WebProNews

Routine sales techniques sometimes work; otherwise, they wouldn't have become routine.  Individuals have often learned how to block them out, however, which makes a little creativity very valuable.

(Coverage of the ACCM conference continues at WebProNews Videos.  Keep an eye on WebProNews for more notes and videos from the event this week.)

Rok Hrastnik, the International Internet Director at Studio Moderna, discussed some unusual approaches in a session called "Surprising Email Tactics for Maximum Response."  One of his first points was that, "when it comes to email, sales should not be first.  Readership should."

 Rok Hrastnik

Hrastnik has found that a monthly combination of three editorial-driven ezines and one sales-driven email works best.  With the ezines, going beyond the brand is necessary - he recommended including a high readership article, a practical how-to article, a brand-related promotional article, and a brand-related non-promotional article.

"Find something your audience wants, is interested in," Hrastnik emphasized.  In the case of a mattress company, this turned out to be tips relating to sex, health, and wellness.

Then optimize your emails for different audiences.  Men and women won't have identical tastes, so the gender split is one thing to look at.  Just forget about 100 percent direct measurability, he suggested, and instead "embrace email as an indirect sales powerhouse . . . something that will generate sales in the long run."

RSS can be useful, as well.  Companies can offer things like transactional feeds, product feeds, customer support feeds, editorial feeds, and sales support feeds as ways of keeping consumers interested.

In the end, Hrastnik stressed, "There is a lot to gain if you think about how to go beyond your current email strategy."