TP Javeton WebNet

Category: Advertising & promotion

Decision: To End an Email Marketing Campaign

To end your EM campaign

There is generally a lot of discussion relating to the launch or creation of one or more email marketing (EM) campaign(s); but very little is said – by comparison – about how and when an email marketing campaign should be bought to a conclusion, because making a decision to end one can be the source of some consternation and/or procrastination for many business owners, especially if the campaign is successful. Generally speaking, business owners will have to evaluate a number of different criteria to make such a decision, even as no one specific formula will work for all business owners.

The decision is one which many business owners may struggle with on a regular basis; because it can be difficult both in situations when the email marketing campaign is enjoying a great deal of success, as well as situations in which the email marketing campaign is failing. In this article we will take a look at three different scenarios which include a successful email marketing campaign that is approaching a logical conclusion, an email marketing campaign that is failing, and an email marketing campaign that is successful and therefore may be able to run indefinitely.

Scenario #1

The first scenario is that of a successful email marketing campaign that is approaching a logical conclusion which, in some cases, it may be logical for a business owner to conclude his email marketing efforts. The most obvious example of this scenario is a campaign that is focused on achieving a specific goal and not selling products or services; such a campaign might be political in nature which may start off slowly, peak during a time when voters are most interested in obtaining information about the issues and then begin to wane as the voting process begins and the majority of voters have already made their decision.

Similarly an email marketing campaign which is focused on collecting donations for a specific charity will logically end as the contributions goal is reached. And while these email marketing campaigns and others similar to them may be highly successful there is simply no reason to continue them beyond the point at which the stated objectives have been reached. In fact there are certain laws that may prevent the continuation of these campaigns beyond the monetary goals being met due to the non-profit nature of organizations possessing 501 (c)(3) approval, certificates and other such designations.

Scenario #2

The next scenarion we will take a look at is that of case of an email marketing campaign that is not achieving its goal in which case, deciding when to end an email marketing campaign of this nature can be difficult because it will involve a number of different factors. A good example of this scenario is when a business owner is investing great sums of money and a great deal of time into an email marketing and not generating results, despite an honest effort. In other words, it may be time to end this marketing campaign because it is a drain on the business’s resources.

On the other hand, if the business owner has not invested a great deal of time, money and energy in the email marketing campaign and still has a few remaining ideas for turning the campaign into a success, it might be worthwhile to continue running such a campaign under such circumstances for a little longer to see if the desired goals (and objectives) can be met. So you see, under this scenario there are specific criteria that can be used for ending an email marketing campaign at a given time, as well as to continue that campaign when circumstances and desire are favorable.

Scenario #3

Finally, it is important to note that email marketing campaigns do not always have to come to an end. Why? Consider a niche topic such as search engine optimization (SEO) that a business owner who has been producing and distributing monthly eNewsletters on this subject, and have been receiving a positive response to these email marketing tools. Under such a scenario there is absolutely no reason for him/her to discontinue such a campaign as long as s/he is still capable of producing the eNewsletters.

Similar to the way many magazines have been in publication for years and years, it is possible for an eNewsletter to remain active for as long s there is a need and an interest in the information being provided. In our example of a business owner publishing a SEO newsletter, the need for this product remains because SEO is continually evolving and recipients of the eNewsletter may anticipate receiving the eNewsletter each month to get more information on current trends in an industry such as Internet technology and all that it encompasses, including but not limited to Internet marketing, Web development, content development and eCommerce, just to name a few.

As a token of our appreciation the free ebook titled, Storytelling Marketing can be yours if you have any interest in the art of storytelling. All you have to do is download it here, enjoy the reading and learn how storytelling can be a powerful ally in any business or marketing pursuit!

Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!

12/21/2016
Marketing Types that Compliment Email Marketing

Multifaceted email marketing

If you are already engaged in promoting products and services via email marketing you may already realize the potential this type of marketing holds; and if so you probably also realize that it is not reasonable to expect your business to thrive with email marketing as the only marketing strategy you opt to utilize. Of course this is not unusual since most businesses do not typically have a great deal of success unless they make the decision to incorporate more than one marketing type into their overall marketing strategy. With such other marketing options in mind, this article will examine a few of these Internet marketing alternatives which have, and can be used, in conjunction with email marketing.

Email marketing in itself can be multi-faceted in the sense that it may include sending out mass emails, distributing digital newsletters, creating relevant website content, and even offering correspondence courses via email. Implementing only one of these email marketing strategies may result in a small increase in either website traffic or sales, but implementing more than one strategy at a time can create a more significant effect.

Similarly it is definitely worthwhile to incorporate other types of Internet marketing into promoting your business on the Web if you are not already doing so; because this can help you to enjoy a greater degree of success if you apply the strategies correctly. Some of the other types of marketing strategies you may wish to employ include placing banner ads, participating in industry related message boards and starting an affiliate program.

Banner ad placements

Of the other types of Internet marketing available, placing banner ads may be the most expensive option. In many cases your business will have to pay another website for the privilege of placing your banner ad on their website. Choosing a website which sells products which complement, without competing with, your business is worthwhile. However, there are some free options for banner ads including exchanges, as long as you are not required to place more than one banner ad on your website for each time your banner ad appears on another lineup, as doing so can create a very crowded and confusing site with will drown out any content you provide.

Additionally, such agreements could compromise your ability to control the type of website(s) your banner advertisements are displayed on; and for this reason it is worthwhile to pay for ad space so you can have more control over where your banner ads are displayed.

Participation in industry-related forums can be another way to promote your business online. Message boards are online meeting places where individuals who share a common interest can get together to discuss those interests as well as pertinent issues in addition to asking and answering questions from each other. Most message boards allow users to place a link to their website in their signature line. If you regularly participate on an industry-related message board and include a signature line with a link to your website you can reach a high concentration of members of your target audience.

Message boards & affiliate marketing

When using message boards to promote your business it is very important to follow all message board guidelines and to avoid techniques which may be deemed as spam, such as posting your link when it is not appropriate, introducing off-topic information, blatantly promoting a particular product/service, or inserting hyperlinks where they are not welcomed or acceptable.

Last, but certainly limiting the number of marketing options to those mentioned here, is the affiliate marketing program which is another type of online marketing that can be used in conjunction with email marketing. Affiliate marketing involves allowing website owners to place advertisements for your business on their website. These website owners are known as affiliates, and each time one of their advertisements causes an Internet user to click through the advertisement or purchase an item, the affiliate is compensated by the merchant (in this case, you of you are the one providing links and banners) who created the product/service to which that clicked link leads.

This compensation schedule makes affiliate marketing incredibly cost effective. Essentially you do not pay your affiliates unless the advertising generates a specific reaction from Internet users such as making a purchase or generating website traffic. The amount of compensation should be determined beforehand and may be based on a flat fee or a percentage of the sale. Business owners have to embed code into the affiliate ads to determine which ads are generating profit or traffic so they know which affiliates to compensate, but this information is also useful for determining which advertisements are most effective.

More marketing methods

The above marketing types are a few additional options business owners and entrepreneurs can use to compliment their email marketing efforts on the Web and fine tune the overall marketing strategy. Other marketing types which we do not have space or time to discuss in this post are Article Marketing, Niche Marketing, Blog Marketing, Video Presentations, Pod Casts, Network Marketing and Multi-level Marketing (MLM), among others. Simply do a search for any of these other marketing methods if you need more information. Good luck!

12/05/2016
The Culprits of Email Marketing Failures

When EM campaigns fail

Whether you are already involved in an email marketing campaign or you’re simply considering the possibility of launching an email marketing campaign it is important to understand that email marketing (EM) does not always work as effectively as expectations may set forth. This means that sometimes, despite your best efforts, or sometimes in spite of your best efforts, the email marketing campaign you create will either not generate the degree of success you anticipated or may not generate any success at all for a variety of reasons.

Some of these reasons may be a lack of interest from your target audience, failure to properly execute your email marketing strategy, poor planning of your strategy, or poor execution of that strategy. This article will take a look at some situations in which email marketing is not effective, and will offer some suggestions for dealing with these situations.

Let’s consider for a moment the reason that a lack of interest from target audience members can result in a failed email marketing campaign. It is already a known fact that some target audiences have often been the recipients of offers and information in which they have absolutely no interest or use for; this occurs when marketer(s) fail to complete sufficiently adequate research that would otherwise identify those offers, and that content which the particular audience(s) have expressed interest in.

Importance of research

So that having been said it is critically important that before you – as an email marketer – invest time, energy and money into an email marketing campaign, you might find it worthwhile to hire a consultant and task him/her with conducting market research which should provide valuable feedback such as demographics for the target audience and information on the probability of these target audience members being responsive to email marketing. This last piece of information in particular should help the business owner to determine whether or not s/he should pursue email marketing as an advertising option.

In other wordsm, if market research indicates that members of your target audience are not likely to purchase the products or services you offer online, or they don’t even use the Internet to research these products or services, investing in an email marketing campaign is not worthwhile. You may enjoy a small degree of success from this marketing effort but it is not likely significant enough to warrant the time and effort required to achieve this small degree of success.

Another aspect of email marketing which can cause your marketing campaign to result in failure is the inability to properly execute your marketing plan. Attention to such execution of whatever marketing plan you have in place is important because even the best formulated marketing strategy can flounder if you are not able to properly execute the steps required to accomplish the plan’s objective.

Sloppy work spells doom

For example, you may plan to use digital newsletters – or ebooks – as a critical component of your email marketing campaign; but if these digital information products do not appear to be professionally designed and written, or they frequently arrive late and do not offer valuable information, readers are not likely to invest in your products or services based solely on these digital offerings. In each aspect of your email marketing campaign, you should strive to ensure that information you provide to your email recipients is informative, accurate and interesting, if not compelling. This type of copy is more likely to pique the interest of readers.

Finally, poor planning can cause an email marketing campaign to falter. For example, if you were to issue a component of your email marketing campaign hoping to generate a huge interest in your products and receive a great deal of interest, you should be well prepared and have the ability to sell your products. Not having enough stock on hand after you undergo a marketing effort can be a critical mistake because potential customers may lose interest if they have to wait for the products.

Poor planning = less profits

This is just one example of poor planning causing problems; but poor planning can cause a host of different problems including potential customers losing interesting, the creation of confusion regarding your products and services and even potential customers being angered by your email marketing. In any scenario under which poor planning – and/or poor execution of a solid plan – can be identified as the reason for failures of email marketing campaigns, the results will almost always be loss of potential and existing customers which, when translated, is a loss of revenue and profits for your business.

As a token of our appreciation the free ebook titled, Storytelling Marketing can be yours if you have any interest in the art of storytelling. All you have to do is download it here, enjoy the reading and learn how storytelling can be a powerful ally in any business or marketing pursuit!

Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!

11/25/2016
Email Marketing Advertisements: Contrasting Views

Internet marketers debate

There has long been a debate among Internet marketers about whether or not advertisements should be made a part of marketing emails which are sent to subscribers; and more specifically, whether such ads and promotions in the form of product links and banners would be considered acceptable to the overall marketing community. The topic has been hotly debated for years, with some Internet marketers being strongly in favor of placing advertisements in email marketing while others having been strongly against the use of any kind of advertisements in email marketing.

As is often the case with most debates, there is the group which consists of those who take a more neutral stance and therefore are not either firmly for or against the use of advertisements in email marketing campaigns. This article will take a look at both sides of the argument in an effort to raise the level of awareness about this subject, invoke reasonable thought on the issue, and allow the reader to formulate his/her own opinions on whether or not this subject is worthy of discussion and the attention paid to it by marketers as well as other entities, not the least of which is the FTC.

Two sides of the debate

Let’s start with the group of Internet marketers who are strongly favor the inclusion of advertisements in emails that are distributed for marketing purposes. Those who favor the use of advertisements view the sale of advertising space in email marketing materials, such as emails or enewsletters, as a way to generate profit from any given email marketing campaign based on the belief that this tactic puts less pressure on an Internet marketer to meet expectations of email distribution list members, since emails are already generating a profit, even if they do not entice the email recipients to make a purchase.

On the other hand, those marketers who are firmly against the use of advertisements in email marketing are of the opinion that such inclusions make the emails seem more like spam and less like interesting and valuable information which just happens to include marketing materials. Those on this side of the fence feel as though any advertisement in an email marketing campaign should be subtle advertising for the products and services offered by the distributor of the email and not advertisements for businesses who have paid for an advertising spot in a given email. They believe the original emails are acceptable but additions to them are spam.

Could neutrality be a guide?

Still others are someone in between (on the fence) because they haven’t taken a position in this debate, perhaps for several reasons; but some of the reasons they have not taken a position could be revealing in the sense that any of these reasons – or none of them – could determine whether or not marketing emails that include advertisements is as important an issue as the the two previous groups have insisted it is. In other words, if the main reason for this group’s neutrality is indifference then there is not much to be revealed; but if the main reason is that, legality or best practices adhered to by the email marketer renders his/her emails acceptable whether or not it contains advertisements, then perhaps the rest of us might need to follow their example.

In most cases these ‘neutral’ individuals might believe it is acceptable for advertisements to appear in marketing emails as long as the ads do not overshadow other, more useful and valuable information which, in most email marketing campaigns, is the original intent of such emails. Understanding therefore, that this middle of the road concept could define the position of certain Internet marketers who adhere to it as not firmly for or against placing advertisements in emails which are distributed for marketing purposes as long as the email marketer (email sender) adheres to industry best practices and does not violate the CAN-SPAM Act.

In the grey

In view of the above, it is important to point out here that information in this article is vague by design because it leaves more of an opportunity for you, the reader, to form your own opinion about this issue. Such vagueness is important because the subject is largely a matter of personal preference where each reader must decide for him/herself whether or not s/he agrees with either side or chooses to take a middle of the road stance. As readers of this article may have opinions that could be influenced by whether or not they are considered to be marketers or consumers we understand the delicate nature and significance of the subject matter and how their preferences can be impacted.

One the one hand consumers may be less likely to appreciate advertisements in emails intended for marketing purposes because they might feel it distracts from the original products. On the other hand however, marketers may be more apt to be accepting of such advertising because they can understand the financial gain which is possible. So when evaluating opinions about the use of advertising, it is important to note whether or not the individual offering an opinion is involved in advertising, as it may be more worthwhile to seek out opinions from consumers since they are more likely to share the beliefs of your potential customers.

As a token of our appreciation the free ebook titled, Storytelling Marketing can be yours if you have any interest in the art of storytelling. All you have to do is download it here, enjoy the reading and learn how storytelling can be a powerful ally in any business or marketing pursuit!

Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!

11/15/2016
The Write Approach for Email Marketing Content

Via email

Aspects of email marketing include sending advertisements via email to a large subscriber (or opt-in) list; publishing and distributing an e-newsletter; and sending informative emails with a soft-sell approach that encourages recipients to make a purchase or visit your website. Whether you opt to utilize one or all of these email marketing techniques, you will be faced with one specific dilemma; and that is writing the content which will appear in these emails. Writing content is critical because these emails may be the first impression a potential customer will get in order to make a determination about your products and services.

Superior content will provide potential customers with a good first impression which may make them more receptive to the idea of purchasing your products or services; and as such, this article will discuss some of the proven techniques which have been used to ensure that the content you include in your email marketing campaign will reap maximum benefits. Keep in mind that such benefits are not restricted to the purchase of products/services, but could consist of brand recognition, increased “like and trust” for you and your company from your subscribers and maximum credibility among those who like and trust you, as well as the broader market place.

Content sent to subscribers

As for content you send to subscribers, the importance of hiring a professional writer to assist you with your email marketing campaign cannot be stressed enough, if you are unable to create such content yourself due to time restraints, lack of confidence or lack of writing skills. As content is one of the most critical elements to the success of your campaign it is important that you approach the subject with the utmost care and seriousness; because although you may be a decent writer, or you may have a staff member who you think can do a good job creating the content for your email marketing, the quality of the work will likely not be of the same quality as a professional can produce.

On the other hand, if you or your staff member is a professional writer by trade, you can – by all means – proceed to create your own content. Approaching content creation in any less serious or careful manner can be very damaging, especially if your competitors are hiring writers to create their content. Writing content for email campaigns is not the same as writing posts for a personal blog; they are vastly different tasks in the sense that on a personal blog, readers prefer to communicate and subscribe to an individual using his/her own voice; whereas content for email campaigns content for email campaigns directly affect your brand and therefore must be seen by your prospective customers as professionally written, or at least be viewed as favorable and having been written by professionals.

Content considered effective

The content you decide to include in your email marketing efforts is largely a matter of personal preference but there are some methods which have traditionally been more successful than others. The type of content which may be effective often includes informative articles, short useful tips, links to relevant websites, advertising for complementary products and even some subtle forms of advertising which are meant to persuade recipients of the email to either make a purchase or visit your website.

Sending full length insightful articles which are likely to be of interest to the members of an email subscriber list is an excellent idea for your email marketing campaign, as providing such articles is considered a good idea since they will likely contain information which the recipients of your email will appreciate. Additionally, these articles give you the opportunity to include information about your products or services in the copy of the email. This can be a subtle form of advertising when it encourages the recipients to purchase a product or service or visit a website or product page without actually asking the recipient to do so.

Product reviews

Short product reviews can also be very helpful – if not of high value – when you include them in your email marketing campaign. These reviews can help to attract a great deal of attention, especially when the reviews focus on the products you offer, and provide favorable reviews for these products. This type of information can either be subjective in nature or can remain objective by having the writer to simply specify certain features of your products and offering other concrete pieces of information as opposed to opinions of those products.

Advertising is quite often an important part of an email marketing campaign; and such advertising may either be direct or indirect in nature. Direct advertising may include banner ads or other graphical advertisements which encourage website visitors to click through the link and reach either your website or a sponsor’s website. Indirect advertising may apply to content in the copy of featured articles which subtly encourage visitors to make a purchase or visit your website. The indirect marketing in an email marketing campaign is usually supportive of products or services you offer while direct marketing will likely promote products and services offered by sponsors who paid to receive advertising space in the email.

Please note

It is important to note here that recipients of marketing emails are usually well aware that these graphics and other inclusions of such emails are part of an advertisement and many of them will choose to click on these links when they have an interest in the products or services being offered. In fact, some recipients may even click on a link or banner to learn more about the quality of a product/service being advertised, or to learn more about the company behind such a product or service before expressingh an interest in making a purchase. So you never know exactly what might motivate (inspire?) a potential customer to take action; but you do know that if your content is deemed to be unprofessional by that potential customer, s/he won’t click on any link/banner for any reason.

As a token of our appreciation the free ebook titled, Storytelling Marketing can be yours if you have any interest in the art of storytelling. All you have to do is download it here, enjoy the reading and learn how storytelling can be a powerful ally in any business or marketing pursuit!

Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!

10/16/2016
Reasons to Embrace Digital Photography

A digital phenomenon

With all the enhancements, improved images and easy-to-use equipment that makes digital photography such a technological breakthrough in picture-taking, it is hardly surprising that so many individuals having an interest in photography (hobbyists, professionals and casual users, among others) seemed to have gotten hooked on this medium and find it a popular habit that is hard to kick, if indeed, they have any desire to kick it in the first place. Since the birth of digital photography, it has been easier and more convenient for people to capture what many consider the best photos they have ever taken.

Digital Photography indeed has become the new wave of photographic excellence for many years to come; and for those who are still using the old method of photo shooting with film photography, they may well need to rethink their picture-taking strategy. However, if you haven’t seen actual proof or heard any convincing arguments in support of digital photography superiority, we’d like to share with you a few good reasons why digital photography will be a more exceptional picture-taking method to use.

1. Generally, one of the most outstanding features that could be cited for choosing digital photography is the convenience afforded by this new and excellent method. Aside from the fact that digital cameras are easy to use, based on their user-friendliness, these cameras are also portable and you can simple place one of them safely in your pocket anywhere you go.

2. With digital cameras you can save your time and effort because provide instant feedback once you take photos. Each camera has a review button to let you view all the photos so you’ll be able to choose the best one, while at the same time, it also comes with a delete button for those photos you don’t want to keep. In short, you can keep on trying until you get the right (ideal?) photo, something that can hardly be said about the old film photography cameras.

Outstanding features

3. There are several outstanding features of digital photography, including the capacity to have your photos printed immediately, which is made even easier if you have a digital printer; in which case, you can simply connect your digital camera to the printer, press the “print” button and presto! You have instant pictures. When you contrast this almost instantaneous picture taking method with the process required to produce a picture using film cameras (the time it takes before you get your photos developed) you can see there is really no comparison.

4. Another great thing you can get from digital photography is the capacity to modify or edit your photos anytime. Since the images are in digital files, it is much easier now to edit them. You can simply open the images in any photo editing software supported by the file. With the photo editing software, you can alter or adjust the color of your photos. You can also crop the photo and design your own photo. All of these in one photo editing package. It’s more than what you can get from film cameras.

5. Consider this scenario for a moment: You want to put up a small business and you obviously want to offer your clients and customers the very best product and superior service. Wouldn’t you want access to the fast, high-quality and almost perfect pictures offered by digital photography for every job you are entrusted with? In other words, use the best photographic tools and resources available to do what they do best, while freeing up more of your time to do what you do best, being creative.

Photos and much more

Keep in mind also, that digital photos are not only being used simply to fill photo albums; because many of them are being converted to T-shirts, mugs, invitations, greeting cards, calendars and a lot of other creative and artistic products. This is due to the fact that digital photos can be printed and reproduced anywhere and in anyway simply by a user obtaining the right photo paper. So go ahead and be as creative as you need to be in an effort to make as much money as you can, and you’ll find that you have a great tool in the form of a digital camera.

6. Lastly, with digital photography a user has the ability to share photos s/he has with loved ones, friends, relatives and evenb business associates and colleagues. To do this s/he can simply give a copy of those precious moments to someone everywhere s/he goes by simply attaching a softcopy of the photo to your email and send it. It’s that easy. On the other hand, to share pictures from a film camera, s/he will spend money just on scanning the photos in order to be able to send them online. Of course that will consist of extra work for a digital photographer.

Get in the habit

It seems therefore, that digital photography has really paved the way for making photography convenient and easier at the same time while achieving high quality photos. It just goes to show that there’s no better time to opt to digital photography than now, if you haven’t already made that decision. Why not get in the habit? You may find it hard to kick once you start, because you just might enjoy all over again – in a new and enhanced way – the experience of taking pictures.

09/20/2016