Email marketing has been around as long as the Internet. Although some spam filters have been able to remove unwanted messages from going into an individual’s inbox, when email marketing is done right, it is helpful for the recipient and the sender. Keep reading to see how to improve your subscribers’ lives and your pockets.
Creating a newsletter schedule is a great way to stay on track. Automate your mailings so that they go out the same day every week, and try not to even vary the time of day that you send them. This way your customer will know when to expect your email, and will even begin to look forward to getting it, especially if you offer them special deals or coupons.
Send subscribers happy birthday emails. Include a field for customers to opt in so they can receive a birthday wish. As an added extra, add a discount coupon to show your customer how much they are valued. It will be remembered by them in future transactions.
You must build an organic email opt-in list if you wish for your marketing campaign to succeed. This is far preferable to purchasing lists that contain subscribers who may not have any interest in your business. It may take more time to develop the list of clients that actually have a use for your product, but it is much more profitable.
There are few things more detrimental to a website or business than being accused of spamming, so take every precaution to protect your integrity by adding a confirmation step to your email list, opt-in procedure. Would-be subscribers should receive an email that requires they click on a link to accept their subscription immediately after signing up. Add two links to the email – one for confirmation and one to opt out. Doing so protects your client’s security and ensures that they don’t think you are spam.
Choose the times you send out your emails based on when your customers are most likely to read them. For instance, a newsletter related to business will be more successful if it is send out during work days. Family or leisure related newsletters, on the other hand, should be mailed on the weekend.
To make sure you have covered everything in your email marketing plan, use multi-part messages. Emails that provide plain text content, as well as HTML, ensure that the recipient can display the material. This is well worth the extra effort, because a plain-text subscriber will not stay subscribed to an HTML-only list for long.
Enhance your campaigns in email marketing with both passive and active feedback. Active feedback is that feedback that you receive directly from questions or comments provided by your customers. Readers generally aren’t even aware of passive feedback, on the other hand. Use the tools at your disposal to analyze how many people read your emails and how often the links within are clicked.
It may be wise to make customers confirm their email address twice when subscribing to emails. Many times people have typos the initial time they put in an email address. Making them enter their email twice will help to cut down instances of mistakes like these, and it will ensure that your emails reach them.
When you give opt-out options in email newsletter messages, try to set it up so customers are automatically removed from your mailing list. If you are still sending them email messages even after they opt-out, your subscribers may feel like you are not listening to them.
Make the subject line of your e-mail exciting, entertaining and interesting. You want the subject line to be eye-catching which will grab the viewers attention and make them want to open it up and read it. Emails with dull subject lines, or ones that seem suspicious, will be deleted unread.
Your marketing emails should be no more than two paragraphs in length. Make them as direct as you can. This will demonstrate your respect for the value of your readers’ time. Readers will be more likely to go through the entire message. Your messages will have important content, even at the end, so this is a necessary step.
Increase the value of your email content by including helpful information. Present special articles or information that is unique to the email and not your site. Make offers for your products that are exclusive to each reader. Send out holiday greetings and specials, not just when you desire something.
Integrate your email marketing program with social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and watch your subscriber base grow. This will allow your customers to pass your information along to their friends, and you can add new people to your email list when you engage social networking visitors and pique their interest.
Keep in mind that you need to build up your reputation for your email marketing campaign. Never take shortcuts, aim for the wrong audience or use any kind of deception. It is your reputation that you need to protect and how you approach your marketing campaign can make all the difference between good and bad.
When relevant to your business, develop campaigns that correspond with major holidays or other events. You should have the whole year planned out. Develop relevant campaigns for important retail holidays such as Christmas, Valentine’s day, Easter and other important dates. It’s also helpful to amp up your marketing efforts when business is slow in order to increase sales.
An effective email marketing campaign will leave your customer virtually unaware that they have received a marketing message. If the messages you send about your business are consistently pleasant and easy to read, your clients will look to their inbox with anticipation as they await new emails from you. This does much more than just promote your brand. Your customers are more likely to purchase products from someone who has provided them with valuable information for free. Use the tips outlined above and you will soon see the benefits of email marketing.