client or prospect ? It ’ s your attitude , how you treat them , and how you build trust .
• Cross-promote the content in your eblasts with other marketing tactics “ We often reinforce the messages in the eblast with our blogs and social media , specifically posts on LinkedIn ,” says Mark Seltzer .
Dos and Don ’ ts
Here are some suggestions from both companies for making your eblast campaigns effective .
• Build and use a consistent template “ This
Dos is really important so that every time these emails show up in their inbox , your readers recognize it ’ s from you ,” advises Zogby .
• Understand that photos make the content interesting If you ’ re using a newsletter approach similar to RDS , photos help create appealing content . “ Photos tell a story ,” says Zogby . “ People struggle for content because they don ’ t know where to start . Photos give you a place to start . Many times , we ’ ll work backward from the picture to get the story .”
• Make it easy to consume the content “ We got away from the paragraph format in our newsletter years ago ,” says Zogby . “ We ’ ll use three or four bullet points and then a call to action that drives them to the website or a PDF with more in-depth information .”
• Spend a lot of time on headlines and subheads People aren ’ t going to sit down with a cup of coffee to peruse your content . They skim . Headlines and subheads break up the content and draw readers into the story .
• Choose content that has value for the reader Emails that address your client ’ s pain points or speak to developments in their industry showcase your company ’ s knowledge of their world . “ We focus our content on issues or topics subscribers want to know more about ,” says Comet ’ s Burman . RDS also likes to add value by showcasing what Zogby calls “ cultural moments ” for their team members . These underscore their emphasis on team and community .
• Do your research on the day and time to distribute your emails “ There ’ s a lot of information on the internet and through individual email providers like Constant Contact and MailChimp on the best days and the best times to get the biggest open rates on their platforms ,” advises Zogby .
• Use an email platform that integrates with your CRM This will make building and maintaining your list more manageable .
• Be consistent “ Consistency is important because we ’ re building a relationship with our prospects and customers , one email at a time . We create a schedule and stick to it ,” says Comet ’ s marketing consultant , Randy Burman .
• Leverage testimonials “ Our subscribers want to know that real people get real results from our services , and eblasts are a great way to showcase this ,” says Burman .
Don ’ ts
• Underestimate the power of a great email subject line “ If our subscribers don ’ t open our emails , we won ’ t get the marketing results we ’ re looking for ,” points out Burman .
• Spam your subscribers . “ Our email recipients ’ time is valuable . We believe it ’ s better to send a few well-crafted , targeted emails than to bombard prospects with multiple emails that aren ’ t aligned with their specific interests ,” says Burman .
• Make it a hard sell “ We ’ re all about educating and sharing in our email campaigns ,” says
48 customized logistics & delivery Magazine I summer 2024