Articles by Joe

We have been working more and more with designing email newsletters for clients. Every time we do a new campaign for one of them, I’m striving to help them reach the full potential of their email lists and the one question I often hear is: “How can I improve my open rate?” As I have noticed many of them achieving excellent open rates that are beating industry standards, I figure it couldn’t hurt to use the content I send as an email to our clients to help those just looking for tips.

There are a number of ways to measure the success of email marketing. The fact that it is so measurable in so many different ways is one of the greatest strengths of using this medium. But because blog posts can get long-winded, we’ll stick with the open rates.

Email marketing has the power to help you sell products and services but you can’t get any results if your emails aren’t read, and your emails can’t be read if they aren’t opened. Ergo, your open rate is incredibly important. It’s the first step in the journey to email marketing success. If people don’t even open your emails, you’ll never accomplish your goal, whether that goal is to stimulate a conversation, to educate, to create brand awareness, to promote, or to invite.

First, what is an open rate and how is it calculated? An open rate is intended to show the percentage of individuals who actually opened your email and looked at it. Many things can affect your open rate, things you may not be able to control, such as:

The source of your list.

Purchased lists tend to have lower open rates than a list of your clients, customers, vendors, etc. Make sure to clean your list of any bounced emails or unreachable accounts to keep things fresh.

Your audience.

Whether you have a campaign for business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C), open rates can vary between them and various industries.

Your email format.

As a rule, email delivery systems can only track open rates on HTML emails. People who get your email in plain-text format will not be counted in your open rate, but may, in fact, have opened your email.

The email platform used by your readers.

When your email is viewed in the preview pane of a platform like Microsoft Outlook or Entourage, it will be counted as an open. If your readers use a Web-based email reader like Hotmail or Gmail, they usually have to click on the ‘from’ field or subject line to open the email. This is counted as an open.

So back to the question: How can I improve my open rate? There are things you do have control over that can help you increase your open rate:

Use a recognizable “From” name.

Make sure you use a “From” name and address that includes your name, company, product, or service name – whichever the recipient will know best. When you repeatedly brand the “From” line like this over time, you assure the recipient that the email is coming from a reliable and trusted source and builds familiarity and credibility. It may be the only name they see in their inbox, so don’t send your newsletter from sales@mycompany.com. The funniest address I ever got was an institution – that will remain anonymous – from nobody@______.com. I was quick to unsubscribe because it didn’t feel personable to me.

Grab them with the “Subject” line.

Make sure the subject is short and to the point, no more than 5-8 words, and state a clear benefit to opening the email. Make sure the subject line does not look like spam. You do not want to use any unnecessary punctuation, all capitals, or have your email come across as a trick or gimmick. Remember, the first thing the recipient is going to see is who it is from and the subject line.Personally, I received a plethora of marketing emails one afternoon. I was overwhelmed and decided to delete most and open a couple, the main factor that determined which ones I opened were that of the subject line caught me as relevant to me. But that leads me into my next point.

Consider your delivery day and time.

Constant Contact is one of the services we use and they offer some insight into this:

Tuesday through Thursday were considered to be the best performing days. Recent surveys indicate Monday may be the new favorite. Because the volume of email sent is highest between 10am and 2pm, your emails may have a greater chance of being seen from 8am – 10am or 4pm – 6pm.

Most importantly, know your readers and adjust your subject line to them. In most industry standards, men prefer subject lines that communicate news or compelling information, while women prefer discount offers, but before you go with my word on this, leverage market research to fine-tune your subject line. Email is an ongoing conversation, be sure to incorporate ways your recipient can keep the conversation evolving.

I hope these little tidbits help as you reach the marketing effectiveness of your email campaigns.

Bing Design has hit the ground running. Despite the year of 2009 being so turbulent, we still provided excellent service, produced top quality print and electronic work for our clients, and created a refreshed identity for ourselves. We have put together some of our featured work for the Hermes awards coming up in February, and we invite our followers to view our portfolio showcasing many of the elements of marketing.

Not only do we look back, but we are looking forward! We have been keeping our eye on trends for the year, but the best way to predict the future, is to create it.

So, we are approaching 2010 proactively! Diving into the latest new media, engaging followers in the many channels of social networks, and collaborating with our clients to communicate trends and best practices that we feel can integrate in their respective industries. All this and still providing time for our Bingers to stay as flexible as yoga masters.

Looking back at the processes and marketing materials we have designed to take shape, we expect to have a good run with many of our valued partners and clients in the coming year.

Cheers to you 2010, we are bringing original ideas and adding value to them!

This is the time of year where client requests are always fast and furious. As we work steadily, we also take this time of year to get in the holiday spirit, where we unwind for the holiday season. Our annual holiday party brings us together outside of the office setting, where we partake in a fun gift exchange and an elegant dining experience.

Our gift exchange typically turns into an eventful showing of gag gifts and alcohol, but for all those tech lovers out there, Time magazine has the Buyer’s Guide for you. But perhaps you aren’t looking for the typical, tangible gift but more of a getaway.

Yellow Springs is a place like no other, and we at Bing are proud of our village! Approached by the Chamber of Commerce, we were pleased to design and produce an electronic GetawaYS Guide to spotlight the rich and rare collection of unusual shops and galleries where one-of-a-kind gifts abound. Highlighting for others what we see daily, brought new appreciation for the art galleries and unique boutiques, bookstores, wine stores, eateries, a gourmet grocer and the most unusual and creative toy store anywhere!

Produced in just days, it’s a beautiful guide to accompany a walk-through visit of the village of Yellow Springs and all it has to offer! Shop, Eat, Play and Stay in the Springs.

It’s hard to make things easy. And, it’s even harder to be visually appealing at the same time.

In the earliest forms of advertising, copy was king. Strong use of words and typefaces would be effective in your marketing piece, but not everyone understands concepts and information at the same rate. Some people can understand messages quickly while others need help to grasp what is being said. Visual aids are a way of further explanation. Nowadays, we’re able to relay much of what we once had to explain through the written word with the use of images.

Consumers have seen themselves moving away from wordy messaging and finding that most engaging piece of advertising in a graphic or photograph. You might recall a spoof we posted about how Microsoft would redesign Apple’s iPod packaging.

The very best visuals take a complex idea or series of connected ideas and make them instantly understandable. Just the right visuals make those ideas even more memorable. Use of visual tools led to longer retention of information. Visual aids allow a speaker to use verbal and nonverbal communication to solidify the message and provide a point of reference for the mind.

Visual representations of information, or infographics, are often used to support information, strengthen it and present it while leaving the amount of explanation required to a minimum. Using appropriate visual aids are the essential ingredients. Here’s a good reference to infographics to see how effective they can be without an explanation.

So when you have an advertisement that you want to convey to your consumers, give serious thought to using accompanying illustrations that will complement what you are trying to convey.

Here’s a video from the 2008 TED Conference of Chris Jordan on how he takes raw data and depicts it in his art in a more visual language. Notice how using visuals that integrate just enough to clarify his presentation. This makes for a powerful communications combination.

Sure. There are search engine optimization practices out there that you coordinate: targeting keywords in your industry, optimizing web pages and title descriptions, but let’s face it, the internet is big… real BIG, over one trillion pages. What if you don’t have the budget for an SEO strategy, you aren’t a big player in the industry or you have a small niche market that you want to advertise to?

The Google Local Business Center is a must visit for your business then. In general, it’s good to add any business to it, but certainly for businesses attempting to attract customers in their local community. As you may know, Google allows you to add your business to a directory and then enhance your profile with all kinds of information about your business, products, and services. This is a free listing and every small business should take advantage of it.

Google shows these listings when someone makes what is a geographic based search, for example “Dayton banks“. The results show in what is called the “Google 10-Box” above other listings. When someone clicks on one of these results they are taken to the profile through Google Maps. Check out Bing Design’s google listing.

Here’s a short clip showing the features Google Local Business Center added recently that can greatly benefit your small business, helping you to effectively promote, analyze trends, and cater to your niche.

Need some more advice? Check out a recent post for some simple tips you can do to improve your search results.