Email Marketing 101

How many emails do you get a day, a week, a month? According to The Radicati Group, a technology research firm out of California, the average individual receives about 100 email messages every day!  That is a lot of information to get through and a large chunk of it is graymail or spam mail.  So how does your company compete with email marketing being so  saturated? Let’s look at the basics of email marketing and the role that email newsletters should have in your overall marketing strategy.

Why Email? – There are several reasons to send business emails.  Businesses can share news, build loyalty, educate, invite people to events, drive traffic to their site, sell products or services, and so on.  There are few other tactics for acquiring and converting customers that are so effective and cost-conscious. A  recent Digital Media Association study reported that 67% of respondents identified email as providing the best Return on Investment of any tactic (more than twice the response of any other tactic).

Email Tips and Strategies –

• Keep a goal in mind – When writing an email newsletter have an ultimate goal and outcome in mind as well as a specific call-to-action.  For example, are you trying to raise brand awareness, establish yourself as an expert in the field, build a contact list, provide tips or how-tos or possibly pass on educational information from your field? Use those goals to guide you when developing an email newsletter.
• Email content and format – Mail regularly to keep your name and brand in the forefront  of your customers minds. Deliver the content you promised.  If you promised tips and how-tos then give the customer what they wanted.  Use images and text that bring your newsletter to life.  Use easy to read fonts and brand colors.  In addition, include a postal address and unsubscribe link as is required by CAN-SPAM.
• Writing – Be yourself in the text and message.  Be personable and to the point without giving the “hard sell.” Be sure to check all spelling and grammar as those mistakes could look poorly on your company.
• Delivery Information – Getting your email to your subscriber’s inbox is important – if it ends up in a SPAM folder, all that hard work you put into it won’t be seen by anyone. Understand the basics of email delivery including the following suggestions. Have a good balance of text and images, and make sure your important information is listed in the text just in case images are blocked. Use links in your emails, but make sure you only link to trusted sites. Bad links can cause delivery issues. Keep your HTML code clean, or use a pre-designed template from your ESP. Send what you promised at sign up to keep your readers engaged. ISPs look at many things, and engagement is part of that. Mail only to people who have requested your emails. (Source: Vertical Response)

Getting Started– Check out email newsletter software that can help you get started communicating with your customers. iContact and Constant Contact

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