About DavidFischerSolutionsForGrowth

Hey @cdon2460 - there are 2 things that determine the open rate (the percentage, not the number). That is the From email and name, and the subject line.  What are the past 3-4 subject lines and what is the last one? Has the from email address or name changed? ... View more

That is excellent to see high results for your email open and click rates. However, to find out why these results are not resulting in sales – we recommend designing a survey or questionnaire that digs into various aspects of the customer experience, product appeal, and overall marketing effectiveness. We handle many email surveys and response evaluations for our clients – please click here to set up a call today so that we can assist.   Here’s a step-by-step approach to crafting a useful questionnaire: Define Your Objectives Identify Specific Goals Target Audience: Focus on customers who have interacted with your marketing emails but haven’t made a purchase. Shopping Preferences: Online vs. In-Person Design the Questionnaire Introduction: Briefly explain the purpose of the survey. Sections to Include:   Customer Profile Demographics Buying Behavior Email Marketing Experience Email Relevance, Frequency, Call to Action Product Appeal Interest Level: Were the products featured in the emails appealing? Product Information: Was the information provided in the emails sufficient and clear? Comparative Analysis: How do your products compare to those of competitors? Website and Purchasing Process Ease of Use: How easy is it to navigate your website? Checkout Process: How would you rate the checkout process? Technical Issues: Did they encounter any technical issues while trying to make a purchase? Pricing and Offers Price Sensitivity: Did they find the pricing competitive? Offers and Discounts: Were the promotions and discounts appealing? General Feedback Barriers to Purchase: What prevented them from making a purchase? Suggestions: What improvements would they like to see? Likelihood of Future Purchase: How likely are they to purchase from you in the future? Distribution and Incentives Distribution: Send the questionnaire via email, ensuring it’s mobile-friendly and accessible. Incentives: Consider offering a small incentive (e.g., discount coupon, entry into a raffle) to encourage participation. Analyze the Results Quantitative Data: Look for patterns in scale-based questions to identify common issues. Qualitative Data: Analyze open-ended responses for specific complaints or suggestions. Segmentation: Break down responses by demographics or buying behavior to gain deeper insights. Act on Insights Address Issues: Make improvements based on feedback, such as adjusting email content, optimizing the website, or revising pricing strategies. Follow-Up: Consider sending a follow-up email to thank respondents and inform them of any changes made because of their feedback. By using these steps, you'll be able to gather valuable insights into why customers aren't purchasing and make informed decisions to improve your marketing and sales strategies. Reach out and let us know how we can best assist you in converting your email marketing into increased sales. ... View more

Thank you @Chris-S    @RichardS296 at Solutions for Growth, we've been managing clients' Constant Contact accounts for over 14 years, so we know a thing or two about the system. Although it's possible to load html code, I would advise not going that route. Once in place, you'll likely want to make edits, and then the process needs to be done all over again (html coding, loading, testing, etc.).  When we design a custom template for clients, it's a far more easy and less costly process. Over time, you can then easily edit the template without having to deal with coding. In most cases, we also manage client accounts, so we take care of the whole process. Finally, by going the html route, there is a higher chance that the design may encounter display issues driven by the hardware and software people use. Want to learn more? Check us out or call me at 888-840-2595 x701 David Fischer, Solutions for Growth ... View more

A good response rate for an email survey generally falls between 10% to 20%. However, this can vary based on your target audience, how engaged they are with your brand, the survey's relevance, and the survey's length and clarity. Keep your survey short and simple so that it is easy to get your audience to complete it. You may also want to consider offering an incentive such as a discount, white paper or some other reward for completing the survey. We frequently prepare surveys and get strong results and good feedback for our clients. They use the information as learning tools for themselves and for marketing purposes. Reach out to me if you have any questions. I am always happy to help. ... View more

The content of your newsletter is great. There are some ways to boost the look of your template however. Besides for the logo, consider adding that you are a Steelcase Authorized Dealer, your Phone number, and Contact Us button linked to your contact page. Keep the name “Forward Thinking” but consider deleting the date or the word “newsletter,” your audience knows what it is. Link the logo to your website in your header. Put title of the article above image so there is some understanding of what the photo is. Change the colors of the buttons to the purple in your branding to allow for contrast and interest. Increase the size of the body copy font a point or two For second block - either make the image full size like the first or include it in within the copy of the Project spotlight. “What do you think?” does not seem to make much sense, since in this case, you’re not asking for an opinion, rather highlighting a project. Perhaps replace “What do you think” with Project Spotlight” and then title the article with “Nicolet High School Pilot Program” increasing the font size. For consistency, make the section titles (What do you think and What’s Your Opinion) the same size, same look and same font. In blocks below, crop the top photos to the same length so the articles start at the same place. Include a navigation bar at the bottom of your email. Create a signature block at the end of your template. Within that include: That you are a certified WBE (perhaps include a WBE - Women Owned logo if you have one) Your story – it’s already there but increase the font size. Perhaps a photo and name of the CEO/Owner and link to her “Fun Facts.” Keep the social media icons Want more ideas? Take a look at these videos we prepared on how to design an email. https://youtu.be/ElF-Do_Hp_E?si=IM7zr2NVfBLbH2uL and https://youtu.be/ORIuhnqd2sA?si=E05vjqt6P8lRtNdb. I hope this has been helpful. Let me know if you have any further questions. ... View more

Hi Jessica. You don’t mention the industry you are in or the type of business you are beginning to promote and it can be challenging to create an email list from scratch, however, there are some ways to grow an email list. As Chris stated, one way is to use social media. Identify the social media platforms where your target audience is most active. Share valuable content, join relevant groups, and actively participate in discussions. Run social media ads targeting your ideal audience, promoting your lead magnet or newsletter. Here are some other thoughts: Optimize Your Website Create dedicated landing pages with clear calls to action for visitors to subscribe. Use strategically placed pop-ups and sign-up forms on your website to capture email addresses. Write informative and engaging blog posts related to your niche and include a sign-up form for readers to subscribe for more content. Offer a free resource like a white paper, checklist, eBook in exchange for email addresses. Networking and Offline Strategies Attend industry conferences, trade shows, and networking events to meet potential subscribers. Collect business cards and follow up with a personalized email inviting them to subscribe. Run Webinars and Online Events Host informative webinars and ask participants to sign up with their email addresses. Use platforms like Facebook Live, Instagram Live, or YouTube Live to engage with your audience and encourage them to subscribe. Collaborate with Influencers and Partners Write guest posts on popular blogs in your niche, including a link to your sign-up page. Partner with influencers who have a following that matches your target audience. Here is a video that covers just this topic. https://youtu.be/HFLcW0rFPzU?feature=shared  We help grow our clients’ email lists every day. If you have any questions about any of these ideas, reach out. I’m always happy to help. ... View more

Sometimes it is easier to craft the subject line after you’ve written the content. As you’re building your email, ideas for subject lines sometimes surface. Make sure your subject line is short and to the point, and it is interesting enough to get someone to open your email. Constant Contact has a great tool that tests and suggests subject lines. Here is an article and a video, both will provide the ideas you are looking for: https://solutionsforgrowthllc.com/blog/february-2016-7-tips-for-subject-lines-that-get-results/    https://youtu.be/iQQhKflxbVA?si=1x5RRK8xcdlQaNee  If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. I'm always happy to help. ... View more

Creating an email newsletter may seem daunting but once you establish a template, audience, send schedule and goals, it will become easier. Here are some tips I hope will help you get started. Figure out the purpose of your newsletter. Is it to sell products and services? Provide educational or industry information? We have clients that sell products and services and we promote them specifically, generally offering a discount coupon or special promotion. For our clients who are consultants or in the medical profession, we promote their services and courses and provide educational information that is of interest to their audience. Build your email list. Get email address through your website, social media and other channels. We do not recommend you purchase lists. Build your lists organically. Design your newsletter. Choose one of Constant Contact’s great templates as a starting point. Use the colors of your brand, make sure you have your logo and contact information prominently displayed. Use call-to-action buttons throughout your email that link back to your website. Keep your email visually appealing, easy to read and mobile friendly. (You can check to see how it appears on a mobile device when you use Constant Contact’s Preview feature.) Create interesting content. Write content that provides value to your audience. Product information and discounts, educational information, curated content. Anything that is relevant. For some of our clients, we sometimes add something that is of personal interest to the audience such as a local festival or event, or even a recipe. Write a compelling subject line. Sometimes it is easier to craft the subject line after you’ve written the content. Make sure your subject line is short and to the point, but most importantly, make sure it is interesting enough to get someone to open your email. Your subject line is the “front door” to your newsletter. Constant Contact has a great tool to test and suggest subject lines. Establish a consistent email schedule. Decide how often you will send your newsletter, weekly or monthly, and stick to the schedule. Test and review how the email looks before you send it out. Use Constant Contact’s Preview feature to see how it will look on a desktop, on mobile and inbox. Review the data. About 4 days after you send out the email, look at data such as open and click rates, bounces, etc. Learn what works and what doesn’t. We continuously refine the content, design and strategies we use for our clients to improve engagement and results. Still overwhelmed? We are a digital marketing company that, among other services, has been creating email newsletters for clients in a variety of industries for well over a decade. Reach out to me for more information and answers. I am always happy to help. ... View more

The tips shared above are spot-on. Remember to keep the message simple and include enough call-to-action buttons for your audience to click and get information easily. Don’t make your reader work to understand your message. Constant Contact’s templates are great in that they have clean designs and easy to read fonts. Use them as a starting point.   Know your audience when designing your email. For our technical clients, our emails are designed very cleanly, our graphics provide technical information concisely and we include videos and downloadable brochures since we know those elements get the most response from our clients’ technical customers.   For some of our other clients, such as those in recreation or retail industries, we create emails for our clients that are colorful, with more images and easily digestible blocks of information. We sometimes incorporate small gifs for eye-catching effects. Gifs can be created in Canva (which Constant Contact links to) but they need to be used sparingly and need to be well executed.   Reach out if you have any questions. I’m always here to help. ... View more

Thank you for the link. I see that you are balancing the dark blocks at the top and the bottom with a white background for the information in between. It looks good, but as you mentioned, it can present a problem when viewing in dark screen mode. One solution would be to avoid using a black background for the entire top portion of the email.  You could have the top bar with the logo be black and the body with Tommy’s image in white. That would still provide the balance in your design. Direct Your Focus could also be in black. In addition, choose a color for the background in Constant Contact that contrasts a bit with the white, perhaps a light grey, so when your email is viewed on a desktop there isn’t a sea of white showing around the body of the email. Because this is an email introducing your audience to Exhibit Craft, other suggestions to consider are: Add contact information at the top of the email so your audience doesn’t have to scroll down and hunt for a way to contact you. Include one video from your YouTube account to show off the exhibits such as this one https://youtu.be/WqQw5sTX400?feature=shared or your most recent https://youtu.be/TseX3t_lHhU?feature=shared Offer a promotion to incentivize your audience. Add more CTA buttons to link and drive traffic to your website: Show a few images with completed exhibits so your audience can see the fantastic results. The gif you have included is very fast and difficult to register. The images also include the exhibits prior to completion. You have a great photo gallery on your website. Show the completed images. (Drive home the idea that this is what you will get when you work with us.) Include a button to “View More Exhibits” and link to the gallery page on your website. To spark further interest and another opportunity to drive traffic to your website, link to a blog post from your website. Include a few lines and a button to “Read More” I hope this is helpful. Feel free to schedule a call to discuss this further and learn about how Solutions for Growth can help you achieve your marketing goals. ... View more

A very high bounce rate can mean a number of things: The list has a lot of invalid or incorrect email addresses or they are old. If you're using purchased or scraped email lists, they might contain a lot of invalid or inactive addresses. The subject line might be triggering a filter. You can use Constant Contact’s subject line checker that appears below the Subject line field or use a free subject line tester such as https://www.omnisend.com/subject-line-tester/ Constant Contact has a great feature that identifies emails that are “Recommended for Removal.” These are suspended, non-existent and undeliverable bounce types that should be removed because they are unlikely to become active emails again. We usually see only a small number of emails that are identified as such and we use this to clean our client’s list. Here is a video that explains the feature – it is very helpful. https://youtu.be/E3Vsn7UAfF8?feature=shared If we see an unusually high bounce rate for our clients, we often look further into the reasons why and work with Constant Contact’s deliverability team. Our clients do not generally have extremely high bounce rates.  If you are experiencing an unusually high number of bounces that you haven’t experienced before, there may be an underlying reason that needs to be examined. If we can be of any help to clean up your email list, please reach out. ... View more