Are Your E-mail Campaigns Outdated?
I love getting coupons. The thought that I could save money on anything gets me very excited. Call me crazy, but I am that person that keeps a plastic bag full of coupons in my purse and a folder in my e-mail box entitled “coupons”. Just in case I am near a Chick-fil-a, I can use that coupon for the free chicken sandwich that they e-mailed me last week, or if I decide that I cannot live without a new jacket from J.Crew. I have a coupon code ready to be used for just about any occasion. To keep up with my love affair with coupons, I will freely give my e-mail address to just about any organization. Therefore, I receive an enormous amount of e-mails from a wide range of companies on weekly basis.
This past year the world of e-mail marketing has truly taken on a life of its own. The top three trends over the past year have to do with frequency, quality and social media.
Frequency
The frequency of e-mail marketing has sky rocketed in the past year. The once a month e-mail blast has developed into a very precise weekly, or some times daily e-mail with the upcoming sale dates, coupon code, or new product arrival information. Every occasion is proceeded with an e-mail marketing campaign. E-mails from J.Crew have almost become a staple in my inbox. They have developed an almost daily e-mail marketing campaign, mainly targeting sales due to the current economic climate.
Quality
Each of these e-mail marketing campaigns are designed with brilliant images, targeted information, and are tested in all e-mail formats. Direct links, and specific questions are being answered in the e-mail. Pottery Barn has consistently raised the bar with their quality of e-mail campaigns. Rotating images, nearest store locations, direct links to sale items, and catchy subject lines make Pottery Barn one of the better e-mail marketers.
Social Media Presence
The abundance of Twitter and Facebook Fanpages was not unnoticed in the e-mail marketing world. The footer of all most all of these e-mail campaigns you will find a “Follow us on Twitter” and a “Become our Fan on FaceBook”, along with a small incentive to do so. Land’s End made a big push this holiday season by sending out an e-mail campaign letting their customers know that if they signed up to become a Facebook Fan of the Land’s End Facebook Fanpage, they would be registered for a drawing of 3 $500 Land’s End gift cards.
As we begin 2010 review your e-mail campaign strategies, and evaluate the trends of 2009. Are your e-mail campaigns matching up with the competition?
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I’ve been hearing about various WP tools and techniques that will help you generate an email series you can integrate into your email marketing tool – was hoping this article would redirect me to such.
I’m sure, sooner or later, some smart tech guy/girl with provide an SaaS solution that provides such.
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