I prefer, when possible, to send a link to the content (using PubWriter) rather than an email. Doing so allows me to embed video, update the content (after the fact), and repurpose/redirect the same message to multiple recipients.
Finding what I need when I need it FAST is what it's all about.
I'm exploring better methods to review threads, collaborate, and leverage CRM. eMail is the still the most common form of communication, yet in many ways has failed to evolve. Below are some tools and strategies that are more 'evolutionary.'
Capturing email addresses
You need to provide visitors will a compelling reason to give you their email address. Here are some examples:
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https://www.turnkeypodcast.com/gift But... you MUST then deliver on your promise and this is where a lot of marketers fail (including the one above). If you rely on the autoresponders of most bulk emailers, you are likely going to piss off your lead. Why? Because there is usually a delay (from a few minutes to a few hours) due to the way most bulk emailers (like mailchimp) queue up emails. Instead, immediately after they signup, redirect them to the free download.
Find any email address?
Do you know about Hunter? It uncovers email addresses for most domains. It's so powerful that it's a bit scary. Try entering in your own domain and see what comes back.
eMail Senders (Bulk mailings)
Need to SEND email to a large list? Here are a few of the options I am exploring:
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SendFox - Low one-time fee.
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eMail Octopus - my preferred option and free for your first 2,500 subscribers.
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SendGrid - free option
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Sendy - $69 (one time fee) + Amazon SES Fees (cheap) When our delivery/open rate improved was when we started sending out individual emails ~ You can do an email merge in MS Word to about 25 people at a time (no more than 25 people per hour). I also use the Google Sheets Mail Merge Add-on - the benefit being you could setup a separate gmail account just for this purpose.
Grabbing eyeballs
There is an art to writing emails that get opened. Here are a few icons that translate well in email subject lines: 🏁 📚 ❤️ ☀️ ☺ I'd suggest keeping a notebook of email subject lines that spark a click. You can an expanded list of options here.
eMail Clients
Without a good email client, it's too easy to miss important messages and you spend too much time looking for email. What are the best email clients for the Mac?
- Airmail - fried my old macbook :(
- Unibox I have been using Unibox for several years. I just recently started using Airmail because it supports [markdown] formatting which I use all the time because of AuthorDock and PubWriter. Others:
- Mail.app
- Postbox
- Mailplane
- Emailganizer
- Outlook
- Notify
- MailMate
- Mail Pilot
(I sourced several from here)
PC recommendations?
Which are the best email clients for the PC? I wish I knew! I am not a fan of outlook, but I use it because I don't know of any good alternatives. I tried Mailbird, but my virus scanner said it contained a trojan horse!
I also just found eMClient and will be doing some testing shortly. Looks like a very powerful tool. What I really want is an email with a hacker theme!
eMail open confirmations
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MailTrack.io I am noticing that more people are using these tools and that more email programs are providing the option to track opens.
It's begs the question: Is every email worth opening? How many hours have we lost in reading unnecessary email?
Further Reading