By Steve Robinson
Director of National Organizations, Constant Contact

Before you hit the send button on your next email marketing campaign, here’s something to think about – the average person received 91 consumer emails each day in 2015 and that number is expected to climb to 117 per day by the year 2019.¹ These days, just getting a customer to open an email can be a feat unto itself. But not if you follow these insider tips.

Getting Noticed

How does a customer choose which email to open, open first, or not at all? The first thing they look at is the sender’s name and the subject line. If they don’t know you, it makes it that much harder to inspire them to open your message.

To encourage people to open your marketing emails, take these three critical
steps. First, ask your customers for permission to add them to your contact list. Since email marketing is permission-based, meaning you should have a green light from customers before reaching out, this clears the hurdle of them knowing the sender when the message appears in their inbox.

Second, your email address should be under the name that customers know. This is most likely going to be the name of your business, such as “Patsy’s Pastries,” though in some instances it might be your name, as in “Patsy Smith.” Just be sure to use the name the customer recognizes.  (more…)

By Nick Fuller

This is your cue

Engaging with potential and current customers creates a lasting impression. By being open and transparent with your business’s patrons, you will earn their trust. They want to have interactions that help them understand who is behind the business. And one of the more effective and emerging ways to do that is live streaming.

In a recent Brandlive survey, 39 percent of respondents said live streaming will be “important” in their marketing mix. Another 20 percent said it will be “very important.” No matter how small your business, it might be worth your while to explore the possibilities a video marketing trend that’s gaining serious momentum. (more…)