I was standing in line at the grocery store yesterday when my eyes wandered to the magazine rack. Glancing at the various article headlines as I moved my shopping cart along, it reminded me how short a window each publication had to grab my attention and help me decide to put that magazine in my cart.

Magazine headlines are similar to email subject lines, blog post titles or social media posts/tweets/statuses in that they must have a hook to get readers to pay attention quickly.  

Imagine scrolling through your inbox this morning, scanning down the list of emails, trying to decide what needs attention. Should I open it now, later . . . or never? The important factors are:  Who is it from?  What's it about?  If the subject line isn't compelling, you may decide to save opening the message until later and we all know what happens to messages left in the "later" category.

How to write a good subject line.

• Keep it short - between 5 to 8 words, under 40 characters. Your reader's email client may limit what is visible on their screen.
• Put the important stuff first - the first couple of words may be all your reader will consume before deciding whether to open or ignore your message.
• Substitute numbers for characters where appropriate - "5 ways to get your emails opened". This buys you more space.
• Build intrigue.  Know your audience and use words that resonate with your readers.  

Things to avoid when composing your subject line.

• Stay away from ALL CAPS and overuse of symbols (!!!, $$, ....) as they can be filtered as spam.
• Don't use the word e-blast - EVER!  No one wants to be blasted with email.
• Try not to be boring. "June Newsletter" isn't going to make readers jump out of their chairs.

If you're writing a blog post, remember to use good keywords in your title for SEO (search engine optimization)value.  

Writing a compelling subject line is an art.  Publication companies have teams of copy editors whose job is to make you stop and read their covers and hopefully pick up the magazine and put it in your shopping cart.  The next time you're standing in line at the grocery store, scan a few article titles to see what makes you want to learn more, then come back to your office and compose a killer subject line for your next campaign.

You just hit the "send" button and your email campaign is launched.  Then what happens?  At this point, your ESP (ie. Email Service Provider-Constant Contact, Vertical Response, MailChimp, etc.) takes over. Hopefully, you've followed best practices for email marketing and have done the following:

1. Created and uploaded a "permission-based" list where contacts have expressly given their permission to receive your mail. This is NOT everyone in your Outlook contact list!
2. Provided "email authentication" which identifies you as the real sender from your ESP. This is done in your settings.

After your ESP sends your email you can check your "bounce" reports to see what actually happened with your campaign; who opened it, when they opened it, who clicked on your calls to action, who shared it with friends, etc.  

You'll also find emails that didn't quite make it where they were supposed to go.  An email bounces for several reasons. It can be blocked by a server, your recipients could be on vacation (lucky them), or some glitch occurred during transmission.

Any "non-existent" addresses should be reviewed for obvious typos (extra spaces, .com vs. .net, etc.).  Remove these. Repeated attempts to email non-existent addresses will hurt your deliverability rates. They remain a subscriber and may affect your account status.

If you have a large list, consider exporting your bounces on a regular basis and cleaning up any recommended for removal.  The "mailbox full" category generally means these are on the way to being non-existent.  The "suspended" category, (used by Constant Contact), is a safety mechanism which lets you know that you've attempted to email a non-existent address more than once and will be placed on hold so that your deliverability rates are not affected.

Remember, a well-maintained list will provide more accurate results, and results are what will help determine your next campaign. 

Email marketing is the #1 way to keep people engaged with your products and services. It is an extremely cost-effective method to build relationships and keep your business "top of the mind" with prospective customers. How do you know if you're doing it right?  Here are some common ways where you may be hurting your efforts:

1. Not getting permission.  Email sent through your regular ISP (Internet Service Provider, ie. Charter, Yahoo, Hotmail, G-mail, etc. is meant to be a "one-to-one" communication. Sending commercial messages to several recipients using the "BCC" feature is against the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. This law outlines several regulations, including: recipients need to have a method to "safely unsubscribe" at any time; your business name and address appear on the footer of every email and that you clearly identify who you are.  Recipients should never see other recipients email addresses, nor should they be "undisclosed recipients" using the BCC feature.  An ESP (Email Service Provider, ie. Constant Contact, iContact, aWeber, MailChimp, etc. works with your ISP to maintain permission based marketing.  Before you upload your contact list or names received at a networking event or trade show, understand your responsibility in using permission-based marketing.
   
2. Ineffective use of sign up tools.  Can someone sign up for your mailing list on your website?  How about from Facebook or a link on your regular email signature. Can subscribers text to join your newsletter?  Is the sign visible in your store, office, at your event? Try it - just open a new text to the number 22828 and in the message type MASSMARKETING. You will be asked for your email address and you're now on my mailing list! (BTW- This is an exclusive feature of Constant Contact)
3. Not segmenting your audience.  You wouldn't talk to your spouse the same way you talk to your children any more than you'd talk to your vendors the same way you talk to your customers, right?  Email marketing is a one-to-many tool.  Always speak as if you're talking to an individual, not a group. If you find this difficult, it is probably because you have not segmented your lists effectively.
4. Not delivering.  When someone joins your mailing list, there is an expectation that you will communicate how you said you would. If months go by with no outreach, you are falling off the radar and are hurting your relationship with your subscribers. If you over-communicate, you also run a risk. Be consistent and focus on one main topic. 
5. Being romanced by open rates, not click-throughs.  You aren't marketing unless you ask someone to DO something - read this, register here, buy the book now, like us on Facebook (yes, you can do that through email marketing, too!) Read your reports after every campaign and check to see if your efforts were effective.  If you're doing it right, your list should be steadily growing.  If it's not headed in the right direction or climbing quickly enough, it may be time to ask for help.  Sometimes, just a few tweaks in your process can make a world of difference in the results.

Your mailing list is made up of a group of subscribers with at least one thing in common. -- they've all given you permission to send them periodic email! 

Beyond that commonality, many mailing lists remain one long list of contacts.  While it's OK to send an email to your entire list, try to think of ways to divide your list into more meaningful segments. The positive results you will receive (higher open and click through rates) are worth the effort of taking the time to segment your list effectively.

Brand new to email marketing?

Now is a great time to think about using segmentation as you begin to develop your list. One easy way to bring a little segmentation to your marketing efforts is to let people sign up for your list based upon their interests. Letting subscribers know the frequency of your mailings can also encourage sign up.  For example, if you intend to send daily motivational quotes, and fail to tell prospective subscribers that you'll be hitting their inbox every morning, you may set yourself up for failure.  If, however, you give them a choice of receiving this kind of email, you may find loyal followers who welcome your daily contact.

Wondering what kind of list segmentation could work for your business?  Here are some examples:
 
In addition to a general information list,

• A fitness studio could have one list for class announcements, and one for member incentives.
• A real estate company might have a "looking to buy" list and a "thinking about selling" list.
• A nutritional counselor could provide ongoing workshop updates and a weekly recipe
• A restaurant could offer daily lunch specials.
• An employment agency could send new job alerts and resume boosters
  

One way to start the segmenting process is to divide clients / customers from your general list. This provides an easy way to offer your customers special loyalty incentives and rewards, thank them for purchasing a product or service, or to ask for referrals.

If you've been using email marketing for a while, you can start the segmenting process by adding interest lists to your website sign up button and any manual sign up sheets you use.  Begin going through your contacts and divide clients and customers from the main list.  Consider sending your entire list an Update Your Interests email and let them choose what mail they'd like to receive from you.

A mailing list is always a work in progress.  Maintaining a healthy mailing list takes a little work, but the rewards are great. If you need help getting started, fee free to call or email me.

If you've attended one of my workshops, you have heard me talk a lot about today's relationship building marketing tools.  I'm often asked.,"Which is better....email marketing or social media?"  The tendency to view social media as being FREE can make it pretty alluring, especially for budget-conscious businesses. 

So, what's my answer? 

Creating a compelling email marketing plan integrated with the right social media platform(s) keeps you connected with your customers/clients and potential users of your products and services. Although it's not a contest, if you still are struggling with where to spend your time and marketing dollars, check out this infographic.  It does a pretty good job of comparing both email and social media.

Now in its fourth year, Small Business Saturday was the brainchild of American Express, created to help small businesses stay afloat during a very rocky economy.  The holiday shopping season officially kicks off on Black Friday (or for some big-box retailers on Thanksgiving Day - ugh) followed by Small Business Saturday, where buyers are encouraged to support the many businesses in their local community that are the backbone of a strong economy.

While traditionally thought of as a retail event, there's no reason why a service oriented business is excluded from the fun!  If you're looking for ways to participate, it's not too late to get involved.  Check out these resources and feel free to leave a comment letting folks know how your business is participating.

In 2000 I started my first business, Massachusetts 4 Sale By Owner.  In those days, for-sale-by-owner was a new concept to Western Mass residents. I needed to find a way to reach out to people and provide ongoing education about the real estate sales process.  Being banned from advertising by local newspapers, I turned to a new tool called "email marketing" to help. I used my magazine, (Picket Fence Preview of Western Mass*) and my website to encourage sellers to sign up for my newsletter in order to learn about upcoming workshops, special promotions and educational resources.

What I learned was this:  Email marketing worked and it worked very well.  Everywhere I went, people would say, "I'm on your mailing list", or "I love getting your emails!"  It was not unusual for a new home seller would walk into my office with a magazine tucked under his arm and exclaim, "I've been following you through your newsletter for three years . . . .we're now ready to sell and we want to use your services."

Email marketing allows us to build and keep relationships unlike social media or our websites.  It's cost effective, easy to use, looks professional, and you own it.  What are you doing to build YOUR list?

* The magazine was retired in 2008 as the business moved to an Internet model.  Today, the website uses social media to promote its listings.

What an honor to be a two-time recipient of the “2012 Constant Contact All Star Award.”  The award is granted to a user of their product and is based upon criteria including:

• Having consistently high open rates (greater than 25%), click through rates, and low bounce rates
• Keeping in regular contact with our audience
• Using many advanced features of Constant Contact, like growth list tools

In 2009 I received my first award for “recognizing success in email marketing & commitment to following best practices.”

I have been using Constant Contact as my primary email marketing company since 2001 and have always recommended the company to my clients.  I’m also a Business Partner with them, helping my clients set up their own newsletters, creating templates, developing segmented mailing lists and helping to maintain mailings for them. It’s funny, maybe this award will help my clients understand why I’m such a stickler about their own email marketing and why I’m always talking about the best ways to grow permission-based lists.

I love doing business locally when at all possible. The fact that Constant Contact is based in Waltham, Massachusetts appealed to me when I researched the top email marketing companies. Equally important is the quality of customer service they provide by phone, email, e-chat, webinars, tutorials and local workshops.

So, thanks again Constant Contact – and mostly, thanks to all my newsletter readers.  If you didn’t open my mail, I never would be receiving this award!  You’re the best!!!