Many companies will engage in email marketing campaigns and totally ignore the basic steps to doing it right. There are certain best practices that business owners can use to stay professional and get customers excited about receiving email from their businesses. Continue on for some great email marketing tips on proper etiquette.
Make sure that your message is an appropriate length and that it stays on topic. No one wants to read a lot of text about your products or services, so keep it to a minimum. They may not have the time to waste, or may have no interest in what you are trying to communicate to them. So when writing your email, make it short and to the point. This way, you will be sure to capture their interest and have them returning to read more in the future.
Don’t add any email address to your mailing list without getting permission first. If you pad your email database with emails of people who have not subscribed, then you may find yourself in hot water with both those email owners and any potential clients. As well, you may find that your email service provider may kick you off the service for violating spam rules.
The primary reason for email marketing is to lead customers to purchase your products or services. Thus, each and every message ought to increase the likelihood of a sale. Announcing special offers, debuting new products, and revealing new information about existing products are just a few of the tactics you can use to build this momentum.
A very crucial, yet obvious, part of successful email marketing is making certain there are no mistakes in your subscribers email addresses. A result of not having valid addresses is that valuable time is wasted by having to track down correct addresses and resend emails. Don’t waste the time!
Take advantage of special holidays and events to push your email marketing efforts. You should have the whole year planned out. Build relevant campaigns with retail holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas in mind. You can also encourage sales at otherwise slow timed with increased marketing.
Fill your marketing emails with helpful information, don’t simply load them up with sales pitches. Make sure that your subscribers receive special articles that are only available via email. Make sure to add special offers and discounts for your products and services. Avoid sending emails only when you want sales, and be sure to send emails on holidays.
Email marketing should have the branding of your business. Because this is so true, you need to set aside the time and money to develop an email template that features several key elements, including the company logo, company colors, and any other elements that make it consistent with the rest of your marketing. This will cause your readers to instantly recognize your company.
Consistency is important. For every email, use the same colors and logos. The font used in your emails must be easy to read. With enough exposure to them, your subscribers will come to find your consistent emails distinctive and start paying more attention them. You should always have a goal of becoming familiar to your customers, especially when you are using an email marketing campaign.
Make emails as personal as you can. As with any other kind of marketing, the more personal you are, the more willing a customer is to do business. It could be highly beneficial to find out the reason why they opted in, and use this information in your email.
Come up with a sales list that is targeted very well. The best way to do this is to get your best clientele to help add their friends and contacts to your company’s mailing list. If you can make your email list seem exclusive, your clients will feel flattered instead of spammed.
Be sure that all the links work in the messages you send out while email marketing. If customers are unable to see what you offer because your links aren’t working, the whole purpose of your email message is out the window. Your credibility with readers suffers, as well, as it appears that you are incapable of composing an email with working links.
If you are planning to follow-up with prospects, you need to consider adding an endorsement in the follow-up email. Add a statement within the message which would inform them of any benefits they could expect right now. The ending postscript could inform them that they can submit their order info by clicking on the below link.
Provide customers with some incentive in your emails to them. Subscribers will be more likely to execute a particular action if they feel as though there is something in it for them. One common example of such an incentive is to offer free shipping if a customer’s total order exceeds a certain amount.
The link to unsubscribe from your list should be clearly visible. Never fail to give your customers this unsubscribe link, and you should never bury this link within the text that makes it difficult to be located. You never want your readers to feel as if they don’t have a choice in receiving your emails.
When composing your content, picture yourself talking to another person. If you write your messages properly and limit the sale talk, you’ll escape the spam filters. If, however, you use linguistic acrobatics to stay away from words such as “free,” your words will simply turn off readers, and you may be nabbed by spam filters anyway.
Don’t send emails to subscribers without their consent. If you’re sending out emails that are considered as spam, people may not take you very serious. It could go as far as people not desiring to do business with you any longer.
As the article above advises, it is highly recommended that business owners practice proper protocol in their email marketing program. Being rude to your customers will quickly cut down on the amount of subscribers you have. Take what you have learned here, and you will have satisfied customers.
