Email marketing

[Raging Bull]

Hi,

I've recently set up a specialist fitness company and I'd like to do an email mailshot to as many gyms, health centers, hotels and personal trainers as I can.

The question is, how do I get hold of as many email address as possible without it being classed as spam?

I'd like to have sent them out via mail chimp but this seems to be against their rules.

Thanks

 

[PIngels]

I was involved in a fitness related project where we tried email as a marketing approach and it failed spectacularly. Even though we had a good product, presented if professionally and had a fantastic service offer the email campaign got us almost no leads. Seriously, you are going to waste your money.

 

[Raging Bull]

Interesting, thanks.

What did you find work for you?

 

[Deleted member 138423]

Interesting, thanks.

What did you find work for you?

Yes, I'd be interested in this too as am in the same position....

 

[Mike W]

Hi Op

Email Marketing is quite specialist. It's not as simple as some might think and the likes of Mailchimp would like you to believe. The mechanics to get things right are quite complex, especially when targeting in the way that you'd like.

If you want any help, just holler.

Regards

Mike

 

[Raging Bull]

Thanks for the response, Mike.

In your opinion and in my situation would old school post be more effective, due to the fact that what I send is more likely (maybe) to be opened?

 

[degadar]

Of course you can, and once you start to get good at it you'll probably find your email marketing is your most effective and most cost effective route to market.

Doing it properly isn't going to be cheap. But when was quality marketing supposed to be cheap?

Just buying a big list and emailing to it will almost certainly end up with a fail. You might be just the right side of the law doing it but as far as any Email Service Provider is concerned you're still a spammer - well meaning or legal or not.

There are ESP that don't really care about such things but they're hardly going to get you into inboxes.

Here's a plan.

Start by picking your best shot of a market segment - one you can tightly define and target. Eg. Something like hotels is weak because you don't know which hotels will have gyms and you'll struggle to find the right person to talk to.

Bought in lists have limited value. Every provider will tell you how excellent their list is but the truth is its a very hard and surprisingly expensive way of building your own subscription base. If you have no other option then expect to pay £150 + / 1000.

Try and get a secondary qualification. Is there a trade association or body that you can talk to and get their intro to their members ? Is there a common supplier that you can talk into dong an intro for you? It does happen. Schmooze. They might even have a website that lists their members' contact details.

Consider building your list yourself if there is sufficient margin . I have two guys who do this all day - cold call, quick hello, ask for email address and the right name. Each will get 150 -200 good names and email addresses a day. Not cheap but worth every penny.

Start small, get the creative right with some external help if necessary and the call to action right and learn as you go.

It really does work if you're prepared to put in the necessary investment.

Good luck,

Graham.

 

[amac]

Hi,

I've recently set up a specialist fitness company and I'd like to do an email mailshot to as many gyms, health centers, hotels and personal trainers as I can.

The question is, how do I get hold of as many email address as possible without it being classed as spam?

I'd like to have sent them out via mail chimp but this seems to be against their rules.

Thanks

You need to collect their email address with their consent. You can do this via competitions, surveys etc as long as you mention the fact their data will be collected and used for marketing purposes.

 

[Mike W]

Thanks for the response, Mike.

In your opinion and in my situation would old school post be more effective, due to the fact that what I send is more likely (maybe) to be opened?

Aargh..... just spent a while replying to this and ...my computer froze then crashed!

Anyway, no time now to write properly, save to say that all bias aside, I think, when you take cost into account, email wins hands down ....by miles... and miles.

A decent email, properly dealt with, sent to the right database, will achieve open rates of 15-20%. What happens next is down to what's presented.

Snail mail, whilst more maybe opened (if enveloped), I'm not necessarily sure many more would be read.

 

[telemax]

Aargh..... just spent a while replying to this and ...my computer froze then crashed!

Anyway, no time now to write properly, save to say that all bias aside, I think, when you take cost into account, email wins hands down ....by miles... and miles.

A decent email, properly dealt with, sent to the right database, will achieve open rates of 15-20%. What happens next is down to what's presented.

Snail mail, whilst more maybe opened (if enveloped), I'm not necessarily sure many more would be read.

Then add that email to follow up calls, voicemail messages etc. True it's a lot of effort but watch your response rates improve.

 

[cheathcote]

I think the best approach would be to collection contact names and begin with an intro email or call. The personal approach usually works best and you can then get permission for your newsletter list for future follow ups.

 

[ukbf0001]

Why not use something like buzz bundle - it monitors social media sites (google +, twitter, linked in, facebook etc) as well as others - you can see where you customers 'hang out' or where anyone starts a conversation etc of your business interest - once you know where they are and what has been said - you can reply - and offer your services etc - you dont need to insert a link - as people can read what you say instead.

 

[Luisribas]

You can find on google "site like mail chimp" and u can create Campaign on the mail chimp account

 

[Comm100]

To send bulk emails without being marked as spam, you’d better build your own opt-in email list, which means the recipients have given you permission to send them emails. Here are some best practices to follow when determining where to collect the subscribers:
• Visitors to your website
• Customers who purchase goods or services
• Your social media outlets
• Websites that have similar user demographics
• Offline locations

More information about how to build a quality email list can be read at "comm100 eamil marketing e-book"

 

[bharatbooks]

E-mail marketing is most effective and target specified marketing.
We can target specific audience through E-mail, but it would be spamming activity if it is not done through proper way. Thread has provided enough information for the try-out e-mail marketing.

 

[PIngels]

Interesting, thanks.

What did you find work for you?

The project ultimately failed (which I am sure is not something you want to hear - sorry). We found it very difficult to get people to sign up even though the services had benefits and a free option. As with a lot of markets we found that this one was also suffering from very high levels of skepticism because of an overload of offers they receive.

There was not the funding to do it right.

I personally think that you need to spend a some money on a hard hitting marketing campaign to create a lot of buzz and momentum. You need to think out of the box, be very creative so you capture people's interest and get them to jump on the campaign band wagon. Something that will really engage the people in your target audience.

And consider doing a campaign where your brand is the sponsor not the focus. People have a resistance to sales messages, and this market is no exception, but they love entertainment. So give them something fun and exciting but industry/target audience related and get your brand message through the door in that way. Maybe even something they can use to attract more customers. Use humor.

Check these examples:

This Dumb Ways To Die campaign was hugely successful for Metro Trains in Australia - Entertainment! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJNR2EpS0jw

The ZooZoo project was equally successful for Vodafone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efRNKkmWdc0

Check the view numbers - 2,479,419 for the ZooZoos and 44,451,707 for the Dumb Ways to Die campaign (and this one only launched November last year I think) - the ride in on entertainment.

Now, I am not saying you're going to get that kind of numbers because these companies used a lot of PR to give the campaigns momentum and they have existing channels in place but the principles still applies - give people something fun and imaginative and they will spread the word for you and with that your brand message. Then, with enough exposure it becomes a numbers game and x% sign up and you have your ROI and a successful business.

Just a thought

 

[Jester]

I was involved in a fitness related project where we tried email as a marketing approach and it failed spectacularly. Even though we had a good product, presented if professionally and had a fantastic service offer the email campaign got us almost no leads. Seriously, you are going to waste your money.

I'm sorry but I don't think this is right at all, I know lots of people who use E-mail marketing to sell fitness equipment and nutrition supplements and they do very well. You can't possibly make such a sweeping statement with any accuracy.

 

[Mike W]

I'm sorry but I don't think this is right at all, I know lots of people who use E-mail marketing to sell fitness equipment and nutrition supplements and they do very well. You can't possibly make such a sweeping statement with any accuracy.

You're absolutely right. Email Marketing works. And it can for most businesses.

Done wrong, it doesn't. Plain and simple.

It's like anything really. It's quite strange that people can't see that...

 

[PIngels]

I'm sorry but I don't think this is right at all, I know lots of people who use E-mail marketing to sell fitness equipment and nutrition supplements and they do very well. You can't possibly make such a sweeping statement with any accuracy.

That might be true and you are right that I should not have made such a sweeping statement. So, let's not make sweeping statement - I am sure everyone here will be most interested if you tell us a bit more about how the lots of people you know about achieved their success.

Was it a start-up business because that is what we are talking about here? There is no doubt that email marketing works wonders where people have specifically opted-in to your own list but what about purchased lists? What list did they use? What kind of response rate did they have and how long did they maintain the email campaign before the business became viable? Who where their target audience?

Mike W, I see you are a Email Marketing specialist so maybe you can contribute to the above as I am interested in your response as well.

Please let us know

Thanks

 

[garyk]

I was involved in a fitness related project where we tried email as a marketing approach and it failed spectacularly. Even though we had a good product, presented if professionally and had a fantastic service offer the email campaign got us almost no leads. Seriously, you are going to waste your money.

I don't think you can say that. There are so many factors, timing, strength of offer, copy, relevance that just because you found it didn't work does not mean to say it can *never* work.

 

[Mike W]

Mike W, I see you are a Email Marketing specialist so maybe you can contribute to the above as I am interested in your response as well.

I haven't got the time or inclination to do a pitch. But I have had the business since 2003 and I've got clients who've been with me almost since the start.

A new client (print packaging industry), who's first email went yesterday, texted me during the day saying 'OMG, what have I done!' Compared to what they normally do, they were inundated with enquiries.

 

[Jester]

That might be true and you are right that I should not have made such a sweeping statement. So, let's not make sweeping statement - I am sure everyone here will be most interested if you tell us a bit more about how the lots of people you know about achieved their success.

Was it a start-up business because that is what we are talking about here? There is no doubt that email marketing works wonders where people have specifically opted-in to your own list but what about purchased lists? What list did they use? What kind of response rate did they have and how long did they maintain the email campaign before the business became viable? Who where their target audience?

Mike W, I see you are a Email Marketing specialist so maybe you can contribute to the above as I am interested in your response as well.

Please let us know

Thanks

The main example is a friend who sells supplements, he had a modest list from his existing business but nowhere near big enough so he contacted the owner of a small chain of gyms. The owner agreed to let him use his email list in return on a commission per sale basis (plus he wanted to offload some supplements he was having trouble shifting, which my friend took off his hands).

I wrote the copy myself.

We initially got a modest 15%ish response rate, we started with small split tests and through tweaking we were able to raise the responses to 20-25%. We then sent out the bulk of the mailings.

The testing took place over 2 months, although a less picky person could easily have settled for the lower response rate and cut out months of testing time.

This forms just a part of his business but contributes a significant amount towards his overall turnover.

 

[Mike W]

We initially got a modest 15%ish response rate, we started with small split tests and through tweaking we were able to raise the responses to 20-25%. We then sent out the bulk of the mailings.

The testing took place over 2 months, although a less picky person could easily have settled for the lower response rate and cut out months of testing time.

Response rate of 15 then 25%?!?!? You mean opens, surely.

 

[Jester]

No I assure you it was response.

There were two reasons why it was ridiculously high.

1) Firstly the type of gyms it was sent to wasnt typical "health clubs" with lounges and coffee shops attached, they were hardcore bodybuilding/powerlifting gyms catering for athletes obsessed with training, almost to the point of fanaticism. They received multiple weekly email updates regarding gym leaderboards, latest strongman events and the very occasional product plug, they had a really high open rate to begin with.

2) secondly the email was sent out in the gym owners name, he's a legend in the bodybuilding world and to a lesser extent the strongman world, plus hes the type of guy who knows everyones name after hearing it once and seems to be everyones best friend. If you get an email from him it's just sonething you're inclined to open.

The percentage increase was just down to redrafting the copy a few times

 

[paulstewart64]

Having read all the responses twice, I returned to the actual question.

There are so many great answers here and the debate can go on and on, so let's try to find the right answers here.

1) Email marketing does work however sending a new offer to a prospect via mail chimp isn't the strongest method.

2) There needs to be an overall marketing strategy which is lacking at the moment. Using only one media to maximise response will not work as successfully as using multiple media.

3) A direct sell approach on a new product is quite a hard sell. However, layered information supported with testimonials and case studies can provide more convincers to gain a sale and this should be available in different places e.g. website, forums.

4) The difficulty here is getting the information out and read. To do this you have to consider other methods of marketing both online and offline. Once people are talking about the product, enquiring about the product then gym owners will investigate the product.

Overall, there cannot be a one size fits all approach. There is the experience and talent on this forum to make this happen and work with the service/product provider, but there has to be reality that they need help to pull this off. You cannot use the forum for all of this free advice and think you have the tools to make it happen...that's insanity.

So my advice would be to work with a specialist email marketer for your email marketing, and offline marketer for your other marketing...if that's what you decide to do. But do not try to do this yourself otherwise it will go horribly wrong.

Good luck

 

[Raging Bull]

Many thanks for all of your responses, exactly what I wanted to hear.

It is a new company, January this year. The product is fantastic and is in demand from specialists and now 1 of the UK's leading gym fitters.

I've decided to get an online industry mag to do the e-shot for me as they have over 5k subscribers it will go out to. What I'm giving them to send out also has a YouTube clip of someone who's very highly regarded within the industry.

 

[RussellW]

Hi,

I've recently set up a specialist fitness company and I'd like to do an email mailshot to as many gyms, health centers, hotels and personal trainers as I can.

The question is, how do I get hold of as many email address as possible without it being classed as spam?

I'd like to have sent them out via mail chimp but this seems to be against their rules.

Thanks

Hello
You'd be better off buying in a mailing list. And sending out a Single Page A4 piece to your contacts at each establishment. From a reputable List Broker (if there is such a thing...).

In your letter show them a few choice details about your product. Show them a 'Big Enough Reason Why' they should act on it.

And then ask them to goto a specific web page so the can get the full skinny.

Decide your purpose here:

Do you want to make a few sales (1 step approach)

- More costly, more refusals, but some immediate cashflow

Or do you want to get people's contact details and chat them up a bit? So you can ongoing market to them? (2 step)

No immediate sales, but you can build a decent email list with it.

After that you can and should use email as your first port of call.

Good Luck

 

[jhondeviliers]

Email marketing is good marketing method for the business. It is helpful for increase the sales of the product. To use this method we can save our time and money both.

 

[altboost]

You probably chose the best email marketing option there, follow it up with a postal campaign on your clickers to maximise your results.

 

[djake224]

Hi .
it is depend upon you that how you attract your customers? Any way you choose for marketing it is should be effective and attractive. if you choose email marketing that good, but it is must be in unique way.some sugessions are given below.
1- Do not sent more and more email.like spammer.
2- Use some kind of healthy tips in mail.
3- Share some kinds of ideas about your experience.
4- Put those points which makes your services unique among others.
5- Do not sent more then one mail within 24 hours on same id.
6- make long and strong relation ship of your email audience.
thanks.

 

[micheljames]

Email is very useful marketing for the business. With the help of it we can easily generate the traffic for the website. It is very useful for increase the sales of the product.

 

[Lukasz Jaskolski]

Start finally offer the bait!

Bait is offered for free to the customer in exchange for signing up for the newsletter.

The main reason why companies do not have bait, then no idea what it could be. The second reason is the lack of awareness of what she can give.

We do not have much room to prove why you should be the bait and what it can give you: not every potential customer is ready to buy from you soon. If it is, it's very good. But not everyone is.

So, we want to win these people as our readers, and then sell them our products.

 

[TGAoW]

Thanks for the posts guys. This has to be one of the most useful threads on the forum.

 

[Sergiy]

Hi,

I've recently set up a specialist fitness company and I'd like to do an email mailshot to as many gyms, health centers, hotels and personal trainers as I can.

The question is, how do I get hold of as many email address as possible without it being classed as spam?

I'd like to have sent them out via mail chimp but this seems to be against their rules.

Thanks

Create an opt-in sign up form with an offer that gets people to sign up. Put it up on the site with your offer. Use getresponse to set up your campaign.

 

[Sergiy]

You could also alternatively use iContact to send emails or MailChimp. Google the top10 email service opt-in providers

 

[Martinly Tran]

I use Thunderbird to send email marketing, but I sent to 200-300 email accounts per day. I have never try to send more

 

[Hillyer]

I was assigned the task to send an email broadcast to generate new client sales.

I sent my first email broadcast at my current company in December. 0% experience.

• I looked at the industries we'd be targeting.
• The job titles/company size/email/telephone data we'd be targeting.
• I Googled for UK data providers.
• I called all of them with my scope and budget and # of contacts.
• I compared the quotes and looked at reviews.
• We took the plunge with one provider.

I made sure we purchased an opt-in list. I then set about finding a email broadcaster and looked into doing it all in-house.

MailChimp is a common company, but was warned away from them because of the high spam counts people can receive by sending from a MailChimp email server. An in-house email server would be hard to get off the ground, for several reasons I discovered when planning it. It is something in the pipeline for future.

Next, I setup the first campaign. I test the SpamScore several times along the way. The UK data provider offered a managed service, but I wanted to remain in control of the broadcast and the results. After several test runs, we sent our first campaign out to just over 4500 accounts.

I was shocked at the low open rate - But this was "normal" for a first time send and nearly normal for an average broadcast. In my inexperience, I included no links in the email.

In January, I sent our 2nd ever broadcast after managing the list (unsubscribes, hardbouces etc). Much better response rate.

I would say I am experienced, but starting with 0% experience, we have spent several thousand pounds (not a lot), and have made more than this back already. I am looking forward to learning more about email marketing and sharing my knowledge.