Hello? Are You Still in Business?

The other day the store that carried my pooches favorite brand of dog biscuits quit carrying them. My dog has been pleading with me to find another supply. Looking on the packaging as I doled out the last biscuit I noticed a website address. I thankfully emailed the company with a request to send information on other suppliers.

That was over a week ago. My pooch, Coco, is so terribly sad.

This happens all the time with all sorts of services and products. I've emailed a manufacturer of a specialty device, with the same results. Companies that, for whatever reason, post a wonderful, informative website; then don't maintain it and, worse yet, provide contact emails and web forms and don't allot resources to respond to inquiries.

A growing segment of the population likes communicating via email. Email (and email via web forms) is a great way to avoid telephone tag. It is a pretty efficient way of communicating for both parties. Not only can someone send a message during 2:00 A.M. insomnia, but the answering party isn't required to respond during that Monday morning rush period and can provide responsive service back at a more convenient time.

But even companies with the most responsive telephone service often fail miserably when it comes to email. If you are doing your first website or revamping your current site, take a moment and commit resources to answer that most convenient of customers---those willing to wait for your convenience for an answer to that question---your email/website customer.
 

Testing Email Campaigns

Email is its own animal separate from the rules of the Web. As far as coding---well, email is basically back in the dark ages. And there are as many ways an email can be rendered by the various email clients as there are programs.

An email sent to a Yahoo address, for instance, can be viewed in different browsers, each browser will add different criteria---rendering spaces where spaces should not appear. The same happens to Gmail and Hotmail. And then there is the possibility that the email will be viewed on a phone---rendering links differently; for example a PDF will be downloaded instead of opened.

What this means is that each and every newsletter and email needs to be tested on a variety of browsers, mail processors, and devices. And this applies no matter what email client you are using to process your newsletters.

In addition make sure that you send tests to the major carriers like Comcast. There have been times when emails sent through to Comcast have gone undelivered with no trace or rejection sent for failure. Missing a good portion of your customers because of a fluke in Comcast's system is not the optimal results you want for your marketing campaign. And, again, each and every email should be tested. There have been times when an email program has been set and working for months when all of the sudden, seemingly for no apparent reason, Comcast's mail go undelivered.

So once you have that eye catching email---make sure it catches the eyes of all your customers---test, test, test.

Making up that email

An email template may be something that you will be considering for the new year. Even if you use an email service like Constant Contact you can add your own code, graphic, and links so that each email is consistently yours. If you are considering updating your template you might considering adding these components for a more polished  and useful correspondence:

• Each email should contain your name, address, email address for responses and comments, and your logo.
• You can update your emails to include links back to specific areas of your website. Why not provide a link to your web calendar of special events, blog, and home page?     
• Every email should contain a link for those wishing to unsubscribe.  
• Do you have a gift for your customer? A coupon or piece of information---a how to or an "inside your industry" tidbit keeps customers opening and reading your emails. 
• Advanced notice to events and sales creates an "insider's club." Everyone likes to belong.
• Make sure that links to your social media are included. Customers will not miss a chance to find out what's going on with you and when you get that new product in that the customer didn't know they needed.

Your template can be copied over for each email you send out---meaning that you only do it once and simply add the specifics for each program. Using the same template also creates branding. When I see the Martha Stewart aqua-green color on a gray background I know the email came from Martha Stewart's companies---I don't even need to see her picture or logo. I also know she has something to give to me---a piece of information, a new product, a tip or event. And more often than not, no matter how busy I am, I take the time to open it up and see what she's got for me today.
     

Key words

So you've decided on your email campaign. You have everything put together and ready to go. Take another look at your subject line.

What persuades you to open an email? What are the key ingredients that make an email irresistible to open? How do you increase your open rate to a figure better than 20%?

Offering your customer what they want in clear and concise verbiage can insure that your emails are not automatically headed toward the delete pile. Make sure your customers know who you are, what your business is, and what this particular email has to offer them.

What need does your customer have that this email can help them with? What information can help the customer with a future or current project? Why is this an event that your customer would like to attend?

Customers love the words free, gift, exclusive, event, party....but don't get into the habit of stating something that your email doesn't deliver or future emails will be ignored---deleted, unopened and you will lose opportunities to enthrall, assist, and interact with your current and future customers.     

Guarding your Email Address

Spammers have special programs that crawl the internet looking for unsuspecting individuals and small business owners who unknowingly post their email address to an internet page; either blog or website.

If your business' email addresses are being spammed and your hosting provider is unable to find an issue, you may want to take a look at your blog or website. Chances are you will find that your email address has been posted without the protection of a program to disguise the address. CAPTCHA programs can be added to pages as an additional step to protect a particular page.

And security can be added with a tiny Javascript ap that disguises your address. So, before you post your email, see your web consultant.