In parts 1 & 2 of this post series, we covered a lot of ground. I seriously suggest you start there if you haven’t already. I will be referring to them both.
Oh, you already did? Great! Let’s go!
Now the emails are going out, how do you track them?
“Metrics” is a buzzword among all breeds of internet marketers. All it means is stats and measurements. To become an expert email affiliate marketer, you need to know which campaigns are working and for which segment of your database.
You’ll need answers to questions like these:
- How many times was this email campaign opened?
- How far through the campaign did people go on average before they clicked an affiliate link?
- How does that compare to an email from a different campaign at a similar position in the sequence?
- How many clicks on each link did you get?
- What kind of link was it and where did it appear in the email?
You should be able to track the numbers through your mass email sending program and affiliate platforms like revJOLT‘s dashboard if you’ve set your campaigns up right (the documentation will tell you how). You need to give each link its own click reference, or you won’t know the difference in the effectiveness of a banner image or a little text link in a footer. And knowledge is power, right?
Through these numbers, you should be able to start to spot patterns. Where were the links that got clicked positioned on the email? Did you use images at all or all text? Which overall strategy was more effective? This information can help you sharpen up your strategy if you take the time to analyze it like a pro.
The downside for your ego: failure
This part is painful but necessary:
- How many unsubscribes did you get, on which emails of which campaigns?
- How many emails were never opened?
If you bury your head in the sand, you’ll never learn how to do better next time. You need to look carefully at what was in that particular email and think about recrafting the message to remove what you suspect is the aggravation for most people. And try again. If it wasn’t opened, you HAVE to look at the subject line, because many people don’t have an email client that previews.
Don’t take unsubscribes to heart. Some people could be offered the moon on a stick, but they’ll hit that button.
Opt-in, Opt-out
And here is a great point that you need to pay attention to – due to the CAN-SPAM act, you need to offer people the option to opt out. You MUST have an unsubscribe link somewhere on each and every email!
Other CAN-SPAM rules to follow include:
- Don’t lie about who the email is from
- Don’t lie about what the email is about in the subject line
- Don’t hide the fact it contains advertising
- Include a postal address for your business somewhere
The amount you can work around these rules is up for debate. But it’s cheaper being upfront with your aims than potentially getting a fine of up to $40,654! For “each separate email in violation”… Honesty is the best (longterm) policy. Check more of the rules out here at the FTC’s page on CAN-SPAM.
Altogether, now
So, to sum up, here are the steps we’ve covered:
- Pick the right mass emailing software
- Segment your data
- Design great landing pages
- Use opt-in buttons, then forms that capture your segments
- Automate your campaigns
- Build rapport
- Measure your success
- Comply with the spam rules
There are many more secrets, but like a good email campaign marketer, we’re not going to tell them all at once!
Now go get ’em!
If YOU can’t afford another day without the solid affiliate income or highly qualified lead gen that revJOLT provide, sign up now!