WEBININE: How to Build an Email Sign-up Form That Works
Posted on 25. Apr, 2012 by Chris Sietsema in Blog, Email Marketing Advice, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing
Chris Sietsema is Social & Digital Operations Lead at Convince & Convert. 
He also runs a digital agency called Teach to Fish Digital where he provides insights on search, social media, email marketing, and analytics.
In this webiNINE, our series of ~9-minute webinars for social media and online marketing practitioners, we review the email sign-up process for three sites in the travel and tourism industry. The initial sign-up form is a crucial component of a successful email marketing program. Find out what form elements help deliver a quality experience for the visitor.
Do you agree with the grades given? Did you see anything we missed?
Email Isn’t Dead Among Facebook’s Exec Team
Posted on 24. Oct, 2011 by Jay Baer in Blog, email, Email Marketing, Email Marketing Advice, facebook, Integrated Marketing and Media, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, social media integration
One of the great modern mysteries is how so many people legitimately believe that social media is “killing email” when nothing could be further from the truth. Social media and email are complementary tools, and it’s no accident that you can’t even SIGN UP for a social network without an email address.
There’s been a lot written about the folly of this “email is dead” conviction, and in fact I’ll soon be publishing here at Convince & Convert my recent presentation on the integration of Facebook and email.
But for now, please enjoy the thick and delicious irony of this interview of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg who says “I check my email the first thing in the morning, and the last thing at night.”
Audience Segmentation Lessons from Google Plus
Posted on 05. Oct, 2011 by Rebekah Henson in audience segmentation, aweber, Blog, Email Marketing, Email Marketing Advice, facebook, Guest Posts, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing
Let me get this confession out of the way first: I’m kind of a Google fangirl. So I was pretty excited when the search giant announced Google+, their foray into social networking.
I’m pretty fed up with Facebook and its constant changes (that don’t really improve my user experience) so I signed up for an invite shortly after Google announced its new project. When I set up my profile and started connecting with friends, I noticed something: Circling friends in Google+ feels a lot like segmenting email subscribers.
Humorous Google Plus Circles from www.happyplace.com
Circles holds potential for email and content marketers with its unlimited targeting capabilities. Even if Google+ isn’t in the plans for your marketing mix (and we’ll know more about that when business pages are launched), Circles can inspire good audience segmentation practices.
Inside the Circles of Trust
Circles drove much of the early buzz about Google+, in that it allows users to categorize their contacts based on their relationship and how much information they want to share. Your friends go in the “Friends” circle. Your co-workers go in the “Work” circle. Your boss and parents might go in a “Share With Caution” circle.
Once you have your contacts organized, you can selectively share information with all or just a few of your circles. Which comes in handy when you don’t want your mom or boss to know about last night’s crazy bender. Or when you want to send your college friends updates about the 10-year reunion. Or if you have some industry blogs to share with colleagues at work.
Facebook’s answer – the recently revamped Lists feature – works the same way, allowing you to group your friends by relationship and share status updates with whichever lists you choose. Facebook automates the process for its default lists, but you can add or subtract friends from any List you want.
Google+ (like Facebook’s Lists) is all about sharing the right content with the right people, just like segmenting subscribers in a well-targeted email campaign.
Circling Friends = Saving Segments
Google+ has default circles to get you started, labeled “Friends,” “Acquaintances,” “Work,” and “Following.” But you’re not limited to these categories. The beauty of Circles is that they allow you to get as general or specific as you want when classifying your friends and followers.
You can circle people based on their industry, location or special interests to target links and updates to them. Or place them into sharing categories, like “Everything,” “Work Projects,” or “Limited Information” based on what you want them to see.
Think about targeting your email subscribers the same way. Not everyone interacts with your brand on the same level. Not everyone is interested in the same kind of content, either.
- Grouping your subscribers by loyalty helps you target rewards and surveys. Send loyal “Friends” a special thank-you offer for all their support. Connect with more distant “Acquaintances” through a targeted reengagement campaign.
- Ask subscribers for some demographic information, either on your sign up form or in an email survey. Knowing who your customers are and where they’re located makes it easier to target your emails to their needs.
- Survey your subscribers to find out what they want to hear from you. Are they more interested in daily deals or how-to articles? Segment subscribers based on their answers to give them a personalized email experience they’ll appreciate.
The lesson here: Just like you can create special groups of people to share information with in Google+ or Facebook, you can group your email subscribers by segments to target certain emails to in your campaign.
First Impressions Matter
Like Facebook and Twitter, Google+ sends notifications when someone new adds you to a circle. Any updates and profile information they share with that circle are also visible to you. If the person circling you isn’t a close friend, what’s the first thing you do? If you’re anything like me, you check out their profile first and see what they’ve posted recently. Who is this person and how is he (or she) relevant to me? Am I interested enough to follow this person’s updates?
So how does this relate to email marketing? Think of your sign up process (landing page, web form and any incentives you offer) as the notification that piques subscribers’ interest. Once they respond by signing up, your welcome series (or autoresponders) is those first few updates they’ll judge your value by.
If your subscribers don’t find your follow up email series relevant enough to their needs or interests, you might find yourself filtered out of the inbox or relegated to the Junk folder.
The better you segment and target your content, the more responsive your subscribers will be. So take a lesson from Google+ and Facebook’s new Lists. Segment your subscribers in ways that will help you send the best content tailored to their interests and keep your content fresh to stay in their “Inbox” circle.
Guest post by Rebekah Henson, a playwright and SEO writer who blogs about building an online following through email marketing at email service provider AWeber. More of her tips on marketing with email are at the AWeber blog.
The 12 Key Messaging Strategies for Email Lifecycle Marketing
Posted on 27. Jun, 2011 by Chris Sietsema in audience segmentation, Blog, chris sietsema, Email Marketing, Email Marketing Advice, guest post, infographic, lifecycle marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Teach to Fish Digital
Guest post from Chris Sietsema, who teaches and trains small to medium-sized businesses and non-profits in the disciplines of search, social media, email marketing and online analytics. Chris owns Teach to Fish Digital, a one-man consultancy in beautiful Mesa, Arizona. He also created the infographics for The NOW Revolution.
A common challenge for us is to determine what specific messages will resonate with the various segments of our audience throughout the customer lifecycle. What should we be saying to smaller groups of customers based on their interests, individual needs, and history with your brand? If we seek to evade the “one message fits all” approach (as most marketers probably should), how can we ensure that every touchpoint with each customer conveys relevance and builds a solid relationship? The following infographic attempts to solve that quandary specifically for email marketers. However, you may find this logic useful in other modes of marketing communication too.
Please note as you read on that much of this is dependent upon your ability to segment your audience and collect additional information about your customers from surveys or integration with CRM tools. That’s not impossible if you run a smaller business or a pretty lean organization – it just requires a little more elbow grease.
Basics
To start, let’s quickly examine what your email marketing messages should look like with considerations to customer demand and the customer record (i.e. how much you know about that individual customer).
A. Low Demand, Sparse Customer Record: “Welcome” Message
This scenario typically signifies the beginning of a relationship. The contact is a new lead or just purchased a product for the first time. Provide “welcome” messages that inform the customer or prospect all about your offering. Let the individual discover aspects of your offering that are relevant to her, but track behavior accordingly.
B. High Demand, Sparse Customer Record: Quid Pro Quo
After a follow-up inquiry, another purchase or a response to a “welcome” message, you may construe that the customer wants more from you. Take this opportunity to get more data from her. Provide an incentive, special access to premium content, or some other “sleeves off your vest” offering in exchange for more data about that customer.
Here you’ll want to incorporate a short survey that allows you to gather important customer info so you can segment your list further.
C. Low Demand, Better Customer Record: Remarketing
If you have been able to monitor behavior or simply ask for interest data from your recipients, you are in a good spot. In this scenario, you have a decent understanding for what the customer wants. Engage in remarketing efforts to encourage further action from the customer.
D. High Demand, Better Customer Record: Up-Sell or Cross-Sell Opportunities
You know from recent activity that there is demand, and you have also been able to gather some telling info about the customer. At this point, you can begin to segment individuals into specific audience groups, commonly and affectionately referred to as “buckets”. You may decide to create buckets for product/service interest, geographic location, demographics, or other previous purchase behaviors.
Take the opportunity to cross-sell or up-sell your audience in these instances.
The Impact of Time
Now let’s add another crucial element to the equation – time. In the following scenarios, we’ll keep demand low and see how varying levels of customer data and time impact our email marketing messages.
A. Limited Time, Sparse Customer Data: “Thank You” Messaging or Utilize a Survey
After a short period of time, take the opportunity to say “thank you”. The impact of such a simple gesture cannot be overstated. In conjunction, you may find an opportunity to learn more about your new customer or prospect. Include a short survey to build upon your customer data profile.
B. Added Time, Sparse Customer Data: Reactivation Campaign
With extended periods of time and little to no demand from the customer, it may be prudent to create a reactivation campaign. In this instance, you are hoping to learn if the customer is still interested and if so, what will provide the necessary spark to purchase again or resume more frequent contact?
C. Limited Time, Better Customer Data: Remarketing
Where there is limited time or demand, but an abundance of data about the customer, your primary option is to provide relevant marketing messages. Use the response to previous marketing messages to educate and inform subsequent attempts to strengthen ties to your customer segments.
D. Added Time, Better Customer Data: Reactivation Campaign
If there is significant history with the prospect but demand is scarce, engage in a reactivation campaign to win them back. To bluntly paraphrase, the message to your customer with a reactivation or reengagement campaign is this: “$#it or get off the pot.”
Hybrid View: Demand and Time with Great Customer Data Records
Finally, as your email marketing program matures to a point where you have excellent data records for each customer, consider what message types are necessary with regard to demand and time influences.
A. Limited Time, Low Demand: Remarketing
Once again, engage in remarking tactics if your customer has given some indication of what they want from your business.
B. Limited Time, High Demand: Up-Sell or Cross-Sell Opportunities
A healthy customer profile with amazing demand lends itself to up-sell and cross-sell opportunities. Monitor response to such messages to determine what the next message should be.
C. Added Time, Low Demand: Loyalty
Beyond remarking and up-sell/cross-sell messages, an extended stretch with an individual customer but limited current demand provides opportunities for us to encourage loyalty. Anyone who has created a loyalty program in the past knows that this is no easy task. What we are really seeking here is to maintain a positive and meaningful relationship with a customer that has shown great promise previously. Develop messaging that keeps these important contacts happy and potentially pushes them into the next stage…
D. Added Time, High Demand: “Share” Messages
This is the scenario for which every lifecycle marketer strives. It is our euphoric state. Develop a meaningful, long-lasting dialogue with happy customers, and provide opportunities for them to share. Suck out the adoration like marrow from a roasted bone. Invite them to tell you and your other customers what makes you great.
Perhaps this act of sharing is done via social media. Maybe you devise mechanisms to collect this consumer generated content via another means for dissemination in other marketing communique. You may seek to develop a more structured relationship with your top customers (e.g. guest blogging, product reviews and concept validation, special promotion involvement, etc.). Think – Jared from Subway, people.
As these customers know your brand best, encourage them to share that knowledge…and the love. Allow them to be your brand evangelists. In a way, let them do your marketing for you.
Here’s the full infographic for downloading and sharing:
Can you apply this to your current lifecycle marketing program? What about this graphic would you change or improve? I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.
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