Spotify Ends The Search For Promo Code With Its In-App Offers Feature
Spotify has recently announced its new feature. It will end customer hustle to search for a promo code online. Customers can buy a subscription of their favourite podcasts with on discounted prices with these promo codes.
Now, the customer will see an embedded link on the podcast. Just by clicking on this embedded link, the customer will be able to avail the promo-code. The link will automatically redirect the customer to advertiser’s website. Once the customer is on the website of the advertiser, the site will automatically detect the promo-code and will show you the discounted price.
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Image credit – TheVerge
Currently, Spotify is testing its “In-App Offers” feature. It will be a great relief for the consumer. Now, they don’t have to remember the promo code and march from pillar to post to get discounts.
According to Spotify, this is just the beginning of its interactive advertisement. The company states that they are researching for more ways to “create more of a direct funnel for brands.” It will create a strong impact and bring more live audiences to the Spotify platform in search of promo code.
Jay Richman, Head of ads business and platform at Spotify stated,
I think you could start to then piece together what a potential roadmap could look like, just based on the model with which we view this opportunity.
So, it is one step in a larger innovation path to productize the coupon code.
The first test conducted on Harry’s in the United States of America. The podcasts which participated was “Last Podcast on the Left and with Hello Fresh in Germany on the podcast Herrengedeck.” The promo code will be visible to a limited number of listeners. It will be visible only during the campaign time frame.
Spotify started inserting advertisements in podcasts from the month of January. They did this using their Streaming ad insertion technology. This technology is also known as SAI.
SAI inserts ad to the podcasts when people are listening to them. The SAI technology is advance and targets the audience based on their demographic and data-driven synergy.
Now, with SAI, Spotify is planning to expand its advertisement market in the US and some parts of Germany. SAI is a Spotify owned technology and is currently possesses an approximation of 100 monetizable shows.
It will give an upper hand to Spotify in capturing the advertiser market. Hence, it will lead to advertiser’s spending more money. Spotify will make sure that advertisers get better results for their advertisement.
For now, Spotify has opened the window for advertisement on the shows in its purview. Although, there are chances that Spotify might open the gates to the outside world and may charge revenue for the ad sales.
How Email Marketing Will Help Your Business Grow in 2020
Does Email marketing still exist in times of social media, artificial intelligence, chatbots, videos? A thought to ponder.
If you feel email marketing has lost its charm, then you are far away from the truth.
The truth is, email marketing is growing and email campaigns are still the best strategy for brands and businesses.
Here it is, Why?
Image Credit: Oberlo
As per data by Statista(2020), In 2019, the email users were 3.9 billion users and are expected to grow to 4.3 billion users in 2023, which is half of the world’s population. This clearly shows email marketing is an opportunity that should not be missed.
The above infographic on Email Marketing Stats 2020 provides facts and figures about the email market which is still robust and one of the best marketing strategies.
What Is Email Marketing?
Email marketing is more effective than SEO, affiliate marketing, or social media because it has a direct line with the audiences. It helps you connect with your leads, nurture them, and convert them into customers.
Image Credit: BackLinko
However, with the growing fervor of TikTok Facebook, Snapchat, will this old school tactic still work?
Emails have a better reach than social media and converting a prospect into a buyer. This shows email leading social media. Email is 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined. (McKinsey)
A third of customers who have subscribed to the retailer’s newspaper is a direct result of email marketing messages. (E-marketer)
These numbers are nice to know but you are still wondering, how are email marketing campaigns important in 2020?
Well, that’s what the next chapter is all about.
How Is Email Marketing Important In 2020?
With the booming popularity of social media and search, the importance of free emails in email marketing is higher than ever.
Let us comprehend the value of email marketing in 2020.
1. Everyone uses Emails:
Young people use email for several things – social media and personal expenses, mailing lists, and brand promotion or business. So, everyone has a valid email address.
2. Emails are easy to design and create:
An attractive and eye-catching email campaign for a small business budget with a reputed email marketing service provider can create wonders and similar to big brands.
After finishing designing the newsletter or free emails, businesses can quickly start to use email campaigns for promotion.
Image Credit: uCookies
3. Email marketing links all other channels
Email campaigns are a direct line of communication with the audience and a suitable way to promote marketing strategies.
Social Media
Most email service providers have footers with social media icons at the bottom that includes links to LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram. Subscribers can access those links and share the campaigns by clicking on it. Also, brands can share the reviews, posts on the social feed so subscribers can connect with the brands online.
For instance, the example of Urban Outfitters is a visually appealing email that highlights their most-liked Instagram posts. Also, note the share buttons at the bottom of the email.
Image Credit: Really Good Emails
Content Marketing
77% of people prefer to get permission-based promotional messages via email campaigns. To start with, first, a sizable email list is to be prepared. There are several ways to do this like giving something away for free or offering a newsletter update, videos, research report, infographic, or valuable content.
Make good use of content with interesting pictures and custom RSS feeds. For instance, the US outdoors always include interesting content in their email campaigns.
Image Credit: Emma
Webinars:
Brands can promote webinars on emails to their subscribers who are genuinely interested to hear and respond.
Performance Analysis
Email service provides information on how to improve future email campaigns and learn about subscribers. However, this will be a paid service.
Analytics aids in keeping a track of active and engaged subscribers and identifying trends as well as new markets. This data can help in retargeting campaigns and use marketing resources in the right way.
Capitalizing On The Data Collection:
Email marketing is one of the most scrutinized marketing methods in the post GDPR world. 78% of people say they are likely to trust companies with their personal data if they use it to personalize their experience through different channels like emails.
Emails give access to understand subscribers’ behavior and learn about their habits and interests to create customized email campaigns. Personalized email campaigns can be created by conducting surveys to collect quality data from active subscribers.
4. Encourage more subscriber participation:
Marketers gain the trust of the subscribers when they encourage more participation from them and let them control their inbox. Put a preference center link at the bottom of the email campaigns and prompt new subscribers to fill it.
A preference center allows the subscribers to tell the brands on how often they want to be emailed and what type of content they prefer. Below is an example of a preference center by Brooks Running.
Image Credit: Emma
5. Stay updated with automation and technology
Email service providers always give access to the latest automated features to give an enriching experience to the audience in the following areas:
-Segmentation
-Post-sales communication
-Re-engagement
-A/B Testings
Best Email Marketing Campaigns
With in-depth details on the importance of Email marketing, in the next chapter, we will see the best email marketing campaign examples.
1. BuzzFeed
Email Marketing Campaign: “Buzzfeed Today” Newsletter
Newsletters are Buzzfeed’s top sources of traffic. Buzzfeed has amazing, punchy, and short subject lines. They have awesome preview text that compels the reader to open the email.
If their subject line is a command, the preview text is the logical elaboration of the subject line.
Image Credit: Mail Floss
Their newsletters are from politics and daily news to DIY and cooking. They cover different audiences as they know exactly what to recommend to whom because of their email segmentation.
2. Amarso
Email marketing- another way to approach the cart abandonment.
If your product is enticing then put it at the center of your email marketing campaign directed at the customers who shopped but didn’t purchase. In this two-step email marketing campaign, Amarso is doing the same thing.
The 1st image is sent to the shoppers after an hour of shopping for those products whereas the 2nd image is a reminder of Amarso’s amazing products seen a few days back.
Image Credit: MailFloss
3. Airbnb
Short, Crisp and Communicative Feedback Survey in their Email Campaign
Their email campaign is short, crisp, fresh, and minimalist with a clear objective. Their emails are straight to the point and with a clear CTA. The email campaign looks good and engaging. In every email, you will get guides to different cities.
Image Credit: Mail Bakery
Email Marketing Platforms or Email Service Providers (ESPs)
There are many email marketing platforms but obviously, there is no single ‘best email service provider’. The best option depends on the objectives, goals, features, and list size of the marketers.
In this chapter, I am reviewing five of the top Email Service Providers. The features, pricing, pros, and cons of each email marketing platform are highlighted to help the marketer choose the best option for you.
1. Mail Chimp
Image Credit: Formget
Features
-It is the most popular and leading email marketing platform.
-It has an excellent dashboard with prebuilt templates, reports, lists, and more.
-There is email automation, better integration, optimization, and analytics.
Pricing
-A forever free plan allows 12,000 mails every month to 2000 subscribers.
-There are 3 packages based on features and the number of subscribers.
-Essentials for $9.99, standard for%14.99, and Premium for $299 are email marketing plans.
Know more about pricing
Pros
-It is best for small and medium-sized businesses at an affordable cost.
– It can handle large volumes of emails.
-The messages can be sent to email clients as well as for promotion on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms.
-It has easy to use WYSIWYG editors and can access reports on the open rates clicks, spammed, unsubscription.
-It has friendly customer service and excellent email analytics.
-It helps you to customize the tools for your business with over 300 integrations.
Cons
-The regular updates and reconfiguration disrupt the entire working system as users have to understand and adapt to the new changes.
-Apart from the chat function, phone support is not provided.
-The individual addition of email contacts is cumbersome and has limited segmentation features.
-Emails sent via Mailchimp often goes to the promotion tab of Gmail or spam at times.
2. Mailjet
Image Credit: Formget
Features
-It has the best real-time dashboard and is preloaded with free responsive email templates and newsletters
-There are advanced reporting features like to track deliveries and know user actions.
Pricing
It has a free email marketing trial for 30 days for 6000 emails a month and 200 emails a day. There are 3 Packages like Basic, Premium, and Enterprise plans for each month.
Free email marketing trial for 30 days for 6000 emails a month and 200 emails a day.
Know more about pricing here!
Pros
– The dashboard is incredibly innate and the drag and drop editor option allows users to create different email templates.
– It provides a report that shows usual data including bounces, clicks, and so on.
-It is Reasonable and economical pricing compared to the competitors.
-It’s an all in one platform to send, track, and deliver marketing and transactional emails without any additional cost.
Cons:
-There are limited designs for email templates and cannot store images.
-Unsubscribing inactive users from the list is tiresome using Mailjet’s removal interface.
-The segmentation options are limited. Eg. One can run a campaign but cannot set conditions like whether a recipient has/unopened/bought the product.
3. Active Campaign
Features
– It has an intuitive email template builder and advanced marketing automation
-It has features like segmentation, machine learning, CRM and sales
-It has the best campaign tracking, free image hosting, email funnels, and autoresponders.
Pricing:
There are no free plans available but an email marketing test run can be done for 14 days. Active’s pricing packages are affected by two factors: contacts and features. It has 4 packages available – Lite for $9, Plus for $49, Professional for $129, and Enterprise for $229.
Know more about pricing
Pros:
-The dashboard shows the full history of your contacts and gives access to real-time reports that features display tracking of essentials like geolocation, clicks, opened rates, unsubscription details.
-It has great integrations with other tools like Facebook Ads, Gmail suite, websites, and more.
-The Lead scoring helps to prioritize accounts for the sales team and has dynamic content.
-It offers a free migration service. Unlike other tools, Active Campaign doesn’t charge you to move data from one email marketing tool to another.
Cons:
– The pricing isn’t the lowest but it is worth the value.
– The layout is not user friendly and many good features cannot be accessed seamlessly by the users.
– It becomes difficult to handle large volumes of emails.
4. Klaviyo
Features
–It helps e-commerce marketers to build, measure, and optimize email campaigns.
-It has a hassle-free dashboard that showcases all the recent campaigns based on revenue, days, and more.
-The segmentation of the platform is excellent based on the behavior and transactional data.
-Start your campaigns with pre-built email templates that can be customized.
– Use an autoresponder to send automatic emails to the audience.
Pricing
It offers a free trial of up to 250 contacts and can send 500 emails. The plans are devised based on the number of contacts. Pricing increases with the number of contacts- the maximum pricing option is up to $1700 per month for up to 146,00 contacts and a minimum of $25 for 500 contacts.
Know more about pricing
Pros
-It is easy to set up and user friendly.
-Enhance the eCommerce business on integration with Shopify.
-Create Personalized product recommendations for post-sale engagement.
-Visually transform email workflows and sign up forms to collect leads.
-Access to marketing automation to follow up with customers after they abandon a purchase.
-Integrate with the Facebook custom audience and create a comprehensive marketing campaign.
Cons
– The pricing is aggressive and high for smaller businesses.
– For beginners, the interface can be challenging initially.
– Limited customer chat support and no phone support.
-It can be difficult to use while integrating with Magneto and checking analytical information.
5. Gmail
Features:
-Everyone’s favorite Email marketing tool.
-A free, advertising-supported email service offered by Google.
-It’s a part of Google G Suite with 15 GB storage, color-coded inbox, and filters.
-Appropriate for all types of businesses.
-GMass extension can be used to send personalized and mass emails to every email address in the Gmail account.
Pricing:
It is a free service.
Pros:
-It is free, stable and fast
-It provides 99.9% spam and virus protection.
-It has Integration with the whole Google suite.
-Secured web platform and can be customized to an extent keeping it clean and simple.
-Integrated with Hangout that helps to directly reach the customers via call or chat.
-Excellent handling of large attachments and volumes of emails.
-A business email address can be used by logging into a Gmail account.
Cons:
-It might not work easily with a few desktop software or enterprise applications.
– There is no backup of emails in the inbox.
-It is connected to Google Drive storage, therefore, if it is full then it creates problems in receiving emails.
-Many client emails get sent to spams.
-It collects mail from the hosting server and will not collect email quickly.
Why do many use Gmail for email marketing?
- It has spam filters that reduce the risk of domain spoofing, phishing, and other malevolent practices.
- It has great features and saves time in searching for mails and referencing old mails.
- Gmail users are highly engaged which is the key point in email marketing.
How to use Gmail to send a newsletter?
GMass turns your regular Gmail account into a powerful email marketing platform. Without GMass, Google’s platform allows you to send email marketing campaigns to limited people in your G-suite.
Using GMass helps you send emails through the world’s highest delivering servers and gives the highest open rates. It also includes features like
GMass provides access to following email marketing features to your Google or Gmail account:
-Open tracking,
-Click tracking,
-Mail merge
-Message Personalization,
– Mass emails or bulk email service
-Scheduling.
-Create a mailing list
Best Practices To Follow For Email Marketing
Wrapping Up
The importance of email marketing has grown over the years. With all the insights provided in the article, here are a few takeaway points:
-Email is easy to integrate digital marketing campaigns.
-Email marketing gives a scope to build personal relationships with users.
-Email marketing is constantly evolving implies that email marketing strategies should also change with time.
-Technological innovation continues to improve email marketing and the way subscribers are engaging with emails is also changing,
-This proves that email marketing is here to stay and email marketing automation is the new trend that is catching up. Time to up the game and think about the new techniques and strategies for your next campaign.
