Who opens spam emails? Or an even stranger question, who actually purchases something directly because of a spam email? Sometimes we catch a glimpse of the latest emailing hawking a Viagra clone and we think that No one could possibly respond to such shameless, brute-force sales tactics.
But they do.
This is one of the dark secrets of the Internet. Spam works. And it works really well. In fact, we know it works. Otherwise, marketers would stop doing it. Only pure sociopaths would do spam marketing for fun, so if there was no profit, spam would dry up faster than a slug in salt.
You probably know someone who has bought a product or service advertised from spam.
This infograph provides an overview of the spam industry.
Some highlights:
- 12% of Americans have bough something advertised in spam
- 91% of purchases are ultimately delivered. So its not outright fraud. They actually have good customer service.
What this really demonstrates is the power of direct, email marketing. Nowadays you hear Facebook this, Twitter that, and social media is everywhere, and while it can be userful an powerful, email is still king when it comes to the bottom line. And nothing comes even close to knocking this king off of his hill.
So lessons can online merchants and marketers take away from the spam reality?
1. Collect their Email Address
If you don't have an easy way for people to give you their email address, both customers and prospective customers, you're throwing money away. This doesn't even have to cost money at first. Use a service like Mailchimp, which is free up to a certain level.
When people are checking out, or signing up for an accountm, include an opt-in checkbox. Or offer to send them a free report of useful information if they provide their email, which is a proven method that gives you a list of qualified leads to begin to target. Have a signup form at your place of business, and offer them a coupon for their trouble. Restaurants have been doing a good job of this last tactic in the past few years: join their "fan club" and you get a free meal on your birthday.
Get...the...email.
2. Email them Regularly
Keep in touch. Don't let them forget you. Don't be obnoxious or send emails too frequently, but you need to actually send emails. That great list of leads you've collected does as much good as an unused treadmill if you don't actually contact them.
There are many excuses to email your list. Have you recently been featured in the news? Have you launched a new product you think will be useful? Are you having a seasonal sale? Is one of your most popular products back in stock? Have you hired someone new? Just want to wish them a happy Valentine's Day?
Is your product perishable or refillable? Time it so your customers get an email a few days before they are about to run out.
Autoresponders are also useful for sending out scheduled content to new signups. You just have to plan in advance.
3. Ask for the Sale
If 12% of Americans are buying from unsolicited email, can you imagine the response rate for people who WANT you to email them? But you need to tell them exactly what to do. Tell them to add the product to their cart. Tell them to signup for an event. Just want them to read an article or press release? Great. But tell them in simple and clear words to go read the article, and make it easy for them.
If you don't tell people to act, they probably won't.
4. Measure, Test, Measure, Test
Don't just blindly send email. Test and measure what works. Services like Mailchimp have something called A/B split testing, which can improve your response rate as much as 191%! Ensure you have analytics setup and installed on your website (or wherever you are trying to drive traffic) so you see which emails drove the most success so you can improve and replciate them in the future.
Even the smallest detail can cause a huge boost on your effectiveness, but the only way you can figure that out is if you test often, and test only one thing at a time.
5. Follow Up - Customer Service
Pick up the phone and call your customers and/or potential customers. Did you know many spam peddlers call their customers after the sale to see how everything is doing and to see if they need a refill? That's better customer service than people get at many legitimate establishments.
And don't just follow up about orders. If someone unsubscribes from your list, that's also a good time to follow up. See why they unsubscribed and if they can offer you any tips for improvement. Often, they will be more than happy to give you free advice, which can turn out to be valuable.
