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Email marketing

What is e-mail marketing?

E-mail marketing is a kind of network marketing method that delivers valuable information to target users through e-mail on the premise of users' prior permission. E-mail marketing has three basic elements: based on the user's permission, information is transmitted by mail, and information is valuable to users. Without one of these three factors, it cannot be called effective mail marketing. "

Therefore, mail marketing in the true sense is also licensed mail marketing ("permission marketing" for short). E-mail marketing based on user permission is different from spam. Compared with traditional promotion methods or unauthorized mail marketing, permission marketing has obvious advantages, such as reducing the nuisance caused by advertisements to users, increasing the accuracy of potential customer orientation, strengthening the relationship with customers and improving brand loyalty. According to all forms of user email address resources used in licensed email marketing, it can be divided into internal list email marketing and external list email marketing, or simply internal list and external list. Internal list, also known as mailing list, is a way to use the registered user information of the website for email marketing, such as news mail, member newsletter, electronic publications and so on. Off-list email marketing is to use the email addresses of users of professional service providers for email marketing, that is, to send information to users of service providers in the form of email advertisements. Licensed email marketing is a relatively independent method system in network marketing, which can be used in combination with other network marketing methods or independently.

Basic conditions for developing e-mail marketing

In the definition of mail marketing, three basic elements are emphasized: based on the user's permission, information is delivered by mail, and information is valuable to users. None of these three factors can be called effective e-mail marketing.

It can be seen that the development of mail marketing needs certain basic conditions, especially the internal mail marketing, which is a long-term task of network marketing. In the practice of permission marketing, enterprises are most concerned about: how to realize licensed mail marketing? There are many ways to obtain user rights, such as registering as a member to obtain a certain service, or actively subscribing to news emails and electronic publications, which means that rights marketing is based on providing users with some valuable information or services. It can be seen that email marketing has to solve three basic problems: who to send emails to, what content to send emails, and how to send these emails.

Here, these three basic problems are further summarized as three foundations of mail marketing, namely:

(1) The technical basis of email marketing: technically ensure users to join and quit the mailing list, realize the management of user data, send emails, track the effect and other functions;

(2) User's mailbox resources: under the premise that users voluntarily join the mailing list, it is a necessary condition for mail marketing to play its role;

(3) E-mail marketing content: Marketing information is sent to users by e-mail, and the content of e-mail can attract users' attention only if it is valuable to users. Effective content design is the basic premise of e-mail marketing.

When these basic conditions are met, the real mail marketing can be carried out and the effect of mail marketing can gradually appear.

What needs to be pointed out here is that email marketing is a broad concept, which includes both email marketing activities carried out by enterprises themselves to establish mailing lists and email advertisements placed through professional service providers. In order to further illustrate the differences of mail marketing in different situations, it can be divided into internal mail marketing and external mail marketing according to the attribution of mail addresses, or called internal list and external list. The internal list refers to the email marketing conducted by enterprises/websites using the information of registered users, while the external list refers to the email marketing services provided by professional service providers or other institutions that can provide professional services. Enterprises that put in e-mail advertisements do not own the e-mail address information of users, nor do they need to manage and maintain these user information. External list is a form of online advertising. There are obvious differences in operation methods between internal mail marketing and external mail marketing, but both must meet the three basic elements of mail marketing: based on user permission, transmitting information through mail, and information being valuable to users. Internal list and external list have their own advantages and are not contradictory. If necessary, they can sometimes be used at the same time.

For foreign orders, the technical platform is provided by professional service providers, so there are only two foundations for mail marketing, namely, the selection of potential users' email address resources and the content design of mail marketing.

Using internal list for email marketing is the mainstream way of email marketing and the focus of discussion. The importance of a high-quality mailing list for enterprise network marketing has been confirmed by the practical experience of many enterprises, and it has become one of the important means for enterprises to enhance their competitive advantage, so it is very necessary to establish a mailing list of their own. Many websites attach great importance to the establishment of internal lists. However, establishing and managing mailing lists is not a simple matter, which involves many problems.

First of all, the establishment of mailing list is usually combined with other functions of the website. It is not a job that one person or a department can do independently. It will involve technology development, web design, content editing and other contents, and may also involve the responsibilities of marketing, sales, technology and other departments. If it is outsourcing services, it is necessary to communicate with professional service providers on functional requirements.

Secondly, the mailing list must be voluntarily joined by users. Whether it can be recognized by users is a very complicated matter in itself. In order to maintain the steady growth of users for a long time, the contents of mailing lists must be valuable to users, and the contents of emails also need to be professionally produced.

Third, the number of users of mailing lists needs to be accumulated for a long time. In order to get more users, it is necessary to promote the mailing list itself and invest considerable marketing resources.

[Editor] Advance and retreat of e-mail marketing

Among all kinds of e-mail marketing strategies, the most important thing is to design entry and exit strategies. Entry and exit strategies need not be too complicated, but only simple skills can make marketing more effective.

Is it perseverance or arrogance to keep sending emails to target customers without any feedback? Jenny Jennings, an e-mail marketing expert, questioned the effectiveness of this kind of e-mail. She believes that this practice has serious problems, which may lead to complaints caused by spam in the future. "If you are too persistent in email marketing, it is easy to scare off email readers, and worse, it may increase the risk of users complaining about spam." She said.

Don't let spam scare away customers.

If the customer who sent you an email for a year has never opened or clicked on your email, isn't that enough to show that she (or he) is not interested in it? Companies engaged in email marketing may find it hard to accept, but they have to face the fact that sometimes users on your mailing list are not necessarily interested in your email. What's more, if you send "junk" mail unscrupulously again, what may be waiting for you is the user's complaint!

Therefore, it is very important to design entry and exit strategies for the "contact flow" of e-mail programs. This strategy can be changed according to different situations. Jeanniey Mullen, Ogilvy's global e-mail marketing director, believes that the entry strategy is to confirm whether you have received the company's e-mail information, while the exit strategy is to know when and how to delete some customers from your e-mail list.

Design entry and exit strategies

You need to ask yourself a few key questions before you make your entry and exit strategies.

For the immigration policy:

Is this the first letter he received from your company?

If so, how long will it take from receiving the mail to subscribing?

If not, how long has it been since I received your last email?

Does this email really meet the priority acceptance conditions set by the recipient? Is the contact address from a larger target group or something else? For example, I subscribed to the email and explained that I was interested in the service, but the email I received was about wireless communication, probably because it took my professional title as the parameter of the target object.

For exit policies:

Do you have a direct mail or telemarketing plan for the same group?

When you send an email, will this target group also receive email messages from other companies?

If you temporarily remove them from the recipient list, when can they receive your email again? (If they have received your email before)

What will you do for them when they decide to join?

Using entry and exit strategies can bring tangible benefits to your company, including:

Reduce potential complaints about spam;

Increase the number of e-mail readers by participating in confirmation;

Increase the amount of email feedback by reducing the number of members who do not reply;

Improve the effectiveness of target consumers through personalized customized information.

Cherish the last chance.

Entry and exit strategies can be effective without too much complexity, simple skills and extra work. Unilever's "Family Care Series" provides a simple example of an entry strategy: new members receive a statement saying, "We are very excited to learn that you have subscribed to our express delivery information, and you can change your parameter settings at any time." Members who just quit will also receive an email: "You received this email because you agreed to send you specific information from Unilever. We hope you will like the courier information you received, and you can change your parameter settings at any time. " A simple confirmation of this relationship may greatly win the support of consumers.

Because the exit strategy includes deleting some people from your list who have not provided feedback, you can't create more opportunities for further development. The simplest exit strategy is to eliminate those lists in your list that you have sent many emails but have never opened or clicked. Many companies send "last effort" emails to give people on the list one last chance.

If within a certain period of time (for example, 2 months to 12 months, depending on the frequency of email sending), the email receiver does not click on the email or the provided link, which may imply that the receiver is not interested in it. If you still don't want to give up, you can send another letter to confirm, telling them that if they want to continue to get such information, they need to provide feedback information, or stop sending them such information.

[Editor] How to correct e-mail marketing

The notoriety of spam seems to make email marketing a chicken rib. Meta Group said that as long as it is used properly, sending email is still a simple, effective and low-cost marketing tool. Therefore, following some basic principles, making systematic planning and marketing by e-mail in business activities can also achieve ideal results.

First, the black sheep in the network-spam.

I believe that most netizens are troubled by spam, which fills everyone's e-mail box like snowflakes, forcing consumers to have no choice but to delete all seemingly junk letters, greatly affecting the lives and work of netizens and occupying network resources.

Spam, also known as "unsolicited commercial e-mail", is disliked by everyone. Sending spam through the Internet is not an effective marketing method. In most cases, such behavior makes consumers disgusted, which not only fails to achieve the marketing purpose, but also damages the company image.

Responsible and honest companies rarely use spam for marketing, which will not only bring potential consumers, on the contrary, it will shut them out and greatly damage the company's image and brand personality.

Second, the current situation of e-mail marketing in China.

At present, e-mail marketing in China is still in its infancy. Everyone has a preliminary understanding of e-mail marketing, and e-mail marketing has gradually been applied to daily business. However, due to the lack of full understanding of e-mail marketing, it is generally blind, unsystematic and unscientific.

Third, how to conduct e-mail marketing correctly.

The existence of spam does not mean that email-based marketing methods cannot be used. Meta Group said that as long as it is used properly, sending email is still a simple, effective and low-cost marketing tool. Therefore, following some basic principles, systematic planning and marketing by e-mail in business activities can achieve ideal results.

1. Use the licensed email marketing correctly.

There are many modes of e-mail marketing, among which the effectiveness of licensed e-mail marketing has been proved by practice.

The "licensed mail marketing" mode analyzed in this paper is helpful to give full play to the marketing effect of licensed mail in actual marketing activities and avoid falling into the misunderstanding of spam.

(1) According to the existing customer information, sort out the customer email information, formulate personalized information according to their specific consumption habits, and communicate regularly.

(2) There are business opportunities hidden in every mailbox, so we should seize all kinds of opportunities to obtain mailboxes. For example, some retailers will exchange customers' e-mail addresses with discounts. Establish a potential customer base, send special information and keep in touch.

(3) Use the authorized mailing list correctly, and make good use of the way of sending letters regularly: send letters to customers regularly to keep in touch, and emails can take the opportunity to promote sales, such as the latest activity notices and new product information. It can be in the form of "internal periodical" and "information announcement".

(4) Let the customer be the master: fully communicate with the customer, and the customer decides the receiving frequency and letter type, which belongs to the VIP management mode.

(5) Congratulatory e-mail: similar to customer's birthday or wedding anniversary, company celebration, etc. Write a letter of congratulations. You can also skillfully attach suggestive promotional information, but in this case, you should use it carefully to prevent it from backfiring.

(7) Reward excellent customers: Good customers deserve special courtesy, such as giving gifts in advance or giving discounts.

2. Some basic principles that should be followed in licensing e-mail marketing.

Timely reply: When you receive an email, you should get into the habit of replying easily. Even "thank you, the letter has been received" will have a good communication effect. Usually, the email should be replied to the customer within one working day. If you encounter complicated questions, it will take some time to answer the customer accurately, and you should also simply reply and explain the situation. If you really don't have time to reply, you will automatically reply to the email.

Avoid aimless delivery: Don't send advertisements to a large number of unfamiliar email addresses in a mass manner, which will not only have little effect, but also become spam and damage the company's image.

Respect customers: Don't send multiple letters with the same content to the same email address. When the other party directly or indirectly refuses the mail, you must never send an advertising letter to the other party. Respect each other, or it's Spaming.

The content should be concise: the customer's time is precious, and most of them skim the email, so the letter should be concise and fully attract the customer's interest. A lengthy letter will make the customer give up reading your email. Be sure to carefully check the contents of the email before sending it, and the sentences are smooth and there are no typos.

Attach contact information: the letter must be signed and attached with a telephone number, so as to avoid consumers not knowing how to contact when they need help.

If the content of an email can be displayed in the body, it is not in the form of an attachment.

Respect for privacy: The sender list and customer background shall not be forwarded or sold before obtaining the customer's consent.

Avoid collision: In promotional activities, publicity channels include media, e-mail, traditional DM, telephone and so on. Therefore, it is necessary to coordinate in advance to avoid the same customer receiving the same promotion letter repeatedly.

Admit your mistake: If you can't answer the customer's inquiry immediately or send the wrong letter, you should take the initiative to admit your mistake and apologize. You can't make a fool of yourself because you can't get the mail. Not only can't you attract customers, but you will shut them out.

3. How to write an email?

Include text and signature.

Binomial text should be concise and free from spelling mistakes. Others may use different email programs than you. If your email program is browser-based, don't send email in HTML format, which looks ugly in other email programs and can't be displayed correctly. Send in plain text format.

Keep the line length. Don't let people turn pages from left to right to read your article. The maximum length of each line should be 6070 characters.

Using polite expressions, such as "you", "please", "thank you", "Shun Song" and "Shang Qi", to give a human face to blunt computer language will often achieve good results.

When sending an email, you must pay attention to the writing of the text in the subject and content of the email. The mail servers of many websites have set up commonly used spam filtering to filter spam. If the subject and content of e-mail contain words such as: a lot, publicity, money, first, etc. , the server will filter out the email. Therefore, when writing the subject and content of e-mail, try to avoid using words and phrases that you think are suspected of spam, so as to send e-mail smoothly.

The correct use of e-mail signature and the meaning of the signed document, just like the stationery of conventional stationery, can clarify the identity and contact information of the sender. It is also an important brand marketing resource, and a well-designed signature document will leave a good impression on the recipient.

How to set the signature correctly?

(1) The signature should be concise and neat, no special characters can be put, and the content should be kept within 5 lines, which generally includes: contact person, department, company name, contact information, a slogan, etc. If the content is too long, it will easily affect the expression of the email body. Don't let go of too much company advertising information, it will be counterproductive.

(2) Different e-mail recipients can use different signatures, and different versions of signatures can be formulated according to your specific customers, products and services, which can be used flexibly.

(3) Put your signature email on the left, not in the middle or on the right. The reason is that the display of character size is different on different machines. If you are in the middle or on the right, neat typesetting will become messy.

(4) The distance between the signature file and the email body should not be too long. Just distinguish the information between the two, usually three lines. There must be a dividing line directly between the signature and the text, and such a dividing line is essential. Without it, people will mistakenly think that your signature is part of the body of the email.

(5) Don't use such words

(6) Whether you create or change a signature file, you must test it first. The method is to send yourself an email to see the effect of the signature file on different computers: is it within the width of the email window? Is there a discount? Are the links in the file correct? Does the overall effect feel good?

Fourth, how to correctly evaluate the effect of e-mail marketing.

By understanding the influence of marketing methods on the target market, it is helpful to adjust (optimize) marketing strategies and accumulate successful marketing experience.

E-mail marketing is a relatively new field, and there is no accurate and effective evaluation system. At present, click-through rate and response rate are mostly used to evaluate the effect of online advertising, but the evaluation of e-mail marketing cannot rely entirely on click-through rate and response rate. The reason is simple, because email marketing is a long-term process, imperceptibly. Not only can we achieve the most direct purpose, but also help us keep close contact with our customers and gradually influence their impressions of our products or services.