Direct Email Campaigns

Direct Email Campaigns

Build a relationship with those interested in your issue

• Get targeted information out to the right people·
• Get those who agree with you to campaign for you or sign petitions·
• Test your messages

Direct e-mail is the expansion of the traditional direct mail campaign. The huge differences are that the cost per piece of email is a fraction of the cost of a regular piece of mail, and it is probably more likely to get opened.

Depending upon your set up, you can also check whether an email to a recipient actually gets read, and often automatically check on whether the “Call to Action” – donate money, buy a product, sign an e-petition, etc. was followed.

Because this method is so cheap, you can also test which “subject lines” and messages lead to the best responses, or even what time of day, or further – what time of day for which recipient works best.

Consider fundraising. If the recipient of a standard snail mail fundraising letter decides he or she would like to send money, they have to get their cheque book, write a cheque, get an envelope and stamp, and get it all to the mailbox. Perhaps this is not that hard, but there are many places where a busy person can get off track. With an e-mail, a “Click here to donate” button and a credit card are all that is needed. Howard Dean raised much more than any other primary candidate largely through direct email and other online methods.

Through online or email surveys you can learn more about your customer and their concerns. You can then use this information to better target emails to them and get them the information they are most interested in and most likely to act on. The most advanced marketing and analytics programs are using the web surfer’s “click-stream data” to target the message with dynamic content building systems.

Any direct email campaign walks a fine line between being useful, and being spam. Thus, you should always have the permission of the recipient in any direct e-mail campaign to send them information.

Getting subscribers or recipients can be done in a couple of key ways. One is to have a sign-up option on your web page. You can also perhaps gain contact through having a friend send them an email – the typical “send this to a friend” box that you see on many web sites. From there you can proceed to ask them to sign up for regular, targeted updates. Because the recipient has asked for the information, it is not spam.

When you do this, you might already have a good bit of information on the guest, such as what they saw on your web site, and which search words or AdWords ad brought them there in the first place. Through surveys, you can begin to know even more about them and better target messages. Having a strong email list can also be helpful in assembling an e-petition or getting people out to events.