Building an effective digital marketing strategy means evaluating numerous possibilities trying to find solutions that are consistent with the objectives. It is necessary to be constantly updated on the increasingly rapid evolution of the tools, with small big news now on the agenda. In this dynamic and compelling context there are pillars on which digital marketing continues to stand despite the various “zero point” upgrades of the web. It is about those certainties present from the beginning that over time do not lose strokes and enjoy a health that improves punctually. We are talking about e-mail and its constant importance in the development of a successful digital strategy.
Born in the late 70s, e-mail is still a very important channel for communications of various kinds. It was Gary Thuerk who sent the first promotional message of digital history on May 3, 1978 using the Arpanet network developed by the US Department of Defense, even before the birth of the internet as we understand it today. A real revolution that over the years has been transformed into a precious and evolved commercial opportunity. The email marketing today still occupies a major role in the construction of each strategy with amazing results and growing.
As demonstrated by the latest analysis on the e-mail marketing of the 2017 Statistical Observatory developed by MailUp, on a sample of 12 billion emails analyzed by 10,000 customers, there is a noticeable increase in messages correctly delivered compared to 2015. 35.7% total openings and 36.9% total clicks.
These and other very positive data can certainly be attributed to a noticeable improvement of work platforms such as MailChimp and MailUp and email deliver ability on the one hand, and on the other hand to the growing attention on the part of brands towards good profiling, segmentation practices and automation.
Database building: The starting point for implementing the marketing campaign
As with any self-respecting marketing strategy, the first step is to analyze the reference users. Building a digital strategy without knowing who our interlocutor means wasting precious time, risking annoyance and thus obtaining an effect contrary to expectations. However, this is not just an initial step but a constant monitoring of increasingly accurate information that allows the sending of relevant content.
In an email marketing strategy, the ways in which to build lists are very important and require some basic precautions. The first is certainly the collection of data.
How to collect data for a quality email list building?
The collection of information useful for user profiling allows to send less invasive content and above all that respect the interests, the expectations of registered users and their privacy, increasing opening and click rates.
The modality of the registration request allows us to collect the first useful data and is already an important answer to test the level of interest of the user, and therefore its possible predisposition to purchase.
Over the years, the possibilities have multiplied and the work platforms have reached very high levels for the construction of a quality database. We report only some traditional examples and not only:
- Increase of access points, with the aim of multiplying the user’s possibilities to subscribe to the newsletter. Implement the entry point site in areas of the page to be chosen based on the onsite browsing experience;
- Insertion of an interactive pop-up that responds to a user’s precise action (e.g. time spent on a page, number of pages visited, etc.) with the aim of reminding users of the possibility to stay updated on the contents towards whom he has expressed interest;
- Lead Ads listings for contact acquisition, also using social networks for the collection of quality registrations to be implemented with simple forms on the company page;
- Premium content, a traditional incentive to motivate the registration proposal forwarded to the user. The goal is to offer a “reason why” that pushes the user to leave his personal contact.
But it does not end here. After deciding how to collect data, a way must be established to ensure a check on the validity of the addresses collected.
Single opt-in or double opt-in: Pros and Cons
The second step to building a list with quality contacts is to confirm the registration. The possibilities are only two but with very different relapses on the construction of the database for email marketing …
- Single opt-in, requires only one click to confirm the subscription after entering the required data. It does not provide for a confirmation e-mail;
- Double opt-in, to confirm the registration, click on the link received via email at the address indicated.
As it is easy to understand, the two modalities have very different objectives. The single opt-in strategy is useful if the aim is to collect registrations for a quantitative list building, the double opt-in strategy guarantees a confirmation of the correct insertion of data by composing less crowded but active and real lists.
Offering the user the possibility of confirming his registration is certainly an advantage not only technical with positive repercussions on the relationship with the user who clicking on the link acquires an awareness that, in the case of single opt-it mode, would lose in a few hours or even minutes.
These are just some of the advantages that the recommended approach to database quality for an email marketing strategy is without doubt double opt-it. Aiming for quality means constructing less extensive lists that nevertheless guarantee very faithful reports to reality, minimizing the presence of inactive contacts that alter opening percentages.
Management of unsubscriptions from the newsletter
There is an initial passage that seems a paradox but it is equally important. Easily manage the unsubscription of users who no longer wish to receive information or commercial content is as important as the quality of the subscribers.
In sending the email it is essential to make the unsubscription procedures easy, fast and linear. In this way, complete transparency between company and recipient will be guaranteed, avoiding any misunderstandings that may compromise the possible return of those who have just left the list.
In order to build an effective and complete email marketing strategy, several steps need to be taken into account. In this post we have analyzed only a few.
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