To realize the most success in email marketing, tailor your campaigns to particular groups of customers. Communication is much more effective when the message has been broken down to an individual’s specific needs. The following hints and tips can help you create emails that will be effective for any type of customer.
Ask your customers for feedback on your emails. Since your customers are the most important part of your campaign, it is important to know if they are pleased with the emails they receive from you. You could ask them to fill out a short survey with a few questions on what they like and what they dislike.
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.
Strategically plan when your emails will go out. People do not like getting emails at inconvenient times, especially if it’s something that they have to act on quickly. Be considerate by making your offers convenient and easy for people to take advantage of, and you will have more sales than you otherwise would.
Your color scheme should be consistent and should reflect your brand. If your colors are all over the board, you will appear amateurish and your efforts may not achieve the results that you desire. You can look on sites like COLOURlovers if you need some good ideas to get you going.
Your emails should be readable sans images. Many email providers disable images by default, and unless the user changes their settings, they will not be able to see any images you include. Because of this, any images you include in the emails that you send should also be followed by comprehensive text.
Mix up the format of your emails every once in awhile to keep things interesting. If you use HTML in your messages, try sending out a basic text email instead. If you write it well, you can create a nice emotional connection between your company and the newsletter readers.
You may find that it is a good idea to devote a small portion of every marketing email you send out to briefly reviewing what your subscribers can expect from you. By demonstrating that you have a plan for your emails and you are sticking to it, you can encourage your readers’ trust and make them less likely to grow tired of your messages.
Rather than purchasing or renting a mailing list, build your own from the ground up. You can do this by including opt-in forms on your website, gathering business cards at conventions or other industry events, and encouraging your subscribers to share your emails with others, which can garner even more subscribers.
Let customers know what to expect from the get-go. When a new subscriber opts in, send an immediate confirmation email that details what the customer can expect to receive from you and how often you will send emails. Filling customers in upfront can prevent future opt-outs and complaints and keep subscribers active.
Try using A/B testing for your email marketing campaign. This basically entails creating two very different versions of the same email (A and B) and sending “A” to half of a small test group and “B” to the other half. Whichever half receives the most positive response is the one that you should be using for your campaign.
Encourage your recipients to forward your e-mails to friends that might be interested. A recommendation from a friend is very effective due to the fact that people trust their friends. This is a great way to introduce your business to potential customers that are very likely to have an interest in your products or services.
Research shows that there are three emails that are the most important. The first offers an introduction and invitation to sign up and give permission to receive further communication. The second presents the customer with specific expectations such as coupons, discount offers or newsletters. The third email would deliver those expectations in the form of the discounts and other incentives.
Come up with a sales list that is highly targeted. Do this by learning what your most profitable customer base desires and giving them the opportunity to recommend your mailings to like-minded friends and other contacts. You will be able to create a more targeted and appealing email list if you make it seem exclusive to those who have a sincere interest in the topic. In addition, it will also appear more authoritative.
When creating text for your email marketing campaign, make sure you use fonts that reflect the tone of what your email is trying to convey to the customer. This is important in providing the right emphasis, and it conveys the message clearly to the customer. This will work wonders in keeping the reader intrigued.
Try sending birthday messages to your subscribers. You can allow a place when your readers sign up to include their birth dates. When their birthdays arrive, you can create a message that can be sent to them. This can build a positive and personal relationship with the recipient that can really boost your business.
You can target a very large group of potential customers by making your email campaigns accessible to mobile devices. So many people these days use mobile devices to check their email, you can make your emails attractive and engaging by using small images, and using small, to-the-point messages. Be sure to put your logo at the top of your email.
As you have read, grouping your emails according to different categories of customers is extremely important when putting together a marketing campaign. By customizing your emails for the individual needs of your clients or customers, you can provide content that will drive them to action. Use what you’ve learned here next time you send an email to your subscriber list.
