{!date dayname+0}, {!date long+0} Dear {!firstname_fix} It has clearly been a dreadful week for anyone in Libya. For the Libyan people themselves they faced being bombed and shot by their own leaders. For the foreign workers they had to overcome massive difficulties in trying to escape. And for Gaddafi himself he squared up to the possibility he may be killed by his own people. There is no good side to be on in the Libyan crisis. But like every other human-created crisis there has ever been - even in your own business - it was entirely preventable. For instance, companies often find they get negative reactions on social networks for some minor failure in their delivery or service provision. But actually, all that was needed was improved planning, better business processes or a more stringent selection of suppliers. If those things had been done - then the negative Tweets would not have arisen. Gaddafi and political leaders worldwide are all wondering what to do. If they had given more thought to the possibilities years ago, we wouldn't be in this situation now. Similarly, in your business, how much thought have you given to the future? Few of us in business do enough future thinking - and then we have to mop up the negative social comment when it arrives. Cart before horse and all that.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Is email marketing still effective? The other day I was at a business meeting where I was told that email marketing is dead thanks to Facebook. According to the person who was speaking to me, young people no longer use email, so it is dying out. Apparently, I was informed, there is so much spam nowadays that even older people who used to rely on email have given it up. Well, I did my best to gently disagree, but this chap was basing his arguments on hearsay and assumption - and a dose of the Daily Mail probably. Facts and evidence, that's what we should rely on to make our business decision. The facts include - 3.5m emails are sent every SECOND, there are almost 3bn email accounts in the world and 20% of email is NOT spam. Also, even though vast tonnes of email is spam - almost all of that does not get through. Which means that every day around 60bn non-spam emails are actually received. To me that doesn't sound like this medium is dead; gosh it doesn't even sound like it is terminal. To me, it sounds in rude health. Other evidence also exists which shows that for every email marketing campaign that is sent out, the average conversion figure is around 10%. Yet the average conversion figure for a website is 2%. Which means email marketing is around FIVE TIMES more successful than plain old web marketing. And if email marketing did not work, why would there be spam anyway? The fact that most of us never see spam would surely mean it is ineffective. But if you send out billions of emails for some male enhancing pharmaceutical you only need a tiny, tiny rather limp percentage to take up the offer for it to be financially successful. The spammers would stop if email marketing didn't produce the goods. Strangely, all the time there is spam it is an indication that the medium is working. Once spamming stops it is time to rethink email marketing because it would be a clear indication it no longer worked...! 
So, don't be put off by people who tell you email doesn't work any more. Email marketing really does work - indeed most businesses don't do enough of it. And if you want a system which works really well, then I'd suggest the company which delivered this email to you - Aweber.
WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK: Sometimes you have to poke people between the eyes I ran a workshop this week for a small group of business owners who were all in the professional service sector. I carefully selected a couple of "worked examples" - one was about a law firm, the other about a group of accountants. I showed what could be achieved online for companies in similar situations and, I reckoned, used the examples to demonstrate specific things for the "business to business" arena. However, I prefaced my remarks by saying that I don't believe there is any such thing as "business to business" - in my view ALL business is "person to person". I said that B2C and B2B is a false distinction which actually prevents many business owners from success. I also then used some online success stories to show what I meant - Dell and Starbucks amongst them - before moving on to my detailed case histories of law and accountancy. But after the event a couple of people told me that the workshop did not really work too well - because it was "only about B2C". There were no "B2B" examples I was told. Er...what about the law firm and the accountants...? I'd spent about one third of the entire workshop focused on just those two detailed examples, but some people in the room somehow didn't hear about them....! I suspect what happened was that they heard the introductory material about Starbucks or Dell and assumed it was only, as they call it "B2C" and so they shut their ears to the rest of what I said. Some people, it seems, need constant reminders and a constant poke in the eyes that "this is for them". Sometimes, people cannot see what is right in front of their face unless you push them into it.
THIS WEEK'S "MUST BUY": Create Stunning HTML Email This is a rather brilliant book from Sitepoint which shows you exactly how to create beautiful emails which really grab people's attention. If you want to improve your email marketing results, this book can really help. The book helps you plan the right kind of emails you need and takes you through the steps necessary to produce stunning messages which will get noticed. Although there is some technical material in this book, it is not too complex. To find out more about this book visit: http://uklik.me/stunningemail
Kind Regards
Graham Jones Web: grahamjones.co.uk Tel: +44 118 336 9710 If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter than you can delete your name from the mailing list by clicking this link: {!remove_web} Affiliate Links: Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links providing me with a small commission when you purchase the item. However, I only use affiliate links for products which I personally value. |
