Many businesses are quickly discovering that email marketing can be a vital part of their business. Emails can be a great way to keep in touch with customers, to offer them deals that will interest them and to invite them to special sales. The information and tips in this article can help you see all that email marketing has to offer your business.
Steer clear of renting or purchasing lists to pad your email marketing database. Not only do you not know if the emails you have purchased are truly your target market, but the lists can actually hurt your deliver-ability rates and ultimately your reputation. As much as possible, build your list organically.
Be persistent with your email marketing messages. It can take as many as twenty emails to one prospect before you routinely have their attention. Try telling a good story through your messages. Hook them with a few messages and let it unfold over a series. Running contests that span several weeks are good way to do this.
Emails that contain only boring marketing and sales copy are mush less likely to be read than those that also include useful information. Your subscribers should have access to exclusive content before everyone else. Put some offers into emails that will save them money on products or services. Make sure to send emails even when you aren’t selling anything, like during holidays.
Make sure that your email subscribers know exactly what to expect from you. An excellent way to do this is to make your first email to every new subscriber a default informational message. You should lay out what sort of content you intend to send them, and also indicate the frequency of messages they can expect from you.
Give customers the choice of getting a plain text version of your email marketing materials or a rich text version. Customers can choose the option they prefer when they sign up for your newsletter. Plain text versions don’t include graphics, so customers with slower connections or overactive spam filters might appreciate this option.
Capture the attention of your readers with the right subject line. You might want to se from 30 to 50 characters and create a sense of urgency. The subject line should give an indication of what the reader can expect once they open the email. Including an attractive incentive will increase the interest of recipients.
Do not take up permanent residence in your readers inboxes. Remember that they email for a number a reasons, from work to family. You are probably sharing that space with other marketers. Send out messages often enough to stay on their mental radar, but more than once a week is probably going to annoy them and backfire.
Do not send too much information in one email. Customers will get frustrated and overwhelmed if there is an overabundance of information in a single email. Instead, put a sufficient amount of information in a series of emails and be sure that each one contains a few paragraphs. This will keep their attention.
The subject is one of the most important parts of your e-mail. If you do not have a subject that immediately grabs the reader’s attention, it is likely that they will not bother to read the e-mail at all. The best written e-mails can be completely worthless without a compelling subject. Make sure that all of your subjects are great!
One thing that can really harm a business is if it receives a reputation of spamming. You should make sure that this doesn’t happen to you by asking your email list to confirm that they want to receive emails. Try sending out a confirmation email immediately after someone subscribes to your list. The email should include a link to confirm, as well as a link to refuse the subscription. This gives you verification that you are not spamming, and respects the desires of your customer base.
Your marketing email does not need to be just black and white only. Your logo should appear, and a color scheme of some sort should also be part of your campaign. However, it is very important that the color scheme be specific and consistent in order for it to be effective for your campaign.
Make your email messages tell the reader a story. Storytelling is one of the most powerful advertising techniques. Each installment of your newsletter or mailing should tell the next bit of the advertising message “story”. They need to be connected in some way, for example by having each message end with a tip or a testimonial.
Offer your customers a chance to sign up for your special email promotions. This way, they will have voluntarily signed up to be receiving your emails and the messages and promotions will not come across to them as spam. Gaining the permission of your customers to email them with offers will help keep your customer’s trust intact.
Give your subscribers a birthday message. Add a field to your subscription form for customers to enter their birthday, and use this information to send an automated greeting when their special day rolls around. Consider including a discount or coupon with birthday greetings to help your customers feel valued and special.
Make certain that the ‘from’ field of your e-mails displays your name or your business in a manner that is easily recognizable. Many people determine whether they are going to read an e-mail based on the ‘from’ field. A lot of people are also wary of opening e-mails that are sent from places that they do not readily recognize due to the fact that e-mails can contain viruses.
It is a well-known fact that the use of the internet has opened up an entirely new way for businesses to interact with customers. Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to keep in touch with loyal customers and to reach potential customers. Use the techniques and tips from the article above to create an email marketing strategy for your business.
