Email marketing has been around for as long as the Internet has been. When a proper email strategy is implemented, it is a real boon to any business, as well as the clients. Read the tips presented here to find out ways to maximize the potential of your email marketing efforts.
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.
Make sure that you get permission from customers or potential customers before sending out your emails. If people do not want to get emails from you, they could mark your emails as spam or even ignore you altogether. There is even a chance that your email service could take you out of their system.
Every single person on your email marketing list must request a spot on it, so never add anyone against their will. You will lose customers and possible even your website host if you engage in spam.
For your email marketing campaigns to be truly effective, every message needs a clear call to action. For example, if you are promoting a new product then you should encourage customers to go directly to that product’s page. On the other hand, if you are promoting a new sale then you should clearly explain how customers can take advantage of that sale.
Have a strong call to action in your email marketing campaign and position it to be seen. You shouldn’t make it difficult for your email readers to know exactly what you want from them. If it’s too hard to figure out, then your email will most likely be quickly deleted. Instead, offer a clear call to action and deliver it in a way that can’t be missed.
Now and again, change your format a little, giving it more of a personal touch. If you always send out emails formatted in HTML, throw in a text only message to get your readers’ attention. When written well, this can actually come across as rather simple and intimate, giving your customers an emotional avenue towards your products and services.
When acquiring e-mail addresses through your website for marketing purposes, make certain that your sign-up form is brief. In general, you can limit the information required to sign up to only a name and an e-mail address. Names are useful for personalizing your e-mails. However, if you feel that even the name might be too much, it is perfectly fine to limit your sign-up form to just an e-mail address.
You should know that an email previewing feature allows users to see the pre-header of your email without opening it. The first sentence or line of text at the top of your message is known as the preheader. Several popular email clients, including gmail, display this information on the same line as the subject, so it can grab the reader’s attention.
Make each email message you send out for business purposes somewhat personal. You will get better responses from personalized messages instead of generic emails. Messages from someone powerful in your company will make a much stronger and more lasting impression on the people receiving the emails.
The subject is one of the most important parts of your e-mail. If you do not have a subject that immediately grabs the reader’s attention, it is likely that they will not bother to read the e-mail at all. The best written e-mails can be completely worthless without a compelling subject. Make sure that all of your subjects are great!
Be sure to ask permission to be able to send information to someone’s email. When asking, be sure to offer something in return. Turn it into something that your customers will look forward to checking instead of dreading it. This will keep your emails from looking and feeling like spam.
Be persistent. Studies show that it takes a minimum of 7 to 8 impressions before your advertisements will take effect on a potential customer, and it could take many more. You need to touch base with your customers at least once every few weeks, and assume they will not buy your product or even click your links for several iterations of messages.
Try sending birthday messages to your subscribers. You can allow a place when your readers sign up to include their birth dates. When their birthdays arrive, you can create a message that can be sent to them. This can build a positive and personal relationship with the recipient that can really boost your business.
Have an exit strategy for customers that stop responding to your mailings. If a customer is no longer interested in the products you have to sell, they’re going to be irritated and even angered by continued contact. Determine a number of messages or a length of time that you’ll keep sending messages, then if the customer doesn’t respond, remove them from your mailing list.
When done properly, a client won’t even realize they are being marketed. When you offer valuable services to your customers, they will anxiously anticipate reading the messages that you send out. This not only aids your company, but expands your customer base. Your loyal client base will return in the future and continue to use your service. Use the knowledge you have received by reading this article to better your email marketing efforts.
