Survey Finds Top Tactics to Get E-mail Subscribers

Digital marketers recently shared both the most popular and the most effective ways they use to acquire e-mail subscribers in a survey by ExactTarget. Unfortunately, some of the most common tactics are not also the most effective. A general e-mail sign-up form on the website was the most common e-mail gathering tactic, for example, used by 74% of the 395 digital marketers surveyed. But those website sign-up forms were rated as effective by only 42%. Conversely, some tactics rated as very effective in capturing e-mail addresses are not widely used. Effective but underused tactics included paid search ads driving to landing pages with opt-ins (50% rating as effective but only 27% using); opt-in options with mobile app content (59% rating as effective but only 12% implementing); and requiring an e-mail address to register a mobile app (seen as effective by 55% but in use by just 13%). Business type and facilities led to low usage of some other highly rated tools: Capturing e-mail during inbound sales calls (71% rated effective), inbound customer service calls (63% rated effective), and in-store loyalty program registrations (67% rated effective) were limited to the survey's marketers with brick-and-mortar locations and call centers. For more on e-mail acquisition tactics and trends, see the MarketingProfs report on the ExactTarget survey at http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2013/12044/the-most-effective-tactics-for-acquiring-email-subscribers

How to Pick Words That Sell Your Social Media

Social media marketing relies on word economy, so the challenge is to pick the few words that will best deliver response for your tweet, Facebook post or blog info. A post on Target Marketing's blog recently summarized research on the subject, promising "38 marketing words that sell in social media." It should come as no surprise that studies generally support the basics of marketing copy: Keep verbiage short and simple; use more verbs and adverbs than nouns and adjectives; make a specific offer; and include a call to action. A review of the most "retweetable" messages came up with 20 words/phrases for success, including "you" (personalizing), "please retweet" (call to action), and offer words such as "free" and "how to." Facebook posts follow the same short-and-sweet rule to an extent, with posts of 80 characters or less getting 66% more engagement. But words aren't enough for Facebook fans. You really need a photo or video to juice response. The article cites KISSmetrics' findings that adding a photo to a Facebook post boosts "likes" by 53%, comments by 104% and clicks by 84%. For blog posts, research supports another traditional direct marketing copy lesson: Negative words are powerful--such as fear, kill and dark--and win viewers. The promise of learning also gives a viral boost, especially with novelty or significance--hinted by words such as science, smart, surprising and big. But avoid obvious promotion--words such as announcing, wins and grows--which can dampen social media response. For the full article (all 38 words), go to http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/blog/38-marketing-words-that-sell-social-media#