You’ve probably never heard the term “email marketing” before, but more than likely you have seen it. It’s everywhere! Your favorite companies have more than likely sent you a message telling you about a product. This is email marketing in its purest form. Does this sound like something you would want to use? Granting that it is, then continue reading.
If you want your email marketing messages to be successful, make sure you have permission to send them. If you do not have permission from your recipients, the potential consequences can range from being added to spam filters all the way up to getting blacklisted by Internet service providers themselves.
Before using email marketing, create a test email and send it to a friend or family member. Your loved one can see how the email looks and give you feedback. This way, if any changes need to be made, you can do it before sending the emails out to customers.
Try using different techniques when you are email marketing. You can read books at the library, check out blogs and join forums. There are also many local workshops and classes that you can find in your area, so it would be to your benefit to attend what you can.
Email is a great marketing tool, but it is not an arena where the hard sell is appreciated. Never pressure your subscribers into buying. Put sales pitches at the tail end of your emails, especially if your readers signed up with expectations of informative content. Consider email as a tool to cultivate interest, not instant sales.
Your color scheme should be consistent and should reflect your brand. If your colors are all over the board, you will appear amateurish and your efforts may not achieve the results that you desire. You can look on sites like COLOURlovers if you need some good ideas to get you going.
Your emails should be readable sans images. Many email providers disable images by default, and unless the user changes their settings, they will not be able to see any images you include. Because of this, any images you include in the emails that you send should also be followed by comprehensive text.
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.
Place a prominent unsubscribe link in your email messages so customers can easily get off your list, if they don’t want your messages anymore. There is a cost to sending email, even if it is small. More importantly, if you’re seen as a spammer, it’ll hurt your reputation as a business. Customers may block your email address if they get annoyed.
You might want to consider following up to your clients with some type of surprise bonus that you are providing them. Include a link on your email that tells them to click on it. The concluding postscript could inform them that they can get all the details on this by clicking on the provided link.
When you’ve determined your email’s frequency, make it into a schedule. Set the times and dates of when you have to send your recipients your emails. It doesn’t matter if you send an email daily or monthly, sticking to a schedule can keep you organized and can allow your recipients to know when they can receive your emails.
If you take the time to mention personal details in your emails, your subscribers will notice your efforts. If it feels more like a form letter to them, they are more likely to just delete it or block it from receiving any more. Using the first name of the recipient is simple, and you can even go beyond that. Try to retain data about the time, place and reason for their initial registration with you. Utilize this vital information in your marketing messages.
Your customers will be more open to your email marketing campaign if you let them choose the frequency of your messages when they sign up. Knowing how often they can expect to hear from you will keep them from feeling surprised or overwhelmed by your messages. This will make them more receptive to what you have to say.
Make your emails focus on your audience, not yourself. Your customers are the ones that make your campaign a hit or a failure Be a great resource to them and try to do what you can to include feedback from them. This can be with polls, comments, etc. Getting them engaged may help you build beneficial relationships for your business’s future.
Tell your customers up front what they can expect from your email marketing campaign. Include information at opt-in that will let your customers know if they can expect to hear from you monthly, quarterly, or more often. Tell them what you will include. Whether it be sales, coupons, or special promotions.
Make sure your messages come from a corporate point of view. Do not say your messages are friendly reminders from a specific individual, unless of course, your readers automatically know that person, and that they are associated with your company. Readers are anticipating messages from your company, so fulfill that expectation for trust.
After countless times of encountering email marketing, you finally know what it is. Put simply, it’s using the medium of emails to send messages either current customers or future customers for the sole purpose of marketing to them. Now that you know what it is, make use of it in your own emails!
