Most everyone knows about Constant Contact, a do-it-yourself email solution that has become ubiquitous among small businesses.
But I’ve always shied away from the catch-all solutions and sought out others that personalize the customer experience. Emma is one of those options for email marketers.
And how could you not like an email program named Emma? She sounds sweet, right?
Not only that, but she’s pretty open and honest about what she’s able to do. Here’s a list of Five things you should know about Emma.
Emma’s approach seems to be working. According to her web site, she’s “currently supporting the email marketing efforts of roughly 40,000 businesses, nonprofits and agencies doing all sorts of interesting things in all sorts of interesting places, assuming Belgium makes your list of interesting places, and why wouldn’t it?” She’s headquartered in Nashville, and staffed by all kinds of young, hip e-savvy marketers.
Last year, Emma interviewed me for their 5 Questions blog. This blog site aids e-marketers with helpful strategies and tactics to drive their online marketing success. Emma asked me to participate because one of the e-newsletters that I had developed using their communications platform was receiving a much higher than average click thru rate by readers – nearly 40%. [In healthcare, most Emma clients only see a 10-20% click thru rate.]
Emma offers all kinds of free templates to help you create a professional look and feel for your e-marketing campaigns.
Here’s one of the highlights from our interview:
Question: What’s your best advice to writing accessible, memorable emails?
Lisa Wells:
- Write for your audience’s benefit – not yours or your company’s.
- Illustrate points with pictures the audience will relate to and click on for details.
- Use a personal tone – no one wants to read an email that sounds like you have a banana stuck in your tailpipe. Treat your customers like they’re your friends, but not in terms of slang or being overly familiar. Do use layman’s terms, and answer questions or problems they may have.
- Link, link, link and link some more. The more direct access you provide to customer relational touch points, the better.
If you’re a non-profit, you may want to apply for the Emma 25 Initiative. Each year, the annual Emma 25 initiative awards free Emma service to help small, deserving nonprofits do more to reach their donors and supporters with email marketing. Charitable causes from around the world apply, and they select 25 to honor with a lifetime of free Emma service. Non-Profits — Apply here.
Need a hand with your e-marketing initiatives?
Give me a shout. I’m glad to help.
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