In class we discussed the importance of email marketing to a business
in terms of growing an engaged customer base.
There are several email service providers from which to choose in order
to create the best impact for a company.
MailChimp and Constant Contact were some options mentioned in
class. There are others, such as
iContact, Benchmark Email, and GetResponse that have similar services. Some of these other companies are not free, however. As a result, I think it’s important to
consider a range of factors when deciding which one is best for your
company.
Clearly, cost is an
important factor. It seems that some of
these companies charge per set of contacts.
For example, Simms Jenkins, who wrote The New Inbox: Why Email Marketing is the Digital Hub in a Social &
Mobile World, notes that prices can range from $8 per month for 500
contacts to 300 per month for 25,000 contacts.
Most service providers let you send an unlimited amount of emails but
understanding the overall cost versus what you hope to accomplish will help
determine the best solution.
Another obvious factor is the goal
for communicating through email, whether it is to drive sales, remind customers
to use your service, or simply have a touch point with them. Each of these goals has an important theme: a
call to action. Having taken a direct
marketing class previously, the key for this type of communication is to make
it easy and convenient for the person to act.
I think creating opportunities for companies and customers to interact
goes a long way to building a long-term relationship.
Lastly, being able to analyze
your email campaigns is also of critical importance. Outside the standard metrics of number of
people who opened the email, incorrect email addresses, and the links they
click, I think it’s also important to have a service provider that is good at
letting you try different styles of emails to see which ones receive the
highest open rate. Being creative and
trying different forms until a good one resonates will help achieve the
greatest impact.
Entrepreneur had some other thoughts on this topic that I thought were
interesting. You can read more
here.
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