Last week we kicked off our series focusing on Subject Lines that Work, this week we’re adding to the list with some very timely reminders to help your message break through the inbox clutter.

You may have already started receiving invitations to check out what’s new for the holidays – those top ten gift lists, hot tips or requests to check out the latest and greatest. Here are some of the best ways to cross-sell and get your recipients to pay attention:

1) Your $40 Off Coupon – If all else fails, bribe them. Give your recipients a big incentive, its even better if you can do it in a way that coaxes them into a bigger purchase.

2) Top Three Best Sellers – Done correctly, this could be your best email to create empathy and up-sell. Offer the recipient three (or five) of your top sellers in a category of interest, make it even stronger by listing a product they have purchased/ browsed as one of the featured items.
3) Add $50 to Your Account – Offer your recipients a cash incentive to open an account or sign up for bill payment, put the credit directly into their account. A subject line like this grabs their attention and makes them read your offer; strengthen it by up-selling on the landing page.

4) Don't miss… – This is a powerful subject line and can be used to add emphasis to a great offer, special event or expiring survey. Use this one sparingly and make sure that the call to action conveys how great the offer is and why they shouldn’t miss it.

5) Sorry you Missed… – Despite your best efforts not everyone is going to make your event or take your invitation, tell them they missed something important and provide info on how they could attend the next event. Hopefully, this will make them pay more attention to your events the next time.

6) Pick the Plan to suit Your Needs – Everyone likes to be in control and make their own choices – be sure to balance this one, offering too many choices will lead to indecision, procrastination and increases the odds that they will forget about your offer.

Check back for more in our Subject Line Series.

I still remember having to visit the library to conduct research, both for school and work. The web has made it easier, first by allowing organizations to keep their doors open 24x7 for users to come, browse and transact. The advent of Web 2.0 has made things dramatically easier.

On November 24-25, BrightTalk will host an online summit focused on Conversational Marketing; you have an opportunity to interact with social media marketing experts live – just open your browser to learn. Brush up on best practices to help start conversations with customers, integrate mobile and search with your social marketing efforts. These two days of learning are going to be revolutionary, online and best of all FREE.

I am looking forward to sharing my presentation, Creating Interactive Conversations. I plan to explore real case studies from companies across the globe that have enhanced their customer relationships by applying the right Web 2.0 techniques in addition to the traditional channels. My discussions will focus on ways to engage customers and prospects in a timely relevant dialogue leveraging the information you have, across all channels. After all, isn't the future of marketing about Creating Interactive Conversations?

Learn more about the BrightTalk event on their site or take a sneak peek at my presentation planned for November 24.

Your email program shouldn’t be anything short of exciting; the whole process should start with the sign-up process it’s your opportunity to set the standard and create an anticipation of greatness. Unfortunately, the email world doesn’t give do-overs, but there is always the chance to spruce up your process.

Use the upcoming events to reengage the customer and solicit their feedback, understand their preferences and retell them about your email program – sorta like resetting the bar. The election is a fresh start; the holiday season is often a time to get them to reflect and the New Year is a great time to reset their expectations. If a prospect has just become a customer, use your welcome campaign to restart the engagement process. You could also create your own events – the launch of a new product, the offer of a new contest or even a simple survey.

The important thing to remember is that once you have re-launched, you cannot slip back. Focus on the aspirational, play up the virtues of your program and remind them about the great reasons they should be doing business with you. Initiate bonding streams throughout the year, pepper campaigns with email-only offers and keep your creative strong – you never know which email the customer is going to open, so every impression counts.

I met a call center manager for a specialty products catalog a few years ago, his mantra was simple – he wanted his CSRs to earn the trust of those they were speaking to. Using this relationship, they would then be able to up-sell callers on the value of their products and services.

Prior to his management, the call center reps were trained to wrap up calls in under three minutes. Calls over the limit were scrutinized, CSRs were reprimanded for wasting time and as a result they served as order takers, rapidly asking customers for their email ID to send the confirmation. Occasionally the CSR would work in a plug for the promotional emails but only had a few conversions.

Under the new management, CSRs were encouraged to take the time to talk about the products and services ordered, the reps were trained to inquire about where and how the product was to be used. Calls were lasting longer, but the CSRs were able to learn more and then offer an incentive or information to help the caller. The new approach also helped collect more email IDs, because the CSRs were able to work the request into their conversation and offer an instant message – a brief email the CSR sent that described the types of offers and the email program.

By taking the time to understand the customer, the CSR was able to solve a need, offer an enhanced service (email) and fulfill the offer by sending them a welcome email immediately. They took time to describe the email program – creating a sense of expectation which has helped their email program garner higher open rates (they average over 80%) and reduce their printed catalogs (mailing 20% less)… unfortunately; they had to break the three-minute call limit.

We had the opportunity to hold a Panel of Peers workshop yesterday in downtown Chicago, among the items discussed during the four-hour session, one that generated a number of comments was the Going Mobile topic.

One of our slides was focused how more people are using mobile devices to check email… due to wider acceptance of the technology and the lower costs of the devices (compared to a couple years ago.) The slide included the following points from a 2007 AOL study, showing that people check email anywhere, everywhere:

The last point was brought up for discussion, one lady had just seen someone replying to an email (or texting) while speeding down the interstate.

So as an email marketer – are you prone to any of the above? Are you typing while driving? Do you check your phone just before dozing off to sleep? Are you the guy looking at the CrackBerry and blocking my way to my connecting flight? Comment and let us know what you’ve seen.

P.S. You can keep tabs on upcoming Panel of Peers workshops by joining our group on LinkedIn.

Your subject line… the ticket that could earn you that coveted open. Unfortunately, so many eMarketers leave the subject line for the last minute; they simply throw something on to fit the need. Here are the first in a series to help strengthen your subject lines and help your message break through the inbox clutter.

A couple weeks back we announced a contest for the most Innovative Email Idea and had some interesting entries – but the stand out was from Drew at Questia.

First off, I wish I had Questia when I was in college; it’s a student’s dream offering resources to ease research. Questia’s online library has over 72K library books, 2M journal, magazine and newspaper articles and their subscription-based service allows users to read all content, create their own bookshelves, highlight or take notes on the text. They even offer an instant bibliography tool to instantly credit your referenced sources. Drew coordinates email marketing efforts for their consumer side, sending about five emails per month including newsletters and announcements on the newest additions to their shelves.

INNOVATIVE IDEA FOR OUR CONTEST
Drew’s submission was the concept of Dynamic Whitelisting; instead of asking all recipients to generically add them to their safe sender list he included the instructions and graphics to walk them through the process. Here’s some additional info:

Q: What inspired your idea of Dynamic Whitelisting?
DREW: We wanted to create a header that stood out from the standard request of please add us to your safe list. I think readers have grown tired of that message and are prone to overlook it. I’ve seen other marketers include a link to instructions for all email clients but I wanted to give a customized offer. I think this stands out and I’ve tried to make it very straight forward.

Q: What success rate have you seen since implementation?
D: We’ve seen bounce rates drop by 75% and a 43% decrease in SPAM complaints. Unfortunately there is no way to tell if someone has implemented, we can only see the improvements in these rates and as a result have continued to include in all our campaigns.

Q: What feedback have you received from recipients?
D: We haven’t received much from recipients but have gotten attention from other industry experts in the blogosphere. As marketers, we need to use all information that the customer gives us – including their domain information.

Q: Do you think the graphics have improved your success (included above?)
D: We did some A/B split tests, with/ without the dynamic header and I think the graphics helped. Recipients are seeing instructions with the exact verbiage based on their email client and I tried to use same fonts and colors specific to their client.

Q: Are you planning to create instructions for all other domains?
D: About 70% of our list is using AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail or Gmail email clients, we have those in place. I hope to create instructions for our international visitors; we have quite a few recipients from other counties with other domains.

Q: How long have you been reading the Yogi Blog?
D: I’ve been reading the Yogi Blog for about three months, after finding you on Twitter.

Q: Have you been inspired to incorporate any of the Yogi’s suggestions into your program? If so which ones?
D: I really liked the article, How to Market in a Down Economy; we’re considering creating a similar message, either as its own campaign or as part of another message.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for future posts/ anything you’d like to see more of?
D: I’d like to see more on Deliverability; it’s a big challenge and always seems to be changing.

Thanks again for your submission Drew as well as the request for more Deliverability posts – we’ll start incorporating soon.

If you have a suggestion or Innovative Idea, share it… you may be our next winner.