Target Marketing

You will be automatically redirected to targetmarketingmag in 20 seconds.
Skip this advertisement.

Advertisement
Advertisement
 
 

Famous Last Words : Gevalia's Gaffe

May 2009 By Denny Hatch
Get the Flash Player to see this rotator.
 
I don’t allow spam filters to censor my e-mail. As a commentator on the business of marketing, I want to see everything—warts and all. What’s more, being a “see guy” rather than a “hear guy,” I can scan an inbox and delete 100 messages in about 30 seconds.

One Monday in March, the following subject line turned up in my inbox: $168 Coffee Lover’s Promo From Gevalia.

I started to delete it when suddenly it dawned on me that Gevalia Kaffe was nuts to ask a stranger for $168 in the middle of a recession. I clicked through, and the landing page proclaimed that I could receive a coffee maker, carafe, travel mug and two boxes of coffee (worth $168 retail) for $22.95 (plus shipping and handling).

The writer stated the offer bass-ackward.

About the Subject Line
The e-mail subject line is the equivalent of the outer envelope teaser copy. Mel Martin, the world’s slowest copywriter, who built the Boardroom empire into a $125-million-a-year business, would sometimes spend a week on the envelope. How important is the teaser or subject line to a sales effort? It’s 100 percent important. After all, if the envelope is pitched out unopened or the e-mail is deleted sans clickthrough, the entire effort is wasted. Once it is opened, that bit of copy represents 0 percent importance.

“It’s the offer, stupid!” said Seattle agency head Bob Hacker. “If performance isn’t what it should be, check the offer first.”

Guru Axel Andersson said, “If you want to dramatically increase your response, then dramatically improve your offer.”

Andersson also said, “Spelling out the offer on the envelope is a dangerous ploy in mailings to cold lists.” This is echoed by legendary freelancer Herschell Gordon Lewis, who stated that you cannot make a sales case on the envelope (and by extension, the subject line of an e-mail). The only purpose of this message is to get the thing opened. For example, “Save 20 Percent on Your Automobile Insurance” is of interest only to people who have been bothered by the thought that they are paying too much for automobile insurance. A far stronger headline (and promise): “Put $200 cash in your pocket next week!”

“The right offer should be so attractive that only a lunatic would say no,” said the great marketing practitioner of the 1930s, Claude Hopkins.

 

Companies Mentioned:

SPONSORED CONTENT

MORE ON ONLINE MARKETING >>

FROM THE BOOKSTORE

Hitting the Email Inbox: Protect your sender rep, clean up your e-list and improve design to add dollars to your email marketing ROI <i>Hitting the Email Inbox</i> covers all the bases of email deliverability, including everything from the very basics, to reputation management, as well as coding and design, and the connections between email deliverability and ROI. As any good email marketer today knows, there are a number of obstacles standing between you and your prospect’s inbox. With anti-spam technology becoming more and more powerful and prospects being blitzed by rapidly increasing email volume, an email marketer’s concern isn’t just open rate anymore; it’s getting the email successfully delivered in the first place. <i>Hitting the Email Inbox: Protect your sender rep, clean up your e-list and improve design to add dollars to your email marketing ROI </i> features five chapters full of industry-proven best practices to achieve maximum inbox delivery. You’ll also get dozens of surefire tips and methods for improving your deliverability, including: • Developing a trigger email program • Segmenting and reviewing your results by service • Understanding the whitelist/blacklist process • Using different addresses for different segments of your file • Not falling into the whole openers/non-openers/clickers trap • Test mailing at different times of the day • Being smart about timing • Use an ECOA service • Looking into certification, and much more! <b><u>The report also includes four detailed case studies</b></u>, providing practical examples of what email deliverability tactics did and didn’t work for four real-life companies. <b><u>100% Money-Back Guarantee</b></u> Your order is risk-free. If you are not completely delighted with <i>Hitting the Email Inbox</i>, notify us within 30 days for a complete credit or refund, no questions asked. <b><u>About DirectMarketingIQ</u></b> The Research Division of the Target Marketing Group, DirectMarketingIQ (www.directmarketingiq.com) is the go-to resource for direct marketers. Publishing books, special reports, case study stockpiles and how-to guides, it opens up a new world for those who seek more information, more ideas and more success stories in order to boost their own marketing efforts. DirectMarketingIQ has unparalleled access to direct marketing data - including the world's most complete library of direct mail as well as a growing library of promotional emails across hundreds of categories - and proudly produces content from the most experienced editors and practitioners in the industry. <b>Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to read <i>Hitting the Email Inbox</i>, which is in PDF format. </b> Hitting the Email Inbox

Hitting the Email Inbox: Protect your sender rep, clean up your e-list and improve design to add dollars to your email marketing ROI Hitting the Email Inbox covers all the bases of email deliverability, including everything from the very basics, to reputation management, as well as coding and design, and...

ORDER NOW

PDF FORMAT <i>"Despite news to the contrary — especially from the social media space — reports of the death of email are greatly exaggerated. In fact, as your inboxes most likely show, email is growing and becoming even more sophisticated."</i> -- from <i>The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing</i> It's true. Email marketing is still going strong, and continues to be one of the most important factors in any marketing campaign. From the first six months of 2010 to the first six months of 2011 alone, there was a nearly 21 percent increase in email volume! The average number of emails received per day in the first six months of 2010 was 472, and during the first six months of 2011, the daily average increased to 571. Marketers are having success with their email campaigns and using it more and more. That being the case, your email marketing campaign needs all the attention it can get, and knowing what works and what doesn't is the best way to start. That's where "The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing" comes in. The Guide is brought to you by the email marketing experts at DMIQ and their extensive research into one of the largest email campaign archives in the industry. On top of latest trends, it features 19 best practice chapters from today's email marketing thought leaders. You will learn how to create a relevant email program to nurture leads and drive sales, how to best use call-to-action visuals in your emails, and how to use social email to improve marketing effectiveness. You’ll also learn: • Email Marketing Trends in 2011 • Best Practices in Writing Subject Lines • The Strategy (and Tricks) for Improving Open Rate and Response • 6 Tests to Improve Email Program Results • 5 Best Practices for the Gangbusting Email Campaign • Best Practices for Improving Email Performance • 6 Ways to Make Your Emails Mobile-Ready • Email Branding — The 16 Most Effective Strategies • 11 Best Creative Practices for B-to-B Email Marketing • The Keys to Developing a Successful E-newsletter • How to Determine Your Customers’ Email Content Tolerance • How Email Marketers Can Optimize the Social Media Opportunity • …Just to name a few! This comprehensive report also offers three in-depth case studies, so you can see practical examples of how these methods worked for real-life businesses. "The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing" is an essential tool for any business that ever sends an email. <b><u>100% Money-Back Guarantee</b></u> Your order is risk-free. If you are not completely delighted with “The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing,” notify us within 30 days for a complete credit or refund, no questions asked. <u>About DirectMarketingIQ</u> The Research Division of the Target Marketing Group, DirectMarketingIQ (www.directmarketingiq.com) is the go-to resource for direct marketers. Publishing books, special reports, case study stockpiles and how-to guides, it opens up a new world for those who seek more information, more ideas and more success stories in order to boost their own marketing efforts. DirectMarketingIQ has unparalleled access to direct marketing data - including the world's most complete library of direct mail as well as a growing library of promotional emails across hundreds of categories - and proudly produces content from the most experienced editors and practitioners in the industry. Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to read The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, which is in PDF format. The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing

PDF FORMAT "Despite news to the contrary — especially from the social media space — reports of the death of email are greatly exaggerated. In fact, as your inboxes most likely show, email is growing and becoming even more sophisticated." -- from The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing It's true....

ORDER NOW

 

COMMENTS

Click here to leave a comment...
Comment *
Most Recent Comments: