Email marketing is not a very popular topic. But, if you spend some time learning how this effective marketing method can work to your advantage, you will see the potential benefits email marketing can offer.
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 Sometimes lists for sail might match your target demographics but be woefully out of date.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.
To keep your email recipients engaged, use various sequences for different types of readers. For example, if you get an email address from a sale, that customer should receive a very distinctive welcoming email than a reader whose email you received from a lead. If readers aren’t getting what they want from emails, then they simply won’t read them.
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.
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.
In your email campaigns, utilize the least amount of graphics as possible. Graphics can be easily blocked by email providers and your message can be distorted because of this. Also, many spam filters use quantity of images as a variable in determining if a message is likely to be spam.
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.
Even though you may be tempted, do not fix email addresses that appear misspelled or mistyped. Given the sensitive nature of email, it is important that you do not tinker with what a person typed while opting in. If your attempts to reach a particular address continually bounce, remove it from your database and move on.
Include a link at the bottom of any marketing emails that allows people to unsubscribe easily. If someone does not want to receive your messages, providing a simple way for them to unsubscribe is preferable to ending up in their spam folder. It will also help to protect your reputation as a business that respects its customers.
Have a strong call to action in your email marketing campaign and position it to be seen. You shouldn’t make it difficult for your email readers to know exactly what you want from them. If it’s too hard to figure out, then your email will most likely be quickly deleted. Instead, offer a clear call to action and deliver it in a way that can’t be missed.
Do not take up permanent residence in your readers inboxes. Remember that they email for a number a reasons, from work to family. You are probably sharing that space with other marketers. Send out messages often enough to stay on their mental radar, but more than once a week is probably going to annoy them and backfire.
When following up with customers, try following up with a sale schedule. Include a link in order for them to view this schedule. The end of the email could inform them that they can get all the specifics on this sale schedule by clicking on the link that was provided to them.
One thing that can really harm a business is if it receives a reputation of spamming. You should make sure that this doesn’t happen to you by asking your email list to confirm that they want to receive emails. Would-be subscribers should receive an email that requires they click on a link to accept their subscription immediately after signing up. Include more than one link in the verification email – one they can use to confirm and another to indicate the subscription is a mistake. This is an effective way to make sure that your emails are not treated as spam. It will inspire confidence in your customers and let them know you value their security.
Make full use of passive feedback in your email marketing campaign. There are simple but powerful tools available to you that will give you lots of data on what your subscribers do with your messages. You must learn to use these tools and collect this valuable information. Find out who clicks on what links and determine why.
When following up with prospects, consider sending a follow-up email with a criticism report. Include an order on your email that tells them to check this report out for themselves. The ending postscript could tell them that they can view this criticism report by simply filling in their order information.
Hopefully, you can now see the many ways email marketing can work to your advantage. Using this powerful advice can result in increased sales and increased profits for your business.