Do you include graphics or only send text? What sort of layout is most effective? How the heck do I build an opt-in list? There are so many items to consider when you create an email marketing campaign that it can be hard to know where to start. Use the tips in this article and you’ll be up and running in no time.
Insert a link to your subscription form into your marketing newsletters. That way, if your customers forward marketing emails to their friends, their friends can easily subscribe to your list too. Using this strategy makes it easy for you to build a large list of potential customers who have agreed to receive your marketing emails.
Follow up with contacts you meet at trade shows. Collect people’s phone numbers when they stop by your table and call them within a couple of weeks of meeting them. Use the follow-up call to check in with your contact and ask him if he would like to receive your marketing newsletter by email.
Go for professional over slick with your emails. Don’t send emails that look like flashy webpages. This comes across as impersonal to the recipient. Also, keep in mind that many email programs will not display HTML images. So, do not focus on images in your emails. Go for concise, professional, and inviting so that everyone can read it.
Get creative with your email designs to find out what works best. Send out a few emails with content and links that differ in their fonts and text color. Play around with image positioning, including buttons and logos. After you’ve sent the emails, find out which ones had the best click-thru rates. Stick with those for the time being, but change it up on occasion to see if you can find a method that works even better. More click-thru rates equate to more sales.
Post a version of your newsletter with graphics and animation on your website. Then send your email list a plain text version of the newsletter with a link to the web version. This keeps your emails simple enough to stop them from being diverted to the spam folder as well as encouraging your customers to visit your website.
When you are building an effective email marketing campaign, you need to have the proper sign-up forms on your company website. Make sure you have them on every page, and also make sure that they are in the proper locations on your site pages. This is key to getting the customers to sign up.
Use words that are appropriate to the industry you are focusing on in your marketing materials. For example, if you are writing marketing materials for new technological items, use words such as “new,” “advanced” or “state-of-the-art” that are commonly used in that industry. Using the right words will help increase your products’ appeal to your customers.
One way to increase the number of people you can send emails to is by providing an option for people to sign up to one of your mailing lists. Have a readily visible link on your site for people to request your email updates.
Do not worry about anti-spam filtering when you compose your marketing emails. You need not avoid any particular phrases or use exotic spelling and punctuation in words like “free.” As long as you are not sending out unsolicited emails, you have already cleared the spam filter hurdle. Write for people instead of machines.
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.
Include an audit memo on the follow-up emails that you send to your clients. Paste a link on your message that tells them to download this right now. The ending postscript could convince these clients that now is the time for them to experience success, and they can do so by following the link provided.
Send birthday greetings to subscribers. Allow your subscribers to list their birthday on their sign-up forms if they wish, so that you can set your email program to automatically wish them a happy birthday. 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.
Once you have the format of your email marketing messages set up, you should check it on multiple email clients. In the same way that different browsers can display web pages differently, a strange email client may show your message in an unexpected fashion. Make use of all of the popular free email clients and ensure that your message is going to appear properly on them.
You can follow up with past clients by sending a freebie through email. Include a sentence asking for their business and telling them about the freebie that you are providing them with. You could mention that there are a limited number and they must act now before they are gone.
Use other contact mediums besides email. Email is highly effective in garnering business, but there is so much more you can do. Ask your list for their home addresses and cellphone numbers, too. Ask them if they want to receive texts. Different people like different forms of contact and knowing their preferences will enable you to utilize the one that will be most well received.
Be careful with font styles. You want to ensure your message is professional and readable, so instead of choosing a font style that is obscure or overly-fancy, opt for a more common type that every device will display accurately. Try to avoid using multiple fonts, as it can appear too cluttered, and stay away from Comic Sans, as it is widely regarded as unprofessional.
You will have found the answer to many of your questions here, so take what you’ve learned and implement it into a successful email marketing campaign. If you have further questions, you can continue learning by reading articles, blogs and forums, never stop searching out knowledge. Your rewards will be worth it in the end!
