A big part of running a successful company is learning to get the word out about your business. To do that, you need a strong marketing campaign; one of the best ways to market your company is to use email marketing. Email marketing can be a smart way to reach your target market, and here are some great tips to have success.
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.
Test your subject line using two variations for the same email. Choose an email and split the mailing list in half, sending each half an email with a different subject line. This way, you will be able to gain insight as to which subject lines will encourage the highest open rates. You will also see which subject lines people will skip over without reading.
It is very common for people to view the Internet with cell phones instead of using a full sized computer. Since this is the case, you should make it so that the width of any email you send out is easily viewable by mobile phone. You should also make sure to do the same to your landing page.
Get creative with your email designs to find out what works best. Send out a few emails with content and links that differ in their fonts and text color. Play around with image positioning, including buttons and logos. After you’ve sent the emails, find out which ones had the best click-thru rates. Stick with those for the time being, but change it up on occasion to see if you can find a method that works even better. More click-thru rates equate to more sales.
Make sure your emails are consistent with any branding you have done. You should be including your company colors, logos and anything else unique to your business in your emails. Customers should be able to recognize your emails when they arrive in their in-boxes so that they are not automatically deleted.
Email is a great marketing tool, but it is not an arena where the hard sell is appreciated. Never pressure your subscribers into buying. Put sales pitches at the tail end of your emails, especially if your readers signed up with expectations of informative content. Consider email as a tool to cultivate interest, not instant sales.
Design your marketing emails to be easily read on mobile devices, in addition to computers. An increasing number of people check their email messages using their cell phones. If the message is difficult to read on their phone, it is likely to be deleted without the content ever being read.
Remember to include great incentives for your customers. 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.
Automatically unsubscribe customers who don’t respond to your marketing materials after a certain number of emails. If your customers aren’t responding to your emails anymore, they most likely have lost interest in your newsletter but aren’t annoyed enough by it yet to unsubscribe. By unsubscribing them, you avoid generating bad feelings that could hurt your business.
Strive to set a personal tone in every message you send as part of an email marketing effort. Customers are more positive to these kinds of messages than impersonal or bland ones. To make an even better impression on customers, have the email come from your company’s CEO.
Don’t get yourself in trouble by not getting permission. This is spamming and you could be penalized for it as well as having all your mail refused, which could damage your business irrevocably. By getting permission to use email marketing, you will be creating positive relationships with customers who will keep coming back.
Your marketing emails need to stay short. Try to keep your language direct and to the point. This can demonstrate that you value the time your readers take to correspond with you. This will also prompt most readers to take in the full message. This can be vital since you probably end your emails with a link to your site to encourage your reader to find out more.
When you’ve determined your email’s frequency, make it into a schedule. Set the times and dates of when you have to send your recipients your emails. It doesn’t matter if you send an email daily or monthly, sticking to a schedule can keep you organized and can allow your recipients to know when they can receive your emails.
Encourage your recipients to forward your e-mails to friends that might be interested. A recommendation from a friend is very effective due to the fact that people trust their friends. This is a great way to introduce your business to potential customers that are very likely to have an interest in your products or services.
Research shows that there are three emails that are the most important. The first offers an introduction and invitation to sign up and give permission to receive further communication. The second presents the customer with specific expectations such as coupons, discount offers or newsletters. The third email would deliver those expectations in the form of the discounts and other incentives.
Email marketing can be a boost to your business, or it can hurt your business. Use the tips laid out here to make sure that your email marketing plan does what you need it to do; apply them to your email marketing, build relationships with your customers, and raise your profits.