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RSSDear Email Diva,
Do you have any information on the effectiveness of Forward to a Friend links in emails? Are there specific industries/sectors that are more apt to forward an email? Is it better to offer the forwarding on a Web page or just via the email client? Is there any functionality offered with a forward to a friend script that beats simply hitting "forward" [on the email program], aside from the fact that an HTML email won't be blown apart?
Jon Spooner
Kickstand
Dear Jon,
I have not seen industry stats on Forward to a Friend (FTAF, or Send to a Friend, STAF), but I do have some of my own. I have calculated the STAF rate as Emails Forwarded/Total Responders, and tracked it for years. On average, 1-2% of responders will forward an email through the forwarding functionality, i.e., a link to a Web page where you enter the friend's name and email address. Forwards using the email software forward button, are not, as far as I know, trackable.
DISCLAIMER: My clients, their email content and their audiences may not be similar to yours. As the Email Experience Council/Strong Mail 's "Email Metrics and Bounce Management Report" demonstrated, there are major differences in how data is collected and interpreted, so we should all approach "industry standards" with extreme caution.
But back to STAF. It is part of the basic blocking and tackling of email marketing. Yes, you can do almost the same thing by using the email program "forward" button, but, as you point out, HTML emails do not forward intact. Other advantages are that a) the forward button gives a little encouragement/reminder to the reader who is considering forwarding the message and b) you can track it.
At the end of the year, look at your most- and least-forwarded emails. If your goal is to get as many forwards as possible, learn from this information. You will also see that some messages simply don't lend themselves to forwarding, even though they delivered strong response rates, and vice versa. This should be more valuable to you than any industry data.
Invite but do not induce readers to forward your emails. The next round of updates to CAN SPAM will likely require companies who procure STAFs to ensure their forwarded messages comply with CAN SPAM. "The Commission believes the initiation of the message has been 'procured' if the person receives money, coupons, discounts, awards, additional entries in a sweepstakes, or the like in exchange for doing so. In such cases, the seller/advertiser... would be responsible for ensuring that the message contains the required opt-out mechanism and disclosures, and that opt-out requests are honored." (page 17). While the proposed changes have not yet been made into law, it would be wise to follow them. At any rate, you don't want to encourage people to spam others on your behalf.
I wrote about best practices to "Help Friends Build Your List" in a previous article, but here's the bottom line: if you want readers to forward your emails, deliver compelling content.
Good Luck!
The Email Diva
Send your questions or submit your email for critique to Melinda Krueger, the Email Diva, at emaildiva@kd-i.com. All submissions may be published; please indicate if you would like your name or company name withheld.
RSS FEEDS
http://fromline.com/2007/08/30/the-death-of-foward-to-a-friend.aspx
1. You can track it. Meaning, you can see who forwarded and who subscribed b/c they were forwarded a newsletter and you can also automatically (or manually depending on the system you use) send a short thank you to the forwarder of the email.
2. You protect your subscribers from accidentally forwarding their edit profile link and getting themselves unsubscribed.
Most people don't realize that when they use their email program to forward the email, that little link at the bottom to unsubscribe will still work. I've seen many occurrences where someone was unsubscribed from a list b/c the friend they forwarded the email to clicked their link to unsubscribe!
From my data, the "industry" with the highest forward rates are non-profits, especially advocacy groups. They can have very high forward rates.
I agree with the Diva in that valuable content is the best way to entice people to forward. You don't need offers. We recommend two links - one at the top and one at the bottom of the email with the keyword of "forward" at the beginning of the link - because "forward" is what people are thinking, not "send". (Outlook has a forward button, gmail has a forward button, etc, etc. Do like everyone else. :)