Recently I received in my inbox a newsletter. I had not subscribed to it. They asked me to send by postal mail my personal information to unsubscribe. What is this?

First, I do not want to receive their communications ; second, I do not want to spend my money and my time to undo something that I do not do.

I sent them an email asking for my unsubscription and telling that I did not send anything by post. They never send me anything else. I think this is a very, very bad marketing strategy. Why did they want that I receive their newsletter if I will never contract them? In fact, they have created an angry no-customer.

To avoid this kind of situations (and you are identified with this sure) note:

-Try to make that  your recipients give you their information.
-Include an "unsubscribe button" at the bottom of each e-mail you send
-Tell your recipients reply your e-mail to ask for the unsubscription
-Do not ask for difficult things to unsubscribe. Why do you make it complicate? You only will get that check all your e-mails as "spam" 
-Obey the laws that protect your recipients´ information

I think that this kind of situations discredit e-mail marketing and the company that make it. Do not fall into this mistake :-(

Segmenting your database is always important to achieve better results in your campaigns. But sometimes it's even more important due to technology issues.

Maybe you already know it, but recently GMail - the webmail from Google and the one a good share of your subscribers is probably using- has incorporated a new feature to automatically translate emails on the fly. You must add it explicitly to your GMail account through the "Labs" tab in "Settings":

Once this useful feature is finally incorporated to the product by default you'll need to be very careful with the layout issues that will arise.

Expressions/sentences in different languages are normally very different in length, so if your design or layout depends heavily on text you must be careful. If your recipients are translating your mail automatically your design could be easily scrambled.

Take for example this simple e-mail in English:

Click on image to zoom

It contains a headline and some text. The headline uses a quite big text that obviously is intended to fit in a single line.

Let's see what happens when I press the translate link and got my email translated to Spanish:

Click on image to zoom

The headline now uses two lines, and the email is not so beautiful.

This could get much worse on longer phrases and on emails that rely excessively on the size of text fit between images. So take it into account.

If you segment your database well and send contents in the right language to the right people, then -apart from probably getting a much successfully campaign in any conditions- this effect will be minimized.

By the way, the GMail translation plug-in doesn't translate links at this moment. I've reported it through the feedback option and hope that it gets fixed soon :-)

One of the key to make successful marketing campaigns -and successful sales- is know our target. Everything you can. Why not ask them? If we subtly do it we will get many results.  That is the way...

An e-mail marketing campaign  or a newsletter with appropriate links can bring us first-hand information such as what our customers interest and need. For example, products that we must promote or  discounts we must offer How decide it? Publish it in your newsletter .  All people who  "click" will be a great target for a future e-marketing campaign. Be sure.

Use e-mail marketing as more than a tool to promote products and attract potential customers. With imagination you can get more from e-mailing. Look for the feedebacks.  And remember: do not let your recipients discover it ;-)

Sometimes,  we have told you the importance of simplicity. You must not show all information when you write a newsletter, but show a "more info" or "click here" . Now  we recommend the same idea  in creating an  e-mail marketing campaign .

Typically, in our inbox are a lot of e-mails full of  information. Finally, you do not know exactly what kind of message you just received so you delete it and read the next one.

Our advice: do not get tired. Use a message to say one information only. Probably your company offers many products and services you would like to list but  concentrate on one idea that does not disperse the attention of your recipients. Avoid the noise in your communication.

Remember, you can not bomb all the information about your company in an e-mail. Try  link to your website and interested people will go there to analyze your products and services. Sure they will appreciate it  :-)

In times of "lean" we have to be original to enhance. We need results but we can not spend money. So, we have to look for alternatives... Have you think  in e-mail marketing? It will help you! Sure...

Email is a cheap alternative to make good marketing. Perhaps now is time to think about buying an email marketing  tool. You will measure your campaigns and get real results of your actions.  You will stand out from the competition too and improve your image.

In these times, you must also take care of your current customers. Keep your customers is more important than get new ones. You can get their loyalty ,for example, by developing a newsletter with specific offers.  You can do that with a suitable software.

We have stressed these ideas on many other posts because we believe in what we do. Do not underestimate the power of email marketing and its ability as a communication tool. Now more than ever.

This phrase can be applied  in many moments of our professional and personal live. It will be useful when you write a newsletter too :-)

When you write a newsletter try to minimize what you want say. Arouse your readers curiosity in a headline, summarize what you want to say in three lines and show a link, a "click here" or a "more info":  the recipient will increase the information "on demand". You must avoid a feeling of saturation that make delete the e-mail.

Another advantage if you let the information "hiding" below a link is that you will know exactly who is interested in what, becouse your software will tell you who has clicked in what link.  This information is vital for future offers to specific target. 

Take care of this and tou will improve the composition of your newsletters. It will be more attractive with less text and the value of each communicated will increase for you.

Nowadays, there are companies wich think that corporate communication means the diffusion of its image through a letter and envelope  with its logo. This anachronistic thought is a big mistake.

You should not forget that "everything communicates" and "it is impossible not to communicate". Any organization  must show a coherent image in any corporate appearance. Don´t trust it to chance. This includes the presence in different traditional and  emerging technologies media.

Sometimes we neglect something as basic as our website. Our web must provide all the information about our company and must be our "visiting card" for all users too. Not just "copy" and "paste" the content of our dossier Coporate. We need to give them it in an attractive way appropriate to our image.

The same happen with our e-communications, such as newsletters and e-mail marketing campaigns. They are a very good vehicle to spread our corporate image. We recommend a content of interest to our target and an esthetic that identifies it with the organization they belong.

Although  an insipid contents is the worst way to make our electronic communications, an unpleasant image can overshadow the most interesting information. We recommend you to take care of things such as your email and newsletters templates  to be pleasing to the recipients and strengthen interest in the contents.

I think  I can assert  that the formula to get what is the perfect day to send a newsletter does not exist .

Although there are studies that say that the best day is Wednesday,  I say that "depends". Marketing by email is not  "2+2 = 4" because our target is a specific person, belonging to a particular sector and with particular opinions.

The best is adapt the contents and frequency of our newsletter to those who will receive it. One of our clients sends a newsletter where you can find suggestions for weekend and sends it successfully every Friday. Who call those who have developed the study and tell it  them?

My experience tells me that what we should do to get success with open rates of our newsletters is test, test and test. Select  one day and send the newsletter analyzing results. Select another day and analyze.... Try  and try and see what happens ...

It is laborious, but very effective. It's worth it!

The  slump that manages the market nowadays means that we are forced to review every euro invested. Unfortunately, the areas worst affected usually are communication, advertising and marketing. There are few who maintain their position and continue as far as possible with their company communication strategy, in spite of we all know that should not be like that.

In my opinion, this is one of the biggest mistakes that make the directives of an organization during periods of moderate economic growth. The best choice depends on maintaining a consistent attitude to prepare the ground for when the crisis ends, that is, neither increase disproportionately the budget in communication, nor drastically reduce it. The key is to defend it within our means.

Since consumers will continue buying products and services -though not in exactly the same proportion as in times of economic boom-our brand has to continue attending to them. We can not disappear from the map, so those who remain will be those who endure once things back to normal.

So not panic. Economic adjustments in times of crisis: Yes, but in those areas where less impact on the brand image. Think long-term and not disappear from the mental map of the consumer.

Very often we attach too many files in our emails without asking us if it was really necessary. In many occasions, the same information could be included in the message body or some other way shared by sender and receiver by clicking on a link inserted in the statement.

Although the possibility to attach a document in the email means a great advantage as a vehicle of information, also have a distinct disadvantage: their poor vision in a PDA, introducing virus into computers, making the e-mail as spam in server destination…

If it is really necessary to add an attachment, it is desirable to warn the recipient in the subject or in the body of the message about what is sent, so he decides whether or not opens the email

One barrier that many small companies have to confront when they consider starting a newsletter -or any other e-mail based strategy- is the lack of a good recipients' list.  "We have few customers" or "We don't have the e-mail addresses of our customers" are the main concerns they usually have.

Well, the fact that you don't have any e-mails is a problem. In fact it is a catch 22 problem: you don't start a mail strategy because you don't have a good list, and you don't maintain a good list because you are not using e-mail at all.

However, e-mail customer relationship, marketing, or customer retention need long-term strategies. So, the fact is that, if you don't start building your list right now you'll never have a list at all.

There are a lot of ways to proactively start growing a good e-mail list, and buying a database is not among them (they are very inaccurate and, in most cases, even illegal).

Ways to grow your list

Try to maintain a good (I mean: with a lot of added value) newsletter and promote it as hard as you can: in envelopes, business cards, brochures... and ask people to sign in or send you their e-mail in order for you to subscribe them.

Slowly but surely, make e-mail your main and natural way to communicate with customers. Just not use it for marketing or newsletters. Start sending your invoices by e-mail. Notify your customers by e-mail about product availability, order confirmations, product deliveries, and so on. This way they'll get used to receive e-mail from you, and will be more receptive to your information through this means.

Get as many e-mails as you can from your current customers. You can ask for their e-mails when you talk to them on the phone or in commercial visits. Ask for it in your paper-based communications too (ex.: invoices).

Ask for their e-mail to the visits that get into your facilities. For example, if you have a shop, inform the visitors about the existence of your newsletter or the value-added services you can offer them by e-mail (ex: product availability notifications, catalog updates...).

Of course, put a subscription box to your newsletter on your website. Make it easy to subscribe (but comply with law offering double opt-in, more on this on next posts). If you make it even easier to unsubscribe in case they don't want to keep receiving your mail, the will be less wary about subscribing in the first place.

Another fantastic way of getting a lot of e-mails at once is by arranging a contest or competition. A good place to start is in business events or conventions. If you have a stand there, collect names and e-mails from visitors and offer several prizes. They not have to be very costly, and can be your own products. Notify the visitors that they e-mails are going to be used only to send them your newsletter and that is very easy to unsubscribe if they're not interested later. You can arrange this kind of competitions in your shop or in your website. They are an effective way to grow your list of people interested in your products or services.

Once you start your strategy in a sustainable way your list will grow fast.

Customer loyalty is a company’s ability to retain satisfied customers. Gaining the loyalty of your online clients means that your web visitors come back regularly to your website. In order to achieve so, you need to offer them high quality and fresh content. Fortunately Internet gives you a wide range of opportunities, helping you to establish a personalized and lasting relationship with your customers. The most efficient tools to engage your audience are:

-       E-Newsletters

It allow you to send a weekly or monthly personalized email to your clients with the latest company’s news, articles and interesting information, offering them advices about your products, … This electronic tool’s main advantages are: it offers you an easy, economic and direct way to keep in touch with your customers, it helps you promoting and diverting traffic to your web, making your company reachable and closer to your clients, building the sensation of belonging to a community,…

You don’t need to be an expert to publish a newsletter. Most of the Email marketing software or web-based applications available in the market nowadays (i.e MAILCast Server) have very attractive templates where you only need to add your own content to achieve a really professional result. But remember NOT to forget the unsubscribe option in your communications. May you not have a big subscribers’ list, don’t worry; including a registration form in your web pages will make it easily grow.

-       RSS feed

This is other great tool to build online customer loyalty by publishing content by RSS. It can be easily integrated in your web; your visitors will receive your website’s updates instantaneously and anonymously through any RSS reader. The main advantage of this Internet tool is the direct control by the users, they will subscribe and cancel the subscription to your web, avoiding the disadvantages of giving their email out and keeping their privacy at all times.

Writing up content for digital channels is completely different than writing it up for traditional medium. Because of this, it is essential to know the online environment and its main characteristics before you even start writing.

We should focus on preparing attractive and accessible contents for our users, turning our newsletter into another corporative tool for marketing. There are some patterns that can help us to elaborating interesting content:

·         Don’t  take a detour, go straight to the point.  Reading a document on the screen is far more difficult and tired task than reading on paper. Therefore you should include the relevant information at the top of the newsletter to attract attention to the recipients so they will continue reading, mentioning other news that they will find further down in the document.

·         Choose an appropriate language. It is recommendable to write in short paragraphs and simple sentences. If you are explaining a complex subject, you could use the formula “read more” to satisfy the needs of your interested readers, so they will have access to the complete information. We must use a familiar and ‘easy-to-understand’ language to make our message clear.

·         Insert images and appropriate hyperlinks. The images should support the content, adding meaning  and  impact to the information offered.  Therefore we should insert generic images which do not interfere with the content. Pleas note that the image size should not affect the opening time of your newsletter.

If it is written efficiently, the newsletter will add an important value to our company or organization. It will help us to build up a good reputation for our company. We will gain subscribers and engage to our audience.

The design of our newsletter’s template is part of our external and corporative branding. To reinforce it, and to achieve the familiarization of subscribers with your communications, you should design your template as simple as possible and according to the corporative image shown in your website, commercial dossier, and the rest of your marketing documents. This does not mean the impossibility of changing your colors’ palette or your images’ evolve, if you wish. However the structure of your email should stay consistent overtime.

In relation to the graphic design of your template, we can refer to the usability’s general tips used also for web design. Usability means efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction with which a product achieves specific goals to particular users in a singular context.

• Do not include too many images and pictures. These mean overloading the email and thus, making its deliverability more difficult.
• Do not design all your email in HTML, as the more popular email filters may label it as Spam.
• Be careful with the background color chosen, it may cause problems to read your message.
• Simple and relevant content, as average people only dedicate 1.4 seconds to read through a commercial email. Make the scanning easy to your public.
• Don´t forget to include the ‘unsubscribe’ link at the bottom. It is also recommendable to include the RAF bottom (Refer to A Friend), so your list can be increased ;-)

A well-done newsletter becomes a fundamental ingredient to achieve the company on-line success, because it works like a direct communication channel to  your customers and it gives you the opportunity of informing them about products and services with credibility, easiness and  effectiveness.

By means of this kind of periodic sendings we can reach our audience, fitting the pattern of clients we like. Besides, newsletters allow us keeping a permanent contact with our suscribers and increasing their loyalty to our firm. It gives real information about the company, the global market, the sector, the products, some news... among others.

Nowadays ther are many specialized computer tools that make easy the edition and design of newsletters. These sort of software aplications allow you make attractive and characteristic presentations to become an online marketing star, with options such as personalization, scheduling mailings, reading statistics, cliks statistics, RSS... And all with a very low cost.

If you still haven't one, get a complete software to create newsletters. No doubt. Try one fully functional so it will give you a good image and prestige over the competitors.