SATGo
Online Marketing Newsletter Issue No. 3 - April
2003 |
1.1 Need Leads?
Put Your Site to Work
You can read the original article on Clickz
Most companies already have professional
Web sites. Your own may have rich content, a clean
user interface, and compelling calls to action.
Despite all that care, 80 percent of all unique
visitors will abandon your company's Web site, never
to return!
Like window shoppers, most people are just looking
before moving on to see what other options exist.
Often, potential clients, suppliers, distributors,
and investors won't take the time to investigate
the wealth of information on your site - information
that might spark interest, make a sale, or close
a deal. Some visitors might form a negative opinion
about your company from their initial impression
of your Web site. Are you confident they'll have
an enlightened experience in the short time they
visit? Will they have been exposed to the right
information needed to make a decision about you?
Odds aren't in your favor if you're unable to capture
their email addresses to extend the dialogue and
the time in which they will be engaged and interacting
with your company.
Very few sites try to capture the visitor's
email address before she leaves their home pages.
If your company is in this majority, you're losing
the opportunity to engage people in a cost-effective,
ongoing dialogue via email marketing.
If your value proposition
can be shared within an interaction lasting seconds,
your company might choose to wholly rely on the
initial impressions of one-time visitors. If you're
like most, it's unlikely you can sell your products
or services in a single interaction. If this truth
resonates with your sales team, you cannot expect
to convert first timers who will spend only a short
period on your site.
How do you motivate a site visitor to opt in to
receive email from your company? It's vital to capture
visitors' email addresses and obtain permission
to send relevant information at acceptable times.
Over time, sharing information via email combined
with consistent branding from other media channels
will progress a lead through the buying cycle and
may convert him into a sale and/or a more profitable
customer. Look no further than these three best
practices to accelerate the growth and size of your
in-house opt-in email address database:
Visit this site and you'll see
the majority of the home page (above the fold)
presents visitors with an opportunity to opt in
and "receive BARCO's eNewsletter of product
updates, discounts and special promotions."
Prominent
positioning of a compelling promotion -- "Save
$50 on your next Giant purchase!" -- encourages
visitors to sign up for the in-house email list.
Although some registrants may only submit their
email addresses for the coupon, at least it drives
sales.
Look to the left of the home page for a
quick sign-up option as well as buttons within
the navigation and other textual links to the
"Free Email Newsletter" preference center.
A person who submits her name and email address
is taken to the preference center where she can
specify what types of content will accommodate
current interests and/or future needs.
Are you using your site for optimal
lead generation? The cost of failing to capture
permission to send email to Web site visitors is
high. Most people don't wake up in the morning and
suddenly decide to visit a site they have previewed.
How often do you bookmark a site then actually return
without prompting? Capture email addresses. Embark
on email marketing programs that educate and build
relationships over time, especially when your value
proposition requires more time than an average visitor
will initially devote to learning about your business.
Ask your marketing department to collaborate
with your Webmaster and post an opt-in email sign-up
form above the fold on your home page. Only ask
for a name and email address at first. Requesting
more information might deter people from registering.
Explicitly state the benefit of opting in to receive
email from your company. As with any offer, the
benefit must be convincing enough for them to take
action by supplying their contact information.
Finally, watch your leads pile up.
1.2 An Email
Campaign To-Do List
By Jackie Gallogly and Lynne Rolls. You
can read the original article on Clickz
Below is a blow-by-blow list of the points that
we cover in our agency for getting a campaign out
the door. Certainly, adjustments will be needed
if you are managing and deploying internal campaigns.
It's just helpful to see the list of points so that
you can get your arms around what's involved. In
many cases, you may add the title or name of the
person handling the task. Hopefully, this list provides
a tool to help smooth out your deployment process.
For those new to this medium, perhaps it will help
show what staff resources you need to create and
deploy the most effective and robust email campaigns
-- internal or outsourced.
- Steps to a Campaign -- Acquisitions and Retention
(R)
- Proposal sent
- Proposal signed
- Brain storm
- Creative brief approved
- Copywriter contacted
- Designer contacted
- List person contacted, or internal list person
contacted (R)
- Mail plan received, or comma-separated value
(.csv) file received (R)
- Mail plan to client, or .csv file cleaned and
properly formatted (R)
- Mail plan approved, or database created (R)
- Lists ordered, or .csv file imported into database
(R)
- Lists billed
- Lists paid
- First draft of copy written
- Revisions to copywriter
- Second draft of copy written
- Copy approved
- Copy given to designer
- First draft of design created
- Revisions sent to designer
- Second draft of design created
- Design approved (revisions may continue for
some time)
- Design coded in HTML
- Images sent to client and/or server for hosting
- Images hosted and source links sent back to
us
- Image source referenced in the HTML by including
an absolute destination (e.g., http://www.yourcompanyname.com/images/XYZ.jpg)
- Text and AOL versions created (sometimes there
is a revision process for these as well)
- Text formatting:
- Use a standard monospace font (Courier is commonly
used)
- Create a line length of 60 characters
- Insert hard returns at the end of each line
- Save document as plain text (".txt"
file type)
- Headlines and calls to action are highlighted
with use of line breaks, caps, and Wingdings to
separate them from body copy
- All messages checked for intro copy that is
appropriate to the list (e.g., "You are receiving
this because...")
- All messages checked for remove or unsubscribe
copy
- All messages checked across platforms (Internet
Explorer, Netscape, Mac, etc.)
- Remove links are created and tested to ensure
functionality
- "From" address is determined so that
it can capture bounces, reply to's, and so on.
If you are using internal addresses or domains,
check that the address is live
- "From" name is determined so that
it works in coordination with the message and
the list
- Subject line is created
- Final files created for HTML (R)
- Final files loaded for each (R)
- Each link in the message is created with unique
tracking (R)
- HTML open tags are inserted (R)
- List fields spot-checked to match headers needed
for upload. General check of data to ensure correct
file is being uploaded (R)
- List uploaded into database (R)
- File (or filter) created for any segmentation
of the list (R)
- Testing phase:
Messages tested internally
- Message set up tested
- Messages proofed for grammar and spelling
- Any personalization uses checked
- Inclusion of your company name and/or Web site
URL checked (if you are taking recipients to a
separate page, you can make this static text)
- All links checked for functionality as well
as destination. If using software for click-through
tracking, check that it is recording the clicks
- Messages tested for final approval (to client
and client's seed list of names)
- Final message deployed
- Status reporting
- Final report created seven days after deployment
- Analysis and assumptions created based on campaign
results
- Planning meeting date set for next campaign
And keep in mind that these are just the "headlines"
for each component. Believe me when I say that just
about every bulleted item potentially comes with
a string of contingencies, mishaps, delays in processing,
people "issues," and a host of other things
that can forestall getting to the next item on the
checklist.
When you review a list like this, you can see that
the devil is in the details! But don't be overwhelmed.
1.3 Preview
Windows: Ignore At Your Peril
You can read the original article
on Clickz
One item often missing from nearly everyone's
email composition checklist is the strategic relationship
between the subject line and the content visible
in an email client's preview window. These are used
by many recipients to quickly determine the fate
of a message.
Although a great deal of attention has been (and
continues to be) paid to effective subject lines,
I don't recall ever seeing an article discussing
the critical and symbiotic subject line-preview
pane relationship: the way in which subject lines
and preview windows can and do work together to
produce effective results from a properly designed
email marketing campaign.
The lack of attention to the preview panel is a
surprising oversight, one I was guilty of until
recently. My mind changed when I saw the results
of extensive testing we conducted on some of our
own campaigns. We found this little preview window
frequently means the difference between the success
and failure of email campaigns.
Let's analyze a direct mail package you might receive.
When you retrieve the package from your mailbox,
the following elements are immediately visible:
- Return address
- Teaser copy and/or window
- Recipient name and address
When you view a direct mail outer envelope, you
typically make one of three snap decisions: open
the envelope, save it for later, or discard it unopened.
The decision you make is primarily based on what's
visible -- return address and teaser copy. If the
letter or package is from a person or company that's
familiar to you or if the teaser copy is intriguing
enough, you're more likely to open it.
Let's turn to email marketing and draw comparisons
to traditional direct mail, beginning with the visible
elements:
Return address = the sender line
Teaser copy = preview window + subject line
Recipient name and address = the recipient line
When you receive an email, you will immediately
make one of the following decisions, just as you
do with a direct mail piece: open the message; briefly
view the preview window, then decide to delete or
save it; or summarily delete the message based solely
on the subject line.
Even when there's a decision to summarily delete
the message, that decision can still be reversed
if the preview window is seen for even a fleeting
second. But only if the visible content is sufficiently
intriguing.
The trick to reversing the decision to delete (and
promoting a higher open rate) lies in the effectiveness
of the preview window as it relates to the subject
line. They work hand in hand. Based on our research,
in messages where the entire offer is presented
within the preview window, eliminating clutter and
noise of such things as attribution lines and irrelevant
copy, open rates were dramatically higher than with
messages where the preview window required the respondent
to scroll down or open the message to learn more.
Put disclaimers, unsubscribe policies, and attributions
below the content that appears in the preview panel.
Use this crucial area to simply and clearly state
the most intriguing elements of your offer. Prevent
-- or at the very least, stave off -- deletion.
Design the key elements (i.e., the major benefits)
of your offer to work within the preview window
so the recipient instantly understands the entire
marketing proposition. You have but a fleeting second
to capture first her attention, then her interest.
If it takes longer, your message will likely be
deleted, particularly if it's not from a trusted
source or a person or company with whom the recipient
has a personal relationship.
When designing an email campaign, consider designing
the entire message to fit the smallest default preview
window based on the specifications of the email
clients most commonly used by your target audience.
(Preview may not be an option on every email client,
but the majority of them do enable users to view
previews of messages, and a good number of users
utilize this option.)
If you're serious about the success of your email
campaigns, you'll benefit from putting this simple
but often overlooked element into play.
1.4 Review of
Free Mailing List Programs
You can read the original
article on his site at http://www.wilsonweb.com/reviews/free-lists.htm
I've been fortunate enough to be able to build
all sorts of community-building systems on my own
website -- chat rooms, bulletin boards, mailing
lists, and newsletters. But after surveying four
of the top free online mailing list tools, I'm eager
to switch from Majordomo (see my article on Majordomo,
http://wilsonweb.com/articles/majordomo.htm)
to something easier to manage. The technology is
maturing, the services are broad, and for price-conscious
small businesses the "free" price tag
is attractive. I examined four online mailing list
programs, set up a practice list, and put them through
their paces. -- eGroups (http://www.egroups.com/),
ONEList.com (http://onelist.com/),
Topica (http://topica.com/),
and ListBot (http://listbot.com).
You'll find a feature comparison in a sidebar to
this article (http://www.wilsonweb.com/reviews/list-compare.htm).
We ought to start at the beginning. A mailing list
program allows you to send out messages to everyone
on the list of e-mail addresses. You send one copy
of the newsletter (with a password) to the mailing
list, and it takes care of distributing copies to
each address on the list. Another form is a discussion
list, which allows members to send messages to each
other. When a member sends an e-mail message to
the mailing list program, it echoes that message
with in a few minutes to every member on the list.
When lists get large, usually a moderator selected
by the list owner screens messages before they are
sent out, to cut down on clutter and keep the quality
of content high.
Businesses depend upon keeping in touch with customers,
informing them of sales and new products, as well
as providing ongoing customer support after the
sale. Discussion lists can focus on bug fixes, user
groups, technical support, current issues, hobbyist
interests, etc. Some businesses host discussion
lists that provide information about whole industries,
putting their business the "expert" role,
and winning lots of publicity and business as a
result. Newsletters and discussion lists are the
life-blood of Internet businesses. The free mailing
list programs bring this capability within the range
of any size business.
All the lists we looked at included good tools to
manage three types of mailing lists: (1) newsletter
or announcement, (2) open discussion lists, and
(3) moderated discussions. The latter allows a moderator
to screen messages from members before they are
sent to the lists.
They also provide important features to make the
listowner's life easier. If you've had a mailing
list, you know that subscribe and unsubscribe requests
combined with bounced messages sent to obsolete
addresses can eat up a lot of time. Using several
sophisticated techniques, these programs automatically
inactivate members whose messages bounce. Depending
upon the type of bounce, they'll wait a few days
or weeks before inactivating. When you consider
that this saves many human hours of thankless list
pruning, this is a great feature.
I suppose I need to pause at the word "free"
to observe that nothing is completely free or these
systems would soon collapse from economic starvation.
Each of the sites I studied was advertising supported.
They typically offer three types of ads:
Brief e-mail ads at the end of messages. Every
message that goes out on the list may contain a
brief 3-line ad from an advertiser, as well as a
one-liner such as "This list is powered by
....". For about $60 to $100 per year they'll
skip the advertising messages in the e-mails. Topica.com
has a completely opt-in approach to these e-mail
ads, and don't charge if the list owner opts-out.
They figure they can make a profit if only 10% of
the lists include advertising. Consider that the
largest of these sites have 150,000 to 200,000 lists
and millions of users, that's a lot of messages
and advertising potential.
Banner ads at the Member and List home pages. Since
most of these sites offer online archives and messaging
and other features, many of the members will be
visiting the site online.
Opt-in E-mail Lists. Some of these sites, such as
Topica.com, anticipate advertising also from future
opt-in e-mail lists that compiled from among willing
members, though this channel isn't well developed
as yet.
You're exchanging "discrete" advertising
for the opportunity to share some tremendous services.
No, it's not free, but it seems like a fair trade.
If the services are so good, why would any business
want to develop their own listservers and bulletin
boards? Three reasons come to mind: (1) freedom
from any advertising whatsoever, (2) the desire
to sell ad space themselves, and (3) an unwillingness
to "share" clients with the free sites
who may distract customers with other discussion
and newsletter lists. Building your own keeps the
gate on the corral. Only larger companies can afford
to build or buy programs that can match these free
services, though many smaller businesses can purchase
adequate programs if they need to.
(http://www.egroups.com)
My favorite of the free lists I reviewed is eGroups.
They've designed a list interface that is quite
easy to understand and navigate through, with a
multitude of features to accommodate various kinds
of communication within the group. The mailing list
features work well, with both regular e-mail and
digest options. In addition, archives can be viewed
at the group website -- helpful if a member goes
on vacation or just wants to avoid e-mail overload.
When the moderator checks in, he or she is presented
with a list of people who have applied to be members
(unless you select open membership), and a list
of messages to either approve and send to the group
or reject (unless you allow free posting). It's
an intuitive, well-designed system.
The extra features are attractive, too. The moderator
can turn on or off a list of member profiles, a
member's chatroom, a group calendar, a survey feature,
and an area where members can post files and photos
for others to see. There's also a rather flexible
flat-file database that can be configured to contain
a searchable FAQ, a list of parts, a list of companies
and contacts, an annotated list of movies or books,
etc. The only weakness I see is the inability of
the moderator to prevent members from posting files
to the 20 MB shared area, in case this space needs
to be dedicated to business information, software
patches, instructional course information, etc.
eGroups is alone at present in allowing the user
to select between ASCII and HTML e-mail preferences.
While this allows the user some choice in e-mail,
eGroups gets the ability to charge its advertisers
to send banner ads at the bottom of HTML e-mail.
But in spite of all its attractive features, eGroups
has a serious flaw: businesses can't subscribe members
using the business's own HTML form; subscribers
must either send their own e-mail message or subscribe
at the website. I had set up a list designed to
carefully screen members in order to conduct a high
level discussion, and had designed a 15-field form
on my site to obtain that information. But eGroups
misread the headers on e-mail from this form and
subscribed my e-mail server to the list rather than
the person who filled out the form. Oops. eGroups
explain the program's failure to accept standard
e-mail messages as an attempt to prevent people
from spamming the list with unwilling subscribers.
I think this severely limits serious business use
of eGroups, and I hope they'll change their mind.
But for many purposes, however, eGroups will work
quite well by placing the eGroups supplied form
on your site. It's my personal favorite of those
I reviewed -- even though I won't be able to use
it because of this flaw.
(http://www.onelist.com)
ONEList is the leader in free mailing list field,
with the longest track record, the highest Web traffic,
and claims of 165,000 lists. Media Metrix recently
ranked ONEList as the 22nd largest Web Service,
and number 230 of the Top 500 most-visited Web sites
in April 1999, with a reach more than twice that
of its closest competitor. They have worked hard
to develop a sturdy infrastructure that is able
to deliver e-mail to list members within seconds,
and handle very large lists, numbering in the tens
of thousands of members.
From a functional standpoint, ONEList excels in
welcoming Web communities. Potential community members
can subscribe at the ONEList site as well as via
e-mail message from the user. Businesses can visitors
using their own subscription forms. Within the list
space, members can read posts online, view other
members' profiles, and share documents with each
other in a 5 MB shared file space. In contrast to
eGroups, this space can be restricted from members
if the moderator chooses. Multiple moderators can
be selected, and given various privileges. Users
that post from two e-mail addresses can set up a
second alias so the list can accept messages from
both. In addition to a survey that shows both a
graph and text report of results, ONEList includes
a unique calendar system that can automatically
e-mail reminders to list members on specific dates.
I didn't like ONEList's interface as well as some
others. And ONEList's in-your-face blue and orange
color clash made me feel somewhat uncomfortable
at the site. From a functional standpoint, though,
ONEList is a top notch program that can serve business
purposes well.
(http://www.topica.com)
Topica is the newcomer among free e-mail lists.
Their philosophy is "opt-in". If you don't
want ads on your e-mail messages, there is no charge
to opt-out. Nor are there any restrictions at all
on maximum message size; eGroups and ONEList allow
up to 500K, and ListBot Gold up to 250K in size.
Topica offers an attractive and easy-to-use interface
for users and moderators with one drawback. Since
the interface requires frames, WebTV members won't
be able to use it easily. Both ONEList and Topica
allow the moderator to ban members so they cannot
resubscribe, a handy feature to rid yourself of
obnoxious members -- until you realize how easy
it is to obtain one more free e-mail address.
At present Topica is concentrating on its e-mail
features, and does not offer shared space, calendars,
and the like. It does, however, allow businesses
to subscribe people from their own forms, and provides
an abundance of features for managing e-mail lists.
PC Magazine selected Topica among its list of "100
Top Websites."
(http://www.listbot.com)
ListBot, owned by MSN LinkShare, is one of the oldest
free e-mail lists, designed especially for businesses.
It offers many list management features common to
the other lists, except that members are not able
to select a digest feature. The major difference
between ListBot and the rest is the form that it
requires prospective list members to fill out. Listowners
can decide which fields to place on the form and
require of members, and includes a number of choices
of demographic and interests data. If you need an
easy way to collect data as people subscribe, here's
the tool. But there's a downside. The data collection
form includes no privacy policy link or statement,
de rigueur in these days when both the EU and the
FTC are concerned about data collection policies.
ListBot is designed to administer a single list
and does not allow multiple moderators, customizable
message trailers, etc.
As one who has used Majordomo as my list manager
for about four years too long, these feature-rich
free mailing list programs are like a breath of
fresh air, and offer features to both the moderator
and participants will appreciate.
2. SATGo featured
events
On a regular basis SATGo features events of interest
to tourists. Tourists are emailed to entice them
to visit the web site to learn more about these
events. SATGo clients have the opportunity to advertise
their services in these featured events. Click
here to review the February newsletter which
announces the featured events.
If you would like to sponsor events click
here. A sponsorship costs R500 and consists
of a mention and hyperlink in the newsletter to
tourists, and 2 banners on the SATGo web site where
the featured events appear.
If you would like to include a hyperlink in the
featured events, click
here. The hyperlink to your page on the SATGo
web site will appear in the copy about the featured
events and costs R200.
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