Email marketing is a highly effective tool for reaching out to customers and promoting your business, although getting it right often proves difficult. Below are 15 top tips on how to achieve effective email marketing;
1. Be creative
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Hundreds of emails hit your customer’s inbox on a daily basis, what makes your email different, why should they read it?
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e.g.
- Offer added value
- Encourage engagement
- Welcome feedback
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e.g.
2. Ensure emails display on mobile devices e.g. Smartphones
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Have emails in both html and plain text – allowing people to read the email if it does not display correctly
- Also include a link to a web version of the email
3. Be people focused
- Marketing is all about people; customers, employees etc., so it makes sense your emails would be aimed at people too
- Email based learning
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Personalisation
- Customise your emails e.g. personalise name - it shows you know who you are sending your emails to – you need to show each customer they are important to you
- If possible personalise other sections, e.g. recommendations, things they might find interesting
4. Relevancy
- Highly important!! Customers will not open an email that is not relevant to them
- You are then wasting money sending emails with no chance of a return
- You will lose your credibility by sending emails to the wrong target
5. Take deliverability failure rates seriously
- A lot of companies overlook this – once the email is sent they focus on the return they get, but not the failure rates – this is important to assess why those emails have failed – preventing future unnecessary costs and blacklisting
6. Make it easy to unsubscribe
- Preventing complaints and emails being reported
7. Keep your text short and easy to scan
- Text must be short – you are sending emails to busy people – think of which emails you read, and why you read them
8. Always test emails before sending
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Very important!
- Test links, appearance, cross browser testing etc. - make your emails look professional and give a positive impression to potential customers
9. Keep subject lines short and precise
- Keep it catchy
- What would make you interested enough to open an email?
- Offer the reader something.....insight, a deal etc.
10. Write like a human
- You are writing to other people, so write something you would feel comfortable reading
- Sound friendly, but still professional
- Don’t overload with techno-speak
11. Clear call to action
- Create a call to action, but not a harsh sell, make it a deal they can’t refuse
12. Get a real sense of your customer
- Know your customers
- Do market research – understand your customers and target your marketing to meet their needs
13. Plan your campaign
- Don’t just create an email by throwing random materials together and send it out to whoever you can
- Include complimentary content, up to date content – e.g. industry news, local news etc.
14. Tuesday/Wednesday increased response
- By sending your emails out on these days you are expected to get a greater response
15. Consistency is key
- If you are sending out emails regularly e.g. monthly newsletters, ensure the format is consistent