AN IMPORTANT STUDY FOR YOUR BOTTOM LINE
According to DoubleClick's 2002 Consumer Email Study, what
then IS the most important factor consumers look at
in determining whether to even open your email?
Surprise, although I've seen alot written about
it being
the "subject line", it's NOT. It's the "from
line"! 60%
said that's what they look at when making the "open"
decision, while a still hefty 35% cited the subject line.
So, if your from address is a mess (bptx89653@sellyou.com,
for example), your subject line is going to have a hard
time saving the day. Your open rate is likely to be very
poor.
A much better idea? "yourname@yourdomainname.com"
This
wasn't suggested in the report (that's not the point of the
report), but it's pure, simple and ties in with the
importance of "name recognition" and "branding"
that the
report DOES address (more on this in a moment).
SOME INTERESTING FACTS YOU CAN TAKE TO THE
BANK
* 69% of men say they'll open an email if the subject
line contains "news" (while 46% of the women will).
* 64% of women will open it if the
subject line includes
a "discount offer" (50% of the men will).
* Got a new product to announce?
Well, only 39% of women
and 37% of men will open email with a subject line about a
"new product announcement".
* 90% cite unsolicited promotional
emails as the number
one consumer concern. 60% delete it without opening, up
from 45% last year. Bad news for sp*mmers, good news for
legitimate emailers.
CONQUER THESE CHALLENGES AND REAP BIG
REWARDS
* The volume of email has risen 60% over last year with
the average person getting 254 emails a week versus 159.
That's alot of competition!
* To deal with this onslaught of
email, the average person
has 2.63 email addresses. 50% also use an email feature to
sort their messages into a bulk folder. And 76% "never or
rarely" read the emails in their bulk folders.
* Of those who made an immediate
purchase after reading
an email, 60% cited "merchant recognition" (branding) as
the
reason for their quick decision. Even more, 70%, cited a
"discount" as their motivating factor.
Wow, if people know and trust you, and you offer
a discount,
your newsletter is going to pull some sales!
WHY EMAIL IS STILL #1
* 25% of consumers with an email account made an online
purchase in the last year versus 19% a year ago.
* Of shoppers who have purchased
online, 78% did so as a
result of receiving an email.
* 66% plan to use email to make a
purchase during the
upcoming holiday season.
CONCLUSIONS
When used effectively, email remains an incredibly powerful
sales tool. The keys to success are being known and
trusted, as well as carefully utilizing your "from" and
"subject" lines.
But because consumers are countering their
enormous volumes
of email by using multiple addresses, bulk folders and sp*m
filters, newsletter publishers will need to stay informed
as well as creative to maintain and grow their actual
"readership", as opposed to their simple subscriber
counts.
Whatever you do, clearly differentiate your
mailings so it
is not mistaken for sp*am.
For those of you who would like to read the whole report,
go here:
Joshua Rose writes about how to significantly boost your
online results by improving your "communication skills",
increasing the "responsiveness" of your subscriber list
and utilizing effective Affiliate sales techniques. To
subscribe, visit: http://www.internetprofitwizards.com
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