One of my favorite Today Show features is the Ambush Makeover where two women are chosen from sidewalk bystanders to be ‘improved’ by guest fashionistas. The results are dramatic. The best makeovers are equally effective as they are striking. Like when the husband is shown drooling over the result, or tinges of green envy are visible in the face of the best friend who did not get the makeover.
Effective.
Measurable results.
And a bit of fun along the way.
That’s what you want from your e-mail marketing efforts.
Is that what you are getting?
E-Mail Marketing that Works Harder for you than the Energizer Bunny!
In 2006, US Firms spent more than $400 million on e-mail marketing and the number is rising; more than $600 million in 2008, and $700 million in 2009. Researchers forecast that e-mail marketing will grow steadily to $2 billion by 2014. That’s going to be one tired pink bunny keeping up with all that email.
Why is e-mail marketing second only to social media networking in the online marketing toolkit? Money and Audience. It costs almost nothing to use email for marketing while the return on investment (ROI) in both dollars and audience is impressive.
Researchers from IBM and MIT found that the average email contact to be worth $948 in revenue.
Trend watchers at the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) report that email marketing generated an ROI of $44 for every dollar spent in 2009. Taking into consideration that email drives both online and offline sales, at least one researcher reports email marketing’s ROI as closer to $130—about three times the DMA estimate.
Your e-mail audience—an almost captive market—is also a BUYING audience. 60 percent of consumers who receive marketing e-mail are more likely to make an in-store purchase. That percentage holds true for those who purchase online as well.
It’s all good. And here’s the best part, to my mind—big business does not have an advantage on the e-mail playing field. Any business, no matter how small or large, uses the same tools to create, deliver, and benefit from e-mail marketing.
Just How Sexy is Your E-Mail Marketing Campaign?
Clearly, e-Mail marketing works. What the trend watchers and researchers and bean counters aren’t talking about is the secret to getting that $44 to $103 return on your e-mail communications. How do you convert a weekly ‘touch’ with a potential customer into an actual purchase—repeatedly.
The secret is simple—your e-mail must be directed, appealing, and easily understood.
Yep. All of those snazzy and downright pretty emails that show up in your e-mail box from the big boys resemble a magazine page for a reason.
- Directed communication.
- Appealing.
- Easily understood.
Are your marketing e-mails fitting that description? With HTML, your email can look great and deliver results measurable in dollars gained. And it will still likely be the smallest expense in your marketing budget.
Join me at the beach and let your e-mail work for you while you play.
Right. You know the secret now. So get to it. Jazz up your e-mails. Add pictures and color and your logo. Get that campaign running on automatic pilot, and join me on the beach for a lovely sweetened iced tea.
What? You don’t know how? Ahhh…there’s the rub.
Remember when I told you that email marketing takes place on a level playing field? Here’s why. In order to make e-mail look good and be easy to understand, and be an evergreen low-to-no-maintenance marketing tool, everyone uses a techy programming language called HTML. (That’s pronounced one letter at a time…H…T…M…L) Now, HTML is the easiest of easy to learn—if you are even remotely technical.
But wait…you either are not techy or have priorities on your time, right? Right.
If this crazy alphabet soup leaves a bad taste in your mouth, don’t despair and don’t call in the geeks just yet. You can have professional quality and timeless e-mail marketing without even knowing what all those letters stand for.
Call the Geeks or DIY?
Where do you draw the line?
Do you do it yourself and take the time to learn the technology? Yes. That’s one (time consuming!) option. So what’s one more hat to wear? You are already the President, CFO, Secretary, Purchasing Agent, Housekeeper and more for your business. You can take a year or two and learn computer programming, right?
Not likely. You have a business to run and maybe even a ‘day’ job that’s still paying some of the bills.
Do you call in the experts and hire a geek? Yes. That’s one (expensive!) option. While not for all businesses, you owe it to yourself to consider the pros and cons of this option. When you hire a geeky writer to do the job for you, you get:
- peace of mind,
- a partner who has skills you lack and that you have no interest in getting,
- a job that’s done right, for you, and to your specifications,
- and a bill for $997.
There is a third choice, mid-way between the two; learn just enough DIY e-mail marketing to balance your time and budget crunch AND create great marketing tools that actually put money in your pocket. Hire a geeky writer-teacher (like ME!) to show you step-by-easy-step, how to get that powerful e-mail marketing campaign out of your head and into action earning money for your business.
Let me show you the way. It begins for free—and who doesn’t like free?
Sexy HTML e-Mail Marketing TeleSeminar
During this free 1 hour seminar you will:
- Learn how HTML turns plain text into professional quality e-mail capable of growing your business,
- Know the difference between list services like AWeber, Constant Contact, and Mail Chimp and what it takes to automate your HTML e-mail marketing,
- Recognize the types of HTML-email so that you can choose the right marketing campaign tools that work best for your business,
- Hear about how to tie your e-mail marketing into your online social media marketing,
- Find out what it takes to design an HTML e-mail marketing campaign that works timelessly–for you.
- And we will share 5 great tips about using stunning, HTML coded e-mails to fuel your customer communications and online marketing efforts.
Register Now
Why Have I Created this Free Seminar and the companion Webinar E-Course?
I get questions. Lots of questions. From my clients at WritingBytes. From home business owners reading my blog at Home Biz Smarts. From bricks – n- mortar business owners. From my professional network. From my mastermind group and online forum members. Even from my friends!
I can be pretty dense, but even I caught on eventually; the process for creating really good looking and effective e-mail is confusing.
You know how a plumber’s pipes always leak or a carpenter’s fence always needs nailing? Well, that’s how I was with this. I am not a computer programmer but a lot of the techy stuff simply comes easily to me. And when I understand the technology, I can teach it to you in a way that will ensure that you understand, too.
Of course, that’s only part of the reason. I do this type of work for my clients. When I mentioned a $997 price earlier, that is a real number. That is what it costs to have me do it all for you. Each time. While an e-mail marketing campaign is often timeless and keeps on going automatically with little attention from you, it is rare that a business will run only one campaign. So…do you pay thousands to geeky writers like me? Or do you learn enough to create your own campaigns?
Only you can answer that. If you want to pay a geeky writer to do it for you, then email me. caz(at)writingbytes.com. We’ll do (virtual) lunch.
I am betting, however, that if you’ve read this far, you are interested in the DIY program and that my Sexy HTML E-Mail marketing webinar e-course is for you.
First step is to register for the free teleclass. Do it now. There’s no risk and you’ll learn a thing or two. I promise.
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