I’ve been at Benchmark Email for over two years now. It’s very rare that I bring my own lunch. I do from time to time, but for the most part I enjoy the 30 minute vacation from the office every day. There is only a finite amount of options to pick from. I often grow tired of my selection. A few weeks ago I tweeted that I wished sometimes I’d receive a well-crafted email campaign to make my lunch selection for me. My indecision today made me realize how much I really meant it.
Segmenting your email lists by location should not be difficult. Live Nation sends me concert info for every state I’ve ever seen a show in. I sign up for email lists habitually. Mostly out of professional curiosity and a desire to have something to compliment or critique in a blog. Sometimes I wish I’d open up my inbox and find something so enticing I know immediately what I want for lunch that day. Is that too much to ask?
All it would take is asking for your subscriber’s zip codes during the signup process. Groupon does it, why can’t you? Lunch spots aren’t the only places that should be taking advantage of this. Say you’re a movie theater or laser tag and you see rain on the weather report in one of your key markets. Invite your subscribers to seek shelter inside with a special promotion. Nothing but blue skies? Campaigns to rent bikes by the beach or camping gear would certainly get my attention.
There are a few points mixed into my post-lunch, pre-afternoon nap rant. One is the importance of email segmentation. You don’t want to invite your Midwestern subscribers to enjoy their weekend on a camping trip when there’s still snow on the ground. Good, targeted email campaigns can reach your subscribers when their minds might even be on the very subject of your email. That segues nicely into the second point: When you’re sending your campaigns. A sub place would do much better sending me an email just before lunch than if it were sent in the middle of the night. It’s also important to be constantly considering how any situation can be an email campaign. I know I’ve written the weekly newsletter on everything from the weather to the Oscars and Mad Men.
Keep your eyes and ears open always. Many of my blogs, including this one, are inspired by what I hear on the radio or get lost in thought about on my lunch break. Perhaps it’s a tweet or Facebook comment that gets my brain in gear. Taking into consideration what your subscribers want to be reading and when will help you in your efforts for segmentation, opens and successful email marketing.
