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.
While online promotion is essential, don’t overlook the opportunity to promote your mailing list offline. To build both new subscribers and potential clients, look for any opportunity possible to get the word out. Some great opportunities to build your business can be found at networking events, trade shows, conferences, and local gatherings.
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.
The easier it is to subscribe to your email newsletter, the more subscribers you will have. If you have a physical store, ask your customers for their email addresses when they make a purchase. If you sell on a website, ask them for their address when they are ready to check out.
Experiment with, and evaluate different email layouts. Make sure that the information that’s very important is at the top, as well as new offers. You should also test out different formats and determine which format your readers respond to the most. Once you have a short list of successful formats, continue to use them. This can help your consumers know what they can expect from your messages and where to find the information they need.
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!
To make a clear and memorable impact with every email, keep your marketing messages short and sweet. Every email should have a very clear message and should only include information, media and links that are completely relevant to that message. A succinct but convincing email will be easier for your readers to absorb than a windy message that tries to force too many points.
Having a easy-to-see link to unsubscribe is a good idea. Don’t try hiding your unsubscribe link as this will only frustrate customers. Your reader must feel like it is their own personal choice, whether they continue to receive your emails or not.
Not only should you provide your subscribers with an easy way to unsubscribe, but also you should ensure that it goes into effect immediately. Receiving emails from you after they have unsubscribed will give recipients a negative impression about you, harming any future relationships with them. Process requests to unsubscribe right away.
Build your own custom templates. Avoid just sending out generic emails, be creative with them. Try to get your messages to reflect aspects of your business’s branding, such as color palettes and fonts. If you include any images, make sure you include a link to a plain text version so that those with images disabled can read your messages.
Try to secure at least the first name of individuals during the process. That way, you’ll be able to customize your emails so that they individually address each customer to make the experience personal. This gives your email communications a better appearance and will set them apart from all the other bulk emails they receive.
Try using A/B testing for your email marketing campaign. This basically entails creating two very different versions of the same email (A and B) and sending “A” to half of a small test group and “B” to the other half. Whichever half receives the most positive response is the one that you should be using for your campaign.
The emails you send out as part of your marketing campaign should start out with a welcoming, personalized tone. Include the name of the recipient in the subject line and the opening of the message. This will make your customers feel more receptive to your message and be more likely to patronize your business.
Make use of pre-headers in your marketing emails. Certain email clients – the more advanced web-based ones in particular – display a short summary for each email in the inbox. This is the pre-header. It is easy to set up. Clients generate pre-headers from the first line of text in the message. Compose your emails accordingly!
You might want to consider following up to your clients by sending a follow-up email that includes a bad link correction. Attach a request on your email that says to read this. The ending postscript could inform them that they can get a sneak peak by clicking on the provided link.
Keep up with your competitors’ actions when it comes to their campaigns for email marketing. Simply sign up to receive their emails. Being aware of their activities can help you make your email campaigns better than theirs. Look for things that they don’t have, and offer them. If your competitors offer incentives or promotions, be competitive with yours and offer something better.
When following up with clients, you might want to consider sending a follow-up email to them that provides a rebate offer. Try attaching a comment onto your email that tells them to call right now. The end of this email can claim to take a position on this offer immediately.
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.