It’s almost February, so time to do a quick gut check on your email New Year's resolutions! Wait, you didn’t set any? No worries, you can apply some common New Year's resolutions to your email program to yield significant results
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Resolution 1: Lose weight!
With customers being bombarded by email and other mediums, the sad truth is that as email marketers we often fail to trim the fat off our lists, so to speak. Ways to make sure you continue to send your relevant messages to only those customers that are actually engaged is by updating your preference center. Consider sending a re-engagement email driving customers to update their preferences. The inactives that don't respond may need to be kept off the main list after a specified period of inactivity.
Do customers have a way of opting down from your program as opposed to out of it completely? Can your customers elect to communicate with your brand via other channels? Provide options for text messages and allow for direct links to your Facebook or Twitter accounts to keep them engaged if email isn't their preferred channel.
Cleaning up your preference center is an easy and efficient way to optimize database health and provide users with additional ways to engage with your brand.
Resolution 2: Have more fun!
Have fun with your email program. Don't be afraid to shake things up. Are you sending the same emails as last year with no change to your content? If so, consider switching things up a little. Add a fun game, poll or a call to action to encourage engagement via your Facebook page. Not only will you learn some new things about your customers, you might make a new fan or two out of it.
Resolution 3: Make More Money
Nothing drives additional revenue like new customers, right? One easy way to acquire new customers is by making sure your website prominently displays the email enrollment option. That means having it on every page, not just the home page, because with many visitors arriving at your site via search, they may never see your home page. Already have that covered? Try adding a viral component to your emails encouraging customers to forward your great deals to their friends.
Taking the time to even try one of the 3 "resolutions" will have you well to making your "new and improved" 2012 email program a bit of a boost! And don't forget, you can try e-Dialog's Email Resolution Generator app to help you as well!
Paola Cerda, e-Dialog
