involved, the better it will be for our mailing list, right?

A good mailing list is not a mailing list that is as big as possible, a good list is as targeted and as engaged as possible. In other words, it doesn’t matter how many people sign up – rather how likely those people are to read your messages.

Double opt-ins prevent people from signing up who aren’t interested in your messages. They also prevent people from entering bogus details and they prevent people from accidentally typing the wrong message.

Without a double opt-in, someone might sign up for your mailing list on a whim and then never read any of your messages again. But with the double opt-in, they are now forced to take a look at your message if they’re serious and to demonstrate that they do actively check their emails.

By doing all this, you have immediately improved the quality of your mailing list so that you will have fewer messages that bounce and fewer that don’t get opened. This will help you to improve your sender reputation and will make sure that your metrics stay as accurate as possible.

Don’t focus on the number of emails – focus on the quality. And start with a double opt-in.

New Gmail Rules

Starting in February 2024, Google will require bulk senders to authenticate their emails. This will allow for easy unsubscription and stay under a reported spam threshold. Click here to learn more.

The post Double Opt-In. Does it Matter? New Rules appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.

Don’t Destroy Your Email Marketing Efforts

You can spend months or even years building a massive mailing list and create something that is highly targeted and filled with incredibly engaged and interested readers.
But while this is true, it still only takes a single message to bring your hard work crashing down! Some mistakes are so destructive that they can destroy your chances of running an effective email marketing campaign. Others will simply prevent you from making the progress you should be.

Check and see if any of these mistakes sound familiar.

Buying Links – Buying links is one of the worst strategies of all when it comes to building a big mailing list. The reason for this is that bought links are essentially still ‘cold’ leads. That means they haven’t heard of your brand before and they never permitted you to contact them. They will likely ignore your messages and may even report you as spam!

Selling Low-Quality Products – If you sell a product or promote a product that you don’t 100% believe in, it will always come across in the way that you present the message. People can tell whether you believe in something. If you don’t, they’ll feel as though you’re not trustworthy and are just trying to wring as much cash out of them as possible.

Going Quiet – Similarly destructive is to forget about your mailing list for an extended period. This might sound obvious, but it’s a mistake that a lot of people make – simply forgetting to update their list and allowing time for their readers to become disinterested. They’re likely to forget who you are or why they followed you in the first place.

Spamming – Spamming might mean sending too many messages or it might mean trying to sell things that no one asked for. The key to good email marketing is to respect your audience and take the responsibility that comes with being able to access their inboxes seriously.

Always provide value, or you’ll quickly lose those hard-earned followers.

The post Email Marketing Blunders That Sabotage Your Success appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.

Using the right e-mail marketing campaign, you can reach a huge number of people without them even having to come to you. You can message them right in their inboxes which they’ll probably check on a daily basis, and you’ll be able to convey as much information as you want to them right there and then while you have their attention.

The effectiveness of this strategy though depends on many factors, and just because you have their attention doesn’t mean you’ll be able to make sales. You need to be able to maintain that attention long enough for them to actually take your message on board.

There’s also the fact that your message needs to be convincing enough to actually make them want to buy your product or sign up for your service.

Fortunately, this is a science more than it is an art, meaning that it can be tested, fine-tuned and honed. Here are the methods you need to use in order to make your e-mails more convincing and more likely to convert your leads into paying customers.

Testing

The most important way to improve your e-mail marketing campaign is to be able to test and measure its success over time. In other words, you need to be able to make gradual and slight changes to the precise wording and strategies you use in your messages so that you can then see directly how these are affecting the number of people that actually click on your links and go to your site to buy something. That means you need to treat your marketing services very carefully and precisely and to make measured changes that you can then see the results of. This way you can tweak little elements like the precise wording, the time you send out the message or the type of subject heading you use.

Receptiveness

An aspect of marketing that many people overlook is receptiveness. In other words, you need to message the right demographic with the written text but just as importantly you need to message them at a time and in a way that they will be likely to be most receptive to. When it comes to joining mailing lists, one of the most important things you can do is to make sure that your list signs up being aware that you are going to use their details for marketing purposes. You might get fewer people joining the list, but those who do won’t be annoyed to get your messages which will mean that they will be more likely to read it and more likely to respond favorably to what you’re saying.

Planning

A great marketing strategy will take place across multiple platforms and won’t just incorporate one medium. In other words, if you want to maximize your email marketing then you need to use other methods and tie them together. That might mean launching a competition or offer and giving the discount only to those on your mailing list, or anything else that takes a more cohesive approach to marketing rather than seeing it as lots of disconnected techniques.

If you need help with your email marketing campaigns, give us a call or click here to complete the form and we’ll contact you.

The post Create the Perfect Email Marketing Campaign appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.

Email is one of the most popular means of communication, both for personal and professional use. Despite its popularity, though, email marketing can be quite challenging. This is due to a number of factors, including the ever-changing landscape of email providers and deliverability issues.

In this article, you’ll learn the top email marketing challenges and how to overcome them. You will also be provided some tips on how to make your email marketing more effective. By understanding and overcoming these challenges, you can ensure that your email marketing campaigns are successful.

Defining Your Audience – Who Are You Trying to Reach? This may seem like a simple question, but it’s actually one of the most difficult aspects of email marketing. You need to be clear about who you’re trying to target with your campaign. Are you trying to reach out to new potential customers? Or are you trying to cultivate a relationship with your existing customer base? Once you know who you’re trying to reach, you can start to craft messages that will appeal to them.

Creating Content that Resonates – Your content needs to be compelling and interesting enough to get people to actually read it. That means no generic messages or boring sales pitches. Take some time to craft messages that will actually interest your target audience and give them a reason to read your emails.

Getting People to Actually Open Your Emails – You’ve crafted the perfect email, but now you need to make sure people actually open it. Start by using a catchy subject line that will grab people’s attention. You can also try personalizing your emails so that they feel addressed to the individual recipient.

Managing Your Email List – You need to make sure you’re only sending emails to people who actually want to receive them. That means keeping your list clean and up-to-date. You can do this by regularly purging inactive subscribers and only adding people to your list who have explicitly opted in.

Setting Realistic Goals – It’s important to have realistic expectations for your email marketing campaign. You’re not going to achieve world domination overnight. Start by setting small, achievable goals, such as increasing your open rate or click-through rate by a few percentage points.

Measuring Your Success – You need to have a way to measure the success of your email marketing campaign so that you can make adjustments as needed. There are a number of different metrics you can track, such as open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribe rate, and conversion rate.

Avoiding the Spam Folder – No one wants their emails to end up in the spam folder. There are a few things you can do to avoid this, such as using a double opt-in process and avoiding words and phrases that are known to trigger spam filters.

Staying Compliant With the Law – There are a few laws that govern email marketing, such as the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States. Make sure you’re familiar with the relevant laws.

Email marketing has its challenges. By putting these little tips into use, you will be able to find success in your email marketing campaigns. If you’re too busy or just have more fun things to do, complete the form below for a free 1/2-hour Plan of Action Consultation to see how we can help you achieve your email marketing goals.

The post Top 10 Email Marketing Challenges and How to Overcome Them appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.

By using the right e-mail marketing campaign, you can reach a huge number of people without them even having to come to you. You can message them right in their inboxes and you’ll be able to convey as much information as you want to them right then while you have their attention. The effectiveness of this strategy though depends on many factors. Simply getting their attention doesn’t mean you’ll be able to make sales. You need to be able to maintain that attention for long enough for them to actually take your message on board.

Your message needs to be convincing enough to actually make them want to buy your product or sign up for your service or get deleted before they even get read.

Email marketing campaigns are a science more than an art, meaning that they can be tested, fine-tuned, and honed. Take a look at the methods you need to use in order to make your e-mails more convincing and more likely to convert your leads into paying customers.

• Testing
• The most important way to improve your e-mail marketing campaign is to be able to test and measure its success over time. In other words, you need to be able to make gradual and slight changes to the precise wording and strategies you use in your messages so that you can then see directly how these are affecting the number of people that actually click on your links and go to your site to buy something. That means you need to treat your marketing services very carefully and precisely and to make measured changes that you can then see the results of. This way you can tweak little elements like the precise wording, the time you send out the message, or the type of subject heading you use.
• This is something that professional email marketing services can help you with.

• Receptiveness
• An aspect of marketing that many people will overlook is receptiveness. In other words, you need to message the right demographic with the written text but just as importantly you need to message them at a time and in a way that they will be likely to be most receptive to. When it comes to joining mailing lists, one of the most important things you can do is to make sure that your sign-ups are aware that you are going to use their details for marketing purposes. You might get fewer people joining the list, but those who do won’t be annoyed to get your messages. That means that they will be more likely to read it and more likely to respond favorably to what you’re saying.

• Planning
• A great marketing strategy will take place across multiple platforms and won’t just incorporate one medium. In other words, if you want to maximize your email marketing then you need to use other methods to tie them together. That might mean launching a competition or offer and giving the discount only to those on your mailing list, or anything else that takes a more cohesive approach to marketing rather than seeing it as lots of disconnected techniques.

Some people may think that since email marketing has been around for a very long time, it’s old-fashioned and not too effective. I respectfully disagree. Email marketing is one of the most effective, reliable, and inexpensive ways to stay in touch with your contacts.

If you have questions or need help with your email marketing efforts, just let us know. We’re here to help.

The post 3 Ways to Create the Perfect Email Marketing Campaign appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.

Email marketing is the art of making money from your email list. As long as you have a list of responsive prospects of customers who recognize you as an expert in your niche, they will definitely be up for offers of value that you provide for them.

How does successful email marketing work?

If you have a website and you draw in some traffic, people will come, absorb some information and go away. However, if you managed to capture their emails, you can email them again and again – offering them nuggets of useful information or giving them offers that they might be interested in.

Here are 5 of the common email marketing no-nos done by email marketers:

• Blatant pitching in hopes that they make a sale – Although email marketing is a lot about numbers, blatant pitching can make even a list of thousands turn into dust as they either spam list you or become unresponsive to your offers.

• Focusing too much on quantity instead of quality – While the list size is important, the real money is in the relationship you have with your list. Focus on making a genuine connection with your subscribers If you want them to contribute to your bottom line, focus on making a genuine connection with your subscribers.

• Using spammy-looking links – You should always use a free link shortener like https://bit.ly.

• Using “taboo” words that increase the spam score of your emails – You should avoid words that come off as spam by the spam blockers such as FREE, ‘SALE”, BEST PRICE, BIG BUCKS, ADDITIONAL INCOME, etc.

• Avoid using full capitals in any part of your email, whether it’s in your headline, copy or call to action. This increases spam score and sounds too salesy which lowers conversions. Treat your list with respect.

Good email marketing practices must be employed if you wish to build a responsive list that listens to you. Avoid these five email marketing no-nos.

If you need help with your email marketing, let us know. We can help.

The post Email Marketing No-Nos appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.

Probably the most common way to promote and grow a mailing list is through a landing page. This is a single page on your website that will be dedicated to selling the merits of signing up. It will detail what the new subscribers can expect to get from signing up and it will provide the opt-in form where they can go ahead and enter their email address and name.

But while this can work well, it’s important not to overlook one of the other most effective ways to grow a mailing list: through your blog.

Why a Blog is Perfect for Growing a Mailing List

There are several things that will make a blog ideal for growing your mailing list.

The first of these things is that a blog is well-suited to gaining more traffic via Google. Google brings people to websites based on the content. This is what people are searching for in the first place in most cases and it is what you use in order to provide value for your readers.

Simply by blogging regularly, you can get more people to actively look for the page where your opt-in form will be and this is something that you wouldn’t have been able to accomplish as easily with a landing page – seeing as that will only have a small amount of copy focussed on promoting the list.

The other big benefit of a blog is that it is perfect for growing more readers over time. The more you will attract people back to your site. They’ll eventually start checking your site regularly because they will know that it’s likely to provide information that is useful, interesting or just entertaining.

And if they read your blog enough and become fully engaged, then eventually they might decide they want to get more information from you. Thus, they might choose to sign up for your mailing list when otherwise they might not have done. You’ve given yourself the time and the space to build interest and trust and this is what has eventually led to people signing up for your list.

How to Make it Work for You

To make this work for you then, you need to make sure that you place your opt-in form somewhere prominent alongside your posts. One good tip is to put it in a widget in the sidebar, as this way your readers will see it at all times, even if they skipped the homepage. Likewise, consider adding it to the bottom of your posts. And while you’re at it, make sure you mention it in your content – sometimes the best way to get subscribers is simply to ask!

If you need help with blog posts, landing pages or email marketing, let us know. We’re here to help!

The post Start Promoting Your Mailing List With a Blog appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.

Content makes the web go ’round. If you want more traffic, if you want more loyal visitors and if you want better search rankings, you need content. This is even truer on social media. Sharing your own content is perhaps the best social media strategy and if other people share it with their networks too? Even better. This can result in potentially exponential gains that massively accelerate your growth. But how do you write content in such a way that people will want to share it?

• Tip 1: Make it Specific – The single most powerful tip I can possibly share on this topic is to aim your content at someone specific. That means that it should be tailored for your ‘persona’ – the demographic that you think will want to read your content. This works because it leverages the communicative nature of social media. Generally, we share content with someone to show that we are thinking of them or we share it generally because it in some way reflects our personality. For either of these things to work, you first need to write your content in such a way that it will specifically appeal to that certain type of person.

• Tip 2: Facilitate Discussion – Another tip is to facilitate discussion or to make your post something that can be used as part of the discussion. Making your post something that asks a challenging question and takes a potentially controversial stance is one way to do that. A safer way is to make a post that can explain a topic or back up an argument, thereby making it something that people can share with their friends or people in online communities when they’re having discussions.

• Tip 3: Choose the Right Images – The right images go a long way to making your content more sharable and engaging. Did you know that a lot of the time, people click ‘like’ or ‘share’ before they’ve even read the content? In that case, they’re going off of the title and the image alone. So make sure your image says something and really jumps out.

• Tip 4: Choose the Right Title – With that in mind, you of course also need the right title. What is a good title for social media? Clickbait titles work very well but are frowned upon for being spammy. So learn from them, and don’t copy them. Make your titles emotionally resonant, unique and interesting while having some meat to deliver when people click!

When you need help with your content marketing, I hope you’ll give Second Self Virtual Assistance a call.

The post Are You Writing Sharable Content? appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.

Email marketing is probably the most misunderstood kind of marketing out there. There are other ways to market your business but I’m here to break the email marketing myths with a few facts.

MYTH: Email Marketing is Annoying

FACT: 74% of active online adults prefer to receive their marketing messages through email rather than direct mail. There’s a common misconception among online marketers that most leads find marketing emails annoying.

MYTH: Targeting Leads Isn’t Really Necessary

FACT: Segmenting your contacts increases email click‐through rates by 16%. This means that by targeting your leads through individual personalized profiles you will increase your chances of getting people to not only check your emails but also of getting them to click through your links.

MYTH: Yeah, Messaging is Important But…

FACT: A well‐crafted marketing email increases your conversion rates. 66% of online consumers have bought something based on an email marketing message. 71% of people aged 45 to 54 made their purchasing decisions based on email marketing messages.

MYTH: I Need a Large List to Be Effective

FACT: Large mailing lists can distort your results. This is because you’ll be sending emails to lots of people that are never going to buy something from you. By simply deleting email addresses that haven’t engaged with your emails in the past 12 months can improve your delivery rates, click‐through rates, and conversion rates by 3% to 5%.

MYTH: Subject Lines Aren’t That Important

FACT: Subject lines are more important than you would imagine. Short subject lines (around 9 characters long or less) open rates can reach up to 58%. Personalized subject lines such as those that used the recipient’s name, were 22% more likely to be opened. 64% of recipients will open an email based on the subject line alone.

MYTH: Social Media Is Better Than Email Marketing

FACT: Email marketing is way more effective at acquiring new customers for your business than social media efforts. An email marketing campaign is 40 times more effective at customer acquisition than a Facebook or Twitter campaign. 72% of people favor promotional content through email over social media.

MYTH: Email Marketing Takes Too Much Time

FACT: Automation is taking over in the email marketing industry. Most email management tools are being used by about 82% of business-to‐business and business‐to‐customer companies. This has helped them increase their conversion rates by as much as 50%. Automated email marketing messages average 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher clickthrough rates.

So What Does All This Mean?

FACT: It means that if you’re not using customized, targeted, interesting email marketing, you are leaving money on the table. It’s a must for both customer acquisition and retention.

The post Myth or Fact?: Email Marketing Facts You Need to Know appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.