The Best Day to send an Email Campaign

I have found that the only legitimate way to find out what the best day is for your business is to conduct an A/B split test of your own. By taking a "control" email and testing it against other days, you'll be able to test your way into a good sense of the best day to send out your emails.

So the question is, "That's fine, but where do I start? Aren't there a few days of the week that work better than others and can't I start by testing those?"

Well, yes, there are some days that work better than others and you could start by testing those days. With that in mind, here's how I broke out that information:

Monday
Positive: Office work has not filled inboxes yet
Negative: Consumers are in “work mode” and won’t be focused on non-work tasks
Best Practice: Send emails late Monday morning, after consumers have cleaned the weekend spam from their inboxes

Tuesday
Positive: People have organized their week, and can find personal time for emails
Negative: Emails poised for a weekend response may be too early
Best Practice: Use Tuesday for emails that request action during the workweek

Wednesday/Thursday
Positive: Consumers are planning their weekends and gearing up for personal time
Negative: Time during the workweek is running short, and requested action may be pushed back to the following week, or even forgotten about
Best Practice: Focus leisure and weekend notifications during these key weekend planning days

Friday
Positive: Studies indicate fewer total emails sent compared to the rest of the week, increasing visibility among the myriad of other messages
Negative: Consumers hurry to leave the office early, and may not take time to view non-work related emails
Best Practice: Send emails early in the day to give consumers more time to take action. An unopened email from Friday will sort to the bottom of an inbox on Monday, and is often discarded

Weekends
Positive: People check emails on weekends, too, so weekends may have untapped potential
Negative: A weekend email may seem overly-intrusive to some people
Best Practice: If possible, try to avoid Sundays and focus on Saturdays, which may have a better response rate

And always have an offer in your email, always!
Plus if you do a "Click and Print Coupon" make sure you make the actual print coupon black and white. People are more likely to print a B&W coupon (save on ink!)

Sell the Hole, not the Drill Bit.

Well...I love tools and love to talk about marketing so this will work out great!
1000 people go to the hardware store everyday to buy a 1/4" drill bit, however they DO NOT want to 1/4" drill bit, they want a 1/4" hole.

Nobody wants a hearing aid, people want to enjoy spending time with their family.
Nobody wants a new furnace, people want to have their children warm in their home.
Are you selling the hole, or the bit? Remember in Sales 101, the acronym FAB....meaning Feature, Advantage, and Benefit. Always remember to advertise the benefit to your customer.
Break down what you are promoting into the Feature, the Advantage of that, and then the end benefit to the customer!

I however need the drill bits, the saw, the router, the hammer, the wood, the screwdriver, and every other tool! Just ask my wife, she will tell you I "think" I need every tool! (I love you Nicole)

Test

Don't label me - Don't Pigeon hole your advertising

I talk with a lot of business owners who are "snooty". They think their customer wouldn't watch that program. Example, I have a boat guy who says I can only advertise on fishing programs or sportscenter cause that is where they guys are.
As a reminder you can target your audience not only through the program your in, but more importantly what your commercial says. Do you think I could attract a boat owner in Judge Judy by saying something like this: "Do you have a boat, Do you have a boat problem, if so call ACME boat repair" That is how you use the creative of the commercial to target your message. I won't even get into the people who say they can only advertise on HGTV for people who want to remodel..... this makes me cringe for so many reasons......
Last point, how do you label me, who's customer am I, am i your market? I am a 31 year old male, watch judge Judy, watch evening news, married, like tools, have a boat, own a honda, own a buick, own a diesel truck, have a pregnant wife, thinking about cribs now, like to read, like to ride bikes, have a motorcycle license, hate to mow lawn, like to hike, hate poor service, like to write, and not originally from TN. So who's target market do i fall into???? A lot of them!
Not sure i had point to this....oh yeah, don't pigeon hole your advertising because you are "too good" to talk to someone else....

Forward Equity will make you Rich!

A long time ago my career started in Green Bay at the the ABC affiliate WBAY. Now I may be a little biased, however we always taught our clients that Success comes through consistent advertising. Meaning your message and branding statement stays consistent, and the look and feel of your commercials are consistent.
I have not worked in that market in over 6 years however I was back in WI a month ago and here are two great examples of two clients staying consistent:
The first is http://www.senzigs.com/ There commercial came on and I immediately remembered who they were and to top it off, they have the same end to their commemoration, cheesy or not, Wisconsin's Furniture Giant!
The second is Lenz Truck Center. http://lenzauto.com/ There commercial came on and right away I knew who they were and what they stood for. They sell trucks and SUV's and that is it! The found a niche and owned it. This is a good example of a great saying: There are Riches in Niches.... Do you have a niche, can you be known for something and become rich at it? Think about it...Lenz Truck center will lose the 4 door sedan sale, however if anyone within a 100 miles of them thinks about buying a truck, Lenz Truck center is #1 on their shopping radar for any truck buyer.

What you should take from this: It really is not a "Sales Pitch" Advertising is just like investing, pick a good plan and be consistent, it will pay off!

I'm Pregnant.....eerrr...We are Pregnant!

Yes, it's true my wife and I are pregnant with our first child.....How does this relate to you?
I am now in a different target market, baby stuff and the million things that go with it. Over the last 30 years I had no interest in baby stuff however I did see the commercials and the constant advertising, even though I didn't care about it.

Now.....the advertisers that were consistent in their marketing through those years built a little folder in my head for "Baby stuff" Those advertisers did the right thing by selling the today customer and planting a seed in the mind of the "tomorrow customer" through consistency.

Lesson for the day: Be consistent....it's not just a "sales pitch" advertising is an investment and the longer and more consistent you are...the richer you become...

Are you selling only the today customer and forgetting the tomorrow customer???

1-800-Keep-Up-With-the-Times

Their are vanity plates (you may have one), there are also vanity phone numbers. They are catchy and help people remember your number when they need it.
Did you know that with the new Smart Phones you can not easily do this.
If your number is 555-TIME most smart phones are not like the typical phone key pad as they are designed like a computer keyboard. If you are really smart and somewhat techie you can figure it out....however most of your potential clients will only get aggravated by trying to figure it out..... So what is a smart business owner like you to do???
Create a vanity or "Sticky" web address...no not the name of your business, that is boring and won't work as well....
Let's say you are a landscaper/hardscaper, the website you promote and people remember won't be www.acmelandscaper.com.... it should be something that speaks to what people want and speaks to your creative in your message... something like www.backyardmakeover.com www.outdoorvacation.com
You can still keep your existing website address, however you should go to www.godaddy.com and buy a Sticky website address for $10 and you can simply link your new Sticky website right to your current site (Ask your IT guy if you don't know) Remember...choose a web address that is based on the benefit of your product/service