Learning Zone Archives - Page 13 of 20

Take Your Time With Your Email Campaigns

April 7, 2014March 24, 2015 Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

Email Campaigns

You may have heard the expression “more haste, less speed” or “act in haste, repent at leisure,” but what has any of that got to do with email marketing and email campaigns?

Well here at RocketResponder we think quite a lot really.

Sometimes, sadly, it is all too clear that people spend a lot of time and effort in building a list of subscribers and then put hardly any time or effort into actually interacting with them.

You need to put the same care and dedication into dealing with the communication side of your business as you out into product development, marketing or sales.

Here are some silly mistakes you really must avoid:

thinking that your email campaigns are not really that important
thinking that you can leave the writing of emails to the last minute
rushing through your autoresponder series because you have “much more important” tasks to be getting on with or
adding a last minute email marketing campaign for a product launch because you have run out of time and the launch is just a few days away

Customers are getting increasingly sophisticated and they will know if you have just rushed out some half-baked email campaign at the last minute.

Doing so will give the impression that you just don’t really care at all; that you don’t care about your customers and that you don’t care about your products.

So always build in your email campaigns into your product launches, upcoming promotions and overall marketing strategy.

Use the power of email communication to show that you do really care and, in the process, give yourself a jump start over the competition who use email badly.

Plan what you want to say in advance and take as much time as is necessary to get the job done properly. You should reap the rewards in better customer retention and increased sales.

Subject Lines Don’t Need To Be Personalised

April 4, 2014March 24, 2015 Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

Subject Lines

Sometimes people agonize over whether they should personalize their email subject lines.

I am not sure that adding the recipient’s name to the subject line generally adds very much value, if any at all.

Of course it is good to add the name to the main body of the email but do you really want to do so in the subject line as well?

The danger of adding a name so the subject line is that makes the email have too much of a marketing feel to it.

It can put the thought in the recipient’s mind: “I am going to get pitched here. I don’t want to know,” and that is is exactly the opposite effect you want it to have.

Remember that the only purpose of the subject line is to get your email opened in the first place, so spend your time in making it captivating and engaging instead.

But if you really want to personalize a subject line then go ahead and try it. Do some split testing and chart the results to see how your open rates are effected.

The Long And The Short Of Writing Emails

April 2, 2014March 24, 2015 Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

Writing Emails

Generally when writing emails for your RocketResponder subscribers you will want to keep them short and to the point.

Give people small bite-sized chunks of information a piece at a time rather than the whole lot at once.

The advantage of this is that your entire message is more likely to be read and understood and you can send the information out as a series of emails on the same subject or theme.

People generally look forward to a series and will eagerly await the next installment when the subject matter is of interest to them.

So an email series of short emails is a great way of capturing people’s attention ahead of a product launch or building up to announcing a new product for example.

It is also good as a training or information series in its own right – remember the purpose of sending emails is more than just to gain sales.

Part of the purpose of sending out emails is to build up a rapport with your subscribes, establish yourself as the authority figure or expert and generally get them to like you.

So every now and again take the time to mix things up a bit and send out a longer email. Make it personal, about you.

You could share some of the things you like and dislike, talk about the highs and lows you have recently experienced or include some pictures of you on holiday or having fun.

Remember that you are more than just an expert in your given niche. You are also an individual and a human being so don’t be afraid to let people see the personal side of you, the real you.

Take time to talk about yourself and you will come across as a more rounded person and someone people will really want to get to know more.

Don’t overdo it though – if you are always talking about yourself then you will come across as self-centered and arrogant and you want to avoid that at all costs.

Email subject lines – six more real life examples

March 28, 2014March 23, 2015 Patrick Griffin 2 Comments

Subject line tips

Subject line tips: Continuing our look at real examples of email subject lines, we discuss a new batch of emails.

Remember it is the job of RocketResponder to get your emails delivered but it is your job to get them opened.

Use a good subject line and you will get your emails opened and read.

Here are six more real life subject lines:

Almost like having an ATM at home… – This is one that I wouldn’t open because the suggestion is that it is promoting a program where you don’t really have to do anything to get lots of cash. Look, earning a living requires time and effort. I can see why many people would open this email though so I would not be surprised if it didn’t get a decent open rate.
Famous program. – I can’t help thinking that absolutely no thought has gone into this subject line at all. If the subject line reads like a crossword clue than I am not going to waste my time trying to work out what it might mean. (On the other hand if you make your subject line deliberately look like a crossword clue then you will certainly get my attention.) “Famous program” just does not do it for me though I am afraid.
BRAIN ABUNDANCE presents BRAIN FUEL PLUS – Every word is in capitals except for one. Why? What is brain fuel plus? How would it be different to brain fuel? What even is brain fuel anyway and who or what is brain abundance? A subject line which prompts you to ask questions is generally good. The trouble here is that I have no desire to know the answers to any of these questions.
Command Control Cash In… – Alliteration works. Using the same letter to start each word can capture the reader’s attention so well. I would have used a commas to separate the words (Command, Control, Cash In…) but that is just a minor point. Great subject line.
Dont Be Ordinary Be Awesome – Yay for being awesome. I would open this just to find out what is in the email. The subject line has sparked my curiosity enough to open and read it and that is all it ever has to do. Awesome.
Do NOT build an email list – I hate random capital letters in subject lines but I love this subject line. Why? Because the use of capitals for the word “NOT” is both deliberate and highly effective. It is not just a random capital word thrown in for effect. This is a subject line which would stop a lot of people in their tracks…including me. Already opened. Best of the bunch this month.

Look out for more subject lines next month.