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ABCs of Promotional E-Mail
© 2003
by David Townsend
Of all the weapons in the e-mail marketing arsenal,
promotional campaigns are among the most popular and
effective. Here are the basic components of a promotional
e-mail campaign and a few useful tips.
Promotional campaigns feature e-mail messages with a
single, focused call to action. They use incentives
including pricing discounts, sweepstakes and giveaways.
The primary objective is to encourage the recipient to
respond immediately.
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The Pot of Gold
To that end, the e-mail message provides a link to a Web
page where an offer can be fulfilled, a product ordered or a
trial version downloaded. The message can also provide a
toll-free number.
You can send a single e-mail or conduct an ongoing
campaign.
Promotional campaigns can be used to:
- Encourage a product purchase, especially product
upgrades.
- Gather e-mail addresses and other profiling
information from potential customers.
- Get rid of stock that hasn't sold fast enough.
One of the biggest benefits of e-mail marketing is that
it allows you to test your customer base rapidly and
extensively. Try testing different incentives and layouts to
determine which combinations generate the greatest response
rates.
Do headlines, graphics and offers within e-mail messages
have an impact? Is the promotion more successful when sent
as a separate e-mail message or when included in your
regular customer newsletter?
Remember, every customer base is different
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Connect the Dots
Here are useful observations and guidelines for
promotional e-mail messages:
Layout. As a general rule, marketers
warn against placing important information "below the
fold," that is, where the viewer must scroll down to
see it. In our experience, however, the location of an
incentive within a newsletter doesn't affect response rates.
Format. HTML messages get substantially
higher response rates than their plain-text counterparts —
especially in business-to-consumer applications. In
addition, remember that messages to AOL users must be
specially formatted to allow for hot-linked URLs.
Links. More than 70 percent of
recipients click only one link within an e-mail message.
Promotional messages are therefore most effective when they
direct the recipient to a single URL.
Copy. Unlike print-based promotions
where long copy can be effective, promotional e-mail
messages should be short and sweet. Clearly and quickly
define the incentives and actions you want recipients to
take; otherwise, they'll head straight for the delete
button.
Incentives. When sending a promotion, be
sure there's a compelling incentive for readers to take the
desired action. The incentive — whether giveaway, price
discount or access to valuable information — must be of
real value.
Volume. Do not overwhelm your readers
with dozens of messages. Start with one to two messages per
month; increase the frequency only if you need to convey
time-sensitive information or if your users tell you they
want more.
However you choose to use e-mail marketing, remember to
apply the same discipline you would to any other marketing
medium. In particular, be ready for success. If a call
center will be used for fulfillment, make sure you're
prepared for a large volume of calls immediately after the
mailing.
Mailing to a small sample group first allows you to
determine the probable response rate.
If you have doubts about any aspect of your campaign,
start small and test extensively, using your existing
customer base as an informal focus group. If you still have
questions, seek professional assistance.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
David Townsend
is CEO and founder of Innovyx Inc., a leader in e-mail-based
direct marketing solutions.
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