Whether you are using email marketing to simply gain some extra recognition for your home business or employing an all-out marketing campaign intended to reach millions, it can be a very effective form of marketing. This article will provide you with some great tips for having a more successful email marketing campaign.
Provide exclusive content in your marketing emails. By providing those on your mailing list with information not available on your site, your customers are more likely to read each message, and begin looking forward to them. Your customers will feel special and appreciated when they receive relevant information in your emails.
Minimize traditional email marketing activities during the holidays. Customers are preoccupied with family and friends, and are less likely to be paying attention to business email. Your odds of ending up in the spam box are considerably higher, which could have longer term implications for your bottom line. The major exception to this would be a business directly related to the holiday activities. Otherwise, give yourself a break and enjoy some downtime yourself. Business will be back on track in a day or two.
Send your opt-ins a link that they must click on to confirm their subscription to your email list. This way, you ensure that it is something that they want to do, and it will protect you from getting complaints about spam. Let your opt-ins know in your pitch that they will need to click on a link.
Consistency is important. Make sure that your emails contain the same colors and company logos. The font used in your emails must be easy to read. By doing this, you begin to create brand recognition, and customers will look forward to your next message. Like most other fields of commerce, email marketing relies heavily on building a bond of familiarity between customer and merchant.
Go for professional over slick with your emails. Don’t send emails that look like flashy webpages. This comes across as impersonal to the recipient. Also, keep in mind that many email programs will not display HTML images. So, do not focus on images in your emails. Go for concise, professional, and inviting so that everyone can read it.
In order to banish all concerns about spam and ensure that no one on your subscriber list is there by mistake, consider employing a double opt-in strategy. Your first message should require some sort of additional action, like replying or clicking on a link, to make certain that the reader wants to receive further emails.
When you are building an effective email marketing campaign, you need to have the proper sign-up forms on your company website. Make sure you have them on every page, and also make sure that they are in the proper locations on your site pages. This is key to getting the customers to sign up.
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.
Give your marketing emails the same consideration that you give your site content and other marketing materials. Too often businesses take a too-casual approach to their email marketing efforts, and seemingly small errors like typos end up undermining their readers’ perception of their level of professionalism. Before you add an email to your marketing rotation, ask yourself if it would inspire you to buy.
Make sure your email marketing strategy makes use of “smart persistence.” It is crucial to be persistent, while delivering a message your readers will find beneficial. Reaching out to an audience that is not appreciative of your efforts will be a waste of everyone’s valuable time.
You don’t want to alienate a good customer just to keep your email base high. For this reason, you should always give readers an easy and obvious way to unsubscribe. To put a silver lining on unsubscribe requests, constantly ask readers why they want to unsubscribe and use that information to improve the experience for future readers.
Rather than purchasing or renting a mailing list, build your own from the ground up. You can do this by including opt-in forms on your website, gathering business cards at conventions or other industry events, and encouraging your subscribers to share your emails with others, which can garner even more subscribers.
Avoid using the character string “$$$” in your marketing messages. Many spam messages use this character string either in the subject line or body of their emails. If you use it, people and email servers may treat your emails as if they were spam, too. Your emails may end up ignored or even blocked.
Use plain text. Plain text emails will be received as more personable and HTML can be more difficult for some people to read. Some email readers may even prevent the delivery of HTML, depending on user settings. Plain, simple text will always be easy to read and very well received.
You should utilize multi-part messages when creating your emails in order to ensure that everything is accounted for. Emails that provide plain text content, as well as HTML, ensure that the recipient can display the material. Subscribers who prefer plain text will opt out of your emails if you do not make the effort to make your messages available in the format they prefer.
Now that you are equipped with some effective and proven email marketing tactics, it’s time to get out and use them! The tips above will help turn your bland marketing schemes into successful ones by using email and the internet to reach limitless audiences and get your message out there.
