We have so many international clients and franchises that it takes some brainwork catering to everyone’s individual needs.  I find the South African in particular quite tricky, because we’re on par with international markets in some ways, yet obviously very behind in others.  One particularly frustrating aspect is our limited internet access: Too many people don’t have access to the internet at all, or their internet is exasperatingly slow.

BUT

Earlier this week Fin24 reported that South Africa’s online usage has risen by 51% in the last year.

You can read the full article here; it reveals some inspiring statistics. 

Almost the same number of people who read a newspaper every day now use the internet every day.  Last year 5.3 million South Africans were internet users; that number has grown to 9.1 million.

Several factors are listed as possible reasons for this massive boom in web browsing:  The global focus and adaptation of digital media in the business environment does, of course, have an influence, but recently we have also seen many expos and conferences aimed at educating the local market place on online benefits.  More educated users have resulted in people utilizing the internet more effectively and more people installing home connections.  Greater social media interaction is also viewed as a contributing factor, but one of the most important has been the escalated competition and price war among ADSL providers – it’s made it a lot easier for the average Joe Soap to have access to broadband internet. 
This means companies that make use of online marketing can reach larger numbers of people at a relatively low cost.

Good news for South African email marketers?  I think so.

Fact: Happy subscribers are more like to pass along positive news about your business that unhappy ones.

Keep your subscribers happy and soon their friends will be subscribing and then their friends will subscribe as well, and then their friends…you get the idea.

So what are the best ways to keep subscribers happy and at the same time increase the size of your mailing list?
   
I know you’ve heard this one! Make sure that emails contain relevant information. It’s usually best to only include content that is business-related. Really think about what your subscribers want out of your emails. Why did they sign up in the first place — was it to get discounts, find out about upcoming events or learn about new products? Create content based on what your recipients want from you, as well as what you can offer your customers.

Listen to your subscribers. Do your best to cater to subscribers’ wants and needs when it comes to communication - which channels of communication do they prefer? Social networks or perhaps mobile messages? If so, engage with subscribers on their chosen network as much as possible. Open up social accounts for your business and engage in mobile marketing.

Of course, this is all assuming that you already have some subscribers. How do you develop that list of original subscribers?

Well, first, make subscribing simple. Subscription forms should be easily accessible; include them on every page of your website. Forms don’t need to be lengthy eyesores, just include a space for potential recipients to enter in their email address—quickly and painlessly. An email address is all you need in the beginning. The best relationships are those that develop over time, so don’t worry about not gathering too much information at first; besides - people are less likely to subscribe to a long, complex and tedious form than to one that is simple, to the point and only takes a few seconds to fill in. You’ll learn more about your recipients as you send messages. Keep in mind that with GraphicMail’s reports and statistics features, you can always gather data based on a recipient’s email opens and clicked links.
   
To further encourage a sign-up, provide reasons for subscribing to the mailing list. What will potential recipients get out of giving their email address to you? Is there any incentive for them? Also, make the entire process professional, quick and easy. Send new subscribers a professional and positive confirmation email. I always encourage a double opt-in process– your business will come across as professional, with less of a chance of being labeled as spammers.

Finally, it’s always a good idea to gather feedback from unsubscribes. When someone opts to unsubscribe, include an optional form for them to complete asking them about their reasons for unsubscribing. Study this feedback and, if necessary, use it to change your strategies. Perhaps there is another way to communicate with these lost subscribers.

Happy subscribers and a healthy mailing list mean higher open and click-through rates, and ultimately higher sales conversion rates.  Isn’t that what you signed up for?

One of the questions we field most often, is “Why should I use email marketing?”

And I, of course, reply: Because it grows your business…

Very vague answer, hey?

Email marketing has long been a proven top-performing direct marketing channel, and it’s still one of the strongest and most utilized marketing tactics.  However, there seems to be some confusion as to why exactly it works so well.

I believe the reason for this is the nature of email: It’s a personal tool, one that’s used to build relationships (be they social, business or consumer relationships) through communication.

Email is the most basic of all online activities.  Many people on Facebook don’t necessarily have Twitter accounts; business-oriented people might be on LinkedIn, but they’re not on Facebook; and some people don’t really interact in networks, they simply use the internet to search for information or to do their banking.
But email is like Google – everybody uses it.  My 80 year-old grandfather has an email account! Email is a constant among online users, and you can be assured that anyone you try to target online has an email account, so when building your online audience email offers you a communication channel that includes everyone, no matter what their age, location or level of technical know-how.  It’s the perfect arena to grow your audience.

Of course, you know by now that an email newsletter drives people to your website.  You include links to your site in your newsletter, people click on them and you see an increase in web traffic.  So why can’t you just rely on search engines? Surely if people have shown enough interest in your products to sign up for your newsletter, they’ll visit your site regularly out of their own accord?
Well, not necessarily.  Consumers and browsers can be fickle, but with a newsletter you give them a consistent reminder in their inbox to visit your site. I you offer incentives in your newsletter (like relevant content, promotions or discounts) it gives them all the more reason to visit your site again – and again.  You build a loyal following of consumers who will return in future and remain at the top of your consumers’ minds with regular updates.

Further keep in mind that your inbox is a personal space.  Email recipients come to trust their inbox.  If your email shows up in their inbox regularly without fail they learn what to expect – and hopefully that’s interesting content.  Once they’re on your mailing list you can incentivize your emails by sending them targeted emails relevant to their location, interests and past purchase behaviour.  In this way you answer your subscribers’ ever-present question “What’s in it for me?”  Your readers start to feel like you know them and that you’re taking a genuine interest in their preferences.  They come to trust your emails, then you’re brand and, by default, your product.

The key here is recognition.  When a subscriber receives your newsletter regularly, they may not always click through to your site.  They might not even always open it. But they learn to recognize your name in their inbox, and become aware of your brand.  If it’s a business they’ve had positive experiences with in the past, a reminder might persuade them to do business with you again.  Making sure that you remain at the top of their minds increases your chance of being the brand of choice when next they’re in the market for one of your products.
Basically, you’re creating consumer awareness without excessive marketing spend.

Also remember that newsletters are an incredibly efficient way of increasing product exposure.  Not only can you send out information on particular products, but you can generate traffic to your site.  Shortly after a newsletter blast you’ll find that there is period during which your site experiences higher traffic than normal as people click through from your email to your site.  Make sure that new products are advertised strategically on the landing pages you lead them to, thereby increasing the subscriber’s awareness of your new product.  It’s a way of expanding the trust your readers have in your brand and existing products and services to include your new products.

Your email marketing campaigns give you an opportunity to expand your audience, build relationships with existing clients, increase your brand awareness and generate traffic to your website.  All this is done through a low-cost marketing channel and has the potential to increase your sales.

Ruan Benade, our Head of Design, answered some questions frequently asked by email marketers when trying to decide on a design for their email newsletters. We picked his brain for design and technical tips, handy resources and advice on how you can design your newsletters for optimal results.

Do I need to be a designer to create and edit an email newsletter?

Yes and no. Firstly we need to differentiate between “designing” and “building” a newsletter. The former requires some creative skill and an ability to use design principles to create a striking and engaging experience, the latter requires knowledge of HTML and CSS as well as experience in how emails render differently to say, websites.

So, to answer the question, it will certainly help to be a designer if you want to design great looking websites… or to have experience in coding to build emails that display consistently across all browsers. On the other hand anyone can edit or modify an email newsletter using the kind of software that GraphicMail offers.

I want to design an email that’s visually appealing for my subscribers.  How do I go about that?

A designer will use a combination of layout, graphical elements, color and images to make an email visually appealing. A novice will often cram a design full of graphic elements and colors in the belief that it lends impact, whereas the extra clutter will ironically end up detracting the user from the true content and images. So my advice to non-designers would be to keep the layout very clean with maybe a splash of color here and there, and use images. Great images combined with large catchy headings are your best weapon. Also remember to place your best image at the top of the newsletter where it will be seen first.

Do I use more images, or more text, or equal amounts of both?

There is no general rule here. A photography business or online product shop will feature more images, whereas a financial company will have more copy. It is important here to know your market and to understand what they are looking for in your newsletter. If you are showing pictures of generic smiling business people to your clients, when they are in fact looking for up to date market info then you are not providing value to your subscribers.

What are my options online for buying or sourcing “free" images?

You can buy images for a set fee (royalty free) from the bigger online image banks like www.gettyimages.com or you can use pre-purchased credits to buy images from the new generation of cheaper image banks like www.istockphoto.com or www.123rf.com. These sites sell photos, illustrations, video files, sound files and even flash files. Keep in mind that the cheaper images are not yours exclusively to use and so your competitors are free to go and use the same images that you have just spent days building a campaign or look with. Here you truly get what you pay for.

Most images online are subject to standard copyright laws. “Free” online images are usually licensed under the “creative commons licensing agreement” which has various requirements, for instance that you have to credit each picture you use.  (Read more about that here.) You can find free images supplied by the public on sites like www.sxc.hu and www.morguefile.com.

How can I edit my images? Are there any free online tools?

Designers traditionally use powerful software programs like Adobe  Photoshop, but for simpler editing work there are a number of free online options. Check out www.sumopaint.com, www.picnic.com or www.pixelr.com. Stay tuned as we will feature a review of free online editing tools on our blog in the coming weeks.

Should my emails look as similar as possible to my website?

Your branding should always be as consistent as possible across all your promotional media whether print or online. An email newsletter or e-flyer should not try to be an exact copy of your website but a simpler introduction to what your business and website offers. Your logo, colors and corporate personality should be instantly recognizable no matter what the medium.

What should I avoid when creating my newsletter?

Needless to say avoid creating dull and uninspired email communication :)
On the technical front there are a number of things to avoid.  I would need a whole new article to cover this so that’s another blog article in the making. Generally emails need to be coded in tables and should feature inline styles as far as possible.  Don’t use floats or PNGs and avoid background images. Oh and wrap your whole email in a table or div with inline styles or Google will strip out your background color.

What can I do to be sure my email renders well across all email clients?

Be informed on what to avoid when designing and building emails. Then test the emails before sending.  There are 20+ email clients and as there are no email standards in place, they will all render your email differently.

The most comprehensive testing option is to pay for an online testing service. You send a test email to a given address and you get to see previews of how it is rendered in all the existing email clients. One such a service is www.litmusapp.com.  GraphicMail has partnered with a trusted testing provider and will soon provide this as a paid for service.
Of course you always have the option of signing up for free testing accounts on online email clients, but that still leaves the Mac and PC platform and their respective default email clients. Not to even mention iPhone and other mobile clients as well.

Which is better: Customizing a free template or having a custom template specially designed?

A custom template designed and built by a professional is definitely the best option. This is of course a once-off cost. After that you should just save a draft and edit your draft newsletter every time you need to send.
If, however, you are on a tight budget then there is the option of modifying a free template and adding in your branding and content.

Any other handy tips you can share with us?

Always provide alt text for images. So even when most email clients block images by default you will still be able to see the alt text descriptions.
Be warned that there are still a few email clients that don’t display alt tags when images are blocked. 

Good luck!

What’s the point of sending out an email newsletter if no-one reads it?

I blogged about how to read and interpret your email reports last week – one of the first things to look at was the open rate.

A fundamental part of creating a successful email marketing campaign is ensuring that your subscribers actually OPEN the messages. But, how do you encourage recipients to open and then read through your newsletters? A good newsletter works like a finely tuned instrument—each element works in conjunction with each other.

Think about what subscribers when they open their inbox: The only part of your email they can see is the From name, subject line, and in most cases, the pre-header.  First impressions count!  For your emails to have any kind of impact, you have to make sure they’re opened!  The first viewable pieces of your email should be related and intriguing, but at the same time straightforward.

Perhaps the easiest piece of your email to create is the From line. I find that, usually, simply using the name of your organisation works quite well. Consistently using your brand name helps build customer loyalty; customers connect your brand name with a quality email newsletter. For that reason, keeping the From line consistent from one newsletter to the next is generally a good practice.
Try to stay away from using personal names unless there is a person that is inherently connected with the company, for example, Bill Gates with Microsoft. Do not try to trick customers into an opening with a personal name that they think might be from an acquaintance!  You get annoyed when someone tries to deceive you, so why would your subscribers respond well to tricks?

Now, consider the subject line—arguably the most crucial piece of the email open puzzle. Subject lines can be tricky; you want to be enticing but not misleading. Give subscribers a delicious little morsel of what’s to come if they open the message.  One-liners can be creative, fun or just plain informative, but regardless there are many things to consider when crafting an efficient subject. (We actually recently published a press release on the topic of subject lines – you can read it here for more tips.)  Always put the essential information first, but don’t repeat what you may want to contain in your pre-header (we’ll get to that soon enough). Consider what your line will look like when it’s inevitably shortened (for the techies, truncated) by the email client.  It’s also always a good idea to test your subject lines. Take advantage of our testing tools!. A/B split tests are designed specifically to measure the success rates of different pieces of your email, like subject lines. Put it to good use to find the most efficient subject lines for your sends.

After the From and subject line, comes the preheader. The email preview is the first few lines of text within the email, so design your message with this in mind.  It’s similar to the subject in that it’s a little taste of what’s in the message, but with the preheader you have a bit more freedom. They contain more characters, so there is more space, and thus more opportunity, to hook readers. I think it works well when the preheader contains important information, such as the call-to-action of the email. Recipients who have already read the From and subject lines then read the preheader to get an even better idea of the email’s contents.

So let’s recap. Three prominent elements to consider when concocting an HTML email newsletter: the From and subject lines and the preheader. These elements work as a trifecta, joining forces to encourage email newsletter opens. When building these snippets, try not to repeat the same words, rather use the space wisely to share as much information as possible.

   
Even though all the above factors affect your open rates, the number one factor in open-rate success is the relationship you build with your customer. Recipients open emails from businesses they feel a certain loyalty to. So, as always, the key to building a solid email marketing strategy is to keep in mind that you’re building a relationship with the person on the receiving end.  So give them something they’ll find relevant, interesting, funny or exciting and you’re bound to get a higher open rate.

Email marketing reports - what is it that you want to get from them?

I suppose the better question would be, ‘What is it that you want to gain from your email marketing?’  After all, your send reports are there so you can track how your campaign is doing.  Basics, I know – but I sometimes get the impression that a lot of users don’t know exactly how to read their reports.  The graphs and statistics are easy enough to understand, but how do you interpret them?

Email is a useful marketing tool in that it gives you the perfect opportunity to engage with both existing and potential clients directly.  You get to engage on a more personal level and convince them that your business really does cater to their needs rather than relying on mass advertising messages.  It makes sense then, that your reports should give you an idea of how well you are engaging with your audience.
 
So what do I have to look out for? How do I interpret my statistics?

Open rates
One of the first things you probably look at when examining your reports is your open rates – and rightly so.  After all, in order for subscribers to engage with your emails on any level they need to open them first  If you want to boost your open rates, think the things subscribers see immediately when they receive an email:  The From name and the subject line.  If the subject line  is attention grabbing, unique and relevant, your recipients are more likely to open your emails.  Also consider things like when you send your emails – is it at a time that is convenient for your recipients to read it?  Or do you perhaps email them too often?   Small tweaks can boost your open rates.  We find that most emails are sent mid-week: Most are sent on Thursdays, followed by Wednesdays, Tuesdays, Fridays, Mondays, Sundays and lastly, Saturdays.  It’s clear that our clients don’t get as good a response to their mailings over weekends as they do on weekdays.  It's something to bear in mind when timing your sends.

Unsubscribe statistics
Another important statistic is the number of people who unsubscribed from your list.  Inevitably there will always be some people who are no longer interested in receiving your mailings, so it’s important to keep track of how many people do so, on average, after each send.  That way you’ll notice trends, so if for a few sends the number of unsubscribes is slowly increasing, you know that something in your emails is putting your readers off.  Perhaps there is even a particular message that caused significantly higher unsubscribe rates than usual, in which case it’s a good idea to sit down and analyse the message to identify what in the email caused them to do so.

Click-through rates
The interaction that (in most cases) is probably most valuable to an email marketer is when a subscriber clicks on a link in your email.  Not only does it generate traffic to your website, but it means that they are one step closer to buying your product or signing up for your service.  It means that you’ve managed to pique their interest sufficiently enough in your email that they’ve decided to look into it further.  Understandably then, click-through rates are something you want to keep an eye on.
But how can you boost your click-through rates?  Subscribers are a simple bunch – they don’t want to spend more than a few seconds skimming through your email. Make sure that your content is relevant, direct and targeted.  Make it very clear what you want them to do: “Click here to sign up” or “click here to get your 20% off coupon”.

Social share statistics
Your best metric is one that sends your campaign soaring beyond the immediate Inbox – it’s when your subscribers become so engaged with your email campaigns that they share them with their friend and contacts.  Emails are perfect for growing your audience virally – that’s why we offer you the option of inserting ‘forward to a friend’ buttons and social widgets to your email footer.  (Social widgets allow your readers to share your email through their social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Digg.)  And again, if your subscribers find your emails valuable or informative enough to want to share with their peers, you must be doing a good job of engaging them – so make sure you track your growth through your social share rates.  These give you a clear indication of how many people forwarded or shared your message.  Who knows, their friends might also sign up as subscribers, so you increase the reach of your emails.  Just remember that your subscribers might not be aware that they have these sharing options, so be sure to point it out to them clearly.

If you keep track of these statistics you should be able to track the efficiency of your campaigns and be able to adapt your email marketing strategies to ensure optimal results.  Of course, sometimes you can notice fluctuation in these rates, but not be quite sure what caused the changes.  When in doubt – test!  Use the A/B split testing tool to measure how well your emails compare against each other.  That way you’ll have a very clear indication of which one works best, so you can send out effective newsletters with every send.

Remember when I introduced you to our new social share feature?  It’s a tool that enables you to publish your email newsletters on Twitter.

Why would I want to do that?

Through social media you have access to a whole new audience of potential clients, plus there’s the benefit that you’re likely to reach people who are actually interested in your product.  Think about it:  Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, blogging – these have become daily networking activities for most of us.
Social media is the way I tell my friends what I “like” and if one of them recommends I follow a particular topic or person, I take them at their word.  After all, who would know my interests better than my social contacts? They’re bombarded with my status updates every day!  So, if someone recommends I follow your company on Twitter, I probably will.

At the end of the day though, social media speaks to the masses – email engages customers on a more personal level.  So, our social share tool makes it easy for you to integrate these two marketing channels! 
When you send out your email newsletter, we give you the option to automatically post a tweet from you GraphicMail account that contains a link to your full newsletter.  That way, all your Twitter followers can also stay in touch with your latest news. 

Not only that, but you can further increase your online exposure by adding social widgets to your email footers, so your subscribers can also share your newsletter with their contacts through their own social network profiles. 

Still a little unclear on how all of this works?  Well, just to make life a little easier, we’ve added a video on social share to our YouTube channel!  It shows you how to set up social share for your newsletter and add social widgets to your email footer - and you get to see both features in action.  Happy viewing!

If I had to pick a question that we probably get asked most often by clients, it’s “When is the best time to send emails?”
 
Tuesdays…  er no, maybe Thursdays?  Question is: Is there a best day to send marketing emails?
 
A huge part of email marketing is ensuring that recipients actually open emails that you send. A lot of time and effort goes in to creating a newsletter…appropriate content, professional design, quality information. So, why put in all of that only to have your message dismissed as trash? Think about how you time your sends:  What are your recipients doing on scheduled send days and do they have time to open, read and reply to emails?
 
Many studies have proven that the best days to send messages is in the middle of the week—think Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The most productive days of the week are smack in the middle of it, so it follows that your emails are more likely to be opened, read, and clicked through on those days. Keep this in mind as a suggestion, not a rule.
 
Those two other weekdays, you know, Monday and Friday...well they also have their perks. On Fridays, people tend to receive less email which gives your message priority. Keep in mind that people tend to sneak out of the office a bit earlier on a Friday, so send your emails earlier in the day. If you schedule sends for Mondays, try to do it in the afternoon.  You know how a Monday morning in your office goes – catching up with colleagues and work, planning your week, having that extra Monday morning cuppa...  After lunch, people are more likely to have time in their schedules to open and respond to emails.
 
And what about weekends?  Sending on the weekends is slightly more risky than sending during the week, but people do check their inboxes on Saturdays and Sundays. If you want to send then, send only to recipients who are the most responsive. If messages aren’t checked, your messages will likely get lost in the Monday morning shuffle.
 
Basically, each day of the week has its own advantages. You can send emails and be successful any day, just be sure to do your research. Experiment with the timing of your sends and send at a time that suits your subscribers, not just your own schedule.