How to send an SMS message that your clients will actually read

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Let’s talk about our cellphone. We have it glued to our hand from the morning coffee up until we fall asleep, already at reach. That already tells us everything we need to know about the tremendous potential embedded in mobile marketing and in SMS messages in particular.

Text messages have become an extremely efficient marketing tool over the past years. Yes, even in a world where WhatsApp exists. Text messages are relevant for all business types, from fashion to health care. And to be honest? It’s pretty clear why when the percentage of people who open their text messages is over 90%, which makes them a must-use marketing tool. Yes, this does apply to a world where WhatsApp exists since while it conveys friendliness, text messages convey urgency, which increases the percentage of people who open them.

The secret is knowing how to use them. Text about certain topics, formulated in a precise way will increase the ROI (return on investment) rates, while text messages that do not comply with these standards can cause damage.

How can you maximize marketing text messages in your business?

Personalization: THE buzzword of the business marketing world in general and especially for text messages. Using personal elements gives your client the impression that the content was made especially for them, thus increasing the chances of them even reading your text. For example, a text on your client’s birthday accompanied by a small happy birthday wish and a unique discount code will enhance the feeling that your business ‘sees them’.

Maintain transparency and focus: We all know how it is getting these blurry messages, the kind you have to read all the way through or several times to understand what they want from us, right? That is why it’s important to be as transparent and clear about the purpose of the message. Clearly explain what the purpose of the message is, and what you offer, and avoid ‘pushing’ non-relevant products or information.

Respect your users: There is nothing more annoying than Spam – and the last thing you want to do is to have your business associated with aggravating and unwanted messages. That is why it’s important to only use phone numbers of people who approved your service and provide a clear and simple option to “Unsubscribe” when needed, replying “Stop” to cancel, or using a dedicated link to cancel.

Specify the name of the business or at least a phone number: The need behind the text will determine if you choose to use the name of the business or the phone number. In order to avoid the “spamming” feeling and maintain a certain consistency of the messages, define the name of your business in the ‘sender’ zone. To create a sense of interaction and two-way conversation, choose the number and mention in the text the possibility to answer the text.

Carefully choose your texts: Text messages are a wonderful marketing tool, as long as you dose it correctly. If you choose to send marketing content using text messages, it’s important to have a strategic logic behind your choice, since the slope towards overdosing your clients with texts is slippery. As an example, the texts we receive before the elections have become a synonym for ‘spam’.

This is how to do it – four ideas for marketing SMS that will work wonderfully:

Notifications for promotions

Timing is everything, research has shown that notifications for limited-time promotions increase the chances of reading the text messages. Tell your clients about the offers that are valuable to them, accompanied with a personal tone and which refer to fields that are relevant to them – for example, fashion brands can send a client an update about a limited promotion on a certain product they took interest in, accompanied by a link to purchase the product.

Operational messages

These are immediate and important messages for your users, such as updates on scheduled appointments, verification codes, updates on deliveries, and various kinds of reminders. For example, HMOs sent updates to their clients regarding appointments using operational texts specifying the location of the clinic, the time of the appointment, and even the possibility to cancel the appointment.

Update on events

Reminders are a great option for marketing texts that will make your business be perceived as one that takes care of their clients’ schedules, and at the same time will help your organization. Under this category are the following messages: Save the Date messages, ticket purchases, updates on times of events, and even interactive content during the event. For example, when a text is sent to you during a concert with a link to send photos that will be projected in real-time on the screen during the performance.

Product launch for VIP clients

Every business gathers its most loyal audience around it. Here, you have the opportunity to share with them unique content that will increase their sense of loyalty toward your business. For example, if you are about to launch a new product, send it to the same exclusive group message telling them they were carefully chosen to be the first to try out the product, and only later on, send it to the rest of your clients.

In the end, no matter what business you have, using marketing SMS text messages will generate great value for you, so all you have left to do is start using them, wisely of course.

Personalization – why it is important and how can you use it?

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The following scenario is probably familiar to most of you: you turn on the TV, start flipping through the channels, thinking about which series you want to watch – when all you really want is a personalized recommendation (Hi Netflix, thanks for coming!).
Know the feeling? Well, this is where personalization kicks it, which turns the distribution of messages into a more targeted, personal, and accurate concept. And of course, in these days of endless variety, personalization becomes a relevant tool, perhaps necessary, to ease the struggle of choosing, knowing what to focus on and what to ignore.

What is personalization?

Basically, personalization is creating messages tailored for each user. It is carried out using correct segmentation.
It is designed to improve the user experience, enhance the sense of individuality, and is based on personal details collected about the users, such as name, date of joining to the service, or interests.

Personalization can operate in two main ways: the first, through a personal inquiry (for example, when using the contact’s name in the subject line), and the second, based on a personal suggestion of content (for example, mailing dynamic content presented only to those for whom it is relevant).

In recent years, personalization has become a basic tool that is crucial to achieving success in content distribution. How crucial? TWIILIO SEGMENT 2022 published a study revealing that almost half of the consumers who participated (49% to be exact) indicated that they would become regular customers of a brand that offered them a personal purchasing experience. In other words – personalization is the element that will increase the chance of users opening emails sent to them.

personalization

Personalization – so how can you do it right?

Convinced already? Great. Here’s how you can use the information you have about your contacts in order to create a great personal experience:

Personal email

Using simple information such as a first name creates a personal and direct contact experience with you. There is no doubt that it is nicer to open an email that states our name in the subject line, rather than a generic inquiry.

For example, the cosmetics and make-up company Sephora’s website makes sure to send its customers emails that include their names both in the subject line and in the email itself. This way, they tell them about promotions, benefits, and new products, creating a much more direct and intimate experience for their customers.

Reference to place of residence

You will be surprised to find out how effective referring to the city of residence can be. You can send relevant information to users who live in a certain area and even specify the name of the place in the email itself.

An example of this is the e-commerce site Nordstrom, which recognizes the location of its users, and this way it knows to offer certain products according to the weather in each location – winter clothes for areas where it is cold, and summer clothes for warm areas.

Dates

Birthdays, anniversaries, and service subscription dates can all upgrade the user experience. For example, sending an email wishing happy birthday accompanied by a unique discount code.

One of our favorite examples is that of Spotify. Apart from the fact that it is a company based entirely on personalization supporting algorithms, it makes sure to send a personalized email to each user at the end of each calendar year, containing a musical summary of the music they listened to that year. This great personal touch demonstrating a wonderful way to create a personal and unique experience for each user, which is then likely to encourage them to continue using the company’s music services.

Previous information

Did a customer purchase a certain item from you recently? Were they interested in a specific topic? Sending an email following that purchase will create a sequence that continues the positive and personal experience. For example, if a customer purchased running shoes, an email suggesting that they purchase a complementary product, such as a heart rate monitor, may be particularly relevant to them.

Another example is the company Fiverr, which uses information based on the searches of its users, and sends them emails offering options of additional and diverse service providers in the same field. The result: creating content that is perfectly tailored to the personal needs of each user. So simple and accurate.

In the end, the role of personalization is to be based on the needs and details of the users, to create an accurate, personal and unique experience. And if you ask us, it’s a simple move that manages to produce the best for both you and for your users.

 

Cloud Marketing Tool for Emailing Documents Attachment

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Sending emails with attachments is a valuable communication tool, but it requires some knowledge and etiquette. In today’s article, we will go over the best ways to send emails with attachments, and throw in some golden tips and examples on how to master sending emails with attachments like a pro.

How to attach an email document?

Attachments are basically an easy way to send files, images, and more along with an email sent out. However, the fact that the concept is easy does not necessarily mean that the execution is as well. Here are some of most common mistakes people make when it comes to including attachments to emails:

  • Is the attachment right for this email? Make sure you are sending the right file, always. You really do not want to attach a file that is not relevant for the email going out.
  • Email Subject Line –  lets the recipient know what your email is about. That is why including it with every email you send out is necessary. Use it to your advantage and you may help your email get opened by your recipients.
  • Draft an email – It’s time to write the email, containing the main message you wish to convey to the recipients. Again, keep it as short and simple as possible.
  • Send the Email – This seems trivial, but emails can actually be ready to go only to be left hanging without hitting the Send button, never leaving the inbox. Make sure you hit Send when your email is ready to go.
  • Monitor your results – See who received the email, who opened it, and as important – who did not open it. Monitoring your results is the only way to learn from your mistakes and from your successes, and constantly improve and grow.

 

Smart Attachment Management

There is a right way and a wrong way to send an email. The wrong way may lead to undelivered messages. Unfortunately, in the business world, that can have very unfortunate implications. So here are some golden tips on how to wisely manage your attachments:

  • File size – Attachment files that are too large may take a long time for the recipient to open/download. Take that into consideration when sending large files with your email.
  • File type – Some email providers do not allow specific types/formats of attachment files. That is why it is super important to make sure that the file format you wish to send will go through to the recipient. Now sure? You can always go safe by sending a PDF attachment.
  • Properly name your attachment – A good way to go is to always give your attachment file a clear name the recipient can understand. Doing so will help your recipient have a clear and safe idea on what to expect opening the file.
  • Let them know there is an attachment here – Inform the recipient that you have attached a file to the email, and its nature. Do not assume that everyone will notice or know that there is an attachment file they need to open without being informed of that. 
  • Always double-check – As part of the better safe than sorry approach that is highly recommended in the business world, always recheck and reread your email before sending it. When your email includes an attachment, that means checking the attachment as well: Is it the right file? Is it accessible to open and download?

Examples of business emails with attachments

Now that we have gone over all the tips and basics on how to send an email with an attachment and how to wisely manage your attachments, let’s see how email attachments can serve your business activity with some classic examples:

  • Testimonials – Attach testimonials or reviews from satisfied customers to show potential / existing customers how well your service/product is received. You can attach a video, presentation, PDF, or image – detailing your testimonial(s).
  • Price quotes – Attach a file listing your price quote, tariff, or price list, to close a sale. 
  • Invoice – A very common and classic use of an attachment is sending an invoice or a receipt at the client billing stage.
  • Meeting reminders – Help meeting participants remember about an upcoming meeting or prepare for it by sending them a file with the meeting agenda or materials to help them be most prepared for it. 

Email attachments are undoubtedly a vital part of business communication. Now that you hopefully feel confident on the ways to use it, and how to best utilize it, we hope that it will serve you as well as it does businesses, companies and individuals around the world, every minute of every day.

Tips for Email marketing for clients who actually read

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We don’t know what happens inside your mailbox, but we are going to allow ourselves to bet it’s filled with emails that want to sell, market, and tell you about products and services. These are newsletters – one of the most effective marketing ways to communicate with your customers, and more precisely, with 72% of them, who prefer to receive marketing content via email.

Email marketing is based on sending emails to a list of contacts who agreed to receive content from you – newsletters, advertising emails, and various updates; it all enters under this title. Successful email marketing is one that manages to transmit a precise, personal, and unmediated message and includes information that is relevant for the contacts. Those make it a particularly effective and converting marketing tool.

So how are you going to make your emails stand out in this noisy, crowded world?
We’ve put together tips to help you make your marketing emails stand out and get your contacts to actually read them.

Valuable content

The language and the content of email marketing are highly important. We recommend avoiding long heavy texts and focusing on a text that sets the important and interesting messages in the front. Provide real value – this will increase the chances that your contacts will want to stay on the mailing list, read the messages you send, and become long-term, loyal clients.

An updated contact list

Email marketing is based on a database of contacts and their information. Therefore, the first step is making sure all the contact information is up to date – starting with basic information such as their first name and email address, through their phone number, place of residency, and up to their interests and hobbies.

In addition, it is important that all those on the list have given their consent to be on the list. A mailing list based on contacts collected indirectly, such as email address collection software or purchase from various sources, will damage your campaigns and business.

Personal message

Personalization is an essential tool when speaking about email marketing, and a great way of using it is through the title that opens the email. Make sure to create a personal message about the email including the name of the contact to whom you are addressing and preferably along with a particularly precise message – those will capture their attention and augment the probability of your email being opened.
“Hey Helen, you can make a difference on your next visit!”

 

Pre-planning of dosage and timing

The number of messages and timing can seal an email campaign’s fate and the user’s choice whether they’d like to stay or remove themselves from the mailing list. In order to avoid spam mailing of multiple messages in a short amount of time or reduced and discontinuous mailing, it is important to come up with a clear campaign plan at the beginning of each campaign, in which you will predefine the number of mailing items you send along with the right time gaps between each sent – thus maintaining a professional, accurate, and much more effective campaign frame.

Unsubscribe button

At one point or another, we all get a marketing email from an unknown source and have looked for the Unsubscribe button. In case you didn’t see it, know that besides it being a rather irritating situation it is also illegal. Make sure you regularly add the Unsubscribe button allowing your recipient to unsubscribe from your mailing list. Place it at the bottom of the email and add a clear message to it specifying that the user has been removed from the mailing list.

Use a professional mailing system

Sending emails using a professional mailing system will save you a lot of trouble; starting with server overload and security problems through to the recipient identifying the sender’s address as spam and blocking it. The system makes sure the emails will arrive at your contact’s inbox, allows you to monitor each email you sent, segments audiences, follows user’s conduct, and produces data-based reports after each mailing. Basically, it makes your life much easier when talking about your marketing moves, and particularly those concerning email marketing.

To sum up, email marketing is an excellent tool for creating an honest and loyal relationship with your clients. In order to achieve the most out of this infrastructure of messages sent via email, implement the tips, and stick to them, you will quickly see the results.

 

 

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inwise Inc. has been certified to receive an ISO 9001 Quality Management System and ISO 27001 Information Security Management System.

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Marketing automation – put your feet up and let success come to you

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In the content overwhelming world we live in, successful marketing becomes a tricky business. In order to manage the incredible amount of content and reach your clients in the most successful and effortless way, this smart solution was invented: marketing automation.

What is marketing automation?

You know when you enter a certain type of service you receive a “Welcome” email? And one week after having opened the email you get another email offering you a unique discount? And then two days later a text message reminding you about that special discount? Marketing automation is the “behind-the-scenes” of this mechanism.
Marketing automation allows you to preset actions that will take place automatically as a reaction for different scenarios. The automatic process begins with a trigger which is in fact the act of the contact (clicking on a link or opening an email for example), which leads to a sequence of predefined actions. The automation allows a preset destination that you would like your contacts to reach while creating action-based courses that will lead them straight to it.

The advantages of marketing automation

Saving time: we apologize in advance for quoting the cliché “Time is Money״, but it’s true, especially when talking about your business. Using the automation process will save the marketing and client service team precious time from dealing with repetitive manual actions (such as data collection and segmentation) since it just performs those actions on their behalf.

Personalization: personalization has been the serious buzzword over the past several years, and rightfully so – within the ocean that floods us, all we need is personal attention in the form of content that is personalized for us. Automation is based on your contact’s behavior and actions and it allows you to send the right sequence of messages for each contact according to the actions they performed.
For example – using information such as date of birth will allow you to send your contacts a personalized coupon on their birthday. A client didn’t open their email? In that case, the system will identify that as a trigger to send them a second message reminding them of the special offer code.

User audience segmentation: it used to be common to see the target audience of business as one straw, however, today it is clear that segmentation is the way to go. Using marketing automation, we are able to send different messages to different segments based on various settings such as age, gender, living area, and fields of interest, which will make your entire marketing array smarter, more effective and precisely adapted to each segment.

Automatic timing: timing is everything, and when the sending times of certain messages can be preset in the system, it creates a significant advantage. Imagine the following scenario: a new contact joined your new customers’ club. Using the automation, you can predefine a sequence of content messages that will be sent to them in predefined times to keep them active and interested; promotions, discounts, informative texts, anything you want! And combined with the automated timing, you can provide the best marketing course for that user.

5 steps for building an automated marketing plan

Define a goal: successful marketing will always be based on a super-goal, whether it is expanding the client circle, increasing the sales of a certain product, or a new market breakthrough – predefine your goal and let it lead you.

Segment audiences: each audience is unique, and correct segmentation while sending relevant content series to each group will make your marketing more efficient and cost-effective. Need an example? Considering your business operates all throughout Europe, sending messages based on a living area will enable you to efficiently create relevant content for the residents of each area.

Create personal relations: information that you have about your clients such as names, dates of birth, and place of residency become fertile ground for creating personal and close relations. Just think how nice it is to receive an email that addresses you by your first name rather than using a generic title that was clearly written for all users. By using personal relation elements, you can enlarge the chances of clicking, call for action and a sense of positivity towards your business.

Prepare content in advance: tight and precise content is crucial for the success of the campaign and preparing it in advance (rather than a last-minute rush) increases its chances of it actually being successful. Prepare the content for the emails and text messages of your campaigns so that it is high-quality content.

Analyze data: after succeeding in all the steps, it’s time to check your data. Analyze your campaign data to see what worked better and what didn’t work in order to improve for your next campaign.

Need any ideas for use of automation?

Special events: birthdays, anniversaries, date of joining the club – use data your contacts gave you to make them feel special on those dates which are important for them. If your business is a shop, you can send a special discount code for those celebrating their birthday at the beginning of the month, and in case they didn’t use their discount code, send them a reminder several days later with a unique SMS to use the discount.

Opinion: following a purchase of a service, send your clients a survey to keep in contact with them and allow them to give you feedback. A client gave you a good rating? Thank them in a personal email with a unique discount. Got negative feedback? Send the rater a text message saying you’re sorry to hear about it with a request for suggestions to improve the experience.

Abandoned cart: the client didn’t complete the purchase? You can remind them using a personal email about the items after a certain preset amount of time, or even add a discount code that will encourage them to come back and complete their purchase.

Message sequence: a message sequence is when you send your clients after a certain action to keep active and continuous contact with them. For example, a new user joining the member’s club – start with an email congratulating them for joining and offering a discount code upon their first purchase. Continue with a text message three days later reminding them about the new membership discount and two weeks later send an email with fun and interesting information about the products and your business.

Now that you are (virtually) possessing the knowledge and the tools – it is now the time to hit the road and automate your business!

 

8 Ways Bulk Email Attachments Would Upgrade Your Business

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Let’s begin with the bottom line: using paper and post office for your business is just not legit anymore. Sending your customers documents, reports, and invoices through letters is not only outdated but also wasteful and inefficient – and the sooner you abandon this method, the better.

Whether your business is a service or a product, using a bulk email service will be the optimal way to go.

What is a bulk email attachment service?

Bulk attachment is a feature in the inwise system that allows sending directly to your contact’s inbox emails with individual attachments, such as invoices and personal documents.

Besides the fact that it’s cheaper, greener, and safer for your data – it will boost your service and leverage your user experience game in so many ways.

How exactly? Glad you asked. We listed eight ways that switching to a bulk email attachment service would improve your business:

1. No lost information

Remember the good old days of sending letters, not knowing when or if they would ever get to their destination? Well, you can wave goodbye to this tangle. Email bulk attachment service sends all invoices and documents directly to the contact’s inbox and tells if the contact has opened the email – so lost information is out of the equation.

2. Digital documentation

Your offices look like an archive at the local library, filled with folders of files? When you send bulk attachment mail, the paperwork can go out the window, or rather, for recycling.
All of your mail documentation is backed up in our system, so you can effortlessly go back to it anytime.

3. Accessibility and availability

When you send bulk attachment emails online, documents are easily found. All data is one click away from you, whether you need to find an invoice from last year or read the contract you sent to a major client.

4. Time saver

Save yourself the hassle of sending a mass amount of emails to dozens of customers, which can take up a lot of your time. At your fingertips, you can easily send email bulk attachments – thanks to the system’s capability to withdraw all documents at once and assign them per contact.

5. Money saver

Using paper equals wasting money, period. The equation is simple; papers, ink, envelopes, stamps, and post office services are expensive. Sending mass emails with individual attachments isn’t.

6. Simple document correction

Updating a document or correcting mistakes within it can be pretty exhausting when done with post office services. Spare all that back and forth correspondence with your customers, and instead, simply send bulk emails online with the needed files and get them back in no time.

7. Keeps your data safe

Worried about securing your customers’ data? We’ve got your back. Our system is highly safe and keeps all of the files preserved and protected, so you can send invoices, personal documents, and reports without concerns.

8. Green and innovative

Using bulk attachments, you can say goodbye to wasting paper and hello to green and eco-friendly use. Just think about the good you will do with the environment, alongside the innovative and positive image that would stick with your brand.

Eventually, in today’s innovative and tech-based world, adding an email bulk attachment feature to your email marketing system is the logical choice for your business. Sending mass emails with individual attachments will, without a doubt, change your business and improve it significantly.

Digital Transformation and Salesforce

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The business world is in a period of transition. We are experiencing the fourth industrial revolution – significant changes are happening in technology, industry, and day-to-day life in a rapid way. Companies across the globe started realizing that today’s customers are connected, informed, and technologically savvy and they expect that the companies and the brands will also be likewise.

Digital transformation — the process by which organizations modernize themselves to incorporate new digital technologies throughout their entire business — is becoming completely essential. Salesforce, widely recognized as one of the most innovative CRM in the world, helps companies in their digital transformation while making them more agile and increasing their ability to innovate.

In this article, we look into two important areas in a business that digital transformation most affected – Sales and Service. One brings in new customers and the other retains existing customers.

​Digital transformation in Customer Services

Customer expectations of how companies should interact with them have changed significantly.

Additionally, more than 70% of consumers say that customer service provided at any time has an influence on their loyalty. They want brands that can offer service and support them where they are, that offer a seamless experience across every channel.

Salesforce service cloud offers great tools that help the service agents work on the cases efficiently with the single customer view at their disposal. The community cloud with Knowledge center enabled is a great example. This offers features like self-logging of incidents, service tickets, and knowledge base articles that can be searched. Customers need to easily contact the Service team in the channel they most prefer be it Email, SMS, Phone, WhatsApp etc. To accomplish this, you may want to look at AppExchange apps that centralize all the communication channels, syncs the data with Salesforce seamlessly, with the option to access the information within SF at any time.

Digital transformation in Marketing

The aim of marketing is to increase your customer base and revenue while spending less money. Digital marketing helps in generating more quality leads and helps you to be in the same digital space as all of your customers.

In this age of customers, you’ll need to change your marketing strategy. Switch marketing print materials with digital materials, printed mail campaigns with personalized email campaigns and journeys, billboard advertising with social media advertising, brick and mortar storefronts with online websites and eCommerce sites, loyalty clubs with mobile apps, and loyalty gamification.

Using Salesforce you can build 1-1 personalized customer journeys spread across multiple channels be it Email, SMS, Mobile Apps, or Social Media, and reach the customers in the channels they are active and at the time they most prefer. The message you reach out to customers should be personalized and relevant to the customer based on their past transactions, their personal purchase preferences in their preferred channel of communication.

Another thing that is important to pay attention to is responsiveness. In a digital-first world, where every content you share, every email you send is opened via mobile, the content has to be mobile responsive. Therefore you must use default mobile responsive aligning with your strategy.

 

Digital transformation is a must if you as a business want to stay current in this period of revolution. Choose the right platform, app, and software that is best in the business and serves your customers well, help your company grow and transform into this digital world.

Sometimes people make mistakes : The 14 most common mistakes in email marketing, how to avoid them and recover

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Approaching the end of the year and the beginning of a new one, this is the perfect time to update your clients, contacts and employees of what you’ve done in the passing year and what’s coming up. Before sending out this summary email, it’s important to pay attention to several things.

Fact: according to a recent study, about 52% of the marketers have made about 2-5 email marketing mistakes in the past year alone. Email marketing mistakes are located on a large spectrum starting from a small “oops” up to a complete disaster. Some were “just” mistakes resulting from a lack of attention or proper spelling, and some could be problematic and harmful.
Most mistakes are on the “oops” side of the spectrum, but when you make them, it still feels like a complete disaster. After all, you just emailed your mistake to a few hundreds, maybe thousands of people, who you probably imagine sitting there, comparing or making fun of you.

In order to help you avoid those mistakes, recover after having made them, or even help you feel better about the ones you’ve already made, we’ve drafted a list of the most common email marketing mistakes.

So for the sake of all of you out there, here are the 14 most common email marketing mistakes people make:

  1. Display issues – No matter how well your content is written and how precise the copywriting is, if it’s not presented perfectly according to the screen display (responsiveness) you’re missing out on something. Always check the display on several screens to avoid losing users just because they’re not getting a good user experience.
  2. Attaching wrong links, cut links or forgetting to attach a link – You want to get your links right: you’ve chosen to attach a link to your mailing list? Make sure it’s not “broken” and that it actually directs the user to the correct page. You wrote “Here’s a link to something incredible” and didn’t attach the link? That might not be the best thing… make sure to double-check your texts and your links.
  3. Sending the wrong email to the wrong person – Sending an email about a revolutionary shampoo to a group of bald guys – might not be the best thing. Make sure your emails are sent to the right target audience.
  4. Not inserting an “Unsubscribe” button – Actually, this is borderline illegal. Use a mailing system that allows people to unsubscribe with a click of a button.
  5. Sending out-of-date information / photos – The accuracy of the information you’re sending out is basic. Selling swimming pool equipment and having an email with a photo of a heavy winter coat? That’s one big “oops”. Make sure the photos you’re using and the information you’re providing are correct and accurate.
  6. Sending large emails – Don’t overload your users’ mailbox, it’s unnecessary. Try to send out emails with regular texts and not overload it with photos which slow down the email display.
  7. Sending out contradicting emails – Make sure the emails you send your contacts match each other. A client who purchased a new dishwasher and receives an email with a guide on how to operate a dishwasher and shouldn’t receive an email with an offer for replacement parts.
  8. Sending the same email twice – Shortcuts are great. That is why we have the wonderful “Duplicate” option allowing you to duplicate a campaign and send it again. However, please be careful only to duplicate a campaign that is actually relevant “as is” and doesn’t require corrections or changes.
  9. The issue of “Copy-Paste” – It is extremely comfortable to copy and paste text, but you have to make sure you’re copying the right text in full and pasting it in the right place.
  10. Sending unfinished emails – Imagine we would stop this sentence in the mid…. or have an XXX in the middle of a sentence. Not a very nice feeling. Make sure you’re sending out full emails and not half-finished ones.
  11. Typos – You cannot send out emails with typos. Period.
  12. Sending emails from the wrong account – Do you have several email accounts for your various activities? Make sure to send your emails from the right account and profile. You don’t want to send the wrong marketing message to the wrong audience from the wrong account; not only will it confuse your readers, but it could also create an unprofessional image for you. Just make sure you’re using the right account whenever you send an email.
  13. Defining a schedule with wrong dates – Just like a sitcom, timing is everything. Make sure to send your marketing emails at the right moments that don’t clash with special days or times that might be unsuitable for your contacts.
  14. Not following up on sent emails – You went through all the trouble, put in the work, made a whole design, and sent it – don’t you want to follow up on the results? Collecting data is the basics of success – make sure to check the results of your campaigns to constantly improve.

Conclusion:
Already feeling better about your mistakes? Great 😊 That’s a great starting point.
Found yourselves among the mistake list? That’s okay. Email marketers make mistakes sometimes. The correct working method will ensure to reduce your mistake margins as well as efficient mailings. Good luck!

What is segmentation and why is it so important for your business?

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We watch series on streaming apps (Netflix) that adapt different content to our personal taste, listen to music according to playlists adapted for us. We live in a world in which everything is personalized. This is the consumer revolution of the new business world and that is what potential clients are expecting of you. The most personalized experience possible.

In an era of digital transformation in which we are all bombarded with content coming from all directions, making your contacts open the email or newsletter sent to them requires a precise adaptation of what interests them, and even more so – of the way they think.
Studies show that starting the moment a person comes across an email or a landing page, it takes them 3-5 seconds to decide whether they would like to continue reading or move on to the next thing.

A proven way to intrigue your client into staying and keep reading is by triggering the right marketing message to the right person. How is it done? Using segmentation.
Market segmentation is a division of audiences into groups according to common characters, out of the purpose of adapting campaigns and automatic processes to them. The more precisely you segment your contacts, the more personally you will be able to address them and increase the chances of the email you sent actually being opened, read, and eventually boosting your campaign as well as the conversion and purchase rates. Studies show that the opening rates of segmented campaigns increased by 14% and clicks by 62%.

So which tools can assist in market segmentation? according to which segmenting categories? And what can be done with all this information? All the answers are coming up…

Tips and ideas for your market segmentation

In order to send each person the content and information that fits them, we first need to locate the common characteristics of the target audience, and in fact, create sub-audiences out of them. Ideas for common characteristics:

  • Biographic characteristics – age, gender, type and level of education, field of business.
    This category is particularly important for matching the service/product. The brand of yoga for pregnant women will usually address women. The way of addressing and way of writing (slang, professional) could change when addressing teenagers or adults and helps adapt the message to the target audience.
  • Demographic data – living area, family status, etc.
    Helpful mainly in publications of local events and business for which the living environment is relevant.
  • Shopping preferences – where your contacts usually shop: online or physical shops. What grabs their attention: offers and sales or being the first to purchase the latest update?
  • Significant dates – birthdays and anniversaries, birth, sweet sixteen, etc.
    Relating to personal events and dates of your contacts will increase the engagement and personal contact, through sending a personal card with wishes together with the offer.
  • Subscription rate – in order to strengthen the relations with the contacts that went a long way with you or increase new subscribers. For example, sending a card or discount for one year of the date they subscribed.

Which tools are at your disposal to create segmentation?

After defining the right characteristics for segmentation of the target audience to sub-groups, you must have asked yourselves how can we collect all this data… so here are a number of tools and ways to receive this information:

  • Using signup forms embedded in your website and popups – the registrations testify to various fields of interest and allow segmentation of your contacts into groups.
    For ex., an interior design website will have a popup show for a webinar on the kitchen design page. The subscribers will be added to a group of people interested in kitchens. On the garden design page, the signup form for the mailing list regarding garden architecture will appear.
  • Landing page – a concise and focused web page designated to call for action. This is another great opportunity to add, in the form, additional questions beyond basic contact info.
    For example, a traveling company can ask which kind of vacation you would be interested in: relaxing, hiking or extreme vacation.
  • Mailing – did they open, click or share – here you can learn quite a bit about certain content that might interest your contacts – which mails do they tend to open more than others? Those elaborating about a certain content or updated on offers and sales? On which days and times did they open the email, and do they even react to the call for action.

How do we move forward 🙂

Once you’ve fulfilled your obligations and sent the subscribers the thing you committed to sending, it is time to send the same group further relevant offers – but make sure not to spam them. You can send all the subscribers a digital download menu about building websites, emails about opening a website building course in the summer and later on a newsletter with updates in the field.
Once you’ve obtained personal data such as date of birth, anniversary, you can send a happy birthday and gift code on January 1st to all of the people born in January.
This information is valuable to strengthening personal relations with the client.

How can we improve? Using analytics reports – following up on opening and clicking on links will reflect an image of the interest level and responsiveness of your client.
Any answer to any question can be a segment list to which additional mailing should be sent according to the action performed.

 

In conclusion, correct use of market segmentation and implementing the ideas listed above will assist you in sending your clients content that has relevant value for them, significantly increase the chances of the email you’ve sent being appropriately received, and create a loyal client community in the long term.