What Does Opt-In Really Mean?

Crumbs from the Scone

The debate between opt-in and opt-out email marketing strategies isn’t simply about one choice or another. The reason? Any two marketers might have strikingly different definitions of opt-in. “[N]ot all opt-ins are created equal,” writes Maria Pergolino at Marketo. “In fact, it’s quite the opposite.” What one marketer considers strong opt-in permission might be, from another marketer’s perspective, barely up to CAN-SPAM standards.

Get on the same page by determining which opt-in category you’re discussing:

Unconfirmed opt-in. This is as close to opt-out as opt-in gets because visitors don’t actively subscribe to your newsletters or offers. Instead, their addresses are added to your list when they register at your website for other reasons—like downloading white papers. “You may be in keeping with the law but you’re not getting high marks for credibility,” Pergolino notes.

Single-confirmation opt-in. With this much better option, you add visitors’ addresses to your list only when they actively subscribe by checking—or not un-checking—a box. “To make that opt-in easier,” she advises, “have the permission box pre-checked and be sure to highlight all the reasons they will benefit from continuing a dialogue with you.”

Double-confirmation opt-in. Pergolino considers this the best of all—a policy that removes any doubt about new subscribers’ intentions. They’re only added to your list after they confirm their subscription by clicking on a link in a follow-up email.

It should be up to them. You won’t sell anything to a list of people who can’t figure out why you’re sending them newsletters, so focus on building a list of engaged customers who actually want to receive your relevant information.

Source: Marketo.

Three Ways to Adapt Your Email Communications to Changing Times

Crumbs from the Scone

“Email marketing is thriving—especially for businesses who can adapt it to the changing world,” writes Veronica Maria Jarski at the Daily Fix blog. In her post, she gives a sneak-peek at material presented by Silverpop’s Loren McDonald in MarketingProfs’ Email Marketing Essentials online course.

Here are a few of Jarski’s takeaways from the course—tips on keeping email relevant to the times:

Promote following and sharing within all your email communications. You need to go where your customers go, and—like it or not—they spend their time at social networks. “Branch beyond the newsletter by letting people ‘like’ the content on Facebook, forward it to a friend, post it to Facebook, or tweet it,” says Jarski. “And don’t forget to use social media to grow your email database. For example, on Facebook, provide email opt-ins for existing customers (and potential new ones).”

Design your email marketing for people on the go. “Don’t just picture people reading your email marketing pieces in front of their office desk,” she says. “Imagine them waiting in traffic, grabbing a spare moment or two at their children’s swim meets, traveling on trains.” In other words, picture them everywhere.

Make sure all your emails are relevant to the reader. Your subscribers have inboxes filled with vibrant content. “That’s because, thanks to smart filters, consumers now avoid spam altogether—and have their inbox prioritize their mail according to their reading habits,” she explains. “If a consumer reads your stuff, your emails will start gaining a higher priority in a person’s inbox. (And if they don’t, your emails will start being pushed to the bottom of the list.)”

Keep adapting. If you don’t evolve your email programs with the times, the times may well leave you behind.

Source: Daily Fix.

Beware of Shiny Marketing Toys

Crumbs from the Scone

Many marketers can’t resist a shiny toy. Whether pay-per-click in the mid 1990s, Web 2.0 in the early 2000s or mobile marketing in the late 2000s, we want it—and we want it now. “But at what price?” asks Laura Patterson at MarketingProfs. “I’d suggest at the price of our credibility and the opportunity to be perceived as a strategic player.”

“When our enthusiasm (or that of our colleagues) convinces an organization to experiment with the next shiny toy without understanding the strategic implications,” she continues, “as marketers we are doing a disservice to the organizations we support and we’re presenting marketing as a primarily tactical function.”

To ensure a shiny toy also makes strategic sense, be sure to ask questions like these:

• Has our target audience adopted this new channel, or will we get there before they do? “Being first on the block may be irrelevant if the markets you serve or want to serve aren’t ready,” explains Patterson.
• Does our company have the wherewithal to exploit the new channel? “If a successful implementation requires complex new skills, and if it is too time-consuming or costly to acquire that level of competence, it may be too soon for your organization to tackle the new channel.”
• Will we see a return on our investment? “The adoption of a new channel may require configuring systems, upgrading technology, or even adding new systems and training employees,” she notes. In other words, you need to be reasonably sure that it’s worth it.

A shiny toy can quickly lose its luster if it fails to boost your bottom line—so refrain from what amount to impulse buys.

Source: MarketingProfs

How the Epsilon Breach Might Affect Your Email Campaigns

Crumbs from the Scone

“The recent Epsilon breach that exposed millions of email addresses has the potential to create a very big problem for all email marketers and will demand development of new best practices in the world of email marketing,” writes Candyce Edelen at PropelGrowth.
Although the phishing danger is most pronounced for banks and brokerages with retail-facing business, fallout from the attack affects everyone, especially for the following reasons:

Hackers captured email addresses, company names and full customer names. “This enables a much more effective fraud tactic called ‘spear phishing,'” Edelen explains. “The fraudsters know that jdoe [at an email address] is John Doe who has an account with Citibank.” With that much information, a phisher’s message sounds far more convincing.

Phishers are producing better content. Phishing used to be easy to spot—badly designed email rife with grammatical errors, strange syntax and odd requests. But, reasons Edelen, “If the hackers that broke into Epsilon’s database knew what they were stealing and are planning spear phishing attacks, then it’s likely that fraudsters using this data are going to get more sophisticated in their approaches.”

Repeated warnings have made customers leery of legitimate messages. “The affected Epsilon clients rushed to inform their subscribers of the breach and tell them to be suspicious of any email purported to come from them,” Edenlen notes. But that approach could work too well. For instance, a routine transactional email with a new call to action might—mistakenly—raise a red flag.

Arm yourself. Whatever your product or service, it’s important to develop best practices that address the ramifications of attacks like the one against Epsilon.

Source: PropelGrowth.

Three Ways to Thank Your Loyal Customers via Email

Crumbs from the Scone

“Unless you were raised by wolves in the wild,” writes Karen Talavera in an article at MarketingProfs, “at some point you learned that it is polite to say thank you. It’s not merely proper etiquette; it’s just downright considerate and gracious.”

Customers need to know you’re grateful for their business, and adding thank-you emails to your marketing “illuminates the human side of your brand,” she argues.

Talavera breaks down the thank-you email into three categories:

The Immediate Thanks. It’s important to acknowledge any transaction or communication right away; be sure to do it in a tone, style and design that match the channel in which your customer took action. And don’t skimp on the gratitude if they spent lots of money. “Match your thanks, in magnitude, to the action you are thankful for,” Talavera advises. “The last time I bought real estate, for example, I received a huge housewarming gift basket, not a lame postcard or text message.”

The Seasonal Thanks. Holidays—especially Thanksgiving—are a natural time to thank loyal customers. “[B]ut go beyond national or religious holidays,” she suggests. “Are you also thanking your customers on the anniversary of their relationship with you? Of their first purchase? On holidays relevant to them (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, New Year’s Day, Veterans Day, Grandparents Day)?”

The Surprise Thanks. Even the most jaded customer will likely appreciate an expression of thanks that comes for no particular reason. “To start,” she says, “weave a quarterly or (if you’re ambitious) monthly thank-you campaign to reward repeat business and customer loyalty.” You can establish a regular schedule, keep customers guessing or tie the program to behavior.

It’s OK to show you’re grateful. Like friends, your customers won’t feel valued if you contact them only when you want something from them. Thank them once in a while.

Source: MarketingProfs.

It’s your choice…

Crumbs from the Scone

Are you going to wait until SOPA/PIPA passes and THEN complain?

How to Put Your Customers on Hold

Crumbs from the Scone

In a post at the Neuromarketing blog, Roger Dooley recalls trying to minimize wait times when his company oversaw a small call center. “We knew (from those times when we didn’t have enough staff in place) that the longer callers waited to speak to a representative, the higher the probability was that they would abandon the call,” he says. “And, if they hung up, they might never call back.”

Everyone knows the exasperation of calling a toll-free number only to wait—and wait, and wait—while listening to elevator music, ads for products and services, or disingenuous messages about the importance of your call. “Instead of those common and boring solutions,” suggests Dooley, “try something a little different: building in ‘social proof’ messaging might actually keep callers on the line and, when the call is answered, boost conversion rates.”

In other words, tell callers you can’t answer their call because so many people are clamoring for your product or service. Using this philosophy, Colleen Szot famously tweaked infomercial copy from the standard operators are waiting, please call now to if operators are busy, please call again. “This seemingly trivial change caused sales to skyrocket,” notes Dooley.

How can you give your message some social proof? He offers this example:Due to high order volume during our holiday sale, our wait times are a little longer than usual. Thanks for holding. As a bonus, customer might even feel fortunate if their call is then answered swiftly.

With a social proof strategy, putting your customer on hold might not be such a bad thing. But, warns Dooley, “[t]his kind of message will wear out its welcome over time. Regular rotation is a must.”

Source: Neuromarketing.

How to Create Customer Personas

Crumbs from the Scone

“Your site has hordes of visitors every day clamoring to check out the vintage comics you sell,” writes Veronica Maria Jarski at MarketingProfs Daily Fix. “But what do you know about your visitors? Are they die-hard fans of specific series? Older folks caught in childhood nostalgia? Rather than make assumptions, create personas of your users.”
Personas are profiles that represent your website’s typical visitors, and they help you to focus your energies on those who matter the most. Mark O’Brien, president of Newfangled, suggests identifying 15 of your most significant visitors and asking them 10 questions:

• What were your impressions when you got to the current website?
• Did you come back to the site? What encouraged you to return?
• How often do you visit the site and for what purpose?
• Are you familiar with our area of expertise? Are you just learning about it and our site is a research tool? Are you a competitor?
• If you do have an understanding of our area of expertise, what other sites have been good resources in this area?
• What do you dislike about those sites? Do you prefer ours?
• What do you do on the site? Do you: check press releases, sign up for newsletters, download whitepapers, etc.?
• How would you describe our site to a peer?
• “How would you like feature X?” (Use this question to bounce ideas off people about a feature that you are considering adding to the site.)
• What is the No. 1 thing we could do improve our site?

With their answers, you can develop between three and five personas—quick snapshots of your most valuable customers’ wants and needs.

Source: MarketingProfs Daily Fix.