It’s surprising how many marketers overlook the power of combining words and images when they are affected by them in making a purchasing decision. More than 10 years on, Zimbra Email Services has consistently provided features that make it easy to use Web 2.0 designs. Yet when I look through my inbox, more than 95% of the offers are in plain text.
Google any phrase you like and look at the search engine results. What those results represent is a lot of choices. It’s easy for a person to get overwhelmed when they’re presented with too many choices. That’s why it’s even more important for you to clearly define what makes you different from your competition when you send an email to a contact.
Keep in mind that marketing is not a one-shot-deal; it’s like being a farmer. You prepare your soil (the benefits to the reader that they will get from the information about your product or service), and then you link images that support what you are saying. Now you’re ready to plant your seeds and cultivate them to produce delicious fruit over the next 12 weeks.
12 weeks you say–that’s 3 months! Yep, that’s right, because it’s a marketing fact that very few people will respond to an offer the first time they see it unless they have an immediate need. Even then, they’ll check out their options to be sure that (1) your offer’s legitimate and (2) it’s the best deal for them.
So how does this impact your marketing message? It means you need to identify 12 reasons for a person to interact with you. It’s part of human nature to enjoy recognition; this is why opinion polls and commenting systems are flourishing on the Web. You can use this same principle in your Zimbra Email marketing campaigns.
In Part 2 of this article, you’ll discover how to implement this email campaign with Zimbra Email Services and link it to your other avenues of interaction online.