Wednesday, 29 February 2012

Ways to improve your mailing list

Posted by Unknown at 10:17 am Labels: , , , , , , ,
As you are probably aware, creating and managing a mailing list can take a lot of time and effort. This is because you need to continually entice new subscribers as well as keep your current subscribers interested. We have some tips to help ensure your subscribers have signed up knowingly and ways to keep them interested and opening your emails. 
We all know that creating a big list can take time so here are some tips on how to speed up the process of getting new legitimate subscribers:
·    Add a subscription form onto your website - Having a subscription form on your website is an ideal way to entice customers to sign up. You can even add multiple mailing lists to your subscription form to represent different emails that will be sent. This way your subscribers instantly know what to expect from your emails and in return this will help you get more activity from them as they will be sent to the ideal target audience.
·    Online purchases and free downloads – Place your subscription form on any online purchasing forms or downloads that people may look at, as it is a great opportunity to advertise your mailing list.
 ·   Advertise your newsletters – Why not make it clear on your website that you send newsletters; this can be done by creating a Microsite within your account which will allow you to store all of your sent newsletters online. This will allow any potential subscribers see what they are in for if they join your mailing list. Of course if you use the Microsite then make sure you place a subscribe link within your newsletter to make it clear for anyone viewing them that they can easily join your mailing list.
·    Newsletter Links – Presenting a 'subscribe' and 'forward to friend' link on the bottom of your newsletters will allow any potential subscribers to sign up to your mailing list. This also gives your current subscribers the opportunity to forward the email to their friends who will likely be interested in joining your mailing list.
·    Share your newsletters – The Social Share feature within your GraphicMail account allows you to share your newsletters through Facebook and Twitter. This will allow you to channel your newsletters through social network sites as people that are your friend on Facebook or follow you on Twitter have already shown an interest in your company. Not only can you include the newsletters on Facebook but you can also include a subscription form on your Facebook page allowing you to convert your Facebook friends into subscribers.
·    Promote your email lists – Why not ask any customers in your store if they want to join your mailing list? As they came into your store to purchase something you already know they are interested in your products, so it’s down to you and your staff to change that one sale into a long standing customer. 
Techniques for keeping subscribers interested
Here are some extra tips on how to keep your subscribers are interested in your emails:
·    Double Opt-In - To make sure the users that subscribe to your mailing list have done so willingly then why not use a double opt-in subscription method. A double opt-in will send an email to the subscriber asking them to once again opt-in to your mailing list, making sure the email address given is correct and that the recipient intended to subscribe. This way you can be sure that the people subscribing are doing so intentionally and are interested in what your emails have to offer.
·    Auto-responders/Trigger Mail - Make sure your subscribers know the benefits of being on your mailing list such as a welcome email explaining what they can expect from future emails such as special offers, discounts or updated news about your company. You can easily set up a subscribe trigger which will automatically send an email to any new subscribers.
·    Segmentation - When subscribers sign up to your mailing list then why not ask for more than just a user’s emails address and first name in the subscription form. You can use any additional information you gather (such as gender, age, location) to create segmented lists which allow you to target sections of your mailing lists e.g. only males in the northeast. This will help to ensure your emails are welcomed on arrival as they are being sent to your ideal target audience.
·    Personalisation - Personalisation within your email cannot be over looked; as this is a key way to make a connection between your email and the recipient. It can be as simple as addressing the recipient by their first name such as “Dear Jake”. GraphicMail even allows you to add personalisation to the subject line so why not grab their attention straight away to entice them to open your email. 
With the advanced features that GraphicMail has to offer you can be sure that you can keep in control of your mailing list and just as importantly keep your subscribers interested.
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Monday, 27 February 2012

Increase Your Subscriber Engagement

Posted by Unknown at 11:23 am Labels: , , , , , ,
Subscriber engagement should not be overlooked as it is a key aspect to making your email campaigns a success. For many it may not be part of their check list to research the subscriber engagement but doing so can influence your subscribers to be more interactive with your emails. When your subscribers become more engaged in your emails they will be more likely to open, click or even forward them on to a friend which will all result in a better success of your email campaign. Creating appealing newsletters with relevant content is great start but if your subscribers are not taking action with them then you have a big flaw in your plan. 


Here are some tips on how to increase your subscriber engagement in 5 simple moves:


1) Welcome All New Subscribers – It is vital to ensure that any new subscribers that sign up to your mailing list receive a huge welcome, after all they are giving you the chance to sell to them. It is important to thank new subscribers for joining your mailing list, as that will instantly start you off on the right foot. Let your subscribes known what they can expect from joining your mailing list that way they know what they will receive from you. You can automatically send a welcome email by adding a subscribe trigger within your GraphicMail account, as the subscriber trigger will automatically be sent to any new subscribers.


2) Segment Your Mailing List – Why not ask your subscribers to update their own records so you can segment your mailing list into more appropriate sections. When using segmentation you will be able to send more appropriate designs, offers or even content to a better targeted audience, such as sending to only males in the north east. By segmenting your list you can be sure that the emails you are sending will be more relevant to your subscribers which will most likely attract more engagement from them.

3) Connect With Your Audience – If you are sending to segments then you can be sure that the emails you are sending are going to be better targeted and more appropriate for that audience. To ensure you keep the communication going between your emails and your subscribers you need to make a connection, one easy way to do that is by adding personalisation. Simply address them by their first name in the emails you are sending or even add personalisation to the subject line to instantly grab their attention.


4) Find Out What Is Working – Once subscribers have joined your mailing list it is your job to keep them there. The Reports & Statistics of each send plays a key part in helping you distinguish what has worked for you in the past such as; which newsletters your subscribers opened or clicked links in the most. It is an essential part of your campaign to view what did and did not work so you can steer your campaigns in the right direction. Understanding your subscribers will also allow you to keep your sending up-to-date with information they will want to open, read and click-through.


5) Keep Track of User Engagement – To know that your subscribers are fully engaged in your emails they need to open them, find relevant information and consequently click on links to find out more and then finally purchase products due to the information presented from your emails.

It is important to clarify the difference between sales and engagement, engagement from your subscribers will turn a one sale to have repeat sales. It is easy to generate a one off sale from subscribers but the main focus should be to turn that one off sale into a long standing customer. By monitoring the engagement of your subscribers via the Reports & Statistics you can be sure to keep your subscribers engaged. If you see a slight low point in the engagement of your subscribers then again revert to what worked in the past. See what you did differently or what have you not done and use it as an experience to improve on next time.

The advanced features to increase subscriber engagement are at your fingers within your GraphicMail account so what are you waiting for? Give them a go and see how they can help you.
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