How to Identify and Avoid Email Marketing Bad Guys

July 28, 2008

I recently received this article in the Arial Software newsletter… very useful, so definitely worth posting in full.

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How to Identify and Avoid Email Marketing Bad Guys

In the Old West, stage drivers were charged with delivering their passengers and goods safely from Missouri to California. Delivery was fraught with peril at every turn, much like email delivery can be today.

Stagecoach drivers armed themselves to fight off direct attacks, and they adopted tactics and strategies to help them make their deliveries. Such procedures involved understanding their enemies and their methods in order to avoid them altogether.

Like the stage driver from the old west, you can identify and avoid the perils of email message delivery by heeding the following dangers and how to avoid them.

The Dangers

Unprotected server hijack. Before your email even goes out, your SMTP server may be hijacked and used to send out unsolicited bulk email. Within minutes of connecting an unprotected computer to the Internet, it may be ambushed by liars-in-wait. It is greatly important to properly configure your email server.

Other mail server protections include:

• Protecting with a firewall 

• Close relaying 

• Enabling authentication 

• Keeping software updated.

Vigilante injustice. When you start the delivery run there are processes waiting to snag your email message and prevent it from reaching its destination. These blackhole lists have scouted your email sending history and reputation. While meant to punish and halt spammers, many blackhole listings also round up legitimate email marketers.

Blackhole list managers base your email reputation on information collected from people to whom you are sending email messages. If you do not honor unsubscribe requests or take measures to ensure that your email message is not lumped into the junk email account, you are at risk of ending up on a black hole or backlist.

To help keep your server off blacklists, do the following:

• Test your messages frequently to ensure they have no spam characteristics 

• Clean your list of failed email addresses

• Honor unsubscribe requests

• Ensure your Domain Name System (DNS) zone files are properly configured.

Disguised addresses. You’ll want to be careful how you acquire email addresses, and here’s why: Some companies have taken it upon themselves to post easily acquired email addresses online, in the hopes that someone will harvest them and start sending them unsolicited spam. These email address collection sites are known as “honey pots.” If you purchase a list, depending on how the addresses were acquired, you may very well be purchasing one or more of these masked emails, and sending them email could tarnish your sender reputation.

In some cases, an email service provider may turn old, unused accounts into a honey pot. These addresses were once valid, but based on owner inactivity, they are deemed to be dead. This actually happened to an old Hotmail account I owned. After about two years, I logged into my account and was inundated with all sorts of unsolicited bulk email.

To avoid these traps: 

• Don’t harvest email addresses 

• Don’t purchase harvested email addresses

• Cull old, unresponsive addresses from your list.

Inside jobs. In some cases, delivery problems occur before you even get outside your network. A rogue employee may maliciously take advantage of your list and access to your server. More likely, a careless employee may fail to adequately test the message or incorrectly update information like bounced email or unsubscribe requests.

If you are sending through an ISP’s SMTP server, you are almost guaranteed to have limited delivery capabilities due to their restrictions. In general, the bigger the ISP, the more restrictive they are when sending email en masse.

More delivery strategies to avoid the bad guys

Like the cowboys of old, knowing who the bad guys are, how they operate, and taking steps to thwart them are keys to ensuring effective delivery. Here are more strategies for avoiding the bad guys.

• Alternate routes – If your ISP is severely limiting or blocking you from sending bulk email messages, you might consider setting up your own SMTP mail server. If you want to avoid putting heavy traffic on your regular email server, you might want to look at mail servers designed for bulk email delivery, like PowerMTA from Port25 Solutions.

• Slowing down – There is no hard and fast rule that says you have to send all your bulk email messages at one time. Use the data you collect about your customers to send email in smaller, more targeted batches. These practices will not only help you with delivery issues that may arise with a large send, it will increase your responses because your emails will be more valuable to the recipients.

• Arming yourself – Knowledge is the key to ensuring that you are following email best practices. If you can afford it, hire an email marketing expert to manage or oversee your email marketing operations. Keep abreast of changes that may affect delivery of your legitimate bulk email messages.

It is imperative for legitimate email marketers to separate themselves from the bad guys to prevent getting lumped in with them. Knowing what the rules are and following them are not enough. Remember, you are held to an even higher standard: Email marketing best practices. - Arial Software

The Best Web Host for Email Marketing

July 27, 2008

After over 2 YEARS of searching, I’ve finally found a really great  (and affordable!) host for my email marketing software - HOSTGATOR.  Among other things, it allows for both Domain Keys and SPF authentication - which I’ve been looking for FOREVER. 

If you don’t have your own email marketing software, Hostgator’s hosting packages come with free email software (PHPlist) - which you can find in the control panel under Fantastico.

Note that there are sending limits, though:

• You can only send up to 500 emails per hour per domain
• Any mailing list over 900 emails is only allowed to be sent to during off-peak times to prevent high server loads. Off peak times qualify as all day Saturday and Sunday, and 1 AM - 8 AM Eastern Time on Monday - Friday.
• If your mailing list is larger than 5,000 you’ll have to get a dedicated hosting solution.

If you can live with those, I say GO FOR THE GATOR!  You can check it out here.  Shared hosting packages start at $4.95 per month.  

Tools and Tips for Testing Your Subject Lines

July 13, 2008

Since the release of Alchemy Worx’ subject line study in June, there’s been a lot of buzz in the email industry about subject line length.  I won’t go into the details of the different discussions, because at the end of it all… there’s no real answer as to how long or short your subject line should be! 

The only real answer is… to keep testing.  (I hate to say this, but  I will …. I told you so! See my previous post about “Testing, Testing, Testing…”)

Dela Quist, CEO of Alchemy Worx herself says “My greatest fear is that the people reading the whitepaper will be looking for a simple answer such as “when it comes to email subject lines, short is best”, when in fact the central message is keep searching, keep optimising and keep on challenging assumptions.”

Truth be told, if there’s any one thing in your email that needs constant testing, it’s the subject line. As I mentioned before, the envelope fields (the “From” and subject lines) are the two most important elements of your email, as they ultimately determine your email’s fate.

Email filters scan subject lines for SPAM-like text and can block an email before it’s delivered to the recipient.  Assuming your email gets through the filters, it’ll still be judged as SPAM (or not) by your recipients, based solely on the contents of the FROM and SUBJECT lines.

• The “From” line is what your readers use to determine whether or not to delete an email.
• The Subject line is what motivates them to actually open the email.

Now since the FROM line stays constant (if it doesn’t… IT SHOULD!), it’s your subject lines that need the most attention… so here are some great (and yes, free) tools that can help:

1. Direct Services, Inc’s Email Subject Line Tester -  I love this.  Just type in your subject line, and the program will check it for “spamminess”, and generate a chart which looks like this:  (click for a larger view) 

 The Email Subject Line Tester uses a series of quantitative and qualitative algorithms, extracted from static and live databases, to arrive at an indication of what might be considered SPAM.

• A GREEN checkbox indicates that no warning flags have been triggered that would indicate SPAM.
• A YELLOW checkbox indicates that a score for a component(s) of the subject line’s text is approaching a filter threshold where the email might be perceived as SPAM.
• A RED checkbox indicates that a score for a component(s) of the subject line’s text has exceeded a filter threshold where the email will very likely be perceived as SPAM.
• More RED checkboxes triggered by a particular subject line indicates the email has a greater likelihood of being considered as SPAM.

2.  EmailLabs’ Envelope Field Preview Tool -   This is really useful because it shows how different email clients will render your email’s From and subject lines.  (Length varies depending on what email program you use). 

You can use this to see how your envelope fields will display in Outlook, AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail & MSN, Eudora, Excite and juno. Enter your email from name, from address and subject line - and then press preview. 

(Note though, that this is a pretty old resource, and may not account for recent changes made to the programs of different email clients.  In spite of that, it’s still a pretty good guide.)  

 

IMPORTANT:  These are neat pre-campaign tools, but bear in mind that the REAL testing (the only type that counts) can only be done when you actually send.  Perform regular split tests using different subject lines, and keep a close eye on your stats to see which generates the best results (i.e., open and clickthrough rates). 

Mailchimp has an A/B split testing feature built into their program, which is the one thing that really won me over, but you can do split testing no matter what program you use.   Just remember that for your test to be valid, EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE SUBJECT LINE must be exactly the same.  Otherwise, you’ll skew your findings.

So really, no matter what or how much research is done in the field of email marketing, one thing will always remain constant.  You will ALWAYS have to test.  There are no set answers — only better ways and methods to test, and recommendations on what to look for.  

To see the findings and recommendations from Alchemy Worx’  Subject Line study, click here to download their whitepaper.

 

Why It’s So Important to Design Email for "Images Off"

July 10, 2008

  I got a webinar invitation from Habeas today, and this is how it was supposed to look: (Click the pic for a larger view)

 Pretty good-looking email right?   But it wasn’t all that attractive when I FIRST opened it in Outlook 2007. Here’s what I saw:

I think the illustration pretty much speaks for itself.

Almost all of the major email programs have “Images Off” as the default setting.  So when designing your emails, be sure to keep that in mind.  Your email should look decent (and more importantly, your message should still get through!) even when images are blocked. 

Some helpful tips:

1. Never EVER send an email that’s nothing but one big image! 
2. Always provide a link to a web-based version of your email near the top of your message.
3. Keep your images small.  If you absolutely NEED to show off your pics, provide links to a larger view on a separate page.
4. Use alt-tags for your images.  An alt tag is alternative text that will display even when images don’t.
5. Always TEST your email in different email programs to see how it displays on each, before sending out your actual campaign. (This is why I have over 15 different email addresses!)

Remember, web and email readers have ADD.  Chances are high they won’t bother to click to download images , so the first view is the most important.  

7 Ways to Improve the Copy on the Next Web Page You Write

July 8, 2008

While I’m too busy to continue with my mini-bloginar on Web copywriting, here are 7 great tips from Nick Usborne, who - as Web-Copy Consultant to Yahoo, Microsoft, and Disney - knows infinitely more than I do anyway. 

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Improve Your Copywriting Skills …
7 Ways to Improve the Copy on the Next Web Page You Write
By Nick Usborne

Whenever you sit down to write a Web page – whether it’s a home page, a sales page, a subscription page, or an information page – there are seven steps you can take to ensure that your copy is the best it can be.

1. Define the purpose of the page.

This may sound obvious, but too few online copywriters and marketers sit down and establish a clear, clean purpose for a Web page.

All too often, Web pages are created as “content dumps.” Some boss somewhere decides he or she wants a page on some topic, the under-boss passes along the request plus some background information from an old brochure, and the writer is asked to write the page.

Not a smart way to do it.

Far better to sit down for 10 minutes with others involved in the project and ask the simple question, “What is the primary purpose of this page?” Or, to put it another way, “What is it we want this page to achieve?”

Is its purpose to …

• close a sale?
• secure a subscription or registration?
• help people find a particular product or service page on your site?
• invite participation?
• pre-sell a product or service and then move the reader forward to a sales page?
• educate the reader and then direct him or her forward to one of your main category pages?
  

Write down the answer, in 10 words or less, and pin it to the wall in front of you.

Now you know what your page needs to do.

 

2. Understand your audience

Who will be coming to this page? Kids? Retired people? Who are they? Where do they live? How much money do they have?

And, broadly speaking, what is their interest in coming to your site? Are they there to learn? Or are they looking for a new car? Insurance? Garden furniture?

Based on their even knowing about your site, you can get a pretty good idea about who is coming there and what their general interest is.

So here’s the question: “Who are these guys?”

Write down your answer on that same sheet of paper.

 

3. Get clarity on your visitors’ expectations.

Now we are getting more granular. We want to know why these people are coming to this page specifically. What do they want? What are they hoping for? What are their expectations?

There are clues and trails you can follow when trying to identify the specific purpose someone has in mind when coming to a page.

First, ask yourself where they came from. A link from the home page? So what did the link say? What is the exact wording? That link text will give you a very clear idea as to your page visitor’s expectations. In fact, the link text will largely set that person’s expectations.

The same is true of someone arriving via a search engine. To find your page, they typed a few words into the search engine’s search field. What phrase did they use? Again, those words give you a strong clue as to the visitor’s expectations.

Maybe they came via a link in an email. What expectations did the email build up and set? What was the promise?

Follow these trails and do your best to determine the visitor’s expectations.

This is vital.

You will always maximize the effectiveness of a Web page by getting as close as you can to matching the visitor’s expectations.

Remember, those expectations are set immediately before the visitor arrives on the page.

This means your headline and opening text has to be a direct and immediate match with what that person is hoping to find.

Don’t waste time or words. Match your reader’s expectations immediately.

 

4. Get to the meat faster.

The Web is not the place to write clever introductory text. It’s not the place to do some grand scene-setting.

Determine your reader’s expectations and get to the “meat” of your message immediately. No meandering. No fluff. Just get out of the way and let them do what they came there to do.

That action might be to read an article. Or sign up for a newsletter. Or compare three different laptop computers. It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is that they want, give it to them immediately.

 

5. Write only as much as you need to.

As copywriters, we are often told how much copy to write. We need to fit a certain format, fill a page, or write enough text to fit in an 8-page letter.

The Web isn’t like that. A page can have two lines of text or a thousand lines of text. There is no fixed length.

The tendency online is to write more than is really necessary.

Don’t do that.

Go back to your notes, confirm what it is your visitor wants to do, and write only enough to enable them to meet their goal.

Write enough to get the job done, but not a word more.

 

6. Tell people what to do.

Again, this sounds obvious. But there are a zillion pages online that are beautifully written, but then sag and sputter at the end.

If your reader takes no action after reading the page, you have failed. You need them to do something.

Hopefully, if you have done a good writing job, the link they click will correspond exactly to the expectations they had before they arrived at your site.

For instance, before arriving at your page, they might have been thinking, “I need an insurance quote for my new home.”

The best outcome for you is when they click on a link on your page that says, “Get an insurance quote for your home.”

It’s only by securing an action that you can succeed in matching their expectations.

 

7. Tell them the next step.

Some expectations are more complex. Maybe someone was thinking, “I want a new digital camera, but I would like to check out my options.”

They then arrive on your page, which includes a digital camera comparison chart.

Good job so far.

You have helped them compare cameras. But they aren’t ready to buy. So what’s next?

Well, people who compare cameras are at different stages. Some are almost ready to buy, others are still early on in the research process.

So how do you get them to take an action?

You provide options.

For those who are early on in their search, offer a free downloadable guide to choosing digital cameras.

For those who are ready to buy, provide a link to the sales page for each camera.

Be aware of the options your readers might find attractive, and offer them.

 

The Place Where People DO Things

All of these points are focused on understanding the visitor and getting him or her to do something.

That’s what the Web is. It’s a place where people DO things.

And you need to write accordingly.

Know your visitors. Know what they want. And help them achieve their goals.

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This article appears courtesy of The Golden Thread, an e-letter from AWAI that delivers original, no-nonsense advice on how to build your freelance copywriting business. For a free subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/thegoldenthread

 

Headline-Writing Tips + 52 Archetypes to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

July 4, 2008

In my previous post on How to Write for the Web, I mentioned that the headline is the single most important element of any form of copy.  Here are a few tips to keep in mind when crafting yours:

• Keep in mind the “Four U’s’:  Headlines are most effective when they convey a sense of Urgency, are Useful to the reader, show what makes your product or service Unique,  and are Ultra-Specific about the benefits you provide. Your headline doesn’t have to contain all 4 U’s, but the more they do, the better.

• Know exactly who you want to hook:  You’re better off specifically targeting the audience you really want, rather than risk falling into dreadful vagueness because you’re trying to cast too wide a net.  

• Use Title Case, rather than ALL CAPS, for your headline. (Title Case is Much Easier to Read, and DOESN’T COME ACROSS AS OVER-EXCITED SHOUTING!!!)

 If you ever find yourself stumped, the American Writers & Artists Institute has 52 headline archetypes you can use to get your creative juices flowing.  Read them here.

Happy headline-writing!