A powerful email marketing tool at your fingertips
If it is done properly, email marketing can be an important and an extremely effective communication channel, but you need the right tool for the job. Fortunately, we have the right tool for the job!
The hidden benefits of email marketing and why using Outlook is bad
Outlook was never built to send bulk email. It provides no reporting tools and if you send a campaign to a big list, it attempts to send every email at the same time – something your ISP will not be happy about. So you really need to use something more suited to the job.
There are a number of services available, but the big difference between the DIY Outlook approach, or using a fully featured email marketing campaign tool like ours, is the cost. But this is surprisingly low – even more so when you factor in the potential rewards. Just ask yourself, how many other marketing channels can you send a message to someone who has already agreed to receive it. A message you can see if they’ve opened and how many times they’ve opened it. What links they’ve clicked. If the link took them to your website, track where they went. Even find out if they shared the message with their friends or on Facebook/Twitter. Not many, I bet.
It is this reporting information, that separates a dedicated email marketing solution from just using Outlook. It helps you determine what messages are working and those that are not.
Of course, there are a few other benefits too:
Efficient
You only pay for people you are actually sending to and with intelligent data cleansing you won’t spend money sending an email to a person who no longer exists at that address.
Immediate
Email generates an immediate response, instead of waiting for a subscriber to visit your site. You can get your message to them when it counts.
Relevant
You can personalise emails to suit the particular interests of that customer, instead of sending a generic brochure.
Safe
Because the solution is remotely hosted, it reduces the amount of network traffic on your local server and the risk of your server being placed on the Composite Blocking List.
Measurable
I know this has been already mentioned in the preamble, but it is worth repeating. More than any other form of marketing, email is completely measurable. You can keep track of who opened your email and when, what topics they were interested in, who forwarded it on to a friend, how many sales were generated and much more.
Better ROI
Increased delivery success rates as our hosted service actively works with the major ISPs (who are responsible for delivering the email).
And lots more
Multiple list management, list segmentation, personalisation, Google Analytics and Social Media integration, A/B spilt testing, Forward-to-a-friend feature, online version, subscribe/unsubscribe forms, thanks page redirects to your own website, full control over your list data with powerful import/export facility, intuitive user interface, custom fields and custom templates.
The right message
Like all other communication methods, there are ‘rules of engagement’ and email marketing is no different.
If your message does not connect with the intended recipient then they will simply ignore it or, worse, mark it as SPAM. So it’s essential your email campaign looks 'on brand' and talks to your audience.
This is where our solution shines more than others. We can create bespoke templates for your organisation, so when your recipient receives the email they will know who it’s from and, therefore, be more inclined to read its content.
What you say in your campaign is up to you as you have complete control over creating your campaigns using the online editor.
Interested?
Whatever service you choose to send bulk email, just ensure you use one that is tailored for the job. There are a number of them out there to choose from, however, working with an agency like Thoughtful Web, you’ll have a better chance of creating campaigns that work for you and your audience.
If you are interested in our managed solution, just call Simon on 07514 274111 to arrange a demonstration.
A few images showing different reports available within the control panel
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As well as automatically processing any bounced emails for you, the software also tells you exactly why that subscriber bounced out of your list. Maybe it got an out of office reply, or perhaps the recipient's mailbox was full - whatever the reason, they didn’t get your email and the software tell you why.
See how your email campaign has performed at a glance. Find out how many recipients opened your email, clicked a link, unsubscribed, forwarded your email to a friend and loads more.
Find out which devices your subscribers are using to view your campaigns.
The Link Activity report makes it very easy to see what your subscribers found most interesting, as well as who clicked and who did not.
The Opens Over Time Report shows exactly who is checking out your email, how many times they’re doing it, and when they did it. You can get an overview for the life of the campaign or drill down all the way to minute by minute detail.
The recipient activity report lets you get down to some serious detail on your campaign. Easily see who opened, who clicked, who bounced and who unsubscribed. You can even search for a specific subscriber to see exactly what they did with your email.
It’s a social world, so find out how many of your subscribers are spreading the word on your behalf.