Email Marketing: Basics & Benefits

Of all the options available in the marketing world today, why choose email marketing? What benefits does it present and what are the fundamentals to keep in mind while creating a marketing plan for email? Here are some of the basics:

Objective
A clear objective will make an effective email campaign. Define your goal earlier on: is it drive traffic to your site, announce a new launch or build loyalty? Tailor your email content to your objective and give a clear call-to-action.

Open rate
Open rate refers to the number of emails that are opened as a percentage of the number of emails sent. A good subject line can lead to a higher open rate. Experiment with symbols to attract attention. Also make sure the first few words capture the essence of the email as only 4 or so words of the subject line are visible on mobile. 

Click-through rate
Click-through rate refers to the number of people who visit your website through links in your email. A good click through rate is the result of a clean database, relevant content and clear call-to-action buttons. Try out a combination of attractive images and attractive discounts to increase your click through rate. Emphasise the objective of your email and make it relevant to your audience.

Format
There are essentially two types of emails you can send out: HTML emails and text emails. HTML emails include graphics, colours and tables. Text emails are purely text based. You should experiment with both email formats to see which one gives you higher returns. Not all formats are compatible with mobile devices. So if you have a larger mobile user base, it’s safer to stick to text emails.

Deliverability
Email deliverability refers to the number of emails delivered to the inbox. Every batch of emails will have some junk IDs and unknown addresses. Make sure you have a good number of “clean” email IDs. Defunct email IDs are of no use and increase your potential to be flagged as spam. Also, your reports won’t be accurate. So make it a habit to regularly clean your email database. 

Keeping the basics in mind, let’s explore the benefits of email marketing over other more traditional forms of marketing:

       Personalization
Email marketing is a way of speaking directly to your consumer. Print campaigns, TV and radio advertising reach out to a mass audience and follow a "one-size-fits-all" format; whereas you can reach out a large number of people in a personalised manner through email. Use the readers’ first names, talk about trending products in their city and include recommendations based on the users’ past purchases. There are endless ways to make the email experience highly personalised.

Reduced Time & Effort

Email Marketing is not as time consuming as other forms of marketing. An email campaign from planning to execution takes less than a day. It can be accomplished by a single person with the right tools. Using email templates can save even more time, giving you the opportunity to reach out to a large number of readers in a short span of time.

               

      Real-Time Messaging

      Because of the reduced time and effort involved in email marketing, you can send timely messages, related to real-time events. For example, a flash sale can be announced through email rather than print or TV. There need not be a long gap between campaign development and implementation when it comes to email marketing. You can even send personalized messages to customers on their birthdays or anniversaries.

     

More Frequent Communication

       Emails are a great way to keep the conversation going. Since they don’t take long to execute, emails can be sent more frequently as compared to flyers or print catalogs. You can send them weekly offers and launch announcements. Mailing regularly reminds your readers of your presence but avoid sending more than one email with the same communication. At least once a month and at the most thrice a week is a good strategy to start with.

The benefits of Email Marketing are numerous and its relevance in today’s world of marketing is only increasing.

Emerging Technology in Education

The classroom experience is not just about chalk and blackboard anymore. Technology makes its way into the classroom changing the way education is imparted. A new learning culture is developing which is making education more hands-on and practical. The 21st century skills that a student needs to acquire to succeed move beyond the traditional textbook and it is essential for teachers to keep up.

The Bicycle Days at B Flat - UNCUT

Dreadlocks, a leather beret and a familiar Floyd note was all The Bicycle Days cared to give us as an intro to their unique brand of psychedelic rock music. The Bangalore-based band performed at B Flat, Indiranagar, on Friday, 28th Oct. It was their new bassist Abhishek’s debut on home ground. The 8 p.m. gig started out with an experimental reggae-trance sound, making the 5-member band seem like an acquired taste. By the end of the evening, TBD settled into racier Radiohead-influenced material, which pleased their head-banging, foot-tapping fans.

The band’s opening number, ‘27’, had the much-required, shiver-down-your-spine effect on their early-bird audience. Taken off their 2010 debut EP '42', the song first sounded like Pink Floyd; suddenly it sprouted alien sounds and drummed itself into something halfway melodic!

The second song, ‘Zorbing in Space’, confirmed the band’s non-conformity with the basic rules of song-writing. It gave us a glimpse of lead singer Karthik’s Marley phase. Following the half-hearted applause from the audience, they decide to talk to us about their third song. “This is Something Human”, said guitarist Rahul Ranganath, “It’s about humans.”

As soon as the Metallica news started dampening spirits at our table, the Bicycle Days kicked in with ‘Tele Drug Zombies’. It reminded us of Incubus with a slight jazz undertone. A hand full of die-hard TBD fans were lingering at the bar, mouthing the lyrics of ‘Fevered Ego Circus’ and bouncing up and down to the more upbeat ‘Something Human’. Little did they know that Karthik Basker had listed this song as ‘Something Gay’ on his tissue paper setlist.

I like a band that doesn’t take itself too seriously and chills out with the audience more for the love of music than for the love of themselves! The Bicycle Days weren’t trying to be cute or charming. They didn’t play to the audience, but they did encourage applause. “We want more energy, Bangalore! Get drunk!” instructed Karthik just before their 5-minute timeout. “Awesome guys!” cheered the front row tables.

Our table was filled with half-empty beer bottles and Kung Pao potato. We were surrounded by the usual chilled-out Bangalore crowd, who just wanted to escape the Diwali bang-bang, which seems to be the only music we’ve been forced to hear over the past week!

While observing the crowd, I snuck away to the starstudded B Flat restroom, where Rihanna and Cher paintings made the Bangalore gals look rather gossipy and insignificant. A sneak-peak into the green room shed light on the band’s seemingly sober state. All I found was one can of Red Bull. When I returned, I heard a friend complain of how B Flat smelt like the corner where Landmark stores its Barbie dolls! By the time I soaked in the smells and sights of this tastefully decorated pub, The Bicycle Days had subtly returned with their sixth song ‘In This Moment’. It was the only song with a hint of Indian classical instruments, but it retained the band’s mysterious experimental tone. On their MySpace page, the band categorises their genre as ‘Alterantive / Experimantal / Indie’ music. But I think the word ‘Alternative’ is the only one that truly captures their essence.

Seventh on tonight’s setlist, ‘Radio Song’ was slow and enchanting. Maybe not as a much of a ear-pleaser, it had the energy to captivate listeners. Finally I could place Bicycle Days in the same zone as alternative rock band Radiohead’s 'OK Computer' album. The band thanked the audience for the heartfelt applause that followed.

Mostly instrumental, ‘No Battery’ started off with dripping-water sounds and progressed into squeaky echoes of a child’s voice. Karthik had his arms folded across his chest and he randomly threw in some awkward hand gestures, which perfectly matched the song. The Bicycle Days had escaped into a world of its own. I sensed an element of disconnect, because of the lack of eye contact and verbal communication among band members. But more experienced TBD fans seemed to disagree. “Tonight the band is very ‘in-sync’ with each other. They’ve tremendously improved since the last time I saw them,” said Shruti Naik, who had attended TBD’s Dec 2010 gig at Xtreme Sports Bar, Bannerghatta.

As the night progressed, the 6-year-old video-gamer behind us fell asleep in his father’s arms. This didn’t stop his rocker-dad from head-banging and air-guitaring to ‘Circles’, the most popular song of the night. ‘Circles’ was the encore and became my favourite as well. The stick-in-your head guitar riffs caught my attention and sustained it through indecipherable lyrics. Considering I was a first-timer to a Bicycle Days gig and to B Flat, I couldn’t afford to be biased. But being a wordsmith, the absence of meaningful lyrics was my only pet peeve for the night.

The show met a 'Sober Death', which the band had strategically saved as the last song on their setlist. Throughout the gig, I was dying to ask the bassist, Abhishek, about the psychedelic stickers on his guitar but had to contend with staring at the equally psychedelic Dylan poster on the B Flat wall. Overall, I came away with an acquired sense of appreciation for the band’s music and a strong desire to see them live more often.