Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday.  Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers.  We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog!  If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

Regular readers of my blog know I love email marketing as a way to establish yourself as an expert and stay on top of the minds of your future customers. I wanted to give you some quick tips to help you get the most out of email marketing for your business.

1. Send out a newsletter once a month, then a promotional (or announcement) email 15 days later.

2. Send your email Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, after 10 am if you’re sending to people’s work addresses. Any day in the evenings is fine if you’re sending to consumers. You’ll get the best open rate during these times.

3. Offer free articles and advice relating to what you do. If you have a cleaning service, offer quick tips for cleaning carpets, getting out wine stains, etc.

4. Include a special offer that only your email subscribers get.

5. Anywhere you encounter an email address (your inbox, business card, trade show), put it in your database. Send an initial email to new contacts asking if they are ok with receiving emails from you.

6. Mark your calendar with the days you put out your emails each month to be consistent.

7. Use a program like Constant Contact to send professional looking emails, NOT your Outlook (screams unprofessional).

8. Organize your contacts into groups, like Past Clients, Present Customers, Met at XYZ Conference. You can customize the emails you send out to each group.

9. Pay attention to your stats. What emails got a really high open rate and clickthrough rate? Can you put out similar ones in the future? Which ones had a lower rate?

10. Offer a signup box on your website.

11. Offer a freebie, like a whitepaper or ebook if people sign up to get your emails.

Do you have any tips to share?

Here’s another video with email marketing tips.

Other links:

Email Marketing 101

Defining Your Target Market

Constant Contact

Flickr or Stock.Xchng for free photos for your emails.

DIY Email Marketing Ebook: Enter ‘egg’ at checkout to save 20%

My fellow Sparkplugger, Brandie Kajino, the Home Office Organizer, has invited me to speak in her teleclass, “Secrets of Effective Email Marketing” on January 22. We’ll be talking about what makes great email marketing, the best platforms to use, and I’ll even give you some secret tips, like the best time to send out emails for best open rates.

All this for just $5. Boy, we’re nice.

That rate is only through tomorrow, the 16th. Then the price is $20. So sign up right now to lock in this rate!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmS5YxsnmG4[/youtube]

And links to previous email articles:

4 ways to to keep your email marketing out of the Viagra Inbox

Email Marketing Is Dead, Long Live Email Marketing

Become an Email Marketing Eggspert

9 Email Marketing Secrets Marketing Professionals Will Kill Me for Revealing

This Just In� Do-It-Yourself Email Marketing Ebook Out on Virtual Shelves

Interview with Winton Churchill: Email Marketing for Complex Sales Cycles

]]> http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/email-marketing-101/feed/ 3 http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/interview-with-winton-churchill-email-marketing-for-complex-sales-cycles/ http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/interview-with-winton-churchill-email-marketing-for-complex-sales-cycles/#comments Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:20:50 +0000 Susan Payton http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/?p=348 I recently interviewed the author of Email Marketing for Complex Sales Cycles. We discussed email, spam and how to succeed at email marketing.

Marketing Eggspert: Why do you think some people send spam emails, ruining it for everyone else?

Winton Churchill: The vast majority of all spammers do it for financial reasons.  Unfortunately they’re able to convince people from companies who are not completely clued in to or subject to the various anti-Spam laws.  Furthermore most of these operators are able to cloak themselves and hide their identities from enforcement organizations.  Many spammers operate in or through countries where it is not a crime to send unsolicited e-mail in the volumes they send them.

There are some initiatives both in the United States and worldwide that should over time substantially reduce the volume of spam we all get.  Unfortunately, until a combination of new legislation and new technology fall into place and we’re all going to have to wrestle with the spam monster. It won’t change quickly…but is improving.

Fortunately many good solutions exist for filtering, rejecting, and otherwise dealing with spam.  I know in my own Outlook inbox I’ve managed to pull my spam documents down from about a hundred a day to about four.  Yes it’s aggravating, but I get so much benefit from the efficiency of e-mail communication that I’m willing to tolerate it at that level.  And it should only get better from here.

Marketing Eggspert: Can you summarize for our audience the special needs of complex sales cycles and why they’re important?

Winton Churchill: Well essentially my definition is a complex sale is one that occurs over time and requires that you form a relationship with your prospect or educate them to a certain level about an issue before they buy. Many years ago it made sense to send salespeople out into the field and have them knock on the doors of their complex sale prospects. Today that’s too expensive.  The biggest challenge that we face today with a complex sales cycle is getting the attention of our best prospects and then developing a relationship with them that builds the trust and respect required to close a complex sale. The special needs boil down to the ability to communicate en masse to your target audience in a way that they embrace and enjoy.  If you can’t do that, your sales process will become less and less effective.

Marketing Eggspert: Is email marketing changing with the ever evolving nature of internet marketing? How so?

Winton Churchill: When you have permission and communicate effectively, email is extremely powerful and reliable.  Getting that email address means you have a level of trust.

Not a week goes by that some email firm doesn’t offer a new tool, gadget or statistics capability.  I find that it takes a while to sort through these “improvements” to understand which ones can work to your advantage.  Many of these new improvements require an unacceptable level of “bloat” meaning that they can make your message difficult to display in the recipients inbox…so before you use a new tool or capability you must check for unanticipated consequences.

Marketing Eggspert: What are the top 3 mistakes people make with email marketing?

Winton Churchill: Mistake #1–Not targeting your message to your audience — we are all happy to read advertisements and promotional messages related to our fields of interest…the less related, the lower our interest level.  The most common mistake I see with companies today is sending messages to people because they can.  They don’t care if the message is relevant or welcome.  This is the old-style push selling and always unwelcome.

Mistake #2–Thinking that writing an e-mail designed to elicit a response and eventually a sale, is like writing an e-mail about a company vacation policy.  It’s not.  Writing copy is both a science and an art.  There is a very significant amount of science and if you don’t understand that you probably are going to waste all the money you spend on your list or irritate your prospects so severely that they ask you to stop sending them information.

Mistake #3 — Not thinking about the specific small step you want your prospect to take when they finish reading your e-mail. If you sell a $10,000 product  (or even a $20 product or service) it is very unlikely that your prospect will buy right away on the strength of a single in e-mail.  But they could begin an investigation process that could lead them to that conclusion.  Your job with each e-mail is to get them one notch closer to that decision to buy.

Too many e-mail solicitations today end with “…and visit our website for more information.”  The research is very clear on this…this kind of call to action is extremely ineffective.  You must be very specific about the next step you want your prospect to take. And that one step can’t make them feel like they’ve just been sucked into a sales process that unleashes a machine gun of emails on them.

Marketing Eggspert: What are your top 3 recommendations for people new to email marketing?

Winton Churchill: Recommendation #1-Focus on building trust with your first email campaign. The basis for all sales activity is trust.  The biggest mistake I see both new and “experienced” marketers make is trying to ram a sales pitch down the throat of a prospect before they have built trust.

Recommendation #2-Use a professional copy writer to prepare your first email campaign.  Writing for persuasion is very different than business writing. You have to do many things write and only 1 or 2 things wrong will doom your campaign to failure. If you haven’t studied copywriting in depth you will probably make one of those campaign killing mistakes.

Recommendations #3-Test, Test, Test: Start small with your campaign and test variations of your copy, subject line and call to action. Let your prospect base tell you what they like, you’ll be rewarded for your attention. Be sure you keep an accurate count of your client preferences.

Marketing Eggspert: Do you recommend entrepreneurs do their own email marketing or outsource it?

Winton Churchill: This is more a question of entrepreneurial style.  If you are “hands-on” you might want to try it on your own…some have the “knack” for writing copy, creating educational content, selecting lists, etc. But, if you don’t see good results right away, I recommend talking to a professional.

In the end it is all about how you want to spend your time and grow your business.  There are occasionally entrepreneurs that have a big success right out of the box.  They are a tiny minority. As a consultant I feel compelled to tell you the odds of getting it right before you blow a lot of money are pretty small.

As an example, I recently had a prospect come to me because they were frustrated that their email efforts weren’t producing good results. They has spent almost $4,000 putting together a campaign and had nothing to show for it.

We were able to suggest a different subject line strategy, change the email originator from a company to a person, slightly modify their call to action and their program began to work.

What is the most frequent mistake people reading your book are likely to make when they try to apply it on their own email marketing program?

They don’t quite understand what they don’t know and send out and email campaign that doesn’t do well. Each year we look at hundreds, maybe thousands of campaigns.  When you do that you develop a really good experience base for what works and what doesn’t. It is similar to finding a real good doctor.

In fact, we developed a service for our clients where they get a campaign all ready to launch, then they have us “score it” using a model we have developed.

We usually identify a few things that would severely limit the effectiveness of their campaign.  We typically make 3-6 recommendations on how to improve their campaign’s effectiveness.

We sell that service for $347 and offer it with a money back guarantee… if they use the recommendations and don’t see a satisfactory increase in their response we cheerfully refund their money.

This service takes everything we know about email and puts it at the point of greatest impact… so clients like it.

If readers would like to buy the book they can go here:

http://snipurl.com/emailbook

If they would like to see a table of contents and sample chapter they can go here:

http://www.churchillmethod.com/chapter

For more information, visit www.churchillmethod.com. Visit www.virtualblogtour.blogspot.com for the most up to date information. His full tour schedule is posted at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/06/winton-churchill-email-marketing-for.html. Winton Churchill is offering a wealth of free gifts for every person that purchases his book Email Marketing. Visit www.churchillmethod.com/bookbonus for full details about how to download all of these free gifts.

This amazing ebook includes step-by-step instructions on creating effective email campaigns (going way beyond what I covered in my Email Secrets post recently), as well as:

• Examples of emails from a professional marketing firm
• Screen shots that guide you through the process
• BONUS! Email glossary for newbies to email marketing

Here’s the press release I put out earlier this week:

Marketing professionals, beware. The ebook, DIY Email Marketing, was recently released, and is slated to be the go-to guide for creating effective email marketing campaigns. The ebook explains step-by-step how to create targeted email campaigns.

“The secrets marketing consultants have been using for years are being blown out of the water, ” stated ebook author Susan Payton. “Small businesses can take control of their email marketing without having to spend thousands of dollars they can’t afford for a marketing professional to create them.”

This ebook provides detailed instructions for creating email campaigns to promote your business, as well as sample templates and resources. The ebook is available for download at www.diy-email-marketing.com for $19.99. For more information, visit the ebook website.

It’s a great value at $19.99. What are you waiting for?

PS I’m also offering affiliate opportunities with this ebook. Click “Become an affiliate” to find out more.

That’s why I’m about to give you some email marketing tips that will probably get me kicked out of the club. Oh well, I’m not really much of a joiner anyway. I think there are just certain things any business owner should know about email marketing, so here goes.

1. Email marketing is not hard. I know it seems complicated, but with email marketing software like Constant Contact, creating professional emails is really easy.

2. You don’t need to know HTML. Again, programs like Constant Contact make it easy for dummies to create gorgeous templates (I mean, I make them, so come on, they can’t be that hard). I actually don’t like it when a client wants to complicate it and makes me use HTML. Me ‘n HTML don’t get along so well.

3. The best days to send emails are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Why? Because on Mondays people are bombarded with email and are likely to delete yours. On Fridays everyone wants to play hooky, so they don’t want to read your stinkin’ email.

4. Emails don’t have to be blatant sales pitches. I actually like the people I email, so I like to send useful articles about marketing to them. Things that they will find helpful, but also things that will remind them how super smart I am when it comes to marketing.

5. There is a way to target your list. I HATE untargeted email lists. I don’t buy lists. But if you start slow, you can ensure you send your emails to people who actually kind of care. And might buy from you.

6. Not every email is spam. You can get good results from email marketing (as long as you’re not slimy about it). Email is a great way to inform people about your product if done correctly.

7. You can track your results. Email programs like (ahem) Constant Contact (I’m sorry. I just really like them and haven’t found anything better) let you see how many people opened an email, how many clicked on a link and how many unsubscribed. You can try different days, times and subject lines to see which get the best results.

8. Email marketing isn’t dead. I brought this debate up before but still stick to my guns. Email is a great way to reach a wider audience.

9. Email marketing can save you thousands of dollars. Compared to other forms of internet advertising, email is cheap. So save your money on the ad in the Wall Street Journal and consider emailing a targeted list of future customers.

What are your email marketing tips? Share them and I’ll repost all of them onto this post!

Over the years, marketing has transformed immensely. Old school marketing has been outdated with today’s “new” emerging marketing strategies. Press releases, search engine optimizers (SEO), and pay per click ads are taking over the marketing world. Old school marketing, such as direct mail and print ads, was generally used in previous years; however is still used by a small population of marketers today.

Most marketers used a direct mail campaign to target a certain market. They would research a specific mailing list in order to convince consumers to buy their product/service. Direct mail is a difficult way of advertising because most consumers consider direct mail junk mail and immediately toss it in the garbage. On the other hand, a print ad speaks to your audience strictly through visual means. Most marketers used print ads in magazines and newspapers to try and motivate the consumer to purchase their product/service.

Press releases, search engine optimizers, and pay per click ads are blowing up today’s marketing world. Most businesses use these three to market their product/services on the internet since today’s 21st century is internet savvy. These three strategies are inexpensive and effective. Businesses get the maximum exposure they need.

Being a college student, I learn about the different types of marketing techniques that are useful and give the most exposure to businesses. Internet marketing has become a major tool; therefore I believe that using press releases, search engine optimizers and pay per click ads is not only “New School Marketing” but “Future School Marketing.”

Susan
See my post from last year on Old School vs. New School Marketing.

Here are some ways you can incorporate holidays into your marketing and PR.

Press Releases. Use a holiday to play up an event, such as International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Maybe your staff will be dressed like pirates while you hold a “Get Yer Booty Half Price” sale. Or you could put out a release about your diet program, paralleling the amount of food Americans (over)eat at Thanksgiving. Research adds an element of believability, so look to incorporate statistics about the holiday.

Newsletters. Add fun holiday elements to your monthly newsletters, such as a “Did You Know?” section or holiday images. When people are happy (the way they are when holidays and days off from work come around), they’re more likely to shop!

Sales. I gave you some sales ideas above, but get creative and decorate your store for the holiday. Or make up a holiday that serves your purpose, such as Eat Two Cones Day, where you can incorporate your sale into the holiday.

Direct Mail. I like to send Egg customers birthday gifts for Egg’s birthday. It’s fun, festive and memorable. You could send a birthday or holiday card to your contacts, or even flowers or candies to your better clients.

No matter what you do, adding holidays to your marketing mix is fun. It shows your customers that you don’t take yourself too seriously, and you will stand out in their minds as a result!

-Susan

Used to be everyone was struggling to keep up with competitors just by having a website. Now if you don’t have a blog you’re behind. Forget for a moment that you’re not web-savvy, if that’s true, and look at the benefits of blogs over websites. I’ll borrow from Suzanne’s list and add my own.

-Blogs are easier to update. Sites like WordPress make it simple to upload posts instantly, so as soon as you think of a topic, you can write it and post it within minutes. With websites, you likely have to call your IT or web design guy to get anything changed.

-Blogs help you identify your market. Because you’ll blog on many different topics within your niche (for me, I cover press releases, marketing online and blogging for business and can easily track which are the most popular topics) you can see what gets the most hits. Once you know that, play up to it or offer services or products on that topic.

-Blogs get noticed more frequently than websites. Spiders that crawl for search engines like ever-changing content, and since that’s a characteristic of a blog, you’ll be up, running and noticed sooner than your website will.

All this being said, a blog shouldn’t take the place of your website. The two can work together in perfect harmony. Link to your blog from your website and vice versa. Refer to your company website in your blog posts. Whatever you do, just don’t underestimate the potential a blog has for getting you new business.

-Susan

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The post says press releases for online distribution should be shorter. You, as a reader of online material, can appreciate articles and news releases that are short and to the point. No need to ramble. Do we need a new format altogether?

And then this post talks about how PRWeb, a distribution service I happen to use, is cracking down on releases it deems not acceptable. The release in question had more of a salesy approach that PRWeb didn’t approve of.

But it brings up the question: what is acceptable for a press release? We are rapidly moving away from the old standards of PR and media, so how can we continue to base our rules on the old school methods? Shouldn’t PRWeb be more flexible in what it accepts? Can we redefine what a press release is?

These are interesting questions, and ones that should provoke thought and conversation. What do you have to say?

-Susan

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Emails sent to your contacts should be informative and useful – not blatant advertisements. Readers appreciate resources that help them, and they keep that in mind when they need your services or products.

How many emails should I send each month? The answer to this will vary with who you’re talking to. Given my experience as a sender (and as a receiver), I recommend two times per month:

o 1 newsletter: include 1-2 informative articles, 1-2 news blurbs on your company (interviews, press
releases, podcasts), and a limited time offer, such as a coupon or special offer.
o 1 promotion email: pick a product or service to highlight and send out email 2 weeks after the newsletter.

What’s the best day to send my emails? It’s pretty commonly accepted across the board that the best times to send emails are Tuesdays through Thursdays, in the afternoon. On Mondays, people are flooded with email and catch-up work, so they’re more likely to delete your email. On Friday, people play hooky and don’t feel like working. In the mornings, people have more email, but by the afternoons midweek, they’ve caught up and have more time to read your email.

How often should I send emails about a promotion? People won’t respond the first time you send out an email about a promotion or event. I believe the magic number is 3. Not too much, not to little.

Who do I send my emails to? You’re surrounded by good email candidates every day. The obvious answer is your customers. But also people who you meet at networking events. You likely have a pile of business cards on your desk right now who would make good email subscribers. Also, you can add what’s called a widget to your website where people can sign up to get your emails and special offers. Just remember: anyone you sign up should be a good candidate for your emails! Make sure it’s relevant to them.

Where can I find a good email program? For your money, I recommend Constant Contact. It’s simple to use and has tons of great templates you can use for press releases, newsletters and promotions. They even offer a 60 day free trial, which is plenty of time to get used to how it works. The pricing starts at $15 per month (for 500 or fewer contacts).

If you’re still overwhelmed with email marketing, contact Egg Marketing to help you run a campaign that will get you new customers and increased sales!

-Susan

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You’ve heard it before: the basis of your marketing should answer the question from your potential buyer:
“What’s in it for me?”

It’s the truth. You yourself don’t visit a website or look at a product unless there is a clear benefit for you doing so.

Keep this in mind for your next marketing campaign. No matter if you have a newsletter, a blog, a press release or a direct mail campaign, you have to give the reader a reason to read. Otherwise you’re missing out on potential business and wasting your time and money.

Here are some examples of how you can offer value in each of these types of marketing tools.

Newsletter
If you read my blog, you know I’m a strong proponent of e-newsletters. I send two out to Egg subscribers each month. I include a personal note, links to places I’ve been interviewed, and an article on marketing. Now, while I certainly hope my readers will read the press releases I’ve included and listen to my interviews, I know the reason they open my emails in the first place is that article. I’m providing useful information they can easily digest in their Inboxes. In return, I hope they’ll explore my websites and contact me if they need marketing services.

Blogs
Why are you reading this blog? Probably because you find information that helps you solve a problem, like how to market online or how to write a press release. So free information is what’s in it for you. I do this out of the goodness of my heart. Again, I provide this information, hoping that when you need extra help with marketing, you’ll consider me, The Marketing Eggspert, who gave you all the free goodies to begin with!

Press Release
Think press releases are designed to help you promote your company? Think again. Their purpose is to help solve a problem a potential client has. Say you’re shopping for birth announcements online and you stumble across this press release Egg put out for Baby’s Here Inc. You find out that this company sells unique, customized birth announcements online. It piques your interest, so you visit the site. You end up ordering all your announcements here. Problem solved.

It’s important to relay your news in a way that answers that question, “what’s in it for me,” for your potential customers. Address the problem your news can solve. A new office location can provide easy access to your store for people in your new geographic area. A new pet product may solve the problem of fleas on your dog.

Direct Mail
We all get direct mail. We usually glance at it, and if it doesn’t catch our attention, into the trash it goes. Having attractive graphics is half of the battle. But once you’ve drawn in the eye, you have to attract the mind. Make sure your postcard or letter directly addresses how you can help the reader. Make them hold on to the card long enough to want to know more.

Stay tuned for Part II: The Offer!

-Susan

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Do you want to take your business to the next level, but you’re unsure how?
Are you a small business owner without a big marketing budget?
Does the thought of a marketing plan send your head spinning?

Let Susan Payton, the Marketing Eggspert, help.

She’s the marketing coach you need to get a boost in the right direction! The owner of Egg Marketing & Public Relations, Susan can help you:

* determine your target market
* figure out how to reach them
* develop a marketing plan that fits your needs and budget
* identify marketing tools you can afford!

New Year’s Special:
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