Email marketing is one of the most valuable marketing tools that a business can have. There are a few factors that separate good email campaigns from great email campaigns. Here are 5 email marketing tips that will help you start creating more effective and engaging email campaigns. 

1) Segmenting Your Contacts 

Before you even send your first email, you can set yourself up for success by segmenting your contacts. Each client on your list of contacts has specific interests and circumstances. When segmenting your contact list by these interests and circumstances, you can send very specific messages to different groups of contacts. The more data you have about your clients, the more specific and targeted your email campaigns can be. Generic emails often go unread because they do not stand out enough to catch a reader’s attention. Emails that appeal directly to the reader’s interests are far more likely to be opened and read. 

One way to segment your contacts is to manually add additional information about your clients. This can be a bit tedious but sometimes it may be the only option. A far more efficient way is to utilize detailed lead capture tools that ask and collect relevant information about clients and prospects. A good lead capture tool will automatically segment your client list for you, making your email marketing efforts that much easier. 

Here are some ideas for ways to segment a contact list in the mortgage industry: 

• Location 
• Prospects vs closed deals 
• Loan type – Purchase vs refinance 
• Specific loan program 
• Credit score ranges 
• Income ranges 

Even this short list will allow you to send targeted emails to very specific client groups. Every time you add a new client to your contact list, ensure you are segmenting appropriately. 

2) A/B Test 

One of the most valuable email marketing practices that you can learn is split testing or A/B testing. Split testing involves sending two different emails to similar contact groups so that you can evaluate the results and effectiveness of various components of each email.  

Some different components that you should consider split testing are: 

• Subject Line 
• Email body 
• Calls to action 
• From Line 
• Email Layout 
• Images 
• Offers 

For the most effective testing, you should send your emails to the largest contact groups possible. Small groups can skew the results. Do not hand-pick recipients either. Make sure that the lists are random.  

After sending your emails, you can evaluate metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. Once you have this information, you can use these results to help build more effective email campaigns in the future. 

3) Personalization 

Always try to add a bit of personal information in each email you send. Take advantage of shortcodes to always include your client’s name in any emails you may send. Even something as simple as using a client’s name can boost your opening rates and engagement. This personalization can make client’s feel special or exclusive. Try using a client’s name in both the body of your email and in the subject line. 

Personalization goes beyond names. The reason we segment our contact lists are so that we can send personalized messages. Use the information you collected about your clients to send emails that are relevant to interests. The more relevant you can make your emails, the higher the chance of engagement. 

Don’t stop and just client information either. Add your own personal information as well. Instead of using a company name, use your name. Consider adding a picture of yourself to email headers or footers.  

4) Keep Your Emails Precise  

If you’ve done all the right things to get a client to open your emails, it is important not to lose them once they do. Most often, the goal of an email campaign is to get clients back to your website where you can provide additional information, and eventually convert and close someone who is interested in what you are offering. Emails should offer enough information to make readers aware of what you are offering, without overwhelming them. If they are interested, they will continue to your website where you can provide the added detail that they need. 

Also, in today’s world, emails are being opened from mobile devices more than ever. Even shorter emails can appear very lengthy when first opened on a mobile device. People who open emails on their mobile devices are generally on the go and may only have a few moments to review the details of an email. Keeping your message short and to the point will help convert these types of readers. 

5) Have a Dedicated Landing Page for Your Campaign 

When you’re considering an email campaign, one of the first things you should do is ensure you have a landing page setup specifically for that campaign, offer, or product. One of the quickest ways to lose the interest of a reader is to direct them to a non-specific page on your website, such as the homepage. A dedicated content page is a better solution, but this can also leave room for clients to click around your website and get distracted. 

A dedicated landing page can offer all the information a client needs without the added distractions. They are also a great tool for a capturing client information and tracking the results of your email campaign. A/B Testing can be applied to different landing pages that you can create. Over time, this will help you build better landing pages for future email campaigns as well as other projects such as paid ad campaigns. 

Next time you start an email campaign, be sure to take these 5 tips into consideration. We are certain they will help improve your results. 

The post 5 Email Marketing Tips for More Successful Campaigns appeared first on 220 Marketing Group.

The goal of your online marketing efforts is to convert site visitors into customers. Landing pages are an absolute must for achieving the best conversion rates and getting the most out of your marketing investments.

Your website is an all-encompassing resource that offers information on your company and the various products and services that you offer. While this information is important, your visitors are not directed to just one specific location which can lead to more browsing and fewer conversions.

Landing pages increase conversions by targeting specific audiences and encouraging them to complete an action, such as filling out a lead-capture form. Traffic from an e-blast with a promotional offer, or a pay-per-click campaign highlighting a specific product or service, should always be directed to a landing page rather than your homepage. The landing page should provide information directly related to the offer or product being promoted and be free of distractions, allowing you to convert more visitors into quality leads.

How a Landing Page Works

Let’s say you are running a pay-per-click campaign promoting FHA loans to first-time home buyers. Information on FHA loans is abundant so to encourage users to click your ad, you are offering free FHA mortgage consultations to first-time home buyers. Your landing page should highlight the benefits of FHA loans for first-time homebuyers and provide a lead-capture form where visitors can submit their information to receive their free consultation. If your ad directs users to your homepage, they can become discouraged and leave your site if they do not immediately see information on your offer. Sending visitors to your homepage almost always results in lost leads.

Landing Pages Offer Many Benefits

In addition to increased lead generation and conversion, landing pages offer several other benefits. If you are running multiple pay-per-click campaigns, having unique landing pages allows you to determine which of your ads is generating the most traffic, converting at the highest rate, and offering the highest return on your investment. Similarly, if you are running ads for the same product in various locations such as pay-per-click and social media ad campaigns, you can determine which source is generating the largest number of quality leads. Demographic information collected through your landing pages lets you see what types of visitors are converting at the highest rate, allowing you to adjust or refocus your campaign toward specific visitors. The insight that landing pages can offer into your marketing efforts is endless.

Landing pages are one of the most valuable tools you have in online marketing. Don’t throw away leads by not taking advantage of all that they offer. Contact us today at 619-758-9696 x2 or service@my220.com to schedule a marketing appointment to learn more about landing pages and how they can help you convert more visitors into leads!

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Most people have had the horror experience of filling out a form and getting calls from 20 companies that have nothing to do with the service you were looking for. Because of situations like this, we’ve all become a little weary when we see a page asking for our information. Making sure that people trust your page enough to give you their information is a great thing to focus on after you’ve gotten your page set up. We’ve listed 10 ways to earn the trust of those visiting your landing page.

1. Make Sure Your Call To Action Matches the Landing Page Content

Advertising one thing in a paid ad and something completely different in the landing page is the easiest way to get someone to leave that site! Making sure that you have different landing pages for each campaign you are running is important. Sometimes we get so caught up in the idea that our call to action has to be amazing that it has nothing to do with what the next page they see will be offering. You just wasted your time, your customer’s time, and precious marketing dollars if they clicked on a paid advertisement.

To make everyone happier, it is critical that you make sure the call to action matches what you are selling on the landing page. If you are offering a free guide on how to resolve an issue they have, don’t offer them a 20% off coupon for you to solve the problem for them.

2. Write Clear Verbiage Explaining What They Will Receive With the Offer

It is very easy for people to misread copy or construe their own meaning when they are reading. This is why it is crucial to make sure your landing page fully explains what they will get in exchange for filling out that form. If you are clear in what you are offering, you will live up to your end of the bargain and appear trustworthy.

If you are offering a free newsletter in your call to action, but the page they land on next isn’t clear in what they can expect, there is a greater chance the visitor will leave your page. When our clients offer a free e-newsletter sign up through a homepage button, we make sure it is linking to a form that lets the user know what to except in exchange for providing contact information. On the Call to Action button, a newsletter is promised, and this is reflected in the next page as well.

3. Include Contact Info for Your Company

Although they probably won’t use it, disclosing contact information for your visitors to use to find out more information about you is an easy way to make them feel at ease. Providing your contact information shows them that you are a real company and aren’t afraid to hide your true identity. It adds to your credibility as a valid business, and lets them know you are not a fly by night overnight scam.

The more information you have (links to social media accounts, Google Maps, etc) the more your visitors will fill at ease.

4. Don’t ask Questions That are too Intrusive

Even if they feel comfortable with your landing page, the potential customer might still be reluctant to pass over too much information. If you include basic questions that won’t set them on edge, it will let you collect the information you need while avoiding questions that may send them running. Trial and error is the best way to test how deep you can dig. Trying different forms running side by side is a good indicator of what questions people aren’t willing to answer before speaking with you and allow you to create a formula that works for you and the customer.

Differentiating between required and option fields will also help signify that it isn’t required for the client to give out all of the information you are asking for. Using asterisks on required fields is a great way to set those questions apart from the rest.

5. Provide a Link to Your Privacy Policy

Giving visitors a link to your privacy policy is a great way to let them see how you will use the information they provide. Reassuring them that their information will not be sold to other companies and letting them know they can request not to be contacted at any time will help set them at ease and feel comfortable with filling out your form.

6. Display Seals of Approval from Third-Party Companies

Displaying your 5 star Zillow rating logo or A+ BBB grade will help the clients know that you have been recognized by independent companies for the excellent service that you provide. Also providing security logos will help the client feel reassured that their information won’t be compromised.

7. Give Purchasers a Chance to Review a Summary of Their Purchase

If your landing page allows users to purchase a product, it is very important to disclose any extra handling or shipping fees upfront so they won’t be surprised by hidden fees. This will eliminate any chance that they will feel tricked. Allowing them to view all details of what they will receive and estimated shipping times will also help set them at ease before hitting that submit button to complete the order.

8. Include Reviews and Testimonials From Past Clients

Showing potential customers that you’ve made people happy with your services in the past is the best way to make them feel at ease. If you have feedback from several clients, this will help them see that you are offering a legitimate service that they will be happy with. If you are a current 220 Marketing customer with a landing page, ask one of our representatives about a customized Testimonial Scroll widget. This tool will allow visitors to see a list of reviews that are pulled directly from your site without taking up too much space.

9. Use Proper Spelling and Grammar

Having multiple spelling and grammatical errors on a landing page can make it look like you are lazy and don’t really care about representing your company in the best possible light. If you can’t take the time to have a professional proofread your page for errors, why would anyone want to hand over their information to you? Having another colleague read your copy and running it through a spell check machine will help save you a lot of headaches down the road, and make you appear professional and on top of your game.

10. Present an Overall Professional Appearance

If your landing page looks like a 10 year old put it together, chances are you won’t get much response from it. Besides having grammatically correct copy, it is also important to make sure that the layout and overall design of your landing page looks like it was put together by a professional, signaling that you really care about how you are perceived. Little things can provide a subconscious feeling of unease for some visitors.

Have a trusted third party take a look at your landing page and tell you their gut reaction of how the page makes them feel. If you have several designs you are trying to narrow down, show them all and get their feedback about which ones would make them feel safe enough to fill out the form. Asking them for specific details of what makes them feel the way they do will help you get a feel for things to make sure you avoid and include in each landing page.

Having too many different font sizes and types could your page look too busy. Using colors like red can have a subconscious effect in making the client want to stop what they are doing and leave the page. Including too many exclamation points can take away from the professional aspect while flashing animations can distract users from the most important aspect—the form!

Now that you have some tips to work off of, take a really good look at the landing pages you already have created. At 220 Marketing, we really work with our clients to ensure their landing pages are getting the best results, and we are willing to make adjustments until we find what will work best for your conversion rate! Our clients can always call our customer service department for some feedback if they need help with landing page design or content.

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The post 10 Ways to Make Your Landing Page Trustworthy appeared first on 220 Marketing Group.

While most inbound marketing strategists are skilled at creating great content on Youtube channels and drafting lead nurturing email campaigns, they have the tendency to only focus on conversion when designing landing pages and overlook simple tweaks that will make people abandon a page. 

Below you will find seven tips to make your landing page more powerful and prevent people from instantly leaving as soon as the page loads.

1) User Action-Oriented Language

When creating a landing page, it is crucial to have action verbs of what filling out this form will help them accomplish. If you are creating a landing page for a free ebook, let them know in three seconds what they will be able to do after they read this book so they will feel compelled to sign up to receive it.

For example “Drive traffic to your website from Facebook” is more effective than “Website traffic comes from Facebook”. Putting action verbs on the page in a bulleted list will help the client identify easily how they will be able to make all of these things happen after filling out the form on the landing page instead of leaving it in someone else’s hands.

2) Use Value-Oriented Language

The value of your content is going to be letting the clients know why they should fill out your form. This will let them know that the minimal time they spend on this will give them a big reward.

Implementing headers that directly point out what they will get is a good way to do this. Put a header that says something like “Fill out this form to:” with a list under of everything they will get in return. For example, if you are advertising a loan program, let them know what terms they might qualify for with terms that will catch their attention—No money down! Low down Payment! and so on.

3) Use Reader Keywords

Instead of using keywords that the search engine will pick on, make your verbiage something that clients will understand without too much thinking. Confirming that the page they landed on matches the information on the link they just clicked on will make them more comfortable and more willing to fill out the form to get the information they were looking for in the first place.

When writing the content for your landing page, included exact or similar phrases as those that you used in the ad campaign that got the client there and make it easy to see when the client quickly scans the page. This will pass the test for the client and drive them to take that next step and fill out the form.

4) Write Using the Second Person

Writing in the second person will make the page more relatable to your reader. Instead of saying I, let them know what they will be able to do by filling out this form. Using terms like “you” and “your” will help them visualize what they will be able to do with this information and make it sound like less of a sales pitch.

5) Go for Clarity Over Creativity

When creating content for a landing page, it’s best to act like you are under a time constraint and have a limited amount of time to finish your project. What would you say if you only had three seconds get your message across? It may have helped you in school when you added fluff words to fill a page minimum, but your clients aren’t looking for fancy language, just the facts.

It’s a good practice to read what you’ve just drafted and cross out any terms or words that aren’t absolutely necessary to convey your message. This is easily achieved by citing statists or facts.

Trying to promote merging all insurance policies to one company? Let the client know how much the average person saves by bundling their accounts together.

6) Format

Making sure that your format is pleasing to the eye is just as important to the content that you put into it. Breaking up the text of a page so that one section is never more than five lines is a great tip to keep in mind.

Breaking up everything using different header formats for each section also draws attention to each set of information. Adding bullet points, check marks or bold text will help draw attention to the most important areas.

It’s also imperative to keep in mind that the client won’t read every line of text, so put the important sentences at the beginning of each group.

7) Proof for Consistency

Once you have written all of the content and proofread each section individually, go back and make sure that everything you’ve written is consistent and matches your core message.

Make sure that all of your grammar is correct as well as spelling as this will prevent any distractions that may come from simple errors. If you are using special terms such as ebook, make sure that it is spelled the same way through out your landing page as the dictionary will not be able to help you achieve consistency.

Double checking your facts is also crucial, as you don’t want to present anything that is not correct information.

Creating a consistent, easy to follow landing page will allow you to get a better return on your investment. Sometimes taking those couple extra steps to make sure everything is understandable from a consumer standpoint will make a huge difference.

Once you’ve created the landing page, try experimenting with a couple variations to get a better feel of how to format and word your future landing pages to make them the most successful they can be.

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The post 7 Steps to Creating a Powerful Landing Page appeared first on 220 Marketing Group.