In my previous blog post  "Email Marketing: Have We Killed the Golden Goose? Part I" I stated that I believe we have been using email marketing recklessly and as a result, consumers are ignoring their in-boxes because of the amount of irrelevant mail they have to endure.  I presented some strategies for you to use to get past the gatekeepers and hopefully that post has made you rethink your approach to emarketing.

One thing I'd like to point out here: relying solely on emarketing will likely not produce the results you desire.  Augment your emarketing with a matching well-designed direct mail piece targeted to the same audience. It has been my experience that when I augment an ecampaign with a secondary means of communication, such as a postcard, a personalized letter, etc., results improve.

To improve the chances of keeping your database of "edresses" up-to-date and on your subscriber list, instead of blasting everyone on your list so that they get fed up with non-relevant material overflowing their inbox, try the direct marketing approach of segmenting, targeting, and personalizing your list to deliver the right message to the right people. 

• Segmentation identifies groups or segments within a group so that the marketer can develop value propositions to the specific need of each segment of people.
• Targeting is delivering the appropriate value proposition to the segment of your database that would find the content most relevant.
• Personalizing is simply tailoring the email to the individual in various places on the email.

Example:  You have 1,000 prospects in your database.  Let's say you list two homes on the same day.  One is a two-bedroom with a minimal yard.  The second home is a four bedroom with a big yard.  Your database shows that you have 300 people looking for a two bedroom (Segment A), and 500 people looking for a four bedroom (Segment B) and 100 people looking for a small yard (Segment C).  You could email Segments A & C information about the two-bedroom home and email Segment B something about the four bedroom home.  For Segment A, tailor your piece to highlight the two bedrooms to make the offer relevant to them.   Segment C, highlight the small yard.  Got it? 

The one thing I do like about emarketing is that I can create a promotion or offer and send it out the appropriate segment to test it before I spend any money on a direct mail piece.   I can also provide them with a hyperlink back to my site with further details about the promotion or to learn more about my product or services. 

I know that this is dry stuff, but in the scheme of things, this is really something we all need to have a grasp of if we are going to be doing any marketing. 

Let me know your thoughts,

Happy Marketing!