How to put sizzle in your e-mail marketing

By Joanna L. Krotz

Many business owners by now have tried a round or two of e-mail marketing, and more than a few of you are less than satisfied with the results.

Perhaps you're worn out by doing labor-intensive e-zines or special offers. Staying on top of ever-changing databases also can be exhausting. Making sure you don't spam anyone is a concern. Then there are those dicey e-mail metrics. Figuring out what really works is a challenge.

Nevertheless, you should know this: E-mail marketing remains such an affordable and potentially cost-effective channel that it's foolish to let the whole thing slide. If you need convincing, check out these alternatives:

Direct mail: Response rates run 1% to 2% on mass-market purchased lists.
Telemarketing: Outbound calls are being met with ballooning customer resistance, while the rolls of "Do not call lists" keep growing. Increasingly, telemarketing is being tied to online programs.
Banner ads: Click-through rates (CTR) slid to less than 1% a few seasons back and are now inching their way back up to 3% to 4%.

By contrast, in a recent survey by New York-based Bigfoot Interactive, an email communications solutions provider, permission-based e-mails average 4.5% in retail, 11.6% for media and as high as 21% and 22% for financial services and automotive, respectively. Some business-to-business marketers, with highly-targeted lists and higher-end products, report CTRs of 40% or more.

Here are some ideas to revamp your efforts and net a stronger return on investment.

1. Offload the burdens.

Options for outsourcing the more tiresome chores of e-mail marketing have become a lot more effective then doing it in-house when you're a small shop. Offerings are flexible. You can harness software that offers customizable templates to create and distribute your content. You can outsource selected components, such as editorial services for content generation. Or you can hire outside providers to track visitor behavior patterns and preferences, including what kind of messages lead to higher conversion rates or which search engines lead to traffic likely to opt in and actually purchase.

You can get some automated help in creating, delivering and tracking your personalized e-mail campaigns with online services such as Microsoft's List Builder.

2. Get focused on your message.

Effective e-mail marketing usually has one of three goals:

Make special offers, such as discounts or time-sensitive deals.
Send invitations to events, seminars or organizations.
Keep in touch or make contact, for information, transactions or on behalf of a community or organization.

Before drafting messages or buying lists or meeting with designers, make sure you and everyone on the team is clear about the desired goal.

Figure out why you're sending the e-mail. Then define success. Is it when a recipient opens the message? Or clicks onto a landing page? Or is it a conversion measurement?

Slightly different messages can lead to very different results. For instance, one online retailer tested three messages, one all text, the other with the same text and an image of a young, sexy woman and the third with the same text and an image of a young man. Demographics for the marketer were young men.

The result? Click-through rates for the image of the woman were highest. Not surprising. But upon investigation, the message with the man, while lower in click-throughs, had the highest conversion rate — that is, more recipients actually purchased items. Peer persuasion, I'm guessing. But the moral is: Be clear about why you're trolling and then test, test, test.

3. Try some next-generation ideas.

Once you decide on the strategic response you want, consider these mailing tactics.

Cut through clutter. Using Flash animation, streaming media with embedded audio and/or sound files and innovative HTML design can help you stand out. "If you can afford cable advertising, you can afford rich e-mail," says Tony Wright, VP, Interactive Marketing at Zünch Communications in Dallas. Of course, make sure you don't overload anyone's in-box.
Make subject lines count. Don't get cute. Don't be familiar. Don't trick people into opening a message — you'll make them mad. Promise a benefit or value in the subject line. Then make sure to deliver.
Automate metrics and act on results. Set up a seamless cycle that leverages the data you collect. For instance, New York interactive ad agency True North has a closed-loop system for each client. "An e-mail goes out, click-throughs go to a specially designed landing page that controls the flow of information and drives orders," says creative director Neil Feinstein. "Response data is then re-introduced into the database to enrich it with specific customer data. We don't just measure opens, click-throughs and opt-outs. We can look at conversion rates, sales and ROI. And we can tie these numbers directly to a consumer.
Create a call to action. Ask the recipient to do something — it'll get you a better response. Suggestions include: Click on a link for more information. Register to receive a special offer. Go a Web site to qualify. Download a white paper. You can also offer games or other Web download, including newsletters, screensavers and the like. (See this page to learn more about creating e-mail newsletters.)
Personalize, but don't scare anyone. Inexpensive software now lets you identify returning customers and stay up-to-speed on buying history, likes and dislikes, geographic region and more. All that makes customers feel special — so long as you don't cross any privacy lines.
Target the message. Too many marketers send out messages with misspelled words, typographical errors or just plain boring stuff. "The e-mail should be written by a professional writer who understands the principles of human influence and the psychology behind how memory and eye movement through online pages can work," says Dave Lakhani at Bold Approach, a marketing agency based in Boise, Idaho.
Time the message. When customers receive your message might make a difference, depending on the business. "People often e-mail for business products on Fridays," says Carrie Williams at FinancialAid.com, an online student loan consolidator. "But these e-mails get buried over the weekend and are often discarded."
Invest in viral reactions. Most markets include a group of influential users who will spread the messages you craft. Mine your customer database and spend a bit more for high-quality e-mail lists. Then test a few times to find the world-of-mouth folks who will spread your glad tidings.
Make it easy to subscribe (and unsubscribe). Don't ask for gobs of information on registration forms. People will click off. And make it just as convenient to unsubscribe. Then be scrupulous about keeping lists up-to-date. Never send e-mail to recipients who don't want it.
Test! Any or all of these techniques will help your e-mail marketing program succeed. But remember, if you don't test before you send, with a partial sample or a test group, you'll never know what really works.