As B2B marketers, we all know how important it is to consistently be in front of your customers/prospects. But, providing the latest information/resources about your respective industries is also important. E-newsletters are a great way to provide valuable information to your customers and prospects, while keeping them thinking about your products/services.

To provide value to your customers, increase your open rates and direct traffic to your website, keep the following in mind:

1. An e-newsletter should be ‘newsy.’ Reference third party sources along with your own company news.
2. Provide industry-related links to sites other than your own website.
3. E-newsletters need to be consistent. Depending on your current e-mail communications to customers/prospects, you want them to expect an e-newsletter from you on a monthly or bi-monthly basis (quarterly works too)!
4. A relatively easy-to-use e-mail marketing program is Constant Contact. This site allows you to customize your e-newsletter template as well as distribution and tracking capabilities.

If you keep these rules in mind and consistently provide customers/prospects with up-to-date information, they will think of you first the next time they are searching for a product or service you offer!

Have you been asking yourself…How successful have my e-mail marketing campaigns really been? How can I measure which subject line increases my open/click-through rates? Where does the majority of my Web site traffic come from? Which of my two e-mails has been more successful in my campaign?

Google Analytics is the answer to all your performance evaluation questions. To track your e-mail marketing campaigns, you must first have Google Analytics set up on your Web site. Once this is set up, Google Analytics gives you the ability to insert campaign tags within the links of your e-mail campaign. You are able to generate unique campaign tag links through Google Analytics URL Builder. Different tags can be set up for different e-mails so you are also able to track the success rate of one e-mail against another.

This tool allows you to see whether your Web site visitors are coming from your e-mail marketing campaigns or if they are direct or referral site traffic. You also will find that by using this tool your tracking reports will be that much more detailed. Tracking = proving ROI.

While visiting the Midwest this past weekend, I was reminded that it was the 150^th anniversary of the Pony Express and couldn’t help but think how communication has evolved. It used to take 10 days for correspondence to go from St. Joseph, Mo. to Sacramento, Calif., where messengers faced death on a daily basis. Today it takes less than 10 seconds to send an e-mail across the globe and the most you risk is carpal tunnel.

The rapidly changing world of communications leaves us all waiting for the next, latest, greatest and fastest technology out there to get our messages to the masses. Remember, the Pony Express was innovative for its time, but by today’s standards it’s definitely not hot to trot when it comes to communicating.

What’s the most archaic form of communication you’ve used in your lifetime?

Let’s face it, spam filters can make a marketer’s life a nightmare, but there are some tricks that you should know to ensure a high delivery rate for your next e-mail campaign.

To help avoid the ‘junk e-mail’ folder, resist the following:

• Spam-type words
  i.e. – free, #1, no cost, guarantee, marketing, credit card, etc. To see a whole list, visit this helpful site: Mannix Marketing, Inc.
• Red text
• All capital letters
• Incomplete information
• Excessive punctuation !!!, ???
• Excessive use of “click here” especially in all capital letters
• No “From:” address
• Misleading (or missing) subject line

At Canyon, we use Constant Contact to distribute and track e-mail marketing campaigns. This web-based e-mail marketing service allows marketers to easily and efficiently develop HTML/Text-based e-mail marketing campaigns at the touch of a button. Plus, it allows you to instantly upload distribution lists, track progress and view on-demand reports to help measure campaign success and track ROI.

Following these helpful guidelines and suggestions will help you avoid the junk mail folder and make it into your customers’ and prospects’ inboxes.

Do you have any tips to add to this list?