email marketing Archives

The Best Email Service Providers for Your Needs

March 5, 2019 · In: Marketing, Technology

If you’ve read an article or two on my blog, you’ve probably picked up on the importance of email marketing (if not, start with this one about your strategy.)

In today’s day and age, 95 percent of companies are taking advantage of email marketing. The ones who are not risk being left behind.

Whether you’re selling a product, service, blog, or personal brand, you NEED to build an email list. Depending on your needs, here are some of the best platforms to get you started.

ConvertKit

Building a personal brand, blog, or consider yourself a full time creative? Consider looking into ConvertKit. This platform is incredibly user-friendly and offers quite a few easy to use features to begin building your list.

With a visual builder comparable to Squarespace, ConvertKit also enables you to make Email Marketing Workflows. Platforms like Squarespace who have begun introducing email marketing campaigns have yet to introduce this feature, but it’s one essential to list building and staying in touch with prospects.

Though it’s priced higher than other platforms starting at $29 a month, it may just save you back precious time.

MailChimp

Why do we love MailChimp? Because you can start building lists for FREE.

If you’re bootstrapped into a low budget while getting off the ground, MailChimp is your best friend. It’s been around for quite a while and integrates with reputable platforms like Salesforce, Zapier, Eventbrite, and Shopify to name a few.

Though the platform isn’t as user-friendly, if you’re a smaller website looking to grow, MailChimp is an excellent starting point. And if you run into trouble, there’s plenty of resources about this platform to help you get back on track.

InfusionSoft by Keap

If you’re a growing business and have the budget for this all in one platform, InfusionSoft by Keap may be for you. Now known as Keap, this platform is the best of both worlds including both CRM (Customer Relationship Management, a tool used to manage all of your client conversations and data) and automated email marketing. Though it’s a bit pricier of an option (starting at $99 a month) keep in mind most CRM platforms are priced higher than this rate. But if you’re looking to build your list through content marketing, this platform is a must.

Constant Contact

As a small business primarily selling products, Constant Contact has quickly moved to the top of the list for most email marketers. Considering it provides access to an event management tool, download coupons added directly to your social media platforms, Facebook ad integrations, a diverse image library, audience segmentation, on top of the automation features offered by every other platform, it’s no wonder Constant Contact has become so popular. Pricing starts at $20 a month.

Drip

Another new platform, Drip has quickly generated attention marketing itself as the world’s first ECRM platform (CRM designed specifically for e-commerce.)

This platform is extremely friendly for beginners and is specifically notable for their email segmenting capability, visual workflow, marketing automation, and email segmenting. With plenty of integration capability, Drip is an incredible option to explore. Drip is actually free up to 100 subscribers and then jumps to $49 a month for 2,500 subscribers.

ActiveCampaign

Starting at only $9 a month, ActiveCampaign is another all in one platform combining email marketing and CRM. With marketing automation and messaging features, ActiveCampaign is used by bloggers, marketing agencies, ECommerce stores, SaaS businesses, and even for higher education.

One unique feature is that this platform can actually track onsite events. For instance, you can track billing through your apps incoming calls, all of which that can be utilized in their CRM to create better customer conversation. If you’re a marketing company or agency, this one is worth looking into.

SendinBlue

Last but not least, SendinBlue is another easy to use beginner friendly platform. Users can create transactional emails, workflows, and segment users. Their free plan allows you to send 300 emails daily, and create campaigns without prior knowledge. Their free account offers unlimited contacts, with a cap of 9,000 emails each month.

Why Your Email Signature Matters

February 25, 2019 · In: Professional Development

According to research by Oberlo, in 2017 269 billion emails were sent on a daily basis, and in 2022 that number is projected to grow to nearly 333 billion.

It’s safe to say email isn’t going anywhere.

And as the world’s top communication tool, email offers the chance not only to make a great first impression but to also leave a lasting one.

One way to do this is with your email signature. It’s critical to leaving your clients and colleagues engaged, interested, and informed of what you are doing in any capacity.

Here are some easy to implement tools to captivate them:

Limit your email signature content

No one wants to read Gmail’s 10,000 character limit email signature. Keep yours at a tweet so your audience clearly sees what you want them to see. Make your signature concise, relevant, and to the point, indirectly sending your reader where you want them to go. Here’s an example:

Chloe Anagnos

Publications Manager, American Institute for Economic Research

LinkedIn: ChloeAnagnos ; Twitter, ChloeAnagnos; FB, chloeanagnoswrites

Demonstrate expertise

Consider including your title to show proficiency. If you’re a multi-passionate entrepreneur, consider making each email separate and specific to that given niche – say your work email and side hustle. Otherwise, consider making your dominant email a personal brand that articulates all you aspire to accomplish. Maybe you’re a CEO, a serial entrepreneur, or a startup connoisseur. Demonstrate whatever expertise you offer and capitalize on it.

Include a call to action

Make it clear and give every person you send an email to a call to action. Direct them to your website, portfolio, social media channels, or even to download your latest content. You can even give them a directive. Be savvy, but take advantage on your chance to be seen and noticed as you send emails.

Skip the obvious

So many people include their email in their signature…yet they can clearly see your email in the “from” section. Use your precious characters to convey information your audience does not already have. If your website domain is linked in your email already, consider sending them elsewhere. Just like any other important document, your word count matters.

If you’re on your cell phone, keep the iPhone signature

When you include the “sent from iPhone” line, you’re more likely to be forgiven for potential spelling errors. Even though this tactic may seem less professional, if you are engaged in a conversation with a client or prospect you’ve already initiated the first point of contact with, leaving this signature line will help you be able to engage with them on the go. They’ll be appreciative of your promptness in response and aware that you’re not in front of your laptop.

Protect your boundaries

It’s becoming trendy for professionals to include their work and cell phone numbers in their email signatures. Unless you want calls and texts during non-work hours, skip the cell number in your signature. To many, it’s a sign that you’re available 24/7.

Anagnos Recognized As A Top Email Marketing Influencer of 2018

January 30, 2019 · In: Marketing

Chloe Anagnos was recently recognized by FitSmallBusiness.com as one of the top email marketing influencers of 2018.

“We’ve scouted the web for email marketing influencers with a robust social media presence and put together the list below of the top Email Marketing Influencers of 2018.

Our goal for this list is to present helpful email marketing tips right from the experts themselves. We found that the influencers listed have outstanding credentials, expertise, and skills pertaining to the email marketing industry, as well as an impressive quantity of social media followers.”

Chloe Anagnos

What is your top email marketing tip?

Investing in skilled copywriters will elevate your email program, re-engage lapsed users, and potentially increase conversions. Users don’t usually sign up for an email program to give money; they sign up because they are interested in learning more about the product, campaign, or organization. Give the user what they want and write engaging copy that helps further your cause.

Chloe Anagnos is a professional writer, digital content creator, and email marketer. Her work has been the subject of articles on the FOX News, USA Today, CNN Money, WIRED, and The Epoch Times websites.

Why Your Email Strategy Isn’t Working (And How to Fix It)

January 8, 2019 · In: Marketing

I spent a year working for an email marketing firm on The Hill and quickly learned that email marketing is just as much an art as it is a science.

I also realized that despite the rise of other popular platforms, it is still one of the most critical strategies that simply isn’t used properly by most marketers.

So, why is email so important?

It should be part of your strategy because it’s one of the only platforms where you own your customer’s information and can engage with your audience directly.

Although social media and other marketing platforms are constantly changing, it’s important to pay close attention to email analytics to figure out why your email marketing strategy is or isn’t working.

Here are some reasons why your current strategy just isn’t making the cut.

You’re triggering spam filters.

Subject lines or preview text with language in all caps, special characters like exclamation points or asterisks, and language that seems deceptive will trigger inboxes to send your email straight to spam folders. Look at your spam folder now and notice a trend of subject lines that look like this:

**ACT NOW FOR YOUR EXCLUSIVE OFFER!**

Are you ready to cure your male-patterned baldness?

“Fwd: [Your Subject]” Finish Your Subscription

Avoid language and punctuation like this in your subject lines and preview text.

You’re not getting to the inbox.

Just because you “send” an email doesn’t necessarily mean that it gets to your users’ inbox. Emails bounce, they get into spam filters, or they could just be invalid.

Depending on your list size, you can clean the list yourself for invalid users or you could hire an agency to do so for you – and if you aren’t technologically savvy, I suggest the later.

You’re not fully engaging your audience.

If a user hasn’t opened your email for more than six months, well, maybe they’re just not that into you.

If that’s the case, then it’s time to implement a re-engagement campaign to get users to start interacting again.

Make sure your subject lines, preview text, and copy is crystal clear. Use specific call-to-actions to re-engage your lists. Short surveys, petitions, and special offers can go a long way.

Moral of the story? Don’t ignore your email list. It may just bring you more leads this year than you ever thought possible.