email strategies

The basic challenge web sites face is that of human memory. People come back to your site only when they remember to. And usually, that isn't often. Unless your subject matter gives you top-of-mind awareness, your users won't return as often as you'd like them to or even as often as they'd like to.

So the challenge is to remind them...as often and as persuasively as possible, without crossing the line into harassment. Email is the way. It's the most effective way to promote your site and quite possibly your company.

The reasons are straightforward: Nearly everyone online has a personal email account, and nearly everyone uses email nearly every time they go online. In fact, 95% of Internet sessions include checking email. What better way to reach people?

Email can be used to find new customers (See should you buy a list? p. 286), but its real power is in bringing customers back. In fact, email updates containing links to current articles account for up to 50% of daily traffic to many news sites.

For commerce sites, the direct impact of email on sales and site visits is often less dramatic. But it's still seen as an important tool.

"Email is only about 7% of our sales," says Hilary Billings, chairman and chief marketing officer of specialty gift store RedEnvelope. "But even though it's not a big part of our business, we think it's a valuable one. It lets us keep in touch with our customers more frequently, and it also allows us to expose smaller holidays (like April Fool's) that aren't big enough for us to market to in a catalog."

And email has another advantage: It can easily be shared. So sites often find that customers forward their newsletters to friends giving them great publicity and bringing in new customers. "The newsletters are our number one source of referral offline (or 'viral marketing')" says Lara Hoyem, senior marketing manager for BabyCenter. "They give users a reason to share their love of the site with others."

But the power of email extends beyond the web site; it can help build your off-line business as well.

"Email is a really overlooked tool," says Omar Wasow. "I'm amazed by how many small businesses I touch that don't ask me for my email address. Every business should be building an electronic mailing list. It's a missed opportunity if you don't."

6 things email can do for you

  1. Remind people that you exist. People only return to your web site when they remember to. So half the battle is just staying on their radar screens. An occasional appearance in their In-Boxes ensures that you won't be forgotten.

  2. Drive traffic to your site. Ask any successful site owner: Email is the single most effective way to drive traffic to your site. Whether you're selling shoes, sharing opinions, or matching vacation homes with prospective renters, it's email more than anything else that keeps them coming back.

  3. Increase sales. Through seasonal sales and online promotions, email can help you move merchandise.

  4. Build awareness. Email can alert your users to new features, products, articles, and events. Even if a customer doesn't follow up on every email, she sees the message in her In-Box, and makes a mental note.

  5. Build trust. Email should be used not only to reach out to customers, but also to follow up. Online shoppers have come to expect confirmation emails after an order is placed or shipped, or when something else significant happens (a shipment is delayed, etc.). These messages build a sense of comfort, trust, and predictability in what can otherwise be an alienating sales process.

  6. Build a sense of community. Receiving email from an organization reinforces the idea that a person belongs to a community, whether it's based on interests, location, or affiliation. Even if she does nothing more than glance at it, the regularly received emails build a bond.


choosing an email strategy

Your approach to email like your approach to your web site should be dictated by three main factors:

  1. What you need from your users. Think about what kind of action you want to inspire: Do you want people to visit your site? Or attend an event? Buy a Mother's Day gift? Or sign a protest letter? Your goals should guide your approach.

  2. What your users need from you. If you're sending a message to a customer's In-Box, there has to be something in it for them. Ask yourself: What value can you bring to their lives through email?

  3. What you can afford. It takes time to write effective emails, technology to target them, and money to support the systems. Don't bite off more than you can chew: Start simple, and be realistic about your means.

For a site that does email right, look to BabyCenter, which caters to pregnant women and new parents. In 2002, they had 1.6 million subscribers to their newsletters, which brought in 40% of site visits.

Their big winner is "My Baby This Week," a newsletter that tells parents about their child's development on a week-to-week basis. Women give their due date when they subscribe, so the updates are customized just for them.

"Parents love them," says Emily Simas , the product manager who oversaw BabyCenter's email programs from 2000 2002. "We know they wait eagerly for them every week, because if they don't get them at the exact time, they'll tell us!"

And BabyCenter loves them, too. They've found email builds loyal customers. "The newsletters really hook our users on BabyCenter, and get them engaged and coming back," said Lara Hoyem. "Without them, we really wouldn't have the traffic."

collecting email addresses

No matter what your business, the first step of an email strategy is always the same: You have to build a list.

So before you decide what you're going to write in your emails, who you're going to send them to, or how often you're going to send them, you've got to start gathering addresses. You should start building your email list as soon as your site launches, or as soon as you can. Start now. Really. Right now. It's that important.

Commerce sites can collect email addresses during the check-out phase, but other sites have to try harder: Integrating a sign-up form into the site (preferably on the home page) and offering some incentive to lure users into signing up.

And if your site is built to support an off-line organization (a store or gallery or band or sports team), you can also collect email addresses the old-fashioned way: On a clipboard, at your next event.


web design do:

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web design don't:

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What a difference a form makes. By integrating an "enter email" form (like the one from mommychronicles.com, top) on the front door of your web site, you can increase email newsletter sign-ups by up to 1000 percent. No joke. A simple link (like the one from guggenheim.org, bottom) won't perform as well. The form seems to encourage immediate action.




The Unusually Useful Web Book
The Unusually Useful Web Book
ISBN: 0735712069
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 195
Authors: June Cohen

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