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Understanding Email Marketing Conversion Rates

June 6, 2024 No Comments

Strategies for Achieving Higher Conversions and Better ROI

No matter how you plan your email marketing strategy, the goal is always the same– driving results.

The only way to know the effectiveness of your strategy is by measuring your conversion rates. They are paramount for achieving the results you want while nurturing a strong community.

Driving sales and revenue are the insights that impact the bottom line of your marketing strategy. They tell you if you are making an impact on your audience and inspiring action.

If you want to understand how to master conversion rates and optimize them to your needs, here are some of the best practices and real case studies that will help you stay on top of the game.

Introduction to Email Marketing Conversion Rates

Email marketing conversion rates are the direct indicator of your influence on your audience.

They help you understand the percentage of your audience engaging with your content and ultimately being driven to take action — whether that is making a purchase, downloading a PDF, or using a discount code.

Once you optimize this element, you can gauge your campaigns effectively and achieve your desired results.

For example, you can track the number of clicks, impressions, and conversions generated by your campaigns. You can also track the cost per click (CPC), cost per impression (CPM), and return on investment (ROI) of your campaigns.

What Are Email Marketing Conversion Rates?

Say you’re running an email campaign to showcase your new digital product. The conversion rate will show you the percentage of people who not only clicked on that product link in your email but also went ahead and bought it.

A high conversion rate signals that your content resonates with your audience, your Call-to-Action (CTA) is driving results, and your campaign is casting spells of success left and right!

Importance of Tracking and Analysing Conversion Rates in Email Marketing

Understanding Email Marketing Conversion Rates

Tracking and analysing conversion rates in email marketing form the bedrock of success.

Here are five reasons why these are not mere numbers but indispensable metrics that hold the power to optimize your marketing strategy:

Performance Evaluation: At the heart of every email campaign is the desire to see results. By understanding which aspects of your emails contribute to higher conversion rates, you can optimize your content, design, calls-to-action, and targeting to improve your campaign’s performance.

Optimization Opportunities: When you analyse your conversion rates you can identify pain points and areas for optimization. Constant iteration is the key to growth and your conversation rates will point to the aspects where you are lagging.

Return on Investment (ROI): The effort and time you invest in your marketing campaigns should translate into a measurable ROI. This is the metric that tells you how effective your work has been.

Segment and Target: Personalization is the key to winning people. Analyse different segments of your email list to understand specific audience preferences. In doing this, your campaigns will resonate with your audience on a personal level and induce higher conversion rates.

Test and Iterate: By conducting A/B tests and experimenting with your subject lines, CTAs, or content, you can pinpoint what resonates best with your audience. Constant iteration and testing allows you to produce highly refined content and enhance campaign performance.

Understanding Average Email Marketing Conversion Rates

Average email marketing conversion rates provide insights into building successful email campaigns. By analysing these rates, businesses can optimize their strategies and achieve better results.

These are the benchmark metrics that reveal the average conversion rates across different niches. This empowers you to fine-tune your strategies, optimize your content, and achieve better results in engaging and persuading your audience.

Factors That Influence Average Conversion Rates

From Sender Reputation to your landing page, many factors dictate your conversion rate. Here are some of the five factors that you can work on starting today:

Call-to-Action (CTA): A clear and compelling CTA can work wonders. This is what inspires people to take action. Example – Sunlighter’s CTA for referrals.

Email Design and Layout: First impressions matter, and your email design can make or break it. Your email layout will enhance your subscribers’ experience and boost interaction. Example – Milk Road’s UI

Personalization and Segmentation: Generic emails are a thing of the past. Successful marketing is not about selling products– it’s about seeing and understanding people and embracing their needs.

That’s why personalized emails that address people by their names will garner a stronger community.

Timing and Frequency: The right timing can make all the difference. Avoid overwhelming your subscribers with excessive emails to yield better results. This is where you can set a schedule for yourself. Example – “5-Bullet Friday” by Tim Ferriss is a weekly email newsletter where he shares five handpicked recommendations related to tools, books, articles, gadgets, and more that he’s found valuable.

Why Trust me: I earned my audience’s trust by regularly sharing a video series called Half Baked on Instagram every Saturday, which received 27,683 views back in 2020. The audience became familiar with the content and eagerly awaited its release at 8 PM each Saturday.

Reputation and Trustworthiness: Trust is the currency of email marketing. Being transparent with your content and thoughts will make you more relatable to your audience and build a sense of trust. Example- Home screen’s home page.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Techniques

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of improving the conversion rates of your email campaigns. The goal is to make an impact on people and build trust. Building credibility takes a long time, but when done right, it has a high ROI.

Five effective CRO techniques to enhance your email marketing conversion rates:

A/B Testing: Experiment with elements like subject lines, CTA buttons, layout, and images to test what your audience loves the most about your emails. Test-iterate-repeat.

Clear and Compelling CTAs: Your CTA will guide the subscribers to take action. It has to be concise and persuasive which builds transparency.

Example – “I’d love to hear from you. What are you building right now and what are you struggling with? Reply to this email, I’d love to know!”

Mobile Optimization: Most people check their emails on their phones. Mobile-responsive emails will cater to their needs. With beehiiv, you can design your emails for PC and mobile with the same ease.

Landing Page Optimization: Create relevant and optimized landing pages that align with the email content and make it easy for the readers to say “yes”.

Use of Visuals: Incorporate relevant images and videos to make the email content more engaging and impactful. A balance of text and visuals is necessary.

Benchmarks and Industry Standards for Average Conversion Rates

Industries with direct sales and immediate purchase opportunities, such as e-commerce and retail, boast higher average conversion rates. Customers in these sectors often make a purchase, leading to quicker actions and higher conversions.

While industries focusing on lead generation may experience lower conversion rates. The desired action in these cases involves a more extensive decision-making process, resulting in a longer sales funnel.

Take a look at the average conversion rates we noticed at beehiiv in 2023:

Key Metrics for Evaluating Email Marketing Conversion Rates

Thankfully, tracking the performance of email marketing is fairly straightforward. The majority of email marketing services come equipped with built-in analytics tools that enable you to monitor and comprehend the effectiveness of your email campaigns.

By measuring key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, you gain valuable insights into what is effective, and what is not, and, most crucially, how to refine your future emails for better results.

Click-Through Rates (CTR) And Its Relationship to Conversion Rates

Click-through rate (CTR) is calculated by dividing the number of unique clicks by the number of delivered emails and multiplying it by 100.

It is closely related to conversion rates because it signifies the initial interest and interaction of your subscribers with the email campaign. A higher CTR indicates that more readers found the email content compelling and took the next step by clicking on the CTA or link.

This active engagement is a crucial precursor to achieving conversions.

Open Rates and Their Impact on Conversion Rates

Open rates measure the percentage of subscribers who opened an email compared to the total number of delivered emails. Open rates are influenced by:

Subject lines
Sender name
Preview text

While open rates indicate that the email caught the recipient’s attention enough to open it, they do not directly correlate with conversions. Some subscribers might open an email out of curiosity or interest but not proceed with the desired action. When the open rate is combined with KPIs like CTR, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of email campaign performance.

The relationship between open rates and conversion rates lies in the recipient’s initial interest and engagement. A well-crafted subject line and compelling email content can entice recipients to open the email and explore further. Subsequently, the content’s relevancy and the effectiveness of the CTA play a crucial role in driving recipients toward taking the desired action and achieving conversions.

How To Determine Conversion Rates in Email Marketing

With email platforms like beehiiv, you don’t need to calculate your campaign conversion rates as you can easily get the analytics report which shows you the performance, sources, etc.

beehiiv’s analytics go beyond simple numbers. You can dig deeper into the sources of your conversions, understanding which emails or segments are driving the most significant results. This empowers you to optimize your content and targeting, tailoring your campaigns for maximum impact.

Calculation Formula for Conversion Rates

Conversion rate is the percentage of subscribers who either complete the desired action or become customers, depending on your conversion goal.

Conversion Rate (%) = x number of signups or purchases / x number of Delivered Emails X 100

To calculate the conversion rate, follow these steps:

Track and count the number of recipients who completed the desired action (e.g., signed up, made a purchase) as a result of the email campaign. This number will be the numerator in the formula.

Calculate the total number of delivered emails. This includes emails that were not bounced or marked as spam. This number will be the denominator in the formula.

For example, if an email campaign resulted in 200 signups and there were 10,000 delivered emails, the conversion rate would be:

Conversion Rate (%) = (200 / 10,000) * 100 = 2%

This means that the email campaign achieved a 2% conversion rate, with 2% of recipients completing the desired action of signing up.

Tracking Conversions and Attributing Them To Specific Email Campaigns

Tracking conversions is a crucial aspect of email marketing to measure the effectiveness of campaigns and understand audience behaviour. To track conversions and attribute them to specific email campaigns, you can use specialized tools and techniques:

Unique URLs or UTM Parameters: Create unique URLs or add UTM parameters to the links in your email campaigns. These parameters help identify the source of traffic and track conversions from specific emails.

Conversion Tracking Pixels: Use tracking pixels or codes placed on the conversion page (e.g., thank you page after signing up). When your potential subscribers reach this page after clicking the CTA, the pixel fires and the conversion is recorded.

ESP: Your ESP will help you with insights and analytics by giving you an in-depth look into the actions taken by people on your email. Using a good emailing platform can not only affect your conversion rates but also your deliverability– so that you don’t end up in your subscribers’ spam folders!

Tools and Software for Measuring Conversion Rates

As the times have changed, you don’t have to worry about manually tracking your open rates or checking your web views. There are so many tools out there that can help you measure your conversion rates without any hassle, but these two are the best:

Google Analytics: Not only is google analytics free, but is also the top tool that people use to get detailed insights on their campaign performances.

beehiiv: Your emailing and analytical partner. With beehiiv you can track your performance, automate your campaigns and get 3D analytics that help you level up your marketing strategy.

Strategies for Improving Conversion Rates in Email Marketing

There are many ways to improve your email marketing strategy and some of them can be as simple as making changes to the way you write your subject lines. These strategies work because they are grounded in understanding and catering to the needs of your audience.

Your subject lines and CTAs are the connections you build with your readers at first glance.

Crafting Compelling Subject Lines and Email Content

The first step in building your email list is getting people to subscribe to your newsletter. The next step in that ladder is them opening your emails. Your subject line is what they see first to help them determine whether the email is worth their time and interest.

They are the gateway to engagement. Approximately 47% of users open emails based on the subject line. Craft compelling subject lines that pique curiosity and drive recipients to open your email. This will increase your email open rates.

To Create Subject Lines That Truly Stand Out, Consider the Following Tips:

Be clear and concise: Keep your subject lines concise and to the point. Avoid being vague or misleading, as your subscribers might feel deceived and mark your emails as spam.

Personalization: The psychology behind mentioning someone’s name in an email is rooted in a cognitive bias known as the “name-personalization effect.” This effect is a result of the brain’s automatic attention to self-relevant information, which is part of our natural social cognition.

Create a sense of urgency: Incorporate words that create a sense of urgency or exclusivity to encourage immediate action. The best example of this is “limited-time deal” offers that brands push forward during their sales.

Pique curiosity: Spark curiosity by using intriguing questions or teasing snippets of valuable content. When you give people a sneak peek into your content, it channels them to open your email and get the details.

Emphasize benefits: Highlight the benefits or value of opening the email. Ask yourself– “What value are my readers going to get after reading my mail?” and tell them about the same.

A/B testing and Optimization

A/B testing is a technique that allows you to experiment with different variations of your emails and subject lines to determine which performs best.

By splitting your email list into two groups and sending different versions of your subject lines or email content to each, you can assess which version yields higher engagement and conversion rates.

Here’s how to conduct effective A/B testing:

Choose one variable: Focus on testing one element at a time to accurately measure its impact. For example, test different subject lines while keeping the email content the same.

Segment your list: Divide your email list into two equal segments randomly.

Test and analyse: Send version A to one segment and version B to the other. Monitor the results and analyse the performance of each variant.

Implement the best-performing version: Based on the results, choose the winning version and implement it in your future campaigns.

Utilizing Persuasive Copywriting Techniques

Compelling email content is the driving force behind conversions. Persuasive copywriting techniques help influence recipients’ decisions and prompt them to take the desired action.

Here are some persuasive copywriting tips for email content:

Know your audience: Understand your target audience’s pain points, desires, and motivations. Tailor your content to resonate with their needs.

Address benefits not features: Communicate how your product or service benefits your audience and solves their problems. The more niche it is, the better. Example – A newsletter for Product Managers– you don’t have to have 100k subscribers, even 10k people can build a strong community.

Use storytelling: Weave engaging stories that connect emotionally with readers and make your message memorable. It could be real-life incidents or pop-culture inspired.

Write action-oriented CTAs: Use strong and clear calls-to-action that encourage your subscribers to act immediately.

Use power words: Incorporate powerful words that evoke emotions and captivate attention. Keep editing your email copy until you feel satisfied. When you feel like you’re done, go through your copy as a reader to get a different perspective.

Real-World Examples of High-Converting Emails

From big businesses like Airbnb and Uber to creators, high converting emails are not that difficult to figure out, all that it takes is an understanding of consumer psychology.

Here’s a breakdown of one of the best emails by Michael Houck:

Talking about the Top 1% (who doesn’t want to be there?) and sharing his key learnings from people like Ben Horowitz and Matt Mochary.
Mentioning the new things he has been working on, which keeps his subscribers eager to know more.
Giving social proof. “Promote your startup to 14000+ founders”
Reading time – 5 mins. He’s not asking for a lot of commitment from me, it is an easy ask.

Here’s how Superhuman AI did the same!

Subscriber count doesn’t always determine success. In specific niches, like a private equity newsletter with 2,000 senior manager readers, the value of the audience matters more. Even with a smaller subscriber base, sponsors may pay generously for ads as a result of the highly targeted audience.

Mastering writing is akin to exercising—results don’t come overnight. Quantity leads to quality and consistent action is key. It wasn’t easy at the start, but it is all about putting in more reps. Success comes from learning through continuous practice and experimentation.

Tracking and Analysing Email Marketing Conversion Rates

Your first campaign might not give you the best results and that’s a part of the process. You need to write what people want to read. Having an audience-first approach is what always works.

The more you experiment, the better understanding you will get out of your audience’s expectations. When you realize what works, double down on that!

You can start by trying out different content types, themes, or storytelling approaches that consistently capture your audience’s attention. Continuously adapting and optimizing based on your learnings leads to a stronger alignment between your email content and your audience’s desires.

Regularly analyse these performance metrics and make data-driven improvements to your email campaigns:

Click-Through Rate (CTR): Track the percentage of recipients who clicked on the links or CTAs in the email.

Open Rate: Monitor the percentage of recipients who opened the email.

Bounce Rate: Keep an eye on the percentage of emails that were not successfully delivered due to invalid email addresses or other issues.

Unsubscribe Rate: Monitor the percentage of recipients who opted out of your email list.Test different subject lines, CTAs, content, and design elements to identify what resonates best with your audience.

Best Practices for Achieving Higher Conversion Rates in Email Marketing

Achieving higher conversion rates is not rocket science, rather it is just about three main things:

1. Building a Responsive Email List

A responsive list consists of engaged subscribers who are genuinely interested in your content, products, or services. Here are some tips to build and maintain a responsive email list:

a. Use double opt-in: Implement a double opt-in process to confirm subscribers’ interest and ensure they willingly subscribe to your emails.

b. Offer valuable incentives: Provide valuable incentives such as exclusive content, discounts, or free resources to encourage sign-ups.

e. Regularly clean and update your list: Remove inactive or unengaged subscribers to maintain list quality and improve deliverability rates.

2. Email Segmentation and Targeting Strategies

Segmenting your email list allows you to deliver targeted messages tailored to specific groups. This also gives you insights on what you need to focus more on and who your most engaged subscribers are.

This level of personalization not only increases the relevance of your emails but also enhances engagement and conversion rates. It allows you to speak directly to the interests and pain points of each segment, making your communications more meaningful and effective.

Here’s how to use email segmentation effectively:

a. Demographic segmentation: Divide your list based on demographic data such as age, gender, location, or job title.

b. Behavioural segmentation: Segment subscribers based on their interactions with your emails, website, or previous purchases.

c. Interest-based segmentation: Group subscribers with similar interests or preferences to deliver content that aligns with their needs.

d. Buyer journey segmentation: Tailor emails based on where subscribers are in the buyers’ journey to nurture leads effectively.

3. Deliverability and Email Reputation Management

Ensuring your emails reach the recipients’ inboxes and avoiding the spam folder is crucial for email marketing success. Follow these practices to maintain a positive email reputation:

a. Authenticate your emails: Use DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) and Sender Policy Framework (SPF) to authenticate your emails and prove their legitimacy.

b. Monitor engagement metrics: Keep a close eye on open rates, click-through rates, and spam complaints to measure email engagement.

c. Avoid spam traps: Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive and invalid email addresses that may become spam traps.

d. Provide clear unsubscribe options: Make it easy for subscribers to opt-out if they wish, as this can reduce the likelihood of spam and also boost your deliverability.

e. Comply with anti-spam laws: Familiarize yourself with anti-spam regulations like the CAN-SPAM Act and GDPR to ensure compliance.

Lessons Learned From Successful Conversion Rate Optimization Strategies

The best way to build an audience through email marketing is by a blend of sharing what you know best and what people won’t find anywhere else.

This connection forms the foundation upon which you can build lasting relationships and foster trust. Sharing your specialized knowledge not only positions you as a credible source but also showcases your commitment to providing real value to your audience.

Here are three key takeaways from this blog that you can put into action starting today:

Personalization matters: Personalized emails that cater to individual interests and preferences drive higher engagement and conversions.

A/B testing is key: Continuously test different elements in your emails to discover what resonates best with your audience.

Relevancy increases conversions: Sending targeted and relevant content based on segmentation leads to improved conversion rates.

Your emailing platform can make or break the game, choosing beehiiv will not only help you dodge the spam folders of your subscribers but also give you support in case you feel stuck.

Start emailing today, and join the hive!

By Kanishka Kumawat

Sourced from beehiiv Blog

In News

Artificial Intelligence And Marketing—The Perfect Match

June 6, 2024 No Comments

By Alex Kudos

Marketing has continued to evolve over the years, and with the integration of artificial intelligence, it has emerged as a transformative force. As marketers at one of the largest social discovery companies in the world, we are constantly exploring innovative ways to enhance user engagement, foster meaningful connections and drive business growth. AI has entered the space and is changing how we think about marketing within the dating industry—including localization, data-driven attribution, predictive conversations and its impact on creative endeavours—but how can it help other marketing firms as well?

Localization Bridges The Gap Between Global Reach And Local Relevance

One of the key challenges faced by global social discovery companies is the need to strike a balance between reaching a wide audience and delivering locally relevant experiences. AI-powered localization solutions are valuable tools allowing us to analyze user data to understand cultural nuances, language preferences and regional dating trends.

Through localized content, tailored recommendations, and geo-targeted advertisements, AI enables us to create more personalized experiences for users across diverse regions. For instance, with dating.com, we are able to analyse user interactions and preferences in specific locations, it is now possible to fine-tune matchmaking algorithms to better suit the preferences of users in different geographic areas, ultimately enhancing their overall experience and increasing engagement.

Data, which most companies sit on mounds of and don’t know what to do with it, is the secret weapon to make AI work for your company. By gathering data on local demographics, preferences and cultural nuances, marketers can feed this information into AI-powered tools that can capture sentiment analysis, social listening, market research, etc., and quickly adapt materials accurately across multiple languages and regions.

Data-Driven Attribution Unravels The Complexities Of User Behaviour

Multi-touch attribution is extremely important if there are a number of brands, platforms and channels under one portfolio. In these instances, understanding the customer journey and accurately attributing conversions to various channels are essential to marketers. Data-driven analytics help unravel the complexities of user behaviour, identify the most influential marketing channels, and optimize strategies accordingly. With advanced machine learning algorithms, marketing teams can analyse vast amounts of data to determine which marketing efforts are driving the highest ROI.

Predictive modelling allows us to forecast future user behaviour and tailor our marketing initiatives accordingly. By understanding the factors that influence user engagement and conversion, we can allocate resources more effectively, maximize marketing impact and drive sustainable growth.

Marketers should research a centralized system to house data for data integration and then enlist the help of a skilled team of data scientists to develop algorithms and constantly analyse the data. As this data continues to be analysed and automated, marketing campaigns can be optimized in real time.

Predictive Conversations Anticipate User Needs and Preferences

AI-powered chatbots and conversational agents are powerful tools for engaging users in personalized and meaningful interactions. Companies should consider implementing an advanced chatbot such as ChatGPT into their core product to help with user questions. Earlier this year, OKCupid integrated ChatGPT into its platform to assist with finding out the right questions that correlate directly to what’s happening in the world and pop culture. These AI-driven models can understand user intent, respond to inquiries and provide tailored recommendations in real time.

This formula can be replicated for many companies across industries. It is essential to be able to forecast customer behaviour and preferences to tailor messaging and shift strategies accordingly.

AI Use In Creative Elevates Brand Storytelling And Visual Communication

Compelling creative content is essential for capturing audience attention and conveying brand messages effectively. AI technologies such as generative design are changing the way companies approach creativity, and also speed up the process. From image recognition and content generation to personalized video recommendations, AI can create highly engaging and relevant content at scale. These services and tools are readily available and most can be integrated into existing platforms that are already functioning within an organization.

Marketers can employ AI-driven image recognition to analyse user-generated content to identify trends, preferences and brand associations. Generative design tools make it possible to automate the creation of personalized visual assets such as custom graphics, videos and interactive experiences, upleveling brand storytelling capabilities.

The integration of AI into marketing strategies within the social discovery industry represents a major shift in how we engage with users, drive conversions and foster meaningful connections. From localization and data-driven attribution to predictive conversations and AI-driven creative endeavours, AI technologies can empower marketing teams to deliver personalized experiences that resonate with users on a deeper level.

Feature Image Credit: GETTY

By Alex Kudos

Follow me on LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Alex Kudos has over 18 years experience in marketing and currently serves as CMO at Social Discovery Group. Read Alex Kudos’ full executive profile here.

Sourced from Forbes

In News

Discover Why It Makes Sense to Choose the Best SEO Software Alternatives

June 5, 2024 No Comments

Sourced from FingerLakes1.com

While the SEO landscape is changing rapidly, it is still crucial for business growth online.

You can’t deny that effective SEO strategies can increase brand credibility, drive organic traffic, and provide an impressive ROI compared to other conventional marketing channels.

To reap those amazing benefits, you need to be on top of your marketing strategy and focus on moving up the ladder in search engines. Essentially, you need to learn about various ranking factors, including backlinks, quality content, E-E-A-T signals, and search intent. It can quickly become overwhelming for businesses, which is why the trend of investing in SEO tools and software is gaining traction.

By using the right SEO software, you can easily automate various important tasks, conduct competitor analysis to find keyword gaps and manage the latest trends like AI-generated content. Now, you need to remember that many popular SEO software works well but can shake your bottom line in a big way. That’s when it makes sense to look for alternatives.

Checking the Alternatives to Popular SEO Software

Modern SEO is technology-driven, with SEO software continually evolving in response. Satisfaction with one major player need not negate inspection of the up-and-coming. Indeed, it’s part of good practice to be open about exploring the range to build a customized stack of SEO tools tailored to meet specific requirements.

With so much innovation, exploring unfamiliar tools could earn an advantage. The technology and design are often cutting-edge.

Why Considering Alternatives is Beneficial?

Well-known tools, although great at what they do, may not always suit your unique needs and budget constraints.

However, if you go to sites where they compare and review various tools, you can easily find many lesser-known tools, which serve as the best alternatives to popular SEO services because of their flexibility and robust feature set. And using those alternatives also means you’re not following the crowd and using the same insights as many others to tailor your SEO and marketing campaigns.

It’s also important to mention that every SEO platform has its own algorithms, data sources, and features. Although diversifying their toolkit helps the specialist gain new perspectives, each tool being different makes it difficult to carry out a direct SEO software comparison. However, one clear benefit of using many tools is that new opportunities are harder to miss.

Another is that popular, even when good, doesn’t mean it’s the best SEO software to use for a task. In fact, it is even harder to gain an advantage when competitors are acting on the same insights and recommendations.

Drawbacks of Popular SEO Software

Besides risking doing the same as competitors without gaining an advantage, there are other drawbacks to relying solely on the most popular SEO software. For instance:

Over-dependence and inflexibility

Over-dependence on one toolkit can limit how quickly the SEO can be adapted to allow for unforeseen changes in the marketplace. It also restricts creativity by making it harder to explore new strategies. Lesser-known tools, designed to complement the mainstream, often include new SEO software features as unique selling points, having been developed at a later stage in SEO evolution.

Incomplete data and insights

Specialized or niche SEO tools fill the gaps left by popular tools, even with their robust features. Reliance on one platform could mean missing out on valuable data, which could become an issue for those intending to deliver first-class professional SEO services.

For instance, useful missed data and insights could be on:

Local search optimization;
Voice search;
International SEO.

Lack of Unique Competitive Advantages

In SEO, everyone using the same few tools works to no one’s great advantage. However, using the innovative features of lesser-known tools offers a different perspective with fresh insights into content optimization, rank tracking, and link building. Affordable SEO software has features with strong capabilities that would suit top SEO services as well as ones on the more pricy side, but they are often overlooked.

Steep Learning Curves

Complex, feature-rich software has its place, but it takes time and effort to get to know it well. Sometimes, it’s not worth the staffing investment when all that gets used in the end is a few key features. With the latest designs, the newer tools avoid that complication. They are made for ease of use with minimal learning from the onset, making them even more cost-effective and efficient.

Factors Impacting the Quality of SEO Software

When choosing an SEO tool or a well-rounded SEO software, you have to consider many key factors first. For instance:

The Combination of Features and Functionality

The features offered vary across the SEO toolkit range. But at affordable prices, it is possible to cherry-pick those that best suit the intended purpose.

When considering SEO software for businesses, the key features to look for to align SEO strategy with requirements are:

Keyword research: Look for robust capability with suggestions, search volume data, difficulty scores, and SERP analysis;
Site Auditing: Look for a thorough audit that covers technical issues such as crawlability, indexability, and site speed;
Rank tracking: Look for software that tracks across multiple search engines and provides detailed reporting with visualizations;
Backlink Analysis: Look for comprehensive data with source details, authority metrics, and competitive link analysis;
Content optimization: Look for actionable insights on the on-page elements, the headers, titles, tags, and meta descriptions, as well as content relevance.

Compatibility and Ease of Use

When considering additional software, it is important to think about how its initial implementation will impact workflow and the team members.

For fast, seamless adoption, consider:

The user interface: newer SEO packages are likely to leverage Artificial Intelligence with user-friendly intuitive designs;
Integration: any new package has to work seamlessly with existing tools, particularly Google Analytics and Google Console;
Collaboration features, such as user roles, permissions, and shared reports.

Budget Constraints

Since there is a wide range of SEO software available, it is possible to find less well-known tools that will suit and stay within budget. However, it’s a daunting search when pricing varies so considerably. The SEO tool reviews are helpful for finding which are considered value for money.

The Quality of Customer Support

Ongoing support and regular updates are vital components of strategies, particularly when they have to adapt fast to market and industry changes.

Look for:

Customer support through multiple channels;
Training resources, webinars, etc;
Regular releases to meet evolving needs;
Free trials.

How to Finalize Your Decision?

When you have done your research, it gets easier to pick the best SEO software. But, to make the final decision, you should take a few additional points into consideration.

For starters, you need to take your time to define your primary SEO goals and business objectives. While some businesses are more focused on keyword research, others may be looking for SEO software mainly for site audits, rank tracking, or backlink analysis. Know what you want in the software to make a choice.

It’s also important to consider how your selected software will integrate with your current tech stack. You can find SEO software with customized features and plans to seamlessly integrate into your databases, CRM, and production control systems. If you’re focused mainly on local SEO, you may need niche SEO software focused mainly on citation building, listing management, and local rank tracking. For e-commerce sites, it’s a good idea to pick a tool that integrates well with Shopify stores.

You may also want to go with a tool or SEO software with additional features. Ideally, you should go with a tool with strong client management, team collaboration, and white-label capabilities.

Of course, it’s important to compare SEO software solutions for their pricing plans to pick something that suits your budget. But you should consider the price in conjunction with the feature set you get. And it’s also crucial to consider scalability when making an investment. Remember, your business may grow over time, so you might have to invest more if the tool you buy is not scalable in the first place.

Conclusion

Investing in SEO software analysis is essential. AI has brought in great changes and the industry is now driven by data. But you can always do well with alternatives to popular SEO software. The lesser-known can offer new perspectives and fresh insights missed by competitors using popular software. They can foster teamwork and collaborative creative thinking and are budget and user-friendly, with minimal person-hours for training. Overall, any SEO software with features that bring new insights is going to be helpful.

Sourced from FingerLakes1.com

Digital Team

This content is brought to you by the FingerLakes1.com Team. Support our mission by visiting www.patreon.com/fl1 or learn how you send us your local content here.

In News

Why Kindness Works As A Business Strategy

June 5, 2024 No Comments

By Ken Sterling

Do nice folks in business come in last?

If you watch any Hollywood movie or read any business biography, you might believe the only way Hollywood producers, tech founders and billionaire investors become successful is to mistreat people. Often, our takeaway is you have to be a jerk to be successful in business.

Reality check: Kindness pays.

Exhibit 1: A 2023 Baringa survey found that 47% of companies that consumers deemed as kind doubled their earnings in the 10 years preceding the study. In fact, Baringa also found more people want to purchase from companies that are kind.

Meanwhile, rudeness is never a great long-term strategy.

Exhibit 2: A 2002 JAMA study, “Patient Complaints and Malpractice Risk,” found physicians with the highest numbers of malpractice lawsuits didn’t make the most mistakes. Instead, they were the biggest jerks. Patients accused them of not listening, not returning calls, not showing respect, or being plain rude.

I’ve found in my professional career—as an attorney, talent agent and entrepreneur—I’ve had more success with kindness. So much so that in my dealings, all my clients, other agents and attorneys refer to me as the “smiling assassin.” Not because I’m a cold-blooded killer. It’s because I use kindness to win deals.

How To Use Your Kindness As A Strategy

We all want to be seen, heard and remembered. Knowing that, practicing empathy and checking your ego are the foundations of kindness.

1. See.

People like to be seen and feel important. One way to make a person feel seen is to look straight at them and smile. It makes most situations friendlier from the start.

2. Hear.

The best way to make a person feel heard is to listen. Kind people listen attentively to what another person has to say. Rude people tend to interrupt, ignore or both.

You can make someone’s day by giving them the time of day. Show interest. Ask questions. It makes people feel special.

3. Remember.

People want to know they made an impact. That’s done by remembering. It could be as simple as remembering their name, their child’s name or their favourite food.

Or you could follow up with a thank-you note for their time, showing that the person made a memorable impression on you. Remembering also means you can empathize. Think of what it’s like to go through what they are experiencing; remember a time something similar happened to you.

How To Stay Kind Even When It’s Not Reciprocated

Being kind does not mean being a pushover.

Sometimes, you’re going to work with jerks, even if you make a person feel seen, heard, and remembered. That’s part of the business.

If that’s the case, maintain your kindness with these tips.

1. Treat everyone with respect.

Regardless of someone else’s behaviour, treat everyone with respect. Remember Exhibit B about the doctors who didn’t treat people with respect? Those doctors were sued for malpractice more than respectful doctors. Even if someone is not being kind to you, that doesn’t mean you have to disrespect them.

When you treat people rudely, it triggers them into “fight or flight.” Either way, you’ve lost their business.

2. Don’t react.

Keep your cool when people are being uncool. When someone is being a jerk, stop the conversation, breathe, and, if necessary, step away from the situation. You could pretend you have a call, need to use the restroom or have any number of reasons to stop the moment. Then come back with a smile again.

It gets easier with practice.

3. Set boundaries.

Finally, some people will act like jerks, no matter how respectful or calm you are. So, in this case, you might need to set clear boundaries on how you wish to be treated. Or, in extreme cases, you can even fire clients or customers who don’t treat you well.

Over the years, I’ve sometimes acted like a jerk, and I’ve treated people with respect. I found that kindness is the best method for a long-term business relationship.

That’s why my companies are always known as the good kids in the sandbox. Kindness not only makes clients and employees happier, it also makes your bank account happier.

Don’t just take my word for it. Start your next deal with a smile and a pause, and go make new friends.

Feature Image Credit: GETTY

By Ken Sterling

Follow me on LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Los Angeles Attorney & Talent Agent | EVP Business Affairs BigSpeak. Principal Sterling Media Law. USC researcher on media and law. Read Ken Sterling’s full executive profile here.

Sourced from Forbes

In News

Revolutionize Your Marketing With Automated Email Campaigns

June 4, 2024 No Comments

By Megan Smith

Best Practices and Strategies for Email Automation

I’m allergic to busy work.

This is a problem — both the pollen that triggers my seasonal allergies and busy work are occasionally unavoidable.

But this article is about the best automated email campaigns, workflows that act like busy-work antihistamines, helping you save your time and sanity.

These strategies further empower you to deliver personalized, impactful messages at scale. That means you can foster customer loyalty while growing your business. Sending individually relevant messages used to require an army of PAs. Now, you just need the right email automation platform.

This comprehensive guide covers basic definitions, effective tools, best practices, and case studies. Let’s learn how to leverage the latest email marketing for your brand.

Introduction to Automated Email Campaigns

Email may play a pivotal role in your marketing strategy, but there’s no reason for you to do everything yourself. That’s where automated email campaigns come into play.

The Evolution of Email Automation

Sending out mass emails used to be a tedious, time-consuming task. Then came the email list, a quick way to send the same message to a large audience at the same time. Email newsletter services followed, allowing people to use templates and schedule communications.

Email automation takes things to the next step. Now, brands can send personalized messages to their audiences at personalized times.

Instead of manually sending out individual emails, you can set up workflows to shape and send messages based on specific actions or events.

Email automation helps save time and improve engagement rates. By delivering relevant content at the right time, you can connect with audiences more effectively than ever.

Businesses have embraced new channels in the past few years, but the popularity of email has also increased. It’s the best way to get your message to those who want it when they want it.

Defining Automated Email Campaigns

Revolutionize Your Marketing With Automated Email Campaigns

In a nutshell, automated email campaigns are emails or a series of emails that are sent out automatically, based on certain triggers or schedules.

Common examples include welcome emails, cart abandonment reminders, and post-purchase follow-ups.

The Importance of Email Automation in Marketing

Email automation can make a significant impact on your marketing efforts, driving the engagement and conversions necessary for growth.

The top reasons marketers implement automations (across channels) are:

To streamline marketing and sales efforts (35%)
To improve customer engagement (34%)
To improve customer experience (34%)
To minimize manual tasks (30%)

In other words, people want to save time and improve customer relationships. Email automation is particularly suited to accomplish both of these objectives.

Enhancing Customer Engagement

Maintaining an engaged list is email marketers’ top challenge. One of email automation’s key benefits is its ability to enhance engagement and build relationships.

By using data about your subscribers, such as their browsing behaviour or purchase history, you can tailor each email to the individual recipient. This level of personalization leads to higher open rates, more conversions, and ultimately, stronger brand loyalty.

Automation also allows you to send timely and relevant content such as birthday wishes, reminders to resubscribe, and other messages that require prompt delivery. Ensure that your brand stays on the minds of your customers — when they’re most open to engagement.

Email is also the surest way of connecting. By 2026, there will likely be 4.73 billion email users who are largely receptive to contact. In one study, 70% of all consumers liked being emailed by brands. Compare that to the 34% who want social media messaging.

Streamlining Communication Processes

Another major advantage of email automation is the way it streamlines your communication processes.

By automating routine tasks like sending follow-up messages after a purchase, you can free up your time to focus on developing your product or strategy.

Automation also ensures consistency without requiring additional effort. You want each customer to receive the same high-quality experience, regardless of when and where they interact with your brand.

Brand consistency improves brand awareness and credibility. It can even help you generate an additional 10-20% of revenue.

Types of Automated Email Campaigns

That’s why automation matters generally. But what emails should you automate?

Marketers commonly automate several types of emails. Here are the four most popular automated email campaigns:

Welcome emails for new subscribers (83%)
Onboarding or post-purchase (68%)
Subscriber re-engagement (40%)
Cart or browse abandonment (38%)

They’re popular because they work, helping brands grow and attract repeat business.

Welcome Email Series

First impressions count. Welcome emails have substantially higher open and click-through rates than your average newsletter.

Welcome emails are typically triggered when a new subscriber joins your mailing list, introducing them to your brand and setting expectations for future communications.

Add a strong welcome email to your campaigns. You can send a single message saying hello or create a full welcome series showcasing valuable content and special offers.

Abandoned Cart Reminders

I’m personally responsible for more than one cart’s abandonment issues. It’s easy to get distracted or second-guess one’s choices when shopping online.

I’m not alone. The average cart abandonment rate across multiple studies is 70.19%. That’s a significant source of lost revenue for brands.

Abandoned cart reminders are an opportunity to reclaim those dollars. With an automated reminder, you can nudge potential customers to complete their purchases and boost your conversion rate.

Note: A lot of cart abandonment happens because e-shoppers are just browsing. Consider including an additional discount to incentivize people to commit or send along relevant reviews, helping them with the research that’s increasingly integral to online shopping.

Re-Engagement Campaigns

Sometimes relationships go stale, but you shouldn’t give up. Keep your subscribers engaged and reach out when their interest flags.

Re-engagement campaigns aim to reignite the spark, reinvesting them in their relationship with your brand.

These campaigns typically involve sending targeted content or special offers to inactive subscribers. With a well-crafted re-engagement campaign, you can win back subscribers and maintain a healthy, engaged email list.

Post-Purchase Follow-Ups

Automated follow-up emails are a good idea after significant customer interactions such as a purchase.

Post-purchase emails go out after a customer makes a purchase, offering thanks, asking for feedback, or suggesting other products they might like.

Post-purchase follow-ups are a great way to build customer loyalty and encourage repeat purchases. By providing value even after the transaction, you can foster a long-term relationship with your customers.

Other Automated Email Ideas

You don’t need to stop there. Email campaigns are the most popular marketing automation. Take full advantage of it with these ideas:

Birthday or anniversary emails: Send a message to mark the occasion and show your customers how much you appreciate them.
Transactional emails: Help customers track their purchases with order and shipping confirmations.
Inventory updates: Let subscribers know when an item they were interested in is back in stock.
New product recommendations: Use data from previous purchases to send targeted emails with tailored recommendations for the new season.
Loyalty program updates: Keep customers informed about their loyalty reward status and offer incentives or discounts to encourage continued engagement and purchases.

Automated emails are also great for nurturing leads. When a lead heats up, take advantage with an email or a drip campaign convincing them to buy.

Planning Your Automated Email Strategy

How do I automate my email campaign?

Start with a clear strategy. With so many possibilities, a strong, guiding strategy makes the difference between modest improvement and wild success. To that end, don’t forget the following elements as you make your plans for the month or year ahead.

Setting Clear Objectives

Identify your goals. What do you hope to achieve with your email campaigns? Whether it’s boosting conversions, reducing cart abandonment rates, or re-engaging inactive subscribers, having clear goals can guide your strategy and help measure your success.

It’s also important to ensure that your email objectives align with your overall marketing strategy. All of your marketing efforts should work together towards

achieving your business goals.

Segmenting Your Audience

Audience segmentation is an essential step in email automation.

Not all of your subscribers are the same. They may have different interests or be at different stages in the customer journey.

Email segmentation involves categorizing your email subscribers into smaller, more targeted groups based on specific criteria such as demographics, purchase history, or behaviour. This strategy allows you to tailor your messages to their unique needs and interests.

Create targeted content that resonates with each group, and automate email campaigns to send these messages to the right people at the right time, increasing engagement and conversion rates.

Personalization Techniques

Almost a third of marketers personalize their email messages and offers. In addition to addressing people by name, they use data about their subscribers to shape their content.

Start by addressing the recipient by name. Using the recipient’s name in your email, especially in the subject line and greeting, instantly adds a personal touch. It makes your communication feel more like a conversation than a sales pitch.

Dynamic content can also personalize mass messages. These blocks of content in an email change based on the characteristics of the recipient. A common example is an e-commerce message with product recommendations based on customer history.

Creating Content for Automated Emails

The best strategy won’t help much without the follow-through of strong automated content.

Crafting Compelling Subject Lines

Your subject line is the first thing your subscribers see and makes the difference between an opened email and one that’s sent straight to the trash bin.

Craft a compelling subject line — keep it short, descriptive, and enticing. Personalization, such as including the subscriber’s name or referencing their past behaviour, can also boost open rates.

Designing Engaging Email Bodies

A good email design blends attractive visuals and compelling text. Make sure that your copy is easy to read and holds subscriber interest.

Keep It Simple

The first rule of effective email design is simplicity. Overly complicated designs can confuse your audience and detract from your message.

Stick to a clean, minimalist design with a clear hierarchy of information. Use white space effectively to separate different sections and make your email easier to read.

Use a Responsive Design

With more people checking their emails on mobile devices, responsive design is no longer optional — it’s a necessity. Your emails should look great and be easy to navigate, whether they’re viewed on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone.

Use Compelling Imagery

Images can significantly enhance your email’s appeal. However, they should be used judiciously—not every email needs an image, and too many can distract from your message.

Abide by image best practices for email. Make sure they’re high-quality, relevant, and optimized for quick loading.

Be Consistent With Branding

Your emails should reflect your brand’s visual identity. This includes your logo, color scheme, typography, and overall style. Consistent branding helps build recognition and trust among your subscribers.

Calls-to-Action that Convert

The call-to-action (CTA) prompts subscribers to take a specific action, often providing a big email button for them to click.

A good CTA is clear, concise, and compelling. It should tell subscribers exactly what you want them to do next, whether it’s visiting your website, making a purchase, or downloading a resource.

Creating a sense of urgency can also encourage subscribers to take immediate action. Let people know why they should buy now with phrases that highlight scarcity, limited-time offers, or key selling points.

Best Practices for Automated Email Workflows

The best practices for setting up your workflows include tips about timing, testing, and deliverability.

Timing and Frequency

Too many emails can annoy your subscribers and lead to unsubscribes, while too few can mean missed opportunities. It’s all about finding that sweet spot.

The optimal timing and frequency can vary depending on your audience and the type of emails you’re sending. Use your data to understand when your subscribers are most likely to engage and how often they prefer to hear from you.

Find the right days and times to send messages, too. Try to catch readers when they’re likely to be at their computers.

A/B Testing for Optimization

Email A/B testing involves sending two versions of an email to different segments of your subscribers to see which performs better. You could test elements like subject lines, email design, or CTAs.

By analysing the results, you can make data-driven decisions to improve your future campaigns. Remember, even small changes can lead to significant improvements in engagement and conversions.

Ensuring Deliverability and Compliance

Take care of your list hygiene with regular cleaning and proper compliance.

To ensure that your emails reach your subscribers’ inboxes, you need to maintain a healthy sender reputation. Proper protocols and list maintenance will help your emails stick to reader inboxes instead of spam or promotion folders.

On the compliance side, you must adhere to email marketing laws like the CAN-SPAM Act or GDPR. Provide a clear way for subscribers to opt out, include your physical address in your emails, and obtain permission to contact people by email.

Tools and Technologies for Email Automation

The right tools and technologies make it easy to create content and run automated campaigns.

Choosing the Right Email Marketing Platform

What is the best email automation software? The right platform for you depends on your budget and needs, as well as the size of your email list.

Create a list of the features that matter most to your brand such as:

Segmenting capabilities
A user-friendly interface
Robust analytics
Personalization features
A/B testing tools
Responsive templates

Take a look at the top email newsletter services and find an option that provides the suite of tools you need.

You should also take the platform out for a spin before committing. Many services offer free trials, which allow you to find software you find intuitive.

Integration With CRM Systems

Many brands need to choose email automation platforms that integrate with their customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

By integrating your email platform with your CRM system, you can streamline your marketing efforts, gain a more holistic view of your customers, and provide a more personalized experience across multiple touchpoints.

Analysing the Success of Your Email Campaigns

Now that you’ve set up your strategy, crafted your content, and chosen your tools, it’s time to measure the success of your efforts.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Identify your key performance indicators (KPIs) on your analytics dashboard.

KPIs are vital in understanding how well your email campaigns are performing. Pick yours with an eye to your main marketing objectives. Do you want to focus on conversions, customer lifetime value, customer engagement, etc.?

Common email marketing KPIs include open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribe rates.

Learning from Data: Metrics that Matter

Each number tells you different things about your current email performance. Use industry averages as benchmarks in your evaluation.

For example, high open rates suggest that you have a gift for compelling subject lines, and high click-through rates testify to the strength of your body content.

On the other hand, high unsubscribe rates could signal that your content isn’t resonating with your audience, and high bounce rates indicate issues with your email list or deliverability.

Pay attention to numbers that indicate larger patterns in customer lifecycles, too, such as engagement over time. Which type of email results in the highest engagement? Is there a point where subscriber interest starts to decline, and how can you combat this fatigue?

Case Studies: Successful Automated Email Campaigns

Enough theory. Let’s look at some real-world examples of successful automated email campaigns.

Industry Leaders and Their Strategies

Industry giants use automated emails to engage their audience and boost conversions.

Amazon is a prime example of successful email automation (pun intended). It sends personalized product recommendations based on each customer’s browsing and purchasing history. This strategy helps Amazon increase engagement and drive repeat purchases.

Other major retailers also make good use of automated personalization and reminders, particularly when it comes to abandoned cart emails.

Small Business Success Stories

Small businesses, too, can see significant benefits from automated email campaigns. For example, many Etsy stores send offers, generally coupons for additional discounts, to people who mark their items as favourites.

Automations are also helping brands in the newsletter world.

Richard Patey uses automation to sell digital products through his newsletter Digital Asset Investor. He appreciates the way beehiiv allows him to customize workflows and “create a funnel”:

“I have low-cost “tripwire” products on the thank you page within the welcome email. So a certain percentage of people are buying that, which helps with the acquisition cost. Then I have sponsorship, affiliate, and higher-ticket products.”

Saeed Ezzati of Superpower Daily uses beehiiv’s latest automation upgrades to automate reengagement campaigns and list maintenance. This saves him time each week now that he no longer has to tackle these tasks manually.

Future Trends in Automated Email Campaigns

This is a fast-changing field, and new trends in email automation are rapidly emerging.

The Role of AI and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning are playing an increasingly important role in email marketing. In 2022, top marketing uses for AI included paid advertising, email messages and subject lines, product recommendations, and predictive analytics.

In addition to analysing customer data and personalizing content, some AI-powered email tools can analyse initial campaign results more quickly so that brands can refine them.

Interactive and Dynamic Email Content

Another trend shaping the future of email marketing is the use of interactive and dynamic content.

Interactive emails, such as those featuring quizzes or surveys, can increase engagement and provide valuable insights about your audience.

You can even ask people directly about the content they want to read. Just ask Matt Grey of The Soulful Entrepreneur. He’s leveraged beehiiv’s one-click polls to achieve impressive engagement and growth.

Maximizing ROI With Automated Email Campaigns

There you have it. Automated emails are a key tool for marketers of all sizes, and the future will only increase their centrality to the field.

By leveraging the right email platform and automation best practices, brands can personalize their approach, engage their audience on a deeper level, and ultimately, maximize their returns.

Get started by identifying the campaigns that would most benefit your business and selecting a platform with the automation features you need.

If you already have your tools, go ahead and set up your first automated email campaign. Craft a welcome email or cart reminder. Then, let your software do the rest.

Why Trust Us?

beehiiv is the most exciting new player in the email game, building off years of practical newsletter experience. As for me, I regularly write by-lined articles about digital marketing, particularly focusing on email and long-form content.

By Megan Smith

Sourced from beehiiv Blog

In News

Email Unsubscribe: Ensuring Customers Can Opt Out

June 4, 2024 No Comments

By Jamie Johnson

Learn how to make it easy for customers to unsubscribe from your email list.

Building and regularly using an email list is one of the best ways to grow your business. However, a certain percentage of customers will inevitably unsubscribe. That’s why it’s important to understand the laws and best practices regarding email unsubscribes.

What are email unsubscribe laws?

Businesses dealing with a U.S. audience are subject to the CAN-SPAM Act, which is a law the U.S. Congress passed to protect consumers from unwanted email messages. In a nutshell, this law sets rules for commercial email and gives consumers the right to unsubscribe from any email list. Companies that violate this law are subject to hefty fines.

Here are some of the rules outlined by the CAN-SPAM Act:

Do not use false or misleading information in headers.
The subject line must accurately reflect the content in the email.
You must disclose that the email is an advertisement.
The message must include a valid postal address.
Recipients have an easy way to opt out of receiving emails.

You want to provide your customers with a positive experience, even if they opt out of your email list.

Benefits of email unsubscribers

Most businesses have an average email unsubscribe rate of 0.17%. When you’re working hard to build your email list, having someone unsubscribe can feel defeating. But email unsubscribes can be a positive thing — here are a few reasons why:

Higher engagement rates: By making it easier for people to opt out of your email list, you’re creating a more engaged audience. Engaged subscribers are more likely to open your emails, click on links you include, and become customers.
Reduced costs: Most email marketing software charges a monthly fee based on the total number of subscribers. Disinterested subscribers who opt out lower your email marketing costs.
Improved deliverability: When users can’t figure out how to unsubscribe, they usually send the email to their spam folder. High spam rates can hurt your reputation and email deliverability.
Improved customer experience: By making it easy for people to unsubscribe, you show that you respect their wishes. This improves the customer experience and leaves the door open to future interactions with that individual.

Email unsubscribe best practices

You want to provide your customers with a positive experience, even if they opt out of your email list. Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when dealing with unsubscribes.

Make it as easy as possible

Your emails should include an unsubscribe option that’s easy to see. Most businesses include an unsubscribe option in the footer of the email, but including a link in the header can make it easier to spot.

Don’t use confusing language, and process all unsubscribe requests immediately. Never require users to log into an account to unsubscribe from your email list.

Offer a preference centre

You can allow users to unsubscribe by clicking an unsubscribe button or giving them access to a preference centre. A preference centre is more customizable and lets consumers pick which types of emails they want to unsubscribe from.

For example, customers can continue receiving your weekly newsletter but opt out of sales emails. If you offer a preference centre, make the language clear and easy to understand, and always offer consumers the option to unsubscribe from all types of emails.

Don’t send a confirmation email

While sending customers a confirmation email that they’ve unsubscribed from your list may seem courteous, it annoys most customers. Sending another email to a customer after they’ve unsubscribed sends the message that you don’t respect their decision.

An alternative is to create an unsubscribe page, which is a landing page your customers are redirected to after hitting the unsubscribe button. This page includes all the information needed to unsubscribe and can include links to your social media channels.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images/Thomas Barwick

By Jamie Johnson

Sourced from CO

CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.

CO—is committed to helping you start, run and grow your small business. Learn more about the benefits of small business membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, here.

In News

Google paid Apple whopping $20 billion to remain default iPhone search engine

May 31, 2024 No Comments

BY RAJESH PANDEY

Google paid Apple $20 billion for Google to remain the default search engine across all Apple devices. This figure came to light through court documents submitted in the US Justice Department’s lawsuit against Google.

During the course of the hearing, Google and Apple tried their best not to reveal the amount publicly.

Apple prefers Google because it is the best

An October 2023 report also estimated Apple receiving $18-$20 billion from Google in 2022. This time around, the documents reveal the exact figure of $20 billion, coming directly from Apple’s SVP of services, Eddy Cue.

The Bloomberg report details that during last fall’s trial, Apple said Google paid them “billions” to be the default search engine. A Google witness later accidentally testified that the company pays Apple 36% of the revenue from search ads.

While it is vital for Google to remain the default search engine on iPhone and Mac, the money also plays a big role in Apple’s bottom line. As per the document, Google’s payment accounted for 17.5% of Apple’s revenue.

However, as Eddy Cue testified during the hearing, Apple prefers Google not because of the billions of dollars it receives but because it is “the best.”

During the trial last year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that it was offering Apple multiple concessions to move away from Google. These include sharing 90% of the advertising revenue and hiding the Bing logo in Safari on iPhone. The switch would have been “game changing,” which is why Microsoft was willing to make these concessions.

Google’s deal with Apple could put it into trouble

Given the iPhone’s popularity in the US, it’s crucial for Google to remain the default search engine on the devices. This also explains why Google paid Apple more than $1.5 billion monthly in 2022. But this move will now probably get the company into trouble.

If the US Justice Department wins its lawsuit against Google’s alleged monopoly in search and advertising, the latter might have to cancel its deal with Apple.

Google and the Justice Department will submit their closing arguments on Thursday and Friday. The court’s final decision will arrive later this year.

Feature Image Credit: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac

BY RAJESH PANDEY

Sourced from Cult of Mac

In News

Web3 Publishing Platform Mirror Sells to Paragraph, Pivots to Social App ‘Kiosk’

May 31, 2024 No Comments

By Sam Kessler

Mirror and Paragraphs are rivals in the Web3 publishing space, and their deal allows Mirror’s team to operate as an independent company focused exclusively on social media.

Web3 publishing app Mirror is being acquired by Paragraph, a competing platform.
Mirror’s team will continue to operate independently and will shift its focus to developing “Kiosk,” a Web3 social app based on Farcaster that blends blockchain and e-commerce.
Mirror and Paragraph will eventually merge into a single, unified product suite according to Paragraph’s founder.

Paragraph, the company behind a suite of blockchain-based publishing tools, has acquired Mirror, its biggest competitor in the Web3 creator space.

The Mirror team will continue to operate as a separate company but is pivoting to focus exclusively on Web3 social media. The team’s main project post-mirror will be “Kiosk,” a Twitter-like micro-blogging platform based on the Farcaster protocol.

Mirror was one of the breakout stars of blockchain’s foray into the creator economy. The platform launched in 2020 and offers writers the ability to monetize their work by minting individual articles as NFTs. It was designed as a more decentralized and censorship-resistant alternative to Web2 publishing tools like Medium.

Paragraph was released in 2022 with similar functionality to Mirror, but it was more akin to Substack, focusing on newsletters and other publications rather than one-off articles.

Paragraph founder Colin Armstrong says that his product differed from Mirror, at least initially, in that it tried to appeal more to a Web2 audience. Armstrong, who has written for tech publications in addition to working as an engineer at Google and Coinbase, says he also focused his product more on referral programs and other features to help authors widen their distribution. Mirror, meanwhile, managed to develop a stronger brand and design language, said Armstrong.

Ultimately, Mirror and Paragraph “have evolved and then ended up somewhat in a similar place,” said the Paragraph founder. “I think for users it’s often not a clear choice, which one to go with.”

Mirror, meanwhile, has shifted much of its focus to Kiosk, its Web3 social platform.

“The vision for Kiosk is to be the synthesis of social and commerce,” said Mirror founder Denis Nazarov. Nazarov will remain as an “advisor” to Paragraph, but he and the rest of his team have sold the product so that they can focus more on their new platform.

Armstrong says Paragraph’s user base is “substantially smaller” than Mirror’s, and his three-person team is half the size of Mirror’s six-person operation. Neither team disclosed the terms of the acquisition, but Armstrong says the plan was proposed by Union Square Ventures, an investor in both companies.

“Everyone is very happy with the outcome. Mirror gets to pursue their new product, and the Mirror product gets to continue under someone who’s fully dedicated to publishing,” said Armstrong. “Obviously, it’s great for us because it elevates our user base and products to a pretty large degree.”

According to Armstrong, Mirror and Paragraph will eventually be merged into a single, streamlined product.

“We want to combine the products at some point, but in the short to medium term we are just going to be chatting with the top creators on both products just to determine what people love on each,” he said.

Welcome, Kiosk

Kiosk is the Mirror team’s attempt to infuse blockchains and e-commerce more deeply into social media.

It is technically a “client” for accessing Farcaster, which is an X-like app built on Ethereum. Clients like Kiosk act as unique lenses for viewing Farcaster’s underlying data; In addition to providing more rich views of Farcaster content, clients can imbue extra functionality and use-cases into the protocol.

“There’s this potential for an experience where you not only see what people are saying, what they’re liking and who they’re following – but also what assets they are buying,” said Nazarov. “We think that the whole idea of asset ownership and collection is not just transactional, it’s also social.”

Mirror boasted a polished interface by crypto industry standards when it first launched, and Nazarov says he plans to bring a similar design philosophy to Kiosk.

With Mirror, “we were one of the first web3 products that really brought strong product design, brand, and go-to-market DNA – which I think is still quite rare in the ecosystem – combined with a deep understanding of the potential of the technology,” said Nazarov. “We learned it’s really powerful to combine a social container – so, telling a story – but then embedding this economic call to action.”

Kiosk’s main function will be to make it easier for users to embed digital assets directly into their social media posts. One could imagine a post that references an NFT: Whereas a conventional tweet or Facebook post would just contain a jpeg image representing the NFT, Kiosk would bake extra blockchain features directly into the image – such as the ability to view the NFT’s blockchain address, or a feature to buy it directly via the post.

“I think a lot of what held back crypto growing to the next concentric circle of a million, 10 million users, was UX,” said Nazarov. UX stands for user experience. “Seeing products like Farcaster pioneer a mobile native experience, we think that there’s this big opportunity for this unified social experience that brings e-commerce natively to it.”

Edited by Bradley Keoun.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images

By Sam Kessler

Sam is CoinDesk’s deputy managing editor for tech and protocols. He reports on decentralized technology, infrastructure and governance. He owns ETH and BTC.

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Sourced from CoinDesk

In News

Revolutionizing Retail With Seamless Omnichannel Shopping

May 30, 2024 No Comments

By Gary Drenik

The retail landscape is evolving beyond bricks versus clicks, demanding a unified and complementary strategy that bridges physical stores with digital engagement.

Imagine a busy executive browsing online and discovering a product at home. Later, during their commute, they receive a personalized notification about the same item available at a nearby store. Intrigued, they visit the store and complete the purchase. This is a very basic example of a purchasing journey where the boundaries between physical and digital retail spaces are becoming increasingly blurred, resulting in an interconnected ecosystem that caters to consumers’ constantly evolving needs. This is omnichannel advertising.

Omnichannel advertising is all about creating a seamless and fully integrated experience for consumers across multiple channels — both online and offline. It transcends the traditional boundaries of physical and digital retail, ensuring that the consumer journey is consistent, cohesive, and convenient.

Mastering the omnichannel journey between ecommerce and in-store experiences is crucial — and retail media can help connect the dots along that journey. Retail media, where retailers sell ad inventory on their sites to brands who are eager for engagement, is one of the fastest-growing sectors in advertising and is expected to represent over $150 billion in global ad spend by 2026. This surpasses both search and social advertising, making it a pivotal strategy for retailers who understand the consumer journey best.

Retail media has emerged as a strong tool for brands – not only because of its engaging native formats on retail sites, as well as offsite across open web publishers, but also because of its use of first-party commerce data from retailers. This allows brands and retailers to create relevant and addressable advertising using logged-in commerce data, as opposed to third-party signals such as third-party cookies, which are facing deprecation from Google Chrome at the end of this year.

The Rise of Omnichannel: A Shift in Consumer Behaviour

According to Brian Gleason, chief revenue officer at Criteo, a global commerce media company, the current popularity of omnichannel advertising can be attributed to rapidly shifting consumer behaviour and expectations.

“Modern shoppers demand a consistent brand experience, regardless of the channel they choose to engage with — be it a brand’s website, social media, mobile apps or physical stores,” said Gleason. “Simultaneously, it enables executives to leverage data-driven insights, personalized recommendations and predictive analytics to create that experience.”

For Gleason and other top decision-makers, it is not just about brands being present on multiple platforms; it is about orchestrating these channels to complement each other.

“Customers no longer view shopping channels in isolation – they expect a fluid and interconnected experience,” said Gleason. “It’s a journey where every channel contributes to a narrative of convenience and personalization.”

This expanded approach is crucial in today’s economic climate, as it highlights the shifting landscape of consumer behaviour. By 2027, 23% of retail purchases are expected to take place online, showing that online sales are here to stay. Yet a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey found that a majority of Gen-Z shoppers still prefer physical stores, with 53% favouring in-person purchases for essentials like apparel and accessories. This indicates a complex interplay between online and offline retail experiences that also varies by vertical, emphasizing the need for retailers to embrace omnichannel strategies to cater to their consumers’ specific and diverse preferences.

Prosper - How Shopped For Apparel & Accessories — Prosper – How Shopped For Apparel & Accessories

PROSPER INSIGHTS & ANALYTICS

“Businesses across verticals can glean valuable information about preferences, behaviours and trends by noting customer interactions across various channels,” said Gleason. “This wealth of data empowers informed decisions, optimizes marketing strategies and allows for tailored and relevant offerings to specific audience segments.”

Connecting Retail Experiences Across Channels with AI-Powered Personalization

The retail landscape is evolving, but recent trends reveal a surprising truth: physical stores are not going anywhere. Beyond Gen-Z, data from Criteo shows a consistent surge in brick-and-mortar shopping during post-pandemic holiday seasons. In 2023, four in ten shoppers started their shopping in physical stores, highlighting storefronts’ enduring appeal.

“Unlike digital platforms, physical stores offer unique experiences like the ability to try on clothes, feel product quality and receive personalized service, which strengthens brand loyalty by providing a tangible connection,” said Gleason. “However, the true power lies in the synergy between the physical and digital realms. Omnichannel retail, which seamlessly integrates these experiences, offers a strategic advantage.”

Gleason cited a few specific examples.

“Omnichannel drives customer action, with retail media campaigns bridging the online-offline gap,” Gleason said. These campaigns leverage digital channels to raise brand awareness and ultimately drive consumers into stores. Metrics like foot traffic data and increased conversion rates during campaign periods demonstrate the success of this approach.

Major retail players have successfully embraced omnichannel strategies. Amazon’s integration of online shopping with its acquisition of Whole Foods; Apple’s seamless transition from online to in-store experiences that compel consumers to touch, feel and experience the product before making the final purchase; and Nike’s combination of ecommerce and immersive physical stores exemplify the power omnichannel advertising has to capture the attention and loyalty of executive-level consumers.

“A seamless omnichannel experience fosters brand consistency and reliability,” said Gleason. “Consumers easily transition between online research and in-store purchases, creating a sense of trust.” This, in turn, fosters brand loyalty. Loyal customers, who are repeat buyers and brand advocates, are the backbone of any successful retail business.

A unified brand story that transcends the digital and physical realms fosters consistent consumer engagement and influence. “Integrating retail media strengthens this narrative, maximizing the impact of marketing efforts,” said Gleason. “Ultimately, a well-executed omnichannel strategy with strong retail media integration not only drives sales but also leads to higher customer satisfaction and long-term brand loyalty.”

This year, Gleason foresees artificial intelligence as a key next step, playing a pivotal role in crafting hyper-personalized shopping experiences. By analysing vast consumer data, retailers can understand intent, anticipate individual preferences, tailor content, and deliver targeted promotions across channels.

“Imagine an ecommerce platform suggesting complementary items alongside a product you’re browsing or a store sending you targeted promotions based on your recent in-store purchases,” said Gleason. “With a deep understanding of individual consumer preferences, AI can generate highly personalized product recommendations across various channels. Moreover, AI can personalize website content, email marketing messages and even in-store displays. AI will personalize the shopping journey at every touchpoint, leading to a more engaging and ultimately a more profitable consumer experience.”

An omnichannel strategy is not a buzzword; it represents a dynamic approach that will redefine the retail landscape in 2024 and beyond. Embracing these predictions and leveraging innovative technologies will position executives to lead the seamless shopping revolution, forging lasting connections with their discerning customer base.

Feature Image Credit: ADOBESTOCK

By Gary Drenik

Check out my website.

I cover consumer-centric insights and analytics that provide executives with solutions needed to drive strategy. I am the CEO of Prosper Business Development where, for more than 20 years, we have provided market leadership and developed contemporary solutions to help Fortune 500 companies navigate change that impacts their business. I got my start in the radio industry.

Sourced from Forbes

In News

YouTube’s war against third party apps is just as ridiculous as its war on adblockers

May 30, 2024 No Comments

By Dhruv Bhutani

YouTube’s decaying user experience has a more significant role to play in piracy than ad blocking

It’s always the innocent civilian who is the casualty of any war. It would be unfair to say that YouTube’s crusade against third-party apps has quite the gravity of war. However, the fact of the matter is that, once again, it is the customers who are caught in the crossfire of the company’s relentless pursuit to thwart third-party apps. Something’s got to give.

Recently, YouTube stated that it would strengthen its enforcement against apps that help users circumvent ads, circling us right back to YouTube’s other unwinnable war, its war against ad blockers. However, there’s a fallacy in YouTube’s understanding of the issue. Ad-blocking is just one feature offered by third-party YouTube apps and doesn’t necessarily even require another app. These alternative YouTube apps open up a world of quality-of-life additions that YouTube has either decided to remove or wasn’t thoughtful enough to include in the first place. And avid YouTube enthusiasts aren’t about to give up on these incredible features in the face of the company’s threats.

Ad-blocking is just one reason to install a third-party YouTube app

YouTube’s cheapening of the user experience has a larger role to play

Understanding YouTube’s ham-fisted approach against third-party apps requires understanding why people care enough to jump through loopholes to sideload these apps. It would be fairly trivial to point at ads as the singular problem with YouTube. However, that would be trivializing the extent of the issue. Ads have almost always been part and parcel of the YouTube experience. However, there’s a point at which ads become so frequent, so irrelevant, and so relentless that they start hurting the user experience. We’ve been past that point for a while now.

Scour community forums like Reddit, and you’ll spot user complaints about people having to sit through back-to-back ads after watching a single video. The other day, I had to sit through three 30-second long ads, two seemingly unskippable, to watch a minute-long video. That’s ridiculous. YouTube’s sneaky methods of hiding away skip buttons add to the menace.

But that’s not all there is to it. YouTube’s entire user experience has been going downhill for years. Pop open the app, and you’ll be bombarded by utterly unrelated content that has nothing to do with what you’ve been watching. Whatever happened to personalization, YouTube? The issue isn’t recent, either. By all estimates, the tipping point was somewhere around 2016. However, it’s just been getting worse. I don’t see a correlation between stand-up comedy and an account that only follows engineering and history documentaries, but perhaps I’m missing something.

Moreover, those unrelated recommendations have completely taken over my subscriptions. Unless I deep dive into the subscriptions tab, the app won’t show me all the new content that creators I follow have been putting out. There used to be a time when I’d pop into an exciting video and be taken down a rabbit hole of related videos I could binge through the night. That time has gone and has been gone for a while now.

Unfortunately, I wish solid recommendations, or the lack thereof, were the last of my concerns. It’s not, and the mobile app’s degradation has almost put me off watching YouTube on my phone. As I write this piece, my homepage consists of a sponsored ad for a television show in a language I don’t understand. This is followed by a 2 x 4 grid of YouTube Shorts with content unrelated to my subscriptions and watch history. Perhaps there’s a missing connection between Bollywood dance and Czechoslovakia’s Socialist history, but I fail to see it. Stay put because it doesn’t end there. You’ll also find a few more ads and occasionally an entire section dedicated to YouTube Music. Sigh. It really shouldn’t come as a surprise to Google that users are starting to retaliate.

Elsewhere, the app keeps making watching high-quality videos more complicated. My data limit is high enough that I don’t need to micromanage YouTube’s data consumption. If I’ve set it to high-quality playback, I want it to be the case for all the videos I watch. Except, that isn’t the case. Repeatedly, the app swaps out the high-quality stream for a mobile-optimized option.

Third-party apps offer a better YouTube experience than YouTube itself

Sometimes, Less is more

Based on the company’s statements, it’s clear that Google thinks third-party apps exist to remove ads. Sure, that might be the case for a significant number of users. However, these apps also add quality of life additions — A concept that is alien to the company. Dislikes? Who needs them? Right?

Third-party apps let users take control of their feeds. Apps like Revanced let you remove shorts from your home feed, get rid of obtrusive end screen cards, or do things like repeat a particular video — a must-have if you have a go-to focus music track.

Elsewhere, tools like SponsorBlock are a godsend for scrubbing past annoying sponsored segments within a video. This is not content that Google can monetize and should have no issue with. I won’t go into the ethics of supporting a creator you like. My gripes tend to be with creators who agree to partner with unscrupulous companies for a quick buck. But that’s a debate for another day.

YouTube vs. Third-party apps: A cat and mouse game

Third-party apps aren’t going anywhere

I have little hope that the collective protests of YouTube enthusiasts will change the company’s stance. As video consumption grows multifold year-on-year, Google has a business to run, and ads are its business, not entertainment. It wants you to watch more videos, any videos. Pushing clickbait and conspiracy theories is bound to pique the curiosity of most of us. Similarly, the push to bring podcasts to YouTube is driven by the desire for a consolidated user base to monetize through ads. And it’ll do everything it can to boost engagement over usability. Any additional tap, accidental even, is worth it. It’s pure speculation on my end, but I think it would be fair to say that YouTube’s UX focuses on making the experience annoying enough that users will eventually be compelled to pay for YouTube Premium.

The Android Police team dive into YouTube Premium and whether the benefit of YouTube Music is worth the cost to remove ads

But here’s where YouTube is mistaken — third-party apps aren’t going anywhere. Developers erring on the rebellious side of the internet tend to have a dog-headed approach. The recent example of Nintendo striking down emulators shows that, like the proverbial Hydra, if you chop off one head, another head, or in this case, fork, is bound to pop up. The more Google pushes back, the more developers are bound to double down on their efforts. It might take longer for devs to circumvent some restrictions, but I don’t see any scenario where third-party YouTube apps won’t exist.

YouTube’s monopoly on video streaming guarantees that we haven’t seen the last of this cat-and-mouse game. Google’s “Don’t be evil” days might be behind it, but it would do well to take a step back on pursuing alternative app developers and focus more on improving its core user experience. It only makes it look more evil.

By Dhruv Bhutani

Dhruv Bhutani has been writing about consumer technology since 2008. He brings extensive insights into the Android smartphone landscape, which he translates into features and opinion pieces.

Sourced from Android Police

editor

Strategies for Achieving Higher Conversions and Better ROI

Table of Contents

Introduction to Email Marketing Conversion Rates

What Are Email Marketing Conversion Rates?

Importance of Tracking and Analysing Conversion Rates in Email Marketing

Understanding Average Email Marketing Conversion Rates

Factors That Influence Average Conversion Rates

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Techniques

Five effective CRO techniques to enhance your email marketing conversion rates:

Benchmarks and Industry Standards for Average Conversion Rates

Key Metrics for Evaluating Email Marketing Conversion Rates

Click-Through Rates (CTR) And Its Relationship to Conversion Rates

Open Rates and Their Impact on Conversion Rates

How To Determine Conversion Rates in Email Marketing

Calculation Formula for Conversion Rates

Tracking Conversions and Attributing Them To Specific Email Campaigns

Tools and Software for Measuring Conversion Rates

Strategies for Improving Conversion Rates in Email Marketing

Crafting Compelling Subject Lines and Email Content

To Create Subject Lines That Truly Stand Out, Consider the Following Tips:

A/B testing and Optimization

Utilizing Persuasive Copywriting Techniques

Real-World Examples of High-Converting Emails

Tracking and Analysing Email Marketing Conversion Rates

Best Practices for Achieving Higher Conversion Rates in Email Marketing

1. Building a Responsive Email List

2. Email Segmentation and Targeting Strategies

3. Deliverability and Email Reputation Management

Lessons Learned From Successful Conversion Rate Optimization Strategies

By Kanishka Kumawat

Sourced from beehiiv Blog

Localization Bridges The Gap Between Global Reach And Local Relevance

Data-Driven Attribution Unravels The Complexities Of User Behaviour

Predictive Conversations Anticipate User Needs and Preferences

AI Use In Creative Elevates Brand Storytelling And Visual Communication

By Alex Kudos

Sourced from Forbes

While the SEO landscape is changing rapidly, it is still crucial for business growth online.

Checking the Alternatives to Popular SEO Software

Why Considering Alternatives is Beneficial?

Drawbacks of Popular SEO Software

Over-dependence and inflexibility

Incomplete data and insights

Lack of Unique Competitive Advantages

Steep Learning Curves

Factors Impacting the Quality of SEO Software

The Combination of Features and Functionality

Compatibility and Ease of Use

Budget Constraints

The Quality of Customer Support

How to Finalize Your Decision?

Conclusion

Sourced from FingerLakes1.com

Do nice folks in business come in last?

How To Use Your Kindness As A Strategy

1. See.

2. Hear.

3. Remember.

How To Stay Kind Even When It’s Not Reciprocated

1. Treat everyone with respect.

2. Don’t react.

3. Set boundaries.

By Ken Sterling

Sourced from Forbes

Best Practices and Strategies for Email Automation

Table of Contents

Introduction to Automated Email Campaigns

The Evolution of Email Automation

Defining Automated Email Campaigns

The Importance of Email Automation in Marketing

Enhancing Customer Engagement

Streamlining Communication Processes

Types of Automated Email Campaigns

Welcome Email Series

Abandoned Cart Reminders

Re-Engagement Campaigns

Post-Purchase Follow-Ups

Other Automated Email Ideas

Planning Your Automated Email Strategy