Online marketing solutions

Whether you use direct mail, newsletters, or mass mailing email campaigns, do not neglect the power of transactional emails as a powerful and neglected marketing channel.  Statistics show that transactional emails are read almost twice as much as promotional email, making this well worth the learning.  They are the perfect tool for another avenue in providing your customers with product promotions and sales.  Every transaction becomes another opportunity to up sell.

For example, a transactional email could be an invoice, e-bill, or shipping confirmation.  What a perfect place to insert and include offers, sales, and promotional messages.  By using your autoreminders, triggered with a customized email, you guarantee sending out targeted, timely communications, as well as valuable information to an expectant audience.

Spice up your Messages. The content of most transactional emails are simple text.  However, adding eye-catching graphics and HTML into your promotional alerts, can increase readability.  Thinking out of the box will help you rise above your competition.

Outsmart the Spam Filters. Spam filters are and will always be a-marketer’s worst nightmare.  Legitimate mail can be spammed without a user’s knowledge.  Transactional email messages have a better proven percentage rate of reaching the inbox.  Why?  Because transactional emails contain valuable consumer information that is desired, recognized, and expected.

Make it a Priority. Transactional emails can become an extension of your company’s marketing vision and brand building.  You can generate incremental revenue while reinforcing your brand and a more frequent personal communication to your customers.

Factors Worth Considering:

Integration. Having the right infrastructure is essential when creating effective customized content and behavioral triggers.  Have you explored your options using email campaign software?  Without the right integration and power behind your campaigns, you won’t be able to leverage the marketing opportunity that transactional e-mail affords you.

Relevant Content. Sending your customers a generic marketing message is not the way to go.  Don’t waste any golden opportunities to up-sell.  Plan your content wisely.  No one wants to end up in the spam or trash.

Timely Responses. Transactional e-mails are a critical business communication tool.  They need a specific expedited delivery date.  Make sure that your marketing messages can be automatically and accurately inserted into your transactional e-mails, and sent quickly and securely to your customers.

Monitor Stat Results .  Whether yours is an email marketing campaign or e-newsletter survey, you need accurate real-time reports.  All present and future email campaigns depend on the hardcore results of every past campaign effort.  Don’t shoot in the dark.  Keep improving with every email campaign.

Be Flexible and Test-Test-Test.  Do not be afraid to test different creative approaches.  If you are adding HTML and graphics to your transactional emails, test its receptivity by sending them to different email clients.  See what is blocked and how others view your message.  Avoid costly mistakes.  Remember, the goal is not a campaign built on just numbers, but one that is built on thoughtful, well- planned strategy.

Know the Regulatory Guidelines. There is no law forbidding transactional messages from containing some promotional type content; however, there are certain guidelines you must adhere to, especially in the United States.  Get the facts and SPAM Rules around mixed messages.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/ecommerce/bus61.shtm

At present, many businesses still do not understand how to use transactional email marketing as a new and powerful marketing tool.  The result is an overwhelming number of missed business marketing opportunities and new sales.  Knowing the difference between marketing and transactional email messages can make the difference for your bottom line.  Isn’t that every e-marketer’s goal?

Remember,  transactional emails are a great way to boost your sales.  Every transaction becomes an opportunity to further dialogue with you clients, offering them new products, services, or savings, while sending them relevant information.  It is still an underutilized pearl of knowledge.

Your doorbell rings. Who is it?  No response. You suddenly hear a strange sound. You look down as your eyes observe several envelopes being shoved underneath your door. What nerve! You quickly open the door but no one is there. The envelopes look legitimate, addressed correctly you say to yourself, as you throw them quickly into the trash. Your privacy has been invaded and you do not appreciate it. You are annoyed and will never open them.

Does this scenario sound familiar? No? OK. Replace the door with your inbox and the envelopes will now represent a bunch of unknown mass email campaigns that have just arrived. You have no idea who the sender is and you don’t remember ever ordering anything from that company. You cannot hit the delete key fast enough as you send them to the trash bin. You feel the same way as the home owner did above. Your privacy has been invaded and you now have a spam trigger finger. We all know how this goes down.

The trash bin is good for trash and the spam button is good to punish a true spammer, agreed? So what’s a nice person like you to do? You have a real product; you are a hardworking business person and need to make a living. Life is tough, but the tough keep going. Here are some helpful tips we share with our clients:

What is Permission Based Email Marketing?
Permission based email is based on your opt-in lists. In other words, your email campaigns, newsletter campaigns or direct mail campaign has been requested. Prospects have voluntarily given you their email addresses and are expecting and anticipating your information.

Everyone appreciates their privacy and wants their choices treated with respect. OK, what is the up side?  Permission based email gives you:

• Greater response rates
• Better deliverability
• Increased loyalty and trust
• Brand recognition

With Permission Based Email you are:
• Creating successful Email Campaigns that focus on building relationships
• Not using spam tactics
• Sending relevant content, not hard sales gimmicks
• Reinforcing your legitimacy
• Honoring the requests, as well to opt-out
• Not overloading domains with useless campaigns
• Respecting your subscribers as people with needs and wants

Bit the bullet and keep yourself calm.  Plan your campaigns, do your demographics, while honoring the Opt-in an Opt-out choices.  The average email user is quite savvy, equipped with a well-developed Spam Trigger Finger.  Don’t make them use it.

Designing a professional email campaign is important.  But,  we must also keep our products and services alive in our client’s mind.  This is no easy task. We juggle our time between potential sales and loyal clients. With the economy the way it is, most of us are now wearing more hats that we can handle, with less help.

The stress thermometer is constantly rising.

Whether your direct mail campaigns consist of newsletters or a professionally designed email newsletter template, we could all use some free and valuable advice on raising our bottom lines of profit.  Time is at the door.  We cannot afford to waste it.  Let’s spend our energies and focus on what actually works!

We have a great deal of experience in this area because our clients are our bottom line. We are always on the move, searching for creative and beneficial ways, that help them save money and time with their e-marketing campaigns. We’re on their side – we want them to win the game!

Many businesses today use email newsletters to keep their clients updated on company news, specials on products, while making sure they are sharing some interesting and value added information, enhances lives along the way.   Honestly speaking, it isn’t easy always having fresh and relevant content on a continual basis.  So instead of pulling out your hair or having a stress attack at work, we have found that planning ahead is the key.  Nothing hurried will ever reflect professionalism and continuity.

How does one prepare?  What can you do months before your deadline? Some suggestions:

• Create a content folder for your email newsletters.  Whether on your computer or in your desk, start compiling interesting articles and topics that you come across on the internet, in the paper, or on the news.

• See what your competitors are doing.  Join some of your competitor’s e-newsletters and forums.  What they are topics are they talking about?

• Join some business blogs and forums.  Google some relevant topics and join the forums and blogs for those topics.  Keeping up with what people are actually talking and writing about, will keep your business email campaign content fresh and up-to-date.

• Get the facts – communicate with your public.  Do you have sales representatives or customer service employees that deal directly with the public?  Get their opinions and feedback on what people are saying about your product or service.  Find out what people really want.  What are their priorities?

Cutting back on mailings and content.  It is more important to send out a well-designed email newsletter or direct mail campaign on a quarterly basis, than a monthly e-campaign, or bulk mail campaign that is hurried and unplanned. Are you trying to squeeze too much into your e-newsletter?

Quality is better than quantity.  Let your voice be heard in clear and simple terms.