Dan Hanrahan says, “You’ve Got (Tons of) Mail More than 205 billion emails are sent out every day; email is the glue that helps clever marketing stick. Some 72% of US adults say they prefer that companies communicate with them through email, and 91% say they’d like to receive promotional emails from the companies they do business with. And companies oblige: 73% of them agree that email is a core part of their marketing efforts, while 25% rate it as their top channel for ROI. But many otherwise-savvy marketers are misusing email, turning to tactics that annoy and infuriate customers.... [...]

Olivia Dello Buono says, “Growing your email list is one of the best things you can do for your business. That’s because, unlike other channels, you own your list. Here’s what Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder of Orbit Media, has to say about it: “Email marketing means ownership. Along with direct traffic (which is difficult to control) email marketing is the only source of traffic that isn’t coming from a company. It’s not Google. It’s not Facebook. It’s not Twitter. It’s mine.” Email marketing means ownership. It’s not Google. It’s not Facebook. It’s mine.... [...]

Antony Maina says, “Mention spam and the first thought in your head might be of those unwanted emails promising easy money and get rich quick schemes that cram your inbox. But what you might not know is that another kind of spamming can have detrimental effects to your small business’s online presence too. That’s even if you never press the send button for an email titled “Make $1000 an hour just for filling out reports.” Case in point is the recent failed suit against Google filed because websites belonging to online marketing firm e-ventures Worldwide were delisted by the search... [...]

Marc Wayshak says, “Are your prospecting emails ignored all the time? If the answer is “yes,” you’re not alone. Most salespeople today struggle to write sales emails that convert to actual business. But before you take it personally, try putting yourself in the shoes of your prospects. High-level prospects receive hundreds of prospecting emails every single day — personally written ones, not spam or bot emails. No one has the time to carefully read that many messages! Your prospects have no choice but to scan them all and quickly decide what’s worth their time, and what’s... [...]

Sean Martin says, “It’s no secret that reply rate is the golden metric of email campaigns. The reason is obvious. As opposed to open and click rate, reply rate tracks how many recipients were interested (or annoyed) enough to actually write you back. For guest blogging and email outreach, your reply rate will determine your campaign’s success. We still believe that guest blogging is a great opportunity to improve your site’s link profile and brand exposure. However, the time-investment needed in prospecting/email outreach can leave you questioning its ROI. It doesn’t... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Segmented email campaigns have, on average, significantly higher open and click rates—and significantly lower bounce, abuse, and unsubscribe rates—than non-segmented campaigns, according to recent research from MailChimp. The report was based on data from 11,000 segmented campaigns sent by 2,000 MailChimp customers to nearly 9 million recipients. The researchers compared the performance of each brand’s segmented campaigns with the performance of that same brand’s non-segmented campaigns. Segmented email campaigns have higher average open rates (+14%), unique... [...]

Michael Pici says, “When was the last time you walked down the breakfast aisle? The children’s cereal is always brightly packaged, with fun imagery and fonts. Brands know how to attract young consumers with their designs. If you think about it, email subject lines work the same way. You won’t entice your prospect to open your email if your subject line is boring, irrelevant, or overly promotional. To convince them to click, you need to speak their language — both in terms of phrasing and content. Easier said than done. Luckily, I’ve rounded up some of the most creative and effective... [...]

Liz Willits says, “So you want to get started with email marketing? Good choice. Email is pretty darn powerful. In fact, for every dollar spent on email, businesses earn 38 dollars in return on their investment. But before you start growing your email list or sending emails, it’s important to have a plan. With a plan in place, you’ll have a better sense of what you need to do and who you need to target. According to research conducted by Content Marketing Institute, 62 percent of businesses that document their content marketing strategy consider it to be effective. In comparison,... [...]

Olivia Dello Buono says, “Email is one of the most effective ways to turn your passive ‘likes’ and followers into loyal customers. If you’ve already built up a fanbase for your business on your social channels, it’s time to take the relationship to the next level by inviting them to join your email list. In last week’s #EmailChat, we chatted with Brian Peters, Marketing and Social Media Manager at Buffer, to learn how marketers can leverage their social media channels to grow their email list bigger, better and faster! Needless to say, there were a ton of insights and tips... [...]

Michael Pai says, “Standing out from the crowd is never easy, especially when you’re trying to differentiate your email from the tens or hundreds of other unread ones in your prospect’s inbox. One of the most effective ways to catch their attention? Create a sense of intrigue. The buyer will satisfy their curiosity by clicking on your email. Assuming you’ve written a personalized, relevant message, you’ll likely earn their response. To discover the best ways to create intrigue, I looked through every sales email I’ve opened in the past few months. Here are four common strategies. 1)... [...]