An Overview Of Email List Service Providers

An email list as an integral tool for building your brand and your following. It's vitally important that you choose the right email service provider though, since that will impact how and when you email. Here's an excerpt from my Social Media Promotion For Musicians book that contains an overview of the more popular email service providers available.

"When I wanted to send one of my first email newsletters to a list of only about 1200 (which seemed large at the time but is really tiny in grand scheme of email lists), I was astounded to find that my Internet Service Provider (ISP) wouldn't allow me to send to more than 100 addresses simultaneously from my business account. That meant that I had to split my list up into 12 batches, which made the job take a lot longer than it should have. After a number of calls to my Internet service provider at the time, I discovered that just about every ISP limits the number of email addresses that can be attached to an email in an attempt to keep spam in check, yet I knew that there were companies that sent emails to millions of addresses at a time every day. How did they do it?

That’s when I found out about Email Service Providers or ESPs. ESPs have an agreement with the various Internet service providers to make sure that their customers aren’t what we would consider spammers. While the odd few may push up against those boundaries, ESPs go to great lengths to make sure that you don’t fall into that category by constant checking spam reports and large email address imports, then making you personally verify that your lists are opt-in and not purchased or just skimmed from a forum.

That said, the only limit to how many addresses you can send to hinges on how much money you want to spend, since almost all ESPs work on the same principle - the greater the number of email addresses, the more it costs.

Here’s a list of email service providers to investigate. Each has their pros and cons, so it’s best to check every one out thoroughly before you commit. Since most of them also have free 30 day trials, you can try before you buy to see if a particular service is what you’re looking for.

TIP: Some email list providers are free if you only have a few hundred addresses. Even with a volume that low, it's so much easier to use an ESP than your own email client. Try it. You'll wonder how you ever got along without one.

As stated above, all of them have a nice selection of professional-looking email templates, but how they’re customized is slightly different, so be sure to check that out. Of course, if you already have a web designer that can design a good looking HTML newsletter, the templates won’t matter as much to you as the other features.

Mailchimp.com

Aweber.com

Campaigner.com

Campaignmonitor.com

Feedblitz

MyNewsletterBuilder.com

iContact 

WhatCounts 

Constant Contact

Get Response

Vertical Response

BenchmarkEmail

PinPointe

MyEmma

These are only just a sampling of the popular ESPs available, and you can also find a number of email list review sites that will give you a ranking and allow you to easily compare services. 

TIP: Even if you compare ESP features carefully, the best way to really find out which one will serve your needs is to use it for a bit first with the free trial they all offer."

I currently use GetResponse myself after trying out just about every one that's listed above. It has the right combination of features for me, but may not fit for you. Like most other services, whatever you feel has the best combination of services and ease of use is what you should use.

You can read more from Social Media Promotion For Musicians and my other books on the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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5 Legal Requirements Every Email Newsletter Must Have

You may not know it, but there are a number of things that are legally required in every email newsletter that you send out. While most email services automatically address these, it's still important to know what they are and why they're enforced in the first place.

Here are the 5 legal requirements that every email newsletter must have, which have been excerpted from my Social Media Promotion For Musicians book

"While it may seem that it’s entirely up to you about what’s contained in your email, be aware that every mass email blast that you send now requires several things by law. These are:

1. Easy opt-out: You have to provide an easy way for subscribers to unsubscribe if they want. Once a subscriber opts out, you then have 10 days to stop sending them messages (although most expect it to happen immediately), and the unsubscribe option needs to be available for at least 30 days after the e-mail is sent. Most ESPs will automatically remove the address to a “do not send” list if the subscriber chooses to unsubscribe.

2. Identify your topic: The subject line of your e-mails has to clearly and accurately identify the content of the e-mail. Any misleading or bogus subject lines are construed as spam.

3. Return address: You have to include a legitimate return email address, as well as a valid postal address. Some ESPs even make you include a phone number. If you don’t want people to know your home info (I don’t want to broadcast it myself), open up a PO box, and get a Google Voice number if a phone number is required.

4. No email address harvesting: You can’t collect addresses from chat rooms, discussion forums, or blog comments. Once again, people must opt-in and give you permission to send something to them.

5. You can’t offer a reward for forwarding: You can invite subscribers to “forward this newsletter to a friend,” but you can’t entice them to do so with offers of money, coupons, discounts, awards, or additional entries in a giveaway. 

Remember that spam is a serious business. It’s not only bad form, but you could be held legally liable as well."

You can read more from Social Media Promotion For Musicians and my other books on the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this blog at no cost to you (just click here).

An Overview Of Email List Services

There's no shortage of posts here about why an email list is so important for an artist or band, but determining which email list provider (ESP) to use can be confusing. Here's an overview taken from my Social Media Promotion for Musicians book that provides a number of ESP alternatives.

"Here’s a list of email service providers to investigate. Each has their pros and cons, so it’s best to check every one out thoroughly before you commit. Since most of them also have free 30 day trials, you can try before you buy to see if a particular service is what you’re looking for.

TIP: Some email list providers are free if you only have a few hundred addresses. Even with a volume that low, it's so much easier to use an ESP than your own email client. Try it. You'll wonder how you ever got along without one.

As stated above, all of them have a nice selection of professional-looking email templates, but how they’re customized is slightly different, so be sure to check that out. Of course, if you already have a web designer that can design a good looking HTML newsletter, the templates won’t matter as much to you as the other features.

Mailchimp.com

Aweber.com

Campaigner.com

Campaignmonitor.com

Feedblitz

MyNewsletterBuilder.com

iContact 

WhatCounts 

Constant Contact

Get Response

Vertical Response

BenchmarkEmail

PinPointe

MyEmma

These are only just a sampling of the popular ESPs available, and you can also find a number of email list review sites that will give you a ranking and allow you to easily compare services. 

TIP: Even if you compare ESP features carefully, the best way to really find out which one will serve your needs is to use it for a bit first with the free trial they all offer."

For what it's worth, I've at least tried most of these on the list. I used Constant Contact for a long time, but recently changed to Aweber, mostly because it tightly integrates with a variety of shopping carts and 3rd party apps, and because each list can have it's own set of autoresponders. That said, sometimes a provider has a single feature that's important to what you're doing, which will make it the obvious choice.

To read additional excerpts from Social Media Promotion for Musicians and my other books, go to the excerpts section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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A Strategy For Sending Out Gig Reminders

Artists, bands, record labels and anyone doing a show needs to make their fan base very aware when they're doing a gig. You can't rely on just a single email to get the word out, it takes a more comprehensive strategy. Here's an excerpt from my Social Media Promotion For Musicians book that outlines such a strategy that has proven very effective in getting people to your show.

"Gig reminder emails fall into a different category in that they can be a lot shorter and a lot more frequent. While the email sequence below may seem like a lot of emails, remember that for true fans, you’re doing them a favor by keeping them informed, and you’re marketing yourself for other things at the same time. A potential reminder strategy is:

• The day a show is announced or tickets go on sale. As soon as you know that you’re playing at a venue, send out an email. This could be to the entire list if it’s announcing a tour, if it’s the monthly schedule for a cover band, or if you believe that people will travel to see the show.

• A week before the show. Send out a reminder but concentrate more on the band, regarding a new part of the show, new songs, a music video, or something that you want to the fan to see.

• 3 days before the show. Send out a reminder and include more information about the club and who else is playing.

• 1 day before the show. Once again, remind the fan about a a different feature of the show or the music that’s unique and won’t be seen or heard any other way than attending. You can change the headline to “You don’t want to miss this,” or “See our new show tomorrow night.”

• The day of the show. Send out a short reminder in the late morning to just the portion of your list in the general area of the club. Use a headline like, “Can you make it tonite?”, or “Last chance to buy tickets!”

• The day after the show. Send an email with backstage pictures, pictures of meet and greets with fans or just fans in the audience, as well as links to videos. This is a nice shout-out to those that were there, and a prod for those that weren’t not to miss you next time you’re in town.

Of course, if you’re lucking enough to have sold out your show, you won’t need to send as many reminders. That said, you might send one headlined “Sold Out!” that either announces another gig or another way for the fan to hear your music or buy your merch. A contest for two last minute tickets (put them on your guest list) also works well.

TIP: In every reminder be sure to include all the pertinent gig information, including the name of the venue, the full address, the phone number, the time you’re going on, and other acts on the bill. Consider including a map or a link to one as well.

Artists and bands are sometimes timid about sending out so many gig announcements, but fans that ordinarily would attend really do forget. Remember, you’re doing them a favor by reminding them.

TIP: When sending out multiple emails in a short space of time, be sure to continually change the headline and the email contents." 

You can read additional excerpts from Social Media Promotion For Musicians and my other books on the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.

The Science Of Email Timing

As I've posted here many times before, your email list is one of the most powerful marketing tools that an artist or band (or a business or brand) can have. Recently some data courtesy of Dan Zarrella and Pure360 have shown that there is a definite science behind the timing of sending your emails. Remember that all times are Eastern Standard Time.

Before sending an email, consider:
6AM to 10AM: The second most prevalent email opening time is at the the beginning of the working day.

10AM to Noon: Consumers are not opening marketing emails, choosing instead to focus on work.

Noon to 2PM: Consumers are unlikely to open emails during their lunch break, choosing instead to spend their time on news and magazine alerts.

2PM to 3PM: Right after lunch consumers remain focused on work, responding mostly to email offers related to financial services.

3PM to 5PM: Consumers start thinking about their personal situation and as a result, more emails relating to property and financial services are opened during this time period than any other.

5PM to 7PM: Consumers tend to open business to business (B2B) promotions during this period, but also open more holiday-type promotions during this period than any other.

7PM to 10PM: The time period when recipients are most likely to respond to consumer promotions is when they get off work.

10PM to 6AM: This is an email dead zone, as most sent during this period are ineffective.

Here are a few other timing issues to consider:

• Bounce rates are highest in the morning.

• Open rates are highest during the weekend by 45%.

• Open rates are 53% higher in the morning.

• Click rates are 10% higher on the weekend and early morning.

• The most effective sending frequency is 1 to 4 per month.

• Conversely, the unsubscribe rate is higher at 1 to 4 per month, but levels off at 8 to 31 per month.

• The highest unsubscription rate occurs among those who have been subscribers for less than 10 days.

• The highest click-through-rate (CTR) is with those who have been subscribers for less than 10 days.

To sum things up, don't send those promotional emails out without first thinking about the timing. It could mean the difference between your finds reading it or not.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

The New Word For Spam - Bacon

There's a new classification of annoyance in your email box and it's called (I'm not making this up) "Bacon." Spam is unsolicited, unwanted email from an unknown sender that's trying to get you to buy something or scam you out of something. Bacon is legitimate email sent from legitimate senders that's trying to get you to buy something (you probably even asked for at some point).

It's also turning into a huge business and much more profitable than Spam. As the infographic below shows, once a marketer has you on their list, it's unlikely that you'll try to, or be able to get off. Everything you need to know about Bacon can be found below.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

The New Marketing Trifecta

Here's a great chart that illustrates what's become known as the new "marketing trifecta" in the Music 3.0 age.

If you read this blog often then you know that I'm a big proponent of developing and nurturing an email list, which is outlined as one of the spokes of the trifecta by this graphic. If you're not involved in social media (the second spoke) than you're missing a huge opportunity to connect with new fans and existing ones. And since everyone has a cell phone these days (the third spoke), how can you not use it as a marketing tool?

Here are a few interesting items from the graphic:

• 97% of all households use email 
• 66% of all marketers now use social media as part of their overall campaign strategy
• 75% of all households connected to the Internet use some form of social media
• 91% of email campaigns also use Facebook as part of their campaign, 83.9% on Twitter, 48% Linkedin, 34.3% YouTube, and 3.7% Foursquare
• There are 285 million mobile devices in use in the United States (that's over 91% of the population) and 70 million of those are Smartphones

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Follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

15 Email "Don'ts"

Yesterday we looked at the 15 "do's" of sending out an email blast. Today we'll look at the 15 "don'ts," once again from clickz.com.

Here are 15 things you should never do (or at least don't admit to them):

• Don't assume something works
• Don't convert print promotions directly to e-mail blasts
• Don't overcomplicate your e-mail creative
• Don't overmail your list
• Don't undermail your list
• Don't make subscribing – or unsubscribing – too complicated
• Don't try to say too much with a single e-mail
• Don't silo e-mail – remember your other channels, both offline and digital
• Don't forget about the landing page
• Don't assume what worked yesterday will work today, or tomorrow - keep testing and evolving
• Don't ignore your reports and front line
• Don't badger the lifeless (by overmailing your non-responders)
• Don't say everything in the subject line
• Don't be clueless (by having no call to action)
• Don't forget to be timely

This is some excellent advice and well worth following. Once again, you can find the full text to the post here.

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Follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

Email Is Not Dead

It appears that reports of email's demise are untrue, according to a recent survey of 2,200 adults in the US and UK by Harris Interactive. Despite the rise of social networking, we're still addicted to it and we're not letting go. Here's what the survey found:

• 72% in the US and 68% in the UK check their email during their time off.

• 19% of Americans check email in bed

• 50% check their email while on vacation and during off-days

• 46% of American respondents check their email to ease their workload

• 37% are afraid that they'll miss something important

• 27% check work email at home because it's expected of them

• 26% check email on vacation because that's the only way they can handle the volume

• 21% of men check email in bed but only 16% of women do

• 31% of 18 to 34 year olds are more likely to check their email in bed than 35 to 54 year olds (15%)

The data shows one of the best reasons to maintain that email list. People do check their mail and it's still important to them. It's up to you to send it.

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Follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

5 Tips For Building Your Email List

Your email list is a major component for marketing to your fanbase. It's widely overlooked since most artists believe that their Facebook friends and Twitter followers are enough, but you email list allows you to reach out and personally connect with the fans and control you message while you're doing it.

A well thought out email blast allows you to do the following:

1) Engage your fan on a more 1 to 1 basis
2) Design the communication without the constraints of a social network
3) Add a call-to-action

This makes it easier to inform, market and sell to your fan in a manner that the true fan (superfan, uberfan, Tribal member - whatever you want to call them) enjoys, if you do it well.

Here's a short video about the best way to harvest those valuable email addresses.

Email Service Providers And Why They're Necessary

In the last post, I stated how important it is to have a master email list to keep in touch with your fans in these days of Music 3.0. I also briefly touched on email service providers (or ESP's) like iContact, WhatCounts and Constant Contact and a little on why they're essential partners needed for maintaining your master email list. What I didn't touch on was the biggest reason why using one is a necessity.

When I wanted to send one of my first email newsletters to a list of only about 1200 (which seemed large  at the time but is really tiny in grand scheme of email lists), I was astounded to find that my Internet Service Provider (ISP) wouldn't allow me to send to more than 200 addresses simultaneously from my company account. That meant that I had to split my list up into 6 batches, which made the job take a lot longer than it should have. After a number of calls to AT&T, I discovered that just about every ISP limits the number of email addresses that can be attached to an email in an attempt to keep spam in check, yet I knew that there were companies that sent emails to millions of addresses at time every day. How did they do it?

Then I found out about email service providers. ESP's have a deal with the ISPs to screen their customers to keep the spam count low, and the only limit to how many addresses you can send to is how much money you want to spend. The greater the number of email addresses, the more it costs.

ESPs are way more useful than just providing basic email delivery however, and are definitely worth the money in that they:

1. clean your list for you, which means they automatically delete any old non-existent addresses (you have to do it manually if you use your personal email client, which is a big drag time-wise).
2. provide a means to measure how well your email did in terms of open rate, click-throughs and pass-alongs and a lot more
3. provide a means to easily subscribe and unsubscribe to the list (again, much more difficult to do manually)
4. provide a host of pretty good looking HTML templates that you can use to easily design a professional looking email blast

Most ESPs offer more services than the main ones mentioned above that you can check out for yourself. As I said, you get charged more as your address volume increases, but some of them are free if you're just starting and only have a few hundred. Even with a volume that low, it's so much easier to use an ESP than your own email client. Try it. You'll wonder how you ever got along without one.