If your email marketing isn’t returning the results you’re expecting, fret not: there are always new tactics you can implement in your strategy to turn things around. Whether your list needs a good cleaning, or your copy and design could use a boost, you have all the tools you need to get your emails opened and increase your conversions. Let’s take a look at three essential techniques you can make the most of – starting today!
Take a closer look at your copy
Start with your subject line: is it compelling? Does it make you want to click? A useful habit is to write down several versions of your email subject line before you decide on the best one. If you’re still unsure, ask a few friends and colleagues to give you their feedback. Also, consider running some split tests to see what style, tone, and length works best with your subscribers.
Once you’ve found a winning formula, take a closer look at your email body. Step out of your marketer head for a second and ask yourself how you’d feel if you received your email. Would you find it useful, educational, and entertaining? If given the opportunity, what could you improve about it? Be your own editor and cut out everything that doesn’t serve your purpose, which is to help, inform, and entertain your audience.
Final step: how do your call-to-actions sound like? Are you using all the classic formulas, such as “buy now” or “click here”? How about changing things up a bit? Use your creativity to come up with different ways to invite your readers to take a specific action. However, make sure your CTAs clearly convey your message and don’t generate any confusions.
When was the last time you used an email verifier?
One of the best habits you can develop, as an email marketer, is to keep a constant eye on your reports. Your Email Service Provider (ESP) should display the metrics of each campaign, so you can get a clear idea on how they’re performing. Do you look at your open and click-through rates? Good. How about your bounces? If they are anything above 2%, your list may be in need of a cleaning.
Invalid and fake email addresses not only skew up your reports – of course your open rate is not accurate if, let’s say, 20% of your leads are dead ends. But also, they affect your sender reputation, which has a crucial impact on how many of your emails actually reach the inbox. That’s why email verification has become vital to marketers, who are always looking to boost their campaigns’ ROI.
The most effective way to improve your email hygiene is by using a good email verifier. It removes invalid, fake, abandoned, or temporary addresses, thus helping you reach actual people instead of bots and useless contacts. Also, most email verifiers find and eliminate abuse emails – these belong to known email complainers who may label your messages as spam. Spam traps are difficult to detect, but an advanced email verifier will be able to weed them out at least partially.
If you want to prevent risky email addresses from joining your list, stop them in their tracks by deploying an email verifier API on your platform. The API won’t allow misspelled and other types of bad email addresses to sign up for your emails.
Email your list more often
You don’t have to turn into an emailing machine, because this tactic will backfire and you’ll start to see an increasing number of subscribers waving you goodbye. But people actually love hearing from you. A recent email marketing study shows that 47% of consumers prefer email to communicate with a brand. However, it’s a known fact that the number one reason people unsubscribe is because they receive too many marketing emails.
The key is to find your sweet spot. If you email your list once a month, try sending out your newsletters every other week. Look at your reports and see if that’s a strategy you want to stick with. Then, some of your subscribers may want to hear from you every week. Create a separate sequence for them and ask them to opt in.
In email marketing, what matters most is email hygiene and getting to know your audience well enough to predict what they need and want. Always put their interests above yours, strive to send them useful content, be consistent in your efforts, and you’ll reap the benefits.
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A former journalist, Corina Leslie is the PR & Marketing Manager for email verifier ZeroBounce. She is passionate about communication and helping others email successfully. You can find her on the ZeroBounce blog, where she shares her best tips on digital marketing, copywriting, PR and everything in between.
As a busy entrepreneur, how often do you find yourself “up to your eyeballs in alligators” managing your day to day tasks? If you’re like many high achievers, the answer is probably “more than I’d like”. The reality facing entrepreneurs today is that with additional technology and skill requirements, comes additional resources, a greater investment in time, and projects that encompass much larger scopes than ever before. But did you know, that there’s a position that exists in the business world to juggle all of that? Did you know there’s an individual that you could hire, that will ensure that all the moving parts of your business operate together toward your vision? There is. And, that job title is an integrator.
What is an integrator? In the simplest terms, an integrator takes your vision and makes it happen. Think of an integrator as a project manager on steroids. Not only do they understand business processes, but they can effectively and efficiently orchestrate all the moving parts. They shoulder the burden so that you can focus on being the driving genius behind your business. They are not “yes men”. A true integrator will ask questions and will be quick to point out opportunities of improvement within your processes, staffing, and procedures.
How can you spot an integrator? If you’re lucky, you may already have an integrator-in-waiting on staff who is currently fulfilling another roll. You’re looking for an extrovert who also happens to have a nice balance of qualitative and quantitative understanding of how your entire operation runs. You’ll want to fill this role with someone who is a visionary with the ability to execute: like an ENTJ, INTJ. It is critical that your integrator has demonstrated the ability to be an effective leader in his/her current or past role. A Renaissance man or woman? Possibly. If you already have someone on your team, ask the opinions of the people who have worked with them about their experiences. Find out if that person likes to collaborate or prefers to work alone; whether they’re open to new ideas or ready to shut ideas down before they’re fully developed; and whether they’ve established a good rapport with others.
Do they speak the lingo?
You know your business from the ground up, but if you were to ask prospective integrators the question, “What business are we in?” would the answers you receive be unimaginative, narrow, pedantic or just plain flat? Even an employee doing an excellent job for you isn’t necessarily integrator material, so if the response you get to “What business are we in?” proves insufficient, leave them where they already do their best work and move on.
On the other hand, if the individual you are looking at for this job thrives on building consensus, has evident empathy and can’t abide ambiguity, you’ve got yourself a viable candidate. Integrators not only speak the lingo but walk the walk. They’ve got big-picture perspectives influenced by traditional values and dutiful demeanors. Do they change their minds? They do. But only after being presented with solid evidentiary proof, at which point they graciously (and without hesitation) have no problem admitting that they were wrong.
How to have the best working relationship with an integrator?
You won’t have a hard time working with your integrator if you pick someone who’s authentic and if you, yourself are also authentic. Integrators appreciate truth and are emotionally intelligent enough to match their relationship-building traits with yours. It’s not your job to conform to your integrator’s personality; it’s their job to conform to yours. Working with an integrator should be fun and should feel like a partnership. Whether you tend to be blunt and obsessed with winning or you don’t like being the star of the show, be your true self and allow your integrator to adjust to your style. A true integrator is genuinely interested in seeing your business thrive and be successful. Integrators find great joy and personal fulfillment in bringing order to chaos and will do so with respect for your position and authority.
Perhaps most importantly, it is incumbent upon you to be forthright—or at least as forthright as you can be without giving away business secrets—because you’ve hired someone who values that in an employer. Intuitive hires are going to take their cues from the people who have been around you the longest (if they’re as clever as you think they are). On the other hand, if your pick proves incompatible, cut short the relationship as soon as you realize it’s going nowhere. You’ll do both yourself and the integrator you hired a huge favor.
With the constant changes in technology, marketing, and skills, it’s virtually impossible to stay on-top of your game and continue to be the genius juggling all strategic aspects of your business. Now you know, you don’t have to. Hire a fantastic integrator to lead your team and processes through revolutionary change and have fun doing what YOU love, as your vision comes to fruition.
Are you looking for an integrator? Let’s chat! Schedule a consultation with me to discuss how we can help get you out of those alligators.
Have a great week! Robyn
PS: When you’re ready here are 5 things you can do to grow as an entrepreneur:
Choosing a company car doesn’t have to be a difficult and daunting process. In fact, when you have the right research, you will soon find that the whole process is easier than ever.
Always try and Buy Smart
We now live in a world full of economic pressures. Everyone is trying to go green and this should certainly be taken into consideration when you buy your very first company vehicle. If you are going on a long journey then you will be glad when you don’t have to fill up as often, and you may even find that you use way less fuel than expected too.
Choosing the Right Specs
Buying a new company vehicle can be frustrating because there are so many things that you need to take into consideration. This can include the gadgets that come with the car and even its general performance. Either way, the first thing that you need to do is work out which features are important to you. This could include a GPS, a parking sensor or even an electric sunroof.Specs like this can go a long way when it comes to the overall comfort of your team, and the car that you choose will say a lot about your business too.
Don’t Forget to Think Ahead
Some companies will let you buy whatever car you choose outright after a couple of years. If this is the case, then you really do need to think about the future. Will a small car be appropriate if you are going to use it for your own use? Are you going to expand your business any time soon? What about travelling to company events? If you are going to need several big vehicles because your company and your team travel a lot, then it is always a good idea for you to look into abus for sale.
Insurance
When choosing your company car, insurance should always be a consideration. Flashy cars are generally way more expensive to insure when compared to cheaper models. For this reason, try and avoid going for anything too sporty. It’s also a good idea that you try and research the cost of insuring a vehicle before you go out and buy it. Bigger cars or vehicles will be more costly to insure when compared to smaller cars, but that being said, they can transport less people. If you are going to be driving long distances with your entire team, it may actually be cheaper for you to get one larger vehicle instead of several smaller cars.
Budget
Finding out what budget you have is always advantageous. You need to be honest with yourself and you also need to take into account the financial health of your business. Remember that company cars are investments, and this is especially the case if you use them for branding purposes. Every time you take your car out on the road, you will be telling the world who you are, and this is a fantastic way for you to make your company car much more worthwhile.
Utilise the Internet
Buying a car or company vehicle online is great. It gives you so many more options and it also makes it easier for you to find a model that suits your requirements. You do however have to make sure that you don’t buy the car without looking at it first. If you don’t then there could be damages that you don’t know about or you may even find that the car is not in good condition. If you have completed the transaction, then the car is legally yours and this could cause issues for you in the future. A good rule is to treat your company car in the same way as you would your own car. If you think that something is a bad investment then walk away, even if it means delaying your purchase. After all, yourbusiness finances are just as important as your personal finances and the sooner you understand this, the better your financial health will be.
So, there are many things that you need to think about when the time does come for you to choose your company car, but by taking the above into consideration, you can be sure to choose one that is not only suitable for your needs, but also affordable as well. It’s also worth talking to your car dealer to see if they can advise you on the car you need and the specifications that you should be looking at.
If you have a business idea then it can be hard to get it from business idea to a real launch. You might have the best business idea in the world, but if you don’t know how to get it launches and off in the right way, then a lot of mistakes can happen. When you launch, you’ll want it to be as seamless as possible, so that it can launch with a bang and get the business off the ground. Mistakes along the way can prove to be very expensive later on, so launching in the right way is so important. So here are some tips to help you to launch your business, skip the pitfalls and start off on the best foot possible.
Know Your Why
When it comes to business, it is really important to know and realize why you are doing what you are doing. Is it because you have a great product to share with the world? Or do you have something that can make life easier for many, and it helps to solve certain problems? Is it purely for financial reward? So think about what you are doing and why. Why are you planning to do things in a certain way? Think deeply and then own it.
Start Building a Community
If you are waiting for customers to come through the door, whether physical or digital, before you start making the business work, then you will have to start hard selling to them. So what you need to start doing is curating a community as soon as you can; today. Then you will have an audience for when you do launch, and people will have built up a relationship with you and know and trust what you are doing. These potential customers will help to teach you things along the way, and help you get the marketing for your product right, first time around.
Launching in a Professional Way
When it comes to launching your business, then it is such a good idea to make sure that you launch in a professional way. As the old saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. And if you want to be taken seriously, then it is so important to launch in the right way. It could be from using a site like https://physicaladdress.com to get a business virtual address, to using a site like https://godaddy.com for help with getting a professional domain name for your website.
Start Testing & Get Feedback
When you have a product to launch, you are likely to have had plenty of contact with plenty of people as you get the business off the ground. But make sure that you are testing the waters and getting the feedback that you need. From marketing and research panels to getting your website launched, even with ‘coming soon’ pages, as it could help you to get early subscribers, for example. When you’re able to get things like a subscriber list started, then it can make a big difference.
***Contributed Post***
In this new digital era, setting up an online business is becoming more and more tempting. The overheads are minimal and there is a multitude of software that makes running a business uber-easy. But before you take the plunge, there are a few important things to consider…
Find Your Niche
Just like with any business, you are going to need a unique selling point which sets you apart from your competitors. You need this to be able to create enticing marketing materials and to be able to upsell your company to the people you meet.
Write Great Copy
When it comes to online businesses, content is king. Unlike businesses with physical premises which allow the customer to see and feel the product which can therefore sell itself, with online companies the product is virtual in the eyes of the customer. The content on your website needs to do all the talking. It needs to be able to create a genuine image of the product that customers can believe in, and it needs to sell the product to them. This is particularly important if you’re selling a service.
Website
Your website is going to be the face of your company, so don’t let it create any barriers for you. Make it ultra-easy to navigate with clear content that doesn’t leave the customer guessing. It also needs to be visually appealing and set a professional, high-quality tone.
SEO
Make the most of the tools available to you as an online company. Use Search engines to optimize traffic to your site by becoming as close to the top of the list of search results for your sector, as you can.
Reputation
Just like with any business, reputation is crucial. Build an online presence on related forums and sites so that people can start to associate you with your niche. Build links between your website and others to boost credibility and encourage online reviews that could lead others to your website.
Communicate with Your Customers
When your customers get in touch with you, it is important to respond to them. You need to build relationships with your customers so that they can recommend you to others and so that you really stick in their minds. A helpful company is something that is really appreciated by the consumer. It also helps your company to appear more authentic and personable which is particularly important for online companies.
Cybersecurity
Check out a company like FWI to help you when it comes to your cybersecurity. Having your business online makes you vulnerable to cybersecurity threats which have the potential to steal data, lock you out of, or destroy your own website.
Online businesses are a great way to make money if you have a unique selling point that can stand the test of time. However, it is important to make sure your website is top-notch with excellent copy, that you’re making the most of online marketing tools, actively building a good reputation, communicating with your customers, and that you have invested in some cybersecurity. For more online business advice visit robynr9.sg-host.com .
The end of the first quarter is nearing and maybe you failed to meet your goals. You’re feeling disappointed, and a little overwhelmed, but it’s important to remember that just because you failed at a goal in no way means you’re a failure.
It means something went wrong.
You might need to change your strategies.
It’s possible you need a new approach.
A failed goal doesn’t mean your business is failing or you’re incapable, but it does mean you need to change the way you do things and try again. Believe it or not, failure is often what catapults people into success!
Think about it. If Walt Disney had never been fired from his job as a newspaper editor (due to his lack of imagination), then Mickey Mouse and Disney would never have become what we know it to be today. If Steve Jobs had never been fired, he would never have purchased Pixar and revolutionized Apple after returning to the company. If Colonel Sanders’ restaurant had never failed, then there would never have been KFC. Failure opens the door to new opportunities.
Rather than fearing failure or allowing it to crush you, welcome it and then learn from it. Understand that it’s part of the journey, a necessary experience before you’ll be able to achieve your greatest success.
So here are 4 things to do now to kick the failure-blues:
1. Complete a post-mortem so you can properly learn from your experiences
A post-mortem is simply an analysis or discussion of an event soon after that event has occurred, mainly to determine why that event was a failure. If you’ve failed to achieve what you set out to do, it’s a sign that something went wrong! Similar to how a doctor will examine a patient who is seriously ill, examine your failed goal to figure out what exactly went wrong.
2. Take some time away
Failure often causes a lot of emotions, many of which make it harder to continue to do things. More importantly, they often block the ability to do things well. If you’re only able to think about your failure, then you won’t be able to make forward progress and will likely end up making the situation worse. So, take some time away! Do something different. Clear your mind. Start thinking about the big picture and don’t let yourself be stuck in the rotation of failed thoughts.
3. Pose honest questions, learn from other experts, and reignite your desire
Is what I’m doing enough to generate the results I want? How are other experts in my field doing it? Why do I want to do what I’m doing? Sometimes when we fail, we just need to take a step back, get our head out of the sand, and look around. Don’t be afraid to question your strategies, methods, or product. Learn from credible sources, peers, and experts. Remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing, what the real goal is, and why you love what you love. Help yourself refocus by questioning things brutally, learning abundantly, and regaining your passion.
4. Restart!
So, you’ve failed at a goal, but now it’s time to start again! Reboot and restart with a fresh goal, fresh strategies, and fresh inspiration. Remember that failure doesn’t define you. Rather, it’s a learning opportunity to improve you and your business by offering you experience and challenges. Believe in your ability to succeed, work hard, and learn from failure.
Tired of not hitting your goals? Ready to make some real progress? Sign up for myGoal Setting Bootcampif you’re craving a big change in your business or life, it’s time to learn how to set goals like a pro so you can get your dreams out of your head and into your daily life!
Have a great week!
Robyn
PS: If you want to learn how to set bigger, better and more achievable goals for your business then register for the Goal Setting BOOTCAMP today and let’s do this!
