Email marketing tracking software allows a business to send bulk emails to a target audience, track the results to determine its success rate and further segment the market. A business usually sends newsletters or promotional materials to a list of subscribers, but email marketing tracking software can also send and track unsolicited email.

The software tracks the emails to store contact information, statistics and message history in a database. The software is essential for running a successful email marketing campaign. When deciding whether or not the pricing and costs of email marketing tracking software are worth the investment, remember these unique features the software offers:

1. Email marketing and tracking allows you to send personalized emails from a customer list on a regular basis.

2. Software for tracking marketing campaigns usually can import contact information and customer lists.

3. Email tracking software tracks how many people opened the email, how many unsubscribed and how many clicked on the links provided in the email.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Purchase the email tracking software for your budget

The price of software varies greatly and can even be free, so don't let a limited budget deter you from using this powerful marketing technique. You get what you pay for, though, and going with inexpensive software limits the features you can use and the quality of the emails sent out.

I recommend: Small businesses can start out with a Microsoft Outlook upgrade for around $150 from SoftwareMedia.com. They can add email and contact management services to their current program and start with a simple email tracking system. For about $45 from Newegg, try MacWare Email Campaign for small businesses.

Subscribe to a monthly email marketing tracking software provider

Some providers of email marketing tracking software offer very affordable programs in which you can make payments instead of purchasing outright. You can choose monthly fees for limited services or pay as you go.

I recommend: Try Vertical Response, which is as low as $10 per month for weekly or monthly emails. ZebraTracks email marketing service costs approximately $4.95 per month. Major campaigns with up to 10,000 emails per month can cost up to $140 per month through companies like Long Jump.

Track email marketing campaigns on a large-scale

Find software that provides the capability for major campaigns. Look for features like high security, flexible tracking reports, compatibility with infrastructure systems already in place and licensing for large corporations.

I recommend: ListServe Maestro is a leader in email marketing software, and costs between $2,500 and $55,000, depending on your specific company's needs. Boca Networks offers email marketing software for mid to large-sized companies starting at around $10,000 for initial set-up and licensing and then $3,000 per month.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make the most of the email tracking software by sending out frequent emails; once the base monthly rate or purchase price has been paid, the amount of emails sent out is free.

An email newsletter can be a high impact communication tool, especially for those editors who are always looking to improve their efforts and better serve their readers. This guide offers a quick overview of a measured approach to better aligning your email newsletter efforts with the goals of your organization.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Identify Your Marketing Communication Goals

What impact are your marketing and communication efforts expected to bring to your organization? If you're the chief marketer as well as the owner then what is your purpose for writing this email newsletter?Some possible higher level goals include (but are not limited to):

I recommend: 1) develop your long-term relationship with readers (clients and prospects)

2) increase sales (or other business-related conversion) through up-sell and cross-sell efforts

3) increase event participation

31 Tips & Ideas for Your B2B Email Newsletter

Give These Goals Articulated Specifics

It's important to have your goals firmly in mind as you create content for your newsletter, but the broader goals won't help you much until you identify and articulate the specifics of these goals. For example, if one of your marketing communications goals is to increase event participation and you've got 1000 email readers then set a goal of incentivizing 50 subscribers to attend.Here are the above-mentioned goals with some more detailed, articulated specifics:

I recommend: 1) develop long-term relationship with readers
a) increase open rates by 10% and click throughs by 25% in three months. reduce unsubscribe rates by 50% over six months. Increase instances of "send-to-a-friend" by 5 per issue. Increase email responses from readers to 10 per issue.

2) increase sales through up-sell and cross-sell
a) push email-driven sales up 5% in your next issue. Move 3 readers along to the next stage in your sales cycle.

3) increase event participation
a) increase event attendance at your next event by 50 people.

Email Newsletter Usability

Identify How Your Email Newsletter Will Affect These Specific Goals

So you've done the work of identifying your broad goals and the specifics of the related goals. You know that without these specific goals you'll be unable to reach your broader goals, which are really more like ideals than goals anyway. Now it's time for the fun part: identifying how you're going to start achieving these specifics while still serving the readers of your newsletter.

I recommend: Marketing with an e-newsletter (the email newsletter bible)

Build Long Term Relationships with Cilents and Prospects

1) I'm going to first focus on developing long term relationships with readers as measured by increasing open rates by 10% and content click throughs by 25 % in 3 months. There are several ways to affect this metric. a) Ask Your Readers What They'd Like to ReadOf course you have an agenda - you need to let people know of the successes your company has and all the events that readers can attend. You could find that you significantly increase your target metrics by adding a quick note in your newsletter to ask folks what they'd like to see more or less of. If your readers aren't responsive then consider calling up specific subscribers who you know personally.

I recommend: a) cont'd: Ask them directly what kinds of stuff would get them to open up your newsletter. Find a way to add a bit of what they requested and then track your metrics over the next several months to see what happens.

b) Grow the Conversation
Anytime you get an email response figure out how to work it into your newsletter. Show the subscribers that there is a readership community that has an impact on the newsletter and even your organization as a whole. Surveys are great for those readerships who aren't vocal by nature - you can also work in phone calls if you rarely get email responses. Anything to show that you're listening and responding. You will see the open rate metric creep up over time as you train readers to expect more interaction from others like them.

Build Long-Lasting Customer Relationships Via E-Mail

Increasing Cross-sales and Upselling

Now let's look at increasing cross-sales and upselling by 5% in your next issue. Here are a few strategies to consider:a) Reader-Targeted OfferNow that you've spent time tuning up your content by asking readers what they want to read you should have a better idea of how to write to them and what they're looking to read. This will give you clues towards messaging, what kind of incentive will get them moving (price drop vs. special gift), and even an idea of where to place the offer. The more you know the better your aim.

I recommend: b) Testimonials in Your Newsletter
If you're a service company there may be a way to make these testimonials into case studies. Either way, showing the effects of affiliating with your organization could be a deciding factor for those readers who are on the fence about giving you their money.

c) Specialized Landing Pages
If you're serious about converting readers to your offers you should consider creating more customized landing pages where they can learn more about what you're selling. An added benefit is that you can use these pages as paid search landing pages as well.

E-Mail Newsletters That Sell

How to Increase Sales With a Customer Newsletter (requires free login)

Increasing Attendance of Your Local Events

3) So if you're working to drive attendance to local events you're going to have to get a little more creative with your efforts, and it may be tough to separate out people who you incented to attend versus the folks who would have gone anyways. Here are a couple of quick ideas though for tracking and increasing event attendance.

I recommend: a) Drink (or other gift) Coupons/Code in the Email Newsletter
If your list is small enough you could consider a printable coupon for your subscribers. If you can, be at the booth where you hand out the gifts so that you can capture new newsletter subscribers. Consider giving away your prize to folks who sign up for your newsletter too.

b) Photograph and Briefly Interview Event Attendees
Ask your readers to come and introduce themselves to you at the next event so that you can put their picture in the next issue. This isn't going to appeal to everyone, but for a few it will be a big deal, and nothing gets folks opening up an email newsletter like the chance to see their own smiling face next to their name and the name of their organization.

SEMINAR PLANNING AND MARKETING: SEVEN TIPS TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE

15 Beer Budget Event Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

Measure Reader Response and Adjust Accordingly

Your email newsletter improvement loop closes with the measurement of your efforts. By benchmarking and following the metrics that relate to your goals you'll be able to see how your efforts are affecting your organization's overall goals. It's vital that you have patience though - especially if you publish monthly - as it often takes several months before you start to see an increase in your target metrics.

I recommend: Email Marketing Metrics
Testing and email marketing
Email Open Rates Guide

Extend the Value of Your Content

Syndicating and republishing your newsletter's how-to content can help you to maximize the time you spend writing it. Conduct searches to see if there are industry publications seeking content in your space. If so, query the editors. You might also consider looking for article distribution services.

I recommend: Article Marketing

Email marketing tracking software has revolutionized the way marketing is done today. Email marketing and tracking has allowed companies to gain access to and garner a whole customer or client base that before simply wasn't possible.

Email tracking software allows you to track an e-mail along its path — information about when it was read, how long it remained open and in what part of the world it was read, is at your fingertips. Learn more about systems for tracking email marketing campaigns with targeted email marketing tracking software education and training. Consider the following suggestions:

1. Enroll in courses that teach web marketing basics such as how to track an email marketing campaign.

2. Take advantage of training offered by providers of email marketing tracking software.

3. Subscribe to newsletters that discuss techniques used to track email marketing and other related web marketing industry tactics.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Enroll in courses that cover email marketing and tracking techniques

Courses that teach email marketing and tracking technique basics can offer a great educational foundation for those new to the web marketing industry, or for those who are looking to refresh their skills by learning about new technologies perhaps not available when the industry first got under way.

I recommend: The eMarketing Association offers an online course on advanced e-mail marketing.

Take advantage of training offered by providers of email marketing tracking software

Training offered by email marketing and tracking software vendors offers users the advantage of training on software that is already installed in their place of work. Vendor training is a great way to maximize the efficiencies by identifying nuances in your software programs that you may not have known existed.

I recommend: Constant Contact offers webinars and online tutorials to help users learn more about its e-mail tracking software. ExactTarget offers onsite training, webinars and self-paced training programs to teach users about its e-mail marketing software.

Subscribe to newsletters that discuss and report on email marketing and tracking

Online newsletters are a great way to keep tabs on breakthroughs in technology and to learn about trendsetters in the industry. They are also a great way to learn more about specific email marketing tracking software providers.

I recommend: Subscribe to Taming The Beast's newsletter for reviews and articles about software for tracking marketing campaigns. Wilson Internet Services' online newsletter contains articles, links and resources about e-commerce and web marketing.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Try the self-teaching approach by signing up for free trials offered by many email marketing tracking software vendors. These free trials will let you play with the software, figure out if it is something that could benefit your business and help you narrow down which provider suits your business needs.

Email marketing tracking software is a program that will allow the sending of emails to a specific intended audience, then track and analyze the success of the emails. Through email marketing campaigns using these programs, businesses can send out news and promotional materials and provide inexpensive means of advertising. A good program should also store customer contact information and communication history. Keep the following email marketing tracking software key terms in mind as essential features when searching for the right program.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Bulk email software

Bulk email software is the same as broadcasting email software, which are programs that are used to send out a mass email.

I recommend: Get a better understanding of bulk email software by exploring a basic one like SendBlaster, which is completely free.

Tracking

Tracking is an important feature offered with email marketing software that allows marketing emails to be tracked throughout the process of being received, opened, read and deleted.

I recommend: Read about the benefits of tracking marketing campaign emails in-depth at Live Software.

List owner

A list owner is a business that owns opt-in bulk email lists. They make money renting them out for periods of time or selling them completely to be used for email marketing campaigns.

I recommend: Read about renting versus buying email lists for marketing campaigns at Email Marketing Reports.

Opt-in

Opt-in is when the recipient of an email has signed up, provided email contact information and agreed to terms of the email marketing campaign; the opposite is opt-out, which is when a recipient has requested to be removed from a list.

I recommend: Learn about the benefits of getting customers to opt-in to email lists at Entrepreneurs-Journey.com.

Subscriber

A subscriber is a customer that was a recipient of an email, and opted-in to receiving news from an email marketing campaign by providing personal contact information and email addresses.

I recommend: Visit the website of AWeber Communications to read about what a subscriber is worth to a business.

Autoresponder

Autoresponder, or autoresponse email, is a feature that sends out automated email messages only as responses to specific actions, such as subscription verifications or order receipts.

I recommend: Discover exactly how autoresponder software works by taking advantage of a free demonstration at 1AutomationWiz.