You're busy. I'm busy. So let's keep this short. Welcome to the debut issue of Inside Outdoors, a free service to our valued advertisers. On a regular basis our goal is to provide you with "information bites" designed to improve your exposure in the outdoor marketplace: surveys, statistics, programs, success stories, and much more. We will try to focus on one or more of the following areas in each installment:
A helpful tip or insight in regards to traversing the ever-changing marketing landscape in the Outdoor Industry.
Updates and information to help keep on top of opportunities to achieve your business and marketing goals by utilizing one of our marketing channels to connect with our avid, passionate, and educated audience.
Quick introduction to a member of the Outdoor News sales team.
I promise it will be a quick read full of fast facts - an email charged with great ideas to energize your business. Sit back and enjoy.
Phil Frebault, Outdoor News Director of Sales & Marketing
E-Mail Marketing For Dummies Cheat Sheet
By John Arnold
E-mail marketing represents an opportunity to experience both the thrill of increased customer loyalty and steady repeat business as well as the agony of bounced e-mail, unsubscribe requests, and spam complaints. Whether you find thrill or agony in your e-mail marketing strategy depends on your ability to effectively deliver valuable and purposeful e-mails to prospects and customers who need your information.
Building Your Business’s E-Mail List
Collecting e-mail addresses isn’t easy. Fortunately, your e-mail list needn’t be large to be effective. The best lists contain loyal, repeat customers; referral sources who respect others’ privacy; and interested prospects who know your business well enough to recognize your e-mails. Try these techniques to get people to sign up for your e-mail list:
Place sign-up links on your websites and in your e-mail signature.
Put a sign-up form on your social media sites.
Ask people to text their e-mail address to your mobile short code or fill out a mobile sign-up form.
Ask people whom you meet face-to-face to share their e-mail addresses.
Place a guest book on your counter or desk.
Ask people to join when you exchange business cards.
Collect e-mail addresses at trade shows and events.
Collect e-mail addresses from people who call you.
Offer an incentive, such as a discount, to join your e-mail list.
Share your sign-up link with noncompeting businesses.
Pay someone to collect e-mail addresses in person.
Ask for an e-mail address and permission in online shopping forms.
Include a sign-up URL (such as http://www.JoinMyEmailList.com) in your phone directory ad and in print advertising.
Include a link to your sign-up form in your online advertising.
Combining Marketing E-Mails with Social Media
E-mail marketing tools and strategies are always adapting to new technologies and changes in consumer behavior. Social media is no different — think of social sharing as the new forwarding. Here are a few ways you can integrate your e-mail marketing with your social media efforts:
Use your E-Mail Marketing Provider (EMP) to post your e-mails to Facebook and Twitter.
Place Share links in your e-mail content.
Include your latest tweets and Facebook wall posts in your e-mails.
Invite e-mail list subscribers to follow you on social sites.
Archive your e-mails on your Web site and share the links to your archive.
Post portions of your e-mail content to your Facebook business Page.
Put links to your YouTube videos in your e-mails.
Link the images in your e-mails to more images stored in Picasa or Flickr.
Put links to social coupons and social events in your e-mails.
Ensuring Your Marketing E-Mail Is CAN-SPAM Compliant
If you’re e-mail marketing, you must get familiar with the CAN-SPAM Act. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and the 2008 revisions to the Act apply to all commercial e-mails (e-mails that have advertising, promotions, or information from a business website). Here are some things you can do so your business-related e-mails are legally compliant:
Send your e-mail to permission-based lists only.
Provide a way for your list subscribers to opt out permanently.
Keep your opt-out process simple and don’t charge money or ask for additional information to opt out.
Don’t pay people or give them incentives to forward your e-mails.
Make sure your e-mail includes your physical address (a PO Box is okay)
Don’t mislead your audience with your From line or e-mail address.
Make sure your e-mail Subject line is honest about your content.
Make sure your e-mail clearly states that the e-mail is a solicitation unless you have affirmative consent.
Learn the law before sending any commercial e-mail; use an attorney.
A Marketing E-Mail Checklist
You’ve done a lot of work making sure your e-mails are exactly what your customers want. But before you click the Send button and transmit your message to the world, check off each item on this list that applies to you to ensure that your e-mail has the impact you want it to:
I have explicit permission to send the e-mail.
I pinpointed the main objective.
My From line clearly identifies my business.
My Subject line prompts my audience to open my e-mail.
I’m sending my e-mail from an e-mail address that my audience will recognize.
My e-mail content is easy to scan.
My headlines are short, clear, and concise.
My paragraphs are short summaries of larger bodies of information.
My e-mail contains a strong call to action.
My images help to tell the story of my e-mail.
My e-mail has white space that makes the text easy to read.
My e-mail content is valuable enough to save or share.
My e-mail contains an offer that is valuable to my audience.
I checked all links to make sure they work properly.
I’m prepared to handle inbound responses.
I’m sending at a time when my audience is likely to notice.
Did you know?
Outdoor News can help you with all aspects of your email marketing. We have gone to great lengths to build up our platform in order to connect our advertisers with the largest and most engaged email audience in the Great Lakes States.
Our current email key stats by the numbers:
220,000+ = Our total opt-in CAN SPAM Compliant email database
21% = Average Open Rate (vs. industry average of 17%)
3.8% = Average Click Rate (vs. industry average of 3.5%)
79,000 = Email opt-ins who have indicated a high interest in Hunting information
58,000 = Email opt-ins who have indicated a high interest in Open Water Fishing
58,000 = Email opt-ins who have indicated a high interest in Ice Fishing information
85,000 = Email opt-ins who have indicated a high interest in Archery and Bow Hunting
Let us help you with your email marketing. We have a multitude of options to help you achieve your goals. We even have access to a nationwide data base of email addresses to either broaden your reach to a large footprint or fine tune your targeting by pinpointing a specific audience in a specific location.
Connect with one of our email experts to see what we can do for you.
Upcoming Opportunities
November 15, 2019 edition. Bonus circulation at the Hard Water Ice Fishing Expo in Blaine, MN. Ad Deadline is November 6.
December 6, 2019 edition. Bonus circulation at the Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show in St. Paul, MN. Ad Deadline is November 26.
December 13, 2019 edition. Bonus circulation at the Arrowhead Ice Fishing & Winter Show in Duluth, MN. Ad Deadline is December 5.
Gear Up for Ice Fishing Part 1. Sends on November 14. Deadline is November 5.
Cyber Monday Gift Ideas. Sends on November 21. Deadline is November 11.
Gear Up for Ice Fishing Part 2. Sends on November 28. Deadline is November 18.
Last Minute Gift Ideas. Sends on December 5. Deadline is November 25.
Join us for Minnesota's largest consumer deer hunting show on March 13 - 15, 2020. This year we will be moving the show to a larger, more convenient location at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota.
Booth space is still available. Contact show manager Eric Meyer at eric@outdoornews.com