Though I imagine most of us delete unread emails en masse from our inbox daily, email is still the one of the best mediums to capture both eyeballs and traffic. If you find yourself deleting permissioned emails this frequently, how do you think your contacts are responding to your email marketing efforts?

Email can be an effective direct marketing approach – how effective depends heavily on just how good your messages are. So when you’re creating your next email piece, here are some important points to focus on:

Avoid spam filters

Worse than a recipient deleting your email immediately is having it diverted to the spam folder before it even has a chance to be read. All reliable email providers offer spam checking software; don’t be afraid to use them to sort out potential issues. Not only can they  identify potential issues with your copy and subject lines, but they can also help you with potential spam triggers in your design (especially if you’re sending from templates) such as text-to-image area ratios. Whenever possible, make sure you’re mailing to a clean, permissioned list to avoid spam reports.

A headline that works

This is far easier said than done. However, consider a few focused characteristics for your headline to be effective:

• Is the message useful or valuable to the reader? Do they gain something from opening?
• Is it detailed? Does the reader understand what they are about to read?
• Does the message offer something unique or interesting enough to warrant opening?
• Is it timely enough to make the reader open it now?
• Is it brief? Don’t forget the value or the detail, but shorter is better.

Involving all of these components can be extremely difficult. When writing a headline, focus on the value and detail most importantly. If you can incorporate something truly interesting or unique, that’s excellent. Worry about adding urgency to the piece only when it’s useful, rather than forcing arbitrary time frames on it.

Make good use of the “From” field

It’s always important to make sure your recipient knows from whom and why they are receiving the email they are. Keep the name consistent during the duration of your send/campaigns. By doing so you build trust in your contacts that you are somebody they want to receive an email from (and it helps you avoid getting spam reports and  unsubscribes).

Have an effective CTA

Ideally you need your emails to have a single, clear call-to-action. I recently read a really informative article that speaks specifically about crafting a CTA, and here are some of the article’s main points to consider:

• Start with a verb. Get to the action right away, avoid hiding a “click here” in the bottom corner.
• Use numbers. Find a way to sound compelling or demonstrate value using digits.
• Stick to mostly nouns [subjects] and verbs. Adjectives and adverbs are far less valuable in a CTA.
• Keep it between 90-150 characters. It doesn’t have to be brief just for brevity’s sake.
• Go practical, not technical. Emphasize the benefits of the offer, not the complexity.

If you combine all of these features, you can turn a mediocre, mundane email into something that actually delivers results. Email is still one of the strongest mediums available for lead nurturing and both inbound and outbound marketing. It would be a shame if you weren’t making the most out of it.

What are some of the biggest challenges you were having with your email content? Do you find these email marketing tips make it easier or harder to generate content for your distributions?

Growing up in Las Vegas, I learned to play many different card games, including Texas Hold‘em Poker. In fact, with a little practice and a lot of luck (or a lot of practice and a little luck) poker has become one of my favorite hobbies.

But being a good poker player requires many different skills; many of those skills are the same you need to be successful in the B2B marketplace. Confused? Let me explain, and let’s shuffle up and deal.

There are many skills you need to possess to become a successful poker player. It’s good to be outgoing, focused, use critical thinking, and be hands-on, with an amazingly quick ability to learn. In the poker world you must be able to read your competition, as well as make a plan of action to outwit your opponent.

Compare that to a successful marketer. In a crowded B2B marketing field, there are different ways to position yourself above the competition. Your position at a poker table can determine what call of action you play. In both poker and marketing, information is key – you must always be on the lookout for the next nugget.

I usually begin my time at a table with a checklist. There are certain questions I will ask myself at the table as I watch each player – noticeable habits, tics or other giveaways. You can never be sure what cards your opponent is holding, but if you pay close attention to other players’ behavior at the poker table, you can catch clues that can turn the game in your favor. The more you pay attention to the actions of your opponents, the more successful you will be.

In the marketing world, we’d call this a competitive analysis. What is the competition saying, and why? What claims are they making? And how do you differ from those claims? In essence, how does your hand compare? The strategic thinking involved in both games is essentially the same.

In both worlds, it serves you to be a sponge; soak up as much as you can and use it to your advantage. You need to use logic to help understand why your competitors are making the play based on the information that you have seen. That same logic applies when you’re plotting your next campaign. Logic, logic, logic is key to making good decisions, and the stored information you’ve accumulated will influence your decisions positively.

See you at the tables!

Most sales and marketing professionals understand that it can be much easier to keep and grow the business from a existing client relationships than it is to secure a new ones. Therefore, it simply makes sense to seek out opportunities to build loyalty among your existing customers.

It begins by building a foundation of confidence.

• Provide outstanding service – under-promise and over-deliver through every phase of the order or project, including estimating, approvals, production, delivery and billing.
• Show concern for their satisfaction after you’ve delivered. Find out how it’s going and what they liked or didn’t like. Were there any surprises?
• Did you meet the objective? Showcase your contribution to their growth.

Take the relationship to the next level by continually adding value.

Value is a journey – not a destination. There will always be new opportunities to add value – if you make it a practice to look for them. Remember that every win builds confidence but memory fades quickly.

• Be proactive and provide ideas to help your customers grow their business. Continually dig and listen to identify and understand their needs and to uncover new opportunities.
  • Apply what you’ve learned on previous projects and find ways to replicate or expand your winning solutions.
  • Keep your eyes open for news that affects them. Read the trade publications and business journals. Forward articles of interest that point to a new business opportunity or threat. Always include the implication and a solution.

• Understand your client’s job and find ways to make it easier and more pleasant. The more you understand their business and their job, the more opportunities you will find to add value.
  • Are processing invoices eating up much of their valuable time? Perhaps there is additional information you could show on the invoices, or you could submit them in a different format or on a different day of the month.
  • If you’re handling multiple projects for them, don’t bombard them with separate emails regarding each project. Summarize for them weekly (or daily if needed) to show status and next steps required.
  • Are they getting in trouble with their receiving department because they can’t figure out where deliveries should go? Doing something as simple as adding PO numbers to the attention line in your shipping labels versus just the packing lists can make a big difference.

• Help them overcome a problem. Roll up your sleeves, be a part of their team and fix things.  Own the situation – even if you didn’t create it.

• Build a personal relationship
  • Learn what motivates your client. Does he or she want to get promoted? Or does he or she want social recognition? Is their number-one goal to cut costs or do they want to drive revenue? Your ticket to loyalty is helping them achieve their goals.
  • Become their friend. Know what they love and show genuine interest. Knowing small details about their life gives you an opportunity to build a personal relationship. Remember that all things being equal, people prefer to buy from people they like.
  • Resist the temptation to let technology replace the human touch. Make time for personal meetings and conversations. Today, it’s much too easy to rely on email and text messaging to communicate. While it’s quick and provides the benefit of documentation, the convenience comes at a cost because it diminishes opportunities to develop the personal relationship that’s so crucial for learning and discovering more opportunities to build loyalty and sustainable business.

What are some of your favorite or special ways of continually providing value to your clients? Or as a client what is something you enjoy having and consider valuable?

Can an introvert working in solitude survive in today’s connected-24/7, share-everything social world?

Author Susan Cain contends in her recent New York Times opinion piece, “The Rise of the New Groupthink,” that can be the way to go even as today’s culture overlooks “the quiet part of the creative process.” According to Cain, the New Groupthink – continually collaborating in teams to think, learn, work and socialize without time to be alone – is transforming business, education, religious institutions and other areas to the detriment of creativity and innovation.

I’m a newbie at Canyon Communications but have more than 20 years’ experience in PR and journalism.

Even in my short time, I’m already impressed by the work environment that my fellow Canyonites have created here. It’s an ideal mix of having the room to work autonomously and develop top-flight B2B marketing communications resources coupled with the ability to have fun, exchange ideas and collaborate effectively within a team environment.

What that means for our clients is that they’re receiving the best of both worlds: talented individuals thinking and working on their own piece of the puzzle and then putting their collective expertise and creativity together to devise marcom solutions that deliver results.

Interestingly, Cain claims that brainstorming sessions are one of the worst possible ways to stimulate creativity. What’s your experience?