Meaningful Messages Help Drive Sales

Fancy images, elaborate marketing copy and promises of discounts may not be enough to yield big returns for email marketers. Instead, sending targeted emails based on a customer's click-through history and buying tendencies will increase conversion rates according to a new Jupiter Research study.

Let's face it, the average consumer is inundated with several messages a day and only the most relevant and appealing messages will attract their attention. Recent studies conducted by Jupiter Research show people are getting a number of email messages, signing up for multiple email accounts more often, and spending less time looking at email. Those factors make it even more important for marketers to figure out how to successfully make a meaningful connection with their target audience.

Unfortunately, roughly one in four marketers launch email campaigns without any targeting or differentiation, and 65 percent use limited personalization and limited segmentation according to Jupiter Research VP and research director David Daniels. In fact, only 11 percent send targeted campaigns using a customer's purchase history, click-stream activity or other data to send relevant, targeted offers.

Those are just some of the findings that Mr. Daniels shared with marketing executives at the Click Z Email Marketing Conference in New York.  A number of industry-leading experts were on hand for the conference including Datran Media's Chief Technology Officer Joshua Baer.

The greater the degree of personalization or targeting, the greater the average open, click-through and conversion rates are, according to the report. But personalization is just one way to produce better response rates. Truly understanding how your audience thinks is vital for making the perfect connection.

Datran Media has professed this method for years. We know that you can drive the most ROI when you deliver relevant messages to the most appropriate consumer. Because we truly understand our clients' audience, we are able to send messages that are of real interest to consumers. When you can do this on a regular basis, you will make your customers happy and build a loyal audience. We like to say, "When the consumer wins, everyone wins." This latest round of research proves just that.

To understand exactly how delivering relevant messages increases revenue, take a look how Datran Media engages the average consumer through the entire lifetime sales cycle.

Partners with Ad Council to Increase Awareness of Global Warming Campaign

Proving that email is more than just a marketing tool, Datran Media is teaming up with the Ad Council to deliver millions of email messages with useful conservation tips to help curb global warming pollution and increase awareness of the seriousness of the issue. The "Fight Global Warming" email campaign launched last week in an effort to support the Environmental Defense help get the community involved.

Barbara Shimaitis, Senior Vice President of Interactive Services at the Ad Council, says, "The Ad Council is pleased that Datran Media is supporting the 'Fight Global Warming' campaign. Hundreds of millions of Americans are online, and the email channel is an increasingly important part of the media mix. Datran Media's involvement supports our mission to stimulate actions that make a measurable difference in our society."

The Ad Council's "Tick" and "Train" campaigns urge members to consider the energy choices individuals make today and how they will impact the future. The "Tick" spot focuses on the sound of a clock ticking, while the "Train" spot employs a visual of a passenger train and a child on the tracks. Both advertisements are designed to educate the public that if we join together to take action now, we still have time to avert the most dangerous consequences that global warming presents.

"Environmental concerns and protection efforts are of great importance to the Ad Council and Datran Media," said Datran Media's Chief Marketing Officer, Sean O'Neal.  "We are proud to support Environmental Defense to help get the community involved."

This is not the first time that Datran Media has utilized the power of email to promote a public service advertising campaign. Last year, Datran Media contributed 50 million online public service announcements to the Child Safety Network (CSN). In 2004, Datran Media teamed with the Ad Council to promote Earth Day. When the Earth Day campaign launched, the Ad Council reported that combined HTML-rich media emails resulted in a 50 percent open rate within hours of delivery.

The amount of interest generated by this campaign proves that – when relevant and meaningful – email is an extremely effective way to convey a message. Marketers should take note of how well public service advertisements perform and ensure their messages are just as relevant and have something meaningful to share with their audience.

Q: I've just launched a newsletter for my company, but despite the fact that our customers have asked for something like this, we have not received many sign-ups. We see quite a bit of traffic, so how can I get these same visitors to sign-up for our newsletter?

A: First, congratulations on launching your newsletter.  This will prove to be a valuable method for retaining and acquiring customers.  Of course, it helps to have a robust subscriber list, so let's take a look at some ideas you can use to drive readers to your newsletter.

The sign-up form is one of the first things you'll want to focus on.  Is the form easily found?  Put a link to the newsletter sign-up form on your home page, after all, your newsletter is going to be an important communication tool so you should promote it prominently. Where are you hosting the actual form? You may want to dedicate a single page on your site just for the form.  Also, make sure the fields are not too complicated.  You do not need to request too much information, the most important thing you want is the email address; you do not want your readers abandoning the form because it is too long. 

Next, remember to outline the benefits of becoming a subscriber.  You'll need to persuade your audience before they just give you your email address.  What makes your newsletter stand out?  Be sure to mention if your communication will include discounts or valuable advice they can't find elsewhere.  It's all about making sure they know they will benefit from reading your newsletter.

Finally, make sure your audience knows you are going to respect their privacy.  Add a sentence about your privacy policy. If you are planning to send them third-party offers make sure they understand this with a clearly visible check box so they can decide if they want to receive these additional messages.  A little reassurance that you are going to respect the confidentiality and privacy of the email address will help ease fears of a potential subscriber from sharing their email. 

These tips should help you attract more subscribers.  And just keep delivering useful information and your customers will spread the word that this newsletter is something everyone should receive.

Send your questions to askanexpert@datranmedia.com. If we answer it, we'll send you a FREE Datran Media t-shirt!