Think again if you are one of those that feel email marketing days are behind you. While email marketing was first on scene after the popularity of the Internet took off, it has not outgrown its uses. There are new ideas, strategies and techniques that keep coming out to help your marketing be effective. Use the ideas below to see how you can use email for yourself.
Know the audience you are targeting. After you have gotten a few readers subscribed, come up with ways to induce them to get their friends signed up. When you are sending out emails, always ensure that there is a subscribe link contained within it. This way if a consumer shares the email with a friend, they will be easily able to sign up. This allows your database to grow organically.
All emails should be proofread before they are sent out. You need to make sure all emails and newsletters are correct. Prior to sending a message, test your email layout so that you know everything will be readable. Don’t forget, if you have embedded links, to check the links to be sure they function properly.
Test out variations of what you want to use on your subject line by using A/B testing. Split your email list in half and send emails to the two groups of addresses using different subject lines. This will let you see which types of subject lines increase your open rates and, conversely, which types of subject lines get ignored in the inbox.
Using a double opt in strategy for your email marketing strategy is the best way to see if your customer is truly interested. This means all your subscribers will join your mailing list willingly and know what they are signing up for. You will be less likely to get in trouble for sending out spam.
Make sure that you have an unsubscribe link that is easily visible within your emails. Don’t fail to provide an unsubscribe link and don’t bury it so deep in the text that it cannot be found. It is important that users feel like they are not committed to your emails.
You should not use images to convey your most important information. Many email clients won’t automatically show images. This could possibly interfere with your customers viewing the email correctly. Always use clear text for the most important information you want to convey, and use descriptive alt tags for any images that you do use.
Your opt-in should have a field for customers’ first names at the very least. If you have a name for each customer, you can send a personalized newsletter with the customer’s name. As such, you will be far ahead of the competition.
Don’t add people’s email addresses to your list without first making sure it is okay. If you send your email to people that didn’t agree to receive it, you can make them a little irritated. That can tarnish your image. Additionally, ISPs and web hosts won’t hesitate to cancel spammers’ accounts.
People should be able to opt out from your mailing list easily. Email may be cheap to send and receive, but it isn’t free. Also, the ill will caused by a perception that you are a spammer will hurt your business and potentially prompt online blacklisting of your enterprise.
It still pays to use email marketing. Using what you’ve read here when you draft your campaign strategy will lead to sound decisions and increasing profits, so gather your thoughts and put them to work!
