Some Tips on Avoiding the Junk Box for E-Mail Campaigns
One question we get is, "How do I avoid a spam trap ?". I will answer this from a business process and content creation standpoint. Nothing is full-proof, but these are factors you can control.
From a business process standpoint:
- Do not buy a list of e-mails and solicit them. Will you answer a cold-blasted-email, no matter how good the offer is ? Not likely
- Ask them to add your e-mail to their safe sender list, and here is a list of systems' instructions
- Re-Purpose Blog Commentary like this
- Create some sort of relationship beforehand by direct mail, on-site visit or by telemarketing.
From a content-creation standpoint, these factors raise spam scores
- Using an excessive number of consecutive exclamation points
- Using excessive CAPS to write your message
- Using Microsoft Word as your .html editor. Microsoft Word's .html export tool contains sloppy code, which the spam filters will flag and not deliver
- Using an excessive amount of graphics instead of text. If you send an e-mail with just an image, it may look good for you. However, the spam-bot will flag it.
You can submit your email to some SPAM checker sites as well
Some of my drip marketing campaigns are plain-text in order to increase delivery rates, but I trade off branding and imagery to convey the message.
How to Setup Act! Scheduler for Remote Database Synchronization
If you use Act! for remote database synchronization, you can add an automated task to synchronize automatically based on time. Act! cannot automatically sync based on whether you have a valid connection to the internet or your local network etc.
This video demonstrates the setup. Have your Act! user name and password ready. For a text-based tutorial, here is an article from their website.
How to Add The Synchronize Now Button to an Act! Remote Database
This video shows you how to customize an Act! remote (aka subscriber) database so the “Synchronize Now” is available. This saves three steps, and you don’t have to remember where to look in the drop-down menu.
3 Ways CRM Improves Your Business Processes
Sometimes it's easy to get lost in the weeds of software exploring each feature in great detail among several CRM systems. So, I found this article from CIO magazine that starts with a broad picture.
Here are 3 outcomes CRM can provide:
- Create a Smart Rolodex
- Create a collaborative system among several departments' data
- Create a task and process master with automated workflow
MondoCRM ensures the software and the process match the rep's and management's goals. Rather than trying to wedge one product for every problem, we help firms make a choice among several options.
Related article on our blog: Which CRM is best ?
Why Do Sales Reps Hate CRM ?
..and why would a CRM consultancy write a negative headline ?
In my experience, these are a few reasons it's not embraced:
- No Set Process
- Inconsistent Enforcement
- Inconsistent Standards for Data Entry
- Lack of Training
- Too Many Steps for Data Entry
- Lack of Mobile Access
Here is an article I found that agrees with my assessment. MondoCRM ensures the software and the process match the rep's and management's goals.