If you’re like me, you spent the last couple of weeks glued to the set watching some of the world’s best athletes — and we were treated to some amazing feats for sure.
So it struck me, marketing guy that I am, how we all respond to numbers. Swimmer Michael Phelps wins eight gold medals. We go nuts! Runner Usain Bolt breaks three world records. We love it!
Well, what if I told you that:
• E-mail marketing outperforms all other direct-marketing methods.
• E-mail marketing is considerably more cost-effective than direct mail, and can cost as little as $0.05 per e-mail (or less!).
• E-mail marketing generated $51.58 for every $1 spent in 2006, according to the Direct Marketing Association.
That’s the kind of return on investment (ROI) that ought to win a gold medal! But what’s even better is that with e-mail marketing, your ROI can be immediate when the call-to-action (CTA) is time-sensitive. CTAs such as “Click here to take advantage of this offer” typically yield responses within 48 hours of the campaign.
A strong CTA can make you a winner
I pulled the stats mentioned above from the free e-book, “5 Steps to Successful E-mail Marketing,” and noticed a lot of good information on developing strong CTAs to increase click-through rates and the overall success of e-mail campaigns.
For instance, it talks about using benefit-driven CTAs. As you know, a CTA is an offer or invitation to do something like signing up for a free trial, downloading a free e-book, entering a contest, answering a survey, or buying a product. But how many times do you see a CTA that reads “click here” and you wonder “Click here to do what?”
An effective CTA reminds readers what benefit they get by clicking. For instance: “Click here to start your free trial,” “Click here to learn more,” or “Visit our Web site to sign up.”
Want to learn more? Download the free e-book. Want to get started? Check out our E-Mail Marketing service. Current Office Live Small Business customers can click here to try the service for FREE.
Want to share your favorite Olympic memory? Please do. Post a comment.
David Alexander