We talk a lot about segmenting by your list’s demographics. Breaking your list into segments certainly helps you deliver what each reader is looking for. But have you ever considered segmenting according to psychographics, instead? While demographics show your subscribers’ hard data (age, location, marital status, ethnicity, etc), psychographics slice across your list from a [...]

Jackson Coffee Company, a coffee shop in Jackson, MI, has won “Best of Jackson” four years in a row without ever asking their customers to vote for them. And they beat out national chains like Starbucks and McCafe. How do they do it? Effective email marketing mixed with a strategic social media presence helps Jackson [...]

You’ve heard it a thousand times: you need to send personalized, relevant emails to your subscribers to get the best results. Makes sense. Who likes generic emails that waste time? There’s proof behind the theory, too. The MarketingSherpa 2011 Email Marketing Benchmark Report found that 99% of marketers surveyed reported that segmenting campaigns based on [...]

At the end of 2011, we talked about reasons subscriber preferences should be top priority and asked if you’re marketing to the right audience. The reason for this was simple: you should deliver the most relevant content possible in order to get the best results. If you’re curious what other email marketers feel about this, [...]

Small- and midsized-business marketers recognize the importance of helping prospects solve problems. And they know that quality content leads to more sales. But when you’re wearing a half-dozen hats, as many SMB execs and marketers do, disseminating that content can be as challenging as developing it. Fortunately, more marketers are rising to the occasion, according [...]

“Relevancy,” “subscriber preferences” and “preference centers” are just a fancy way of saying you have options for email subscribers. Buzzwords aside, they’re a highly effective way to attract and retain subscribers. You can use web forms to find your subscribers’ preferences in AWeber, and you can download the free guide at the end that explains [...]

Build better relationships. Keep subscribers engaged. Improve deliverability. Have these been hammered into your head yet? Probably, if you’ve been reading our blog for any length of time; it’s what separates the good email marketing campaigns from the bad ones. You can easily make you campaign one of the good ones by creating emails that [...]

Facebook’s new features just won’t stop coming. Just before revamping the news feeds of users everywhere, Facebook introduced a new way to share: a subscription feature for personal profiles. What does the Subscribe button do? Think of it like Twitter, only on Facebook. When you post a public update, it goes out to the news [...]

How do you think your subscribers would describe your emails? Do your emails focus on getting sales? Or do you make more of an effort to encourage loyalty to your company?

The key is balancing the two. You can personalize your email newsletters in order to build relationships, and this leads to developing a loyal subscriber base who are happy to hear what you have to offer.

Easier said than done, right? I found emails in my inbox that range from going for a hard sell to ones I love reading and interacting with. These examples contain valuable lessons that you can use for your own campaign to create messages subscribers love.

Mountz Jewelers: The Useless Announcement

This is a promotional email from Mountz Jewelers announcing a grand opening for one of their stores:

The problem with this email is that I have no use for it. This mistake could easily be avoided by segmenting based on the subscribers’ location. Announcing a grand opening in your email works only if the subscribers can easily get to that store.

Alfred Angelo Bridal: The Targeted Sales Pitch

This is a promotional email from Alfred Angelo about a bridal accessories sale:

Although still clearly a sales email, this one does a much better job:

• They are using the information I provided at sign up to send me information on accessories for brides, as opposed to something other wedding party members would need.
• They include a “Find a store” tool which is very helpful.

Neither Mountz Jewelers or Alfred Angelo do that much to get me to be a loyal customer. I don’t look forward to their emails nearly as much as the next two businesses that do make it more personal.

Active.com: Sharing Their Knowledge

This is a newsletter from Active.com:

Active.com makes it more personal by:

• Noting I’m interested in running and making sure that I get all running related information.
• Providing links to a wide variety of topics that could help me.

The only downside to their emails is their “Featured Events” section, which doesn’t have events near me. I use Active.com to register for all my races, so having upcoming ones near me would make a big difference.

TheKnot: Personal, Sharing, Selling…AWesome

This is a newsletter from TheKnot:

TheKnot newsletters I’m always excited to see. Why?

• They make it personal to me and what I’m doing.
• They use my name and wedding date, my location, and where I am in the planning process to deliver content that’s relevant to me.
• They make sure to include links to products and sponsored vendors in every newsletter, but the focus is on the personal content, which is a smart move.

How Can You Make Your Emails the Ones Subscribers Love?

1. Use subscribers’ information- You should only ask for information you plan on using. If you’re only asking for name and email, you can still target subscribers in a specific area using their IP address.

Continue to learn about your subscribers so you can provide them with more personalized emails. You can set up new custom fields, or start off with looking at their click through history.

2. Provide useful information for the subscriber- Don’t be like Mountz Jewelers and send your emails to those that can’t use it. Build loyalty by making sure subscribers receiving your message have something to gain by reading it.

3. Don’t just go for the hard sell- Both Mountz Jewelers and Alfred Angelo could add more to their emails. For example, Mountz Jewelers could link up some good examples of coordinating Pandora charms and popular combinations. Try and include something fun and interesting that is relevant to what you’re selling.

4. Ask for more information for further personalization- While it’s nice that Active.com has a bunch of resources to share, I’m most interested in information that deals with marathon training. Active.com could ask subscribers why they are interested in a particular sport to narrow those resources down.

How Are You Personalizing Your Emails?

What have you done to make your messages more personal?

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As a rule of thumb, only 20% of customers make 80% of their sales. Sometimes the supporting segment is smaller – Coke Zero’s is 3%, according to marketing strategist Joseph Jaffe.

Your brand has it’s own ambassadors. They purchase loyally and refer their friends to you. You’re part of their lifesty

le.

Those ambassadors are your best bet for growing your business. But how do you find out who they are? And once you do, how can you encourage their support?

With email, of course!

Find Your Ambassadors

Many marketing emails contain social share buttons. Readers can click to automatically share the message with their networks.

(To make your own social share buttons, follow these instructions. The URL should be the direct link to your archived message.)

By tracking clicks on those buttons, you can see who’s hyping you on social sites. AWeber users, you can see this in your QuickStats. Start by clicking on a recently sent broadcast.

On the left, choose the option to display click stats.

Then scroll down and find the data for your social share links. (Design – replace image with example)

See that number? Those are the subscribers who are so excited about your brand, they’re already converting others.

Sharing one email isn’t necessarily an indication of deep loyalty. To get a clearer picture, use your Subscriber Search page to find people who shared not just one, but several of your emails

.

These people have already taken it upon themselves to advocate your business. Imagine what you could accomplish if you..

Team Up To Grow Your Brand Together

Your next step is to contact these people. (You can do this by creating a broadcast for them, then selecting the segment you created above to send to.) Let them know they’re your top customers and ask if they might be interested in participating in some special initiatives.

Give them five minutes of fame

Buy them lunch and ask for their thoughts in return. How do they feel about your service? How do they use your products? How is their life better because of your brand?

Then put together an email featuring their story. Send out a broadcast with inspirational ideas from these customers. Present them as the valued commodity they are.

You’ll have creative content. Your readers’ interest will be sparked. And the featured customers will feel more invested in your brand than ever.

Bring them on board

When designing a new offer or product, ask these your brand ambassadors for their reaction. If you can, use Nikon’s strategy and let them try it out.

If not, email them an exclusive sneak-peek and ask them for their reactions. To really get ideas flowing, link to a forum where invitees can build off each other’s ideas.

Thank them for their feedback with a fun token and sincere gratitude. Figure out which suggestions are feasible and wise and implement them. Then send another thank-you email for each idea you used.

When your customers see their ideas in action, they’ll gain a sense of ownership, increasing their loyalty to your brand. And the improvements that appealed to them are likely to attract similar consumers, growing your customer base.

Customers: Your Best Investment

Michael LeBoeuf, author of How to Win Customers & Keep Them for Life, agrees with the idea that customers can have a powerful impact on a brand’s reputation:

“Smart companies go the extra mile for the customer and show them just how dedicated they are to making sure that they feel good about doing business with them,” he says.

How can you invest in your customers in ways that will convert them to ambassadors?

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