Email marketing is not simply a matter of sending out emails to customers and potential customers. You need to know about how it works, what your customers want from you and how to make your email marketing work for you, your customers and your business. Use the tips from this article to develop an email marketing campaign that will give everyone what they want.
If you buy a list of emails to send to, check and make sure it is up to date. Sometimes lists for sail might match your target demographics but be woefully out of date. The number of addresses now defunct can be as high as 25% of the overall list.
Try following up an email to your customers with a notice that tells them not to procrastinate. Insert a suggestion that tells them to purchase now onto the reply. The ending could tell them not to miss this incredible opportunity by waiting. Instead, they should act now to reap the full benefits.
Keep your customers interested in your emails by offering promotions. This method of email marketing gives readers a good value for participating and motivates them to spread the word. Referral programs are helpful to increase your customer base.
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.
An email marketing campaign needs a design and testing phase, just like anything else. Plan on putting in time making sure that your messages get past all techniques used for fighting spam, from content filters to image blocking and java-script suppression. You can send out a million messages blindly and not ever know if they are even seen.
Avoid using exclamation marks as crutches in your emails. If you want to express a sense of urgency or importance, use the structure of your sentence and the words you choose to to make that impact. Overusing this form of punctuation can turn potential customers off and make your message seem insincere.
Include a customer incentive in your emails. These customers are more likely to give you their business if you provide them with a solid enough reason to do so. For instance, if they click on your link and they purchase something from your site, you could offer them free shipping on orders over $50.
When someone subscribes to your email marketing list, confirm that this is what they really intended to do. Implementing this double opt-in strategy will make it much less likely that your email provider will receive spam complaints about you. Also, you will be assured that the people receiving your emails are actually interested in what you are sending them.
To maximize the effectiveness of your emails, send them out on Tuesday or Wednesday. Research shows that people are actually more inclined to respond positively to various forms of communication on these days, including email. Not only are they more likely to read your email, but they’re also more apt to click on buttons or links, which means that you’re more likely to see an increase in sales. Send your emails at mid-afternoon for optimal results.
Do not send out rough drafts of your content. Write out what you want to say, and then cut the word count in half and rewrite to fit within your new limit. This generates messages that get to the point. Readers want to spend no more than three paragraphs of time reading your message, and maybe not even that.
Research shows that there are three emails that are the most important. The first offers an introduction and invitation to sign up and give permission to receive further communication. The second presents the customer with specific expectations such as coupons, discount offers or newsletters. The third email would deliver those expectations in the form of the discounts and other incentives.
Create a sales list that is extremely targeted to groups of people. You want your top clients and all their contacts to get your emails. Try to make your email list feel exclusive, as this will help you to really focus in and target individuals who are likely to buy your products. It also gives you the appearance of being an authority in your chosen subject matter.
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.
If your company already has a strong brand identity, be sure to leverage that brand identity in your email marketing campaign. Design new correspondence to match the color tones you have been using. Also, make sure your logo is prominently displayed on all outgoing messages. Once your brand has gained a favorable reputation and people already trust it, your emails will benefit from its good name.
One good way to drive business and offer your customer’s something is by including a coupon with your mailings. Add a link to the email that includes what will happen if they follow the link. Give your customer a compelling reason to click by offering great savings on their purchase.
Avoid over-using exclamation points in your email marketing copy. An exclamation point does not make a poor sales message into a good one. Good marketing copy is punchy and catchy on its own, without the help of added punctuation. Focus on writing quality copy, not on how many exclamation marks you can use.
As noted above, email marketing is not as simple as just sending out emails to customers and potential customers. Your content and strategy makes all the difference in whether you email marketing will be a success for whether it will just be another piece of overlooked spam. Use the techniques and the information from the above article to help you launch and email campaign that you and your customers will love.
