Like many of you, we’re gearing up for the holiday season. Just like Santa’s elves test the toys for breakability, we’re testing emails for deliverability. It’s not too late to analyze and sharpen your tactics for what could be a record-breaking shopping season. Check out these points to push you in the right direction.
From Blog to E-book
E-books are valuable content that present you as a thought leader and can generate solid leads on your site. But, how do you write an e-book?
We cover a couple different approaches in a recent Savoir Faire blog post:
One, if you have a topic in mind but not the existing content yet, begin with an outline, and include questions like, what challenges do customers have that you can address?
Then, break down the development of the e-book into smaller pieces or chapters. Begin writing chapters or pieces of 500 to 1,500 words each and publish them regularly on your blog. Eventually, you’ll have posts that easily transform into chapters of the e-book.
Two, if you already have a lot of content on your blog. Take a look at your content from the last 12 months or so and see if any themes bubble up. If you have five to 10 posts or some email content or newsletters on matching themes, you may have the bulk of an e-book already. Check out our post for more help on this topic.
Get Your Share of $142 Billion
That crazy denomination is not the current Powerball jackpot; it’s what consumers are expected to spend online shopping for the holidays this season.
Get your share of that moolah! We talk about making your emails more mobile-friendly in another POI this time around, but it’s also a great idea to strategize around the big dates that customers tend to spend.
There’s a shorter window between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, and about 20% of holiday gift buying happens in those five days after Turkey Day called the Cyber Five.
Multi-Channel Merchant suggests stretching your focus to 10 days after Thanksgiving, and they also suggest sending an email on a lighter email day, specifically Sunday, Nov. 24 – prior to Black Friday.
Sunday may seem like a risky day for email with less eyes on it in general, but those who do look at the top of their inbox are likely to see your subject line. Consider a single emoji in the subject line to pop.
Check out the article for more specifics on getting a slice of that post-Thanksgiving pie.
Think Mobile-y
Email remains a viable communication tool between you and your customers as well as a great opportunity to convert leads to customers. But, we consume emails a lot differently than before with most of them opened (or not opened) on a mobile device.
Approaching your email campaigns with a mobile audience in mind is a best practice. Forbes offers some solid tactics to add actionability to your next round of emails.
One, mobile is a great opportunity to localize and personalize the subject line or the opening content. Try using the local weather as a conversation starter. We all deal with the weather so you’ve already introduced some commonality to your prospect.
Two, test, test and test again! This tactic really goes for any good marketing campaign effort. But, mobile offers some unique features. We’re trained to scroll on a mobile device, so test some longer content. Also, test for multiple devices to ensure your content has the look and feel you desire.
Sunday may seem like a risky day for email with less eyes on it in general, but those who do look at the top of their inbox are likely to see your subject line. Consider a single emoji in the subject line to pop.
Check out the article for more specifics on getting a slice of that post-Thanksgiving pie.
Strategic Content
At Savoir Faire, we preach regularly about the benefits of new, strategic website content. But just in case you think that’s all we squawk about, we also like talking about analyzing metrics.
Your content creator and analytics team should be pals and in regular communication. They should go together like chocolate and peanut butter (or whatever mixture you like best, peas and carrots?). Ensure your solid content is seen by the right people by running it through a series of metrics.
It’s not economically feasible to run all of your content through every available metric, so luckily the influencers at Forbes suggest some of the top ones to think about when planning a new content-rich strategy.
Consider these and a few more in the article:
- Click-through and subscription rates
- New leads
- Number of re-engaged leads
- Share value
- On-site time
The Human Touch
Marketing automation tools strengthen our efforts but we’re not worried about being replaced by Blog-Bot 5000 just yet.
People are still an important part of the process. Thankfully, Entrepreneur agrees with us and offers a new article outlines five ways human connection complements automation marketing.
Here are a couple we like – and utilize:
One, automation helps determine who the best prospects might be, but it takes the human touch to seal the deal. Depending on the service or product, many of us want to talk to and ask questions to a person who’s a subject matter expert. Forget the “Describe your challenge in five words” prompt. Get me to a human!
Two, gaining insight on what didn’t work. Automation gets the message to a prospect, but automation does not then tell you why 45% didn’t open it, 54% didn’t click or why 23% clicked but didn’t provide an email. Talking with a sales prospect – even one they gets away – provides valuable insight that a robot just isn’t getting us – yet.
Anti-Bullying for Breakfast
We love some feel-good marketing at Savoir Faire, so we had to share the news that breakfast cereal manufacturer Kellogs is supporting the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s anti-bullying campaign with a new, limited-edition box.
All Together contains mini boxes of Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini-Wheats and Corn Flakes packaged together in a rainbow-themed box that also features all of those cereal’s cartoon icons.
The box is poised to become a collector’s items for sure. Kellogs also donated $50,000 toward the campaign. Kudos, Kelloggs! You just put some snap, crackle and pop in our day!
