Email Archives - Marketing, content, & technology to help printers sell more printing

Though it can be tempting to stay status quo with your email list for the sake of numbers, the truth is a smaller list of responsive email contacts is of higher quality and greater benefit to your print business. If your email list contains a large number of unresponsive contacts, it’s time to ask yourself why and what you can do about it. You want your print buyer subscribers to rapidly open and respond to your messages and have appreciable reactions to your email campaigns. But how do you accomplish this? Here are ten do’s and don’ts for maintaining an email list of responsive contacts and keeping you out of the junk folder: Do: Seek Reader Consent for Subscribing Don’t: Buy Email Lists Buying lists of contacts will provide you with a larger base audience; however, it doesn’t guarantee engagement. By allowing your readers to choose to subscribe to your emails, you have a greater chance that these people are interested in your print products and marketing services and will respond to your email campaigns. One of the most effective tools to encourage print buyers and prospects to subscribe to your email list is offering them a reward in exchange

What’s the big secret to getting print buyers to open your emails? Attention-grabbing headlines. Because your print buyers are busier than ever before, a lot of business emails end up going straight into the trash. But this doesn’t have to happen to you with strategic subject lines that can get your emails noticed and read. Emails that have a high success rate begin with a subject line that immediately grabs your print buyers’ attention and pulls them into the body of the email. The most effective subject lines have a personal appeal, piquing your audience’s curiosity and encouraging them to dive into the additional email content. With the all-new Email Marketing For Printers solution available now, here are some of top tips for writing subject lines that get your emails opened: 1. Keep it personal Personalization using merge tags can help you customize email subject lines to include the print buyer’s name, company, or specific geographical location. Personalized subject lines yield an excellent response when it comes to open rates. These types of customized subject lines are particularly effective if used alongside marketing initiatives such as birthday offers, post-purchase feedback requests, or even your monthly direct mail newsletter. 2. Use

A sustainable marketing strategy is all about balance. Yes, we love (and are partial to) print, but it’s not the end-all, be-all if you’re genuinely focused on meeting your print buyers where they’re at. And where are they? Everywhere: print, online, social media, in-person, and in your email inbox. Did you know that 73% of businesses use email as their primary source of communication? You need to be a part of those conversations, and email drip campaigns are the perfect place to start. What Are Email Drip Campaigns? Email drip campaigns (also known as “drip marketing campaigns,” “automated marketing campaigns,” “drip campaigns,” and “drip mailings’) are a series of marketing communications sent in sequence to lead your print buyers to the point of purchase. Drip campaigns get their name for the ongoing value they provide to your subscribers, gradually providing them with helpful information, updates, products, and notifications. These emails can be more education-based (as you’re used to receiving from us) or more focused, personalized, and timely, like a welcome campaign. In drip marketing, you send emails in response to your print buyer’s actions (or inactions) based on certain triggers. Triggers can be specific timelines, time frames, or other things,

Did you know that your customers and prospects assume you’re an expert in marketing as a whole – print, digital, online, offline, and everything in between? That means, Your marketing expertise can’t stop at direct mail. When you embrace the benefits of email marketing, you’ll not only be helping your business personally, but you’ll be showing off your other marketing-ninja tactics as well. Here’s proof. Here are three ways email newsletters help you win at selling more printing. 1. Email Newsletters Build Connections What is the most important thing you can do for your customers, especially in recent times? Connect with them. When you deliver a newsletter consistently, it helps your brand come to mind when the times comes that your customers and prospects do need a product. Although the medium is different than print, the idea is the same: to be regularly connecting with your audience. Connection is meaningful because it means they know you. If they know you, they can like you. If they can like you, they can trust you. And if they trust you, they will buy from you. Think of it like this: how many times have you gone to purchase something and found a

Adding email campaigns to your marketing toolkit is an excellent way to create connections and get your message out to the masses. To help you achieve the best results in your email marketing efforts, check out these 17 best email marketing practices: Perfect Your Proofing 1. Send it to Yourself Before you send an email to anyone in your audience, send yourself a copy and review thoroughly. According to Forbes.com, here are 5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Sending Any Email: Why should I open this? (Compelling subject line) Who are you? (Find common ground and establish rapport from there.) What do you need? (Get to the point of your correspondence as quickly as you can.) What’s in it for me? (What you want from your reader should benefit them just as much as it helps you.) Will you appreciate it? (Show your gratitude and sincerity in your messaging.) 2. Check All Links (and Limit Them) Have you ever received an email and then a few minutes later received another email with an apology that they sent the wrong link? While mistakes will happen, make a checklist of items you always check before you hit send, making sure that checking

Most companies, printers included, haven’t spent the time to define their sales process or the stages a prospect goes through before they buy. Even still, there are several more companies who have discrepancies in their sales process depending who you ask. Defining this process isn’t an easy exercise to go through, but it’s very necessary. And, having it well-defined will help you grow, follow up with sales opportunities, and streamline your sales process. But, what does that have to do with MQLs and SQLs? MQL VS SQL An MQL is defined as a Marketing Qualified Lead. It’s a print buyer who’s still a prospect but has indicated a level of interest in buying some sort of printing or services from your print business. This person is deemed likely to become a future customer after some nurturing. An SQL is defined as a Sales Qualified Lead. An SQL is a print buyer who started as a prospect and has shown high levels of interest in buying printing from you. They’ve shown that interest through a set of specific actions and are highly likely to then convert into a paying customer. This is someone who’s ready to speak to you about something

Email marketing isn’t easy. After all the time you’ve invested carefully crafting the perfect email, it’s important to make sure your message bypasses the digital black hole (a.k.a. the junk folder) and lands safely in the inbox of your customers and prospects. Here are some easy tips to get your email message on its way to spam-free status. It’s All About the List 1. Get permission first. Good email marketing starts with permission. Create a sign-up form and put it on your website to build your list in an honest, straightforward manner. After all, no one likes unsolicited anything, right? 2. Give the option to (easily!) unsubscribe or to update their preferences at any time. Along with permission, comes options. Remember, even though they allow you to send them email, that might not mean they want ten emails a week from you. 3. Be careful when buying lists. Buying lists can sometimes mean acquiring addresses without consent, which is more likely to lead to complaints and more importantly, not buying. If you don’t have the time to work on building your own list, make sure to do your due diligence when buying lists to ensure you’re getting a quality list. 4. Practice