The secret of standalone newsletters
What options are available to businesses to acquire new customers with the help of newsletter marketing? Standalone newsletters. What is this type of new customer acquisition? Specific external newsletters. They have similarities with a traditional sales letter. In this case, an address owner sends e-mails to people who are registered on his mailing list. The client neither sells nor rents the data of the registered users. He acts exclusively in the interest of his advertising client. Moreover, the address owner uses his own e-mail address and not that of the client. But before companies make use of this type of newsletter, they first carry out an intensive target group selection. Since this step serves as an indispensable basis for a successful campaign.
Additionally, a newsletter is only sent to interested parties who agree to receive advertising messages. This “yes” to receiving advertising mails is the focus of the standalone campaign. Because without consent, the electronic advertising letter would be nothing more than a violation of the law. And damage to the company’s image. Nevertheless, successful external newsletters stand for a high return on investment.
The advantages of external newsletter campaigns
- Targeted reach: external newsletters allow you to address specific target groups that are interested in your products or services.
- High scalability: Newsletter campaigns can be easily scaled to reach a large number of recipients.
- Cost efficiency: Compared to other marketing channels, newsletter campaigns are relatively inexpensive.
- Measurable results: The performance of newsletter campaigns can be accurately measured using tracking tools.
Classic and successful examples of external newsletters
One successful example is the external newsletter campaign that ONELINE carried out for a company in the cosmetics industry. The company uses external newsletters to acquire new customers. To do this, it works together with ONELINE. ONELINE has access to a large target group of potential customers. The newsletters are tailored to the target group and offer the recipients a relevant benefit.
How do service providers charge for sending standalone campaigns?
Usually, advertising e-mails of this type work according to the thousand-contact-price (CPM). However, companies do not have to pay for this, provided they have sufficient negotiating skills. This is because marketers have the option of negotiating pay-per-lead and pay-per-sale billing, depending on the target group, the offer and the address quality.
What companies should look out for when booking external newsletters
1. If the acquisition of the e-mail addresses violates data protection, this results in negative consequences for the advertiser and not for the address owner: unsatisfactory performance, loss of image and legal consequences. Therefore, the choice of the address owner plays the main role. For entrepreneurs who want to attract new customers, it is therefore worth paying attention to the seriousness and reputation of the address owner. Helpful questions, which serve as a riddle solution, are:
- Since when does the company exist?
- With which customers and business partners do the address owner cooperate?
- Do reviews exist on Google? If so, are they negative or positive? Is there possibly the combination: company name and spam?
2. Entrepreneurs have the right to know in what way and at what time the address owner has collected the data. Did he rely on the simple Confirmed Opt-In or the reliable Double Opt-In procedure? Double Opt-In is a specific registration procedure for e-mail marketing. It is based on the principle of permission marketing: address owners send advertising only with the express permission of the customer. Likewise, during newsletter registration, the customer has confirmed it in a second step. For this purpose, a DOI e-mail including an activation link is sent. If the recipient activates the link, the registration is considered confirmed. In this way, strangers have no possibility of misusing e-mail addresses. They also cannot add them to another distribution list. From a legal perspective, the double opt-in principle acts as the safest registration variant. That is why it is most frequently used in e-mail marketing. Four steps characterize the double opt-in process:
- Users sign up for a newsletter.
- Immediately afterwards, they receive an activation link within a few seconds. This is the well-established DOI mail.
- By clicking on this link, the customer confirms his newsletter registration.
- The last step is the registration of the user.
3. ONELINE also recommends checking the data for plausibility. If an address owner claims to have obtained 7 million e-mail addresses with a sweepstake, this statement serves as a sure indication of a lack of seriousness from the provider. Attentive marketing managers check which websites, forms and registration processes the address owner uses, and whether he adheres to the legal requirements.
4. It is worth comparing different offers from different providers, especially the price per thousand contacts. If the costs are conspicuously low, social media managers should exercise extreme caution.
5. Only the standalone e-mail address owner can be considered as the sender. This is because he or she has consented. Under no circumstances should the advertising company act as a sender.
6. Are there profile characteristics for the data details? Can segmentation be carried out concerning age, gender and interests?
7. Before using the service, companies should create their own basis for a proper evaluation of success. ONELINE also recommends implementing your own tracking links. A dedicated tracking pixel should also be part of the advertising tool. Thereby, social media managers determine the click and open rates themselves without relying on the evaluation results of the address owners.
8. The saying: “Trust is good, control is better”, fits perfectly to external newsletters. Because entrepreneurs test the distribution list in advance. How do they go about it? – By providing only a small number of users with a promotional e-mail. In this way, they check whether the stock of e-mail addresses has the desired performance.
Underestimated mistakes of a standalone campaign
Standalone campaigns support new customer acquisition, but they also carry risks. ONELINE explains the underestimated dangers of a standalone campaign.
Not taking advantage of standalone campaigns
In the age of the Internet, e-mail is part of the everyday life of everyone who uses the modern way of communication. Accordingly, standalone campaigns serve as an efficient tool for targeting customers. Action-oriented. Unique. Inexpensive. High reach. These four advantages also distinguish this type of advertising message. Besides, this practical type of communication offers numerous key performance indicators. These include in particular the opening rate as well as the post-click activities on the online presence. Therefore, the main disadvantage lies in not using digital advertising such as newsletter marketing at all.
Sending an e-mail to the wrong recipients is a mortal sin
The selection of the target group requires the utmost care. Incorrect or inaccurately selected addressees are associated with high costs and wastage. Advertising for a new epilator is predominantly of interest to ladies; in the rarest cases, to men. That’s why mindful marketing experts place a high value on service providers who can carry out target group-specific campaigns. Nothing has a more fatal effect on newsletter marketing than incorrect target group selection.
A lack of data matching does not reflect well on the campaign
The consent of the e-mail recipients represents an essential basis. Nevertheless, another point exists that a minority forgets when sending promotional e-mails: data matching. Does the available information match the data of the existing customers? After all, the observance of data protection aspects is indispensable. Technical know-how as well. Why? – Because specific encryption is used during the matching process.
A poor design deters potential new customers
<p>Why does a book cover play a crucial role in the design of a book? – Because readers look at the cover first, before picking up the book and going through the table of contents. The same is true for external newsletters. The design determines success or failure. There are also numerous pitfalls in the advertising industry. They affect layout and text alike. The subject line serves as an enticing figurehead. It also conveys the advertising message: briefly and concisely. How should a title not be? – Trite. Dishonest. Much too long. There is another undesirable type of title. Its name is Discount Special. This subject line only causes aversion among readers. Moreover, it enjoys the reputation of “inflationary” among marketing experts.
The sender name logically fits the standalone campaign. Experts create a minimalist layout. Furthermore, they make sure to design it responsively and optimize it for all e-mail programs. Even harmless design errors can damage the sender’s image. To find out which e-mail works best for standalone campaigns, advertisers use so-called A/B testing methods. This is a standard tool that is by no means missing from effective and efficient e-mail marketing.
Conclusion: external newsletter campaign – risk or opportunity?
Often, the number of regular customers that a company has acquired is not enough to prevail over the competition in the long term. To avoid insolvency, new customers are necessary. Likewise, the statement, “The competition never sleeps,” serves as a useful motivator – for standalone campaigns. Marketing managers should always keep the world-famous quote “There is no second chance for the first impression”, in mind when using a standalone campaign. Because that’s exactly what external newsletters stand for. Companies have this electronic sales letter sent exactly once and then never again. A standalone campaign is by no means a subscribed, regular newsletter. However, standalone promotional emails are an indispensable tool in online marketing. On the one hand, they introduce new offers. On the other hand, they increase the customer’s reach.
This approach is particularly profitable for medium-sized and small companies. Often, companies of this size invest less in marketing and sales. After all, they lack the necessary budget. An excellent service provider helps to accelerate the acquisition of new customers with a standalone campaign. Likewise, the address owner carries the advertising message to the carefully selected target group. If the collaboration is with a third-party provider, legal security should be the top priority. Only then come goals, content and the design of the newsletter. There is talk of an opportunity if companies take the above tips to heart AND implement them. Risks, on the other hand, arise if companies disregard vital aspects such as legal security. What follows is reputational damage without new customers.
Updated: 23.05.2024
