A big part of running a successful company is learning to get the word out about your business. To do that, you need a strong marketing campaign; one of the best ways to market your company is to use email marketing. Email marketing can be a smart way to reach your target market, and here are some great tips to have success.
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.
When you ask people to opt-in, let them know what to expect. Tell them what you will be sending and how often you will send it. People will be more likely to sign up if they know that you are not going to flood their inboxes with wordy emails that they have no intention of reading.
Keep in mind that the ultimate goal with email marketing is to get your product sold. That means that every single email should bring readers closer to buying. Share information on a brand new product, talk about how to use an older product or offer a special promotion.
Use your email marketing to get your customers more involved with other promotion portals. For example, always give readers several ways to learn more about what every email is discussing. End every email with your contact information and web address, encourage them to share special promotions through Facebook “Like” buttons or direct them to a video that shows them how best to use a new product.
Collecting and analyzing statistics is as important to the success of an email marketing campaign as it is to a business website. Invest in software that allows you to track the effectiveness of every email, from what percentage of your emails are actually opened to how many result in unsubscriptions.
Consider following up with a rumor that a sale is about to end. Insert a statement that tells your clients to subscribe immediately so that they can take advantage of this sale. The closing of the email could tell them not to miss out on this incredible opportunity and to act now.
Give your customers some type of incentive in your emails. Your profits will increase if they feel that buying from you, through your emails, benefits them in some way. For instance, advertise a discount, free shipping or a free sample with every purchase.
Make it easy to unsubscribe. Make the unsubscribe link clearly visible in your email, allowing someone to stop getting email marketing. This way you are less likely to get reported for sending spam. Also, if someone has unsubscribed, don’t make the mistake of continuing to send them email: that is likely to cause them to complain.
Always make sure customers have a clear and concise way to opt out of emails at any time. They signed up with you because they wanted more information, and if at any time they wish to stop receiving that information, they should be able to opt out. It is only fair.
When someone subscribes to your email marketing list, confirm that this is what they really intended to do. Implementing this double opt-in strategy will make it much less likely that your email provider will receive spam complaints about you. Also, you will be assured that the people receiving your emails are actually interested in what you are sending them.
One way to keep your email readers engaged is to ask them questions. These should not be rhetorical questions, either. Provide a feedback channel they can use to send you answers. You could ask for direct replies via email, or send your readers to your social networking pages. However you arrange it, asking for two-way communication is a great way to cultivate loyalty in your subscribers.
Craft compelling, efficient subject lines. If your email subject is under 60 characters, you have a better chance of getting your customer’s attention. Long subjects can be distracting and put people off. If long subjects simply cannot be avoided, always be sure to include any essential information at the start of the subject line. Doing this will ensure that readers always see it first.
Get permission from individuals before you send any e-mail to them. Never send out e-mails to people without their consent. Unsolicited e-mails in a person’s inbox can easily be considered spam. You don’t want marketing to annoy people. Make sure your get permission before you turn off any potential customers.
Email marketing can be a boost to your business, or it can hurt your business. Use the tips laid out here to make sure that your email marketing plan does what you need it to do; apply them to your email marketing, build relationships with your customers, and raise your profits.
