|
Check out our eMarketing Tools
- New! Ezlistz - Build your email
list quickly with this free tool.
- Blacklist
Monitor- Want to get off a Blacklist? We tell you
how.
- Ad Tracking - Track all of your online
advertising to ensure it is working for you.
Email
Marketing - #1 method of marketing today. Download your free
trial.
- Search Engine Positioning - Get top-10 search engine ranking
with WebPostionGold. Download your free trial.
- HTML EMAIL
PACK 4.0- This Template Kit puts an assortment of HTML
Email Templates at your disposal including templates for: Newsletters,
Product Announcements, Catalogs, and more!
|
|
Archives eMarketing Tools Advertise Unsubscribe Subscribe
Today's
Article: Troubleshooting Poor Response from Ad
Campaigns
Today's Ask Dr. Ebiz:
What is
Spam?
Want to reach more than 10,000
readers? Advertise in the
@Marketing Digest.
Want to
build your email list securely and safely with no programming
necessary?
Check
us out.
What
Happened? Troubleshooting Poor Response from Ad
Campaigns
by
Diane Hughes
Too many small business owners today run ad
campaigns that get little to no results, and they have no idea why.
When you have the knowledge to troubleshoot the poor responses, you
also have the knowledge to make the needed changes so that - next
time - your sales improve! Let's take a look at the breakdown of an
ad campaign, and how to determine what went wrong.
Response
vs. Results
It's important to understand the difference
between response rate and results. When a customer takes the action
you want him/her to take (i.e., clicking to your site, calling your
800 number, etc.), then you've achieved "response." This does NOT
mean you've made a sale. The response rate of your ad campaign can
be high without ever selling one product or
service.
"Results," on the other hand, are the sales you make
in conjunction with the response rate. When a customer takes the
action you want him/her to take AND buys your product/service, then
you've achieved results.
No Response
When you get
little to no response, chances are that one of two things happened.
One - your ad was poorly written and didn't generate enough interest
to excite the customer to take action; or two - the ad didn't reach
your preferred target customer.
How do you determine which
one is the culprit? Test! Use the same ad, but place it in a
different ezine or on a different Web site. If response rate
improves, you know the ad is most likely fine, but the audience
exposure was off. If the response rate does not improve, it's
probably best to rewrite the headline, the ad, or
both.
Response But No Results
If you run an ezine ad,
banner ad, etc., and get responses without making any sales, the
most probable theory is that your supporting ad copy or offer is not
doing its job. Ezine ads, banner ads, and the like will never make a
sale on their own. The customer is almost always going to be
directed to click back to your Web site. If the copy/design of your
ad is working, but no sales are being made, take a good look at the
copy or design of your site. Chances are that *it* could be costing
you sales.
Again, testing is the key. Change a headline, add
links that direct to "more information" pages, and so on. Run the ad
again, and see if your results improve.
You'll notice that in
either case, testing is the recommended course of action. So many
small business owners get in a hurry and neglect to test their ads.
While it may seem costly to run an ad, change an ad, and run it
again - the truth is that running unproven ads all across the 'Net
without gaining any return on investment (ROI) is a huge waste of
money.
Yes, it does take a good deal of time. Yes, it can
cost additional money. However, once you've taken the time to test
an ad, and the copy on the supporting Web site that customers will
be directed to, you'll be in a much better position to ensure
consistent sales from your campaigns.
----------------------------------------
Diane
Hughes is an accomplished Internet entrepreneur and editor of the
popular ProBizTips Newsletter. Subscribe to her newsletter for more
tips, tricks, and secrets of the trade -- plus get HUNDREDS of
eBooks, software, and tools just for subscribing! http://www.marketersdream.com/diane
Editors Note: - A couple of products that
will allow you to track the results of your online campaigns are Eztrackz (a service) and Adtrackz (a
product).
"Dr
Ebiz"
"The 'unsolicited' requirement for e-mail advertisements to avoid
spamming still eludes me, as to when it applies. I would greatly
appreciate any help or counsel that you can offer with regard to
how I may avoid spamming but still cultivate potential clients
using e-mail that advertises a new product." -- Eugene S. Yankura
| I am over-simplifying below, and
since this regards laws, realize that I am not a lawyer and
cannot give legal advice. For your legal protection you are
responsible to fully obey the applicable laws, but I hope the
information below helps you get the
idea. |
SPAM is often in the eye of the beholder. There is no single,
fully-agreed upon definition, but it is usually defined as
unsolicited commercial e-mail that is sent in bulk, that is, e-mails
sent in bulk fashion to people who didn't request or give permission
for those e-mails to be sent to them. US laws generally allow
unsolicited e-mails, while laws of Australia and European countries
prohibit them.
The American CAN-SPAM Act doesn't outlaw all kinds of spam. It
is, unfortunately, an opt-out approach. That is, it doesn't
prohibit unsolicited e-mail, but requires that the e-mailer not be
deceptive and quickly unsubscribe people who want to opt-out or
unsubscribe.
But what is legal doesn't dictate what is best. An opt-in
approach -- only send e-mail to people who have requested it --
is much, much better, since it respects the customer. That is the
practice of all respected marketing professionals.
Moreover, just to make sure someone didn't request my newsletter
on your behalf, recipients must respond to a confirmation e-mail to
make sure they actually wanted to receive the newsletter. The
confirmation system is called confirmed opt-in or double
opt-in. It is considered the best practice, and I strongly
recommend that e-mail marketers move to this standard.
If you want to e-mail market to people who aren't on your own
in-house subscriber list, you have three choices:
- You can rent e-mail lists of people who have agreed to
allow third parties to send them relevant e-mail. (Whether true
"permission" can really be transferred in such a fashion is
another issue.) These typically cost 3¢ to 25¢ per name (or $30 to
$250 CPM). Legitimate companies can be secured through a list
broker or list managers such as NetCreations or YesMail.
- You can buy so-called "clean" e-mail lists that are
essentially sold by spammers who don't care where they get their
names. Any price under about 3¢ per name is almost certainly a
spam list, not a true permission-based list. Such lists often
contain e-mail addresses obtained by harvesting e-mail addresses
from websites and/or "dictionary attacks" on e-mail servers. If
you are prosecuted under the CAN-SPAM act, e-mailing to such names
will cause you grief. Procuring e-mail addresses or procuring
e-mail services could make you liable for jail time if you know or
should have known that names were obtained illegally. Don't
give in to this temptation, for it can get you in big trouble with
your ISP, web hosting service, and the FTC.
- You could "trade" with friends stand-alone e-mailings
to your list, but now you've moved to sending unsolicited e-mails
and are responsible legally for the source of your friend's e-mail
addresses. Not recommended.
To sum up: Spam is generally defined as unsolicited e-mail.
However, it is considered legal to rent permission-based lists for
e-mail campaigns. The CAN-SPAM Act in the US makes it illegal to
send deceptive e-mails and to continue to send e-mails to people who
have unsubscribed or opted out (among other things). If you live in
Europe and Australia, sending e-mail itself is illegal without
permission from the recipient. Canada has no specific anti-spam
legislation at present.
"Copyright 2005, Ralph F. Wilson. All rights
reserved. Used by permission."
Have your
emails been blocked in error?
Perhaps you
are on a Blacklist.
Check here
Return to
Top of Newsletter
If you have received this
newsletter, your email was submitted to our website through the
sign-up box or you are a client of Mailworkz/Broadcast.
Mailworkz Home Archives
|
