The distributor
The distribution list can have an immense impact on the success of a company’s email marketing. It can be created or expanded through various options, which are explained below. Before preparing or setting up a distribution list through opt-ins, i.e. an approval procedure that the (potential) customer has to go through in order to be the addressee of an advertising e-mail. In the first place, the purpose to be achieved should always be defined first. So which product should be offered to the new subscribers.
The Newsletter as Opt-In in e-mail marketing
One way to attract new subscribers, increase customer communication and create sales incentives is to use the newsletter. With the help of the newsletter, products can be promoted and attention can be increased. Of course, it is not enough to simply present a product via newsletter. Certain incentives should also be used to arouse the curiosity of potential customers and encourage them to subscribe to the newsletter via e-mail. Frequently used examples of incentives are discounts, rewards in kind, loyalty points or even virtual currency. Those are granted when subscribing to the newsletter. This possibility of creating certain incentives should not be underestimated and can quickly scale up an email distribution list.
Design options of an opt-in
Usually the access to a newsletter is on the website of the company concerned. However, positioning, design and CTA (call to action) play a not inconsiderable role here. This is because the existence of an opt-in possibility is not necessarily a guarantee for a large number of users who register for the newsletter via e-mail address. There are various ways to position the form on the website.
- On the one hand, the opt-in form can be part of the sidebar. The advantage here is the good visibility and flexibility in design. The disadvantage, however, is that a position in the sidebar is blocked by the form for other important topics.
- Placing the form in the navigation bar emphasizes the high importance of the newsletter. However, there is little influence on the design here and the button can easily be overlooked.
- This also applies to a positioning in the footer, i.e. at the bottom of the main page. However, it is positive here that access to the form does not interfere with the main content. It can remain there permanently even if the primary content is changed.
- The overlay is perceived by many users as intrusive and can therefore reduce the willingness to log in. On the positive side, however, it should be emphasised that the use of an overlay can direct the entire attention of the website visitor towards the newsletter. In addition, an overlay offers a great deal of design freedom compared to the possibilities mentioned above.
- Finally, the form for access to a newsletter can also be placed on sub-pages. A positive aspect here, as with the overlay, is the great flexibility in design. It is also possible to create a direct link to a specific content. A negative aspect is the poor visibility.
Not only the position of the form is important, but also its design.
Basically,a user is more likely to subscribe to a newsletter if the users is only required to provide a few details such the e-mail address. According to a study by Quicksprout, the perfect form only consists of up to three fields. The labels of the fields being left-aligned or above the fields, and legibility being increased by spaces between the fields.
Another important factor that has a significant influence on the visibility and thus the use of a form is the color of the CTA button. The use of complementary colours can be particularly helpful here, as they highlight the button and direct the user’s attention in a targeted manner. In this way, the conversion rate, i.e. the conversion of a prospective customer into a customer, can be significantly influenced. In an experiment conducted by Hubspot, it was found that a red CTA button had up to 21 percent more impact when used with a logo in the primary color green.
To find out the optimal colours for your own website, A/B testing can be used. Here, the visitors of a website are randomly distributed among the different design variants so that it can be determined which colour variant is used more often. With the help of various programs, A/B testing can be implemented after just a few clicks. Examples are Unbounce, Google Analytics (Google Optimize) and for specialized tools, Optimizely can be used.
Of course, in addition to the colour design, the names of a CTA button can also have a positive effect on the conversion rate. The classic “sign in” can easily be replaced by terms such as “become an insider”, “join a group” or even “seize an opportunity”. There are no limits to creativity here.
Further possibilities for opt-ins
Using your own website to generate new subscribers for your e-mail marketing list is one option. In addition, external channels such as <a href=”” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”><strong>social media platforms can also be used very well for setting up an email distribution list. Facebook, for example, offers its users various options for querying the subscriber via their own company website. For example, the CTA button can be placed in the profile header, making it particularly visible to visitors to the site. Which in turn increases the chances of a subscription. Potential subscribers can also be directed to the CTA button via the Facebook app. In the app, however, the CTA button is only positioned in the sidebar, which means that a lower conversion rate can be expected. In addition to Facebook, Twitter, for example, also offers the possibility of inserting forms.
Facebook and LinkedIn also provide another feature. Using short forms directly in the campaigns, opt-ins are generated in a targeted manner (lead ad). The potential subscriber remains on the website and can fill out a form with the data already stored and then decide whether to actually send it. This makes the registration process much easier for users. In addition, the costs for lead ads are usually between 50 and 70 percent lower than those of mobile-optimized landing pages. And all this with a significantly greater reach than with your own website or the company’s website in a social network.
The negative side – Unsubscriber
Unsubscribers, like subscribers, are a natural part of e-mail marketing and are indispensable. If the unsubscribe rate does not increase significantly, it will hardly have a negative impact. The main reason for unsubscribers is that the offers and services for the user are becoming less important. An unsubscribe rate of 0.2 to 0.5 percent per campaign is considered harmless according to MailChimp. However, if this rate is higher than the aforementioned percentages, action is required. For though, the entire distribution list is affected and sanctions from a commissioned e-mail tool provider may be threatened.
To get to the bottom of this, it is worth asking why some users do not want to be subscribers anymore. The answer may be: the customers concerned no longer see any benefit for themselves in the offer or product range and consider the content to be irrelevant, or they are given a negative feeling, for example due to a too high sending frequency.
To counteract the unsubscribe, there are several possibilities available. On the one hand, before an unsubscribe, an alternative offer can be made to the customer by redirecting him to a website, which is more tailored to his needs. In this context, it is also useful to consider whether the customer should be given the opportunity to change the frequency of delivery, for example. In this way, the customer can decide for himself what he would like to be informed about and when. Also the company is provided with valuable information on usage behaviour.
Making the opt-out more difficult is also a way of averting unsubscription. Making the opt-out more difficult is also a way of averting unsubscription. By redirection to landing pages, separation of newsletter topics and a separate opt-out for each individual topic, made it more difficult for the user to unsubscribe. However, the difficulty of the opt-out should not be exaggerated. The chance of winning back a user after the difficult opt-out is considered very unlikely.
Furthermore, the emotionality of the unsubscriber can be used to create an emotional bond by means of sorry-to-see-you-go e-mails. In connection with offers of discounts, gifts or the like, it is possible to prevent an unsubscriber. The possibility of a re-subscribe can also be offered.
Securing and maintaining the distribution list in e-mail marketing
As already explained in the first blog, it is particularly important that the mailing list is of high quality, otherwise no successful email marketing can be done. In addition, an e-mail marketing list that contains inactive contacts distorts the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). It drives up costs, because many email tool providers calculate costs based on the number of subscribers. Therefore, the distribution list should be checked regularly (spelling mistakes in the subscription) and adjusted (deletion of inactive users). It has proven to be a good idea to contact subscribers before removing them from the distribution list. This points out the imminent deletion due to inactivity and to give them the opportunity to object to the deletion.
To secure the distribution list, some email tool providers offer backups, either automatic or on demand, which can be downloaded as CSV or Excel spreadsheet file format.
Co-Regs
Many companies now use the function of co-registration (Co-Reg) to obtain e-mail addresses and other personal data. With the help of a competition, for example, which offers great prizes, users are tempted to give out their data. If a user passes through this co-registration, which is necessary in order to participate in the competition. During this process the user gives his consent to be informed in future by post, telephone, e-mail or SMS about offers and products of the companies. In this way, the companies enlarge their e-mail distribution lists and data sets on a large scale at relatively low cost. However, users are often inundated with e-mails and the like and are usually unable to perceive the offers at all or associate negative emotions with the providers. Before using co-regs, therefore, it is important to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages that can arise and whether these serve your own marketing strategies.
Standalone mailings, newsletter placements
Since the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mails is not permitted in Germany, a double opt-in is required before e-mail data for your own distribution list can be used. However, if this double opt-in is not available, it is possible to benefit from a double opt-in distribution list from another company within the framework of e-mail marketing campaigns. The e-mail addresses themselves are not sent to the company registered for this purpose and cannot contact the users directly. This is done by the company that has the double opt-in, via standalone mailings and newsletter placement.
By means of data records bundled according to certain characteristics, a target group-oriented approach can be made. In most cases the standalone e-mails have a layout that differs from the classic newsletter design, which increases the attention of the recipients. In addition, although the company that owns the distribution list is the sole sender of the e-mail. The advertiser is the company that subscribed to the distribution list. This also generates maximum attention for the advertised company. These e-mail marketing campaigns are usually billed on a CPM basis.
Of course, each company also offers different targeting options (targeting = addressing target groups in online marketing). Therefore, it should be clarified in advance exactly how the opt-in and the dispatch quantities are achieved. It is also important that the sublicensing of one’s own campaign to other companies that maintain distribution lists is ruled out, as otherwise control over which content is sent to which target groups will be lost. In order to be able to find reputable providers of standalone e-mails, membership of the German Dialog Marketing Association (DDV), for example, can provide a good indication.
Use Inbox Ads for e-mail marketing
Another way to effectively display advertising is the use of inbox ads. Although these are designed to look like e-mails, they have never actually been sent. These are e-mails marked as ads, which are highlighted and thus attract more attention. The providers of these inbox ads in Germany are GMX, Web.de and freenet.de. Google, for example, uses its own inbox ads product through the Gmail ads.
Inbox ads use HTML creatives that can be generated from other email campaigns, for example. The possibilities of targeting depend on the respective provider. With United Internet, for example, targeting must be discussed directly with the marketer. Whereas with Google the Gmail ads can be targeted directly via the AdWords platform. In this way, keyword targeting can also be carried out. In this way, users can be directly targeted whose emails contain specific words. This makes it possible to target your own brand, product names or even keywords. This re-targeting, i.e. the placement of online advertising using existing user data. They were stored during previous visits to websites by users, offers the possibility of displaying advertising media in line with the recognition principle. The use of inbox ads can replace the structure of an e-mail distribution list. It is an efficient option to the classic e-mail dispatch.
