3 more rules of effective email marketing
By Publicity Heaven writer Adam Constable
A few months ago we gave you the 4 rules of great email marketing.
Now here’s some more help to make your email marketing even more effective.
Get more people to choose to receive your emails
In email marketing, permission is everything. That means that people who receive your emails must have given you their permission to email them. The least effective way to build an email list is to stick any old email addresses into your database. Just because you swapped business cards with someone at a networking event doesn’t necessarily mean they want to receive email messages from you.
The fastest way to build your email list is to ask potential customers to opt-in to your database. The easiest way to do this is through your website. Consider giving away something free such as a special report in return for their email address. You should also look at unusual ways to ask people to opt-in.
For example, you might put a brightly-coloured sticker on all paper correspondence, or a special offer on your business card. When someone has actively chosen to receive your email marketing they are much more likely to open them, read them and respond to them. And less likely to hit the spam button.
Target the right people
You may have built up an extensive list of email contacts, but this does not mean that all your products and services are relevant to your contacts. Select those that match your target market and focus on the best prospects. This is called segmenting your list. Who spends the most money on your products or services? Who needs your products or services the most? These groups will respond in different ways to different offers. And sometimes, a good offer for one group will be totally irrelevant to the other.
Focus on those contacts who you know would be interested in what you are marketing right now. You should tailor each email marketing campaign you send out to meet the specific needs and requirements of the person receiving it.
Send regular newsletters
At least monthly, but do consider fortnightly or weekly. Just make sure you set a clear expectation to people joining your list (this is why we call our newsletter Tuesday PR & Marketing Tips… that way you know you’ll get one every week).
Ensure that whatever you promise you can keep up with. Don’t see your newsletter as a way of asking for the sale on a regular basis. It’s there to educate your audience and ensure that when they are ready to buy; your company is in front of them.
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