The Best Ways to Utilize Your Inbox Posted on April 14, 2016June 3, 2016 by Jessica Lunk Keeping your inbox clutter-free during a hectic workday can be nearly impossible. Whether it’s an overload of customer invoices, annoying spam attacks, or bantering from your staff, important emails can quickly get buried, never to be found again. Prevent yourself from missing vital email updates by using these tips to keep your inbox tidy and organized. Create Folders and Automatic Filters Keep messages from overwhelming by separating them into different folders. Create several large categories, such as “Customers” or “Vendors.” From there, create subdivisions inside this hierarchy that better describe what the communication is about, such as “Customer Service” or “Billing.” That way, you instantly find the emails you are looking for without combing through your entire inbox. Once you have this system set up, use an automatic filter to direct messages into these folders as soon as you receive them. You can classify these filters to work according to the sender’s email address or even the contents of the subject or message, making it easy to get emails in the right place. Delete Unnecessary Messages It’s inevitable – you’re always going to get a lot of spam. Instead of letting these things accumulate, delete them upon receipt. Generally, if an email has been sitting in your inbox for at least 30 days and it’s not something vital like a bill or contract, you can delete it. It’s a good idea to go on an email purge at least once a month, cleaning out folders and trashing anything unnecessary. Respond to Messages as You Receive Them You know how it goes – you see an important email come in, take a moment to think about how to respond, and then are suddenly pulled away from your desk for a more urgent matter. By the time you get back, that email is buried under five new emails. This deadly cycle repeats itself all day until your inbox is filled with high priority messages that need an urgent reply. Stop this from happening by making it a point to respond to messages as you receive them. Though the message might come off more articulate if you took five minutes to develop your thoughts, in the end, it’s more important to get out a quick reply. Set Your Inbox Goals Hold yourself and your team accountable by setting inbox goals. As you’re building your brand reputation, setting these goals will help you create a consistent experience for your customers, vendors, and employees. Work with your team to set a reasonable time emails should be responded to. If your work is done heavily in the inbox, inbox goals will keep everyone on track with a strong reputation for good communication. Use a Sales and Marketing Tool If all of this seems like too much work, you could always use a sales and marketing tool. Software like this makes it easy to keep prospects together as well as maintain organized communication with customers. Sales conversations can be stored in one place where you can track your relationship and add notes about the conversation. You will also be able to set up automatic follow-up emails to kick off your sales process. As your business expands, a tool like this will keep you ahead of the game and enable you to satisfy your customer demand. Without the proper organization, your email inbox can look like a hoarder’s living room. Never miss an important email again by using these tips to keep your messages clean and tidy.
A Quick 5-Step Intro into A/B Testing Posted on March 2, 2016June 28, 2016 by Lindsey Stroud When you first hear AB testing, it can easily take you back to college statistics, where you begin to envision standard deviation graphs and complex test conditions. Many people even shy away from A/B testing because they believe once they understand the basics, they won’t have the time or resources to run tests. Testing is one of the most important things you will do in email marketing. Everything from your subject line to your call to action will impact whether or not the contact chooses to engage with you. Small tweaks over time can drive big results, and help keep your contacts engaged during every stage of the buying process. Let’s break down the basics: What is AB Testing? In simple terms, A/B testing (or split testing) is when you take 2 variations and test them against each other to identify which performs best. Common A/B Tests: Sender (John@ vs. Marketing@) Subject Line Personalization vs. Non Personalization (Hi John vs. Hi There) HTML vs. Plain Text Call-To-Action (Free Trial vs. Start For Free) Day/Time of Email Send Timing Between Communications (Once a Week vs. Once a Month) Landing Page Testing on different parts of your emails and campaigns can be critical to your overall conversion process. For example, subject lines and day/time of your email send will impact whether your email gets opened, while your call to action will determine whether or not someone chooses to convert. How to A/B Test Testing emails is an easy and simple way to start driving more conversions from your email marketing. Here are the 5 easy steps to implement a successful experiment: 1. Decide what you want to test In order to avoid skewed results, stick with testing one variant at a time. Reason being? If you use the same A/B test to test Subject Line and Sender, you may not be able to pinpoint the success or failure of either variant. It is best practice to run higher impact tests in the beginning of your testing. Save the lower priority items for further down the road when you are fine-tuning the details. Some examples of high impact variants include sender, subject line, HTML vs plain text. Create both test email templates. Keep everything the same except for the one variant you want to test. In the test below, we tested two subject lines against each other. 2. Choose your sample size Nothing sounds scarier than sending out a test to a large group of contacts that completely flops. Since marketers are not mathematicians, test on at least 100 contacts. If you test on too few contacts, chances are you will not see a clear-cut winner. The goal is to find the lowest amount of contacts you can comfortably test on, while gathering good data. As you find your sample sweet spot, stick to testing on 100-500 contacts each time. Pull out the segment you want to send your email out to. From there, portion out the sample randomly. If you are using Hatchbuck, all you have to do is select the number of contacts you want to test. 3. Run the test Split the your sample size in half and send one template to one half and the second template to the other. In Hatchbuck, we make this step easy. Just select your sample audience, Click ‘Send Email’ from your templates, then select the two test templates. Hatchbuck will evenly split your list between the two templates. 4. Pick the winner Around Day 5-7, you should have pretty good picture of your results. If you look into your results too soon, you will likely see a significant change in your stats. If you wait too long, you are also likely to run into skewed results. If you are using Hatchbuck, review the “Email by Template” report to decide the winner of the experiment. Look at the open rates and click through rates. 5. Test again As you test different variants, keep the top performing variant as you move forward. For instance, in the example above, we first tested the subject lines. Once we found a winner, we then tested the email copy to continue to fine-tune our prospect campaign. For the best results early in your testing process, dedicate one week to testing each item independently. As you gain experience with A/B testing, you can get a better idea of your audience, what gets them engaged, and make the necessary changes to your testing time frame. Once you have ran a couple tests to fine-tune your email, it’s time to put your email to the test (literally). You will have confidence to email larger segmented lists and drive more ROI from your email marketing. We all go in with opinions on what we think our contacts want to receive from us, but the proof is in the stats. Go into AB testing free from opinions and guess work, and collect the data necessary to help you better target, communicate, and convert your prospects over time!
What the GIF?! How to Use Visual Content In Your Marketing Campaigns Posted on February 17, 2016June 3, 2016 by Jessica Lunk Today we live in a visual culture – screens are everywhere, ranging from smartphones, tablets, laptops, computer monitors, to gigantic home televisions. Wherever we go, there is an image or video close by to snag our attention. This makes visual content one of the most important marketing techniques for small businesses. The Graphics Interchange Format AKA the GIF was developed in 1987 and in the past couple years, the internet has waged a full on love affair with these animated images. Some say it with a soft G, others a hard G but we’ve all noticed them on social media, emails, blog posts, websites… pretty much everywhere! So why should you bring them into your campaigns? GIFs get noticed Sites with GIFs look better than those without; people stay on your page longer and are more likely to browse your site. A site that is noteworthy impresses potential customers and clients so they are more likely to buy In the past companies in business for long periods of time were seen as safe and trustworthy – today they are seen as antiquated and out of touch – sites with eye-popping images are seen as modern and trendy. And today modern and trendy are seen as more trustworthy, giving you more sales. People love GIFs You don’t need to know how to make a GIF to use them. Sites like Giphy or Reddit provide a platform to search and browse through GIFs from all over the internet. Here are some best practices to consider before you start bringing them into your marketing messages: Use your own voice. GIFs help you connect with your audience. When you get on the phone with them after they see a GIF in your marketing campaign, don’t leave them confused if you come across completely different. Be relevant. Make sure your GIFs match the message. If you have to explain it, it’s not funny. I love telling jokes, but when I miss the mark, I’m delivering a joke to the wrong audience. Knowing your audience is key. Keep copy short and sweet. Let the GIF speak for you, so keep your copy down to one or two short sentences for the most impact. Find inspiration in your favorites. Let your audience know what you are into – your favorite TV shows, movies, music, sports, etc. Or better yet, find out what your audience is into to find inspiration! Giphy has it all. Everybody loves pizza. Everybody. Get noticed, make someone laugh, and create a meaningful connection with the simplicity of a GIF. Showing your authentic personality is what will strengthen the approachability of your brand, no matter what industry you are in.
5 of the Best Practices for Email Marketing Subject Lines to Boost Response Posted on January 20, 2016May 27, 2016 by Jessica Lunk Whether its a white paper that helps your prospects solve a nagging problem, or a special email notification of a “secret” sale, when a customer sees something from your company in their inbox, there are two things that can happen. One, the customer will be attracted and enticed by what you have to say, or two, your email efforts will go on a one-way trip straight to the trash bin, or even worse, flagged as spam. So how do you keep your email reputation clean and effective? Believe it or not, there is one sneaky little trick that every successful business email creator knows: It is all about the marketing email subject line. This is the one-liner that shows up when a message arrives in an inbox and is potentially the only chance you have to make the best impression. There are five easy-peasy ways to make sure that the subject lines of your business emails are effective enough to encourage your customers to take that next step and click to open because they want to know what more you have to say. 1. Get Local, Vocal, and Personable If you really want to catch a reader’s attention, talk to them like you would a valued, well-known customer. Head the subject line with their first name or even mention their location. You want to exude a familiar tone that comes across as personable and personal. 2. Don’t Be Generic Don’t continually use the same subject line in your emails, no matter how tempting it may be or how logical it may seem to do so. Offer something more interesting by changing the email subject line to reflect what you are going to offer once the email is opened. 3. Straight to the Point Please Remember, you may have more than enough space to get into great detail in the subject line on your end, but when this mail hits a customer’s inbox, there is a pretty good chance that they will only see the first several words. So, keep your message short and sweet. 4. Don’t Serve Up Cold Spam Spam is no good and potential customers have no time for it. The average email inbox holder gets close to 150 emails a day, every day. They will delete almost half almost immediately. With this many emails coming in every day, the slightest hint of something spammy will land you in either the trash or flagged as spam and all future emails will be sent directly, without passing go, to the spam folder. There are some catchy little things you may be tempted to use in subject lines that must be avoided. They are: The word “free” Odd letter/number combos that look like gibberish Curse words (should be logical in business, but still worth mentioning) 5. Use Your Inbox Voice You probably know that there is a voice you should use indoors, but there is a voice that is reserved specifically for email subject lines that make you an effective communicator. This voice is low-key. This voice is not screaming in ALL CAPS and does not come off sounding like you are an over-excited car salesman who is desperate to make a sale. You should be leaning more toward the same voice you would use if a customer were standing right at your counter, which would hopefully not be yelling or filled with too much excitement. At Hatchbuck, one of our core values is “Do the Right Thing.” This value applies especially well to the inbox. Every email you send furthers a conversation, so take each opportunity to be thoughtful, creative and helpful in your subject line and email. When you focus on building relationships, rather than the aggressive sales pitch, you earn trust, respect, and the sales come naturally.
The 140 Character Email Approach to Sparking Conversations Posted on October 1, 2015June 1, 2016 by Lindsey Stroud There are 3 things we can assume about the people we send emails to: 1) they receive a lot of email, 2) they don’t have a lot of time to devote to sorting/reading/responding, and 3) they receive a lot of the same requests. The minute Outlook opens, most people are swarmed with a pile of 25-50 emails, with the goal of QUICKLY eliminating the majority. The first consideration is going to be – “Which subject lines looks like mass produced junk?” Ok delete those. Once the bad subject lines are sent to trash, the next thought is going to be “Which emails have the highest priority?” If at first glance an email appears to be flirting with the lines of a best-selling novel – most won’t think twice about tossing it to the trash alongside the bad subject line victims. So with the assumptions that people don’t have time or energy to devote to long emails and elaborate requests – Which emails do get read? What makes up good email? How do you get a greater response? I think we can take a lesson from our friends over at Twitter with the 140-Character Approach (roughly 20-30 words). This method allows you to quickly get information to your contacts in a digestible amount. It can be a challenge in itself to downsize your emails, but is a practice that will help spark more conversations as the world changes the way it prefers to receive content. Let’s look how to apply the 140 Character Approach to your email marketing best practices: Segment Your Audience – There is no one-size-fits-all approach to email. The minute something does not relate to your audience, you will lose them. Breaking your contacts down into segments will help you to drill down and tailor the messaging directly to their needs, wants, and likes. Consider segmenting by the following to help stay relevant: Status (Former Customer, Prospect, and Customer), Potential Product/Service Interests, Title, Company Size, and Location. Make Every Word Count – When you are squeezing your message into a short blurb, each word is important. The easiest way to grab your reader’s attention and create impact is by using power words, which often create a feeling or awakens an emotion within the reader. Check out this list of 317 Power Words. Have a Conversation – If you are taking time to segment and learn about your contacts through a system like Hatchbuck, you should have all of the tools you need to drill down into a great conversation. Great conversations consist of back and forth communication, so an open-ended question is a good idea to begin the line of communication. Here are 21 Open-Ended Sales Questions to Ask. Redirect – If you have a lot of information you need to get out, don’t throw it all into an email to be disregarded. Consider it a great opportunity for you to use a call-to-action to drive your contacts to your website or landing page. Landing pages are great because you have the ability to place additional descriptions and images that may cloud your email conversation. If you are looking for a cheap landing page builder, try out Wix. Marketing automation helps to put a human touch back to your sales process by giving you key information to spark meaningful conversations. Keep your process simple, clean, and targeted and turn more handshakes into raving customers!
Why You Need a Love Connection Between Email and CRM Posted on February 6, 2015June 20, 2018 by Jessica Lunk In any relationship, communication is key. The same goes for your small business tools. Getting them to “talk” can keep your business running smoothly – without the drama of systems that just can’t relate. Integrating systems is valuable. You get better, more accurate visibility into your data. You can easily share information across your company so that everyone can do their job better. And, you can automate and streamline processes so you can scale. While integrating your tools benefits your business, it’s not always easy or feasible for smaller business that don’t have a boatload of time or money to spend on integrating tools they’ve already invested in. That’s where an all-in-one CRM and email marketing system can come in handy. You get the benefits of integrated sales and marketing tools without the pitfalls of integration. Getting Sales and Marketing On the Same Page If you’re like a lot of businesses, you’ve got a CRM that houses your customer and prospect data, managed by the sales team. On the marketing side, you may have an email marketing tool. When these systems are standalone and siloed, marketing is often left blasting the same content to everyone on their email marketing list. They have no insight into: Contacts currently in the sales process Hot prospects that are ready for a bottom-of-the-funnel call to action Cold leads who are still getting to know the brand At the same time, sales has no insight into which email marketing campaigns their contacts have received or what their contacts have indicated interest in. They can’t tell who their most engaged contacts are – the ones who open every email and click every link. Instead of speaking with their most interested and engaged prospects, sales ends up taking more of a cold calling approach. An integrated CRM and email marketing tool takes these pain-points away for sales and marketing. When there’s a love connection between your CRM and email marketing system, marketing and sales can ditch the one-to-many generic email blast and cold calls. Instead, sales and marketing can build relationships with their contacts, keeping them engaged and boosting sales. Here’s how: Personalize Correspondence With integrated CRM and email marketing, you can send personalized, one-to-one emails that resonate with your audience. Contact status and unique interests are tracked on the CRM side. Then, marketing can send highly targeted and relevant communication that feel like personal, one-off emails, instead of a generic newsletter blast. Personalization can go beyond first name and company to the products and services contacts are interested in and the main problems they are trying to solve. Automate Follow-Up We all know that the key to sales is follow-up. But sticky-note reminders to follow-up with prospects aren’t always super reliable. With an integrated CRM and email marketing, sales can create tasks and run simple email campaigns to keep in touch with prospects who aren’t quite ready to buy. In addition, marketing can automate processes like sending a thank you email to prospects who download a resource or subscribe to a list. Through automated follow-up, teams can spend less time trying to manage to-dos, and more time building important relationships. Email Nurturing According to KissMetrics, 96% of prospects who visit your website for the first time aren’t ready to buy…but that doesn’t mean they won’t be in the future. With a CRM tied to email marketing, you can offer a resource to capture contact information from new prospects when they hit your site for the first time. Then, you can automatically nurture these prospects with email over time, educating them about their pain-points – and your solution. Need more incentive to create sparks between your CRM and email marketing? Check out these stats: