Marketing & Advertising

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.

Genuine Laughter

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.

Hey! I’m over heeeeeeere!

When new media catches on, it spreads everywhere. And fast. Conversations about YouTube! were rare at first, but once we saw how quickly these videos loaded and how well they played, we wanted to tell all our friends about them!

We’ve experienced the same phenomenon with Flash, AJAX, Google, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and nearly every type of social media you can think of. We say “ooooooh! that is COOL!” then we dive into it.

Trouble is, that while we are swimming deep in the new technology we find nifty, most of our friends are doing the same (and we all keep sharing it). The result is a saturation of media.

Ad columnist for Entrepreneur.com, Roy Williams, wrote about “Advertising Trends: Publishing Past Media Overload“. In the article, he shines a spotlight on problems we face today in advertising that have only grown worse.

The more we have to look at and react to, the harder it is to see things individually. Say we go to a sports arena and have 30-70,000 people around us … ever noticed how really tough it can be to find a buddy (or wife) in the crowd?

Flip that around: in that same arena when you leave your friends (or your husband) to go grab a bite/drink/restroom break, it’s equally hard for them to see you. Getting noticed takes a LOT of effort. (And “hey I forgot my wallet” can be a painful trek back across the crowd!)

With all the new technology we have, often being force-fed to us (see how much you get hit with on your local news station’s web site!), it is no wonder those wanting your attention (and your money), have such a difficult time reaching you.

In Roy’s article, he suggests we all spend a bit more time writing headlines to get attention, then proceed to take that reader’s attention to inform them what you can do for them.

Be fun, smart, and innovative, but make sure you can back-up your headline with reality! Find what you want to get your readers to react to, and grab their attention. They are likely reading e-mail, checking in on Facebook, sending out a Tweet, checking the team scores on ESPN and doing some online shopping. Will you be seen?

Remember, there is a lot more to advertising than a pretty picture, cool graphics, or some well-written copy. It takes a balance of it all to get noticed!

Colleges and universities are embracing social media and realizing its potential power and implications as a component of their overall marketing mix. The Internet is no longer a one-way street. Many higher education institutions are taking advantage of the new opportunities to interact with students, faculty, staff, alumni and fans.

Social media gives universities the opportunity to humanize stories of students and alumni, which can create loyalty and engage future applicants. See an example of humanizing stories here in Yellow Springs through Antioch University McGregor’s campaign called “What will your story be?”

I came across a guide called Social Media in Higher Education that reviews existing literature available in this subject area. The guide also helps readers identify implications for and against using social media and discusses best practices, recommendations, and considerations for higher education marketers.

Social networking is one aspect of social media where individuals are in communities that share ideas, interests, or are looking to meet people with similar ideas and interests.

Looking for specific examples? Here is a collection of social networks that your official college or university might use to connect with your school’s prospects, students, alumni, friends, parents or community.