Email & SMS: Why SMS Should Be Your Next Marketing Move with Naomi Davies
SMS is a very personal channel that goes directly to your phone, making it an essential part of your marketing strategy. In this episode, we dive into how to effectively integrate SMS into your email marketing plans, addressing a common challenge many businesses face: knowing they should use SMS but not knowing how to start. I chat with Naomi Davis, an expert in the field, who shares actionable insights on the types of campaigns to send and the importance of messaging that provides real value.Integrating SMS into your email marketing strategy is essential for enhancing customer engagement. The episode dives into the nuances of this integration with expert Naomi Davis, who emphasizes that SMS is a highly personal channel. Unlike emails, which can get lost in an inbox, SMS messages land directly on the recipient's home screen, making them more immediate and impactful. By considering the timing and content of your SMS campaigns in relation to your email efforts, you can create a seamless customer journey that maximizes engagement and conversion rates.The conversation shifts to practical tips for executing SMS campaigns effectively. Naomi advises listeners to start by collecting SMS consent properly and utilizing that list from the get-go. She suggests implementing a welcome series that immediately engages new subscribers, providing them with incentives and offers tailored to their interests. The discussion covers how to avoid common pitfalls, such as over-segmenting or solely relying on discounts in SMS communications. Instead, Naomi encourages brands to explore a diverse range of messaging strategies to keep their audience engaged without diluting their brand value.Towards the end, Naomi shares insights on measuring the effectiveness of SMS alongside email marketing. She highlights the importance of analyzing customer behaviors across both channels to optimize future communications. The episode wraps up with actionable advice on maintaining a balanced cadence of messaging, ensuring that customers feel valued. By combining the storytelling power of email with the immediacy of SMS, brands can foster stronger relationships with their audience and drive better marketing results.This episode is a goldmine for marketers looking to elevate their strategies and connect with customers on a more personal level.Takeaways:Integrating SMS in email marketing demands a unique approach tailored to the audience. SMS is a personal communication channel and should be treated with respect and value. Sending a prompt welcome message after collecting SMS consent is crucial for engagement. To optimize your SMS strategy, segment your audience based on behavior and engagement metrics. Timing is key; consider sending SMS after an email to enhance engagement rates effectively. Avoid over-relying on discounts in SMS campaigns to maintain brand value and customer loyalty.Find the notes here: https://keepopt.com/258Download our ebook >> https://keepopt.com/ebook "500 Top Tips to Make Your eCommerce Business More Profitable" ****Get all the links and resources we mention & join our email list at https://keepopt.comLove the show? Chloe would love your feedback - leave a review here: https://keepopt.com/review or reply to the episode Q&A on Spotify.Interested in being a Sponsor? go here: https://keepopt.com/sponsor
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28:41
Email & SMS: Strategies for Building Authentic Loyalty with Anna Frapwell, Neon Digital Clicks
Building customer loyalty isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential for any brand looking to thrive. We dive deep into the heart of loyalty programs in this episode, emphasizing that true engagement stems from a genuine understanding of your customers. Anna Frapwell shares her expertise on how to personalize communications and enhance customer relationships by asking the right questions.Establishing customer loyalty in today’s competitive market hinges on one critical aspect: understanding your customers deeply. It's important to engage customers through direct communication and gather insights to inform marketing strategies. Anna highlights that without this foundational understanding, loyalty programs risk becoming superficial and ineffective.We also dive into actionable strategies that brands can implement to foster loyalty. By utilizing tools like Klaviyo, businesses can enhance their understanding of customer preferences through data collection methods such as surveys and interactive quizzes. These tactics not only improve engagement; they also provide vital information that helps personalize marketing efforts. Anna emphasizes that the key to successful loyalty initiatives lies in creating a genuine connection with customers, ensuring they feel valued and understood.As we wrapped up our conversation, it became clear that true customer loyalty is built on trust and engagement rather than discounts or promotions. Brands that prioritize understanding their customers will not only increase retention rates but will also see improvements in overall profitability. The future of marketing is about forging meaningful relationships and creating personalized experiences that resonate with customers. By effectively leveraging insights, brands can position themselves for long-term success in the eCommerce space.Takeaways:Understanding your customer deeply is essential for building authentic loyalty programs that engage effectively. If brands fail to grasp what value means to their customers, loyalty efforts will likely fall flat and lack retention. Engaging with customers through surveys and quizzes can significantly improve loyalty and enhance communication strategies. Utilizing tools like Klaviyo allows brands to gather valuable insights to tailor their marketing efforts and foster loyalty. Personalization in email and SMS marketing is crucial; it turns potential spam into meaningful engagement for customers. A thoughtful approach to customer data collection helps avoid messy databases and ensures targeted marketing efforts. Episode sponsored by Neon Digital Clicks. Get a free audit of your digital marketing at keepscaling.me.Find the notes here: https://keepopt.com/257Download our ebook >> https://keepopt.com/ebook "500 Top Tips to Make Your eCommerce Business More Profitable" ****Get all the links and resources we mention & join our email list at https://keepopt.comLove the show? Chloe would love your feedback - leave a review here: https://keepopt.com/review or reply to the episode Q&A on Spotify.Interested in being a Sponsor? go here: https://keepopt.com/sponsor
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32:51
Email & SMS: Data-Driven Welcome Campaigns—Insights from Samantha Burmeister
Samantha Burmeister joins us to dive into the world of email welcome campaigns, emphasizing that the key takeaway is to gather valuable data about your audience. Understanding not just who buys, but also who doesn't, allows us to make informed marketing decisions moving forward. Samantha shares insights on how to start these campaigns right, the balance between gaining insights and making sales, and the significance of personalization in today’s marketing landscape.The dialogue begins with a crucial insight: the primary aim of a welcome sequence should be to gather data about new subscribers, which can inform future marketing strategies. Samantha emphasizes that understanding why some subscribers choose not to purchase is just as important as knowing who does buy. This data-driven approach enables marketers to fine-tune their strategies, ensuring that they invest in the right channels and messages moving forward.As we explore the structure of an effective welcome campaign, Samantha outlines key components that should be included in the initial emails. She advocates for providing immediate value to subscribers, which encourages prompt engagement. The importance of follow-up emails is also highlighted. By using data from initial interactions, marketers can create segments within their audience, delivering personalized content that speaks directly to each group’s needs and preferences.Towards the end of the episode, the conversation shifts to the changing landscape of consumer behavior. Samantha notes that in times of uncertainty, consumers are more cautious with their spending, which necessitates a more personalized and conversational approach in email marketing. By focusing on the emotional transformations that products can provide, rather than just the products themselves, brands can create deeper connections with their audience.This episode provides valuable insights into developing effective email welcome campaigns that not only drive sales but also build lasting customer relationships.Takeaways:A successful welcome email sequence should prioritize understanding customer data over immediate sales.Tracking who buys and who doesn't helps in allocating marketing resources effectively for future campaigns.The sequence begins with the opt-in process, making it essential to craft a compelling opt-in page.Personalization in marketing emails leads to higher conversion rates, especially during uncertain times.Find the notes here: https://keepopt.com/256 Download our ebook >> https://keepopt.com/ebook "500 Top Tips to Make Your eCommerce Business More Profitable" ****Get all the links and resources we mention & join our email list at https://keepopt.comLove the show? Chloe would love your feedback - leave a review here: https://keepopt.com/review or reply to the episode Q&A on Spotify.Interested in being a Sponsor? go here: https://keepopt.com/sponsor
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31:51
Email: Popups 101: How to Craft the Perfect Signup Experience with Shaan Arora
Maximising email sign-ups is the name of the game in our latest chat. We dive deep into the effectiveness of using mystery offers over straightforward discounts, revealing how this simple tweak can significantly boost opt-in rates. I recently tested this with a luxury home brand, and we saw a jump from 12% to 18% in email sign-ups, proving that a little mystery goes a long way. We also explore the importance of running A/B tests on pop-ups, focusing on elements like graphics and copy to see what resonates best with your audience. By the end, you'll be armed with practical strategies to enhance your email marketing efforts and truly optimise your approach moving forward.This insightful episode brings to light the often-overlooked power of email pop-ups in the eCommerce landscape. Shaan Arora, the founder of Alia, joins the conversation to shed light on how effective pop-ups can significantly enhance email sign-up rates and, ultimately, sales. He shares a recent success story where a simple pivot from standard discount offers to a mystery offer resulted in a remarkable increase in email opt-ins, demonstrating the effectiveness of curiosity-driven engagement. Sian's insights challenge the conventional wisdom that bigger discounts always lead to better results, revealing that the way an offer is presented can have a profound impact on customer behavior. Listeners are guided through the essential components of crafting compelling pop-ups, with Sian emphasizing the need for A/B testing to optimize every element. He discusses the common pitfalls brands face, such as neglecting the testing process or failing to update their pop-up designs. Through various examples, he illustrates how testing different graphics, copy, and offers can uncover hidden opportunities to boost sign-up rates and, by extension, sales. The episode underscores the idea that brands should approach pop-up strategies with the same level of optimization and analysis they apply to other marketing channels. The conversation also touches on the timing and context of pop-up displays, suggesting that brands should aim to present pop-ups within the first 10 seconds of a user’s visit to capitalize on their initial interest. Sian advocates for multi-stage pop-ups that engage users with relevant questions before asking for their email addresses, noting that this technique can lead to higher conversion rates. By the end of the episode, listeners are equipped with actionable strategies to refine their email pop-up tactics, ensuring they can effectively grow their email lists and enhance their overall marketing performance.Takeaways: Using mystery offers instead of fixed percentage discounts can significantly boost email opt-in rates. It's essential to test various elements of your pop-ups, like graphics and copy, to optimize performance. Running multi-stage pop-ups has shown to increase user commitment and improve signup rates effectively. Brands often overlook the importance of ongoing A/B testing for their pop-up strategies and should treat them similarly to ads. Zero party data questions can enhance engagement by tailoring the pop-up experience to customer interests. Timing is crucial; displaying pop-ups within the first 10 seconds of page load is generally recommended for optimal engagement. Chapters:01:22 - Introduction to Email Marketing and Popup Strategies11:30 - Multistage Pop-Ups and Best Practices18:18 - Testing Offers and Copy Improvements in Marketing22:26 - Transitioning from Popup Strategies to Insider Tips on Email Marketing24:25 - The Impact of AI on MarketingFind the notes here: https://keepopt.com/255Download our ebook >>...
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31:42
Email & SMS: Your Customer Retention Playbook with George Kapernaros, Yocto
Building a solid retention marketing playbook starts with understanding that your best ideas come from your customers, not from free templates or competitor research. In this episode, we dive deep into the importance of empathy in retention marketing and how it can significantly impact customer loyalty and revenue.In this engaging episode, we sit down with George Kapernaros, a retention marketing guru from Yocto, who brings a wealth of experience in helping brands enhance their customer retention strategies. The discussion kicks off with a critical examination of why understanding customer needs is the cornerstone of effective retention marketing. George emphasizes that the best insights do not come from generic research or competitor analysis but rather from directly engaging with customers to understand their experiences.He also shares statistics that highlight the importance of timely and relevant communication with customers. George advocates for a shift away from treating retention marketing as a series of one-off campaigns. Instead, he promotes the idea of creating comprehensive, empathetic, and multi-faceted customer journeys. By doing so, brands can not only improve retention rates but also enhance customer satisfaction and lifetime value.The conversation also touches on practical tools and methodologies that marketers can use to elevate their retention efforts. George introduces innovative technologies that facilitate interactive customer engagement, making it easier for brands to connect with their audiences meaningfully. He encourages marketers to tap into their internal knowledge and leverage customer feedback as a continuous source of insight. This episode serves as a powerful reminder of the evolving landscape of retention marketing and the importance of empathy, data-driven strategies, and customer engagement in fostering sustained business success.Takeaways: Your best ideas for retention marketing will come from understanding your customers, not from templates or competitor research. To impact customer retention, focus on creating empathetic messages that align with the customer journey rather than following a company calendar. Retention marketing should prioritize long-term customer understanding over short-term campaigns; it's essential to stay relevant after the sale. A successful retention strategy relies on collecting customer data to tailor messaging that resonates with their unique journeys and needs.Episode sponsored by Yocto. Book a call with George at keepopt.com/yoctoFind the notes here: https://keepopt.com/254Download our ebook >> https://keepopt.com/ebook "500 Top Tips to Make Your eCommerce Business More Profitable" ****Get all the links and resources we mention & join our email list at https://keepopt.comLove the show? Chloe would love your feedback - leave a review here: https://keepopt.com/review or reply to the episode Q&A on Spotify.Interested in being a Sponsor? go here: https://keepopt.com/sponsor
For 5 episodes at a time we focus in on one marketing method - maybe Email or SEO or Google Ads or Facebook Ads.
In our weekly episodes, we go deep into a different area of the marketing method we’re focused on, with a guest selected because they are an expert in their field AND because they have a specific tactic or approach you NEED to know about.
That means for the whole 5 episodes you’re getting ideas about ONE THING, and you can focus your optimisation time along with us on that one marketing method.
- Current Mini-Series = Email and SMS
- Next Mini-Series = Google Ads
- Last Mini-Series = Partnerships - inc Affiliates and Influencers
Previous topics you can listen to right now: SEO, Email marketing, Black Friday, Facebook Ads, Marketing Foundations, Content Marketing, Organic Social Media, Google Ads, TikTok, & Improving Conversion Rates
You can hear a new episode for free every Wednesday.
Each episode lasts about 30-45 minutes and is audio only.
AND at the end of each month we also have a Live Q&A webinar where you get to ask your questions of our guests.
>> Sign up for the next one here: https://keepoptimising.com/webinar/
I look forward to helping you keep optimising your marketing very soon!
Chloe Thomas, host of the show
About our host:
Chloe Thomas has been in marketing for over 15 years, she's the author of multiple best selling books on eCommerce and marketing, and the host of the award-winning UK top 5 marketing podcast, eCommerce MasterPlan.
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