Email marketing can be one of the best ways to introduce yourself to potential customers or to build on the relationship they already have with existing customers. The information and tips in the article below can help you implement an email marketing campaign that will help you have an effective email marketing strategy.
Always seek permission before sending marketing emails to potential customers. Sending unsolicited emails will quickly have you labeled a spammer. Getting permission to send your messages doesn’t have to be hard; offer something valuable to your customers in exchange for the ability to email them, such as a discount, coupon, or other sign-up incentive.
To get people to opt-in and give permission for you to send email marketing messages to them, offer an incentive. Offer a discount or a coupon on one of your products or services. Include a whitepaper or newsletter about your niche or market. Give your prospect something in return for access to their inbox.
Slowly build your contact list. Start with those who have already appreciated what you offer and then move on to areas where you can engage your prospects. It can take a while to pick whom should be receiving your emails, but it’ll be worth it in the end to build a reliable contact list.
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.
Send your opt-ins a link that they must click on to confirm their subscription to your email list. This way, you ensure that it is something that they want to do, and it will protect you from getting complaints about spam. Let your opt-ins know in your pitch that they will need to click on a link.
Keep your content current and variable; do not just repeatedly send out the same five messages repeatedly. If you want to keep people’s attention, there needs to be something fresh, or their attention will go elsewhere. If they wanted round the clock commercials, they would just stay at home watching home shopping channels. Even if some of them do that, give them something different when they check their inbox.
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 “$$$.”
Keep in mind that the point of marketing, through email, is sales. This means that each email must make the readers close in terms of buying. Many times this is done in email campaigns by enhancing benefits of older products or showing off a new, special promotion.
Find out who your competitors are and sign up to their emails. You will be able to see what content, they are sending to their subscribers and figure out what aspects to use and which to stay away from. Just be sure not to steal their content, as this could constitute plagiarism.
Beware of including attachments to your email marketing! Mass emails with attachments are instantly suspected as spam by most spam filters. As well, these days many types of computer malware and viruses are carried in email attachments, and people are aware of this. Your email is in jeopardy of being immediately deleted when they see an attachment without even being read.
Color is important, even when it comes to email! Your email messages should have a consistent color scheme that is both professional and easy to read. This is especially important once you start designing more advanced, HTML rich messages. If you are unsure about making your own selections, a little Internet research can point you towards excellent color schemes.
You should utilize some type of call to action within your emails. The emails you send should directly tell the recipients what they should be doing. Include obvious links with instructions on how your readers should proceed once they get to your site. You can include your links at the top and at the bottom of your emails for more exposure.
While there are many strategies to finding the targeted customers, the best option is to let them sign up via your website, growing the campaign as your business and sales grow as well. You could even lists buy an email list, but always remember customers on your site need to be targeted customers.
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.
A big part of every good email marketing campaign is respect for your subscribers. One way you can demonstrate that respect is by making it as easy as possible for them to unsubscribe. You should, ideally, include an “unsubscribe” link with every message you send out. Losing a subscriber is a shame, but annoying one before they leave is downright dangerous!
Plan out your emails in advance. Take into account that you are human, and that you will make mistakes when creating an email. With this realization in mind, allow enough time to review, revise and edit your emails before sending them out to your subscribers. This can help you avoid many mistakes in your emails.
No doubt, email marketing can be very effective in interacting with potential customers. As well as developing an ongoing relationship with customers whom you already have. Using the tips and techniques from the article above can help you create an email marketing campaign that will make your business and your customers very happy.
