Mobile Email vs. SMS-based Mobile Marketing

Now that smartphones outnumber desktop computers, and text messages outnumber phone calls and emails, it’s crucial that you’re utilizing the proper SMS marketing technologies to stay top of mind with your prospects and customers.

I’m not advocating that we stop marketing via email since it is still an effective communication tool. I’m advocating that you incorporate SMS text message marketing into the fold because 95% of text messages are read within’ the first 15 minutes. Whereas with email you’re lucky to get a 20-30% open rate.

Anant Tailor writes:

“I was recently asked by one of our readers for my thoughts about the ongoing innovation and adoption of Mobile Email and its impact on businesses that work exclusively with SMS-based Mobile Marketing.

In my opinion, I don’t think that Mobile Email will have any significant impact on the growth of SMS-based Mobile Marketing. Instead, I think that SMS will prevail as an interactive marketing channel. Although mobile access to email is a growing trend, email is still an overwhelming medium. People are flooded with irrelevant emails and spam, and as such have become de-sensitized to this channel. Text-based marketing has advantages for the following reasons:

1) Text Messaging has more immediacy with mobile phone users than email, since emails are generally reviewed in batches, whereas SMS messages tend to be viewed as they arrive. Marketing messages received via email are almost immediately classified by the user as spam or junk, and users don’t generally look at each email as it arrives. Instead, they will read their emails in batches when they have some time. If the opportune moment for a message has passed, the message is no longer relevant.

2) There is a limit on the length of a text message – a limitation that tends to serve as an advantage. This limit allows mobile users to consume the message more quickly. We’ve learned that the attention span of users is getting smaller – they want ‘snacks’ vs. ‘meals’ when it comes to information (the same
reason that Twitter has gained so much popularity)

3) There are stricter guidelines that govern the distribution of SMS messages to consumers, and although they are merely guidelines, the Mobile Operators tend to enforce them. Therefore, mobile users can opt out of messages they don’t want to receive (thus filtering out unwanted messages more effectively). Opting out of emails can be more difficult and doesn’t always work – hence the success of Junk Mail filters.

4) The ability to have a quick dialog with a consumer – again, due to the short messaging nature, and the immediacy of an SMS, it’s easier to reach the consumer at the right moment and to have a quick dialog that is relevant and beneficial to both the consumer and the retailer.“

How To Achieve The Highest Rates Of Email Deliverability

We all know that building an email list of customers and prospects is crucial for building a business offline and online. Here is some great advice to ensure that your email messages reach the inbox of your subscribers. If because afterall, if your messages aren’t getting through then what’s the point of building a list?

Sam Weber from Genius.com writes:

“Deliverability is a measure of the percentage of your email communications that are delivered to a recipients’ inbox. As a Marketer, a high rate of deliverability amplifies your marketing efforts and ensures that people interested in hearing from you receive your emails.

While 100% deliverability is the goal, it’s challenging to achieve and requires a multi-faceted approach.

List quality
List quality and list management is a significant topic in its own right that deserves high priority in your email marketing efforts. It’s important to understand that email addresses ‘churn’ at a rate of 30-40% per year as users move ISP’s, change employers, or change email addresses in an attempt to avoid spam. Equally important is being aware that some users will sign up for a newsletter or other collateral using an old or bogus email address or will request to opt themselves out after a period of time. Also, email addresses can be accidentally mistyped (e.g. name@yhoo.com)

Unmanaged lists or previously un-contacted recipients pose a high risk of bounces and complaints.

As a sender (and to comply with anti-spam laws), it’s important that you actively manage your contact lists. Well-managed lists will result in fewer bounces, fewer complaints and increased delivery to the…”

Continue Reading @ Genius.com!

Choosing the right autoresponder service is also important when it comes to receiving a high rate of deliverability. Which is why I recommend you use this one.

11 Unusual Methods For Being A Great Copywriter

Altucher wins again with this entertaining article. He gives some really great advice on how to become a better public speaker, which also happens to be great advice for those of us desiring to become better copywriters:

“1) Start off with a joke. This is a must. People need to laugh within the first 30 seconds or else you’re going back to your cubicle at the pencil factory and they will never remember you.

I spend about at least one to two hours before the talk coming up with the first joke because I know that’s what starts off the good feelings for the rest of the talk. I usually make it relevant to the locale and the topic or the news (Tomorrow’s joke starts off: “True story: two days ago I was having dinner with the prime minister of Pakistan and…”) And it actually will be a true story.

2) Get on their level. This has two meanings. I once fell off of a podium while pacing around giving a talk. I was very embarrassed. So now I always get off the podium and explain that I’m afraid to fall off so I’m just going to walk around if that’s ok with everyone. People laugh a little bit and it physically and mentally brings me onto their level.

3) Very important: I very very slightly slur my words. A very small slur. I don’t drink at all. But by slightly slurring my words it’s as if I’m telling my brain I’m a little drunk. When you’re a little drunk you don’t really care what people think of you and you take a few more chances than you would’ve otherwise. It also makes me a bit more brutally honest. And everyone likes a nice drunk!

4) I try to use JUST one word plus one image per page. No more! You think people really want to come to a talk and read a novel? They want to look at funny pictures. At heart, we are all two year olds trying to just stay alive. I’m not saying this in a patronizing way. Its just true.

Here’s one slide from my upcoming talk:

Colorful, topical. It’s the world record bubble creator, so its interesting. And has the flare of magic around it. Given recent events, if I can’t fill up 30 seconds of brilliant insight with this slide then I shouldn’t be doing any public speaking.

5) Try to shock people on each slide. This keeps them awake. They’ve just been jolted with electricity. Like a taser. That hits their brain to keep them awake for another 30 seconds (I say this all because I hate talks and I know I fall asleep every 30 seconds during a talk) Here’s another slide from my upcoming talk:

I then tell people I just bought this house. People are shocked for a brief second (the human mind is conditioned to believe everything it hears). Then I say, “no I didn’t”. And everyone relaxes. All of their muscles relax. The jealousy muscle, the reality muscle, the humor muscle. Everything settles down. Some chuckles. Its obviously not my house. But now we can all move ahead and talk again.