Blog
By Michael Chuchvara
May 22nd, 2013
When it comes to sending email campaigns, the experts at MailChimp caution “more is not always better.”
Common sense would suggest that sending emails more and more frequently would proportionately raise the odds of the recipient opening, reading, and clicking. While this may work for certain one-and-done events, such as political campaigns, it will tend to degrade engagement over the long run. According to MailChimp, this is because the relationship is not linear, but more like a bell curve; there comes a point when increasing the frequency too much will start to negatively affect user engagement.
The key is to find that “sweet spot” where frequency and engagement are at maximum synergy. Which begs the question: how does one determine said sweet spot?
Well, for those of you mathematically inclined, you can peruse MailChimp’s blog and see how they came up with their formula for measuring optimal frequency. For the rest of us, here are some practical tips from TheMarketingBit:
- Know your industry. Certain sectors—such as technology and financial—generate a lot of topical news and are naturally more conducive to frequent communication than those sectors that are less “volatile.”
- Know your audience. Are they a rabid bunch, or more passive in nature? Hobbyists such as golfers, bikers, and gamers will probably be more tolerant of frequent emails than customers who opted-in to a more seasonal commodity (real estate, holiday shopping, landscaping).
- Pay attention to the warning signs. Unsubscribe rates trending higher? This is usually a good sign your customers are starting to feel “abused.” Time to dial down the frequency a notch or two.
- Don’t be afraid to tweak your methodology. Like a great chef who is continually experimenting with his or her recipes, go ahead and try different mailing frequencies to different segments of your list. HubSpot has a good article on how to set-up your own field test to collect useful and accurate data.
Since there so many variables at play, there is no one-size-fits-all solution that will work in all instances, but a little bit of experimentation and common sense will go a long way to help you find your frequency sweet spot.
Drop us a line. We’d love to hear about your experiences with email sending frequency.
Posted in Advertising Tips, Email Marketing, Web Analytics
By Andie Moody
May 15th, 2013
The Evangelical Press Association recently hosted their 2013 conference, where they gave Awards of Excellence to whole publications and Higher Goals Awards for specific pieces.
Christianity Today took home a total of 42 awards. CEO Harold Smith said, “On receiving this wonderful news, I am again humbled by an extraordinary team whose pursuit of excellence is undimmed.”
Awards of Excellence or Merit were given to Christianity Today, Books & Culture, Leadership Journal, Church Law & Tax Report, Church Finance Today, SmallGroups.com, ManagingYourChurch.com, BuildingChurchLeaders.com, and Kyria.com (now TodaysChristianWoman.com). Additionally many pieces across different CT publications received Higher Goals Awards, such as “From Powerlifter to Powerless,” by Kathleen Anderson, which won first place in the General Article: Medium category.
Click here for more information on Christianity Today’s awards. Click to see the EPA’s full list of Awards of Excellence and Higher Goals winners.
Posted in Company News
By Andie Moody
May 8th, 2013
For our May advertising spotlight, we are featuring Grand Rapids Theological Seminary’s (GRTS) Talking Points Conference banner. This banner, which ran in February to advertise the March event, had a click-through rate nine times higher than the industry standard.
What makes this banner work:
1. Audience. This ad is a perfect example of successful audience targeting. Talking Points is an annual conference where speakers present biblical and theological lectures on a certain issue, so it naturally appeals to Christian thought leaders. This made it a perfect fit for our Influential Christian Leaders audience, appearing on sites in our Thought Leaders Website Bundle.
2. Aesthetics. The artwork for this ad is not only beautiful, but also perfectly tuned to the conference’s topic. Using a subtle background that alludes to Michaelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” and overlaying shapes that suggest the relationship between God and man, GRTS clearly communicates the theme of creation. This artistic aesthetic appeals to the intellectual audience being targeted. Finally, the ad’s pastel, subtle design makes it unique and eye-catching.
3. Simplicity. There are many more elements that GRTS could have included such as speakers’ photos, location, cost, or the seminary’s name. The basic information is there, but the banner doesn’t give everything away. This touch of mystery makes the call to action even more appealing. The audience is probably familiar with Cornerstone University (of which GRTS is part), which they see in the URL, and perhaps with Talking Points. Pairing the aesthetically-established theme with name recognition, they’ve given their target audience everything necessary to be interested. Based on what is provided, viewers will know if they want more information, and all it takes is a simple click to find out more.
Congratulations on a successful campaign, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary.
Posted in Advertiser Spotlight, Advertising Tips
By Michael Chuchvara
March 26th, 2013
Believe it or not, keyword advertising has been around since the mid-90’s. Internet lore has it that keyword advertising was born when Chip Royce of the online marketing firm InterZine suggested the idea to Yahoo! back in ‘96. It’s been going strong ever since with the likes of Google AdWords, Microsoft AdCenter, Looksmart, and the afore mentioned Yahoo!
Keyword advertising doesn’t refer to a single technique, but is a blanket term for any advertising that is linked to specific words or phrases searched for, or found on, the web. The goal is to deliver “targeted” advertising that increases the likelihood of user interaction.
Some of the more popular forms of keyword advertising include:
- Search-based. Exemplified by providers such as Google AdWords, this method displays targeted advertising as a result of words typed into a search box. If a user were to enter the phrase “Honda Accord” in a search window, ads for local car dealerships might be displayed along with the search results.
- Content-based. This method is based on page content rather than search results. Ads are displayed depending on keywords found in articles, blogs, emails, and other page-related content. For example, people exchanging email about coffee might see and ad for Starbucks displayed in their browsers.
- In-text placement. Utilizes hyper-links embedded within the text of an article. When a user clicks on these links, it launches a pop-up ad relevant to the topic.
CT has launched its own unique version of keyword advertising. An advertiser’s banner ad is tied to one of 14 contextual words or phrases found in online articles. This contextual keyword is then associated with a cluster of “secondary” words or phrases to maximize the context even further. If, for example, a client chooses the keyword “Bible” all CT articles containing the word Bible (and/or any of the other 14 secondary keywords such as “New Testament, Old Testament, life of Jesus, etc.) will display the advertiser’s banner ad on those pages. This insures that the reader is exposed to advertising specifically related to their topic of interest, and greatly increases the likelihood they will interact with the ad.
One of the common hurdles advertisers can face is the selection of effective keywords to trigger their ads. CT has taken the guesswork out of this process by providing potential advertisers with pertinent “clusters” of keywords specifically tailored to CT’s content. See a list of our keywords and find out more about what CT keyword advertising has to offer.
Sources: Wikepedia; wiseGeek
Posted in Online Advertising
By Michael Chuchvara
February 6th, 2013
Print ad from Lego’s “Imagine” campaign
As you’ve probable noticed, we here at CT are strong proponents of the relevancy and efficacy of the printed word. Especially when it comes to print advertising.
Seems we’re not the only ones.
In a recent article for USA Today entitled: “Don’t write off print ads just yet”, journalist and media-guru Michael Wolff explains why he still believes print advertising to be relevant and necessary in today’s marketplace, and why a “written world” is more effective than an “un-written” one…
“An unwritten world turns out to be a significantly less successful and less communicative place, where it is harder to make a message lasting and meaningful and, on top of that, harder to move merchandise.”
He points out that even in an agency environment where it is more lucrative to sell television and digital campaigns, heavy-hitters such as Apple, Lego, Google, and Harley Davidson still see the value of a strong print campaign and continue to invest heavily in them. What is it that these companies value about print that the rest of us seem to have forgotten? According to Wolff:
- An active reader is much more engaged with your message than a passive viewer.
- The effectiveness of a passive medium such as video, tends to become ever-less watched, fading into background noise (think “elevator music”).
- One image is more effective/memorable than many images.
- Strong print ads have a positive effect on the media they run in, and vice-versa.
- The explanatory effect of the written word is a much more effective sales technique than the passive stimulation of video.
So, while print may no longer be the most glamorous or most popular of the media sisters, she still remains the most literate and the most persuasive, greatly increasing the effectiveness of any media campaign.
Read Michael Wolff’s article.
Posted in Print Advertising
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When it comes to sending email campaigns, the experts at MailChimp caution “more is not always better.”
