Sunday 29 September 2013

Building a list

Provide exclusive content in your marketing emails. By providing those on your mailing list with information not available on your site, your customers are more likely to read each message, and begin looking forward to them. Your customers will feel special and appreciated when they receive relevant information in your emails.

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.

Steer clear of renting or purchasing lists to pad your email marketing database. Not only do you not know if the emails you have purchased are truly your target market, but the lists can actually hurt your deliver-ability rates and ultimately your reputation. As much as possible, build your list organically.  

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.

If you want your email marketing messages to get to the right inboxes, target anyone whom you send to. If you already have a core set of fans or followers, offer discounts or promotions to those who get friends to show up. Anyone curious in your products and services probable has known others with similar interests, which mean you, can organically grow your list through existing social relationships.

Before you put someone on your email marketing list, you need to have their permission. If you don't have their permission, you will be responsible for sending spam and there will be many complaints. Your email provider may even dissolve your account if they get wind of what you're doing. Prevent that from happening by requesting that people subscribe to your 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. 

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. 

Continue offering incentives to customers after they sign up for your email list. For example, give customers a 10 percent discount if they remain on your email list for a month. This keeps customers from losing interest in your marketing materials and unsubscribing or deleting your emails after just a couple of newsletters.

Provide subscribers with a way out. Place an "unsubscribe" link in your emails or on your website to allow them to remove themselves from your list. You should also set up your list to cull itself by removing subscribers after a particular number of messages prompt no response or action from the recipient. This prevents your emails from becoming annoying to disinterested subscribers and preserves your image. 

Test variations of your subject line via A/B testing. Choose one email, randomly split in two the mailing list and send each half the same email with different subject lines. This will let you see which types of subject lines increase your open rates and, conversely, which types of subject lines get ignored in the inbox. 

Be especially careful when crafting your first three emails to new customers. A new customer should get an introductory email inviting them to join your marketing list. Once they accept your invitation, the next email should tell them about discounts or special offers they can expect to get now that they've signed up. The third email should contain their first newsletter and their special offer.

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.

Data mine your email list and bucket your audience into various segments based off of any profiling data you have. This will allow you to be more strategic with your messaging and effectively increase your chances of higher open and click through rates. Even if you don't have profiling, look to geo-targeting. Various regions respond differently to different types of messaging. 

Don't include the use of newsletters in your email marketing campaign.  You can send the people on your opt-in list relevant emails about particular topics instead.  You will attract more people when they know that they will only be receiving information that they are interested in, and that they will not have to sift through an entire newsletter to get it.

To get the best results from your email marketing campaign, test your messages thoroughly before you send them. Do not just type up a quick message and blast it out to your subscriber list without checking it carefully first. Preview it in different email programs and on different platforms to make sure it will display properly for everyone.

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.

email marketing on website

Offer a coupon to customers who sign up for your marketing email list. Put a form on your website where customers can sign up and set the form to email automatically new customers a coupon when they submit the form.  This encourages customers to agree to allow you to send them marketing materials so that you won't be accused of sending out spam. 

Provide subscribers with a way out. Place an "unsubscribe" link in your emails or on your website to allow them to remove themselves from your list. You should also set up your list to cull itself by removing subscribers after a particular number of messages prompt no response or action from the recipient. This prevents your emails from becoming annoying to disinterested subscribers and preserves your image. 

The easier it is to subscribe to your email newsletter, the more subscribers you will have. If you have a physical store, ask your customers for their email address when they make a purchase. If you sell on a website, ask them for their address when they are ready to check out.

Let your readers choose the layout of your content. Any messages with images, graphics and JavaScript is likely to get eaten by software filters and never seen by human eyes. Send out basic text or rich text format including a link to your website, and the option of an HTML version for those that want it.

Make your emails content rich Put some helpful information in emails and don't just put sale's information. Give your subscribers special articles, things they may not find on your website. Also include exclusive offers on your services or products. You should send out specials and holiday greetings, don't only send emails when you want something. 

If you have images or graphics, put them on the left side of the email message. Make sure that your call to action element is always on this side. Research has documented that this location produces almost double the number of clicks to your product, service or website than placing these elements anywhere else does.

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. 

Collecting and analyzing statistics is as important to the success of an email marketing campaign as it is to a business website. Invest in software that allows you to track the effectiveness of every email, from what percentage of your emails are actually opened to how many result in unsubscriptions.

email marketing how to

An excellent tip for email marketing is to follow up with some type of update on your products or services that you are providing. For example, you could add a "buy now" feature onto your email. The ending of your email could inform your readers to keep in mind the up-sell as well.

Always get permission! Unsolicited email is not welcome, and in certain cases, can get your ISP blocked. When contacting someone, always include a newsletter or an offer - this way the customer has the chance to agree to receive your messages. The last thing you want is to be branded a spammer.

Minimize traditional email marketing activities during the holidays. Customers are preoccupied with family and friends, and are less likely to be paying attention to business email. Your odds of ending up in the spam box are considerably higher, which could have longer term implications for your bottom line. The major exception to this would be a business directly related to the holiday activities. Otherwise, give yourself a break and enjoy some downtime yourself. Business will be back on track in a day or two.

When emailing your customers, an excellent suggestion is to follow up with lower prices. For example, you could link a phrase that says, "Grab it," onto the email. In addition, the end of this email could include a phrase that says, "Become a member in order to have lower prices on our products."

Before using email marketing, create a test email and send it to a friend or family member. Your loved one can see how the email looks and give you feedback. This way, if any changes need to be made, you can do it before sending the emails out to customers.

Target your audience. Once you have a few readers, think of ways to encourage them to sign their friends up. Always include a Subscribe link in your email; hopefully people will pass it on to their friends who might have an interest in what you have to offer. This way your base will grow organically.

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.

Before you put someone on your email marketing list, you need to have their permission. If you don't have their permission, you will be responsible for sending spam and there will be many complaints. Your email provider may even dissolve your account if they get wind of what you're doing. Prevent that from happening by requesting that people subscribe to your list.

Create one clear message per email. You do not want your customers to become bored or overwhelmed by the amount of content in your marketing email. Develop one message, and keep it reasonably short, and to the point. Your customers will appreciate not being weighted down with extraneous information. 

Proofread anything you send out via email. You need to make all emails and newsletters are correct. Before you send the message, test the layout of the email so you can assure everything shows up how you want it to. Also, if you place links in your email, test them to make sure they work. 

Test variations of your subject line via A/B testing. Choose one email, randomly split in two the mailing list and send each half the same email with different subject lines. This will let you see which types of subject lines increase your open rates and, conversely, which types of subject lines get ignored in the inbox. 

Be predictable in your emails. Send them on a specific schedule. Make sure you send something at least monthly, this will help keep your customers interested. If you can send emails on or two times a week, that is even better. Test out which days give your site the best responses, and then use these days as your normal days to send emails. 

To get the most of your email marketing, invest in a program that personalizes your emails with every customer's given name instead of a generic greeting. Ensuring that every email starts with the recipient's name is key to encouraging your customers to see your newsletters as valuable information and not just more sales spam.

Provide your customers with useful tips or information in each marketing newsletter. Think of the newsletter as an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise in your field. Your customers will trust you more when they see how much you know and will be more likely to buy products or services from you.

Always get permission before contacting any customer via email. People will generally view unwanted emails as spam and will ignore them or delete them without reading them. You may also be in violation of your ISP's policies if you send out mass emails to customers who have not chosen to receive them.

Don't include the use of newsletters in your email marketing campaign.  You can send the people on your opt-in list relevant emails about particular topics instead.  You will attract more people when they know that they will only be receiving information that they are interested in, and that they will not have to sift through an entire newsletter to get it.

Remember that the purpose of email marketing is ultimately to sell your products. That means that every single email should bring readers closer to buying. You can do this by writing an email that offers information on a new product, that expounds unexpected benefits of an old product or that promotes a special new promotion.

It is a very good idea to require people that are interested in receiving emails from you to double opt-in. This may seem like a lot, but it guarantees that the person is interested in receiving emails so it eliminates the chances that you or your email service provider gets into any trouble.