Email Marketing is one of the most cost effective ways to contact prospects and customers.
When compared to the cost of Direct Mail, Email Marketing is considerably less expensive and can have a much larger and faster impact on immediate sales.
When done correctly, email marketing can be extremely powerful and cost effective. No other medium allows such easy and measurable access to help your business build value and credibility. The trick is to realize that when email marketing is done incorrectly, it can also become one of the most destructive things that can happen to your business. Irresponsible email marketing can quickly erode your brand equity, alienate customers, and virtually guarantee that your prospects never buy from you.
This guide is designed to give you some insights on how you can use best practices to allow your business to make the most of your email marketing campaigns, maximize your return on investment, and truly profit from permission-based email marketing.
It is our goal and sincere desire that you and your business effectively implement and benefit from this guide.
Feel free to distribute this guide to your business associates, team members, web site visitors, etc… provided that the information is provided as-is.
Top Ten Tips For Email Marketing Success:
- Only send emails to people and businesses who have requested to receive them. Otherwise, you are spamming (sending unsolicited commercial email) which will undoubtedly get your emails blacklisted, blocked, and trashed.
- Only send content that is relevant to what the receiver has requested. When someone requests information from you, they are placing their trust in you that they will receive relevant information. Violating that trust can quickly cause your prospects to unsubscribe.
- Be consistent with your sending schedule, whether daily, weekly, bi-weekly. As your subscribers become familiar with your consistency, their trust in you (and your value to them) are increased.
- For best results, we recommend sending business emails on Tuesdays through Thursdays. Business emails sent on Mondays can easily be lost in the weekend clutter. Business emails sent on a Friday can easily be ignore in the rush to get away from the office for the weekend.
- Make your “From” name in your messages either your company name or the name of a contact person at your business. Then be consistent in using that name. Many times, the decision to open an email or not is made in a split-second. By using a name that is familiar to your subscribers, you dramatically improve the odds of having your message opened.
- Create your messages in both HTML and plain text. When you send only in HTML, approximately 5% of your subscribers will simply receive a blank email due to their email program not being able to display HTML properly.
- Avoid using all caps or multiple exclamation marks in your subject line or body. Not only does this make your message appear unprofessional but it will also trigger spam filters which will cause your messages to get blocked.
- Don’t try to “trick” spam filters by doing things like adding dots to your words (like F.R.E.E.). Email companies employee staff to constantly monitor and manage filters to catch these tricks. Keep your writing professional and always write with regard to the actual human being that will be reading the message when it is opened.
- Never miss an opportunity to build your list. Add subscription forms to your web site or blog. When you receive a business card, ask if you can add them to your email list. If you have a brick and mortar business location, place a signup sheet in view of your customers and offer to send them email updates, special offers, coupons, etc…
- Track your click-throughs using an AdTracker. Knowing how well your messages are generating reader interest can help you maximize your email marketing campaigns. Use an AdTracker for each link to see which messages are getting the best responses and which messages may need some tweaking.
Keys To Successful Email Marketing:
- Always use a permission-based email marketing system.
- Decide on the type of content you will be sending such as a newsletter, coupon offers, special announcements, training, sales messages, etc… and stick to that type of content.
- Add signup forms to your blog or web site so that you can start converting web site visitors in to subscribers.
- Develop quality relevant content and begin sending your message out to your list. Continue sending relevant content to your list, making sure to keep your schedule consistent. As your list grows, you will begin to notice increased repeat traffic to your web site and/or place of business which should result on increased sales (If applicable).
- Use personalization in your subject lines and content to improve open and response rates in your email marketing. This is accomplished by inserting tokens in to your body message as you create your messages.
- Remind your subscribers to add your email address to their approved senders list. As major ISP’s are becoming increasingly aggressive about filtering email, you’ll want to be sure your subscribers can receive your messages. You can accomplish this by adding a reminder to your subscription confirmation pages, such as: To ensure you receive the requested information, please addemail @yourcompany.com to your Address Book. Thank you!
Email Marketing - Make It Count
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