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.
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.
Do your best to keep your email message personal. Like it is with many other methods of marketing, you will find more customers willing to do more business with you when you are more personable. As an example, include the reason why they are getting emails from your business in your marketing materials you send to them.
Consistency is important. Keep your company’s logo and the colors and style you use the same in every email. Use easy-to-read fonts for text-based information. With enough exposure to them, your subscribers will come to find your consistent emails distinctive and start paying more attention them. A recognizable brand is an important marketing factor, especially with email marketing.
Make sure you have the client permission before emailing them. Most people are inclined to ignore or delete messages from unknown senders and your efforts will be wasted. ISP policy violations may also occur if you send mass emails to people who don’t want them.
Don’t send emails to people who have not given their express consent. If you fire off unsolicited emails, the recipients are not likely to take you seriously. Some may dislike unwanted emails so much, they decide to no longer buy from you or work with you.
Get creative with your email designs to find out what works best. Send out a few emails with content and links that differ in their fonts and text color. Play around with image positioning, including buttons and logos. After you’ve sent the emails, find out which ones had the best click-thru rates. Stick with those for the time being, but change it up on occasion to see if you can find a method that works even better. More click-thru rates equate to more sales.
Make sure you are working off of a clean list. This keeps the time you spend directed towards targeted customers. Targeting the wrong customers will not help you, and a clean list can get you to more of the right customers much faster. Clean up your list, and get to the right customers!
Let customers know how to add your email address to their “safe sender list”. Many people do not know how to prevent certain emails from being sent to their spam folder. Inform them of how to prevent this from happening and encourage them to add you to their address book.
When developing an email marketing campaign, you must make your material look professional. If it does not look professional, customers will pass over it without paying any attention at all. There are plenty of scams and junk emails going around, and your legitimate marketing campaign must stand out as something they want to look further into.
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.
Every email marketing campaign should include an unsubscribe option. It’s costing you money to send those emails, and sending them to people who don’t want them is money poorly spent. Additionally, spamming is a sure way to garner negative publicity at best and blacklisting at worst.
To maximize the effectiveness of your emails, send them out on Tuesday or Wednesday. Research shows that people are actually more inclined to respond positively to various forms of communication on these days, including email. Not only are they more likely to read your email, but they’re also more apt to click on buttons or links, which means that you’re more likely to see an increase in sales. Send your emails at mid-afternoon for optimal results.
If you are following up with clients through an email, try following up with a press release concerning your company. Include a statement on your message that tells your clients to register on the below link. The concluding P.S. could tell them to view all the examples on the link that was provided in the email.
Make sure your email campaign matches your brand. Use the same logos, fonts, colors as well as a similar messaging style to what your readers could find on your website. This helps the receivers of your email feel comfortable with the content and makes them more likely to open it.
There are zombie email addresses, and people do sell them. This not only wastes your time, but it keeps your messages from getting to the right targeted customers. Make sure you know what you are getting into, and make sure you are sending messages to people that could actually do business with you.
Your customers will appreciate getting a freebie via email. Attach a statement on your email that tells them to take full advantage of this. The end of the email should explain that they need to act quickly before your limited numbers of freebies are gone.
Let your emails accurately reflect your brand. Though you may feel like email marketing is a bulk and generic product, you should put your all into it. Have the email format showcase your company, and your services, by proudly displaying your business logo with complimentary coloring throughout. Almost nobody uses plain text for marketing these days.
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!
