Q&A from our "3 Email Marketing Trends for Small Businesses In 2019" Webinar

Caitlin_M
Administrator

The start of the new year is the perfect time to determine the next move for your business and how to stand out from your competitors. It’s time to think about your email strategy for the year ahead so you can focus your energy and make the most out of your time.

 

Join us as we explore the top email marketing trends for small businesses in 2019 and simple ideas to incorporate them into your marketing strategy.

 

Here you'll find the questions asked by our attendees during the webinar. 

 

 

Interested in our free, future webinars? Sign up here to stay informed! 

 

Resources mentioned during the webinar:

Handout - Helpful Resources

 

 

Segmentation

 

How do I use click segmentation in my weekly email?

Click segmentation can be useful for targeting contacts that may be interested in different topics or services that you offer. The possibilities are up to you!

 

Which editor is this segment feature available in?

The option to segment contacts is available in all accounts regardless of the editor you are using. However, if you want to send an email to a certain segment, this is only available in our third generation editor. 

 

What is the difference between email lists and segments? What about tags and segments?

Segmentation doesn't replace your email lists but instead enhances them. The idea with segmentation is to make your lists more targeted, by focusing on specific details or behaviors of your contacts. Segmentation can be used to narrow those interests for more targeted marketing. Tags are useful when you are looking to exclude certain contacts from a mailing as we do not have the ability to exclude segments on the scheduling page. 

 

Do you have any plans to update the segmentation options by adding "and/or" options? For example, opened Campaign 1 and/or Campaign 3, etc?

We are always looking for ways to better our user’s experience! 

 

What criteria can I segment my contacts by? Can I edit the segment once it is created?

You can choose from a lot of criteria in our segment feature! From their contact activity (such as opening your last 5 emails) to contact details, you can create your own segments in your account with just a few clicks and also edit the segment as well. 

 

Can click segmentation be applied to past emails when enabled?

You could copy an old email campaign and then apply click segmentation but it won't work for previously sent email campaigns.

 

Is there a way to apply labels to a mass group of contacts e.g. occupation, to then create a segment?

You can include these labels as a custom field

 

Does CC have a questionnaire template for gauging interests? I have a general list of people and I don't really know enough about each one to see how to segment them.

You can create a survey campaign or even insert a poll into your campaigns. 

 

 

Automation

 

Is the automation series only available for Standard and Premium customers?

Yes, aside from the general Welcome email in accounts, automation is available when you upgrade to at least Standard.

 

If my contacts have a birthday on file, can I send them an automated email?

You can create a recurring birthday email to send on your contact's birthday or up to 14 days in advance.

   

Is there an automated way to resend my email for people that did not open it the first time? How long does it wait to resend the email?

There sure is! Our Resend to Non-Openers feature for our third generation editor is set up on the scheduling screen for your email. You can wait a minimum of 3 days and go up to 7 days from the initial send. 

 

Do you have to create a campaign to resend to non-openers before you send the original?

Yes, the campaign must be created first. When scheduling a resend to non-openers, no edits can be made to the original besides the subject line. If you wanted to make edits to the email, you would need to copy the email first, make your edits and send the email as a separate send to a list of non-openers that you created manually.

 

What type of criteria can I use with dynamic content?

It all depends on what information you have under your contact's details. Dynamic content can be based on their location, job title, or even your custom fields. 

 

 

Email

 

When is the best day and time to send an email to my lists?

Our Knowledge Base has a great article about the best time to send based on industry guidelines. 

 

Is it best to use the same template with a recognizable heading or should I change with each campaign?

Creating a master template is a great way to make your emails easily recognizable once they are opened. Of course, if you want to send something special, such as a seasonal email, make sure your business name is easily seen so your contacts know who is emailing them.  

 

How can my contacts share my email on their social media pages?

If you insert a Social block into your campaign, your contacts can share your email on their Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn pages. 

 

How long should my email be?

While there isn't a perfect length, creating shorter emails with more targeted content can make sure your message gets across and your contacts aren't skimming over important information! We have a Knowledge Base article that has some great tips about creating a shorter email that still keeps your contacts' attention. 

 

How do I create a catchy subject line? Also, how important is preheader text?

A catchy subject line makes your reader want to open the email! Give them a reason to read further or use a little humor. You want to make sure that you avoid spam-like characteristics such as caps lock or excessive punctuation. Preheader text is used to enhance your subject line. Many email clients on desktop and mobile display the preheader so you should take advantage of it. 

 

Is there a recommended point size for text copy?

As a best practice for desktop and mobile, we recommend 22pt for headlines and 14pt for body text.

 

Why can't I adjust the margins or orientation of a newsletter?

Our email templates are designed to work with as many email clients as possible. Templates are optimized at 600px wide and are mobile-responsive but will auto-adjust depending on how they are being viewed.

 

Will you be adding the ability to share our email on Instagram?

Since Instagram is a photo sharing service, we are still collecting details on how our customers would like this to work as a Social Share option. Any feedback you may have on this would be helpful and can be shared here in the Community.

 

Can videos be embedded and played in an email?

The ability to embed a video directly into an email is not currently available. We do offer the option to add a video block that will open the video in a new window outside of your email.

 

When I include a blog article in my campaign, should I include the entire article or put in a link to it?

You can use the Read More block to create a "teaser" and have it link to the full-length blog article. 

 

 

Contacts

 

How can we clean up our lists and also ask contacts to update their information on our mailing list as well?

Great question! You can clean your contact lists in a few different ways. Once you do this, you can then email your contacts and ask them to update their profiles

 

I have a lot of lists for classes and don't think I need them all. How do I organize the lists when the classes change so frequently?

It's great that you are looking to organize your contacts efficiently! One way to do this is to upload each class or group as their own list (maybe even naming the list with the class name and upload date) and then deleting old class lists once the class is completed. You may want to export the list prior to deleting to keep it as a record.

 

What is the best way to grow my contacts?

We have several tools to help grow your contact list, including landing pages and text-to-join! These tools can all be found under the Sign-up Forms tab of your account.

 

Reporting

 

What is a good open or click rate? How can I increase my click or open rates?

The overall average open rate we have seen is 16.19% but this rate can also vary depending on your industry. We have a few articles in our Knowledge Base on how to increase your click rate and your open rate. The overall message is to create relevant and engaging content that will keep your contacts coming back for more every time you send. 

 

Should we send more than one linked test email to determine interests, or should we look at click trends over time?

You can use the Reporting tab to compare the reporting for campaigns to see where you can make improvements 

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