Email marketing is one of the most popular ways to conduct business simply because it is quick and easy. Websites like AWeber and MailChimp make automation easy; you can schedule a whole host of emails to go out at certain times and dates, find and insert images more easily and even segment your customers in order to market to them more effectively.
However, not everyone can write an email in a way that is effective. Businessmen and women may be super stars at running their business, but not at writing copy. They may get caught up with business and forget to get those emails out, or they may delegate to someone else who does. There are many ways to wreck what should be a good marketing strategy, so here are some tips to make the whole business easier.
- Since conversion rates for email is said to be four time higher than social media give visitor to your website a specific gift for signing up to your list. This can be a private showing of your new goods, a downloadable PDF or eBook with valuable information, or something else of value to your target audience.
- Use a double opt-in where each person has to click on something to give you permission to send them email. This weeds out those who are not terrible interested. A small, interested list will convert better than a large one that is not interested.
- Make sure you track bounce-backs or undeliverable email to keep your list up to date.
- Schedule a specific time each day to do your emailing. Lock the office door and don’t let anyone in until you’ve finished.
- Don’t be boring with your email. Be humorous, silly, inspiring or even outrageous (nicely), but not boring. If your emails interest people they will continue to open them.
- Write at least five emails at the one time, then schedule them to go out a week apart. By writing them all at once, you can make sure you have flow and logic, each one carrying on from the other in a way that your targets will understand. Then you get a whole five weeks before you need to do it again. In fact, you may decide to send email every two weeks. If you are a daily mailer, keep the emails very short.
- Be personal but casual to let people see the human face behind your business.
- Make sure your subject line does not use the word ‘free’ as it has been used too much by spammers and your readers – and their email filters – will very likely associate it with spam.
- Using a ‘Pls forward’ message at the end can increase sign ups to your newsletter.
- Segment your customer base. This will allow you to send out discounts and offers to a certain segment, while welcome emails and offers for new subscribes won’t be repeated to older subscribers.
- You can also segment them for mobile devices or PCs. This allows you to write shorter email to those with a smaller screen and offer them a link to further information. Website analytics will help you with the task of segmentation.
- Keep a file of images/graphs that may be handy for email insertion so they are easy to find when writing email.