Marketing your business takes determination, inspiration and knowledge. Step one to creating an effective email marketing campaign will be gathering information, and this article is a great place to start.
Read on for the best tips and tricks which industry leaders are currently using effectively in their own campaigns, leading to great success.
Follow up with contacts you meet at trade shows. Collect people’s phone numbers when they stop by your table and call them within a couple of weeks of meeting them. Use the follow-up call to check in with your contact and ask him if he would like to receive your marketing newsletter by email.
Be persistent with your email marketing messages. It can take as many as twenty emails to one prospect before you routinely have their attention. Try telling a good story through your messages. Hook them with a few messages and let it unfold over a series. Running contests that span several weeks are good way to do this.
Do not use dollar signs in either the subject or the body of your emails, unless you are using just one to denote a specific amount of currency. This will strike many recipients as being spam my behavior, and many spam filters will automatically trash emails that include character strings like “$$$.”
Use your email marketing to get your customers more involved with other promotion portals. For example, always give readers several ways to learn more about what every email is discussing. End every email with your contact information and web address, encourage them to share special promotions through Facebook “Like” buttons or direct them to a video that shows them how best to use a new product.
When you are setting up an email marketing campaign, it is pertinent to know who your target audience is. The proper research regarding your market niche will help you determine your target audience, and you can then build an effective email marketing campaign. Targeting the right customers is key to your success.
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.
Try customizing your messages for your email recipients. Try including their name in the email so that it feels more warm and personal. This can help build better relationships with your customers, and they may be more inclined to read what you have to say in these personalized email messages.
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.
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.
Offer a bonus, such as a coupon, discount code, or other freebie, in exchange for signing up for your email mailing list. People love receiving free things. An email address is low in value to the customer but high in value to you as a business. People will gladly trade their contact information in exchange for a 10% discount off their next purchase.
Build your mailing list one person at a time. Start by asking your largest customers to sign up and recommend you to their friends. Word of mouth is the best form of recommendation and you will gain much more business this way as well as have a larger, targeted email list to market your products to.
When utilizing e-mail marketing, make sure that you never spam your customer’s inbox. One of the quickest ways to lose the trust of your customer is to send spam to his or her email address. To make sure your marketing practices fall within mandated regulations, thoroughly read the CAN-SPAM act.
Don’t send out your email messages during major sales holidays. While this may seem counter-intuitive, unless you are selling consumer products, your customers just aren’t interested in your product that time of year. In addition, it is likely to get buried in all of the other marketing messages they are receiving.
When it comes to holidays and other special events during the year, you should focus your email marketing campaign. Plan your strategy for these occasions ahead of time. Develop email campaigns that center around important holidays like Easter and Christmas. You can increase sales if you do heavy marketing during the times of the year that business is slower.
One way to demonstrate your respect for your email subscribers is to ask them to confirm their subscription after a certain amount of time. They will appreciate it if you ask them, after six to nine months, if they still want to receive your emails. You can even use the occasion to remind them of the value you have provided for them over the past months.
Keep your email content fresh. Don’t start repeating old information or re-using anything that you have previously written about in your emails. Your readers know when you’ve already said something and when you’re out of ideas. Furthermore, if you notice that something in your emails, like templates, images, etc. just aren’t garnering attention anymore, don’t fear changing things around.
Now that you know what the experts are doing to create email marketing campaigns which are helping them to reach their goals, you’re ready to engage in your own projects for your online presence. Whether you want to boost your social media accounts or your storefront, all dreams will be achievable now that you know what you’re doing!
