Over recent years we’ve seen a shift in where businesses focus their marketing activities. Advertising spend online topped that of offline spend for the first time this year as companies are now fighting to find their space online, rather in traditional media.

So what do this mean for the typical business owner? Well they suddenly need to think about how to put together an online marketing plan. Do you sign up to Facebook? What about online PR? Should you start Pay Par Click advertising or create a Banner Ad? What about Blogging, RSS or Feeds?

All of a sudden, an understanding of a variety of new technologies is critical to taking advantage of the online marketing opportunities. No longer can you simply write a new plan and then carry it out. You need to either take on an Online Marketing Manager or find a suitable company to manage it all for you. Outsourcing your online marketing might be the right way forward as you would be taking on the expertise of a number of specialists and at the same time, drastically reducing the monthly outgoings required.

Either way the new technologies cannot be ignored, perhaps the first step is to start talking to someone who can help to shape the online marketing plan and to focus on the right places online to start marketing.

How to get your email marketing messages opened is always on the mind of the email marketer. The sheer volume of companies using email has turned the medium into a bit of a double-edged sword for many potential email marketers: Not only have consumers become increasingly wary of unsolicited messages, significantly reducing ‘open’ rates, but the rising use of spam filters, which often target particular keywords and phrases in subject lines, stops many marketing emails from ever reaching a target’s in-box.

Here are a few key points to consider when writing your email subject line:

Keep it short and simple. There is a danger of making subject lines too long, and because of over-communication, people today tend to like simplicity.

Think segmentation. It’s important to test different subject lines for different customer segments. What works with one group may not work for another. In this way you should always test every subject line before sending your email out to various audiences.

Question almost everything. Subject lines that pose a question can work very well. A subject line that can grab the curiosity of the recipient stands a better chance of getting opened.

Make it about them, not you. An oversight that is often made with subject lines is failing to take the recipient into account. For example, We’re Having a Sale’ could be tweaked to read, ‘You Can Save Money’ because it drives home the value proposition you want to deliver.

Don’t be afraid of free. Often the word ‘free’ in a subject line is avoided because it can trigger a spam filter. However, it may be worth the risk when conducting a split test of your emails, providing you closely monitor the ‘open’ rates of each alternative subject line.

Inform before you sell. By describing what’s in the email in the subject line, a recipient may be much more willing to open it. By informing first, followed by selling, you can stand a much better chance of success simply because the email had been opened.

Hopefully these pointers will help you when considering your email subject line. But always remember to consider the following.

State clearly and succinctly what you are offering and how it will benefit your recipient. Throughout your campaign planning, put yourself in the position of the recipient. What makes you want to open an email? What makes you want to click on the link? If you know your audience, then you know what they want. If you’re not sure how they will respond, test the list in small increments and measure the results.

Good luck.

While society tends to become more complicated, brands seem to become simpler. Whether this is because of changes in taste, or the increasing pace of life, which makes fast identification essential, it seems that design and corporate professionals increasingly recognise that simplicity is a virtue, and that sometimes less is more.

If a brands’ conception has elements that hinder communication overtime without adding anything useful, these elements will eventually be removed for simplicity.

The link below has examples of some of the worlds most recognised brands, showing their design journey from birth. You may even be surprised by the changes over the years.

http://best-ad.blogspot.com/2008/08/evolution-of-logos.html

What makes viral marketing work. Well a great way is to come up with something fascinating, that will make people surprised, scratch their heads, laugh or perhaps cry… or maybe a combination of all of the above. We came across this bit of viral marketing that certainly made us chuckle and it found itself on our website.

Full Screen:

awareness_test4

If that isn’t proof about whether it works then perhaps a search for this video online will explain. (Go to Google and search for moonwalking bear!)

Did you guess the number by the way?

What is an autoresponder? You may be thinking that you’ve heard of the term but haven’t had any need to use one. Well it might be the case that you have already been on the receiving end of autoresponder messages in the past.

If you have filled out a web form, such as the one on our SEO page (www.mastersallen.co.uk/online_marketing_leicester.htm) pictured below and you received an email instantly then it’s more than likely that this message was generated using an autoresponder:

Imagine if Claire (a budding guitarist) visits your website. You sell a book that helps her improve her skills. She’s highly interested in what you have to offer, but she’s just not ready to purchase yet. She’s still recovering from that extended holiday and needs to pay off the credit card that she used to buy her latest equipment.

She sees a form on your website asking if she’d like more detailed information, and so she fills in her name and email address. Within seconds an email is sent to Claire with a short summary of the benefits offered by your book and a couple of useful tips she can use right away.

A few days later, Claire receives another email that goes something like this:

“Hi Claire, I know you’re quite busy, especially with the holiday period coming to an end, but I just wanted to get in touch with you to let you know we’ve got a special offer coming up for that ‘How to learn the Guitar in 30 days” book.

Claire’s forgotten that she’d been looking to buy a book like this and this email reminds her that she needs to get some help in order to improve. Claire adds buying the handbook to her “To Do” list and goes about her daily business.

Another few days later, Claire receives another email, now letting her know that the special offer is about to end along with another couple of helpful tips that’s in the book. Claire realises she doesn’t have much time now, and goes off to purchase your book.

Every email sent to Claire was automated. You didn’t have to wait for her to subscribe, you didn’t have to personally address Clair, nor did you have to send her an email every few days.

The example above shows how a series of auto responder emails can be used as a powerful “hands off” marketing tool for your web site.

Why not take a few minutes and think to yourself, “How can I use auto responders on my web site?” This simple exercise could easily add another stream of revenue to your web site that you didn’t know existed. For more information on email marketing, why not contact us to see how we can help.