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5 Ways to Identify Customer Pain Points So You Can Nail Your Marketing Messages
Knowing your customers can have a big impact on your marketing, and on your business overall. Identifying customer pain points is a key part of this.
People don’t buy a product or service just because it’s cheap or has flashy features. While these reasons might influence someone's purchase decision, they'll ultimately buy something because it solves a problem.
Don’t have time to eat an expensive sit-down meal? Grab food at McDonald’s.
Can't sleep because your neighborhood is noisy? Get a pair of earplugs or a white noise machine.
Tired of driving to the gym every day? Purchase an at-home workout program on DVD.
Once you understand your customers and their problems, you can position your product or service as the solution. And you'll sell a lot more stuff.
What are customer pain points?
Customer pain points are common problems your target customers have that your product or service solves.
We outlined a few examples of customers' pain points above, but what matters is what your customers' pain points are. You can be in the same market with other competing products, but if your product solves your target audiences' pain points in a different way than your competitors, you may want to be targeting a slightly different audience.
For example:
You sell boots. You sell ultralight hiking boots for long-distance hikers who want great ankle support with minimal weight, even if that means they have to pay more than they would on regular boots. Their pain point is finding lightweight, supportive boots.
Your competitor also makes boots, but they make duck boots. They sell duck boots to people who want a pair of boots that will last. Their ideal customers are people who value durability. Their pain point is finding boots that won’t fall apart.
Your other competitor also sells boots, but they sell fashion boots. Their customers must have a boot that looks great and is in line with the current style. Their pain point is not being able to find a good-looking boot.
See where we're going with this? Different pain points, different products.
Ironically, one person could be the ideal customer for all these boot sellers, because each one of us can have multiple pain points, depending on which situations we find ourselves in.
By understanding customer pain points, you can promote your product or service more effectively and...
https://blog.aweber.com/learn/customer
Going back to the office? Here’s why we’re not.
We’re AWeber - a mighty team of 89 remote-first team members that span three time zones, two countries, and 15 states; all working together to help small businesses and entrepreneurs grow by forming meaningful connections with their audiences.
At this point, I’m sure we all know someone who’s returned to the office.
Returned to waking up earlier, fighting traffic during daily commutes, wearing pants...
And why?
What productivity was lost working remotely?
Of course, there are SOME benefits to meeting in person (we plan on doing company-wide retreats after all!), but for us the benefits of staying remote-first far outweighed being in person. Here’s why we’re not returning to the office.
We’re more effective remote-first.
We’re now more diligent about creating discoverable documentation that anyone, in any time zone, at any point in our company’s history can access. A focus on documentation and asynchronous communication allows us to easily discover outcomes from previous projects and make educated business decisions based on those learnings.
We no longer default to in-person meetings, but instead focus on creating transparent documentation that allows for feedback and collaboration from anyone across the company. This enables us to prune back many of those unnecessary meetings that used to fill up our calendars. Or if we do have to meet, we’re now more efficient and effective with how we spend our time together.
Hybrid doesn’t work.
A lot of companies are moving to a hybrid model - it’s the best of both worlds right? Wrong!
Hybrid models add more confusion to daily workflows. Instead of everyone working the same way, you now have to deal with ineffective meetings (think: 10 people crammed into a conference room with poor audio quality and bad camera angles) and relationships built based on proximity, all that puts remote team members at a disadvantage.
Instead, we’re in favor of all working the same way. We all have our own video/audio setups that allow for optimal (and clear!) conversations. We all communicate the same way - with a bias for being asynchronous and heavily documented. We all have the opportunity to form relationships the same way - no one is missing out due to their work location.
Better work / life balance.
We now have more flexibility in our daily lives.
We gain...
https://blog.aweber.com/culture/not-go
Best Practices for Double Opt-in
How you set up the sign up process for your email list can have a big effect on how engaged your subscribers will be later on. It might seem counterintuitive, but if you let people subscribe without any sort of confirmation, you can end up with a less engaged and less profitable list.
This is why one of the proven best practices of email marketing is to use “double opt-in.” In this post, we’ll cover:
What double opt-in isDouble opt-in versus single opt-inAn example of how double opt-in worksThe pros and cons of each sign up settingHow to set up double opt-inCommon mistakes people make when they set up double opt-in
Double opt-in does require some extra work, both for you and your subscribers. But if you want better engagement, higher deliverability, and more sales from the emails you send, it’s usually the best way to go.
What is double opt-in?
Double opt-in, also called “confirmed opt-in,” is a method of subscribing to an email newsletter where subscribers have to confirm two times (hence the “double” opt-in) that they want to receive emails from you.
It is used to screen out invalid addresses and improves the overall engagement levels of a list. Once your list is sent up to use double opt-in, no one can accuse you of sending spam - neither competitors nor email services.
The double opt-in subscription confirmation process consists of two steps:
A user leaves their email address in the subscription form on the site and clicks "Subscribe".The user receives a subscription confirmation email to this address, in which they have to click on a link to be added to the mailing list.
Only then can the user receive email newsletters. Double opt-ins should be implemented in channels where consent to receive email is usually not explicitly given. Otherwise, you can get a lot of spam complaints and get blacklisted.
Here’s an example of confirmed opt-in sign up form from AWeber customer The Disney Food Blog.
Step 1: Someone fills out the sign up form on your website:
Step 2: They see a “thank you” page with instructions about how to confirm their address:
Step 3: They go to their email inbox and find the confirmation email.
Step 4: They click the confirmation button or link in the confirmation email.
Step 5: They are brought to the final confirmation page.
What’s the...
https://blog.aweber.com/learn/double-o
Best Practices for Double Opt-in
How you set up the sign up process for your email list can have a big effect on how engaged your subscribers will be later on. It might seem counterintuitive, but if you let people subscribe without any sort of confirmation, you can end up with a less engaged and less profitable list.
This is why one of the proven best practices of email marketing is to use “double opt-in.” In this post, we’ll cover:
What double opt-in isDouble opt-in versus single opt-inAn example of how double opt-in worksThe pros and cons of each sign up settingHow to set up double opt-inCommon mistakes people make when they set up double opt-in
Double opt-in does require some extra work, both for you and your subscribers. But if you want better engagement, higher deliverability, and more sales from the emails you send, it’s usually the best way to go.
What is double opt-in?
Double opt-in, also called “confirmed opt-in,” is a method of subscribing to an email newsletter where subscribers have to confirm two times (hence the “double” opt-in) that they want to receive emails from you.
It is used to screen out invalid addresses and improves the overall engagement levels of a list. Once your list is sent up to use double opt-in, no one can accuse you of sending spam - neither competitors nor email services.
The double opt-in subscription confirmation process consists of two steps:
A user leaves their email address in the subscription form on the site and clicks "Subscribe".The user receives a subscription confirmation email to this address, in which they have to click on a link to be added to the mailing list.
Only then can the user receive email newsletters. Double opt-ins should be implemented in channels where consent to receive email is usually not explicitly given. Otherwise, you can get a lot of spam complaints and get blacklisted.
Here’s an example of confirmed opt-in sign up form from AWeber customer The Disney Food Blog.
Step 1: Someone fills out the sign up form on your website:
Step 2: They see a “thank you” page with instructions about how to confirm their address:
Step 3: They go to their email inbox and find the confirmation email.
Step 4: They click the confirmation button or link in the confirmation email.
Step 5: They are brought to the final confirmation page.
What’s the...
https://blog.aweber.com/learn/double-o
New AWeber Updates and Feature Releases
Get more out of your AWeber account when you keep up on the newest feature releases — requested by and built specifically for customers like you.
All Recent AWeber Updates
Jump directly to an update:
05/10/2022Shopify Sales Reports04/29/2022Etsy Sales Reports04/07/2022New Look for the Message Editor03/22/2022Quick Actions Menu03/22/2022Keyboard Shortcuts03/09/2022Dynamic RSS Feeds12/15/2021PayPal Sales in Reports ➡11/05/2021Newsletter Hub ➡10/27/2022Helpful 404 for Unpublished or Disabled Landing Pages10/25/2021Consolidated and Sortable Reports10/25/2021Location Data in Reports10/03/20217-day Black Friday Campaign Template09/17/2021Make Your Landing Page A Homepage09/13/2021Quarterly Recurring Payments09/09/2021Direct-to-Payment Links08/30/2021Buy and Connect Custom Domains ➡
Track Sales from Your Shopify Store
In addition to Stripe, PayPal, and Etsy, you can now also see all of your Shopify store’s sales directly in your AWeber account. Track your sales against your email marketing campaigns to see what drives the most sales. Then, over time, continue to check your reports so you can do more of what works.
You can see your Shopify sales in three places:
1. The dashboard sales chart
A dashboard widget showing sales, which includes Shopify sales.
2. Individual subscriber activity
Shopify sales shown as a list item under a subscriber.
3. The ecommerce report
Shopify purchases in the Sales tracked over time report.
Use your reports to make more sales
The best way to improve your marketing is by tracking what works — and there’s no better way to tell what works than seeing your sales.
Send emails with your newest releases, popular products, and discount codes. Then, keep an eye on your sales and track when your customers tend to buy — and what they’re buying.
Once you find the days, times, discounts, and products that drive the most repeat sales, you can send your customers the emails they want, when they want them.
How to find your Shopify sales
If you already have your Shopify store connected, you can log in and check out your reports. Or if you use Shopify and you haven’t set up the integration yet, get connected now.
Connect Shopify to AWeber
Track Sales from Your Etsy Store
You can now see all of your Etsy store sales directly in your AWeber account. Use this data to...
https://blog.aweber.com/updates/new-aw
When and How To Use Plain Text Emails
Plain text emails are a minimalist marketer’s best friend. And while they are sometimes viewed as “old school,” text-based emails are still read and sent all the time. You’ve probably been sending some yourself.
So if paring your email messages down to their simplest form, or making your emails readable on devices like Apple watches sounds interesting, keep reading. This article will cover:
What is a plain text email?The difference between plain text and HTML emailsWhen to use plain text instead of HTML emailsDo plain text emails improve email deliverability?How to make text-based emails look betterWhy you should clean up auto-generated plain text emails
What is a plain text email?
A plain text email is what it sounds like: It’s an email message that only includes text. There are no images or graphics and no formatting. All the links are written out.
Here’s an example of a plain text email:
And here’s the HTML version of that same email:
The difference between plain text and HTML emails
As you can see in the examples above, plain text emails look like… plain text. HTML emails look more like a website page, complete with an image, a colored background, and embedded links - all the visual elements most marketers want to have in their emails.
Maybe most marketers, but not all of them. One survey of email marketers showed that only 20% of marketers prefer to send only HTML emails. 62% prefer to send a hybrid HTML/plain text email, and 16% actually prefer to send only text-based emails.
This is consistent with email marketing best practices. It’s also fairly easy to do. Almost all email marketing services let people send two versions of their emails - text and HTML. And many email services will automatically create a text version of every email.
When two versions of an email are sent (using “multi-part MIME format,” if you want to get geeky), each subscriber’s email client will show either the HTML or the plain text version, depending on the settings in the subscriber’s email client.
For the email senders who expressly want to send only text emails, many email service providers allow them to set up their email campaign so it only goes out as plain text.
This is why you’re probably sending plain text emails already - because your email service provider automatically makes a text...
https://blog.aweber.com/learn/plain-te
5 Essential Ecommerce Marketing Strategies for 2022
Want to make your brand more visible to your target audience - so you can attract and convert more customers? Who doesn't! But to get there, you may need to revaluate the ecommerce marketing strategies available to you.
The industry is constantly evolving which means you need dynamic ecommerce marketing ideas to ensure that you always achieve the best ROI (return on investment) on your ecommerce marketing campaigns.
Global retail ecommerce sales are currently estimated at about $5695 billion, and anyone who wants a piece of that needs to have a great ecommerce strategy.
A quick search online will show you that there are tons of marketing strategies to choose from. However, some are more effective than others. If you don't want to waste your time trying to find out what works and what doesn't, simply follow the tips outlined below. These are tested and proven to be the best and most effective ecommerce marketing strategies to help you crush your goals.
1. Leverage the power of email marketing
Email marketing has been proven to provide ample benefits for ecommerce. There are tons of different email marketing strategies that are perfect for ecommerce businesses. However, regardless of the type of strategy you choose, emails will help you reach your target customers directly in their inboxes which gives you the opportunity to nurture leads and increase your sales.
Use your emails to:
Introduce your brandInform subscribers of new productsSee what messaging and email content your audience responds toShare brand newsGive discounts and send notifications of sales
… and much more.
Just make sure that you use the right email tools. This will not only make your work easier, allowing you to automate much of your tasks, but it will also ensure high deliverability rates so your emails are read by your recipients as opposed to landing up in their spam folders.
Here are a few more best practices for your ecommerce email marketing strategy:
Automate a thank-you and confirmation message for new subscribers.Automate abandoned cart messages.Create an email newsletter to regularly update subscribers about your brand and its offerings.Create non-commercial emails that are engaging and/or educational (such as online courses, podcasts, blog articles, etc.) to boost brand development.Integrate clickable social media buttons into an...
https://blog.aweber.com/learn/ecommerc
5 Essential Ecommerce Marketing Strategies for 2022
Want to make your brand more visible to your target audience - so you can attract and convert more customers? Who doesn't! But to get there, you may need to revaluate the ecommerce marketing strategies available to you.
The industry is constantly evolving which means you need dynamic ecommerce marketing ideas to ensure that you always achieve the best ROI (return on investment) on your ecommerce marketing campaigns.
Global retail ecommerce sales are currently estimated at about $5695 billion, and anyone who wants a piece of that needs to have a great ecommerce strategy.
A quick search online will show you that there are tons of marketing strategies to choose from. However, some are more effective than others. If you don't want to waste your time trying to find out what works and what doesn't, simply follow the tips outlined below. These are tested and proven to be the best and most effective ecommerce marketing strategies to help you crush your goals.
1. Leverage the power of email marketing
Email marketing has been proven to provide ample benefits for ecommerce. There are tons of different email marketing strategies that are perfect for ecommerce businesses. However, regardless of the type of strategy you choose, emails will help you reach your target customers directly in their inboxes which gives you the opportunity to nurture leads and increase your sales.
Use your emails to:
Introduce your brandInform subscribers of new productsSee what messaging and email content your audience responds toShare brand newsGive discounts and send notifications of sales
… and much more.
Just make sure that you use the right email tools. This will not only make your work easier, allowing you to automate much of your tasks, but it will also ensure high deliverability rates so your emails are read by your recipients as opposed to landing up in their spam folders.
Here are a few more best practices for your ecommerce email marketing strategy:
Automate a thank-you and confirmation message for new subscribers.Automate abandoned cart messages.Create an email newsletter to regularly update subscribers about your brand and its offerings.Create non-commercial emails that are engaging and/or educational (such as online courses, podcasts, blog articles, etc.) to boost brand development.Integrate clickable social media buttons into an...
https://blog.aweber.com/learn/ecommerc
Welcome Email Campaigns: How to Onboard New Subscribers
It's a big deal when someone signs up for your email list. You've put in a lot of work to attract this person and to build up enough trust with them that they'll let you into their inbox.
But the work isn't done once they've signed up. Now your job is to engage them – to build on the trust and interest you've established with them so they'll become a long-term, enthusiastic subscriber.
All that starts with a welcome email.
What's a welcome email?
A welcome email is an automated email message that is sent out to new subscribers as soon as they sign up for your email list.
Some email marketers don't send a single welcome email – they send a series of them. These welcome series are sent out over time, usually one per day, and are typically a sequence of three emails.
Why send a welcome email?
Welcome emails get dramatically more opens and clicks than regular emails.One study found that welcome emails get 396% more opens and have a 533% higher click-through rate than other promotional emails. To make the most of new subscribers' interest in your emails – right at the moment after they've signed up.To help your subscribers get to know you.To give your new subscribers a message right when they sign up so they won't have to wait until your next regularly-scheduled email.To showcase the content you want new subscribers to see first.To increase your subscribers' engagement with your list long-term by starting off with a great experience.
Welcome emails, confirmation emails, and thank you pages
Let's step back from welcome emails for a moment and talk about how they fit into the overall experience you're creating to welcome new subscribers. This involves welcome emails - yes. But it also includes the thank you page you show subscribers after they've signed up and a confirmation email message if you're using double opt-in.
Just to be clear: Welcome emails are not confirmation emails. Both types of emails are sent right after subscribers sign up, but a confirmation email is used to confirm that someone wants to be on your list.
Confirmation emails are part of a process called "double opt-in," where people have to sign up and then confirm again that they want to sign up. Double opt-in does require an extra step, but it's worth it. It generally results in higher engagement rates later on....
https://blog.aweber.com/learn/welcome-
