Whether you own a small business, run a non-profit or are an individual professional, email marketing has become a must. If executed properly, email marketing is inexpensive, customizable, and measurable. Today, there are dozens of programs that allow you to send emails to multiple addresses and will give you analysis about your email campaign; these programs comply with anti-spam laws, to ensure the safety of your emails.
You are now ready to start your email campaign and want to know the best methods to achieving your email marketing goals:
1. What is the best way to create/build an email list?
Marketing standards say that you should only build your email list through subscribers who have given you permission to send them emails. Some of the best ways to gather emails include:
Placing a sign-up form on your website.
Collect emails at a trade show or networking event.
Utilize social networking sites to ask for emails.
Typically, people will have a greater incentive to give you permission to send them emails if you offer something free or of value.
As a professional marketer I know I am suppose to say only send your email marketing to those who opted-in; however, I truly believe it depends on your content and frequency. I know that our firm sends out emails infrequently and that we include emails of people who we have had conversations/relationships with and would enjoy/benefit from our newsletter. There are many people on our list who have not opted in but now ask when the next email is coming…so I’ll let that answer the opt-in question. People that don’t want to receive them can easily opt-out.
On the other hand, there are those who send out promotional emails on a frequent basis (once a week) and need to be wary of who they email and the importance of content. If this is the case than the best way to do so is to ask for permission in your first email, this way you will have credibility and trust right off the bat.
2. If you could you segment your email list? You must!
Some companies are still not segmenting whom they send their emails to! Why miss out on a chance to target your audience. For example, if you are an insurance company you should not send emails about Life Insurance to your 20 year old customers, this will just lead to them clicking on the do not email link. Every email you enter in your database should include:
First & Last Name
Gender
Location
Age
However, when getting information for your email list, be careful not to ask for too much information. Although, more information means improved customization, it could lead to fewer prospects.
3. Be creative but not too creative.
Consumers are inundated with emails since email marketing has become a staple for many businesses; this means that your emails have to be executed with content that is valuable and easy to comprehend. The design of your email should be simple and a reflection of your brand. Always keep your brand identity in mind whenever you promote.
Subject lines are the first point of contact for the consumer, which is why it needs to be straightforward and enticing. Subject lines should either be short and to the point or longer and descriptive – depending on the subject your email, of course.
4. Creating the Design.
Many email-marketing programs include built in templates you can choose from, they range in a variety of colors and industries. If you have to choose a template, try to choose one that is closest to your brand. The other option is custom newsletters; most email marketing programs give you an option to use your own code to create your newsletter or email promotions. You can create one using HTML, just follow the guidelines they provide such as using in-line CSS and which HTML tags to use.
5. Test, Test, did we mention to Test!
You should test your designs on each type of email client to ensure that the content and look of the email is uniform throughout. The most popular email clients include; Gmail, Yahoo, Microsoft Outlook, & Apple mail.
And yes emails do look different on each email client – so test.
6. Ready for deployment…almost!
You are almost ready for a perfect deliverability rate, however there are some aspects of your email that need analysis so that it is not recognized as spam by your email program. Stay away from using words such as “free”, “buy now”, and “discount” in your messages because your spam rating may become higher.
7. Generate & Analyze The Results.
Most email programs will provide you feedback that will include:
Percentage and number of emails opened.
Percentage and number of bounces (bounces are emails that did not reach the recipient).
Percentage and number of clicks (most programs read how many people clicked on links and who clicked on those links).
Percentage and number of opt-outs (people who have asked to be removed from your email lists).
Number of forwards (this reveals the number of people who passed your email to friends).
Successful email marketing requires understanding your recipients and proper execution. Because of its low cost and customization, there should be no excuse for your company not to include email marketing as one of your current marketing tools.
