Virtual Assistance Business Briefs » email marketing

Four Biggest Social Network Marketing Blunders

Jeannine Clontz — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:10:39 +0000

Unlike other forms of online marketing, social media marketing has no stone-set right and wrong behaviors; no cost-per-user statistics, and there is, by no means, a code of conduct or behavioral plan that must be adhered to. While pay-per-click advertisers and SEO experts are inundated with information on what is and is not effective, social media marketers are left without dedicated and accurate information.

That certainly does not mean that social media is not governed by some form of assumptions and expectations. It is social, and is controlled by collective opinion and user discussions. These four social media faux pas are unlikely to get you thrown off social media websites or banned from the discussion altogether, but they are best avoided for social media marketing success.

Using deceptive affiliate tactics.

Back in 2004, MySpace was the king of the social media stratosphere and spam was out of control. Hidden comments, fake "friend me" requests, and endless blog posts all led to shady affiliate offers and utterly deceptive advertising banners.

There has since been a transformation within social media, one that has fought back against these tactics. The new social media environment accepts promotion and commercial influence, but dislikes being aggressively marketed to. As long as you keep your social media marketing tactics soft, value-filled, and useful, you will be rewarded with success. If you end up using an outdated and selfish strategy, you are likely to be rejected.

Pay-per-post marketing.

Blogs are part of the social media realm and are held to the same standards of behavior as any other service. They are treated as an outlet, yet at the same time neglected by users that could contribute. More than anything else, blogs are abandoned when they offer nothing beyond commercial use. Remember that, while your blog can be a money-maker, it may mean significantly more to your audience than it does yourself.

Thin, fake, and generic conversation.

Marketing expert Seth Godin has often asked his readers whether it’s truly worth engaging in social media if your message is dry and generic. Many have seen the light, realizing that his suggestion was not to give up social media entirely, but to change their approach to become more unique and influential.

Social media communities can and will ignore you when you have nothing interesting to say. Join the conversation, but do not treat it as something you can’t change. Offer information and value beyond what is currently available and you will be embraced, appreciated, and financially rewarded; share the same old information and you will quickly fall out of favor.

The "friend everyone" approach.

The "friend everyone" approach is normally seen much like the affiliate strategy used by thousands of marketers in an attempt to reach a large audience in little time. It is a classic spam tactic, and it is one that is rarely successful for social media marketers.

The top Twitter users are not necessarily those with the most followers, just like the most popular Facebook pages are not those with the most fans. Build real relationships and you will be rewarded with loyalty; friend everyone that comes your way and you will end up with weak and utterly worthless online connections.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan with her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or contact her at info@accbizsvsc.com

Four Biggest Social Network Marketing Blunders is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: marketing blunders, marketing mistakes, social media marketing, social network marketing, social network marketing tips, Social Networking

Build Trust Through Email Marketing Content (Part Two)

Jeannine Clontz — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:06:39 +0000

Last week we discussed giving more than you gain in your email marketing pieces, as well as, keeping promises. We close this discussion with important insights on proofreading and how best to communicate.

3. Proofread your emails.

While I would think this goes without saying, I’m surprised at all the typographical errors I see in email marketing pieces. The content of your emails should be perfect because even one typographical error can have serious consequences.

Spelling and grammar mistakes can breed distrust as your subscribers may tend to think of you as unprofessional or an unreliable source of information while some mistakes may also keep you from communicating clearly.

To make sure that your emails prove that you are worthy of your subscribers’ trust, you must proofread and edit them until you are completely satisfied with your work. If at all possible, it also helps to get a fresh eye to go through them for further tweaking and updates.

4. Communicate like a human being.

In email marketing, you need to communicate with your subscribers in a way that doesn’t intimidate them. Compose your messages in a tone similar to how you speak in casual conversations and avoid using corporate jargon and marketing buzz words. Doing this allows you to make your subscribers feel that they can relate with you and that they can trust and believe in what you have to say.

Another very important trust building factor is to avoid using templates that come with your email marketing tools. Compose your own welcome messages as well as auto-responses and customize them to suit the personality of your business. This will further help you in gaining trust from subscribers.

Implementing a successful email marketing campaign does not just involve sending out information in exchange for click-throughs or money. Much of your success lies in how you gain trust through the messages and information you send.

Follow the tips listed above and you can be sure that you can gain the trust of your subscribers as well as keep them loyal to your online business. Have some more tips you’d like to share? Having challenges with your email marketing campaigns. Share them by leaving a comment below and we’ll be glad to open up a discussion to help you resolve them and move forward.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com. Find out more at www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com

Build Trust Through Email Marketing Content (Part Two) is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: email marketing, email marketing tips, Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips

Build Trust Through Email Marketing Content (Part One)

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:39:38 +0000

Your email copy plays an immensely important role in gaining trust from subscribers. While the quality of information is still the most important element, there are a lot of other factors to consider. Listed below are those I find most important.

1. Give more than what you might gain.

We all know the importance of providing relevant and engaging content to gain traffic and business/income in return. Although your subscribers recognize this exchange (they get useful information only if they provide their data and perform certain actions, sometimes a purchase), many of them still focus on the idea that you’re only helping them out because you’re after their money.

To alleviate this perception, be ready to provide value without expectations of any return from subscribers. Offering free reports or items works, but there are other things you should consider.

Provide timely information related to your niche but without direct benefit to you works well, especially if you don’t publish any obvious call to action. Subscribers who receive such content from you on a regular basis are more likely to trust you and become loyal to your business than if you simply sent them content produced specifically to prompt them to make a purchase.

2. Always keep your promises.

There are two types of promises you make when marketing your business online. The first is a promise brought about by your brand. Your brand has a certain reputation that serves as a promise. No matter what, there are things that people will expect from you. These expectations are something you must meet through your written copy. For example, if your brand is known to have a fun-loving and edgy personality, the content of your emails should reflect that.

The other type of promise you make is what’s stated in your registration process as well as your follow-up emails. In these materials, you need to state certain things that people can expect to receive when subscribing to your mailing list. These include the content you will be sending as well as how often you will be sending it. These are things that your subscribers will consider as promises, so you should always be true to what you say.

As long as you match the expectations you’ve set in your subscribers’ minds, you will be able to keep their trust and loyalty for years to come.

Next week we’ll talk about how your emails are formatting and proofed, and how to communicate with subscribers to maintain and improve your levels of trust.

Until then, if you have a question, challenge or something to share, please let a comment below.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or herFREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com. Find out more at www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com

Build Trust Through Email Marketing Content (Part One) is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: email marketing, email marketing tips, Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing Tips, Marketing Tips

Benefits of Email Marketing to Online Businesses

Jeannine Clontz — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:55:40 +0000

Email marketing is becoming a vastly popular and beneficial direct marketing tool. Used primarily to provide subscribers with information on service and product offerings, it has also been particularly useful in building a loyal customer base. More online business owners are turning to email marketing as their primary means to generate leads not only because results are easily tracked but also because it is an inexpensive way to market yourself on a large scale, allowing a greater chance to generate a profitable return on your investment.

Recently, owners of online businesses have begun relying on email marketing specialists to expand their internet marketing efforts and enhance their online business profits. Because all Internet users use email, it’s easy to reach your target consumer, by encouraging them to opt-in through enticing offerings and keep them subscribed through relevant and compelling content.

Whether online business owners decide to engage in your services or invest in tools to use themselves, email marketing is considered a low-cost means to generate sales leads. In fact, most email marketing campaigns average just one cent per email sent–much cheaper than other direct marketing platforms. It has proven to be more effective in generating sales leads than many other direct marketing options.

Measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of email marketing is simple because of reporting features that track key performance indices such as open rates, read rates, and click-throughs. Using these results, online business owners can gain valuable insights on how best to communicate with their target audience and enhance their campaigns accordingly.

Other very important benefits include the ability to easily send out multiple communications, personalize emails, and send out automated responses. With all these features combined, internet marketers and email marketing specialists can easily carry out an effective email marketing campaign, allowing them to spend more time on other important aspects of maintaining and expanding their business.

Email marketing should be an integral part of promoting any type of online business. Through this platform, online businesses can enhance brand reputation, reach out to a larger market, and track results in an inexpensive way. Through email marketing, online businesses can achieve outcomes they would never expect from any other direct marketing platform.

Although it may take quite some time to build a large and targeted subscriber base, the results that this direct marketing platform will generate in the long run will surely be worthwhile.

Take a moment to share your email marketing successes and challenges by leaving a comment for our subscribers to enjoy.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or herFREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com. Find out more at www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com

Benefits of Email Marketing to Online Businesses is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: email marketing, email marketing tips, Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing Tips, online business

Build Email Marketing Trust Through Appearance (Part Two)

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:13:56 +0000

Last week we looked at building trust in our email marketing campaigns by creating a recognizable ‘from’ line to our messages; optimizing the copy that is viewed through the preview pane; and encouraging subscriber communication. This week we complete the process with three more tips to polish your email marketing appearance.

4. Include full contact details in your footer.

Publishing your company’s full contact information allows your subscribers to trust in what you have to say. People are more open to content from credible sources and showing that you are a real company (with a registered name, mailing address, and contact numbers) will enhance your credibility. Including these details in your footer also creates accountability for everything you say in your emails.

5. Match email design to your brand.

The design of your emails should be consistent with all other materials you use to promote your business online. While you don’t need to copy your website’s design and layout down to the last detail, it is best for you to match your emails to its theme, colors, and graphics. This will help extend the trust you’ve built through other promotional activities beyond your email marketing campaign.

Once you’ve created a design that suits your image, use it consistently in all your emails. Doing so will continue to build trust through branding and recognition. You may consider showing a sample email to new subscribers so that they become familiar with the look and know what to expect. Once they receive your email, they will be more likely to read through it.

6. Email design doesn’t need to be fancy.

Some email marketers get so caught up designing their emails that they forget to focus on functionality. While the use of fancy code can make your emails look flawless, they will appear far from perfect if not in good working order and will do nothing to gain respect from subscribers. They need to look professional and work properly for subscribers.

To produce a successful email marketing campaign and gain trust from subscribers, you need to make sure that the design you use will work and does not appear broken, leaving subscribers feeling you don’t really know what you’re doing.

For this reason, make sure your emails render properly in at least the major email clients. You should also make use of proper alt attributes (an alternative text description for images that displays before the image is loaded) in case the images get blocked.

Appearance plays a huge part in gaining trust from your subscribers. As long as you keep these tips in mind when planning your email marketing campaign, you should be able to establish your reputation as a trustworthy and credible source of relevant information.

Please share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or herFREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com. Find out more at www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com

Build Email Marketing Trust Through Appearance (Part Two) is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: email marketing, email marketing tips, Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing Tips, marketing, Marketing Tips

Build Email Marketing Trust Through Appearance (Part One)

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:21:18 +0000

Appearance is everything, even in the success you can achieve through email marketing. Your branding, and the trust you gain through recognition, is gauged by the appearance of the messages you send to subscribers. The design you utilize, projects your quality and distinction.

Many email users consider commercial messages as spam partly because they look like spam. Marketing messages sent out with little attention to branding, layout, and design details will likely be considered spam and quickly ignored or deleted. To avoid portraying this image and to gain trust from your subscribers, you need to pay attention to the appearance of what you send out.

Here are my tips to help you build trust through the appearance of your emails and, allowing your email marketing campaigns to achieve success.

1. Make sure the ‘from’ line is recognizable.

Recognition is important in gaining trust from subscribers. This makes it crucial to use a recognizable name in your ‘from’ line. Use your real name, an online alias, or organization’s name, product or service. Obviously, you should choose whichever name your subscribers are most likely to recognize as well as respond to positively.

2. Optimize the preview pane.

Apart from your sender and subject line, what appears in recipients’ preview pane is what many people first encounter. The content seen through the preview pane, helps recipients decide whether or not they want to read the entire message. To keep your subscribers from ignoring or deleting your emails before receiving your message, make sure that what appears in their preview pane is recognizable and attractive. Try using your logo, a masthead, and an attention-grabbing headline.

3. Encourage subscriber communication.

Many Email Marketers use "Do Not Reply" accounts because they don’t monitor communications sent to the address they use to send out emails. This is often used when emails are sent by third party suppliers or email marketing companies.

However, this can be detrimental to the success of your email marketing campaign. You should actually encourage your subscribers to connect with you with comments, suggestions, or questions. By doing so, you gain insights from your subscribers and inspire trust through your interactions.

Check back next week for three more tips for building Email Marketing Trust through Appearance. Meanwhile, please share your comments or questions regarding the design aspects you follow to create success in your email marketing campaigns.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or herFREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com. Find out more at www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com

Build Email Marketing Trust Through Appearance (Part One) is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: email marketing, email marketing tips, Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing Tips, marketing, Marketing Tips