Establishing an ongoing relationship with current customers and reaching out to new customers is a crucial part of a successful business. Email marketing is one of the newer and most effective ways to accomplish this. The tips and techniques in the article below were designed to help you launch an email marketing strategy that accomplishes that.
While online promotion is essential, don't overlook the opportunity to promote your mailing list offline. To build both new subscribers and potential clients, look for any opportunity possible to get the word out. Some great opportunities to build your business can be found at networking events, trade shows, conferences and local gatherings.
The easier it is to subscribe to your email newsletter, the more subscribers you will have. If you have a physical store, ask your customers for their email address when they make a purchase. If you sell on a website, ask them for their address when they are ready to check out.
Test out variations of what you want to use on your subject line by using A/B testing. Split your mailing list into two parts at random. Send one version of your subject line to one half and another version to the other half. Doing so will help you determine which type of subject line helps get your emails opened, and which kind will get them deleted.
Even though you may be tempted, do not fix email addresses that appear misspelled or mistyped. Given the sensitive nature of email, it is important that you do not tinker with what a person typed while opting in. If your attempts to reach a particular address continually bounce, remove it from your database and move on.
To get the best results from your email marketing campaign, test your messages thoroughly before you send them. Do not just type up a quick message and blast it out to your subscriber list without checking it carefully first. Preview it in different email programs and on different platforms to make sure it will display properly for everyone.
In order to banish all concerns about spam and ensure that no one on your subscriber list is there by mistake, consider employing a double opt-in strategy. Your first message should require some sort of additional action, like replying or clicking on a link, to make certain that the reader wants to receive further emails.
For your email marketing campaigns to be truly effective, every message needs a clear call to action. For example, if you are promoting a new product then you should encourage customers to go directly to that product's page. On the other hand, if you are promoting a new sale then you should clearly explain how customers can take advantage of that sale.
Make it easy for people to unsubscribe from your list. This might seem counter-productive since you don't want your customers to lose interest and leave. However, if your customers aren't interested in your newsletters anymore, they might get annoyed if they can't easily unsubscribe. Provide a large button or link so that customers who have lost interest can find it without an extensive search.
You should not use images to convey your most important information. Not everyone uses the same email client. These pictures may not even show up in many cases. If your emails focus too much on images, they may appear to be unreadable. You should always use text for your important information and use alt tags to describe your images.
There is nothing wrong with composing your marketing emails in HTML, but you may find it rewarding to give it a break from time to time. A simple message composed in plain text will be taken as a little more intimate and a little less formal by your subscribers. If you exercise moderation, sending plain text emails can encourage loyalty and draw your readers closer to you.
Offer your visitors a free learning course conducted via email. You'll need to develop a set amount of auto responders, breaking up the lesson into sections. Four to six sections should be an appropriate amount. Make sure the content is both informative and unique. Schedule the sections to be sent out one at a time every 24 hours. This can provide you with a host of benefits, such as enhancing your website, gaining your customers' confidence, developing your authority, and building your email base.
While online promotion is essential, don't overlook the opportunity to promote your mailing list offline. To build both new subscribers and potential clients, look for any opportunity possible to get the word out. Some great opportunities to build your business can be found at networking events, trade shows, conferences and local gatherings.
The easier it is to subscribe to your email newsletter, the more subscribers you will have. If you have a physical store, ask your customers for their email address when they make a purchase. If you sell on a website, ask them for their address when they are ready to check out.
Test out variations of what you want to use on your subject line by using A/B testing. Split your mailing list into two parts at random. Send one version of your subject line to one half and another version to the other half. Doing so will help you determine which type of subject line helps get your emails opened, and which kind will get them deleted.
Even though you may be tempted, do not fix email addresses that appear misspelled or mistyped. Given the sensitive nature of email, it is important that you do not tinker with what a person typed while opting in. If your attempts to reach a particular address continually bounce, remove it from your database and move on.
To get the best results from your email marketing campaign, test your messages thoroughly before you send them. Do not just type up a quick message and blast it out to your subscriber list without checking it carefully first. Preview it in different email programs and on different platforms to make sure it will display properly for everyone.
In order to banish all concerns about spam and ensure that no one on your subscriber list is there by mistake, consider employing a double opt-in strategy. Your first message should require some sort of additional action, like replying or clicking on a link, to make certain that the reader wants to receive further emails.
For your email marketing campaigns to be truly effective, every message needs a clear call to action. For example, if you are promoting a new product then you should encourage customers to go directly to that product's page. On the other hand, if you are promoting a new sale then you should clearly explain how customers can take advantage of that sale.
Make it easy for people to unsubscribe from your list. This might seem counter-productive since you don't want your customers to lose interest and leave. However, if your customers aren't interested in your newsletters anymore, they might get annoyed if they can't easily unsubscribe. Provide a large button or link so that customers who have lost interest can find it without an extensive search.
You should not use images to convey your most important information. Not everyone uses the same email client. These pictures may not even show up in many cases. If your emails focus too much on images, they may appear to be unreadable. You should always use text for your important information and use alt tags to describe your images.
There is nothing wrong with composing your marketing emails in HTML, but you may find it rewarding to give it a break from time to time. A simple message composed in plain text will be taken as a little more intimate and a little less formal by your subscribers. If you exercise moderation, sending plain text emails can encourage loyalty and draw your readers closer to you.
Offer your visitors a free learning course conducted via email. You'll need to develop a set amount of auto responders, breaking up the lesson into sections. Four to six sections should be an appropriate amount. Make sure the content is both informative and unique. Schedule the sections to be sent out one at a time every 24 hours. This can provide you with a host of benefits, such as enhancing your website, gaining your customers' confidence, developing your authority, and building your email base.
About the Author:
Perhaps you've considered email marketing strategies before. In reality, smart email promotion is one of the one most effective methods to create relationships with customers.
