Filed under: The FireLine — Max Sandoval @ 1:00 pm
Obviously, the best time is when you think it would have the best chance of being read. Of course, that can vary, but here are some experienced recommendations:
Blue Mondays
Mondays, especially after holidays, are somewhat taboo (who wants a cranky reader?). Besides, it’s typically a day when most people (even those who may be in a decent mood) are catching up on email from the weekend, and are contemplating the challenges posed by the week ahead. If Monday is a holiday, time your blast to arrive on the Wednesday morning after the holiday (that’s because – you guessed it – in that case, Tuesday has become Blues Day)!
Tuesday is a good news day! Most business contacts receive an average of 75 emails per day. To make sure they have the time to review (and hopefully, read) your email, it’s a pretty good idea to have your email blast arrive on Tuesday mornings between 8am and 11am*. That’s because the “Monday Blues” are in the rear view mirror, and the day and week are relatively young. And, with energy levels and receptiveness relatively high in the morning, people are more apt to be responsive – hopefully, that day!
Wednesdays and Thursdays?
These are neither slime time nor prime time. Proceed as you see fit.
TGIF (They’re “gone” if Friday)
... maybe not physically – just mentally. Be honest! Where’s your head on some Fridays? ... OK, you’re not the Lone Ranger; others are a little spacey, too. Yeah, don’t push your luck. Fridays are difficult, as most folks (even the most diligent and motivated) are wrapping up work for the week and may not have the time to look at your message even if they don’t have one eye on the clock. And, if they do find time to read it, with a weekend interruption, they may have forgotten about you, and your message, by Monday.
Weekends?
If they’re in the office during the weekend, they’re the worst kind of masochists, and you don’t want their business anyway! ... On a more serious note, while many may be focused on business, your email most likely will lose out to a higher priority item, like the one that has brought them into the office on a weekend in the first place. And, frankly, we just wouldn’t want to stake our chances for readers’ comprehension on that “no man’s land” that falls between Friday and Monday.
And, finally, what is more important than the day and the time of day?
. . . Three little words: Content. Content. Content.
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Fundraisers
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The definition of all hat and no cattle is similar to all bark and no bite (or, a personal favorite of ours, all sizzle and no steak). All of these idioms mean the same thing - all talk and no action. Well, partner, it’s time to take action with some good ol’ email marketing.
Follow these marketing ABC’s to help grow your brand and your business by turning idle talk and wishes into some real cow tippin’ action.
A - Always get the email address While email addresses may seem a lot like phone numbers, they can be a far more powerful tool. Though you may have the ability to craft a message that connects consumer goals and objectives to your brand, it’s those email addresses that are the key to communication. Collecting them must be a priority, and there are many ways it can be done. Here are some:
Put your newsletter or mailer signup form on your Facebook fan page, website (with a link on every page), newsletter or other pieces (always remember to include a description of the benefits)
Offer a premium, email-only special or other incentive with signup
Point-of-sale collection
Send signup-solicitation postcards or other surface mailings
Enter your signees in a drawing
Include a signup link in the signature of your emails
Utilize your packages to solicit signups
Use capture cards at tradeshow booths and other appearances
Advertise for signups on all of your promotional materials, stationery, etc.
B - Be brand centric
Your brand is your promise – a link between your name and what it stands for. It will help your target consumers (current and potential clients/customers) distinguish your product/service from others.
Two factors are essential to an effective branding campaign:
It must have distinctive style and content in order to effectively describe and differentiate you.
It must be delivered in its many forms consistently and repeatedly over an extended time period (as in forever).
A good-looking, custom-branded email template will help add to your promise of commitment. We are now offering 50% off the $295 price! Check out our portfolio and get started on your custom email template today.
Click here to view our custom email template portfolio.
C – Content wins
Email marketing, the relevant type built upon reasons to buy, is most people’s preferred form for receiving information, and will usually induce prospects to visit your website or contact you directly.
An attractive, distinctive, custom-branded email template will establish your brand visually and help build a level of top-of-mind awareness that consumers will remember when it’s time for them to make a purchasing decision. Along with pertinent content, it makes for a winning combination.
At the core of any marketing strategy is developing a low-cost, high-impact marketing program that can be leveraged to get consumers to realize the value of products and services. Social media is a strong marketing medium that connects people to your products. Email marketing is a powerful feedback mechanism for social media.
Are you thinking what we are thinking?
At the core of any social media strategy is email marketing. The two were made for one another like chocolate is to peanut butter. FireDrum Internet Marketing is now offering Social Media Marketing and Email Marketing in a low-cost, high-impact marketing program.
With our Social Media Marketing and Email Marketing services combined, you will be able to drive greater conversions, enforce your brand, and turn social media into new customers and revenue.
We have done it! The new FireDrum 3.0 is officially hitting email marketing homeruns. So, with our updated service we have a great offer. Take a swing at email marketing with our new USE IT FREE program.
Our FREE program offers:
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Sign up by May 31, 2010 and receive a $50.00 credit towards any email marketing service.
All you have to do is signup and enter in the promo code FDA10.
You can also upgrade your account and get access to:
- Customizable Templates for Your Business
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- Unlimited Campaigns and Categories
- Date-Triggered Auto Senders
- Birthday and Anniversary eCards
As an added bonus, we will help you move your data over from another provider at no charge! So, lets get started on that email marketing. You are just a few minutes away from email bliss.
Has email marketing disappointed you? Have you felt cheated that the results you desired were not there?
Take a small bit of advice…
Do not give up!!
Like any good marketing program things take time and effort to gel and garner results. Building upon a good routine and plan is essential.
The First Step
Create highly relevant marketing messages which assign complementary products. Get creative and apply this idea to any product or service you are offering.
Connect with your Customer - Make Things Relevant
Email marketing represents an enormous opportunity to connect with customers, but remember to make things relevant.
For example, if you email your customers a special on running shows, offer them relevant content - a link to buy other running apparel from your store.
Ensure Strong Customer Response
Marketers, this is you, must also include any teams or other individuals early in the creative process to ensure that the email audience responds to these “cross-sold” products.
Groan and moan all you want, but face the facts – the holidays are approaching faster than a bullet train and sleigh bells are already ringing in your inbox. The holidays are the chance to add a little sparkle and fluff to your email marketing campaigns and promotions – which many marketers take advantage of. (Hint: I do usually write with so many cheesy phrases).
The economy may be down, but that doesn’t mean your marketing should be – You’ve heard us say it before: Email Marketing is one of the most cost-effective methods of advertising and currently the only growing forms of advertising. October sound too early for Santa to pay you a visit? The majority of businesses begin their holiday pushes in mid October to early November.
Non-profit organizations can use this time to petition for support for their annual holiday fundraisers, elicit donations and find other ways to encourage support. Emails like “What Do You Get for the Person that has Everything? Donate in their name today” etc. is a great example of how email marketing can become a stocking stuffer or make a great gift.
Lets review some tips and refresh a few of the basics
Holiday Marketing Tips and Practices
Compelling subject line: A slew of retailers, restaurants, organizations and others will storm our inboxes with offers, promotions and propaganda this holiday season. The trick is to be able to stand out amongst all your competitors when the pressure increases. The first thing a recipient receives when they look in your box is the subject line. Put this on your holiday list.
Address their needs - Needs vs. Wants -Don’t forget the basic principles of Giving them what they want - after all it is the holiday season
Be HONEST - Tell it like it is.
Holiday Marketing Pitfalls to Avoid:
Believe it or not, you can still screw up a holiday sale promotion – and many retail marketers do. Botched promotions can lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in missed sales. After all look at the Jay Leno show and one of their most popular segments. Advertising that is wrong.
Here are a few mistakes to avoid like scrooge:
Over frequency: Many marketers increase the frequency of their promotions during the holiday season, but there are those that go overboard and overwhelm us with emails daily.
Pumpkins, cornucopia, turkeys, pilgrims, reindeer, Christmas trees, Santa – get ready for a visual overload of holiday propaganda. It’s daunting, it’s overwhelming – it’s the holiday season and its here whether you like it or not.
On Tuesday night I completed the 2nd seminar hosted at Entrust Arizona, entitled Blogging for SEO. As per a seminar hosted by FireDrum a rousing discussion of the evening’s topics always takes place and is encouraged.
This discussion was wide a varied, and while we kicked around technical aspects of the blog, I was really interested in the how to mentally prepare for blogging and the biggest factor is to…
BE FEARLESS!
Being fearless when blogging can mean a lot of things:
Getting over that “Nobody wants to hear what you have to say”
Yea you are probably right, but no good author, Twain, Hemingway, HST, the list goes on was a read author right away. They built up creditability through writing, just like how you are going to have to do.
or how about this doozy “I don’t have anything to say”
Really, you have no passions, hobbies, or even enjoy your work? Most people who blog in business are the business owners themselves, and if you stick to what you know, servicing clients, service offerings, success stories, best practices, industry trends and news, then you will quickly find you do have A LOT to say.
Here is another favorite “What if someone doesn’t like what I have to say?”
This was the topic of discussion with the group for a nice chunk of the evening. The bomb lobbers, haters, keyboard warriors troupe…..
So frustrating, you as a blogger are out there meaningfully contributing to the conversation in your industry and some bully behind a keyboard comes by and drops some rain on your parade. Now grated unless you are writing about controversial topics you are not going to run into much resistance however if you do, we had some great suggestions, examples and discussions for what to do:
Ignore it
Respectfully comment back
Or Ignore it and let the crowd source it and rebuke the hater (Definitely the best)
And what not to do:
Retaliating with some equally heavy words either through a comment or a direct message
But really at the end of the day, the only way to blog success is to BE FEARLESS, well that and stick to a schedule, but you should have came to the seminar to hear about that…
Search engine optimization is a practice that is constantly growing and evolving. With the release of Microsoft Bing and soon to be released Google Caffeine, we’re seeing a few of the rules and methods changing, but one thing is still certain – fresh, relevant content remains king. How can you keep your site fresh without having to constantly tweak and change the content on your site? This can easily be accomplished by implementing a blog on your website.
A blog is not just a communication tool, or an outlet to talk about your company’s business, niche, or chatting about your latest company picnic – it’s a way to increase your organic search rankings, that’s right, blogging is a powerful SEO tool when used correctly.
A critical mistake many companies make is hosting their blogs someplace else. While the blog can still hold great information, and maybe even rank well on its own, it provides virtually no help to your main website. Great blog posts attract traffic, links, and comments – all of which can help your organic search rankings. If your blog is hosted elsewhere, the hosting platform or URL will reap the benefits, while hosting on your main site makes sure that valuable link “juice” is directed to the right place.
Have a clear goal in mind when you start your company blog, know your audience, write consistent insightful posts, update frequently and optimize for the search engines.
Don’t be afraid to have personality in your writing, but make sure you stay within the guidelines your business has outlined. Having multiple authors on your blog is a way to keep your readers interested. If your blog is too serious and dry, you’ll lose visitors to sheer boredom.
A helpful and enriching thing to do is to invite guest bloggers to post on your blog. Find an expert within your niche and ask if they would be willing to write a post for you. You would be surprised at how eager they can be - it increases their exposure, your exposure and will bring traffic and can drive valuable links to your site.
In addition to having guest blogs on your site, you should offer to guest blog on other sites. Finding blogs in your niche, taking the time to comment on relevant posts builds invaluable relationships which lead to potential links. A good natural link from another site in your niche is key in optimization. Google values these links and the more of them you have – the more you look like an authority in your field.
Another question that is often scrutinized is whether or not you should open up your blog for comments. The general consensus on this is yes…eventually. Close comments on your blog until you have a few posts and start seeing an increase in traffic, then open them up. Comments can be a valuable way for you to interact with your clients, hear what you are doing right, what could be done better and what your perspectives are interested in hearing about. However, if you have very few comments it can be detrimental to your blogs appearance of authority.
Link smart: Occasionally deep link your posts to other relevant pages or posts on your site - don’t forget to use keyword centric anchor tags and set any links to open in a new window - you don’t want your readers leaving your site. Don’t be afraid to link to other sites and relevant articles. Writing a post that naturally includes links to relevant sites can be a useful relationship building tool – and hey, they just might return the favor.
Blogs also allow you to get a little more creative - they can be a home for viral link bait (that may not be appropriate or direct to your company’s vision)…not sure what link bait is? You’ve seen it, you’ve most likely linked to it. Create funny top ten lists, funny videos, or creative photo sets that will attract links back to your site.
Social Media should also be incorporated into your blogging efforts: Social Media sites are key for promoting the content on your blog and creating a more dynamic, interactive forum for your business. By adding social sharing tools to your blog – you can increase your exposure and allow your readers to share your blog with their friends and followers.
Be rewarded for consistent, natural and continuous growth – don’t take shortcuts and stay away from shady, black hat tactics – because at some point, you’re most likely to be penalized and your rankings will drop.
Let’s Get Technical:
A blog isn’t that different from other web pages on your site when you get down to the nitty-gritty of it. Here are some important technical aspects to consider when optimizing your blog.
Location, Location, Location: When deciding where on your site to place your blog consider you may see businesses who use a separate sub domain - www.blog.yoursite.com however the recommended format by Google is to set up your blog as a separate folder on your site - www.yoursite.com/blog.
Permalink/URL structure: Set up your blogs URL structure to include category or blog posts. Instead of yoursite.com/blog/p?133 you can set up permalinks to rewrite the URL to yoursite.com/blog/email-marketing-tips. Be sure to use dashes for spaces in your URLs.
Optimizing Title Tags: Optimizing your posts title tags is of utmost importance. Many times the title of your actual post is not optimal for Google – take out a few words and naturally integrating a keyword or two into your title tag.
Meta Descriptions: Optimize your meta descriptions for each blog post – most search engines will read 150-160 characters, so make the most of it.
Don’t forget about your images: Just like on any page of your site, your images should have alt tags so the search engines have something to read. Alt tags should be relevant to the actual image and again this is a place where you can naturally incorporate a keyword – I said naturally, do not keyword stuff.
Header Formatting: Just like any page on your site your posts should have one H1 and should use H2’s and H’3s for subtitles. The H1 is your post title.
RSS Feeds: Make sure you set up an RSS feed to your blog.
Sitemap: Create a blog sitemap.
I could go on about navigation, canonical URL’s, blog analytics …etc. but will spare you for now – Just remember this:
If you blog consistently, optimize your posts and participate in your niche’s blogosphere you will see the rewards in your search rankings, site conversions and client communications. So what are you waiting for?
If you would like to get started with a company blog, or need help optimizing a current blog please contact us for a free analysis and proposal.
