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Create a theme for the form by choosing the appropriate color scheme. Change the style and color of the text. Add photos and YouTube videos to the form. To do this, insert additional code into the required tag.

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Find out what your customers want through questionnaires and surveys. Getting feedback on time will work in favor of your business. If you respond quickly to customer feedback, you will increase their trust and brand loyalty.

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<Img
img="/uploads/top_digital_marketing_metrics_6028daab69.jpg"
alt="8 Top Digital Marketing Metrics to Track"
/> 

When we speak of marketing in the digital age, we no longer mean the vague feel-good awareness and light branding that we used to consider effective marketing. The digital age has made it necessary to employ highly scientific methodologies informed by very keen insights gained from the measurement of specific marketing metrics to track and predict business trends and patterns.

Marketing campaign metrics, also known as KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), are vital for monitoring and planning marketing initiatives and seeing how we might optimize them for best results. They form a sound base of knowledge by which marketers B2B business owners can formulate and implement all their business decisions.

Current technology makes it possible to automate many of these marketing functions. Even so, it will be helpful to understand the various types of digital marketing metrics and how they might be relevant to your business, which we’ll be getting into in this piece.

## 1. Return on Marketing Investment (ROI)

This is one of the most important marketing metrics today and refers to the calculation of how much value your marketing efforts generate. You will find your ROI by subtracting your marketing budget (social media, email, digital, print marketing, etc.) from your increased revenue or profit growth. The importance of determining this metric is to help executives decide how much they should spend on ongoing or potential future marketing campaigns.

A campaign with a negative ROI will need to be redesigned or completely shut down, while positive ROI campaigns should be extended or even expanded.

Any campaign with an ROI standing at or over 5:1 is considered particularly strong for most industries. Marketing departments will find this a powerful tool to help them justify their spending and compare what they are doing with competing organizations or brands.

<Img
img="/uploads/ROI_a5b6f260cd.jpg"
alt="Return on Marketing Investment"
/> 

## 2. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

The digital marketing and e-commerce landscape offer tight margins for profit in these hyper-competitive times, which is why companies need to find ways of maximizing their market share and revenue streams.

One of the essential metrics for marketing effectiveness is the Customer Lifestyle Value metric. This seeks to establish how much value in terms of purchases spanning their entire lifetime as a customer they represent to the company.

If, for example, a client makes purchases totaling $5,000 over the whole course of their relationship with you and you’ve spent approximately $1,000 in advertising and service costs, then the client’s CLV will be equivalent to $4,000.

The idea or usefulness of this marketing measurement is that it can give you insight into which clients to focus on when trying to maximize value, encourage growth, and maximize profits. Rather than seek out new clients in hard-to-penetrate markets, it makes more sense to develop your existing customer base.

<Img
img="/uploads/CLV_de91712ea2.jpg"
alt="Customer Lifetime Value"
/> 

## 3. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Here, an organization tries to estimate what it costs them to get a new customer or client for their goods or services. This KPI marketing metric is determined by calculating the total cost of your advertising, sales, and marketing department expenses and all related expenses divided by the number of new clients brought on board.

It is a valuable measure to determine for a business since a low cost of generating leads and subscribers will mean that it will cost you little to acquire new clients and thus generate more significant revenue and profits.

This metric has come about in recent years with the advent of the internet age, whereby consumer behavior can be tracked more efficiently, which has allowed organizations the tools to help them determine where to invest their money.

<Img
img="/uploads/CAC_a82e24c110.jpg"
alt="Customer Acquisition Cost"
/> 

## 4. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

This is one of the most valuable metrics for determining the effectiveness of an advertising campaign in the digital landscape. You will measure the click-through rate by considering the number of people who clicked on a link on your email or website after seeing it on their screen. If, for example, 100 people see your advertisement but only ten people click on it, then your click-through rate will be 10% (Ad Clicks/ Ad Impressions * 100).

When you have a high click-through rate, you can deem your advertisement or marketing strategy a success since a good proportion of the people exposed to your adverts are interested enough to click on it and potentially go on to become customers.

By analyzing this metric, you will determine which adverts need to be changed and which are effectively drawing in leads and potential clients. Even though this is a general rate, it still gives a beneficial picture of your target market’s behavior and ranks high on the list of examples of marketing metrics.

<Img
img="/uploads/CTR_fe7f42336f.jpg"
alt="Click-Through Rate"
/> 

## 5. Funnel Conversion Rate

Any helpful marketing metrics list will include the [**Funnel Conversion**](conversion-funnel-stages-and-optimization) Rate. Before a potential lead is converted to a customer, they will go through certain phases. These phases can be pictured in terms of a funnel, and this is because the number of people per stage will start off being much larger than it will be when they finally become your clients.

You can calculate your conversion rate by taking the Total Sales Numbers/ Number of Leads * 100. If you had 100 clicks, inquiries/leads but only 30 people made purchases, in the end, your conversion rate will be 30%. In the e-commerce world, this is a very healthy conversion rate, with most businesses reporting conversion rates of 2-3%.

This might seem like a tremendous waste, but the digital marketing world adjusts to this reality by maximizing the spread of their advertising reach at the least cost possible so that even such conversion rates translate to substantial customer numbers. Even at a 2% conversion rate, for example, a company with 10 million leads in a month will have 200,000 clients, which might be more than enough for them to make healthy profits. 

## 6. Cost per Action (CPA)

This refers to an affiliate marketing model whereby payment is triggered whenever a targeted user performs a particular action. Such actions vary widely in nature and may include purchase, a click, a subscription, signing up for a trial, filling a survey, making a download, and more.

This model is often referred to as Pay-Per Action (PPA) or Performance-Based Advertising since an advertiser will only have to pay once their desired action is completed. Such models call for significant conversion rates to make financial sense in most instances.

This is why most small to medium-sized businesses will utilize Cost-Per-Click (CPC) or Cost-Per Impression (CPM) Models, where low conversion levels will not be too harmful to profitability. This metric directly monitors how much a company invests in driving a particular action they desire. It is usually reported at monthly intervals.

<Img
img="/uploads/CPA_591520037c.jpg"
alt="Cost per Action"
/> 

## 7. Bounce Rate

In the simplest terms employed by Google themselves, website bounce rate refers to the percentage of single-page or single interaction sessions your website experiences. Here, visitors will land on a page but leave without clicking on anything or interacting with it in any way. This is why it is referred to as a ‘bounce.’

[**Email marketing**](pay-more) metrics include bounce rates that refer to the percentage of emails on a marketing campaign list that the intended recipient does not see because their server turned them away.

While email campaigns might be considered high ROI advertising methods due to their low costs, high bounce rates can still render them completely ineffective. Analyzing the bounce rates experienced by your website or email landing pages will give you a good measure of how engaging these pages are, giving you an idea of where you might need to improve.

Fixing high bounce rate issues to achieve optimal performance in marketing takes a good deal of analysis and attention to determine what is putting people off. You will need to consider your presentation, prices, site structure, email copy quality, website design, and so on as you troubleshoot the matter for practical solutions.

## 8. Net Promoter Score

This is a very widely used marketing metric that focuses on [**what customers think about your product**](how-to-use-customer-feedback-to-increase-sales) or service and whether or not they would be willing to recommend it to their family, colleagues, and friends. In most instances, the search for this information will utilize a single-question survey offered to clients.

The survey will ask the customers to choose a number ranging from -100 to 100, whereby negative numbers will indicate a negative attitude towards the company, while positive numbers show a favorable opinion.

A 100 answer will show that the customer has the highest view of the company possible, and vice versa. A Net Promoter Score is now arrived at by taking the average of these individual survey answers to achieve a reliable picture of how customers view the company in general and their willingness to recommend its services and products to others around them. Altcraft Platform has its own tool for creating NPS surveys — [**Forms**](/features/forms-and-surveys).

This marketing measurement is a handy one as it can give companies a warning when their customers are becoming unhappy to implement changes before they lose their clients completely.

## Final Thoughts

There are many key marketing metrics out there that can be used to analyze and monitor business initiatives and marketing performance. With advances in data gathering technologies and statistical methods, they keep growing in number.

To stay ahead of the pack, you must gain a deep understanding of what are marketing metrics and stay abreast of the developments occurring in this field. This is especially true if your work relates to in some way or relies on digital marketing.

By keeping track of your social, consumption, sales, and lead generation marketing metrics, you can keep your finger steadily on the pulse of your organization’s health. Our powerful [**marketing automation tool**](/ru) can help you achieve this simply, efficiently, and effectively. Give it a try today. 




Marketing metrics can help you better understand your business processes. ROI, CTR, CAC, LTV — learn more about how to calculate KPI in marketing.

medium_top-digital-marketing-metrics.jpg

small_top-digital-marketing-metrics.jpg

thumbnail_top-digital-marketing-metrics.jpg

top-digital-marketing-metrics.jpg

Marketing campaign metrics are vital for monitoring and planning marketing initiatives and seeing how we might optimize them for best results.

8 Key Digital Marketing Metrics | Important to Track

8 Top Digital Marketing Metrics to Track

<Img
img="/uploads/how_to_send_emails_without_spamming_ac6acd190c.jpg"
alt="How to Send Millions of Emails Without Spamming"
/> 

There are [**122 billion**](https://dataprot.net/statistics/spam-statistics/) email spam messages sent worldwide every day. That's 85% of the world's email traffic. The scale is impressive and upsetting at the same time. Nobody likes spam, especially mailing services. Therefore, many systems are making war on spam. However, bona fide companies also fall under their sanctions. How to avoid becoming a spammer by accident and send emails the right way? Let’s find it out.

## What is Spam

Spam is unsolicited bulk messages sent via email or other digital channels such as SMS or social networks. Spammers do such mailings without the recipient's consent to a large number of users. In most cases, letters offer goods or services of dubious quality.

### The origins of spam

In the 40s of the last century, the word «spam» had no negative connotation. SPAM was the brand of canned food made by the Hormel Foods Corporation. The company produced it to keep soldiers nourished during World War II. After the war, there were a lot of products left. The Hormel Corporation had to sell them before the end of the shelf life. In short, as quickly as possible. So after a couple of weeks, SPAM canned food ads were all over the place. The product was aggressively imposed on people.

When «junk» bulk messages appeared on the Internet, they began to be labelled with the word «spam». In the beginning, this method could be effective, but now spam messages are annoying. People are used to ignoring them in the large flow of information. But the spam market is not losing momentum.

Spam has penetrated almost all digital communication channels. Besides emails, we run into spam:

- on forums where users leave messages with hidden advertising;
- in comments and private messages on social networks;
- on review sites;
- in messengers and SMS.

Automation has speeded up the sending of spam and increased it significantly. Now a spam bot can replace a person, for example, when spamming on social media platforms. Although it is not too difficult to determine whether you are communicating with a real person or with a machine. Bots are not very smart, you can break their logic with an unexpected answer.

### The types of spam

**Ad spam** is regular marketing emails that are sent to the addresses in the contact list. 

**Fake messages** are letters from ordinary people who are telling their tragic story and asking for money, or promising to give a large amount just like that:

<Img
img="/uploads/spam_message_from_a_real_person_252f145625.jpg"
alt="Example of a spam message from a «real person»"
src="Example of a spam message from a «real person»"
/> 

**Phishing emails** are sent by spammers who try to fool you by impersonating a well-known brand. The From email contains a fake email address. Usually, the user does not even notice it. He understands that he was deceived after following the link. The goal is to obtain personal and confidential data. A link from this letter leads to a fake website where the user is asked to leave his full name, passwords, bank card numbers and other data.

<Img
img="/uploads/Phishing_email_mimicking_Pay_Pal_619b0c8bd9.jpg"
alt="Phishing email mimicking PayPal"
src="Phishing email mimicking PayPal"
/> 

**Malware emails** are letters with viruses. The user clicks on the link and gets a virus on his device.

### Why do users receive spam?

The reason for spam is data that fell into the wrong hands. How spammers get user addresses:

- Data leak — the address was stolen from the contact list of the compromised account.
- Parsing email addresses from websites.
- Using an email generator that iterates over possible options. Some may turn out to be active.
- Purchased email lists — they are sold by unscrupulous companies or individual employees.

### Who is spamming?

Both professionals and random people such as inexperienced marketers can spam. Spammers are divided into:

- **Pros** are mailing services that send out a huge amount of emails. Such teams know their business well, and may even have programmers on staff for more advanced solutions.
- **Email address collectors** use software to check and sell databases.
- **Inexperienced and accidental spammers** are often marketers who do not understand what a newsletter is and do it wrong. A novice spammer does not delve into the details of the mailing, and that's why his letters fall under the sanctions of the services.

In order not to be among the ranks of accidental spammers, it is necessary to prepare for mailing. You need to know the legal, technical and other peculiarities.

## How to avoid spam filters

The spam folder is a sentence for your email. Why? The client will not know about you, the consequences can be more serious: domain disconnection, lawsuits and fines.

To find out why emails end up in the junk folder, you need to evaluate many factors:

- the legality of mailing;
- domain reputation;
- technical settings of the mailing list;
- whether the rules of the mailbox providers are being followed.

Let's take a look at each point.

### The legality of mailing

If you send a commercial email, it must comply with the requirements of the [**CAN-SPAM Act**](https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business). Otherwise, you will have to pay a big fine.

How not to break the law:

- Don’t use false or misleading header information: headers, From names, reply-to addresses, or subject lines.
- Make it clear to recipients that your message is an advertisement.
- Tell recipients how to opt out: provide an unsubscribe link. 
- Tell recipients where you’re located. Your message must include your valid physical postal address: street address, a post office box, or a private mailbox.

### Domain reputation

The reputation of the domain you use to send emails depends on the following factors:

- whether the IP address is blacklisted or not,
- the quality of the email database, 
- whether email authentication passed or not, 
- how many unread emails and spam complaints,  
- how high CTR is,
- the intensity of mailings.

### Database quality

«Bad» addresses in the database also affect the mailing list, so you need to observe email hygiene: clean duplicates and inactive emails.

Possible database problems:

**The address was not validated.** The user left an inactive or incorrect email.

**The base was not used immediately.**

In this case, the contacts become obsolete. This happens if a company collects an email database for a long time in different ways, but does not send out messages immediately. For example, because it is waiting for a certain number of customers in the contact list.

**Errors in the database**

The contact list may contain recipients who have unsubscribed but still receive emails. The risk of receiving spam complaints from such people increases. In the worst case, you can get a lawsuit.

**Spam traps in the database**

Spam traps are email addresses that are controlled by ISP or blacklist operators. Such addresses are used to find spammers. A spam trap can be an email address that used to belong to a real person, but the user hasn’t logged into the account for a long time. Another type of spam trap is a specially created one. If a newsletter arrives at this address without consent, the service may consider it spam. If there are many such addresses in the database, the sender reputation is getting worse.

**Spam complaints**

People complain even when they initially consent to the newsletter. What could be the reasons for complaints:
- unsuccessful or offensive subject line;
- mailing error — the user received the letter again, although he unsubscribed;
- change of the mailing subject — "I didn't subscribe to this";
- partner offers in letters.

**User behavior**

Mailing services count how often users open emails, click on links inside. The fewer clicks, the more likely you are to get into spam in the future.

**Newsletter content**

The service may block mailing if your HTML document is not valid. It is forbidden to use dangerous elements, such as JavaScript, VBScript, Frames, IFrames ActiveX, Java applets, CSS connected to external websites, Meta Refresh, etc. Also, services do not accept the links that were shortened with special tools.

**Intensity and volume of mailing**

Services love predictable behavior. A sudden increase in email volume or sending irregular patterns of emails are signs of spam.

### Blacklists

An email blacklist is a list of IP addresses or domains that have been flagged as suspicious for sending spam emails. There are private and public blacklists. Private blacklists are created by users when they restrict the receipt of letters from a specific sender. It’s not too dangerous. However, if a domain or IP address is on a public blacklist, letters can be blocked on a large subset of addresses from this blacklist. 

The IP address and domain can get into blacklists for:

- sending newsletters to irrelevant addresses;
- a large number of spam traps in the email database;
- sending emails without the recipient’s confirmation.

Therefore, it is important to check if you are on the blacklists. For example, [**MXtools**](https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx.) will tell you where you’ve been blacklisted.

### How to maintain your reputation

- Use Double Opt-In and continue sending only when the user has confirmed their email.
- Monitor the ratings of the IP address and domain in special services regularly.
- Clear the database, get rid of inactive contacts and check for errors.
- [**Warm up IP addresses**](how-to-inbox) — increase mailing volumes gradually.
- Monitor the quality of your content and test different engagement techniques if your emails stop opening. But know when to stop and don’t try dubious techniques, for example, clickbait.

### Technical settings and email message architecture

All mailing services support the same standards for spam protection. There are technical headers on the servers from which the newsletter is sent. This is where data about the message is placed. This data determines the reliability of the mailing source.

**What parameters should be in the «correct» letter:**

**RFC (Request for Comments)** is a document that contains technical specifications and standards.

**DNS (reverse DNS lookup and PTR records)** — all servers you use to send emails must have valid DNS records. No auto-generated reverse DNS lookup and PTR records. If reverse DNS is not specified, the mail service will not pass such a mailing.

**IP addresses (WHOIS)**. Never hide IP address data in WHOIS. It is especially important when the hoster has been hacked and spam is sent from your IP. If there is no data about you, the service cannot inform you about the problem and will simply block all mailings.

**Proxy and Relay** are protection against spamming on your behalf. The server does not have to be with an open Proxy server or an open Relay. In this case, anonymous and unauthorized users will not get to it.

**DKIM (DomainKey Identified Mail)** is a digital signature protocol that determines whether the sender is eligible for mailing. The email provider identifies it through a special key.

**SPF (Sender Policy Framework)** is a record that will show from which domains and IP the email will come. This setting must be in all DNS, otherwise, the mail service will send a letter to spam or warn of a threat.

**[FBL](fbl-catalog) (FeedBack Lookup)** is a standard that displays information about spam complaints. Each sender of emails can use FBL to find out which user has complained about which email.

**List-Unsubscribe** is setting the address or URL for unsubscribing. The user can unsubscribe and without clicking through an unsubscribe link.

<Img
img="/uploads/List_unsubscribe_option_in_Gmail_7f2a393c15.jpg"
alt="List-unsubscribe option in Gmail"
src="List-unsubscribe option in Gmail"
/>

**DMARC policy** is a standard that helps domain owners set rules for their mail services. Using them, the postal provider will know what to do with letters that were sent from the owner's domain, but they did not pass email authentication. This will protect against DKIM forgery and the use of services where any fraud can just put any domain. DMARC also helps control technical settings.

### Administrative requirements for mailbox providers

If you want the message to avoid spam filters, the requirements of the mailbox providers must be respected. Otherwise, you may fall under such sanctions as:

- limitation on email volume;
- blocking of sending;
- marked as spam.

Let's take a closer look at the requirements for Gmail.

1. Configure reverse DNS lookup for IP addresses.
2. Separate Form addresses by content type. Use the first one to send promotions, the second one to send receipts and the third one for notifications.
3. Don't send phishing emails from your domain.
4. Don’t send letters on behalf of another domain if you do not have the right to do so.
5. Authenticate messages.
6. Send mail only to interested users who have consented to the newsletter. The service also offers to periodically renew the subscription consent.
7. Make it easy to unsubscribe.
8. Send emails on a specific schedule and start sending small batches. The more letters there are, the slower you need to increase their number.
9. Monitor the reputation of IP addresses: whether they are in blacklists.

<Note>
Important! Always check the requirements of the mailbox providers before sending emails. Even a small violation of the rules can result in a spam folder.
</Note>

### Altcraft Platform for correct mailings

Our platform helps automate marketing processes and develop business. Marketers use it to send emails without additional services. [**Altcraft Platform**](https://altcraft.com/en) allows:

- optimize delivery to the inbox folder;
- bypass blocking;
- speed up delivery for some categories of letters;
- reduce sending costs.

The [**technologies**](anti-spam-system) we work with:

**SPF (Sender Policy Framework)** is a domain authentication technology.

**DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)** is a digital signature that is automatically verified by the recipient's mail server and clarifies its reputation.

**DMARC** will tell the mail service what to do if something is wrong with SPF records.

**BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification)** works with DKIM, SPF and DMARC. Helps to identify companies by the image of the brand next to the subject of the letter. This is additional validation of the sender.

**FBL (FeedBack Loop)** is a standard that shows spam complaints to the sender of mailings.

With Altcraft Platform, there is no need to worry about emails going to spam. Just create your own newsletter or use a ready-made email template.

<Img
img="/uploads/email_template_faf3691914.png"
alt="Email templates in Altcraft Platform"
src="Email templates in Altcraft Platform"
/> 

## Conclusion

The path of email newsletters is a thorny and challenging one. One day emails from any company can end up in the spam folder. But don’t give up this channel only because of the complexity. A competent approach and good service will help to send emails correctly and increase sales.

Learn how to send emails the right way and avoid the junk folder: domain reputation, database quality, technical settings, etc.

medium_how to send emails without spamming.jpg

small_how to send emails without spamming.jpg

thumbnail_how to send emails without spamming.jpg

how to send emails without spamming.jpg

Many systems are making war on spam, but bona fide companies also fall under their sanctions. How to avoid becoming a spammer by accident and send emails the right way? 

How to Send Millions of Emails and Not Get Into Spam

How to Send Millions of Emails and Avoid Spam Filters

<Img
img="/uploads/conversion_funnel_1f41a22aa2.jpg"
alt="Conversion Funnel: Stages and Optimization"
/> 

Conversion funnel analysis isn’t the most discussed digital marketing topic. But it may be one of the most important.

Funnel analysis helps you ensure that you are successfully moving prospects, leads, and customers forward as their relationship with your brand deepens. Each category of contact has its own conversion actions, such as subscribing to your email marketing list. These different actions are all considered within your digital marketing conversion funnel.

Your funnel conversion rate – also known as the sales funnel conversion rate or digital marketing conversion rate – is one of the most important metrics you can track and improve over time. It tells you how much raw traffic from each audience segment is taking the next steps necessary to ultimately become a customer.

But no simple conversion funnel template is enough on its own to understand how it all comes together.

With every small tweak in conversion funnel optimization, you make more money from your existing traffic. Once your digital properties are established, funnel optimization is often the activity that will get you the most bang for your buck. Let’s take a closer look at funnels, funnel metrics, and how to optimize conversion funnels.

## What Is a Conversion Funnel?

Funnels function to organize and conceptualize your goals for each stage of the [**buyer journey**](stroim-customer-journey-map), moving your new traffic from the prospect stage to the lead stage and finally the customer stage. 

A standard digital marketing funnel comes in three stages. At each stage, the contact needs more sophisticated content to take the next step. With that in mind, a large amount of traffic may enter the funnel, but only a small amount will reach the bottom, where the conversion from lead to customer takes place.

## The Stages of a Conversion Funnel

A standard digital marketing conversion funnel has three stages:

<Img
img="/uploads/example_ceadbbe5c2.jpg"
alt="Conversion funnel example"
/> 

### Top of the Funnel (ToFu)

All the traffic received by your website and your digital properties begins at the top of your conversion funnel.

At the top of the funnel, most visitors have just identified a problem. They need further information so they can understand the issue they’re facing. They have no idea what solutions may be relevant to their situation or the remedial steps they might need to take.

To serve prospects at the top of the funnel, you want to be sure you have plenty of “evergreen” content. This is general content that introduces subjects pertinent to most of your first-time visitors. Buyers use it to gain basic knowledge about the problem they have encountered and why it might be happening.

ToFu content has an important role to play in ensuring you are highly visible for search queries relevant to your business. The conversion goal of ToFu content is usually to get those early visitors to subscribe to your [**email marketing list**](how-to-build-an-email-database). This conversion is achieved by offering a high-quality piece of content, a lead magnet.

### Middle of the Funnel (MoFu)

In the middle of the funnel, the prospect has developed into an unqualified lead.

Joining your email marketing list is a way for prospects to raise their hand and indicate they have real interest in your content. However, you don’t yet know enough about them to be sure that they will be the right customer for your business.

Where ToFu content serves a general educational purpose, MoFu content is much more specific. Its aim is to help the newly minted lead develop buying criteria around the solution that will put an end to their problem. It does not propose a specific solution, but instead provides guidance on what all good solutions must include.

### Bottom of the Funnel (BoFu)

By the time they reach the bottom of the funnel, a lead should be well qualified. The right leads are [**almost ready**](communication-building) to be passed off from marketing to sales. Much of the buyer journey is over, and the lead is looking at a small handful of potential solutions – if you’ve done everything right so far, then yours is positioned to succeed.

BoFu content includes things like videos and product demonstrations. This content answers leads’ questions about whether your solution will work well within their specific business context. They are no longer looking for which solution is best, but which one is best for them.

## How to Optimize a Conversion Funnel

Conversion funnel optimization requires sound analytics [**data**](data-driven-marketing). That's why using a [**marketing automation**](what-is-marketing-automation-and-how-it-affects-business-development) platform is a good way to go. With such platforms, you will easily collect all data in one place and calculate the conversion rate for your specific audience. For example, in Altcraft Platform you can customize the conversion goals of each stage in the funnel, including things like a subscription or visit to a certain screen on your mobile app. Develop customized conversion funnels that match your unique business needs!

A conversion funnel is a visual representation of the stages in a buyer's journey, from the moment they visit your website until they make a purchase.

medium_conversion funnel.jpg

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conversion funnel.jpg

Conversion Funnel: Stages and Optimization

How the Conversion Funnel Works From Top to Bottom

<Img
img="/uploads/on_premise_vs_cloud_8edb6ebb4e.jpg"
alt=""
/> 

Managing data is a critical role for any enterprise. How you choose to approach this vital function depends on such factors as volume, security demands, and budget.

Since every company’s needs are different, each may elect to deploy their data management and computer services in a single method or a combination of more than one.

Options include:

- On-Premise Management
- SaaS (Software as a Service)
- Private Cloud

While each of these strategies has specific benefits, some are simply not the best choice in every context. Let’s look at the differences.

### What is On-Premise Data Management?

On-Premise Data Management consists of a purchased software package installed, maintained, and administered within your hardware. This platform uses on-site servers rather than remote, off-site systems. Once you buy the software, it becomes your property, allowing for extensive customization and expansion by your IT professionals.

### What is SaaS?

SaaS (Software as a Service) is a software distribution system developed by a vendor and hosted on a web application that allows access to customers via the Internet. SaaS is a subscription service in which you pay a predetermined fee to use the software. In general, the SaaS systems are less costly and are scalable to adapt to your company’s growth.

### What is a Private Cloud?

The private cloud consists of computing services available over the Internet or a private internal network and is accessible only to specified users instead of the broader public. The software is installed on remote servers and managed by the vendor. Security and backup capability are also the responsibility of the vendor.

## Characteristics of Each System

Solutions vary based on the needs of each company. For example, banks, insurance, logistics, and brokers’ companies often choose on-premises because they are responsible for their clients’ data protection.

In other instances, smaller companies and startups may choose to employ SaaS options to avoid the investment required for hardware and IT staffing.

### On-Premise Features

- **Fixed Cost:** You pay only a single fixed [**cost**](/prices) for the agreement period. And, not having to pay for the use of exterior software licenses and storage by implementing an on-premise software platform can be a significant saving. Databases can grow as needed, and messaging is unlimited.

- **Absolute Security and Control:** Since everything stays inside the custom-designed system, customer and company data remain strategically protected by internal security controls and protocols.

- **Flexible Integration and Customization:** With all internally managed data, in-house integration for new uses and applications to create unique, customized reporting is more manageable.

- **Manages Sensitive Data Best:** With the proliferation of hackers and malicious intrusion, many companies find that on-premises platforms deliver greater peace of mind.

### SaaS Features

- **Quick Start:** No additional hardware nor in-house support and system maintenance are required.

- **Security:** The SaaS platform employs encrypted data and requires minimal to no support from an internal dedicated IT Department.

- **Flexible and Easy to Integrate:** Select only the software you will need and use, making sure the systems match your operational requirements.

- **Cost:** SaaS can be a low-cost option if your [**database**](how-to-build-an-email-database) is not extensive, users will be limited to a small number, and relatively few messages will be sent.

### Private Cloud Features

- **Remote Server:** An off-premises hosted solution managed by an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) provider allows you to reduce your in-house staffing IT costs in many instances.

- **Rented Server:** No hardware cost.

- **Optimal Mobile Accessibility:** Using a Cloud-based platform, multiple remote users can access data more efficiently.

- **Data Security Risks:** Growing concern and risk of malicious hacking that can expose your database to excessive risk of compromise. Fear of cyberattacks is the main reason why many large enterprises choose to keep all of their [**data**](data-driven-marketing) on-premise.

<Img
img="/uploads/on_premise_vs_cloud_key_difference_058a8c2f91.jpg"
alt="On premise vs Cloud key differences"
/> 

## Choosing the Best Hosted Solution for Your Marketing Automation Service

Let's sum up. The on-premise software solution or “on-prem” method has a lower long-term. This method is excellent for businesses that require many users and a wide range of customization options. At the same time, smaller businesses that don't have a large client database should choose SaaS solutions. This way, they can avoid the investment required for hardware and IT staffing.

[**Altcraft Platform**](/en) is a marketing automation service that can be deployed on any of the three platform types. Since each has different needs, security issues, and marketing approaches, Altcraft can recommend and support the perfect deployment method tailored to your needs. If you want to automate marketing processes right now, leave an [**application**](/request).



On-premise, SaaS or Private cloud — each deployment has its own pros and cons. Learn how to choose the right solution for your marketing automation service.

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On-premise, SaaS or Private cloud — choose the right solution for your marketing automation service.

On Premise vs Cloud: Choose the Right Solution for Your Business

On-Premise vs Cloud: Which Is Better for Your Business

<Img
img="/uploads/influencer_marketing_e4e8fafe8f.jpg"
alt="Influencer marketing"
/> 

Influencer marketing is on the rise. From 2016 to 2020, investment in this type of marketing increased from $1.7 billion to $9.7 billion. Such brand trust proves that influencer promotion works. Let’s try to figure out what influencer marketing is and how to build a strategy for working with influencers and track the result correctly.

## What is Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing is promoting products or services through opinion leaders, or influencers. An influencer is not only a celebrity but also a blogger, an expert in his field, who runs social media. You don't need to have a million followers to become an influencer.

The effectiveness of influencer marketing does not depend on the number of subscribersю The engagement of the audience in the influencer's content — that’s what matters. Now people trust small bloggers whose audience does not exceed 3000 subscribers, more than large ones. Why? There are no strangers and you can feel free.

By audience size, influencers are divided into several groups:

- nano-influencers — 1,000 followers or less;
- micro-influencers — 1,000 – 100,000 followers;
- macro-influencers — 100,000 – 1 million followers;
- mega-influencers — more than 1 million followers.

The difference between influencer marketing and direct advertising in a native way. Product promotion doesn't look like advertising. From the point of view of the subscriber, a blogger is just a friend who recommends what he likes: products, places, entertainment. Advertising becomes part of the content, and the audience perceives it loyally. The influencer knows his audience well — he knows what topics subscribers like, so his account is a ready-made channel for communication and promotion on social media.

## Influencer Marketing Campaign Types

**Direct** recommendation is a call to follow a link or take a desired action.

**Review** is a detailed description of your product, or several products along with yours to make it look more natural.

**Product placement** is a technique where the brand is mentioned natively in a frame. Bloggers took this technique from the cinema industry. Remember what brand of sneakers Marty McFly wore in the second part of the trilogy? That's right, it was Nike!

**Unboxing** is a format when an influencer receives a product from you to test it out in front of his audience.

**Giveaway**  — contests on Instagram. You supply bloggers with your product or service and he promises to give this present to the followers who subscribe to his sponsors.

<Img
img="/uploads/giveaway_9bc7a81966.png"
alt="use giveaways on Instagram"
src="Lifebox Food and Punks and Chancers use giveaways on Instagram"
/>

## Influencer Marketing Strategy

Influencer promotion is a type of social media marketing, and proper marketing is impossible without a strategy. You can't just pick the most popular blogger and invite him to promote your brand. Even if an influencer has a million followers, the return will be minimal if his audience does not suit you. To start social media promotion through influencers, find the influencers in your niche, set the budget and goals of your campaign.

### 1. Find influencers and decide on the payment

It is easy to find a blogger with a suitable audience if you deal, for example, with beauty topics. For complex technical products, you will have to spend more time searching.

Three ways to find an influencer in your niche:

- Use special services. Look for bloggers on the topic you need through paid platforms: [**Epicstars**](https://ru.epicstars.com/), [**GetBlogger**](https://getblogger.ru/), [**LabelUp**](https://labelup.ru/), [**Adlab.io**](https://adlab.io/), [**Easyprbot**](https://easyprbot.com/#/reviews/), [**Efir.io**](https://efir.io/ru), [**trendHERO**](https://trendhero.io/ru/). These tools provide topics, account statistics, and ad prices.
- Blogger agencies. For example, [**Feedstars**](http://feedstars.ru/), [**Blogger Brand**](https://bloggerbrand.ru/) can help you select the influencer that suits you, but you’ll have to pay a commission for the service.
- Search yourself in thematic communities and specialized media or in the list of speakers at conferences. It is not the fastest option, but cheap.  

The advantage of cooperation with influencers is the ability to work on a barter basis. Usually, micro-influencers with a small number of subscribers agree to such conditions.

**Check influencers**

Not all bloggers are really popular. In fact, their audience may not be real.

Social media promotion is also a "dark" method that creates the appearance of success and misleads advertisers: bot followers, fake likes, bought comments. The platforms try to struggle with cheating, but it’s not always effective. That’s why before collaborating with an influencer, you should check it yourself.

- Boost subscribers, likes and comments

There are 10 thousand subscribers, but only 20 likes on the post. Looks suspicious, doesn’t it? Perhaps most account followers are bots. A lot of inane comments — “awesome content", "nice", and just emoji are also signs of cheating. How to check if you are looking at the account that employs bots? Use [**Panda Rank**](https://pandarank.com/ru/), [**LiveDune**](https://livedune.ru/), [**Hype Auditor**](https://hypeauditor.com/en/), [**FakeLikeInfo**](http://fakelikeinfo.ru/) and other services.

- Audience engagement

The normal engagement rate is 8-10%. When the indicator is lower, subscribers are not interested in the content. If the percentage is higher, it’s time to suspect cheating. The exception is peak situational moments of popularity growth.

For example, before the participation of the Italian group Måneskin in Eurovision 2021, there were no more than 3 thousand comments on the posts in their account. During the competition, the number increased to 10 thousand. On the publication with the winning award, subscribers left a record 27 thousand comments.

### 2. Assess the risks of working with bloggers

Influencers are non-professional advertisers. Some of them do not even understand what social media marketing is. In most cases, the audience liked their content because it appeared at the right time. Not everyone is good at advertising. What could go wrong?

Just because an influencer's content is successful doesn’t mean the ads for your brand will be the same. Before offering, find previous advertisers and ask them for [**feedback**](how-to-use-customer-feedback-to-increase-sales) on working with the blogger, see other ads that were made by this blogger. Ask yourself if you are satisfied with its quality.

How to avoid mistakes? Set a clear task and agree on the approval of advertising before publication, provide additional materials and examples. But don't write a detailed script. Let the blogger do his things. His audience subscribed to his content. If he goes along with the script, like a puppet, the followers will notice it. They are unlikely to be happy.

### 3. Set your budget and stick to it

Some influencers can ask for a payment over your budget. In this case, offer barter plus payment or percentage of sales. But don't overestimate the influencer. Expensive is not always good. Remember, sometimes several micro-influencers are better than one macro-influencer. 

One ad integration with a very famous blogger will have a short-term effect — people look and forget. With several bloggers, you can test different ad formats and create the effect of your brand's presence everywhere. That’s how RICHE did this on Instagram.

<Img
img="/uploads/richecosmetics_70130493b6.png"
alt="Advertising campaign of the brand on Instagram"
src="RICHE advertising campaign on Instagram"
/>

How much does social media influencer marketing cost?

- The unspoken industry rule is $100 per 10,000 followers
- Another way is to count based on actual engagement: likes, comments, shares. Influencers that follow this pricing model charge $250 to $750 per 1000 engagement, on average.

Of course, any division is conditional, and the real price may differ from the general rules.

### 4. Set promotion goals

Promotion is a process that should always start with goals. Why do you need Influencers? What kind of result do you expect from them?

Possible options for the goals of influencer marketing:

- [**Brand awareness**](povyshayem-uznavayemost-brend-ustanavlivayem-avatar-email-otpravitelya) — more people will know about your product and not confuse it with another.
- More sales — increasing in units sold during the campaign.
- Increasing [**brand loyalty**](customer-loyalty) — the number of people who trust your brand speak positively about it.
- Engaging your audience in your content. A blogger can advertise not a product, but your resources and useful guides and other materials, which will later lead to a purchase.
- Increasing the number of subscribers in your social media accounts.

### 5. Track influencer campaigns

Assessing the effectiveness of influencer marketing depends on your goal.

**How to evaluate sales:**

- Give a unique [**promotional code**](/features/loyalty-programs) to an influencer. This way, you will find out how many purchases his audience made.

<Img
img="/uploads/promo_code_173d9a13fd.jpg"
alt="Promocode on Instagram from bloggers"
/>

- Use UTM in the link to track not only the fact of the sale but also the movement along the conversion funnel: from clicking on the blogger's link to actions in the cart of the online store. Such an analytics tool as  [**Google Analytics**](https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/provision/#/provision) will help you.
- Ask the influences for statistics, but you need to be sure of his honesty.

**How to track results on other goals:**

- Brand awareness can be measured by the number of searches in search engines for your brand, such as  [**Google Trends**](https://trends.google.ru/trends/?geo=RU). Compare results before, during and after the campaign.
- If it comes to track brand loyalty, you should measure the number and tone of comments on your publications and the blogger's post, or compare the ratio of likes and dislikes on YouTube.
- Audience engagement and retention is counted by the change in the number of likes, reposts and content shares during the campaign. For videos on Youtube, you can check how many people keep watching the video at the moment of advertising. If there is no fall, the audience accepts the advertisement positively.
- If you want to know how the number of subscribers is changing in your accounts, calculate the dynamics before and after the campaign and estimate how much you spent to get a customer.

## Conclusion

Influencer Marketing is an effective tool for brand promotion, but it is not a magic pill. The blogger does not give a guarantee of the result and may get out of your control, for example, to advertise not in the way you expect or even damage the company's reputation. Therefore, preparation is important — build a strategy, study the statistics and reputation of the influencer. Remember, you are going to make that person the face of your brand for the duration of the campaign.

We talk in detail about Influencer Marketing: what it is and how to build a strategy for working with influencers

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We will tell you what influencer marketing is and how it helps companies to promote.

What is Influencer Marketing and How to Use It for You Business

Influencer Marketing: How to Build Your Strategy

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img="/uploads/marketing_attribution_definition_and_models_201442c7a1.jpg"
alt="What Is an Attribution Model"
/> 

The user goes to the website, sees the ads and immediately buys the product. That’s what every business wants. Unfortunately, this rarely happens — 98% of people do not visit a company’s website for the first time to make a purchase. On average, a purchase requires seven touches, and among these touches, each channel will more or less influence the user's decision. How do you know which channels are the most effective? Select and use a marketing attribution model.

## What is Attribution in Marketing

Attribution modeling is the distribution of value (weight or points) across the channels that led to the conversion. Attribution shows the [**customer journey**](stroim-customer-journey-map) from the first touch to the desired action.

**What does it mean?**

Let’s take a look at John. He saw an ad for sneakers on Facebook, became interested and clicked on the ad. On second thought he decided not to buy it yet. Later, John was shown a banner ad for the same sneakers, but this time on Google. He went to the website again and even added the product to the cart, but forgot about it. After 5 days, he saw an advertisement again. This time on Instagram. He even took a screenshot so as not to forget and look later, but he did not click on the advertisement. Later that evening, John found a model of the sneaker on Google and finally bought it.

**Which channel brought the client?**

If you think it was organic search, then this is one type of attribution. But what if it was the first touch on Facebook ads? Then it is another type. Evaluating all channels equally is the third one.

Attribution is a tool that helps to track touches with a brand and understand where to invest money, and on which channel the budget is not worth spending.

Also, with attribution models, a conversion window is set — the period of time between the first touch and the purchase. There may be options: from 1 day to 28 or more. It depends on the length of the sales cycle.

Let's say we are launching a campaign to sell a certain brand of cars. In this case, the attribution window should be at least 28 days, because hardly anyone decides to buy a car spontaneously in 3-7 days or less.

How to track customer touches with a brand? Different platforms collect only their own data: Facebook, VK, Google services and others. If you want to track what result each channel brings, you can use a [**tracking pixel**](ak-pixel). It is a piece of code that collects information about user actions. All you need to do is to add this code to the pages of your company website.

## Why You Need to Use Attribution in Marketing

The [**customer journey**](customer-journey-automation) to purchase, where he saw and bought, is rare, especially if the product is complex and expensive. After the first acquaintance, your customer goes through several stages: clicking on a banner ad, subscribing to a newsletter, searching for a product and information about it on Google. If the company does not know how the customer actually comes to the purchase, then it risks investing the budget in the wrong channels.

**How marketing attribution helps businesses:**

- The ability to properly distribute the marketing budget between channels and reduce the risk of losing money, as well as increase ROAS and ROI.
- Better [**personalization**](/features/personalization). The more you know about your customers, the more likely you offer them what they need and do this using the right channel — the customer-friendly one.
- Building a relationship with a client. Relationship marketing is the key to long and profitable relationships with users or partners. This type of marketing has replaced the paradigm of fierce competition and conflict. The built relationship with the company retains the customer and helps to personalize purchases and services.

## Types of Attribution Models

When it comes to marketing attribution, one size doesn’t fit all. The same model will not work for every business. For example, for the real estate industry, counting the last click is a bad idea. It can take several months from the first touch to the purchase of an apartment. Let's look at different types of attribution models and discuss their pros and cons. 

### First Click Attribution

The first interaction with the user, such as a click on a banner ad, gets the most value per conversion. It is estimated that the platform, where the first touch took place, brought the desired action. The rest of the channels are not taken into account. 

**Pros:**

- Easy to understand and implement. 
- Opportunity to evaluate brand awareness campaigns and demand generation.  

**Cons:**

- It's not an advanced model, there are optimization limitations. In other words, we always evaluate only the first channel. Is it effective or not? Should we increase the budget for it or limit it? 
- “Accurate” and “impartial” — it is not about this model, because First Click Attribution does not take into account the merits of other touches. 

<Img
img="/uploads/first_click_attribution_7c5d93a800.jpg"
alt="First Click Attribution"
/>

### Last Click Attribution

The main value goes to the source that the user visits before making the desired action. Last click attribution has long been the most popular and even now it is the default setting in Google Analytics. 

**Pros:**

- A good option for tracking purchases that happen quickly and spontaneously.
- The model is accurate and easy to evaluate. For example, if users clear cookies, all data will be lost. But with the last touch attribution model, it’s not a deciding factor, because the period between the last click and the moment of conversion is short.

**Cons:**

- Other types of interactions are not counted, so you might draw the wrong conclusions about your campaign.

<Img
img="/uploads/last_click_attribution_5aff535620.jpg"
alt="Last Click Attribution"
/>

### Last Indirect Click Attribution Model

This model is similar to the previous one, but it gives more value not to the click, but to the last marketing action before lead conversion.

**Pros:**

- The model filters direct traffic that may have been the result of campaigns providing more informative and accurate data.

**Cons:**

- As with last-click attribution, we can’t track the customer journey.

<Img
img="/uploads/last_indirect_click_attribution_e2364b28d4.jpg"
alt="Last Indirect Click Attribution Model"
/>

### Linear Attribution

The value is distributed across all touchpoints. The linear model seems more impartial than last-click and first-click attribution, but it remains controversial because all channels cannot be equally effective.

**Pros:**

- Simple but more advanced than single-channel models. 
- A balanced view of your entire marketing strategy.
- It will show which channels have value — it will display each channel that participated in the path to conversion.

**Cons:**

- Although we can see all the channels that participated in the conversion, we will not be able to find out which one worked better. In other words, the model is useless if you need to distribute the budget for each channel in terms of efficiency. 

<Img
img="/uploads/linear_attribution_2105cd6457.jpg"
alt="Linear Attribution"
/>

### Time Decay Attribution

More weight in this model belongs to interactions that were closest to the conversion. The first touches are less valuable.

**Pros:**

- Scientific and logical model.
- Suitable for transactions with a long sales cycle, such as purchases in B2B or in the real estate industry.
- Helps evaluate customer relationship building campaigns.

**Cons:**

- It is almost impossible to define which channels brought the user first.
- The risk of overestimating the merit of a channel. The last visit before buying is not always decisive.

<Img
img="/uploads/time_decay_attribution_103b2b8beb.jpg"
alt="Time Decay Attribution"
/>

### Position-Based, or U-Shaped Attribution

The first and last touchpoints receive 40% of the value each, while the remaining 20% is divided between any touches that occurred in the middle of the funnel.

**Pros:**

- A powerful tool for the businesses that initially have a plan for multiple touchpoints before buying, rather than fast conversions.
- The most important channels receive value: the user's first acquaintance with the product and the last touch that motivates him to buy.

**Cons:**

- It doesn't consider marketing efforts beyond lead conversion. The first touch is not always successful. For example, the user doesn’t always understand what you are selling after the first touch. In this case, the following touches will introduce him to your product. Sometimes the actions in the middle of the funnel are more significant: notifications about a new price, newsletters about new products, perhaps, motivate them better than direct advertising.

<Img
img="/uploads/position_based_attribution_7dc46aaffa.jpg"
alt="Position-Based, or U-Shaped Attribution"
/>

### Data Driven Model

It is an algorithmic attribution model that uses machine learning to evaluate the customer's actions before he makes a purchase. Algorithms choose the most effective ads, keywords, and campaigns. In this attribution model, the patterns that led to the purchase or, conversely, prevented it, are found and compared.

**Pros:**
 
- The model is advanced and provides accurate data.
- Opportunity to assess all channels that you use to communicate with the customer.

**Cons:**

- It’s difficult to set up and work with it. You’ll have to find powerful software and competent analysts.

<Img
img="/uploads/data_driven_attribution_142be320fa.jpg"
alt="Data Driven Model"
/>

### W-Shaped Attribution

The model looks like a U-Shaped attribution, but this time it’s not only extreme points that get weight. We have an additional touchpoint. It’s a touch in the middle of the path, where there is a possibility that the client will become a buyer. For example, a company launched a mailing list, held a private sale, and so on. These points receive 30% each, and the remaining 10% is divided among other touches in the funnel.

**Pros:**

- Evaluating potential touchpoints that could have induced a customer to purchase in the middle of the journey. It gives you an opportunity to optimize a campaign, add or exclude broken channels.
- Suitable for lead generation campaigns.

**Cons:**  

- It is not always clear how the customer met the brand in the middle of the journey, 10% of the value for all other touches is negligible.
- Complexity of customization.

<Img
img="/uploads/w_shaped_attribution_e05ec5b80c.jpg"
alt="W-Shaped Attribution"
/>

### Full-Path, or Z-Shaped Attribution

The Z-shaped model takes the concepts of the W-shaped model. So we have the first touch, the last one and the stage of the conversion opportunity. But this time you get a touchpoint where the user becomes a lead: he subscribes to the newsletter or sends his email in exchange for something (usually content). 22.5% of the value is divided between four touchpoints, and the remaining 10% — between the rest.

**Pros:**

- Accurate and complete tracking of the customer's path to conversion.
- More opportunities to define strategies that work.

**Cons:**

- Difficulty in implementation. The model is only suitable for companies where marketing and sales are fully synchronized, and marketing deals directly with existing sales opportunities.

<Img
img="/uploads/z_shaped_attribution_f95dc2e0ac.jpg"
alt="Full-Path, or Z-Shaped Attribution"
/>

### Custom Attribution

A model works for companies with well-built marketing and sufficient resources: technology and competent analysts. The value is assigned manually for each interaction, but only after deep analytics of a large amount of data.

**Pros:**

- A complete picture of the customer journey with all the nuances.

**Cons:**

- This model is for advanced teams because it’s difficult to set up.
- It requires a lot of data to analyze, which takes time. Therefore, the model will pay off for a large sales cycle.

## Conclusion

Working with attribution models requires resources: time, team knowledge, advanced software. Used correctly, the attribution model will become a reference point for the company. A successful business knows not only the portrait of its client but also his path to purchase, which means it gets more chances to offer its product or service to the customer at the right time and in the right place.

How do you know which channels are the most effective? Select an attribution model and collect data from all customer touchpoints.

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How do you know which channels are the most effective? Choose and use an attribution model.

What Is an Attribution Model in Marketing and Why Businesses Need It

Marketing Attribution: Definition and Models

<Img
img="/uploads/how_to_send_an_email_blast_665202bc02.jpg"
alt="How to Send an Email Blast"
/>

Wondering how to send an email blast? Need to know what an email blast is? Trying to figure out how to create an email blast?

If you want to make the most of email blast marketing, you’re in the right place! Mail blasting is a proven way to get your message to potential customers quickly. Once you know how to do email blast, you’ll find mail blasting an easy and effective email marketing approach.

Whether you know it or not, you have probably seen an email blast example in your own inbox. Now, let’s explore how to leverage them for your business.

## What is an Email Blast?

An email blast is an email marketing tactic also known as an email broadcast.

When you send email blast, you’re sending a message to a large group of contacts at once. For example, if you have an existing email list with three segments – leads, customers, and past customers – an email blast would reach all of them. However, you would still [**personalize**](dynamic-content) the message with custom fields.

Some email blast examples include announcing a new product, a new feature, or a limited-time offer.

## When to Use Email Blast?

The best time to use an email blast is when you need to get the word out about a new business or offering fast.

If you can commit to doing A/B/n testing but you still need to make contact with potential buyers quickly, the email blast is the way to go. You can make the most of your customer data platform and get fresh eyes on your message right away, when it is at the peak of its relevance.

It is important not to overuse the email blast. If you send out an email broadcast for every little thing, you might lose subscribers. Plus, an email blast should only be sent to people you already have a relationship with.

The best email blast examples are enticing and add a lot of value even though they aren’t hyper-targeted!

## How to Create Email Blast

Here are the seven steps to create an email blast:

**1. Make Sure Your Email Database Is Clean**

Before any email blast, check your deliverability statistics and your [**email database**](how-to-build-an-email-database). Get rid of outdated entries that are causing emails to bounce. Also make note of any recent email messages with low deliverability so you know what to avoid in your email blast. These steps help you avoid being marked as spam in the future.

**2. Warm Up Your IP**

Warming up your IP establishes a good seller reputation and makes it less likely ISPs will automatically block your email messages. It is essential to warm up your IP if it is new or if you have not used it for an email campaign in the last 30 days. You must gradually increase the volume of emails you send over a period of several days. You can learn more about how to [**warm up your IP**](how-to-inbox) successfully.

**3. Determine Your Message Goals**

What do you plan to accomplish and what are the key metrics you need to monitor over time? Do you have a specific target for sign-ups or sales? Do you need to drive traffic to a particular page? This guides messaging and helps you set a baseline to know whether subsequent emails are trending in the right direction.

**4. Find the Right Marketing Automation Software**

The goal of your campaign, the size of your email list, and the messaging features you want to use will all come together to influence which [**marketing automation software**](https://altcraft.com/en) meets your needs best. Be certain whatever suite you select [**integrates**](/features/integration) with your Customer Relationship Management so you can keep all data in one place.

In Altcraft Platform, you can send a broadcast in a few clicks. Just choose your target audience, message content, and launch day:

<Img
img="/uploads/how_to_send_email_broadcast_in_altcraft_platform_4153415a62.png"
alt="How to send email broadcast in Altcraft Platform"
/>

**5. Create the Email Message**

On the surface, an email message seems simple enough: It’s a subject line, body, images, and a call-to-action. But each element must be fine-tuned to your intended audience. Craft the subject line with care, as well as the first 30 characters of the message, which are visible in the preview used by most mobile email clients. Altcraft Platform comes complete with its own [**drag-and-drop email builder**](/features/email-template-editor) to make this process easier.

<Img
img="/uploads/Visual_editor_96859a19ed.gif"
alt="HTML Drag-and-Drop Builder"
src="HTML Drag-and-Drop Builder in Altcraft Platform"
/>

**6. Embed Personalization in Your Message**

The cardinal rule of email marketing is this: No matter how many people you’re really talking to, your message should read like one-to-one communication. [**Use the data**](data-driven-marketing) you already have on your subscribers to build out custom fields with relevant content. First name personalization is a terrific place to start.

<Img
img="/uploads/facts_about_personalization_eecce752f8.jpg"
alt="Why personalization is important"
src="Facts About Personalization"
/>

**7. Use Your Subscriber Data to Improve Your Results**

By using audience segmentation, you can send a more personalized message even though you may be talking to thousands of people at once. The thrust of your message may be the same for everyone, but you might tweak the wording for leads, current customers, and past customers.

**8. Conduct A/B/N Testing to Refine Your Messaging**

Rome wasn’t built in one email. After 3-5 days, take a look at your [**data**](/features/analytics) so you’re equipped with lessons learned for the next email blast. Open rate, click-through rate, and unsubscribes are especially important to keep an eye on. If you’ve been [**split testing**](/features/mvt) so far, determine your winner and document the results.

<Img
img="/uploads/how_to_do_an_email_blast_the_right_way_1f71ed0166.jpg"
alt="How to do an email blast"
/>

## Conclusion

Done right, an email blast accelerates results from any promotion. With the tips above, you’ll be ready to create an email blast whenever your marketing plans call for it.

If you have any questions about how to send a broadcast, please [**contact us**](mailto:sales@altkraft.com).

Once you know how to do email blast, you’ll find mail blasting an easy and effective email marketing approach.

medium_how-to-send-an-email-blast.jpg

small_how-to-send-an-email-blast.jpg

thumbnail_how-to-send-an-email-blast.jpg

how-to-send-an-email-blast.jpg

Mail blasting is a proven way to get your message to potential customers quickly. Once you know how to do email blast, you’ll find mail blasting an easy and effective email marketing approach.

Email Blast: What Is It and How to Send It

How to Send an Email Blast

<Img
img="/uploads/blog_3032affa13.jpg"
alt="How to Use Customer Feedback to Increase Sales"
/>

Marketers have been in back-to-back crisis meetings over the past few years. Hackneyed solutions reached a dead end — a long time ago. Consumption patterns are erratic, and brand loyalty is fluid like never before. For these and other woes that bedevil the marketing department, experts preach one solution — data driven marketing.

## What Is Data-Driven Marketing? Why Is It Important?

This is using customer information to optimize business advertising and marketing communications. In data-driven marketing, marketers collect consumers' data and run them through data analytics tools to predict what the buyers need, why, where, and how.

Data-driven marketing is used by many brands to better [**segment**](how-to-build-an-email-database) their audiences. When brands have the right data, they can identify which consumers participate in their marketing efforts, identify the best channels and narrow down the times of the day customers are most receptive.

In addition, through data-driven marketing techniques like [**A/B/n testing**](/features/mvt),  brands can test-drive twin campaigns and choose one with the best reception among customers.  This saves companies a lot of money in the long run and guarantees a bigger return on investments.

A key advantage of data-driven digital marketing is [**personalization**](/features/personalization). Brands can now create personalized marketing strategies using the data gleaned from customer interactions. The end goal is to maximize the return per dollar of advertising.

When businesses gather and analyze customers' data, they can discover trends and customer needs. The new information then helps to determine what kind of advertising and selling methods to employ.

<Img
img="/uploads/Data_Driven_Marketing_Objectives_1a971fec4b.jpg"
alt="Data Driven Marketing Objectives"
/>

A daily life example of this is OTT platforms. To suggest other movies, films, music videos, and videos to their subscribers, Over The Top media platforms such as [**Netflix**](https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-marketing-strategy-brand-deals-campaigns-partners-details-2019-6) and YouTube constantly analyze their customers' preferences.

Data-driven marketing also played a significant part in the Lion King campaign's success. In November 2018, more than 2M mentions on social media as well as more than 5,000 media mentions revealed the importance of highlighting [**James Earl Jones'**](https://www.thephuketnews.com/a-roaring-success-the-lion-king-remake-a-cinematic-masterpiece-to-change-cgi-forever-72250.php) return!

## How to Build a Data Driven Marketing Strategy?

The challenges of data-driven digital marketing are also numerous. Many conditions must be fulfilled for such a strategy to work effectively. The most crucial step is to build a foolproof data-driven marketing strategy—for this, you need to map out your sales funnel, find the right data-driven solutions and assemble a competent team, including professionals who specialize in audience amplification or predictive analytics.

**The main actions in designing a data driven marketing plan are:**

- **Find your target audience.** Identify who your target market is in this section of the project. You will need to specify demographic information such as location, age, gender, and interests of your target audience.

- **Define goals.** There are many potential objectives you can choose from, such as increasing sales, growing brand awareness, driving more traffic to your website, or improving customer satisfaction.

- **Collect data.** You can get data from your CRM, sales histories, message applications, and customer survey results. If you are looking for a tool to unify profiles and store customer data in one place, pay attention to a [**Customer Data Platform**](/features/cdp) (CDP).

- **Analyze data.** According to Forbes, almost 36% of companies do not use their big data to the full extent, and 47% plan to introduce a data analysis tool in the future. You need to analyze the harvested data to identify the answers to your research questions.

- **Implement the insights.** After the data-driven analysis follows implementation. This stage uses insights from digital marketing data to optimize the [**customer journey**](customer-journey-automation). Study findings show that 80% of respondents prefer companies that offer personalized experiences. This is possible through data-driven content distributed across different channels.

- **Analyze results.** The data-driven approach requires regular and rigorous [**measurement**](/features/analytics) of results. Tracking the behaviors of your customers is the only way to tailor your strategy to their needs. Remember to keep testing after reviewing the first results and refine your campaign approach as appropriate.

## Data-Driven Marketing Metrics

<Img
img="/uploads/data_driven_metrics_1f9cf365d1.jpg"
alt="Data-Driven Marketing Metrics"
/>

Do not fly blind. For your company's data-driven strategy to succeed, it is essential to select key performance indicators (KPIs). These are the crucial data-driven analytics metrics that warrant your precious attention, efforts, and finances as a marketer.

- **Traffic sources**

Your business has a lot of opportunities to convert traffic (website visitors) into customers, so it's essential to measure your traffic month after month. Setting realistic conversion goals can help you achieve them.

What is the source of your website visitors? Your website may receive traffic from various sources, including organic keywords, direct traffic, links social media, or email. Focus your efforts on your biggest source of traffic.

- **Return on investment (ROI)**

Simply put, calculating your ROI means answering this question: did we make a profit after all our marketing expenses? You can calculate ROI by subtracting expenditures from gains.

- **Customer acquisition costs (CAC)**

You can measure how much money your strategy costs per customer to convert. Customer acquisition costs can silently destroy your business if they are too high.

- **Customer lifetime value (LTV)**

LTV represents a customer's lifetime spending capacity on your product. As a result, this can be a powerful metric to help you decide how much money to invest in customer acquisition - if you spend more than you earn, you'll lose money.

- **Customer churn rate**

A company's customer churn rate means the number of customers who leave the company. This metric is also known as the customer rate of attrition. It is critical for digital marketers to track this measurement as it is a litmus test of marketing efforts.

- **Customer satisfaction (CSAT)**

Customers' satisfaction is a metric that shows how pleased customers are with a company's products or services. With this data at hand, marketers can improve customer experience or feedback insights to teams in product design. There is nothing better to find out if the client is happy with your product than to ask him about it. That’s why it's really important to collect [**customer feedback**](how-to-use-customer-feedback-to-increase-sales) correctly.

## Conclusion

A data-driven marketing approach can lead to extraordinary business growth. Big data is captured, marketing metrics are used, data science and analytics are harnessed. Success follows soon!

Are you ready to optimize your marketing with data-driven insights? Contact us for a [**demo**](https://altcraft.com/setupDemo).





In data-driven marketing, marketers collect consumers' data and run them through data analytics tools to predict what the buyers need, why, where, and how.

Customer Data Platform

Omnichannel Marketing

Loyalty programs

Drag-and-drop email designer

Personalized mailings

MVT and A/B testing

Real-time analytics

Integration and WebHooks

Forms and Surveys

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