Posted by Niel Stender on Tue, May 08, 2012 @ 09:42 AM
From http://beqrious.com
This is absolutely of no surprise at all…small businesses are always looking for budget-friendly ways to introduce, promote, sell, increase the profit for their small businesses. Without a large budget, can you blame them for believing in the magic of QR Codes?
In Lakewood, there is one beer and wine business owner who is going to bank in on QR Code marketing, believing that the QR Code that is plastered on the signboard in front of his store works. Manny Rai also has one plastered on the front window. At the moment, Manny Rai, the owner of the said beer and wine business, went ahead and made a 3-foot QR Code and hung it at the top of his shop. From the picture found on the internet, it sure is a head-turner.
According to Rai, there are right about 8 to 1o people who actually takes the time stop and scan the QR Code every day. While most do it because they were curious, it is still an encouraging news. Sure, it is nothing compared to what the likes of Macy’s and Pepsi are doing but it is still an improvement and shows marketing savviness. Apparently, a code of that size can be scanned from as far as forty feet away from the store. And even if people DID NOT scan the code, some would actually ask about it. Eventually, as they switch to a new phone, I am pretty sure that they will start scanning the QR Code just to see it for themselves.
An owner of trendy Bistro 185 located down in Cleveland started using QR Codes in ads for a year now and he shares a very optimistic belief in it. His enthusiasm is unwavering, a fact shown in the fact that he has no way of monitoring or tracking the effectiveness of the QR Codes and yet continues to use if, believing that it is working anyway. He believes that QR Codes is not a fad because mobile phones are no longer just phones…they are mobile computers.
A marketing big gun once mentioned that small companies are comparatively slower to hop onto new tech bandwagons because their receptiveness for anything new is dampened by a shallow budget, lack of time and they also take a longer time to learn and adopt a new technology. On the other hand, of the ones who DO use QR Codes as a part of their marketing campaign, they do it for the cool factor.
But remember, folks, even if you are doing it for the cool factor, do it right. Point it to something really exciting or if there is anything exciting at that point, at the very least, make the website mobile-friendly.
I am sorry for repeating this but it’s a real pain if the site is not mobile-friendly and I am sure that it is a big turn-off for interested people who are new to the technology.
Posted by Niel Stender on Wed, May 02, 2012 @ 09:39 AM
From http://smallbiztrends.com by Lisa Barone
Sometimes we want advice for the right now of life. We want stuff we can do today and immediately see results from, not have to wait three weeks to see if it’s taking effect. With that in mind, below are ten things you can do on Twitter today to make a difference and help grow your audience and following. Its bite-sized action chunks for your Wednesday.
Got a spoon?
1. Schedule your tweeting: For most of us, checking Twitter is part of our routine. We do it first thing in the morning, after lunch and maybe again for a few minutes in the afternoon. And this is why scheduling your tweets when you know your audience is there and waiting is such a good idea. “Scheduling” your tweets may simply mean picking which times of the day you’ll be around for conversation and making an appointment with yourself or it may mean using a tool like HootSuite to help you automatically tweet instead of doing it manually. Either way, what’s important is that you’re engaging with your fans when they’re waiting to be engaged with.
2. Find some cool followers: Why not make some new friends today? Use a tool like FollowerWonk, take ten minutes, and find five new people to follow. These can be people who are in your area, share a common passion, or who you see tweeting about your competitors. Follow them and say hello. Say nothing about what you do or the products you sell and just start a conversation like a regular person. Sounds crazy, right? It’s really not. That’s how relationships form.
3. Know your audience: It’s important to know who your target audience is on Twitter so you can be sure to share information/content that they’re interested in. If your audience is known for being an expert on a particular subject, then you don’t want to tweet beginner tutorials or too many How Tos at them. Or, conversely, if they’re just learning how to speak a new language, you don’t want to go too far over their head about conversational Spanish. By taking the time to create a developed user profile for your audience, it can help you tweet information that is relevant to their interests and wants.
4. Share news: Are you subscribed to any blogs or RSS feeds to help you stay up to date on important information related to your niche? If yes, share one piece of content today that really made you think, made you angry, or made you want to take some sort of action. If you’re not already subscribed, use a feed reader like Google Reader to help you stay up to date on your favorite blogs and always have something tweet-worthy to share with your audience.
5. Solve a problem: After lunch take another few minutes and perform some Twitter searches. Search for things like[keyword phrase + problem] or [help + keyword] to find people talking about a problem that your business can solve. Once you find the tweets, share a relevant link or a resource with them that may help with them with their problem. Or, if you don’t have an answer yourself, retweet their message and see if anyone else in your network can help.
6. Tweet tips: Boost your credibility among your followings by tweeting tips today related to your industry. Share tools, resource sites, helpful followers, ideas, strategies or anything else you think will be helpful to someone in your niche.
7. Tweet your goods more than once: One fatal mistake many SMBs make is that they tweet their content the moment they publish it…and then they never tweet it again. If you’ve just created something awesome, don’t be afraid to tweet it 2-3 times over the course of the day to help get as many eyeballs on it as possible. Most people don’t stay glued to their Twitter stream the entire day, they’re only checking in
Those are seven things anyone can do right now, today, to make a difference in their tweeting strategy and increase engagement. So…what are you waiting for?
Posted by Niel Stender on Tue, Apr 24, 2012 @ 09:37 AM
From mediapost.com by LAURIE SULLIVAN
Tablets and smartphones continue to influence local search and consumer buying habits, but social networks, mobile apps and daily deals have become the go-to source for finding information about nearby businesses, according to a new survey.
Some 49% of mobile and tablet users use apps for local business searches, and 64% of tablet owners search for local stores on the device at least weekly, with 86% making a purchase from their most recent search. In addition, 61% of smartphone users conduct local searches from the device, according to the Localeze and 15miles Fifth Annual Local Search Usage Study conducted by comScore.
Local search has always been fragmented across search engines, but it has become "uber" fragmented because of the many more devices and applications, said David Dague, vice president of marketing at Localeze.
The name, address and phone number -- the anchor identity for the business -- must be consistent across search engines because they share information. If it's not consistent, the search engine receiving the information from the other cannot match information and ads, Dague explains.
Think of the business listings as an extension of a print and online campaign. Consistency matters. The study proves that local businesses need to pay more attention to the information in local profiles, not only on search engines and mapping apps, but social networks and sites like Pinterest, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.
In fact, the study reveals a 67% increase in social network local business searches since 2010. About 35% of those who primarily use social networking sites for local search do so daily, while 45% of social local business users submit reviews online for local business, according to observed behavior of 1 million consumers who agreed to have their online searches tracked anonymously in December.
Search marketers have continually stressed the importance of updating business profiles on Google, Bing and Yahoo map programs, along with social sites. Ironically, 61% of online searchers consider local search results more relevant versus 10% for paid-search ads. Fifty-eight percent trust local search results more, vs. 9% for paid ads. The highest percent goes to social networks, with 63% more likely to use the information about the local business when available.
When it comes to local businesses connecting with local residents, daily deals appeal to consumers. For coupons offering local products or services, 60% of survey respondents use daily deals, 88% named Groupon and 86% named Living Social as preferred services, and 86% said they have or plan to purchase future deals.
Posted by Niel Stender on Tue, Apr 17, 2012 @ 09:26 AM
From drivingonlinesales.com by Wynne Pirini
If you’ve signed up to LinkedIn and wondering what it can do for your business, then keep reading. LinkedIn is like Facebook and Twitter but much more powerful, it’s super relevant for growing your business, and less time consuming. Of course you actually need to have a system for using it properly or otherwise it will be of little use to you.
Here’s an example of how one successful user is exploiting LinkedIn:
- When ready to sell a new product or find partners for a new project he goes to LinkedIn
- Does some research
- Finds out who he needs to know in order to get some momentum going
- Checks to see who they are connected with
- Looks for a path of connections and works on getting introductions
- Then makes a few offers to get deal(s)
The most common scenario, however, is that most people create a LinkedIn account and then never bother coming back again. Which doesn’t benefit them at all. So what follows is a very helpful list of things to do and things not to do to accelerate your success with LinkedIn for your business.
How to use LinkedIn for Your Business
1. Use the advanced search function
Using advanced search you can find specific people, industries, professions, businesses, specific job titles, company names, schools, zip codes and more. For instance let’s say you were looking for people who have done project management work for IBM. Search “IBM” and “project management” and you will find results for people inside and outside of your network. Using the word “and” will provide even more specific results. Finally you can search ‘shared connections’ and this gives you a path of how to reach these people which is important if you want to get an introduction. Also, you can save your search results for use later on (you are able to save up to 3 searches).
2. Join Groups
This is a great tool for building a network in a specific area and finding business partners. However, don’t join too many groups because you can spread yourself too thin. It’s better to focus on 2 or 3 that are likely to present access to future customers.
Just a warning with joining groups: be extremely careful when entering group discussions not to blatantly promote your ‘wares’ because it can come off as spam (and you can get banned for doing it). Always keep your interactions low key. In group discussions make amply sure that you don’t give sales pitches. A much more effective approach is to REALLY know what you are talking about and position yourself as an expert, and then help others out through conversations.
3. List What You Do In Your Profile
You want to be able to be found by people who are interested in what you do. So make sure you list as many relevant keywords as possible that describe what you do. Here’s a tip – use the free google keyword tool and just type in a list of keywords that describe what you do. Click the ‘go’ button and it will find a bunch of other related search phrases to your industry. Select the relevant ones with high traffic.
When describing what you do in your profile make sure you don’t come-off as if you are bragging. A better way is to write a low key but informative description about what you do, and then get social proof for your services by getting reviews from your customers and colleagues. Ask them to post their reviews on your profile. This approach carries a huge amount of weight and beats hyping yourself up any day.
Also, make sure to highlight the problems that you solve and the benefits that you bring to businesses. Try NOT to talk about features or products. It’s much better to talk about the results and benefits that you deliver.
4. Link to Your Facebook and Twitter Profiles
This way anytime that you make an update in those profiles, your LInkedIn profile will also update
5. Interact With Other Members
This is often the most overlooked part of social networking, and it’s the power of these interactions that you are doing that will really payoff. Ask questions, get involved in discussions, give opinions, and answer questions. If you are really interested in a particular conversation and you want to stay on top it, then you can subscribe to the RSS feed for that conversation. I’ve found google reader or notify.me to be extremely useful tools for following blogs, forums, and conversations on the internet.
6. Build Buzz Around Your Interactions
Once you have answered a question or taken part in an interesting conversation, then share this with your network automatically. Here’s how: after you answer a question, you will see a button on the far right of the screen that says “share this”. Also you can share the answer on Delicious bookmarking service. Furthermore, you can add a link back to your own website or blog where you have written an article which answers a particular question for that person.
7. Research What Your Contacts Are Interested In Before Approaching
Read profile pages of people that you would like to work with. Find out what they’re reading using this Reading List application by Amazon, and where they are travelling using this handy travel application.
8. Find Out Important Events
There are bound to be tons of important events that affect your industry that you may not be aware of. Using this application you will find upcoming important events easily.
9. Find Out What Others are Saying About You and Your Business
LinkedIn has a great tool called Company Buzz that can help you do just that.
10. Generate Interaction on Your Homepage
Use this Polls Application to get feedback, learn people’s thoughts on a particular topic, and do some basic market research. Your polls can reach millions of LinkedIn users and it really is a cheap and effective way to do some marketing.
11. Don’t Invite People That You Don’t Know Into Your Network
This comes off as spam and annoys people if you do it too often. If you get complaints then you will make it much harder to invite people to network with you in the future. For instance you end up being required to have their email address before you can invite them.
Posted by Niel Stender on Tue, Apr 10, 2012 @ 09:23 AM
From http://blog.wordtothewise.com by By laura in Industry.
Return Path published their most recent Global Deliverability report this morning. (Get the Report) This shows that inbox placement of mail has decreased 6% in the second half of 2011. This decrease is the largest decrease Return Path has seen in their years of doing this report.
To be honest, I’m not surprised at the decrease. Filters are getting more sophisticated. This means they’re not relying on simply IP reputation for inbox delivery any longer. IP reputation gets mail through the SMTP transaction, but after that mail is subject to content filters. Those content filters are getting a lot better at sorting out “wanted” from “unwanted” mail.
I’m also hearing a lot of anecdotal reports that bulk folder placements at a couple large ISPs increased in the first quarter of 2012. This is after the RP study was finished, and tells me increased bulk folder placement is more likely to be a trend and not a blip.
One of the other interesting things from the RP study is that the differences are not across all mail streams, but are concentrated in certain streams and they vary across different regions.
Delivery by mail type and region. (APAC: Australia and Asia-Pacific; CALA: Central and Latin America; EMEA: Europe, Middle East and Africa; NOAM: North America and Mexico)
Just looking at the NOAM region, we see that gaming mails have the worst inbox delivery, but most of the mail is getting through the IP filters. Placement of gaming mails in the spam folder tells me there’s a lot of content based filtering happening. For retail mail we see a different pattern. More mail is missing and less mail is filtered to the spam folder. This indicates a lot of IP based filtering, but if a mail gets past the IP filters, it’s more likely to end up in the inbox.
This chart really does demonstrate that “Best Practices” aren’t global. They’re very dependent on the type of mail and the recipient profile. In North America, too, it shows that mail people interact with regularly is getting to the inbox reasonably consistently. It’s the mail people don’t necessarily care if they get or not that’s suffering the most.
Another interesting data point is how gaming mail changes across various regions. In APAC, gaming mail is hitting the inbox 91% of the time. That may be a consequence of the number of people in Asia employed full time to play games (gold farming) and their interest in receiving mail about work.
Overall, this report tells us that delivery is only getting harder and more complex. Mail isn’t going to the inbox as much as it used to, and that means senders are going to have to keep adapting to recipients wants and needs.
Posted by Niel Stender on Wed, Jan 25, 2012 @ 08:02 AM
From mobilenewsauthority.blogspot.com/
QR codes sit perched on the verge of ubiquity. They’re everywhere, and the more often consumers encounter them, the more comfortable those consumers will eventually feel about scanning them.
But making consumers "comfortable" isn’t all marketers should want to achieve with QR codes. At present, only a small percentage of smartphone owners actually scans QR codes on a regular basis. If marketers want people to scan the codes, they’ve got to provide value, and they need their audience to expect something of value in return for performing a scan.
Here are some ways for marketing professionals to get the most out of QR codes:
- Consider new types of engagement
When experimenting with any new marketing tool, it’s easy to just use that tool the same way everyone else uses it.
And why not? A simple bandwagon approach shows that you’re keeping pace with the trends and responding to your competition through similar use of the same strategies.
It sounds fine, but if typical QR code use in your industry involves little more than sending users to the home page of your site or to the company blog, you may want to rethink the bandwagon approach and come up with something more engaging. Find out how other industries are using the codes. Do scans give users access to exclusive content? Are they using video? Signing users up for mailing lists?
Giving people something they can’t get anywhere else encourages them to scan your codes. It also clarifies the value of your offer and distinguishes you from the masses.
- Tell your audience what it’s getting.
What better way to demonstrate value than stating it up front?
Instead of just printing a tiny QR code on one of your ads, why not add a short description of what users are going to see upon performing a scan? If it’s something they’re likely to want, you’ll enjoy more conversions.
Try using the QR code as a call to action. For example, after viewing an ad, make it clear that the viewer’s next “step” is to scan the code.
- Pick the right moment
Ask yourself when your audience is likely to encounter your QR codes. Keep in mind both time of day as well as setting.
Let’s say someone scans your code in a crowded environment. Is sending him or her to a short sales video really a good idea? After all, when there are lots of people around, it could be difficult to hear what’s going on in the video.
Or what if they’re scanning the code in a quiet place – a waiting room, for instance – and can’t listen to a video without disturbing others around them?
Tailoring your content to the appropriate time and setting is key to effectively engaging your audience.
- Consider a brandable solution
If you’re consistently delivering value, consumers will develop a positive association with your brand. But when it comes to QR codes, that familiar smattering of black and white pixels doesn’t exactly encourage brand awareness. Instead, most advertisers’ 2D barcodes look like every other advertiser’s 2D barcodes.
That’s why it’s a good idea to look at some of the QR code services that let you brand each code with your company logo or colors. Just showcasing these simple, identifiable elements will encourage further engagement with your brand.
Originally posted on http://www.techtricksworld.com
Posted by Niel Stender on Wed, Jan 18, 2012 @ 07:57 AM
From onlinemarketingconnect.com by Sundeep Kapur
Here are 17 resolutions for every digital marketer. Try to include these as part of your strategy and keep integrating email, mobile, and social as your digital interactive channels.
1 – I will redo my Welcome messaging - by creating a compelling must have message that engages the consumer from day one. I will make sure that this message is updated regularly and will include real consumer input as part of this message.
2 – I will create transactional triggers - think about specific messages for specific transactions. Create these messages and automate the sending process. Review your results weekly.
3 – I will work hard on growing my digital list - you need to set realistic goals and involve your team in growing your email, mobile, & social media lists across all channels. Remember the transactional triggers – enable them for your non-web channels as well.
4 – I will create a preference center - a real cross channel preference center that will solicit recipient preferences, update preferences based on user interaction, & keep the preference tables updated through surveys.
5 – I will watch the frequency of my campaigns - so as not to startle, or numb the recipient from the excessive barrage (or the out of the blue email) of messaging. You can make this effective by tracking your open rates per consumer across multiple campaigns and not just one.
6 – I will keep surveying the consumer - include a survey link in every email to solicit recipient opinion. Leverage other channels into collecting user preferences. Think hard about the questions too – don’t use the survey to score how well you are doing. Use the survey to connect with the recipient.
7 – I will survey the non-buyer - reach out to people that don’t buy from you and try to get their opinion. Make them a priority – you will learn something good about your program, get an opportunity to try new things on people that don’t seem to respond, & perhaps convert someone.
8 – I will work with the call center, brick & mortar channels - yes, we all resolve to do it each year. But here is what you should do – first engage them by pushing offers their way, & two show them all the different ways you can track people. The more involved they are in your campaigns the more they will support you.
9 – I will test before I launch - test each campaign before you put it out. Have three types of tests – first – a sanity test on what the campaign should do, second involve your team to see what they think will work (and let them find errors), third – test it out on a sub-section of your recipients before you send it out to your entire list.
10 – I will work on subject lines - these drive open rates and engagement. A good subject line can also be leveraged into Facebook or Twitter. Take some time to come up with them rather than just slapping them on last minute. In fact, set a goal to solicit subject lines from your peers and narrow them down with testing.
11 – I will monitor my deliverability - watch your delivered and blocks on every campaign. Don’t mess this up – keep your IP’s clean by keeping your customers and prospects on different IP’s.
12 – I will monitor my metrics - for all my campaigns. You need to look at all your numbers across channels. Innovative marketers this year will actually start measuring success across channels – start campaigns on one channel and transfer people to another. Also, share your reports with other people in your organization.
13 – I will integrate social media into my email. Social media is an effective way to engage the consumer. Integrating social into your email will help you build relationships, increase engagement, & drive some very powerful results.
14 – I will play the role of a customer. (Take a look at your campaigns as a consumer). Make a checklist of things that you like about your campaigns. See if the path makes sense, and if the marketing is up to par. Track your subscribe & unsubscribe process.
15 – I will respond to queries and comments - good or bad, and will do this quickly across channels. If I can, I will create a digital help desk to create a more engaging experience for my consumer.
16 – I will solicit input from my peers to establish success metrics and will share these metrics with everyone on a regular basis. This will keep others involved and drive useful input into my own program.
17 – I will create an inner circle! Try your best to engage your best consumers into an inner circle. An interactive dialogue with them will provide effective guidance for your marketing program.
Posted by Niel Stender on Tue, Jan 10, 2012 @ 07:55 AM
From streetdirectory.com/etoday
If you are an advertiser, you may wonder if direct marketing is still effective in this internet age. Direct mail marketing involves sending information to a potential client and waiting for a response. Most of these mailers usually involve a coupon or discount of some sort. Does this still work?
The answer is “yes.” And for many reasons. Direct mail marketing should never be discounted in favor for internet marketing. While a business should leave no stone unturned when it come to marketing, direct marketing is more effective than internet marketing.
One reason why direct mail marketing is still effective is that people tend to have a little more faith in what they get in the mail than what they see online. Despite the fact that over 80 percent of Americans are now connected to the internet, many people still shy away from doing their banking online, making online purchases or trusting any online marketing. This is partly due to the fact that online marketing is still relatively new, people generally are a bit wary of new things and they have heard horror stories of people being cheated online.
People trust the mail. When you send something through the mail, it better not be fraudulent. Mail fraud is a serious crime and can carry a prison sentence. This is one reason why direct mail marketing is still effect - people can trust it.
Another reason direct mail marketing is effective for advertiser is that customers can hold the coupon or mail product in their hands. It is tangible. They can look at it for a few moments and may even decide to hang it on their refrigerator for future use. Not everyone who wants to have their carpets cleaned wants to do so at that second. They are more inclined to call you than try to find a website, when the information that they need is right there.
Still another reason in favor of the effectiveness of direct mail marketing is that it is easy to understand. Many people still find surfing the web very confusing. They may not understand how to use a search engine properly. Even if they know how to search, it can be a while before they get the business they are looking for. With direct mail marketing, they have the product in front of them. There is no coupon for them to print out on paper and the information is right there for them.
Although the internet is good for marketing, do not discount direct mail marketing for businesses at all. People still make a habit of rifling through their mail. They like to look at coupons and also look for something to read. With direct mail marketing, you also have the potential to put an idea into their heads that they would not have otherwise looked for on the internet. Advertisers who are wondering if direct mail marketing is still effective in this internet age should know that it is not only effective, but looks like it will remain so in the years to come.
Posted by Niel Stender on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 @ 10:37 AM
by Jacob from completetwittermarketing.com
Most internet marketers have at least considered using Twitter to find new customers. Twitter is being used to drives huge amounts of traffic by new marketers and veterans alike, and once they experience the power of Twitter firsthand they are hooked. Given below are a few tips that you should remember when marketing on Twitter.
In the Twitter community, you have to earn the right to sell stuff. That’s exactly why you should remember to not over promote yourself. That’s one of the biggest turn offs for Twitter users because they are literally tired of all the spam floating around. Don’t create too much hype and don’t tweet too many promotional links to your followers. Don’t fall into the trap that so many impatient internet marketers fall into, they try to sell to their followers without building trust and trying to take before they give. Don’t take this lightly, you can create lifelong customers just by offering information or free resources that your followers perceive as being of value. On Twitter, once you are viewed as a spammer it is very hard to escape that image. Don’t sabotage your opportunity to do things the right way and make lots of money. Twitter can be used for more than selling products, it is also great for networking and making deals, too. Twitter is there for you, if you know how to use it. There are lots of different means by which Twitter can become part of your business. One of the best ways to leverage Twitter for enhancing your business and marketing with it is to use it for customer service. It’s a smart way to assist your customers with whatever they need while never having to utilize the phone. The reason for this is many problems are small and require little attention, so Twitter can be used to address these problems and a viable solution can be given to the customer. That way, if the customer needs further assistance, you can always pick up the telephone. But at first it’s completely acceptable to use Twitter to see if you can handle the problem that way. This will help you create a bond with your customers that will make them see you as someone they can trust. Your customers want to feel valued and special and that’s just how they’ll feel if you can answer them quickly using something like Twitter.
You should also follow one often neglected rule of Twitter marketing, which is to limit the number of people you follow. What is the reasoning behind this rule? The fact is, quality is more important than quantity and you really don’t want thousands of followers. If you have too many followers, they become faceless and impersonal.
If you have a manageable number of followers, you can respond to individual messages and get to know people.
Overall, Twitter isn’t that hard when it comes to marketing. You can get familiar with it quite fast and then use it any way you want. People who aren’t familiar with Twitter may have anxiety about trying it. But the best way to deal with this problem is to just get started and take things as they come. Soon you will realize that driving traffic using Twitter is simple and powerful. Just remember to apply the above tips and stay away from making simple mistakes that can ruin your campaigns. If you want to find success with Twitter marketing, learn as much as you can about it and start practicing.
Posted by Niel Stender on Mon, Dec 19, 2011 @ 10:23 AM
From www.marketingprofs.com
According to the 60 Second Marketer blog, email marketing is powerful because it delivers your message to a subscriber's inner sanctum—alongside party evites from friends and photos from recent family trips. Because of this, they argue, "You need to develop a relationship with the consumer as well. Otherwise you are just an intruder in a house [where] you don't belong."
Check your page to see if you commit some of the most egregious mistakes you can make on Facebook.
Here are a few tips for making subscribers think of you as a friend whose messages belong in their inboxes:
Be personable. A friend knows how to spell your name correctly; remembers your birthday; takes note of your likes and dislikes; and speaks to you in an informal, conversational voice. There's no reason why your email program can't exhibit all of these traits as well.
Be consistent. We all have that friend who alternates between bombarding us with messages and disappearing for weeks or months at a time. It gets old in a hurry. So be the friend who stays in touch consistently, and never comes on too strong.
Be concise. "You don't want to be that friend who takes 20 minutes to tell a 2-minute story," the 60 Second Marketer team notes.
Be sensitive. Friends recognize when "now" isn't a good time to talk—and it's important to remember that when timing your email campaigns. Mornings might be an ideal time to catch a stay-at-home mother; Friday evening, conversely, might be a terrible time to reach a B2B customer who keeps a regular office schedule.
The Po!nt: Be a pal. Thinking of your subscribers as your friends is an effective way to gauge the appropriateness of your email program's different initiatives—and not wear out your welcome.
Source: 60 Second Marketer.