How do you keep feeding the email list machine?

Here are some simple tips to feed the email list machine:

No better time to ask for someone's email address is at point of sale... They will if you incent them with promises of future discounts...

Encourage your Twitter followers and Facebook fans to subscribe...

Ask your customers to recruit their friends... most will but give it a kick with an offer or incentive of a gift or other reward...

Inactive Subscribers.... Mine That Gold!

Every email marketer has a portion of their list go inactive. Problem is you may never know what really happened to them. Did they sign up got what they wanted and then never unsubscribed? This happens all too frequently... How do you deal effectively with inactives?

Try some of these out....

Conduct a reactivation campaign - Reach out to your inactives with a special incentive for opting onto the list again.

Make contact via Social Networks - If you get a connection in a social setting... they will most likely pay more attention the next time they get an email from you.

Attempt offline communication - If you an address or phone number... Reach out and connect and verify email address.. Most times they changed it and didn’t bother to let you know.

Reduce frequency - Don’t delete from your list but market to them less frequently.

Triggered Emails is core to 1 to 1 Marketing...

Vidi Emi has has been setting up triggered message automation for many of our customers for years now.

Triggered Messages fall into 3 categories.

Time Based – Where someone comes to the site and that starts the clock that sends the emails out upon a day plus x factor.

Behavior Based – Someone visits your site and puts something in a shopping basket and abandons it.... Armed with that info you could send an email featuring that product.

Transaction Based – When a customer purchases something you can send a email with a special offer if they come back and review the product.

Hard part is taking the first step…. You won’t regret it!

Simple ways to increase brand loyalty! (and increase sales)

Get your customers to update their profile information for something in return. Nothing gets shoppers to want to buy like the word "FREE" as in Free Shipping or a percentage off their next purchase. All this new valuable info can be used to focus your marketing efforts down the line.

Bookmarks! Yes by allowing your customers to bookmark items gives your customers a valuable tool for future reference but also allows you the marketer to know what is of interest and that is strong marketing info that can't be beat!

Knowing and marketing to a bucket can make all the difference!

Every customer falls into some kind of bucket.... Knowing your audience and focusing on that segment will pay huge dividends....

What are the segments you want to focus on?

Acquisition  /  Conversion   / Growth  / Retention  / Re-Activate

Acquisition  - POS Capture / Web Capture
Convert - Nurture / Abandon
Grow - Up-Sell
Retain - Cross-Sell
Re-Activate - Re-Engage / Win Back

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #12

Be relevant.  Leverage available demographic and/or click-through data to send messages that your customers will want to receive.

SEGMENTATION is key! You dont want to send snowboarding product emails to people who never go to that part of your website... Send snowboarding specials to snowboarders and send golfing specials to golfers. You will get Higher ROI on each campaign and less opt-outs.....

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #11

Test!  If you have an important campaign ahead, experiment with different subject line approaches using smaller test groups then send the winner to the rest of the list.

Smart marketers test all the time........ a little work upfront pays off every time!

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #10

Help your customers find you!  If you have physical locations, include calls to action that take your customers directly to your store locator.

Your website is all about finding that treasure he or she is looking for... MAKE IT EASY TO FIND IT!

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #9

Make sure your links take your customers to the specific content they are looking for.  If your customer gets lost looking for a product, you’re more likely to lose the sale.

I like clear ways (links) to what I want to look at and ultimately buy..... If you make it hard for me to drill down to the product I want... guess what... I'm gone!

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #8

Include customer service contact in your abandoned cart emails in case your customer just needs a little bit of help in making their purchase.

I abondon shopping carts all the time... most times over a simple question. I'd rather go to another site then hunt for a phone number and add to my frustration... Many fish in the sea as they say... it's a simple thing but most vendors don't do it.

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #7

Help spread the word. Improve engagement by helping your customers send messages to friends that may be interested. Call out friend forwarding in your content.

Doesn't this happen all the time (well at least for me)? You read that a critic slams a movie or book and then your friend tells you that he/she love's it..... You will listen to your friend first.... So TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT!!!!! Include Tell-a-Friend in each email.... Make it EASY to pass the word to friends and family.... It will pay off!

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #6

Use keyword research to your advantage in email. Incorporate the buzzwords your customers are using to help your copy speak to their needs and interests.

Find your competitive advantage and connect with your target consumers in a stronger manner than ever before, as not only do you have a larger target market, but you have many more competitors competing for the same sales.

Bottom Line! Know your audience! The more you know about them the more you will make........

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #5

Don’t overwhelm the consumer with cluttered content or too many different offers. Provide clear call to action buttons that stand out.

Less is more many times...

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #4

Don’t lead customers into a dead end.  Make sure that every point of interaction gives customers an opportunity to link back to your website, fan page or other related content.

So you've gotten a consumer to click on your email, great! But, where does that link lead? Does it go to a product page? Your home page? Once they've gotten on to your site, keep them there! Each page a consumer sees is like a mini-advertisement, and the longer they stay, the more likely they are to become a customer. Once you've got the fish on the hook, reel him in!

Check back again tomorrow! 8 more great tips are on the way!

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #3

A sale isn’t the only way to motivate engagement.  Highlight new products, user reviews, useful information or ideas that may be helpful to your customers.

Though "30%" off might seem like enough, today's consumers tend to want more information before purchasing a product, especially online. If you've set up product reviews or can link to an article talking up your product, you might see even better responses. Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customer. What would convince you to buy your product?

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #2

Don’t bombard your customers with emails.  By targeting specific segments, you customers can receive relevant messaging that makes them more likely to convert and less likely to opt out.

Even if you don't have the data to target something specific like age, gender, or location. It's still good practice to not send to your full list on every email campaign. This is especially true during the holidays when you may be promoting multiple items a day. As much as we'd like to believe it, most people generally do not want to hear from a company multiple times a day, nor will they make a purchase on every item. Think about supressing people for a few emails if they've purchased recently.

Check back tomorrow for another great tip to maximize your marketing dollar!

12 Days of Holiday Email Tips #1

Clear the Clutter

Don't overwhelm the consumer with cluttered content or too may different offers. Provide clear call to action buttons that stand out in your creative.

Too many links can create confusion in a potential shopper. Your whole email should be driven at a select offer or two, with large buttons pointing directly at the product page. If you are offering a 10% off sale, make sure that it is the focus. Just like a messy room, a messy email does not attract hot leads. 

The more offers are on the plate in one message, the less measurable the results and the harder to push the offer individually to get the most of our it, as well as determine the relevance and success of each one.

Check back tomorrow for another tip!

Get Ready for Holiday Tips

Coming up this December, be on the lookout for tips to maximize your holiday marketing dollar!

Emails are a great way to reach your potential customers, so make sure that your messages ring true this holiday season to pump up your ROI. Check back tomorrow for the first tip!

What We Believe

At Vidi Emi, we don’t just send e-mails. We take every step possible to ensure that they land. Our deliverability consistently outperforms industry averages and we continue this trend by keeping our systems and protocols current.



We believe companies are spending too much on e-mail marketing. While even the poorest performing lists can still be profitable, e-mail “deadweight” can overload both budgets and consumers, dragging down performance and contributing to list fatigue. It's time to cut the dead weight!

We bring a wide variety of talents to the plate including
-Email
-SEM
-Consultation
-eCRM
-Analytics
-Programming
-Web Design

Increasing the flow of well qualified leads to websites can have a major impact on a clients’ ROI. Vidi Emi offers SEO/SEM packages that serve their distinct purposes and are designed work in collaboration with other components of a clients marketing program.

Subjlect Line Rule #6

10 Hot Tips For the Perfect Subject Line: #6

Rule Six: Don’t spam



Subject lines with ALL CAPS or lots of exclamation!!!!!! may deter readers and ultimately end up in the junk folder.

Subject Line Rule #5

Halfway there!

Rule V: Set deadlines


Flavor Flav Always Knows What Time It Is


Does the subject line make the reader feel as if they are missing out by not opening the email? Creating a sense of urgency can vastly improve open rates!

Word to the Wise: How Not to Build a Mailing List

Article published by Word to The Wise Yesterday on how not to build a list.



See the full article here: A Word To the Wise

Subject Line Rule #4

Subject Line theory part 4 of 10

Rule Number Four: Be truthful!



The best subject lines are honest and appropriate, and simply describe the email's content. Abe is counting on you! More top 10 tomorrow!

Subject Line Rule #3

Secret to the Perfect Subject Line: 3 Out of 10

The Third Rule is: Find your voice



Establish a voice that fits the personality of your brand or company, and keep it consistent so that your readers will know what to expect!

Subject Line Rule #2

Part II in the Ten Secrets to the perfect Subject Line

Tip #2: Frontload!



Some email browsers will truncate the subject line midway, giving rise to potentially awkward cliffhangers. Place the hottest keywords and most important information at the beginning of your subject line to avoid the truncation trap!

Subject Line Rule #1

Part one of the 10 secrets to a deadly subject line.

The first Rule Is: Keep it Concise



Remember, the most effective subject lines are no longer than 50 characters, so be clear and direct!

What You're Really Doing At Work

It seemed like a good idea to start the work week with something light. We hope everyone had a great weekend! If you find the link funny feel free to share.

Source: JESS3 - What You're Really Doing At Work

Incentivize your followers!

Mashable suggests offering incentives to keep fans coming back to your fan page. What kind of useful (and realistic!) incentives would you like to see from the Vidi Emi fan page? Don't forget to share with your friends if they would find this useful!





Read the whole article here

Vidi Emi Inaugural Blog Post

Thank you very much for reading!  There are many more to come.