Direct email marketing: Does it always end in a monthly newsletter?

I always use the example of regular newsletters when dishing out email marketing tips.  I think most of us think of email marketing campaigns mainly in terms of sending out monthly or weekly mailers to our subscribers.  It’s a pity – there’s so much more you could do with your email campaigns

We all know the importance of customer touch points in our business – things like efficient customer service and service with a smile.  We like nothing more than seeing business go the distance when they’re dealing with us; whether it’s a waiter cracking a joke at the table or a telephone operator putting us through to the right person to speak to first time.

It’s the same with email marketing: Subscribers appreciate us going the distance to cater to their needs.

I’m not saying you should email your subscribers daily, just that there are more options where it might be okay to contact them.  Adding a few more email touch points to your repertoire not only fosters a healthier customer relationship, but also drives sales (and let’s not lie, that’s what we’re here for!).

Welcome them to the fold

Get off on the right foot.  A new subscriber, customer or potential customer should be treated with care!  Very few email marketers send out welcome messages to new subscribers.  Yet research shows that the point at which someone decides to sign up for your newsletter is a point of heightened engagement – you should cash in before they lose interest!  Welcome emails have some of the highest open rates.  And, aside from all the CRM (customer relationship management) benefits, there’s the matter of ISPs.  Some ISPs now look at recipient engagement to measure how much priority your email should get in the inbox.  Sending a welcome email can help you get your future emails to the top of the inbox.

What is a welcome email?

It can be as simple as “Thanks for signing up”.  However, there are a few more options.  You can give them instructions or a website tour, send an email to explain the benefits they’ll get for following you online, tell them more about other ways to stay in touch (like your Facebook page) or even send them a quick questionnaire to find out more about them, i.e. what particular products/events they’d like to receive emails about, whether there’s a particular branch or store they’d like to know more about, etc.

Make sure that you nurture the relationship from the get go – it’s the best way to achieve continued sales.

Reward good behaviour

A customer’s first purchase is a momentous occasion!  Not only have you just made a sale, but you’ve potentially roped in a lifelong customer.  Use the opportunity to send a thank-you email – and if you really want to incentivise future sales, you can offer them a small discount on their next purchase.

Once they make those future purchases, don’t flood them with too many emails, i.e. don’t send a thank-you and discount email after every purchase.  The novelty of being on your email list has probably waned a bit by then!  If you do want to create an after-sale touch point, rather send them relevant emails with information or products related to their purchase. 

For instance, after purchasing an iPod, I find it interesting to receive and email containing related products that might interest me, such as iPod covers and strap-on exercise iPod holders, or even docks and speakers.

Of course, you can also intersperse your newsletters with some other emails, such as conducting customer surveys or getting direct feedback or reviews from customers, which is also a great way to take stock of your customer satisfaction.

Wave them a fond farewell

Okay, so this one is a bit controversial.  Some email marketers advocate sending an email to a subscriber when they unsubscribe, and others are thoroughly against the idea.

Generally, subscribers tend to be inactive (that is, they stop opening your emails) for quite some time before they unsubscribe.  They simply delete it as it arrives in the inbox.  Personally I find it’s part of my fear of missing out, I always delay unsubscribing because I’m afraid that I might miss out on something interesting! After not opening a newsletter for a few months I finally realize that I probably never will, and unsubscribe. 

It’s a good idea to contact your subscribers during such a period of inactivity.  A simple request to update their subscription details should be good enough.  It reminds them that you’re still there, and interested in actively engaging with them.

Unsubscribes happen, however; I don’t think a polite “Thank you for your readership, sad to see you go” email is too much – as long as you don’t put your readers through a lengthy unsubscribe process as well.

Image Credit: socialize your cause

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15 comments

TechNina December 2, 2010 - 7:52 pm
I have also noticed that if you send email to your subscribers daily, it generally end up in their trash..people don't even open those mails. Its better to time your emails correctly...also automated mails generally don't work...giving you no or very less traffic...
ZK December 3, 2010 - 1:24 am
You are right, daily mails don't go well with readers :) Email is a great tool to connect with your audience, a lot of bloggers send a weekly re cap to their readers which I think is a great way to connect on weekly basis. You should phase out your emailing requirements on a weekly, bi- monthly or monthy period depending on 1 ) Your influence with the community 2 ) Responsiveness of the community to your mails.
Tej Kohli December 2, 2010 - 10:06 pm
I am also doing the same types of E-mail Marketing at the end of the month to keep my reader up to date offers and deals
Printable Coupons December 3, 2010 - 12:40 am
daily mails are awful.. i personally delete them without even bothering to open it. i think monthly newsletters are reasonable.
ecommerce website design December 3, 2010 - 2:18 am
Email marketing is a strategy that is extremely cost effective, but the same time it can prove disastrous to a company's image. Keep the content of the email as low and to the point as possible. Most people get don't read longer mails and get annoyed if the emails have more content that use up more email space. Email marketing, done right, relies on a solid and reliable email list.
Web Design Richmond December 3, 2010 - 2:40 am
Yes all internet users know that Direct email marketing messages often include mechanisms that provide the sender with feedback on the effectiveness of a campaign, by making it possible to track metrics such as the number of messages that were opened, the number of clicks that were generated from a message, the number of recipients that requested removal from the sender's list, and the number of messages that were bounced by the recipient's server.
Ari Lestariono December 3, 2010 - 7:48 am
I only believe that email marketing can be achieved only if you have real product offline like Dell Computer who can made US$3 Million using twitter, and news letter.But if it's e-book, digital info, i am a bit skeptic, the market is too saturated.Using blogs, sites, as media still works though.Or making own video is still worth it
Alex@jocuri December 3, 2010 - 9:55 am
Email marketing is practically the same thing as marketing your product with a retailer. Every time you have to do something new so that they can keep coming back to your stand or in our case open an email. Also sending them an email when they unsubscribe might remind them why they subscribed in the first place, which can make them come back or at least they will have a good opinion about you.
Donny Gamble December 3, 2010 - 12:00 pm
With my email subscribers, I like to make it random as possible, so they are not expecting an email to me. I send them emails whenever I feel that I have created a post on my blog that addresses their needs.
Car Rental December 4, 2010 - 12:30 pm
I agree with you Donny. Random emails are more useful than weekly or monthly newsletters.
Search Engine Island December 5, 2010 - 11:51 pm
Really, awesome concept on the new trend. Actually, yes indeed, email marketing will contribute a wonderful addition to the internet industry. Keep on reading a blog on different SEO techniques on a SEO Blog: searchengineisland.blogspot.com
Aluminum Cases December 8, 2010 - 4:54 pm
This is the kind of e-mail marketing that we are trying to integrate more into our business. We already send our regular newsletters, but we could connect better by automating more e-mails based on actions such as a customer's first sale. E-mail marketing can be quite powerful in that you can bring people back to your site or you could acquire useful information from those people via a survey. The trick is to not get too aggressive with e-mails otherwise you get more unsubscriptions and more unhappy customers.
Tom Servo December 20, 2010 - 2:28 pm
I enjoyed the writeup, Barbara. Very informative post. Direct email marketing campaigns are a tricky beast: the average viewing time to read an email is roughly seven seconds, which is a pretty abrupt window to capture your target's attention. The best way to improve ROI is to have the mentality of that it's quality over quantity when it comes to your campaigns. Recipients have a quick trigger finger on the delete button if the headline isn't catchy or the content isn't relevant.
John Papers January 14, 2011 - 1:55 am
daily e mailing would decrease your worth, it would be better to email them once in a month or two.
Fazal Mayar @ Make Money Online February 13, 2011 - 8:26 pm
I like these tips, I think it's not required to have a newsletter ...there are more ideas for email marketing.
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