Email marketing is not simply a matter of sending out emails to customers and potential customers. You need to know about how it works, what your customers want from you and how to make your email marketing work for you, your customers and your business. Use the tips from this article to develop an email marketing campaign that will give everyone what they want.
Don’t send unsolicited email marketing messages out. Messages sent to recipients who did not request them are at risk of being marked as spam. Along with getting a bad reputation, you might find that your IP address gets blocked by certain ISPs if they get too many complaints.
Offer a coupon to customers who sign up for your marketing email list. Put a form on your website where customers can sign up and set the form to email automatically new customers a coupon when they submit the form. This encourages customers to agree to allow you to send them marketing materials so that you won’t be accused of sending out spam.
Proofread your emails before you send them out. It is important that all the emails you send are correct. Test your email layout by sending it to yourself first; that is a sure way to be certain everything is displayed perfectly. Additionally, if you use email links, make sure they aren’t broken.
Use A/B testing to test out different combinations in your subject line. Take one email and choose two different subject lines for that email. Split your mailing list into two groups and send each group the email but with the 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.
When you are having your customers provide their email address to you during the sign-up process. Make sure that you have the clear disclaimer visible that you will be undertaking email marketing campaigns. Try to give the consumer an indication of how often you intend to make use of their addresses so that they are not unaware.
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.
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.
It’s important that you build your brand when sending emails to your mailing list. Design a great template that will enable you to show off your company’s logo, along with any special colors or fonts that you display prominently on your business’s website. This will help users recognize you and your brand.
Add a link that allows people to unsubscribe from your list. Don’t try hiding your unsubscribe link as this will only frustrate customers. Your customers must be made to feel that they are choosing to subscribe, and not that your emails are being forced upon them.
Tailor your emails and landing pages for mobile users as well as those using desktops. Keep in mind that smartphones have tiny screens that may not be compatible with the way you have your emails formatted. Trim the width so that your emails can be read by users without them having to re-size them.
To maximize the effectiveness of your emails, send them out on Tuesday or Wednesday. Research shows that people are actually more inclined to respond positively to various forms of communication on these days, including email. Not only are they more likely to read your email, but they’re also more apt to click on buttons or links, which means that you’re more likely to see an increase in sales. Send your emails at mid-afternoon for optimal results.
What worked for you before might not work for you the next time around. That is why it is vital to always look into new email marketing strategies, and constantly seek new advice. Learn from others in your business niche, and always try out new methods to add to your arsenal of what works for your business.
Being pegged as a “spammer” is not something that is good for a business and it is important to take precautions against being labeled as such. Would-be subscribers should receive an email that requires they click on a link to accept their subscription immediately after signing up. The email that you send should have two links: one that refutes the subscription, as well as one that confirms it. That way, no one can say that your emails are spam, and your customers will trust you to treat them professionally.
If one of your customers is not happy with your products or services, you could send a follow-up email to this person that apologizes to them. Include a link on the email that tells this person to click on it in order to listen to the apology with their own ears. The concluding postscript could inform them that they can get a free sample by clicking on the provided link.
As noted above, email marketing is not as simple as just sending out emails to customers and potential customers. Your content and strategy makes all the difference in whether you email marketing will be a success for whether it will just be another piece of overlooked spam. Use the techniques and the information from the above article to help you launch and email campaign that you and your customers will love.