You may have noticed that my personal email is bursting at the seems. But with over 5,000 AdAges, clothing sales and Twitter mentions, the one email I opened yesterday had the best title. And while sex will always sell, this wine shop got my attention and made me giggle.

Next time you’re emailing to your list, take an extra minute or two when writing the title of the email. It’s the first thing your audience will notice. Here are a couple of tips to keep in mind:

• If you can be witty, then be witty. If you can’t, then don’t. Always get another opinion (or two, or three) to make sure your wit transcends the internet.
• Avoid using all caps or exclamation points (unless you’re using them to be witty, like in my example above). People think that you’re SCREAMING at them when the caps lock is on, and studies show that exclamation points are associated with spam. Plus, email platforms are more likely to label your message as spam, or simply kick you right into the junk folder.
• Don’t mislead the reader. They’ll unsubscribe or simply delete you in the future if you continually don’t give them what your title promises.

Email open rates can vary industry to industry. If you’re not getting over 20% then you may want to tweak the formula a bit. The title is a good place to start. Remember, if they don’t open it, there’s no way they’re getting the message.

*Shameless plug: Counterintuity clients generally enjoy +30% open rates. We also maintain monthly reward emails for our clients that consistently have +58% open rates. Call us for more information at 818-848-1700.

There’s not much worse than making a spelling mistake in pubic.

Yesterday,  thanks to a Baby Bell conglomerate who shall remained unnamed, our office got an unintended retreat from our lifeline, the Internet.

For the first hour, sheer terror set in.  No email, no Facebook, no Twitter, no website access – the very tools of our trade were literally inaccessible.  By hour three, with a bevvy of IT and AT & T (whoops, spilled the beans) specialists working on our equipment like a fine-tuned team of neurosurgeons, panic had turned to acceptance.

Forced to work offline, some began writing, others reading printed materials and whitepapers long ago placed in the “Must Read” box.  Though disconnected from the 21^st century, we connected with each other, our clients and our industry by makeshift methods our grandparents would have thought customary.

Yet an inexplicable calm and sense of accomplishment filled the air, even into hour five.  We had unintentionally yet successfully “unplugged” for the day. Instead of Armageddon, we experienced a temporary respite from the online hullabaloo.  We caught our collective breaths, read about advancements in our industry, brainstormed aloud and on paper, and recollected (or for the youngers, learned) what it was like to be marketers in the pre-digital era.

The Internet is back up today. While we’re all ecstatic to have the trappings of our modern workspace back, our unintentional day of surrender taught us that an occasional day spent unwired can be a beneficial and even necessary experience.

In fact, we can’t wait to tell everyone on Facebook about it!

They’re spenders. Even during the depths of the downturn in 2009, 24% of Gen X respondents surveyed said they were spending more online than the previous year, as reported by MarketingCharts.com. What’s the primary drag on the economy right now? Consumer spending, economists say. If there’s a group poised to respond to the faintest whiff of recovery, it’s Gen X.

Click here to read more >

the Deaf Education And Families Project launches a new website!
The Deaf Education And Families Project launched a new website in June. The website, www.csun.edu/deafproject, was designed by Counterintuity. Rachel worked with Amy Kramer, President and “marketing whiz” of the company, to redesign the DEAF Project site. The goal was to create a warm, family-friendly, and useful site for families and professionals who are looking for resources and information related to deaf and hard of hearing children. Visit our website and let us know what you think!

Check out their website here (www.csun.edu/deafproject)!

I personally think that people have a love affair with marketing.  Though, I’m aware my opinion might be slightly biased.  After reading this article, I realized that these messages reach far deeper than simply getting people to buy.  Even if you don’t notice it outright, you probably let media influence you in more ways than one.  Marketing can inform and entertain, break up your commute or just provide an endless amount of conversation.  Now it seems that commercialism may even help you like your favorite show better.

Some of it is good, a lot of it is mediocre, and (let’s face it) there are some downright ugly messages out there in the world of marketing.  When was the last time you laughed or cried at an ad? How about the last time you bought a product after seeing their media? Do you think those commercial breaks help you enjoy your favorite show more? Let us know what you think.

I loved typing that just now, and here’s why: the other day I received this envelope.

What could it be? And who from?? (Lee hypothesized a secret admirer.) I guess I had to open it to find out! Oh the suspense! Oh the glee! It was my very own…marketing material from Staples sales rep Jairo. (Hi Jairo!) Definitely surprised, Jairo’s personally written introduction card made a positive impression on me. Soon after, Jairo followed up with an e-mail and phone call requesting the foot in the door sales pitch meeting that all sales reps would love to have. Granted.

Surprisingly, the next day, I received this other letter:

I received this letter soon after receiving a call in which I notified them that we were not in need of their services. Not only was our business name blatantly misspelled (Counter-Ntuity), but their generic mail merge document was horribly written with many grammatical errors (and poor wording choices).

Obviously, I’m thinking of switching to Staples now. Jairo is creative, smart, and has what it takes to get me to be a Staples customer. My reasoning? Staples is going to make my job easier by saving me money (covered in the sales meeting), saving me time (notice how he saved his own time), and providing creative solutions to any needs we may have (demonstrated by the personalized print card solution, other marketing materials, and general creativeness in using snail-mail).

photo by Gideon Tsang

I understand the point the article is trying to make — Where are the results? I was promised if I engage in social media, I’ll be successful. Where’s my pot of gold?

Marketing and advertising are the means to gain awareness of you, your brand or your product. Yes, opinions are made on marketing alone but it’s highly unlikely that just marketing and advertising close sales. That’s the job of your website, sales people, store, phone reps, sales process.

You can have an incredible campaign (social media or otherwise) that drives traffic and grows awareness but if you can’t seal the deal, you’re out of business. If you’re using social media or email marketing get traffic from them, be sure to measure your results. What percentage of visitors are converting into customers?

What can you do to increase this rate? Look closely at your product, sales process, website, follow through. What can be improved? How do you share your benefit and value? Could your website landing page use some optimization? Does your online form look unwieldy? Are leads getting followed up on quickly enough.

If your traffic is growing but your sales aren’t, don’t shoot the marketing medium. Look in the mirror and see how you can take advantage of your traffic win.

How are you taking advantage of your social media marketing?

This morning I received 2 e-mails. One alerting me that the Farmer’s Market would be closed. And the second alerting me that the Upper and Lower Sierra Madre Canyons would be evacuated. I’m not sure if that pertains to us, so I checked the link to the blog. Yes, the City of Sierra Madre has a blog!

More and more cities (remember La Canada, their use of Facebook, and the fires?) are using social media as a way of reaching the community. In our Social Media Seminar, Lee talks about how the “Big Campfires” are disappearing and new/smaller ones are appearing. This is a prime example– If I hadn’t signed up for the e-mail list, then I wouldn’t have found the blog or the evacuation plan.

(My other idea for this post was to tell you Social Media-ists about mashable.com, an informational website with lots of articles concerning Social Media and everything surrounding it. Enjoy!)

An email blast’s purpose is NOT to sell. Counterintuitive, I know. Email attention span is too short. The goal of an email is to get the reader to click-through to your website.

Emails need to be as quick paced as today’s world. It would be fabulous if the reader wanted to act from just the email but that’s too much pressure on a poor, little, albeit well-designed email. The average email reader spends a second or two before clicking or hitting delete.

Your email blast needs to be the aroma of the tasty treat that awaits on your website. The click-through should go to a dedicated page on your website (called a landing page) where the reader can learn, read, sign up, listen, watch, play, buy.

How do you get the click-through? Keeping with the metaphor – you need to whet their appetite. Share enough to intrigue, make them want to bite (too far yet?). Your email should contain photos or images – something to grab the viewer’s attention.

Most importantly, you need a punchy call to action to get the click.

might work.

will probably work better.

Anyone can send out an email. The majority get deleted. Your email blast must engage and excite to stand out in an overcrowded inbox. Take the time to develop a dynamic message and call to action. Your effort will pay off.

Extra tip: Have your call to action multiple times. Avoid the temptation to only have it at the end of the email. Also, have the call as text links and image links, this overcomes the hurdle of images being turned off in an email client.