Who’s it From? Five Questions to Ask to Increase Email Opens. Posted on May 19, 2014July 16, 2021 by Jessica Lunk When an email hits an inbox, there are two elements that are integral to the email being opened: 1. A compelling subject line. 2. A trustworthy from address. Subject lines get a lot of attention in the world of digital marketing, but the “from” field is just as important in getting your marketing email from “sent” to “opened.” Have you ever received an email that looked like a garbled mess of letters and numbers, or a suspicious sounding domain? A from address like that automatically signals to you, “SPAM” and “DELETE.” If you want to stay out of the virtual trash bin, it’s worth taking a few moments to ask yourself five important questions about your from address before launching your next marketing email. Is the From Name Friendly? Every email address has a human-friendly name that lets the recipient know who the email is from, like “ABC Company” or “Jane Smith.” While this may seem like a no-brainer, it’s worth taking a minute to check the name associated with your email address. For example, if all of your prospecting emails come from a sales person’s email address, using their name instead of your company name might be a friendlier way to reach potential customers. Is the From Address Familiar? Every email address is made up of a username and a domain name: user@domain.extension. This is the format we expect, and a garbled username or uncommon extension is all it takes set of our internal “spam” alarm. Keep your from address clean, simple and legit. “firstname.lastname@companyurl” always works, as does something specific like “deals@companyurl” or “updates@companyurl.” Is the From Address Professional? If you’re still sending email from an @yahoo.com, @gmail.com or @aol.com email address, it’s time to think about investing in your own domain. Any reputable business should have their own domain name and business email, and it isn’t difficult to secure one. Check out these resources if you need to purchase your own domain: GoDaddy BlueHost 1&1 Is the From Address DMARC Compatible? Not only does owning your own domain increase your credibility, but now it may be essential for getting your emails to reach prospect and customer inboxes. DMARC stands for “Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance” and is a policy that is being implemented globally on the good ol’ world wide web to reduce spam and phishing schemes. In order to reduce spam and email abuse, soon all the major ISPs (internet service providers) will stop delivering emails from aol.com, yahoo.com, gmail.com and other free domain email addresses unless they are sent directly from an AOL, Yahoo, or Gmail account. This means that if you send emails through an email marketing tool, those emails will be blocked or bounced by most major ISPs, like Gmail or Outlook.com. Is the From Address Recognizable? When sending email marketing messages, you want to be recognizable and known. That’s why opting prospects in to your email list is important. This confirms that your prospects want to hear from you and will engage with your emails, increasing your overall email deliverability. Does your From Address shout, “Open Me, I’m Important!” or does it scream, “Proceed with Caution!”? It’s worth taking a second glance to make sure that your emails are delivered and opened.
Beyond Email Clicks: Why Small Biz Marketers Want to Measure More Posted on March 13, 2014June 1, 2016 by Jessica Lunk Marketers love delivering email open rates and click-through rates that go through the roof and beat industry standards. The smallest percentage increase in click-through can be exciting, especially as your list size grows. We like to obsess over opens and click-throughs because they’re simple to measure. Even the most basic batch & blast email marketing tools track clicks and opens, and even show you who has clicked. But do you ever feel like something else should be there? Small business marketers are itching to reach more meaningful metrics, metrics that go beyond click-through rates to measure how email campaigns are driving sales and generating revenue. Sure, you know that they’re clicking. But are they converting? Email opens and clicks are the first steps to conversion. With these metrics in hand, there are still questions left unanswered: Are you sending the right mix of content? The modern marketing approach is to provide value-added content that informs, educates or entertains your audience. However, we can’t forget to ask for the sale as well. As you build a track record of delivering awesome content to your list, your email opens and clicks will rise. At the same time, only sending value-added content may not lead to conversions. Email clicks can tell you that your list loves your content, but they can’t tell you if you are sending the right balance of value-added content and call-to-actions that ask leads to learn more about your product and services, shop or buy. What happens when leads reach your landing page? You may have become a master at crafting calculated email content that gets opened and clicked. But do leads hit your landing page and drop off? Or do they follow through with the next call to action, such as signing up for a service, tweeting out a blog post, or making a purchase? If you can’t tie clicks back to a completed action on your landing page, you can’t know if your emails are really driving increased awareness, new opportunities and sales. Clicks can’t tell you that you might need to adjust your email content to match what’s delivered on the landing page, or that a little landing page optimization might help convert more visitors. Email clicks alone do not indicate that leads actually convert on your landing page. Are your email campaigns generating opportunities and customers? Clicks and opens are not currency – customers are. Clicks and opens can indicate the health of your emails and campaigns, but they don’t tell you if engaged contacts are converting to customers. Beyond Clicks: How To Measure the Success of Your Email Marketing Using an email marketing tool integrated with a CRM for your small business closes the gap between email clicks and customers. CRM tracking gives you the full scoop on how your customers, well, became your customers. With CRM, you have insights into: Where your customers originated from What emails they have opened The links they have clicked The pages they have visited The forms they have filled out The sales people they have engaged with Measuring opens and clicks is the foundation of revenue-generating email marketing. But small business marketers feel like they need something more to correlate email activity to revenue. CRM brings these metrics full circle, helping marketers reach the analytics they need to demonstrate the ROI of email marketing campaigns.