Truth about EMail Marketing
Praise for The Truth About Email Marketing\ “It’s refreshing to see an author address specifics instead of gloss over generalities that can be boiled down to one sentence. Simms’ book debunks the top email marketing myths in a readable and logical fashion.”\ Tad Clarke, Editorial Director, MarketingSherpa Inc.\ “Anyone interested in maximizing their marketing budgets should stop what they are doing and read this book. Simms' deep experience in email marketing is widely evident in this very...
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Praise for The Truth About Email Marketing “It’s refreshing to see an author address specifics instead of gloss over generalities that can be boiled down to one sentence. Simms’ book debunks the top email marketing myths in a readable and logical fashion.” Tad Clarke, Editorial Director, MarketingSherpa Inc. “Anyone interested in maximizing their marketing budgets should stop what they are doing and read this book. Simms' deep experience in email marketing is widely evident in this very insightful and fact-filled book. Great insight into an area of marketing that is often overlooked. Plus, its a fun, easy read...especially for us marketers!” Jeff Hilimire, President, Engauge Digital “Simms has a great knack for simplifying the complex world of email. From the novice email marketer to the email aficionado, The Truth about Email Marketing provides insight and thought-provoking content that all of us can use in our email and online marketing efforts.” Aaron Kahlow, CEO & Founder, Online Marketing Summit “Simms Jenkins expertly outlines a series of useful Truths to ensure effective and highly optimized, permission-based email marketing programs. Take advantage of Simms' battle scars and set yourself on a direct course that unleashes the power of this important marketing channel.” Sam Cece, Chief Executive Officer, StrongMail Systems Everything you must know to utilize email marketing in your corporation or small business! The truth aboutrecession-proofing your business with email marketing The truth about measuring results and improving promotional and newsletter campaigns The truth about email marketing versus spam This book reveals 49 proven email marketing best practices and bite-size, easy-to-use techniques that get results Email marketing is one of the most incredibly powerful yet misunderstood marketing channels of the business world. While many companies practice email marketing, few get it right. Industry expert, Simms Jenkins, provides a set of best practices to help you assess and refine your strategy and tactics. Your organization can gain much from new and proven approaches to email marketing: strengthen customer relationships, create loyalty, and build trust and awareness. The result is increased responses in sales, leads, registrations, and more.
IntroductionIntroduction\ "What helps people, helps business."\ —Leo Burnett, advertising legend\ "Trying to assess the true importance and function of the Net now is like asking the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk if they were aware of the potential of American Airlines Advantage miles."\ —Bran Ferren, Chief Imagineer, Walt Disney Company\ Email marketing is one of the most incredibly powerful yet misunderstood mediums of the marketing world. Nearly all businesses and consumers utilize it, whether it is to send or receive content and offers.\ Email marketing is a unique communication platform that blends both art and science while delivering value to the subscriber's inbox. While many companies practice it, few get email marketing right. It is part of our business landscape that requires constant grooming. Change is the only constant.\ I've been working in the interactive space for over ten years. During this time, I've seen a great deal of money thrown into questionable business models and unproven companies and executives. I've also seen a lot of really bright people take chances in their careers and launch game-changing companies.\ Email emerged as the "killer app" of the Internet age. While there is certainly more competition for buzz and mindshare today, email still is the bread and butter of any online user experience. In telling The Truth About Email Marketing, I had to make a lot of hard decisions about what to include and what not to include. I hope this book provides a range of key email marketing elements that will appeal to and educate a wide audience.\ This book should be the kind that sits on your desk and is referenced, earmarked, and highlighted rather than passively read. My aim was for this to be a guide in your email marketing adventure. Whether you are a seasoned professional email marketer or are brand new to the topic, this book is for you.\ Now back to the two quotes at the top of this section. They both speak to me in different ways. How they speak to email marketing is revealing as well.\ My biggest complaint about email marketers (and often marketing in general) is a fundamental one. Entire strategy and email campaigns are often driven by achieving internal marketing goals, rather than bringing compelling and helpful information to their subscribers who gave them one of the most important things one can provide in an online world: permission. If we remember to focus on the subscribers first, the business goals will follow.\ Email marketing has changed, as the Internet has, in a dramatic fashion. And I'm just talking about in the past six months. It's quite challenging to wrap our heads around the impact of email marketing in its short history. There are many levels to how email marketing has changed businesses and consumer habits. Nevertheless, we can clearly demonstrate email's ongoing effectiveness and develop and follow a set of core best practices that will ensure that effectiveness continues into the future. Hopefully, this book can help you along the way in this endeavor.\ Just as the Wright brothers had no idea how their invention would impact the future aviation industry, many of you marketing professionals are shaping Internet history.\ © Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Foreword Mark Brownlow ixIntroduction xiiiThe Truth About Why Email Works 1Email is a powerful marketing tool 1Permission-based email marketing is not spam 5Email marketing is extremely cost-effective, targeted, and measurable 9Email is stronger than ever 13The Truth About Email Budgeting and ROI 17Don't be cheap: email cuts other costs, so invest in it 17Using email ROI to guide your budget 21Keeping your email program alive when budgets are cut 25The Truth About Organizing an Email Department 29Deciding to outsource or bring in-house 29Finding the right partner 33Getting the ball rolling with your email marketing partner 37What makes a good email marketing manager 41The Truth About Customer-Focused Email Strategy 45How to be relevant 45Making your first impression count 49The Truth About Creating and Growing a List 53It is not easier to ask for forgiveness 53How to create an email list 57Using lead-generation tactics to build your list 61Complement email list growth with search 67Keep a clean list 71The benefits of a robust preference center 75Get more from your email list 79The Truth About Best Practices 83Length and your call to action 83Creating an email newsletter 87Establishing the right email frequency 91Personalization 95Segment lists for more targeted emails 99Great Subject lines drive a strong response 103Consider the From line 107Test, test, test 111Maximizing system-generated and automated emails 115Use your signature line 119Top to bottom advice for better emails 123Audit your email program annually 127The Truth About Getting into and Optimizing the Inbox 131The basics of deliverability 131Understanding rendering 135Creating email campaigns for mobile devices 139The Truth About Measuring Email Performance 143Know your email metrics, part 1 143Know your email metrics, part 2 147Remarketing for results 151The Truth About Privacy and CAN-SPAM 155Understanding the CAN-SPAM Act 155A closer look at spam 159The varying levels of permission 163What your privacy policy should cover 169The Truth About Automated Email 173Create a meaningful welcome message 173Creating an unsubscribe process 177The right (and wrong) ways to monitor replies to your email campaigns 181The Truth About B2B and International Email Programs 185Delivering on business-to-business email campaigns 185Best practices for international email efforts 189The Truth About Where Email Is Headed 193The impact of social media on email 193The future of email marketing 197References 201Acknowledgments 204About the Author 206Recommended sites, newsletters, and blogsGlossaryUseful statistics
