The common misconception of the “S” word.

Leapfrogg has evolved into an all encompassing search-led, digital marketing company (and while that was a mouthful, is certainly more delicious than the above). As a result we will soon be adding another string to the bow and offering email marketing as a service to our clients.

The premise of this blog entry is to firstly educate on the many benefits of email marketing, particularly its integration with search. Secondly, to stop you half way through that sharp intake of breath at the thought of emailing your clients….didn’t that sound much nicer?

Emailing clients, not spamming them. How many of you have recently been to Gap, Threshers (their viral campaign created £15 million of extra business last Christmas) or any of the numerous chains that are using this means to increase their footfall?

“Spam is the equivalent of unsolicited junk mail, and at any given time there are millions of these emails floating around the Internet. It is estimated that spam mail constitutes twenty two percent of all active emails”. It’s out there and frustrating to some, but with a combination of best practice, good clean lists that are maintained and relevant audience, email marketing can be an extremely cost effective method of marketing with instant, trackable results.

Having hopped over to Leapfrogg from an email marketing company myself, I hold first hand knowledge of helping companies from the big corporates to SMEs drive traffic to their site and increase their ROI. Email marketing should not be used as a stand alone service and like many marketing disciplines performs best when part of a mix. This is where I get to use one of my favourite buzz terms which we call the “2 pronged attack” for example; emails after a press release to highlight an online sale followed by some telemarketing of the hot leads. This allows you to act instantly upon people that have not only opened an email, but you are able to see what links people are clicking on, how long they have spent on the page and track their activity off the email to a site right up to a checkout. As a result you can see the exact revenue incurred per person, per campaign making it very easy to measure overall ROI. This can be viewed in your analytics reporting as it is easily integrated with by adding a tracking code, enabling you to see what delivered that HUGE spike of hits to your site.

Emails are not just about bulk marketing either. You should use a lifestyle approach to email marketing, target and profile your customers and a behavioural based approach will reduce the volume you are sending, be relevant to the customers and reduce the potential of being marked as “spam”. Techniques such as ‘closing window’, ‘e coupons’, ‘secrets sales’ and continuing the brand conversation after a product has been purchased keeps communication fun, energised and relevant. It also increases the longevity of customer loyalty.

Announcements can be tied together using blogs and emails that can help build link popularity and improve your SEO. Also archive newsletters on your site in a spider friendly manner. Email subscriptions can work on a similar premise, to a feed burner pushing regular readers back to your site who are of quality traffic.

Social media buttons can be added to your email which allow users to post your news that will include links back to your site. So bookmark this ready for the New year, or maybe you will get a surprise in your inbox…

Do you tick this box and commit to a life time of offers forever and ever? I do.

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