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OK, it's been 5 days since I sent the email...
54% have opened it, 4 have checked the website using the links included, 4 have emailed wishing a Merry Christmas and excited about the new program for next year, 1 opt out. Many, many of the 'openers' have gone back on different days to look at the email again, which I think is good. They didn't just toss it out of hand.
So, if you pick the 'right' day, you get more openings, I would think. Most of the 54% opened the email within 8 hours.
Next time I try a different day of the week. And I may see more openings over the weekend, as more people check their personal email at home.
This has been an interesting experiment as I really thought more people would have opened it as they were, more or less, multiple repeats who like coming here. (Yeah, there was that one opt out exception, but she hasn't been here for 2 years.)
So, there you have my first try at 'mass marketing'! Hope this helps anyone else thinking of trying this out.
Obviously, if you have a different experience, it would be interesting to figure out why. I need to work on the email itself as it WAS a bit word-heavy and picture-light. The next one will be less wordy as this one was definitely targeted toward telling guests about a new program. The next one will be strictly 'here's what's happening and here's what we're offering.' Short and sweet, but different audience.
Forgot to mention that son of one of the guests who opened the email bought his parents a $300 GC on Wed, 2 days after the email went out..
Thanks for the report. And you have already prospered from it
thumbs_up.gif
.
Yes, I would think a weekend mailout may be better as then they head back to work on Monday and dream about being at YOUR place. I have a large % of bookings on Monday and Tuesday.
.
Copperhead said:
Thanks for the report. And you have already prospered from it
thumbs_up.gif
.
Yes, I would think a weekend mailout may be better as then they head back to work on Monday and dream about being at YOUR place. I have a large % of bookings on Monday and Tuesday.
Funny that the guy at the marketing seminar I just went to advised avoiding hitting anyone's email inbox on a Monday as it's '3 second dump day' so if they don't see an immediate subject line/value, your email is gone.
I've never done a report to see what day of the week guests book. Thanks for that heads up! Maybe they spend the weekend talking and one of them does the booking on Monday. I'll have to see if there's a report...
 
OK, it's been 5 days since I sent the email...
54% have opened it, 4 have checked the website using the links included, 4 have emailed wishing a Merry Christmas and excited about the new program for next year, 1 opt out. Many, many of the 'openers' have gone back on different days to look at the email again, which I think is good. They didn't just toss it out of hand.
So, if you pick the 'right' day, you get more openings, I would think. Most of the 54% opened the email within 8 hours.
Next time I try a different day of the week. And I may see more openings over the weekend, as more people check their personal email at home.
This has been an interesting experiment as I really thought more people would have opened it as they were, more or less, multiple repeats who like coming here. (Yeah, there was that one opt out exception, but she hasn't been here for 2 years.)
So, there you have my first try at 'mass marketing'! Hope this helps anyone else thinking of trying this out.
Obviously, if you have a different experience, it would be interesting to figure out why. I need to work on the email itself as it WAS a bit word-heavy and picture-light. The next one will be less wordy as this one was definitely targeted toward telling guests about a new program. The next one will be strictly 'here's what's happening and here's what we're offering.' Short and sweet, but different audience.
Forgot to mention that son of one of the guests who opened the email bought his parents a $300 GC on Wed, 2 days after the email went out..
Thanks for the report. And you have already prospered from it
thumbs_up.gif
.
Yes, I would think a weekend mailout may be better as then they head back to work on Monday and dream about being at YOUR place. I have a large % of bookings on Monday and Tuesday.
.
Copperhead said:
Thanks for the report. And you have already prospered from it
thumbs_up.gif
.
Yes, I would think a weekend mailout may be better as then they head back to work on Monday and dream about being at YOUR place. I have a large % of bookings on Monday and Tuesday.
Funny that the guy at the marketing seminar I just went to advised avoiding hitting anyone's email inbox on a Monday as it's '3 second dump day' so if they don't see an immediate subject line/value, your email is gone.
I've never done a report to see what day of the week guests book. Thanks for that heads up! Maybe they spend the weekend talking and one of them does the booking on Monday. I'll have to see if there's a report...
.
The marketing seminars I have attended have said Tuesday or Wednesday is best with Wednesday being the ultimate because it is "hump" day.
 
OK, it's been 5 days since I sent the email...
54% have opened it, 4 have checked the website using the links included, 4 have emailed wishing a Merry Christmas and excited about the new program for next year, 1 opt out. Many, many of the 'openers' have gone back on different days to look at the email again, which I think is good. They didn't just toss it out of hand.
So, if you pick the 'right' day, you get more openings, I would think. Most of the 54% opened the email within 8 hours.
Next time I try a different day of the week. And I may see more openings over the weekend, as more people check their personal email at home.
This has been an interesting experiment as I really thought more people would have opened it as they were, more or less, multiple repeats who like coming here. (Yeah, there was that one opt out exception, but she hasn't been here for 2 years.)
So, there you have my first try at 'mass marketing'! Hope this helps anyone else thinking of trying this out.
Obviously, if you have a different experience, it would be interesting to figure out why. I need to work on the email itself as it WAS a bit word-heavy and picture-light. The next one will be less wordy as this one was definitely targeted toward telling guests about a new program. The next one will be strictly 'here's what's happening and here's what we're offering.' Short and sweet, but different audience.
Forgot to mention that son of one of the guests who opened the email bought his parents a $300 GC on Wed, 2 days after the email went out..
Thanks for the report. And you have already prospered from it
thumbs_up.gif
.
Yes, I would think a weekend mailout may be better as then they head back to work on Monday and dream about being at YOUR place. I have a large % of bookings on Monday and Tuesday.
.
Copperhead said:
Thanks for the report. And you have already prospered from it
thumbs_up.gif
.
Yes, I would think a weekend mailout may be better as then they head back to work on Monday and dream about being at YOUR place. I have a large % of bookings on Monday and Tuesday.
Funny that the guy at the marketing seminar I just went to advised avoiding hitting anyone's email inbox on a Monday as it's '3 second dump day' so if they don't see an immediate subject line/value, your email is gone.
I've never done a report to see what day of the week guests book. Thanks for that heads up! Maybe they spend the weekend talking and one of them does the booking on Monday. I'll have to see if there's a report...
.
My email was agreeing with you to email them over the weekend as that is the time they read their personal email. After seeing your email they discuss a getaway and then call or book Monday to take the edge off the day.
The Marketing guy you referred to was addressing emails sent to the office. Monday is (as I remember when working) a terrible day in reviewing all the email that hit my box between Fri afternoon and Monday morning so they would be more likely to be tossed. For the most part, I would think that you would have personal email addresses, not their work email.
Now if you are promoting openings for the coming weekend, I would think that hump day would be a good day to email your regional list. So in other words, the best blitz day may be dependent on what you are promoting.
 
OK, it's been 5 days since I sent the email...
54% have opened it, 4 have checked the website using the links included, 4 have emailed wishing a Merry Christmas and excited about the new program for next year, 1 opt out. Many, many of the 'openers' have gone back on different days to look at the email again, which I think is good. They didn't just toss it out of hand.
So, if you pick the 'right' day, you get more openings, I would think. Most of the 54% opened the email within 8 hours.
Next time I try a different day of the week. And I may see more openings over the weekend, as more people check their personal email at home.
This has been an interesting experiment as I really thought more people would have opened it as they were, more or less, multiple repeats who like coming here. (Yeah, there was that one opt out exception, but she hasn't been here for 2 years.)
So, there you have my first try at 'mass marketing'! Hope this helps anyone else thinking of trying this out.
Obviously, if you have a different experience, it would be interesting to figure out why. I need to work on the email itself as it WAS a bit word-heavy and picture-light. The next one will be less wordy as this one was definitely targeted toward telling guests about a new program. The next one will be strictly 'here's what's happening and here's what we're offering.' Short and sweet, but different audience.
Forgot to mention that son of one of the guests who opened the email bought his parents a $300 GC on Wed, 2 days after the email went out..
Thanks for the report. And you have already prospered from it
thumbs_up.gif
.
Yes, I would think a weekend mailout may be better as then they head back to work on Monday and dream about being at YOUR place. I have a large % of bookings on Monday and Tuesday.
.
Copperhead said:
Thanks for the report. And you have already prospered from it
thumbs_up.gif
.
Yes, I would think a weekend mailout may be better as then they head back to work on Monday and dream about being at YOUR place. I have a large % of bookings on Monday and Tuesday.
Funny that the guy at the marketing seminar I just went to advised avoiding hitting anyone's email inbox on a Monday as it's '3 second dump day' so if they don't see an immediate subject line/value, your email is gone.
I've never done a report to see what day of the week guests book. Thanks for that heads up! Maybe they spend the weekend talking and one of them does the booking on Monday. I'll have to see if there's a report...
.
My email was agreeing with you to email them over the weekend as that is the time they read their personal email. After seeing your email they discuss a getaway and then call or book Monday to take the edge off the day.
The Marketing guy you referred to was addressing emails sent to the office. Monday is (as I remember when working) a terrible day in reviewing all the email that hit my box between Fri afternoon and Monday morning so they would be more likely to be tossed. For the most part, I would think that you would have personal email addresses, not their work email.
Now if you are promoting openings for the coming weekend, I would think that hump day would be a good day to email your regional list. So in other words, the best blitz day may be dependent on what you are promoting.
.
I have a combo of email addresses, not all personal by a long shot. And very few webviews on weekends. I should go look at who opened the email again and see if it was a work/home combo or all home. Altho, I used to check my home email at work, but not vice versa...
 
OK, it's been 5 days since I sent the email...
54% have opened it, 4 have checked the website using the links included, 4 have emailed wishing a Merry Christmas and excited about the new program for next year, 1 opt out. Many, many of the 'openers' have gone back on different days to look at the email again, which I think is good. They didn't just toss it out of hand.
So, if you pick the 'right' day, you get more openings, I would think. Most of the 54% opened the email within 8 hours.
Next time I try a different day of the week. And I may see more openings over the weekend, as more people check their personal email at home.
This has been an interesting experiment as I really thought more people would have opened it as they were, more or less, multiple repeats who like coming here. (Yeah, there was that one opt out exception, but she hasn't been here for 2 years.)
So, there you have my first try at 'mass marketing'! Hope this helps anyone else thinking of trying this out.
Obviously, if you have a different experience, it would be interesting to figure out why. I need to work on the email itself as it WAS a bit word-heavy and picture-light. The next one will be less wordy as this one was definitely targeted toward telling guests about a new program. The next one will be strictly 'here's what's happening and here's what we're offering.' Short and sweet, but different audience.
Forgot to mention that son of one of the guests who opened the email bought his parents a $300 GC on Wed, 2 days after the email went out..
Thanks for the report. And you have already prospered from it
thumbs_up.gif
.
Yes, I would think a weekend mailout may be better as then they head back to work on Monday and dream about being at YOUR place. I have a large % of bookings on Monday and Tuesday.
.
Copperhead said:
Thanks for the report. And you have already prospered from it
thumbs_up.gif
.
Yes, I would think a weekend mailout may be better as then they head back to work on Monday and dream about being at YOUR place. I have a large % of bookings on Monday and Tuesday.
Funny that the guy at the marketing seminar I just went to advised avoiding hitting anyone's email inbox on a Monday as it's '3 second dump day' so if they don't see an immediate subject line/value, your email is gone.
I've never done a report to see what day of the week guests book. Thanks for that heads up! Maybe they spend the weekend talking and one of them does the booking on Monday. I'll have to see if there's a report...
.
My email was agreeing with you to email them over the weekend as that is the time they read their personal email. After seeing your email they discuss a getaway and then call or book Monday to take the edge off the day.
The Marketing guy you referred to was addressing emails sent to the office. Monday is (as I remember when working) a terrible day in reviewing all the email that hit my box between Fri afternoon and Monday morning so they would be more likely to be tossed. For the most part, I would think that you would have personal email addresses, not their work email.
Now if you are promoting openings for the coming weekend, I would think that hump day would be a good day to email your regional list. So in other words, the best blitz day may be dependent on what you are promoting.
.
I have a combo of email addresses, not all personal by a long shot. And very few webviews on weekends. I should go look at who opened the email again and see if it was a work/home combo or all home. Altho, I used to check my home email at work, but not vice versa...
.
The workplace is where most people plan their vacations, in my estimation. Along with a lot of personal stuff - that is why the Monday after Thanksgiving is called Black Monday now, with all the people doing online shopping for Christmas gifts when they get back to work usually with a high-speed connection. We get many calls and looks on Mondays and Tuesdays, also - by Wednesday it is usually too late. I think a mid-afternoon email on Monday might work, after the bulk of emails has been cleared out.
 
Bree, I would like to be on your email list (and anyone else who does it!), I am always thinking about my next vacation
teeth_smile.gif
. We are going to be celebrating our 25th anniversary next April and will probably take a trip somewhere....we're not sure yet where though!
 
Bree, I would like to be on your email list (and anyone else who does it!), I am always thinking about my next vacation
teeth_smile.gif
. We are going to be celebrating our 25th anniversary next April and will probably take a trip somewhere....we're not sure yet where though!.
When in April? Ours is the 25th.
 
Bree, I would like to be on your email list (and anyone else who does it!), I am always thinking about my next vacation
teeth_smile.gif
. We are going to be celebrating our 25th anniversary next April and will probably take a trip somewhere....we're not sure yet where though!.
Ours is April 16...#31 in '09!
 
Last report as I am assuming that everyone who is going to read the email has done so...
53% opened the email (targeted group of repeats, so I'm actually surprised it was that low, altho that is a phenomenal open rate for a 'mass mailing' according to the class I went to given by Constant Contact...average open rate is 15-19%, and they should know!)
1 opted out.
4 clicked thru to the website with links provided.
No one forwarded to a friend with links provided.
1 call for a GC right after mailing went out. If I take that to mean the emailing sparked them to ask for a GC as a gift, then thus far the emailing has netted $300.
Next email goes out next week to an entirely different email list, plus the list from last month. THAT may generate more opt outs as guests realize this may be an ongoing thing they don't want to deal with.
 
Email opens usually have a steep drop off after the first 24 hours unless there is something on it that compels users to keep it like a coupon or a special event.
Re: your first post- Email opens usually tracked using tiny transparent image in the body of the email. When a user opens the email and views the image, they download it from the service provider's server and it logs an open. This of course doesn't work for people who block images in your email (many people's offices block images in emails by default) so it's approximate statistic.
Some people find the most important statistic is the Click-To-Open Ratio, the number of clicks over the number of confirmed opens. The arguement is that CTOR better measures the effectiveness of your content. Many users will delete e-newsletters but for the ones who do, it's critical to know whether they find the content relevant or enticing for them. There's a great article on CTOR for more info.
A chance for free night's stay isn't a bad offering but you could add 'drawn for every 2000 recipients' or other appropriate number so you could pace it with how your newsletter is doing. You could also entice people to grow your list for you by limiting the give-away to people who forward the email. Hope this helps!
 
Second email...as I figured, now guests are opting out. They realize this may be an ongoing thing. Got more bounces this time, too, as the email addresses are 'older' this time (not using just the repeat guest this time). Open rate has dropped off, but I picked a different day and the subject of the email is more generic (ie- more about the town than the guest).
Also, sent out the email blast to the list of folks who entered the contest. Now, that was interesting. Immediately got one 'spam' report and 4 opt outs. 8 email addresses bounced (now, those people would not have won the prize if their email was no good). Still, have an open rate of close to 19% for an 'out of the blue' email. And a 25% click thru rate for those folks who did open the email.
I think I'm done with reporting on email marketing. There you have it - the good, the bad and the ugly...
 
Second email...as I figured, now guests are opting out. They realize this may be an ongoing thing. Got more bounces this time, too, as the email addresses are 'older' this time (not using just the repeat guest this time). Open rate has dropped off, but I picked a different day and the subject of the email is more generic (ie- more about the town than the guest).
Also, sent out the email blast to the list of folks who entered the contest. Now, that was interesting. Immediately got one 'spam' report and 4 opt outs. 8 email addresses bounced (now, those people would not have won the prize if their email was no good). Still, have an open rate of close to 19% for an 'out of the blue' email. And a 25% click thru rate for those folks who did open the email.
I think I'm done with reporting on email marketing. There you have it - the good, the bad and the ugly....
INteresting numbers. Thanks for sharing.
 
OK, I knew I said I was going to stop, but here's a success...I was checking my reports and I noticed that my Feb email was opened by a person who just booked...he opened it this morning at 9 AM and I got a 2 night booking for Feb at 11:30 AM.
 
OK, I knew I said I was going to stop, but here's a success...I was checking my reports and I noticed that my Feb email was opened by a person who just booked...he opened it this morning at 9 AM and I got a 2 night booking for Feb at 11:30 AM..
Bree said:
OK, I knew I said I was going to stop, but here's a success...I was checking my reports and I noticed that my Feb email was opened by a person who just booked...he opened it this morning at 9 AM and I got a 2 night booking for Feb at 11:30 AM.
Good for you! I'm not at all surprised. There will be more, some just harder to track back to the email blast. BTW, I like your reports. Thanks for sharing!
 
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