But, many email marketers fail to realize that how they
handle new email addresses gained through an append service can make or break
the overall lifetime values of those new customers. In this post, we’ll try to
shine some light on this often-forgotten aspect of the email marketing
equation, which we’ll refer to as the “on-ramp.”
Four steps to establish your email append on-ramp:
1. Don’t treat appended email recipients like the rest of
your email recipients—at first.
First and foremost, it’s important to realize that appended
email recipients most likely know nothing about your company, or even why
they’re receiving the emails in the first place. Even if they filled out a
form, they may not remember that they did, and might not expect an email from
you. If you immediately start bombarding them with the same marketing messaging
you send everyone else, you’ll only end up confusing and alienating them, which
will lead to very high opt-out rates. Keeping them isolated for a while will
preserve the CRM email marketing channels deliverability and engagement, and
allow you to nurture these newbies.
Start with a clear and straightforward introductory message
that gives recipients the opportunity to unsubscribe from future mailings, but
try to clearly communicate the value they will get if they do continue to
receive mailings.
2. Start slow, and show them the value.
When recipients evaluate whether or not your mailings are
worth receiving, they’re going to be taking a “what’s in it for me?” approach.
Make the decision easy for them by providing lots of value early on, in the
form of valuable tips or promotions, before you start easing them into your
standard marketing messaging. This takes time, and involves messaging in
parallel for several months and with several messages.
Also, take the time during these early messages to explain
exactly what recipients can expect from your mailings going forward, including
what you will be sending them and how often you’ll be sending it. This will
help avoid any confusion later on.
3. Give them plenty of options.
When you add new email recipients, it’s very important that
they be able to customize their email experience exactly the way they want it.
If that means not receiving the emails at all, then so be it; make sure that
it’s easy for them to unsubscribe from future mailings, and then make sure you
actually add them to your suppression file once they do.
In addition, make sure that the people who do want to
receive your emails get control over exactly how they receive those emails.
This could include things like setting a frequency to receive emails, choosing
whether they want to receive all of your emails or just the special offers, and
more. Giving people lots of choice at this early stage will help ensure that
your email marketing program is as effective as possible over time.
In addition, many people opt out of email lists because they
assume their only options are to receive either all of the emails or none of
them. If you clearly communicate the fact that people can pick the emails they
want to receive and when they want to receive them, this should help cut down
on opt-out rates.
4. Actually follow through on the promises you make.
Once you’ve moved appended email recipients over to your standard
marketing database, don’t go back on the promises you made during the welcoming
period. This will reflect badly on your company’s reputation. Making sure that
you only send email messages to the people that want to receive them, when they
want to receive them, is the best way to connect with prospects and avoid being
marked as a spammer.
When you get new email addresses through your emailappending service, it’s important that you handle them the right way. Putting
them directly into your marketing pipeline is like taking a brand-new driver
and putting them right on the highway. Instead, ease them in with an email
on-ramp.
Article From: www.datamentors.com
