If you aren’t sure how to increase your subscriber base, here are some ideas to get you started. Many people don’t know where to start when it comes to email marketing, so we’ve written this article to help you along the way!
Consider using a template that allows for each recipient to receive a personalized message in the greeting. People respond more favorably to emails that address them personally, and are less likely to reject the message. This personalization is simple to accomplish, and will grow a greater relationship with your customers.
Even though it should be obvious, it is important enough to state over and over: Never send unsolicited emails. You should have explicit permission from everyone you send marketing emails to. This is about more than trying not to upset them; a recipient who considers your email spam can cause trouble for you with your service provider.
An email marketing campaign needs a design and testing phase, just like anything else. Plan on putting in time making sure that your messages get past all techniques used for fighting spam, from content filters to image blocking and java-script suppression. You can send out a million messages blindly and not ever know if they are even seen.
Consider using text emails instead of graphically intense HTML emails for your campaign. You may be thinking that the graphics will engage your reader more, but it’s usually not the case. Many people today have trained themselves to delete emails with lots of imagery, assuming they are spam. As well, those images often trigger spam filters, meaning your message is never received by some people on your email list!
Proper branding of your business includes a good email marketing strategy. Design a great template that will enable you to show off your company’s logo, along with any special colors or fonts that you display prominently on your business’s website. Doing so can help your readers to recognize your company instantly.
Color is important, even when it comes to email! Your email messages should have a consistent color scheme that is both professional and easy to read. This is especially important once you start designing more advanced, HTML rich messages. If you are unsure about making your own selections, a little Internet research can point you towards excellent color schemes.
Have a strong call to action in your email marketing campaign and position it to be seen. You shouldn’t make it difficult for your email readers to know exactly what you want from them. If it’s too hard to figure out, then your email will most likely be quickly deleted. Instead, offer a clear call to action and deliver it in a way that can’t be missed.
Always make sure customers have a clear and concise way to opt out of emails at any time. They signed up with you because they wanted more information, and if at any time they wish to stop receiving that information, they should be able to opt out. It is only fair.
An email marketing campaign is one way to quickly grow your business. Therefore, make sure you are prepared with a business strategy to fully deliver what the customers expect and what you tell them they are going to get from you. It is important that the trust is not broken between you and the customer.
Getting permission to send emails is not difficult to get. You can use discounts, coupons, special offers and even flyers given out in trade shows to get customers interested enough to receive your emails. They can sign up on your website among other methods. By being friendly and offering a good incentive to sign up, customers may even give you access to personal information and their personal preferences.
You should try and make your email messages as personal as possible. Readers are far more likely to delete emails or even unsubscribe when the message they’re reading feels like a form letter. An easy way to identify your customer is adding their first name, but you should do more. You need to understand when, where, and why they chose to sign up. Use all of this information to focus your message to your readers’ needs.
Make your emails truly personal. Do not just use their names in your emails play to their wants and needs as well. You need to understand your customers and why they opted into your list. When you speak to them personally, they will feel more comfortable doing business with you.
Use plain text and hyperlinks in your email messages, and save the images and Flash animation for your web page. Many email services now filter out images and animations in the name of consumer safety, meaning that your lists may not even see your carefully-crafted images. Plain text messages are guaranteed to go through intact, and then the images on your website will catch your viewers.
Show your subscribers respect by not sending them tons of unwanted emails. Two or three email messages a month should be all that they receive from you. If you are flooding their email boxes, not only it will not be appreciated, but it will be highly unlikely they will buy anything that you are selling.
Respect for your subscribers has to be the cornerstone of your email marketing efforts. One way to show this respect is to limit your frequency of communication with them. Familiarity breeds plenty of other negative traits besides contempt! Limit yourself to two or three emails per subscriber per month. If you communicate more often, you risk losing readers’ interest and becoming background noise.
The information in the preceding article will help you understand how to be successful in email marketing. Remember the information listed, and do it!
