15 Tips to Effective Email Marketing

These days, it is easier than ever to generate ato disappoint them.
series of email messages to go out to your list and9. You Get 1/2 Second of Their Attention
attract new business. The real difficulty, though, is toWhen your subscriber opens your email, you have
make your email campaign as effective as possible.about 1/2 second to grab their attention before they
Here are 15 tips to make your small business emaildelete your message and go on to other tasks. In
marketing program as effective as possible.your subject line, be sure to specify a benefit that
1. Make Sure Your Message Gets Throughthe customer can expect by reading your email. For
Increased efforts by the major email systems haveexample, instead of using "My Company Email
included mechanisms to trap unsolicited emails fromNewsletter", you might say, "MyCompany Newsletter:
getting through to the recipient's inboxes. Be certain10 Tips for customer Satisfaction".
that you use a double opt-in method to ensure that10. Appeal to the Preview Pane
you are 'white listed' in your recipient's email system.Many email systems, such as MS Outlook, now have
Also, be careful with the use of such words as 'Free',a preview pane in which the subscriber can see the
'Save', 'Discount' etc in both your subject line as welllead-in text of each email before they open it. Be
as email text.certain that you have some very interesting content
2. Personalize Your Messagein the first couple of lines of your emails.
Increase the click thru and read rates by using the11. Test Your Links
recipient's first name, as in "Dear John" rather thanTry doing a split test of several emails to determine
"Hi, there!". This makes your subscribers feel aswhich links appeal the most to subscribers. Try out
though they already have a relationship with you. Justdifferent color links as well as link placement in a
doing this little thing can improve reading and clickcouple of emails and then check the statistics (from
thru rates by as much as 650%.the autoresponder service) to determine which type
3. Use Text Rather than HTMLlink and which placement achieved the best results.
Numerous studies have shown that most Internet12. Try An Ethical Bribe
users respond better to plain text links rather thanTo get a higher subscription rate to your newsletter,
clicking on an image to take a desired actions. For thisoffer them an "Ethical bribe" to sign up. Give
reason, always use bold, blue, and underlined textsubscribers a free ebook on the subject or a good
links to obtain more conversions and sales.discount coupon just for signing up. Everybody like
4. Use a Third Party Autoresponder Servicesomething for nothing!
By following the rules of on of the better13. Email Mini-Courses
autoresponder services, you will be forced to adhereBy providing free information to your subscribers you
to more stringent ANTI-SPAM rules and that meanscan more easily establish your credibility and collect
a direct advantage in your read and click thru rates.more names to your email list. Why not create a
Besides, it will make life much easier in setting up asmall "Mini-Course" of several (5-10) emails on a topic
nice marketing series so that you can manage theof interest and schedule them to be delivered one to
process much more effectively.two days apart. That way, just when thoughts of
5. Send on Tuesdays and Wednesdaysyour company have diminished in the mind of the
Many studies have shown that the best days tosubscriber - here comes another lesson in your mini
perform a mail out are on Tuesday or Wednesday.course. Be sure to make the content informative and
People just seem to be more receptive tonot too hard sell.
communications on those days.14. Comply with the SPAM Laws
6. One Message is Not EnoughThe last thing that you want to be accused of is
By using a good autoresponder service, you can planbeing a "spammer" - one who generates a bunch of
an effectively way to automatically follow-up withunsolicited emails. Be sure that you know the rules
your subscribers to provide them with information onand that you provide subscribers with the capability
your products and services. Many studies haveto unsubscribe at the bottom of each email. This will
shown that the average person is not motivated tokeep your list clean and you know that your
purchase until after the 6th or 7th contact with asubscribers really do "want" your information and a
company. You can establish the messages as well asrelationship with your company.
the interval between messages and this will help your15. Be Sure to Always Sign Your Emails
build trust with your subscriber.Your signature box at the close of the email is your
7. Build a Brand Through Consistencybest way to attract more traffic to your site. Be
Always pay particular attention to the look and feelsure to include your personal information, company
of your email message to ensure that they comedetails, and even a link back to your main website. It
across as professional rather than something thatmight look like this:
was thrown together in a hurry. Keep your look andRegards,
feel consistent across all your emails. If you are doingJoe Schmoe
a newsletter, creating a template with your companyPresident
logo really helps in this regard.My Company, LLC
8. Create the ExpectationVisit our website at: When you put these 15 tips into
When you are sending a regular email to yourpractice in your email marketing program, you will
subscribers, be sure to do so on a regular internal andenjoy increased readership, company branding and
stick to it. Your customers will come to "expect"you will attract more subscribers! This is the very
your email with anticipation and you surely don't wantbest of small business email marketing.