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| | The Un-Marketing Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | Views: 1164 | | Oct 25, 2005 2:32 pm | | How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # | 
Kurt Schweitzer | | We are beginning an outreach campaign to let other organizations know we exist. To this end we have compiled a list of several hundred organizations and their contact information. We will be sending out a postal mailing (a brochure and a cover letter), but as we are assembling the list we noticed that we have a large number of email addresses as well.
What is the best way to conduct an email marketing campaign to people with whom you have no prior contacts?
My understanding of the CAN-SPAM Act is that one-time unsolicited commercial emails (UCEs) ARE allowed. Can anyone confirm this?
Also, in order to reduce the possibility that our messages will be tagged as SPAM, we are planning to send out short, personalized (to the extent possible given our limited information), text-only emails. No attachments. Any comments or recommendations about this?
This is a first time effort for us, so any recommendations and advice is welcome!
Kurt Schweitzer
Sound and Loving Care (http://soundandlovingcare.com) - Helping you care for someone whose memory and thinking ability are deteriorating.Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer | | Oct 25, 2005 10:56 pm | | re: How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # | 
Craig Kiessling | | I'm not too sure of the details of the CAN-SPAM Act, however here are a few things I do know:
If you're correct about the one-time mailing, then be sure to have Opt-In options on your eDM (electronic direct mailing), your landing site, as well as other areas of your online media. This will qualify your future prospects, build your database, and will allow you to send further eDMs (a 2nd, 3rd, etc.) to those who Opt-In.
Do some research on Spam-Filters of various popular software - both online and offline (Outlook, Eudora, etc. vs. hotmail, yahoo, etc.). There are certain words, etc. that are triggers that will send your eDM straight to the junk folder or trash bin, that you will want to avoid. Things such as ALL CAPS, the word Free in the subject line, etc. are no-nos for example. Also be sure to have an Opt-Out option on your eDM - "To Unsubscribe, click here" type of thing. Be sure the Opt-out is legitimate. Many programs are now aware that a few Spam/Scammers are actually becoming internet/email saavy, and are putting the text "To Unsubscribe, click here", but the link takes you to their affiliate-sponsored Order page...
This next tidbit of advice is rough, but unfortunately true...Please, please, please make sure that you do your research and apply proper conventions & methodologies in your VERY FIRST email blast!
This may sound like I am being a stickler, but I promise it is important. If a couple of people get that first eDM, considers it Spam, etc., and actually reports it to their ISP (Internet Service Provider)... then the ISP will block any and all email from you to anyone subscribing to them - regardless!
I am not kidding about this - I use to work with HP, doing just this very thing, and getting off of a blacklist was a total nightmare, all because my cohort in India thinks "FREE INKJET cartridges!" is a great subject line...
So my points would be - do your research on the various areas, and apply them, and everything should be okay.
----------------------------
Build a Better Net
CSKnet
www.csknet.net
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Private Reply to Craig Kiessling | | Oct 26, 2005 2:04 am | | How Effective is It? | # | 
Paul Strauss | | I'm a lot less concerned with whether or not it's allowed, and more concerned about whether or not it's effective.
Does anyone have any opinions about how effective an unsolicited e-mail campaign is?
Anecdotally, I get them (unsolicited e-mails) all the time. The vast majority are ignored unless they address a specific interest or need.
Our own e-mail campaign is 100% opt-in and traffic is driven to it via other media-- targeted advertising, press releases, networking, other methods. E-mail is secondary, and by request and/or explicit verbal permission.
Paul StraussPrivate Reply to Paul Strauss | | Oct 26, 2005 2:29 am | | re: How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # | 
DR ~ | | I was informed by a kind woman named Marilyn Jennet that you can send out "Blind Emails".
This is the BBC (or BCC) part of your email when you send it to more than one person. Just put your list of addresses in the BBC box instead of the "TO:" box.
And most importantly, as Craig mentioned, make sure you have an Opt-In & Out option.
Just my 2 cents worth.
D.R. Bennett
Metaphysical MarketerPrivate Reply to DR ~ | | Oct 26, 2005 4:34 am | | re: How Effective is It? | # | 
Dr. Vinay Gupta | | I agree that Unsolicited e-mail has to cater to some need in order to be effective. As my experience as a Professor in Marketing and a customer goes, much depends on following things,
1.How you design your communication- its length, language, opening and closing of content, links contained in it. A mail not too imposing and having Opt-in link as well as link to details of product may be more effective.
2.The other important thing is at what time and place the user is opening mail-box.
Place- It is observed that if user is accessing it from office the response may be good for products related to work or personal consumption. If the user is doing it from home then for social cause (like this one) or liesure products.
Time- Time also plays an important role. If it is early in day or late in evening, response rate is higher as compared to mid of day. The reasons are many, not yet verified by a comprehensive research on it.
However there is little to control with marketer. One thing that can be done is in area of time. Try to send mails in late evening or nights (to be received early in day) for your recipients. As far as place of net usage is concerned some data from earlier research (if its availabale) can be used.
For design of e-mail some preofessionals may be of help.
Dr.Vinay Gupta Private Reply to Dr. Vinay Gupta | | Oct 26, 2005 12:43 pm | | re: re: How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # | 
Patrick Fultz | | To send Blind e-mail, you can also create a list and choose not to show addresses when send the list. The trick here is to name the list appropriately so it does not sound like a spam list.
I'm pretty sure most e-mail programs have this function.
I've heard of BCC mailings getting blocked as it's a sign of it being spam.
Patrick
www.easyadmaker.comPrivate Reply to Patrick Fultz | | Oct 26, 2005 4:36 pm | | re: re: How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # | 
Linda Bohrnerud | | I fully agree with the opt-in part, as well as finding out which words are currently on the "spam" lists of the various softwares and services.
But, I disagree with the opt-out part. Spammers have been using "opt-out" links for years to verify that the spam actually arrived at an address and was read. Spamcop.net has been telling people (as have I) never click an opt-out or unsubscribe link from someone you don't know. It is one of the things that would make me think you were a spammer.
If, on the other hand, if you put a message that says that if I don't respond, I will never hear from you again, then I will add points to my personal credibility score for you.Private Reply to Linda Bohrnerud | | Oct 26, 2005 8:22 pm | | re: How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # | 
Jessica Sellers | | This is a subject that we deal with all the time. When we host seminars in cities we have not visited before, we don't generally have a group of opt-in contacts already.
We have a lovely company that provides us emails for real estate agents all over the US. The best part is, they update their lists quite frequently.
www.ecampaignpro.com
I know that it is much more effective to get opt-in emails, but we have had almost as much success from our email campaigns as we have from our postcards. Between postcards, emails, and friends, they generate the majority of our students.
After we get new students, they are enrolled into our opt-in email program.
We do have difficulty processing the removal requests when we send large amounts of emails. Maybe some of you have ideas?
By the way, if you want to find the actual rules relating to the Can-Spam Act, visit the FTC's link below.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm
Jessica Sellers
Mike Watson InstitutePrivate Reply to Jessica Sellers | | Oct 27, 2005 9:02 am | | re: re: How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # |
Craig Kiessling | | Linda,
I think you may have misunderstood me about what I was saying with Opt-Outs. My point is that most people here are saying "Blind" lists are okay...There is no such thing as a "Blind" list. Blind Carbon-Copy was not meant to be an allowance for spam, and it appears as though many here are for that.
My guess is that many that claim to be "professional" will say they send one-time mailings, yet they send repeats, using this wonderful "Blind" list...
So...If they are going to spam, and yet are asking our advice, then I am advising to put in a proper Opt-Out link, because, as you've pointed out, most of the time those links are crap - and all one has to do is "mouse-over" the link without clicking and can see the url...
When I see what the destination it is, that is the deciding factor for me - do I press delete, or do I go to SpamCop...Officially, however, there should be only ONE email, and no need to have Opt-Out...
Jessica,
Your solution on how to action on Opt-Outs or Unsubs is extremely simple. All you have to do is have your IT guy create a scripted page on your site in a server-side language to update your Contacts or Customer or whatever-ya-call-it Database.
There will be a varible called "Contact" or something, having the meaning of okay to email or not. It will accept the values "Y" or "N" for Yes or No, or 1, 2, or On, Off, Yin, Yang or whatever - some sort of what is called Boolean value.
The script will consist of four main areas.
- URL-UnEncoding
Get the name/value pair from the url. This is the encoded link in the email for Unsubscribe. Something like "www.mysite.com/unsubscribe.php?Email=customer@email.com&Contact=N". (To get a general idea of what I mean, look in your address bar right now)
The script will grab the url, take out the name/value pairings of Variable name = Email,Contact and Value = customer@email.com,N.
- Conditional Logic
This will most likely be what is called an "If/Then Statement or If/Else Statement". "IF X Condition is Met, THEN do Z". So here it will check the value of Contact, and do whatever the code says to do, based on the condition.
- Update the Database
This will be part of the above-mentioned IF/THEN statements. Earlier in the script, we will have put the code to make a connection to our Contact Database. In the If/Then statements, we'll say something like "IF Contact = 'N' THEN ... It will search the Database for the record containing the email address (customer@email.com), and update that record's entry for Contact, now to be changed or UPDATED to "N".
- Confirmation
After the database has been succesfully updated, then the next step is to print out a message to Thank the customer for keeping the records up to date, and you're sorry to see them go, etc.
Two other things need to be done outside of this scripted page. One is to adjust emailing processes internally. Once you have the Database list of customers to email to, then you run a filter on that list, to select only those with the Contact being null/empty or Y.
The other thing that needs to be done is simply to adjust your linking code in your email messages, to now include the email address of the recipient and the unsubscribe thing.
I don't know what system you are using for blasting out eDMs, but it should have this functionality to dynamically retrieve data from your uploaded database list. If you're not using one now, there are professional ones out there, both commercial and open-source (free).
Well, hope that helps!
----------------------------
Build a Better Net
CSKnet
www.csknet.net
----------------------------
Private Reply to Craig Kiessling | | Oct 28, 2005 5:40 pm | | re: How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # |
Jessica Sellers | | Thanks, Craig. That was helpful. :)
Yeah, we need to get a web-based database so we can automate the updates as you suggest. Still working on that. Right now, we just save contact lists in Excel and Access on our server. Quite a nightmare. Not sure how to make a program that will automatically update those files. Hopefully, in a few months, we will be able to get a web-based database that does all those things.
We use Constant Contact for our subscribers (students and other interested people), but they won't let us send emails to people who haven't opted in. It does have a function for remembering unsubscribe requests. Wish we could use it for our new contacts too.Private Reply to Jessica Sellers | | Nov 07, 2005 4:18 pm | | re: How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # | 
Jill Hurst-Wahl | | Kurt,
I did an e-mail campaign during the summer for my blogging class and learned a few lessons that may be helpful.
1. Do use BCC so that the e-mail addresses are hidden. It makes for a cleaner message AND ensures that the can't be used by someone else.
2. Proof read the message and have others proof read it. OTHERS is important because you will miss mistakes. (Please don't ask about the typos in mine! But a lesson learned.)
3. I choose to have people opt-out, so there was a note at the bottom telling people how they could opt out.
4. Don't use the list frequently. You don't want to annoy people.
5. Send the message to yourself (all of your e-mail addresses) as a test FIRST, so you can see what it will look like. Why send to multiple addresses? How something looks in Yahoo, for example, may be very different than Outlook. By checking, you can ensure that it "should" look the way you want.
6. As you send out messages, create a qualified list of people to use for future mailings. Who you are mailing to now may not be the people who you should be mailing to...so create that list for the future.
7. Don't send an attachment, but direct people to a web page (which is what I did). This might be your online brochure.
Will it work? Hopefully. What I found was that the e-mails helped me build awareness and made other contacts with the people better. Yes, it did draw people to my blogging workshop.
Could I have done better? Yes. Lots of lessons learned, which I'll apply to promoting my next workshop in January (promoting to begin soon).
Jill
P.S. -- I'll be interested in reading people's responses about spam and CAN-SPAM. However, another tip is to keep track -- formally or informally -- of how you got people's e-mail addresses in case there are any questions.Private Reply to Jill Hurst-Wahl | | Nov 08, 2005 3:58 am | | re: How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # | 
Karri Flatla | | Hi Kurt,
There are a few quite reputable ezine services online that assist you with managing your subscriptions and scheduling your campaigns. The service you choose should also be able to show you stats (bounce rates, etc.). I use Ezine Director for my bimonthly newsletter and so far I am quite pleased with its usability.
A couple other pointers to avoid being a "spammer":
-> Use the double opt-in method whenever possible. This means that the person subscribes first by visiting a web page and signing up. Then he/she receives an email requesting to please confirm his/her subscription (thus the "double" opting in). This reduces the possibility of people receiving mail they truly don't want (and now you are into permission marketing!).
So, for e.g. on your website (or within your first email blast) you could provide your visitors/readers the option that says "Yes, please send me product/service updates ... bla bla bla" and then send them to the "sign-up" page.
-> Use PLAIN TEXT newsletters/emails as many people have HTML filters enabled within their email program (and usually don't even know it).
Best of luck to you!
Karri Flatla, B.Mgt.
snap! virtual assistance inc.
Don't just outsource. Outsmart.
Sign up for Outsmart, the free newsletter
for small business with big purpose. Private Reply to Karri Flatla | | Nov 10, 2005 3:01 pm | | re: re: How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # |
Kurt Schweitzer | | This conversation seems to have drifted from talking about a one-time email "announcement" to strangers, to discussing email newsletter etiquette.
I DO have a newsletter, which uses double opt-in so that people KNOW what they're signing up for. I use EZEzine to manage the newsletter.
Some of the few subscribers I have request HTML delivery, while others specify text only. I provide two versions of the newsletter to meet both requirements.
As to the use of BCC, I will not use it for delivering advertising of any sort - even newsletters. A more honest approach is to use a service which delivers content to each person on the list individually, rather than using the mail protocol's various delivery options. It's better for the recipient (so they can see which of their email addresses is being used for this content) as well as for the mail system.
Anyway, the particular campaign that prompted this discussion has died, in favor of a more conventional direct mail campaign using snail mail. Our lists at this point in time are still small enough that we can afford this.
Kurt Schweitzer
Sound and Loving Care (http://soundandlovingcare.com) - Helping you care for someone whose memory and thinking ability are deteriorating.Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer | | Nov 12, 2005 3:11 am | | re: re: re: How to conduct an email marketing campaign? | # | 
Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 | | Kurt,
While I am all in favor of permission marketing, the methodology limits you. It prevents you from going after the target market you know you want. Instead, it requires that they not only "discover you" but willingly "approach" you. If they do not come to you first, you can forget about having them...if you rely on permission marketing alone.
While I think you are on the right track using a direct-mail campaign, I encourage you to take a look at FreeCRM. It may be able to assist you in your email marketing pursuits. And, it's free!
Lamar Morgan
CDMM
Offerring a FREE Power Networking PDF Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 | | |
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