Mailing is one of the most effective marketing strategies there is — in mainstream verticals as well as in adult.
At CrakRevenue, our Mailing team’s ROI averages out to be in the range of 700 - 800%. Of course, while we have our own Mailing department and our crew does it for a living, that’s not to say those looking to take up email marketing for the first time can’t also expect great profits!
Therefore, if the path of a Mailer interests you — here’s a step-by-step guide to getting started.
1- Build Your Mailing List
One surefire way to ensure that people are reading your emails is to start by making sure that the people on the receiving end actually wanted to receive them in the first place.
By building a Mailing list that is official and legitimate, one that is strictly focused on those who want to receive communications from you, you are building the platform for your soon-to-be efforts and this is the foundation that you so desperately need to succeed.
It ensures you aren’t sending campaigns blindly; it ensures you aren’t annoying people who never wanted to receive emails; and finally, you are positioning yourself at having a better shot for conversions later on.
This concept begins at the beginning — and there’s no more practical way to do this than with a “Mail Catcher”.
What’s a Mail Catcher, anyway?
It’s a spot on your site where you give your visitor the clear option to willfully enter their email address to subscribe to future Mailings and correspondence from you.
If you’re not working with a Mail Catcher of some kind, there’s no question you’re leaving money on the table.
Here’s an example of a Mail Catcher we use at CrakRevenue:
Your Mail Catcher should be simple and efficient, but also enticing to some degree. Use this area as your main opportunity to communicate all the benefits that come with subscribing to you.
What will visitors get by opting-in to receive emails from you?
- Exclusive news…?
- Exclusive offers… ?
- Other perks and information?
Sell yourself to them — make people want to subscribe!
Later, after they provide their email address, another great preventative measure is by using a double opt-in process (DOI). This way, once the person confirms their email, there’s almost no escape!
Another advantage of the DOI process is that you are guaranteeing that the email address is a valid one, and not a fake one created on the spot.
After you have your list, segment it!
This will enable you to adapt your content to your subscribers so your users are getting the Mail they want. You can segment emails by geographic location, niche or vertical.
2- Write the Damn Mail
An email is worth nothing if it’s not being opened. And the best way to guarantee its opening is by not only not forgetting about the “subject”, but by handling this profoundly important section with care.
When it comes time to actually write the content of it, you have to find the delicate balance of a catchy title and subject that does not contain any major spam triggers.
A great formula for writing solid emails is by following some of these techniques:
1. Ask a Question
Ex : How to Write the Perfect Email?
2. Have a Sense of Urgency
Ex : Just 3 days left before…
3. Make a List
Ex : The Top 10 Ways to Write the Perfect Mail
4. Include an Attention Grabber!
Ex : Attention Please, Read this Mail!
Next comes a great Preheader, which is the preview text of the mail. While it may not be as important as the subject line, you should still strive to have a great preheader.
A good preheader is short, but straight-to-the-point while reinforcing your subject. It gives away a little bit of the content without giving it all away. Think of it this way: if everything was included in your preheader preview, what remaining reasons does the recipient have that would encourage them to open the email?
As soon as your subscriber opens your mail, your job is not done. You want them to convert in some manner (read something, buy something, get them to sign up for something, etc.)
Sales writing is an art, and you will find many guides on the web to help you with this task. Notably, one of our previous blog posts.
But some general rules before going to the next point:
- Write short sentences
- One idea per sentence
- Personalize your mail, insert their name for example
- Try to keep only one message in your mail
3- Design Efficient Templates
The content is done, but now you need a good template for a plan of action. A professional and organized template is often the way to go.
Here are some tips to craft that perfect template:
- Choose neutral, solid colors, that compliment one another.
- Choose wisely between single and multi-column layouts depending on your goal.
- Leave a prime spot for the Call-to-Action.
- Build your template with good HTML structure.
- Make sure that your template is responsive (think Mobile first!)
- Keep the design of your template similar to your landing page.
On this particular subject, stay tuned!
CrakRevenue will soon announce some offers that will help you became the mailer of your dreams. We’ll keep you posted!
Bonus tips from our Mailing Team:
- For Dating, make it personal and keep the content simple. A profile picture, a short message and a big button works great.
- For VOD, a video player and a button under it will make the user click.
- Don’t be afraid to test your design and content out on small segments -- it’s key to getting a better CTR.
4- Get to the Mailbox
Your email is ready, but you want to make sure it doesn’t return to sender…
Sorry, we got distracted for a sec … now, where were we?
Before you send your first campaigns, there’s a couple more things you should be going over before pressing “Send.”
First, you have to make sure that your mail is compatible with the major email providers (Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, etc.) so it will actually being displayed. Some tools are available on the web that will ensure that your emails will actually appear. We recommend Email on Acid or Litmus.
Second, even if you think you’ve already checked for Spam Words, it helps to verify and validate your Mailing campaigns by copy/pasting them into a service like Postmark or Mail Poet.
And third, verify the good-standing of your IP address often!
Sometimes IP addresses can get blacklisted for sending too many emails. There’s a tool called SenderScore that allows you to check the reputation and trustworthiness of any email sender’s IP address. We advise checking your IP here.
With adult mailing, the spam box is worrying, but it’s not necessarily devastating. Because in these industries, subscribers are more used to checking their Spam box to stay in the loop. Sometimes, a reminder to your subscriber to make sure they check their Spam box can be extremely useful.
Want to learn more about why emails might end up in the spam folder? Check out this interesting article here.
5- Assess Results
Once you’ve delivered your campaigns, it’s time to learn from each and every email you send.
Check for some of these indicators of success:
- Open rate
- Click-through rate
- Most clicked areas (image, button, text link)
- Unsubscription rate
- Hard & Soft Bounce rate
- Number of Complaints
Observing these indicators will help you gain additional insight and learn what works and what doesn’t work for you.
Ready to Become the Ultimate Mailer?
Like we touched on a little earlier, we have something coming down the pipeline that’s sure to be right up the alley of an aspiring email marketer.
Stay tuned, Mailers!
