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Testing Your Way to a Better Email Marketing Campaign
If you’re in the marketing, public relations or advertising industry you probably already know how important it is to run an an error-free and effective campaign. HTML e-mail marketing campaigns are one way to promote your company or clients’ services, blogs and Website.
It’s smart to do some testing before you send your e-mail campaign to your entire subscriber list. Most e-mail marketing services let you send tests to yourself, but do you know what to look for?
Here are some handy tips for testing your e-mail marketing campaigns:
- Don’t just rely on a pop-up preview. That’s a rough approximation of how your e-mail would look in the best of circumstances. You need to actually deliver your campaign to real e-mail addresses to see how it works “in the wild.”
- Setup e-mail accounts with as many e-mail services as possible (it’s usually free). Use the most common services, like MSN, Hotmail, Yahoo! and Gmail. You might also setup an account with AOL.
- Don’t change any of the default settings for the test accounts. Don’t add yourself to the address book either. You’ll want to test whether or not your e-mail campaigns get spam-filtered to a typical e-mail account.
- Set up a “test list” via the e-mail marketing service you’re using (you can do this in one click by replicating your “real” list) and import these test addresses.
- Try to recruit co-workers, friends and/or family members who use different e-mail services to become testers for you. That way, they can tell you how your e-mail looks in various types of e-mail programs. If you have the resources, setup a testing computer in the office with multiple operating systems and e-mail programs.
- On your sign-up form, are you giving users the option to receive the plain-text version or mobile version of your emails? If so, be sure to sign-up one of your test emails to receive plain-text only and one to receive the Mobile version.
- Send as many e-mails as you can to your test addresses. Knowledge is power and this will help you anticipate mistakes and fine-tune the look of your e-mails.
- Did your campaign end up in the junk folder for any of the email accounts? If so, you might want to include a one-sentence note at the bottom of each e-mail to remind your subscribers to add your e-mail address to their address book. This will help prevent your e-mails from automatically being marked as “spam.”
- Most e-mail programs leave images turned off by default (you have to click a link or button to display images). How does your email look with images turned off? That’s the first impression people will have.
- Do you have “Alt-text” coded for your images to entice recipients to click the “show images” button (Alt-text is the “alternative text” that’s displayed when an image can’t be seen in a web browser or e-mail program)? When we say “entice” we don’t mean you should resort to sales-like rhetoric such as, “CHECK THIS OUT!” Sometimes, a really descriptive alt-text is enticing enough. For example, “Screenshot of the new feature we just launched” is short and sweet.
- When you click “show images” for your e-mail, do all the images work? Do they download fairly quickly or do you need to go back and optimize them?
- Just in case people choose not to display your the images in your e-mails, do you have a link at the top of your e-mail, allowing them to view your message online (i.e. through their browser)?
- Click on as many links as possible (yes, this is mind-numbing, but necessary). Do they all work? Are there any broken links?
- Did you enable click or open tracking? If so, click and open some of your e-mails. Log in and check your campaign stats. Double and triple check that everything is working properly.
Was this helpful? Let us know if you followed these tips in your own e-mail marketing campaigns and had any success in growing your business!
You can also check out HRB’s Marketing blog or Internet Technology blog for more tips and news about utilizing e-mail marketing campaigns.
Megan Jasin
Public Relations Intern
Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meganjasin
Top 20 Best Practices for Creating and Popularizing Content on the Social Web
Last Wednesday I attended Cision’s online Webinar “Creating Social Media Content” and I couldn’t have been more impressed by the presentation. I found that HRB is already practicing most of these strategies, but I also learned about some new online forums and tools that can take our brand and our clients’ brands to a whole new level on the Web.
Presented by two of today’s leading public relations professionals—Heidi Sullivan (@hksully), Vice President of Media Research for Cision, and Sarah Evans (@prsarahevans) of Sevans Strategy—the Webinar discussed social media strategies, tips and resources that companies should consider when promoting a brand or service.
In an effort to summarize what I’ve been learning from HRB, Webinars and other educational resources on the Web, I’ve created my own master list of the “Top 20 Best Practices for Creating and Popularizing Content on the Social Web.” The list includes social media strategies, tips and recommended resources for companies to consider when creating online content. Check it out and let me know your thoughts in the comments section or via my Twitter handle, @IowaHawkeyeMeg.
Top 20 Best Practices for Creating and Popularizing Content on the Social Web:
1 ) Every social media strategy needs to be well-planned. Ask these 4 questions before that first meeting with your coworkers and your clients:
- What’s your goal?
- Who will represent your brand on social media sites?
- When will you find time to produce content?
- How will you measure success?
2 ) Blog consistently and on a variety of topics. According to Cision’s research, there is a 2% to 4% increase in business for those companies that blog 2 to 4 times per week. The trick to write relevant and interesting posts and promote your content on a regular basis to grow your following.
3 ) When determining who should blog for your brand, choose employees that are passionate about your brand and industry. It’s counter-productive to make your employees blog if they’re not passionate about blogging, don’t keep up with news or can’t offer a fresh perspective.
4 ) Read, read, read! Knowledge is power and it’s to your advantage to stay on top of industry trends and news. Follow other bloggers’ RSS feeds in a Google Reader account and set aside 15 minutes a day to read your email subscriptions.
5 ) Be thoughtful when outsourcing your blog content. In some cases your employees are going to know your brand better than an outsider might. If you’re looking for a fresh perspective on a specific topic or Web trend, consider outsourcing the work to professionals or set up a guest blogging section on your Website to seek out knowledgeable professionals that can contribute to it. Check out the “Young Minds” guest blogging series that Lauren Fernandez of Radian6 created on her portfolio Website.
6 ) Think like a journalist! Journalists are always looking for new angles and stories to share with the world. Create headlines that are “catchy” and unique. Do your research ahead of time and make sure your blogs have no grammatical errors to avoid negative backlash in your blog’s comment section or on your page’s news feed.
7 ) Assess your goals and progress every week with Google Analytics or other social media measurement tools. Creating content for the social Web is useless if you’re not monitoring your engagement with your readers. Create a weekly Excel spreadsheet or report to present to your boss and clients to show how many fans/followers you add each week/month/year and which blogs are getting the most hits.
8 ) Create a blogroll in a sidebar list on your company or client’s main blog page. A blogroll is a list of other blogs that a blogger might recommend by providing links to them. Create a headline for the blogroll such as “Recommended Reading” and use keywords and other SEO tactics to separate and promote your blog categories.
9 ) Encourage the CEO, CMO and/or President of your company or your client’s company to contribute to blogs and engage with their audiences via social media. Learning about a company from their perspective is both critical and interesting to interns and established professionals alike. It reminds people that they’re engaging with other people (not a logo) and often provides audiences with relevant personal stories and anecdotes. To get inside the mind of HRB’s executives check out the blog pages of our CEO, Jim Thebeau and our President, Steve Erickson.
10 ) It isn’t just about blogs. Create a Twitter and Facebook account for your company and client and link to your employees’ personal accounts on these networks. Show your audience that every team member is vital to the success of your brand or campaign.
11 ) Be transparent. If you don’t hide anything from your audience they’ll be more likely to subscribe to your newsletter and follow you on social networks because they trust and appreciate your “words of wisdom.” Publish your social media policy and white papers on your Website and publicize company news and internal policy changes on your social media networks.
12 ) Listen and engage with your audience on a regular basis. If someone comments on your blog, tweet or post, respond to them right away. If other Web users see that you’re paying attention to your followers they’ll be more inclined to get involved in the conversation as well.
13 ) Acknowledge your audience. Every once in a while post a shout out to your followers, newsletter subscribers and potential customers by acknowledging how their support inspires your company and its employees to continue producing amazing content. They’ll appreciate the love and might even recommend your services to a business partner or networking contact.
14 ) The social media release (SMR) is the new press release. It’s no secret that traditional news methods are quickly being replaced by alternative news methods. The goal with the social media press release is to write for your audience AND the average Web user. Pitch to bloggers via a “Twitter pitch” or create a list of blog contacts that have been helpful in promoting a service or campaign for you in the past. As Heidi Sullivan and Sarah Evans mentioned in their presentation, “Inbound links are the currency of the blogosphere,” so make sure you’re building mutually-beneficial relationships. If a blogger picks up your social media release and repurposes the content on their blog, be sure to return the favor and mention their blog in your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn updates.
15 ) Create an “Interactive Newsroom” on your company Website. Include daily or weekly featured news, videos, blogs and photo images about your company. The example provided in the Cision Webinar was Toyota’s interactive newsroom. It features each of these things in addition to a section titled “Our Point of View” that’s written exclusively by Toyota employees and explores current issues in the automotive industry.
16 ) Keep up-to-date on educational news, language lessons, films, audio books, campus tours and more via Apple’s iTunes U. This service has been around since 2007 but I’ve never heard about it before this Webinar. Since checking it out I have to say that I’m very impressed by the content that Stanford University has put out there for use by students and average Web users. According to Wikipedia, iTunes U was “created to manage, distribute and control access to educational audio and video content and PDF files.” I agree with the Webinar hosts that this is a great resource for interns (and education industry clients) because it’s a free service that includes over 75,000 files for users’ upload or download purposes.
17 ) The rule of thirds: It’s not all about YOU. As my internship supervisor likes to remind me, nobody wakes up in the morning expecting to get an email from you. It’s important to realize the value in creating online content but equally necessary to know your limits. If you have a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account, spend about 1/3 of your time posting information about your company, 1/3 of the time posting information about your clients and the remaining third of your time acknowledging others on the social Web (what the friendly Cision hosts referred to as “social karma”). Don’t walk around handing out your business card—instead, find out what your audiences’ and followers’ interests and jobs are. You should be entertaining your audiences but also engaging with your followers as these groups are collectively responsible for the success of your social media handle.
18 ) Aggregate! Create a “top 10 list” every once in a while to show your readers you’re paying attending to other writers in the blogosphere. After all, you’re not a robot!
19 ) Got a case of the “blogger blues?” Don’t fret! There will be days that you’re stuck and can’t find the words to write what’s really on your mind. (It happens to me all the time!) If you’re on deadline consult with your supervisor for new ideas or ask a coworker to switch blog days with you. It’s always better to wait and produce inspiring content rather than bore your readers.
20 ) Remember: Social media is a marathon, not a sprint! If you’re not seeing results in weekly analytic reports, try something new. There is no “correct way” to create and popularize content on the social Web but there are definitely promotional strategies that have grown companies and brands in huge ways. Dare to experiment!
Although this was only the second Webinar I’ve ever attended, I’m quickly learning that virtual tutorials are extremely useful resources. As an intern I always have questions and sometimes I find that my lack of knowledge about the media, the brand I’m representing or the audience(s) I’m reaching out to slows me down and prevents me from meeting deadlines. While this can sometimes be inevitable, I’ve realized that having solid research skills is critical in this industry—especially with the non-stop changes in progressive enhancement and the diversity of Web services offered today. I’m comforted by the fact that there are real people behind those usernames. I know if I continue to be proactive and seek out resources that help me master my shortcomings I can stay ahead of technology trends and promote HRB and its clients in unique and purposeful ways.
Megan Jasin
Public Relations Intern
Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meganjasin
Web Designers Increasingly Tailoring the User Experience Alongside the Surge of New Technology Devices
Photo Credit: IGN.com
There has been a surge of new devices coming out with a wide variety of form factors and intended functionality. There was the boom of the netbook form factor and GPS/in-car systems, followed by the iPhone and other touchscreen mobile devices. Now companies are looking into providing more options for the touchscreen tablet-sized device and the HDTV screens that people already own (with the help of GoogleTV, AppleTV, and Boxee). These all are accompanying desktop computers, laptops and modern game consoles in the fact that they are all capable of being (if not already) Internet-enabled.
When people realize that the device that they’re using is Internet-enabled, they don’t want to have arbitrary limitations on what they can access considering that all of these devices have the screens and input methods that are necessary to access and navigate around a website or Web application that they can use on their computer. They’re all using the one-and-only Internet (or at least that’s how we’d like to keep it), so they should (in theory) be able to access the same content.
Many devices follow this rule of thumb by giving users access to a Web browser of some kind and this trend is becoming more prevalent among device manufacturers. This leaves Website designers with a new issue since most of the websites on the Internet were designed for computers with screen sizes ranging from around 13 to 24 inches with a mouse and keyboard. For example, needing to zoom and pan across a website that was designed for a desktop computer while using a mobile device is not the optimal experience.
It’s possible to take the same content on the site, detect the screen size of the device being used and display it in a way that best fits the device. The screen size detection is near instantaneous so it really comes down to the developers dedicating their time toward designing the new way that the content is displayed on the varying screen sizes. They can use a standard set of “Mobile,” “Computer” and “Projector/TV” options to limit the number of designs that need to be created (they might also choose to include a “Tablet” design). This still remains within the standardized capabilities of a website so the user is still simply accessing it via their Web browser of choice without needing to download an application or plug-in. (Although the developers might choose to offer an app simply due to the fact that it’s easier to access an application than to memorize and type in the URL on most devices.)
jQuery Mobile's Testing Lab
There’s a bunch of user interface libraries that developers can implement on their websites that help speed up the process of designing, as well as standardize an expected look and interactivity between websites that were developed by people who hold no relation (other than the fact that they used the same user interface library). Here’s a few that have sparked some interest in the developer community:
I would have included Cappuccino on that list, but 280 North (developers of Cappuccino) was recently acquired by Motorola so that they can continue their efforts for Motorola devices and software.
Still, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened—Palm was also recently acquired by HP and their efforts with WebOS (Web Operating System) will live on in HP’s future offerings. HP has already confirmed that their touchscreen tablet device coming “early in 2011” will be using WebOS instead of Windows 7 Tablet. Apple and Google (numerous hardware manufacturers are using Google’s software) already have a strong standing in this area and it’s reassuring to see that Motorola and HP are also making their commitment. The end result is being able to provide a centralized, yet completely open and free of corporate interests, access-point with content that’s custom-tailored to best fit the device that you are using.
It is important that we fight for this, because we don’t want our efforts of forming a centralized communication network to become overrun by large corporations that then will be able to influence what is sent over the network.
Kurt Zenisek
Web Developer
Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kzeni
The Top 5 Lessons HRB Has Taught Me
When I think about my experiences and relationships with HRB and the people here, it’s incredible to believe I won’t be around them every day come fall. HRB has given me numerous programming projects but they’ve also supported my nonprofit organization. They’ve worked around my finals, trips, dance rehearsals and plays. They’ve taught me about advertising, programming, people and life.
Here are the top 5 lessons HRB has taught me:
1. Communication is key. Our conference room has glass walls. Nothing is hidden behind closed doors and the entire company participates in every staff meeting. Everyone has a voice.
2. An office atmosphere can make or break productivity. Laughter and camaraderie are some of the best tools for creativity.
3. Teamwork should be automatic. It shouldn’t be a forced “group project.” Collaboration should simply happen because of coworkers’ varying expertise.
4. Advertising is about people and feelings and finding what is truly above and beyond about a product. It isn’t about manipulating facts.
5. Blog ideas are unlimited and ubiquitous. All you have to know is how to come at that can of Mountain Dew or a squirming baby.
Connect with HRB:
The thing about HRB that’s so different from other companies is the aura of flexibility and responsibility. As an intern, I am entrusted with tasks of importance to the company and expected to blog about my experiences on the company Website. With this responsibility comes freedom to explore and create what I envision. It also, however, comes with a duty to perform and be willing to change my vision based on others’ input. I am encouraged to develop my ideas and to consistently use creativity to better my portfolio.
As advertisers, we know that limited time offers bring in better sales. As humans, we know that not having enough time can sweeten the time we’re given.
To put it simply: I’ve been lucky.
Kestrel Henry
Internet Operations Intern
Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kestrelhenry
HRB Week in Review: 8/18/10
A week of golf, planting seeds and helping non-profits raise awareness and funds—we’ve definitely been keeping busy at HRB!
Golf for fun and promotion
Just as German golfer Martin Kaymer was winning the PGA Championship in Kohler, Wisconsin, HRB was helping a client generate some much needed awareness for its brand. Last week one of our clients, a large international IT company, sent two lucky contest winners to the PGA Championship in Kohler. The company wanted to increase awareness of its name and capabilities in the IT industry so HRB suggested a golf-related campaign and contest, as many of the firm’s customers had a high level of interest in golf. The campaign was promoted via direct mail and online banner ads on two east coast news sites. Because of the short promotion time frame, the client expected to receive about 20 entries for the contest. The final entry number reached almost 70. Score!
Planting a seed
For one of its ag clients, HRB presented an ad campaign that not only capitalized on the company’s longevity but portrayed the company’s values. The client was quite pleased with the ads and radio spots created.
Fun raising?
When trying to raise a lot of money in a capital campaign it is important to look organized and polished. This week we wrapped up designs for a local nonprofit’s campaign that pushes the boundaries of it being more than about bricks and mortar and all about the “immigrant spirit in all of us.”
Web & design work
Work continues on two Websites for local non-profits. A photo shoot is in the works for one as we seek photographs that vividly reflect who they are and who they serve. The Website design was approved for the other client and programming has begun as well. HRB also gave in-kind donations to each of these incredible organizations to lighten their financial burdens and to better position them for online donations.
Back to school already?
It’s back to school time for one eastern Iowa HRB client. We just completed two campaigns to help promote their special back-to-school broadband offers. The multi-media effort was supported with TV, radio, print, direct mail and online marketing.
HRB seminars in full swing
HRB’s live, free seminar on Strategic Growth Planning in the Quad Cities was well attended and well received. HRB Senior Vice President Dave Aeschliman explained the benefits of planning strategically for growth and outlined the path to get there. He demonstrated how our GROWTH Division brings five unique strategic advantages to each of its client relationships:
1) Insistent that its efforts be measured against a client growth goal;
2) Comprehensive and unparalleled client industry knowledge;
3) Deeply insightful analysis (research) of client growth opportunities and limitations;
4) Intricately detailed, pre-budgeted, line by line sales and marketing plans; and
5) The gutsy offer to financially share in the risk of following its advice.
**Dave will present the same seminar, “Strategic Planning for Business and Marketing Success,” on Wednesday, September 8th. The seminar will be held at the Skywalk Group at 205 2nd Ave SE in Cedar Rapids. Register here.
Enjoy your week and don’t forget to market, promote and grow your business!
Jim Thebeau
Partner/CEO
Follow me on Twitter @JimThebeau
Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jimthebeau
