Opt-in email marketing is a significant experience for both the prospect and the seller.

“For the prospect, [opt-in email marketing is] important because they’ll be receiving emails about products or services they’ll likely be interested in,” Scarlett said. “For the seller, it’s important because email marketing is a low-cost, time-efficient, easily scalable way to market their products or services.”

Another reason an opt-in email process is valuable is that it means a website’s customers and visitors are aware you’re collecting their information, acknowledging this through an opt-in form, according to Katie Melissa, owner and founder of Elite Automation LLC.

“By agreeing to an opt-in prompt, it means the user is accepting and consenting to receiving future emails from you and handing over their email address and potentially other data being captured,” she said.

Scarlett also noted that the list of opt-in email marketing benefits is seemingly endless, but money, connections and higher engagement opportunities are among the most significant.

FYI: The opt-in email process means website customers and visitors know and accept that they’ll be receiving future emails, and there’s a good chance they’re interested in the company’s products and services.

Money and connections

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

As an industry-agnostic agency, my team and I are constantly running up against components of our campaigns that we, frankly, know nothing about. Every industry — every client, really — demands a custom campaign to some degree, and often optimizing campaigns to a client will bring up something that we weren’t prepared for.

When this happens, sometimes, the best answer is to call in a freelancer.

My marketing peers seem to be split entirely down the middle on the topic of freelancers — some swear by them and have a strong corps of freelancers that make up the majority of their agency. Others have never even courted a freelancer and dismiss it as “too much extra work.” Like most things, the answer is somewhere in between.

In my opinion, you need to have some solidity to run a functioning agency. If everyone working for you is there on a freelance basis, you’re going to have a constantly shifting talent pool that, while composed of many capable workers, will indeed become a hassle to maintain. But then again, sometimes a job calls for some outside help, either because you need an expert or just another hand for support.

In my opinion, any potential hassle is outweighed by the benefits of working with freelancers. Here’s why. 

Bringing on a freelancer minimizes stress

When you’re hiring a freelancer or virtual employee, it comes with the territory that you’re getting somebody efficient, communicative, and capable of meeting deadlines. Freelancer’s careers live and die by their ability to manage themselves — if they can’t turn around quality work on time, that’s going to catch up with them sooner rather than later.

Experienced and professional virtual employees and freelancers understand that you hired them with the expectation they can handle themselves. If you wanted someone to micromanage, you would have hired for an on-location position. You brought them on to have fewer headaches, not more, and to a large extent, every freelancer will understand that. If you get somebody with significant freelancing experience, they’ll understand how to approach a project effectively without needing you to hold their hand — after all, their livelihood depends on it.

Related: Here are the Advantages of Working as a Freelancer

Freelancers provide a higher quality of work

Because of the fickle nature of the business, successful freelancers don’t mess around: they deliver what you’re asking for, sometimes better than your own employees will. This isn’t a knock against having a permanent staff, but rather a reason why it might be a smart idea to bring on an experienced temporary employee for projects that have a lot riding on them.

If you run an agency or any other client-based business, you’ll understand a freelancer’s mentality. They’re running their own business, just like you are. And just like you, they rely on renewing contracts, happy clients and recurring projects to stay afloat. For a freelancer, nothing is guaranteed, so they take nothing for granted less they risk their reputation or professional opportunities. 

Most importantly, a freelancer is more likely to be a specialist in a specific area than a member of your staff. A single employee rarely possesses the skills to master several key tasks. Like most people, they probably have one specialty and a toolbelt of other skills they’re decent at. So when you don’t have an expert on staff, hiring freelancers puts you in a position where you can bring someone on to help finish a task, but you’re not stuck with them if the need for their skillset never comes up again.

Unless you’re hiring them to handle overflow tasks, freelancers usually market themselves on their specialties. They’ll have years of experience in project management or email marketing or Facebook dynamic ads. Using my own business as an example, building or redeveloping a client’s website is a service we offer, but not one I’m keen on and not one my permanent staff know anything about. For that occasion, I have a freelancer I use who’s a UX designer that can meet the client’s needs as far as websites go. He’s low-touch and delivers things on time, taking any worries about that portion of the project off my shoulders.

Related: How to Make Yourself Indispensable as a Freelancer

Freelancers save you money

Facts are facts: Bringing on freelancers instead of full-time employees will save you money — even in places you don’t expect.

First, you save money through the time cycled back into your day with a freelance employee. There’s minimal to no training involved as most freelancers are experts in their field, so you save potentially weeks of time just by skipping that process. Second, you save money because you’re not paying for a freelancer’s benefits and they’re only part of the team for a limited time.

Finally, they save you space and assets. A virtual employee will have their own setup and workspace so they won’t be taking up a desk or part of what may be already limited office supplies. Especially if you’re just starting out, use freelancers. It will help to eliminate the costs and inefficiencies that stand in the way of long-term growth.

Though it might be a little scary upfront to find people you’re willing to bring on board, once you work with enough freelancers you’ll start to build out a solid network of people you can call on for special projects. Every marketer I know puts a lot of effort into securing partners from PR companies, SEO companies, advertising companies and more. Building a relationship with different freelancers is no different — if you grow and nurture the connection, it will pay off.

Related: 6 Steps to Becoming a Successful Freelancer

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Christan Duncan co-founded his company 11 years ago, and has made sure it never stops evolving.

As Duncan’s tastes have changed, his Atlanta-based clothing brand Honor Roll Clothing has continually sold different types of products. Even as you change to meet the needs of the future, always have a way to remind yourself of your brand’s core values, he advises. 

At a Fast Company Innovation Festival event, Duncan and David Rusenko, general manager of e-commerce at Square (the sponsor of the talk) shared how you can prepare now to get sales in the future.  

Merge digital and in person experiences

Many restaurants added QR code-enabled menus after re-opening for in-person dining during the pandemic. Push yourself to mix digital experiences further with in-person, Rusenko advises. For example, you could have customers use QR codes not only to review the menu, but also submit orders.

When you’re looking to improve or bolster your tech, you don’t have to go far. Hire a consultant, find a better system online, and check out YouTube. It’s “a whole university out there for us,” Duncan says. 

More texting and podcasting 

For a long time, businesses established the terms for interactions with customers. Banks are a great example: Their hours are “the most inconvenient for anyone but very convenient for the bank,” Rusenko jokes. Now, customers expect to be met wherever they are–email, text, phone, Instagram–at any time. Duncan saw that firsthand with his brand after the pandemic hit and canceled its primary revenue driver, events. 

His team realized that to make sales, they needed more contact with customers. Honor Roll doubled down on email marketing and asked consumers if they would like to be texted. Then, the brand started connecting with consumers in less sales-driven ways–such as sending a text to check out the brand’s new playlist. “The challenge is then what am I gonna put in front of my customers that isn’t just ‘Buy something’?” he says. Another way Honor Roll solved for that: Creating a podcast to help build its brand, which also pushed revenue. 

Keep and hone your voice

The pandemic helped Honor Roll “take a step back and think about how can we sell the brand instead of just selling a hoodie or a T-shirt or a jacket,” Duncan says. Stepping back also helped the company stay connected to its mission, even as it expanded its online presence and other communication verticals. 

The most important thing, Rusenko adds, for future-proofing your business is standing out among the hundreds of email communications and sales asks people get all day. Ask yourself what you’re going to say next to your customers, “and do it in a way that’s not boring,” he says. 

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An outreach campaign can be a double-edged sword. When you dedicate the time and effort to prepare them properly, cold emails can be a valid and effective method for connecting with new people within an industry or sector. However, if you don’t apply the right formula, you can end up in the spam bin and your reputation can suffer.

Segmentation is key when trying to achieve the right formula for outreach campaigns. Let’s see how this pivotal ingredient solves some of the biggest challenges of cold emailing and how to start segmenting your cold email lists.

Difficulties of Cold Emailing

When it comes to cold emailing, one of the primary concerns for salespeople is being a “spammer.” This is somewhat justified because sloppy outbound will rarely have positive results.

The good news? Using the right techniques and tools for cold email has verified effectiveness.

To find some logic in the way people filter their emails, take a look at your own personal inbox: it probably has promotional emails, social media notifications, newsletters, and maybe a number of emails you don’t immediately recognize.

Now ask yourself three questions:

1. Which ones are the first ones that your “anti-spam” instinct tells you to delete without opening?This first group of emails you delete has either a bad subject line (unclear or deceptive) or a suspicious sender, most likely both.

2. Which ones will you report as spam?You’ll probably take the time to report spam emails that you’ve received one too many times and/or the ones with a misleading subject line that had nothing to do with the content of the email or with you.

3. Which ones will you click on?You’ll probably read and click on those that offered you some value.

There are several resources online about best practices for crafting the subject line of a cold email. However, it’s much trickier to offer value to those on your email list. To send out a cold email with relevant content, you must have accurate information about your recipient and the right segmentation in place.

What is segmentation?

Segmentation refers to the process through which salespeople and marketers group different types of customers. Even within very targeted markets, there’s room for segmentation.

For instance, if you are selling an application for writers, you may discover that your software is very useful for scriptwriters, journalists, fiction writers, and bloggers. Each one of these groups has its own characteristics and looks for a unique set of features and purchases in different places. That means you have to talk to each one of them in a personalized way.

Segmenting makes all the difference when it comes to email engagement. Remember the “typical inbox” we talked about? Your potential customers are constantly being bombarded by dozens of messages, so what will make them open your email is the value that you offer specifically to them.

Recipients are 75% more likely to click on emails from segmented campaigns than non-segmented ones. That’s why marketers typically segment their email lists to tailor messages according to their leads and customers’ characteristics.

A precise goal should be the starting point of segmentation. For instance, if your goal is to reach out to potential real estate buyers in a specific area, you should try to group your contacts according to their location. If you also have information about the type of property they could be searching for, you could further refine that segmentation. The more data you have, the better.

How to Get Started With Email Segmentation

1. Personalize your emails.

When someone has already expressed interest or given you some information, it gets easier to segment your email marketing lists.

For example, you can personalize the name and other details by using personalization tokens. These are small pieces of code you can use to personalize your email campaigns.

But what about cold emailing? If they’ve never connected with you, what type of segmentation can you apply?

Even if you don’t have that much data about the people you are reaching out to, there are some basic characteristics you might have access to that make all the difference. Try to have at least two of the following before you segment your audience:

• First name
• Company name
• Location
• Industry
• Level of experience
• Area of expertise

The more details you have, the better, but if you have at least two of these, you can segment and prepare personalized messages for each of the groups you end up with. Offering personalization in your communication directly influences the value of your messages.

2. Be honest and transparent.

Another important element when writing your cold email is honesty: be straightforward about what you offer and what you’ll provide. Don’t make false promises.

For example, a subject line saying “Congratulations! You are the winner” might get more opening rates, but if they open your email to see you are actually offering something completely different, they’ll be disappointed – and less likely to trust your brand.

In their book “Predictable Revenue,” Aaron Ross and Marylou Tyler expressed the importance of honesty in cold emailing: “Do you really want to start the relationship off with a lie? If you are a CEO or sales manager, don’t allow or encourage anything that erodes integrity.”

When setting up your first cold email campaign, you might want to have some references. It’s recommended to see examples of successful cold email campaigns. However, avoid using the same “free templates” everyone else is using – remember, the point is to make it unique and personal.

3. Analyze results and send follow-up messages as needed.

With email marketing, practice makes perfect. If your first attempt to reach out to cold leads didn’t work as you expected, analyze the results. Who opened the email? Who clicked on it? Follow-up emails can be quite effective, especially if you have a system in place where you can subsegment your recipients according to the results of the first attempt.

For example, if you sent out your email to 1,000 people and only 20 answered, but 200 clicked on it, you might still have a chance with that last group. They’ve become “less cold leads.” Make sure they receive a good follow-up email to create more engagement.

4. Automate segmentation.

Segment. Make it personal and valuable, but don’t make it manual. Manually segmenting or following up with your emailing list is time-consuming and inaccurate.

It’s normal to have different sources or business tools collecting the contact information that you need to fill out your lists. But if you are thinking about a CSV file, you are going to waste time and run the risk of making errors.

Automation platforms provide you with in-app integrations and third-party solutions to synchronize your contacts’ information between business tools. That way, you don’t have to worry about out-of-date information or importing/exporting data.

In some cases, you can even make sure that the segmentation you created in one application using tags, categories, labels, or any type of attribute is in sync with your other business application. This type of synchronization works in the background, so you can set it up once and your data will always be up-to-date and available in the right place.

Another process you might want to automate is follow-up emails. You’ll be surprised by how easy it is to create automatic email sequences.

Contact Segmentation & Cold Emailing

There are two inseparable aspects of being a salesperson: the need to offer a personal connection and the challenge of doing it with technology. The key to connecting with people through technology is personalization, and for that, segmentation is necessary.

Segmentation will help you create valuable and honest messages for your contacts. It requires effort, but your contacts will thank you and you’ll see the results reflected in your engagement rate.

Finally, though “automation” may sound contrary to personalization, it’s actually a good practice and an efficient way to segment your data.

To give your outreach strategy a boost, automate your customer data syncing between your apps for an accurate and enriched view of your prospects.

Originally published Oct 1, 2021 10:48:19 AM, updated October 01 2021

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Disclaimer

HubSpot Inc. published this content on 01 October 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 01 October 2021 15:11:04 UTC.

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The integration will provide VRMCs with valuable guest insights enabling them to market smarter and increase revenue

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SendSquared (sendsquared.com), a data and communications platform for the hospitality industry, announced today it has partnered with Barefoot Technologies, a vacation rental management (VRM) software provider. The collaboration will integrate SendSquared’s guest insights and communications technology with Barefoot’s VRM capabilities to provide vacation rental management companies (VRMCs) with tools to take guest communications to the next level.

The announcement was made at the 2021 Barefoot User Conference, taking place Sept. 30–Oct. 2 in San Antonio, Texas, where SendSquared is a sponsor.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Barefoot, a company that has been a leader in vacation rental technology solutions for over 20 years,” said Nicolas Wegener, CEO of SendSquared. “Our collaboration will make advanced data and marketing tools accessible to the vacation rental industry at every touchpoint of the guest journey.”

The partnership will provide Barefoot’s users with leading edge marketing tools that yield valuable customer insights enabling them to market smarter to guests, increase revenue, and provide superior customer service—all from a single, affordable solution.

“Barefoot has always focused first on its clients’ needs,” said Ed Ulmer, president of Barefoot Technologies. “Our partnership with SendSquared will provide our clients with augmented communication tools that enhance relationship management for guests, owners and vendors.”

About SendSquared
Founded in 2018 and based in the Twin Cities, SendSquared provides an all-in-one communication platform for the hospitality industry that facilitates email marketing, SMS, Voice, CRM, and more to help resorts and hospitality organizations grow by building strong customer relationships and increasing direct bookings. SendSquared is trusted by more than 100 leading resorts, hoteliers, and VRMCs. For more information or to demo SendSquared, follow us on Twitter, Linkedin, and our blog.

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About Barefoot
Vacation rental management companies want to provide the best experiences for their guests and owners. Whether you are an experienced property manager with hundreds of properties or an enterprising startup, Barefoot provides an affordable and tailorable property management system that includes all the accounting, operations and booking components that you need. And, with direct integrations to platforms, you can drive bookings easily, leaving you free to provide the best rental experiences for guests with concierge services and retain owners with client-for-life strategies. We are here to help you grow your business your way. For more information or to demo Barefoot, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and our website.

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Shiny Celebi is being distributed in Pokémon Sword & Shield to celebrate the release of the Jungle Movie. Here is how players can claim it.

Shiny Celebi is finally making its way over to Pokemon Sword & Shield. This mythical Pokemon is amongst one of the rarest to exist in the series. Originally making its debut in Pokemon Gold and Silver, players were only able to obtain Celebi through a special event that unlocked the GS Ball item. It has appeared in multiple mainline titles since then, but its Shiny form has been reserved strictly for Pokemon Go, until now.

This event is finally happening to celebrate the release of the newest Pokemon movie, Secrets of the Jungle. This film is finally getting its English dub for a Netflix release this upcoming October. The film features the Forest of Okoya, a Pokemon paradise that is forbidden to outsiders. Koko, a human boy who was raised by the Mythical Pokemon, Zarude finally meets his first human with an encounter with series veteran, Ash Ketchum. This film is the introduction of Zarude in the Pokemon series. The film also features a Shiny Celebi that acts as the guardian of the forest.

Related: Pokémon Sword & Shield: 6 Best Areas To Explore For Fire-Types

To celebrate the release of the film, players will be able to claim this Shiny Celebi for their own. The Celebi itself will be level 60 with the ability Natural Cure and the moves Magical Leaf, Future Sight, Life Dew, and Heal Ball. Here’s how players can claim this legendary Pokemon.

How To Get Shiny Celebi in Pokemon Sword & Shield

To claim this legendary Pokemon, players will need to sign up for the Pokemon Trainer Club newsletter,r and opt into email marketing by September 25th. After the deadline, players will receive a special email with the passcode to claim the Shiny Celebi. To claim it, just boot up Pokemon Sword and Shield and head over to the pause menu. Select the Mystery Gift option, and claim the code that was provided in the email. Players will then be treated to a short animation of Shiny Celebi’s arrival. Players can now add this legendary Pokemon to their collection.

Zarude will also be making its way to Pokemon Sword & Shield through similar methods. This will be the first time this Pokemon has made its debut officially within the United States. It was extremely exclusive in the past since it was only released across seas. Now, players from all around the world can have their own Zarude and Shiny Celebi.

More: Pokémon Sword & Shield: 10 Best Areas To Explore For Dark-Types

Pokemon Sword and Shield are available now on the Nintendo Switch.

Mask Writer Claims Dark Horse Adapted His Work Without Telling Him

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Sky Flores
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Sky Flores is a writer and game player based out of New York City. His hobbies consist of creating content on YouTube and streaming video games on Twitch. His online alias is @SkywardWing.

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What’s hot? What’s not? What works? What is on the way out? What is the latest in the world of B2B Marketing?

We may not have all the answers, but we’ve done some research, called on some great sources, and compiled a list of B2B marketing stats for 2022 and beyond.

If you need to convince your C-suite or manager to set aside money, time, or other resources for your B2B marketing efforts, these stats should help.

B2B, or B-to-B, or BtoB Marketing: General Stats

A large majority, 73% to be exact, of B2B buyers involved in doing research and making the decision are millennials and over 1/3 are the sole decision-maker. (Source: HBR)

B2B vendors are behind when it comes to meeting the needs of millennials who are B2B buyers. For example, 21% of millennials look to analyst rankings and reports as part of their decision-making process. (Source: TrustRadius)

Research shows that 76% of B2B organizations have created a formal marketing plan. It’s also surprising that almost 25% don’t have a formal marketing plan. (WebFX)

90% of customers start their B2B buying journey with an online search. (Dialogtech)

B2B buyers are more than halfway (57%) through the purchase process when they finally reach out to a potential vendor. (WebFX)

In the B2B space, 56% of B2B firms are incorporating digital marketing. (WebFX)

Digital marketing makes up 44% of the marketing spend by B2B firms. (WebFX)

B2B buyers read more than 10 pieces of content before they make a decision to purchase. (99 Firms)

A large chunk, 70%, of B2B buyers and decision-makers prefer remote or digital interactions with vendors. (99 Firms)

The average buyer’s journey for B2B products and services lasts up to 4 months for almost 75% of purchasers. (99 Firms)

Is Search Engine Optimization Still Relevant?

SEO is very relevant for marketers. In fact, 64% of marketers actively spend time working on search engine optimization. (Source: HubSpot)

SEO > Organic Social Media, as it drives 1,000% more website traffic than just posting to social media. (Source: HubSpot)

In recent studies of B2B buyers, 49% said they use Google’s search engine to find a new item or product. (Source: HubSpot)

According to a recent poll, 70% of those surveyed stated that SEO generates more sales than PPC. (Source: HubSpot)

Does Content Marketing for B2B Get Results?

Before contacting a salesperson, an average of 41% of B2B buyers read 3-5 pieces of content. (Source: DemandGenReport)

In a recent CMI study, 70% of respondents stated the pandemic significantly impacted their content strategy, both in the short-term and the long-term. (Source: CMI)

Since the pandemic started, 33% of B2B buyers spend more time researching products than prior to the pandemic. (Source: TrustRadius)

77% of B2B firms have a content marketing strategy. (Source: HubSpot)

Almost 70% of B2B buyers find and consume content directly from a vendor’s website. (99 Firms)

Once they’ve read a vendor’s content, 52% of B2B purchases said they are “definitely” more likely to buy from that vendor. (Source: Backlinko)

Wondering if Your B2B Website Design Is Current?

More than 63% of millennials say they prefer live chats for communicating/interacting with brands (Source: Magellan)

An overwhelming majority, 90%, of B2B buyers research between 2 to 7 websites prior to making a purchase decision. (Source: Dialogtech)

To Email or Not to Email, Is That Your Question?

The number one email marketing tactic used to improve engagement is email message personalization. (Source: HubSpot)

Segmented email campaigns can increase revenue by up to 760%, according to recent studies. (Source: HubSpot)

Of email recipients who open an email on a mobile device, 25% will open it again. (Source: HubSpot)

B2B Marketing Takeaways for the Future

Unless there is a significant technological innovation in the next year, the majority of avenues for B2B marketing will remain the same. However, how marketers leverage those avenues will change and the resources allocated to those avenues will likely increase. Understanding how your target B2B buyer wants your brand to engage with them is essential. Doing marketing according to what is comfortable for your brand won’t be effective anymore.

Sources:

HBR: https://hbr.org/2018/03/how-digital-natives-are-changing-b2b-purchasing

HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics

MarTechAlliance: https://www.martechalliance.com/stories/b2b-marketing-stats-and-trends-for-2021

WebFX: https://www.webfx.com/blog/marketing/b2b-marketing-statistics/

99 Firms: https://99firms.com/blog/b2b-marketing-statistics/#gref

Dialogtech: https://www.dialogtech.com/blog/b2b-marketing-statistics/

Backlinko: https://backlinko.com/b2b-marketing-stats

TrustRadius: https://www.trustradius.com/vendor-blog/b2b-buying-disconnect-2021

DemandGenReport: https://www.demandgenreport.com/resources/reports/2019-content-preferences-survey-report/

Content Marketing Institute: https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/b2b-2021-research-final.pdf

Magellan: https://www.magellan-solutions.com/blog/live-chat-statistics-2020/

Author: Jeremy Durant

Follow @BopDesignSD

Jeremy is the Business Principal of Bop Design, a B2B marketing and web design & development firm based in San Diego, CA. Jeremy builds relationships with B2B businesses and entrepreneurs in need of a marketing and branding strategy, helping them to develop their unique value proposition and ideal customer… View full profile ›

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